It’s probably the longest I’ve gone without having bread,
rice, or pasta in my life. What I wouldn’t give for a fresh crusty piece of French
bread slathered in mashed potatoes and angel hair pasta. Mmmm.
In reality, Atkins is not that bad. The first week was the
worst for sure… I felt so bad on the fifth day that I had a PA at work check my
blood sugar because I thought I was dying. Turned out that I just needed some
delicious salty chicken broth. Your electrolytes can get all out of whack on
Atkins, especially during that first week.
There have been some other discoveries, like when I realized
that this delicious Caffe Breve that I’m drinking is full of carbs. Crap. I
looked at a carton of half & half and assumed that they don’t put that much
in the drink. Well… yeah. This drink has at least 16 grams of carbs in it.
Crap. Crap. Crap. I decided to search the interwebs about the amount of carbs
in a Caffe Breve and it was bad news. So no more lattes, breves or anything. From
now on, I’m sticking to brewed coffee with heavy cream and sugar free
sweetener.
The other discovery I’ve made is that the Atkins bars and
shakes have made me stall. I bought them probably a week or week & a half
into the diet when I thought I was going to die. I needed something crunchy and
sweet, and they fit the bill. Depending on my cravings, I’ve been eating anywhere
from 1 and 3 of those Atkins shakes/bars/treats. Well, the last week hasn’t
been good. I drank too many sprite zero & vodkas at a party over the
weekend and have probably not been counting carbs as well as I should. This
weekend will be another challenge – a one year old’s birthday party and a fun
night out with my girlfriends in Baltimore. I think that I’ll choose a drink
like vodka and club soda so that I can pace myself better. Those Bacardi &
diet cokes and sprite zero & vodkas just go down entirely too smoothly.
My results? The first two weeks were great! The first week I
lost 4 lbs and the second week I lost 3 lbs. Week 3 = 0 pounds. In all fairness,
I haven’t been great about going to the gym. I’ve only been going about once a
week. Starting today, I’m going to be more disciplined. No more Atkins
shakes/bars/treats or fancy coffee drinks. Gym no less than three times a week.
No alcohol other than vodka & club soda – and those sparingly.
So last weekend I faced a dilemma… what to make for a party.
I googled “low carb appetizers” and came up with a bunch of different recipes
for stuffed mushrooms. Most of them called for mayo mixed with cheese and
artichokes. YUCK. Straight mayo? No thanks, I’ll make my own concoction.
I ended up making shrimp cocktail and my own version of
artichoke dip stuffed mushrooms. Both were gone in fifteen minutes… so I’d say
that people liked them!
Here is the recipe… it was incredibly simple!
Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 cup Italian blend cheese – parmesan, romano & asiago
14 oz. can of artichoke hearts
2 lbs baby bella mushrooms, cleaned & stems removed
This made about 40 stuffed mushrooms with 1/4 cup of dip leftover.
Drain and finely chop artichoke hearts. I removed a few of the outer leaves if they were too fibrous.
Mix cream cheese, artichokes & cheese.
Stuff mixture into mushroom caps.
Bake on foil-lined tray at 425 for 25-30 minutes, until tops
begin to brown.
Enjoy!
oh no Lauren. I almost meant to tell you on Facebook. The Cafe Breve is NOT the same thing as getting the whipping cream. You have to ask for the whipping cream (they use Boden's whipping cream and 8 ounces has 3 grams carbs). The Cafe Breve is with half and half. I try not to eat any processed foods on this, including the atkins shakes and bars. I love vodka soda or vodka waters when I go out. Google bob evens spicy sausage drip-- its low carb and super yummy. I also take sour cream, spinach, and ranch dip mix and make a yummy dip for veggies. This mushrooms look delicious, I need to try them.
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