Thursday, November 25, 2010

Twas the Night Before Atkins by Why Guy

Twas the Night Before Atkins

whyguy | November 24, 2010 at 11:56 pm | Categories: About me: Welcome to my Blog | URL: http://wp.me/psBi1-bD
Twas the Night Before Atkins
 
Twas the night before Atkins and all through the land

Not a bad carb could be found, not by woman or man.

The celery was placed under pillows with care,

In hopes that the whoosh Fairy soon would be there.


The dieters were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of thin bottoms danced in their heads.

As I looked in the mirror, and jumped on the scale,

I was morbidly fluffy, this much I could tell.


When down in the kitchen there rose such a clatter,

I sprang down the stairs to see what was the matter.

Away through the house I flew like a flash,

My belly did jiggle and so did my ass.


Through moon beams and night-light the kitchen aglow,

I caught sight of a creature, so odd I did know.

A tiny little Pixie, wings all a flutter,

She replaced all my margarine with rich creamy butter.


So lovely was she, so jolly and merry,

I knew in a moment, it must be Whoosh Fairy.

More rapid than eagles, in her bag she did shove,

All the junk food that I dearly loved.


She took Doritos and Cheetos, and Kit Kats by two,

Goodbye Little Debbie's, and Captain Crunch too.

So long pasta and bread sticks, and pizza galore,

She filled up her bag till there wasn't no more.


Empty was the fridge and the shelves on the wall,

Now gone away! Gone away! Gone away all!

As I drew back my head and was turning around,

Out from the kitchen, did whoosh fairy bound.


In a very loud voice, I heard her exclaim,

"I know there is more—more of the same!"

She looked through the drawers like a burglar for cash,

It wasn't too long before she had my stash.


With a turn of her head she caught sight of me,

I wanted to run, I wanted to flee.

But a wink of her eye and a nod of her head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

She spoke not a word, but went straight back to work,

As she scooped up my soda, I felt like a jerk.

She was working so hard on my bodies behalf,

I could do nothing, but let out a laugh.


With a flick of her wand and a shake of her rear,

What to my wondrous eyes did appear;

The fridge that was empty and the shelves that were bare,

Now contained food that was wondrous and fare.


There was beef and there was poultry, and fish from the sea,

And salami and ham, and five types of cheese.

There were brussels and broccoli, and cauliflower too,

So many veggies, I thought I'd turn blue.


As I stepped a closer, to get a better look,

I could see on the table she had conjured a book.

It was written by Atkins this much I could see,

I knew right away that this tome was for me.


It said follow the plan and follow your heart,

Inductions the place you want to start.

Follow each phase and do all the courses,

On the Atkins plan, you'll eat like ten horses.


Her work was all done; food bulged in her sack,

She gave me a promise she soon would be back.

"A pound I will take, maybe two pounds or three,

You will be thin, in no time you'll see."


Her eyes how they twinkled! Her dimples how merry!

Her cheeks were like roses, her nose like a cherry!

Her cute little mouth was drawn up in a smile:

She said, "I must leave now—at least for a while."


And giving a nod, up the chimney she rose:

Up and away did the whoosh fairy go.

The flapping of her wings made aloud whistle,

Away she did fly like the down of a thistle.


But I heard her exclaim as she flew out of sight,

"Many whooshes to all—and to all a good diet."




Shrimp Stuffed Mushrooms

 Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! I'm late posting this recipe and a couple of other, but I feel fortunate to even have time at the computer some days.

These shrimp-stuffed mushrooms are incredibly easy to do and totally Atkins friendly! I have them ready in the fridge to bake later today. And everyone seems to like them. Since I am the only low carb eater around my family, I like to make sure there are things I can eat guilt free. Makes it easier to resist all the high carb stuff!


1/2 to 1 pound of large mushrooms (depending on how many people you are serving) I like to use the baby portabellas, but any mushroom you like is fine.

olive oil and basting brush
1/4 pound of medium shrimp ( more for more mushrooms) peeled and deveined. Save yourself some effort and buy them already done for you.
Grated parmesan cheese

Clean mushrooms and remove the stems. Chop shrimp into about 1/4 inch pieces. Stuff the shrimp tightly into each mushroom and brush with olive oil. Then sprinkle each stuffed mushroom with grated cheese. Arrange on a baking sheet which has been sprayed with cooking spray or brushed with olive oil. Bake in a 375 degree oven till the cheese begins to turn brown and bubbly. These can be served warm or at room temperature.

 

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sugar Free Cranberry Orange Sauce Courtesy of Susi

I don't know how many of you know this, but cranberries and orange are two flavors that marry very well. Susi, from our OFL group has contributed this recipe. I just tried it tonight, because I need to get going on the Thanksgiving meal. It's delicious! I'm eating with a bunch of "high carbers", but I won't tell them this is sugar free! Not going to make the one loaded with sugar I usually make this year! Give it a try!

Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce
1 small box orange sugar free jello
1 c. water
1 bag cranberries (12 oz.)
Sweetener to equal 1/2 c. sugar
Apple pie spices

Bring water to boil- add jello and stir well. Add cranberries and then cook on low heat until they begin to pop. Add sweetener to taste- I used Erythritol and some liquid Splenda. I also used a sprinkle of cinnamon, ground cloves and ground allspice. Pour up into jars. Refrigerate.

5,000 Words Courtesy of Sharon

Sharon, our resident song writer/ translator has now written and article I really enjoyed reading. It's about how she came to produce her CD that is now out. It's really well-written and worth the read.

http://www.more.com/4252/26315--5000-words-my-first-cd

Good Calories/Bad Calories Courtesy of Sherri

Another of our OFL's, Sherri has shared this Cliff Notes version of Gary Taube's "Good Calories/ Bad Calories. I found it really interesting and I think you will too. And thanks Sherri for the condensed verion. I rarely have time to read a whole book anymore!

 "For anyone wanting the cliff note version of Gary Taubes' Good Calories Bad Calories...I found it. (I'm a bottom line kind of gal and have been having a great deal of difficulty plodding through the book, although I find it extremely fascinating.) Sherri

http://higher-thought.net/complete-notes-to-good-calories-bad-calories/#inescapable-conclusions

a pdf is available and suggested, as the notes will only be available online for a limited time

My favorite quote:

Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter, any more than it causes a child to grow taller. Expending more energy than we consume does not lead to long-term weight loss; it leads to hunger.

Hope you all with short attention spans like me, enjoy :-)"

The Importance of Friendship- courtesy of Carole

I think this is the longest I have gone without writing on the blog, but it seems like life has not allowed the time lately. So, I'll try to catch up some today.

One of our OFL's, Carole has shared this article with us about the importance of fiendship with other women. It is something I have always known, at least subconsciously, as I always feel better when I communicate with girl friends regularly. So have a read!

Dear Friends,
>> This is a short but very insiteful article about the importance of
>> friendship.
>>I appreciate all of you very much,
>> Blessings!!!!!!!!!!
_____________________________________________________________>>
>>
>>
>>They Teach It at Stanford
>>
>> "I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford University. The last
>>lecture was on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and
>>disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other
things,
>>that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be
married
>>to a woman, whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her
>>health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.
>>
>>At first everyone laughed, but he was totally serious.
>>
>>Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that
help
>>each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this

>>quality “girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin - a
neurotransmitter
>>that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being.
>>Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities.
>>They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain

>>things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars?
Yes.
>>Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings? Rarely.
>>
>>Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers,

>>and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time
with
>>a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out
at
>>a gym…. perhaps even more so!
>>
>>There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing
>>something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we
are
>>wasting our time and should be more productively engaged—not true. In fact, he

>>said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with
>>other women is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!
>>
>>So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on
the
>>back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We
are
>>indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo, let's toast to our friendship with our
>>girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health."
>>