Laurin Evans » Food

Red Velvet Roundup

Laurin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:28:08 +0000

I must be crazy to post pictures of desserts while I’m on a very low calorie diet, but I have big plans for the day I can slowly introduce some sugar back into my life. Nothing crazy, but I can’t live my life without cake, especially red velvet cake.

And red velvet is not just for cakes anymore, it’s popping up in all sorts of other desserts and even pancakes. Here are some of my favorites.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies from Eat at Allie’s.

Red Velvet Heart Cake from i am baker.

Red Velvet Waffles from Cake Spy.

And, Heritage Red Velvet Cake from Sprinkle Bakes. A crumb coat with crumbs! So beautiful!

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HCG Diet Update – Days 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9

Laurin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:54:51 +0000

I’ll be posting my daily progress under the title HCG Diet Update so you can blow right past it if you aren’t interested in whether this so-called “weight loss cure” works for me. My goal is to lose 28 pounds in 26 days and reach 132 pounds, what I weighed for years eating normally until I begin taking a migraine preventative medication in October of 2009. My husband and I are doing the diet together.

The twins were home sick since last Tuesday with fever and colds, hence the late post on my progress. They went back to school this morning and somehow we managed to get all of their make-up work and their 100 minute reading logs done. That was fun.

The diet is going swell. Really. We are used to the eating restrictions, know what we are doing, and are losing weight exactly as promised.

I am still researching and trying to read every scrap of info on the Internet about HCG because it is so fascinating to me. Jack couldn’t care less. All he wants to know is what he can eat and how much of it. I’m like, There is science at work here, man, don’t you care? Nope.

I’ve discovered there is a whole sub-culture of HCG dieters. They are very active on message boards, blogs and You Tube. If I have a question about the protocol, I go to the HCGDietInfo.com forum.

I’m not going to lie, I’m very bored with the food and have started trying different recipes just to put a different spin on things. One of our favorites is 95% lean ground sirloin simmered with tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. It’s delicious.

My mind is still blown by the lack of hunger. Also, after a bad day or so thinking about sugar cookies (not helped by reading the 25 decorated sugar cookie blogs I follow), my cravings are gone. I went to Whole Foods on Saturday and didn’t have the slightest twinge of desire when I walked through the bakery. HCG is some voodoo, y’all.

One of the reasons I went to Whole Foods was to get an oil-free face moisturizer and styling product for my hair. I have become paranoid about the personal products I’m using, particularly after I only went down half a pound the day after I used my usual Moroccan Oil in my hair. The forum gave me a bunch of ideas for approved hair products.I had also been using mineral oil on my body and just a little on my face. It was working okay, but not great.

Let me tell you, the women working in the vitamin and makeup section were APPALLED that I was using mineral oil for any purpose whatsoever. Mineral oil, being a petroleum product, is apparently one of the most loathed of all possible ingredients in the green world. So why do we use mineral oil for baby oil??? I finally settled on a styling creme with only the approved coconut oil and an oil-free Alba green tea face moisturizer.

Speaking of coconut oil, the HCG underground is all abuzz about this dude named Delmem, who came up with something called Chocolate Delight, a candy made with coconut oil, unsweetened cocoa and liquid chocolate-flavored Stevia. Delmem has other advice, too, but I need to investigate this chocolate thing first.

Apparently coconut oil is metabolized differently by the body, and is burned off as energy, not stored as fat. It is supposed to aid in getting your body to ketosis, where more fat is burned. Hmmm. Oil that burns fat? Of COURSE I’m going to try it.

I found everything I needed at Whole Foods and whipped up a batch last night. I have to say, other than the aftertaste of Stevia which might be because I used too much, it was one tablespoon of pure chocolaty joy, and coconut oil smells heavenly! Jack actually paid attention to this, because he couldn’t believe I was about to eat a tablespoon of pure fat and ruin all my hard work.

I also ate one macadamia nut, which is also supposed to help with ketosis, according to the People of the Forum. Well, the proof is in the scale because I was down .8 pounds Sunday morning. I had only lost half a pound the day before. Under strict protocol guidelines, this huge influx of fat from the coconut oil and the nut should have caused me to gain weight!

I’m not going to do anything crazy, like eat a bowl of Chocolate Delight every day, but it is nice to know I can get a chocolate fix that actually could help things.

These are my early morning weights:

Day 5 (Wednesday, 3/2)
152.5

Day 6 (Thursday, 3/3)
151.5

Day 7 (Friday, 3/4)
150.5

Day 8 (Saturday, 3/5)
150.0

Day 9 (Sunday, 3/6)
149.2 (Got a new scale with 2 decimal points!)

Overall mood: Drunk on Chocolate Delight and happy to be under 150 for the first time in a year!

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HCG Diet Update- Days 3 and 4

Laurin — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:59:33 +0000

After my headache went away Monday afternoon, I started to feel pretty good! It is so nice that I’m not hungry, but I miss my ritual snacking. I had some mild cravings for my beloved sugar cookies and cereal with milk, but they didn’t last long. For dinner Monday night we had the leftover turkey and tomatoes.

The Breadstick, My BFF

I’ve been eating an orange every morning to keep the headache away (hopefully) and the breadstick, then I just eat the protein and vegetables for lunch. I’ve also been eating the second breadstick in the afternoon simply because I miss eating something crunchy and I’m bored. It’s certainly not because I’m hungry.

Tuesday night we had steamed shrimp with lemon and asparagus. I was in bed before I realized I had completely forgotten to eat the second fruit of the day. Less than 500 calories for the win! Actually, I’m going to be diligent and not forget food again because eating less than 500 calories can slow your progress.

After using my regular hair care products on Tuesday afternoon I was curious about whether it would have an impact. Since the scale this morning showed I had lost another pound, right on schedule, I’m going to continue using the Deva Curl.

From now on, I won’t bore you with what I’m eating. It’s very simple. Two meals per day, lunch and dinner with 3.5 ounces of lean protein and 3.5 ounces of veggies, 1 breadstick, and 1 fruit. You can eat the 2 breadsticks and 2 fruits at other times for breakfast, snacks, or before bed. Only certain proteins, veggies and fruits are allowed.

I had a fun conversation with my brother on Tuesday in which he accused me of shooting up with speed to lose weight. Not true, little brother. He just likes to be a drama llama. I knew there would be skeptics about my diet on the range of Are you sure that’s safe? to I’m going to have you committed!

These are my early morning weights:

Day 3 (Monday, 2/28)
154.5

Day 4 (Tuesday, 3/1)
153.5

Overall mood: Happy and coasting with no hunger and no headaches. Also thrilled that my jeans fit much better and my stomach is flat.

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Post tags: HCG Diet, HCG Diet headaches, HCG products

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HCG Diet – Days 1 and 2

Laurin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:39:50 +0000

After bingeing like a fiend on Friday, I started the 500 calorie diet on Saturday. Jack started on Friday. Eating was a breeze because I had prepared all of Jack’s food for him on Friday and knew exactly what to expect. I had grilled several chicken breasts and separated them into 3.5 ounce portions so it would be easy to pack in his lunch or add to a salad for dinner.

The most difficult thing for me, by far, on my first day of dieting was giving up half and half in my coffee. You are only allowed 1 tablespoon of milk, so blech. I ate my breadstick and apple for breakfast/mid-morning snack and had the grilled chicken over 3.5 ounces of salad greens splashed with balsamic vinegar.

Three and a half ounces of salad greens is a surprising amount of lettuce, and I had to push myself to finish because I wasn’t hungry in the slightest. I also felt very full for a long time after I finished.

For dinner Saturday night I brined and roasted a Fresh Market turkey breast seasoned with just salt and pepper. It was delicious and I had plenty left over for lunches this week. I used my scale again and made 3.5 ounce packets of leftovers. We also had broccoli and asparagus. Once again I felt very full and had to work to finish. We had been told we wouldn’t be hungry because of the HCG, but it was still a surprise that such a small amount of food would be totally satisfying.

During the day I had the impulse to reach for something to eat several times, especially when I was making lunch and snacks for the kids. I realized that I wasn’t hungry, it was just habit. This habit was probably giving me a huge amount of extra calories every day before the diet.

Sunday lunch was sliced chicken over salad greens with balsamic and dinner was sauteed shrimp in lemon juice with sliced tomatoes, cucumber and celery.

We had also been warned to expect headaches, particularly if we had been big processed sugar eaters. Yeah. That happened. Jack had a mild headache on Friday and Saturday, but my headaches started Saturday afternoon and were pretty bad.

I actually took one of my migraine interruptors on both Saturday and Sunday. I woke up with a mild headache this morning, but it’s mostly gone. Hope the worst of that is behind me.

Update: It’s baaaaaaack. Please let this be the last day! I know my decorated sugar cookie obsession over the past couple of months is what I’m paying for and I’M SO SORRY OMG! Make it stop!

These are my early morning weights so far:

Laurin:

Morning of binge day:
160

Day 1
158 (weird, right?)

Day 2
157

Day 3 (Today)
154.5

Products update: Jack is using the shampoo and toothpaste, but is sticking with his regular deodorant. I guess time will tell if it affects his losses.

I’m using baby oil for moisturizing my body and cuticles. I’m also using my home-brewed deodorant, the toothpaste and the Carmex. I haven’t washed my hair since Friday because my Deva Curl products let me go so long with fresh hair. I’m going to wash my hair tomorrow and see if it has an impact on my weight loss. I’ll just have to suffer with frizzy hair if I’m not losing weight after using my regular stuff.

Overall mood: Wanting to punt kittens over these headaches, but really happy not being hungry and with the loss.

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HCG Diet Update – Supposed to Be Day One

Laurin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:00:23 +0000

Abort! Abort! Today was to be the start of the diet, with the first morning HCG injection. Jack and I both had an injection yesterday at the clinic, sort of a champagne bottle smash to the prow to officially launch the diet!

Not really. It wasn’t that exciting. I think it was just to make sure we both knew how to inject the HCG solution into a pudgy section of our bellies. Ha! Could have done that blindfolded.

Just so you know, the needle is the teensiest ever. It’s a 5/16th inch ultra-fine insulin needle. I barely feel it.

My beginning stats:

Weight: 160
Height: 5′ 10 3/4″
Fat%: 39.1
Desirable %: 23% – 34%
Body Mass Index: 22.3

We both did our injections this morning before Jack left for work. I weighed in at 159 pounds. We were supposed to start the first of two days of the loading phase, also known as eat as much fatty food as you can for two days while the HCG gets cranked up in your system, except that I didn’t get to begin today because I got a visitor.

That’s right, I had no idea when my period was going to start and yes, they asked me. Helpful comment from the husband: How can you not know when your period is supposed to start? You aren’t supposed to take HCG while you are menstruating, so I have to wait it out and start when it’s over. I anticipate that my first morning injection will now be in three to four days.

I know this might sound incredible, but I wasn’t hungry today at any time and was full of energy for the first time in ages. Placebo effect? Maybe, but if this is an early indication of how I’m going to feel on the diet, I’m pretty excited. The most amazing part is that I did not have sugar cravings for the first time in over a year. The only problem I see is that the two loading days of eating are going to be hard because I didn’t even think about food today.

Sorry for the false alarm. And yes, Dad, I just told the Internet I’m on the rag.

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I’ve got HCG (It’s not what you think.)

Laurin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:21:57 +0000

I’ve written about my weight gain over the last year or so, after I began taking the medication that cured my migraines. Cured, truly, as long as I take the body plumping medication.

I’ve tried to stop taking it, but the migraines start back immediately. I suppose my age and a slowing metabolism could have caused the weight gain, but I literally started gaining the weight the week I started the medication, so I take that as a definitive scientific causal connection.

People have been kind. They say it doesn’t show, that I carry it well, and they would never have noticed had I not mentioned it. My friends are delightful people, but I don’t feel comfortable in my own body anymore. My entire wardrobe is useless except for my shoes. Every part of me is generally more padded and I now have a gut (cringe) and back of the pelvic bone (flank?) fat. When I lie flat, my hip bones aren’t noticeable like they used to be. That used to be a source of pride and I’d like it back please.

I have always been ultra-thin and could eat whatever I liked. I absolutely took it for granted. Now I think about food constantly and notice how much more I crave sugar, sugar, and additionally, more sugar. My expensive jeans don’t fit and I’m grouchy as hell.

I know. Boo fucking hoo. I’ve never had to diet for one minute of my 44 years of life, but this new state of my body is really messing with my mind. More importantly, I feel sluggish and depressed. I barely accomplished anything this past year due to a raging case of general malaise. At least it feels that way.

Last week I attended a charity fashion show and had the urge to stick out a cankle and trip a bony teenager as she loped by wearing a sequined, diaphanous piece of fabric draped over her shoulders and barely covering the slightest suggestion of breasts. Obviously, it’s time to do something about this.

So I’m going on a medically-supervised HCG diet. My weight has plateaued at 158 and isn’t coming off. I exercise and I’ve tried cutting out all sugar and eating only healthy food. A couple pounds go away and then come right back.

This special diet involves daily injections of the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and a 500 calorie per day diet. After the diet and transition phase, I can begin eating normally and won’t gain all the weight back like I would on most diets. Something, something, resetting the metabolism, something.

The diet works for both men and women and, as far as I can determine through hours of research, has no side effects. It’s being called the “weight loss cure.”

My husband is also doing the diet, which we start today. A friend of ours just finished the program. He lost 30 pounds in a month and didn’t have hunger or cravings because of how the HCG works in the body. It’s essentially a one-month diet if you only have 20 – 30 pounds to lose, which is the case for us. The diet must be followed to a T, however, or you could end up gaining weight. Ugh.

In lieu of boring you with more details like the three different types of fat and how HCG keeps your body from going into starvation mode on 500 calories, I’ll direct you to the book written by the doctor who pioneered the diet in the fifties.

I’ll report in with how this all goes, hopefully in a much less cranky fashion.

Photo credit: PinkMoose

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Spooky and Delicious (Yet Totally Nutritious) Halloween Dishes

Laurin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:28:03 +0000

Halloween is the holiday my kids look forward to the most, right after Christmas. They have 2 things on their minds, costumes and candy. The last thing they want to hear is me nagging them to eat something before we head out to trick or treat. But if they don’t, I could be facing a long night of sugar highs and potential upset stomachs on a school night. Oh, you bet I looked at the calendar. It’s on a Sunday this year.

My only hope of getting some food in them before the sugar onslaught is to make some snacks and party food they can graze on while they vibrate around the house asking, WHEN ARE WE GOING TRICK OR TREATING ALREADY? Last year we had a fun little party with scary “feel and touch” bags and some terrifyingly tasty food.

We aren’t throwing a party this year, but I still want to make Halloween as exciting as possible for the kids. Little do they know it’s my favorite holiday, too. Shhhh. Continue reading post on Club Mum.

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A Bento Beginning

Laurin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:29:20 +0000

I’ve been experimenting with bento. School lunch was an abysmal failure for us last year. The kids preferred to buy their lunch because the lunches I made for them were uncool. Ingrates.

After reading my friend’s wise words, I decided to get more creative because I didn’t want them eating cafeteria food even a few times a week.

This was my first attempt at a bento meal. It’s a dinner I made for the kids after some of the bento supplies I ordered came in. Please to ignore the poorly-lit photo. Also, I was trying to take the picture while holding the kids back with my elbows because they were starving. They hate suffering for my art.

Why yes, those are the drip trays for a George Foreman grill. Thanks for noticing. The ketchup is Hunt’s, and that’s a whole other story.

The corn is in Wilton silicone cupcake molds with chicken feet. I separated the food in the boxes with silicone sushi grass. The cheese cutouts were made with ocean scene cutters. I ordered all of the bento stuffs from All Things for Sale.

My dinner creation is certainly not the greatest, but I wanted you to see my first attempt. I plan to get better at this. I mean, obviously.

I’ll have a lot more cute things to show you soon, including photos of the kids’ lunches, hopefully with better lighting and composition.

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How did I not know about this?

Laurin — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:03:40 +0000

I received this from my husband yesterday in an email and became too distracted at the sight of maple bacon doughnuts to finish my housewife duties. Now I’m obsessed with finding these. They are everywhere, except here with me – their mama. Jack, this would have been helpful information to have, I don’t know…, like when I was in NYC, the cupcake capital of the world. Nice.

If these are too fattening for you, or do you not like bacon (if so, we can’t be friends), take a look at this. I love this Salsabol. It can be hard to get the perfect amount of salsa or dip on your chip without pushing it over the side of the bowl. The Salsabol solves that problem by making their bowl gently curved so the patent-pending lip pushes the salsa back in the bowl.

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Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie – the “best ever”

Laurin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:42:17 +0000

I am forced by my family to make the same apple pie for every holiday. I love all kinds of pie and like to change it up. Chess, pecan, banana caramel, sometimes pumpkin. Does my family like any of those kinds of pie around the holidays? Nope. They insist on this apple pie ever since I first made it about eight years ago.

I found Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie on AllRecipes.com by googling best apple pie recipe ever. I add best and ever when I google recipes because I find that people who make that bold statement about a recipe are rarely wrong. It had so many glowing reviews that I had to try it, and it seriously is the best apple pie I’ve ever had.

The recipe doesn’t even call for any spices. I thought that was strange, but spices are so unnecessary with this pie. I made it with a little cinnamon once and my husband was all What did you do to my pie??

Also, I think I should explain the less than food blog worthy picture. My son got up at four am on Christmas morning and wouldn’t go back to sleep. I had to entertain him in his bedroom until 6:30 am when it seemed a more decent hour to let the materialism melee begin. I wouldn’t have been so tired if I had gone to bed earlier, but I fell asleep around 1:30 am because my daughter woke up about an hour before that and announced, “Santa Claus came!” and then, mercifully agreed to come get in our bed.

So my cooking skills suffered a bit the next day. I usually make a lattice crust for the top, but decided to be lazy and just make eight slits in the top. Not nearly as pretty, but it eats just the same. Also, it occurred to me to blog about the pie only after we had eaten half. See all those crusty lumps and bumps? That’s the sugar-butter you drizzle on the top. It really is the best ever. Here’s the recipe with a few of my notes.

Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie

Ingredients

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie (I use the Pillsbury refrigerated crust.)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup water
8 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and sliced (Add a couple of Fuji for more sweetness. Eight seems like a lot of apples, but it just depends on the size. I usually use 6. You need enough to make a decent-sized mound.)

Directions

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. (I have never achieved a “paste.” It is still a runny liquid for me, even if I use 1/2 cornstarch.) Add white sugar, brown sugar and water; bring to a boil. Reduce temperature, and simmer 5 minutes. (I let it simmer while I prep the apples.)
Meanwhile, place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. (I go ahead and pour about 3/4 of the sugar butter over the apples before I put on the top crust. I also use a pastry brush to evenly coat the top crust with the sugar butter.)
Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees, and continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes.

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