First Time Mom and Losing It

I bought this big bag of chicken tenderloins from Costco and enjoy making my Keto Chicken Tenders with them. I wanted to try something different with them so I looked at what I had in the refrigerator and decided to use what I had on hand. I came up with this delicious Creamy Chicken and Mushroom sauce that I could put on top of zoodles. It was so creamy and delicious and the richness of the dish satisfies you with a small portion. This dish is super easy to make and really quick too.



Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms Zoodles

• 1 pound chicken tenderloins
• 1 tblsp of oil (I used avocado oil)
• 7 ounce package baby bella mushrooms, sliced 
• 4 tblsp heavy cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 large zucchini, peeled and made into zoodles
• salt and pepper to taste

It's been really cold these couple of weeks with a few snow days in between. When it's cold outside I like to have a nice comfy casserole type dish for dinner. I rather eat something hearty and warm in place of your typical hot and steamy soup. I have been craving chicken pot pie for a while now so I decided to go into the kitchen to experiment with some keto ingredients.




Keto Chicken Pot Pie 

Crust:

• 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 1 tblsp cream cheese
• 6 tblsp almond flour
• 1/2 egg
• 1/2 tsp thyme 

• 1 tblsp butter
• 4 medium radishes, diced
• 4 medium baby bella mushrooms
• 3 cups roasted chicken, diced
• 2 cups spinach (or 1 cup frozen, thawed and liquid squeezed out)
• 1 cup bone broth (or chicken stock)
• 4 ounces cream cheese 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp Better than Boullion chicken base
• 2 tsp onion flakes
• 3/4 tsp Himilayan pink sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

I love chicken fingers because they are crispy and delicious and you can dip them into any kind of sauce. I used a combination of almond flour and parmesan cheese so that I could cut the carbs of the almond flour. I then used the method of flash frying and then finishing the cooking in the oven.


Keto Chicken Fingers

• 1 pound of chicken tenders 
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (the grated green container is best) 
• seasonings to taste (I used onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper)
• egg
• avocado oil, to fry (you can use any other oil you have on hand) 

I have been compensated by Glucerna for this post; however, I am sharing my own thoughts. All opinions are my own. #SteadyIsExciting


Coming from a Latin background I knew that the chances of me getting diagnosed with diabetes was high. I grew up with family members getting diabetes one after the other. First it was both of my grandmothers being diagnosed within months of each other. Then it was my dad being diagnosed and then my sister when she was just 22 years old.

This past summer my husband got the news that he was pre-diabetic. I didn't want another one of my loved ones to become diabetic so it was finally time to do something about it. On August 31st we started our journey of eating a low carb diet and have since lost a combined total of 122 pounds. Last month my husband went back to the doctor to get lab work and we got the news that he was no longer pre-diabetic! It is really amazing how just doing little changes to your diet could reverse something as serious as diabetes.


Now that my husband and I are committed to this way of eating we are working hard to bring our other family members on board. I want to show them that it is easy to change what they eat by substituting little things. One of my favorite family recipes is fried barbecue chicken. Now instead of frying it we are grilling it and instead of slathering it with our favorite barbecue sauce we are just using a little.



While browsing my local Target I took a look through the diabetic aisle. I was pleased to see all of the products Glucerna offered. They had some delicious looking shakes in a variety of flavors. As I was reading the label I saw that they contained CARBSTEADY® which helps lessen blood sugar spikes by allowing the body to slowly digest the carbohydrates. On top of Glucerna being the #1 Doctor recommended brand for people with diabetes, Target was also having a cartwheel of 10% off of their bars and shakes. (Live Jan 10th – 30th)



I decided to make the barbecue chicken and bring my grandma a 6pk of the Glucerna Vanilla Shakes. To make the barbecue chicken I took 3 ounces of boneless skinless chicken and grilled it on my indoor grill. I cooked it for about 5 minutes per side. Then I brushed on 2 teaspoons of my favorite low carb barbecue sauce on top and allowed it to cook for about 30 seconds longer. I packed it up and brought it for my grandmother to enjoy.




What small changes are you making to become healthier? 

One of my favorite things to eat on my keto / low carb way of eating is chicken wings! Buffalo chicken wings with a spicy buttery sauce and then dipped in blue cheese dressing has always been my favorite. Now that I can eat them whenever I want and still lose weight I am kind of getting tired of the buffalo and blue cheese combo so I decided to change them up by making these.


My husband has been craving barbecue sauce since we started eating keto so I was on the search of a low carb sauce I could buy. I couldn't find any in my local supermarkets so I started the search again while in Texas. We went to a supermarket called Sprout that sold lots of low-carb friendly products and I decided to try the barbecue sauce from Walden Farms. It was a no go for us with the weird texture and weird taste. Off to search again I went and decided to try my hand at making it myself. I came across this version of low-carb barbecue sauce and have been hooked on it ever since. Low Carb Barbecue Sauce


Low-Carb Barbecue Chicken Wings

• chicken wings
• seasonings of your choice
• Low Carb Barbecue Sauce

Step 1: Prepare your chicken wings. I love to buy the big bag from Costco that are flash frozen and cut into wingette and drumettes. I usually make 16 pieces at a time.

Step 2: Dry and season your chicken wings. I like to use onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, adobo, sazon, fresh black pepper and Himalayan pink sea salt.

Step 3: Wrap a baking pan in aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray and place the wings on top, evenly spacing them.

Step 4: Bake in a 375 oven for 25 minutes. Turn each wing and bake for 15 minutes. Brush barbecue sauce on top of each wing and place back in the oven for 15 more minutes or until the wings are cooked through and the sauce is caramelized.

Step 5: Enjoy!

Thank you Carolina® Rice for sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% by own.


Growing up, my maternal grandmother always lived with us. She was the cook of the family and would always have dinner ready for us at dinner time. She never cooked with a recipe and always cooked by memory and with her own little tricks like adding enough water to the rice pot to make a spoon stand up. Amazingly this method always made the perfect rice.


Since her birthday is close to Thanksgiving we always gave her a break from cooking and cooked whatever she wanted. Even though the norm is turkey and stuffing for Thanksgiving my grandma always wanted to eat Pollo Guisado. It's tender stewed chicken thighs in a sofrito tomato sauce and always served over fluffy white rice. If you can't do without Turkey on Thanksgiving you can always do it with turkey breast meat :)


As we are deep in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner we know that the main dish will be Pollo Guisado. I wanted to change up our Thanksgiving menu a little so while I was shopping for the Carolina® long grain rice we have always used I saw that they had a Jasmine variety. Jasmine rice is known for it's fragrant and aromatic scent that is released during the cooking process. We made a batch of the Pollo Guisado with Jasmine rice and gave my grandma a try for her approval. It was a hit so it will be on our Thanksgiving table in a couple of few weeks.


Pollo Guisado with a Jasmine Twist 

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into pieces
• 1 small potato, peeled and diced into 1" cubes
• 1 small carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp Adobo powder (found in most supermarkets in the Spanish foods aisle)
• 3 tblsp Goya Sofrito (found in the Spanish section of the freezer aisle)
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• Carolina® Jasmine Rice

1. Add all of the ingredients into a pot and mix well.
2. Simmer the Pollo Guisado on low heat until the chicken is completely cooked through and the carrots and potatoes are tender. While cooking, make sure to stir occasionally so that the bottom doesn't burn. Cook uncovered until the sauce is the thickness you like. 
3. Follow the package directions to cook the Carolina® Jasmine Rice. Serve the Pollo Guisado on top of the Jasmine rice and enjoy. 

I have been missing in action for a week because my home was hit with an ugly stomach bug. First it hit me for days, then my precious toddler luckily for only a day and finally it hit my husband. When I was finally able to eat all I wanted to eat was soup. My husband doesn't cook and my mom was busy at work so I had to settle for the canned version.

I love eating soups and have always had them with starchy pasta or white rice. I decided to make my own version of chicken noodle soup and make it with zoodles instead of noodles. First I took some celery stalks and onion and chopped them into large pieces and put them in the bottom of my slow cooker. I placed a whole chicken on top and added 4 cups of water. Then on top of the chicken I put some salt, garlic powder, onion powder and threw in some springs of fresh thyme, parsley and a dry bay leaf. Then I cooked it on high for four hours.


I took out the chicken and placed into a large bowl. Then I removed all the skin and bones and shredded it into big pieces. After the chicken is removed you get this super homey and delicious chicken stock to start your soup with.


After that I strained the stock and placed it into a big pot and added three cups of low sodium chicken stock. I added diced stalks of celery, some peas and carrots, a little bit of granular chicken bouillon and some salt to taste. I let it simmer until the celery was tender and then I added the chicken. I took a zucchini peeled it and cut into zoodles and then I put it onto the bottom of my bowl and ladled the soup on top. I sprinkled on some fresh chopped parsley and it was delicious!  Low Carb Chicken Zoodle Soup (printable recipe)

• 4 stalks celery (two chopped into big pieces and two diced)
• 1 small onion
• whole chicken
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 handful chopped fresh parsley (plus more to garnish)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup peas and carrots
• 1 tsp granular chicken bouillon 
• zucchini (1 per serving, peeled and cut into zoodles)

1. Place chopped celery and onion onto the bottom of a slow cooker. Place chicken on top. Add 2 cups of water, thyme, parsley and one of the bay leaves. Sprinkle the onion powder, garlic powder and salt on top of the chicken. Add two more cups of water to the top of the chicken and cook on high for 4 hours. 
2. Remove chicken and place in a large bowl. Remove skin and bones and shred meat into large pieces. 
3. Strain stock and place into a pot. Add the remaining bay leaf, bouillon, diced celery and peas and carrots and cook on a high simmer until the celery is tender. 
4. Add the chicken and taste for seasoning. Add more salt if needed. 
5. Place zoodles onto the bottom of a bowl. Ladle on some soup and sprinkle with chopped parsley to garnish. 

I can always find whole chicken on sale at my favorite supermarket so I always buy at least one for the week. I love making whole chicken at home because it's inexpensive and with a family of 3 we always have left overs. Roasting chicken is always a hit or miss for me. Sometimes it will be super juicy and sometimes it will be super dry. I blame my temperamental oven!

After hearing so many moms from my daughter's playgroup have success in cooking a whole chicken in the slow cooker I decided to give it a try. First I tried the method of balling up some aluminum foil in the bottom for the whole chicken to sit on. I found that it made my chicken too dry so I decided to put vegetables instead of foil.


My chicken came out so moist and juicy and I didn't have to babysit the chicken by checking on it every half hour. All I had to do was set it on top of the veggies and then slathered it with my butter seasoning mix and cooked it for 5 hours on high.


I was left with a delicious and flavorful broth that I will be making into a low carb soup (recipe coming soon!) and some left over chicken for my husbands lunch the next day. So dinner, lunch leftovers and a soup base cost me $3.31.


Ingredients:

• 3 tblsp butter, softened
• 1/2 tblsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tblsp onion powder
• 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1/2 tblsp paprika
• onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 1/2 lemon

One of the easiest things to make with the ingredients I always have on hand is Arroz Con Pollo (Rice with Chicken). I decided to take my family recipe and make it a bit healthier by using brown rice instead of white, boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of skin-on chicken pieces and less oil.

Healthier Arroz Con Pollo (Rice with Chicken)

• 2 tblsp olive oil
• 2 tsp Achiote seeds (Annatto Seeds)
• 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup Sofrito
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 cups brown rice
• 2 3/4 water