Low Carb Options When Dining Out

Even though we've been trying to save money by shopping once per month and cooking at home as often as possible, we like to take a break on the weekend and just eat out one of the days. It was easy before I started trying to cut out carbs and sugars, but now it's challenging to figure out what our options are at the places we go to the most.

So I thought for my use and yours as well I would put together a list of some common fast food places and their low carb options. If you're looking for low-fat, I don't do that here so you'll be pretty disappointed. Don't take it personally :P

Wendy's:
-Grilled Chicken Sandwich, no bun: 7g carbs
-Grilled Chicken Club, no bun: 4g carbs
-Any of the Burgers without the bun: around 3g carbs
-Spicy Caesar Salad, no croutons, trade the spicy chicken for grilled: 10g carbs
-Cobb Salad, with grilled chicken, no croutons, and choose between either caesar or ranch dressing (the other vinaigrette dressings have upwards of 15g of carbs per packet! yikes) 14g carbs
-Small Cup of Chili: 14g carbs

Chick-fil-a:
-Chargrilled chicken sandwich (all the fixings/sauce, no bun): 6g carbs
-Regular chicken sandwich (no bun): 14g carbs
-Grilled Chicken Salads: around 15g carbs (watch out for the vinagerettes, they run around 20g per packet!)

Chipotle:
-A salad bowl with any kind of meat, cheese, and dressing (leave out the rice here, but add whatever veggies you want!): 15g carbs (and you can order double meat...around 70g protein! woo)

Penn Station:
(This is really only an option if you're already having a good day and have some carbs to spare, otherwise I would stay away from this one. Unless you ask for literally just meat, cheese, and veggies, no bread, but then it's not a sandwich. )

-8 inch cheesesteak, mayo, meat, cheese, half the bread: 28g carbs

KFC, Popeye's, and Lee's Chicken:
-This one is pretty obvious...get grilled chicken, or tear the skin off the regular chicken and give it to a hungry husband! Without the breading, the fried chicken comes in at 2g carbs per breast, and the grilled chicken is obviously 0g

Skyline or Goldstar Chili: 
-Coney/CHili bowl: 8g carbs

Pizza Places (Larosas, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Richard's, etc):
-There are really no good options here with pizza...half of pizza is bread, and that's sadly just how it is. Not to mention their sauces are loaded with sugar! The only good option at these places are the:
-bone in chicken wings: around 2g carbs per wing IF they have sauce. Plain or with a dry rub they come in at 1g

Buffalo Wild Wings:
-traditional (bone in) wings: 2g carbs w/sauce, 1g carb w/rub

Frisch's Big Boy:
-Sandwiches without the bun will run at around 5g carbs (burgers and grilled chicken)
-crispy white fish: 6g carbs

Breakfast Places of any Kind:
-This one's pretty easy as well...avoid hashbrowns, biscuits, gravies, pancakes, waffles, etc, and go for eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, etc


Most Sit Down Restaurants: 
-No specific counts for this one as there are so many choices, but opt for non-breaded steak, chicken, fish, pork, or shrimp, and choose sides such as fresh veggies or a side salad instead of fries or pastas.



Well, I'd say that's plenty of choices for eating out and still trying to stick to low carb/low sugar options. See, eating low carb can be tasty, right? right?

I miss cake already.

Anyway....if you have any restaurants that have good low carb options that I missed, please feel free to let me know!

Sick Days Suck

I'm sure you've all had a time where you've had to take sick days from work or school, and when you returned people say "Oh you should be caught up on everything, you got a sick day!"

Do people realize that when you're really sick, it's hard to do anything?! Seriously, it took me ten minutes this morning just to get dressed. And I only have a fever and upset tummy...I can't imagine what it's like for people who have it worse.

So, to take my mind off of the aches and being hot and freezing at the same time, I thought it'd be neat to figure out what the heck a fever is anyway and why it does what it does. Maybe, if I make it scientific, it'll be less terrible? It's worth a shot at least.

Ok so...

What causes a fever? It looks like fevers are caused by a little thing called a pyrogen, which in various ways tells your hypothalamus in the brain that your internal body temperature needs to be higher. Kind of like increasing the thermostat and then having the heat kick on. The hypothalamus then sends signals out to the body telling it to do anything possible to increase internal temperature, including increasing muscle tone and shivering. Your blood vessels may also constrict to prevent heat loss, which is why you often get headaches with the fever.

What does fever do anyway? From what I've been reading (and I'm sure my nursing friends could correct or affirm this), the body's immune system functions much better at an increased body temperature, thus getting rid of infections much more efficiently. The higher temperatures supposedly allow different anti-bodies to be released more quickly and can also kill infections that have picky temperature preferences.

Why is my stomach upset? This one was pretty easy to understand. When we're sick, our stomachs get upset because they are trying to get rid of anything we ate or drank that may have been the cause of our fever in the first place (think food poisoning here). You also have a tendency to only be able to process bland, simple carbs such as rice, toast, and crackers because the body is not able to focus on digesting more complex proteins and fats since it's resources are tied up elsewhere defending the body.

Why do I ache? This is one I really wanted to learn the answer to, as it is possibly more annoying than the hot/cold feeling or the stomach upset. Whenever I get sick, my weakest points hurt the most: my back, hips, and knees. It drives me crazy! I'm not 100% positive on the information I've found on this one, but here's what I found: when our immune response is activated, we use a chemical called a cytokine to "coordinate the army" so to speak. They do several jobs when fighting infection, but one of them is to cause us to produce an enzyme. The enzyme produces chemicals called prostaglandins, which do many things including increasing inflammation and causing the spinal nerves to become more sensitive. This increased inflammation and increased pain sensitivity causes aching joints, making what might normally be mild pain/discomfort in areas of the body that are already weak feel much, much worse. So that explains why my lower back, hips, and knees always hurt the most, since I have a lot of problems with them. 


Well, I'm more informed but no less achy...so I guess I'll just continue eating my toast, drinking sprite, taking NSAIDs, and trying not to move.

Good thing I have a textbook from graduate school nearby that needs to be read (NOT).

Life with Louie...Getting Used to the New Kittie

Our family is growing so fast! Our newest family member is Louie, a 4 month old Russian Blue kitten. He has proven to be a joy and a challenge so far, but is finally getting along for the most part with the cat and dog. There are some minor kinks, but since it hasn't even been a week yet we're ok with it.

We've learned so much in the few days that we've had our new kitten Louie so far that I thought I'd share them with you! Some things are obvious, some are serious, and some are just plain funny. Many cute pictures to enjoy as well. :)

 1. Kitten-proofing the house is harder than we thought. Kittens can fit in a lot of places, jump onto a lot of things, and aren't shy about chewing whatever they can get in their little mouths. We've had to change a lot of things that we didn't think about before hand such as where we burn candles, closing toilet lids and closets, leaving things out that he can chew on like garbage, paper, plastic...I could go on and on. Also, we've had to close doors to rooms like the laundry room that we just can't kitten proof because of the appliances.

**Funny Story: We have bathroom doors that aren't level, so they close if they're even nudged. Louie must've bumped the door, because it shut on him. Oblivious to him being trapped in the bathroom, we walked past and smelled....a smell. A terrible, terrible smell, like baby diapers. Uh....we don't have babies! We open the bathroom door to find the cat ready to run out, and look in the sink to find...a cat poop. In the sink. He pooped in our sink. We were so disgusted and laughing so hard we couldn't even be mad at him.

Louie in the Dryer

2. Move anything that jingles as far away from the bedroom as possible. The first 2 nights, we lost a lot of sleep. Half of it was the cats singing the song of their people at 3am, and the other half was the slew of jingly toys scattered upstairs. We learned really fast to move all the noisy toys downstairs and keep only the most quiet ones upstairs.

3. Sometimes dogs are just idiots. Louie was perfectly fine with Bandit. He actually slept with him the first or second day we had him. Then Bandit showed (about 100 times in the past few days) how much of an idiot he is by constantly trying to stand over him, sit on him, and knock him over or squish him with his giant head. We seriously have no idea if his motive is to eat Louie, play with him like a puppy (or chew toy), or if he is jealous, but we're constantly keeping an eye out just in case.

Bandit and Louie Napping

4. You can never just have a normal vet visit.  Sometimes I'm pretty sure that the vet is there to make money more than it's there to take care of animals. Every time we go we are being upsold by some sort of mandatory test or product that makes that $35 exam fee skyrocket to hundreds of dollars in the blink of an eye. And we're catching on to the fact that a lot of it is unnecessary...we try not to get mad about this one but for me right now it's not working at all.

Louie's First Vet Visit. He slept the whole time!

5. The more cat purrs, the better. There is nothing more relaxing than holding a purring kitten on your lap until he falls asleep in a little ball of fuzz. And with two cats instead of one, we get twice as many purrs! Something about those kittie purrs is so soothing and relaxing, I may just do an entire post on them soon.

Keeping Warm in James' Jacket

and a really big issue we had and thought we couldn't overcome...


How We Got our Two Cats to Get Along

1. Introduce Them Slowly. We didn't force the two cats to get together...let them get acquainted on their own terms at their own pace. It could take days like with us or months (like with my mom's cats).
2. Give Them Space to Retreat. We always made sure the cats had all they needed in separate rooms, so that when things got tense they could retreat and cool off.
3. Give the Resident Kitty Plenty of Lovin'. One thing that helped the hissing subside more quickly was making sure Reese, our older cat, got plenty of love and attention while the new kitten was around.
4. Feed Them Near Each Other. We started with feeding them their wet food in different rooms but nearby, and have slowly brought them closer together so that when we set them down to eat they're about a foot from each other. When they realize they can eat together, a lot of tension seems to drop.
5. Above All, Be Patient. The first day we brought Louie home, Reese sat under the bed and pouted for two days. She hissed, and growled, and ran away. But we just let her be and stayed calm and soothing, and eventually she got more curious than upset and decided to check him out. And, literally overnight, they were playing together. Granted she still growls at him occasionally and won't let him cuddle with her yet, but they'll get there eventually.

Louie and Reese Beginning to Play on their new Cat Condo.

Lots more funny stories and cute photos to come! What have you learned from your kitties? Feel free to comment below!

One Year Older, and a New Family Member

Well, I'm one year older as of yesterday...that puts me at 24. Not really an age that means anything, except I'm too old to be young but not old enough to rent a car without being charged a huge "young driver insurance fee". But there were a few good things about the weekend that really rocked, so I'm grateful.

First off...we got rid of our old fireplace insert. And let me tell you, it was u-g-l-y! Black and brass, dirty, outdated, clunky...it took 3 men heaving and pushing to get all 600lbs of it up the stairs and outside for the lucky winner that bought it.

Hey, whatever floats his boat I guess.

Second, and I won't even pretend I don't love this part...cake. Friday was Linda's Fudge Cake from Cheesecake Factory, and today I get a piece of my mom's childhood tradition for us: butter cake in a bunt pan, with chocolate icing and rainbow sprinkles. There's just something wonderful and nostalgic about that cake, the same cake mom would make for us for almost every birthday growing up. It's like a little bite of comfort in a big, complicated world.

And the third thing to be thankful about this weekend...we added to the family!! No, we're not pregnant...even better. We got a new kitty! He is a Russian Blue, 4 months old, and so stinkin' cute. We decided to name him Louie. No reason, really, it just sounded right when we looked at him and called him that.

Just look at that wittle face!

It's been interesting integrating him into the rest of the family. He is very affectionate, purring if you even so much as look at him, and doesn't mind people or other animals. In fact, him and the dog took a nap together today...













 Pardon me while I have a fit over how cute it was.

Reese, on the other hand, is a different story. If Louie gets close enough, she hisses and growls at him until he goes away. She's been sulking since we brought him home yesterday...I feel super guilty. He's supposed to be her little buddy, not her enemy. But then I remember all the blogs and websites I've read saying that that's perfectly normal at this stage in the game. We will see in a month or so if that's true or not...if anyone has tips on introducing cats, please let me know!

I'm a nervous mommy. I'll probably be worse when we actually have kids. 

But anyway, like I said, I had a wonderful birthday weekend, and have a lot to be grateful for. Life is sweet indeed :)

This One's For the Girls

Warning: If you are a man, you may want to skip this post. 

Unless you're brave, and want to learn as much as you can to help you're honey every month when she goes from being a strong, radiant woman to a moody, hungry, wounded, all-around scary and unrecognizable creature. In that case, I should send you a medal. Or a bullet-proof vest.


That's right, I'm talking about periods folks. No use in hiding it, we all know about 'em. Just watch the commercials, where skinny, made-up women act like they have tummy ache's and can't squeeze into their jeans in their perfectly clean houses with sunshine beaming through the windows. If only those commercials showed the truth, it'd look more like one of the games my husband plays on xbox, where the main character turns from a human into a monster and back again, and eats people. The whole city is a war zone, people run from you, there's blood everywhere, there are hazmat teams and military standing by waiting to take you down...

Of course most people fall somewhere between those two extremes. Lucky for society, really.

Anyway, I've done some research on what I think are some of the most helpful things to know when the inevitable happens: cravings, exercises to do (and avoid), and popular ways to relieve the most common symptoms.



Let's Talk Cravings
You're on a diet, and doing great, until the end of your cycle. Then all of a sudden cake is your best friend and 2 oreos no longer seem satisfying enough. No matter how much you eat you don't feel fulfilled, you just go from starving straight to sick and then eventually back again. It's good to know that you're not just going crazy turning into an ice-cream-ivore, and that your body really is trying to deal with things.

Estrogen and Cortisol are two of the many hormones that are very active during your period. When these hormone levels are too high in the body, it tries to compensate by being metabolically active. This gives you a big appetite boost in general. A lack of energy from having increased demands on the body makes you want to binge on sweets and other easy-to-process, high calorie foods.

One more hormone responsible for this increase in cravings is serotonin. This chemical, produced in the brain, is dependent on carbohydrates for its production. Hence, a drop in serotonin levels during premenstrual period increases the demand for sugar in the body. This lack of serotonin explains why we can get so moody as well.

Some Solutions
1. Get enough sleep. I know, I know, this is obvious. We all could use more sleep. But during your period it's even more important to give your body enough rest to tackle the whole situation. And naps are perfectly acceptable during this time too. You could treat the rest idea almost like you have the flu - the more rest, the better.
2. Go for Complex Carbs instead of Refined Sugars. It's fine if you give in a little, but lessen the impact by eating complex carbs like pasta, whole grain toast, cereals (not kiddo versions like lucky charms...), etc, to help you not have the crazy cravings reoccur so often. And, while protein may not be so appetizing at this time, trying to get enough will help stabilize your blood sugar as well.
3. Drink Water or Tea. Getting enough fluids can help your body rid itself of menstration-related toxins and reduce obnoxious bloating.
4. Avoid too much salt. Don't dig into that bag of salty potato chips, it'll only make bloating worse!

Exercises to Do (and Avoid)
1. Walking - If you're feeling up to it, a walk at any pace can help your body stay productive and release some endorphins to help with cramps. Plus, moving around helps you not feel so stiff. And if you are up for a jog or even run, go for it! Just count me out.
2. Yoga - Gentle poses can really help ease stiffness, aches, and pains and get your body's circulation going better than laying on the couch (or floor...). Just avoid inverted poses, as you don't want to hang on to what your body's trying so hard to get rid of.
3. Gentle Stretching - The idea of going for a walk or twisting your body make you cringe? Take it back to basics with gentle stretches for your back, hips, hamstrings, and quads, the areas most affected during your period.
4. Avoid rigorous exercises or exercises that require good motor control - Believe it or not, women are more succeptable to injury during their periods because they have an increase in motor skills. So try to avoid activities that require it to lessen chances of injuring yourself.



Common Symptoms and How to Help Them

Fatigue - This one's pretty straightforward...get enough rest, take naps, don't binge on sugar, limit caffeine, and don't overexert yourself/
Stomach Aches/Bloating - Avoid caffeine as much as you can (it irritates your stomach lining), try drinking peppermint tea or eating something with peppermint to soothe your stomach, replace sugar/salt binging with complex carbs and light proteins, and if it gets really bad use an ice pack or heating pad placed over your tummy (trust me, this one really works well).
Cramps - There's only so much you can do about this one...take pain relievers and anti-inflammatories, do gentle stretches or gentle walking, sit somewhere comfortable (avoid the wooden chairs and the floor as they're hard on your hips), use a heating pad or ice pack, and wear comfortable clothing. Try distracting yourself with things you love like your favorite book or movie, pinterest, writing, etc.



IMPORTANT NOTE: I will be doing a separate post on this in the future, but I wanted to make mention of it now...my mamaw, mother, and I all have endometriosis, a reproductive disease where uterine tissue is found outside of the uterus. This condition causes irregular periods, intense pain, and many, many other symptoms. If you talk to family and your OBGYN and they say it's all just a part of being a woman or is in your head, THAT IS FALSE. If this is the case, you NEED to do your own homework, and rule out any other conditions such as endometriosis, cysts, fibroids, etc! Don't ever let someone tell you to just deal with it!

Omega 3's, L-Glutamine, and a 30 Day Experiment

My husband thinks that supplements are a scam...That's why, when I told him I wanted to buy 2 of them to try, he just shook his head.

I don't remember where he read that at least 20% of vitamins and supplements are scams, but I kind of see where that could be believable. People are looking for easy ways out in terms of weight loss, mental focus, etc that the health industry would be dumb to not make money satisfying their "need" for an easy to swallow solution.

I am half with him, and the other half of me is one of those people. Sort of.

I'm not looking for a pill that will fix everything while I sit on my butt and watch tv, but I am looking for some different nutrients that could help give me a boost, so that I can more successfully carry out my own plans to achieve my goals. Nothing crazy, just the basics.

I've been looking at a lot of different resources that could help me start feeling more healthy and deal with my crazy sugar cravings, and there's two that I've come across that seem legitimate enough for me to try: Omega-3's, and L-Glutamine. Here's a rundown on what I've been able to find on each of them (what they do, how much to take, all that jazz). I'll also post updates later on whether or not I got any positive results or if they're just money-making placebos like hubby says.

Up first...

Omega-3's

Q: What are they?
A: Omega-3 Fatty Acids are a type of polyunsaturated fatty acids that are found in fatty fish (think salmon or tuna) and some vegetable oils. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for several types of body functions, including muscle activity, blood clotting, digestion, fertility, and cell division and growth. They are considered essential fatty acids, which means we need them for our bodies to work normally. Our bodies don't make them, so we need to get them from our diet.

Q: What are Supposed Health Benefits of Taking Omega-3's?
A: Extensive research indicates that omega-3 fats reduce inflammation, helping to prevent inflammatory diseases like heart disease and arthritis. In addition to warding off inflammation, omega-3’s are also essential to the brain, impacting behavior and cognitive function, and are especially necessary during fetal development. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMM), omega-3’s may also:

• Improve artery health by helping to reduce plaque buildup and blood clots in arteries that lead to the brain.
• Improve cholesterol by lowering triglycerides and elevating HDL (good cholesterol) levels. These benefits come primarily from DHA and EPA.
  
• Improve joint health by reducing joint tenderness and stiffness associated with arthritis
• Improve bone health by positively impacting the body's calcium levels, reducing the incidence of bone loss.
• Improve mental health by helping to insulate nerve cells in the brain, allowing these nerve cells to better communicate with one another. People who are deficient in omega-3’s may suffer from depression bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and ADHD.
• Improve skin health by helping to alleviate symptoms related to skin disorders like acne and psoriasis.
• Improve bowel health by reducing inflammation of the bowels, helping alleviate symptoms of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Improve lung health by reducing inflammation in diseases like asthma.
  
• Improve menstrual health by reducing the pain associated with PMS and menstruation.
• Help prevent cancer. Colon, breast, and prostate cancers have all been correlated with low intakes of omega-3's

Q: How Much to Take per Day?
A: The average daily dosage for Omega-3 supplements is 600 to 1000 mg


And our second supplement of choice...

L-Glutamine

Q: What is it?
A: L-Glutamine is an amino acid, which is a building block for proteins that make our bodies function. The body is able to make it, but when sick or under stress it often doesn't make enough. Body builders often use it, but it has many other health benefits besides building muscle.

Q: What are Supposed Health Benefits of Taking Omega-3's?
A:

• Glutamine is the primary source of energy for the cells lining the intestinal tract. Supplementation has been proven in studies to help with overall gut healthy, including the healing of IBS and ulcers. 
• L-glutamine is also beneficial for your brain. Not only does it help with memory function but also seems to help elevate your mood. 
• L-glutamine helps increase protein production, which helps to heal and strengthen muscles more quickly after working out.
• It can also help your immune system get stronger which means your body will be better at fighting infections.
• L- glutamine reduces sugar cravings. When your blood sugar level drops, Glutamine tells your body to stop producing insulin so that blood sugar levels stop decreasing. It also tells your body to product more glycogen (a stored form of glucose) to bring your body's blood sugar level to normal. Glutamine is also a glycogenic amino acid, which means it can convert sugar to energy production.

 Q: How Much to Take per Day?
A: The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends taking 500 mg three times a day.


I'm going to give these two supplements a try for one month, and then check back in here to let you know what improvements I'm seeing (if any!). The good news is, I only wasted about $10 if this does nothing!

 

The Funniest Cat and Dog You Ever Did See!

There's something about being a pet owner that can't be described.

It's just so rewarding, especially when you rescue animals from a shelter. People claim that animals don't really have the ability to be thankful, but I beg to differ when I look at my rescued cat and puppy who are two of the most loyal animals a girl could have.

Oh! I haven't introduced them yet!

Let's fix this...

This is Reese. She is a beautiful calico, rescued from a Petsmart when she was 2.5yrs old. She's now almost 4, but you wouldn't guess it by how rambunctious and playful she is! She loves tuna, and when you talk on the phone or yell she gets in your face until you stop and pay attention to her. She's my baby, and boy do I love her like crazy.

And just today we found out she has a boyfriend...kitty prints in the snow going up to the window where she sits were the proof! They are window lovers...ha! Cute.

My other fur baby is Bandit. He is also a Petsmart rescue that we got when he was around 11 weeks old. He's a boxer doxie mix (don't ask, because we have no idea how that happened), and because of that is just short enough but muscular enough to be very comical.

He burps after he drinks, chases his tail, runs into things, loves to wrestle, is kind of an idiot...I'd say he's daddy's dog for sure. 

I'll probably rant about this later, but at just 8 months old he had to have surgery on both his front legs in order to fix some major bone irregularities. Poor baby! He's almost completely healed at this point, but every day presents some new challenge or another with the healing process.

To match his goofy body, he has a really goofy personality. He is very smart, hilarious, and loyal, and we couldn't ask for a cooler pup.

 

 

You can see why I say they are something that makes my life a little sweeter!

I really wish they would be best friends, but Bandit is way too "forceful" (aka he thinks he's a tiny dog when he's really quite large) and she always ends up smacking him. But at least they coexist!

Unlike these two, Ruth and Idgie, who are the best of friends. This story was so touching! Check it out, courtesy of The Blaze.

To read about Ruth and Igie, click here! Be prepared for cuteness overload though!