It's All in the Flavor

Day 2 of "Carb Lite"

Sure, I would love to have some potatoes, or some chocolate cake. But today's tastes were enough for now. I had some pork tenderloin I needed to separate and use/freeze (since they come in packages of two), and I wanted something simple. One of the places I go to for ideas is recipezaar. I found this recipe, posted by Jjortikka.

Jjortikka's Pork Tenderloin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon thyme
1 lb pork tenderloins
1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix garlic, salt, pepper & thyme in small bowl. Rub mixture over tenderloin and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Heat olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. and brown pork on all sides, approximately 7 minute total. Remove from heat. Add enough water to come up to bottom edge of pork (about a half inch). Cover with foil and bake at 350F 45 minutes. Remove from oven and place tenderloin on a cutting board while you make the gravy. Bring water in skillet to a boil. In a small jar or bowl, mix 1 tablespoon flour with 2 tablespoons water; stir into water. Heat another couple of minutes until thickened. Serve over meat. Gravy could be served on mashed potatoes or rice, too.

A stop at the produce market today gave me some beautiful tomatoes, so I used two of them for our first side dish.

Parmesan Tomatoes
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 tsp butter, melted
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Cut the tomatoes in half crosswise and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese. Broil 6 inches from heat 5 - 7 minutes or until golden brown.

These were so tasty. They literally melted in my mouth.

Also at the produce market, I found some broccoli that was on sale because it was just beginning to get soft. I figured, "Two pounds of broccoli for 79 cents. Looks like we're having broccoli tonight." Again, I went to recipezaar and found this simple and tasty recipe by Annacia. I'd never thought of using lemon with broccoli, but I've decided it's a great combination. I used toasted sliced almonds from Trader Joe's.

Broccoli with Lemon Almond Butter

1 head fresh broccoli, cut into florets
¼ cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ cup blanched slivered almonds
Steam or boil broccoli until tender, approximately 4 to 8 minutes.
Drain.
In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat, remove from heat.
Stir in lemon juice. lemon zest, and almonds.
Pour over hot broccoli, and serve.

Carb Lite Update
I think I got plenty to eat today, and did quite well as far as carbs go. Breakfast was half of a quesadilla, using a whole grain tortilla, eggs, cheese, and salsa. The other half will do for tomorrow's breakfast. Lunch was also a quesadilla - I found some great whole wheat, low carb, low fat flour tortillas made by La Tortilla Factory that taste much better than the gummy ones made by Mission. I used a slice of Swiss cheese, a slice of smoked turkey, and a smidgeon of sweet hot mustard. Since I have to have something crunchy with my sandwiches, I had baby carrots. "Dessert" was a kiwi fruit. I learned from a friend to just eat it with a spoon, scooping out the tasty fruit and leaving the skin.

I use a program called Diet Diary on my Treo to keep track of what I eat. You can find it at Calorie King. While they have books, web-based programs, and programs for computers, I really recommend one for your PDA or Treo so that you always have it with you and can input at any time. Based on recommendations from the American Diabetes Association, I set these targets:

Calories: Max of 1622 (actually, this one was set for me by the Diet Diary program, based on my weight and weight loss goal)
Carbs: Max of 200 (with a focus on keeping each meal under 65.)
Fat: Max of 50
Fiber: Min of 35
Protein: Min of 70

Today's Totals:

Calories: 1449
Carbs: 103
Fat: 71 (gotta cut back on the fat!)
Fiber: 23
Protein: 87


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