Crescent Roll Stuffed Sandwich

 This recipe was floating around facebook this past year and I decided to try it for our Super Bowl party last February.  It was delish!  I made two for our family of 8, and had lots of other food also.  We had no leftovers. :)

Start by opening two cans of crescent roll dough and arranging them in a rough circle like so on an UNGREASED cookie sheet or pizza circle:

 If you like peppers, drain some pre-cooked ones (you don't want any extra liquid inside the sandwich, so pat dry with paper towels to be sure and get all the liquid out) and arrange in a circle on top of the dough.

Layer with meat, such as ham and salami.

Then add cheese.  I used provolone.

Add a second layer of meat and then cheese again.

Fold the flaps over the meat and cheese pile toward the center of the ring, and tuck underneath.  Lightly sprinkle surface of dough with pepper.

Bake in a 375 oven for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Here was the rest of our Super Bowl party spread.  As you can see, we were cheering for the Seahawks!!

This was a hit and super easy.  I will definitely make again.

Sugar Fast - Final Update

I completed my 8 week sugar fast some time ago.  I lost a total of 13 pounds JUST from cutting out sugar.  I added no exercise or any other dietary restrictions.  I felt much better mentally and did not have my usual intense afternoon slumps.  During those 8 weeks I intentionally "cheated" 6 times, to demonstrate to myself that I was master of the diet rather than the diet being master of me.

My breakfast was almost always 2 eggs scrambled with mushrooms (and/or any other leftover veggies such as potatoes), cheese, and fresh basil.

Lunch was often something like this:

Since fruit was banned for those 8 weeks (except for blueberries, which are super low in fructose and high in other good things) I ate lots and lots of raw veggies.  So by default I ended up consuming fewer calories, probably heavily contributing to my weight loss.

Since my fast ended I have tried to be "low sugar" but feel the need to do another fast pretty soon.  The main thing the fast did for me was help me to be aware of all the hidden sugar I was consuming, and I see it creeping back into my diet.

The permanent changes have been:

I quit Snapple.

I quit buying sugary cereals for the kids.

Much greater awareness.

So, fast #2 coming soon!

Sugar Update

I am on day16 of 48 days of no sugar.  I *have* had sugar cravings, but they are not overwhelming, especially if I am intentional about getting lots of protein and making sure that most of my carbs are of the complex, high fiber kind.  I have no afternoon "slumps" and have also, serendipitiously, lost ten pounds!!  Yippee!

I have cut out Snapple, sugary cereals, cookies, ice cream, syrup (on pancakes), and sugar in my tea.

I have added eggs for breakfast virtually every day, loads of snacking on raw veggies (my favorite is sugar snap peas), homemade sugar-free chocolate for my sweet tooth cravings, and lots and lots of water.  (I drank water before, but now it is almost all I ever drink)

So far, so good!  Lord, help me to stay the course!

I Quit Sugar - Days 1 and 2 (cross post from my other blog)

Two days ago I quit sugar.

I had been feeling moderately convicted to do it for months, but was ignoring the conviction because, well, I knew it would be hard.  And I am tired of doing hard things.  But the conviction got stronger, and the guilt at telling my children to do hard things while I was unwilling to do so, got heavier.  I signed up for this quitting sugar support group, but they weren't starting until October.  So I decided to just take the plunge and do it now on my own.

What that means is that for the next 8 weeks I am cutting out ALL sugar (as much as possible anyway) from my diet.  No pop or Snapple, no Cheerios, no fresh or dried fruit, no cookies or muffins (at least not the way I am used to making them).  No ice cream or orange juice or lemonade! It DOES mean meat, and lots and lots of veggies, bread, cheese, eggs, nuts, and a new way of preparing snacks and desserts.  After 8 weeks I will slowly add back in some low fructose fruits and see how my body tolerates them.

My timing is somewhat ironic, as we are experiencing warmer-than-normal temps and currently have no a/c in the house, so I am already dragging from the heat.  Now I am also dragging from the sugar crash, or withdrawal, or whatever you call it when your body suddenly realizes it's being deprived of the chemical jolt it was used to getting (multiple times) every day.

Day 1 was not too bad, actually.  I made myself an awesome omelette for breakfast, with two eggs and loads of veggies, a bit of cheese and a touch of fresh basil.  So I was all protein-ed up and satisfied for several hours.  My hardest time came before bed, when I wanted a small snack and didn't think I had any good sugar free options.  After a bit of googling, I came up with toast with peanut butter on it.

Day 2, yesterday, was REALLY hard.  My body just wanted sugar sooooo badly!   I made it through the day, but it required every ounce of will power I had, and I was not a very pleasant person that last hour before dinner.

Today I have dinner already prepared, sitting in the fridge waiting to bake tonight.  I will move our toaster oven out to the porch and cook dinner out there so it will not make my kitchen any hotter.  I am trying my hand at my first naturally sweetened, non-bake dessert.  This no-sugar way of eating is requiring adjustments to the way I plan and prepare for meals, but I like that it is really simple.  There is really only one prohibition so it's really easy to remember!

I'll let you know how it goes....

Zucchini Pizza Boats

I saw this recipe floating around the internet last week and thought it looked really yummy, so I decided to give it a try.  It did NOT disappoint!  It tasted as good as it looks, unless it doesn't look good to you, and in that case it tasted BETTER!  I wasn't sure everyone in my family would like zucchini as the "crust" of this pizza, but EVERY single person liked it!  Win!  Another winning aspect of this recipe is that prep time is very short and bake time is short.  If you had all the ingredients ready to go, this could be a meal in 30 minutes!

Start by slicing several washed zucchini down the middle length-wise.  Mix one T olive oil with minced garlic and brush over the zucchini.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Then top with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese (optional).

Layer pepperoni slices on the very top.  I used bigger slices, but you can use smaller ones, too.

Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, longer if you want crunchier zucchini, and a bit less if you like softer zucchini.

When done cooking, sprinkle oregano on the top, let cool and serve.  YUM!

This was well liked by all and I will definitely make it again.