Neufchatel Cheese

*WARNING: LONG POST, MAY BORE MOST!

Day #3 was not as hard as I anticipated! I made it through without any horrible struggles, though something sweet did sound good to me today. Diet Mountain Dew really helps me fill the need for something sweet. I do love my mug (which is a fountain drink of Diet Mt. Dew) and I do not plan on cutting that out. Even Dr. Agatson (who is the author of the SB Diet book) says you can have your diet pop, or whatever sugar-free drink you like, since there are so many other changes to make...we can't take away everything. I agree!

I also cooked up one of my favorite sweet treats today. There is no name for them that I know of, but they are little cream cheese cakes and taste kind of like cheese cake to me. I got the recipe from my mom, who got it from a co-worker, who eats really low carb. All the ingredients are on the "Able to enjoy" list in the SB book, so I made them and love them. Here is the recipe and I will name them the 'Cream Cheese Cups'.

Cream Cheese Cups
2 packages of Neufchatel Cheese (next to cream cheese)
3 eggs
3/4 cup splenda
Touch of vanilla
About 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together with a hand mixer, it will be a little lumpy
Spoon into muffin pan - I get a pan of 12 out of this batch
Bake at 350 degrees for around 15 min.
After they are cooled, spoon them out, store in refrigerator

Nick does not like these, but I love them. They are really good warm. I like to microwave them for a few seconds after I take them out of the fridge. NOTE: You may be wondering why there are chocolate chips if there is no sugar allowed. Well, in the SB diet there is a recipe for ricotta cheese which has a few chocolate chips. I choose to have my few chocolate chips in my Cream Cheese Cups instead. I don't know the science behind why a few of those are allowed...I just enjoy it!

My friend Sylvia (who technically is my sister Cinda's friend, but she said she could share since I like Sylvia too, so she is both our friend!) asked me about what salad dressing I use. Alot of you may not know what the SB Diet really is and what kind of foods you eat, so I thought I'd give you a brief overview. As you have probably already figured out, SB is low carb. It teaches you the 'rules' of how to eat, and then you apply them to your life. There is no set menu or meals you have to eat. It is all food you buy at any supermarket. You don't count calories or even restrict portion control. It is based on eating the right kinds of foods that your body needs to reduce cravings and make you more satisfied from your food.

I am on Phase 1, which is the jump-start first two weeks of the program. There are NO carbs, not even the good ones right now, so your body gets rid of all the carbs and sugars that make you crave those foods. After two weeks I will start Phase 2, which begins to add in more of the good carbs. I will tell you more about Phase 2 when I start it. But for now on Phase 1 I am eating lean meats, eggs, low fat cheeses and dairy products like cottage cheese, nuts (in moderation), peanut butter, lots of vegetables and salads. I can also have things like sugar free-jello, sugar free Popsicles and fudgesicles, sugar free candy, and seasonings.

The interesting thing about the SB Diet is that things like cheese and nuts are usually 'bad' foods, when actually they are the good kinds of fat that you need. And when it comes to salad dressings I have all types that are either regular or lite. I do not want to have fat free because when a manufacturer makes something fat free they add sugar back in to make it taste good. It is hard to get used to when we are so used to thinking that the best is always 'Fat Free'. NOT TRUE!

My favorite dressing is really boring...Lite Hidden Valley Ranch. But it takes soo good to me since I ate the crappy, fat free, generic brand for so long. I also just started liking Caesar dressing. The best combo...a little bit of Lite Ranch and a little bit of Caesar...YUMMY! I also have a Toasted Almond Asian dressing I like to use with sweet and sour chicken. Another thing to add to your salad so you don't need as much dressing is cottage cheese. I learned that trick from my mother-in-law, Cindy, and now I do it all the time.

Quote of the day:

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.

-Author Unknown

This quote made me smile! :0) That is exactly why I am doing this blog. Even if not one person ever read it, it is keeping me connected to what I am doing and why so I don't pull over and park AGAIN, while I wait for tomorrow!