Day 61, 164 pounds: A word of thanks, True Lemon®, and a recipe or two for my Low-Carb friends

Thank you for all the feedback on my last post. It’s nice to know I’m not alone when it comes to snarky remarks about my lifestyle choice.

I’ve broken through the plateau, finally losing another pound. Even better, all my exercise is paying off. My body shape has changed significantly this week – I’ll post my new measurements tomorrow. The old “hour glass” figure is starting to come through. Yippee!!

Today I wanted to give a shout-out to the folks at True Lemon® . I read about True Lemon on Jimmy Moore’s “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog a few weeks ago and sent away for a free sample. It came very promptly (thank you, True Lemon!) and I was very pleased with the generous package. I received two packets (servings) of True Lemon and one each of True Lime and True Orange.

A use described on the site and in the literature that accompanies the samples is to put a packet into your bottled water for a new flavored treat. I prefer my water straight, and after putting a packet of the True Lemon into my water bottle, I didn’t change my mind. It’s actually very pleasant, but in my opinion, that isn’t the best showcase of the lemon, lime or orange flavoring. 

I wanted to use True Lemon in recipes and cooking, and, with my limited supply, I did just that. I really like this stuff! I dressed up one of my favorite low-carb desserts, and I’ll share the recipe below. I’ve only tried the Lemon flavor so far, and would love to find it at my local supermarket – but Stop & Shop, Waldbaum’s and King Kullen in my neighborhood do not stock it as yet. I’ll likely buy it online until I can get one of them to order it! It’s that good!

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So, here’s the recipe. The original recipe is “Bowl O’ Cheesecake” from SparkPeople, and I tweaked it to improve upon the texture.

“Lemon Chiffon Mousse”

3 Tablespoons of Whipped Cream Cheese (important – use whipped for a fluffy texture)
1 Tablespoon of Sour Cream (full fat, of course – same with the cream cheese)
2 teaspoons of Splenda® Granular for Baking (I’m sure the packets will work fine, add to taste)
1/4 packet of True Lemon (more or less to taste)

Combine with a fork, whipping until light and fluffy. Spoon into a small dessert dish, add a dollop of freshly whipped heavy cream and a smidge of freshly grated nutmeg if desired.

Less than 3 g of carb for approximately a 2.5 oz serving. It’s just enough to hit the spot as a sweet treat after dinner, yet elegant enough to serve others. Alternatively, you can multiply the recipe by 8 servings and spoon into a ground nut crust and refrigerate for a cheesecake. I’ve not tried that, but it will be my next experiment. If it works, I will serve it on Easter!

Enjoy, and don’t forget to try it with True Lime or True Orange.  

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One other recipe, having nothing to do with lemon or lime, is something any of you can whip up for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

“Kitchen Sink Omelet”

Use whatever you have – today, I had the following:

3 slices bacon
2 eggs
1/2 onion
2 large mushrooms
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons diced tomato (leftover, cooked with italian sausage earlier in the week)
1 tablespoon Kalamata olive spread
1 slice swiss cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sour cream
salt, pepper, red pepper to taste

Snip the bacon (with kitchen shears) into small pieces and saute until crisp. Drain on paper towel.  Chop onion and mushroom and saute in 2 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon at a time,  mushroom soaks up the butter). Meanwhile, combine eggs and heavy cream, whipping with fork. Add last tablespoon of butter to onion/mushroom combo and pour eggs in. After eggs have set, flip omelet over with a large spatula to cook other side (try to do this without breaking the omelet, but if it looks like scrambled eggs, no matter – it will still taste good!).  Tear up swiss cheese slice and arrange over half of the omelet. Add the tomato, olive paste, and half the bacon atop the cheese. Slide spatula under the unadorned side of omelet and flip up to cover the cheese and other fillings. Put a lid on and cook just long enough for the cheese to melt. Transfer omelet to plate, and garnish with sour cream and the rest of bacon, plus the seasonings.

The best part about this is, you can use whatever vegetables, cheeses and or meats you have. Eggs are truly the perfect food – and there’s not much that doesn’t work as omelet filling.  As long as you have a couple of eggs, you can make a great low-carb meal.

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OK, I’m off to go do some aerobics. (Who’da thunk it? Me, intentionally getting off the computer to exercise! Huh.)