Before you all scream "we're not supposed to drink juice," hear me out.

I had a Vitamix that has been sitting in my garage for years. I figured I'd never use it again but last week I had an idea. I get very busy and one thing I've noticed, for me, about living low carb is that I sometimes tend to get lazy with vegetables. I end up eating too much cheese or just grabbing some sliced lunchmeat, drinking Atkins shakes, etc. and sometimes don't get my veggies unless I go out to eat and order an entree and ask the server to substitute extra veggies for the rice or potatoes. For me, veggies bring down my blood sugar and I know they are good for me.

I like vegetables but lately I get so busy sometimes that when the time comes I don't feel like cooking, steaming, chopping or sauteeing, and while canned vegetables are easy - I don't think they are as good for you as fresh ones.

Years ago, I had a regular juicer and ditched it because it was a pain in the rear to place the pulp filter in it, clean it, clear out the pulp, make sure the blades were not clogged with pulp, dismantle and then reassemble it, and the pulp in my trash was nasty, that is why I bought the Vitamix in the first place: It grinds everything up so you get all the fiber and leaves nothing behind. It looks like a giant blender but it has the strength to juice all fruit and vegetables whereas a regular blender just can't handle that.

What I have been doing is "juicing" green veggies. I don't go overboard, I only place as much in there as I would a salad so I am not getting an overload of carbs. You can throw just about anything in it.

Example: A handful of fresh spinach, a cut up zuchini, a handful of cilantro, half an avacado, parsley, jicama - whatever you have on hand. If I want it a little sweet I might toss in a handful of berries or add a scoop of vanilla low carb protein powder. I also put a little raw ginger root in there (my 95 year old aunt avoided gall bladder surgery for the past twenty years by eating ginger root and watching her diet).

Most of the recipes for smoothies online are too sugary so I just decided to improvise and I have been very pleased with how much I can do with this thing. Chard, romaine lettuce, broccoli, the Vitamix can handle it. All I do is rinse the vegetables - you don't have to cut the stems off the spinach or anything. If it's too thick, just add more liquid.

Warning: Watch out for onions! Years ago I made a veggie drink and like an idiot I put a huge chunk of onion it there and had a burning stomach all day. No onions in the Vitamix for me!

It is so fast and easy and now I am getting my vegetables - fiber, vitamins, minerals and all, every day. I never dreamed I'd eat veggies first thing in the morning but now I am. The Vitamix is so easy! Just put it all in there with some water, coconut milk or almond milk and it takes less than a minute to juice. To clean it you just rinse with water. So easy, convenient and healthy.

Oh yeah, the Vitamix can also make fresh butter. I have't tried that yet but I will some day.

The Vitamix is pricey, I think they run around $500, but I think it's worth it. That thing was in storage for almost ten years and it fired up perfectly last week. I am so glad I kept mine and didn't toss it after I figured out that fruit juices just aren't in my diet anymore. I feel a lot better getting vegetables in every day. It also fills you up for quite a few hours.

Flackers are made by Doctor in the Kitchen. They are hard to find in stores, which is a shame. These crackers are dense and tasty. 3 Flackers have: 110 calories, 8 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbs and 7 grams of fiber. You don't need many to satisfy your "crunch" cravings. I eat 3 of them with Laughing Cow cheese spread and it is delicious. You can buy them online.

A good friend died unexpectedly last week. His service was last Sunday. I attended and there were a lot of women who pitched in and brought food. The majority of them were really overweight. The buffet table was really long.

There were only 4 items I could eat on that whole buffet. I had salad and beef. I really realized when I was there that my craving for carbs is pretty much gone. I wasn't even tempted to eat all of the different kinds of potato salad, pasta salad, chips and bean dip, lasagna, rice, potatoes, bread or the gigantic table filled with desserts.

It was hot out and I was drinking water. At one point I saw an iced tea dispenser and decided to have a glass. I took my first sip and it was loaded with sugar. Well, I discreetly tossed that into the trash.

One person there was talking about how she needs to lose 50 pounds and that she just can't seem to get it off no matter what she does. I told her that I lost 35 pounds, easily, eating low carb. Funny how their eyes glaze over when you say that! She listened for a second and then got "distracted" and changed the subject.

I have friends who still argue with me that carbs are good for you and that the way I eat is unhealthy, even after I lost over half of the weight I need to lose and I tell them that my bloodwork is vastly improved by eating this way. My A1C went from 9.2 to 6.4 and I am sure it will be even better the next time I test. My cholesterol, HDL/LDL ratio, ALL of my other bloodwork is within range and it was not a year ago when I was trying to "manage" my diabetes and weight by eating the standard "healthy" low-fat, carb foods.

Anyway, I was darn proud of myself for eating right at the memorial service even though I was emotionally devastated over my friend's death and facing that wall of carbs!

One thing I miss is milk. I LOVED milk (especially with cereal...sigh...).

I found this product and it has been a great substitute. The one I drink is the 50 calorie (green carton). It has 50 calories, 5 grams of fat and 1 carb for a 1 cup serving. I use this as a base for my protein drink in the morning.

It's in a milk carton and can be found where the milk and soy milk is. You may have to ask the store to carry the 50 cal version because some stores carry the other two version which are as follows: 80 cal/5g fat/7 carbs and the vanilla flavored: 90 cal/5g fat/9 carbs.

I did drink the 80 cal version when I was weaning myself off milk products earlier this year and it was a good substitute for me then because it was 7 carbs vs. 12 carbs and it feels like you are drinking milk.

I don't care for canned coconut milk. This product is thin, like milk, and keeps my morning carb count low.

I tried the root beer flavor and it was awesome.

It has <1 carb per can and zero calories. It is way better than Zevia. Right now you can only get it online - either at their web site or from Amazon.com. I ordered from Amazon and got free shipping.

I have to admit, I made a face before drinking it. I really expected to be underwhelmed but it was very good. I actually finished the can which I rarely did with Zevia. I plan to try the lemon lime flavor next.

I saw this mentioned on the site but didn't see a follow-up. I just made a snow cone with this syrup and it was GREAT. Boy, did it hit the spot. I have always loved snow cones during the summer and the ones I bought that were sugar-free left an awful after taste in my mouth. I was really disappointed. I went online and found this recipe. I will also post this in the Child Support area.

1 1/2 cups Xylitol
1 1/2 cups water

Bring to a boil and boil for at least one whole minute to make sure Xylitol is thoroughly dissolved.

Add 2 packages of unsweetened Kool Aid mix (.13oz each) and stir. Let the syrup cool and it's ready to go. I used cherry flavor and it was perfect. I did use the syrup sparingly because I didn't want to over do it but there is so much flavor in this syrup that you won't need to go overboard. I'm thinking about using a diluted version of this to make my own popsicles......  can't wait to try other Kool Aid flavors!

I bought Stevita flavored stevia crystals a while ago and tried mixing it with water to make a "fruity" drink. I really didn't care for the taste and almost threw them out. I have the orange, lime, cherry, strawberry and grape flavors.

Well, I didn't want to waste the money I spent on them so I tried mixing a little bit into my nonfat, plain Greek yogurt and it's delicious!

The Chiobani brand of Greek yogurt has 7 carbs so this is a dessert treat for me. I think the tartness of the plain yogurt masks the bitterness in the Stevita.

You don't need much to flavor the yogurt - maybe a teaspoon and it's great. I'm so happy that I was able to "fruit flavor" my yogurt with Stevia.

You can Google the crystals and there are a lot of online sources to purchase from.