I made them last night and they are really good.

I am going to experiment with this. I was thinking of making these only instead of chocolate, using a vanilla/peanut butter flavoring. Kind of like a pork rind pie or tart crust where you could top it with greek yogurt, sugar-free cheesecake, or something like that.

The crunch in these bars really hit the spot and you really couldn't tell it was rinds. If I served it to someone who didn't know they would probably think I made them with crushed Chex cereal or something.

If I come up with anything good I'll let you all know.

The fall festivals where I live all had hot, mulled cider. I had a little taste and thought about how I could make a sugar-free mulled cider. Here is what I did and it tastes really good.

I brewed a 12 cup pot of Davidson's Organic Herbal Te de Hibiscus. Here is the link:

http://www.davidsonstea.com/Herbal_Te_de_Hibiscus_Loose_Leaf.aspx

I brew it in a big coffee maker. Just put a coffee filter in there and then the loose tea. I would brew it a little strong because you want the rich, red color and flavor. (I drink this iced and it's awesome.) This tea is delicious plain and even better if you add a little sugar-free sweetener to taste.

Then I took the sweetened, brewed tea and poured it into a small crockpot. I added about a tablespoon of mulling spices in a metal tea strainer and let it brew for about 2 hours. A 1.5 quart crockpot is perfect for this.

It was really good and with zero carbs!

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.

One cracker measures 2" X 3.5". It's the denseness and quality of these crackers that makes them so good.

They aren't like regular crackers because they are made of flax seed and not flour. 

They are a nice change from GG Bran Crispbread once in a while.

Found it! Can't wait to try it.

I tried the Lemon Lime SANS soda and I don't care for it much. Funny, the reviewers online said they loved the Lemon Lime the best so I had high hopes, but I prefer the Root Beer. Just thought I'd update my post.

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!