Bfc friendly chocolate peanut butter pudding cake

Hello everyone, today was a beautiful fall day  I had coffee with a friend and we took a walk around a beautiful park. It was a cold damp rainy day but fortunately we didn't get rained on. It wasn't as cold as it was during the rest of the week so it was a great day to get out and enjoy the fall leaves. We might get an early snow this year (yikes) I always hope that it doesn't snow until the end of November or the first part of December.

Something that has been on my mind this week is how easy it is for me to think of the work week and the weekend as being separate.  It's so easy to think that after we have been good during the work week we can relax on the weekend. This way of thinking has really slowed my progress and I'm ready to acknowledge that when I am trying to lose weight I need to be extra good on the weekend as well as the week.

I am loving my crock pot so much and I really want to build my collection of recipes apart from stew, soup and chili. Last year for Christmas I asked for "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman. I made my first recipe this week, which seems crazy since I wanted it so bad and then never made anything until now....go figure. The recipe I tried is "chocolate peanut butter pudding cake" although I altered it to be bfc friendly.

Here is the original recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake:
1c flour
2T unsweetened coco powder
1/2c sugar
1, 1/2t baking powder
1/2c whole milk or chocolate milk
2T peanut oil, canola or walnut
1 T vanilla
1/2c peanut butter
1/2c semisweet chocolate chips

Topping:
3T unsweetened coco powder
3/4c sugar
1,1/2c boiling water

BFC Friendly Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake:
1c  almond flour
2T unsweetened coco powder
several packets of stevia (I think I used 5 or so)
1,1/2t baking powder
1/2c half-n-half
2T walnut oil
1T vanilla
1/2c peanut butter
1/2 dark chocolate bark cut up

Topping:
3T unsweetned coco powder
several packets stevia
1.1/2c boiling water


Cover the bottom of your slow cooker with butter, oil or spray and spread out the cake batter. Add the topping and cook on HIGH for 2-2.5 hrs. After it has finished cooking let it sit for at least a half an hour. I found that it was 10x's better after sitting overnight.

Hello everyone, slowly we are getting our bfc groove back. I tried a delicious new recipe from pinterest in my crock pot.This morning I also started re-reading the original bfc and bfc ft...very helpful. I was surprised that there were a lot of things that I had forgot. I'm really committed to doing this thing and getting back on track. This week at work I have been very disciplined and I haven't gotten into the crackers and other carby things that get me off track...it was especially hard to stay out of the goldfish crackers today. I have learned that being good in these things that seem small is what counts for me. Have a wonderful rest of your week :)

Thai-Style Pork Stew 
www.myrecipes.com/recipe/thai-style-pork-stew-10000000354826/

• 2 pounds boned pork loin, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 cups (1 x 1/4-inch) julienne-cut red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce    
• 2 tablespoons rice or white wine vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 
• 6 cups hot cooked basmati rice
• 1/2 cup diagonally cut green onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts

How I adapted it...I was inspired by Jorge's "Sumptuous Pork Stir-Fry" in the original BFC pg. 229. For a sweet and sour sauce I used one part balsamic vinegar, one part low sodium soy sauce, two packets of stevia, and one tsp. ginger instead of teriyaki sauce. And instead of rice I used quinoa, and added broccoli. 

Still trying to find my bfc groove

Hello everyone, what a week. First of all we found out that someone had gotten hold of my husband's credit card number and probably had a new credit card made with out number. We were alerted by the credit card company when they had used the wrong zip code while getting gas. Crazy huh, when I told my folks about it they said the same thing happened to them last month.

Food wise I did great this week, I did not cheat at work even though there was a ton of bad stuff to eat there. My work place loves to have potlucks for any occasion, we have had two in a row. It is so easy for me to mindlessly eat while at work. It is especially hard for me to stay away from chips and salsa. I had learned during my time doing the bfc that chips are my downfall. Once I start I can just eat and eat and eat. I have counted them out before and just ate one serving, but that is really hard one serving is usually 14-17 chips.

I also did not have any candy from the candy drawer. It is so easy to tell myself that the bite size candy bars are so low in sugar or calories that I can have several and it won't hurt me...I just googled bite size butterfinger and they have 3.67g sugar and 33 calories. Which is not super bad, but not helpful if you are trying to lose weight. Plus it's hard for me to have just one, once I start I want at least a couple more. Another thing that I did great in this week was not drinking more than two glasses of wine at a time, which is big progress for me because I LOVE red wine.

I feel like I am still trying to find my groove in several areas especially getting back into the bfc groove. I had been in denial so long about how I was doing that it is taking a lot of effort to get my mind back in the game. I guess it will come with hard work and time. I guess that's all for now have a great weekend everyone.

Random things

I remembered what I wanted to say before, I love fall foods especially squash here is my tip: don't throw away the seeds. I know it is a hassle but just toss them in the strainer and separate them from the stringy squash, add a splash of olive oil or grapeseed salt and pepper. Put them in the oven on 400, make sure to stir them often to prevent burning and cook until they are a nice golden brown.

Roasted veggies are my favorite thing to make right now, I've truly been making them a ton but hubby hasn't complained yet :) Roasted veggies also make wonderful fall soups. I love to make soup, but lately I've decided that I don't like using pre-made chicken or veggie stalks because they are usually full of salt. I would rather be in control of how much salt I put in my soups.

Have a wonderful Monday :)