Atkins and Paleo Challenge Box Set (10 in 1): Over 400 Atkins and Paleo Recipes With Pressure, Slow Cooker and Cast Iron for Busy People (Atkins Diet & Paleo Recipes) (3 page)

The Atkins Challenge

Lose Weight with 60 Slow Cooker Recipes for 30 Days

The weighing scale, there was once a time that I dreaded using it. The best word that can describe the ordeal: seesaw. For several days to a few weeks, I got the hang of it. I stick to a diet and surely, I lose the weight. The trouble is midway through the diet; I begin feeling down and demotivated. I feel my energy sapped because of the restrictions that I impose on myself. I have a day job, plus I have to take care of my family at home. I cannot afford to feel tired and cranky, which most of the diets I tried made me felt.

That is another problem with the diets I have, I do not know about you, but it is tough being on a dinner table with an entirely different set of meals. While my family is having their usual meals, I am stuck with my diet. I tried preparing the same dishes that my diets required for them, but they never liked any of them. Eventually, I had to prepare two sets of dishes, one for me and another for my family. This choice made it doubly difficult; it took more time in the kitchen to cook two different meals.

The seesaw went on for several years; I lost the weight, but when the restrictions become too difficult, I gained as much as I have lost. Sometimes, I experience what I later learned as crashes. In between the gaining and the losing, I feel weak both physically and emotionally. I know my problem, I love food, I love flavors and warm and comforting dishes. The problem is I do not have enough discipline to sacrifice all these to lose weight.

Two things stopped the seesaw: the first things is the Atkins diet. It is a simple diet, I will not go into the details of it, but one important thing I want to share with you is that the diet can give you the best of both worlds: it keeps the flavors you crave for while keeping your daily carb intake at a low but a safe low. Plus, it is not a complete restriction—the secret is portioning. The next challenge though is preparation.

The second thing that stopped the seesaw is my trusty slow cooker. So many carbs can be reduced through proper preparation of the meals. The slow cooker is the answer; it removes many ingredients that’s increase carb intake while keeping all dishes prepared flavorful and interesting.

I want to share with you how combining the Atkins diet, and the slow cooker has made stop the seesaw in its tracks! These recipes have made me successful in the challenge. I minimized my carb intake and stuck to the meal plan. Plus, no more prolonged time in the kitchen; most of these recipes require few minutes of actually being in the kitchen. I put ingredients in the slow cooker, cover and then just wait for it to light up that it is done.

From the simple meatloaf to the more complicated chowders, stews, bisques, I cannot believe that I can eat them while in the diet and cook them using something as simple as a slow cooker!

I want you to be as successful with the challenge as I am! It does not have to be difficult; in fact, it can actually be easier for you! I will share with you even my mistakes so that you do not have to make them yourself. Take these recipes with you and start regaining control of your weight, diet and lifestyle!

One of the best, if not the best for weight control diet is the Atkins’ diet. Now, the diet is even better than ever when its dishes are prepared with a slow cooker. Combine the Atkins’ diet with a slow cooker; then you have a delicious meal that is easy to cook and controlled in carb intake.

Weight control is one of the most important lifestyle choices that you will ever make. The problem is there are too many temptations, too much difficult to follow diets and too many complex preparations that dieting is becoming even more discouraging than ever. The answer to these problems: the Atkins diet and the slow cooker.

This book shares with you how I succeeded with the Atkins challenge and how I am still sticking to the diet even now, several years even after I achieved my target weight. The secret is the many recipes that I have tweaked to suit my target carb intake. The major tweak: using the slow cooker to keep all the flavors intact, remove all excess carbs that I do not need. The result is delicious and low carb recipes that I cannot wait for you to know and take advantage of.

I have 60 recipes that I want to share with you plus a simple 30-day meal plan that makes use of the recipes. The secret with the meal plan is that it successfully reuses some of the recipes in strategic days within the weeks. A low carb for the first full week and then gradually increasing your carb intake towards the next weeks, but reusing some of the lowest carb recipes throughout the remaining weeks. The result is amazing! Even with your cheat days, the recipes are still at an all time low.

The recipe book includes:

• 20 Breakfast recipes
  
• 10 Beef and pork recipes
  
• 10 Chicken and turkey recipes
  
• 10 Seafood recipes
  
• 10 Veggie recipes
  

Happy cooking!

In this chapter, you will learn the recipes for:

• Sausage and Eggs
  
• Cheese Casserole
  
• Chili
  
• Sausage Hash
  
• Pumpkin Cake
  
• Quinoa
  
• Breakfast Pie
  
• Meatloaf
  
• Overnight Casserole
  
• Eggplant Pasta
  
• Mexican Breakfast
  
• Sausage, Cheese and Pepper
  
• Apple Oatmeal
  
• Veggie Casserole
  
• Bacon Browns
  
• Breakfast Frittata
  
• Meatball Soup
  
• Hazelnut Oatmeal
  
• Pizza
  
• Chocolate Cake
  

Name: Sausage and Eggs

As I embark on my Atkins adventure, I was pleasantly surprised and particularly proud of this recipe. This recipe has all the taste and flavors of my old and undisciplined diet, but without the excess calories and carbs that made my weight go haywire. As much as I love cooking, I have a very demanding day job, and I love how I can just whip this recipe up before I sleep and then when I wake up, my breakfast is ready for me, no sweat and no rush!

Ingredients:

• 10 eggs
  
• 1 head broccoli
  
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese
  
• 12 0z sausages, cooked
  
• ¾ cup whipping cream
  
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Let’s Get Cooking!

1. Coat the pot with cooking spray
   
2. Chop the broccoli, shred the cheddar and slice the sausages
   
3. Layer the main ingredients one at the time, start with the broccoli, then the sausage then the cheese. Make 2 layers of each.
   
4. Put in a bowl, garlic, eggs and whipping cream
   
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
   
6. Mix until well combined
   
7. Pour into slow cooker
   
8. Cover and cook for 5 hours on low
   
9. Serve
   

Name: Cheese Casserole

Thank God I did not have to give up cheese even with the Atkins diet. I love any kind of cheese, and when I have it for breakfast, it instantly makes me happy and ready for the rest of the day. This recipe makes use of not one but two kinds of cheeses, which makes me doubly happy! Here is one tip for you, if you like your casseroles slightly crunchier then skip cooking the green peppers. But if you are like me and the rest of my family, I love my casseroles soft and mushy.

Ingredients:

• 1 and ½ cup cottage cheese
  
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
  
• 14 eggs
  
• 1 green pepper
  
• 24 oz turkey sausage, cooked
  
• ½ cup green onions, sliced
  
• 3 tsp olive oil
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Let’s Get Cooking!

1. Coat the pot with cooking spray
   
2. Put the cottage cheese into a meshed colander, rinse with cold water and drain
   
3. Put 2 tsp olive oil into a pan and cook the sausages until brown, put into chopping board, slice into bite-sized pieces, set aside
   
4. Put remaining olive oil into pan and heat
   
5. Slice the green pepper into strips, put into pan and cook for 2 minutes
   
6. Put the sausages and green peppers in layers into the slow cooker
   
7. Add the cottage cheese and then sprinkle the grated cheese over the top layer
   
8. Add the sliced onions to the pot
   
9. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
   
10. Put eggs into bowl and beat until well combined, pour into the pot
    
11. Stir gently until eggs are well incorporated into the layers
    
12. Cover and cook for 2 hours on low
    
13. Serve