Grilled SmartBun Sandwich

Ok, I admittedly make odd sandwiches from time to time, but man, this one was good!  And I FINALLY figured out how to grill a SmartBun without burning it!  You turn it inside out.  Hmm, does that make sense?  So the sides that would normally be on the outside were facing in.  It grilled beautifully! 

Fry a breakfast sausage patty and fry an egg - set aside.  I toasted mine in bacon grease or you could use butter. While the bottom piece was toasting I added Walden Farms apple jelly, cheese, turkey, my sausage patty, the egg, a little more apple jelly, and then the top bun. By now the bottom should be golden brown (but peek to check), carefully flip your sandwich over and let the top brown. 

It's a little messy and oozy, but so gosh darn good.  Lots of protein and practically 0 net carbs. 😍

First Watch Cafe

I stumbled upon First Watch around lunchtime one day and decided to give it a try.  The menu was primarily breakfast, waffles/pancakes, omelets and sandwiches. And fresh squeezed juices looked really popular.

When I sat down my waiter asked if wanted coffee.  Yes, please!  He poured for me and left the carafe on the table.  I love pouring my own coffee when I want.  A pet peeve of mine at restaurants is having my coffee topped off - it totally messes with my creamer to sweetener ratio!  One note... the restaurant only offered sugar in the raw and stevia in the raw. I use Splenda in my coffee and fortunately had some in my purse.

I ordered The Works omelet - bacon, sausage, ham, grilled onions, mushrooms and 2 different cheeses, with fresh tomatoes and sour cream on top. My side was a simple dressed greens salad.  It also came with toast, and as a side note, they offered Udi's gluten free bread for no additional charge.  I went ahead and ordered it to try it. I didn't eat it all to keep my meal low carb, but it was quite good! (If Samuel had been with me, I wouldn't have ordered it. I think it was 12 carbs and some T1's might be able to dose for that, but it's not something I would have tried.) The waiter also asked if I ordered the gluten free bread because of an allergy or just preference - I love an educated staff!

As I was winding down, the waiter brought me a fresh pot of coffee (despite only drinking half of mine) and asked if I wanted a to-go cup. 😍

This was a lovely little restaurant with great service. I'll definitely be back!

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

So, I'm not the most adept Instant Pot user, but was forced into it this past Sunday. I planned to have pulled pork and had my roast all ready to go for the Crock-Pot, but slept late and my Crock-Pot window had passed. My husband pointed to the Instant Pot sitting proudly on the counter and said "you could use that thing".

Fine, fine.... I'll try it!

And you know what?  This pulled pork was every bit as good as it would have been sitting in the Crock-Pot for 10 hours in less than half the time!  I'm STILL amazed!  I'm sure there are recipes online, but I didn't have time for any of that shenanigans Sunday morning (😂) so here's what I did.

I had a huge bone-in butt roast (nearly 8 lbs) so I cut it up into about 8 chunks. I seasoned all the pieces really well with sugar-free BBQ seasoning.

Then add little oil your IP and pre-heat on the Saute setting.  Brown all your pieces (I did in 3 batches).

Then add a splash of stock (I used beef, but pork or chicken would work) to the IP and use a wooden spoon to scrape all the yummy bits from the bottom of the pot (this goodness is called "fond"). Then add about 2 cups more stock.  Add about 1 tsp each liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce (both should be sugar-free). Add your pork staggering to leave air pockets...

Make sure your vent is sealed. Then cook for 90 minutes on Manual. (If your roast is smaller, you probably could do less time.) When it was done I let it naturally release pressure for about 15 minutes. Then I cooked on the Slower Cooker High setting for 1 1/2 hours.

After this ~3 hours of cooking it was fall apart tender. Seriously as tender as 10 hours in a Crock-Pot!

Just use 2 forks to shred and top with your favorite sugar-free BBQ sauce. Our favorites are Walden Farms and G. Hughs.

I served with mashed cauliflower and roasted, cheesy green beans.

When In Doubt.... Retest!

I have one smart kiddo and glad I trusted his instincts.

Around 3:30 his CGM said 72 mg/dL, but dropping a little. I checked his blood sugar for a snack and his reading was...gasp... 26 mg/dL.  We looked at each other in shock for a second and I grabbed the liquid glucose post-haste.  He stopped me and said "no Mommy, I'm sure it's wrong. I feel perfect. I'm going to wash my hands and recheck!".

A lot of thoughts went through my head...

1) did I screw up his lunch shot that badly...is Regular peaking hard?
2) what will washing his hands do for a low??? 🤔
3) I hope he doesn't pass out while washing his hands!

He came back perfectly calm, rechecked, and he was 78 mg/dL.

WHEW! Holy moly!  Talk about getting a Mama's heart rate going!  🥴

But this begs the question... what can cause a false low THAT far off?  Just a bad strip?  I'm not sure, but I sure am glad I trusted him and retested.

Buffalo Ranch Pork Rinds

I'm not a lover of plain pork rinds, but most of the flavored ones have maltodextrin (sugar) and starches so I try to avoid.

Plain pork rinds in this buffalo ranch dip though... 👍🏻👌🏻😋

0 carbs, but a high protein snack so T1's need to keep that in mind to avoid a slow, delayed blood sugar rise.