Italian Meatloaf - low carb and gluten-free!

Another yummy and super easy dinner recipe to share with you! I've made this one other time but this time it turned out much better.

Growing up I didn't eat a ton of meatloaf, like maybe many of you. I actually love it and appreciate how easy it is. Kinda like one big meatball! But this is a fresh new spin on your plain old meatloaf. 

I've learned to use Parmesan cheese in place of breadcrumbs in any meatloaf recipe to make it gluten-free and lower in carbs. It holds together nicely, too. 

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Italian Meatloaf (low-carb, gluten-free) 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef (you could also sub half a pound of hot Italian sausage if you'd like) 

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1 egg

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

1 tsp oregano

2 tsp parsley

1 cup marinara sauce, divided

1 cup mozzarella cheese 

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 

Mix together the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl, plus 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce

Put the meat mixture into a loaf pan

Pour the rest of the marinara sauce over the meat in the pan

Top with mozzarella cheese and then Parmesan cheese. Add a little extra parsley for some color on top

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, or until it reaches 165 degrees in the center 

Here's my loaf fresh out of the oven. 

Makes for great leftovers too! 

Typical 3 Shift Day (Low Fat)

I shared my typical low carb day with you in an effort to show you what eating low carb looks like. 

Eating low carb is great to get started towards fat loss. When we limit the sugar we give our bodies to use as energy, it forces our body to tap into our stored energy - that is, our fat! 

However, our bodies do need carbs. Our muscles need carbs for energy. So it's good to keep our metabolism going with the addition of good carbs and starches to kind of refuel, in a sense. 

Initially, eating low carb will give you pretty quick results. But it may stall out after a while because your body adapts to that change. So it's good to switch things up a bit. And eating low fat can really be quite healthy as well. 

Which is why AltShift has a low carb stretch and a low fat stretch where we add in some starches. 

So here it goes. My 3 shift day. 

Honestly, it's taken me a long time to get used to eating low fat while also trying to limit grains like oats, bread, and keeping my fruit intake down. I still eat oats from time to time, they're shown here, but I know they cause some digestive issues for me so I try not to eat them too often. Same goes for fruit, but the summer is tough with delicious fruit everywhere. 

I do my best. 

I usually start my day with plain Greek yogurt and blueberries with a touch of vanilla and cinnamon. It changes things up from eating eggs all the time. This morning I got a little cinnamon happy.. 

My mid morning snack was a bowl of oats with half of a banana, since the toddlers around here didn't want it. 

Lunch was leftover salsa chicken and rice with beans. (Also why I appreciate going from high fat to low fat is that things like rice and beans are super cheap!) 

Then I had a snack of various veggies and a touch of hummus. 

Dinner was another good dose of chicken and rice. I kind of love rice. Especially jasmine rice. Oh yum! 

Can you guess whose is whose? 

After dinner I had a snack of popcorn and a protein shake. 

That's pretty much it! 

Here's the nutritional breakdown for you:

Calories: 1,627

Fat: 39g

Carbs: 194g

Protein: 131g 

I'm learning to like my low fat days. But of course nothing compares to bacon, avocados, heavy cream and butter. Good thing there's more high fat days than low fat days. 

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Stay cool today! Go play in the water with your kiddos! 

We may need to take another trip to the splash pad. 

My Experience with Creatine

For the last month or so I've been experimenting with creatine.

...that sounds like I'm using drugs...

Let me try again.

For the last month or so I've been taking creatine to enhance my workouts in hopes to build a bit more muscle.

Better?

And I just wanted to share with you my thoughts in case you've ever thought about taking it as well.

Before starting to take creatine I did a little research just to be sure that it was safe and what I should or shouldn't do.
I did find that overall creatine is generally safe for most people, given you take the correct dosage, of course.

Also, it has been recommended by some groups to start with a loading phase where you take more than the recommended dose for the first 7-10 days. I did not do this step as I've also read that it's not necessary to see the benefits. And I can attest that it's not necessary.

I have been taking 5mg of creatine on days that I workout. I try to take it 30-60 minutes before I start my workout, but sometimes my day gets rearranged unexpectedly and I end up taking it in the morning and wouldn't workout till after dinner. So my timing hasn't been consistent.

I appreciate that this stuff is pretty darn cheap. I bought mine from Target for a little less than $15 and I've barely made a dent. This stuff will last me a while. Anything you buy, just make sure it's pure creatine monohydrate. No other junk in it.

So here's what I noticed:

• I am WAY more thirsty! Holy cow, I could drink 3 gallons of water a day when I have this stuff. It's like I'm nursing again! Creatine pushes water from your bloodstream into your muscle cells to give them more oxygen to produce more work. So you're losing water from your system that way. Invest in a huge water bottle. 

• I have been able to add either more reps or another set in my workouts. So my exercise volume has definitely increased. 

• The weight I can lift has increased as well. Of course, I am still limited in this department since I don't have access to a gym. But going up 5lbs for upper body dumbbell exercises is a good progression for me. 

• With more volume and more weight I have noticed more muscle. Now, whether that's all my muscle growth or if it's just more water filling up my muscles, that's up for debate. Either way, I'll take it. 

• There's no noticeable 'feeling' or 'sensation' that I've ever experienced. It's not a weird magic pill in that sense. 

• I've learned to mix it VERY well in whatever drink I add it to. Your husband will thank you. #nuffsaid 

The benefits of creatine are in response to an intense workout. If you start to take creatine without working out then most likely you won't see much of any difference. Creatine allows you to do a little bit more in your workouts so that you see a little more in your progress. Not the other way around.

Overall I think creatine has been beneficial to my goals. I really just want to get stronger and gain some good, healthy muscle mass. And I think I'm on my way there. 

Low carb Avocado Chicken and Bacon Salad

This is what's for dinner tonight at my house! It's quickly become a favorite of ours. 

We are finishing up our low carb stretch and had to use up some bacon and avocado, so this was perfect. 

Which reminds me that I owe you all a little snapshot of my 3 shift, or low fat, days. I'll get on that tomorrow. 

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Avocado Chicken and Bacon Salad

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded 

2 avocados (I only had one so I added a 1/2 cup of mayo to substitute)

1-2 stalks of celery, chopped

1/4 cup chopped red onion

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp coriander 

1 tsp cumin

Juice from 1 lime

4-6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped (I had 6 to use up. Can't go wrong with a little extra bacon) 

Directions

Mix all ingredients together, chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. 

Easy as that! 

Get outside and go for a walk on this gorgeous day!