I have been using caloriecount.com for the longest time when I enter recipes to get the necessary nutritional count per serving. When I entered my lentil and chickpea stew, I thought 77 grams of carbs and 22 grams of fiber per serving was off, but I looked back and I entered everything right.
My sister used nutritiondata.com to enter the recipe and my numbers were WAY off – like 100 calories too high, 40 grams of carbs too high and 15 grams of fiber too high! I need to sign up for nutritiondata and start using that to figure out my calories and do a side by side comparison.
Do you use online software to track your calories? Do you think its accurate?
Okay, I have been using wordpress.com for over two years. The other night I was trying to figure out how to do something and found a wordpress article – I was shocked to find out that I have a second row to my tool bar! I had no idea. I can change the color of my font! I was so tickled when I found that out 😀
So my breakfast was the other half of my leftover stuffed pepper from dinner, except I plopped an egg on top and had 1/2 of an apple. The apple was so good! It was the first piece of fruit I’ve had in over 2 weeks!
I’ve been taping Rachael Ray’s 5 meals in a day. Not sure I am a big fan of the show. I mean anyone can make 5 meals in one day – I just thought that they would be tied more together – like having a roast chicken one night, using the leftover meat to make chicken enchiladas, and then using the carcass to make chicken noodle soup. Not 5 distinctly separate meals.
Anyway, I decided to make her cauliflower mac n cheese – I love her secret ingredient to the sauce – dijon mustard! Now as much as Tony doesn’t believe me, we can have good carbs – I used these noodles:
Another ingredient she uses which I love is sage:
Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese (printer friendly version here)
Adapted from Rachael Ray – I left out the onions 😀
Makes 8 servings (1.5 cups) (338 calories, 9.2 fat, 47 carbs, 2.7 fiber and 19 protein)
Ingredients
| 1 | head cauliflower |
| 3 | tablespoons butter |
| 3 | tablespoons flour |
| 1 | tablespoon garlic, minced |
| 2 1/2 | cups skim milk |
| 2 | tablespoons dijon mustard |
| 3 | sage leaves, chopped |
| 1/2 | teaspoon salt |
| 1/2 | teaspoon pepper, freshly cracked |
| 2 | cups reduced fat cheddar |
| 1/2 | cup Parmesan cheese |
| 14 1/2 | ounce dry whole wheat elbow macaroni |
Directions
- Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Add pinch of salt to water, and add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain, but save boiling water.
- Add chopped cauliflower to pot and cook until tender – about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk and whisk constantly until sauce thickens and you’ve added all the milk.
- Remove from heat. Add dijon mustard, sage leaves, salt, pepper, cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese and mix well.
- Add in cooked noodles and cauliflower and mix well. At this point, it can be kept in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Bake at 350 for 15 – 20 minutes. You may want to finish off under the broiler so the top cheese is nice and bubbly.
With a baby cucumber with 1 tablespoon light balsamic on the side.
It’s funny, but while I was doing the no/super low carbs I didn’t have low blood sugar once. Yesterday I was low three times. Before my walk at lunch I was 99, which is perfect, but not high enough for our 50 minute power walk. I drank a 10 ounce apple juice that has 36 grams of carbs (and sugar!) and when I got back, my blood sugar was 61! Later in the afternoon it was 57, so I had a snack: 1 string cheese, the other half of my apple and a teaspoon of no sugar added peanut butter.
Yesterday morning before work I dry rubbed a pork loin and had Tony pop it in the oven before I got home. I made a spicy sauce on mine: 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon chili paste and 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar – delicious!
The meat was perfectly cooked – thanks Tony! 😀
Stats for Wednesday:
- no clue on calories! I will enter in nutrition data tonight
- 50 minute walk with 4 pound hand weights
Okay, I have exactly 20 minutes to get dressed, put my breakfast and lunch together and get out the door – thank goodness I am low maintenance! 😀
Make it a great day!
I’ve found that Sparkpeople has been the best for entering recipes, but for tracking I like NutritionData. I like how it saves items you use a lot, and you can choose different units to enter in (like cups vs. tbsp vs. broccoli stalks, etc). caloriecount just didn’t cut it for me, either!!
And man! those peppers look AMAZINGGGG!!!
Mmm mac and cheese! Yum-o (in my very best Rachael Ray voice of course!) That’s a total bummer about the calorie tracker. I don’t track calories so I’m no help. Hopefully you get it all figured out soon!
I use sparkpeople too. The only thing I don’t like is that it doesn’t connect the fitness with the calories counter. I used loseit.com before, but the database is minimal and it doesn’t track nutrients like Spark People does.
Great photos!