clickinmyheels

This dish and variations of it are referred to as Crack Slaw by a lot of folks. When I made it the first time and my family was asking what it was, I thought Egg Roll In A Bowl sounded a little more appealing and kid friendly. Call it what you want, it’s amazing. Here’s my version:

Guys, it’s been sooooo long since I last posted, I was worried I would be logged out and wouldn’t remember my WordPress password, but luckily I was still logged in. The layout has changed for writing and posting, but I’m finding my way through to hit the Publish Button once again. If you notice a slight change, I’m going to post the recipe at the top of the post and also at the bottom, that way it’s easy to see for those that may just be searching for a recipe and don’t care to read through all my jibber jabber. For those of you who like to read through all my jibber jabber – hello! I’ve missed you! I hope you are having a wonderful summer so far! It’s certainly flying by and I’ve been soaking up plenty of relaxing in the sun. And kind of making a To-Do-list in my head of the things I still hope to accomplish this summer. Nothing too exciting, but little tasks that need to get completed. One thing we have been able to really work on is our back yard. Our dog Zelda was very destructive in our yard and no matter how hard we tried to reseed and make pretty flower beds, she would tear it up. We’d fence it off, she’d hop over the fence and laugh at us! She zoomed around the yard like Ricky Bobby on the racetrack. We’d plant seed, section off part of the yard, but never get it to establish and grow. She’d dig up plants in pots and just make a mess. If you remember, we lost Zelda last summer to bone cancer. So when spring rolled around, we had a goal to get our yard in shape this year. We had an estimate that was a teeeny bit over our budget for basically tearing up what was left of our pitiful grass, grading and laying down sod and cleaning up some of our edging and flower beds. I guess that high price estimate was the kicker we needed to get our lazy butts out there and get it done ourselves. We seeded, we added rock, we added mulch, we cleaned up flower beds and edging with pavers. Wait for it . . . we got grass to finally grow! Our backyard looks the best it has in years and luckily Kramer and George don’t tear it up too bad. Georgie boy’s zoomies are definitely not like Zelda’s were! Although, George loves to lay down in the shade right on top of my hostas! I guess he thinks it’s the perfect spot to cool his little scruffy self. I’m glad they are a hearty plant. Here’s a couple recent pictures of our two trouble makers George and Kramer since it’s been so long.

Over the winter, I’ve made a lifestyle change with my eating. I’ve been following the Ketogenic or Keto way of eating. It’s a low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet. I hate to even call it a diet because to me, it is just how I eat now. I’ve lost a little weight (and have a little more I’d like to lose), but my main benefit from Keto is how I feel. I am no longer thinking about food all the time. Before Keto, I used to think about all the food I wanted to eat in the next day. I used to fall asleep thinking about what I would cook, but more importantly, what I would eat the next day.  Since I tracked my calories, I would still try to meet my macro goals, but I was working my butt off at the gym and never seeing results. I was slowly gaining weight and feeling very uncomfortable with myself. It was a sad cycle of feeling depleted and powerless to my food cravings, feeling like a loser when I’d give in to those cravings and trying to play catch up or fix it felix at the gym to undo all those bad food choices. And after years of no improvement in how I felt and getting further and further away of where I wanted to be, I decided to give this Keto thing a try. I had tried low carb, low fat before and just about want to cry (or punch someone)! 🙂 But with Keto, the high fat makes all the difference. There’s all kind of science to it, but in my short version, when you are in ketosis, your body doesn’t have any glucose in it to use for energy, so it uses and burns up stored fat instead. And a diet rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids can help with brain function, while the higher fat diet also aids in higher mitochondria production in cells. This benefits those with neurological disorders and puts a little hope in my mind since Alzheimer’s runs in my family. Another benefit and probably the most noticeable to me is the steady blood sugar level resulting from lowered carbs with Keto. The goal of Keto is 20g or less of carbs per day. The added fat helps to cushion the carbs you are eating to decrease the chance of blood sugar spikes and sudden drops. I used to drink sugar filled coffee and sometimes pair that with a lovely carb filled breakfast treat and then a few hours later, that blood sugar would drop and I would feel dizzy and faint like I was going to pass out. Enter . . . Hangry Christy! I needed food.  Anything and everything I could shove in as fast as I could until that feeling went away. This is similar to those Snickers commercials, although King Size Twix Bars would be my cure for this hangry issue. The ironic and sad part is what happens next.  Shoving in that Snickers, or Twix, or whatever is only going to result in another unavoidable countdown to my next blood sugar crash unless I fed the beast with a constant flow of carbs. This constant cycle I’m sure is one of the factors that led to my frequent headaches. They’ve also improved since going Keto. There’s a song we sing at church by Bethel Music called “No Longer Slaves.” One verse says “I’m no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God.” While this is one of my current favorites, I sometimes have to catch myself from saying “I’m no longer a slave to carbs. I am a Keto one.” It’s how I feel. I am in control of that carbohydrate roller coaster and no longer do daily damage control of the blood sugar spikes and drops. This for me makes it all worth it. Yes, I sometimes miss pasta and all its yummy carb buddies like fresh-baked bread and french fries. Occasionally I will choose to eat off the plan and splurge on something that is not “Keto approved” as they say. If this is more than just a nibble or a bite, I run the risk of horrible system backlash that punishes me for a few days and I learn my lesson that it’s usually not worth it. I’m kinda stubborn and forgetful sometimes, though. Those chocolate frosted brownies I had a few months ago were definitely not worth the three days of severe stomach cramps until they finally left my system. I picture a robot saying “Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert!” So I have to be mindful and very careful which splurges I choose to allow and be careful that the nibble doesn’t turn into a handful of brownies, a big ole hot fudge sundae, and a large McDonald’s fry. Keto may not be for everyone, but I wanted to share my experience with the Keto lifestyle so far. I don’t know exactly what this means for my future recipes that I create and share. I still make regular food for my family. They are not on the Keto plan with me. My husband still drinks his Coke and beer!:) And like I said before, I occasionally still choose to indulge outside of Ketoland and know that for me, it’s ok to have those rare treats with some planning, adjusting and willpower to get right back into that keto groove so my body is happier. I still make some of those yummy foods and desserts, however I may also try to make an alternative version that is lower in carbs and keto friendly. But sometimes, it’s not worth ruining the taste of something to try to make it lower in carbs. So I have to sometimes pick and choose. I would love to share all of it with you so you can decide which recipes fit into your way of eating, or make adjustments as needed.  With this Egg Roll in a bowl recipe, I’d eat this even if I wasn’t on a low carb diet. It’s such a quick meal to throw together. It fills you up, reheats wonderfully and can be a star dish, or a lovely side. I love the Asian flavors, but I know there are so many other versions and flavor possibilities out there.