Well, its that time of year again when we all gather around the idiot box and watch our favorite teams rally for the super bowl. But you can't enjoy the game with snacks tokeep you going right? But what about the Carbs!!! Well, heres a list of some great low carb snacks that in my opinion fit perfectly with the big game...

HOT WINGS

I doesn't matter if you order them or make them yourself, these are a standard fare for the big game. You really can't go wrong. Just beware of any overly sweet sauces. Buffalo is always a winner.

KALE CHIPS

Kale Chips are super easy to make and a healthy snack to keep your urges for Potatoe chips at bay. Just lay some Kale in the oven with some Olive oil and salt and your in businiess.

CREAM CHEESE SALAMI WRAPS

Take Some salami and spread some cream cheese inside. Simple and great. Some people will spice it up with some light horseradish or a peppercini. It's up to you. 

BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP

I love this stuff. I promise you wont be dissapointed and niether will your guests. Check it out.

Hungry Girl Buffalo Chicken Dip

LOW CARB BEEF NACHO SOUP

This stuff takes a little time, but its a great thing to keep in the crock pot and people can dish up what they like. Your Carb friendly peeps can even use some tortilla chips if they want.

Low Carb Beef Nacho Soup Recipe

VEGETABLES YA DUMMY

Uh...duh. Just have some yummy dips on hand and it can be a great snack to enjoy.

CHEESE PLATE

0-1 Carb in cheese. Do it. And get the fancy stuff for a change. You owe it to yourself. 

Hopefully this helps a bit. And to be honest, there isn't a thing on this list that your friends won't also enjoy.

But what about you guys? Any suggestions for what you do at your house on game day? Chime in below.

Went to Smashburger with the Mrs. the other day cause my mother found a coupon for buy one burger get one free. I like free, so we went ahead and tried our first Smash. I went with a big burger with lettuce for a bun, grilled onions, tomato, bacon, bbq sauce, and cheddar cheese aka the western. 

I got to be honest, I thought this was just going to be another burger. It was not. It was so juicy and wonderful. It had so much flavor on it. It did make the lettuce a bit wet and soggy so it became a knife and fork burger, but even so I loved it from beginning to end. What ever seasonings they use was right on the money and the grill-master cooked it just the right amount. I will definitely have another one of these. 

Another mexican southwest restaurant that falls in the vain of Chipotle is Moe's Southwest Grill. To my knowledge they are in most states and are growing. Again, this is a pick your options as you go down the line type restaurant so you have your choice and full control of meat, veggies, and fixens for your burrito, tacos, or salad. For the low carb eater of course you want to go with the salad approach. I tried their Southwest Vinaigrette, but I had it on the side, because you just never know how strong they may make their dressing. I thought it was a bit too vinegary for me. Here's what I did for my salad that kept it low carb.

Salad w no tostada:
Chicken
Cheese
Pico De Gallo
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Jalepeno Lime Salsa

All in all not a bad pace for a fresh yummy southwest salad. But watch out for the chips they will try to give you. Better leave those at the counter.

If you follow my blog at all you know that I am all about eating low carb with as little effort as possible. That being said over the last few years I have discovered that there are plenty of great options available for you to get at your local fast food joint. These have all been staples for me when I lost all my weight and still are today. One thing to keep in mind, none of these are perfect. When you eat fast food and meals prepared by others it's always a little tricky to stay balanced, but these are some of the better options out there for the Low Carb-er on the go.

1. Subway Salads - You pick the toppings, dressing, and meats. Just hope that the veggies are fresh. :)

2. Five Guys Burgers and Fries Lettuce Wrapped Burgers - Always fresh to order and get two patties for the most delicious of burgers.

3. McDonalds Value Menu - You can't beat the price of a dollar. Ask for the burgers lettuce wrapped and get yourself a ranch salad. 

4. Carls Jr. Low Carb Burgers - They will wrap any burger in lettuce and not look at you weird for asking. Its wonderful. Lots of lettuce in the wrapping too!

5. Jack In The Box Grilled Chicken Strips - It's chicken that's grilled yo! What's not to like?

6. Rubio's Chipotle Ranch Chicken Salad - Fresh and yummy. I love their salsa. 

7. Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken - Its only 11 carbs so when you need your Asian fix do it. 

8. Togo's Italian Salad- I love this one because it so hearty and full of lot of meat. Its salty, but get the dressing on the side if that helps.

9. Wings from anywhere - I love wings!!! Yes they are messy, but they are also amazing.
 
10. Chipotle Salads!!!! - Chipotle is my saving grace. I ate there at least once a week in my early days. The food is always fresh and they meat and salsa pack so much flavor. Flavor is the key to leaving a meal satisfied. This place will be your best friend if you make the right choices.

I was at my relatives house catching up and having dinner with them. When the meal was over the inevitable desserts came out and my insides started to wrestle with themselves. Ice cream, popsicles, and more. All troublesome things. One thing caught my eye however. My aunt, uncle, and cousins a have been doing Weight Watchers and have been pretty successful with it. Because of that they have their own counting system that doesn't usually mesh with the low carb life, but there was one item on hand that did. 

Fit & Active 14 Calorie Bars come with several flavors in a box and all go with the fruit and cream flavor in style. All and all they were extremely tasty and when you look at the numbers they have no carbs in them. They were sweet and had good flavor and were not too gritty or strange tasting like some sugarless popsicles are. The only trouble is that these bars are exclusive to ALDI grocery stores. If you have one near you check them out, and let me know what else you find that may be low in carb. 

Carbs: 4
Sugar Alcohol: 3 
Dietary Fiber: 1
Net Carbs: 0

If you love marinating and bbq your meats like I do then you are always on the search for yummy new BBQ sauces to dunk your chicken, marinate your beef, and make pulled pork and other things with. Guy Fieri makes sauces now and one happens to be extremely low in carbs. It's called Caroline #6 Mop and Slop.

3 Carbs per 2 Tablespoons. Not to Shabby at all.

So apparently there is this other big burrito place that came from Colorado and its not Chipotle. They started right about the same time with a few small differences inside. They're called Qdoba.

Look, I will lay it out for you the best way I can. I am a Chipotle guy. I swear by it. Their meats are so tasty and full of flavor and they seem to just have better spices from everything they use. That being said I really tried to stay objective with this review. Really. I did. I tried.

What's great about Qdoba is the same thing thats great about the other places like this, you have full control over what goes in your food. You don t get weird stares or looks when you order extra of something and less of something else. Its your food and they want you to leave happy so you walk down the line and point out what you like. That to me is the most valuable part. Be specific from the get go here though, cause when I went to Qdoba I said I wanted a salad, and before we even got to the other items they had already put on it a corn salsa and their dressing. Let them know you just want lettuce to start f thats all you want. I also would probably go with a spicy hot salsa to get more of a kick from my meal. Thats just me though. over all you cant beat this place because again, you can walk away with a really hearty salad that is completely guilty free. And listen, tell them extra meat. I mean, come on, you earned it. 

I got a salad with no tostada bowl with the following:
Pulled Beef
Cheese
Sour Cream
Green Sauce
Corn Salsa
Creamy Dressing

In case you were wondering, we are still chilling in my home town of Fargo, ND. We have been visiting my family which has been a lot of fun a great to play some catch up. Lots of things to keep us busy too. We went to Pioneer Days at Bonanzaville which was a lot of fun. Cool history and people dress up kinda funny.

We took a quick trip to Minneapolis to visit family but also to relive the past at the Minnesota State Fair. We went over Labor day weekend and it was super busy. So busy that I think I hated it. All the people at least. We also took time to visit the Guthrie Theater in St Paul. Its a super cool place if you ever get a chance to see a show there go.

We have even hit some of the local spots in Fargo during our stay. I am talking about Skateland. Old School roller rink yo. That how we Roll! Literally.

A big part of our time here has been spent helping at my parents thrift store. Its been a lot of fun and its kind of like working a garage sale. Every day is interesting and full of fun at a place like that. plus, you meet some very interesting customers. 

All in all we are doing good. In a few days we will be back in California to see some more family and friends. We love an adventure.

While visiting my family in St. Paul, MN we decided to check the TV Food Maps App to see what was around. Just a few miles away was a BBQ joint that was on Triple D called Q Fanatic. We drove over and got the family deal for six of us which was a lot of food for just about $10 a person. That gave us a chance to try a bunch of the BBQ. They had great ribs that just fell off the bone and a beef brisket that just melted in your mouth. What I think was really unusual about this place was the BBQ sauce they made. It was a thinner sauce and sweet but also tangy. One of them was made with expresso. We were all very impressed with the place. Especially since BBQ usually has a price on it. But this was quality food at a great price. If your in the Minneapolis area check it out.

For more pics check them out on Yelp.

I am not sure how it happened, but between my mother and I, we cooked dinner and just threw some things together. Everything was kind of an experiment. All in all it was a great dinner and fun to try some new things.

What was on the menu?

1. Chorizo-Beef Burgers Stuffed With Goat Cheese.
We mixed up some Chorizo with our beef and stuffed them with some creamy goat cheese. Al in all I think we could have used some more Chorizo than we did for more flavor. The burgers turned out pretty good tough. We topped them with fresh Avocado and a little ranch dressing. I think we are to something and could be tweaked a bit more.

2. Zesty Zucchini
I fried up some Zucchini, Onion, and fresh Pepper with butter. I added a bunch of zesty spices, and drizzled some hot sauce on them. Theses were a success. Not sure If i could recreate them though.

3. Raspberry Balsamic Tomatoes w/ Fresh Mozzarella.
These were great. I wasn't sure of the raspberry, but it worked out in the end.