Cheddar Cheese Taco Shells

I'm in a funk.

Orange Is The New Black just premiered its fourth season today, so I should be elated.  I've been locked into Netflix all day.  It's been a nice detour from my normal life as I go to reset my diet and my sleep schedule from a long string of night-shifts.

My funk is due to my failing diet and the reason behind it.  To recap, I've been trying to go low-carb for the last three weeks.  I've been running, biking and swimming in preparation for my sprint triathlon.  

But, I haven't lost any weight.  Actually, that's not true.  I lost about three pounds.  I'm ecstatic about that.  However, it's... less than impressive.  In all actuality, I was hoping for something closer to 8-10lbs.  

So... let's talk cheating.

Holidays crept up.  Memorial day invited a four-day long weekend into my life along with barbecues and all of the accompanying fattening sides.  That didn't help.

I set up my weeks to allow one cheat day.  The trouble was getting back on the wagon on the day following my cheat.  Turns out, in my mind, cheat day lasts for three days and I eat MOSTLY well the other four days.  That didn't help either.

So, I did some research.

After some careful reading, I'm convinced more than ever that I have a solid and deep addiction to carbs.  When I binge on food, it's carbs.  What do I associate with happy eating?  Carbs.  I am a metaphorical crack addict when it comes to all things bread and pasta.  

So, this is me... taking control of my addiction.  From here on out, I want no more cheat days, no cheat meals, no cheating of any kind.  I need to break this cycle.

Until I can get out from under this, I'm cooking all things healthy and low-carb.  My goal is to adopt this lifestyle indefinitely, but to start cooking and baking again with carbohydrates once I can adequately control myself.

So... here's a bread substitute in the form of a cheese taco shell.  I can use it to hold my taco fillings while keeping on track.  And, using sharp cheddar cheese is like adding a super bite of flavor.  

This is a great way to fool yourself into thinking you've got a tortilla shell when you're trying to be good!

Cheddar Cheese Taco Shells

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven 350F.

Divide the cheddar cheese into 3-4 portions.

On a greased baking sheet, arrange the shredded cheese 1 layer thick in a circle shape, about 4 inches in diameter.  

Bake for 5 minutes or until the edges brown.  Remove from heat. 

Take a large pot, face up and lay a kitchen utensil with a large handle across the top of the pot.  Lie the cheese circles over the handle and let it bend into a tortilla shape and cool for about 5 minutes.

Once cool, fill with your favorite taco fillings.