This won't be a bunch of recipes; a google search will turn up a bazillion of them. But it's about what works for me.
First, I do buy lowcarb breads of various types for my husband, as he loves his sandwiches and I think they're better than the carby breads. And about once a week I will make a couple of slices of toast with it. But they all contain wheat in some form and I do my best to minimize my wheat intake, which brings us to my second point...
Second, I try to avoid wheat. When I was a child I had an allergy to it. As an adult, I've suffered various problems from heartburn to bloating, from acne to insomnia...and all of them stopped when I did Atkins' induction over 5 years ago. As I added back grains, the symptoms recurred as soon as I added wheat back into my diet. The next few years of experimentation, as well as the experience of countless others, have proven to me that wheat is indeed the culprit. So I try to avoid it.
That said, however, sometimes I weigh the consequences and eat it anyway, usually in the form of Vital Wheat Gluten for my baking, or when I have purchased Carbquik in the past, or when I choose to have lowcarb bread or a tortilla or other premade lowcarb product. (A package of 10 torillas lasts me several months - I freeze them .)
I should note again here that, even though I'm still 100# above my desired weight (which differs from weight charts), I am not wanting to lose any more right now. The reasons for that are irrelevent here, but if I were, I would probably avoid most grains altogether since in the past they have slowed my weight loss incredibly.
So...back to bread. My current favorite way to eat a sandwich, or toast, is using my own version of one-minute microwave bread as inspired by this video . However, I've made a couple of changes to it: for the dry ingredients I use a combination of protein powder, flax meal, and almond flour in approximately equal quantities. I also add a tad less of the dry ingredients, so I don't get as heavy a bread. I whip my egg until really frothy, then I add in my baking powder, cream, and oil while still whipping to keep the volume. Then I stir in my dry ingredients so I don't lose too much volume before I nuke it. The difference between the video and my version isn't huge but I just like it a little better :). I've never followed a recipe in my life without making my own changes, and this is no different!
So, those are my answers to bread :). With the plethora of recipes online there seems to be a bread solution for everyone. If you have a favorite I hope that you'll let me know!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Some Nice Little Cookies (low carb recipe)
Yesterday I wanted something light and not too sweet to have with coffee so I went to my kitchen to create something from what I had on hand. This recipe gave me about 6 dozen delightful little delicate cookies that filled the bill perfectly!
1 stick butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4c xylitol
1/2t salt
1/2c SF vanilla syrup
2c almond flour
1/4c polydextrose
1/4c coconut flour
whip together butter and cream cheese until creamy; whip in xylitol and
salt; add vanilla syrup and whip until well-blended. Add almond flour,
polydex, and coconut flour, and blend well.
dough will be light if it has been well-whipped. (I didn't even use the
paddle, just stuck with the whip in my mixer.) Scoop onto sprayed cookie
sheet in walnut-sized spoonfuls, bake @ 350 JUST until the edges start to
brown; remove from oven and let stand on cookie sheet for a few minutes
before removing, as they are light and delicate will break apart unless
given time to pull together; once they're a little "tighter" you can remove
them to finish cooling.
Do not seal up to store, they become too moist; I left these on a platter, open, on the counter last night and they're still very moist and good - sealing them up they would have been wet by morning.
I didn't do the math and figure up the carb count but it's around 30gN for the whole recipe. If you want/need to be more exact, http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=17032
1 stick butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4c xylitol
1/2t salt
1/2c SF vanilla syrup
2c almond flour
1/4c polydextrose
1/4c coconut flour
whip together butter and cream cheese until creamy; whip in xylitol and
salt; add vanilla syrup and whip until well-blended. Add almond flour,
polydex, and coconut flour, and blend well.
dough will be light if it has been well-whipped. (I didn't even use the
paddle, just stuck with the whip in my mixer.) Scoop onto sprayed cookie
sheet in walnut-sized spoonfuls, bake @ 350 JUST until the edges start to
brown; remove from oven and let stand on cookie sheet for a few minutes
before removing, as they are light and delicate will break apart unless
given time to pull together; once they're a little "tighter" you can remove
them to finish cooling.
Do not seal up to store, they become too moist; I left these on a platter, open, on the counter last night and they're still very moist and good - sealing them up they would have been wet by morning.
I didn't do the math and figure up the carb count but it's around 30gN for the whole recipe. If you want/need to be more exact, http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=17032
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
What Low Carb Eating Is - and What It Isn't
I'm seeing lots of misconceptions around the 'net about what low carb eating is, and what it isn't. Even within the variations of different plans, there are certain physiological truths that simply don't change.
First and foremost: There are lots of people who say, "Low carb didn't work for me" or "I did Atkins once but I gained all the weight back." To which I say: If you think you "did Atkins" then you didn't. Because Atkins is a lifelong plan. There is no "did" there is only "doing" and if you aren't "doing" it then you didn't do it - so you can't blame a plan you didn't follow when you gain back your weight. To whose who say "low carb didn't work for me", I ask the following questions: Which plan did you use - was it truly low carb or a "bandwagon" plan? Were you 100% faithful to the instructions? Did you cheat even a little? Did you lose weight and then gain it back again, so you consider the plan is what failed? Did you try a different low carb plan that maintains the tenets of true low carb eating but in a slightly different way? I understand that every low carb doesn't work for every body but before you blame the way of eating (WOE), make sure it was followed, 100%, perfectly, all the time. A car won't run if you do everything right, except decide that it won't hurt, just this once, if you don't fill the gas tank. You can't blame the car for not working then, can you?
Second. If you are doing low carb - properly doing low carb - you don't need to do low fat. In fact, you SHOULDN'T avoid fats, for several reasons:
(a) Your body needs energy at the ready and can get this quick energy for its functions from either fats, or from carbs. Protein needs to go through processes (which themselves use energy) to be utilized. If you are robbing your body of both of the "quick" energy sources it needs, you can really mess yourself up.
(b) Omitting both fats and carbs from your diet means you will have a much lower caloric intake. That's good, right? WRONG! We all know that when you lower your caloric intake you will send your body into "starvation mode" where your metabolism slows, you burn even fewer calories, and weight loss becomes increasingly difficult. If you eat fats, you keep that from happening.
(c) Your liver needs fat to burn fat. If you're expecting to burn off body fat without stoking it, you will be sorely disappointed.
Low carb eating causes certain physiological and chemical changes which is what makes it so excellent for weight loss, blood sugar control, blood pressure control, better blood lipid levels (HDL/LDL/triglycerides/cholesterol levels/etc. on your reports), and resolution of numerous other health issues. If you are eating carby foods - sugary fruits, pastas, grains, etc. - then you are preventing these changes that are the key to success. Your choice of course...but don't call it low carb eating and then claim that low carb failed you when it didn't work.
And a few general comments:
1 - Forget what you think you know about weight loss, what you've read and heard over the years about counting calories, how bad fat is, that you have to go hungry, etc. That isn't low carb advice, and people following it for the last few decades is why 95% of diets fail, and our population is getting fatter. Forget all of it, it doesn't apply to low carb eating.
2 - If you're not following a low carb WOE, don't tell people you are. If you claim low carb, yet eat sugar-laden (even natural sugars!) or grain-based foods for energy, then you're not doing low carb.
3 - Remember that the key to low carb eating is in keeping your carb intake low - hence the name of the plan. Not keeping your calories low, not keeping your fat intake low - it's about the carbs. Don't thwart the plan; it works when it's followed.
4 - You will fail if you don't give your body what it needs. It doesn't need all those carbs. It needs fat, it needs protein. If you don't provide fats and proteins (in that order), it will soon demand them, and you will fail. This isn't an opinion.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, if you are "dieting" to lose weight, and then go back to eating the way that made you fat in the first place, you will get fat again. It's simple. Follow an actual low carb plan. Don't deprive your body of the fats and protein it needs. Get your carbs from vegetables (not the starchy ones!). Eat until you're satisfied. Don't let yourself get so hungry you'll eat anything you can lay your hands on. Don't stuff yourself. Don't go cheat on your low carb plan, and don't go back to your old ways of eating. If you are following a low carb WOE faithfully, and if you are allowing your body to change how it gets its energy (from body fat instead of carbs), you will be successful, you will be healthy, and you will not have to say, "Low carb doesn't work."
First and foremost: There are lots of people who say, "Low carb didn't work for me" or "I did Atkins once but I gained all the weight back." To which I say: If you think you "did Atkins" then you didn't. Because Atkins is a lifelong plan. There is no "did" there is only "doing" and if you aren't "doing" it then you didn't do it - so you can't blame a plan you didn't follow when you gain back your weight. To whose who say "low carb didn't work for me", I ask the following questions: Which plan did you use - was it truly low carb or a "bandwagon" plan? Were you 100% faithful to the instructions? Did you cheat even a little? Did you lose weight and then gain it back again, so you consider the plan is what failed? Did you try a different low carb plan that maintains the tenets of true low carb eating but in a slightly different way? I understand that every low carb doesn't work for every body but before you blame the way of eating (WOE), make sure it was followed, 100%, perfectly, all the time. A car won't run if you do everything right, except decide that it won't hurt, just this once, if you don't fill the gas tank. You can't blame the car for not working then, can you?
Second. If you are doing low carb - properly doing low carb - you don't need to do low fat. In fact, you SHOULDN'T avoid fats, for several reasons:
(a) Your body needs energy at the ready and can get this quick energy for its functions from either fats, or from carbs. Protein needs to go through processes (which themselves use energy) to be utilized. If you are robbing your body of both of the "quick" energy sources it needs, you can really mess yourself up.
(b) Omitting both fats and carbs from your diet means you will have a much lower caloric intake. That's good, right? WRONG! We all know that when you lower your caloric intake you will send your body into "starvation mode" where your metabolism slows, you burn even fewer calories, and weight loss becomes increasingly difficult. If you eat fats, you keep that from happening.
(c) Your liver needs fat to burn fat. If you're expecting to burn off body fat without stoking it, you will be sorely disappointed.
Low carb eating causes certain physiological and chemical changes which is what makes it so excellent for weight loss, blood sugar control, blood pressure control, better blood lipid levels (HDL/LDL/triglycerides/cholesterol levels/etc. on your reports), and resolution of numerous other health issues. If you are eating carby foods - sugary fruits, pastas, grains, etc. - then you are preventing these changes that are the key to success. Your choice of course...but don't call it low carb eating and then claim that low carb failed you when it didn't work.
And a few general comments:
1 - Forget what you think you know about weight loss, what you've read and heard over the years about counting calories, how bad fat is, that you have to go hungry, etc. That isn't low carb advice, and people following it for the last few decades is why 95% of diets fail, and our population is getting fatter. Forget all of it, it doesn't apply to low carb eating.
2 - If you're not following a low carb WOE, don't tell people you are. If you claim low carb, yet eat sugar-laden (even natural sugars!) or grain-based foods for energy, then you're not doing low carb.
3 - Remember that the key to low carb eating is in keeping your carb intake low - hence the name of the plan. Not keeping your calories low, not keeping your fat intake low - it's about the carbs. Don't thwart the plan; it works when it's followed.
4 - You will fail if you don't give your body what it needs. It doesn't need all those carbs. It needs fat, it needs protein. If you don't provide fats and proteins (in that order), it will soon demand them, and you will fail. This isn't an opinion.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, if you are "dieting" to lose weight, and then go back to eating the way that made you fat in the first place, you will get fat again. It's simple. Follow an actual low carb plan. Don't deprive your body of the fats and protein it needs. Get your carbs from vegetables (not the starchy ones!). Eat until you're satisfied. Don't let yourself get so hungry you'll eat anything you can lay your hands on. Don't stuff yourself. Don't go cheat on your low carb plan, and don't go back to your old ways of eating. If you are following a low carb WOE faithfully, and if you are allowing your body to change how it gets its energy (from body fat instead of carbs), you will be successful, you will be healthy, and you will not have to say, "Low carb doesn't work."
Monday, May 11, 2009
My Most Excellent Low Carb Mother's Day Feast!
Got raves from all for dinner yesterday!
Rubbed a pork tenderloin (about 5#) with garlic powder, chili powder, S&P, and rosemary; roasted covered for 2 hours @ 325, then uncovered for 30 minutes @ 350. Rub made a nice crust!
Tossed chunks of frozen cauli, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, and carrots (I didn't eat carrots) with oil, garlic salt, dried onion, and italian seasoning blend, then roasted in an uncovered baking dish for the last half hour with the pork, stirring once.
Made Sam's napa cabbage salad (http://www.thecookingguy.com/cookbook/recipe.php?id=113) with a few changes: made my own dressing with dijon mustard, oil, and sweetener; used feta cheese instead of blue cheese; cooked thinly-sliced onion with the mushrooms.
We don't eat desserts typically.
The whole meal was a huge hit, and looked very fancy even though it required very little work and left me lots of time with my guests! Nobody missed the bread or potatoes :).
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tonight's Low Carb Supper: Meatloaf with Sauce
Meatloaf was standard stuff: ground beef and ground sausage, 1/2 of a medium onion chopped fine, 1/2 bag of porkies, a couple of eggs...mixed well and baked at 350 for about an hour. With it we had one of the wonderful big chunky vegetable medleys we get from GFS. This one has yellow carrots (carby but I ate 3 slices anyway), broccoli, whole green beans, and red peppers.
The sauce was easy: in a small saucepan on top of the stove I mixed about 3 Tbsp ranch dressing with equal parts sour cream (full fat of course) and water, then added about 2 tsp of beef soup base, and a drained can of shiritaki mushrooms. Heated it while stirring, just until heated through.
The sauce is quite flavorful, so not much spice needed in the meatloaf...although I served it over the vegetables also. A nice slice of meatloat, with a half plateful of vegetables, and sauce over all...VERY good, VERY filling!!
The sauce was easy: in a small saucepan on top of the stove I mixed about 3 Tbsp ranch dressing with equal parts sour cream (full fat of course) and water, then added about 2 tsp of beef soup base, and a drained can of shiritaki mushrooms. Heated it while stirring, just until heated through.
The sauce is quite flavorful, so not much spice needed in the meatloaf...although I served it over the vegetables also. A nice slice of meatloat, with a half plateful of vegetables, and sauce over all...VERY good, VERY filling!!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tonight's Low Carb Dinner
Tonight's experimental dinner was fantastic!
I made a meatloaf using 1 lb of ground beef, half a bag of porkies crushed, about a Tbsp of worchestershire sauce, a quarter of an onion chopped finely and an egg.
In another baking dish I poured enough oil to cover the bottom, then mixed in some dry basil and garlic powder. Into that I tossed a bag of frozen cauli, and tossed to coat. S&P lightly.
Both of the above went into a 350 oven.
On the stovetop I put 2 drained cans of sliced shitake mushrooms into a pan with 2T butter (not fake oleo stuff), covered it, and set it on the oven-vent burner. (I don't keep fresh mushrooms because they spoil so quickly; I buy them specially if I have an immediate use for them, but keep canned and dried 'shrooms on hand.)
After 30 minutes I tossed the cauli and returned it to the oven. Then to the mushrooms (with now-melted butter) I added 8 oz of sour cream - full fat of course - a tsp of chili powder, and tsp of beef base, and a generous shake of dry basil. I stirred it all together, re-covered it, and put it on the burner set to its lowest setting.
10 minutes later I removed the meat loaf and roasted cauli from the oven, turned the burner off, and stirred the sour cream/mushroom sauce. I served it over the meatloaf. The cauli was plenty flavorful to stand on its own. The mushroom sauce had a good strong flavor - if I wanted it milder (I didn't) I would have added some cream and used just a half-tsp of the chili powder.
A green salad would have rounded the meal out nicely but we were out of greens. Maybe next time...and I'll make some of Jamie VanEaton's oopsie rolls with it too!
(Note: I don't cook with salt when I'm using foods that have already been salted - such as the beef base.)
Definitely a meal I will make again.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
A Great Brunch Meal!
Today's late breakfast was so good...it's one of my favorite easy meals!
In a frying pan of hot bacon drippings over high heat I broke 3 eggs, then lowered the heat to low/medium and broke the yolks with a fork, spreading them over the whites. Onto the eggs I sprinkled some chopped frozen spinach pieces, letting a few fall into the fat to fry alone, then some quartered pepperoni slices, and finished it off with a handful of shredded mozzarella. Covered the pan and walked away for 10 minutes. After I slid it onto my plate I put the fried spinach bits on top, just for the sake of embellishment :).
When I haven't used pepperoni, I also like this with salsa and sour cream (full-fat, of course!) on top!
Ahhhh...losing weight was never so delicious!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Low Carb-ness, part II
Just a quick bit about my own particular version of low carb eating, then I'll go on to other things :).
I started LCing about 5 years ago. Original plan: lots of veggies and meats and fiber. Most of my foods were high-fiber at that time. Lost 54# and then stopped. Started reading about low-carb-high-fat and loved the mere thought of it. (I've never been a big sweet eater, but bring on the butter, baby!) Switched over to that and have never looked back! Quickly lost another 36# for a grand total of 90# off by (a) keeping a 75% fat-20% protein-5% carbs ratio, and (b) minimizing my ingestion of grain-based products with the exception of occasionally using brans or gluten in my baking. Even though my caloric input for most days averaged 2500-3000, I was leaving trails of fat behind me everywhere I went.
But in the bathroom mirror (evil thing, it's since been removed!) I didn't like what I saw when I stepped out of the shower. I'm not a vain person but even *I* couldn't stand the way parts of my body were going south, and in a most unattractive, very uncomfortable way! Even trying to fit my clothes onto the saggy hanging flesh was horrible. So I decided to quit losing even though I still had 100# more to go. Carrying that weight was better, for me, than making my body any more grotesque than it had already become.
To maintain I adjusted my ratios to more like 60-30-10, and during our occasional restaurant outings allowed a carbier treat than I'd done for the previous 9 months. I happily continued this way for the next 3½ years...then in October 2008 I had a stroke. (One good thing to come out of this was an examination of my arteries while I was in the hospital, and I was told they were "squeaky clean"!)
During my 6 days in the hospital I was put on a "heart healthy" diet of about 90% carbs but at that point I didn't care; when my appetite returned, I just ate what they gave me. When I came home with horrific awful disabling headaches and vertigo, I wasn't shopping or cooking, my husband was. And he wasn't well-versed in carb-consciousness, and I frankly was too miserable to care. So for the next 11 weeks, I just ate what he gave me, thankful that he was such a good caretaker of me (and our 16 pets including all of my parrots, and my business, and our home, in addition to his job...). When there is so much pain involved in just moving, nothing else really matters, except the love and care that he showed me during that time.
Just before Christmas I found myself in yet another hospital, this time for 4 days. Again, the carby "heart-healthy" diet, but this time I got a diagnosis (CSF leak from the lumbar puncture I'd had the day of my stroke) and a remedy (15-minute procedure called a blood patch) for my awful pain , and by the time I came home, the pain and vertigo were gone, I was SO THANKFUL, and could start resuming my life. (It shocked me how weak I'd become during those 11 weeks of total inactivity, part of it from the original stroke but I sure lost a lot of strength afteward too!)
Meanwhile, all of those weeks of inactivity and carbs had left me 38# heavier. No matter, I had my life back, the weight wasn't an issue to me. After the holidays and a trip with my sister, I have decided that it's time to get the extra weight back off and I am now back to my 75-20-5 ratios. I'm not weighing myself, I'm losing, and I'll know when I get there, but of course I'm feeling so much better again and it is good to be back to LIFE again after nearly 4 months!
It will be 5 years on low carb, come April. As far as I'm concerned the way I ate earlier this winter is simply part of the nightmare that started last October, and like the awful pain, vertigo, weakness, and other things, will just go down as part of my history; I refuse to give it any more importance than that.
Will I ever want to lose those last 100#? I don't know. I will play that part by ear. If I'm ever in a position to have surgery to remove the excess skin, then yes. If not, then I can't say because there is nothing worse, for me, than the way my body looks from what I've done to it. Not the weight loss, but the gains that stretched it out in the first place.
Some day I'll shed this "earth suit" anyway; until that time comes I will do what I believe to be best for myself, and that will ALWAYS be eating low carb. For my health.
I started LCing about 5 years ago. Original plan: lots of veggies and meats and fiber. Most of my foods were high-fiber at that time. Lost 54# and then stopped. Started reading about low-carb-high-fat and loved the mere thought of it. (I've never been a big sweet eater, but bring on the butter, baby!) Switched over to that and have never looked back! Quickly lost another 36# for a grand total of 90# off by (a) keeping a 75% fat-20% protein-5% carbs ratio, and (b) minimizing my ingestion of grain-based products with the exception of occasionally using brans or gluten in my baking. Even though my caloric input for most days averaged 2500-3000, I was leaving trails of fat behind me everywhere I went.
But in the bathroom mirror (evil thing, it's since been removed!) I didn't like what I saw when I stepped out of the shower. I'm not a vain person but even *I* couldn't stand the way parts of my body were going south, and in a most unattractive, very uncomfortable way! Even trying to fit my clothes onto the saggy hanging flesh was horrible. So I decided to quit losing even though I still had 100# more to go. Carrying that weight was better, for me, than making my body any more grotesque than it had already become.
To maintain I adjusted my ratios to more like 60-30-10, and during our occasional restaurant outings allowed a carbier treat than I'd done for the previous 9 months. I happily continued this way for the next 3½ years...then in October 2008 I had a stroke. (One good thing to come out of this was an examination of my arteries while I was in the hospital, and I was told they were "squeaky clean"!)
During my 6 days in the hospital I was put on a "heart healthy" diet of about 90% carbs but at that point I didn't care; when my appetite returned, I just ate what they gave me. When I came home with horrific awful disabling headaches and vertigo, I wasn't shopping or cooking, my husband was. And he wasn't well-versed in carb-consciousness, and I frankly was too miserable to care. So for the next 11 weeks, I just ate what he gave me, thankful that he was such a good caretaker of me (and our 16 pets including all of my parrots, and my business, and our home, in addition to his job...). When there is so much pain involved in just moving, nothing else really matters, except the love and care that he showed me during that time.
Just before Christmas I found myself in yet another hospital, this time for 4 days. Again, the carby "heart-healthy" diet, but this time I got a diagnosis (CSF leak from the lumbar puncture I'd had the day of my stroke) and a remedy (15-minute procedure called a blood patch) for my awful pain , and by the time I came home, the pain and vertigo were gone, I was SO THANKFUL, and could start resuming my life. (It shocked me how weak I'd become during those 11 weeks of total inactivity, part of it from the original stroke but I sure lost a lot of strength afteward too!)
Meanwhile, all of those weeks of inactivity and carbs had left me 38# heavier. No matter, I had my life back, the weight wasn't an issue to me. After the holidays and a trip with my sister, I have decided that it's time to get the extra weight back off and I am now back to my 75-20-5 ratios. I'm not weighing myself, I'm losing, and I'll know when I get there, but of course I'm feeling so much better again and it is good to be back to LIFE again after nearly 4 months!
It will be 5 years on low carb, come April. As far as I'm concerned the way I ate earlier this winter is simply part of the nightmare that started last October, and like the awful pain, vertigo, weakness, and other things, will just go down as part of my history; I refuse to give it any more importance than that.
Will I ever want to lose those last 100#? I don't know. I will play that part by ear. If I'm ever in a position to have surgery to remove the excess skin, then yes. If not, then I can't say because there is nothing worse, for me, than the way my body looks from what I've done to it. Not the weight loss, but the gains that stretched it out in the first place.
Some day I'll shed this "earth suit" anyway; until that time comes I will do what I believe to be best for myself, and that will ALWAYS be eating low carb. For my health.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Turnips - oh yeah, baby...
Root vegetables, other than carrots, weren't something I ate much of as I was growing up. As a result, I never really had an interest in them. But now, eating low carb, it's a whole 'nother story! I recently got some turnips on sale, and had to use them. Since my husband had roasted chicken for our dinner earlier and had left the pan on the stovetop, I peeled and diced a couple of turnips and tossed them in the chicken drippings with a few pieces of bacon, and put it back in the oven. About 20 minutes later I had THE most delicious vegetable dish I think I've ever eaten! The turnips were dark brown and caramelized...I put them in a bowl with a little (1 Tbsp or so) shredded cheddar cheese on top and had them for my afternoon snack-meal-thing. (Hubby is at work and I usually don't have full meals when I'm alone, I just sort of graze.) So sweet and tender, a little sticky...oh no, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! And about 12gN carbs for the whole thing.
As my dad used to say, "You can't beat that with a stick!"
As my dad used to say, "You can't beat that with a stick!"
Friday, February 6, 2009
Thinking About Carbs
Since a discussion with a friend recently where I made the comment that "eating low carb isn't about giving anything up, it's just about shopping and cooking differently", I've been trying to think of something that can't be replaced with a low carb equivalent. I'm coming up empty.
"I couldn't live without bread!" is the most common excuse I hear - and the one that I used to use myself as well. But we eat bread. There are plenty of low carb breads on the market (our choice is Aunt Millie's Light Potato Bread which isn't far removed from evil white bread, hence my husband's enjoyment of it) if one must. There are some great recipes for low carb bread machine bread as well (my own version incorporates rich tasty sunflower and sesame meals and is YUMMY - makes great toast)! And we can make/buy/use low carb wraps or tortillas...
Rice? Cauli-rice, which, when used in casseroles or oriental or mexican dishes, is perfect! Potatoes? Fauxtatoes or other, less carby, root vegetables depending on the recipe. Or, just baked or fried potato skins! I can bake a nice big potato and scoop out the white part and just eat the skin, loaded with butter and sour cream, when I feel the need! Desserts? Baking without grain-based flours and sugar and high-sugar fruits is EASY, once you know how! Chocolate? Cocoa powder is very low carb; the healthy dark cocao-based bars are low in carbs! Chips and other crunchy foods? Deep-fried daikon slices, sprinkled with garlic salt and parmesan...thin slices of cheddar cheese, baked until crispy and eaten with a sour cream dip...even buttered popcorn which is high in fiber, eaten in moderation!
I've gotten really creative in the kitchen and lost 90# in 5 months eating my own versions of the carby processed foods, and never missed them.
Concerns about budget? It is cheaper for us to eat low carb than when we used to eat processed foods. Concerns about "artificial sweeteners"? Sugar alcohols are natural if you have to cater to a sweet tooth, you never need to eat artificial anything.
So what's the problem about eating low carb, again?
"I couldn't live without bread!" is the most common excuse I hear - and the one that I used to use myself as well. But we eat bread. There are plenty of low carb breads on the market (our choice is Aunt Millie's Light Potato Bread which isn't far removed from evil white bread, hence my husband's enjoyment of it) if one must. There are some great recipes for low carb bread machine bread as well (my own version incorporates rich tasty sunflower and sesame meals and is YUMMY - makes great toast)! And we can make/buy/use low carb wraps or tortillas...
Rice? Cauli-rice, which, when used in casseroles or oriental or mexican dishes, is perfect! Potatoes? Fauxtatoes or other, less carby, root vegetables depending on the recipe. Or, just baked or fried potato skins! I can bake a nice big potato and scoop out the white part and just eat the skin, loaded with butter and sour cream, when I feel the need! Desserts? Baking without grain-based flours and sugar and high-sugar fruits is EASY, once you know how! Chocolate? Cocoa powder is very low carb; the healthy dark cocao-based bars are low in carbs! Chips and other crunchy foods? Deep-fried daikon slices, sprinkled with garlic salt and parmesan...thin slices of cheddar cheese, baked until crispy and eaten with a sour cream dip...even buttered popcorn which is high in fiber, eaten in moderation!
I've gotten really creative in the kitchen and lost 90# in 5 months eating my own versions of the carby processed foods, and never missed them.
Concerns about budget? It is cheaper for us to eat low carb than when we used to eat processed foods. Concerns about "artificial sweeteners"? Sugar alcohols are natural if you have to cater to a sweet tooth, you never need to eat artificial anything.
So what's the problem about eating low carb, again?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Speaking of Low Carb...
...tonight we're trying out the Magic Pizza Crust recipe I saw on YouTube. It is in the oven with the toppings now and should be ready any minute. It LOOKS great and SMELLS great, but who knows how it will taste, that is the important part after all right?
I'm still, by most accounts, morbidly obese. And I plan to stay that way. I've lost nearly 100 lbs., but what it has done to my body - UGH! I'm already sagging everywhere and have so much hanging flesh that I can't stand to look in a mirror. I even had my husband take the full-length mirror off the back of the shower door! The chances that I'd ever be able to have surgery to remove the excess skin, were I to get to a "thin" weight, are nil. So I've decided that where I am is where I will stay. I still eat low carb because it is the healthiest way to eat...but I adapt my plan so that I won't lose any more.
How do I do that? Well, when I was losing quickly, I was eating 5% of my calories from carbs, 20% of my calories from protein, and 75% of my calories from fats, and I had omitted ALL grains, even though my issues were probably only with wheat. I did average 2500-3000 calories a day but I lost rapidly - 90# in 5 months. To maintain my weight where I am, I change the ratios and don't force the fats into my diet like I used to. I also allow a few (minimal) grain products, such as low carb tortillas, into my diet a couple of times a week. It works.
All that said, however, I want to mention that I am now up by 23#. The last few months I have had some serious health issues, and haven't been the one doing the shopping and cooking. My husband is a great cook but we have eaten more carbs that in the last 4+ years while I was sick. In addition, hospital food on a "heart healthy diet" is about 75% carbs! Ugh...
So at the moment I'm working on getting back down to the weight where I was comfortable, even though it was 100# over where my doctor wants me to be. And that's why I will stay there.
By the way, I've now had some pizza made with the MPC as referenced above. Good, but too salty. I wonder if I replaced half the parmesan cheese with protein powder?...
I'm still, by most accounts, morbidly obese. And I plan to stay that way. I've lost nearly 100 lbs., but what it has done to my body - UGH! I'm already sagging everywhere and have so much hanging flesh that I can't stand to look in a mirror. I even had my husband take the full-length mirror off the back of the shower door! The chances that I'd ever be able to have surgery to remove the excess skin, were I to get to a "thin" weight, are nil. So I've decided that where I am is where I will stay. I still eat low carb because it is the healthiest way to eat...but I adapt my plan so that I won't lose any more.
How do I do that? Well, when I was losing quickly, I was eating 5% of my calories from carbs, 20% of my calories from protein, and 75% of my calories from fats, and I had omitted ALL grains, even though my issues were probably only with wheat. I did average 2500-3000 calories a day but I lost rapidly - 90# in 5 months. To maintain my weight where I am, I change the ratios and don't force the fats into my diet like I used to. I also allow a few (minimal) grain products, such as low carb tortillas, into my diet a couple of times a week. It works.
All that said, however, I want to mention that I am now up by 23#. The last few months I have had some serious health issues, and haven't been the one doing the shopping and cooking. My husband is a great cook but we have eaten more carbs that in the last 4+ years while I was sick. In addition, hospital food on a "heart healthy diet" is about 75% carbs! Ugh...
So at the moment I'm working on getting back down to the weight where I was comfortable, even though it was 100# over where my doctor wants me to be. And that's why I will stay there.
By the way, I've now had some pizza made with the MPC as referenced above. Good, but too salty. I wonder if I replaced half the parmesan cheese with protein powder?...
Friday, January 9, 2009
Obsessing About Praline Bacon
Someone mentioned it on a yahoogroup today, so I looked up a few recipes, and now that I've read them I MUST HAVE SOME! Bacon is of course a staple of the way I eat, as are pecans...and I have some SF chili powder at hand. But brown sugar...hmm...obviously way too carby for me. I've used a couple of different subs: Diabetisweet is one, and Sugar Twin is the other. I've used both and find the Diabetisweet to be preferable but of course that's a personal opinion and about worth what you just paid for it.
Anyway, I need to find out if either of these products would get all melt-y and caramel-y so as to hold the pecan bits together and adhere the topping to the bacon, as real brown sugar does. I will get back to you on that, as soon as I find out - either from someone wiser than me about such things, or from my own experience.
Meanwhile I need to find a way to keep the drool out of my keyboard.
Anyway, I need to find out if either of these products would get all melt-y and caramel-y so as to hold the pecan bits together and adhere the topping to the bacon, as real brown sugar does. I will get back to you on that, as soon as I find out - either from someone wiser than me about such things, or from my own experience.
Meanwhile I need to find a way to keep the drool out of my keyboard.
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