Broiled pork chop with a cheesy spinach-noodle side dish; BBQ pork rinds; sliced cheese. My appetite remains pretty low compared to what it was before last week.
Spinach dish was excellent. Drained a package of shirataki noodles, then heated in bacon fat with 10 oz. previously-frozen spinach. When heated through, added 4 oz full-fat cream cheese, 2 Tbsp butter, and 4 oz. shredded Italian cheese blend. Reduced heat to low and covered until spinach was thoroughly melted. Enough flavor from bacon fat and cheeses, no salt or other seasonings required. I ate about 1/4 of the entire pan with my pork chop.
Semi-boneless sirloin chops were $1.29/lb on sale. Noodles were $1.99/pkg. Spinach was 59¢. Cheeses used totalled $1.40. Butter, minimal (paid $1.79/lb.). Pork Rinds were $3.00 for a 10.5 oz jug - I ate about 6-7 pieces. Bought the cheese slices in a 5# carton, my 3 slices were negligable in cost. Total for what I 8 today: about $4.00 including a couple of cups of coffee with half'n'half and sweet'n'low.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Of Carbs and Health - My Last 10 Days #lowcarb
The last 10 days have been a blur of doctor's appointments, most in another city nearly an hour away, and other things that have taken me away from home way too much - and therefore eaten at restaurants, mostly fast food, way too much - and lots of stress-inducing realities of life that have taken priority over what I eat, way too much. When you're talking about life-and-death issues concerning your beloved spouse, somehow whether I eat a bun on my hamburger doesn't seem like such a big deal.
Of course, I still ate low carb foods at home, but too much carby food during that chaotic and emotionally draining time for my health. I have arthritis in my knees (and elsewhere) already, and right now I also have bursitis in my right leg, so I live with pain from thigh to toe most of the time. I'm used to the grinding and spasms caused by the arthritis in my spine and pain that comes with a couple of other serious medical conditions. But usually, typically, not all at once - and certainly not in addition to bursitis.
So as I've made my way through the last 10 days I've felt worse and worse and worse, not making connections between what I was eating and how my body was feeling, until a couple of days ago I felt as though my system was simply giving up, and my body dying off. I was bloated and painful (I have permanent nerve damage to my digestive tract, end-to-end, from some severe food poisoning a couple of years ago, so a little bloating and pain is nothing new.), and food wasn't moving through my system. I had a nearly constant mild but irritating headache. My vision wasn't blurry but it wasn't quite right either. I developed a UTI. I wasn't feeling rested when I awoke, and was logy and tired all day long. By the end of this time, both of my legs felt like lead weights, and when I looked down I fully expected them to be three times their normal size.
After my husband's surgery on Monday (2 days ago), when I had had a "healthy" chicken-and-veggie pizza at the hospital cafeteria (they didn't have low carb offerings, only low fat), I was sick. I came home and slept nearly the rest of the day, then all night. I couldn't think straight, and felt that I was dying - literally - that my body had given up. And, now that the surgery was over and my mind could start to move back to other things, I realized it had to be the carbs and there was only one way to find out.
Yesterday I ate a salad with bacon, chicken, and ranch dressing for lunch, and didn't get hungry - so didn't eat - the rest of the day. Today I had a steak for lunch, and raw cauli with lowcarb caesar dressing for an afternoon snack. While I'm still working on the logy feeling, my legs are back to normal. Ingesting all the fat without the carbs for 2 days, and my system is starting to clean out again, the pain is lessening, and the bloat will soon be gone. (It needs a lot of fat - rather than the drugs the doctor prescribed - to keep things moving through, since peristalsis is weak to nonexistent in various areas throughout.) The headache is gone and my eye (blind in one eye anyway) feels right again. My legs are back to their normal, except for the bursitis which has me near-tears but at least they aren't like dead weight to drag around...and my UTI (with the help of cranberry supplement and liquids) will probably begin to resolve as well, if past history is any indication.
In short, the first 2 days back on low carb is resolving most of the physical issues that had been accumulating.
"Let this be a lesson to you" they say...I can't put it better myself.
Of course, I still ate low carb foods at home, but too much carby food during that chaotic and emotionally draining time for my health. I have arthritis in my knees (and elsewhere) already, and right now I also have bursitis in my right leg, so I live with pain from thigh to toe most of the time. I'm used to the grinding and spasms caused by the arthritis in my spine and pain that comes with a couple of other serious medical conditions. But usually, typically, not all at once - and certainly not in addition to bursitis.
So as I've made my way through the last 10 days I've felt worse and worse and worse, not making connections between what I was eating and how my body was feeling, until a couple of days ago I felt as though my system was simply giving up, and my body dying off. I was bloated and painful (I have permanent nerve damage to my digestive tract, end-to-end, from some severe food poisoning a couple of years ago, so a little bloating and pain is nothing new.), and food wasn't moving through my system. I had a nearly constant mild but irritating headache. My vision wasn't blurry but it wasn't quite right either. I developed a UTI. I wasn't feeling rested when I awoke, and was logy and tired all day long. By the end of this time, both of my legs felt like lead weights, and when I looked down I fully expected them to be three times their normal size.
After my husband's surgery on Monday (2 days ago), when I had had a "healthy" chicken-and-veggie pizza at the hospital cafeteria (they didn't have low carb offerings, only low fat), I was sick. I came home and slept nearly the rest of the day, then all night. I couldn't think straight, and felt that I was dying - literally - that my body had given up. And, now that the surgery was over and my mind could start to move back to other things, I realized it had to be the carbs and there was only one way to find out.
Yesterday I ate a salad with bacon, chicken, and ranch dressing for lunch, and didn't get hungry - so didn't eat - the rest of the day. Today I had a steak for lunch, and raw cauli with lowcarb caesar dressing for an afternoon snack. While I'm still working on the logy feeling, my legs are back to normal. Ingesting all the fat without the carbs for 2 days, and my system is starting to clean out again, the pain is lessening, and the bloat will soon be gone. (It needs a lot of fat - rather than the drugs the doctor prescribed - to keep things moving through, since peristalsis is weak to nonexistent in various areas throughout.) The headache is gone and my eye (blind in one eye anyway) feels right again. My legs are back to their normal, except for the bursitis which has me near-tears but at least they aren't like dead weight to drag around...and my UTI (with the help of cranberry supplement and liquids) will probably begin to resolve as well, if past history is any indication.
In short, the first 2 days back on low carb is resolving most of the physical issues that had been accumulating.
"Let this be a lesson to you" they say...I can't put it better myself.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Lots of Snackin' Today (What I 8, Sun. Jan 17, 2010)
Didn't have a great appetite but nibbled a lot. Started with yogurt for breakfast, then 2 string cheese sticks an hour or so later. A bag of veggie straws (described in yesterday's entry) after church. Supper was a pork chop that had been baked with sliced onion on top, plus roasted rutabaga, plus a salad with a little shredded cheese and a few bacon bits for color, and ranch dressing. No evening snacks.
Got some good buys at Sav-a-Lot today, they're having great sales this week. I got boneless pork chops (unfortunately all the fat was trimmed off) for $1.29/lb., and bags of ready-made salad for 50¢ each. Ended up buying quite a bit there today for some reason...will have to post tomorrow what I bought - about $90 worth. Not bad for already being well-stocked :).
What I 8 Today (Sat., 1/16/10)
2 string cheese, 5 slices of salami for breakfast/lunch
3 chicken thighs and roasted cauliflower for supper
Veggie Chips for a snack. The name is misleading, the main veggie in them is potato, but then there is spinach and tomato, sea salt, and something else that I can't remember. I buy them at GFS, 1 package is either 15 or 16gN. I find them irresistable for a crunchy snack, and each bag is about 50¢; 24 bags to the carton.
My total carbs for the day is WELL under 50gN, probably about half that, and definitely less than $5 for the day as well although I can't find my GFS receipt from yesterday, it's late, my melatonin tablet is kicking in, and I'm about to fall asleep at the wheel here :).
3 chicken thighs and roasted cauliflower for supper
Veggie Chips for a snack. The name is misleading, the main veggie in them is potato, but then there is spinach and tomato, sea salt, and something else that I can't remember. I buy them at GFS, 1 package is either 15 or 16gN. I find them irresistable for a crunchy snack, and each bag is about 50¢; 24 bags to the carton.
My total carbs for the day is WELL under 50gN, probably about half that, and definitely less than $5 for the day as well although I can't find my GFS receipt from yesterday, it's late, my melatonin tablet is kicking in, and I'm about to fall asleep at the wheel here :).
Saturday, January 16, 2010
What I 8 Today (1-13-10)
Today was a planned carby day. Went to a highly recommended fun restaurant for lunch, got the food they're known for: burger, fries, and shakes. I ate the burger, ate only some of the fries, with chili on them, and got a small - kid sized - shake. It was my only meal of the day.
I minimized the carb impact by as much as I wanted to. If I were trying to lose weight I wouldn't have eaten the bun, and would have gotten a side salad rather then chili fries. I'd have gotten tea to drink, most likely, and the extent of my "cheat" (which it would have been in this case) might have been a taste of my husband's shake.
It was a fun family day today :).
I minimized the carb impact by as much as I wanted to. If I were trying to lose weight I wouldn't have eaten the bun, and would have gotten a side salad rather then chili fries. I'd have gotten tea to drink, most likely, and the extent of my "cheat" (which it would have been in this case) might have been a taste of my husband's shake.
It was a fun family day today :).
Friday, January 15, 2010
What I 8 Today (1/12/10)
3 breakfast sausage for lunch; broiled steak with buttered asparagus and mac'n'cheese (dreamfield's, butter, swiss, cheddar, cream, cheese spread/velveeta-type) - here's a pic of supper. I was hungry so I put a lot on my plate but didn't eat it all...well, except for the asparagus. Also had heavily buttered popcorn as a snack in the evening.
We had to go to the store for some other things so we picked up some eggs (18 for $2.13 - ouch!) while we were there.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
What I 8 Today
First, I think I lost a day. It was yesterday that I fixed the noodles with all the paprika, not Monday - so what did I eat Monday? I can't recall. So here we go with today:
Salad with turkey, cheese, and ranch dressing for lunch
Supper was delicious. I used a veggie mix that I get from GFS that had broccoli, cauliflower, yellow squash, zucchini, and carrots. I tossed it with olive oil and sea salt, spread it in a single layer in a baking pan, and roasted it at 425 for about 25 minutes. Then I cut up the remainder of the leftover pork roast from Sunday into bite-sized cubes and tossed it with the nearly-roasted vegetables, also adding some parmesan cheese. (There was still a lot of flavor from when I originally made the pork tenderloin also.) Returned it to the oven for another 15 minutes, during which time the vegetables browned nicely, and the pork heated through.
Can't really say the costs too easily. The turkey was 99¢ for 8 oz. on sale and the salad had maybe half an ounce. The cheese ran $2.50 for 8 oz, and I had maybe half an ounce of that. A couple Tbsp of ranch from an 8 oz, $1.19 bottle, and probably half a bag of ready-made greens that were on sale for 99¢ - a buck or less for lunch. Supper is harder; the entire pork tenderloin - about 10# - was $14.93. The big bag of vegetables, of which I used about a quarter, was $2.95ish. That last bit of roast was maybe 1.5 lbs, and I used a couple of Tbsp of olive oil which I bought for $14.95 for a gallon jug just for cooking. So supper for Pete, Casey, and I was somewhere around $3.00.
Even with the heavy cream (which I mix half and half with water in a pitcher for our coffee) and sweet'n'low and 2 pots of coffee we consume in a day, and a couple of cans of diet cola (Sav-a-Lot's Bubba brand, 20¢ per can) we ate all day for under $10, easy.
The point of this blog is to dispel the common myths that eating low carb is more expensive than eating carby, and that it is super easy, certainly no more complicated than cooking any other way. Today was yet another perfect example of that.
Salad with turkey, cheese, and ranch dressing for lunch
Supper was delicious. I used a veggie mix that I get from GFS that had broccoli, cauliflower, yellow squash, zucchini, and carrots. I tossed it with olive oil and sea salt, spread it in a single layer in a baking pan, and roasted it at 425 for about 25 minutes. Then I cut up the remainder of the leftover pork roast from Sunday into bite-sized cubes and tossed it with the nearly-roasted vegetables, also adding some parmesan cheese. (There was still a lot of flavor from when I originally made the pork tenderloin also.) Returned it to the oven for another 15 minutes, during which time the vegetables browned nicely, and the pork heated through.
Can't really say the costs too easily. The turkey was 99¢ for 8 oz. on sale and the salad had maybe half an ounce. The cheese ran $2.50 for 8 oz, and I had maybe half an ounce of that. A couple Tbsp of ranch from an 8 oz, $1.19 bottle, and probably half a bag of ready-made greens that were on sale for 99¢ - a buck or less for lunch. Supper is harder; the entire pork tenderloin - about 10# - was $14.93. The big bag of vegetables, of which I used about a quarter, was $2.95ish. That last bit of roast was maybe 1.5 lbs, and I used a couple of Tbsp of olive oil which I bought for $14.95 for a gallon jug just for cooking. So supper for Pete, Casey, and I was somewhere around $3.00.
Even with the heavy cream (which I mix half and half with water in a pitcher for our coffee) and sweet'n'low and 2 pots of coffee we consume in a day, and a couple of cans of diet cola (Sav-a-Lot's Bubba brand, 20¢ per can) we ate all day for under $10, easy.
The point of this blog is to dispel the common myths that eating low carb is more expensive than eating carby, and that it is super easy, certainly no more complicated than cooking any other way. Today was yet another perfect example of that.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The "Easy" Part of Low Carb Eating! (What I 8 Today)
First meal of the day (not exactly breakfast but not exactly lunch) was a slice of leftover pork tenderloin roast and half of the single leftover roasted onion, reheated in bacon fat on the stove. It was just about as good as when I originally fixed it on Sunday!
Supper was tilapia (no coating) fried fast in olive oil/butter so the outside was browned and lots of crispy bits, but the inside was flaky, tender, and moist. On the side was a package of shiritaki noodles heated in bacon fat and seasoned with sea salt, garlic and onion powder, thyme, and paprika (lots!), then mixed with a half-cup of peas (I wanted spinach but couldn't find it in the packed freezer...there were a few frozen peas left in the bottom of a bag in there though, so I just used those) and about a cup of full-fat sour cream...have I mentioned that I LOVE sour cream? It was the color of a lovely salmon from all the paprika but totally delicious!
Both meals for Pete and I (Casey wasn't home most of the day) for about $9 too!
Supper was tilapia (no coating) fried fast in olive oil/butter so the outside was browned and lots of crispy bits, but the inside was flaky, tender, and moist. On the side was a package of shiritaki noodles heated in bacon fat and seasoned with sea salt, garlic and onion powder, thyme, and paprika (lots!), then mixed with a half-cup of peas (I wanted spinach but couldn't find it in the packed freezer...there were a few frozen peas left in the bottom of a bag in there though, so I just used those) and about a cup of full-fat sour cream...have I mentioned that I LOVE sour cream? It was the color of a lovely salmon from all the paprika but totally delicious!
Both meals for Pete and I (Casey wasn't home most of the day) for about $9 too!
Shopping! The "Cheap" Part of Low Carb Eating!
I didn't post my shopping receipts in December because I bought a lot of things for the holidays that I wouldn't normally purchase. Maybe I should have done so anyway, it's not like I bought a bunch of carby stuff (although I did get a 10# bag of potatoes!) but I didn't, so we'll go on from here.
I also have a lot left over from December in the chest freezer, mostly vegetables that I had really stocked up on. I get my vegetables mostly from GFS, and the closest one is 40+ miles away. Our northern Michigan weather being what it is, I tend to keep better meat-and-vegetable inventory in the winter. Last month lots of pork and chicken on sale, not much beef. Also got some good sales on seafood and fish, most of which is now gone. So this month I was watching for beef on sale, and I found it.
On to the receipts:
I stopped at a meat market we used to frequent when we went to church in the same town; they had a sale on NY strips, sliced free, for $2.99/lb. I usually don't pay that much, even for beef, but they're NY strips after all. I bought about 15# of those, slice 3/4", and all those steaks look real nice individually wrapped and stacked in the freezer :). I also bought a loaf of dark pumpernickel bread, the little 4gN ea. party slices, as I love pumpernickel. 4 of those tiny thin slices make up 2 nice little sandwiches with ham (SF of course) and cream cheese for a nice <20gN lunch. This is the first time I've bought it, and the next day I went a little crazy and ate 10 of them toasted with butter and cream cheese; thankfully I hadn't eaten much else that day!
At Walmart I got a couple of loaves of the lowcarb (6gN/slice) that Pete likes, it's made by Aunt Millie I think, for $2.23 each; (4) quarts of heavy cream @ $3.12 each; a package of Flatout Light for myself @ $2.48 (I use half the slice, so about 20¢/serving); some chicken leg quarters @ 69¢/lb.; some 8 oz fancy shredded mixed Italian cheeses for $2.12 each; a 5# ham for $6.98 for Pete (I rarely eat it), and some baby food for my grandson :).
Then on to Sav-a-Lot: $45.61 for meat, including over 5# of chuck roasts, 4# of ground chuck, 3# of their wonderful bulk bacon (it is the best I've ever eaten!), some smoked turkey drumsticks, 3# of b/s chicken breast strips, 2 packages of sausage links and 2 packages of sausage patties; average price for the meat was $2.75ish per pound; a little high but I already have a lot of cheaper pork and chicken in my freezer. Also $4.9 for 2 heads of lettuce, 2 3# bags of yellow onions, and a 1.25 rutabaga. Then a box of cheese spread (like velveeta) for $3.99 that will last forever because we use very little of it, a box of taco shells (7gN each), 2 jars of pizza sauce (4gN/qtr.cup), and two 12-packs of diet cola for the family (again, I rarely drink it) for $13.34. A 48 oz carton of SF chocolate ice cream for $3.49 was our splurge for the day.
The month is more than 1/3 over and so far I've spent a little less than $150. I have enough meat for this month and most - if not all - of the next, and enough frozen vegetables. Plenty of cream for the rest of the month (unless I decide to do a lot of baking), and plenty of cheese. We will need to fill in with fresh produce and more eggs, and probably some snacking foods of some sort for Pete, but the bulk of our shopping for the month and into the next is done.
The cumulative effect of buying on sale is wonderful, because then there are months like this where we don't really have to buy as much, and it's great!
I also have a lot left over from December in the chest freezer, mostly vegetables that I had really stocked up on. I get my vegetables mostly from GFS, and the closest one is 40+ miles away. Our northern Michigan weather being what it is, I tend to keep better meat-and-vegetable inventory in the winter. Last month lots of pork and chicken on sale, not much beef. Also got some good sales on seafood and fish, most of which is now gone. So this month I was watching for beef on sale, and I found it.
On to the receipts:
I stopped at a meat market we used to frequent when we went to church in the same town; they had a sale on NY strips, sliced free, for $2.99/lb. I usually don't pay that much, even for beef, but they're NY strips after all. I bought about 15# of those, slice 3/4", and all those steaks look real nice individually wrapped and stacked in the freezer :). I also bought a loaf of dark pumpernickel bread, the little 4gN ea. party slices, as I love pumpernickel. 4 of those tiny thin slices make up 2 nice little sandwiches with ham (SF of course) and cream cheese for a nice <20gN lunch. This is the first time I've bought it, and the next day I went a little crazy and ate 10 of them toasted with butter and cream cheese; thankfully I hadn't eaten much else that day!
At Walmart I got a couple of loaves of the lowcarb (6gN/slice) that Pete likes, it's made by Aunt Millie I think, for $2.23 each; (4) quarts of heavy cream @ $3.12 each; a package of Flatout Light for myself @ $2.48 (I use half the slice, so about 20¢/serving); some chicken leg quarters @ 69¢/lb.; some 8 oz fancy shredded mixed Italian cheeses for $2.12 each; a 5# ham for $6.98 for Pete (I rarely eat it), and some baby food for my grandson :).
Then on to Sav-a-Lot: $45.61 for meat, including over 5# of chuck roasts, 4# of ground chuck, 3# of their wonderful bulk bacon (it is the best I've ever eaten!), some smoked turkey drumsticks, 3# of b/s chicken breast strips, 2 packages of sausage links and 2 packages of sausage patties; average price for the meat was $2.75ish per pound; a little high but I already have a lot of cheaper pork and chicken in my freezer. Also $4.9 for 2 heads of lettuce, 2 3# bags of yellow onions, and a 1.25 rutabaga. Then a box of cheese spread (like velveeta) for $3.99 that will last forever because we use very little of it, a box of taco shells (7gN each), 2 jars of pizza sauce (4gN/qtr.cup), and two 12-packs of diet cola for the family (again, I rarely drink it) for $13.34. A 48 oz carton of SF chocolate ice cream for $3.49 was our splurge for the day.
The month is more than 1/3 over and so far I've spent a little less than $150. I have enough meat for this month and most - if not all - of the next, and enough frozen vegetables. Plenty of cream for the rest of the month (unless I decide to do a lot of baking), and plenty of cheese. We will need to fill in with fresh produce and more eggs, and probably some snacking foods of some sort for Pete, but the bulk of our shopping for the month and into the next is done.
The cumulative effect of buying on sale is wonderful, because then there are months like this where we don't really have to buy as much, and it's great!
Monday, January 11, 2010
What I 8 Sunday/Monday
Yesterday I had a lovely 10# pork tenderloin that I wanted to roast. I seasoned it well, then roasted it with cleaned whole, medium sized onions. We had buttered green beans with it. Something so simple and so easy to prepare, but sooooo good! For an evening snack we had a dish of SF ice cream.
Today I had a late breakfast at lunchtime of my own version of oatmeal. Into a microwave-safe bowl I put a spoonful of oatmeal, 2 spoonsful of oat bran, and a spoonful of SF shredded coconut, plus about twice as much water, and nuked it for 2 minutes. When it came out I added 2 spoons of brown sugar sub (Diabetisweet is the one I use), a Tbsp of butter, and a hefty amount of cinnamon, let the butter melt, then poured on some heavy cream. Breakfast nirvana!
For supper we had some Dreamfield's. I had mine with some leftover crumbled ground beef, melted cheeses, butter, and olive oil.
Again - simple. Cheap. Delicious.
I love low carb eating!
Today I had a late breakfast at lunchtime of my own version of oatmeal. Into a microwave-safe bowl I put a spoonful of oatmeal, 2 spoonsful of oat bran, and a spoonful of SF shredded coconut, plus about twice as much water, and nuked it for 2 minutes. When it came out I added 2 spoons of brown sugar sub (Diabetisweet is the one I use), a Tbsp of butter, and a hefty amount of cinnamon, let the butter melt, then poured on some heavy cream. Breakfast nirvana!
For supper we had some Dreamfield's. I had mine with some leftover crumbled ground beef, melted cheeses, butter, and olive oil.
Again - simple. Cheap. Delicious.
I love low carb eating!
Mixing Low Fat and Low Carb?
Last week I spent time at my sister's home as she was recovering from surgery. Her husband is on the low-fat bandwagon on the advice from his doctor (I know, I know! ) and I was working on meals that would satisfy his dietary requirements as well as ours. My sister, as far as I can tell, doesn't eat an excess of fats and has tried to eliminate processed carbs from their diets as well as gluten.
Talk about a challenge! But not impossible. Looking through the kitchen and pantry for ideas, I came up with some things that would satisfy us all, and while I wasn't as strict about what I ate as I am at home, I think it went fairly well. We didn't end up eating as many meals there as I had anticipated but I still had the ideas for a few.
Salads are great. You can start with a base of greens and raw veggies, which are common to both eating styles, and grow from there. Lean meats and croutons work for low-fatters; hard-boiled eggs, meats, and cheese are great for low-carbers, with mayo-enhanced ranch to add fats.
I was pleased to see some crispy corn tortillas without any wheat in them in their cupboard. While they were 18g per serving (3 tortillas), they would fit into many low carb plans. My sister likes hers with chopped tomato, topped with loads of melted cheese. 25g for a meal would work into my plan just fine as a lunch, with meat, buttered veg, and salad for supper - well into my 40-50gN/day. (With lots of fats and no grains I can lose well on that number; at any rate I maintain, and even lose very slowly, there.) So that was an interesting find!
One evening for supper I lightly dusted a small chuck roast with seasoned flour and seared it in olive oil. When both sides were nicely browned I lowered the heat, added a can of beef broth, and let it cook through over med-low heat. Meanwhile I sliced a carton of fresh mushrooms; during the last 15 minutes I removed the meat, stirred in a can of (fat-free) cream of mushroom soup, added the mushrooms, and put the meat back. I also had peeled and boiled some potatoes, and made some frozen chopped broccoli and some corn. At the table, I had a couple of bites of potato, a pile of broccoli, and lots of mushrooms with a little meat and a little gravy. It was delicious. The low-fatters didn't worry about the gravy or the flour or the corn of course. It worked well for us all.
These are just a few ideas. If I had to cook suppers this way every day I have no doubts that I could come up with lots of things to satisfy all. Vegetables are a mainstay for both; meats can be accomodated - a thigh with crispy skin for low-carbers, and a skinless breast brushed with olive oil and seasonings for low-fatters. Mashed potatoes for the low fatters, with some of the peelings tossed with bacon fat and crisped up for the low-carbers. There are lots of healthy natural foods that can go either way, most of the time it's in the prep (fats, sauces, gravies, etc.) that works best for one or the other.
I'm thankful I don't have to accomodate low-fatters in my everyday cooking, but now I know that, if I had to, I could.
Talk about a challenge! But not impossible. Looking through the kitchen and pantry for ideas, I came up with some things that would satisfy us all, and while I wasn't as strict about what I ate as I am at home, I think it went fairly well. We didn't end up eating as many meals there as I had anticipated but I still had the ideas for a few.
Salads are great. You can start with a base of greens and raw veggies, which are common to both eating styles, and grow from there. Lean meats and croutons work for low-fatters; hard-boiled eggs, meats, and cheese are great for low-carbers, with mayo-enhanced ranch to add fats.
I was pleased to see some crispy corn tortillas without any wheat in them in their cupboard. While they were 18g per serving (3 tortillas), they would fit into many low carb plans. My sister likes hers with chopped tomato, topped with loads of melted cheese. 25g for a meal would work into my plan just fine as a lunch, with meat, buttered veg, and salad for supper - well into my 40-50gN/day. (With lots of fats and no grains I can lose well on that number; at any rate I maintain, and even lose very slowly, there.) So that was an interesting find!
One evening for supper I lightly dusted a small chuck roast with seasoned flour and seared it in olive oil. When both sides were nicely browned I lowered the heat, added a can of beef broth, and let it cook through over med-low heat. Meanwhile I sliced a carton of fresh mushrooms; during the last 15 minutes I removed the meat, stirred in a can of (fat-free) cream of mushroom soup, added the mushrooms, and put the meat back. I also had peeled and boiled some potatoes, and made some frozen chopped broccoli and some corn. At the table, I had a couple of bites of potato, a pile of broccoli, and lots of mushrooms with a little meat and a little gravy. It was delicious. The low-fatters didn't worry about the gravy or the flour or the corn of course. It worked well for us all.
These are just a few ideas. If I had to cook suppers this way every day I have no doubts that I could come up with lots of things to satisfy all. Vegetables are a mainstay for both; meats can be accomodated - a thigh with crispy skin for low-carbers, and a skinless breast brushed with olive oil and seasonings for low-fatters. Mashed potatoes for the low fatters, with some of the peelings tossed with bacon fat and crisped up for the low-carbers. There are lots of healthy natural foods that can go either way, most of the time it's in the prep (fats, sauces, gravies, etc.) that works best for one or the other.
I'm thankful I don't have to accomodate low-fatters in my everyday cooking, but now I know that, if I had to, I could.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Church Potlucks & What I 8
Yesterday was our monthly potlock after church. For some reason everybody brings dishes with noodles, potatoes, rice, and/or gravy! Plus the desserts of course. So I always take a main dish type dish to pass that is low carb, so at least I can eat. What I did yesterday was fill my plate half-full with my chicken-and-vegetable dish, then take a couple of bites of the least-carby-looking things from the table. That seemed to work real well. I would have liked to take my whole meal for myself but that would be rude. I wish there were a better solution...
Being sick (again!) I didn't cook for supper, we ended up with a pizza and I had a couple of slices but didn't overeat like I usually would. Yesterday was a pretty carby day, but it sure could have been worse!
Today was a typical day. 2 eggs fried in bacon fat for breakfast (I rarely eat breakfast but Pete made them for me so I ate them), and Dreamfield's spaghetti tossed with butter and olive oil, a little ground beef, and some cheese sprinkled on top.
I'm feeling somewhat lighter today than I have for a while. I don't weigh myself because I'm not obsessing about losing weight but it's a nice feeling nonetheless :).
Being sick (again!) I didn't cook for supper, we ended up with a pizza and I had a couple of slices but didn't overeat like I usually would. Yesterday was a pretty carby day, but it sure could have been worse!
Today was a typical day. 2 eggs fried in bacon fat for breakfast (I rarely eat breakfast but Pete made them for me so I ate them), and Dreamfield's spaghetti tossed with butter and olive oil, a little ground beef, and some cheese sprinkled on top.
I'm feeling somewhat lighter today than I have for a while. I don't weigh myself because I'm not obsessing about losing weight but it's a nice feeling nonetheless :).
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