starting to low carb...

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I'm starting my low-carb eating tomorrow. I am planning recipes and menus.

[bluebird]

I found a different grocery store to shop at. I have my menus planned too. My dd has decided to change some of her eating habits too. Not low carbing but healthy eating.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

I do the proper food combining too.

[Coll]

The book I mentioned before is called The Calorie King Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate counter. It is a great book to have. Lists restaurant cal, fat, and carbs also.

[bluebird]

I will look for that book. Thanks Coll.

I am sad this morning so I am fighting the urge to eat bread.

[bluebird]

Low carb snack ideas? I can't eat nuts. hum...

calorieking. online too!!

[crochet2]

Connie, I know there are lots of food restrictions in your house. When you read the South Beach book, there is a section that lists all the carbs for veggies, etc. You should be able to make a sensible plan from that. Lots of plain cooking. I do a lot of steaming, and I love things like chopped spinach, steamed with either a small amount of butter, or olive oil on it. Broccoli is high up there too. I am not a fan of cauliflower - tried the fake mashed potatoes - not a real winner. I want to see if it would be better mixed 1/3 real potatoes and 2/3 cauliflower. It would add a few carbs to the mix, but might also make it palatible enough for me to not gag on.

I gave away my white rice, white sugar, refuse to buy potatoes, and severely limit my bread. I buy the Pepperidge Farm Deli Flats, or the Arnold ones (found them in Walmart). I added Splenda and Splenda Brown Sugar.

I added lots of oatmeal, oat bran, and oat flour - more than usual to almost anything that I had put it in before - breakfast regular oatmeal, baked oatmeal (a breakfast cake), Swedish pancakes (from the South Beach book), pie crust made with oatmeal and oat bran cereal, meatloaf. A lot like mushrooms, the oatmeal takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking it in.

I am sorta leary of "casseroles" because of the carbs that sneak in there, even in the soups that moisten them. But there is no reason why you can't "substitute" something else. Vegetable purees could help with that. Added bonus is you would be controlling the amount of salt in there.

Snacks - Yogurt (I like plain vanilla), pepperoni and cheese (I like Swiss), red bell pepper strips, 1/2 cucumber quartered, a few pretzels, 1/2 cup low carb cereal, there are lots of choices. You have to figure out what you like, and what works for you.

Put in a salad anywhere you can, and a soup course too, starts to fill you up, and you really do end up eating less of the entree and sides.

I have been doing this for a year now (10/1/09 started), and have lost and kept off 30 lbs.

Ladies, better go for now. Time for church.

Take care all. Norma

[bluebird]

Thanks Norma! I will take the SBD book with me today to read. Bread here is so $$$$! The flats aren't safe for us to eat. I need to start baking bread. We are switching to white whole wheat flour and the other whole wheat/grain flours. We eat very little white sugar. We plain cook or cook European most of the time.

Friday instead of buying a frozen pizza for lunch, I grabbed two frozen pieces of fish, some mixed veggies and whole grain flat bread. I was so proud of myself. I am battling emotional eating.

[DeBora4BobbyL]

On the weekends, I cook a huge pot of cauliflower and make mock mashed potatoes for the rest of the week. I love Brussels sprouts and green beans, so I make plenty of those too. I also have a ton of special seasonings that I can add to the fish filets or boneless chicken. I make spaghetti squash so I can have spaghetti or fried spaghetti squash patties. I make as much ahead as I can since my weeks are usually so hectic with work, Brownies, and trying to finish my MA. I will be starting my research soon.