Get started Part 2

by | Jan 11, 2013 | Food Choices, Low carb diet, Sensible Eating | 0 comments

This is a copy of a recent post that I have commented on at About.com Low Carb Diets about carbs

sunnydesertday wrote:

Thanks, Mark. Many people do eat the same foods over and over. I think it is a great idea to try new foods, cook new foods. It helps keep life a little more interesting. I am trying cauliflower “rice” and cauliflower “mashed potatoes” this week. I may like them, I may not, but I am looking forward to tasting the results.

I replied:

When I started low carb, I wasn’t going to let the few things I couldn’t eat be the limiting factor to what I could eat. Realizing that my diet up to that point had been fairly limited, I decided that I would start to look all around the world, metaphorically speaking, to find new things to try and new things to eat. So once a week, I designated a certain day when that would be the day I visited the culinary delights of a foreign land. So I got out my map of the world,  drew a line through as many countries as I could to try and circumnavigate the globe until I came back to my own doorstep. I visited France where I discovered the delights of beef bourguignon and so many other dishes. Spain, where I introduced myself to the delights of serrano ham and the delicious beef and almonds stew. Portugal for espetadas, then on to Italy for veal scallopini, only there, instead of using breadcrumbs to cover the veal, I used crushed nuts….. Really delicious!! And it was turning north, up through Eastern Europe, Germany, out through Denmark, across into Norway for a smorgasbord, right turn into Russia, well, I’m sure you get the picture.  You know, there are nearly 200 countries in the world, I think it stands at around 196 in the moment and I still haven’t visited everyone in the culinary sense and even if I only found 2 dishes from each country, it would be over a year again if I had one new meal every day before I visited the same country.

So, there’s a bit of a challenge. How many countries are you going to visit this year?

Hope that helps,

Mark

Low Carb Pasta Sauce

by | Jan 10, 2013 | Food Choices, Low carb diet, Recipe | 0 comments

This is actually a post where I shared one of my delicious and healthy low carb pasta sauce

mdanziger’ request:

I was in the grocery store last night and I wanted to get some pasta sauce to use with my miracle noodles as well as my pork rind chicken parm.  Anyway, I must have looked at more than 50 jars, from store brand to gourmet ($7.99 per bottle), plain, flavored, marinara, pizza sauce, organic… every conceivable kind.  The net carbs per serving ranged from 4 to 14 grams.  Of course the lowest carb count was in the most expensive sauce.  Even the plain “pizza sauce” had 5 net carbs.

I tried the Walden Farms sauce, and found it inedible.  I was never a fan of sweet tomato sauce, so it amazes me how much sugar companies put in their sauce.  I never made my own “gravy” (as my Italian friends call it) before, but I am thinking that might be the way I have to go.  Can someone please recommend a good, low carb pasta sauce?  Thanks.

What I shared:

Here is a recipe that I use quite often. Actually, I had to stop and think about what ingredients went into it because I just make it as in when I need to. It’s really versatile. You can use it over most things that you would use any type of pasta sauce over such as shredded cauliflower, zucchini or whatever you fancy.

Recipe ingredients

Knob of Butter

200g smoked straky bacon, roughly chopped

Small onion finely chopped or shallots if you prefer

2 egg

2 eggs yolks

3 garlic cloves, very finely chops

1/2 cup thickened cream or Creme Fraiche

100g parmesan cheese, finely grated or in paper thin slivers

To Prepare:

Simply put the melted butter in a large pan. I prefer a nice cast-iron skillet over a medium heat. Add in the onions or the shallots if you prefer. Let them start to cook and then after 2 or 3 minutes, throw in the bacon as well. Continue cooking until the onions are nicely done and the bacon is well cooked, almost to the point of being nice and crispy. Note: Drain off the excess fat if you’re bacon is a bit fatty as you don’t need that much of the fat in the sauce.

In a clean bowl,  whisk together the eggs and the egg yolks, add in the cream and about half of the parmesan so that they are all nicely combined and then season with a bit of salt and pepper as you like to taste.

Drain off whatever you are going to have with it such as your cauliflower or your noodles but leave them in the warm saucepan.

Add to the warm saucepan, the cooked bacon and onion. Then pour over the egg and cream mixture and combine until all is nicely mixed and warming through gently over a low heat.

This actually makes a very versatile sauce base as you can add curry powder and fresh coriander for use with lamb or something like that or you can swap out half of the bacon and add in 200 grams of finely-chopped mushrooms and use it as a fish sauce.

Quick, simple, delicious and cheap.

Now, I feel a need to go off and cook something.

Hope that helps,

Mark

Atkin’s frozen meals

by | Jan 10, 2013 | Food Choices, Low carb diet | 0 comments

Below you will find the copy of the post that I recently replied to over at fattoskinny.net about low carb meals

nosugartalking’s post:

What are your thoughts?

 I have tried 5 0f the 9 varieties and found them to be very good. In fact they are way more tasty  than most other frozen meals on the market. Plus you get the benefit of low carb. Great to take to work or in a time crunch when there’s not much time to cook. All seem to be 6 carbs or lower. Just the right amount when  your in keiosis and  not that hungry. If you feel like you need more, you could always add a small salad. But I found them to be filling on there own.

Great price too, dinners under $4 and breakfast meals under $3 at Wal-Mart.

It’s about time we are offered meals without those cheap carb fillers like potatoes, rice and pasta the other so called “diet” dinners have in them. I rarely do the other Atkins products  like bars and shakes because I believe in eating  real food. But I must say I think they have got a winner here with these frozen meals. They are delicious.

My thoughts:

Prepared freshly from ingredients that I know and naturally-sourced. Hey, but that’s just me, I suspect. But anyway, I don’t think anything can beat the quality and flavors that you can get by packing up your own snack-box meal to eat during the day or even preparing something like that for the one you love. While it may not be convenient, you’ll certainly get a delicious meal for less than $3 or $4.

Just my 2 cent’s worth.

Mark

What is your “go to meal”

by | Jan 10, 2013 | Food Choices, High Protein Diet, Low carb diet, Meat Products | 0 comments

Here is a copy of the post on fattoskinny.net that I have responded to regarding meal choices

jetfans’ go-to meal:

What is your “go to Meal ” when you have time to make.
mine is:
Friend eggplant and chicken.
I season the eggplant, with several spices: salt, garlic pepper and hot pepper. then fry it, until it becomes soft.
Now for the chicken: One chicken breast cut into cubes, seasoned with all above spices,  and cooked the same way.
Then I mixed the two together and enjoy. Kind of like a mid. east dish  
Taste really good.

My go-to meal:

After reading through this topic for only two or three minutes, I wasn’t sure whether I should comment or go on and start cooking. But I guess that’s the problem when you read a topic like this just before lunchtime.

But seriously, my go-to meal is quite often bacon and eggs. Plain and simple or sometimes I put cheese on top of the bacon which is equally delicious.

Mmmmnnn….. now I really am going to have to start cooking.

Cheers,

Mark

Pork (bacon)

by | Jan 10, 2013 | Food Choices, High Protein Diet, Low carb diet | 0 comments

This a recent post on forum.lowcrber.org that I have commented on about meat products

StuartB Wrote:

I was reading the site “Perfect Health Diet,” which is a title to be loathed, where the author, Paul Jaminet, said that eating pork causes cancer, MS, fatty liver disease, and obsessive reading of Animal Farm. Because I’m impressionable, even at my age, I immediately thought I should give up bacon, because I have a fatty liver. This depresses me somewhat, as there are few things I love more in this world now than eating my morning bacon.  He said that studies show that regular pork is worse than cured pork. Apparently, because of the way pigs are kept in industrial farming (not able to move around) and what they are fed (grains) that these hogs are swimming with Omega 6, which I found out only yesterday are bad!  We eat the pig and lots of this Omega 6 is transferred into us, unless of course you have a free-range source. What do you other carnivores think about this pork bashing?

My Response:

In respect to factory farmed meat, I’m quite inclined, unusually, to agree with Mr. Jaminet. From many of the studies I have read, the type and quality of the food given to factory reared animals is appalling. When you add in to that the fact that they are almost daily marinated in hormones, plus there is a high proportion of GMO in their food. It probably is no surprise to you that I never now eat anything other than naturally reared meat. 

More specifically, onto the subject of bacon, one of the things that many people overlook is that bacon from pastured pigs contains a healthy amount of saturated, as well as mono saturated fat. Now, most of these fats consist of oleic acid which is the type so valued in olive oil, but also, it contains a healthy amount of palmitoleic acid which as you may, or may not know, has antimicrobial properties. It also contains so very healthy fat soluble vitamin D and a superior type of vitamin E which acts as an antioxidant. Now, I spend a lot of my time in France which means that I have easy access to traditionally reared and cured pork, bacon and other meats from the countryside around me. The good thing is these traditional ways of growing or producing pork and other meats have also transferred across the pond and you can find them in the States, in Australia, in New Zealand and in the UK. In fact, anywhere where good, old- fashioned animal husbandry and dedication to quality still remain impart of the farming population.

One thing I have found, though through eating naturally-reared meat products, is not only do they taste better, but it’s almost as if your body acknowledges their high and nutritional value and you find, you don’t need as much of it to be satisfied. So, while it may be a little bit more expensive, in the long run, it can work out to be the same cost or maybe even a bit cheaper to enjoy naturally grown, nutritious and delicious food.

Hope that helps,

Mark

Get Started

by | Jan 9, 2013 | Low carb diet, Portion Sizes, Sensible Eating, Weight Loss | 0 comments

Here is a copy of the post on about.com that I have commented on regarding low carb diet

sunnydesertday posted:

It’s a wonderful way to start losing weight and eventually changing a lifestyle. Adjusting to Atkins may be a challenge, but the results are worth every struggle. Eventually, lower carbs can become a way of life and no longer a challenge. And carbs are returned, to a certain point.  Atkins does not necessarily mean high fat. I prefer lower fat, as well. I don’t have to have bacon with my eggs or on my hamburger. Also crucial is portion control, no matter how or what one eats. Many of us would be better off with smaller portions and small snacks.

My comment:

There is no doubt that the low carb diet is a wonderful way to start losing weight and as that weight is lost, obviously, our lifestyle would change because there are so many things that we can start doing our excess weight stopped us from doing it in the first place. So, I would agree totally with sunnydesertday, Atkins, or any low carb diet for that matter, is really a wonderful way to start losing weight. Adjusting to any low carb diet is a challenge but we can minimize that in so many ways.

One thing I’ve noticed that many people concentrate on when they start any diet, but particularly a low carb diet, is that they start concentrating on all the thing they can’t eat and instead of enriching their diet or taking the challenge, they actually start to limit the amount or the types of food that they eat…. “Because you can’t eat anything but potatoes and you can’t eat anything with rice and you can’t eat anything with bread”, and all those sort of things. However, if we were to take a step back, and accept what so may regard as a challenge, then quite frankly, what we can eat is far  more likely to become varied in so many, many ways. Let’s face it,  when was the last time you decided to buy a different cut of meat from the one you always buy, or buy a different  type of fish to the one that you buy most of the time? When was the last time you walked pass a vegetable counter in your supermarket or hypermarket and thought “Oh that looks different, I think I’ll try that!”

I’m sure you see where I’m coming from. The simple fact is that, yes, any new diet can be a challenge if we allow it to be so but it can also become a wonderful opportunity to try new things and simply dare to taste things that we’ve never tasted before.

Hope that helps,

Mark