What are you having for your dinner tonight?

[EmmaG]

How is the diet going Donna?

[Donna]

Only lost 3lb since I started on 3rd January. But suppose its better than putting more on or staying the same!! Will try bit harder but trouble is I dont exercise so that is gonna make it slower. Want a dog to take walkies to help me!!! Dont need to lose loads so I suppose 3lb is not too bad.

[EmmaG]

Sounds as if you are doing very well!! As well as low carbing I am trying to get on my exercise bike 3 times a week, so far it is going very well. The only great problem I have is if I have to eat at friends/families houses.

[Donna]

I bought a mini trampoline thingy but find that really hard going as I have not ever exercised in my life. Need something a little gentler to start with methinks. But exercise equipment is so expensive.

[EmmaG]

I must admit that the bike is quite gentle I only do 30 mins each time, I burn off around 260 calories and bike for nearly 6 miles. IF I kept that up for a year I would be well chuffed with myself. (over a year that would be 40,560 calories :shock: and 936 miles :shock: )

Exercise equipment is quite expensive, but I think my bike was around £90 from Argos, which I thought wasn't too bad (as long as I use it:roll: )

[EmmaG]

Mind you I do notice it on the scales the day after I have exercised.

[Donna]

Maybe an exercise bike would be the way forward! Or those epileptical (sp?) kind????

[EmmaG]

Yes I think those epileptical ones are very kind to the joints. What I like is with the bike I can read a book or magazine :) Oh and I also watch the TV

[Donna]

Exercising whilst sitting down!!! I like it!!!

[EmmaG]

I do find using a bike without some other type of entertainment very boring :)

The TV does work quite well.

The other half is away on Wednesday so I might do an hour or so on the bike and see how I go :)

[Donna]

You are very good!

[EmmaG]

I do find it easier if I try and stick to set days for exercise.

It really isn't that bad once you get going. I also find because I work in the office it is quite nice doing a bit of exercise :)

[Mags]

We tried the Sainsburys chicken and cheese wrapped in bacon tonight......thought it was delicious! That's another one to stock up on!:lol:

[Donna]

I had McDonalds (yes I know I am on a diet, but we were out after school to the shopping centre, kids were being good as we all went to get our eyes tested, so I treated them - and me!!)

[EmmaG]

Just cooking some Sainsburys Chicken with Sausage meat and bacon (my favourite :) and some buttered mange tout, I had sausages, egg, fried mushrooms, tomatoes and beans for lunch (gotta love low carbing :)

[Donna]

Just cooking some Sainsburys Chicken with Sausage meat and bacon (my favourite :) and some buttered mange tout, I had sausages, egg, fried mushrooms, tomatoes and beans for lunch (gotta love low carbing :)

Just cant get my head around your diet Emma!! sausages, egg, fried food?? How on earth can this work???

[EmmaG]

Donna I think the idea is that you have non processed food (well as much as you can - sausges are processed after all, but I only have good quality sausages)

It seems to be that the combination of fat, protein and good carbs does seem to help me lose weight (and also a lot of low carbers)

I hardly ever feel hungry (that's the combination of fat and protein), so I never snack between meals. Overall I think most low carbers do actually eat less calories because you don't feel the need to snack. Although I have butter and saturated fat, I don't eat that much, a block of butter would last me a good couple of months.

I have been tracking my weight loss and between 15th January 2006 I weighed 10.4 on the 26th January 2006 I weighed 9.10, so in 11 days I lost 8 lbs.

When I first did low carbing (I weighed about 12+ stone) I really did research it to make sure it was the right plan for me, I have learnt that for me, eating low fat food wouldn't work as I would still be very hungry, it seems to be the sugar and hidden sugar that makes me put on weight.

[Donna]

Thats what I am doing wrong. I am doing Weigh****chers which is basically a low fat diet but I am always hungry so then I do bad things (like today). Do you have set portions etc?

[EmmaG]

No set portions (as such) plenty of protein, good carbs in the form of vegetables (mainly the ones that grow ABOVE the ground) i.e cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, broccoli, mange tout, green beans etc, (be careful about veg and starches that grow below the ground, carrots, potatoes, parsnips etc as these can be quite high in carbs) , most salad stuff is fine. Peas are a bit high in carbs.

You can also have butter, olive oil, seasoning, mayonnaise. You might find that any low fat/calorie foods are full of sugar to make them taste better.

If I do need to snack I cut up some veggies and have them with a mayo and smoked garlic dip :)

There are a lot of low carb plans, some have fruit and nuts, some don't.

I know a lot of people slate low carbing, but I do think of it as just eating natural wholesome products. No added sugar or salt. Nothing tampered with. And I find that once I strict low carb to the weight I want to, I can control my weight, even if I want say a chinese meal or some chocolate.

[Donna]

So can you have cereal say for breakfast or is that off limits? I normally have cereal and skimmed milk then a sandwich at lunchtime but am starving by the time I get home at four and it all goes downhill from there.

[EmmaG]

I personally wouldn't have cereal, most of it is full of sugar :( Although I have had a very small bowl of Ready Break - made with water or cream or combination of both, or All bran again with cream and water,, plain porridge (made with water and cream) would possibly work (if you like it sweeter you could always have a bit of splenda on it, also a good no added sugar muesli (again water and cream), plain yogurt would also work.

I think with low carbing breakfast is one of the hardest meals to have, my breakfast at the moment is scrambled eggs with or without bacon.

If you have white coffee, cream is preferable to milk as it has lower carbs. I use splenda or Sainsburys Splendasweet.

Sometime caffeine can trigger food cravings in some people but not all.

[Donna]

So let me get this straight - you have egg bacon for breakfast - just that or other stuff too? Not allowed caffeine drinks (tea/coffee) or milk. then lunch could be a salad of some sort (tuna/chicken ok?) then dinner meat and veg but no potatoes.

[EmmaG]

Donna what cereal are you normally having?? do you have coffee/tea?? it sounds to be as if something is triggering a sugar/carb spike and then you are getting hungry.

Before I low carbed, my typical food would be, breakfast - cereal with sugar, lunch - either jacket potato or sandwich, dinner - could be anything, pasta, chinese, salad, fish.

I found the I would be starving about 10.30-11am, then after lunch I would feel bloated until about 3pm then I would become very tired and hungry again, by the time I got home I would be starving and raid the cupboards when I got home :(

[Donna]

Donna what cereal are you normally having?? do you have coffee/tea?? it sounds to be as if something is triggering a sugar/carb spike and then you are getting hungry.

Before I low carbed, my typical food would be, breakfast - cereal with sugar, lunch - either jacket potato or sandwich, dinner - could be anything, pasta, chinese, salad, fish.

I found the I would be starving about 10.30-11am, then after lunch I would feel bloated until about 3pm then I would become very tired and hungry again, by the time I got home I would be starving and raid the cupboards when I got home :(

Oooh that is me exactly!!!!

Today for example, I had weetabix, skimmed milk, one teaspoon of sugar.
Have tea with semi skimmed at work with sweetners
Had my lunch at around 11:oops: cos was hungry - chicken sandwich.
Then got out of work, picked up the kids and the were hungry so we started eating rubbish when we got in. Now I have not had any dinner cos full up on junk. Complete disaster day. As usual.

[EmmaG]

Breakfast would be - bacon (say two rashers) scrambled eggs, cooked in butter with a little bit of creme fraiche (sp)

Lunch - I am eating the steamfresh fish (haddock one with brocholli and leeks) or a chicken salad (be careful with dressing), prawn cocktail salad (full fat) with salad, homemade chicken curry (minus rice)

Lunch - could be fish, chicken, red meat, with veggies - no potatoes, bread or rice.

drinks are - coffee with cream, tea with milk, no added sugar squashes, no added sugar flavoured waters, water.

One thing I have noticed with low carbing once I get to about 9 stone 7lbs my stomach goes totally flat :), my height is about 5' 7"

[Donna]

Ohh not had a flat stomach since I was about 12!!!

Might try this out Emma. Not got any bacon, but could have eggs tomorrow. Got sausages and baked beans. Just a normal sized portion I presume rather than a whole pile of food!!

Have salad and tuna here so will have that for lunch. Like low cal mayo so will use that. Will have water tomororw instead of tea. Then will see how I feel at dinner. Does that sound ok?

[EmmaG]

I think that weetabix isn't too bad, as I have this when I am maintaining my weight, but you might find that it is a little too carby to loose weight with.

I think for low carbing everybody has an individual carb level, once they go over this they will either not loose weight or put it on. If you exercise this level does go up. I know with the Aktins plan they recommend a carb level of no more than 20 for the first two weeks, and although this is quite restrictive it does eliminate any hunger pangs, and gives you an idea of what real hunger is. When I first started low carbing, I had headaches, felt very week but once I got over this (after about a couple of days) I started to feel amazing, I had so much energy, and I wouldn't even get hungry, I had to make sure I had something to eat otherwise 1pm would arrive and I still hadn't had my lunch!!

Don't forget once you are happy with your weight a lot of the food you would normally eat (good food) you will still be able to eat but in moderation.

[Donna]

Just PM'd you Emma as everyone will be getting fed up of all my questions!

[EmmaG]

Donna, eggs would be fine, sausages can be carby (check the packet and see how many carbs per 100g) the lower the better, baked beans can contain quite a bit of sugar but a couple of spoonfuls will be fine. Low cal mayo is higher in carbs than the plain stuff but again that will be fine.

Tuna and salad is excellent :)

If you did decide to do this I think anybody should really give it a good go for a couple of weeks, I felt terrible my first week, but I realised this was mainly down to sugar/carb withdrawal.

Also don't think low calories, with low carbing it is just eating non processed food, steer clear of bread, white rice, potatoes, added sugar foods. Remember once you have got down the to weight you want, by all means have a jacket potato, or a curry with basmati rice (basmati rice along with brown/wild rice is lower in carbs than plain white rice)

[EmmaG]

lol well it is giving everybody something to read ;)

[Mags]

Donna, when I was lo carbing I bought myself a pocket size Carb Counter book. It shows you how many carbs there are in practically every kind of food. I used to go through it and just choose the food with the lowest carbs in it.
Breakfast was the hardest meal for me as I liked cereal. I ended up having scrambled egg or omelette every morning. I cut out cereal, all bread, cakes, biscuits, potatoes, pasta, rice, baked beans, being the main items. I used to drink tea and coffee without milk.
Lunchtime I would have bacon and scrambled egg (again!:roll: ) then dinner I would have meat, greens and carrots. I also ate a lot of salads in the summer time. In 5 - 6 months I lost 1st 10 lbs, it has stayed off until I started pigging out on the Christmas chocs and I have now put on about 6lbs:roll:

[EmmaG]

Excellent advice Mags, especially the omelette :)

When I first started low carbing I made low carb pancakes with a butterscotch sauce, they were totally yummy. I will find the recipe :)

[EmmaG]

MOCK CHOCOLATE DANISH

(this is so versatile. You can leave out the cocoa, nuts, and protein powder and just add vanilla and it is still very good. ) My timing for my micro is different for this. I use 20 seconds to melt and 45 seconds to cook....you want it like custard not scrambled eggs........

2 ounces cream cheese
1 egg
2 Splenda packets (http://www.netrition.com/cgi/goto.cgi?aid=281&url=splenda_page.html) -- if needed
1 1/2 tablespoons plain cocoa powder
3 tablespoons protein powder whey, or ground almonds (http://www.netrition.com/cgi/goto.cgi?aid=281&url=bobs_red_mill_almond_flour_page.html) or both


How to Prepare:

Put cream cheese in microwave for 30 seconds. Then put in all the rest. Stir with a whisk until well blended. Put in microwave for 1 minute. This is like chocolate sponge pudding with thick custard in the middle!

________________________________________

The above receipe is great, I had loads of these when I first started low carbing :)

[EmmaG]

You could also make a set custard for breakfast using the following

Cream
Egg yolks
Splenda
Vanilla extract

[EmmaG]

Pancakes

You blend together 8 ounces cream cheese, 2 tablespoons splenda, 4 egg yolks,1 tsp of vanilla and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Then, you blend the egg whites seperately and fold them in. These were absolutly fantastic when topped with a little splenda and cinnamon!

Fry in a little bit of butter.

Makes enough for two people :)

[Donna]

Will try this instead of the WW diet. Am doing rubbish on that. Even tho I paid £50 for three months online WW. Oh well. Will let you know how I get on tomorrow (have to do it now I told you I am!!).

[EmmaG]

Butterscotch sauce

Heat some butter until it starts going brown, add a little bit of double cream stir and add a little bit of splenda to sweeten :)

[Donna]

Donna, when I was lo carbing I bought myself a pocket size Carb Counter book. It shows you how many carbs there are in practically every kind of food. I used to go through it and just choose the food with the lowest carbs in it.
Breakfast was the hardest meal for me as I liked cereal. I ended up having scrambled egg or omelette every morning. I cut out cereal, all bread, cakes, biscuits, potatoes, pasta, rice, baked beans, being the main items. I used to drink tea and coffee without milk.
Lunchtime I would have bacon and scrambled egg (again!:roll: ) then dinner I would have meat, greens and carrots. I also ate a lot of salads in the summer time. In 5 - 6 months I lost 1st 10 lbs, it has stayed off until I started pigging out on the Christmas chocs and I have now put on about 6lbs:roll:

Where would I get a book like that Mags? I like eggs and cheese so that is what I will have for breakfast a cheesy omlette or scrambled eggs with grated cheese on top! Bread is my downfall but will try to go a whole day without eating any!!

[EmmaG]

Low Carb cheese sauce (great for fish)

Heat up some cream cheese so it melts, add double cream to loosen, add a handful of cheddar cheese and melt over a low heat.

My other half loves this sauce, he says it is better than normal cheese sauce made with cornflour ;)

[Donna]

Cheese sauce sounds good Emma. So I use full fat everything I use????? And real butter or spreads?

[EmmaG]

Donna I have got a few books I can send to you. I have

The South Beach Diet
The Atkins Diet guide - this has got a carb counter in the back (it is a small book)
Dr Atkins New Diet cookbook.

Either PM or email me your address and I will pop them in the post to you :)

[EmmaG]

Yes Donna full fat everything, and I cook with butter not marg :)

Your body does need fat, and over a short period of time you will find that you don't use that much fat at all.

[Donna]

Donna I have got a few books I can send to you. I have

The South Beach Diet
The Atkins Diet guide - this has got a carb counter in the back (it is a small book)
Dr Atkins New Diet cookbook.

Either PM or email me your address and I will pop them in the post to you :)

But surely you will need them to refer to still? If you really dont want them then I am happy to pay for them/postage:-D

[EmmaG]

Just looking at the carb counter book, Special K has got 75 carbs per 100g!! oh and Sugar puffs has got 86.5!!! :shock:

It also give you some idea of better foods to eat if you go out, for example Stir fried pork with garlic sauce instead of Sweet & sour pork

[EmmaG]

Donna I know most of these books like the back of my hand, I have got about 10 low carbs books, so I am happy to send a few to you.

One I would recommend if you do find low carbing sucessful and that is Dana Carpender 500 low carb recipes :)

There is also a very good website (free to join) which you can keep an online journal of your weightloss this has also got a very very good carb counter on it.

website is www.fitday.com (http://www.fitday.com)

[Donna]

Well let me know if you really dont want them Emma. Will buy them off of you and pay postage - its only what I would of paid if I had gone to Ebay anyway!! Let me know.

[EmmaG]

Nah I don't want any money for them, or postage costs, tell you what, if you don't like low carbing, just post them back to me.

[Donna]

I will PM you my details but would like your addy to so I can send you SOMETHING for your troubles!

[Mags]

Where would I get a book like that Mags? I like eggs and cheese so that is what I will have for breakfast a cheesy omlette or scrambled eggs with grated cheese on top! Bread is my downfall but will try to go a whole day without eating any!!
I got my Carb Counter book in Sainsburys Donna but W.H. Smiths have loads of this type of book. Anyway it looks like Emma has got one for you now, I'm sure you will see results once you start the diet...and you don't actually feel starving like you do with other diets. Good luck!

[EmmaG]

The Atkins Diet book looks like it was free with the Mail on Sunday :)
The South Beech one was free with Cosmo :)

Donna should get these Friday, she has a bit of reading to do :)

[Mags]

The Atkins Diet book looks like it was free with the Mail on Sunday :)
The South Beech one was free with Cosmo :)

Donna should get these Friday, she has a bit of reading to do :)

Hope she will still find time to come on here!:roll: :lol:

[Donna]

Just want everybody to know that Emma is sending these books to me free of charge - she wont take any money at all for them and refuses to give me her addy to send a cheque.

WHAT A LOVELY PERSON SHE IS!! JUST WANTED TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL AND LET EVERYONE KNOW!!!

[EmmaG]

Well I did wonder Mags :)

Just don't blame me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

[EmmaG]

Awww thank's Donna, it really is no problem, as I said I am happy to help a friend :)

[Donna]

Hope she will still find time to come on here!:roll: :lol:

Dont worry Mags!! I am hooked!!! Love coming on here EVERY day. It is all a part of my recovery process from my split/depression/problems. Dont know what I did before I found this site, and often wonder how I did find it - wasnt looking for a forum as such, just some info on cats!!!! Well done kittykats for getting me here!!!

[Mags]

Dont worry Mags!! I am hooked!!! Love coming on here EVERY day. It is all a part of my recovery process from my split/depression/problems. Dont know what I did before I found this site, and often wonder how I did find it - wasnt looking for a forum as such, just some info on cats!!!! Well done kittykats for getting me here!!!
I think most of us feel the same Donna, I certainly never thought I could get addicted to Catpages....and I'll let you into a secret...I'm up here out the way and hardly ever see my hubby now!:-D :-D :-D

[Donna]

Doesnt he mind Mags? I am on my laptop wherever I want to be, but couldnt imagine being away from the goings on downstairs!!

[EmmaG]

Well I am having chicken and veg tonight :)

I am down 2lbs from yesterday :) Gotta love a good fry up :) (I must point out that I don't have a fry up every day!!! ;) )

How are you getting on Donna??

[Donna]

Well I am having chicken and veg tonight :)

I am down 2lbs from yesterday :) Gotta love a good fry up :) (I must point out that I don't have a fry up every day!!! ;) )

How are you getting on Donna??

Hi Emma

Been a good day I think :)

Had scrambled eggs/cheese for breckie
Salad/mayo/tuna for lunch
Chicken/brocolli/cauliflower in your cheese sauce recipe.

Just had dinner and am stuffed!

Bit concerned as to how much I should have of foods as WW used to give you a portion size so may have done badly and not know about it as I dont know how much to eat!! If that makes sense!

[Kazz]

Tonight I have had;
Spaghetti in a Pesto sauce, with cooked chicken and very nice too.:-D

[EmmaG]

Sounds like you are going very well!!! :)

The advice I was given was to make sure you are never hungry, so if you are hungry eat something (obviously low carb), I wouldn't worry too much about your portion control as within a few days you should start to naturally moderate what you eat, I bet within a week you will soon realise that you don't feel so hungry, so don't worry about it for the moment.

[EmmaG]

Tonight I have had;
Spaghetti in a Pesto sauce, with cooked chicken and very nice too.:-D

Sounds great Kazz :)

[Donna]

Its great. Got some bacon tonight so will have egg/bacon for brekkie tomorrow and then do the tuna salad again. Cooked double the veg and chicken so can do that quickly tomorrow night for myself before I go out. Love the cheese sauce idea. Made a plain dinner really tasty.

Am I right in thinking that I never get LOW FAT anything Emma?

[EmmaG]

Yes no more low fat stuff. Normally to make low fat food taste half decent the food can contain a lot of sugar, sugar doesn't make you feel full up, it just gives you a burst of energy and then a slump which then causes cravings for a lot of people.

A good exercise to see this is to have a look at the food labels for some low fat items and compare them to regular food, you might be surprised how much sugar is added to the food

Oh and that Cheese sauce you can also add a little bit of butter to it if you want to ;)

[Donna]

Well I did use low fat cream cheese as I am using it up, and the mayo was low cal too in my salad, but will gradually replace. Also the cheese this morning was low fat too. Oh dear!!! Will get fat stuff soon!!

[EmmaG]

Just had a look at Sainsburys online nutritional values for their prawns in prawn cocktail sauce

Low fat variety - 5.1 carbs per 100g
Regular variety - 2.7 carbs per 100g

Don't forget sometimes the supermarkets also charge more for low fat ranges of food.

[EmmaG]

It's not too bad Donna, as you say use them up, don't waste them. I have found that my shopping bill has gone down quite a bit as I don't buy for myself, chocolates, biscuits, crisps etc, although obviously meat costs more than say pasta if you don't snack in between meals it does save you money.

I would also steer clear of most of the low carb ranges of food, I think the only items I have got are spaghetti, sweetener, reduced sugar ketchup (sainsburys own brand). Most of the other items taste horrible are very expensive, it is better once you are happier with your weight to eat the normal ranges but just on occassions.

[Mags]

Sainsburys are selling Heinz locarb tomato ketchup for 69p instead of £1.99 at the moment!

[Donna]

Just had a look at Sainsburys online nutritional values for their prawns in prawn cocktail sauce

Low fat variety - 5.1 carbs per 100g
Regular variety - 2.7 carbs per 100g

Don't forget sometimes the supermarkets also charge more for low fat ranges of food.

Its a completely different way of thinking this diet. I am just so glad I can eat cheese!! My fav but on WW it is a really bad food so could only eat a tiny piece if i wanted any. and not every day.

[EmmaG]

Thanks for that Mags ;) I think I have got the Carb Options low carb ketchup before, it was ok, very expensive though.

[Donna]

Thanks for that Mags ;) I think I have got the Carb Options low carb ketchup before, it was ok, very expensive though.

Is this low carb food easily spotted in the supermarket? I never seen it before.

[Mags]

Thanks for that Mags ;) I think I have got the Carb Options low carb ketchup before, it was ok, very expensive though.
Our Sainsbury has stopped doing Carb Options now...I used to buy their strawberry breakfast bars, really yummy. Tesco has also stopped selling their own make locarb range as well, not sure why:roll: :?

[EmmaG]

It does take a bit of getting use to ;) It was funny today at our work staff meeting as everybody was stuffing their faces with crisps, sandwiches, jaffa cakes (I didn't have any) and then they are all taking about how hungry they are about 30 mins later.

Donna yes you can have the cheese, I usually keep some Stilton, Brie and Cheddar in my fridge to snack on ;)

Later on once you have lost the weight if you like cheese and crackers, Carrs do a very nice biscuit, they are called Carrs melts, they are fairly low carb, the cheese melts variety are 2.6g carbs per cracker and are delicious ;)

[Donna]

What about things like yoghurts?

Sorry lots of questions, but just things I still have in my fridge from the low fat option.

[EmmaG]

Our Sainsbury has stopped doing Carb Options now...I used to buy their strawberry breakfast bars, really yummy. Tesco has also stopped selling their own make locarb range as well, not sure why:roll: :?

Mags I think once the low carb craze had died down a bit the supermarkets weren't selling much of the low carb food. I think personally because a lot of people decided if they ate regular food in moderation they would be ok, I for one have stopped buying low carb products, before in the past I have bought,

Bread
Ketchup
Pasta
Jams
Sweets
Syrups
Breakfast bars
Breakfast cereal
etc etc

[Mags]

Is this low carb food easily spotted in the supermarket? I never seen it before.
Here is the Carb Options website Donna....
http://www.carb-options.co.uk/

[Donna]

Here is the Carb Options website Donna....
http://www.carb-options.co.uk/

Thanks. Will have a quick lookie now!!

[EmmaG]

Low fat yoghurts will have more sugar in them than the regular stuff, If they have good a good date on them I would eat them as a treat say at the weekend otherwise it is a shame to waste them.

There has been a lot of talk as to whether the carb content in natural yoghurt does affect weight gain, I know a lot of people who low carb who also eat yoghurt (plain) as part of their daily plan and they say it does not affect them at all.

[EmmaG]

Donna a lot of the carb options food, especially the sauces are higher than some of the own supermarket brands. For currys I buy curry PASTE and add cream, coconut milk, butter, sour cream and it is lower than the carb options stuff.

Their pasta isn't too bad ;)

[Donna]

Website was intersting. I think it is more down to making my own sauces. My kids love spaghetti bolognaise and I would love to still be able to do that so we can all eat similar foods. And what about gravy????????

[EmmaG]

Hmmm gravy is always a difficult one, I would use the juices of the meat and add a small amount of cornflour and bisto powder, Unless you are going to drink a jug full a small amount of gravy will be ok.

There is a powder you can get made of cauliflower which you can use as a thickener but I could never get on with the stuff!!! talk about lumps!!! lol

[Donna]

Well I could always have the cheese sauce instead of gravy!!! Was delicious!!

[EmmaG]

the stuff is called Xanthan Gum, you can buy it in Sainsburys, but I really couldn't get on with it!!

[EmmaG]

Yes that cheese sauce is sooooo good isn't it, and so easy!! no lumps ;)

[dandysmom]

I was on my own so just cooked sliced mushrooms with garlic in olive oil and tossed them through spaghetti - fab, and it takes 12 minutes max!
Sounds delicious; I'm going to try it!!:D

[dandysmom]

Sounds yumm.
We're having French Country casserole. Lumps of lamb slowly cooked with apricots, leeks and fresh mint in a rose wine sauce. Then sliced potatoes layered on top...its one of my favourites...not least because theres three quarters of a bottle of wine left:D
Het, would you post the recipe for that, or e-mail it to me...want to try it...thanks:D

[dandysmom]

Just found this thread & love it!! Talking about food is as much fun as about cats...yummy ideas here; am drooling!! Tonight I'm having pasta e fagioli, green salad and a ciabatta roll :D :D

[EmmaG]

One question for the venison eaters on here, where do you get your venison from?? a local butcher?? I can find smoked venison in Sainsburys but I am having trouble finding joints of it???

DM it makes for an interesting thread ;)

[EmmaG]

Well I am having Sainsburys Florentine Chicken with veg :)

Tomorrow Duck :) and Sunday Lamb shanks :)

How are you getting on Donna?

[Donna]

Hi Emma

Thanks for the books. They arrived safely!!! All looks complicated!!! Started reading the smallest book and it is just explaining the diet which is what I need to get my head round first!

You can tell me how I am getting on by me telling you what I had today:

Brekkie: scrambled egg, sausage, bacon, grilled tomato.
Lunch: sausage with salad and mayo
Dinner: chicken and cheese so far as just picked at pieces!

[Kazz]

Well I could ruin your plans here I had fresh roe and chips fromthe chippie.:-D

[EmmaG]

Karen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's not helping!!! lol

Donna everything sounds excellent. How are you feeling?

[Donna]

Feeling good Emma. Not hungry. Not constantly thinking about food. Love my brekkie, struggling a bit on lunch, but dinner again ok as can cook at home.

Only got a microwave at work so cant do much other than a ready meal. usually have sandwiches.

[EmmaG]

Sounds as if you are doing great :)

Donna if you get stuck at lunchtimes, you could try looking at the carb levels on some of the currys in the supermarkets, some of them are quite low in carbs, look for ones which are less than 10g per packet, and obviously the ones without rice.

Also if you have a Tescos near you at lunchtimes they do the hot deli chicken and sausages, when I first started low carbing I relied on these a lot and they were great, you can eat the cumbernauld sausage, chinese chicken thights, BBQ chicken thighs, more or less anything as long as it doesn't have breadcrumbs on it.

[Donna]

Also if you have a Tescos near you at lunchtimes they do the hot deli chicken and sausages, when I first started low carbing I relied on these a lot and they were great, you can eat the cumbernauld sausage, chinese chicken thights, BBQ chicken thighs, more or less anything as long as it doesn't have breadcrumbs on it.

I work in Rochester which is a tourist town really - Charles Dickens etc. Has a castle and a cathedral and lots of antique shops and cobbled High Street. Only food places are tea rooms and cafes with huge bread sandwiches - think thats where I started to go wrong!!!

Is tomato soup ok Em?

[EmmaG]

Sainsburys Cream of mushroom soup is better :) (lower carbs) but I think if you get stuck tomato soup would be ok, best to compare a few tins against packet ones, I think the tins/cartons are better for you than the dried packets.

I must admit when I was a bit younger I loved doorstep sandwiches, thick fresh white bread filled with egg and mayo ;)

[Donna]

Sainsburys Cream of mushroom soup is better :) (lower carbs) but I think if you get stuck tomato soup would be ok, best to compare a few tins against packet ones, I think the tins/cartons are better for you than the dried packets.

I must admit when I was a bit younger I loved doorstep sandwiches, thick fresh white bread filled with egg and mayo ;)

HATE mushrooms! Cant imagine eating the soup!!!

My downfall was chicken/sweetcorn/mayo on thick doorstep white bread. Cafe over the road even delivers it!!! :-D

[EmmaG]

lol I will be getting hungry thinking of thick white sandwiches.

How about chicken soup?? Baxters do a great Luxury Chicken Consomme, I have a tin in my cupboard and it is only 1.7g carbs.

[Donna]

lol I will be getting hungry thinking of thick white sandwiches.

How about chicken soup?? Baxters do a great Luxury Chicken Consomme, I have a tin in my cupboard and it is only 1.7g carbs.

Could try that Emma. Not a great soup person, but would make a change from the salads. :-D

[CJK]

i love baxters beef consumme,e specially when I have tonsilitis ( yes i get it a lot but am too scared to have tonsils out)
also ahve a lot of consumme when I am dieintg, for my lunchtime meal.

tongiht we had fresh from butchers lincolnshire sausages and peas and the kids had roasts with them but i had extra peas lol