Tag Archives: low carb

Deviled Eggs That Taste Good But Have Less Devilish Carbs!

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 LOW CARB DEVILED EGGS
deviledeggs
1 Protein per Serving – Makes 5 Servings5 Eggs Hard Boiled
1 tsp. Prepared Mustard
2 tbsp. Non-fat Yogurt
1 tsp. White Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp. Parsley Flakes
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Dash Paprika (put that on at the end)

Scoop out yolks of eggs and mix with all ingredients. (No paprika yet)

Blend well and refill egg halves with mixture.
Sprinkle with paprika.
EAT.

Measuring Food Tips

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If you’re on a diet, the best tool to help you start a diet and learn portion control is a food scale. Why?  Many people normally eat servings that are much larger than recommended amounts.

Food Scale: How it Works

A food scale will show you that the portion you thought was four ounces may actually weigh eight ounces. That’s the kind of mistake that could derail your diet.  Meat portions should be around 4 ounces.  Once you use a scale for a while, you can pretty much eyeball food portions and know if it is about 4 ounces or not.

A food scale is only one of the measuring tools you will need; measuring cups and spoons are also essential diet implements. Food scales are best for meat, which should weigh in at 4 ounces per serving, and cheese, 1.5 ounces per serving. Cups are best for fruits and vegetables — a serving is 1/2 cup on most fruits and about a cup on most vegetables, twice a day.

food-portions-measuring-guide-small

Another Way to Eyeball Sizes:

–A serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards

–A serving of pasta should fit in the palm of your hand, although I do not recommend pasta or rice on a low-carb diet.

Food Scale: Choosing the Best One

Food scales range from a small plastic cup on a small plastic base to old-fashioned metal scales with weights and measures to expensive, programmable digital scales that can give you the full nutritional information for each serving size. The best food scale for you:

  • Has numbers you can read easily
  • Has a cup or bowl large enough to hold the food you need to weigh
  • Is easy to clean and store

EAT PIZZA, LOSE WEIGHT

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Pizza!

Yes, it is delish and you don’t want to miss out on eating it on a diet.  There are ways to eat pizza and stay skinny.  You have two choices:

1.  Exercise like crazy before and after you eat it.

2.  Be careful about your choices, where you buy it and how much you eat.

I exercise, but I will not exercise like a madwoman over pizza…so I am careful.

First thing you have to know, is WHAT ARE YOU EATING?

A slice of Costco Pizza is one of the worst.  70g of carbs.  Domino’s Thin Crust Cheese Only Pizza from a medium pizza is one of the best at 15g of carbs.

So, where you get your pizza from is important.  If you go to a ma and pa neighborhood pizza joint and eat pizza, you might not know what the contents are in that slice.

Remember, wheat is involved, so you have to be careful.  This should be a treat, not a regular food choice.

Second thing is that you find places you want to go to and ask for info on their nutritional content if you can’t find it or get it easily. I found a place nearby called Pizza Rev.  They have gluten-free pizza (which is getting more popular). I contacted the company because they don’t have their nutritional content available yet.  The company said that their gluten-free standard personal cheese pizza is 40g of carbs.  So, if I eat half of that and some salad, I am doing great.  So, I have been there now 4 times and I haven’t gained weight, in fact, I worked it in with my 50 to 100g of carbs a day and I actually went down a few ounces.  I only add certain veggies and meats, which are low in carbs.

Here is a site where they give a lot of the carb and calorie content:  http://www.calorieking.com/calories-in-pizza.html  So do your HW before you eat.  Losing weight and staying skinny is about not being lazy about food choices.

Here is an example of something that could fool someone.  California Pizza Kitchen.  The thin-crust Margherita pizza.  You would expect it to be low (not gluten-free).  The entire little pizza is 1038 calories, 98g of carbs.  Even if you only ate half–that is 519 calories and 48g of carbs all in one go.  You will not lose weight, you might even gain that day depending on what you eat the rest of the day.

Subway has a 6 inch pizza (who knew?).  It is 680 calories and 96g of carbs in that little pizza.    But, here, for the kids at Olive Garden, the Kid’s Pizza.  Should be light and not that bad, right?  No– it is 420 calories and 64g of whopping carbs for the kiddies.  No wonder why America is getting so large.  ONE slice at Chuck E Cheese is 169 calories and 24g of carbs.  That isn’t bad, but what kid only eats ONE slice?  How lean is a Lean Pocket pizza?  41g of carbs for the whole pizza sandwich.

So, you can eat out, but be careful where and what you eat.

And if you eat at home, you can make your own.  It isn’t hard and fairly easy. I have a recipe that I have used to make a pizza with Cauliflower crust.  It is really good.  http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/08/the-astonishing-cauliflower-pizza-crust-you-have-to-taste-it-to-believe-it.html

Here is one that is easier pizza crust and I want to try and will follow up on it soon.  http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/thinandcrispy_pizza.html

Below was my caulfilower-based home-made Margherita pizza and salad that I shared with my husband.  Less than 5g of carbs per half of that 9 inch pizza.  Totally delish and low carb.  The base was delish and didn’t miss the pizza crust.  But, if you have to have pizza crust–go online and type in low carb pizza crust and up pop a lot of sites that sell them online.  Even try Amazon.com–they sell everything.

pizzanight

The Lowest Carb Yogurt I Have Found So Far

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I am really ticked off with Costco.  They stopped carrying my Dannon Light and Fit Blueberry and Strawberry Greek Yogurt with only 8g of carbs.  They were only carrying Chiobani and Fage, but their flavored yogurts were between 16g and 20g per container.  If I want to keep my carbs low throughout the day so that when I have a meal, it can have a few more carbs, then I certainly don’t want a lot of carbs in my yogurt.  Low carb yogurt is just as good, so why would I buy the Chiobani and eat over twice the amount of carbs in the same size?

I looked it up online and they only sell this particular one (there is another version of it at the markets and even Target that have 14g of carbs–still too much in my book), so I stopped by Ralphs (Kroger supermarket) and there were more choices, but I noticed a regular low fat yogurt called CARBMASTER, made by Ralphs.  I decided to give this a shot because it was the lowest in carbs that I ever did see.

carbmaster-yogurt-450x450-kalynskitchenI had it.  It is good.  Not as tangy as Greek Yogurt, but totally edible for only 4g of carbs.  12g of protein.  Only 3g of sugar.  You should check this out if you are on a strict carb diet or look for something similar at your local market.  Don’t bother with those 20 plus grams carb yogurts.  What a waste of carb counting for your day.

 

 

Bread! Carbilicious and Dangerous to the Waistline

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So, you want to lose weight.  But, are you aware how many carbs is in a slice of bread?  How about if you have a sandwich.  The average slice of bread has about 14g of carbs.  Now, if you have two slices in a sandwich, that means you are eating 28g of carbs–minimally.  If you want to have between 50 and 100g of carbs a day to lose weight…then bread can be a problem.

I pretty much gave up bread.  I only have it once in a blue moon and when I do, it is carefully selected.  I found that I am wheat sensitive and gluten sensitive, so with the way that wheat is made now (Google Frankenwheat or look at my blog on it  http://wp.me/p2I06z-a0), I try to avoid it.

bread

My top 5 choices of bread.

1.  Western Bagel’s Perfect 10 Bagel.  10 net grams of carbs vs. 45 of a regular bagel and about 30-35g of their alternative bagel.

2. Western Bagel alternative Pita and English muffins are lower in carbs, but I would not eat them often.

3.  Tortilla shells that are low carb in the 4-7 net grams of carb range.  Trader Joes and Costco does sell them.  Markets sell them.

4.  Julianbakery.com has breads that are Smart Carb (in the 3 to 5 net gram area) and Paleo Bread that is Zero Carbs.  The zero carb ones are pretty bland, but are ok if you make french toast out of them or use them with cold cuts.  Toasted is really boring.  But, you can go gluten-free this way.  Whole Foods and specific low carb food places sell them.  Google them.  LoCarbsU.com sells them too.

5.  Sara Lee 45 Calorie Whole Wheat Bread.  Not gluten free, but only 7g of carbs per slice and it is tasty.

So, you can’t complain that you can’t find decent bread choices.  But, if you choose to continue to eat regular bread, you might never lose the weight.  Most people who I know who have weight isssues seem to continue to eat taco shells, burrito shells, toast, cereal, sandwiches.  Maybe they would lose it like I did if they remove it from their diet and only insert one of the above only once or twice a week?  It worked for me.

The Dieter’s Enemy: HUNGER!

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Nothing works better to sabotage a diet than hunger when you’re trying to eat less and lose weight.  While waiting around for any lunch, dinner or even Christmas dinner, make sure to follow these rules before you wait too long and start to get so hungry, that you make bad choices and/or eat too much.

fiberproteins

Here’s how you can make food choices that will keep you feeling full and help prevent the hunger pangs that lead to diet-busting snacks or binges.

Food Strategies For Losing Weight

If you want to feel full all day on less food, focus on these eating strategies:

  • Get enough lean protein and fiber:  Protein is the number one thing to help you feel full, and he second thing is fiber.  If you are eating protein and not enough fiber, there are supplements that you can eat or take with fiber in them.  Or simply eat more veggies.  Eat this a small portion (4 ounces) every 3-4 hours to stave off hunger.
  • Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. People who eat the most fruits and veggies report the greatest weight loss and were less likely to say they felt hungry on any given day. This also helps when you go into maintenance.  Eat two portions of each a day, spread out to once earlier and once later in the day.  Salad twice a day too.
  • Sip soup. Adding two low-calorie soups to your diet every day could stave off hunger pangs and keep you satisfied longer. Choose soups that are broth-based, not cream-based, to reduce the calorie count; also look for soups that are low in sodium. Consider chunky, pureed vegetable soups, as they have been shown to produce the most lasting full feeling. Timing your soup so that you have it before a meal also reduces the amount you eat at that meal.
  • Eat whole grains. If you are going to eat any whole grains, keep in mind to minimize them due to their carb count, buy low carb versions and stick with whole grains, not bleached or other refined flour products.  One slice of bread INSTEAD of a fruit, twice a week max if you want to lose weight quickly.

Virtually no carbs for Carb Zero Cinnamon/French Toast Recipe

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 carbfreetoast

Ingredients:

3 slices Carb Zero™ Cinnamon bread, at room temperature

2 eggs, local organic cage free, if possible

1/4 cup cream (or unsweetened almond or coconut milk)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons Truvia (a blend of stevia and erythritol), optional

1 – 2 tablespoons grass fed butter or extra virgin coconut oil

 Directions:

In a medium sized shallow bowl, beat eggs, cream/almond or coconut milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and optional sweetener (the sweetener is equivalent to approximately 3 teaspoons of sugar).   Heat a medium non-stick skillet or griddle to medium high and add butter or coconut oil.  While the pan is heating up, soak the Carb Zero Cinnamon breadslices one at a time in the egg mixture, turning over to coat and saturate well.  Once butter/oil is hot, carefully add the soaked bread slices one at a time and let cook a few minutes on each side until browned and cooked through (see tip below).

 Tip:  The trick to getting as much of the delicious egg mixture into the bread as possible is to use a teaspoon to drizzle extra egg mixture on the side facing up (while the other side is cooking) and cover the pan for a minute or so until it sets up just a little bit and doesn’t run off when flipped.  Repeat this process with the other side while cooking until both sides have been battered and cooked twice.  Basically you are re-soaking the bread using a teaspoon for the “second cooking”.  This helps the bread soak in as much of the flavor and egg mixture as possible, further boosting the protein content of each slice of French toast.

Note:  If desired, sprinkle the plated French toast with “cinnamon sugar” by mixing a little cinnamon with Truvia and dusting on top before serving.

 Carb Info:  Using coconut or almond milk in this recipe will yield the lowest total carb count (less than 1 carb added for 1/4 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk, of which you will consume about half of due to only half the batter absorbing into the bread, yielding less than 1 carb per 3-slice serving).  Using cream in the recipe will provide slightly more carbs (about 2 carbs for 1/4 cup cream, of which you will consume about half of due to only half the batter absorbing into the bread, yielding approximately 1 carb per 3-slice serving).  Either way you decide to go, this recipe is a great way to have a virtually carb free, protein packed, as well as satisfying and flavorful breakfast or meal.

Benefits:

Each slice of Carb Zero Cinnamon bread boasts 9 grams of protein with zero net carbs (after subtracting the 9 grams of fiber) and zero grams of sugar making it a perfect addition to many different types of low carb and no carb programs.  This French toast recipe is versatile and can be used by both those that consume dairy products and those that don’t, simply by substituting coconut oil for butter, almond or coconut milk for cream, etc.  The use of a sweetener is also optional and can be modified by using the sweetener of your choice.  Eating 3 slices of this French toast provides you with 27 grams of protein from the bread and an additional approximate 6 grams of protein per egg used in the mixture (the 3 slices absorbed approximately 1/2 of the batter or 1 egg’s worth of protein).  That means a 3-slice serving packs a whopping 33 grams of protein total with almost zero carbs depending on the type of “milk” you use in the batter.  Either way you go, this recipe is a win/win.  Adding cinnamon to your diet is also reported to be an excellent way to help your body metabolize sugar and glucose.  What a great way to start your day or fuel you for a vigorous workout.  Buy Carb Zero™ Bread: http://www.JulianBakery.com/Carb-Zero

http://www.julianbakery.com/carb-zero-bread-cinnamon-gluten-free-french-toast/

Yo Yo Dieting is NOT Good for Your Body

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christmas foodYes, it is holiday time again.  This does NOT mean you should lose all control and eat whatever you want and start “dieting” again on Jan. 2.  You can have a Cheat here and there, like maybe once a week–but the whole holiday time is not a wise idea.

I know someone who looks good most of the year and puts on the weight this time of year.  This is what we call “yo-yo” dieting.  Eating so carefully and depriving yourself  throughout the year and then going crazy and gaining it back during the holiday season–this is not good for your body or your mind.  Losing the weight again vs. maintaining weight is soooo much harder to do and it can be overwhelming.  You should have a set weight goal and stick to it with a five-pound window.  If you get past that point, it is time to do something about it immediately and make necessary changes.  If you follow a low-carb plan all year-long, you won’t have to go through so much torture each time you have to start over.

Consider a once a week cheat–not daily.  Yo-yo dieting is really not good for the body or maintaining weight.  Yo-Yo dieting can cause stress and it may be time for a new diet with permanent weight loss as its goal. Yo yo dieting often involves extreme caloric restriction and fewer nutrients, leading to fatigue and possible health issues. The pattern of yo yo dieting can leave you feeling depressed and deprived. It is also common for yo yo diets to result in decreased metabolism and increased muscle loss.  Those HCG and 600 calorie restrictive diets make you feel hungry depressed and you lose muscle, so don’t do them.

yo-yo-dieting

Here is an article about the dangers of yo-yo dieting:  http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/tips/diet-tips/end-the-yo-yo-diet-cycle

the KETOGENIC DIET: Turns out that a low-carb diet makes you thin AND delays the AGING PROCESS

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eggsbacon

Reducing calories and eating low-carb foods, something scientists at the Gladstone Institutes call the Ketogenic Diet, could delay the aging process. According to a study headed up by Gladstone Senior Investigator Eric Verdin, MD, the development of this anti-aging ketogenic diet could help to eventually combat age-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and certain forms of mental deterioration.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2012/12/05/science.1227166.abstract

lowcarbzone

“Over the years, studies have found that restricting calories slows aging and increases longevity—however the mechanism of this effect has remained elusive,” Verdin said in a statement. “Here, we find that βOHB—the body’s major source of energy during exercise or fasting—blocks a class of enzymes that would otherwise promote oxidative stress, thus protecting cells from aging.”
Read more: http://www.voxxi.com/ketogenic-diet-low-carb-low-calorie/#ixzz2EswKVfaQ

How To Stick with a Low-Carb Diet

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How to Stick with a Low-Carb Diet

Sticking with your low-carb diet is much easier if you set yourself up for success.  You have to prepare yourself and your kitchen for a low-carb lifestyle.

The following list of six items can help you realize your goals:

low-carb-motivation

  • Set your kitchen up for success.  You must always have low-carb foods around, ready to eat. Remove and keep away irresistible temptations.
  • Avoid excessive hunger. Eat befoe you’re starving.  Eat your proteins every 3-4 hours before it is hard to make a good decision when you are ravenous.
  • Prepare snacks in grab-and-go sizes.  Make prepackaged snacks from cut-up veggies, nuts, meats, cheeses.  Buy and bring low-fat Greek yogurt cups, protein bars or drinks and measured fruit.
  • Eat a variety of foods.  Make sure you eat a variety of foods for better nutrition–fruit two times a day, veggies two times a day, salad two times a day, protein 6 times a day.
  • Find activities and exercises that you enjoy. If you find something you really enjoy, you’re more apt to do it every day. If you’re social, find friends to walk with (running club, Zumba, Pilates or yoga class, spinning, etc).  If you like to exercise along, make and plan that time.  Make your workout personal.
  • Forgive yourself when you fail. Everyone experiences a setback from time to time. Don’t use it as an excuse to give up completely. Figure out where you went wrong and start again.