Support and ideas for those on low-carb diet

It sounds wonderful. Love achocha - have you tried cucamelons? I wasn't impressed, they are the size of large grapes and taste of cucumber, I wanted mini-melons!

I thought I would be having huge problems with menus, with both DBH&Son home now. However they seem to not mind missing carbs as long as they have enough protein and feel full. I bought a large loaf of seeded lovely bread, and made a rye loaf, on Monday. They have barely been touched, I am amazed. The birds will be very happy.

I made a huge stirfry tonight, and topped it with salmon fillets. I'd be quite happy to eat stirfry every night, just vary the veg in it and the protein on top or within. Vary the flavourings, oils, spices etc. and it's different every time. I think I would get complaints though.

Had a bad day all round yesterday and as the GC stayed over there was bread and brioche in the bread bin, which I raided and then sunk a 4-finger KitKat, two bars of Turkish delight, and two glasses of Bailey's. Yes, they shouldn't be in the house anyway I know, but they're left over from months ago.

I've been awake since dawn with chronic indigestion and other tummy issues I won't go into. Just about feeling human again niw.

Had nothing like this since starting the low car diet so let that be a lesson to me.

Oh dear Anya. Never mind, onwards and upwards (or downwards as far as weight is concerned?).
No haven't done cucamelons JR - OH bought a lot of Italian seed so the garden is full of weird and wondeful courge type things called trompetti or stromboli or something similar. They will climb all over the hedges apparently.
I am spitting tacks. I washed all our white bedding today, dried it in the lovely sunshine and a bird or ten has splattered pooh over the whole lot so I have to do it all again. Starlings I think (maybe a low-carb pie?)

I really can't like starlings, they drive all the other birds away from the feeders in the winter.

Respect, Anya! I can't think how you found room in your stomach. I am being bad today - a gluten-free cake cookery book arrived yesterday, I have felt deprived of proper fluffy cake for so long I had to try out a recipe, I had one carrot cake muffin with my afternoon tea and have just had another for dessert. I think I feel guiltier about the sugar than the carbs, as I haven't had any besides that. The rest are safely in the freezer. I allow myself a cake a week, so am a bit miffed, since I always keep the males supplied with their own, that they insisted on trying mine and then declared that they were too sweet, and could I make them less sweet next time? They aren't even for them!

Here it's blackbirds that seem the most aggressive.

I've a few cucamelons growing but they haven't really taken off yet. All my orca have died, bar one and that looks terminal.

Been very good today to make up for yesterday's binge. Munched on a piece of Manchego as a snack and stuck to red wine.

I've got 4 GC staying overnight so getting an early night as they'll be up with the larks

It wasn't a good day yesterday, so I had a cake for breakfast today. Thank heavens I had some, because it worked, that little luxury was all it needed. I keep reading articles about how bad food rewards are, but there's no denying they are the cheapest quickest fix when there isn't a single sweet in the house and nothing else hits the spot.

Cold chicken salad.
It is 7.40pm. It is 32° outside and 29° in the bedroom.
I am coming to England tomorrow and bringing the weather with me.

I watched a video today of a woman making breakfast pancakes with two eggs and a mashed up banana, beaten up together. No flour. Looked ok. Might try it in the morning.

Feed it back jingl if you do. It might go well with a marmalade sandwich!

A friend with Type 2 Diabetes has been following this régime. She injects insulin, so we are were talking serious out-of-control diabetes here. She has diabetic retinopathy and is was in danger of losing her sight. Then 6 weeks ago she took her eating habits in hand and made a serious attempt to change.

Today, after 6 weeks on this rëgime, she had a hospital appointment with her consultant optimologist (is that the right term?) anyway, you know who I mean, the specialist eye person.

She fed back that he was very pleased with her. Her eyesight has not deteriorated any further and indeed some readings were improved. He said that if she continued like this there was no reason for her eyesight to deteriorate further over the next 5-10 years.

She was so delighted and relieved she rang me and was on the phone for nearly an hour.
.

I have far more energy. It doesn't happen overnight, obviously, but I have only just sat down. This evening I had had a bonfire, had a bath, cooked dinner, done two loads of washing, made lemon polenta cakes for a coffee morning and all the resulting washing-up and done the online Tesco shop.

Optometrist? Opthalmist? That is pretty amazing - and then I look at my fingernails, which were splitting only a couple of months ago. They are getting so long now, they are starting to look dreadful. They are so much stronger. Normally they start to break as soon as I start gardening, but the coeliac thing made them very weak and brittle.

I'm in a pair of jeans I couldn't get into two months ago! Well, not actually right now, it's too hot, but I found them last night when I was looking for some shorts. I couldn't even do the button up before, let alone the zip so it was a lovely surprise. I flung them in with my shorts to remind me to have another go when it was finally summer.

Well done, janer. I've broken a couple of rules today. Had an ice cream for breakfast!

Just about to crack open a small lager as I've been slogging away doing the housework so I need a sin treat.

Yes, well done Jane

This drove me to a nice, cold shandy too

Well done JR! I have been clothes shopping and find I am a size 10. Last time I was a size 10 I weighed 8 stone and now I am 9 stone, but still.
DD cooked me piri piri chicken and waldorf salad last night which was delicious after a long hot journey and tonight is stir fry.
Feeling guilty about not being around to support OH at home (though the leccie is back) and mourning the loss of our greenhouse in the tornado this morning.....

Oh dear! Although at least one of our greenhouses loses a side every year. Never a whole one yet, though but it's all so messy. We are forever finding broken glass in our garden.

No way am I anywhere near a size ten yet! Last time I weighed 9 stone was 9 years ago. I really liked being ten stone, I felt comfortable there. I wonder how long it will take me.

I can't drink beer because of the malt, so that is another saving grace, I can't filch any of DBH's nice cold little bottles. I have an ice lolly instead.

Frozen grapes are nice too.

Sorry to hear about your greenhouse Mamie I bet that's left a terrible mess to clear up - unless it just completely blew away like Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz!

It was actually one of the corrugated plastic ones and the panels we had taped stayed put - the rest are scattered round the neighbour's orchard!

Better than glass under the circumstances

I've been lapsing quite a lot somewhat this last couple of weeks, so I'm taking myself back in hand and am going to stick religiously to my original plan. I've an event coming up in 10 days which requires me to be fighting fit, bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Just off for a refreshing glass of water

My kale is under attack from white fly

Just made a pungent infusion of spring onion and garlic and sprayed the noxious mixture over the back of the leaves.

Hope it works 'cos the house stinks (made it in the kitchen)

Will be interested to hear how it works Anya.
Have been in the UK for a week where I have established that I am definitely a size 10 and spent a lot of money in the sales refurbishing my wardrobe. Food has been good as DD low carbs too but I have eaten too many pork pies.
Should be an interesting trip back across the channel tomorrow.....

I can read underneath your crossings out....you can't fool us like that

At least you're going in the right direction and hopefully shouldn't have any extra baggage!

I picked 10lbs of spinach yesterday, for freezing. It took forever to wash, I had to have several trugs of water laid in a row, because every single flaming leaf was smothered in blackfly. I kept telling my family - extra protein, along with the little white and yellow insect eggs and very small pale brown caterpillars. The downside of being organic, I suppose. This is the worst year for blackfly I have ever had, I think.

The previous day was broad bean main harvest. Ironically, harvesting all the veg means less time to prepare meals, so I find myself eating a sandwich more often.

We had salad planted in amongst the broad beans and washing of the blackfly was horrendous. OH insists on the water going into a bucket for recycling so it takes forever. The broad beans were done before I left though. Still very hot over there so back to the watering. If this is climate change then I think we will have to find someone to repair the well (previous owners pulled down the ancient wellhead and chucked it down).

Never plant broad beans as they are a magnet for black fly.