Support and ideas for those on low-carb diet

I thought socca normally refers to the chickpea flour pancake things that are a specialism in Nice? I haven't seen the flour called that, but maybe that is because we are up north!

Thanks, never heard of it- but will look out for it at HyperU and at health food store if not there. Merci.

granjura it's often called socca in France, I have a French friend who uses it a lot. I suppose it's like us also knowing it as gram flour.

Yes farine de pois chiches, we can get organic in the big Carrefour. I brought some (garbanzo) back from Spain last year and that is much tastier though.

Today it was top top, but we get tip top as well and lots of trop bling bling. It is on TF1 at 5pm. It also frequently demonstrates that there is indeed an emerging obesity crisis in France.

BTW what is chickpea flour called in French- farine de pois chiche? I'd love to try the fritters at some point when I have rieached my first goal (minus 5 kg or 10 lbs approx)

MDR (=morte de rire = LOL) - never seen it. Top top, or tip top?

Hihi- just making soup (in the soup maker of course) with ... all the bits left over and the tops from the fennel for tonight.

Thanks for the support - as said, never ever been able to stick to a diet- never needed to actually, until my thyroid gave up undiagnosed (yes, cobbler's shoes and all that) and diabetes crept in.

Watched very sad documentary in the UK recently about teenage diabetics losing their eyesight, kidney function and even limbs- as they refuse to take insulin in order not to put weight on- tragic.

Enjoy the spiraliser - if it is like ours, you get little bits left from the middle of the veg, which we collect and turn into soup.
Also good luck with continuing the "way of eating" before your operation. The health reasons were the biggest incentive for us to go low-carb and nearly two years on, we are very happy to continue with it for ever. We really don't miss anything much from before.
Now completely and utterly off-topic (sorry everyone), I am watching "4 Mariages pour 1 Lune de Miel", which is my favourite tea-time trashy programme at the moment. I pretend that it is good for my French, but so far tonight we have had, les wedding planners, un wedding cake, le speed-dating and tout est top top. Last week we had c'est trop too much.
Do I need to keep learning French?

Well, I am on my way- and used my new spiraliser for the first time yesterday- celeriac, courgette, carrot in noodles and hand chopped chunks of fennel for the stir fry to eat with the hand-made burgers.

I will continue to have porridge with seeds in the morning- but cut most carbs for the rest of the day. Wish me luck- have to lose weight before my new knee in the Spring. I have never ever managed to keep to any diet in the past- but Mamie all your great links and advice have convinced me it is the way to go. Fortunately DH has agreed to join me- it will make it so much easier.

Thanks for that. Didn't know about asafoetida; too late for tonight, but there are lots more out there.

Yes, it's a lovely sounding name, not heard it before. It's very true about how they spread, but in our case it's because voles burrow under them and chew them and spread them underground in their tunnels. They come into the garden through mole runs, sometimes DBH catches them in his traps, and so we have baby artichokes springing up all through our garden following the lines of the mole runs! I can't eat them in any quantity without a pinch of asafoetida powder, which stops their embarrassing side-effects. I do love them as a dauphinoise, but until I discovered the asafoetida trick I had to mix them with potatoes. I also love them in soup.

Jings I must have missed something, what do you have that has killed off your sense of taste? I know how awful it is to lose it, mine went when I had a bad sinus infection, for some months. DBH lost his when he was taking a certain anti-depressant. It was a nightmare trying to cook for him.

Just to show I am eating protein - I have had lately a mushroom omelette with salad, quinoa with roasted veg and feta cheese and roasted baby artichokes, pork steak baked in ratatouille, and tonight I will have GF pork and apple sausages and more quinoa with mixed roasted veg.

BTW I think I have read that Jerusalem is a corruption of girasole, hence the yellow flowers. I love the word topinambour though.

That is what they say about Jerusalem artichokes:
Year 1 enough for a family
Year 2 enough for family and friends
Year 3 small EU food mountain.
Ours are in an enclosed raised bed!
Not keen on tongue and capers but used to quite like mutton and caper sauce!

thanks- we have plenty of them here too- how I do not know. I think they must be self seeded from bird seed from the bird house- one of the plants is about 8ft plus tall. I only discovered the tubers when digging some of them up - they have yellow flowers which are quite pretty in autumn! I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw the tubers, checked on google, and yet, no mistake.

Not used my spiraliser yet as we came back Tuesday night and had the elderly folk from village for lunch yesterday- and I did have some of the mash with salad and defrosted bolo with lots of veg! (they all had tongue and capers - yuk not for me! they all love it- thank goodness I don't do the cooking for them (45 at a time) apart from cakes for tea (4 heures) when it is my turn and sometimes dessert.

I think they are about the same GJ, but the potatoes are nearly over and there are lots of topinambours! We have added a few carbs back in now so as not to lose any more weight. Though you probably do lose a bit of weight due to the after effects.
Anya, I don't know, they are just called sanglier here.
Scary things though, I came face to face with one in the snow once...

Are Jerusalem artichokes lower carbs than new potatoes Mamie?

Lots of wild boar hunting at the moment here, but deer and chamois. All the restaurants are serving 'la chasse' (game) - low cal meat, but not for me I'm afraid (which is totally illogical I know!).

We had wild boar when on holiday in the Forest of Dean. Is it always the actual 'boar' that's eaten or is that a generic name?

Hunting, cider, apples, cream - that's Normandy for you!

My neighbour! (Who also makes cider).

Did you kill the boar yourself!!!!!

Morning all. Last night was courgetti bolognese. Tonight we are having wild boar with cider and cream and Jerusalem artichoke dauphinoise.
Zero food miles.

some ideas

Had cod wrapped in Parma ham with Puy lentils tonight.

Wilma the lentils were ore-cooked in a packet by Merchant Gourmet I think. Only 55 seconds in the microwave, but I livened them up buy adding thinly sliced red onion and crumbled feta cheese. I thought of you veggies and how these could make a quick and tasty meal.

Thanks guys. As a veggie I think this way of eating will be more practical for us if I can use small amounts of protein foods like chickpeas, etc. As much as I love eggs and cheese, it could get boring after a while. Our old way of eating was heavily carb based, so we're bound to see weight loss from the changes we've made. We're looking for a way of eating which is not only going to help us lose weight, but is practical on a long term basis.

Have a lovely Thursday all.

Yes, this carbs in chickpeas, lentils, etc was a problem we had when I first started. My thinking is I'm cutting out bread, biscuits, cakes - all the wheaty and sugary foods so that a big drop in carbs. Then potatoes - very rare treat, and rice replaced with cauliflower and pasta with spiralised veg.

So our 'carb load' is hugely reduced and what we do take in is from extra vegetables. That's my philosophy.