A new low-carb support thread for 2016

I hear that the chef Tom Kerridge has lost 8 stone in three years following a low carb diet. If that is not encouragement I don't know what is

On top of everything else now found that DH has high blood sugar levels - he is wait I got for further blood tests but no harm in tackling it immediately. So today's recipe includes rice which apparently spikes blood sugar and ideas for alternatives please?

Whitewave. We tried cauliflower rice last week. ( lots of information about it on the Internet) and it was excellent. DH said " I would have that again" , which believe it or not is a very high recommendation. Good luck with the diet if you decide to do it

Thanks will definitely be following a low carb/ zero sugar diet until we know what is what. Oh well ever onwards!

whitewave my OH has just had his six-monthly test and his blood sugar is still staying well within the normal range on the LCHF diet. He was in pre-diabetes but has been out of it for over a year now.
Just planning our Easter menus and think we will have a chocolate treat for Easter Sunday. I am going to do a couple of chocolate mousses from the Elizabeth David recipe which is just very dark chocolate (which is allowed) and two eggs.

Steep learning curve for me mamie

Blood sugar may be as a result of his heart attack but will tackle it with gusto!

whitewave, I endorse the cauliflower rice recommendation. I am also loving it mashed and roasted. I hope the change of diet will do the trick for your DH. In case you didn't see the 'Trust Me I'm a Doctor' series, you should be aware that most artificial sweeteners spike blood sugar levels more than actual sugar! Stevia, being natural, is OK. I found some Stevia sweetened chocolate on Ebay.

shysal yes I did see and remember it but at the time didn't really take it on board as didn't think it relavent to us!!

DH drinks a lot of sugar free lemonade so that was the first thing to go!

Well I never knew that Shysal. Thank you. I use sweeteners very rarely but now never. I shall get some Stevia

I will post what we are eating and wonder if someone could criticise where necessary and suggest alternatives etc. If it OK please feel free to ignore! DH has recently had heart attack and now has high blood sugar levels.

So breakfast for today is
2 egg omelet fried in a dot of butter with tarragon and a tiny piece of goats cheese.

Lunch prawns with sweet chilli dip

Dinner not sure yet as it a quick meal as busy day today

Tomorrow
Porridge although a bit conflicted about this.
Lunch TBA
Dinner Vegetable Tagine

Oh freshly squeezed orange to go with breakfast
Fruit after each meal but sort of aware of sugar level God this is not easy!!!!

I am new to this too, so not very knowledgable, but I think the juice, and fruit after each meal are a bit excessive. Veg sticks would be more healthy, or a small handful of unsalted nuts.
Porridge is OK as long as it isn't instant, and take care what you sweeten it with. I use powdered Stevia.
The majority of your meals sound delicious! Good luck to you and your DH. Are you following the Michael Mosely Blood Sugar Diet? BBbevan is a shining example of its success!

Thanks about the fruit advice. Will alter to nuts DH will balk at veg sticks I think but could try introducing them later.
I have just ordered his book btw.
Yes we never eat instant porridge does stevia spike blood sugar levels? This is daft really as I haven't a clue what I am talking about I must do a lot more reading but there is so much conflicting advice out there. I guess that after the next test they decide there is a problem the DH will be given loads of support.

whitewave have a look at the Diet Doctor link in my OP.
No fruit juice allowed (causes sugar spike), very limited whole fruit; berries are best.
If you are doing the Michael Mosley version with restricted calories then he adds in beans and pulses.
We did the strict version while we were losing weight (a year), but we now eat beans. No porridge and no grains on the strict version. We do LCHF so we eat cheese and butter and never count calories.
My summary in the OP has most of the headlines.
Today's breakfast sounds fine, but avoid the sweet chilli sauce.
We have no sugar or sugar substitutes either.
So either LCHF a la Diet Doctor or Michael Mosley, I guees, in which case I would follow the recipes in his book.

Sorry, interrupted by discussion in French about broken lawn mower...
You also need to watch the root veg in a tagine. For LCHF you need to eat fats, meat, fish, avocados, olive oil and some dairy.
Have a look at the low-carb diet section on Mumsnet too; lots of advice there.

And obviously the doctors will be advising you in the light of his recent heart problems, which may rule out the dairy.
We have just had a mushroom omelette for lunch and tonight I am doing curried lamb with garlic, ginger and ground almonds and spicy cauliflower.

I really didn't believe that dubious science in Trust Me I'm a Doctor regarding artificial sweetners.

Whitewave my DH was prediabetic and we've been following a low carb diet for almost a year now. I follow it too though my blood glucose has always been normal and my weight is fine too but I think it only fair that I'm not asking him to do it alone.

His latest tests showed everything within the normal range and this includes a drop in cholesterol levels even though he's eating more fats (not huge amounts but still more than previously). He's lost two stone and is walking at least 10,000 a day because he feels so much better - loads more energy.

This isn't Atkins. We simply cut out sugary things like fruit juice and limit ourselves to one piece of fruit a day, but plenty of vegetables, especially brassicas, onions, leeks, mushrooms, salads etc and we do eat some carb-rich ones such as peas, sweet potatoes, peppers, carrots, parsnips, tomatoes, beetroot, etc but in moderate amounts. Nuts and cheese are our snacks of preference and we like our red wine.

Bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, and the like are virtually out of our diet. Pasta replaced with spiralised butternut squash, courgette, beetroot, sweet potato.
Fish and meat and meat substitutes, eggs, are all acceptable.

It's really no hardship. So good luck with your efforts on behalf of your DH. And to google the research by Dr Unwin on this - a GP who's been successfully trying out this approach on his patients with great results.

Good luck Whitewave and your DH. I am 3lb short of losing a stone ( sorry I can't visualise kgs) I have not found it very difficult. But then I like a bit of a challenge and can be quite single minded. Just go for it and give each other a big pat on the back when you achieve even little goals.

So I changed the chilli sauce to a yogurt dip thing. Nuts to follow. For dinner tonight we are having Broccoli and Stilton soup followed by Sirloin steak and green salad,

anya I am doing the same as you and following the same diet as DH. Shall miss my orange juice!!!!

Sounds excellent! The curry was delicious. I do miss naan a bit, but worth it to fit into a size 10.

I suppose if we lose weight it will be a bonus but really we are doing it for entirely health reasons. Perversely I have spent the entire last 10 years trying to lose weight with zero success, and it would be brilliant if I lost weight at the same time.

Ingredients for tagine - red onion,cauliflower,butternut, tomatoes, aubergine,chickpeas, preserved lemon, spices, harissa, root ginger, garlic. Shall try the curry.

This is a good thread.

Lunch is going to be smoked mackerel salad.

Just to say always use quite a bit of olive oil on everything really.

Tried your cheesy bun recipe from this thread today, Pippa000. They are the nicest thing I have tried with almond flour. I shall have to freeze them quickly before I eat the lot! Thank you very much.

I have noticed a lot of my recipes use xanthan gum to give a more bread-like texture, does anyone use it, and does it make a difference?

Just got the veg tagine going smelling good but I haven't bothered to drag the Tagine out as it doesn't take long to cook. Having it lunch time as visiting offspring today. Going away for the rest if Easter with new diet firmly in mind

Shysal, glad you like the cheesy buns. I did a cooked cheese cake yesterday, with a ground mixed nut and almond flour base, very successful, nice to have a sweet again after a meal. Now I just need to perfect crisp bread.