Low-carb support thread 2016 Part 2

Don't take this the wrong way NGGill but you do need to eat plenty of vegetables too. Unless you had a bathtub full of salad of course? Or you might get a touch constipated. I count nuts as 'vegetable' under the 'is it animal, vegetable or mineral' sort of classification!!

only saying

Well done all those starting out.
Vietnamese fish tonight from the 5:2 diet book. Plus a large vegetable stir-fry.

No its not taken the wrong way Anya - any tips are greatfully received. Must admit I don't suffer from constipation very often because of my type of IBS but have taken the advice on board.

NewgranGill my OH has to be careful not to have too much fibre and certainly not too much fruit, but on the whole suffers far less from IBS on this way of eating.

How is everyone doing?
We have just had celeriac and cauliflower soup for lunch and tonight we are having sole with three chips each (last of our potato crop) and tartare sauce. Tomorrow we are having partridge and trying the recipe from today's Guardian of roast cauliflower with pear, walnuts and blue cheese.

It now looks like I have full blown gluten intolerance rather than IBS having completed a box ticking Q&A with our practice nurse. I have decided against having the blood test for coeliacs because it would involve re-introducing gluten into my diet every day for six weeks or the test could be inclusive or negative. I've spent the last couple of months avoiding gluten and feel much better for it so I don't want to spend six weeks feeling ill and if the test is positive you then have to allow at least a month for your gut to recover before you start to feel well again.

As the only treatment for coeliacs disease is a gluten free diet I might as well carry on as I am.

Low carbing makes it very easy to follow a GF diet as IMO gluten free bread is disgusting!

So it's chilli-con-carne tonight with a big heap of stir-fry veg.

Oh dear Merlot, but good that the low-carb makes it easier. I first made stuff with chickpea flour when a gluten intolerant friend visited and we still make the biscuits for cheese and the little savoury pancake things with a curry from time to time.

I made some buckwheat pancakes (half buckwheat flour and half GF flour) which were successful and great for mopping up a curry.

It's actually not difficult to remove gluten from your diet so long as you're prepared to read labels. I didn't realise soy sauce contains wheat so when we had a Chinese takeaway with DD and DGS last week I cooked my own stir fried pork and prawns.

Mine looked nicer than theirs

Yes I know when my friend was here I couldn't use mustard or bought mayo. Time-consuming at first I guess.

This query may have been answered elsewhere in this thread, but it is so long that reading through it all is a bit daunting.

DH is about to start the LC diet to lose a lot of weight. I have been looking forward, and have failed to find a book or web site that simply lists different food items and their carbohydrate values per 100 grammes or similar, just like the calorie lists.

The Diabetes Council sort of have one but almost all its contents are ready meals, take-aways, biscuits, cakes and other processed foods, none of which we eat. I just want a list of basic ingredients: fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products, rice, pasta, bread, condiments and spices, cooked and uncooked. All the basic items of food that do not have nutrition values on the label.

Has anyone come across one?

uk.atkins.com/support/carb-counter.html

Try this, M0nica

I saw the recipe for cauliflower and pear Mamie and thought it looked tasty, let us know if it's ok? I have been putting off checking BG since being told I was pre diabetic, in case my efforts of low carbing weren't working, but checked with test kit yesterday and reading was 4.6. This was 2 hours after eating lunch of omelette, orange and cup of tea, so thrilled as now well out of diabetic zone. Definite incentive to continue as it's apparently working. You seem to be coping well with GF diet, incorporating low carbing and great that you feel better on it merlot. It's a bit frustrating that a couple of people I know recently diagnosed Diabetes 2 have been given advice about "healthy eating" but carbs not mentioned specifically.

I normally Google for specific food MOnica, but it is often an American site and doesn't always relate to the food I need to know about. The Diet Doctor is good and I only found out today that it is a Swedish site.
Will report back on the Guardian recipe Lazigirl. I only just spotted the fact that it included turnip but squash will have to do.
The sole from the fish stall in the market was superb - so fresh.

This is quite a comprehensive list of carbs in food: www.carbs-information.com/carb-counting.htm - you just have to look up the food in question, there are plenty of foods listed, but it's probably geared for the USA.

I was hoping to find a list I could print out or a booklet like the kind you get with calorie counts. I find having a booklet on the kitchen worktop that I can consult quickly as I prepare food is easier than constantly consulting a computer.

I have since been searching Amazon, but that was not very helpful as most of the books didn't have the 'Look inside' feature. Those that did showed that much of the book was dietary advice and the food sections were heavy on processed and sweet foods, but the range of basic foodstuffs like vegetables listed was minimal.

The underlying assumption on all these sites that all Type 2 diabetes is caused by eating too many sweet and processed foods I found quite insulting. Pancreatic problems run in DH's family. He has had to have regular medicals for his work since his early 20s and even then, when he had no weight problems and a physically demanding job, his blood sugar and blood pressure measurements were always hovering at the upper limit. I also have several friends who are, and always have been as thin as rakes, yet have Type 2 diabetes.

I think I need to go into a good old fashioned bookshop, where I can find a range of books and look inside them myself.

Thank you for your suggestions.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201701/medium-15864-cal-counter.png https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201701/medium-925317-carbs.png

M0nica, I use this little book which gives calories, carbs, fibre and fat values for portions of individual foods or made dishes. It is available on Amazon.

I have no trouble with suppers. But I do get stuck for lunch which has to be quick -because I'm usually doing something more interesting- low/no carb and tasty. Be really grateful for some good ideas

Thank you

Thanks for that shysal, I will have a look at it.

whitewave we have soup or salad most days. I make salads with combos of leaves, avocado, toms, eggs, beetroot, salmon, melted goats cheese, cold chicken, garlic sausage etc etc. Some days I do an omelette or scrambled eggs or baked eggs on leftover vegetables. I make chickpea crackers and we have those with cheese if we are in a rush.

Yes I really think salad is the way to go but sometimes on a cold winters day......

Soup then and of course eggs, just wondered about a bit of a change.

Yes, WW those suggestions from Mamie very similar to my lunches.

Today a few leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, boiled egg and grated cheese. Yesterday avocado and prawns in mayo. Tomorrow celery used as a fork and a tub of taramasalata. Sometimes I buy a hot chicken from the supermarket, eat part of it and have the rest for dinner/supper eg in a Caesar Salad (substitute crispy bacon for the croutons)

Broccoli muffins are nice too. Beat together egg, cheese, cream (or crème fraîche), add some lightly steamed broccoli florets, pour into greased muffin tins and cook till ready. These freeze well (I'm told) and they're handy for taking on picnics cold too.

Bacon, egg, mushroom, tomatoes ? on a cold day?

Melted goats cheese on beetroot?

Yes we have more salad in the summer. I do sometimes make a warm salad with bacon bits and melted goats cheese. We make lots of thick soup and freeze it ready for gardening days.
Anya has some good ideas for oven-baked lunches I think.

Cross posted