Low-carb support thread 2016 Part 2

Have you no shame BB & Lazigirl?

Yes, I did find the went straight to my head and I don't feel any real urge to re-establish a regular evening drink so will stick to the odd glass with friends and family.

I do miss the sea Mamie having lived beside it all my life until we moved here, which is about as far from the sea as you can get in England. Enjoy the view and smell of it from your balcony.

I think we're as far from sea as you can get too. Make a small pond in garden Anya! Despite ice cream am down to target weight so will make appt for fasting blood sugar. It's taken me all of 7 months to lose 1st, no doubt due to ice cream & similar lapses, but I have been low carbing rather than full on.

No, don't do shame !! Anya. *grin]

Well you have all been very quiet while I have been away
Hope everyone is still doing well; how are the newcomers getting on?
We had a lovely week doing lots of swimming and then sitting on the balcony, people-watching. I had a lovely meal in Cahors on the way down, a sort of pot-roast duck, which came with broad beans, mangetout and what looked like a thick slice of squash roasted in butter and possibly a bit of stock. Followed by a shared dark chocolate mousse. It is really quite easy to eat low-carb in France, as long as you avoid the bread! We have had a lot of barbecues this week so today I am enjoying being home with an oven and and have made a big tagine (as the vegetable garden has not been on holiday).

Welcome home Mamie your trip sounds great. I'm very envious of your lunch in Cahors - I love that city.

I've just had my Ocado delivery and about to embark on a little batch cooking. I have some lovely sleek aubergines to make melanzane parmigiana; two packs of halloumi, inspired by another thread; and my new best friend

cauli rice

Obviously you pay for the convenience (£1.99 for 200g) but it's just so useful and handy to have; it's vacummed-packed and long-life. Later I'll have it sauteed in olive oil and topped with fried halloumi, brushed with red pesto.

Tried this last night.. Yummy.
zucchini noodles & lemon "ricotta"

Serves: serves 2 with extra sauce
Ingredients
* 2-3 large zucchini
* 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
* olive oil, for drizzling
* sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* hemp seeds & microgreens, for garnish (optional)
lemon-macadamia ricotta:
* ½ cup raw macadamia nuts, soaked at least 4 hours
* ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked at least 4 hours
* ¼ cup hemp seeds
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice + ½ teaspoon zest
* 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
* 1 small garlic clove
* handful of fresh herbs - basil, mint, oregano or tarragon
* ½ teaspoon sea salt
* ¾ cup water, more as needed

Instructions
1. Drain and rinse your macadamia nuts and sunflower seeds that have been soaking. Add them to a high speed blender with hemp seeds, lemon juice, lemon zest, white wine vinegar, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper, and water. Add a little olive oil, if necessary, to get your blade moving.
2. Use a spiralizer or julienne peeler to cut the zucchini into noodle-sized shapes. (You could also use a regular vegetable peeler - peel thin strips and then slice them vertically.)
3. Toss zucchini "noodles," with a few spoonfuls of the ricotta, the tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Serve with extra ricotta on the side.
4. Extra ricotta will keep in the fridge for about 1 day. If it gets a little watery on day 2, give it a stir until it's cohesive again.

Notes
substitution options:
option 1: replace macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds with all sunflower seeds.
option 2: replace macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds with an equal amount of raw cashews.

What is halloumi, is it part of this kind of eating plan and what does it taste like please ? Just seen it on an advert with bacon and eggs, yummie. [smike]

It is a squeaky cheese. Sort of semi hard so you can cook with it and it keeps it shape. It is normally goat or sheep, but not a strong flavour. Fine with the low-carb diet.

Halloumi is a cheese (Greek I think, but possibly Turkish - that end of the Med, anyway) made from sheep's milk. It is not very exciting raw, tastes a bit bland and rubbery, but it has this property of not melting when it is grilled or baked. So you can brown slices of it under the grill or in the oven and then it has a sort of nutty taste and a different texture. It is packed in shrinkwrap, often with chopped mint in with it. All the supermarkets have it.

I've just been out for a meal and had a really nice grilled halloumi salad, with pineapple, mango, toasted coconut and green beers. Very yummy, but a bit sweet for low sugar diet, with ice cream afterwards. Forgot, plus two beers! Pushing the boat out today but you just have to sometimes - back to sensible eating tomorrow.
Tried the edamame and mung bean fettuccine last night, which someone mentioned, and it's an ok alternative to pasta. Very filling, you need less per helping and it's quick to cook, much less time than instructed on packet. (Available in Sainsbury).

Sounds nice though, Lazigirl.
Today was interesting. We were going to buy fish but ended up with curry because - we were going cross-country to avoid the traffic and a huge wild boar ran across in front of us, followed by a second one.This ought to have ended in a meal of wild boar casserole, but sadly the car was more damaged than the boar, which ran off.
The joys of rural living.

OMG. Bit scary, were you ok?

Yes fine thanks Lazigirl. It was quite funny though, because after the first one crossed I was half way through saying, "Wow that was lucky... Oh". Anyway off to the garage today to find out how much they can charge for bits of plastic trim...
Back on the LCHF front, has anyone else had problems with fluid retention in this hot weather? Does drinking a lot of water help or do you just have to wait for it to go?

Meant to ask how Mary594 and clementine are doing?

Try drinking green tea Mamie it has a slightl diuretic effect so will give you extra fluids but help flush them away too. You could add a slice of lemon or lime, or better still grate some fresh ginger and brew your green tea over that for 5 minutes then strain.

I also find I eat more celery in this weather which again is naturally diuretic.

An elderly friend (93) who suffers with swollen ankles in the heat swears by lying flat on her back with her legs in the air for 5 minutes a few times a day. As she's no longer as agile as she once was she achieves this by pushing her bottom against her sofa and this help keep her legs up at right angles.

Love hallumi cheese in vegetable kebabs grilled on the BBQ.

Ah thanks Anya, will try the green tea and ginger. I think the heat has finally broken as it rained properly for the first time in months last night.

No fluid retention during the heat thankfully, but did drink a considerable amount of icedwater with slices of lemon (squished). The diuretic effect was also considerable!

Back from our cruise. The food was magnificent. Pleased to see that they cater specifically for diabetics and coeliacs now. .I had to try really hard to keep to LCHF but was mostly successful. DH went a bit OTT. Weigh in tomorrow so we shall see!!

Bb You must be a saint staying LCHF with all that food on tap. Hope you had a lovely time.

Ouch- in Tuscany? Nooooo chance

Wot no zucchinetti?

Mamie I was three weeks on this yesterday and today I ate a huge McDonalds will that mean that all mayonnaise and meat and fat will all pile on with a vengeance . I started out ill prepared but I muddled through. I didn't know I could eat pulses I really need to read through the whole thread but am kept busy with my granddaughter during the week. I feel awful about lapsing like that that

Mary954 the burger bun is just a lapse, don't worry! You can have all the burger insides though.
The best place for a quick guide is the Diet Doctor link in my original post at the top of the page.
This link is from that page and gives you an even quicker visual guide.
www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb#advice
Interestingly we were watching an old episode of "The Likely Lads" the other day and Bob says to Terry, "Need to lose weight, must watch me carbs".

Can't you see my halo shining Lazigirl ?
Anyway I put on 1lb and DH a bit more as he won't say how much. We went to Norway and it was magical.