Strictly Cheese Sandwiches

choughdancer

^I really dislike the texture of tofu.^

Once it is pureed into the sauce, it is just a creamy texture. I'm not too keen on it straight, but use it in making sauces, Jamie Oliver's chocolate pots, and to give a curry, that I cook for a local project every week, more protein and a creamier texture. .

We don't eat tofu straight out of the box. We use it in 10s of ways, all with spices, marinades, herbs - as one would meat,, in sauces and in desserts. People generally don't eat meat, fish, poultry, jambon, eggs raw, do they?

I really dislike the texture of tofu.

Once it is pureed into the sauce, it is just a creamy texture. I'm not too keen on it straight, but use it in making sauces, Jamie Oliver's chocolate pots, and to give a curry, that I cook for a local project every week, more protein and a creamier texture. .

I'm having aubergine parmigiani tonight - aubergine, tomatoes and cheese (under the grill) - yummy! But that's as my main meal, not as a side. I didn't pay for any of the veg, so it's under my budget.

I agree choughdancer I use cream rather than flour based sauces, but I really dislike the texture of tofu. I have some issues with soy production too, so won't touch it.

growstuff

Cauliflower is lovely in a cheese and cream sauce! Low carb and high protein too. Mmmm...

There are good ways of making the sauce lower in carbs too, by using cream cheese pureed with cream, milk, whatever you are using instead of a flour roux. At the risk of offending you(!), tofu (2.8g carb, 6.5g protein per 100g) can also be used in the same way, but that may well take you over your carb limit.

Cooked cauliflower can also be pureed as a thickener for sauces.

Doodledog

Thanks, chums. I love cheese, and am happy to incorporate it where I can. It feels counterintuitive to use it to lose weight though .

Try baking rounds of spiced aubergine, tasty side.

Also try grated courgettes, spiced, saute, or as cold salad.

Doodledog

Thanks, chums. I love cheese, and am happy to incorporate it where I can. It feels counterintuitive to use it to lose weight though .

If you're trying to lose weight, cut out the lentils. An 80g portion has 82 calories. If you're trying to lose weight, you're probably aiming for 300-400 calories for a main meal.

Thanks, chums. I love cheese, and am happy to incorporate it where I can. It feels counterintuitive to use it to lose weight though .

Doodledog

Sorry if this is off topic, but can anyone suggest a low carb side that is filling and tasty - basically a suitable replacement for potatoes, bread or pasta, please?

I am having another week away on my own, and can eat meat as Mr D is not there, but I'm a bit stumped as to what to have with it, as I'm trying to cut cages as much as possible. I regularly cook lentils and pulses as main meals, but was hoping to have something a bit different 'because I can', as opposed to just adding chicken to a lentil bake, if that makes sense. Ordinarily I would have something like potatoes dauphinoise, garlic bread or macaroni cheese, but obviously they are out. Any suggestions would be welcome if anyone has them.

Celeriac dauphinoise
Fennel dauphinoise

Roasted mixed vegetables: aubergine, red onion, garlic, courgettes, peppers, fennel, celeriac, etc.

I batch cook the roasted veg - it freezes and reheats very well.

Doodledog Perhaps sort through this:

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/cauliflower-recipes

If you can abide cheese - good. It seems prevalent.

Cauliflower is lovely in a cheese and cream sauce! Low carb and high protein too. Mmmm...

Maybe because it's a good marketing tool MOnica.

Doodledog

Sorry if this is off topic, but can anyone suggest a low carb side that is filling and tasty - basically a suitable replacement for potatoes, bread or pasta, please?

I am having another week away on my own, and can eat meat as Mr D is not there, but I'm a bit stumped as to what to have with it, as I'm trying to cut cages as much as possible. I regularly cook lentils and pulses as main meals, but was hoping to have something a bit different 'because I can', as opposed to just adding chicken to a lentil bake, if that makes sense. Ordinarily I would have something like potatoes dauphinoise, garlic bread or macaroni cheese, but obviously they are out. Any suggestions would be welcome if anyone has them.

Cauliflower is your friend. Need recipes?

Sorry, I can't. I don't eat "sides", if you mean potatoes, rice and pasta.

I do eat quite a lot of home made coleslaw, if that helps.

I eat quite a lot of frittata too - made with whatever veggies and bits of chorizo, ham and cheese I happen to have lying around.

But 'vegan' is a descriptor used for a group of people. vegan food is not special and limited only to vegans, anyone can eat it. Food isn't specially labelled for other groups, for example. I have yet to see food specially named and labelled for those with food allergies - and these can kill.

You just look at the ingredients list on a product to see what the ingredients are and if an allergen is mentioned you put it back. I do this a lot as several members of my family have allergies and carry epipens.. I have yet to see a big label on food to tell me it is soya free, even nut allergies, which are very common, warrant only a warning on small print.

Most people manage to make choices about what food items they buy by reading the ingredients list on the label. Why do vegans need special help with this? Do they have eyesight or cognitive problems that mean they cannot read ingredient lists?

I'm trying to cut carbs, not cages, incidentally

Sorry if this is off topic, but can anyone suggest a low carb side that is filling and tasty - basically a suitable replacement for potatoes, bread or pasta, please?

I am having another week away on my own, and can eat meat as Mr D is not there, but I'm a bit stumped as to what to have with it, as I'm trying to cut cages as much as possible. I regularly cook lentils and pulses as main meals, but was hoping to have something a bit different 'because I can', as opposed to just adding chicken to a lentil bake, if that makes sense. Ordinarily I would have something like potatoes dauphinoise, garlic bread or macaroni cheese, but obviously they are out. Any suggestions would be welcome if anyone has them.

Norah

growstuff

Norah How many times does this need saying? Chick peas, pulses and lentils are not an efficient way of getting enough protein if people are limiting carbs.

It's because so much processed food has "fillers" made from grain that so many people in the UK, USA and other countries are overweight/obese.

You may say it as often as you wish - regarding your health status.

We, however, are very slim and healthy. We eat vegan, we exercise often, we push back from the table and avoid sweets.

We do get enough daily protein - I keep count.

The thread is not just about me or you - wider world eats as well.

Ann Widdecombe comment, people have opinions. Mine is different to yours. Easy to see that Indian food is not likely your choice.

You're not limiting carbs!!!

Germanshepherdsmum

This seems to have become all about your dietary requirements growstuff. You know how to manage your diet I’m sure. My husband is in remission from T2 diabetes and has not had to eat such a limited diet as you. Norah makes sensible suggestions which would benefit many.

I'm sorry I've talked about my own requirements. The point I've really been trying to make is about low cost, nutritious food.

If this had been about beans on toast rather than a cheese sandwich, the question of veganism wouldn't have even been an issue. It's about foodstuffs which are basic which have risen in price - cheese 39%, eggs 37%:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65682243

Sorry to say but some of the suggestions about food show no understanding of eating cheaply and nutritiously. I happen to have an additional requirement, as do many other people. The fact remains that the food I've been eating for years - and which has been shown to be good for me - has risen in price. Dairy has been particularly badly affected.

Incidentally, just because your husband's pancreas hasn't been so badly affected as mine doesn't mean that I'm wrong or lying! Presumably his postprandial glucose response is normal - good for him!

Must tell the OP that the title of this thread is fabulous darling😂

Dinahmo

Oreo

Do they?
Thanks for explaining foodstuffs but really think you have no idea what most people eat who are on budgets ( or off them)😂

I am rather surprised at your lack of knowledge. Maybe you're not a foodie?

Perhaps you don't read the Guardian either? For some while they have running articles with recipes for cooking meals costing £1 per head. Tom Kerridge has given 2 recipes using chicken.

Have you heard of Jack Monroe? She has been in and out of the media for the last few years talking about cooking on a low budget, aimed at those people with low incomes.

Chick peas are a source of protein and often used in diets for diabetics. They are also used in a lot of Italian dishes and they are cheap to buy. As Norah said they are used to make hummus and nearly everybody will have eaten that at least once in their lives.

Condescending post.
No am not a foodie as I have neither the time or the money to be one.I don’t read the Guardian either, shock horror.
I have not eaten hummus even once in my life as yet either.
I am not so poor as to need to eat a meal at a £1 a head.
I do need to budget tho, and do that very well making tasty casseroles, stir fries and so on when I have the time, and cooking things like an omelette and salad when I don’t. Normal non vegan meals.

choughdancer

M0nica

Could someone explain to me the difference between 'vegan' food and food which happens to not include any animal products.

Anyone eating a mixed and varied diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables is bound to have dishes, meals even whole days when they happen not to eat any animal products. That is what a mixed diet means.

I often eat plant based meals, I have never knowingly eaten a 'vegan' food. I have no idea what one is.

They are one and the same MOnica! The vegan label on foods is just a shorthand way of saying they have no animal ingredients.

THIS ^

M0nica

Could someone explain to me the difference between 'vegan' food and food which happens to not include any animal products.

Anyone eating a mixed and varied diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables is bound to have dishes, meals even whole days when they happen not to eat any animal products. That is what a mixed diet means.

I often eat plant based meals, I have never knowingly eaten a 'vegan' food. I have no idea what one is.

I suspect you know what vegan food consists of.

Food which purposefully includes no animal products. All other sources of carbs, protein, fat, fruit, veg - are typically consumed.

Thank you choughdancer.

M0nica

Could someone explain to me the difference between 'vegan' food and food which happens to not include any animal products.

Anyone eating a mixed and varied diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables is bound to have dishes, meals even whole days when they happen not to eat any animal products. That is what a mixed diet means.

I often eat plant based meals, I have never knowingly eaten a 'vegan' food. I have no idea what one is.

They are one and the same MOnica! The vegan label on foods is just a shorthand way of saying they have no animal ingredients.

Germanshepherdsmum

This seems to have become all about your dietary requirements growstuff. You know how to manage your diet I’m sure. My husband is in remission from T2 diabetes and has not had to eat such a limited diet as you. Norah makes sensible suggestions which would benefit many.

I agree wit GSM; I'm sure your diet is perfect for you Growstuff, but Diabetes UK (quoted below) does not recommend avoiding pulses for instance, as they only recommend a LOW carb diet, rather than a NO carb diet for most Type 2 diabetics
.
But we are all different of course, and you have found what suits you and your blood sugar levels, which is wonderful!

At no point have I seen Norah suggesting that you adopt a vegan diet; nor have I or anyone else. We have simply responded to your questions about protein and carbs in plant foods, and Norah has made suggestions for eating well at a low cost, responding to the OP. I have see no criticism of you or your diet.

"But how low is low-carb? There are different types of low-carb diets. Generally, low-carb eating is when you reduce the total amount of carbs you consume in a day to less than 130g."

"A low-carb diet isn’t for everyone. The evidence shows they can be safe and effective in helping people with type 2 diabetes manage their weight, blood glucose (sugar) levels and risk of heart disease in the short term.

But the evidence also shows they can affect growth in children, and so should not be recommended for them."

I am so pleased that you and GSM's husband have been able to find an effective way to control your blood sugar levels and hopefully to avoid the long term complications.