some atkins/low carb questions

[goldfish_21]

Hello all,

I have a few Atkins/low carb questions I was hoping some of you could help with.

I have been on a bit of a voyage of discovery over the past couple of weeks, experimenting with atking induction to see whether it is likely to suit me, and had a few slip-ups along the way, but now that I have a better idea of what I'm dealing with, I think I can make this way of eating work for me. Anyway, to the point of this post, the questions-

1) Is there anything induction friendly I can thicken my stew with until my internet shop arrives with the xanthan gum in it?

2) Are ground almonds really the same as almond flour? If do, why does Amazon charge so much for almond flour? (Thinking ahead for recipes past induction phase)

3) I know the atkins book says avoid dairy, but is it going to ruin everything if I use a bit of lactofree milk in my two buckets of tea that I always drink on a sat and sun morning? I tried green tea (yuk), and I've gone caffeine free on everything.

4) OK maybe not everything - the occasional can of diet coke (maybe once a week) - Is that going to cause any problems with weight loss? I understand most of the book but don't quite get why diet coke is evil.

5) Question for the cooks- do you think cauliflower rice would work as a 'fried rice' type thing, or am I going to end up with cauliflower omlette if I try it?

6) Eating out - a friend and I regularly go out once a month, and we like to go to the local chinese buffet restaurant (yes, I know). As my favourites are the unhealthy, carby, battered things, and prawn toast, prawn crackers etc, it's probably better if we start going somewhere else. Any recommendations for Atkins friendly places?

7) Anyone tried the atkins peanut butter cups? Reeces peanut butter cups used to be my favourite before the diabetes thing happened, and was wondering if they're anything like them or if I'll be massively disappointed if I buy them.

8 Any ideas for non meaty/eggy induction breakfasts?

Thanks

Vicky

 

[Fraddycat]

Hi Goldfish, I'm not sure how many of your questions I can answer, but I will do my best!!

I haven't totally given up milk, I have regular semi skimmed milk in my tea, so lacto free would be perfect. I have a protein shake on weekday mornings and use either soya milk or almond milk to make it with. (type skinny shake into Amazon I like the choccy one!)

I use ground almonds where the recipe calls for almond flour. I have found dessicated coconut is a bit clumpy for recipes so I put it in my smoothie maker for a second or too to blitz it to a finer consistency.

I drink diet coke but I think some people theorise that because diet coke is sweet it can trick your body into producing insulin even though there is nothing for the insulin to work on. Overproduction of insulin can make your body store fat (kind of how we got here in the first place). I have a couple of glasses on a night out but try not to have it every day.

Eating out - I like going to places that have steaks - Beefeater, or a carvery is good as long as you avoid potatoes. Italian is actually really good too suprisingly, you can normally get chicken, veal or steak with vegetables and butter sauces - yummy, you just have to be really strong to resist the past/pizza etc.

I have Atkins Bars as a treat from time to time, so I guess the peanut butter things would be ok. I have organic unsweetened peanut butter from the jar with a spoon :roll: to satisfy my sweet craving, but it will get less as you eat less of it.

Hope this helps

 

[viviennem]

Have a look at Viv's Modified Atkins Diet which is on the "Sticky Thread" section. It works for me!

Fraddycat has said most of what I would. I can't start the day without a coffee with semi-skimmed milk. I also use a splash of milk in the eggs for my omelette. Doesn't seem to slow things down.

I keep the "Daybreak" bars in for emergencies - the choc chip ones.

The main thing to remember is that a little bit of extra carb (eg the splash of milk) won't do any harm. It's when the "little bit extra" happens too often that the trouble starts!

Viv 8)

 

[Daibell]

Hi. All branded diets such as Atkins have their 'cranky' bit which you may want to ignore. There is nothing wrong with diet coke so enjoy it unless you are drinking gallons of it. Dairy is fine in moderation. It does have some natural sugar and some fat depending on the product. Almond flour and ground almonds are the same thing and yes it is expensive, annoyingly.

 

[Patch]

1) Is there anything induction friendly I can thicken my stew with until my internet shop arrives with the xanthan gum in it?

I'd use a couple of tsp of normal instant gravy. Very little carbs in a couple of tsp.

2) Are ground almonds really the same as almond flour? If do, why does Amazon charge so much for almond flour? (Thinking ahead for recipes past induction phase)

Sometimes it's called the same thing, but sometimes Almond flour is ground much more finely that Ground almonds. If you've got a suitable blender, you can make your own Almond flour out of ground almonds...

3) I know the atkins book says avoid dairy, but is it going to ruin everything if I use a bit of lactofree milk in my two buckets of tea that I always drink on a sat and sun morning? I tried green tea (yuk), and I've gone caffeine free on everything.

On induction, you are allowed cheese and cream (the lactose is completely lost in the processing of milk into cream/cheese). A small splash of cream in your tea will do the trick. (I wouldn't advise using cheese for this, though...)

4) OK maybe not everything - the occasional can of diet coke (maybe once a week) - Is that going to cause any problems with weight loss? I understand most of the book but don't quite get why diet coke is evil.

Diet Coke has been proven to encourage the body to retain, even MAKE more fat. Best thing to do is to treat it as a once a week MAX. thing.

5) Question for the cooks - do you think cauliflower rice would work as a 'fried rice' type thing, or am I going to end up with cauliflower omlette if I try it?

Absolutely. Just make a hole in the middle of the "rice" in the pan, and crack and cook the egg in the space. Then break it up and stir it through the "rice". Don't crack a raw egg over the "rice" and expect to get the nice eggy pieces that you get from the takeaway fried rice.

6) Eating out - a friend and I regularly go out once a month, and we like to go to the local chinese buffet restaurant (yes, I know). As my favourites are the unhealthy, carby, battered things, and prawn toast, prawn crackers etc, it's probably better if we start going somewhere else. Any recommendations for Atkins friendly places?

Chinese buffets are "doable" - but you do need to be careful. Obviously avoid rice + noodles (and, unfortunately, the delicious battered starters... :cry: ). Avoid anything obviously sugary ("sweet chilli" in the name is a dead giveaway!), and try to leave behind as much sauce as possible. It's the sauce that'll cause spikes. So take a serving of curry, but drain of most of the sauce with the edge of the serving spoon.

7) Anyone tried the atkins peanut butter cups? Reeces peanut butter cups used to be my favourite before the diabetes thing happened, and was wondering if they're anything like them or if I'll be massively disappointed if I buy them.

I'm sure there're a recipe around here for those. They're quite easy to make yourself using dark chocolate (lighten it up with a splach of cream if you like) and plain ol' PB.

8 Any ideas for non meaty/eggy induction breakfasts?

Saving the toughest for last, eh? :wink: All I can think of right now is some kind of fruit smoothy. Berries, ice and yoghurt/cream whizzed up in a blender.

 

[hanadr]

Learn to make an egg/cream liaison for thickening. Lots of instructions on cooking websites. Tastes better than flour based thickening.
there's nothing wrong with cream or cream diluted with water in your tea or coffee.
Hana