Low Carb Freedom

Market Basket Update

Just got back from Market Basket last night because I had to pick up Carb Countdown milk at $2.69 and found out that they now have BP SmarterCarb chocolate covered meringues! And for $2.99! They were located in the bread aisle. Only the biscotti was located in the low carb aisle.

Market Basket also had Mueller's Reduced Carb Pasta at great prices! Here is the nutritional information:

Mueller's Reduced Carb Rotini & Spagetti

Serving Size 1 cup dry
Calories 200
Servings Per Container 6
Cholesterol 0
Total Carbohydrate 31 g
Deitary Fiber 12g
Sugars 1g
Protein 16 g

They even have the no cook lasagna noodles! (I am going to make my brother a lasagna with these noodles and see if he notices! His wife is giving birth on Wednesday! And, if you know someone who is going to have a baby, the best thing to do is to make some meals that they can eat or freeze. It is amazing how one little baby leaves NO time for making dinner!)

Reduced Carb Spagetti $1.99
Reduced Carb Rotinni $1.99
Reduced Carb Lasagna $2.49

I am going to write a post specifically about low carb pasta and how, while this is reduced carb and a higher carb count than the low carb pastas, I think it will storm the market.

Update: I just completed a HUGE post, Dreamfield's Pasta Review... What Would Atkins Say... and What Will the Markets Say?. This also includes Mueller's.

General Mills Introduces Total Protein Low Carb Cereal & Low Carb Kid's Review

Wow, the way I found out about this product was seeing it in the Stop & Shop Circular. The only mention of the cereal on the General Mills site was in a press release about General Mills talking to consumer analysts. (Basically, they are getting "pushed to the wall" because of the bakery division. Low carbing can cause change!) Anyhow, within this piece they also talk about Progresso Carb Monitor Soup. They talk about Light and Lite products too, but I have no idea if they are low carb. All we need is another low fat yogurt though, huh?

The Total Protein Cereal has 13 grams of protein and 8 grams of net carbs. This could be good for breading too.... Lots of neat potential.

Now, who knows if this will taste like cardboard or not. Cereal tastes are so subjective. My husband can't abide the Atkins cereals, but he loves Hi-Lo with cream and berries. I just met an old work pal, and she can't stand Hi-Lo. (I told her to try it with the berries and cream (grin.))

Anyhow, I'm sure we will be trying it in our household. Let me know if you like it!

Update: The kids tried it this morning. (I picked up a box at Shaws. It was over $4 a box. Cheaper than Atkins most of the time, but these prices have to start coming down.)

Both kids liked it! My daughter ate it with milk (well, Carb Countdown, actually), and my son ate it plain. (He drank his Carb Countdown on the side.)

This is a miracle! My kids even like separate low carb bagel brands, but they both like this cereal! They both thought it had sugar on it.... and they ate all of it.

My son even asked to try it when he saw it on the shelf. I had purchased it for my husband. I didn't think that the kids would want to try it... it is Total, for goodness sake, not exactly a kid's brand to my mind! But, my poor son is so cereal deprived -- he goes to the grocery store and sees all these lucious sugar-loaded cereals that he can never have -- to see a box of name-brand cereal that wasn't Cheerios on his own kitchen counter -- well, it was the holy grail!

Not to say that I haven't tried other low carb cereals on him. They don't like them. They don't like Hi-Lo, Atkins, Barbara's, etc.

When my husband tries it, I'll let you know what he thinks.

Update: Husband still prefers Hi-Lo with cream and berries, but he ate practically a whole box. Daughter now has decided that she doesn't like it, but my son still likes it!

Update: See this Total Protein versus Kellogg's Special K for a low carb lifestyle post for more....

Low Carb Shopping List Based on Sales

Lots of new products and great buys this week! (It feels as if January, the diet month, has returned!) If you are reading this before February 29, you still have time to get some deals from last week.

These prices are primarily effective for February 27 through March 6. See each individual grocery store for exact dates.

Market Basket
Prices effective: Sunday, February 29 through Saturday, March 6.

Hurrah! Lots of low carb deals! (I just wish that they would carry BP Gourmet's Smarter Carb cookies, preferably the chocolate covered meringues! Update: Ann Heimlich just wrote in the following: FYI - I was in Market Basket in Billerica yesterday and they had the Smarter Carb cookies, including the chocolate covered meringues. Thanks for the tip, they were fantastic. So check out your Market Basket!)

Tropicana Orange Juice 2 for $4, six varieties, I think they have Light'n Healthy.

Carando Roast Beef, $4.59 a pound.

Carb Smart ice cream bars, 2 packages for $5.

Dannon Carb Control 4 pack, $1.99.

Emeril's Pasta Sauce, 2 for $4. (Great price! There is one "lower carb" version (although not stated as such, as always, read labels!) that my husband and I like. My kids think it is too spicy. I get them the Bella Vita Low Carb Sauce.)

Atkin's Morning Cereal, $3.99 a box. (Cereal taste is so subjective...)
Atkins Ready to Drink Shakes, $6.99 a 4-pack.
Atkins Breakfast Bars $4.99.
Atkin's Advantage Bars, 2 for $3.

1 lb. strawberries, $2.49.
Cucumbers, 3 for $1.

Shaws
Effective Friday, February 29 through Thursday, March 4.

20 cents off Arnold and Carb Counting Bagels.

CarbSmart Ice Cream bars, 2 packages for $5.
Rasbarries, Blueberries, or Blackberries, 2 for $5.

Stop & Shop
Effective Sunday, February 29, through Saturday, March 6.

18 pack of eggs, 2 for $3. (I'm buying this this week!)

1 lb. strawberries, $1.88.

Wowee! Just saw Stop & Shop advertise Total Protein, 13 gram protein and 8g. net carbs! Buy 2 get one free!

Entenmann's Low Carb also just hit Stop & Shop! (Blueberry muffins, French Butter Cake, Fudge Nut Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Butter Loaf or Chocolatey Chop & Nut Loaf.)

Blackberries, 2 for $5
Powerbar Pria or Protein Plus Carb Select Bars 2 for $3.
Carborite Bars 99 cents
Carborite Candy Bags 2 for $3.
Carborite Shakes 4 pack, $6.99.
Carborite Cookies 79 cents.

Crosby's
Effective Sunday, February 22, through Saturday, February 28.

Crosby's carries the BP Gourmet Smarter Carb cookies were now $3.69, but they are out of the chocolate covered meringues! Please make sure you have them in stock! These are great!

Crosby's also started carrying a Splenda flavored sweet relish! Yay! Makes great tuna, and now I can add the relish without the guilt!

Crosby's is now worth a trip!

Johnnie's Foodmaster
Effective: Saturday, February 28 through Friday, March 5.

Just on Thursday, they have Extra Large Shell On shrimp 26-30 count for $4.99 a pound.

Controlling Type 2 Diabetes with High Protein, Low Carb Diets

According to this study, a very high protein, low carb, and low fat diet controlled type 2 diabetes so well that every child was able to get off medication except one. Now, the big problem with this is that it was low calorie as well...

This should definitely be studied more...

Atlanta Bread Company -- Low Carb Bread

According to reader Amanda, Atlanta Bread Company has come out with a low carb bread. (I checked on their site and they don't have a press release about it yet though.)

Low Carb Entenmanns Snacks & Cakes

Wow, according to this article, Entemanns low carb snacks and cakes were introduced this week. They are also phasing out trans fat by the end of the year.

(And does the Weston Bakeries have a lame website! The graphics don't click, do they? I'm not missing something, am I? If so, there is absolutely NO information on their site at all. Nothing. Except how to contact them. This is the weirdest thing I have EVER seen! I was able to even find nutritional information on the Dunkin Donuts site for their muffins yesterday. It was hidden, but it was there at least! Talk about getting heart attacks, Dunkin Donuts bran muffins have 81 grams of carbs!) (Update: They have improved their website and discontinued Entenmann's Low carb. More here.)

Update: I bought this -- the Entenmann's Low Carb Crumb Cake. It is Atkins' branded, and it says it is for phase 4, which means that you should only eat it on maintenance (after you have reached your goal) and on birthdays. (grin) Actually, that birthday part was my addition.

I took a taste. Warning! You must be extremely careful when you buy this product. It could easily induce the binge eating that many of us experienced before Atkins. Why? Because it is good, albeit a bit dry, which seems impossible because it has so much fat in it, but very very good.

Each type (loaf, muffins, crumb cake, cookies) has about 170 calories for a small piece or serving size and has 9 grams of net carbs.

I managed to only eat my one serving size, but it was tempting!

As always, remember, you cannot eat more than 300 calories a day of non-natural low carb products! Otherwise, you will just gain weight!

Update: The next morning, I wasn't able to eat just one serving size because I wasn't even sopposed to be eating it between breakfast and lunch! I am only going to buy this product when I have eight low carbers on hand so they can each have a piece and I won't have any leftovers! This is the first time a low carb product produced a "trigger" for me that reminded me of what it was like before I low carbed!

Girl Scout Cookies... low carb... not!

According to this article, if you have to order Girl Scout Cookies, then:

Shortbreads are the low carb winner with 4.5 carbs per cookie. Thin mints have six. The reduced fat lemon have 7.3.

Notice that the reduced fat have the most carbs? (grin) What do you bet next year they have a low carb cookie choice?

Conagra launches new low carb frozen entrees..

According to this article, the maker of Healthy Choice (way too much sugar and carbs) has come out with a new brand, Life Choice, with about 15 carbs in their frozen meals. They cost about $3.59 each.

That reminds me.. Costco sells Lean Cuisine, which now lists carbs on their boxes. The two top boxes have low carbs, and the two bottom boxes, which you don't see right away, have about 24 grams of carbs each. I immediately put it back and thought, "bait and switch."

Baja Bob's Available in New York's Gristede's

Low carb going mainstream.....

Decadent Low Carb Cake Recipe

Skip the article and skim down to the decadent low carb cake recipe. Please let me know if it is good!

Update: Reader Marlene was kind enough to give us her opinion.

I made it today. I was disappointed with the results--too dry with a bitter taste. One ounce less chocolate or more sugar substitute might help. Also, I'd check it after 35 minutes. Thanks again.

If you make any of the recipes on this site, we all would benefit if you posted a comment or emailed me your results! Thank you, Marlene!

Actually, I created and have eaten this recipe for a luscious low carb decadent cake or brownie -- and it is truly scrumptious!