Low Carb Freedom

A New Low Carb Recipe Blog

New (and great!) low carb resources are just popping up all over the place! I just got this email:

I found your blog on newsgator.  You said you are interested in seeing original low carb blogs and I thought you might like to see mine.  I only post recipes and product recommendations, and I just started in April, but still I have gotten a lot of good response to the blog.  My focus is "gourmet" low carb food, something I frankly haven't found a lot of on the internet.

Kalynskitchen.blogspot.com

I went and checked it out, and while Kalyn is doing South Beach and is more concerned with fat than I am, the recipes seem just great! Just don't eat the rice, etc. if you are doing Atkins like I am.

She has a recipe for paprika sauce that I really want to try because Knorr makes a great paprika sauce, but it isn't sold in the states -- too bad! And I'm all out!

New Low Carb Blog, Livin La Vida Low-Carb

I just received two recommendations to take a look at this blog, one from my good friend Levi who has it on his blogroll (I went looking for some updated articles), and one from low carb-u.

I like to link to blogs that have original content and don't just take and repackage press releases, and this blog certainly qualifies! Quite prolific. He managed to lose a lot of weight on Atkins and he is also publishing a book.

Here is a link to a good post on how low carb helps diabetics. I especially like this quote:

Other interesting results from the study include a marked increase in the HDL "good" cholesterol levels in almost every patient. Additionally, Krebs said despite repeated warnings from his colleagues in the medical community about possible kidney problems from eating too much protein on a low-carb lifestyle, his observations led him to believe that was simply not a major concern. He also credited the low-carb approach for giving study participants a way of eating that helped them to feel full and satisfied without having to count calories and yet still lose weight.

WOO HOO! Can we get this guy to start lecturing doctors about the healthy alternative low-carb offers? Man, if doctors would just listen to what one of their own is saying, we could overcome this negative barrier regarding low-carb. Sadly, it will take a lot more studies like this before medical "experts" change their already-made-up-mind about what to think about low-carb.

The more voices experiencing the same good results can only decrease the time it takes for the benefits to become obvious.

And here is a link to his main url. I have put it on my low carb blogroll as well.

Deliciously Slim Gone?

Just received this from reader/low carb store owner, Jason:

Hello, I just wanted to let you know that I tried putting in an order with
Deliciously Slim for their chips and they told me they've discontinued them.
It's unfortunate because at my store they are very popular. Anyway, I
thought I'd give you a heads up. The RW Garcias brand of chips is very close though and are my number one sellers, I think they are the exact same as the trader joes except different label.

If you ever have any questions on whether specialty items are discontinued I am pretty much the authority because I have to be as the owner/buyer at my low carb store. I wouldn't know about mass market products however.
Thanks , Jason

www.locarbu.com

Man, those of you without a Trader Joe's or a low carb specialty store are just out of luck now.

For those of you in the LA area, here is the Locarbu information:

Lo Carb-U
5770 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Phone: 323.460.6222
Fax: 323.460.6244

Update: More (not good news) on Delicously Slim here.

Low Carb Memorial Day

It is Memorial Day, and you are low carbing. What do you do? Well, it depends if you have the Memorial Day party in your backyard (lots of work but total control over the eats) or if you go slouch at a friend’s backyard (less work but little control over the eats.) Since your proclivities may vary from year to year, I’ll help you out with both situations.

Having It In Your Backyard

The trick to having a great Memorial Day party is to think, grilling. What cooks on the grill? Meat, like chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, bratwursts, kabobs, even fish. Try some of these spices to grill. Or use low carb barbecue sauce! If you use the Kraft South Beach barbecue sauce, no one will ever know it has less sugar!

What else? Veggies, like zucchini with butter and spices! If you do this, no one will even know that you are low carbing! You can also buy lots of naturally low carbohydrate food, which cuts down on the prep time. Some food can be made ahead, which saves your sanity on the day of the event.

Food that can be purchased:

Low Carb Tortilla Chips (Trader Joe’s or Deliciously Slim has the best!)
Fresh Marinated Mozzarella Balls (I love the huge 3 lb. Formaggio tub at Costco for about $11.)
Low Carb Crackers (Cheeters and CarboSave are two brands, but I just use tortilla chips instead of crackers -- much less expensive!)
Assorted Cheeses (pub cheese, cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, limitless selection!)
Assorted Nuts
Black Olives
Marinated Mushrooms

Dishes that can be made ahead:

Low Carb 7-Layer Mexican Dip can be made the night before and lettuce, tomatoes added the day of the event.

Low Carb Pasta Salad, just use Dreamfield's or Mueller's with some salad dressing and some sliced pepper, etc.

Caesar Salad -- just wait to add the dressing, Cardini's is great! and naturally low carb!

Home grown tomatoes sliced thin and sprinkled with garlic salt and fresh parsley flakes, then refrigerated for an hour. Delicious!

Low Carb Cole Slaw

Assorted Veggies: Cucumbers, Cauliflower, Peppers, and Mushrooms for a Crudités
Low Carb Salad Dressings for the Crudités (most ranch dressings are inherently low carb, or make a sour cream dip.)

Low Carb Cucumber Salad

Desserts that can be made ahead.

Low Carb Brownies! or here My Brownies. Or make some cannolis and just eat the low carb filling.

How about berries? They are in season. Just add some whipped cream. (Made with Splenda, not sugar.)

And a little watermelon won't hurt either.

Drinks:

Have some regular beer, but also some Michelob Ultra or other low carb beer on hand. White wine or red wine is just fine. If you want a mixed drink, try some Fuze Slenderize or Tropicana Light Lemonade mixed with vodka or rum. Tastes like it has a million calories. You can even fool the girls or the guys with this one! Let them have a taste, and they will want one of their own.

You can also get some Low Carb off the shelf products from Bacardi like Island Breeze (1.5 carbs per serving with free recipe book available with some old time favorites made in a lower calorie, lower carb manner.)

(AV. ANALYSIS: ISLAND BREEZE (1.5 FL. OZ.): 48 CAL, 1.5g CARBS, 0g PROTEIN, 0g FAT.

AV. ANALYSIS: Traditional Spirits (1.5 FL. OZ.): 96 CAL, 0g CARBS, 0g PROTEIN, 0g FAT (Traditional Spirits based on Vodka, Gin, Rum, Whiskey).

AV. ANALYSIS: Wine (5 FL. OZ.): 114 CAL, 4.72g CARBS, 0.29g PROTEIN, 0g FAT.

AV. ANALYSIS: White Wine (5 FL. OZ.): 100 CAL, 1.18g CARBS, 0.15g PROTEIN, 0g FAT.

You can also get some Baja Bob’s Low Carb Drink Mixes. Or create your own drinks from scratch using this book, Low Carb Bartender. Always a handy guide to have around.

Result:

No one is going to know that you are on a low carb diet! You can further enhance the charade by having some regular crackers and tortilla chips to serve for your guests. People will eat both, but you will know to only eat the non-white versions – the versions with the fiber.

Slouching in a Friend’s Backyard

OK, you have accepted an invitation at a friend’s house. You suspect that there is going to be lots of tempting high carb food. First order of business, ask the host what he or she will be serving so you can bring an appropriate dish. (This will give you insight as to how much food you need to bring or how full you need to be before you go.)

Second order of business, buy some pre-packaged low carb but appropriate snacks to bring as the housewarming gift. (Yes, you are supposed to bring a gift if you are invited to a party. Only this time try to make it one that you could use during the occasion!) For example, macadamia nuts and a Hickory Farm beef stick in a little bag might be nice. (Hopefully the host gets the hint to serve them right away!)

Third order of business, bring some wine or some low carb beer (You can bring some light beers if you don’t want to bring one specifically labeled low carb. For example, Miller Lite has 3.2 carbs per beer.)

Fourth order of business, choose one of the recipes above that you really like and bring that for the host to serve!

If you follow the above advice, you should be able to eat at least three or four things and also have a few drinks without blowing your diet and having your blood sugar soar.

Quick Update to Low Carb Discontinued Product Watch

A quick update on the Post Carbwell Cereal product at the Low Carb Discontinued Product Watch Update.

Miller Lite Carb Day -- Not What You Think

File this under, NOT Low Carb News. I saw a reference to Miller Lite Carb Day in connection with the Indianapolis 500 and I thought that this proved that low carb was still up there. It was so up there that Miller Lite, in its battle with Michelob Ultra for the title of low carb beer leader, was really pulling out all the stops. I was sadly disappointed, as this article attests:

Anywhere else, "Carb Day" would be an Atkins diet boycott.

But this is Indianapolis.

Our Carb Day (a.k.a. Carburetion Day) signifies the final practice for IndyCar Series drivers competing in the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500.

For the tens of thousands of race fans who will attend Miller Light Carb Day, it means a big party at the track.

"It's a jam-packed day," said Eric Powell, media coordinator for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "You get six hours of nonstop entertainment, all for $10. It's probably the cheapest ticket in town."

A New "Good For You Sweetener": Sweet Perfection

Imagine a sweetener having lots of fiber and 1/3 the calories of sugar. Sweet Perfection has that because it is made with oligofructose (92%) (read this for more), fructose (4.1%), mung bean extract (2.8%) (I admit I know nothing about mung bean extract), and acesulfame-K (<1%.)

Well, I did a bake-off with it. I made the My Brownies Recipe, once with Sweet Perfection and once with Splenda. I preferred the Sweet Perfection for taste, and I definitely preferred it for health reasons. I immediately cut up the Sweet Perfection brownies, bagged each, and put them in the freezer so I could pull them out one by one, defrost them in the microwave, and eat with a dollop of whipped cream.

You should also eat your brownie with plenty of liquid! After all, you are getting lots of fiber and your body has to process it. But with all that fiber, you won't be hungry soon either. (And it doesn't compare poorly with Splenda at all, once you get the true calorie and carb counts for Splenda -- see, according to labeling laws, if it has less than 4 calories per serving, you can call it 0. So what you see on the Splenda box label is different than what you see here. What you see here is correct.)

The only problem with Sweet Perfection is the price and availability. It is expensive -- $17.95 for a one pound bag -- and it currently is only available at the Low Carb Specialties website.

Sweetener including Splenda and Sugar Nutrition Facts

	Sweet Perfection	Sugar	Splenda Granular	Splenda Packet
Serving Size	1 teaspoon	1 teaspoon	1 teaspoon	1 packet
Calories	6	16	2	4
Total Fat	0	0	0	0
Saturated Fat	0	0	0	0
Cholesterol	0mg	0g	0g	0
Sodium	2mg	0mg	0mg	0mg
Total Carbohydrates	3g	4g	.5g	.9g
Dietary Fiber	3g	0g	0g	0g
Sugars	0g	4g	0g	0g
Protein	0g	0g	0g	0g
Ingredients	oligofructose (92%), fructose (4.1%), mung bean extract (2.8%), and acesulfame-K (<1%.)	Sugar	Sucralose, dextrose and/or maltodextrin	Sucralose, dextrose and/or maltodextrin

Teaching Kids About Obesity the DVD Way

This story about a new method to combat childhood obesity is interesting.

When it comes to battling childhood obesity, a DVD that requires kids to plop down in front of the TV might seem an unlikely weapon. But scheduled to debut this week, amid all the new Xbox and Playstation offerings, is an interactive movie that enlists viewers to rescue not planet Earth, but rather the cholesterol-riddled body of Jack Decayd, a 40-year-old overweight male with Type II diabetes.

The movie, "Escape from Obeez City," is the product of an unusual alliance between a little-known Australian start-up firm, Big Red Frog, and James Rosser, a surgeon at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. Dr. Rosser, who weighed some 450 pounds before undergoing bariatric surgery in 2001, has gained national attention in recent years for his research on how videogame playing may enhance surgeons' skills.

I know if there is a game aspect, my son, who gives me the most problems, would be interested. I am very curious as to the content though. As this comes out of Australia, I don't think they will be pushing the travesty of the US Food Pyramid, but who knows?

If anyone gets a chance to look at it, please let me know. The big red frog website, the makers of the game, really doesn't talk about the science that underpins the movie. (And, man, do I hate Flash websites.)

Update: From Levi, in comments:

Katherine, I think you may be overly optimistic. Here's a link to Australia's Dept. of health nutrition guidelines:

http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/synopses/dietsyn.htm

It is very similar to the USDA food guidelines. Avoid fats, eat pleanty of cereals (although they say preferably whole grains), etc. Get ready for more indoctrination! :)

New Sugar Free & Lower Carb Product Launches: Nestle Coffee-Mate

I use cream and Splenda in my coffee, but I have wanted to try one of these coffee flavoring products. Only problem is, every time I think I want to try it (I think it is the International Delight version or something like that), the sugar free version only comes in a gigantic bottle and not the smaller bottles. Maybe the Nestle version will be different and it will be available in the smaller bottles. I don't have the nutritional label, but according to the Nestle Sugar Free Coffee-mate press release, it has 15 calories, 1 gram of carbs, and 1 gram of fat.

Of course, you can create your own by using liquid sweeteners and cream: Da Vinci Gourmet Sugar Free Syrups.

Watch a Gastric Bypass Procedure On the Web and Ask the Doctors Questions

OK, OK, if you haven't tried a low carb diet yet, try it, because if you have a gastric operation, you will be on a low carb diet later. If you are seriously thinking of an operation, find out as much about it as you can. Read the good, the bad, and the ugly here: Surgery: Gastric Bypass & Lap Band.

And why not actually view the procedure as well? At this website, you can see a preview of the weight loss surgery to check to see if you will be able to view it, and also send in questions to the doctors beforehand. This is cutting edge marketing of medicine here folks, and I can't say that it is a bad thing. This is what they will perform:

The Roux-en-Y procedure, which Dr. Naaman will perform, combines the two main principles of bariatric surgery - restriction and malabsorption. The surgeon divides the stomach, creating a small pouch that greatly restricts the amount of food the patient can eat. The procedure also reroutes and shortens the small intestine, decreasing the amount of food energy absorbed by the body. The bypassed stomach and intestine segments are reattached below the pouch, so the fluids and enzymes provided by those organs can drain into the intestines and facilitate digestion.