Low Carb Freedom

Ruby Tuesday's Getting Rid of Some Low Carb?

I read the Washington Post article about the disconnect between what people say they want to eat versus what they actually eat.

Restaurants find healthy foods flop

Chains discover such fare isn't really what diners want

The national restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday added a low-fat Blueberry D'Lite yogurt parfait to its menu more than a year ago to capitalize on the apparent growing appetite among consumers for healthful fare.

The parfait joined more than 40 better-for-you offerings, along with listings of calorie and fat contents for everything on the menu. French fry portions were trimmed. Heavy advertising touted the chain's Smart Eating program.

But diners didn't bite. So Ruby Tuesday has eliminated the Blueberry D'Lite, along with several other healthful dishes ditched after a lengthy period of slumping sales at the chain. Calorie and fat information was dropped except on the healthful items that survived and were moved to the back of the menu.

Now the chain is aggressively promoting its biggest burgers...

Notice the big headline.

I immediately became worried about the low carb Ruby Tuesday fare and went and checked their menu. Under Ruby Tuesday Smart Eating there was still item after item of good low carb fare:

Calories / Fat gm / Net Carb gm / Fiber gm

Steaks, Seafood & Chicken

Entrées served with choice of two sides. Nutrition information does not include side items.

Smart Eating^SM Petite Sirloin*

A smaller version of our irresistible top sirloin.   222/8/1/0

Smart Eating^SM Top Sirloin*

A seasoned sirloin steak.   285/11/1/0

Smart Eating^SM Ribeye*

Our juicy ribeye cooked just the way you like it.   635/44/4/0

Smart Eating^SM Grilled Chicken

Peppercorn-seasoned and grilled.   209/5/0/0

Smart Eating^SM Creole Catch

Broiled seasoned tilapia.   312/16/0/0

Smart Eating^SM Peppercorn Salmon

A peppercorn-seasoned fillet.   287/15/0/0

Smart Eating^SM New Orleans Seafood^™

Broiled seasoned tilapia and shrimp topped with creamy Alfredo sauce.   507/31/4/0

Smart Eating^SM Church Street Chicken^™

Grilled chicken with sautéed mushrooms, crisp bacon and melted Swiss cheese.   523/32/0/2

Side Items & Sauces

Plain Baked Potato 296/2/49/11

Add Ruby's salsa or light ranch dressing.

Salsa 10/0/3/0

Light Ranch Dressing 55/5/1/0

Thai Peanut Sauce 66/3/8/0

Bleu Cheese Dressing 177/19/1/0

Fresh Steamed Broccoli 129/8/5/3

Sugar Snap Peas 82/0/10/4

Sautéed Mushrooms 276/27/0/4

Creamy Mashed Cauliflower 166/11/9/6

Side Caesar Salad 120/10/4/1

Brown Rice Pilaf

Topped with cheese and tomatoes.   223/7/34/2

Dessert

Low-Carb Cheesecake

Our creamy cheesecake with a crunchy nut crust is carb-friendly and delicious.   400/32/1/5

Just ditch the baked potato and the rice pilaf and you can have a field day! And I didn't even excerpt the whole menu!

I would love to try the New Orleans Seafood! (And I'm surprised that the author of the article didn't dispute their "Smart Eating" designation with low carb items on the menu... but that is another article.) And on low carb, you can certainly eat the big burgers they are advertising -- just without the bun.

I have an email into their Marketing dept. to try and find out what items were actually discontinued. I'll let you know what they tell me.

Great Barbecue in South Carolina

The barbecue sauce could have fewer carbs, but the best barbecue I have ever had is at The Pink Pig in the middle of nowhere in South Carolina near the Georgia border with Savannah. This barbecue is first rate and so reasonably priced that I could go vacationing in South Carolina just to visit this place. It actually beats the Yankee Smokehouse in NH. (And, no, I won't turn this into the war between the north and south!)

One room is bright, bright pink and has flying pink pigs hanging from the ceiling. Another room is bright, bright blue, but I didn't eat in that one so I couldn't pick out any distinguishable features, just the color. The place was immaculate!

1/2 lb. of ribs is $9, 1/2 bbq chicken is $6, and chopped bbq pork was $7. (I'm sure that prices are subject to change.) This comes with coleslaw, Brunswick Stew, and a roll. Some other platters come with hush puppies.

Just don't eat the roll or the hush puppies, of course!

The Pink Pig
Bryan's Pink Pig Bar-B-Que
Hwy. 170A Levy, South Carolina
843-784-3635

Eating Low Carb Ice Cream Out in Hilton Head and Around the Country

OK, I went on vacation in Hilton Head, and I had the pleasure to find an ice cream shop that served 92 flavors of ice cream -- and SIX of those flavors are always low carb! We were in Hilton Head for a week and my kids' favorite thing to do was go to the Frozen Moo in Coligny Plaza in Hilton Head. We even took pictures of kids in the store because they were so thrilled. (OK, OK, they were on vacation so I let them pick any flavor, but I could still eat low carb and splurge!)

The flavors that I got to try were:

• Chocolate Turtle (scrumptious!)
• Maui Coconut (Good)
• and I think Coffee Chip (scrumptious)

What is more, The Frozen Moo gets their ice cream from The Ice Cream Club. They supply ice cream shops all over the country, including California and Nebraska (none in Massachusetts though! (sigh)) Check here for the list of Ice Cream Club Stores.

The carb count varies by type of ice cream, of course. The ice cream is flavored with Splenda and has some sugar alcohols, polydextrose and glycerin, but for a treat, I'll take 'em! And if you could find a store that carried all of their flavors, you would get to choose one of these low carb ice cream flavors every time you went:

ALMOND JOY	COFFEE	MOCHA ALMOND FUDGE
AMARETTO ALMOND	COFFEE CHIP	PEANUT BUTTER
BANANA WALNUT	DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP	PISTACHIO
BUTTER PECAN	FLORIDA ORANGE	STRAWBERRY
CARAMEL PECAN TWIST	MAPLE WALNUT	STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
CHOCOLATE	MAUI COCONUT	VANILLA
CHOCOLATE ALMOND	MINT CHIP	VANILLA FUDGE
CHOCOLATE CHIP	MISSISSIPPI MUD	VANILLA RASPBERRY CHIP

Red Alert: Eating Omelets Out Could Be Dangerous

Low Carb Living Online has a great article that alerts everyone that IHOP omelets have a healthy dose of white flour pancake batter in them! Nowhere is this disclosed! They have no intention of changing the recipe, but as the article states, the impact to low carbers is bad enough, but what if someone is gluten sensitive?

IHOP should change their menus so this is disclosed immediately, especially since they have now been notified that there could be problems with this recipe. If someone does get hurt, expect a lawsuit, and I usually abhor lawsuits, but not informing customers of this is unconscionable.

I emailed them and let them know... if you feel strongly, email ihop too.

Update: I received a reply from Ihop... it basically said that you can ask for a no pancake batter omelet, but they seem to have no intention of noting that the pancake batter is included in the omelet on their menu. Therefore, you have to know that it is in there before you order...

Dear Ms. Prouty:

I am writing in response to your email regarding pancake batter in our omelet. I do understand your concern regarding the importance of obtaining accurate information on our products, for dietary purposes or restrictions.

In addition to our famous pancakes, one of IHOP's most popular menu item is the omelet. As recently publicized, we add a small amount of pancake batter to make for a fluffier omelet. This recipe is preferred by most of our guests and has been a long standing IHOP omelet preparation practice. As an alternative, we do encourage our restaurants to prepare omelets according to the guest's preference, which include but is not limited to, egg-only, egg-white or egg-substitution omelets.

Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. We hope to serve you again soon.

Sincerely,

Jojo De Villa-Medalla

Guest Services Representative

IHOP Restaurant Support Center

Dunkin Donuts Lower Carb Bagels

I debated whether or not to try a Dunkin Donut lower carb bagel simply because, just by the title of "lower carb bagel" instead of "low carb bagel", I knew they probably still had a lot of carbs, but in the interest of informing my readers of all potential possibilities, I tried one on my way to Christmas shopping. (My girlfriend informed me that they had them.)

I walked in and asked if they had any printed information on the bagels, which they didn't. The man next to me ordered one too. He said that he had been eating them for a while and they were pretty good, but you couldn't eat them plain, you had to have something on them. (Anything had to be better than their regular bagels or muffins, see below.) So... I ordered one to go, toasted, with cream cheese, with a small coffee. It came to about $3. They were down to their last 3 lower carb bagels, but the bin where they store them isn't nearly as big as the regular bagel bins, so this must not be one of their top sellers. (Do you know how much money you save each week by making your own breakfast?)

Anyhow, the bagel was OK. It was a much larger bagel than the Thomas' Carb Conscious bagels that you get in the grocery stores. It also was less dense than the traditional bagels, which, of course, makes sense. It had a white color instead of a whole grain color, which, in contrast, surprised me.  I ate the bagel around 8:30 a.m. and didn't become really hungry until about 12:30 in the afternoon while I was still shopping. Would I buy this again? Probably not. I just can't eat that many carbs. But for men who are on South Beach, it might be OK, if they continually exercise.

They also have a lower carb croissant, which I haven't tried yet. It has fewer carbs, but it has just about the same amount of calories -- a lot!

Dunkin Donuts Low Carb Nutrition Facts

	Dunkin Donuts Lower Carb Bagel	Dunkin Donuts Regular Bagel
Serving Size	1 bagel	1 bagel
Calories	380	320
Total Fat	12g	2.5g
Saturated Fat	4.5g	.5g
Cholesterol	20mg	0g
Sodium	780mg	650mg
Total Carbohydrates	45g	62g
Dietary Fiber	14g	2g
Sugars	8g	4g
Protein	25g	12g
Ingredients	Bagel [Water, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Modified Wheat Starch, Vital Wheat Gluten, Bleached Soybean Fiber, Wheat Protein Isolate, Soybean Oil. Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Inulin, Salt, Yeast, Dough Conditioner (Datem, Ascorbic Acid, Azodicarbonamide, Enzymes, L-Cysteine Hydrochloride), Natural & Artificial Flavor, Sucralose, Degermed Yellow Corn Meal, Potassium Sorbate And Sodium Benzoate (Preservatives), Sunflower Meal], Topping (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes).	Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Degermed Yellow Corn Meal, Salt, Soybean Oil, Rice Flour, Yeast, Dough Conditioner (Datem, Ascorbic Acid, Azodicarbonamide, Enzymes, L-Cysteine Hydrochloride).

Here is a new lower carb bagel from Stop & Shop to look at. I tried to compare Dunkin Donuts to Einstein Brothers, but they only have overall figures for Einstein:

Lower-Carb 9 Grain Bagel & Plain Cream Cheese
27 grams of protein, net 19 grams of carbs

Egg & Bacon Frittata on Lower-Carb 9 Grain Bagel
53 grams of protein, net 22 grams of carbs

100% Albacore Tuna Salad on Lower-Carb 9 Grain Bagel
43 grams of protein, net 22 grams of carbs

Lower-Carb 9 Grain Bagel Dog (a la carte)
39 grams of protein, net 25 grams of carbs

Kudos to Dunkin Donuts for their web transperency regarding their products! Even down to the ingredients. They may have had printed information available in the stores and the fact that I couldn't get it  could have been a training issue.

It is very hard to compare these items since only the Thomas' has a gram count versus Dunkin Donut's 1 bagel or 1 croissant serving size. Although, I absolutely understand why -- if you are producing some of these inconsistently, then it is difficult to ensure that each serving size has the same amount of grams. I suspect, that the Dunkin Donuts bagels are larger (weigh more) than the croissants and the Thomas' bagels. I may buy a bagel and a croissant and weigh them just for kicks.

Dunkin Donuts Low Carb Croissant and Thomas' Carb Consider Bagel Nutrition Facts

	Dunkin Donuts Lower Carb Croissant	Thomas' Carb Consider Bagel
Serving Size	1 croissant	1 bagel (62g)
Calories	370	150
Total Fat	24g	2.5g
Saturated Fat	8g	.5g (trans fat 0, Polyunsaturated Fat 1g, Monounsatured Fat .5g
Cholesterol	5mg	0g
Sodium	300mg	340mg
Total Carbohydrates	19g	24g
Dietary Fiber	2g	6g
Sugars	1g	less than 1g
Protein	18g	11g
Ingredients	Water, Vegetable Shortening (Hydrogenated Soybean Oil And Cottonseed Oil, Palm Oil), Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Enzyme, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Wheat Gluten, Cream Cheese (Cream, Milk, Bacterial Culture, Carob Bean Gum, Salt), Soy Flour, Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Sodium Caseinate, Canola Oil And/Or Soybean Oil, Buttermilk Powder, Salt, Mono And Diglycerides, Yeast, Datem, Guar Gum, To Preserve Freshness (Calcium Proprionate, Sodium Proprionate, Propylene Glycol, Lactic Acid), Sorbitan Monostearate, Monoglycerides, Potassium Acid Tartrate, Xanthan Gum, L-Cysteine, Polysorbate 60, Sucralose, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Azodicarbonamide.	Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Reduced Iron, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Folic Acid), Water, Wheat Protein Isolate, Oat Fiber Wheat Gluten, Soybean Oil, Cornmeal, Salt, Yeast, Preservatives (Calcium Propionate, Sorbic Acid) Monoglycerides, Guar Gum, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Grain Vinegar, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Critric Acid, Sucralose.

Update: They didn't do this study with low carb bagels, but some fascinating information how eggs help you eat fewer calories!

Low Carb at Universal Theme Park in Orlando: Mythos' Low Carb Menu

I was in Florida last December and saw a dearth of low carb options in the Disney and Universal theme parks. Nothing. You had to pick and choose, and forget about low carb desserts! (I found some no sugar mousse somewhere, but I couldn't even figure out the carb count!)

This year Universal outdid itself -- even listing low carb restaurants on its park maps! You actually have two choices in Islands of Adventure, so make sure you get cheap Universal tickets that can work in both parks so you can slip back into Islands of Adventure from the main Universal Park for all of your meals.

Mythos and Confisco's are the two restaurants where you can get low carb options. I have only eaten at Confisco's a long time ago. I always go to Mythos every time we visit. It has the best gourmet "in park" food for a reasonable price, and this includes the many restaurants I have tried at Disney.

They have a special page devoted to the low carb options, and the chef, Mark Wachowiak, takes it very seriously. He was kind enough to come out and talk to us about the menu, which includes:

Starters Creamy Mushroom Cappucino (with mushroom foam) (8 net carbs) -- $4.75

Mythos Hot wings with blue cheese drizzle and cucumber sticks (2.53 net carbs) -- $8.95

Salads
Hearts of Romaine Caesar with shaved gran parmesan (1.73 net carbs) -- $6.75

Baby Spinach Salad and bacon toato ranch dressing, with baked cheddar crisps and hard cooked egg (4.42 net carbs) $5.00 (add grilled chicken, scallops, or beef for $10.45 or shrimp and salmon for $12.45)

Entrees
Cedar Planked Bay of Fundy Salmon with Chef Mark's low carb vegetables and a citrus beurre blanc (11.50 net carbs) $18.50

Shoulder Center Cut Tender Filet with Chef Mark's low carb vegetables and stilton buter (8.25 net carbs) $18.50

Seared Sea Scallops with Chef Mark's low carb vegetables, and brown butter and sage (9.38 net carbs) $14.95

* please note carbohydrate counts are estimated and small variances may occur due to change in ingredients

Not listed on the main menu is a low carb ice cream for dessert! (Yay! They have something! And order it too!)

I ordered the Cedar Planked Bay of Fundy Salmon and my husband ordered the Shoulder Center Cut Tender Filet. I never order salmon because it often has a very strong taste. This salmon, which is also available on the "regular" menu, tastes smooth and not sharp. Chef Mark said it is all about where the salmon comes from. This salmon, though farmed, actually was raised in the Bay of Fundy, separated from other salmon, but not in an indoor tank. Whatever the cause, this salmon is first rate. And cooking it on the cedar brings out another layer of taste.

My husband liked the filet so much that he didn't give me a taste so I can't give you a flowery description.

The low carb vegetables were to die for! It was spaghetti squash with some asparagus, but what spaghetti squash! I had given up on spaghetti squash because I didn't like the taste when I cooked it. Drippy wet and strong. Obviously, I had never had a model to aspire to. Light and mellow. Now I do! He kindly gave me the low carb spaghetti squash recipe, which I posted.

Now, the one item I wished we had ordered but didn't was the Mythos Hot Wings. Chef Mark said they were first rate, and even offered us a sample, but we were just too stuffed to eat another bite. So, if you go, please order it and let me know how they were!

Mythos has an extensive drink menu. After coming in from a hot day at the park, I could have used a low carb crushed ice drink, but they only had the sugared versions. Chef Mark said he would look into it. It was the only low carb "hole" in the menu. (A Diet Coke did the trick though.)

(If you go with high carb eaters, tell them to try the fried sushi! But look out, you will be tempted to try it as well, and that sticky rice is a killer for carbs!)

Low Carb on Song Airlines

I traveled in June and July on Northwest to Europe. It was difficult traveling and staying on a low carb diet. I did fine when I packed my own food, but did miserably coming back from Europe when I couldn't pack my own food. Well, I just got back from visiting Florida in between hurricanes, and traveling from Boston to Florida and back was a pleasure! Not only did they have lots of diet drink choices, Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Lime, and even Diet Sprite, they also had a low carb wrap! According to their Happy Guide (their version of the menu), the Market Roast Beef Fajita Wrap is:

High altitude, low carbs. Thinly sliced roast beef, Jicama slaw, pepperjack cheese and organic green leaf lettuce, all surrounded by a low-carb tortilla for a total of 7 grams of carbohydrates. Goes great with an ice-cold Diet Coke with Lime. (Then again, pretty much everything does.)

I could care less about the blatant advertising for Coke (after all, when I asked for a Diet Coke with Lime I received a coupon for a free 20 oz. bottle of the same); they had something I could eat! I don't even care that it cost $8. I couldn't get anything low carb to eat on the Northwest flight for any price! And what is even better -- it tasted great. Of course, it didn't look like the picture above, it was a wrap encased in plastic wrap, and was in only two pieces, and without the cabbage in the center of the plate (because there was no plate), but, again, it tasted great! It had all of the layers depicted in the photo. And did I mention that it tasted great? (grin)

This definitely puts Song on my list of airlines to fly! (Although, I do wish they would add another trivia game to the music trivia game. How about politics, or history, or TV, or movies?)

Domino's Carb Cruncher Thin Crust Pizza Review

OK, I finally splurged and purchased a medium low carb pizza for $9.99, and I ordered Domino's instead of Papa John's because I wanted the low carb pizza, and I have the "power" in the house on where to order discretionary food. In other words, it wasn't a birthday or other special occasion so mom picks.

It was delicious!

Pepperoni....

But you cannot eat these things every day. Maybe once a month, but that is a lot more than we've been eating pizza in this house lately, I can tell you. Dominos must have thought we had moved. They used to send us postcards in the mail. They stopped coming. How do they know why we didn't order pizza? We could have found someplace better for all they knew. They didn't know our house now has a scarlet A for Atkins emblazoned on the outside with carb detectors covering the doors and windows.

However, I want to know why, why, why they charge twice the price for the low carb pizza! Granted, it has three times the fiber of the regular Domino's pizza, but twice the price? Now, if you get two Carb Crunchers, then the second one only costs $5, but still.....

If you are going to splurge on pizza but not go totally off the diet, it definitely pays to get Domino's though. Just look at the difference in carbs (and some calories) between the Carb Cruncher and the regular pizza!

Carb Cruncher (Cheese)
Serving Size: 1/8 of pizza (medium)(60g)
Calories: 150
Total Fat: 8
Saturated Fat: 4
Trans Fat: 1
Cholesterol: 15
Sodium: 300
Total Carbohydrates: 13
Dietary Fiber: 6
Sugars: 1
Sugar Alcohols: .2
Protein: 7

Regular Pizza (Cheese)
Serving Size: 1/8 of pizza (medium)(76g)
Calories: 186
Total Fat: 5.5
Saturated Fat: 2
Trans Fat: Not listed
Cholesterol: 9
Sodium: 385
Total Carbohydrates: 28
Dietary Fiber: 1
Sugars: 1
Protein: 7

Now, if you are on a budget and still want to splurge on pizza and eat more than just the toppings but just can't justify the extra money, go for the Domino's Crunchy Thin Crust Pizza. It has fewer calories and carbs than the regular Domino's pizza but more than the Carb Cruncher..... but it is included in all of the price break specials that Domino's offers. And you can get it in a large size.

Crunchy Thin Crust
Serving Size: 1/8 of pizza (medium)(49g)
Calories: 137
Total Fat: 7
Saturated Fat: 2.5
Trans Fat: Not listed
Cholesterol: 10
Sodium: 292.5
Total Carbohydrates: 14
Dietary Fiber: 1
Sugars: 2
Protein: 5

Here is a link to Domino's pizza nutritional information, including lots of toppings.

Here is a link to Domino's Carb Cruncher nutritional information.

Low Carb Coming to Cruise Lines

Now, if you go on the following cruise lines, you should have clearly labeled low carb options:

Carnival Cruise Lines
Royal Caribbean
Norwegian Cruise Lines

Check with the cruise lines to see when each boat adds the low carb menu. Some of them come out later this summer.

Review of TGI Friday's Low Carb Menu

I promised to take the kids to lunch today, and it was certainly pleasant to visit a restaurant where I had a wide-ranging pick of what to eat (with no additional instructions to remove the bread needed), as well as a luscious low carb dessert!

Contrary to what restaurateurs think, most low carb devotees want a low carb dessert, not a regular dessert. And this cheesecake was simply scrumptious. I've tried to make low carb cheesecake, and my recipe certainly doesn't taste like the TGI Friday cheesecake. I asked if they sold whole cheesecakes so I could take one home, but they don't. (Memo to TGI Fridays, I know you could make some money on takeout of whole low carb cheesecakes! I'd visit all the time to pick one up for home!)

I tried one of their newest entrees, the Chicken La Boca. While it was OK, I wouldn't order it again. The manager said that the Key West Grouper fish was the absolute best, so that is what I will be trying next time. (And there will be lots of next times. I have to try each entree, don't I?)

As in most households, I'm the one who decides where to spend our money -- part of the mom's job description. And TGI Fridays will be on the top of my list, just because I can get a piece of low carb cheesecake. (Oh, and the kids love the food too, of course.) Furthermore, it doesn't break the bank.

Here is TGI Friday's complete Low Carb Menu.