Tuesday, 23 March 2010

Atkins Diet Recipe: Low Carb Chewy Pecan Cookies

"Here is an unbelievably good recipe for those missing cookies or a snack food. This is not Induction friendly due to the molasses, coconut, and the Ultimate Splendid Baking Mix, but that is just one more reason to perhaps move on to Ongoing Weight Loss phase. This recipe is a take-off of a chocolate chip recipe from Jennifer Eloff (http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2010/ 02/chewy-coconut-chocolate-chip-cookies. html), but as I said in the past, I am not much of chocolate eater. I exchanged the sugar free chocolate chips for pecans, and I honestly think these are better than the originals.

Here is the recipe for the Low Carb Spendid Baking Mix (another Jennifer Eloff creation):
1 2/3 cups ground almonds
2/3 cup vanilla whey protein
2/3 cup vital wheat gluten Low Carb Chewy Pecan Cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup of Splendid Low Carb Baking Mix
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup Splenda, Granulated
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp molasses
1 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, combine Splendid Bake Mix, baking soda and salt. In food processor, combine butter, Splenda Granular, egg, vanilla extract and molasses; process until well combined. Add dry ingredients and process until combined. Add coconut and pecans; process a final time. Place roughly tablespoon on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake in 350°F 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on rack.

Nutrition Info (22 servings)
85 Calories, 7.5g Fat, 3.6g Carbs (1.6g Fiber), 4g Protein "


Sunday, 7 March 2010

Atkins Diet Misconceptions: Low Carb Failure Rates Far Exceeds Others?

This video is a reaction to a critic who claimed that low carb failures "FAR exceeds" those attempting low fat or moderation diet. Coincidentally at the same time I discovered a meta-analysis study of the major randomized trials of low carb at that point. In the end however, it only matters if you the dieter are successful and motivated to reach goal on your selected plan or way of eating. Others success or failure can't help or derail you unless you let it fuel your self-doubt. I personally just can't imagine a different way of eating.


Monday, 15 February 2010

The Low Carb Diet and Unprocessed Foods

The Low Carb Diet  and Unprocessed Foods

 

When you commence on the Atkins program or low carb diet, you might be tempted to capitalise of many of the low carbohydrate products on the market presently. There are a wide variety of packaged items that are specifically made to be low. These include low carbohydrate snacks, low carbohydrate baking products and low carbohydrate substitutes (like pasta or bread). While it might be enticing to fill your shopping cart with all of these goodies, it's best for your food intake and for your well being to try them sparingly.

 

One of the cornerstone things to remember about the Atkins diet is its centre on raw, unprocessed foods. The centre of diet, as shown by the Atkins diet food pyramid, is fresh vegetables and fresh meats. Additional into the mix are natural cheeses, a choice of fruits and, eventually, whole unprocessed grains. There aren't any packaged meats, canned vegetables or instant anything.

 

There is an excuse that the Atkins food pyramid shows these foods in their raw states. There are great health benefits in minimally processed foods. Raw, whole foods retain more minerals and nutrients than foods that have been through chemical and industrial processing. Manufactured foods are more likely to be tainted with chemical additives that can lead to a complete host of problems.

 

Raw, fresh produce constituents provide the best basis for a wholesome diet. Many dieters rely on foods that are technically allowed on the plan, but not good for health. One example is bacon. Many people on the Atkins diet consume a great deal of cured bacon. In point of fact, many use it as a day-to-day part of their protein foods. They do this even though; cured bacon contains high amounts of sodium nitrite, an ingredient that is known to cause cancer. The more bacon they eat, the more they expose themselves to this chemical and a good many others.

 

The Atkins pyramid, and the Atkins diet books, recommends unprocessed, unrefined and non-manufactured foods for a cause. If people follow these testimonials, they will shed weight and experienced health transformations. By eating fresh and natural foods you'll be providing your body with the nutrients that you ought to have optimum health.

 

Back to those packaged and processed low-carb foods. Technically, they're part of the low-carbohydrate program. They can be used in moderation as substitutes for your favourite carbohydrate heavy foods. In a pinch, low-carb bread and baked goods can help you pass though hunger pangs and add variety to your Atkins diet plan. Even so, one examine the labels of these goods highlights how chemically processed these items can be.

 

It is recommended that you apply these products sparingly. In a few individuals, low packaged items cause carbohydrate hunger pangs. This can produce sticking to the diet plan even tougher. If you find that low carbohydrate processed foods make you want to stuff yourself on carb-heavy foods, then its best that you stay far from these products. These products might have hidden carb counts that will grow your daily carbohydrate level without you realizing it.

 

If you are seeing a stall in your weight loss on the Atkins plan, re-evaluate your commitment to unprocessed and unrefined foods. If you've been eating too many low-carbohydrate processed foods, you may be consuming hidden carbs and consuming more than necessary. Try eliminating these products and refocusing your diet on unprocessed and unrefined foods, like those seen on the Atkins diet pyramid. When you go grocery shopping, spend time along the outer rim of the store where the fresh, unprocessed foods are. This will help you avoid the temptation of packaged foods that can lead your food consumption astray.

 

You might need to count on packaged meats, vegetables and fruits infrequently. We lead occupied lives and convenience foods are part of life. It's understandable that you might need to apply certain canned soup, bacon or canned vegetables in your daily living. Nonetheless, make a feat to focus your dietary efforts on a wide variety of fresh, unprocessed foods. Your well being and weight loss efforts will be greatly rewarded.

 

You can join an Atkins type diet with the Tesco eDiet as they have 15 different dieting styles to choose from and one of which is a low carb option. You will weigh in weekly and Tesco will supply you with a list of recipes for the week and if you like you can also get them to add all the ingredients to you Tesco Grocery Shopping Trolley, after which, you can then checkout and have all of the ingredients delivered to you.  They also have a pledge that if you work with their diet for eight weeks then you will lose a stone or your money back – sounds good to me.

 

You can also find more Health & Wellbeing ideas at the following UK Shopping Online website Value Shopping Online.

 


Saturday, 6 February 2010

Do I Still Feel Hungry on an Atkins Type Diet?

One of the most common, and surprising, effects of following the Atkins diet is appetite suppression. Many followers of the plan report that the between meal hunger pangs they disappear very rapidly. This makes it easier to remain on the diet plan and continue to shed weight. While other diets have their follower’s starvation between meals, the Atkins diet offers relief from constant hunger. The Atkins diet, with its specific combination of foods and elements, has powerful appetite suppressing effects.

 

The first key component is the volume of protein in the Atkins diet. Protein, more so than carbohydrates, has the power to satiate hunger. If you've ever eaten a carb heavy meal and then felt hungry afterward, you realize that carbohydrates do not have much staying power. Protein, when blended with a small amount of healthy fats, can keep you feeling full for long periods of time.

 

One of the most potent appetite suppressing foods on the Atkins diet are eggs. Eggs are a great kind of easy and quick protein. A fresh study showed that eating eggs for morning meal would actually avert hunger pangs through the rest of the day. The research concerned two categories of females. One group ate eggs for morning meal and the other had a morning meal of bagels and cream cheese. The calorie count for both breakfasts was exactly the same. The subjects kept track of what they ate the remainder of the day and answered doubts about their levels of hunger and satisfaction throughout the day. The consequences showed that the females who ate the eggs for morning meal felt more satisfied throughout the total day. They ate less at each meal than the females who were in the bagel group.

 

Eggs contain about 6 grams of protein each. This helps to even out blood sugar and produces a notion of satisfaction. Probably both of these reasons help to curb addictions. Egg yolks also contain lutein and xenazanthin. These nutrients have been demonstrated to have incredible effects on eye health. So it's critical to eat the whole egg, and not only the white. Eggs contain choline that is essential in brain functioning and memory. These nutrients are only an extra benefit to the appetite suppressing qualities.

 

Broccoli and cauliflower, two of the acceptable vegetables on the Atkins program, also have appetite-suppressing effects. These vegetables are very bulky and they help make your stomach feel full. When your stomach feels full, it will genuinely create a chemical response inside you. Your body will reduce its appetite because it believes that your stomach is jam-packed with high calorie foods. This will happen no matter what is in your stomach. You can achieve the same results with water and psyllium husk fibre. Both broccoli and cauliflower provide bulk in your diet and are essential vegetables on the Atkins plan.

 

The Atkins diet focuses on eating small protein balanced meals a few times per day. This will help keep your blood sugar stabilized and avoid carbohydrate addictions. With high carbohydrate diets, you are riding the wave of carbohydrate highs. After you eat, you feel great and full. Then a few hours later, you come crashing down and are hungrier than you were previous to eating the carbohydrate. This cycle continues and, in time, you will eat more and gain weight. The protein, fat and vegetable meals of the Atkins plan put your blood sugar back in balance. They provide just plenty of each type of food, with a proper amount of carbohydrates (from the vegetables). The vegetables provide quick carbohydrate energy, and the protein gives the meal stamina. This combination helps suppress your appetite.

 

The Atkins diet is actually a craving control diet that can help suppress your appetite. If you've had a complaint with carbohydrate urges before, this new way of eating will help control those hunger pangs. The more you eat on the plan, the better your cravings will be controlled and the easier it will be to follow the dietary plan.

 

You can join an Atkins type diet with the Tesco eDiet as they have 15 different dieting styles to choose from and one of which is a low carb option. You will weigh in weekly and Tesco will supply you with a list of recipes for the week and if you like you can also get them to add all the ingredients to you Tesco Grocery Shopping Trolley, after which, you can then checkout and have all of the ingredients delivered to you.  They also have a pledge that if you work with their diet for eight weeks then you will lose a stone or your money back – sounds good to me.

 

You can also find more Health & Wellbeing ideas at the following UK Shopping Online website Value Shopping Online.


Monday, 11 January 2010

Atkins Diet Misconceptions: Waning popularity or passing fad?

One of the constant comments is "didn't low carb die off in 2004?" or "didn't Atkins Nutrition go bankrupt?" The implication is that it was obviously a fad diet, and that all wise people know better now.

There are still numerous people doing the diet and many starting on a daily basis, and while perhaps it might not be as "hip" or cool as 2004, people doing Atkins now have better access to more low carb recipes, better support sites, and better communal atmosphere than back in 2004. A lot of the naysayers criticisms have been addressed or proven false since 2004 as well.


Monday, 4 January 2010

Atkins Diet Recipes: Low Carb Chicken Sausage Casserole

From bowulf:

"My recipe video to celebrate the holidays - a perfect complement to most holiday menus. This recipe was derived from a recipe from Linda's Low Carb (http://genaw.com/lowcarb/mushroom_chick en-sausage_casserole.html) but was changed due to taste and items in the house. My wife loves this recipe!

Ingredients:
2 pounds Sausage
3 cups Roast Chicken or Turkey
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
1 Medium Green Pepper, Chopped
2 stalks of Celery, Chopped
1 Medium Head of Cauliflower
8 oz. Cream Cheese
8 oz. Cheese, Shredded
1/2 tsp Black pepper
Paprika
Makes 10 servings.

Cook covered 30 minutes @ 350 degrees, and 10-15 minutes uncovered.

Nutrition Info:
391 Calories, 28.6g Fat, 6.5g Carbs (2g Fiber - 4.5 Net Carbs), 28g Protein. "


Thursday, 8 October 2009

Stuart's latest diet update 8 October

Well I've not updated for a while as I've been static for 2 or 3 weeks. There have been a few 'wine days' which probably haven't helped but then again thats not high in carbs either.

Anyway on the diet I have now moved to having lost 15lbs in 6 weeks so I am happy with that and is a positive move of 2.5lb since last week. Ironically on my last post I mentioned about starting to do some walks at the weekend and I noticed pretty quickly that after those walks I would often have added weight when I weighed in the morning before and after. That was despite keeping to the diet plan on those days!

I have now added a few supplements to my diet and they are a probiotice multi vitamin and a selenium supplement which helps with ensuring that the thyroid works properly and thus that any food is processed efficiently.

On the snack front this week I have dropped peanuts for walnuts which contain a lot more fibre and are therefore effectively carb neutral.

Yesterdays diet plan on this Tesco ediet was:

  • Bacon & vegetable stir fry with cheese
  • Gammon steak & salad
  • Thai coconut chicken curry
  • snack of Chicken strips & guacamole
  • orange 60g
What I have noticed now that I have moved to advancement level is that you are able to manipulate each recipe so if you didn't fancy the 3oz's of Feta Cheese on the Gammon Steak Salad then you can swap it for 9 oz cottage cheese, 3 oz brie or 3 oz low fat cheese. This sort of swap is available on a number of the recipes so you can stay to the meals even if you have run out of one ingredient or you don't like one of them.

Good stuff.

Labels: ,


Sunday, 4 October 2009

Atkins Diet Product Reviews: BBQ Sauces

This video is from Bowulf:

"In a first of a new series, I review low carb products that I have encountered in my own life. These are my own personal opinions and based upon my own tastes. In this episode, I deal with BBQ sauces.

Walden Farms Barbeque Thick and Spicy - Thumbs Down (too watery, too sweet, and weird taste)

KC Masterpiece Classic Blend - Thumbs Up (Thick Rich taste, and good commercial product

As an alternative to these commercial products, you can always create your own."


Friday, 18 September 2009

Atkins Diet: Motivation to get you to goal

I found this video on YouTube today:

"I was just asked today how do I prevent from cheating. "I am having problems staying strict on the diet." For me, I had to do what I advocate in this video. It was black and white for me. I either had to be one that was progressing towards that goal or working towards that proverbial one million dollar prize or I was the guy who giving it back. I had to make it that concrete for me. That was also why I think Atkins worked so well for me.

The diet is pretty black and white in the Induction and Extended Induction phase. You are either following the rules or not. If you follow the rules, you'll get to goal. If not, well you are on your own.

I fully admit others can do their own plan or take off days, and STILL get to goal. I am not one of those people. I don't do things "sort of" or halfsies well. I am much more likely to quit in that situation.

Good luck to everyone doing low carb, and you guys are doing great! "


Saturday, 12 September 2009

Latest weigh in update on the Low Carb diet.

I had my latest weigh in on the Tesco ediet on Thursday morning and I'm please to say that I lost 4lbs this week which makes 10lbs in all in just 11 days.

The menus this week have been pretty similar to last week with scrambled eggs, frittata or fried eggs for breakfast with sausages or bacon. I've had a problem with the afternoon meals though as many of them were not really the sort of foods to put in a food flask so I have been making up a salad with a bit of french dressing and some meats eg chicken, grilled bacon, bacon lardons and even a sliced up hot pepperami in with a bacon salad. I usually make sure that all of the ingredients are mixed together in my bowl and then I grate some parmesan on top. I am generally also having a mixed selection of Kiwi fruit, melon and grapes mid morning which happily is brought around on a trolley around the office for just £1.50. You can buy similar products from your local supermarket.

I dodged a bit of a bullet on Tuesday as that was my the day of my twice monthly lunch at the Thai Restaurant/own brew pub. Great food and great beer what more could you ask for? Well going through the menu it was clear that anything with rice, noodles or Thai fries was out and that some of the curries had potatoes in them anyway which is not good. In the end I went for Grilled Neck of Pork which was served on a bed of beansprouts. This came with some Tamarind sauce which I just lightly drizzled some onto the meat. All in all it was very nice but it has to be said it was a few pounds more expensive than the Yellow Curry meal deal that we normally have. I have say that I did sin a bit though as I had my only pint of beer since starting the diet.

Last evening I had some zesty sea bass with asparagus and tomatoes which to be honest I wasn't too hopeful about as I don't really do asparagus or cooked tomatoes but I have to say I was really surprised and the zesty lemony sauce on the fish sort of made everything go together really well. I shall definately have this again which is more than can be said for some Avacado, Broccoli and Turnip concoction on Thursday. The avacado has joined smoked salmon on the banned ingredients list!

I've generated the recipes for the coming week and going through the ingredients list I don't think that I need to place an online order this week. The eggs and meat I will source locally and the small amounts of salads and vegetable shall be covered from either our weekly delivery of a farmers box from Riverford or a trip to Aldi.

Like last week I am planning to go for a walk around Spalding which I have now planned on Map My Walk which is a great site for working out distances and planning your walks. If you put in your height, weight, distance walked and time the walk was completed in then the site will show you how many calories that you burned on the walk. It will also show this if you walk, run etc. After running last weeks route through this web site then distance last week was 4.16 miles rather than the 4.5 as advertised but still not bad. I have also gone for a walk around the block in our village which I have also plotted in the map as 1.25 miles so I have done a couple of short walks as well as the longer one. Using this website though I have managed to plot a nice 3.6 mile walk around the village so I might have a go at that one tomorrow.

Labels: ,


Saturday, 5 September 2009

Saturday update to the new Low Carb diet

Just a quick update as to the state of play since Thursday.

If you recall I was to take sweet potato and smoked salmon to work in a food flask so that I could have them at the office. This ended up a dismal failure as the vegetables were cold by the time I came to add the salmon and cream cheese. I managed some of it but to be honest the amount of salmon that I was supposed to have was far too much and as I don't really like it that much then it was a bit of a problem.

Luckily I had taken a chicken salad with Parmesan shavings on it as that was the snack on my Tesco ediet. I'd not really had Parmesan like this before and you know the salad was really nice when I came to have that in the afternoon.

For the evening we had Thai Fish cakes which were made from whitefish and some of those fish sticks that you can get. I saw the fish sticks on offer so I bought a couple of packs and then realised that in fact they look better than they taste! Instead of wasting them though I had some of them put into the fish cakes that were served with stir fried veg. These fish cakes were top notch and I will definitely be having them again.

Friday morning was supposed to be warm strawberry and cream cheese danish but the strawberries that were delivered at the start of the week were starting to look like they were not going to be any good by Friday so the rest of the family had them whilst they were still good earlier in the week. I replaced that breakfast therefore with bacon, sausage, egg and tomatoes. I grilled 5 slices of bacon and 2 sausages and when done I placed them in a pan which I was heating up a tin of chopped tomatoes. I let the bacon and sausage intermingle with the tomatoes whilst I fried one egg and I then had the egg with just 2 of the bacon slices and 1 sausage and some of the tomatoes. The remaining bacon, sausage and tomatoes were put into the prewarmed food flask for the mid day meal.

This time the flask worked fine. I think as there was more food in the flask and instead of warming the flask with hot water I used boiling water that there was a big difference. I also had the food after just 4 hours instead of 7 and whilst it was not piping hot it was warm enough to be pleasant.

I also took a similar chicken salad as yesterday but this time used some spicy chicken pieces. I had this mid afternoon and this came out really good as well.

For the evening meal we went off the recipe list and had some pork chops with spinach, chilli and sweetcorn which came from one of the Atkins books. This was a favourite of ours last time I did a diet and it made use of the spinach which would otherwise have been thrown away.

This morning we are back on the Tesco eDiet recipe with Burger scramble which is effectively minced beef and onions fried until cooked and then beaten eggs added and the whole mixture is mixed to give the scrambled egg burger effect! I added the remaining chilli from last nights meal to give a bit of an extra burn!

Exercise is my achilles heel and I don't really do any but today I went for a 4.5 mile walk around our town which took me about 1 hour 40 mins. I could have done it quicker but as I was following the rivers around I took my camera to see if I could get any decent shots of the route and of the town.

For lunch today I again went off the recipe sheet for the day but I did have a recipe from a previous day which was Quorn with stir fried veg. I've not had Quorn before so that was a new experience and I am not averse to having it again as it tasted pretty much chicken like.

Labels: ,


Thursday, 3 September 2009

Its the first weigh in on the Tesco eDiet

Its the first weigh in on the Tesco eDiet today. I signed up to the program last Thursday and the diet officially started on Sunday although I was fairly low carb on the days prior to that so the result in not entirely the diet but nevertheless I had had alcohol on the days to Saturday and none since so there has been a change of sorts.

My result is 6lbs off in the first week which is pretty good and is ahead of the plan so I'm happy with that. Going forward if I can stay to plan and be 2lbs ahead each week then that would be great. As well as being 6lbs off my BMI has decreased by 2 points - OK we're still in danger levels but we're moving the right way.

From today though things get more tricky as I'm back at work and a lot of these recipes require cooking. I've bought a food flask so I am going to try smoked salmon and sweet potato, courgette and asparagus. Hopefully it won't be a disaster! Todays snack is a chicken salad so I'll be taking that as well.

When I get home from work I will then review the recipes for next week and swap them around where necessary and then place my Tesco order so that it all of the ingredients I don't have will be delivered on Saturday or Sunday.

Labels: ,