Week 8 - Low Carb Bootcamp - Eek! Only 3 weeks left!

[BIWI]

Morning all.

Spreadsheet of Fabulousness is here

And the Weight Tracker is here

Three weeks left. So a chance to rid ourselves of another 3 pesky pounds!

Good luck all and hope the week is a good one.

I think the reason i am flagging is twofold.
1 - i am spending so much time on food (not just BC but in general). I cook/assemble 12 different meals a day and it's really wearing me down. And then there's the endless shopping, the cost and the cleaning up.
2 - i am finding hard to eat out so am often going hungry and feeling deprived and miserable. I read the IPD the other day and i was amazed at how much they laboured that it was so easy to eat out. Perhaps if you eat in swanky restaurants it is, but cafes with 2 small children and NT/EH cafes are a nightmare. Pies, sandwiches, jacket pots, quiche, soup and bread seem to be all they offer. I end up stuffing a couple of peperamis in in the car and then watch everyone eating. It's really depressing.

Today we have Duck breast with celeriac dauphinoise for dinner.

I will try to be more varied this week and plan ahead better.

Why are you having to make so many meals?! That's just insane! I'm not surprised it's wearing you down.

Not sure what you mean by NT/EH cafes?

But I have to disagree with you - there are plenty of 'ordinary' places where you can eat low carb. You might have to work your way around the menu a bit, but it's always doable. And in extremis - order a pie or quiche and eat the middle/leave the pastry.

I would say, overall though, that the reason you're flagging is that you're generally having a very stressful time. Lack of sleep and constantly having to stay with/deal with your MIL isn't doing you any favours.

Not mothers day here, it is in May so will have to wait a little longer for cup of tea and eggs in bed but hope you all had a good day

B - 2 SB eggs In a cup with butter, leftover bacon and asparagus to dip, 2 cups of tea and a coffee with cream - weekends and getting up early is bad for sticking to one cup a day

L- cauli pepperoni pizza, cucumber, olives, avo w olive oil

Kids are tucking into the hm shortbread, going to be hard to resist, so very tired after being up in the night again. Off to kids party In a bit but won't be tempted by anything there

D - will be pork tenderloin stuffed with blitzed prosciutto, lemon zest and sage, buttery swede mash and cheesy or just buttered leeks

mrsk DH and I concluded yesterday that lunch out is definitely harder than dinner out. Hopefully others can suggest what you could do as skipping meals would make me hungry, deprived and miserable too.

Gardening is the BEST thing to make me feel more positive! I got rid of a few old plants, tidyed up the strawberry patch and pulled the remnants of my monster parsley. Got to do some more clearing. Got seeds germinating in the shed.

I was feeling sicky earlier, plus serious craving for a hot cross bun. So i had one and then threw it straight back up (not intentionally!)

Period then arrived, so that was it

Corned beef cauli hash and fried egg now for tea. And its gorgeous :)

MrsK why so many meals? Surely you can just make whatever you're having and add carbs for the others if they need them? I just add a roast or jacket potato, wedges or microwave rice here for carbivores.

Sorry BIWI - National Trust/English Heritage.

I would be bloody starving if i just ate the middle of a pie for my lunch! I honestly have stood for frigging ages in the queue just staring blankly at boards thinking there is literally nothing other than the middle of sandwiches i can eat - and i'm not paying a tenner for a quiche and chips to just eat 4 mouthfuls of the middle of the quiche out and then leave the rest while i'm still starving, or £5-7 for a sandwich to eat a couple of slices of chicken out. Even if they sell a salad, it isn't enough and i'm still really hungry. There is also the pressure of time - I usually need something i can bolt down quickly before the DC start kicking off. We went to a garden centre cafe the other day and i just wanted to cry. Fish n chips. Pork and Butterbean stew and chips. leek and potato soup and a roll. hot dogs. hot roast beef sandwiches and chips. Jacket spuds. Sandwiches. :(

I make DHs breakfast before he goes to work (sandwich/toast of some kind), then DS1 porridge (i would usually have mine with him then too), then DS2 baby porridge, then my breakfast (about 10). Lunch i make and pack for DH (sandwiches/pasta/jacket spud) in the evening or morning. Lunch for DS1 about noon (Beans/cheese/eggs on toast), Then some puree for DS2. Then mine about 2pm. Start thinking about dinner and feel despair. Do DS1 dinner (casseroles and various mashes) to eat about 5-6pm. Baby dinner for DS2. Make mine and DH's dinner but with a carby variation for DH, so carrots/peas/spuds/rice/pasta while i do celeriac/swede/cauli rice/extra greens for me. DH doesn't like cheese so meals with cheese are out. I'm not over keen on cream so creamy sauces are infrequent.

I know if i just had time to get ahead of myself and plan more it wouldn't be so overwhelming and i could rely on batch cooked meals in the freezer. But we are rarely here at weekends so i don't get a chance to cook and plan.

MrsK

I would be bloody starving if i just ate the middle of a pie for my lunch! I honestly have stood for frigging ages in the queue just staring blankly at boards thinking there is literally nothing other than the middle of sandwiches i can eat - and i'm not paying a tenner for a quiche and chips to just eat 4 mouthfuls of the middle of the quiche out and then leave the rest while i'm still starving, or £5-7 for a sandwich to eat a couple of slices of chicken out. Even if they sell a salad, it isn't enough and i'm still really hungry.

Time to find somewhere else to go! But I'm concerned that you say that even if there's a salad option you're still hungry. Why is this? Are you not eating enough breakfast? A good salad should have a decent oily dressing that should help fill you up. You could always try asking for more olive oil to add to the salad.

There is also the pressure of time - I usually need something i can bolt down quickly before the DC start kicking off. We went to a garden centre cafe the other day and i just wanted to cry. Fish n chips. Pork and Butterbean stew and chips. leek and potato soup and a roll. hot dogs. hot roast beef sandwiches and chips. Jacket spuds. Sandwiches. sad

Perhaps trying to go out at mealtimes isn't the best option then? Sorry if that sounds mean, but if you're worried about your DC kicking off, it can't be an especially enjoyable occasion all round!

I make DHs breakfast before he goes to work (sandwich/toast of some kind),

Why?! Why can't your DH make his own bloody breakfast?! Does he not realise how much else you have on your plate? Surely he can manage to look after himself!

then DS1 porridge (i would usually have mine with him then too), then DS2 baby porridge, then my breakfast (about 10).

Why don't you all eat the same thing, at the same time? I realise that DS2 needs feeding, but surely you could all be eating the same thing - scrambled eggs, for example?

Lunch i make and pack for DH (sandwiches/pasta/jacket spud) in the evening or morning.

Again - why? Is your DH your third child? Get him to make his own bloody lunch! Seriously.

Lunch for DS1 about noon (Beans/cheese/eggs on toast), Then some puree for DS2. Then mine about 2pm.

And again. Why are you making three different things? Why not make one dish that you and DS1 can eat and that you can puree for DS2?

Start thinking about dinner and feel despair. Do DS1 dinner (casseroles and various mashes) to eat about 5-6pm. Baby dinner for DS2. Make mine and DH's dinner but with a carby variation for DH, so carrots/peas/spuds/rice/pasta while i do celeriac/swede/cauli rice/extra greens for me. DH doesn't like cheese so meals with cheese are out. I'm not over keen on cream so creamy sauces are infrequent.

Again - why not make the same thing for all of you? You can take out a portion and puree for DS2. And your DH won't die if he doesn't have a carby element to his - he can have what you're having.

It seems to me that you are your own problem - I say that meaning well and kindly - there is no need for this amount of work. And your DH really does need to step up to the plate and help out. He doesn't need you to run around after him making him breakfast and lunch.

MrsK, days out I have a systema lunch box with different sections which I fill with hb egg, cucumber slices, cheese and some ham. I am allergic to wheat and dairy and other things too, so I often struggle to get anything. I buy for DC and get myself a coffee and sparkling water and if I am going to feel awkward eating my own stuff, I can nibble at different points of the day.

I might be hard- nosed, but I think they are making their money from me on entry fees, on DC meals and on what we spend in the shop. If there is space for people to picnic at the attraction, that is what I increasingly do for financial reasons, anyway.

B was fried egg and bacon
L was tuna and green salad
D was green soup and the flaxseed bread I just made

Did my planter with DS; luckily he likes gardening as we have our work cut out here. But yes, progress will be good for the soul. Planter looks fab

DH will never make his own food and will buy out if i don't make it. it costs us fortunes - so that's why i make his food.

if we go out for days out at the weekend we have to eat. Usually a 1-2hr drive there and back, there is no time we could go which wont involve eating. and no it's not enjoyable - just necessary.

Salad has never filled me up regardless of the dressing. it just tastes like lots of crunchy water. Yes i usually have a big breakfast too.

DS doesn't drink milk or eat much dairy, so porridge has been advised to get as much milk in him as possible. We wouldn't eat the same thing for lunch. I don't think i can puree foods like that for the baby. I usually have a salad for lunch (not a crappy one you get out - lots of meat/fish and olives and mayo). Any lunch suggestions would be great tho. Sometimes i make a ratatouille style thing and bake it with feta (again the dc wouldn't eat that)

DS1 has sensory issues and will only eat various veg mashed and very wet casseroles. i can't think of what i could make for lunch that we could share apart from an omelette and i usually have eggs for breakfast. Also if i eat at 10am i am not ready for lunch with DS1 at noon.

I see what you are saying, but i can't see how to change it.

Stop cooking for DH. If he won't make it, that's his look out. And if he knows it's about money that you don't have, he has to accept that too. You are both in charge of your finances are you not? You aren't his mother. He has to take responsibility for money too.

Why, when you're already under such stress, are you going out for the weekend to place that involve such a long drive? That really doesn't make sense. And if the places that you're going to serves such poor choices for you, then make a picnic and take that with you.

If your DS1 has sensory issues, why can't you make food for him that you will eat? You can make perfect casseroles that are low carb, and you can make low carb veg mash too.

I'm sorry to keep picking this all apart, but you seem to be your own worst enemy!

MrsK, could you make extra at dinner to have for your lunch the next day? Last week I did salmon for dinner with courgetti and broccoli in pesto. I had it cold the next day for lunch, but I added in some mayonnaise. It was delicious, and meant there was less to do to get ready for the day.

Yes i know you are right. i can make the casseroles, but recently i just haven't had time. I will shop better tomo. I have to say i really don't like the LC casseroles i have tried - without flour to thicken them or lentils i find them watery and thin. I usually bung in red wine too. So it's a bit of a different taste for us. I really dislike oxo flavour.

DH doesn't like celeriac mash. I do do swede mash but we can't eat that everyday. DS likes parsnip and sweet potato usually.

I wont stop cooking for DH as he will spend a fortune on food and we can't afford it. He doesn't understand money like that (ASD). He will take money out of the savings to go to a restaurant rather than make a sandwich. He wont touch raw food.

I get days out at the weekend being necessary - DS is hyperactive and while sugar free, low GI diet has helped, he still is like an uncoiled spring at weekends. The max I would drive though is 45 mins or so because then the problem is him sleeping on the way home and then not going to bed.

yes, we have the sleeping problem too. We usually aim for 45mins but often things are a little further (like the beach - and ds1 loves the beach) or we get caught in traffic round Tunbridge wells (really needs a bypass ) . Or we are at PILS and go to sherwood forest for a few hours to give pil a break from us and not use their kitchen (it's all a bit difficult there).

I do roasted meat and add a jacket spud for DH and serve it with veg and mayo. Same with salmon. Then have that with mayo and salad the next day for lunch. None of the cooking is hard/arduous. It's just relentless.

I suppose i have got into the habit of different meals because the dc eat so much earlier than us and we usually like a lot of spicy food.

i do need to sort it out and do better tho. i still feed ds1 like a baby

MrsK I still don't get why you are going on days out to the extent it's causing you stress on this scale, especially when you have the PIL issue. Aren't days out an occasional thing? In your shoes if the children needed to get out I would be getting DH to take them for a walk, not torturing myself at national trust properties and garden centres. It does sound as though you could do with putting your foot down and insisting on more support.

Hear, hear Charlie.

MrsK - where, in all of the things you have described, is anyone doing anything for you? You are being run ragged and are suffering.

What's wrong with a weekend spent vegging out on the sofa? Or, your DH taking your DC out and you vegging out on the sofa?

I don't know enough about ASD, but presumably your DH goes to work? He has responsibilities at work? So why can't those extend to looking after himself and making his own food?

It is relentless, MrsK, if you are the one doing it all; and I think if you are not LCing, it is easier to just grab something quickly. I had not really thought about the fact that I cook everything from scratch now being a reason I feel more tired.

On the other hand, making everything from scratch means I know what is going in to the food we eat and less chance of making bad choices. And I am spending less money on picking up stuff quickly!

Mrsk have you tried baby lead weaning at all? Really recommend it. Basically you cook one thing and they eat it with you, no puréed food, no faff. My daughter loved it. She's two now and eats lots of 'adult' good food: curry, spicey things, meat on the bone, chilli, olives etc, most veg etc and has done since six months. My hubby is the same - if I don't pack his lunch/organise breakfast he'll buy it so I've been baking him breakfast biscuits or stewing fruit for him to have with 'overnight oats' or yoghurt - quick to do a big batch for a week, cheap and carby (which he likes). What about soups? Butternut squash, swede and coconut milk, cauliflower and mild curry are all lovely and to help baby eat it I just soak bread in (that way they eat the bread and it's nice and soft). If I'm making something really hot or I want cheese/dairy in (daughter is allergic) I'll do a couple of pans at the same time. Bit more washing up but they cook in the same time and have mostly similar ingredients it's much less work to do two curries simultaneously than in two separate sittings.

I know what you mean about cafés - I always carry a full mini cool bag including things for me (vac packed olives, string cheese etc) as my little one has allergies so we are limited in what she can have too. We end up at a lot of soft play places/castle tearooms etc and I've found that they normally do bacon / egg rolls in the morning so if you sweet talk them flutters lashes they might throw a few rashers on for you? Although usually I admit I can get away with asking because the littleone can't eat much else on the menu.
The only other thing I could suggest is a bulletproof drink (I got a wee battery frother from ikea which is just perfect for the handbag) get them to do you a coffee with cream and add some butter.

Mrs K, I sympathise with you over the cooking different things for each member of the family. But BIWI is right. I previously ran around cooking various meals to suit as DP is vegetarian, DD has certain food allergies, DS is/was the fussiest eater.

Then I had a lightbulb moment and decided to cook one meal only. So now for example, I may do a beef chilli for me and DD, but rice, nachos, guacamole, salsa is for all of us. DP has vege chilli and DS took what he liked. However, once I stopped pandering to him he began to eat what ever was put in front of him, so it kind of sorted itself out.

Also second, taking packed lunch to NT/EH places. I always think that as long as you've paid for something in their cafes, you should be able to eat what you've brought. I'm not talking asking for a glass of tap water and then opening up your picnic, but if DH and DCs are eating from them, why suffer - just go for it. They would be unreasonable to object if you've bought stuff surely?

My last evening in Rome and as I metioned a couple of days ago, I have tried to stay LC, but today I didn't try very hard.

B: scrambled egg, with cheese, bacon, frankfurters and tomato.
S: latte x2 and four of these
D: ham, salami and cheese platter, grilled fish and salad, profiteroles, coffee

And tomorrow my friend and I are going to a fancy gelataria (sp?.) to have ice cream, before we head back to the airport.

Hoping only a few pounds gained when I weigh in on Monday. It will almost be TOTM, but am hoping that won't get the rage and the desperate hunger that used to get. Completely missed it last month and think I read that its a perk of LCing.

Hope the paragraph about eating food you've brought from home and food you've bought in NT/EH cafes makes sense??

I don't know why he doesn't make food but he just wont. He says he feels sick when he touches certain ingredients and he has no idea how to cook and no inclination to learn. if he had to make food he would go out to the shop instead. He has never cooked anything and before we had dc would spend about £30 a day on food.

I am a bit scared of baby led weaning and i don't really know anything about it. We didn't do it with ds1 because he was a milk refuser with horrendous reflux, so had to make up sloppy baby rice from 4 mo (which is where his wet food/mash dinners stem from). DS2 is also now refusing milk and just wants milky baby rice/porridge for all his meals. I spoke to the HV and they are worried if i just do purees/blw (which i do for one meal and baby gack for 3 other meals) DS2 will not get any of his formula milk (i also bf but i can only from one side so top up with formula). I just feel unable to put the time into making all of the first foods like i did with DS1. I bought the Annabel Karmel book and cooked loads. But now i can't remember anything. I feel totally unprepared for DS2 to be on solids and like i have no idea what i'm doing :(

The reason we go to those places (we never go into the houses - we aren't masochists!) is because both DH and DS go stir crazy cooped up and we want to do something together. The house gets me down as i'm SAHM all week and i feel he need for a nice long walk. DS needs to blow off steam. ANd especially if we are at my parents or pils we usually need a break. If at my parents we will go out to Chiswick, Syon or Osterley and if at PILs we'll go to Sherwood Forest or a local wood/forest which has a cafe in it.

This weekend i haven't left the house, but we have done major sorting out of the loft (only moved in 4 months ago). So not slobbing about exactly.

I think i will get some cereal for DH and a toaster (he does that himself) and say he can make his own breakfast. Not sure he will tho because there are a lot of bacon roll places at the station. Lunches may become a tin of soup and a roll from lidl rather than something home made.

DS1 still wont feed himself so i have to spoon feed him all 3 meals. I do just feel exhausted by it all.

Aw hon I can hear your frustration, would DS1 feed himself from a refillable pouch? I got a set of 'fill n squeeze' pouches from very which I use to make my LG smoothies etc now but when she couldn't use a spoon herself I used to put warm soup, stew, porridge in them. Could give you free hands at meal times. X

That sounds like a good idea. But he can use cutlery/feed himself, he just is lazy and i can't bear the whinging for biscuits if he doesn't get a decent meal and am usually in a hurry so end up feeding him. I know that's shit and i am not being a very good mum. I keep thinking i will leave him to eat his own food then i only last a couple of meals of him eating 3 mouthfuls then wanting to go and play (and me throwing the rest away) before i go back to feeding him.

Got pork belly out of the freezer and will do a pork and chorizo stew for dinner tomo. Got some stewing lamb for Tues. Fish pie weds - going to try cauli mash for a change i think. DS1 eats all of those things so hopefully will mean i don't need to make too many meals. The way i'm going is utter madness.

Might look at BLW for ds2.

Thanks all for the advice.

Try it, I stripped her and fed her in a vest in the high chair plonked in the middle of a pound land shower curtain to contain mess. Give them some pork /lamb / fish out your stew and a big bit of soft cooked cauli and let them tuck in! It's actually fun for them and you get hands free. The BLW cookbook had great recipes and my library had it (so no need to invest if it's not for you). X