Oct '19 - Week 1 Low Carb Bootcamp - Here we go!

[BIWI]

Morning all! Very sorry for the late start. I set my alarm. Woke up. Wondered why I'd set my alarm and went straight back to sleep

Anyhoo.

Here is the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness

For those of us who are new, the spreadsheet is not only where you record your weight (if you want to - it's not obligatory), it's also where you'll find lots of other useful information. Look at the tabs at the bottom for the rules, a veg counter (that will work out your carb count for you if you're using it for a recipe), and lots of other resources to help you learn more about low carbing.

I'll be back to post more stuff later this morning, but for now just wanted to get the link out there.

If you're using your phone to access the thread, you will need to download the Google docs app.

Wow @StuntNun that's inspiring. Being able to maintain can be so hard. And @BIWI that's amazing dedication.

@BIWI cheeseburger pie sounds delicious and really useful for out and about

A bit further along the thread and realising I'm not the only one with the spreadsheet problem.

And I've caught up.

Thanks for the delete suggestion @BIWI if no other ideas emerge today I'll give that a try.

Some lovely lovely food mentioned here today.
I'm going yogurt and almond milk chai tea for breakfast. (Late eating breakfast as I've been too busy reading the thread) olives, leaves and cheese for lunch. Still deciding about dinner.

venusandmars is right, M&S is your friend! There are lots of lovely low carb snacks there. I think the range of what is available has improved so much since I first BC-ed in 2015.

Pret is also brilliant, good salads and they now have two delicious hot frittatas

Could any fellow vegetarians please give me some ideas for suitable family-friendly meals? I'm fine with breakfasts and lunches, but am finding main meals really difficult as, without pasta and pulses, it's so tricky to think of things that will also appeal to my husband and son. I definitely don't want us eating entirely different meals.
Curries, omelettes and soups are pretty easy, but then I'm stumped. I don't like quorn, so that doesn't help either.

Anyone with spreadsheet problems: I can't advise on smartphone apps I'm afraid, because I just fell out of the evolutionary tree don't have one.

But clearing browsing history / cache has worked for people before - so you could try that first?

@BIWI
I'm having full fat mayonnaise with oily tuna, and I'll be frying the courgettes in butter, wilting the spinach over that and adding a bit more butter when I serve it. I can add cheese on top if you think that's necessary?
I'm not very good at eating fat as it can make me feel a bit nauseous, maybe a bit of salt on top of my veg might help (and hopefully ease my carb flu when I get it)?

Day 1 went amazingly well.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs (plus butter) and spinach
Lunch: salmon and salad with mayo
Dinner: quorn stir fry with extra veg and Greek youghurt (full fat)
Snacks: Marmite (for salt), cottage cheese

Upped my water to two litres. I feel incredibly well today.

Good luck everyone

@Twit

I'm having full fat mayonnaise with oily tuna, and I'll be frying the courgettes in butter, wilting the spinach over that and adding a bit more butter when I serve it. I can add cheese on top if you think that's necessary?

Cheese is always lovely! (And adds some protein as well as fat) But that all sounds fine without

I'm not very good at eating fat as it can make me feel a bit nauseous

You will get used to it, but maybe try easing yourself in a bit?

maybe a bit of salt on top of my veg might help (and hopefully ease my carb flu when I get it)?

First, you won't necessarily get carb flu - not everyone does. But second, YES, you should definitely be using salt. This WOE (way of eating) means that we drink a lot of water, and therefore we need to add salt to our food - in cooking and at the table. Again, if you're not used to this, do it gradually

@TheHoundsofLove have you checked out the recipe threads? There's a whole section for vegetarian recipes that might inspire you.

Also, if anyone has the Fast 800 recipe book there are some lovely recipes in there (including some lovely vegetarian ones). You don't need to worry about the calorie count, but they're all carb counted which is really helpful.

Last night we had Ratatouille & Halloumi bake, which was lovely. Essentially you bake two peppers, an aubergine and an onion in olive oil for around 35-45 minutes, until they're cooked and starting to char, then add crushed garlic, a tin of chopped tomatoes and some fresh basil, slice a pack of halloumi and lay it on top, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Very easy and it was lovely - I served it with a green salad with a shallot and mustard vinaigrette.

Just sharing more M&S love: will eat the prawns and rollitos for lunch and keep the chicken for the long drive home! Lacking in veg but not at all bad for a motorway services (and even better, on expenses!). Will add some spinach to tonight's eggs and salmon.

Morning campers! Just

Day two and going strong so far - just need to glug on with the water.

B - Egg muffing
L - Salad with tuna and cheese
D - Cauli Broccoli cheese soup

@Rayna37 - there is a recipe for cauliflower soup in the veggie thread. Its very yum and I tend to use a pack of frozen cauli! No prep! :)

@biwi - that Halloumi bake sounds lovely - is your kitchen finished now?

Thanks 8track

I love those chicken tikka fillets rayna, agree M&S is getting really good for low carb options.

Oh yes, @Cauliflowerpower!

All these butter threads lately have been killing me - wanting thickly buttered toast like crazy. Why is bread such a perfect butter eating vehicle?!

I had eggs and spinach with butter this morning, which helped a fair bit, though. I need more butter eating options.

And my lovely fridge and freezer (and wine cooler!)

The haloumi bake does sound nice BIWI - thanks for that. I've had a look at the recipe thread - there are some good ideas to be getting on with. I'll have to try being a bit more creative! And possibly have to resort to force feeding fussy ds!

I don't have a kitchen right now so am finding it hard - looks like M&S might be the place to go for ready made stuff!

@TheHoundsofLove

here's the recipe

Personally, I would have fried the veg in the olive oil to start with, not just put it all in the dish - and I would also add the garlic at this stage of the cooking, as I felt it was a bit too over-powering the way they suggest you do it. (And I like garlic!)

I was surprised they didn't include courgettes in the recipe too, as that's a classic ratatouille ingredient, so I'd probably do that next time - won't add many carbs.

It's supposed to serve 4, but I think that's pushing it a bit without something to go with it - it served 3 of us last night. (So again, adding courgettes might have padded it out a bit more)

Morning! I am 3lb down on yesterday!!!!

B pate on babyheart lettuce

L chicken drumstick rubber with paprika, with braised leeks and a blob of full fat tzatiski.

D Chicken casserole, no carb veg in it, flavoured with some chopped chorizo to be eaten with fried mushrooms.

Gallons of water.

I hope your chicken wasn't rubber @Ketomeato!

For those of you struggling with spreadsheet on smartphones, I’m on my iPhone and it works fine for me, so it doesn’t appear to be a problem from Athelstane’s end (that is, nothing wrong with the spreadsheet). If anyone tried the reload or cache clear and it works, please let us know.

Re carb flu—it’s definitely a thing but many people don’t get it. I never have. It’s important to remember we’re in October and there’s all kinds flying around so by all means listen to your bodies and take care of yourselves, but keep an open mind as to causes.

Hi All,

I made myself a cream, yoghurt and a few berries breakfast this morning but the lid had been left off the pot so it was all tainted by fridge smells- garlic etc and it made me feel sick so I just had another cream coffee, a 60g portion of brie (Waitrose president portioned packages) instead.

I have just got home from toddler group (swerved the biscuits and milky drinks ) and the builders are in our kitchen meaning that I can't make lunch so I've just grabbed 6 slices of salami (I'm on week 3), a baby bell and 2 slices of smoked firm tofu. I want to have chicken Caesar for lunch so I'm willing them to get on and go (they said they were leaving at 11:30)

Dinner will be smoked salmon with lemon juice, cream cheese salad leaves, tomato and buttery scrambled egg.

I am not going to weigh myself every day because I want the surprise of the weekly weigh-in.

I was also really constipated through not enough veg until this morning and after last night's mountain of green veg and yesterdays 3 litres of water, I had a massive err... trip to the loo and feel a couple of pounds lighter as my gross DH would say!

@BIWI I have SO MUCH kitchen envy right now! 😂

It's lovely, isn't it? I keep going in and just standing there and admiring it! And ignoring how much money is no longer in my bank account

@BIWI that is a seriously beautiful kitchen!