Summer Low Carb mini-Bootcamp - week 1

[StuntNun]

Welcome to the 2021 Summer Low Carb mini-Bootcamp lasting for the next six weeks and run by myself and @Oneborneverydecade. If you're an old hand at eating low carb then please do chip in with your experiences to help motivate our newbies. Every Monday is weigh-in day and you can log your weight on the Spreadsheet of Fabulousness to keep track of your progress. If you can't add your weight for any reason then please post it on here and someone will add you to the spreadsheet.

Make sure you've read the ten Low Carb Bootcamp rules on the preparation thread either for strict Bootcamp or Bootcamp Light depending on which one you choose. There are also some meal ideas and shopping suggestions on the preparation thread if you need some tips. As always, if you have any questions or concerns then please do ask. We have lots of experience between us.

A quick reminder of the rules for strict Bootcamp (first two weeks):

1. Eat three meals a day (plus snacks if hungry)
2. Avoid processed foods
3. Eat lots of fat
4. Eat plenty of vegetables and salad
5. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter which is unlimited)
6. Drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day
7. No alcohol
8. No fruit
9. No nut/seeds

10. No sugar or artificial sweeteners

And for Bootcamp Light:

1. Eat when you are hungry
2. Avoid processed foods
3. Eat lots of fat
4. Eat plenty of vegetables and salad
5. Be careful about dairy (apart from butter which is unlimited)
6. Drink a minimum of 2 litres of water per day
7. Alcohol is allowed occasionally
8. Up to one portion of (low carb) fruit per day
9. Nut and seeds in small quantities

10. No sugar except dark chocolate, and limit artificial sweeteners

Sorry, that was to @Andi2020

I am absolutely stuffed after my dinner. I had green chilli (from a Jamie Oliver recipe that I love) on a bed of crispy green lettuce topped with home made guacamole. Then I finished off DH's stir-fried broccoli and green beans.

Now sitting on the sofa feeling overly full and drinking a pint of water while I digest. Have abandoned plans for a post-dinner coffee with cream in favour of a mint tea.

@Kerplunkk personally I eat it plain, or you can add a splash of double cream. Lots of other people like to add cinnamon? I will say keep trying different brands of Greek yogurt until you find one you like! They're very different from shop to shop. Also it might just take a few days to get used to if you've been eating fruit yogurt for years. The only one I'm not keen on is Aldi which is inconvenient but it has a long shelf life so you can buy in bulk when you're in the right place and/or it's on offer.

Just polished off a lovely LC cauliflower cheese with shallots and bacon added in- couple of LC sausages and now completely stuffed.

On a non scale victory - I dug out some skinnies that I bought years ago getting ready to pack and ....they fit amazingly. Bouncing around the same 1lb for a few weeks but body shape is changing. Today felt good and I’m going to remind myself of it if I have a wobble.

Thanks for the courgetti advice, I'll get my potato peeler out if I can be bothered. But Haggis's suggestion of simply chopping and frying them without spiralising is so simple that I'm embarrassed it didn't even occur to me and is definitely going to be the first way I try cooking them

@Kerplunkk

Ideas for flavouring Greek yoghurt please? All the vanilla extracts seem to be v.high in carbs/sugar (70 per 100 for the Dr.Oetker version)

I add a generous pinch of cinnamon but then, I love cinnamon During Boot Camp Light, I might add some raspberries or strawberries. I believe that Waitrose does vanilla powder. Some people have added cocoa powder. You can add double cream too - but I find that the proper full fat Greek yoghurt is creamy enough. It's much better than the Greek style yoghurt - and iirc, higher in fat too

I bought a celeriac last week and it's been looking reproachfully at me. I didn't think I liked it much.

Made celeriac fries with olive oil, paprika, garlic powder and salt.

Omg
Amazing

I had courgetti for lunch in a cheesy sauce, but I'm clearly not cooking it right as it was very soggy and the texture was weird. I did it in the microwave with oil, but is there a better way?

Dinner is fried eggs and celeriac chips with extra veg. I love the celeriac chips, the rest of the family hate them. Has anyone tried freezing them to use like oven chips? The kids get oven chips on nights when we need a quick turnaround, so it would be good if I could have something similar.

I like to make celeriac dauphinoise as it's the only way I can get celeriac past my family.

I've tried making oven chips with them but they don't seem to get very crispy - I'm not sure where I'm going wrong.

Do people think an air fryer is worth it?

Successfully has chicken bacon Caesar (no croutons) while out! Yes!

Better on water front but still nowhere near enough. More tomorrow!

Della that’s amazing well done!

MsAwesome I make mine in a non stick pan, only takes a few minutes with a blob of oil

PrettyBird & Rayna thank you fab suggestions, I have bought the Fage one but I think as you said it’s getting used to it after years of sugary fruit yoghurts.

I wish I could see some change in how I look. I guess I need to lose a couple of stone before it's noticeable.

B Greek yog, cream and raspberries
L 2slices ham and cheese rolled up with salad (not great but I need to go shopping!)
S ,2 slices corned beef
D other half of the pork stir fry
3 cups of tea with a bit of unsweetened almond milk
Still got to reach my water target. It's difficult during the day as I can only go for a wee in my lunch break so have to go 4 or 5 hours!

My double chin has definitely receded. I don't feel hugely slimmer but dd says I look good. All this veg and water and no sugar must be making a difference right?!

Struggling with breakfast ( I normally have a bowl of fruit that I cut up and keep in a Tupperware so it’s quick and easy , and 3 of my 5 a day ) This morning I had a sausage which was ok , but not ideal
Lunch was egg mayonnaise salad with some turmeric cauliflower florets I picked up in M&S
Dinner was beanless chilli , with avocado
Have drunk loads of water , but have a bit of a headache and feel exhausted!
But it’s early days
Like the idea of yoghurt with a bit of cocoa or vanilla , might give that a try in the morning

@Bryonyshcmyony

I bought a celeriac last week and it's been looking reproachfully at me. I didn't think I liked it much.

Made celeriac fries with olive oil, paprika, garlic powder and salt.

Omg
Amazing

Totally trying this - never really known what to do with a celeriac

@Bryonyshcmyony and @MuthaHubbard I’m totally trying those celeriac paprika fries too. Sounds delish.

I’ve only ever done dauphinois with it, so looking forward to trying something new.

Although it’s dd’s birthday tomorrow which will be manic and then away early Friday so will have to wait to try them out

@Bryonyshcmyony

My double chin has definitely receded. I don't feel hugely slimmer but dd says I look good. All this veg and water and no sugar must be making a difference right?!

Yey. It definitely works wonders and quickly too. How lovely of your dd I massively notice a difference in my skin the minute I cut out sugar. I met up for coffee a couple of weeks ago and my friend was amazed and kept asking what I’m doing, why am I glowing

Hello all - delayed entrance to the threads as I've been on 2 back to back holidays including a 5 day camping music festival!!

But I am pleased to report that apart from the last day when options were extremely limited and I had some chips and 2 biscuits, everything was on plan. There was LOTS of it though and I have had to drop my exercise right down. Weigh in will be on Friday to see how I've done.

I'm on BC light for the duration of this camp so am doing nuts / limited fruit which is NOT allowed in the first 2 weeks if you're starting a new strict BC.

Realised flaxseed or psyllium husk really doesn't agree with me - ate too many of the Keto rolls and got a mega bloat on which is a real pain as I love them and they're so convenient. Will stick to the almond muffins!

B: none as BC for ages so I do IF mostly
L: spinach cheese and sundried toms omelette, couple of almond muffins
D: BBQ - sausage, 2 x small beef kofta kebab, lamb kebab, courgette, mint and feta salad, Greek salad, strawbs and cream

[quote Dellabob123]**@Bryonyshcmyony* and @MuthaHubbard* I’m totally trying those celeriac paprika fries too. Sounds delish.

I’ve only ever done dauphinois with it, so looking forward to trying something new.

Although it’s dd’s birthday tomorrow which will be manic and then away early Friday so will have to wait to try them out [/quote]
Go and check out the recipe threads, which are stickied at the top of the Low Carb Bootcamp topic - there are several recipes for celeriac.

@Kerplunkk - believe it or not but the Gage Total Greek yoghurt is no longer the best one as they've dropped the fat to 5%.

The Lidl Greek yoghurt (make sure not to get the Greek style stuff, which is not nearly as nice as well as only being 5% fat)) is 10% fat - as are (I think) most of the "Best"/Prius own brand Greek yoghurts in the other supermarkets.

So once you've run out of the Fage, try one of the 10% fat own brand ones.

@MsAwesomeDragon I've found celeriac chips freeze really well. I've always defrosted before heating up in the oven though so not quite as convenient as cooking oven chips from frozen, but then more often than not I'm also defrosting meat/fish to cook so I'm pretty organised.

@pinknsparkly you asked about creamed veg. For spinach I melt butter, add al the spinach and cook till it is soft. Then I add a sploosh of cream. Or I add some cream and a heap of grated cheese. Then maybe a poached egg.

Also on the 'courgetti' I now have very cheap spiraliser - it doesn't work for hard veg like beetroot but is excellent for courgette. But alternatively I just grate it and fry it. Don't buy pre-spirallised courgette, it will have lost most of its nutrients...

@2021V2 somewhere in all of this we can learn to change our habits and assumptions, one of which is that breakfast must include toast. I have avocado / tomato / egg; yogurt and fruit / omelettes or frittata.

Also I think you might need more veg. 2 meals with salad is not enough... (although I know you are only posting one day and perhaps yesterday was a veg feast!)

I know that lots on here like the very expensive Seriously Low Carb Bread. I prefer the Scneiderbrot Protein Bread which has 4g carb per slice. But, honestly, I think we need to learn to not have any of these carb alternatives. Mainly because we aim to eat more unprocessed foods. So I experiment with a big Portobello mushroom with spinach and ham and cheese instead of mushrooms on toast.

@Andi2020 is dh hungry because he's not having enough fat and protein (which satiate) or is it in his mind - that if he doesn't have X, Y, Z (potatoes, corn, rice etc), he will be hungry? If it is the former, then add butter, add cheese, add olive oil. If it's in his head then it's longer term project.

@Dellabob123 Yes, yes, yes to recognising your changing body shape. And celebrate it!

@MsAwesomeDragon if I am cooking with cheese, I'd start with raw courgette

Kerplunk. I think it was BIWI who suggested it but ass some cinnamon and double cream to your Greek yogurt. Really good. Can anyone remember how to turn normal yogurt into Greek style? I am too tight to pay the prices here and going to buy a yogurt maker.
B - mushrooms fried in all the butter, eaten with lettuce wraps.
L- leftover chicken salad from last night
D- lamb casserole from the freezer. I will serve with FLGV for me and bread stick for the dc

Morning all, I will get around to putting my info on the spreadsheet! And start recording my food!

Yesterday was a bit more challenging as the DCs have clubs all over the shop and it's one of my office days, I've not had to be used to planning ahead so much!Babybels were my friends! Along with a salad.

Can I ask a (probably) dumbass question about cheese? What is the limit on it? Is there a reason or a guideline or something? I'm pescatarian so it's an easy go to.

Oscarandelliesdad I make my own yogurt in my Instant Pot although I used to have a Lakeland yogurt maker that was good. You can use live yogurt as a starter but I get better results with a freeze-dried starter culturee* instead. Once you've made one batch you keep some yogurt or the whey aside and use it to serially culture the next batch so one pack of starter lasts for months (keep the rest in the fridge). You need to scald the milk (heat it to 82-88C) then cool it (41-45C) so a good thermometer is essential. Then add the starter and culture at around 43C for at least eight hours. The longer you culture the lower the carbs but it will also be more sour. Then you put the yogurt in the fridge for a few hours to set. It can be quite thick after setting but if you want Greek yogurt you need to strain it through cheesecloth, muslin or I find a nut milk bag is the best. If you strain it then you can freeze the whey (the liquid that comes off when straining) in several tubs to use as starters for your next few batches of yogurt. It's really easy if you have an Instant Pot as it scalds the milk for you then I put the inner pot into a sink full of tap water to cool it.