Week 2 - Jan 22 Low Carb Bootcamp Thread

[BIWI]

As I'm doing more and more often, I'm starting the next week's thread on a Sunday evening.

This is because, since I've retired, I am no longer controlled by the tyranny of my alarm clock, and so will often sleep too late on a Monday morning for all the keen Bootcampers!

I love the first post of week 2, because for all those who are new and/or are sceptics about low carbing, this is the point at which they may realise just how effective a low carb WOE can be.

Anyway, here is the spreadsheet, and I really look forward to seeing everyone's progress

for us all

OMG such a treat ( albeit a mishapen one!)

Not quite as good as ready bought ones - and next time I would shape the rolls before the proving stage - but very good nonetheless

@Jezzballs2000 I use a little Natvia sweetener (just enough to make it tolerable sharp rather than sweet). Handful of frozen rhubarb from Tesco, heated up in microwave for 3 or 4 mins and cooled slightly, served with extra thick double cream.

I used to be an ice cream fiend so my go to now is a couple of tablespoons of frozen berries (blueberries or raspberries) with double cream drizzled over, the cream freezes a little on contact and it's super quick to assemble.

Those look great @missfliss

I’m struggling at the minute. My motivation has taken a nose-dive. I’m fed up of shopping and cooking and cleaning. It’s not that I’m missing carbs, I’m missing how convenient they were.

I’m also fed up of how greasy everything feels, this is my first time LCHF and it’s the opposite to what I’m used to. I’ve just binned lunch as it was a big greasy mess. Feeling miserable.
Being stuck at home with a covid+ dc is probably adding to my grump.

Hope everyone else is having a better week.

What was the lunch that you dumped @BaconOmelette?

LCHF food really doesn't need to taste greasy - if you're using a lot of veg and salad it should be adding freshness and colour to your meals.

List out for me what your meals have been over the last few days and let's see if we see anything we can help you with.

Sorry you're feeling down in the dumps though

Sorry you're feeling down @BaconOmelette - also stuck at home with Covid and it's a bit depressing. Hugs.

BIWI will have some great ideas to help - I know xxx

Thanks for the advice everyone, i don't think im in deep ketosis, i eat plenty of non green veggies, peppers, aubergine and had a big bowl of raspberries, strawberries and cream yesterday. BIWI i did a double take when you mentioned eating bread! had to check i was on the right thread! :) I would frankly would rather have the sleep issues then go back to eating high carbs, the good massively outweighs the bad. Will try upping electrolytes, i already have magnesium daily but will research what else i need. i a bit of a pill dodger so will see if i can do it through diet rather then supplements.

@BaconOmelette

I too struggle with the convenience issue. i have often thought that if i had a personal chef or access to a low carb buffet everyday then losing weight wouldnt be a struggle at all.

I usually try to make the first two weeks as easy as possible while im dealing with the keto flu and craving etc, after that with the appetite suppression it matters less to me what im eating.

Perhaps we can all suggest super quick and convenient things for you?

My go to,

Sainsburies chicken pakora 3.7g carbs per 100g.
only 10 minutes in an oven. i eat them on their own with sour cream or with lots of leaves and yogurt cucumber etc. they are very tasty and a bit crunchy and spicy too.

Soup! i make a big batch and have it for lunch for a few days

Sainsburies sell frozen grilled mediterranean vegetable (peppers, courgette and aubergine) i chuck them in a roasting pan with oil for 20minutes to go with a roast, or on a salad, or just on their own covered in grated cheese and siracha mayo etc etc.
In fact can i recommend frozen veggies in general? no rush to use them up, no cutting the slimy bits off.

I also buy the hot, ready cooked chicken from the supermarket which is lovely.

don't forget you dont have to have a 'meal' some slices of cheese, a boiled egg and cucumber is perfectly fine.

Lunch was an attempt at pizza (using omelette as a base instead of bread). I think I used the wrong sort of cheese (it was all I had in) and all the oils from the cheese separated out in a big gross mess.

Breakfast is usually eggs (omelette / scrambled/ fried). Sometimes bacon or sausage but I’m trying not to have those on a daily basis.

Lunch / dinners have been:

• venison with celeriac chips
• leftover venison in (a bit of) herby tomato sauce
• salmon & kale
• stir fried belly-pork with bean sprouts and cabbage
• chicken curry with cauliflower rice

I know I could do with increasing the veg, but I don’t particularly like it. I definitely manage to eat more veg in sauces, but so many are sugary.

Running very low on veg now and not sure when I’ll be able to get some shopping (off to hunt out delivery slots next).

I have been a little bit naughty by boot-camp rules, and munched some almonds because it’s nice to have something that didn’t need to be prepared.

DP ( also on LCHF) is on nights at the moment, DC are on ‘normal’ food. So it feels like there is constantly something being cooked / prepped. My poor dishwasher is exhausted!

Hello lovely boot campers

NSV this morning, on regular Saturday morning walk with a friend, we did our toughest walk, up and over a local resevoir.

In the run up to Christmas, when I had been overindulging in sweet stuff and feeling very lethargic, I had avoided this walk. Today I did it, my breathing was heavier but I walked up and over, back over and down without really any trouble and certainly not needing any break.

I'm so pleased, and wanting to do an Oscar level speech to thank you all, because I wouldn't have done it without this Bootcamp community.

Been on the waggon since 10th Jan and am glad to be in the flow now, wondering why I ever eat any other way. I know I'm a bit all or nothing, and that a single fall off the wagon does tend to disrupt me for ever.

B IF effortless, get started on the water
L savoy cabbage, bacon bits and creme fraiche, portion celeriac and leeks. A big plateful.
D will be sushi from the freezer.

All the water.

@BaconOmelette sorry about your pizza fail! I've had a bit of success making a pizza base from a cream cheese pancake this without the sweetener & cinnamon and then adding toppings and grilling on low.

The fathead pizza dough is pretty good too, although it's quite heavy on the almond flour.

Talking of cheese, I had far too much yesterday. It featured in every meal and picked at in between

B: spinach and feta omelette
L: plate of charcuterie and cheese
D: celeriac and Wensleydale soup

Still being able to eat cheese is why this WOE works for me because I am a fiend for it. But it does stall me if I have too much.

Thanks @EwanHoozami I think today’s mess has put me off for a while but I might try that recipe when I’ve finished sulking 🤣.

I have got a celeriac left but I think DP has got dauphinois type plans for that.

@BaconOmelette why are you cooking separately for you and your DC? You'd make your life a lot easier if you all ate the same. it won't hurt them to have the odd meal without any pasta/rice/potatoes - but you could also put a portion on the side if you needed to.

Pretty crap day of eating today -partly just loss of appetite and energy with Covid

Breakfast: coffee and almond milk
Lunch: one homemade low carb roll with butter
Snack: egg mayonnaise
Dinner: roast chicken with celeriac mash and roast broccoli

*Another recipe added to the 'economy recipes' section on the Spreadsheet'

This one is taken from one of the Bootcamp recipe threads, and is a Rose Elliot recipe for Asparagus Frittata. For two people, this will cost £5.46:

250g asparagus, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
4 medium eggs
60g grated Parmesan (Sainsbury's sell a 60g pack in the chiller section)
225g spring onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil

• Cook asparagus in boiling water until tender (7-10 minutes)
• Whisk the eggs and add the cheese and the spring onions
• Pre-heat the grill
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan that can go under the grill
• Put in the asparagus; stir-fry for a minute, then pour in the eaten eggs, moving the asparagus around gently to make sure the egg mixture gets right through, and that the grated cheese is well distributed
• Let the frittata cook over a moderate heat for a few minutes until the underside is cooked and lightly browned, then put the pan under a hot grill for a minute or two until the top is set and golden brown

5.5g carbs per serving

I costed this on products from Sainsbury's website (29.1.22)
1 x 250g pack asparagus = £2.00
4 medium eggs - Sainsbury's Woodland free range = £1
1 x 60g pack of grated Parmesan = £1.35
3 bunches of spring onions (which will leave 50g over) = £1.11

(I have assumed that you will have olive oil in the cupboard, but you could just as easily use butter or whatever other oil you have - as long as it's not overly flavoured like sesame oil)

One of my economy bootcamp meals is pan fried mackerel fillets. 2 fillets £2.25 in Sainsbury’s. I fry them with lime juice and spring onions or chilli possibly a dash of soy sauce. Healthy and cheap. We are having them tonight with celeriac fries and braised cabbage. Yum

@missfliss that doesn’t look bad for a crap day. Be kind to yourself, you are poorly. I hope you feel better soon.

@BIWI it’s DP rather than the children really, they generally have what I’m having or ‘quick’ carbs such as cereal.

Routine at the moment is roughly:

• 7:00am - breakfast for me & DC

• 12:00 - lunch for me & DC
• 14:00 - breakfast for DP
• 16:00 - DP prepping food to take to work
• 17:00 - dinner for all

DP does plenty of cooking to be fair, it just feels like our tiny kitchen is in use all afternoon.

I think we just need to get a bit more organised. Maybe some meal planning for the week ahead.

I’m just flicking through Tom Kerridge’s dopamine diet book for inspiration. Also just had an ok result on a keto test strip so feeling slightly more positive.

@BaconOmelette - although Tom Kerridge's l Dopamine Diet book is good for inspiration, I find most of the recipes overly complicated and can improved by drastically simplifying them and the list of ingredients .

My best takeaways from it were:

• diagonally slicing the courgettes for a "lasagne" (although the rest of the recipe that I follow is my mum's American style lasagne, which is in the recipe thread)

• if I can be bothered, baking/browning the mince in the oven - but not pouring off the fat

• the flatbread recipe is good; easy and worth repeating. I've posted it on the recipe thread

• the bread is also good. I add extra seeds to it.

• the tiramisu is ok but makes enormous portions, with loads of the courgette(? - from memory) cake left over

• the strawberry cheesecake (?) was ok, but not worth the effort.

I was a bit shocked by some of the ingredients he used in that book - a lot of artificial sweeteners, Bisto gravy powder and so on.

Sorry - Bisto gravy granules

Luckydog7 That's exactly how I'm feeling at the moment, so much more energy and feeling lighter and totally motivated. Also I am starting to look after my self more too, using body lotion, painting my nails, keeping everywhere tidy. I can't believe how taking control of your food can lead to a general sense of positivity and optimism. `I really feel like a different person to two weeks ago!

I had the aubergine last night, thanks BIWI, it was absolutely delicious and super easy. Another favourite this week was the chicken breast with a mayo/parmesan layer which I found on the recipe thread. So good I have told everyone I know to cook it!

Thankfully it’s not a book I’ve bought specifically for this, it’s been languishing on the book shelf for a few years. I was quite excited at the prospect of bisto gravy granules, but I think I’d better stick to the rules and clock up some loses before I start going off piste.

Just waiting to get the kitchen back then it’s chicken & bacon in cheesey sauce with FLGV for tea.

Thanks @prettybird I’ll try the flatbread recipe. DP is missing baked goods and has been experimenting with coconut powder, but with limited success so far.

Oh gosh I'm sorry. I missed the last page and my post seems a bit insensitive. I was responding to @Luckydog7 earlier post on the sweet spot.
I'm sorry for those who are feeling down and unmotivated at the moment.

Welldone @YesIcan3 on another great loss.

Big stick needed - blueberries with cream