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

@pinknsparkly I have this for my dinner tonight, I've found a lot of the supermarkets have slow cooked ranges in at the moment, some have very sweet sauces but you can just not add the sauce.

Another economy recipe, this time for beef mince

Beef Keema

I've adapted this from a recipe on the Tesco website, but again have costed this on Sainsbury prices.

This will make four portions/serve four people, and costs £6.85 in total, so £1.71 per portion.

500g beef mince
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
25g ginger, peeled and finely chopped
15 coriander, leaves and stalks chopped separately
2 tbsps curry powder (recipe calls for medium hot, but tailor to your taste)
tin chopped tomatoes
beef stock cube, made up to 250ml
200g Greek-style natural yoghurt

• Heat a large nonstick frying pan over a high heat. Add the mince and stir-fry for 3-4 mins until browned.

• Reduce the heat to low-medium. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 6-8 mins until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the coriander stalks and curry powder and cook for 2-3 mins, stirring, until fragrant.

• Add the tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 20 mins, stirring occasionally.

• After 20 mins, stir in 1 tbsp of yogurt, and half the coriander leaves. Cook for 2 mins, then taste and season if needed. Scatter with the remaining coriander, then serve with a spoonful of yogurt.

Traditionally this would also have peas in it, but these are too carby for Bootcamp. You could always add some other low carb veg, like chopped leeks or broccoli. I'd serve this with some finely sliced cabbage

Costs - assuming you have to buy all these ingredients/don't have any of them in your cupboard/fridge already!

500g Sainsbury's 20% fat beef mince = £2.00
1 large onion (from pack of 3) = £1.00
garlic bulb = 25p
ginger = 85p (from 100g pack)
coriander = 47p (from 30g pack)
Sainsbury's curry powder (80g pack) = £1.00
Hubbard's tin chopped tomatoes = 28p
Sainsbury's beef stock cubes (pack of ten) = 50p
Sainsbury's Greek-style natural yoghurt (200g pot) = 50p

I've put this on the spreadsheet

Thanks for this menu BIWI. It's incredibly kind of you to be going to all this trouble for us.

Looks like I've got to that "Sweet Point" that was discussed earlier in the week. Just not that hungry any more. I forgot how good that feels ... Yeah ! Not to be a slave to carbs !!

Hope others are feeling similar ... And hope Sunday is going well for everyone too.

Not a problem @WitchWand!

Everyone’s soups sound great. I made cabbage soup today, it wasn’t particularly good but it did the job when I wasn’t very enthusiastic at lunch time.

I’ve now joined both DC on the covid bandwagon now so not really feeling very hungry, and feeling generally a bit crap. DP is busy roasting a big beef joint though so I’m hoping that will perk me up a bit.

For the person going on holiday (sorry can’t remember who it was) what about the chilled/prepped meats. I think my Tesco usually has a few. Obviously be careful with the sauces / gravies etc but hopefully not too bad for a holiday treat. (Leave the pineapple off if you buy the gammon).

…

Sorry to hear you're poorly @BaconOmelette

Thanks @BIWI

Just double checking… can you eat too much celeriac? It’s green on the spreadsheet but I’m thinking that it almost feels too good to be true. It’s almost exactly like spuds. We’ve used 3 in the last week (between me & DP) so I’m hoping this isn’t going to hamper any loses.

I think it would be hard to eat too much!

It's very, very low in carbs at 2.2g carbs per 100g (according to Sainsbury's website), so you really don't need to worry about it.

I just wondered - would taramosalata be permitted on bootcamp?

Amazing news 😄

Taramasalata is actually quite high in carbs, so I'm afraid not - it's 8.6g carbs per 100g - which is half a small pot.

I’ve lost 2lb this week and 10lb in total. NSV are a pair of jeans that were uncomfortably tight 2 weeks ago are now just plain old tight, and also that DH said I looked like I’d lost weight. I countered that though with a mad dream last night where I was on holiday with Hugh Grant and he kept on telling me how fat and disgusting I am

I’m noticing I have more energy which is great.
My aim next week is to cut down my portion sizes a bit (well to stop eating when I’m no longer hungry)

An thanks BIWI - no taramosalata then ! Will find some nice salmon pate instead

Evening all, I've been trying to catch up on the thread all week but haven't posted as I've consistently been at least 24 hours behind. Have screenshot all those cabbage recipes so thanks to everyone who's made suggestions. I love cabbage but usually end up just frying it in butter (with a bit of water added to steam it a bit too) and lots of black pepper.

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.

Can't remember who posted the above but it really resonated with me. I've eaten sandwiches this weekend just because I'm sick of having to think about what to eat and it alsobeing something different to what everyone else eats. As I predicted at the end of last week, I did have a fairly busy week and so had made my plan and it worked fine, then I went and fell apart at the weekend as soon as my meal plan ran out.

I'm making excuses though, actually I really wanted that lovely soft warburtons bread with a big thick slab of butter.

Meal plan for this week is done, but I have both a funeral and a wedding to navigate, with 3 nights away from home so I'm not being too ambitious in my aims.

I made a vat of the slow cooker beef curry on the recipe thread (although in the oven) and it was delicious, served with buttered spinach.

I need to keep revisiting it as it has some amazing things on it!

Made it through week two despite working stupid hours. Meals have been very boring affairs of yoghurt for breakfast, some kind of protein (usually tuna) for lunch with a green salad, and some sort of chop or chicken thighs or salmon for dinner with a FTGV. Hoping now I can breathe again that next week will be more interesting. However, I have KOKO, so I hope I see something more encouraging than a pound off on the scales tomorrow.

Felt unreasonably hard done by because of a complete lack of sweetheart cabbage (the only kind I like) in the shops for two weeks now. Need to get over myself! Must also do more exercise next week, for my mental if not physical health.

Evening all. Went for my usual 3-4 HR long weekend walks but felt like I hit a wall halfway through in terms of exhaustion both times. Guess I need to take some snacks and water?

Well done everyone on your SVs and your NSVs. I've felt unwell on and off all weekend and suspect I've picked something up from polluted water during a sea swim on Saturday. DH cooked an amazing roast dinner this afternoon and I had to force down the (non-carby elements) food so as not to hurt his feelings. I'm now in bed with some hot water to finish my daily 2 litres and listening to my insides rumble away...

Busy day again, walked to to pub for breakfast, took DS to the park then supermarket. Home for lunch then more gardening and garage sorting. Tidied the dining room, cooked a roast, bathed DS and am now chilling out watching Sherlock.

B 2 egg, 1 sausage, 1 bacon, tomato, mushrooms
L Cauliflower soup, half bag of M and S sirano crisps
D Roast pork, leeks, asparagus, a few sprouts, broccoli and Cauliflower, cheese sauce
P Greek Yoghurt and cream with cinnamon

@ThatsAllFolks

Evening all. Went for my usual 3-4 HR long weekend walks but felt like I hit a wall halfway through in terms of exhaustion both times. Guess I need to take some snacks and water?

@ThatsAllFolks had you had anything to eat before you went for your walk? At this stage of transitioning to fat burning you may need something to eat to keep you going.

But make it high fat/low carb, rather than reaching for the high carb gels/drinks etc.

DH is home after a weeks holiday with his mates. It's been challenging for me keeping everything together, as well as finishing off a project with a deadline of Tuesday (our supposed joint venture - house renovation, tenants moving in on Tuesday), but I have managed it - cooked lovely food every evening, DC didn't fight that much, house was looking clean & tidy, stuck to bootcamp.

I took a couple of hours off the project that I could ill afford to go and collect DH from airport.

During dinner tonight, that I made (stuffed peppers & fried cabbage, delicious), I said that I had a really busy day tomorrow. Will be out finalising the project all day and into the evening. I asked DH if he could be responsible for making dinner. Well reader, the atmosphere in the Awesome household is somewhat frosty tonight, because he replied "I have to work tomorrow, when am I going to find time to make dinner?", in a completely put upon and scandalised tone. Well, his lunch hour that he usually spends at the gym would be a start. .

WTF does he think I've been doing all week when he has been off skiing with his mates? Honestly, I know this isn't the relationships board, but it was lovely without him. Things were so much calmer, and therefore so much easier to eat well and stick to bootcamp.

It's not LTB territory, but really, I find selfishness a very unattractive trait. Just venting really.

PS, I hope all goes well with the Ddog tomorrow @SpottyBumPony

I would be livid @NigellaAwesome. I hope you made your feelings plain!

The selfishness of some men never fails to amaze me