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Low-carb bootcamp

Join discussions about low-carb bootcamp plans, meals and progress. Consider speaking to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Week 7 - July '22 Low Carb Bootcamp - the last fortnight

78 replies

BIWI · 05/09/2022 08:16

Morning all.

Happy Back to School Day! Grin

Weird night here with lots of rain and a huge thunderstorm that seemed to be right outside my bedroom window. But the lawn and plants obviously enjoyed it. And it's a lovely day now - blue sky and sunshine.

Here's the spreadsheet

... and a quick glance shows me that there are five Bootcampers who look like they may reach the milestone of losing a stone by the end of the 8 weeks!

@Chocausaurus - total loss so far 13.8 pounds
@imsofancy - total loss so far 12.3 pounds
@loopylu26 - total loss so far 11.2 pounds
@sunshinelove - total loss so far 11 pounds
@WeknowfrogsgoShaLaLaLaLa - total loss so far 10 pounds

Fingers crossed you can do that in the net 2 weeks!

Flowers
OP posts:
BIWI · 08/09/2022 22:36

Yes, the shallot and Gruyère tart is on the vegetarian thread @prettybird

How about roast veg and Halloumi? Tray of peppers, aubergine, courgettes, shallots, garlic cloves, roasted on a high heat for 20 minutes, and then for the next 20 minutes a couple of blocks of Halloumi (sliced) and a handful of cherry tomatoes. Lots of olive oil, and sea salt/black pepper.

Easy and delicious. Serve with a green salad and sharp vinaigrette dressing.

OP posts:
ditavonteesed · 08/09/2022 22:46

That roast veg and halloumi sounds so nice. So the halloumi go properly squeaky?

Jollyholibobs · 09/09/2022 07:18

Hi @ditavonteesed Yes the Halloumi browns and crisps and is yummy.

NSV smart work trousers were feeling loose yesterday.

todays meals
L salad box with nice cheese and Greek yogourt
D Aubergine parmigiana and courgetti

pinknsparkly · 09/09/2022 11:22

Morning (just!) all. I've (re)started deliberately IFing today, as opposed to my frequent realisation at XX o'clock that I've not yet eaten! I've been reading Gin Stephens' views on "clean fasting" online and it makes a lot of sense to me. Basically, her view is that adding cream/milk/anything to your coffee, or having supplements or herbal teas all break your fast and can trigger enough of a insulin response to make you hungry. So I am back on black coffee with a dash of salt this morning!

Bit of a bootcamp fail, but I need to use up some frozen sausages that are 12.5g carbs per 100g (9g carbs total for two sausages). Will steer clear of the berries (fortunately there are none in the house!) and nuts today to compensate! I also have quite a few in the freezer to get through... But throwing them away isn't an option as we're quite tight for money this month having moved house and spent an obscene amount of money to do so! Will have them with creamy mushrooms for tea, and left over veggie stirfry with swoodles (swede noodles from Tesco) for lunch.

Quick question - does anyone have good suggestions for low carb dark soy sauce? Or alternative products I could substitute for stir fries? I was a bit horrified to realise the one my husband picked up is almost 30g carbs per 100ml. I left it out of my serving of the stirfry and stuck to just a drizzle of sesame oil instead!

Jollyholibobs · 09/09/2022 12:03

@pinknsparkly i have Kikkoman soy sauce. Just checked the label it’s 3.2g per 100ml.

Jollyholibobs · 09/09/2022 12:04

@pinknsparkly why would herbal teas break your fast? That surprises me.

pinknsparkly · 09/09/2022 13:10

Jollyholibobs · 09/09/2022 12:04

@pinknsparkly why would herbal teas break your fast? That surprises me.

@Jollyholibobs - so I've not done a great deal of reading into it, but from the little of her website I have read, I understand that in terms of actual fasting, it's fine to have herbal teas. But that anything sweet flavoured including chewing gum) can trigger hunger in (some) people. I definitely think I fall into that category so I'm going to try it out and see if it holds true for me!

pinknsparkly · 09/09/2022 13:11

@Jollyholibobs - you super star, thanks!! I went down a rabbit hole of searching for soy sauce alternatives, which seem to be mostly coconut aminos. But they seem to be even more carby!

prettybird · 09/09/2022 14:46

Can't find the shallot and gruyère tart on the recipe thread Sad - or I'll adapt the pecorino tart that I did manage to find.

Might just go with the roasted veg and halloumi with a nice green salad. And maybe make the almond muffins alongside. There's a freshly baked loaf of sourdough for the plebs Wink

BIWI · 09/09/2022 18:28

@prettybird

Here's the recipe that includes bacon:

Bacon, Shallot and Gruyere Tart

serves 6

225g ground almonds
55g butter, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg white

for the filling:

25g butter and a splash of oil (this stops the butter burning)
100g smoked lardons (or diced smoked streaky bacon)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or use a garlic crusher)
150g shallots, thinly sliced (this will be 3-4 echalion shallots)
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks (the white from one of these is used in the base)
dried oregano
100g Gruyere cheese, grated
300ml double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/GM4

To make the pastry, mix the almonds, butter, egg white and salt until it forms a dough. This is easiest done in a food processor. Keep processing it until it starts to come together into a ball.

Press the dough with your hand/fingers into a 20cm flan tin or dish. Push the pastry up the sides of the tin as well. There is quite a lot of filling, so it's important to get the pastry as far up the sides as you can.

Prick the base of the flan all over and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until set and golden brown. (It's better if it's cooked longer, as it hardens up a little more - just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't burn)

While the dough is cooking, saute the shallots,garlic and lardons/bacon in the butter and oil, till soft. Season with salt and pepper and about a teaspoon of dried oregano. Leave to cool.

Next, whisk the eggs and yolks, and then gradually add whisk in the cream. Add black pepper and whisk again.

Tip the shallots and bacon into the flan case and add the cheese, then pour over the egg and cream mixture. (It's a good idea to put the flan tin onto a baking tray, as it is likely to be very full, and this makes it easier to get into the oven without spilling anything)

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and just set. Serve warm or cold.

27.35g carbs for the whole lot. If you serve 6 people, this will be 4.6g per person.

OP posts:
BIWI · 09/09/2022 18:30

... obviously leave out the bacon for your DS's girlfriend! (You could increase slightly the quantity of shallots and cheese to compensate)

OP posts:
comfortablyfrumpy · 09/09/2022 22:03

That sounds absolutely lush.
I will be baking that this week :)

StuntNun · 09/09/2022 22:06

I was travelling today and noticed that Starbucks have started selling their low carb "egg bites" in the UK. I don't go to Starbucks often but it's reassuring to know you can get a low carb option there now.

Week 7 - July '22 Low Carb Bootcamp - the last fortnight
Jollyholibobs · 10/09/2022 08:46

Very pleased to report that I have just sneaked into the 10s this morning. Hope it can stick for Mondays weigh in.

Will be busy packing for hols this weekend. This morning I have a lovely treat. I am going for a manicure and pedicure. Gift from DD and DS. DD’s idea obviously. No plan for meals yet but will be using up whats in the fridge.

DH has been dieting before hols which means one day he has a huge pizza with extra cheese next day he arrives home and says I haven’t eaten anything all day I’m starving and wolfs wedges of sourdough in addition to dinner or he eats no dinner. So I didn’t expect much effect. He weighs in kilos so I don’t relate to it like pounds. He’s just converted to lbs and turns out he’s lost a stone in about six weeks . I asked because I can see a difference. I am not advocating this as a miracle diet I think he has quite an efficient metabolism. But it demonstrates to me how much easier it is for some people (men?). I don’t think he ever has cravings. He can have a bar of chocolate on his desk for weeks having an occasional square here and there.

Anyway.
Drinking my water and KOKOing. have a great weekend everyone.

FinallyHere · 10/09/2022 08:55

turns out he’s lost a stone in about six weeks

😃

DH isn't much taller than me and much chunkier. I'm have a secret fear of weighing more than him, especially recently when he mentioned he's lost weight. Thanks to bootcamp, he's still got 10kgs on me

The relief.

bandbsmummy · 10/09/2022 12:44

@FinallyHere I have the same fear! We've been closed when I've been (over)due the DCs as he was slimmer then than now. At the start of bootcamp I was that weight but he had 2 stone on me still. Almost 3 stone on me now 😇

FinallyHere · 10/09/2022 12:44

😇 @bandbsmummy

comfortablyfrumpy · 10/09/2022 19:29

@Jollyholibobs only one thing for it..... LTB 😅😅

prettybird · 11/09/2022 10:54

My dinner last night Smile

Lidl extra thick fillet steak cooked/basted in frothing butter with thyme (after having been salted for a few hours), celeriac chips, green beans in butter and garlic and left over roasted veg from Friday night. Yum! Grin

Week 7 - July '22 Low Carb Bootcamp - the last fortnight
BIWI · 11/09/2022 11:02

Very yum @prettybird!

I made a Nigel Slater recipe last night, from the Guardian a couple of weeks ago, which was written as a way to use up any marrow that you might have/be growing - but you can use courgettes instead.

So sliced and fry courgettes, then fry pork mince, (squashing it flat on to the base of a wide frying pan, so that it browns on the bottom, before you breakd it up and stir it round), then fry grated ginger, chopped garlic, chilli and shallots, and then mix everything together and cook for a few minutes more with a mixture of chicken stock, rice wine vinegar and brown miso paste. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with fresh coriander and the juice of a lime squeezed over the top.

OP posts:
StuntNun · 11/09/2022 12:32

I had an unexpected coffee shop date this morning and, naturally, the breakfast options were all carby. Imagine my delight to see poached eggs and halloumi as optional extras. They were perfectly happy to make me a breakfast of just poached eggs and halloumi and it was a delicious combination. Set me up for the day and I won't need much for lunch. Grin

pinknsparkly · 11/09/2022 14:16

@prettybird - silly question but when you say the steak was "salted for a few hours".... How exactly do you do this? Just grind /sprinkle a bit on and leave it on for cooking, or coat it in salt and then wash it off?

@StuntNun - I've done that a few times at various places! Anywhere that allows you to add extras, I tend to get just a plate of extras, particularly for breakfast 😂

@BIWI - that recipe sounds yum! I'm just making a list for my next food shop and am adding pork mince and courgettes to it!!

BIWI · 11/09/2022 14:35

@pinknsparkly do you want me to type out the recipe, with quantities? Happy to do that!

OP posts:
prettybird · 11/09/2022 15:13

@pinknsparkly : I sprinkle top and bottom with some sea salt and leave them on a piece of kitchen paper on a plate in a kitchen cupboard (we have thieving cats Wink). Don't wash it off after - just cook straight away in a very hot pan. Start off heating the pan with olive oil/flavourless coconut oil and then add a generous amount of butter plus the aromatics (thyme or rosemary - be careful as it'll spit) just before putting the steaks in and turning and basting regularly. I do them for about 4 minutes and then leave to rest for 6 minutes in some foil. Results in lovely tender but tasty and still pink steaks.

This was the recipe that inspired me but I do it for less than it says (as per some of the comments).

https://www.seriouseats.com/butter-basted-pan-seared-steaks-recipe

WantSomeEqualitea · 11/09/2022 15:41

Hello. Can I join? I have had a good read through the spreadsheet (thanks for all the info Biwi!) I can't shift this weight thats crept on this year and my usual method of low calorie/my fitness pal is just not working so I'd like to try low carb/clean eating.
Unfortunately I can't begin immediately as I still have half a week of meal plans to get through but I'll try and reduce my carbs where I can before my Biwi shop arrives on Thursday!