Tag Archives: low carb

Dinner, Levels 2 And Above, Lunch, Product Review

Product Review: Real Good "The Supreme" Pizza

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So, I have been seeing these everywhere (and even have a few friends who have tried these and liked them). I had a rebate coupon and, since I had to go to Walmart (broke my neighbor’s coffee pot while trying to clean it), I bought one. This is what I bought: Real Good “The Supreme” Personal pizza. I have never made a chicken pizza crust so I thought this would be the best way to test it out.
First, at Walmart, the price for this tiny pizza was $5.95. That is quite a bit of money for me to pay for something that can be considered a light lunch (and I was really happy I was going to get a $2 rebate).

Second, I baked this in the oven, on parchment paper (I don’t particularly like the taste of cardboard). This is what happened (it’s not the first time I have made ugly food):

Now, onto the flavor: the sauce. Remember back when frozen pizzas had the worst heartburn-inducing tomato-based sauce? Yeah, that’s what this had. I took one nibble of the melted cheese and knew there was no way for me to eat the entire pizza without paying for it all day.

So, onto the crust (since that was really why I bought this). I cut a bit and took a bite with all the toppings on there. The texture wasn’t bad and it definitely tastes like chicken but between the crust and all the toppings, it was way too salty for me. I then cut another bit off and scraped off the toppings. I don’t want to be rude but that “chicken breast” crust has to be mechanically separated meat. It tastes like a slab of ground, pressed cheap lunch meat (but it obviously is not cheap). It reminded me of the “turkey” in Swanson’s frozen Turkey dinners I had as a kid.

That crust has tainted my views of all their products. Not only will I never buy any of their pizzas again but I will never buy any of their other products.
 

Health, Level 1, Levels 2 And Above

Dr. Atkins Interview

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While researching, I stumbled onto an interview that Larry King did with Dr. Atkins in 2003 (just before he passed). I spliced, edited, synched the audio and uploaded it to my channel. I may have missed a commercial break or two but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (though I REALLY do not like Larry King). This was just before he published “Atkins for Life: The Next Level”. If you listen to him, what he says really hadn’t changed since he published his first book in 1972 (except in 2003 there were many more options for low carb eaters).

Fitness, Health, Journal

How the H*ll Did I Gain 2 Pounds Overnight?

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Once I began this journey (and finally figured out what food my body did and didn’t like) one of the most frustrating things was magically gaining 2 pounds overnight. It happened so much that, at one point, I stopped weighing myself every day (choosing to only weigh myself once a week). I became obsessed with my daily weight, weighing (and limiting) my food and increasing my daily activity so I would lose those mysterious pounds again. Even though I have now adopted a broader view of my weight (I weigh every day but my focus is typically how I am doing over the course of the week). I never really looked into the why of it all. This year, with my renewed focus on my health, this is what I decided to do.
I have been tracking all of my food in My Fitness Pal since June. I had been using a different app on my phone but thankfully, someone told me how to work the app on my phone. I am loving it even more than before, especially since it has a UPC scanner! I am even able to scan a store-brand food item (from a local store) and it pulled up all the information on it! The idea of having to input (or rely on someone’s sketchy input) always made me tired. If you haven’t used it, try it! Grab that family pack of steaks and scan it with the app. It’s (almost) a miracle!
So, I have been going about my business, losing or gaining a pound, and usually I could attribute it to some specific food item, until two days ago. I had an especially busy day and hadn’t eaten as much as usual but what I did eat was typical. The next day, I had gained 2 pounds. The first thing I did was go over my food. Nope, that couldn’t do it. What about fluids? Nope, I drank my usual amount. I did notice, however, that my breathing was a bit off and I felt a bit “swollen.” That’s when I remembered all the dang reading I had done for so many years: my weight gain was caused by inflammation.
One of the biggest issues that is typically addressed within the low carb/paleo/gluten-free community of experts is how some carbohydrates (it seems to mostly be grains but we all know every body is different) cause inflammation within the body. It is usually that inflammation that wreaks havoc on our bodies, causing all sorts of illnesses/health issues. So, if you ate great all day but decide to eat that burger on a hamburger bun and gain 2 pounds overnight, it’s not simply the gluten or carbohydrates (or corn syrup) that caused that weight gain. It could be the inflammation caused by one (or all) of those properties of the hamburger bun that did it.
Or, if you ate fantastic all day, yet still gained that weight, what happened? After thinking everything over and going through my activities of the day, I figured out my weight gain was due to allergies. I had decided to tear apart the front room because it is that time of year when mice are wanting to come inside and I one had boldly walked through the house into that room. I vacuumed everything, rearranging what I could to make it easier for me to move things to clean (storing my son’s items in this tiny house is a bit of a challenge). Two of the things I am still allergic to are dust mites (check) and mice (check).
If I had been lifting heavy things (like lugging buckets of river rocks from one side of the yard to the other) or actual weight training, I could have gained water weight due to my muscles retaining extra water. The point of this post is, unless you truly ate garbage the day before you “magically” gained weight, it could be any number of things that caused that temporary weight gain. There is no need to beat yourself up, starve yourself, or overdose on water. 9 times out of 10, that weight will be “magically’ gone in a day or two, so just breathe. You are doing great!
 

Health, Journal

Doctor Day! My Results Are In!

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After 10 years, I am still med free and can officially say I no longer have type 2 diabetes!
A few months back, I went into the doctor weighing 207 with an A1C of 6.9 (normal is 5.6 and below). Keep in mind, I hadn’t been to the doctor in over 5 years and had been eating just about anything I wanted. His instructions were to lose 20 pounds and fix my diet.
So, I pretty much gave up all carbs during the day and ate whatever I wanted for dinner (but stopped eating almost all sweets of any kind, including sugar-free). The first thing I noticed was my desire for food began to lessen. I am now at the point where I may eat a meal and a half to two meals per day. I am just not hungry during the day but I eat something so I don’t get ravenous (and start shoveling any food into my mouth).
Today was my follow-up visit and I managed to lose 17 of the 20 pounds and brought my A1C down to 5.8! Do you see that? I am .2 above normal! It was so funny: he was reading through my blood test results, “kidney function is good, liver function is good, no diabetes … ” and I yelled, “WHAT?” (I think I scared him a little). The rest of the results were perfect. This time, his instructions were to keep doing what I am doing and mostly focus on my weight (I will mostly focus on what I put in my mouth and maybe incorporate some actual exercise if it ever cools off here in Central California).
There is one issue that it turns out I have had since I was 18: gallbladder. I had a CT scan in July and there was a gallstone. He asked about pain, I described the intermittent pain I get, and we came to the conclusion that I have had a messed up gallbladder for 30 years. I have gone to multiple doctors over the years for the pain but they all said there was nothing wrong (even went to the Emergency Room out at County about 15 years ago and after doing no tests, the doctor told me my pain was an ulcer). So, I am waiting for a referral to a surgeon. If I can get this taken care of, I will be even more unstoppable! 🙂

1972 Recipes, Dinner, Level 1, Lunch, Recipe, Sauces

Dr. Atkins' Steak and Barbecue Sauce (and copies of the Original book)

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One quick note about getting copies of Dr. Atkins’ original book: I noticed, when updating my Amazon store (look over there) there are a lot more copies of the book available. I have listed the 1972, 1980, 1984, and 1990 publishing dates. I think up until the 1990 version, they are roughly the same.
Judith, this is the closest thing I could find to a barbecue sauce recipe from my books.

Steak Sauce
11 Tablespoons
1/2 cup Hunt’s Tomato Puree (sauce)
1/4 cup water
5 teaspoons distilled vinegar
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon grated onion
1/2 teaspoon Maggi Seasoning
20 drops of Tabasco sauce
Blend and refrigerate until serving time.

WAIT! I found it (I think). It was included in a Barbecued Spareribs recipe!

Dr. Atkins Barbecue Sauce
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 Tablespoon bacon drippings
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup water
1/8 cup lemon juice
2 Tablespoons tarragon vinegar
1 Tablespoon Lee & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tablespoons brown Sugar Twin
1 cup Hunt’s tomato juice
3 Tablespoons of soy sauce (how funny, the note says this can be purchased in a health food store)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon Gold Seal cocktail sherry (optional)
Saute the onion in bacon drippings until brown, add garlic powder and cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 25 minutes.

Health, Level 1

Adding Fats Into Your Diet

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A MyFitnessPal friend just adopted a ketogenic way of eating.  A few tips that just popped out of my head and through the keyboard that I thought I should share with all of you: how to incorporate more fat into your diet without scooping out spoonsful and eating it like ice cream.


Yes, I did that in the beginning.  I was desperate to get all the fats into my diet that I needed to.  For those who don’t know, the basic way it works with the ketogenic approach is you replace all the carbohydrate calories you normally eat with fat calories.  In the beginning, when you are just starting out, that is a lot of fat!  That’s why you see so many people (and I did this for almost the entire year I was strict keto) drinking Bullet Proof Coffee (if you google that, you might not see what I drank.  I just added a tablespoon each of butter and coconut oil to my coffee and just stirred it in … much better together than either butter or coconut oil by themselves). Or they eat fat bombs. Really. I tried one recipe and it was just cold fat with something (I think it was peanut butter) meant to make you forget you are eating a chunk of fat but it failed.


The problem with doing drinking my bullet proof coffee every day was those nights when we would indulge in a fantastically fatty rib eye steak, I would go over on my fats (a lot).  So, I slowly began skipping my bullet proof coffee days and consuming more fats with my meals.  Eventually, it got to a point I did not need my bullet proof coffee.
So, what were these fantastic tips I gave my friend?  The first tip: Starting now, buy fattier meats.  Through so many years of being told to eat less fatty meats, we had switched from 80% ground beef to 90%, bought chicken breast instead of other cuts, and purchase pork loin instead of the fat-rich cuts that didn’t require sauces to make them edible.  Now, we buy the 80% ground beef.  We buy chicken thighs instead of breast.  Did you know that most of the wonderfully smelling chicken that is grilled outside of Mexican markets is de-boned, skinned chicken thighs?  That’s why it is always so juicy and WONDERFUL!  We buy pork chops, the fattier the better and when we want steak, it is either rib eye steaks (with that glorious marbling) or tri-tip roasts.  I’ve also (as I’ve written about before) begun branching out with pork butt roasts and even some beef roasts, leaving as much of the fat as I can.  Don’t forget fish: any form of salmon has more fats but have you checked out canned fish like smoked herring or sardines?


The second tip (which I don’t think I told her): Track your fat!  When I input my meals into MyFitnessPal, I would almost always forget to track the fats I used in cooking.  On the days when I remembered, I would almost end up over my allotted fat amounts.
So, there you have it.  Two tips to ensure your intake of fats is mostly from whole foods instead of a spoon.  OH!  I almost forgot.  If you want to order fats in bulk (instead of paying outrageous prices for tiny containers at the store and do not mind if they are not organic), go here (this is not an affiliate link, I just really like them): http://naturaloils.com/shop/Default.htm

1972 Recipes, Dinner, Level 1, Levels 2 And Above, Lunch, Recipe

Atkins "Noodles"

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Atkins “Noodles”
2 eggs at room temperature, separated
1/4 teaspoon Krazy Salt (or seasoned salt)
3 Tablespoons butter
Melt butter in a cookie sheet that has sides.
Beat whites with salt until stiff.
Beat yolks with a fork and fold them into the whites.
Spread egg mixture on the cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until slightly browned. When cool, slice into strips and use in soups.
Total Grams: 1.2
Grams per serving: .6
From the Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution (1972)

1972 Recipes, Dinner, Journal, Level 1, Levels 2 And Above, Lunch, Recipe, Soups

Atkins Matzoh Ball Soup

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Matzoh Ball Soup
Serves 8
1 egg, separated
1 1/2 Tablespoons chicken fat (or butter if you can’t find it)
1.4 cup hot water or soup
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup crushed Baken-ets (pork rinds)
2 quarts chicken soup
Beat yolk of egg with softened chicken fat (or butter) until thick and well blended.
Pour into hot water and beat well.
Fold in salt and Baken-ets.
Beat egg white until stiff but not dry, and fold into pork rind mixture.
Chill for about 1 hour.
Heat 2 quarts chicken soup to boiling.
Wet hands with cold water, and shape mixture into medium-sized balls, about the diameter of a quarter.
Reduce heat, cover, simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, and serve.
Total Grams: Trace
From the Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution (1972)

1972 Recipes, Appetizers, Breakfast, Dinner, Level 1, Levels 2 And Above, Lunch, Recipe

Diet Revolution Rolls

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Diet Revolution Rolls (aka Oopsie rolls or Cloud Bread)
There are tons of variations of this recipe out there (and I have tried quite a few, including substituting avocado for the cottage cheese) but this one is the best! These are not excessively moist, do not collapse to nothing (they do collapse when they cool but not nearly as bad as other recipes), and they have a great texture.
Makes 6 Rolls (2 rolls per serving)

  • 3 eggs separated
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 3 Tablespoons cottage cheese (NOT low-fat)
  • 1 package Sugar Twin (or 1/4 teaspoon sweetener of choice)
  • Pam spray (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spray Pam on Teflon cookie sheet (or use ungreased parchment paper).
Separate eggs very carefully (make sure that none of the yolk gets into the whites). Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until whites are stiff but not dry.
Blend yolks, cottage cheese and Sugar Twin together until thoroughly incorporated. Fold yolk mixture into beaten egg whites (be extremely careful not to break down the egg whites). Mix for no more than a minute.
Place the mixture carefully on the teflon cookie sheet (parchment paper), gently putting one Tablespoon full on top of another until each “roll” is about 2 inches high (or use 1/3 cup ice cream scoop). Repeat this until you have 6 piles. Rolls should resemble delicatessen rolls.
Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 1 hour. Let them cool before removing from the baking sheet (the will deflate a bit).
Do not slice to use for a sandwich (they are not thick enough).
One roll=one slice of bread
Per Roll: 39 Cal (56% from Fat, 38% from Protein, 6% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 2 g Tot Fat; 1 g Carb; 0 g Fiber; 0 g Sugar
Caraway Rolls

  • Mix 1 Tablespoon of caraway seed into yolk mixture.

Per Roll: 40 Cal (56% from Fat, 38% from Protein, 7% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 2 g Tot Fat; 1 g Carb; 0 g Fiber; 0 g Sugar
Onion Rolls

  • 2 Tablespoons minced onion
  • 1 Tablespoon butter

In a small frying pan on medium heat, sautee 2 Tablespoons Onion in 1 Tablespoon melted butter until they are almost brown. Let cool, then mix into yolk mixture.
Per Roll: 58 Cal (68% from Fat, 26% from Protein, 6% from Carb); 4 g Protein; 4 g Tot Fat; 1 g Carb; 0 g Fiber; 0 g Sugar
Serving examples:
 

Just Out Of The Oven
IMG_1647
Grilled Breakfast Burger
French Toast with Sugar-Free Syrup


Bread Crumbs

Double Dipped (egg, then breadcrumbs twice) Fried Chicken Thigh

Bread Crumbs

  • One entire batch of Diet Revolution Rolls (without sweetener or salt, if you plan on using either in the bread crumbs)

Put the six cooked (and cooled) rolls into a blender or food processor. Process until the rolls become fine crumbs. For drier crumbs, either let the rolls dry overnight before processing. Season according to your tastes/recipe and use in any recipe to replace traditional bread crumbs. When used as breading, this tastes like flour breading (not actual bread crumbs).
Total Grams: 3.1


Diet Revolution Bread

  • 2 Tablespoons Soya Powder (if you have to buy this, here’s a non-affiliate link to what I bought: http://a.co/d/ggqvd01)
  • 1 Tablespoon water

While making the Diet Revolution Rolls above, mix these ingredients in with the yolk/cottage cheese mixture. Let this sit for 15-20 minutes. This allows the soya powder to re-hydrate (and not become hard rocks in the bread).  Proceed with the rest of the recipe above.
Originally from the Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution (1972), pages 225-227.

1972 Recipes, Journal, Level 1, Levels 2 And Above, Recipe, Sauces

Atkins Mustard Sauce

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Mustard Sauce
Makes 1 cup (16 Tablespoons)
3 Tablespoons onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon butter
8 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon chopped chives
Saute onions in butter until soft.
Stir in mustard and cream until well heated (do not boil).
Blend in Worcestershire Sauce.
Sprinkle with chives.
Serve hot.
Total Grams: 7.0
Grams Per Tablespoon .4
From the Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution (1972)