A new low-carb support thread for 2016

You remember the tapioca pudding we used to get at school that was called frog spawn? Well Konjac was like that. Taste free and slimey.
Yuck!

Good luck for the op GJ. It is hard in cold weather isn't it? We have been having a lot of soup, but am ignoring freezing wind and having Waldorf salad for lunch today.
Last night I did a Hugh F-W frittata with roast veg and parmesan recipe which was nice.
As well as cauliflower I use celeriac, roast or cut into chip sized portions and baked in olive oil as a substitute for potatoes.
Facebook tells me that we were having a barbecue a year ago today!

Am off to get some. Thanks. Am determined to make this work and even DH is giving it a go, with the odd lapse involving a Cornish pasty or two.....

So the message lazigirl seems to be ...try cauliflower!

I've created a great accompaniment for meals with a small cauliflower.

Cut into smallish bite-sized pieces. Put in a plastic bag with some oil and shake it up, then transfer to baking dish and bake in oven for about 25-30 minutes on 200oC.

Meanwhile, slice 2-3 leeks thinly, boil until just soft, drain and toss in butter and fresh ground pepper. Remove cauliflower from oven and mix in leeks.

We had friends round for a curry on Saturday night and cooked rice (for them) but they ate all our cauliflower rather than the rice as it was very yummy

Well I'll own up - I've failed miserably to keep to low carb. Just too cold and too much snow up here. I'll try again when Spring springs,, if it ever does- but for now

Had all the pre op tests, and my ECG was perfect, renal and liver function as well, coagulation rate too, cholesterols spot on, and BP perfect + diabetes well controlled. So I am not too concerned about my weight- and promise I'll try again when the weather warms up. Onwards and forwards.
And a massive 'bravo' to all of you who have managed to keep it up.

Quinoa is better GI than rice but still carby. I love cauliflower as an accompaniment, either rice, mash or steamed then baked in oven with butter / parmesan.
Will let you know about Konjac.

Never heard of Konjac. Have been on low sugar diet for 1 week and only 1 negligible pound lost! Is quinoa a useful substitute for rice? Am getting tired of courgettes, grated, spiralized, diced & sliced.

Has anyone tried Konjac (Japanese yam) as a substiture for rice / pasta?

So, low-carb vegetarian ideas.
Like Anya, we try to have a couple of vegetarian meals a week. I normally make curry or tagines, we have minestrone a lot and sometimes vegetarian pasta sauces with courgetti or moussaka without meat.
I use lots of aubergines as a side vegetable, tossed in spices and cooked in a little bit of olive oil.
I use Ottolenghi, Plenty and Plenty More for more festive dishes.
I think the added complication with the MM recipes is that they are lower calorie as well, which probably rules out masses of cheese.
What kind of things do people like to eat?

Thanks for that Pippa I'll have a go on Sunday

Anya, Sorry I did mean cheesy

Recipe I used - apologises for the American measures

2 and half cups almond flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup grated cheddar cheese ( I used a very mature one)
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs ( I used large ones as they were the only ones I had)

Mix everything together, make small round 'buns' recipe says 8, but I did smaller ones making 12.

Bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees ( may need longer to brown a bit)

Leave to cool or they will be very crumbly. Freeze well, so I am told.

If you post your successful cheesy (so?) buns recipe Pippa I'll give it one more go

First experiment with almond flour resulted in lovely tasty little cheeses buns. Will now try to be more adventurous. Even DH liked them, so they are in the freezer out of his way!

Yes, I've tried making various things with almond flour and it was total waste of time, money and effort.

Not almond or flax, but I make chickpea biscuits to have with cheese.
Recipe here
food52.com/recipes/28121-za-atar-spiced-chickpea-crackers-with-maldon-sea-salt
It is in cups, but pretty easy to convert I think.

Just started a low carb diet, so need advice. Has any one made almond flour or flax flour biscuits or buns. I have done a web search and can only find very American recipes with their weights and measures and in some strange (to me) ingredient, (although they may be just a different name, as in scallions are spring onions).

Yes, I'm very partial to a nice glass of but I had a dry September and a damp January, just to see if I could to support a friend. So now I have a couple of consecutive dry days each week.
The secret of this way of eating is to concentrate on what you can eat and include plenty of low carb veg so you don't get constipated. I find nuts great as snacks, and cheese. And berries for breakfast

Remember that very dark chocolate is an OK from time to time. We love cheese so that is another regular treat. We eat lots of avocados too.

That's so encouraging Anya. Will have to get rid of all the pasta, rice etc. It needs to be a whole new way of eating doesn't it? Do you drink alcohol? Don't want to lose all treats

We ate it all...

We had 'Stir Fried Pork with Cashew Nuts and Greens' last night. The 'greens' were Pak Choi. It took 15 minutes to prepare, about the same to cook.

The recipe was to serve 4 but I made the full amount and we are it all. So long as there's very little or no carbs in a recipe we don't bother about halving amounts. I've several recipes where I substitute mushrooms for potatoes eg Mediterranean Chicken.

Mr A's blood glucose is in the normal range ( he too was pre-diabetic).

I am led to believe that some people who appear thin are actually TOFI (thin outside, fat inside) in other words their fat is deposited around their internal organs, called visceral fat, and this can make them more prone to developing Type 2 diabetes. Mr A's visceral fat has plummeted to 13.5% since being on this diet ...he just needs to get it below 12% so you can see he's well on the way.

Strangely enough none of our French doctors have ever suggested cutting down on wine.....
The one who has now retired used to tell us about bargains in the local supermarket.

I am a beer drinker Mamie, but if your OH has managed to reduce blood sugar, without becoming teetotal this cheers me up enormously. I can manage to swap the beer for the odd glass of wine

We have stayed with dry wine all the way through!