New low-carb thread for post lockdown.

Thank you Greeneyedgirl. That is brilliant news about the weight loss and blood sugar levels. It does seem to me that it is a way of eating that can be maintained long-term, unlike some diets. We had a ridiculously busy day including our second visit to the hairdresser since lockdown ended, so we had pan-fried whiting fillets with tartare, salad and 6 chips each (don't tell anyone) ?

How lovely to see your thread again Mamie and to get ideas from your delicious sounding meals.

I was on the original thread (under different name) and it was a great encouragement to me after I had been told I was pre diabetic about 3 years ago.

I was probably on the top end of normal BMI at that time. I lost a stone without counting calories but on a low carb diet, which I have continued ever since, and my blood sugar has been consistently normal.

A potato is a very rare treat indeed, but I now probably enjoy a greater and more varied range of food without feeling deprived at all.

We have beef casserole in the slow oven. Low carb.

Just steak tonight with broccoli. DH will have a few roast potatoes. Pudding is mango and hazelnuts blitzed to a purée, with Greek yogurt and blueberries for me, DH a creme caramel. My willpower is being severely tested. However I am used to it after several years and I have maintained a size 14 after being an 18

Eggs & avocado for breakfast then I met a friend at Westfield shopping centre where the restaurants/cafes don't open until tomorrow so we settled for an M&S chicken and bacon salad and a coffee.

Tonight I'll have salmon fillet, courgetti and roasted peppers, onions, etc., and white wine.

I too have lost a kilo over the past 12 days taking me to 58kg (only 5'2") so two more kilos and I'll be happy to maintain.

Morning all. Busy garden day today so quick Shakshuka with last year's ratatouille and eggs for lunch. Dinner will be barbecued pork loin (marinade of coconut milk, saffron, tamarind, ginger) and courgette and pepper kebabs.
How is the weight loss everyone? I have lost a kilo, down to 60kg. I have kind of settled for fitting easily into size 12 as I find fluid retention does go up and down in the heat.

Not plain meat or fish Rosalyn69!
Casseroles, sauces, some fruit. In our case lots of Italian dishes (with courgetti), Indian, Middle Eastern, Spanish etc. Oddly not much French cuisine even though we live here. ?

The low carb diet mentioned above seems a bit draconian to me. Husband who was pre-diabetic was on 100g of carbs a day. He lost weight and so did I and he got his blood sugar back to normal. Each to his own I guess but our diet was much more interesting and varied including certain fruits and casseroles and chilli and a skinny beer pre-dinner.

Well done on the weight loss purplepixie.

I love Ottolenghi's aubergine cheesecake - haven't made it for ages.

For lunch I had the sumac chicken with coleslaw and put two portions in the freezer, plus made four portions of chickpea & aubergine curry for the freezer.

Tonight I'm having gammon & feta salad.

PurplePixie, Congratulations on your weight loss but seems quite high in Carbs to me.
I've recently been diagnosed as Pre Diabetic and just educating myself re Carbohydrates to decrease blood sugar levels.So hoping this thread will help me.

Well done Purplepixie. ? People on here are on a low-carb diet so a bit different. No sugar, rice, potatoes, bread or pasta, limited fruit and alcohol, but full-fat everything, above ground vegetables (plus celeriac ?), meat and fish. The first thread started about five years ago, so most of us lost weight then and now are maintaining or losing a bit of excess.
Today we had a waldorf salad for lunch and tonight Ottolenghi's aubergine cheesecake.

Well, I don’t want to brag but I have lost 12 lbs since the beginning of March. I went along to see the nurse for a check up and my weight was heading towards obese. That word really freaked me out so I knew I had to do something. I walk at least 2 miles per day, do 100 situps per day and try and run up and down the stairs. Today I will have 3 Marmite rices cakes, some Philly light cheese spread and 3 pieces of fruit for lunch, nothing else. Tonight for tea will be a pasta dish with a yogurt after. I have porridge or two shredded wheat for breakfast and that is all I have NOW to eat all day. It is working and my clothes feel a better fit. So come on - If I can do it - you can.

I think the one honorable exception to below ground is celeriac, which is low-carb.

Basically above ground vegetables are good, though you have to be careful with some squash. Below ground are carb heavier. We grow most of ours (36 raised beds ?) so tend to be pretty seasonal with what we eat. Lots of courgettes and thinnings of chard and spinach at the moment.
Lunch is salmon paté on avocado (we don't grow those ?) and dinner is spicy stuffed mackerel with salads.

Thanks Mamie. The cauliflower rice is lower in carbs than I thought.

The frozen cauliflower rice was very good - useful to have in the freezer, particularly as it comes in 4 individual portion-size bags.

Cauliflower

I'm about to assemble the marinade for chicken with sumac and red onions - in the mood for a cookathon today!

Cauliflower rice only has 3g of carbs in 100g. It has 18 times fewer carbs than rice. We have a lot of cauliflower mash too, but you don't really see them here at thus time of year.

I think cauliflower rice is quite carb heavy but it is better than rice.

I’ll try that, thanks Mamie. I haven’t yet gained a “lockdown stone” but I ‘m almost half way to it!

It is easy to make if you do have a food processor. Just blitz for a few seconds and cook in the microwave. I can't imagine French supermarkets ever selling cauliflower rice so needs must here. ?

I'll be having cauliflower rice with my lamb shank - it's frozen and you just microwave it. I can't remember if I've had the particular brand before, so hope it's OK - some are better than others!

I don't have a good processor to make my own.

It is low-carb apart from the couscous. Cauliflower rice might work instead?

I make batches of ratatouille and really enjoy a meal of chunky cod, ratatouille and lemon&coriander cous cous.
(DH doesn’t like most fish so when I have that, he has a curry).

I hope it’s low carb (my meal, not his) but not really sure?

I've had a big breakfast of eggs, avocado and tomatoes - suppose I must now do a big walk

This is another tasty recipe from Yasmin Khan, chicken with sumac & red onions, minus the flatbread of course.

Recipe

Today I'm having harissa lamb shank, courtesy of Waitrose.