So, those who do no sugar...

[StaceyinLA]

What does this look like when eating out? Are you still extra diligent, or do you splurge? This is especially for those who don't eat grains or a lot of meat.

 

Give me a typical days' worth of meals at home, then maybe a couple of restaurant ideas (preferably ethnic). I don't want heavy dairy or creamy sauces, and not straight meat.

 

Anyone willing to share?

 

Btw, day 10 of no sugar and still hanging in there. I can see some of my bread cravings starting to lessen.

[ssavings]

For me, one sugar-y meal sets off cravings, so I avoid it.

 

At home I eat green smoothies (which have some natural sugar from the fruit) for breakfast, hummus with vegetables or lentils for lunch (if I want meat, I make boneless chicken breast with mixed vegetables), dinner is a salad or a potato with the skin on.

 

At restaurants, I order what I normally would, but get any sauce/dressing on the side.. Then I can control how much of the sugar goes into my meal.

[MrsBear]

At home, a typical day.....yesterday - Florentine omelet, side of sausage (local farmer makes it fresh, it's delish!), coffee with heavy cream......lunch was a chicken chili loaded with veggies, topped with sour cream and shredded cheddar, iced tea with fresh lemon (I drink that throughout the day or water)....dinner we had parmasean chicken cutlets (sub the parma cheese for bread crumbs to bread them), mashed cauliflower and green beans almondine and water with lemon. I don't usually snack during the day - not hungry.

 

Eating out is pretty easy - I've yet to encounter a restaurant that I can't find something to eat. Salads, many soups, entrees with a vegetable (skip the starch most of the time, but sometimes will have it), etc. are all good. I usually ask the waiter to not bring the bread, unless we're (DH eats lower carb too) out with other who want to eat some. I've never been much of a dessert person, so that's usually not an issue. Sometimes I'll spluge on dessert though - just really depends on my mood....sugar actually doesn't trigger cravings for me, so I sometimes will have something light if I feel like it. I've also maintained my weight now for about 12 years - started lower carb well before it was a trend, so I've pretty much figured out what works well for me....and wish you luck - 10 days down, a lifestyle of eating ahead!

[ocelotmom]

We always eat out at the same restaurant - a diner - because we're in an area with limited selection and we know there is stuff we can eat there.

 

I have to be pretty strict about avoiding dairy. I don't worry about sugar, but most dishes with significant amounts of added sugar have other ingredients I don't eat. We don't worry about the oils that are used because it's only once or twice a month, but I think that is one of the biggest concerns for someone eating out frequently - most places rely heavily on soybean and vegetable oil because they are cheap.

 

I generally get a breakfast (regardless of time of day) with eggs and meat. Guacamole instead of cheese, and fruit instead of the bread/biscuit/pancake.

 

There are a number of salads I could have if I was less picky about salad dressing.

 

I suppose I could get one of the sandwiches or burgers without the bread, and may do that next time.

 

I drink water, as they don't have non-dairy creamer for coffee and I save my occasional soda splurge for other times.

[Harriet Vane]

Lots of salads. Almost anything can be served on a bed of greens. For dressing I request olive oil and fresh lemon wedges.

 

Potatoes are high in carbs, but so healthy that I make an exception for them. Lots of things taste good paired with a baked potato.

 

I avoid lots of sauces.

[StaceyinLA]

I'm not sure if this will be permanent as a lifestyle. I've been vegan for a while so I'm struggling with the meat consumption. It is for ethical reasons as well as health, so meat out isn't my first pick.

 

I'm not a huge potato eater, other than sweet potato, but I'll be planning to limit that. I may have occasional corn and peas. I'm gonna stay off the really sugary fruits except for special occasions. NO soft drinks for me. Period. I cannot let myself go back there - that is what prompted this!

 

I do think I might stay off breads for a while. While doing this sugarless 30 days, I'm also seeing if I have improvement in some areas without gluten. Either way, if I go back to bread, I will be trying to only eat the bread I make with freshly milled flour. Pasta will be a killer, but I'm gonna try and stick it out. I'll do brown rice on occasion.

 

I didn't do this for weight loss. I was weighing right around 120 when I started because I eat a mostly healthy diet anyway. I'm 116 now, though, after 10 days. Even that little bit feels different. I'm wearing 2's for the first time in a long time! My 6's literally fall down, and I wasn't really overweight when I bought them.

 

Here are some scenarios I want input on:

 

We have a great Greek place near us. They have an awesome hummus that has some toppings (green onion, tomato, roasted garlic, feta, sun-dried tomato). What do I eat with that when we go in there for lunch? Normally I'd have wheat pitas (not really wheat of course).

 

Mexican - what do you have there? I LOVE fajitas but am quite fond of wrapping it all up in a homemade tortilla. Or tacos or enchiladas in corn tortillas.

 

Thai - love it. What do you eat there? I love the noodles, and spring rolls, etc.

 

Indian - love everything Indian. How can I eat Indian with no naan involved? :tongue_smilie: And what can I eat if I can't have the rice with it?

 

Vietnamese - LOVE pho. What about the noodles in it?

 

These are my struggles because these are the types of places we are most likely to go. If its local or American, I can deal because I can get fresh fish almost anywhere, or I can always fall back on salad...

Edited April 11, 2012 by StaceyinLA

[freeindeed]

I eat low carb, but I also eat meat, so I'm not sure I can help much. When I go out to eat, which is rarely, I usually eat a sirloin or chicken Caesar salad (minus the croutons) or...if I'm treating myself...a steak with a side of broccoli.

 

Here is a typical daily menu for me:

 

Breakfast:

unsweetened almond milk

coffee

protein pancakes (whey protein powder, ricotta cheese, eggs, baking powder, salt) with sugar free french vanilla syrup

 

Lunch:

Pecan chicken salad served over either spinach leaves or lettuce

 

Snack 1:

Atkins shake

 

Snack 2:

Coffee

 

Supper:

Tonight it's Skillet Chicken Florentine and Mashed Cauliflower

 

Snack 3:

Sugar Free International Coffee

 

Also, I drink lots of water.

Edited April 11, 2012 by freeindeed

[LNC]

Breakfast - two egg white w/ bell peppers or veggies

Lunch - large salad with chicken breast

Dinner - chicken, fish, eggs and veggies

Dessert - Wonderslim protein pudding 1x day

cheats - almonds or very dk. chocolate - but don't lose when I have this!

Restaurant - usually Ruby Tuesday for steak, salad bar, and a side of mashed cauliflower. I don't go out places I can't get a steak...

[LauraGB]

What kind of sugar are you trying to avoid? White, refined, HFCS? Or that as well as naturally occurring (like honey) and mildly processed stuff (like maple syrup)?

 

It's all tough if eating out a lot (especially since most restaurants don't do the latter anyway), but avoiding burgers/sandwiches (or anything that comes with a bun/bread), Chinese fast food sauces, and desserts will eliminate the majority right off the bat. Beyond that, I would eat pretty freely, I think.

 

And congrats to you for giving up that soda!

[StaceyinLA]

anything that acts like sugar. I can't say I'll never have honey or maple syrup again, but I will severely limit it. I'm getting used to my coffee and tea with no sweetener. I add a little coconut oil and some coconut creamer to my half-caff coffee (which I have maybe every other day), and drink my teas plain. I'm drinking water and Perrier lime when I want a little something fizzy.

 

I'll definitely have NO white anything (that's the plan anyway), and I want to limit starchy veggies and super sweet fruits.

 

I'd still like to eat mostly vegan, but am going to include fish, beef (at home because I buy clean beef from my sister for dh so we have good, ethically raised beef), and chicken (when I can get grass-fed, which isn't that often). We rarely do any type of pork and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

Other proteins I'll eat will be nuts, nut butters, beans, quinoa, etc.

 

I guess I'm gonna have to severely limit eating out, but I just need to have a plan for when we are out and about and need to eat. Since we generally pick one of the ethnic places I posted about, I was hoping for ideas for those type places.

[StaceyinLA]

Today I had a smoothie for breakfast; homemade, unsweetened almond milk, a bit of coconut oil and coconut water, flax meal, spinach, strawberries and blueberries.

 

For lunch we were in BR and ate at a seafood place. I had a piece of blackened fish, steamed veggies and green beans. Drank 2 glasses of water.

 

I had some unsweetened lemon tea at Whole Foods.

 

I had a handful of raw pecans for a snack.

 

For dinner I just had a quinoa/edamame salad that was leftover from last night and I diced up half an avocado in it.

 

Yesterday I did a 2 egg omelet with just some green onions in it, topped with homemade salsa and half an avocado for breakfast (y'all seeing an avocado pattern here? I love them), had a cup of coffee, was busy around the house so wound up eating celery sticks with cashew butter in the afternoon, the edamame salad for supper, had pecans for a snack, and did my "nice cream" last night with the frozen banana, almond butter, almond milk and dash of cocoa powder because I felt like I needed more calories (it's a legal cheat on my 30-day thing). Drank plenty of water of course.

 

Some days I get plenty more veggies than others (I had done sautéed fish with loads of veggies plus roasted veggies Sunday for supper and ate that again Monday). Other days I feel like I eat more protein, but still not a lot of meat. I do have a boiled egg at least every other day.

[ocelotmom]

Here are some scenarios I want input on:

 

We have a great Greek place near us. They have an awesome hummus that has some toppings (green onion, tomato, roasted garlic, feta, sun-dried tomato). What do I eat with that when we go in there for lunch? Normally I'd have wheat pitas (not really wheat of course).

 

Mexican - what do you have there? I LOVE fajitas but am quite fond of wrapping it all up in a homemade tortilla. Or tacos or enchiladas in corn tortillas.

 

Thai - love it. What do you eat there? I love the noodles, and spring rolls, etc.

 

Indian - love everything Indian. How can I eat Indian with no naan involved? :tongue_smilie: And what can I eat if I can't have the rice with it?

 

Vietnamese - LOVE pho. What about the noodles in it?

 

These are my struggles because these are the types of places we are most likely to go. If its local or American, I can deal because I can get fresh fish almost anywhere, or I can always fall back on salad...

 

Basically, you have to make choices about what is most important to you. No one is forcing you to eat this way, but you're not going to get whatever benefit you're going to get if you don't do it.

 

I don't mean to sound mean there. It just sounds from the above like this isn't really something you want to do. But you're never going to know how it works for you if you can't commit to giving it a fair trial. I would suggest giving a fairly strict diet a good trial (a month or so). Don't eat out during that time (or eat only at places you know you can safely eat at that won't leave you feeling deprived). Do make sure you are eating to satiety and getting enough calories. At that point, you should be able to better make decisions with your brain rather than your emotions, habits, and addictions. And you'll be better able to see if you can realistically cheat on occasion, or if it has a strong enough negative effect as to not be worth it.

 

Commit to one month. See how you feel.

 

Anyways...

 

Greek: Can you get veggies to use for dipping?

 

Mexican: Whatever filling you'd otherwise have, but on a salad, or wrapped in a leaf of lettuce. You may eventually decide that homemade corn tortillas are something that is worth it on occasion.

 

Thai and Indian: Get a curry (or something else) with appropriate ingredients, with rice served separately (or not at all).

 

A lot of oriental food has sugar added, even in savory dishes, so you might want to ask about that. Usually it's a relatively small amount - a tablespoon or so for a family-sized recipe. I think this is much more of a problem with Thai and Vietnamese than Indian.

 

Rice is another thing you may eventually decide you're willing to include, at least on occasion, but give it some time without first so that you can see how it effects you (A lot of people consider white rice a "safe starch". Personally, it tends to lead to DH and I having huge fights, probably due to blood sugar impact). If you do decide you want it, rice noodles become a possibility at many oriental restaurants - you could possibly get them substituted into dishes that ordinarily use wheat-based noodles.

 

Kelp noodles are another alternative that might be available at some restaurants, especially Vietnamese.

 

Learn to cook ethnic food for yourself! Then you can know exactly what is going into them, and use cauliflower "rice" and so forth. I make Indian and Thai curries all the time.

[StaceyinLA]

The program I'm following is 30 days sugar free.

 

My plan is to stick with it for the most part, but modify it enough to stay more to the vegan side and still get enough nutrients without always going to grains for "filler."

 

I asked for advice in restaurants we frequent because I need suggestions for how to replace my typical items. I listed what I normally eat, and what I like in hopes folks can give me replacement ideas.

 

ETA: I do cook some Thai. I'm not big on Chinese. The main Vietnamese dish that I'd like to be able to eat is pho, which has rice noodles in it and lots of veggies so that may not be an issue. Mexican is my biggest weakness. Flour tortillas will be out if I find I'm gluten intolerant, but corn might be a treat I'd like to have sometimes; maybe even the occasional chips and homemade salsa. I can always do the beans with a guacamole salad on the side, or veggie fajitas with no shells, or other grilled items. Guacamole is a food group for me, so I'm usually happy as long as I have some.

 

I know I can adjust, but I was just looking for ideas from others to help me plan ahead.

Edited April 12, 2012 by StaceyinLA

[AdventureMoms]

I eat out at all those same kinds of restaurants. :-D I eat minimal sugar, no grains, little dairy. Lots of meat and veggies though.

 

My day to day eating looks like this:

 

Breakfast: Something eggy. Scrambled eggs or a frittata.

Lunch: leftovers from last night's dinner

Dinner: Soup, or some kind of meat and veggies. Tonight we had shredded beef, guac, and a little cheese with peppers and onions. Yummmm.... Lunch today was leftover coconut chicken soup.

 

Restaurants:

 

I haven't had trouble with most ethnic cuisines, to be honest. Pizza places are a problem if they don't have a decent salad, as are some sandwich places. Diners around here can be a bit of a challenge too. Ethnic though I can usually just pass on the bread/rice/starch and eat most of the other yummy stuff. At more "American" style places I can almost always get a salad of some sort with meat on it. Or a burger without the bun or something like that. I love salads though, so I order them probably 80% of the time at restaurants. I check the dressings or bring my own, make sure the meat isn't breaded and fried, and remove any croutons, but otherwise I'm pretty good with most of what shows up on a salad.

 

Mexican: I love homemade tortillas too, but you do get used to not having them. Ask them not to bring the tortillas at all so you aren't tempted. Better yet, ask for a fajita salad. My Mexican restaurant doesn't have it on the menu, but didn't blink when I asked. I was not the first person to ask, you could tell. Basically they put all the yummy grilled meat & veggies on a bed of lettuce with dressing on the side.

 

Greek: Sliced bell peppers are great in hummus, so are cucumber spears or carrots. I'd ask, they can probably think of something.

 

Indian: My all time favorite cuisine. I just don't order rice or bread (or mango lassis...usually). Anything else is probably fine. Tandori chicken and some kind of eggplant dish are my usual favorites.

 

Thai: Get a main dish without noodles. A curry, a soup, a good salad... Skip the rice and spring rolls. I've been making really great curries lately, it is incredibly easy! You can put any veggies or meat you want in them that way.

 

 

If weight is not a concern, I would consider any fruits or vegetables fair game, so long as they do not set off cravings (fruit sometimes does, especially when eaten without a protein sorce). I do restrict starchy veggies and fruit myself because I am very overweight and losing weight is a priority.

[StaceyinLA]

That was very helpful with the restaurant dilemmas. I still have almost 3 weeks with the 30-day plan, so I'm curious to see if there is anything I really still desire when this is over.

 

As for setting off cravings, how will I know this? Will I just WANT more of something?

 

And how do I determine if being without gluten has helped me? Do I reintroduce it to see if I experience a negative?

 

This elimination stuff for possible health improvement is kind of new to me.

[kolamum]

We don't eat out often, but when we do generally no deserts, etc. We don't limit grains and meat though. I find that for the child in our home who can't have sugar {and myself} limited grains is good {I don't eat any} but you need to up the protein, which for me is meat. :)

[Jaz]

They are somewhat heavy on the meat, but here are a month of meal photos.

[StaceyinLA]

It gives me some ideas for sure!

[srs]

If it's only three more weeks until the end of your challenge, can you plan how many times you absolutely must eat out in that time frame, and then just avoid it the rest of the time? That will at least get you through your 30 days, and then you can make a longer term plan.

 

A few years ago, we went gluten, dairy, and soy free and I think went about six months without eating out. It was tough, and we did eventually fall off that wagon (it was to see if it helped a kid, and we figured out that the dairy was a problem but the other two not so much), although what we learned has really impacted our eating habits. I got good at having snacks in the car, and really good at planning ahead and cooking a lot.

 

Good luck! I hope you continue to feel better. We went from dairy free vegetarian to eating meat because it seemed the easiest way to get enough calories and protein, and it still bothers my ethics, but I decided that the tradeoff was worth it. YMMV, of course.

[Soror]

We have a great Greek place near us. They have an awesome hummus that has some toppings (green onion, tomato, roasted garlic, feta, sun-dried tomato). What do I eat with that when we go in there for lunch? Normally I'd have wheat pitas (not really wheat of course). I like the gyro toppings without the pita myself.

 

Mexican - what do you have there? I LOVE fajitas but am quite fond of wrapping it all up in a homemade tortilla. Or tacos or enchiladas in corn tortillas.I like Fajitas on a salad

 

Thai - love it. What do you eat there? I love the noodles, and spring rolls, etcI just stick to meat and veggie dishes

 

Indian - love everything Indian. How can I eat Indian with no naan involved? And what can I eat if I can't have the rice with it?

Lots of extra curry and korma sometimes with a little rice or just not at all, no naan for me as I'm gf. I do like to have a Mango Lassi as a nice treat

 

Vietnamese - LOVE pho. What about the noodles in it? None here so not sure

[Chels~]

Looks like a lot of great ideas. I just wanted to add that NuNaturals Alcohol Free liquid Stevia has been a great alternative to sugar for me. I use it instead of sugar and I have had wonderful results. I like this particular brand because it doesn't have a bad aftertaste. I tried many of the stevias out there and this one was the best in my book.

[AdventureMoms]

That was very helpful with the restaurant dilemmas. I still have almost 3 weeks with the 30-day plan, so I'm curious to see if there is anything I really still desire when this is over.

 

As for setting off cravings, how will I know this? Will I just WANT more of something?

 

And how do I determine if being without gluten has helped me? Do I reintroduce it to see if I experience a negative?

 

This elimination stuff for possible health improvement is kind of new to me.

 

I'd stay as strict as you can for the 30 days to get everything out of your system. Then try introducing a bit of one "forbidden" food and see what happens. If the thing you want most after the 30 days is Pho with rice noodles, I'd give it a shot, and see how you feel after. If you're suddenly craving grains and sweets, probably that wasn't a good idea, so wait a bit and try something else. If you feel fine, then that's probably something you can tolerate once in awhile.

 

It's different for everyone, but I know I have set off cravings again when suddenly I feel the urge to sneak out of the house late at night and buy boxes of glazed donut holes and then hide them. Or if I find myself out and about with the kids, I start scheming about how I can hide a box of Oreos from the kids so I can get them home and eat the whole box. Any kind of similar ridiculous desire for a food (especially one with zero nutritional value) usually means I ate something I shouldn't have.

 

If I'm sitting at a table in the restaurant, hungry, and they put down a yummy smelling bread, and I feel like I want it, but decide to wait until my meal comes anyway, that is not a craving, that's just being hungry and wanting the food in front of me.

[AdventureMoms]

Looks like a lot of great ideas. I just wanted to add that NuNaturals Alcohol Free liquid Stevia has been a great alternative to sugar for me. I use it instead of sugar and I have had wonderful results. I like this particular brand because it doesn't have a bad aftertaste. I tried many of the stevias out there and this one was the best in my book.

 

Thanks for that. I've been using a different powdered stevia and the aftertaste is annoying. I'll try this one!

[StaceyinLA]

Lots more good ideas! Thanks! I'm trying to be strict and stay out of restaurants, but I'm just wondering about it in case I'm out and we have to eat out (we live too far from the bigger city to run home and grab something).

 

Also, any suggestions for good salad dressings that are low sugar, but still might do well on a spinach salad with some berries in it?

[Joanne]

What does this look like when eating out? Are you still extra diligent, or do you splurge? This is especially for those who don't eat grains or a lot of meat.

 

Give me a typical days' worth of meals at home, then maybe a couple of restaurant ideas (preferably ethnic). I don't want heavy dairy or creamy sauces, and not straight meat.

 

Anyone willing to share?

 

Btw, day 10 of no sugar and still hanging in there. I can see some of my bread cravings starting to lessen.

 

Due to my schedule, I eat away from home nearly every meal. Most of those, I plan from grocery store food/at home prep, but several meals a week are "out."

 

My rules regarding dietary lapses are:

 

1. Plan well. The less I plan for food, the more likely I am to go off.

2. Choose well. If I eat enough protein and fat, and veggies, I rarely want other foods.

3. Be selective on lapses, and "save" them for things I truly enjoy. I don't truly enjoy birthday cake, so I won't use my carbs on it. I truly enjoy Haagen Daaz chocolate peanut butter ice cream, so I would on that (though I haven't this time ;)).

4. Go off for a *meal*, not a day. Carb creep is serious for me, and has taken me off track for lengths of time.

 

 

Low carb has worked well for me in the past, and this time. I can't say how much I've lost (I don't have a scale) but I have lost, and I feel great.

[ocelotmom]

As for setting off cravings, how will I know this? Will I just WANT more of something?

 

And how do I determine if being without gluten has helped me? Do I reintroduce it to see if I experience a negative?

 

For me, cravings are basically wanting to keep eating something. I can't eat just one (wheat-based) cookie and be satisfied with it. If there isn't a highly limited supply, I need to not eat it or I'm going to eat a ton.

 

I have used wheat (prior to dropping it entirely) as an appetite stimulator when I had bad morning sickness and needed to eat, and a bit of investigating has shown that this is a documented effect.

 

(Sugar is similar, but I have an easier time saving non-grain-based treats for later.)

 

Some people have distinct, undeniable reactions to eating gluten - GI distress, severe joint pain, rashes, and that sort of thing.

 

My effects are more subtle and delayed or long-term. I get minor joint pain - enough to notice, but not enough to need pain medication or seek treatment. But the fact that it exists and seems tied to food sensitivity, as well as a family history of arthritis, makes me suspect it's a progressive problem that is likely to get worse. My mood has improved, though I can't say for sure if that is gluten or something else. That's one reason I'm pretty strict about a broad range of things - I can't say exactly which is the problem, there's no easy way to test long term effects of individual foods, and it doesn't harm me to just avoid them.

 

With dairy (wheat may contribute, too), if I eat it in any significant amount I'm much more prone to colds. If I'm not eating it, a "cold" is feeling a little unwell for a few hours. But with increased mucus production, the cold takes hold more and I spend days to weeks with mucus-related symptoms (coughing, nose blowing, that sort of thing).

 

One or the other seems to be related to acne, as well.

 

Wheat, legumes (including soy and peanuts, and peanut butter is a hard one for me!), and probably dairy cause gas and bloating for me. This is one of those things that was so normal to me when not eating them that it wouldn't have seemed a reason to give them up. I wouldn't have said I had a problem with bloating at all.... but when I avoid them, my belly is flatter after 3 kids than it was when I was an in shape teenager, and I don't have gas at all. It kind of changes your perspective on "worth it" and "normal" :)

 

So anyways... if you aren't one of the ones "lucky" enough to have an obvious reaction, you basically have to pay close attention to what's going on in your body. Reintroducing the food briefly may help clarify what the reactions are, but you also have to keep in mind more subtle, long-term effects that may not be obvious from a single exposure.

 

Lots more good ideas! Thanks! I'm trying to be strict and stay out of restaurants, but I'm just wondering about it in case I'm out and we have to eat out (we live too far from the bigger city to run home and grab something).

I think one thing that might help is mentally separating "eating out due to necessity" from "eating out as a special occasion".

 

If you're eating out as an everyday meal replacement, stick as close to the diet as you can, because this is something that apparently happens regularly, so you're more likely to see cumulative effects and undermine your dietary efforts.

 

If it's a special occasion, including something you normally avoid is more ok. That's the time when I'd go for the tortillas.

 

This has the side benefit of making a trip to a restaurant still be something special when you do it as a special occasion, even if you eat out regularly :)

 

Also, If the main problem is that going home is not an option, can you go to a grocery store instead of a restaurant?

[StaceyinLA]

I never really thought of just stopping in a grocery store! I have been more conscientious. I have packs of Justin's nut butters in my van (the plain ones) and I'll grab an apple or a ziplock bag of celery sticks. I could easily tote around crackers, but obviously can't eat those right now, though I may add in some rice crackers once my 30 days is up, just for a snack item. I try to keep a lime Perrier around because the carbonation will make me feel full, and it has no sugar or calories. If I leave late morning, I'll just make a smoothie to go with some flax in it and it'll keep me full for a while.

 

I see myself making conscious changes, and it makes me happy. I feel like I'm adjusting and I think it's because I'm feeling good and know this is a what I NEED to do, instead of falling back on cokes and a filet of fish if I get in a bind.

 

I can already see a difference with the cravings - a big one. Early last week I was DYING for a foldover sandwich with maple almond butter, like I could not get my mind off of it. That is gone. I honestly never would've believed this if I hadn't done it. Carbs have been my life for so long. I LIVED for good bread!

Edited April 13, 2012 by StaceyinLA

[Amy Jo]

To replace noodles, try grating some zucchini, then saute/stir fry (I don't know the correct term - DH cooks them in a skillet with butter or oil) the strands. I like it better than noodles. You can also use spaghetti squash. Oh, and check out Linda's low-carb website - lots of creative recipes.

 

I've been putting lemon juice on my salad, especially when we have chicken salad. And I love taco salad (skip the chips). I have chickens, so we are eating a lot of eggs. Usually breakfast is eggs of some kind with fruit for the kids (it's too sweet for me), sometimes a quiche. Lunch is the hardest, I tend to have leftovers. Dinner is usually meat and vegetables - DH is a great cook, so I'm lucky. Snack hits are string cheese, carrots (for kids), yogurt, fruit, etc.

 

We tend to hit the Hu-Hot for going out to eat (Mongolian grill: your choice of meat + noodles + vegis + flavoring and they grill it). So I just skip the noodles.

[justamouse]

I *love* spaghetti squash. If you're going to stick to no wheat, try that?

[AdventureMoms]

Another vote for spaghetti squash. I love it too! Totally replaces spaghetti for me.

[StaceyinLA]

I have not liked it with sauce because I can't ever get the squash to have a taste.