Low carb ideas and hacks

[Chuckanut]

I see. You might reevaluate that. Everything I've read says that E. does not have that effect.

This article says that 90% of the E. is excreted unchanged. Ten percent makes it to the colon:

Thanks for the link to the article.

Just curious. Where do you get your erythritol? In what form? Have you found a place that sells is for less than the local supermarket?

 

[TromboneAl]

Thanks for the link to the article.

Just curious. Where do you get your erythritol? In what form? Have you found a place that sells is for less than the local supermarket?

We get it from Netrition.com. We get both granulated and powdered.

We order a lot of low carb products from them: Pita bread, Mama Lupe's tortilla, Lavash bread, Nature's Hollow jams, Carbquick.

Another good site is: LoCarbU.com.

 

[EastWest Gal]

There are olive oil mayonnaises on the market now with zero carbs. I use them to mix with salmon instead of tuna. I am trying to limit tuna intake with the mercury.

All mayonnaise essentially has no carbs unless they add sugar. The main oil used in commercial mayonnaise is soybean oil. Even though they say "olive oil" mayonnaise, the main oil used is cheap soybean oil.

Since my main reason for low carb is reducing cardiovascular risks, it's important to me to reduce seed oils such soybean and corn oil which are high in omega-6, which are thought to be pro-inflammatory. I'm trying to increase my omega-3/omega-6 ratio, so avoiding industrial seed oils is important to me. I found a "keto" mayonnaise in a health food store $10 for a tiny jar.

Unecessarily expensive, since I can pasteurize a couple of eggs, choose my oil mixture (avocado, olive, and I've started using some MCT oil), and make 1-1/4 cup of mayo in about 2 minutes.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Thank you for the recipe, Audrey. I made your may today. It tastes really great, but mine came out more runny, like a creamy salad dressing and the avocado oil separated a bit. I'm sure I'll get better at making it next time (I used a bowl but I should probably use a cylinder), and I will not discard the raw egg white (I only used the yolk... Not a fan of raw egg white, but maybe that makes it more like mayo?)

I use a quart mason jar. Easy storage. I once tried it in a pint sized jar-it was a little overfilled and messy.

Mayonnaise just won't come together if there is a thunderstorm in the area.

 

[TromboneAl]

I make "breadless sandwiches" for lunch sometimes. I use two slices of cheese as my "bread" and fill it with various lunch meats like ham or turkey.

The Great Low Carb Bread Company has bread with only 1 gram of net carbs per two (thin) slices. They also have bagels.

It's good.

Toasted, it gets a bit hard, but put butter or olive oil on it and toast it on a tray in a toaster oven, and it's great. Talking about it made me want some, so here it is (I browned it a little too much):

Another thing you can do: Put olive oil on a small plate, then soak it up with a Low Carb bagel. Push the cut side down as if trying to sponge it up.

Then, add some garlic powder to the top and toast it until golden brown.

Add plenty of butter on the top. It's very close to garlic bread made with crusty French bread.

 

[yakers]

Another great source for low(er) carb granola is the Julian Baking Company, https://julianbakery.com

I order the stuff by the box.

 

[braumeister]

For those who enjoy craft beer, I recently discovered a low carb beer that is actually good. From the great Lagunitas brewery in California, it's called Daytime. Open the can and you get a huge blast of hop aroma because it's actually dry-hopped.

4% ABV, 98 calories, 3 carbs. First low carb beer I can actually recommend.

 

[ncbill]

Ummm...has anyone independent tested those "low-carb" breads to make sure they are really low-carb?

 

[Chuckanut]

FWIW, here's a recipe for NoGrain-ola.

Just make sure you add the dried fruit AFTER baking the other ingredients.

No Grain – Ola ​

3 cups coconut flakes (unsweetened)

2 cups nuts and seeds, roughly chopped *

2 Tb chia seeds

1/3 cup flax meal

1/2 cup almond flour

----------------------------------- 1st Five Ingredients ---------------------------------------------
1/2 cup coconut oil

10 drops stevia **

1/2 cup dried fruit, roughly chopped, no sugar added ***

We always do the recipe as printed the first time, then play around. We make the following substitutions now:
* 1 cup cashews, 1/2 cup walnuts, and 1/2 cup pecans for variety (plus, it’s cheaper!)
** Splenda — for a double recipe we use 3 packets (about 1 tsp)
*** We use a mango/blueberry/cherry mix from Trader Joe’s

Assemble your ingredients, set the oven at 300(F), and then do a little chopping (just the nuts now).
Once that’s done, mix the first 5 dry ingredients around in a big bowl:
Melt the coconut oil if it’s not already liquid, stir the sweetener in well, then add it to the dry stuff and mix it well (I didn’t forget the mangoes — they come in later).
Dump the bowl onto a parchment covered cookie sheet, and spread evenly (this, per normal at our house, is a double batch):
Put the cookie sheet in the oven for 20 minutes, then pull it out and use a spatula to turn the mix over to keep it browning evenly.
While the granola is doing this first 20 minutes in the oven, we chop the fruit mix:
Check and turn the granola again every 10 or 15 minutes until it reaches your favorite shade of golden brown (probably 2 or 3 more turns, maybe an hour or so total in the oven — remember, it’s finger painting, not rocket science).
Now you take it out of the oven, mix in the fruit, and let it cool.
At that point it’s all over except for the storing. Or eating.

 

[Chuckanut]

Ummm...has anyone independent tested those "low-carb" breads to make sure they are really low-carb?

Good question.

 

[kgtest]

In the low carb thread, someone mentioned that we should start a recipe thread.

This is not a recipe thread. There are so many recipes available on the internet, there is no need for one here.

What I'm hoping for is to create a thread of ideas that work for low carb health that we can share. I'm posting two posts here-one on "healthy mayonnaise" yes-a recipe, and one on tooth health.

I always thought an ER.ORG Cookbook would be cool! From App, to Dessert. Maybe include the fan favorite spirts.

 

[omni550]

I always thought an ER.ORG Cookbook would be cool! From App, to Dessert. Maybe include the fan favorite spirts.

Started in 2007, there was/is an ER.org cookbook....http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/er-forum-cookbook-preview-25380.html

omni

 

[TromboneAl]

Ummm...has anyone independent tested those "low-carb" breads to make sure they are really low-carb?

The best test is on your own blood sugar. For a while, I would test things by checking my blood sugar. I just got tired of poking holes in my fingers. Plus, variability made things hard to interpret.

I did one test with normal tortillas and Low carb tortillas. I ate nothing for a while, then three normal tortillas. Same thing next day with Mama Lupes tortillas. The low-carb tortillas were much better ... I'm looking for my results, but that was a few computers ago. I posted them to a forum, but that forum is now gone.

 

[TromboneAl]

Ummm...has anyone independent tested those "low-carb" breads to make sure they are really low-carb?

Related to that:

https://www.dietdoctor.com/the-dreamfields-pasta-fraud

 

[TromboneAl]

The best test is on your own blood sugar. For a while, I would test things by checking my blood sugar. I just got tired of poking holes in my fingers. Plus, variability made things hard to interpret.

... I'm looking for my results.

Okay, I found some results, and these show the difficulties of testing.

This shows a comparison of a zero carb breakfast with that of a breakfast of low-carb waffles and low-carb syrup:

I'd have expected the zero-carb breakfasts to have almost no effect on blood sugar. Apparently, blood sugar rises in the morning related to hormones and stuff.

IOW, it's complicated. But I guess I can conclude that the waffles and syrup have little effect on blood sugar. I should have compared it with Eggos and real maple syrup, but I didn't want to.

 

[Chuckanut]

I should have compared it with Eggos and real maple syrup, but I didn't want to.

Please! Do not waste real maple syrup on Eggos.

 

[harley]

I'd have expected the zero-carb breakfasts to have almost no effect on blood sugar. Apparently, blood sugar rises in the morning related to hormones and stuff.

"Hormones and stuff". Classic! I've spent dozens of dollars on books that all essentially say the same thing. When I was diabetic I had high dawn phenomenon numbers, and it caused me immense heartache and anxiety. When I went LCHF/IF and lost a bunch of weight and became "not-diabetic" I still have high dawn phenomenon numbers, and it still pisses me off and makes me nervous. So when I can apply logic and say it's "hormones and stuff" it helps.

Al, if you can flesh that out to another 150K words, you'd probably have another book.

 

[4legsgood]

mmmmm mushrooms

I've recently started to eat low carb in an informal way, and due to this thread, with some good results. I tried Trader Joe's mushroom medley, and I'd say it is a very well done frozen food. Ingredients are mushrooms, olive oil, sunflower oil, parsley, salt, and garlic. I really like this particular mushroom mix which includes oyster mushrooms and boletus, and a nice texture is retained in spite of being frozen. Good in scrambled eggs, or I layer vegetables in a kind of casserole, with these mushrooms as a layer. I dot the top with pieces of cambozola, and which turns into a nice sauce when baked. Marinated artichokes are also a layer I add sometimes, and which contribute to a sauce as well.

 

[RAE]

"Hormones and stuff". Classic! I've spent dozens of dollars on books that all essentially say the same thing. When I was diabetic I had high dawn phenomenon numbers, and it caused me immense heartache and anxiety. When I went LCHF/IF and lost a bunch of weight and became "not-diabetic" I still have high dawn phenomenon numbers, and it still pisses me off and makes me nervous. So when I can apply logic and say it's "hormones and stuff" it helps. .

I experience the "dawn phenomenon" also, and I'm not diabetic. Just be sure to have your HbA1C and fasting insulin checked once in a while to make sure those are okay. If they are, I wouldn't worry about fasting glucose numbers in the morning.

 

[jollystomper]

I have also made the switch to erythritol. I find it sweet enough for me and I do not suffer any of the side effects people report. I use it in my tea, for home made Arnold Palmer drinks and for homemade cookies. It has helped me keep my sugar consumption below the 50 gram per day recommendation.

 

[misshathaway]

I've noticed that the various store brands of individual packet Stevia list erythritol as the first ingredient. Fine with me. It tastes better in hot coffee than Stevia straight.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

I tried Rebel ice cream for the first time last night. Tried both the chocolate and peanut butter fudge. I just couldn't handle the lingering aftertaste. That made me nauseous.

I've given up on ketchup, switching over to various mustards that aren't packed with sugar, or balsalmic vinegar, sometimes hummus.

I'm using butter in my coffee instead of syrup. I might use a mix of butter and coconut oil if I can ever remember to get more. I don't believe any of the hype of so-called bulletproof coffee, but I like the taste.

La Tortilla Factory low carb (but OMG high fiber) tortillas with avocado has replaced my base avocado toast.

Instead of 1/2 cup oatmeal I've been happier with the nutrition content and taste of 1/4 cup oats and 1/2 serving of peanut butter.

 

[eytonxav]

I tried Rebel ice cream for the first time last night. Tried both the chocolate and peanut butter fudge. I just couldn't handle the lingering aftertaste. That made me nauseous.

I've only tried the mint and coffee chip flavors and did not get any aftertaste from either one. Now I find myself looking forward to a small cup as an after dinner snack.

 

[TromboneAl]

I've noticed that the various store brands of individual packet Stevia list erythritol as the first ingredient. Fine with me. It tastes better in hot coffee than Stevia straight.

I think it's a scam. "Stevia" has good PR, while "erythritol" sounds like a [emoji83]chemical[emoji83].

 

[audreyh1]

I've noticed that the various store brands of individual packet Stevia list erythritol as the first ingredient. Fine with me. It tastes better in hot coffee than Stevia straight.

Agreed. Not crazy about the stevia taste, and better blended with erythritol. I need something to take the bitter edge off the strong coffee - very little, like 1/8 to 1/4 packet. If too much it ruins the flavor.

Only used for coffee or black tea. I don’t do any baking. I went gluten free years ago and simply don’t eat baked goods or sweetened desserts/snacks - exception chocolate. Fresh fruit is plenty sweet and I still eat that sparingly.

I never had much of a sweet tooth and most sweet things I found overpowering. I am however a serious chocoholic. Fortunately I easily converted to 85% to 88% chocolate and eat very small amounts. Main problem is that it goes so well with strong coffee I always want some when I drink coffee.