Low carb ideas and hacks

[Markola]

I've been updating my diet to make it more cardio-friendly, and in the process of looking for pasta alternatives I found a very interesting low-carb, low-calorie noodle/rice substitute called Shirataki. It comes in a variety of types of noodles, and even rice, and is packaged in water and found in the refrigerated section of the market.



I have enjoyed the Tofu Shirataki noodles which taste somewhere between pasta and rice noodles, cook in 1-2 minutes, and hold up surprisingly well in stir fry. Here's an article about the benefits.

Thanks for this, Starsky. I took your advice and got some. Your review is right on the money. We chose this variety pack to get started and are impressed with the flavor and texture.

 

[Chuckanut]

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

I do that also. Sometimes I slice in a bit of cucumber or tomato also. I find avocados filling, something I can't say for many fruits or veggies.

 

[ElizabethT]

Have sweet potatoes,, particularly white sweet potatoes, in place of regular potatoes been discussed? (I confess I did not read through all 11 pages).

What I like best about sweet potatoes is that nothing further ever needs to be added to them due to their innate moistness, which retains through boiling, steaming, or baking. I enjoy them plain, with just a generous sprinkling of fresh ground pepper and cumin. Plus they are tagged as a super food due to their vitamin A content. And they do not appear to spike my blood sugar. Unlike a laden 'regular' potato, which needs to be doused in butter, catchup, sour cream, etc., to be palatable due to inherent dryness, the dousing of which ignites my carb-loving, 'keep eating' gene ( ), a plain old sweet potato is very quickly filling and satisfying.

 

[mpeirce]

Sweet potatoes are delicious, but they are by no means a low carb food.

Sweet potatoes and potatoes are pretty much made out of starch.
They have about the same amount of carbohydrates in them: 20 g for a medium sized potato.

 

[eytonxav]

Sweet potatoes are delicious, but they are by no means a low carb food.

Sweet potatoes and potatoes are pretty much made out of starch.
They have about the same amount of carbohydrates in them: 20 g for a medium sized potato.

I believe they are lower carb and calorie wise vs a russet potato of a similar size, and the carb is also slower digesting, but yes, not what I would consider low carb.

 

[braumeister]

I believe they are lower carb and calorie wise vs a russet potato of a similar size...

Baked potato has 21.1 grams of carb per 100 gram serving.
The equivalent serving of sweet potato has 20.8 grams.
So a little over 1% fewer carbs. Hardly significant.

 

[audreyh1]

The key with root vegetables is portion size. You can easily stay at a lower carb range if you eat modest portions of a sweet potato and don’t try to recreate the giant baked potato experience.

 

[eytonxav]

Baked potato has 21.1 grams of carb per 100 gram serving.
The equivalent serving of sweet potato has 20.8 grams.
So a little over 1% fewer carbs. Hardly significant.

I thought there was more of a difference, but perhaps when fiber is considered the net carbs would be more significant.

 

[braumeister]

I thought there was more of a difference, but perhaps when fiber is considered the net carbs would be more significant.

Slightly, but not enough to matter.
For those same serving sizes, the potato has 2.2 grams of fiber, the sweet potato has 3.2 grams.

 

[Winemaker]

But perhaps the better outcome of a baked vs. sweet potato is the toppings. Although I like my sweet potato with butter, and maybe in a Thanksgiving Casserole, regular potatoes with butter, olive oil, sour cream, chives, bacon, cheddar cheese are the potential hazards.

 

[audreyh1]

We used to do sweet potatoes sliced and roasted with garlic, copious olive oil, rosemary and salt. Delicious!

 

[JoeWras]

If you need some carbs, you can't lose with sweet potatoes. Just don't put all the sweet junk on them. Not needed, especially if you are eating low carb. They'll taste like candy, even plain. Keep your portion small. Share a potato with your dinner partner.

You get a lot of nutrients and fiber along with them. You need your nutrients.

I direct grill them on the top shelf with no preparation. An hour in a closed top grill on medium is perfect. Very easy to prepare.

I'm sounding like I work for the agriculture department of my state. We are the largest sweet potato producer of all the states.

 

[pacergal]

Roasted sweet potatoes and beets are one of my favorite!
a little olive oil, kosher salt, pepper is all thats needed, roast until tender and slightly carmelized--Yum.

 

[slaternuthink]

Has the resistant starch meme been debunked?
The concept that the cooked starch in potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.. changes to "resistant" starch as it cools, magically becoming a low glycemic food.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Baked potato has 21.1 grams of carb per 100 gram serving.

The equivalent serving of sweet potato has 20.8 grams.

So a little over 1% fewer carbs. Hardly significant.

100 gm is roughly 3.3 oz. That’s a small potato.

 

[braumeister]

I was just comparing the two -- you have to use the same amount when you do that. Could have been any quantity; the proportion is the same. My point was just that there is very little difference between a potato and a sweet potato in terms of carbs (or net carbs).

 

[audreyh1]

Has the resistant starch meme been debunked?
The concept that the cooked starch in potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.. changes to "resistant" starch as it cools, magically becoming a low glycemic food.

I believe so yes. Significantly changing the food that is.

All someone has to do is wear a GCM (continuous glucose monitor).

 

[Chuckanut]

I believe so yes. Significantly changing the food that is.

All someone has to do is wear a GCM (continuous glucose monitor).

Is there some study that debunks resistant starch. I haven't seen it, though I admit I have not been looking for it either. I never used resistant starch to justify eating anything. If I wanted the occasional white potato, I just ate it.

 

[eytonxav]

Has anyone tried this Huel powder to make a shake? The nutrients look good with relatively low carbs and high protein, plus vitamins/minerals:https://huel.com/products/huel-black-edition

 

[mpeirce]

Has anyone tried this Huel powder to make a shake? The nutrients look good with relatively low carbs and high protein, plus vitamins/minerals:https://huel.com/products/huel-black-edition

Each serving of “black edition” has 25g of net carbs. Maybe it does have 50% fewer carbs than regular, but by no means is this a low carb product.


If people are going for "lower carb” eating for some reason, that’s fine. But if your goal is low carb to lose or maintain weight or just for generally healthy eating, don’t try to shoe horn higher carb foods into what you eat. Embrace the huge variety of low carb foods out there.

 

[Golden Mean]

Has anyone tried this Huel powder to make a shake? The nutrients look good with relatively low carbs and high protein, plus vitamins/minerals:https://huel.com/products/huel-black-edition

I used to use it, but ended up swapping it out for high quality animal protein. As mentioned in an above post, it's not really low carb. I was using 45g in a shake to make it fit my macros.The omega 3s are going to be very low absorption and I think there can also be issues with anti-nutrients and heavy metals and arsenic in these processed plant based proteins.

 

[eytonxav]

Each serving of “black edition” has 25g of net carbs. Maybe it does have 50% fewer carbs than regular, but by no means is this a low carb product.


If people are going for "lower carb” eating for some reason, that’s fine. But if your goal is low carb to lose or maintain weight or just for generally healthy eating, don’t try to shoe horn higher carb foods into what you eat. Embrace the huge variety of low carb foods out there.

Oh gosh, I did not look at the nutritional button which showed 25g. The opening page said 17g net carbs
50% less carbs than Huel Powder.

Seems to be misleading advertising. For that reason alone I will stay away from this product.

 

[JoeWras]

So with Covid lockdowns and other stuff, I lost my way for a while and gained about 15 lbs, at peak. Just getting sane again (cut the complete crap) allowed me to drop 7. But now it is time to get a bit more serious, so I'm back to watching the carbs pretty closely and making great progress.

The last two nights I had carb dreams! This is nuts. One night I dreamed about eating 2 large Bojangles biscuits (600 cal, 30g fat, 80g carbs). The other night I dreamed about eating a big old stack of pancakes with syrup. Funny thing is, I've had neither food in a year.

I can't remember having such specific food dreams before. It's weird.

My favorite low carb hack is making a kefir-chocolate-peanut butter smoothie. I find kefir helps me in general for digestion and the biome. But it isn't always the best taste. So, using some SFH chocolate powder (4g carb) along with natural-need-to-stir peanut butter and kefir, I get a satisfying lunch under 20 carbs. The ultimate number depends on how much kefir I add.

BTW, I see there is discussion about powders. I can't handle the taste of the plant based versions I've tried. I stick with the SFH whey. Works for me. SFH uses a stevia extract for the sweetener, which I'm fine with. I know there are groups out there who excoriate whey. I take it easy on the stuff. I don't have it every day, and don't double it up.

 

[Time2]

The last two nights I had carb dreams! This is nuts. One night I dreamed about eating 2 large Bojangles biscuits (600 cal, 30g fat, 80g carbs). The other night I dreamed about eating a big old stack of pancakes with syrup. Funny thing is, I've had neither food in a year.

I can't remember having such specific food dreams before. It's weird.

I've been on carnivore for a little over 9 weeks, at the 6 week mark I had a dream I was eating custard filled chocolate eclair. It was a relief when I woke up and found I didn't! I'm down 25lbs (31lbs since May), I don't need to lose anymore.

BMI, to be in range of Normal weight = 18.5–24.9, I'm 22.4. Maybe I'll go a little more and see if that last little pouch goes away.
Go you Chicken Fat go away-- Memories from grade school and gym teacher Rita Ramensi.

 

[JoeWras]

I've been on carnivore for a little over 9 weeks, at the 6 week mark I had a dream I was eating custard filled chocolate eclair. It was a relief when I woke up and found I didn't!

Now that it is in my head, I'm looking forward to my eclair dream tonight.