Food inspiration, or what's for supper?
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Low carb pasta that TASTES and FEELS the **SAME** does not exist. Not that I've ever found it.
What exists is SUBSTITUTES that either can be appreciated FOR WHAT THEY ARE. Or tolerated because some other aspect of the meal is of greater interest to you.
NOT LOW CARB. But low calorie and appreciated for what it is on it's own, would be, FOR ME, things such as the spiralized beetroot pasta. OR the zucchini pasta you mentioned you're turning down. butternut spirals and frenched green beans introduced to me by Laurie I've actually thoroughly enjoyed for what they are.
Nice, filling, sauce delivery vehicles that also hit my veggie goodness quota, and that I can appreciate as tasty and low cal and will let me enjoy the rest of the experience.
I believe that the konjac noodles in terms of NET carbs will be incredibly low. they will not taste the same as pasta. But they are taste "neutral" and provide an "interesting" mouth feel especially if you tilt the food towards asian. The commercial ones are a bit too expensive for regular use though I suspect that if you started from the root flour it would be a zero cost item. Again though... it is a "filler" item. Not a taste item.
Basically pasta is one of the things that a low carber has to be willing to compromise on. Or else low carb will end up not working long term. This would be the chopping block decision for me: instead of a single meal a different food item might have to be made for the individual participants--Alexandra style.
What **I** would do if I were sitting there with you planning this dinner, is that I wouldn't do pasta. I would use cauliflower rice (or mixed veggie diced rice which is more colorful) and relatively taste neutral and just as good or better a delivery vehicle for sauce as the pasta.
You can bake the "rice" just like you can pasta. You can have the same sauces on your "rice". Sure, you're not using your spoon and fork and twirling... but you're getting sauce on delivery mechanism
And I don't think that you're going to get much better substitution on low carb diets.
And I would DEFINITELY investigate the dual option hinted at by Connie. I almost always, when making things for dad, end up putting at the very least 2/3 of the real rice in with 1/3 of the veggies for him and the reverse ratio for myself. Or I go 100% veggies for me. Or add some pasta to his beets.
When he whines as to why I am cooking different things instead of the same.... I admit, I have ONLY SOMETIMES answered diplomatically!
For keto and hubby, don't forget that he still needs a deficit to lose; BUT, he does have a higher caloric baseline than you do.3 -
I agree with separate modifications when cooking for two - or more. For example today we had fish tacos. I made a vinaigrette Cole slaw. Hubby added mayo to his. We both had the Xtreme brand low carb tortillas (50cals). I had plain cooked shrimp in mine. Hubby had breaded fish filets. Added some salsa verde. Takes a little planning but we were both happy.
However I do recall the challenge of making meals for mom when she was living with us. All that made her happy were over boiled heavy German meals. Hubby didn’t like heavy German dinners. So often I was preparing three separate meals several times a day. Like PAV, many times I was less than diplomatic!
I still marvel at Alexandra’s ability to craft separate meals for four people without throwing plates at them.3 -
lauriekallis wrote: »@bmeadows380 - I think this could serve you well? I'm aiming for grain free more than low carb - so I'm not sure how good the carb numbers look for you. But I have really enjoyed this spaghetti. Lots of protein too! It has a nice feeling of chew like al dente pasta - with a flavourful sauce I thought it was quite fine.
https://livivafoods.com/products/organic-soybean-spaghetti
I appreciate the suggestion, but my husband is trying to avoid soy because of the estrogen that soy has in it. There's a lot of debate on whether it actually raises a man's levels or not, but he's already been diagnosed and put on medication for high levels as it is, so he doesn't want to take chances.
But I am happy to report the pastabilities pasta was a success! Surprisingly very filling, too. So now lets hope that our local store keeps selling it! lol4 -
And we do use cauliflower rice, but it definitely is NOT anywhere close the same, nor does or work the same. It's fine in most cases, but sometimes there just is no substitute for the real deal.
Hubby definitely has a much higher baseline than I do - over 1,000 calories more.
Another thing we recently discovered was buttercup squashes. these are green and squat, like a squeezed pumpkin, but they have the consistency of a sweet potato and taste very similar. They are way lower carbs and calories than sweet potatoes though: 100g of sweet potato is 86 calories, 20 carbs and 3g fiber; 100g of buttercup squash is 34 calories, 8.5 carbs and 1.5g fiber.
https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/buttercup-squash.html
And yeah! I have 3 of them currently growing in my little greenhouse, and plan to re-plant 3 more seeds to see if I can get 6 of these suckers growing and producing this summer. They are winter squashes they they will keep for several months in storage, and I can can them if necessary later in the winter.5 -
Good work on finding substitutes B 👍. I’ll definitely look for the buttercup squash in the stores.
Gardening is pretty much out for us here. Too hot, dry and bad rocky soil. I tried amending soil and raised beds when we first moved to Texas. But between the pests and intense heat it became a chore rather than pleasurable. Not to mention having to water at least twice a day.
Ultimately what grew probably cost way more and tasted worse than quality store bought. If I dared leave town for a few days ever shriveled and promptly died.2 -
Now B-this is awesome stuff.
Buttercup squash sounds like something that I would light up with! I will look for it too but I think the only place I would find it is when travelling in the Okanagan when you go through some of the places that have hundreds of varieties of squash that were locally grown! See the growing bit that you do should be downright wonderful in terms of having supplies to plan your menus. Maybe even too wonderful for me... but I can only marvel from afar!
Is hubby trying to eat actual keto, lower carb, or avoid triggering carbs? If keto is it making a difference to him in terms of satiety vs lower carb?
Avoiding triggering carbs was definitely in the cards for myself early on till I got to a point of trusting myself to be able to maintain a deficit in their presence and that did take quite a long while. I would say that it was a good couple of years before I regularly started eating things such as noodles again
Ultimately in my, ongoing, great exploration of what good stuff can I fit in my budget, I definitely gave a lot of power to logging and "swaps" and preferences that evolved over time.
Yoolie: I am going to assume that you somehow ended up in Texas because of hubby being stationed there at some point of time or because of work. But it doesn't SOUND as if you ever took it in as your most favourite place to live! Did you guys decide to stay there because at the time you had grown tired of moving from place to place? I know that multiple moves, even in the same town, early on made me very reluctant to move unless forced to!2 -
There we’re several reason for staying in Texas. It was hubby’s last assignment before retirement from military after 24 years. But military retirement at 44 years of age won’t pay the bills so he began a second career. Also son was in second year of high school and we didn’t want disrupt him again. And we were caring for and supporting my mom. Then hubby settled into a second career, I went to graduate school and got a good job, son’s college expenses, mom aging, made some good friends.... the mere thought of packing it all up and starting over!
After a while it became home. But there’s a lot I miss about being closer to family back east, temperate climate, still feel transplanted after 30 years.4 -
goods and bads, right! and without rhymes with OVID, you can even travel!
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Lunch was cleanup of the yellow wax and long green beans in tomato that I made DAYS ago -- FREE FOOD! I had ALREADY logged the whole recipe, so FREE, right?!?!!?!?!?!?!
-- and a 300g pouch (299, but I'll be generous and log 300g instead 
) of Dal Makrani advertised at 260 Cal by my friends at MTR. And a 30g (before toasting) piece of toast from the dog's stash of (fiber added) "wonder bread"
Hmm.... did I keep them separate or did I allow them to touch? I wonder Connie... I wonder!
PS: surprisingly... whatever it was that I did... I would do it again. It actually didn't turn out bad at all!
PS#2: Liars, liars, pants on fire. So these goobers have written on their pack 130 Cal per 150g, so that's 260 per pouch. But, I've found older stuff of theirs that puts the 300g pouch to 408Cal which is essentially the same as the NCCDB database value for Dal Makhrani generically. And of course (on cronometer it is obvious when the value comes from USDA or NCCDB), I prefer to use NCCDB/USDA values since they have all the micros and are not making extra money by shading the truth. So I suspect they INTENDED to change their box to say 130Cal per 100g (so 390--within a 5% of the 408 so "allowed lie")... but flubbed the 150-->100 change.
Anyway. Logged as 407. Liars.3 -
I could eat the beans in a separate dish from the sauce, right?2
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That all sounds pretty good, PAV. I really like the look of those veggies in sauce...they have almost inspired me to do something similar....just haven't made it there yet. This week. But I'll keep my beans far far away from the sauce. Maybe even in a different room.
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We had leftover dough from yesterday's homemade pizza, so we made dessert tonight with it - rhubarb calzone! First time we've tried a sweet pizza and it was a winner.2
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I read today that Quest protein bars can be bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes an they will puff up and brown making it taste more like a cookie….the same for One bars and Cliff bars….of course I read this while eating a Quest bar so now I can’t try this until tomorrow!
We had Taco salads for dinner minus the chips….really good!2 -
I can see that! Clif especially would be like an oatmeal cookie... but it would probably be better bang for buck to make oatmeal cookies instead!
Yesterday and today are a bit of a write off as very little sleep and no movement at all yesterday while trying to deal with an issue are probably ending with me about 1000Cal above maintenance over the two days.
Slept closer to 3.5 than 4 hours. Heart rate variability tanked from a close to absolute high value to a close to minimum value. 3h and 32min, Heart rate variability tanked from near max to near min for my baseline value. And resting rate is up a couple of bmp.
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Get some sleep PAV 😴
Today is unplanned. Maybe some of those canned dolmas from the import store. A salad?
Too hot to cook today. Actually it’s the humidity that makes it miserable so air conditioning is cranking up.
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Hope you are sleeping, PAV....and have a day to recuperate.
Yooly - can't imagine hitting heat so quickly i the "spring" - we still in the spring/winter battle here. One day beautiful and sunny - light jacket weather. Next day flurries and rain and temperature bouncing around freezing but so damp it gets right inside of you.
Supper today? lol. Have I mentioned I love this thread because it makes me plan?
Might try making some of PAV's veggies in tomatoes sauce. On soy spaghetti (if I have the calories available) or on frenched green beans if not.3 -
Well, the intense heat this early is a bit unusual but not unheard of. Tomorrow and rest of the week is milder - only 80s. 🌞. Still some reprieve until every day is 100!
I’m planning on moving things out of the freezer this week. Meatloaf, cooked chicken, frozen casserole bits. I’ll have to alternate some days with lighter fare. Soon we’ll be having more cold salads and sandwiches.3 -
Yooly, as a person who's lived in both a temperate and a hot climate, would you say its easier to manage your weight in the hotter climate? I would imagine one would be drawn more to salads and light dishes, rather than the stodge that characterises cold Northern hemisphere winter fare. I always lose my appetite when it's really hot, and when I was obese I found summer heat (especially Italian summer heat) pretty challenging - the sweat rashes, general discomfort, and exposure of more flabby flesh than usual made me conscious of my weight, and determined to tackle it...whereas in the winter when I'm swaddled in layers of clothes, I was always less aware of my excess fat. It's a fond (though probably erroneous) belief of mine that if I lived in a hot climate year round I'd definitely manage my weight better....would you say I'm fooling myself?2
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Dinner was paneer curry and basmati rice. Exactly 500 calories for the whole meal. Yummy!
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That looks delicious, Bella!2
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I have lived in the hot humid muggy south for almost 50 years….hasn’t helped me lose weight….this year so far we have had the air off three or four days…it is almost always warm or hot….the last 12 months I have worn a jacket outside twice….I jus cook and bake all year round!….1
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Bella_Figura wrote: »Yooly, as a person who's lived in both a temperate and a hot climate, would you say its easier to manage your weight in the hotter climate?
It's a fond (though probably erroneous) belief of mine that if I lived in a hot climate year round I'd definitely manage my weight better....would you say I'm fooling myself?
Ah if only this was true! Heavier winter meals tend to be more filling and last longer for me. Those “light” salads and meals often leave me looking for something more satiating. Not much appetite but plenty of time for mindless grazing. And those light meals aren’t always light on calories. Then there’s ice cream and gelato🍦🍧 and fruits🍒🍌🍓🍇.
I was miserable in the heat but luckily no rashes or major problems other than exhaustion. I’ve learned to dress for the heat, avoid afternoon sun, and stay in the air conditioning. I behave in hot summers much like northerners behave in bitter cold. Protect myself and avoid exposure.
Surprisingly after losing most of my excess weight I’m much more comfortable and actually cold in the summer air conditioning.3 -
Middle of the road is best. Not being able to go for a walk or a bike ride. No thank you 🙀🙀🙀🤷🏻♂️2
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Middle of the road is best. Not being able to go for a walk or a bike ride. No thank you 🙀🙀🙀🤷🏻♂️
Therefore - the gym. Air conditioning💨, bath rooms🧻, water fountain🚰, showers🚿. My retirement benefit pays the fees. So it’s free. 👍 The only hassle is driving there but errands 🛒 can be done along the way home. Sometimes you just have to work around the obstacles to get things done. 🏆
Besides November through April are mostly fair weather that’s good for outdoor activity. Don’t have to shovel the sunshine 🌞!
Did I mention it was 96 today? Broke a record for the day.3 -
Didn't get around to making veggies in tomato sauce a la PAV...so supper tonight was those veggie mediterranean sausages (that I'm doing such a bad job of avoiding) with saurkraut, little gem potatoes amd cauliflower. Superquick, delicious and filling. It has been a good day - and I"m going to bed now before I blow it.... 3
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I clarify: as we all know my bike qualifies as a coat hanger. So bike ride was mentioned solely on the behalf of Italian leaning British parachuting felines! 😹😂👍2
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Laurie you're inspiring! Now for me not to blow the nice (partially) balancing deficit I've managed to run today! 🤔🤯🤔🤞🤞🤞2
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Btw, your snausage with salted cabbage, gems, and cauli sounds real good Laurie!!!
Yoolie, of course we all do our best and I'm sure you guys have malls which is what us Canadians are reduced to when we don't like shovelling 😇 (🤫 don't tell us i said so! 🤫)
Well, at least some Canadians (like 90%) we go to the mall!!
The vast majority (like just under 10% of the population 😉) and national aspiration, of course, is for all of us to parallel our Airforce .. the Canadian Goose (egg is optional🤣)
Come September, well, that's a bit early and we have to have our 6 months and a day in country for medical and tax residence, so maybe October? Tada: It is time to migrate south.... maybe to Yoolie?????
The guys seated behind me were on their way back home from Arizona now that the local golf course is less than a week from reopening❣️
Quebec goes to Florida... they heard that the states are bilingual (but forgot to ask in which languages! But at least no masks, right Maxime Bernier???🤣😹🙀) Je fais une blague mes amis ne vous inquiètes pas j'aime ❤️ bien le Québec! 😉
And then, the plan, is to migrate back when the heat rises too much in the southern kitchens--so time to get out!!!!😉
Purrrrfect❣️
(That "Jim" stuff raises specters of coat hanger dangers and fears of memberships that keep on taking🙀)
Mfp is telling me it's time to go to bed now 😹🤣 ni-night. I'll tell the bed bugs not to bite 😘😎
Wish I had a drink.... but it's just caffeine and clean living 3 -
Gym is free for me, much closer than the mall and open 24/7. Cannot imagine setting up two households just to avoid weather. Spending those $$$$ on travel is more fun.
Today we’re having Mexican lasagna. Basically like regular lasagna but defatted and made with 🌶🌶 tomatillo salsa. 🥗 too.3 -
