LC food in the Shops
 

Hey all,

Since they have a thread like this in the UK forum, I though we could have our own ;-)

I thought it would be useful for any new products that might appear on our supermarket shelves, any special offers for special LC foods, or just suggestions for "normal" food that are quite lc...


Tesco Stoneybatter (Dublin):

Carb Options BBQ Sauce, Ketchup and Mayonnaise

The BBQ Sauce is lovely, its made with sucralose and comes with around 8 carbs per 100 g. About 2.50 for 500 ml.

Lidl:
This is handy if you're travelling. If you go to the cheese section, they have little plastic containers with feta cheese and olives in oil, and feta cheese with chilli in oil. One of my collegues at work had it with him, and soo tasty, going to get me some of that tomorrow. I dont know the carb count, but if its just cheese, olives and oil, it shouldnt be too high.

Lidl:
Cevapcici - these are jugoslawian mince lamb sausages. The are in the frozen food section and come in 1 kg bags, about 1 g of carbs per 100 g and are also very very tasty. Just stick them in the frying pan or grill them - and then try not to eat the whole bag in one go ;-)

Aldi:
Porc sausage
This is a traditional german type of sausage, and it doesn' have to be cooked. You can cut it in cubes and use it in salad, cut it in slices and just have it as a snack, you can put it in soup or fry it. It has about 1g of carbs.

Lidl also has some lovely salamis, I can't each too much of them, and there is a good bit of salt in them, but the are lc and if you put them under the grill and dry them a bit, they are nice and crunchy.

that's it for now, so if you find any intersting foods, please post them so we can all enjoy them ;-)

Boots has started on their LC range. They have a few bars and shakes, and i couldnt resist and got hte chocolate shake for 1.25

Per carton it has 0.7 carbs of which only 0.4 are real carbs but the taste was horrible, it was just really really sickly sweet - but at least it didnt have the soya flavour of hte Atkins shakes ;-)

Slimfast also came out with their own LC range, which is apparently low carb and low cal, but at this stage of the day, I was getting a bit tired and just wanted to go home, so didn't spend too much time looking at them, but both, Boots and Slimfast are def. cheaper than the Atkins stuff.

ok, i just had a look at the boots website to see if could find more info on the whole range of lc products that they have, and this is what I found from the slimfast description:

Guidelines

To lose weight aim to eat around 1200-1400 calories per day
During the course of the day eat up to 4 products from the Slim.Fast Low Cal Low Carb diet range
Make them part of your day by eating them with for example 75g of lean chicken or fish or low carb fruits, salads and seeds for breakfast or lunch
For your main meal have, for example, 75-100g of lean chicken, fish or meat, 100g wholegrain bread or potatoes and plenty of leafy green or bright red vegetables, like salad, broccoli or red peppers
Drinks: Make sure you drink 1.5-2 litres of water or low calorie drink
(http://www.boots.com/shop/product_d...36&slmRefer=000)

100g of bread or potatoes???? They bring out an lc plan and they havent got a clue!!

I can't find too much info on the Boots range though...

In Supervalue

Avonmore peppercorn sauce in 250 ml Cartons in the meat section only 2.1 carbs per 100ml and tastes lovely with steak and very low in carbs.

Also Moy Park Chicken wings in BBQ sauce very tasty for a snack.

I found some shakes from Carb Options in Creamy Vanilla and Dark Chocolate. Both have about 3 net carbs

The dark chocolate drink is sickly sweet so is the creamy vanilla, but somehow actually like the creamy vanilla.

Also saw some LC croissants from Boots and chocolate covered peanuts, also from Boots, but quite high in polyols though.

Holland and Barrett close to the St.Stephen's Green also had some cake mixtures. You just have to add some water and one egg, stick it in the micro for a few minutes - and hey presto you have some cake. It looked quite tasty, but if you go with the 3 or 5 minute cake from the recipe section, you'll probably will get a healthier and tastier cake ;-)

Boots also has some bread mix and packets of soups (tomato and mushroom) which could be handy for work or if you are in the rush.

sorry, meant to say the shakes were from carb solutions and not from carb options.

Unsweetened Chocolate for Receipe?
 

Hi all,

I saw a receipe on Atkins site for Decadant Chocolate cake, it is made with unsweetened chocolate, i have never seen it in Ireland, can you help me out by telling me if and where i can get it? I think it is called unsweetened baking chocolate.

Many thanks,

Broná:)

Hi Brona,

I don't know about unsweetened baking chocolate, maybe the Cadbury's Cocoa Powder would be an alternative?

Fat 20.8g
Carbohydrate 10.5g
Protein 23.1g

You could then maybe add some more butter to it to make up for the fact that its powder and not a chocolate bar?

I've only ever seen sweetened chocolate with various degrees of cocoa powder up to 80% or the diabetic chocolate but they are full of polyols.

hope that helps,

Gagalina

Thank you
 

I've never heard of it either, i'll have a good look around, many thanks for your reply.

Broná:)

Hi Brona,

its just in the section where you find all the hot chocolate powders in a red/purple tin - I'm addicted to the stuff ;-)


Let us know how you got on because that cake sounds very yummy!!!

Thanks Gagalina
 

Thanks Gagalina,

I will try it with cocoa, have you any idea what Carbquick is? i saw a receipe for Carbquick Pancakes, i'm tired of fries for breakfast.

I find it difficult finding foods over here equal to American receipes, do you?

Broná:)

I think Carbquick is a bakemix, similar to the Atkins bakemix?? Maybe you can just substitute them?

I think its getting better over here now with the availability of products. There's carb options in Tesco, Boots has their own range and there are loads of other brands with differnt products in Nature's Way and the other Health Food shops. Apart from not finding all the ingredients, I wish the americans would start using grams ;-) This whole cup thing has me totally confused...

Anybody ever tried "creamed coconut"? It has 6g of carbs per 100 gram and you mix it with hot water to get this type of coconut milk thing. It comes in a block, I found it in the Asian supermarket (Chinese Emporium) behind George street. It smells absolutely lovely, but I've only tried a little bit so far. It might have nice applications for stir fries or deserts.

Hi Gagalina
 

Hi gagalina,

I do agree that the cup measurement is confusing espicially when you are a newbie to all this.

I went to my local health store here in Wexford to buy Almond Flour, all they had was ground almonds, i suppose it is the same what do you think?

I'd like to try Pancakes, have you tried them yet?

Broná:)

Hi Brona,

I use the ground almonds aswell, think the almond flour is just a little bit more ground, but don't think it matters.

What pancakes do you make?

My favorite recipe for eggs is the Mock Danish but in the frying pan, so its more like a pancake/omlett type of thing.

Beat 2 eggs and add 1 crushed splenda tablet, a big spoon of cream cheese and a good dash of cinnamon. Mix it all up until there are little flakes of cream cheese all over.

Heat some butter in a frying pan, add the mixture, let it brown on one side and flip it over. Let it brown on the second side and serve. The cream cheese makes this really nice and fluffy and I love having this for breakfast.

Hi
 

Hi gagalina,

I haven't tried pancakes yet, this is my third week on Atkins and i'm not sure if i can cook your receipe, what do you think?

I introduced a couple of macadamia nuts this week, i love them but a bit salty.

I thought the pancake receipe that i saw somewhere around here was made with Almond flour, could be wrong, i'll have a look again.
I will try your receipe in the morning, will let you know how i got on.

We are at a disadvantage over here with not much choice in low carb, i was thinking of asking my local supermarket to try and get me some items.

I'm a bit tired of fries and veg would like more of a variety maybe something sweet:) have you any receipes or tips?

Many thanks gagalina.

Broná:)

Im liking that egg recipie! i have the powderd splenda min, whats a tablet equate to in terms of the powdered stuff?

Im a bit bored with savoury eggs so this could be a goer!

Hey Brona,

how did hte pancake go??

You could also try the mock danish for breakfast, there is a big thread about that in the recipe section - I quite like that also.

Or you could make your own lc porridge. I do that whenever I just cant stand to look at eggs anymore ;-)

7g ground linseed
7g ground sesame
7 g ground coconut
14g whey protein powder
7 g ground almond
1 crushed tablet of splenda
a good dash of cinnamon

Mix it all up with some water and nuke it in the microwave for a bit and add some butter - mmhh According to fitday this has just about 2 carbs and its nearly like porridge, but nice and nutty which I love.

Hi Sol,

I think I tablet of splenda is like one teaspoon of sugar or one teaspoon of the granular splenda?

Thanks Gagalina
 

Thanks for the recipe gagalina:)

Re: Whey Protein Powder, what is it and why do you use it?

I will have more questions for you later if you don't mind.

Broná:)

Hi Brona,

no worries. I'll write more later, just sooo busy at work at the moment.

Hey Brona,

whey is part of milk which is high in protein.

(Dairy source of protein (other than cassein), known for high levels of BCAA's and high nitrogen retention. Made from milk curd, whey protein is the Rolls Royce of proteins because it has a superior amino acid composition (including high levels of leucine, arguably the most important branched chain amino acid), superior biological value (meaning that more of what you eat gets digested and into your system), is very low in lactose (a milk sugar that most adults have difficulty digesting). )

it comes as powder and you can mix it with water or milk to make really nices shakes. Its good for the porridge recipe and as a thickener for soups or sauces and also for baking. I use it quite often, if I'm in a hurry, i just make a shake with cocoa powder and cinnamon and some cream ;-)

The protein powder you can buy in any Health food shop, it comes in different flavours with sweeteners, but I prefer the plain flavour without sweetener.

I got mine from:

http://www.worldwideshoppingmall.co...ein-isolate.asp

and I just ordered some from http://www.myprotein.co.uk

Thank you Gagalina.
 

Hi Gagalina,

Thank's for all the info. I find it a big problem trying to substitute lowcarb here in Ireland. Most of the recipes are American, some foods i haven't even heard of them and can't get them here, do you have the same problem? or have you learned to substitute easily?

When you get a chance can you give me a sample of what you eat?
I'm on my second week of OWL and am VERY CONSTIPATED, i eat my veg and take psysillium husk which has always helped me, i dring loads of water, some nights i have to take senna but don't want to rely on them, did you have that problem?

Do you think it would be safe for me to have a toasted sandwich with Weightwatchers brown sliced bread at this stage, i think it has 7carbs per slice?

Do you have much fat during a day?

Thanks Gagalina,

Broná:)

Sorry Gagalina, forgot to ask you, can we get Dreamfields Pasta over here? if not is there some other brand i could use?

Broná.

gggrrrhhh, just lost my post thanks to my lovely pc ;-(

ok, here it goes again: (sorry if its a bit short and rough)

i just learned to substitute - i found the foods I really like and just keep eating them in some sort of variation and I dont get bored ;-)

If you click on the fitday link below my name, you can see all the foods I eat everday, or probably should say the ingredients I eat.

If you click on journal here you can see the meals I make out of the ingredients, but I havent posted in my journal for ages, but I havent really changed what I eat

Generally its:

2 eggs for breakfast (either with cream cheese and cinnamon, or with melted cheddar cheese) or about once a week the nutty porridge

lunch is about 150 g of salad and some sort of meat (chicken, turkey, mince, tuna, salmon) and cheese or some sort of sauce

dinner is basically the same as lunch but instead of hte salad i would have vegetables (broccoli or cauliflower or spinache mostly)

And then I am addicted to whipped cream with cocoa powder - just dont know when to stop ;-( also am really bad with nuts!!

I dont normally get constipated, if I do, i use ground linseed and sprinkle about a table spoon over my dinner and make sure I drink loads of water afterwards - that always helps me.

What do you normally eat on an average day?

Not sure about the bread, I have about a lc slice a month ;-) If you can stop yourself after I slice, it probably should be ok if you restrict your other carbs so you dont go over your limit.

you could try the flax bread. I found it on the site here, but not sure where exactly:

"
I use a small Tupperware bowl, or a small soup bowl.

Two TBS melted butter
Beat in one large egg and a pinch of salt (no need if your butter is salted)
mix in 3 TBS of ground flax and
1/2 tsp of baking powder "

its quite nice - I think I'll have some for breakfast tomorrow...

I think I have a good bit of fat - I just ran a report on fitday, and i eat about 90 g of fat a day... not sure whether that is high or low for lc, but its at about 60-75% where my calories re coming from - sounds a bit scary ;-)

I think Babs (Greanmhar) uses the Dreamfield pasta, but don't know where she gets it from. Here in Dublin we can get Carb Options pasta in Tesco. Where are you from again? Wexford? Maybe check out your local tesco and see if they can get it i for you or try your local health food shop?

Hi Brona/Gagalina,
I get the Dreamfields wherever I can - there are 2 UK sites that have it at times (goes out of stock often, so I order mega lots) and a site in Belgium also. If you want the site addresses let me know.
The difficulty for us is the postage, so to make it worth your while you can choose all the LC stuff you want at once. I now bake and cook a lot - I find that much of the ready made stuff is a big let-down in taste and/or creates a huge hole in your bank balance. Add to that the fact that much of the recently hyped LC stuff (like Carb Options) is ridiculously high in carbs and you soon get to be Fanny Craddock in the kitchen!
Babs
PS Dreamfields is one of the exceptions on both taste and carb count - it is just like ordinary pasta, but is a bit on the expensive side in comparison.

Thanks Babs
 

Hi Babs,

Yes, please do send the addresses, how much is the pasta?

I'm at a loss trying to substitute foods over here, i'm new to lowcarb.

I'm doing very well and am enjoying lowcarb but would love more variety.

I live in Weford, we have a lot of supermarkets but they dont have lowcarb anything, not that i can see anyway.

Many thanks again Babs,

Broná:)

http://www.lowcarbmegastore.com/
http://www.lowcarbshopping.co.uk/default.asp
Here you go, Brona. Both of these have Dreamfields at the moment - it is £2.60 in one and £2.75 in the other. Just buy where the postage best fits what you're ordering. I love the elbows and the penne - the spaghetti is just like the usual, but I have a real gra for mac and cheese :)
I'm lucky to live near the border and manage to get some LC stuff in the shops. However, as I said, it's better to make your own. What kind of stuff do you like? Can/do you cook or are you willing to learn. I have some good recipes accumulated from loads of places and tweaked for me if I knew what you most wanted.
Babs

Thanks Babs
 

Hi Babs,

Thank's for all the help. Yes, please send me your recipes, anything and everything:) I am a good cook even if i say so myself:)

I'm still learning Babs and get very confused, maybe i'm a bit stupid but can you help me out with this?
In the book it says about carbs and digestable carbs, for example, if i have 6 cauliflower florets 4.4 total carbs which is 1.5 digestable carbs, does that mean that i'm only ingesting the 1.5 digestable carbs and can have more?

Another thing that has crossed my mind is the amount of fat that we eat, if we don't eat too much fat in a day will our weight loss be faster as our body fat will be burned, hope you can understand me LOL.
I worry so much about my cholestrol, i'm having it checked this week.

Thanks again Babs, oh almost forgot to ask, have you a recipe for Rhubarb Pie? i have some in my freezer and i love it.

Broná:)

Hi Brona,
I'm assuming you've taken the carb count of the cauli froma US book or site - total carbs includes fibre while the nett or digestible carbs are all you have to count for dieting. However, beware, as the fibre is already deducted here and in UK, so if the label says 5 carbs, it's 5 carbs!
Fat consumption is a debatable issue - if you're on Atkins, most purists say you shouldn't cut it back as it helps satiety and has no impact on blood sugar. If, however, you find that your cholesterol goes up by a whopping number and stays up, it might be appropriate to cut back a little. This is a contentious issue and you really need to examine everything as it affects you and the programme you've chosen. I low carb to my own plan and don't worry about fat, but YMMV. I suspect that calories overall DO matter, though, so you need to 'weigh' it all up and decide!
I DO have a recipe for both pastry and crumble - the problem with rhubarb is the ability to get it sweet enough. I mix crushed Splenda tablets (much lower in carbs than granular) and the herb Stevia, which I got from US - this seems to help by a synergistic effect to make it sweeter. I also add ground coriander - absolutely gorgeous spice for rhubarb, so orangey.
I will search out my pastry and crumble recipes and post them tomorrow.
Babs

Thanks Babs
 

Hi Babs,

Thank you for the tips, i'm looking forward to you recipes.

I'm doing Atkins, did very well on induction, lost 13lbs, i lost a further 3lbs on first week of OWL, BUT the second week gained 2lbs, figure that one out!!!!!

I didn't cheat and only added two Strawberries, i'm starting to think that calories are very important at this stage although i'm keeping them at around 1000-1200 daily.

I'm having my cholestrol checked this Wednesday, i should have my results back by the following Wednesday, that will be interesting:)
I don't know if i'm doing the right thing but i have cut back on my fat intake until i get cholestrol results.

Thanks Babs.

Broná:)

I don't know how you manage Atkins with that number of calories - are you sure you're eating enough? Have you read the book? I know from other people's posts that you are deemed NOT to be doing Atkins if you are this low - eating a good percentage of fat, as high as 70 - 90 % is what is required, plus the requisite amount of vegetables, water etc. Why are you cutting back on fat until you get the cholesterol results? This is unlikely to skew them in time and if you really want to know what low carb is doing you need to stay on it to get a proper picture and be re-tested accordingly.
You will find lots of info on this site and many others regarding the cholesterol controversy - most Atkin's folk find that their cholesterol goes down, not up. If you are worried, maybe a change to South Beach or GI would suit you better, but you need to get the books and follow the programmes, at least to start with.
Babs
PS - will post my crumble/pastry recipes next - there are MILLIONS of fab recipes available on the net. You could spend a dozen lifetimes trying them out and tweaking them to suit you. If you want particular options, use google and then save the sites for later perusal.