Foundation vegetable issues
 

So I've been trying to get my 12-13 grams per day of net carbs during the induction phase. I'm really struggling with this. There's no way I can eat enough broccoli and lettuce to get to 12-13 net carbs per day. I tried Kale in a blender, but it takes so much to get to the target that I couldn't drink it all.
I've been getting there with tomato sauce heated up like soup, but that's getting a bit old.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on relatively easy way to get to target goal of foundation vegetables?

Thanks!

The 20 carbs a day allows for cheese, cream, lemon juice, nuts, etc. You cannot reach that via greens alone at 3 cups a day. And that is ok.

two cups loosely packed greens, or one cup uncooked from allowable list.

does that help?

eggs have a 1/2 gram of carb each.
Thre carbs are not only coming from veggies

Thanks for the replies!


Perhaps I misunderstood. During induction, I was under the impression that 12-15 grams per day must come from the foundation vegetables, not cheese, nuts, or other sources. I just double checked the acceptable foods list and that's what it says.



Atkins Acceptable foods list

"Aim for 12-15 grams of net carbs from vegetables per day"

Does it matter if I do not get 12-15 carbs per day from the foundation vegetables list?

Should I only worry about staying around 20 grams per day, no matter the source?

I realize I should try to eat healthy and get as many vegetables as possible.

Thanks for all the help!!

pg 88 NANY foundation Vegetables I like
avocado
broccoli
cabbage - as in slaw
cauliflower
celery
cucumber
romaine
jicama
mushrooms
olives
green and red peppers
radishes
scallion
can all be added to the salad or used as snack.
This is the raw list
The cooked list includes kohlrabi - I prefer it raw
rhubarb etc

Also on the cooked list - besides the raw kistings are

snow peas
green beans
summer squash
zuchinni

If there is a specific vegetable you like, I can look it up for you

My limit is 20 carbs. Some days it's from zero to less than 10.

I've always considered the carb limit the maximum, not the minimum. I could be wrong about that since I didn't get the Atkins book decades ago.

Bob

Thanks for the reply.

I am finding it difficult to get 12-15 grams of carbs per day from the foundation vegetable list alone. I just can't eat that much broccoli (it works out to approximately 4 cups of cooked broccoli per day).

I can mix in other vegetables, but it seems to take a lot to get to the 12-15 grams of net carbs per day needed.

Are you getting 12-15 grams of carbs per day from the foundation vegetables?

Just curious for how you do it without turning green!

Thanks for your help!!

It's not necessary to eat the whole lot at one meal. Try spreading the carb load throughout your day.

Breakfast:
- sugar free salsa with your eggs, a few slices of avocado and a dollop of sour cream
- sliced mushrooms, or spinach sauteed in butter with a little chopped onion or shallot, fold inside an omelet with shredded cheese and/or crumbled bacon

Lunch:
- salads can be more than just lettuce, y'know ;) .. add sliced cucumber, radishes, cabbage, jicama or bean sprouts, avocado, olives or sour pickle slices, and a handful of cherry tomatoes
- homemade soups with vegetables .. creamy broccoli or cauliflower with cheese (puree till smooth), clam chowder if you like, substitute diced cauliflower and chopped yellow peppers for the potatoes and corn respectively

Dinner:
- chili or stew with meat/chicken and chunky veggies from the list .. tomatoes, onion, celery, peppers etc
- use cooked spaghetti squash or spiralized zucchini as a noodle substitute topped with meat and/or sauce
- stir-fries with snowpeas, broccoli, peppers, sliced onion, bean sprouts etc
- crackslaw (bagged shredded coleslaw) ideas here .. https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=453302

Snacks:
- raw veggie sticks (celery, sweet peppers, jicama, daikon, belgian endives etc) with fatty dips .. sour cream, tuna/chicken/egg salad with mayonnaise, guacamole etc
- oil, vinegar & herb marinated veggies as side dish or snack: whole button mushrooms, artichoke hearts, blanched broccoli and cauliflower florets (or use frozen/thawed)


A lot of dishes I mentioned above, like soups and chilis .. can be made in a large batch, then store portions in the fridge or freezer to reheat for quick weekday meals. Saves a lot of time!


Hope that helps :rose:

Jessica, From the list of foundation vegetables above, choose the ones with the highest carb count, not the lowest. Amazing how quickly you can hit the 12 gm limit.

Cooking also increases the carb count - so try eating more cooked veggies.

Personally, I am not fond of broccoli. I prefer raw cauliflower which I dip in ranch dressing for a mid day snack. Or a raw kohlrabi.

When I could tolerate them, I loved making a Greek salad of onions, red and green peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes with crumbled goat cheese and Greek salad dressing.. I had to watch how much I ate. The carbs really added up. It's a change from broccoli.

Good luck

Doreen - these are great menu suggestions!
I am alsays so grateful when someone suggests something I can cook
I have no imagination when it come to creating a menu and cooking it, so your suggestions are pure gold!

Jessica, I started with the New Atkins book from 2010, with all those "foundation vegetables" and had the same problem. NANY and the current website Induction is 20g NET carbs. Dr. Atkins' earlier books were 20g TOTAL carbs.

Problem solved when I met one of the the authors of NANY, Dr. Eric Westman, a few months later. In his clinic at Duke, based on Dr. Atkins clinic, you only eat a Maximum of three cups of vegetables, as Ms. Aeriella lists. Here's the real clinic diet with 20g TOTAL carbs, not the Atkins company version: https://www.dietdoctor.com/se/wp-co...starch_diet.pdf

As Dr. Westman says, both can work, but net carbs is the OTC version, total carbs in "Prescription Strength" ;)

More Dr. Westman videos: https://www.dietdoctor.com/?s=eric+westman

Dr. B says 20 total carbs, too. He says if you really, really want to use net carbs, subtract only half the fiber, not all of it as so many people do now. The only time I subtract fiber is with a couple of really high fiber recipes I have - other than that I don't bother.

I have a vegetable 2-3 times a day. Sometimes it's nothing more than celery with homemade dip (those are my lazy days), but I usually have cooked greens with my morning egg & a salad at lunch. Even eating veggies 3x in a day, there's NO WAY I could eat 3 cups!

Wow, I didn't find it difficult at all but I was coming from a place where I ate a lot of vegetables to begin with. What was your typical diet (stuff you ate) before trying low carb? Were you eating mostly wheat and corn to get your calories?

Cabbage and Spinach were on my list of stuff on induction as well - but, like you said, these significant volume, especially raw, if you are not used to eating greens and other low carb veg.

Good questions tho, not sure I've heard it before here :)

PS, can you reference your "foundation vegetables" source. these can vary a bit from plan to plan, I think of what you're talking about as Atkins/Westman list?

I was eating a couple of small servings of vegetables per day. Yes, the foundation vegetables I mention are from the Atkins list.

It's interesting to see the comments on net carbs vs. total carbs. The Atkins info I've seen stresses net carbs, not total carbs. It would be easier to get to the 12-15 grams/day mark counting total and not net. Would my weight loss be the same by counting total and not net?

Thanks for all the replies!!