the ethnic dilema
 

I have been low carbing on an off for over a year now, and I have found that one of my biggest barriers is family. My family is just not supportive of the low-carb lifestyle. I live in a very italian family, and food is a huge part of our interaction here. So this year I am working to ignore the lack of family support, and work on myself.

But recently it occured to me how ethnic we eat in our house. Sometimes I forget because I am emmersed in it, It is not until I have company over and offer them something to eat -- do I get funny looks! I am curious if anyone else has encoutered this - I have family from Italy, and italians who live here are almost competitive on how authentic the food is, how good a bakery is, how one restaurant makes something different than another. Its like anytime food is brought in the house it is inspected and judged. Let's face it -- a low carb ethnic subtitute is not going to be accepted. So I was wondering if any of you low carbers who live in very ethnic families have had problems with the family accepting your new lifestyle? And also... do you have any good recipies!?!

Wow, what an interesting post! I don't come from an "ethnic-eating" family, but we do have our struggles over bread and desserts. My husband and kids love to eat homemade bread and insist that I make it--and while hubby's ok with whole grain loaves, the kids want the white flour varieties. I've tried all sorts of strategies--baking the bread but not eating even a little bit myself (doesn't work, lol); sneaking whole grain flour in while no one's looking (always get caught up, lol); delaying baking for as long as possible, etc.

I can see that if you come from a culture where food is very important, it would be a real dilemma to exclude yourself from it. Could you try to make soy pasta or low-carb tomato gravy? Or a crustless, deep dish tomato pie? :)

I don't know much about this book, but I did a search and came up with Low Carb Italian Cooking - I'm going to get myself a copy since I dearly love italian food and would love to try some of the recipes.


http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bo...Italian_Cooking

Vikki

I live in the midwest...where a meal isn't a meal without a potato, even breakfast... :lol: Especially this time of year, the comfort foods of this part of the country are the old German dishes... heavy, starchy fare with big desserts.

I found the book "Low Carb Comfort Food" by the PP authors to be an invaluable source of good recipes like this. SOme would definately only bee good for later OWL or Maintenance on Atkins, but I'm enjoying them on CAD, even though I could have "real" stuff.

Currently, I'm trying to come up with a lc recipe for Kuchen, a German pastry. I'm almost there! It's a "bready pie crust" with an almost cheesecake-like custard on it. A couple more "tweaks" and I should be able to make a reasonable facsimile.

I understand how it feels like you're missing something, or somhow don't fit. Oprah did a show yesterday about gastric-bypass patients having to mourn the loss of their old relationship with food. I think this is some of what I feel when I "miss out" on a big traditional dinner.

One of the reasons I switched from Atkins to CALP is because my husband is Chinese and kept asking me when I would start eating 'normal' food again. To him, normal means not just rice, but also wheat, which is an equally important staple in his native Beijing.

I still haven't tried any of his rice with my RM, but I do enjoy a moderate intake of homemade bread (100% whole wheat) or other carbs with my RM.

Atkins is a great plan, but CALP just fits into my mixed-race family life better.

I laugh...because....I also come from a eastern-european family who's main staple it seems is noodles and/or potato. I just eat everything and stay away from those two things even though they call out to me sometimes. But the statement Xtena about your hubby asking you when you will eat "normal again" is so like what I have heard over and over....despite me telling them that I will be a low-carber for life they just think its a "diet". Oh well.

Lets see, I am Mexican/Italian, my husband is Yugoslavian, and we live in Germany. Talk about lots of tortillas, beans, pasta, potatoes and brown bread. Every meal at a relatives house is a carb orgy. Everyone has been very helpful in helping me on this WOE, and they always provide something that I am able to eat.

This isn't exactly ethnic, but I grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch/Amish country, where there are noodles AND potatoes, usually with gravy, served with every dinner. And those baked goods and desserts (can you say "Tastykakes?) are EVERYWHERE. While they're trying to be supportive, my family is having a hard time understanding what's so bad about all that starch. They're pleased that I'm losing weight, though, so they haven't pushed me too hard.

Yumm, lard and flour with every meal :) The Amish work hard enough to burn it all off. I would probably weight in at a ton though if I started eating many of the great recipes I've found from that region.

I agree. Right now I'm spending a year abroad living with a Spanish family. They do not understand the fact that you may like a food but still not feel like eating it at any given moment. It's unbelievable as they're all paper thin too. Anyway, I just told them I had diabetes to get them to leave me alone lol. Now they don't pester me to eat the mounds of bread and french fries they eat every meal. Still can't say no to the tortilla de patata though...

I have a cookbook from the PBS series "Cooking in Amish Country" I can't even bear to open it, I get all phklempt LOL.

I know what you mean CB, My background is Indonesian and Chinese and the staples for breakfast, lunch and dinner is RICE!!!!

I truly think this is why I was and overweight child. In Indonesia there is a lullaby that even talks about eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

My Immediate family is cool with my low carbing, though sometimes they forget. My husband is Puerto Rican and I dont think he remembers how rice and beans taste cause I dont cook it for him anymore.

The other family members say they could never give up their rice. but they dont look down on me for low carbing. When I go over for gatherings they usually tell me whats cooking to see if I can eat any of the food, otherwise I bring my own grub and they tell me it looks delicious. Summer is just around the corner and low carbing will be great b/c Ill be grilling all summer long.. I can't wait for the summer its freezing here in NY 9 degrees today.

I can understand the italian thing. My 2 coworkers are Italian and are low carbing along with me. I hear them having their pasta cravings, dessert cravings etc. They have resorted to having Sopresata, peperroni, salami, mozzarella and peppers on hand in the fridge from Arthur Ave in the Bronx. They just have to be careful of the additives. Think there is some dish where you throw all those things in and eat it like a salad.??

Dewi:
" They have resorted to having Sopresata, peperroni, salami, mozzarella and peppers on hand in the fridge from Arthur Ave in the Bronx"...


yes! that is antipasto salad.... and mmm it is good. There are a few good italian low carb things... the cheese, calamari salad, marinated eggplant... stuff like that. But the minute a cannoli comes in the house I am afraid I may be off the wagon!!

Well guys tonight is pasta night --- wish me luck!!

If you come up with something please post it! I am of German background and sure miss some of those dishes. What you are describing sounds a lot like "Strudel", a form of Kuchen I dearly miss!

My sister in law is Italian (we grew up in NY) and her family was from the Milan area and rarely eat things like pastas. There is a local Italian restaurant called Matimma's and the owner told me that he has very little pasta on his menu because he feels that is cheap food. He makes delicious Italian specialties with the base being beef, chicken and fish. Don't know if this will help you but thought it was worth a try to act like you are eating and cooking like they do in "blah blah" part of Italy ;)