Some days you just need a quick snack and even a few minutes preparing is a few minutes too long!So it's good to have some quick low carb snacks on hand.
I was looking around our local supermarket, when I found these pepperoni sticks - one stick is only 2g carbs each, gluten-free and lactose-free!
Each stick is about 11.5 inches (4.5 cm) long, so I cut them in half, and now each 5.25 inch (2.0 cm) stick is only 1g carb per stick!
However, these pepperoni sticks do include sugar, so you will need to test with your blood glucose meter to see how your body tolerates them. I found that eating one stick did not affect my blood sugar level at all.
If you are looking for this particular brand, I found them in The Real Canadian Superstore, here in Southern Ontario, Canada, near the deli section.
Ingredients:
Pork, water, glucose, salt, mustard seed, spices, sugar, sodium, erythorbate, dextrose, lactic acid starter culture, sodium nitrate, smoke.
Nutrition Facts:
per 1 stick (23g)
Calories: 105
Fat: 9.0 g
Carbs: 1.0 g
Protein: 5.0 g
DOES NOT contain: wheat, gluten, eggs, dairy, soy, peanuts, tree nuts.
Snack:
TOTAL NET CARBS: 1 gram
TOTAL FAT: 9 grams
Stock Photo Credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All Rights Reserved
Low Carb Snacks Shopping List:
• Pepperoni Snack Sticks
• Just The Cheese Snacks
• Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame
• Lowrey's Bacon Curls Microwave Pork Rinds
TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Recipes from Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love-- One of the toughest challenges of any diet is having enough variety and choices to keep the dieter from losing interest. The most common reason that people abandon their diet is boredom but 500 LOW CARB RECIPES: 500 Recipes, From Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love by Dana Carpender has more than enough recipes to keep even the most finicky dieter on track.
With recipes for everything including hors oeuvres, snacks, breads, muffins, side dishes, entrees, cookies, cakes and much more, this is an endless supply for creating meals for the whole family night after night. Whether everyone in the family is on a diet or not, these recipes are proven winners with adults and kids alike.
Click to read more
If you go on the Low Carb diet, you will have to give up chocolate, right?What if I told you that not only could you still eat chocolate, but it is even really good for you??
[ Skip to recipe ]
The three main ingredients of this recipe are:
Dark Chocolate contains antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries), helps to lower your blood pressure and balance certain hormones in your body, has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent, and has been shown to decrease the formation of blood clots by reducing platelet activation.
Date Palm Sugar has great benefits for weight control and improving glucose and lipid levels for those with diabetes (type 1 and type 2). It demands less insulin in order for your body to maintain homeostasis. It is a healthy alternative sweetener that has a lower glycemic index (GI35). It is especially high in minerals including potassium, magnesium and zinc, as well as vitamins B2, B3 and B6.
Coconut Oil - the high fat content of coconut oil can paradoxically help you lose weight. It boosts your metabolism, gives you energy, makes you feel more full and improves your thyroid function. The type of fatty acid in coconut oil is a healthy one, and your body will quickly burn it for energy.
It is suggested you eat as much as 3 tablespoons of pure coconut oil a day - what better way then by eating chocolate fudge?? Go ahead - it's good for you!
Reasons Eating Is Better Than Dieting
- Do you get a lot of trouble about eating junk food? Check out these 6 reasons why eating is better than starving yourself!Coconut Oil Chocolate Fudge Recipe
Serves: 30 piecesPrep Time: 10 minutes
Net Carbs: 1.0 carb/piece
Potential Allergens: coconut
Free of Wheat, Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Eggs, Nuts, Meat, no added salt.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (63ml) Baking Cocoa Powder
1/4 cup (63ml) Coconut Oil
2 tbsp (30ml) Date Palm Sugar
1/2 tsp (3ml) Vanilla extract
Preparation:
Using a plastic square container, melt the coconut oil for 30 seconds in the microwave.Add in the sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Mix well.
Place the container in your freezer for 10 minutes.
Cut into 30 pieces and enjoy!
For my picture at the top of my post, I wanted to used a candy mold I had on hand.
It made such beautiful chocolate fudge pieces, but I managed to spill it on the counter, on the floor and even in the freezer!
Nutritional Data:
23 calories per piece, 2.2g fat, 1.5g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 0.4g protein
Estimated Glycemic Load - 1
Inflammation Factor - 0
For more information:
Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Coconut Oil Chocolate Fudge
Photo credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All rights reserved
Shopping List:
• Nature's Way Coconut Oil- Extra Virgin
• Ramstadt-Breda Rich Dark Cocoa
• Organic Coconut Palm Sugar
• Wilton Clear Vanilla
TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Dieter's Chocolate Cookbook: Low fat, low carb, low calorie, sugar free but all CHOCOLATE!-- contains low fat, low carbohydrate, low calorie and sugar free recipes. This cookbook is perfect for anyone following one of these diets but still craving chocolate.
Each recipe lists the nutritional data for each serving, and shows for which diets the recipe is suitable. The cookbook contains over 75 delicious original recipes, including baking, candies, desserts, drinks, ice cream, sauces and even savory.
Delicious recipes include Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies, Wasabi Chocolate Truffles, Mint Chocolate Cocktail, Chocolate Barbecue Sauce, Chocolate Sorbet, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Biscotti, Chocolate Crepes and Chocolate Frozen Yogurt.
“With these recipes you can eat delicious desserts and truly not feel guilty. Making healthier versions of favorite foods is key in weight control and The Dieter's Chocolate Cookbook helps us do just that.”
Click to read more
This blueberry muffin takes about 5 minutes to make, even quicker if you prepare several dry ingredients batches ahead of time, like I do.This is a light and moist muffin - yet very filling and calorie dense. So I would have this with a pepperoni stick for lunch and feel satisfied and full till dinner.
Serves: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Net Carbs: 6.4 carbs
Potential Allergens: egg, coconut
Free of Wheat, Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Sugar, Nuts, Meat, no added salt.
Dry Ingredients:3 tbsp (45ml) ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp (3ml) baking powder
1 tsp (5ml) cinnamon
Wet Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 tbsp (15ml) coconut oil
1/2 tsp (3ml) vanilla
1 tbsp (15ml) blueberries
Preparation:
Mix the dry ingredients together. Melt the coconut oil in a large coffee mug in the microwave for 20 seconds. Add the dry ingredients to the melted oil in the coffee cup. Add in vanilla, egg and blueberries. Mix well.
Microwave the mixture in the coffee mug for 99 seconds. If you watch the muffin cooking in the microwave, you will see it rise up past the cup, but it will settle back down once it is cooked.
Your muffin should pop out of the mug easily. Slice muffin into 5-6 slices, and spread with butter or desired filling/spread.
To make this up even quicker, I usually prepare five batches of the dry ingredients at once ahead of time, and store the remaining four dry mixtures in the fridge - in small Rubbermaid storage containers.Then I can just dump in the dry ingredients quickly - and lunch is ready in just moments!
Nutritional Data:
434 calories per muffin, 34.3g fat, 20.6g carbs, 14.2g fiber, 15.4g protein
Estimated Glycemic Load -2
Inflammation Factor - 0
For more information:
Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Blueberry Muffin
Photo credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All rights reserved
Shopping List:
• Bob's Red Mill Ground Golden Flaxseed Meal
• Baking Powder, Gluten Free, Sodium Free
• Extra Select Korintje Cassia Cinnamon
• Bob's Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour
• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil by Garden of Life
• Wilton Clear Vanilla
TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Recipes from Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love-- One of the toughest challenges of any diet is having enough variety and choices to keep the dieter from losing interest. The most common reason that people abandon their diet is boredom but 500 LOW CARB RECIPES: 500 Recipes, From Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love by Dana Carpender has more than enough recipes to keep even the most finicky dieter on track.
With recipes for everything including hors oeuvres, snacks, breads, muffins, side dishes, entrees, cookies, cakes and much more, this is an endless supply for creating meals for the whole family night after night. Whether everyone in the family is on a diet or not, these recipes are proven winners with adults and kids alike.
Click to read more
I was reading some great low carb chocolate recipes this morning - so I thought I would try making a Five Minute Chocolate Muffin for lunch.DID YOU KNOW?
Dark Chocolate contains antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Dark Chocolate helps to lower your blood pressure and balance certain hormones in the body.
Dark Chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.
Dark Chocolate has been shown to decrease the formation of blood clots by reducing platelet activation. But the key, of course is moderation.
I used the Five Minute Blueberry Muffin and adapted it for chocolate.
After letting it cool enough to handle, I sliced and buttered (0 g carbs/11 g fat) the Chocolate Muffin (7.8g carbs/37.7g fat), added a gluten-free pepperoni stick (1 g carbs/9 g fat), and two slices of Genoa Salami (0 g carbs/4 g fat) to make my lunch.
So my lunch today came in at a total of 8.8 grams of Net Carbs and 61.7 grams of fat. Well under my 10 carbs per meal limit! Oh, and the muffin was delicious and filling!
Lunch:
TOTAL NET CARBS: 8.8 grams
TOTAL FAT: 61.7 grams
Stock Photo Credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All Rights Reserved
TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Dieter's Chocolate Cookbook: Low fat, low carb, low calorie, sugar free but all CHOCOLATE!-- contains low fat, low carbohydrate, low calorie and sugar free recipes. This cookbook is perfect for anyone following one of these diets but still craving chocolate.
Each recipe lists the nutritional data for each serving, and shows for which diets the recipe is suitable. The cookbook contains over 75 delicious original recipes, including baking, candies, desserts, drinks, ice cream, sauces and even savory.
Delicious recipes include Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies, Wasabi Chocolate Truffles, Mint Chocolate Cocktail, Chocolate Barbecue Sauce, Chocolate Sorbet, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Chocolate Biscotti, Chocolate Crepes and Chocolate Frozen Yogurt.
“With these recipes you can eat delicious desserts and truly not feel guilty. Making healthier versions of favorite foods is key in weight control and The Dieter's Chocolate Cookbook helps us do just that.”
Click to read more
My New Year's Resolution this year was to lose weight, and so I started dieting right after New Year's day.I went on my usual low calorie / low fat diet with an average of 1,400 to 1,600 calories per day. By March 22nd I had lost 8 pounds (3.63 kg) - it took almost 3 months.
I lost an average of 2.67 pounds (1.21 kg) per month on my usual low calorie / low fat diet.
Then on March 22nd, I started the Low Carb / High Fat diet, with an average of 1,800 to 2,000 calories per day.
Just ONE MONTH later, I have lost an additional 9.6 pounds (4.35 kg)!
I ate more calories, had a faster weight loss and the food tasted much better too! Can you believe it!?
So my weigh-in for 4 months is a total of 17.6 pounds (7.98 kg).
How are you doing - how much weight have you lost so far?
Stock Photo credit: Gastonmag
Modified by Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All rights reserved
Omron Body Fat Monitor and Scale-- The Omron HBF-400 Fat Loss Monitor with Scale is the perfect way to track your weight loss goals, thanks to its fast, accurate measurement of weight, body fat percentage, and body mass index (BMI).
Just step on the HBF-400 and in seconds you'll have much of the information that's vital to any weight loss or weight maintenance program.
Click to read more
This is the simplest, easiest recipe you will ever make. I was reading this Low Carb Cracker recipe. It is so simple, you just take a cheese slice, cut it up into small pieces and microwave!This would be a great idea when you get the munchies - you get 16 chips out of just one slice of cheese! Even if you ate all 16 crackers in one sitting, that is still just a 2g carbs snack!
I make a batch of these each morning, (if I am out of crackers) and eat a few of them with my salad, with soup or when I need a quick snack.
Serves: 1
Prep Time: 1 minute
Net Carbs - 0.1 carbs /per cracker
Potential Allergens: dairy
Free of Wheat, Gluten, Soy, Eggs, Sugar, Nuts, Meat, no added salt.
Preparation:I cut one mozzarella cheese slice in half, in half again, in half again - until I had 16 small pieces.
Then I placed the cheese pieces in a circle on parchment paper (do not use wax paper, it will melt to the cheese). Do not put one piece in the middle because it will cook faster than the rest, and burn.
Cook in the microwave for 45 seconds. The pieces will puff up and brown slightly.
Take out and let cool.Peel off paper (paper can be reused) and store the cheese crackers in a container.
You could also add any seasoning you liked. In one experiment, I sprinkled some garlic salt on a slice of cheese, then cut it up. Delicious!
Nutritional Data:
For 1 cracker: 4 calories, 0.2 g fat, 0.1 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 0.2 g protein
For all 16 crackers: 60 calories, 4.0 g fat, 2.0 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 4.0 g protein
Estimated Glycemic Load - 0
Inflammation Factor - 0
For more information:
Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Cheese Puff Crackers
Photo credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All rights reserved
Shopping List:
• Miller's Sliced Natural Mozzarella Cheese
• Wilton Parchment Paper
TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Eating Stella Style: Low-Carb Recipes for Healthy Living-- Eating Stella Style is really about mouthwatering recipes: How does a Hot Ham and Cheese Egg Roll sound for breakfast?
Or Strawberry and Mascarpone Cream Crêpes, Stella Style Baked Eggs Benedict, or Coconut Macaroon Muffins?
For lunch or dinner, choose Grilled Portabella and Montrachet Salad, Wood-Grilled Oysters with Dill Butter, Kim's Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Lemony White Wine Sauce, Shaved Zucchini Parmesan Salad, or Spaghetti Squash with Clams Provençal Sauce.
Satisfy your snack cravings with Better Cheddar Cheese Crisps, Devilish Deviled Eggs with Tuna, or Cheesy Pecan Cookies. And for dessert, try Pumpkin Pound Cake, Lemon Meringue Pie, Honeydew and Blackberry Granita, or Chocolate Pecan Truffles.
Click to read more
Are you wondering how hard it is to keep to a diet of 30 carbs per day?Yesterday I ate less than 2,000 calories, only 23 net carbs and met my daily goal of 150 grams of fat.
I didn't have to eat anything weird or didn't like - and I felt full and satisfied! And I lost another pound since yesterday!
Here is my total nutrition for the day:
Nutritional Content:
Calories: 1,869
Fat: 153 grams
Carbs: 39 grams
Fiber: 16 grams
Protein: 70 grams
Total Net Carbs: 23 grams
Here is what I ate:
Breakfast: Two fried eggs, slice of deli ham and Havarti cheese
Calories: 407, Fat: 36g, Carbs: 0g, Fiber: 0g, Protein: 17g
Total Carbs: 0
Two Coffees, with heavy whipping cream, date palm sugar
Calories - 215, Fat - 20g, Carbs - 7g, Fiber - 0g, Protein - 0g
Total carbs - 3.5
Lunch - Chicken Caesar Salad
Caesar salad with diced chicken, bacon, Chia seed, Mozzarella & Parmesan cheese, Renee's Gourmet Caesar dressing
Calories - 489, Fat - 38g, Carbs - 6g, Fiber - 2g, Protein - 32g
Total carbs - 4
Snack: Cheese Puff Crackers (4 crackers), made from one slice of mozzarella cheese
Calories - 16, Fat - 0g, Carbs - 0g, Fiber - 0g, Protein - 0g
Dinner: Five Minute Blueberry Muffin
spread with butter, Pepperoni stick, Mini Cheesecake for dessert.
Calories - 742, Fat - 59g, Carbs - 26g, Fiber - 14g, Protein - 21g
Total carbs - 12
Original Stock Photo credit: ryasaurus
Modified by Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All rights reserved
I get tired of cooking and baking all the time, and it's been so long since I had a simple sandwich.So today I decided to have a ham and cheese sandwich!
First I made a Flaxseed Lunch Bun - takes 2 minutes in the microwave. (5 g carbs/14 g fat)
After letting it cool enough to handle, I buttered (0 g carbs/11 g fat) the English Muffin, added a slice of Havarti cheese (0 g carbs/7 g fat), a slice of deli ham (0 g carbs/1 g fat) and torn up lettuce (0/0).
Wished I had some mayonnaise to add, but it had expired. However that would have added 3 g carbs. So maybe it was just as well.
Add in a slice of pickle and three sour onions for 1 more carb total.
So my ham and cheese sandwich came in at a total of 6 grams of Net carbs and 33 grams of fat. Well under my 10 carbs per meal limit! Oh, and my sandwich was delicious!
TOTAL NET CARBS: 6 grams
TOTAL FAT: 33 grams
Photo Credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All Rights Reserved
TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
1,001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes from Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back-- This tasty collection draws on the best 1,001 recipes from Dana Carpender’s bestselling books including 500 Low-Carb Recipes, 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes, 500 More Low-Carb Recipes, 200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes, The Low-Carb Barbeque Book, and Low-Carb Smoothies.
You’ll find delicious and varied options including recipes for "high-carb" foods you thought you had to give up forever such as Cinnamon Raisin Bread and Mocha Chocolate Cheesecake.
Staying the low-carb course will be easy with choices from barbecue to slow-cooker to internationally-inspired dishes.
Click to read more
Here was lunch today - remember this is a high fat diet, so we are not only using a high-fat dressing, but we are NOT going to drain the bacon, we are pouring the bacon grease right on your salad.This was very filling!
Serves: 1
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Net Carbs - 4.4
Potential Allergens: Meat, dairy
Free of Wheat, Gluten, Eggs, Soy, Sugar, Nuts, no added salt.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (65ml) chicken breast, roasted, diced
2 strips of Bacon, reduced sodium
4-6 leaves of Romaine lettuce
1/2 cup (125ml) Mozzarella Cheese, full-fat
1 tsp (3ml) Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 tbsp. (30ml) Caesar Dressing (look for 10g fat /1 tbsp)
1/2 tsp (3ml) Chia Seeds
Preparation:
In advance:
The night before, while I was making dinner, I baked the chicken breast at 350 F for 40 minutes. Then I let it cool and diced it up into small pieces. I put the diced chicken into a Rubbermaid container, and froze it. Now I had a week's supply of chicken, ready to go!
At lunch time the next day, I cut up two raw bacon strips into small pieces with kitchen scissors - much easier than after it is cooked.I begin frying the bacon bits, and once there is some bacon grease in the pan, I toss in 1/4 cup of frozen cooked/diced chicken.
I continue to fry this mixture until it is lightly crisp. (Do not drain bacon)
Then I break up and wash the romaine lettuce. I use a salad spinner to spin dry the lettuce.Combine as follows:
1. Tear up 1/2 of romaine lettuce and place in salad bowl.
2. Grate 1/2 of full-fat mozzarella cheese in lettuce.
3. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of full-fat Parmesan cheese onto lettuce4. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp Chia seeds onto lettuce.
5. Add 1 tbsp of high fat Caesar dressing onto lettuce
6. Add 1/2 of bacon/chicken mixture onto lettuce, including some bacon grease.
Tear up second half of lettuce, and repeat above steps 1-6...
Now I just mix up my salad, and enjoy!
Nutritional Data:One serving - 489 calories, 38.2g fat, 5.9g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 32.3g protein
Estimated Glycemic Load - 2
Inflammation Factor - 0
For more information:
Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Chicken Caesar Salad
Photo credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All rights reserved
Shopping List:
• Comal County Bacon
• Fresh Mozzarella (BelGioioso)
• Grated Parmesan Cheese (OrlandoGreco)
• Bob's Red Mill Chia Seeds
• Newman's Own Creamy Caesar Dressing
TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Low-Carb Green Salads For Lunch and Dinner- Low-Carb Green Salads for Lunch & Dinner contains over 140 recipes with superb dressings and vinaigrettes. These dishes target people who specialize in eating healthy food.
I’ve employed updated methods, new techniques, and fresh presentations to create new dishes low in carbohydrates that are fit for any discriminating table. Working aboard the luxury yacht Celtic Pride has given me the opportunity to test out these recipes on celebrity guests such as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Some my audience’s favorite dishes are: Pancetta and Watercress Salad with Lemon Champagne Vinaigrette, Grilled Oyster Mushroom and Roast Beef Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette, Grilled Halibut Salad with Lemon Pistachio Vinaigrette, Spring Mix, Gorgonzola and Chorizo Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette, Rib Eye Steak and Frisee Salad with Pecorino, Ahi Tuna and Mesclun Salad with Pumpkin-Seed Vinaigrette.
Click to read more
A few years ago, I went on a low calorie/low fat/gluten-free diet and lost 40 lbs. But even though I continued to stick to my diet, slowly the weight started to come back! So not fair!Now that I have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, I am going to try the Low Carb/High Fat diet - and so far it is working.
Before I started this diet, eating my regular diet of gluten-free cereal, soy milk and "diet" hot chocolate, my morning blood glucose tests were:
Before breakfast - 108 (6.0 CDN)
1 hour after - 205 (11.39 CDN)
2 hours after - 146 (8.1 CDN)
In case you don't know - under 100 (5.0 CDN) is considered normal.
And two weeks later, I had two fried eggs in olive oil, slice of ham, Havarti cheese, Flax/Chia "English Muffin" spread with butter, coffee with heavy whipping cream and 1 tsp palm sugar. (Don't worry, I will tell you how to make these!)
Before breakfast - 114 (6.3 CDN)
One hour after -112 (6.2 CDN)
Two hours after - 104 (5.78 CDN)
Still needs some work, but at least it is much steadier - and I had lost 7 lbs.
So I thought I would share my journey with you, and share the successful recipes I find!
All recipes will be:
♥ low carb, as I am eating a maximum of 30 carbs a day - I aim for no more than 10 carbs per meal.
♥ high fat, because without carbs, your body will burn fat. My aim is at least 150g of fat per day.
♥ gluten-free/wheat-free/grain-free, as I am unable to tolerate gluten or wheat.
♥ diabetic-safe, though some might prefer to use an artificial sweetener instead
♥ low sugar, using palm sugar, because I will not eat artificial sugar (which started out as insecticide)
♥ little to no added salt
♥ mostly single servings because I am the only one in my family on this diet, and there is less risk of overeating, if there is nothing left to eat.
♥ easy and quick to make, because I am lazy
♥ good tasting - because this is a lifestyle, not a short term diet!
So will you join me?
Photo credit: Catherine McDiarmid-Watt
All rights reserved
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