just about fed up

[not2late]

Re: just about fed up

You've gotten great advice. Don't limit yourself into thinking "breakfast HAS to be eggs and bacon." You know what I had for breakfast this morning? A bowl of chicken-vegetable soup, which was leftover from a couple nights ago! It was warm and satisfying, and the best thing was that all I had to do was heat it in the microwave.

Somewhere near the top of the forum there is a sticky thread called "Induction Recipe Basics". If you really miss sandwiches, there is a recipe for Atkins Revolution Rolls and Wraps. The Revolution Rolls can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. I generally use them for hamburger buns or sandwich rolls.

[sallyseachange]

Re: just about fed up

Re Boursain cheese...
Have you tried making flax crackers to spread the Boursain on?
There's recipes around for them... if you look. I do them like this:

Four tablespoons ground flax seed; about half a cup water; one tablespoon grated parmesan.
Mix and wait a min for the flax to thicken. Pour onto a round of cooking parchment and spread to plate size. Nuke for a few mins (depends on your microwave) until firmer but not crispy. Make 'divisions' in the flax with a knife, like slicing a cake. Nuke again until crispy. Separate and cool.
Store in fridge.
I make eight crackers like this and have a couple a day. Great with cheese or just salted butter.

[Sherrie273]

Re: just about fed up

One thing that has been helping me adjust is telling myself that I have three choices.

1) I can eat whatever I want and keep getting fatter.
2) I can eat pasta and bread and fruit, but no butter or cheese or meat, and count calories instead of listening to my body.
3) I can eat steak and bacon and fried vegetables and alfredo sauce and ranch and cheese and chicken skin, and I can eat until I'm full.

Because, these are my choices. Maybe it's not quite fair that I have skinny friends and relatives who can eat pasta AND alfredo sauce AND garlic bread AND still be skinny. But fair or not, I'm not one of them. And fair or not, these are still my choices. (And I choose #3 )

[sallyseachange]

Re: just about fed up

Number three is the way to go!!!! Yippee!

[euroasia]

Re: just about fed up

Today is my 4th day and I think I am getting fed up already as well.

I do not have access to sandwich meats (because where I live food labels are not clear and I am afraid I will end up eating sugars, not all but most are not detailed)

That leaves me with cooked ground beef, sliced steak (bought directly fro butcher's), chicken parts (thighs, breast, etc), fish (finfish, fresh baked or fried straight from the ocean)

Cheese..mozzarella or sheep cheese or feta are my faves (all whole milk)

I am surrounded by all you can eat organic veggies at the cheapest prices (25 cents per kg of tomatoes or $1 for 4 heads of lettuce for example..lotsa cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli, parsley, cukes, etc but I am limited to 1 -3 cups combined.

Yes, I can eat eggs. But how many a person can stand a day, every day ?

I have read the recipes but I do not find them very useful during induction phase since the food is very limited.

So far I have tried spinach,tomato omlette, scrambled eggs in ground beef. Other than that I eat all my veggies raw. I use olive oil and lemon juice as dressing.

So, any suggestions for someone in my situation?

[not2late]

Re: just about fed up

Today is my 4th day and I think I am getting fed up already as well.

I do not have access to sandwich meats (because where I live food labels are not clear and I am afraid I will end up eating sugars, not all but most are not detailed)

That leaves me with cooked ground beef, sliced steak (bought directly fro butcher's), chicken parts (thighs, breast, etc), fish (finfish, fresh baked or fried straight from the ocean)

Cheese..mozzarella or sheep cheese or feta are my faves (all whole milk)

I am surrounded by all you can eat organic veggies at the cheapest prices (25 cents per kg of tomatoes or $1 for 4 heads of lettuce for example..lotsa cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli, parsley, cukes, etc but I am limited to 1 -3 cups combined.

Yes, I can eat eggs. But how many a person can stand a day, every day ?

I have read the recipes but I do not find them very useful during induction phase since the food is very limited.

So far I have tried spinach,tomato omlette, scrambled eggs in ground beef. Other than that I eat all my veggies raw. I use olive oil and lemon juice as dressing.

So, any suggestions for someone in my situation?

I wish I had access to inexpensive veggies!

I think your situation is ideal---minimal processed meats and lots of whole, natural products. I look at the foods you posted and think "WOW! So much to eat!"

If you eat raw veggies, then you can have them as salads (chop or cube the cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and dress them with a oil and lemon juice.) and use as a chunky sauce/side dish for the meats. You can cook a chopped tomato, add spices and herbs and use it as a sauce for the chicken, beef, fish, etc. Cucumbers make an excellent side dish for fish--either lightly saute the cucumbers or dice them and dress with oil and lemon juice.

Chicken: pound the breasts until it is thin and saute in oil, add a clove of chopped garlic. REmove from pan, squirt with lemon juice. To the cooking juices in the pan, add half a chopped tomato and cook until it is just warmed through. Return the chicken to the pan, coat with the tomato and put a slice of mozzarella on top. Put in very hot oven long enough to melt the cheese.
Slice the thighs and use for stir-fry or skewer them, season them with herbs and grill for something similar to a satay.

Ground beef: lots of recipes there. Add spices and herbs to vary the flavor.

Steak: ask your butcher to slice it thicker (2 cm), then fry it. Cut into cubes and make a Hollandaise or Bearnaise sauce to use as a dip. The Hollandaise/ Bearnaise can be used for steammed broccoli or cauliflower.

Fish: if it is straight-out-of-the-water fresh, there isn't much to do with them because they'll taste excellent no matter how you cook them. I would just bake or steam them to preserve their fresh flavor and enjoy with a squirt of lemon juice. Or my favorite---a simple fish soup cooked with some onion and just enough tomato to give a slight tartness to the soup.

[Stella]

Re: just about fed up

not 2 late you are making me hungry!! Yum!!!

[not2late]

Re: just about fed up

not 2 late you are making me hungry!! Yum!!!

Good! Because the acceptable foods during Induction form the basis of alot of 4 Star restaurant menues.

Read cookbooks--the regular kind, not the low carb ones---and you'll see that many meat and vegetable dishes are naturally low carb-Atkins friendly. Roast chicken, pan-seared scallops, garlic shrimp, grilled steak, braised lamb shanks, etc., etc. Even things like liver and onions can be made Atkins friendly.

Miss mashed potatoes? What's mashed potato? It's potatoes that are boiled and mashed into a puree with butter and cream, right? So what's preventing us from applying that cooking technique to other vegetables? Puree cauliflower or do what those oh-so-trendy chefs do and make vegetable purees of broccoli, green/string beans, eggplant, celeriac, etc. for side dishes.

Want soup? Add broth to those vegetable purees, garnish with a tablespoon of cream and you have something that high-end restaurants call "bisque" and charge $10.00 per bowl.

Miss foods that have wraps like fajitas or mu shu pork? Why not use a lettuce leaf for the wraps?

And many of the foods you couldn't eat on low fat diets are now okay to eat. I mean, what diet has real Hollandaise sauce, the kind made with egg yolks and butter, as an acceptable food? Not many.

Even the recipes in the pasta sections of most cookbooks can be made Atkins friendly by eliminating the pasta! Tonight I'm making a 'pasta' recipe that pairs pasta with a sauce of chicken and broccoli. To make it Atkins friendly, I don't add the pasta to the chicken and broccoli part. I get the flavor of that pasta dish without the added carbs, and I didn't need to buy a low carb cookbook to get the recipe!

[Brook]

Re: just about fed up

I wanna know where to get veggies and stuff that cheap too!

And there's no reason in the world why you can't make your own sliced sandwhich meats. I do.

[euroasia]

Re: just about fed up

The inexpensive and fresh veggies are great but they also get boring.

I am already sick of the same beef, lamb, chicken and fish..really

I wish I had pork rinds, sandwich meats, bacon, etc and some Atkins products once in a while

Brooke, I live in Turkey and compared with the US or UK vegetables and fruits are very inexpensive...and naturally grown

[Thumper1616]

Re: just about fed up

Okay...it did make me cry..........
I think the lack of starches is making me emotional

[Ke15i]

Re: just about fed up

i made that boursin chicken dish tonight for my fiance and i have to say...i think its my favorite food....well...EVER! its amazing beyond belief! woooooooowww....i cant wait to make it again

[higgies]

Re: just about fed up

OMG...I definitely have to make it now. I saw it and recommended it, but I hadn't made it myself yet as I think I opted for the cream cheese and bacon chicken, which was very good. Now I MUST make this! Thanks for the feedback.

BTW, this is a great DIET we're enjoying, isn't it?? LOL!

[Ke15i]

Re: just about fed up

MMM cream cheese sounds good too! but yes, you HAVE to make the boursin chicken...too bad the ingredients are so darn expensive! its worth every penny. let me know what you think!

[TEQUILAROSE]

Re: just about fed up

Hi Guys,
I found this thread very informative. I just finished day 5 of induction. Day 4 I was really excited and felt good for the first time. Very determined. Then day 5 came. My scale read the same since I started, which is fine I don't expect to loose right away I understand some don't. I don't think I have lost any inches. I walk 3 miles a day in an hour on treadmill, 3 days a week and the other 3 I do 1.5 miles in 30 minutes and a 30 min all over work out. I know I have to bring my water intake up (I am working on it). I know I am taking in more food then I normally eat, yes it is better food then I was eating before but somettimes I feel like a pig. lol. I am going to work on some of the ideas I have read. Also, I was just wondering if tomato sause is allowed? I love cabbage soup and I always and a bit to it, as I do in my stuffed peppers. Keep the info coming guys, you are great!!!