4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

[Skeptika23]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Last delicious day of the challenge - DH made stuffed mushroom caps so I'm ending it with a bang! I was really disappointed that our lunchroom had NO good options off the salad bar for veggies today. I was trying to get away from the tomatoes, but it was not to be.

NOVEMBER 14:

4 oz green raw cabbage - 5.3 gross - 3 net
15 cherry tomatoes - 10.1 gross - 6.9 net
9 mushroom caps - 20.7 gross - 12.8 net

TOTAL GROSS VEGGIE CARBS: 33.7
TOTAL NET VEGGIE CARBS: 22.7

Mitzi: I did feel thinner this week until today - today I was all bloaty and feeling chunky.

[jimmie 48]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

and my last day's totals

veggie challenge
friday 14 november
tom. juice 7.......7
bok choy 4.3...... 2.3
lettuce 2.5.......1.3
2 cherry tomatoes 1.3.........89
2 slices cucumber not worth mentioning
1/4 c mushrooms 2..........1.06
and the clincher
baked sw. potatoe 23.6.........19.9

total carbs 40.7
total net carbs 32.45

[Georgiana]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

This challenge really rocks. Thanks for hosting it, Mitzi!

The big news... Since Monday, I have lost................ *drum roll* ........... 5 lbs! My weight has been stalling for more than one and a half months. In fact it was slowly going up overall. And since I have only 15-20 lbs to lose, 5 lbs is really awesome.

[jimmie 48]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

fantastic georgiana!!!!

we've seen this happen before.

[Lyssie]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Sooo... I haven't posted my totals (and yes, they're off) since Tues. Here we go:

November 12:
1 Cucumber- 5g-1g=4g total
Artichoke - 14g-7g=7g total
Zucchini - 7g-3g=4g total
Total for the Day: 15g

November 13:
Broccoli - 3g-1g=2g
Cucumber - 3g-1g=2g
Lettuce - 1g-0g=1g
Tomato - 2g-1g=1g
Cucumber - 6g-1g=5g
Total for the Day: 11g

November 14:
Tomato - 3g-1g=2g
Lettuce - 2g-1g=1g
Artichoke - 14g-7g=7g
Total for the Day: 10g

I was obviously low the days I was traveling/eating out. Oh well. I actually feel like this helped out a bit with me eating my veggies (I've been a little slacker recently). I was eating half a cucumber for breakfast this morning instead of just my usual egg whites.

[sallyseachange]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Georgiana that's wonderful... am so happy for you! Yay for the power of those veggies!!!

My new veggie last night turned out to be something called a "cardoon" (cardi in Italian) Cardi: Cardoons
Actually, they're quite common here, in winter, and I have eaten a kind of cardoon several times before. But last night I tried a different variety of the normal kind... the difference being that it was reddish rather than being cream coloured.

For anyone who is not familiar with them, they look like a robust version of celery but taste like artichokes (same family).

I poached pieces in salted water, then made them "au gratin" with a besciamelle sauce made with a small amount of "Thick'n Thin no Starch" rather than flour, and watered down cream in place of milk. Then melted cheese into the sauce, covered the drained cardoons with it and baked until bubbly and nicely browned on top.

They were delicious, but I have to say that the coloured variety didn't taste any different to the usual kind. Nice to have satisfied my curiosity though.

So... my veggies yesterday were: cardoons, broccoli, zucchini, arugula, tomatoes, lettuce. Total: 25 g carbs again.

[blueberrylady]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Georgiana, congrats on your loss! That's wonderful. I lost a pound too so I know how good it feels

As for my menu, I've been sick for over a week and yesterday was one of my worst days. The only veggies I ate was a can of beets but they had 21 nets carbs in them so I still made it over 17.

Sally, where do you get Thickn Thin No Starch? I've never tried it but I miss things with cornstarch in them, especially gravy and stewed tomatoes. Are things as good with it as with the starch? (There's a funny story about my one try at buying the Thickn Thin. I was first on Atkins 4 years ago and I ordered some of the thickener along with a shake mix, some supplements and a few other things directly from the Atkins catalog. Well, it came one day when we weren't home and we had 2 half-grown Lab puppies at the time. The UPS man left the carton on the doorstep and when we got back, we found an empty box but didn't know where it came from until we started looking around and found the chewed up containers under the Birch trees where the pups liked to play! So there went the $44 order that I never got a chance to even try)!

Mitzi, Thank you so much for doing the veggie challenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed it!

[mitzimarie]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Hi, Everyone!

Whew! Long work day. It's wonderful to come here and see your posts. I am really quite proud.

I'm too wiped out to get my final stuff together tonight, so I will do that tomorrow. Thanks so much to all of you... you've really helped me to get back into my groove, and for that I am truly grateful.

I'll be handing out some cauliflower heads tomorrow.

See ya!

[sallyseachange]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Blueberrylady.... sorry to hear you've been sick. Hope you get well very soon!

As for the Thick'n Thin Not Starch, I ordered it from the LowcarbMegastore in the UK and had it sent out to Italy.
I would think it would be cheaper for you to order it from somewhere nearer home though. I wonder if Netrition has it?

I find Thick'n Thin to be very good for thickening, though I use it rarely. The only thing you have to be very careful about is not to overdo the amount. If you put too much in, it gets a horrid slimey consistency, but used with caution it's fine.

Loved your funny story about the lab pups and their specially delivered meal!!

[LaceyLooWho]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Gosh I hope I am not posting the rest of my weeks totals too late...

Wednesday -
1 cup jicama - 11.5g/6.5g/5 net carbs
1 cup red pepper - 9g/3g/6 net carbs
1 cup Cucumber - 2.5g/1g/1.5 net carbs
1/2 cup tomato - 3.5g/1g/2.5 net carbs
1/2 cup broccoli - 3g/1g/2 net carbs
Total - 17 net carbs

Thursday -
1/2 cup pumpkin - 10g/4g/6 net carbs
1 cup cauliflower - 5.5g/2.5g/3 net carbs
1 cup broccoli - 6g/2g/4 net carbs
1/2 cup celery - 2g/1g/1g net carbs
3/4 cup red pepper - 6.5g/2.5g/4 net carbs
Total - 18 net carbs

Friday -
1 chayote (yum!) - 8g/3.5g/4.5 net carbs
1 cup red pepper - 9g/3g/6 net carbs
1 cup green pepper - 7g/2.5g/4.5 net carbs
1/2 cup onion - 7.5g/1.5g/6 net carbs
Total - 21 net carbs

This challenge was harder than I expected and I found out I was not eating as many veggies as I should have been before the challenge but this has helped me see how much I need to focus on those veggies and keep this level of veggie carbs up Great challenge!

[mitzimarie]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Greetings, Fellow Challengers

It has been very satisfying (and inspiring!) to check in each day and see the effort that each of you has put forth to succeed in this challenge. We've learned a few things.

One of them being - Once we really started seriously tracking net veggie carbs (versus just net carbs), a lot of us found that we thought we were eating more of them than we really are. And we found that we can eat a lot of food, when most of our carbs go towards veggies.

My best advice to those who ask me, is to learn to embrace veggies, rather than fight them. Once you finally accept the fact that eating veggies is the best way to do Atkins correctly and succeed in the long run, it becomes a lifestyle change. We are viewing Atkins as a healthy way to eat for life, and not just a "fix" to lose weight.

Georgiana, your results this week were outstanding! Believe me, I love having this kind of success story up my sleeve when trying to convince someone who's been on Extended Induction forever, to move to Rung 1. Veggies are so good for you, and good for weight loss, too! I can honestly say that everytime I hit a rough patch and put on a few pounds, it is a fact that I have strayed from veggies. Getting stict with veggies again is the ONLY way I am able to get back on track. Remember that! (I'm reminding myself of this, too)

Lyssie, I really appreciate your honesty in reporting your totals. Thanks for taking the time to particpate.

Glenda, I am looking forward to seeing in the next veggie challenge, OK? Thanks for your support.

How about it? Are you all going to make the effort next week to make sure you're eating your veggies?

[sallyseachange]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Absolutely gonna keep on eating those veggies, Mitzi!
Have to admit it's no hardship for me, as I'm an absolute veggie addict!

This challenge has been really a lot of fun. Thanks so much Mitzi, for running it. You did a simply superb job.

Looking forward to the next one!

[Skeptika23]

Re: 4th Semi Annual Veggie Challenge

Thanks for running the challenge and thanks for the cauliflower (it's what I had at lunch today, totally appropriate)!

Believe me, veggies will remain the foundation of net carbs for me!