"Wheat... lots of wheat... fields of wheat... a tremendous amount of wheat." Woody Allen as Boris in Love and Death, 1975. Grains are the humble seeds of grasses and of civilization. Without grains, we wouldn't be where we are today: fat, miserable, malnourished -- hunched over an iPad or a plate of Fettucini Alfredo. No, where we would be is hunched atop a rock with our trusty spear in hand, waiting for some game to come by, hoping that the game would be the kind we could eat and not get … [Read more...]
Another typical day in my life after carbs: 8-15-11
The first time I wrote about a typical day of eating low-carb, it turned out not to be completely typical. But it was a real day. The truth is, I don't have a set routine, a rigid plan, but just some general guidelines. Mostly, I aim to keep my total net carbs per day under 45 and my total calories under 2,100. (Net carbs are total carbohydrates minus fiber.) I pay little direct attention to calories. If I only eat when I'm hungry and avoid grains, starchy vegetables, sugary treats and … [Read more...]
Low-carb brunch on a summer Sunday
I took a walk this morning, swinging around the city cemetery (always inspirational), and came loping home with an appetite. That, of course, is the rub for all those who think they can work-out to lose weight. The more you work, the hungrier you get. Having eaten a modest breakfast four-and-a-half hours earlier, I figured a low-carb brunch was in order. Here's what I made myself: Pictured are two eggs scrambled in coconut oil, a salmon patty, and five halved fresh strawberries. The salmon … [Read more...]
Big lunch can be dinner, too
It's funny how after you've been eating low-carb for a while, you look at food differently than you did before. Looking over the high-calorie entrees pictured in the Xtreme Eating Awards 2011 (PDF file) from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), I notice the carbs first, which come in the form of bread, buns and fries. There's also a pasta dish and a porterhouse steak accompanied by a big serving of mashed potatoes. The accompanying text from the CSPI focuses on the … [Read more...]
Keeping cool, low-carb style: simple salmon salad
When it's hot, most people like to eat light. Low-carb makes that easy. Lately, it's been hot all over, including here in Michigan. Locally, our temperatures have been in the 90s all week; today's high is predicted to be 98 degrees with a heat index of 110. If you live in Oklahoma or Texas, that may seem like a cool breeze to you, but up here, we aren't accustomed to temps in the upper 90s. After all, not only is Michigan a northern state, but it's surrounded by the largest bodies of … [Read more...]
Great foods for a low carb diet (part 4): salmon and sardines
Before adopting a low carb diet, the only canned fish I ever ate was tuna, mostly in the form of the classic tuna-salad sandwich. I still eat canned tuna, minus the bread, but because of two concerns, I restrict the amount. First, there is my concern about mercury in tuna. I'm not in one of the government's "high risk" groups for mercury consumption (pregnant women, nursing mothers, children), but I figure, why take chances? I buy only light tuna, which tests significantly lower for … [Read more...]
A typical day in my life after carbs
Following up on my post "What is a low carb diet?" I'm presenting here a typical day of low carbing. The day was a Saturday. Breakfast (6:30 a.m.) Most days, I'm an early riser. The sun comes up, and I'm right there with it. no-filler salmon patty (leftover) two eggs scrambled with butter two mugs of coffee, each with two teaspoons of half-and-half one multi-vitamin for men Morning Snack (10:00 a.m.) Having this mid-morning snack was a-typical. Often I make it to lunch … [Read more...]
Quick takes: farm subsidies and fork sizes
At Salon, David Sirota examines Why Americans can't afford to eat healthy. He argues that "healthy food could easily be more affordable for everyone right now, if not for those ultimate elitists: agribusiness CEOs, their lobbyists and the politicians they own." Sirota has a point. Something ain't right here, folks. The federal government with its "Food Plate" is urging Americans to eat more vegetables and fruits, less sugar and less refined grains. It promotes whole foods over junk foods. … [Read more...]
For that special low-carb eater, a bouquet of beef jerky
When I was a kid in the previous millenium, TV was a big deal. Until the late 1960s, my family had one set, a black-and-white model in a blond-wood cabinet, and we gathered around it to watch programs as a family. Interesting, you say (being nice to the old guy), and a little quaint, but what has it got to do with beef jerky? I was getting to that. Words have emotive as well as cognitive meaning. They can point outward at things in the world, and at the same time inward to our … [Read more...]
Great foods for a low carb diet (part 3): red wine
Some may quibble that wine is a beverage, not a food, to which I say -- go get your own blog and quibble away. Others may object to calling any food/ beverage containing alcohol "great." That point I will take under consideration, but only for those of you with a relevant addiction, religion or age status. Still, even readers who are OK with drinking alcohol on occasion might question if there is enough nutritional value in red wine to qualify it as a "great" food. After all, just the other … [Read more...]