companion blog to the e-book the 24/7 Low Carb Diner

Companion blog to the e-book
Available at http://www.247lowcarbdiner.com

Friday, August 1, 2008

Akward First Impressions

It's almost like a first date, or that first day at school...that strange gnawing in the pit of your stomach. That paranoid wondering, "Will they like me?"

It's my first day to blog about my new endeavor. My attempt to share my method with the masses...or at least with a few friends who will stop by. What method you ask?

Well, I wish it was a diet pill that would melt the pounds off while you ate anything you wanted, but...it is instead my meal planning system for low carb dieters and diabetics. One would have made us rich, hopefully the other will make us healthy. I'm not a doctor, so please do not substitute this blog for medical advice...yada yada yada, you know the routine.

Earlier this year, my hubby was diagnosed with diabetes. He had lost weight before on a low carb plan and loved it. It was so time consuming though--and expensive. When a son went off to college, we decided we had best switch to the beans and rice diet. Much cheaper. Not so great for a soon to be diabetic, though. After the diagnosis, we immediately began to research, and found the low carb plans for diabetics. It all seemed to make more sense than the ADA high carb plans. Seeing that the remaining 3 out of 4 of us show signs of insulin resistance, we opted for low carb, family style. The doctor approved and off we went. Converting the whole family to a lower carb diet was going to take some planning.

Restaurants just are not geared toward the low carb dieter--at least those of us who don't have the extra cash to order two entrees and throw out the parts they can't eat. My hubby's snack bar at work could feed him one legal meal for lunch. Grilled chicken salad. That is it. I began to shift into homemaking gear. I tested recipes for months, converted family favorites and returned to freezer cooking. Low carb cooking is not difficult, but it does take planning. That is how I developed my system. No one wants frozen casseroles every night. And who wants to get stuck in the eggs, steak and salad rut?

I use some of the ideas from other meal management systems and I tweak them to fit our life. It takes a lot of cooking to feed three teenage sons. There are so many good plans out there, but it seemed like each one had a big drawback---either it was too time consuming on one exhausting cooking day, or you needed to let someone else choose your recipes, or you were still left staring into the fridge wondering what to cook that night...even though you had a gallon container of frozen spaghetti sauce. Don't laugh, I've been there.

We are in the process of turning the system I now use into an ebook. I decided to call it the 24/7 Low Carb Diner because I really need to have homestyle food available all the time. Someone is always hungry around here, and I now always have something ready at a moment's notice. I have spent the summer creating recipes and cooking. Lots of cooking. I'm pleased to say we are all losing weight (except my already skinny boy who isn't suffering either), John's blood results are good, and I have enough time out of the kitchen to write the book, begin a blog, and homeschool.

Most of my blogs will be about how we are doing this system-- one day at a time. I'll share recipes from time to time. Like right now, I am eating homemade sugar free bread and butter pickles from my mom's garden. Yum. I'll share that recipe soon. The recipe book will be ready to purchase within a week or two. If you are a low carb dieter or diabetic, I hope you'll join me on our journey, and I hope you like me...

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