Here's to a Healthier New Year

Aaaah. That time of year again. Evaluation of our successes and failures the past year. Resolutions and promises. I don't know about you, but I am a planner. I need to have goals, something good to work toward. Thus, this month's Diner News is focused on some extra things we low carbers can do to up the nutrition of our meals. The world may think we eat only bacon and eggs, but we know better. The ideas I put forward do not require strict regimens or lots of pill popping. Just some creative and still tasty ideas that just might increase your feeling of wellness. Yes, I tend to make up for the excesses of the holidays this time every year. But for 2015, I don't want it to be so much like a purge.

I could use some of those feelings of wellness myself. Stress is everywhere these days. That takes a toll on our health. My duties at school stress me like never before, both financially and emotionally. I have shed many tears this past year over relationship problems with my youngest son. Life is hard sometimes. I pray a lot. While I wait for that resolution, I know I need to devote more time to counteracting the stress I have been under. For me, it gives me a proactive plan that is positive with high hopes. As busy as I am, it can't take hours and hours!

I have added in a few things that I have dabbled in before, but never practiced routinely. I am taking some green foods powders to add to my meals Granted, that tastes like hay, but there are ways to work around that, especially when you know how much good stuff is in there. So go ahead and pair in with chocolate like I did. I am adding in more easy chia seed nutrition. Trying to buy more organic. I am exploring the benefits of gelatin and planning more bone broths. I am making sure the drinks I have during the day actually have health benefits. Say hello to healthy teas, good for you spices and apple cider vinegar. I am scheduling in some intermittent fasting. There are lots of ideas to include with a low carb diet.

It seems like there are so many things that are out of my control, it is beneficial in more than one way to be intentional about what I put into my body. Not legalistic or judgmental. Just steps in the right direction...more often. For instance, why not have Oolong tea to drink rather than a diet soda? Why not add some greens powder to soup or smoothies? I am really hoping small changes will result in feeling better physically and emotionally. Will it make my problems go away? Not likely. Maybe it will help me face them with a better attitude.

You might have read about Bulletproof Coffee, that insanely delicious creation of Dave Asprey. I love that. Did it often last year until the hot coffee broke my bullet blender cups. I do seem to kill more than my share of blenders. With another new immersion blender, I went back and made some again with butter and MCT oil. Then, to make it even better, I added some Great Lakes Grassfed gelatin. What a fun breakfast when you don't want hot. Or you just want a spoon. I adapted this idea from  Stevia Sweet. You do know that MCT (medium chain triglycerides) are used rapidly by your body as energy rather than stored as fat, right? MCT oil is flavorless and enhances your metabolism. Win. Win.

Spoonable Bulletproof

Mocha Cup

 

1 cup strong brewed coffee

2 tbsp grass-fed unsalted-butter

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp MCT oil

2 tbsp. Great Lakes unflavored gelatin

1-2 packets stevia or equivalent sweetener

It’s very simple, put all ingredients into a blender or process with a stick blender until all ingredients are well combined.

Pour into a mug or 2 smaller cups and refrigerate until set.

2 servings:  231 cal   <1 net carb   26 g fat

This sets up really well. If you aren't looking for the intermittent fasting benefits, it would make a great pudding cup for brown baggers.

If you want to see the other health ideas I have featured this month, order the Diner News. It is just $6 for the whole 2015. http://www.247lowcarbdiner.com/html/newsletter.html

The 2014 bundle will be ready soon. Gotta get the hubby on that this weekend.

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Dueling Diets and Family Gatherings

My poor mom. Today she had to battle in the carb and fat wars. One group staunchly low carb, the other devotees of the low fat lifestyle. When plans to get the big pork loin fell through, we went with brats. I told my hubby to get some turkey brats too, but he just didn't get it. Of course, the low fat crew went to the store to get their own. A bit embarassing, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

My sweet mom made coleslaw for us, baked beans for them. Of course, they also got corn on the cob, bread, chips and cheese dip. We got nuts and jicama for our dip. I brought along Green Chile Cauliflower, some coconut bark, and made herb dip. Poor mom, she even bought regular and low carb ice cream. I told her not to--and I was right; it was yucky. But she didn't want us to be left out, so we ate it.

Funny thing about the brats. Turkey brands differ widely. Our Johnsonville brats had 270 calories, 22 grams of fat, and 2 carbs. The Jennie-O Turkey Brats have 230 calories, 18 grams of fat and 4 carbs. If the nutrition is that close, I'm going to choose the real version every time. There are sausages out there that have lower calories and fat, but I wonder how many people are fooled into thinking turkey is always a healthier choice? While I ate my tasty, full strength brat, I did manage to mention how good my husband's cholesterol just tested, and how well his diabetes is now under control. I was on the low fat road to "health" for so many years. It sure didn't work for us, and I hate to see others put such faith into it.

But no matter which brat you choose, I'm sure both are better with some flavored mustard. This is one variety I really enjoy. Woeber's also makes a Champagne Dill that is great with tuna salads. I buy mine at Food Pyramid, but you can order online. I think I may experiment this summer with making some of my own flavored mustards. A recipe for honey mustard is in the e-book, but there are lots of flavors to explore.

The Great FAT Debate

A couple of people who have purchased the e-book have requested the fat and fiber information. I now have that available for no cost as a supplemental file. It is easy to add those pages at the end of the chapters for the different types of recipes.

The reason that they are not included with each recipe is because low carbers generally do not count fat grams in their menu planning. There are many varied opinions on this. I'll leave that research to you. Some prefer a plan that is both low carb and low fat. I find that too restricting. Others promote the other extreme, even encouraging occasional "fat fasts." I haven't gone that far either.

Here is what I do know. I used to cook low fat. We didn't get healthy eating that way. Low fat foods tend to have additional carbs. Today, when I was typing out the nutritional stats, it would just about kill me to admit that I am advocating meals which contain 40-50 grams of fat per serving. In my old low fat days, that would have crashed the entire day. Old habits die hard. I do believe that carb counts matter most to my diabetic family. I also think caloric intake is important, but may not the main factor of weight loss. In this type of diet, the body learns to process food differently. The research is out there. Check out Dr. Bernstein's plan for much of the science. Right now our goal is controlling blood sugars, not losing weight.

So, for me, I'm not going to think about the fat. It is glorious to have real cream in my coffee and to cook with cheese. But the choice is up to you. If your body can tolerate more carbs, then switching to lower fat cheeses and using less butter may be more successful. I guess the only hard rules are that you won't be at a healthy weight if you consume both the fats and the carbs without restriction.

For more information on tweaking the low carb diets to be more calorie restrictive, check our George Stella's newer cookbook, Eating Stella Style.