LowCarb is the real *SKINNY BEHIND* a world wide shrink.

CookingWithCarlo.com ^ | Jan.30 2004 | Carlo3b, A Dad, Chef, Freeper

[carlo3b]

I made this about a month ago because Asparagus was on sale, and it was getting cold outside.. I loved it but, we are soup lovers anyway.. Any good excuse will inspire a soup in my home.. enjoy. . :)

LowCarb Asparagus Dinner Soup

• 3 pounds of asparagus
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 leek
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 sliced celery
• 2 cups water
• 3 eggs
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Salt and  pepper


Trim off ends of asparagus and  remove about 4" of the skin of each stalk, keeping  the ends and peels. Cut asparagus into 1" pieces.
1) In a pan mix the asparagus peels and trimmings with the chicken stock bringing to a boil.
2) Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes. Strain stock and reserve.
3) In a pot of salted boiling water blanch the asparagus tips for 2  minutes.
4) In a large pot melt the butter over a low heat and cook the leeks, onion and celery, seasoning with salt and pepper, for 6 minutes.  Add the 1" asparagus pieces and mix.
5) Add the infused stock and water, bring to a boil and simmer, for 10 minutes until asparagus is tender.
6) Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Return pureed soup to large pot and leave to cool.
7) In a heatproof bowl whisk eggs and 1/4 cup lemon juice together, adding 1 cup of the lukewarm soup at a time, while whisking constantly.
8) Whisk the egg mixture into the remaining soup.
Cook the soup over a low heat without boiling. Once soup is hot, add remaining lemon juice and salt and pepper.

[carlo3b]

"First espoused by Dr. Robert Atkins in the early 1970s..."

Well, not exactly, Atkins cites research on diabetes going back, I think, to maybe the thirties or fourties, and I remember listening to Dr. Carlton Frederics on the radio, who warned of the dangers of Carbs/hypoglycemia to general health and well-being. He passed away in the early eighties and Atkins moved to the forefront..
 

Actually I don't remember this from any personal knowledge.. LOL, but I found out this diet and theory all started with a small booklet entitled Letter on Corpulence Addressed to the Public, not written by a dietitian or a doctor, but by an undertaker named William Banting. It became one of the most famous books on obesity ever written. First published in 1863, it went into many editions and continued to be published long after the author's death. The book was revolutionary and it should have changed western medical thinking on diet for weight loss forever.

William Banting was well-regarded in 19th century society. He was a fine carpenter, and undertaker to the rich and famous. None of Banting's family on either parent's side had any tendency to obesity. However, when he was in his thirties, William started to become overweight.

He consulted an eminent surgeon, a kind personal friend, who recommended increased "bodily exertion before any ordinary daily labors began". Banting had a heavy boat and lived near the river so he took up rowing the boat for two hours a day. All this did for him, however, was to give him a prodigious appetite. He put on weight and was advised to stop. So much for exercise!

He was advised that he could remedy his obesity by moderate and light food. But wasn't really told what was intended by this. He says he brought his system into a low, impoverished state without reducing his weight, which caused many obnoxious boils to appear and two rather formidable carbuncles. He went into hospital and was ably operated upon - but also fed into increased obesity.

Banting went into hospital twenty times in as many years for weight reduction. He tried swimming, walking, riding and taking the sea air. He drank "gallons of physic and liquor pitas", took the spa waters at Leamington, Cheltenham and Harrogate, and tried low-calorie, starvation diets; he took Turkish baths at a rate of up to three a week for a year but lost only 6 pounds in all that time, and had less and less energy.

He was assured by one physician, whom he calls "one of the ablest physicians in the land", that putting weight on was perfectly natural; that he, himself, had put on a pound for every year of manhood and he was not surprised by Banting's condition - he merely advised "more exercise, vapor baths and shampooing and medicine".

Banting tried every form of slimming treatment the medical profession could devise but it was all in vain. Eventually, discouraged and disillusioned - and still very fat - he gave up.

By 1862, at the age of 66, William Banting weighed 202 lbs and he was only 5 ft 5 ins tall. Banting says that although he was of no great weight or size, still, he says:
"I could not stoop to tie my shoes, so to speak, nor to attend to the little offices humanity requires without considerable pain and difficulty which only the corpulent can understand, I have been compelled to go downstairs slowly backward to save the jar of increased weight on the knee and ankle joints and have been obliged to puff and blow over every slight exertion, particularly that of going upstairs."
He also had an umbilical rupture, and other bodily ailments.

On top of this he found that his sight was failing and he was becoming increasingly deaf.

Because of this last problem, he consulted an aural specialist who made light of his case, sponged his ears out - and blistered the outer ear - without the slightest benefit and without inquiring into his other ailments. Banting was not satisfied: he left in a worse plight than when he went to the specialist.

Eventually, in August of 1862 Banting consulted a noted Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons: an ear, nose and throat specialist, Dr. William Harvey. It was an historic meeting.

Dr. Harvey had recently returned from a symposium in Paris where he had heard Dr Claude Bernard, a renowned physiologist, talk of a new theory about the part the liver played in the disease of diabetes. Bernard believed that the liver, as well as secreting bile, also secreted a sugar-like substance that it made from elements of the blood passing through it. This started Harvey's thinking about the roles of the various food elements in diabetes and he began a major course of research into the whole question of the way in which fats, sugars and starches affected the body.

When Dr. Harvey met Banting, he was interested as much by Banting's obesity as by his deafness, for he recognized that the one was the cause of the other. So Harvey put Banting on a diet. By Christmas, Banting was down to 184 lbs and, by the following August, 156 lbs.

[carlo3b]

LowCarb Bamboo Minestrone Soup

• 4 bacon slices
• 1 cup onion (chopped)
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 4 minced cloves of garlic
• 2 cups tomato puree
• 2 cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 cup minced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 5 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 4 oz can bamboo shoots
• 1 can garbanzo beans


1) In a large pot, cook the bacon and drain off the fat.
2) Add onion, beef and garlic.
3) When onions are cooked, add celery, both kinds of tomatoes, carrot, broth, soup, oregano, basil and salt and pepper.  Cook for 20 minutes.
4) Stir in the zucchini, pasta, garbanzo beans and spinach.
Cook for another 10 minutes.
Serve with parmesan cheese.

[carlo3b]

If only I could find something low carb to sop up the juices! ;^)

Stop it.. You have no idea how hard it is for an Italian chef to cook anything liquid without crusty bread to dunk and taste..

I am working hard as are many others to develop a great bread without heavy carbs.. I promise it is just around the corner, and when that breakthrough happens, the variations will be flying of the shelves.. :o)

[carlo3b]

I got a bread machine this year for christmas and I can't wait to try out that recipe. btw, do you have anymore recipes for bread machines?

I have tried this recipe and in my breadmaker and it worked.. and I had many others say that they had success, but I have also been told that it came out very dense.. Let us know how you did.. I have many breadmaker recipes but they are not very Low Carb.. if you want any others let me know.. :)

[tubebender]

I had heard of William Banting but did not know about his suffering.

My wife and I had fresh cooked Dungeness Crab this evening here at home for our 47 wedding anniversary. I used to eat a half a bag of Frito Lay Dip Chips with it but I was reduced to celery sticks with a cheese spread. I thought about Pork Rinds but tire of them quickly. I saw a cook on food TV reheat them on a cookie sheet in the over and then season them with either Cajun spice or maybe it was Cinnamon. Can you suggest something in place of chips because we eat a lot of fresh crab. We buy it live off the boat and cook it on the stove...

[carlo3b]

All Kraft sells is junkfood.

Sadly, Kraft is not really to blame that the general public demands these products.. If not Kraft, then Nabisco, or Pillsbury and an alphabet of non-decrepit corporate headings.. Hell, even health-food stores like Whole Foods sell junk foods prepared in these factories.

I must also mention that paying more for organic provides little proof that any of their products are any better for you than any other farm products, or that it is totally organic at all.. I suspect I will regret saying this to some of the devote that will take exception to my experience.. :)

[carlo3b]

It appears that your problems are nearly over... :)

Frito-Lay to Market Low-Carb Doritos and Tostitos

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

NEW YORK  — Snack foods company Frito-Lay (search) said Wednesday it is introducing two new types of chips to capitalize on the popularity of low-carbohydrate diets (search).

The two new products, called Doritos Edge and Tostitos Edge, will cut out 60 percent of the carbohydrates that are in regular Doritos and Tostitos.

Frito-Lay, a unit of PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), has already eliminated trans fats from its brands. Trans fats, which give products a longer shelf life, have been linked to heart disease.

The new chips will use soy proteins and fiber as substitute ingredients, the company said in a statement. Both Tostitos Edge and Doritos Edge will have six net carbohydrates, 10 grams of protein, and three grams of fiber.

The low-carb craze, popularized by the high-protein Atkins diet (search), has food companies rolling out new products to jump on the bandwagon.

Fast food chains McDonald's Corp. (MCD) and Burger King revamped their menus to cater to customers counting their carbs.

The alcohol industry is also taking notice. Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.'s (BUD) low-carb Michelob Ultra beer has been a big profit driver for the past year and Adolph Coors Co. (RKY) is rolling out Aspen Edge beer to take a part of the health-conscious market.

Spirits companies such as Diageo Plc. (search) are using their advertising to point out that many of their drinks have always been low carbohydrate offerings.

Doritos Edge is currently being tested in Phoenix, and both products will be available across the United States in May. 

[dennisw]

All Kraft sells is junkfood.

Sadly, Kraft is not really to blame that the general public demands these products.. If not Kraft, then Nabisco, or Pillsbury and an alphabet of non-decrepit corporate headings.. Hell, even health-food stores like Whole Foods sell junk foods prepared in these factories.

You forget TV and print advertising which drives sales of junk food snacks. Nabisco, Coca Cola, and Kraft would not be spending tons of money if it didn't work

I must also mention that paying more for organic provides little proof that any of their products are any better for you than any other farm products, or that it is totally organic at all.. I suspect I will regret saying this to some of the devote that will take exception to my experience.. :)

Organic is definitely better. I know this from experience growing and eating it. Well grown organic/biodynamic food will have superior mineral content. Are more solid, less bloated by irrigation water. Test this yourself by buying a supermarket whole chicken and one from a Whole Foods type store. Bring to a boil, then simmer the chicken for one hour. 

1. See which chicken leaves more disgusting fat in the water. Answer: Supermarket chicken
2. Then eat a chicken leg and start gnawing on the bone joints like peasants do. (Good cartilage and bone calcium there for your own joints). The natural chicken bones are heavier, thicker and harder to gnaw on. The supermarket chick bones are easy to chew on, to even eat the whole bone.

But there are many grades of organic food. Example: The organic carrot from my local farm is better than the generic organic carrot from California that you can now find in supermarkets. Some locally grown food is well grown by conscientious farmers and as good as organic.

FWIW I am eating non organic vegetables these days due to circumstance. I am not a fanatic

[gobucks]

I am not a fanatic

Well, didn't you know that NONE of us in Freeperville are fanatics about anything?! :)

[carlo3b]

I am not a fanatic

Well, $#@^%, now I have to erase again. I wish you folks would get your labels straight.. :o)

LowCarb Greek Lasagna

Aka MOUSSAKA.. :)

• 1 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 8 zucchini squash
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• Salt & pepper
• Powdered garlic
• Parsley
• Oregano

1) Brown ground beef and onion in frying pan; drain fat.
2) Add stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, ketchup and spices. Leave to simmer.
3) Cut off end of zucchini and slice lengthwise.
4) Place layer of squash in baking dish, then layer of sauce, then slice mozzarella cheese.  Keep repeating layers.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes - 1 hour.

 

[carlo3b]

What a success story.. keep up the great work.. you are one of the millions that have found a home with this diet.. However, as you know, there are a great many others that do not fair as well..

Please keep us informed of your progress and kindly drop in to give us any tips that you develop to help others with their quest.. Carlo

[carlo3b]

mmmm porkrinds.

Bacon grease.. yummmm ... LOL

What an amazing turnaround in what is now acceptable and helpful.. these two ingredients would have gotten you ejected from any health food forum just a couple of years ago, and I know that there are some reading it now that had to be excused from the keyboard after reading this post.. go figure.. :)

[Lady Eileen]

bump

[carlo3b]

I love my diet. High-carb, high-protein, high-fat. 6-8 meals a day, double my weight in protein grams. Huge meal before bed. The goal is to gain 10-15 lbs by summer.

Just follow the USDA food pyramid and you'll be home free quicker that you can say Coronary Arrest.. :o)

Seriously, I can still recall those simple days of Wine and Rolls.. Congratulations.. Ha!

[carlo3b]

please add me to your list. Thank you.

You have made the big time mom.. You are on our list so buckle-up, this ride gets bumpy.. :)

LowCarb Braised String Beans

• 1 rasher of bacon
• 1 large chopped onion
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1/2 peeled and chopped tomato
• 1 pound string beans
• Parsley
• Salt and pepper


1) Sauté bacon until soft.
2) Add and sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.
3) Add tomato paste and the tomato and simmer until sauce has thickened.
4) Add string beans and seasoning and enough water to cover them.
Cover and cook until beans are tender.

 

[carlo3b]

Painlessly down 6 LBS in two and a half weeks without hardly trying, and cheating at will. Feasting mightily today upon bbq ribs, veggies and bleu cheese, tuna, and a few pistachios. 16 lbs to go.

We want a progress report.. isn't life wonderful?.. sigh.. :)

[Redleg Duke]

It's a great feeling, isn't it?

[kevkrom]

It's a great feeling, isn't it?

Yes, it is. I did a little backsliding yeaterday at a Super Bowl party, but the key is to make sure I am strictly on-plan for the next couple of days to get back in the groove...

[Marysecretary]

I ate a bunch of sugar-free jelly bellies once. They were absolutely great, until all of a sudden...and we were in a car traveling home. I am very careful now (smile)!!