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I also read Wheat Belly, and was quite impressed with the science behind it. I have now been totally wheat-free for 5 weeks, I also went back on Atkins (which also works for me, and makes perfect sense physiologically). I feel 100% better. Most notably, my aches and pains ARE GONE. I mean GONE. I used to take two Alleve every day. When I got up from bed it took me several steps before I could straighten up. Now, no problem. I can honestly say, I have never had such dramatic effects from a food program before in my life. Additionally, I have a medical background, and what Dr. Davis describes in his book from a pathophysiology standpoint makes perfect sense. I would encourage anyone to try this for 3 weeks and see how it effects you. I noticed a big improvement after the first week... Remember, at one time, most peope of the world believed the world was flat, because that is what everyone was taught. Paradigms shift, and truth emerges.

OK. You have gotten me interested. I am easing into low carb eating as I read about it. A few days of cutting out white flour and potatoes and voila! my craving for DrPepper is gone (almost). I have never liked cauliflower, but I found a cool recipe on Allrecipes.com for mock potato salad. Cauliflower, boiled egg, celery, and I used Ken's Ranch Dressing. 1 carb per serving. I feel better already. Fewer aches and pains and in a much better mood.

Broccoli, steamed or stir-fried al dente (don't boil it for gosh sakes!). Sprinkled with a little grated cheese and drizzled with melted butter and it's wonderful. Big salads with bleu cheese (the real stuff not "lite" which you should avoid) dressing. What's not to like?

I get the family pack sirloin steaks at the supermarket. Barbecue like Vulcan himself on weekends, store steaks in tupperware in the 'fridge. Take one out each morning, chop into bite size pieces, put in tupperware, cover with frozen chopped broccoli, sprinkle with grated cheese and seasoned salt (not much), snap on the lid and take to work for lunch. 6 minutes in the microwave, drizzle with hot sauce . . . . And a big green salad in another container with bleu cheese or Italian. Eating low-carb doesn't have to be bland. Just different.

I like to do cauliflower and broccoli in the oven: spray bottom of sheet pan with olive oil spray, spread florets out, sprinkle with fresh minced garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Drizzle a bit of fresh olive oil on top and roast for 30-35 mins at 400 degrees. Easy.

RandyJ wrote:I like to do cauliflower and broccoli in the oven: spray bottom of sheet pan with olive oil spray, spread florets out, sprinkle with fresh minced garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Drizzle a bit of fresh olive oil on top and roast for 30-35 mins at 400 degrees. Easy.

Oh yeah, garlic makes EVERYTHING taste better! Minced garlic on steak on the BBQ, mix with melted butter and thyme, refrigerate and you've got Tuscan butter. Mebbe they should put that in foods instead of sugar/HFCS! Garlic-flavored ice cream! Garlic soda! Garlic chips!

Thank you all so much for your foody suggestions, they sound so simple and tasty, and I am getting more excited about trying new things. I would like to find a snacky type of mix that I can carry to work so if anyone has one I would love for you to share it. I purchased some real butter, coconut oil (not sure how to use it) and guacomole to go, (is that ok. too). I hope it's not just the placebo effect, but could I be feeling this much better after just 24 hours? God Bless you all for your help and passion to help those of us on the quest for a better life. I have severe spinal cord stenosis, and I can not take steroids, so far I feel a bit better. Please keep this thread going to help spur me, (and I'm sure many other silent folks) going.

Slartybartfast wrote: Oh yeah, garlic makes EVERYTHING taste better! Minced garlic on steak on the BBQ, mix with melted butter and thyme, refrigerate and you've got Tuscan butter. Mebbe they should put that in foods instead of sugar/HFCS! Garlic-flavored ice cream! Garlic soda! Garlic chips!

Garlic ice cream? it exists but I imagine it's not low carb

Going to the Gilroy Garlic Festival is on my list of things I'd like to do... it will most likely have to wait until I retire, though.

I recently stopped eating wheat. I also started using my CPAP machine around the same time so I can't tell if not eating wheat has helped. Its probably mostly the CPAP machine that has helped me tremendously. I have allergies to gluten which is a protein found in wheat, rye, oats, and barley. I guess I'm forced to eat healthy

Portie, I think you are going to be surprised to find that in a few weeks you won't be hungry very much between meals, so you won't need too much snacky stuff.

In the meanwhile:
Hard boiled eggs
slices of turkey
cheese
nuts
vveggies with a full fat dip

If you need crunchy salty treats:
Place small squares of sliced cheese on a piece of parchment paper on a plate and microwave. These will bubble and turn hard--like chips!
I love kale chips. Trader Joe's has bags of washed and torn kale. Spread it out on a cookie sheet, drizzle with a light coating of olive oil, sprinkle on some salt, and bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until the kale is dry and crisp. You can shake on some grated parmesean cheese if you want. YUM!

For sweet treats, I found a recipe for low carb granola here http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breakf ... ranola.htm. I eliminate the syrup and add the whites of two eggs to get it to stick together. I use erithrytol sweetener. This makes a huge batch and it's delicious. Great with some full fat yogurt, or just on its own.


Finally, coconut bark is a great sweet treat that gives you healthy fat and antioxidants. Here's my recipe:

1/2 square Baker's Unsweetened chocolate
1/2 T coconut oil
1 T nuts
1 1/2 tsp. erithrytol (add more to taste)*
2 tsp heavy cream

Melt the chcolate and coconut oil in the microwave. Mix in the other ingredients. Allow to cool. You can refrigerate this. Eat it all. Yum!

*I find that other sweeteners make this taste very bitter. If you don't hhave erithrytol, you can experiment with other sweeteners. I've heard good things about Truvia, which is a mixture of erythritol and stevia. Stevia alone was vile to me, but sometimes I add a very small amount to the eirthrytol. This did not taste good to me with splenda at all. I've gotten rid of spenda--nasty stuff.

If you don't want to use any artificial sweeteners, use chocolate with the highest percentage of cacao you can stand--72% or above. Then don't eat too much, because they contain sugar.

As I mentioned above, I rarely find the need for a snack anymore--my meals satisfy me completely. However, I do use the coconut bark recipe to "fill in" my calories and fat at the end of the day if I haaven't eaten enough because I find that consuming too few calories and fat will stall my weightloss. I really try to get enough from my meals first and foremost, but somethimes I fall short.

Store bought guacamole?! GACK! That's like buying salsa made in Noo Yawk City ("Get a rope.")

Seriously guacamole is very easy to make. VERY easy. Here's my recipe:

GUACAMOLE
3 large Hass avocados, peeled and seeded
4-5 medium Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 medium sweet onion, finely diced (may use less)
juice of one lemon
2 tsps garlic salt

In a large bowl, mash the avocado with a potato masher. Fold in the tomatoes and onions. Add the lemon juice and garlic salt. Mix gently. Cover and allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least one hour for the flavors to blend.* This will keep for a couple of days covered in the refrigerator (but never lasts that long in our house). Recipe may be halved or quartered as needed.

*We rarely do this; we just make it and eat it.

Lisa (Texan and guacamole fiend, also grain/gluten-free)

Add a little cumin to that!!

What do you eat the guacamole on?

Wow, thanks for all those tips Janknitz, I will definately try those ideas and treats! I wanted to know if I need to watch the percentages of protein to fat? Like a pie chart or something. I did eat a banana both days, and then did a pie chart on my droid phone of each day, and was shocked to find out I should not be eating them. Ugh, guess it's part of the process. Also, what do you do with coconut oil?
LoneStar, that is precisely the problem, I'm from N.Y. that's why I love bread, the best in all the world and sugar, best bakeries too. Guess I should have been eating all this southern cooking here in VA since 1970 when I moved here. I love guacomole, but I better not eat too much of it.

Can't possibly be that simple.

This is good on most things.

Chop up two or three slices of bacon pretty small and cook in a skillet. When it is nice and crispy turn the fire off and let a whole stick of butter melt in the bacon and grease. When it gets all melted together pour it in a dish and stick it in the fridge. Once it sets up you have bacon / butter to put on your veggies, steaks, or whatever else you can think of. Sometimes I just get a bite of the stuff to eat.


JeffH