I've lost 12 pounds in the last 3 months by eating a mostly low carb

[applegrove]

plant based diet. Yes i have cheated. I think i'm almost over that part of new habit formation. The pounds just fall off when i eat right. Big thing is to get no sugar yogurt. And lots of seeds and nuts as snacks. I'm enjoying Stubb's Chicken Rub on skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Lots of carrots.

[dewsgirl]

1. lol..I don't know why, but I read that as low crab, I was

like hmmm sounds interesting.

[applegrove]

3. Mmmmm! Crab. I should get some and make crabcakes. Have not had

them in a long time. My mom used to make them. I wonder if Whole Foods does too?

[dewsgirl]

11. They do. My biggest problem with low carb is a lack of

crunchy items(hate pork rinds).
I just discovered a simple recipe, you take a Kraft Deluxe slice of cheese cut it into four pieces on a ceramic plate, microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds, using a meddle spatula or even a knife, pry the cheese crunches off. I make nachos out of these all the time.
Congrats, it's hard.
Also, I often use Agave nectar as a sweetener, 5 carbs vs. 13 carbs sugar.

[leftieNanner]

2. The Low carb thing has worked for me too

I keep cut up veggies (celery especially) in the fridge with salsa. Great Snack.

Good for you applegrove!! Keep it up.

[applegrove]

4. Thanks leftie. Celery and salsa sounds good.

[leftieNanner]

5. When I am craving crunchy salty things that are bad for me,

The celery and salsa seems to satisfy!

[applegrove]

6. I think having lots of dipping things is key. My sister always snacks

on veggies and humous. I like falafel and tzaziki right now.

[TruckFump]

10. Salsa does the trick for me if I am looking to snack and not totally blow it on calories

I love salsa and dipping carrots, bell pepper and celery works for me.

[applegrove]

15. I will get some salsa.

[left-of-center2012]

7. Thank you for sharing

What else is in your 'plant based' diet?

[applegrove]

12. Falafel dipped in tzaziki. Had brocollini, garlic, spinach and leek macaroni (rice

and quinoa macaroni) which went over well and I'll make again with more thyme and leek. I do cook for my dad and brother once a week which meant meat and potatoes, but i've been doing rice more often. I'm trying to get off dairy too except for 2% milk in my coffee and cheese in certain dishes. All in all i have done well the last week in not cheating (except for earlier tonight). I think i've turned a corner. I eat nuts late at night. I put pumkin seeds in yogurt and salads. I'm still feeling my way. But it is working. I've got my eye on a lasagna recipe that uses long slices of zuchinni wrapping ricotta instead of noodles. I will add tarragon to that as it is my go to lasagna herb. I just bought a glass lasagna dish for this and hope it is good. I'm reading Jamie Oliver's Ultimit Veg cookbook. He wrote it a decade ago but published it now because Vegetable cooking is exploding now. It is about substitution for me. Substituting rice for bread or potatoes. Substituting punpkin seeds and wild blueberries for the sugar in yogurt. Just a tablespoon of each. My dad for instance wants egg salad sandwiches for dinner. I will make deviled eggs with my favourite and his, store bought, Habitant Pea Soup. We do not get high blood pressure but my sister informs me that saturated fats affect your insulin so i have to ween myself off that and replace it with plant based things like real herbs to replace the flavour of fat and olive or avocado oil instead of butter (which i've not done). Anyhow. A work in progress. Saw a recipe for coconut milk and chick pea curry which i will suss out. I make a vegetable only tomato soup every 3 months or so. That is my favourite and has lentils and kidney beans in it as well as parsnips, carrots and other veggies. So when i say plant based i mean it is replacing meat protein or starches with some form of plant wherever and whenever i can.

[left-of-center2012]

16. Thanks

[brewens]

8. Learning to make good omelets helped me. I realized if I wanted to eat salads a lot,

like at least one meal a day, I had to keep a bunch of good munchie veggies around. I like bell peppers a lot and go through about one each red, yellow and green per week. With those, fresh jalapeno's, mushrooms, onion, tomato and all, I had to find more use for them to keep from wasting any. The bombelet was born! Two eggs, turkey sausage and loaded up with veggies and a little mex cheese comes in at around 350 calories.

A good treat are those Outshine fruit popsicles. Only about 60 cals.

[applegrove]

13. My favourite omlette is red pepper jelly and brie. Not healthy but tasty.

You could throw a chopped red pepper in there.

[TruckFump]

9. I usually stick to chicken and veggies as my normal eating routine on weekdays.

What I found many, many years ago is that I do a strict diet every Monday and Tuesday if I had a "bad" weekend. I started doing that way back in the 1980s because my husband loved to go away for the weekend specifically to dine in great restaurants. So, I found that hitting it hard-diet every week for two days kept me where I wanted to be on the hated bathroom scale. As I've gotten older -- in my 70s now -- it's harder to keep the weight off and I can no longer do the weekend tour of splendid places to eat on a regular basis, but if I do, it's diet my ass off (so to speak) on Monday and Tuesday. I found that I can always diet for two days...well, maybe!

[applegrove]

14. Yes. This will be a diet for life.