Are Shiratake Noodles a Good Sub for Grain Noodles?

You are on a low carbohydrate diet and you have been craving good old spaghetti and meatballs. Is there a viable lower carbohydrate option to the standard egg based noodles?

Well, you can get the whole wheat spaghetti, which isn't necessarily lower in carbs, but is lower in the glycemic index. Just goes back to staying away from the white foods, and eat the brown foods.

Shiratake noodles have become more popular as of late, as a substitute for the grain or egg noodle. These are white or clear noodles that contain little to no carbohydrates and calories. But will they quench that craving? I have tried the miracle noodles, available online. They are made out of Konjac root which is a natural fiber. They come delivered in small packages. To cook, you first must rinse the noodles, they have a fishy smell out of the package, so you must rinse thoroughly. The fishy smell does go away after rinsing. Then just heat and eat with whatever topping you choose.

The noodles are very filling, but basically have no taste. They will take on the taste of whatever you cook with them. The consistency is chewier than what you will be used to. If you simply must have pasta and don't want to add any carbohydrates to your diet, then give them a try. Other varieties of shiratake noodles are available at stores such as Whole Foods. I found these noodles work best in Asian style soups or stir fry dishes, rather than with a tomato sauce.

I would still recommend getting a good whole grain pasta, and use this once in a while, it will be much more satisfying.

Ideal Protein Diet Updated and a new Low Carb Recipe

The Ideal Protein Diet has been updated a bit. They've added an extra meal on your own, which should help. They've also seemed to include a higher carb item in the program, you can have a helping of rice or other carb, once per day. Perhaps that will help folks stick to this longer.

I've recently done a compare of the exact ingredients in the Ideal Protein bars and shakes to some over the counter products. The Pure Protein bars and shakes (available at Target and sometimes Wal Mart) have the same exact ingredients as Ideal Protein, but waaayyy cheaper. The EAS shakes also have the same ingredients, again much cheaper. So if price is an issue, there are some alternatives for you. Ideal Protein makes lots of other meal choices, haven't found any subs for those yet.

I continue to work on new recipes that are a low carb version of my favorite food items. It definitely helps me stick to this low carb lifestyle. Whether using the Ideal Protein or other supplemental products, I still feel this is a good way to diet, and just a healthy way to eat period.

So crab is one of my favorite foods, and a good low fat protein as it turns out. Blue crabs are pretty plentiful here in Louisiana, especially this time of year. I can catch them in the lake not to far from my house. I just boil them up, peel, and eat. Crab cakes are one of my favorites, but not always a low carb choice. I didn't want to give these up, so came up with this low carb option for crab cakes. Here is the Low Carb Crab Cake Recipe, if you are interested.

Healthy Crab Cakes

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
1 ½ tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
½ tablespoon Spicy Brown Mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Spicy Seasoning (Such as Old Bay, or Cajun Seasoning)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound claw crabmeat drained, flaked
½ cup Crushed Whole Wheat Crackers
Olive Oil

Directions: Spray a frying pan with cooking spray, and heat on med-low, add onion and garlic to the pan and soften the vegetables for about 3 minutes.

Combine egg, mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, Spicy seasoning, softened vegetables, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; blend well. Gently fold in crabmeat and crushed crackers. Shape mixture into 8 patties.

Coat a large pan with olive oil, and heat on medium-high. Add the crab cakes, letting them brown on each side.

Drain on paper towels. I prefer using fresh crabmeat for this recipe, but canned works as well if that's all you have access to.

Ditched Ideal Protein, using Creole Diet

Haven't updated this in some time. I stuck with the Ideal Protein diet for several months and did lose about 30 pounds. But this isn't a diet I could stick to for any longer for several reasons. One is the cost, at $27 per box of food, with a box being 7 meals, it was just too expensive to continue. A second reason is the taste of the food. Many of their items do have an aftertaste, and some, like their soups, just don't taste good at all. There are some that are quite good, like the puddings, the ready mix shakes, and the cappuccino, but you can only eat these for so long.

So after a few months, I now have struck out basically on my own. I follow the advice of the Creole Diet which basically involves eating many small meals in a day, balancing the proteins, carbs, and fats at each meal, and incorporating foods that you love to eat, so that you stick with this diet for the long term. It's basically not a diet, just a healthy way to eat, which allows you to lose weight and maintain the weight loss for the long term. Eating this way I lose weight a little slower, but have little desire to go off of the diet, and it is much easier on the budget. Eating this way for the last six weeks, I have lost an additional 10 pounds. This included about 2 1/2 weeks of vacation/visiting friends, so I thinks it's pretty good. When visiting or vacationing I didn't have to worry about special foods, I just practiced portion control, and tried to balance the amount of protein, fat, and carbs at each meal, as best I could. During that time, I didn't gain any weight, so I thought that was an accomplishment.

I do use meal replacements, such as protein shakes and bars, that are readily available at Wal-Mart and other stores, at a much cheaper price than Ideal Protein. I use this for the in between meals, like mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and evening meals.

Overall, it's worked very well, and I will continue with this program indefinitely. I'm trying now to incorporate more exercise into my routine, which is challenging in this intense heat. But if I can do it now, then come fall and winter, it will be a breeze.

Introduction

Welcome to my blog, where I will be chronicling my experience with the Ideal Protein Diet. In each entry, I will provide a status along with some tips and recipes that I've used on the diet.

First to give you an overview of the Ideal Protein Diet. The Ideal Protein Diet was developed by the French doctor, Dr Tran Tien, Chanh for the French Olympic Team. His goal was to enable them to lose fat quickly without losing muscle or reducing their athletic performance. He realized that the body will burn through available carbohydrates and sugar before it starts burning through stored fat. So to lose weight, you should intake very few carbohydrates and sugar, enabling the body to get to the fat more readily. But since the body also burns protein along with fat, you must ensure that you replenish any protein that you lose while losing fat. The Ideal Protein Diet ensures that you get a sufficient amount of protein (not high protein) along with sufficient quantities of carbohydrates and fat. You mainly consume protein packages, supplied by the company, along with salad and vegetables. Also, one meal a day is self prepared, with lean protein and vegetables of your choice.

This diet has only been available in the US since February 2008, but has been available in Canada for several years, and in Europe for many years. Distribution of the products are through local physicians and clinics, although a mail order option is available for those without a distributor nearby.

For more information on the specifics of the Ideal Protein Diet you can check it out at www.idealprotein.com . I started this diet on February 25th, and to date have lost 14 pounds (in about two and a half weeks). Thus far the diet has lived up to its promise of losing weight quickly while maintaining muscle mass. I have been on many diets in my life including weight watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutri System, and many diets of the day. All of them resulted in success in the short run, but were difficult to maintain. After only two and a half weeks on this diet, I cannot yet attest to my ability to stick it out for the long haul, but there are some promising signs. Since this is a low carb diet, the blood sugar levels remain fairly stable. I have not had cravings or felt weak, nor have I had hunger pains since I've been on the diet, although the quantity of food is greatly reduced.

So now for my first recipe. In order to stay on a diet for the long term, you should ensure that you don't get bored with your diet and incorporate many of the tastes that you enjoy. I will share some of the recipes that I've used on the diet. These are recipes that you can use for any diet, since they are low in calories, fat, and carbohydrates. My first recipe is a New Orleans staple, Shrimp and Okra Gumbo. An okra based gumbo is basically low in fat, calories, and carbohydrates, since it is generally made without a roux. The okra provides the thickening of the soup. All of the ingredients used in this gumbo are allowed on the Ideal Protein Diet. So now for the recipe:

Shrimp and Okra Gumbo
(Two Servings)

1 quart of vegetable broth, plus one cup of water
1 pound of shrimp, peeled (save the shells)
6 large Sea Scallops (instead of scallops, you can use a firm white fish, or can add 1/2 lb of shrimp)
Gumbo crabs (optional)
2 cups chopped okra (fresh or frozen)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 cup of chopped celery
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
handful of parsley, chopped
1/2 can of whole tomatoes (find a brand that has little to no sugar content)
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp each onion powder, garlic powder
1 tsp crushed dried basil leaves
½ tsp crushed dried oregano leaves
½ tsp crushed dried thyme leaves
½ tsp crushed dried parsley leaves
Gumbo File (optional)
Apple Cider Vinegar (optional)

In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable stock and water, add the shrimp shells and gumbo crabs (if used). Bring to a boil, lower the fire and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain out the shells and crabs. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and add the okra, saute on a low fire for 30 minutes, stirring to ensure it doesn't burn. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic and tomato. Thoroughly mix and continue to saute until the vegetables are soft. Add the vegetable mixture to the broth, along with the remaining seasonings and return to a boil, reduce the fire and simmer for 15 minutes.

Season the shrimp and scallops with salt, pepper, and dried basil, cook in a pan just until the shrimp turn pink. Add the shrimp and scallops to the broth and allow it to simmer for 15 more minutes. You may now turn off the fire.

This is good for two meals. Ladle half into a bowl, top with a pinch of Gumbo File (ground sassafras) and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Enjoy!!