Long - Extreme Lo-Carb Meals On The Go: Fast And Fabulous Solutions To Get You Through The Day

Sharron Long

Copyright 2005 Sharron Long.

All rights reserved.

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company

57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.

www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-59337-214-0

ISBN 13: 978-1-59337-214-9

eISBN: 978-1-44051-884-3

This book is dedicated to my fathers.One father, though passed on, is resting in the arms of my other Father, who is always alive.

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart.

Colossians 2:2

Give to everyone what you owe them... give respect and honor to all to whom it is due. Romans 13:7 NLT

Thanks!

Thanks to God for making this possible. I never dreamed four years ago that I would be doing this!

Thanks to all my faithful recipe testers. As with all of my books, each recipe has been tested in the kitchen of real families. Special thanks to Connie Pritchett who has now helped me on all three of my books. Thank you, thank you to Lori Rainey for putting up with me and for coming through in the pinch so many times. Thanks to the many folks from the LowCarbEating.com community for helping me out: Rob Bolton, Maggie Fries, Beth Simmons, Barb Keith, Ginger Boucher, Cassandra Hall, Aaron Paden, Jennifer Pond, Donna Bales, Shelley Gattenby, Becca Meixner, Karen Darling, and Carol Robinson. Thanks to Chef Trina Nelson for her contributions.

Thanks to my family for supporting me through this project.

W hy this book? Heres the answer: change. That is what life seems to be all about. We change our hair and our makeup to fit the latest trends and styles. We change our wardrobe so we wont be out of date. We change our supplementation routine to gain more energy or just because we know it is good for us. We exercise, hoping to change the effects of gravity. We change our way of eating in order to lose weight and gain health.

Change. Along with all these shifts come changes to our circumstances as well as to our inner self. Vocations change. Homes are bought and sold. Loved ones pass on. New ones are born. We become reflective and change our perspectives.

Change. Life becomes busy. Where once we had too much time on our hands, or at least enough to be able to do crafts, go to yard sales, and enjoy recreational shopping, now the days are full of meetings and activities of all sorts.

Change. With all these changes, how does a person stay true to his or her way of eating? How do you stick with your low-carb diet plan while everyone around you is eating coffee and donuts? I hope to be able to share some insights about what works and what doesnt work, as well as some helpful hints and tips for sticking to this low-carb way of eating for the long haul. After all, this diet is all about changing our perspectives. Weve decided that protein and fat are not the negative things we were once taught. Weve changed our tastes so that we dont live on bread and refined carbs alone. Now, meats and veggies are our fare.

Each of the recipes in the following pages is labeled with a Q or an M, or both. This is to help you in your menu planning. The Q signifies that the recipe is quick to fix, generally less than an hour from start to finish. If the recipe is coded with an M, that means it is one that is meant to be prepared ahead of time to be eaten later. Generally, these are recipes that make great leftovers, or instructions have been given for prepping and freezing the food for later use. If a recipe is marked Q,

M, it fits both of these qualifications: quick to the table and a delicious meal for later! Also, the nutritional calculations for the recipes are figured without any optional ingredients added in, unless otherwise stated.

One final note about the recipes: If you are curious about the term Effective Carb Count seen throughout this book, many plans allow fiber to be deducted from the total carb count. This leaves the carbs that will actually affect your blood sugar levels.

I hope that in the following pages you will find some comfort and encouragement that this low-carb thing can be done, and in the process discover some really great food as well!

Blessings,

Sharron

How can I do all the things required of me, yet still make wise food choices? How can I go to meetings and activities where everyone else is munching on popcorn or donuts and stay true to my low-carb way of life?

These are questions that people who have seriously considered such a lifestyle change must ask themselves. The unprepared low-carber will continually make the wrong choices in these inevitable situations. As a result, he or she will give up in frustration, thinking, This diet just doesnt work for me!when in actuality, the dieter didnt work for the diet.

Before I go on, I want to assure you that Im not pointing fingers at anyone. Not in the least! I am on this road as a fellow traveler. To be very honest, I did the Atkins diet for nearly two years before I even cheated once. Then, I had a health crisis. I had to go off the diet for several months, and I regained some of the weight I had lost. I tried another low-carb/lower-fat plan. It ended up sparking cravings, and I struggled for several months to stay true to that plan, mostly because I couldnt go back to the higher-fat style of low-carbing. The crisis passed, and I discovered another low-carb plan called the Go-Diet. It is very similar to Atkins, only it emphasizes the use of probiotic dairy foods like yogurt and kefir. Since that health crisis, though, I have struggled to make the right choices. Again, honestly, Ive made a lot of bad ones.

This low-carb way of life is not a quick fix. If it is truly going to help you stay healthy, it has to be a way of life! Yes, along the way you may make bad choices. But these bad choices should not divert you from the path you have chosen. They are simply side trips on the road you are walking.

One way a low-carber can make it for the long haul is by doing planned cheats. Planned cheats may work differently for everyoneafter all, you know your body best! Take a look at the following example, and maybe you can add it to your low-carb arsenal.

Essentially, how I handle a planned cheat is like a Carbohydrate Addicts Diet (CAD) Reward Meal. The meal begins with a small plate of salad. The rest of the meal is divided into thirds. One-third is meat, and one-third is a good low-carb veggie. The final element is some carby food, like a dinner roll or a dessert. The entire meal must be eaten within one hour.

Ive found that planned cheats are useful in helping me to celebrate anniversaries and other special occasions when bringing my own food simply is not an option. Since I follow the Atkins diet, benign dietary ketosis, (the measurable state of burning fat as outlined in Dr. Atkinss New Diet Revolution), is important for me. What Ive found is that by allowing myself these reward meals, I can stay in ketosis if the timing and balance is correct. I have also found that I cannot do a planned cheat more than once every couple of weeks. It does spark cravings and weight gain if I do it more than that.