Spitler - 1,001 Best Low-Carb Recipes: Delicious, Healthy, Easy-to-make Recipes for Cutting Carbs

Copyright 2004, 2016 by Surrey Books, an imprint of Agate Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the publisher. Nutritional analyses: Linda R. Yoakam, R.D., M.S. (spine): iStock.com/Elena Danieleiko. (back cover): Brave New Pictures. (back cover): Brave New Pictures.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 1,001 low-carb recipes for life 1,001 best low-carb recipes: delicious, healthy, easy-to-make recipes for cutting carbs / edited by Sue Spitler with Linda R. Yoakam. pages cm. -- (1,001) Includes index. Summary: A collection of low-carbohydrate recipes for the home cook-- Provided by publisher. Yoakam. c2004. c2004.

Includes index. ISBN 978-1-57284-770-5 (ebook) 1. Low-carbohydrate diet--Recipes. I. Spitler, Sue. II.

Yoakam, Linda R. III. Title: One thousand one low-carb recipes. RM237.73.A15 2016 641.5 6383--dc23 2015031870 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 15 16 17 18 19 Surrey Books is an imprint of Agate Publishing. Agate books are available in bulk at discount prices. Agatepublishing.com Contents Acknowledgments A heartfelt thank you to all who helped in the creation of 1,001 Best Low-Carb Recipes Chef Pat Molden for her fine culinary skills, Linda Yoakam, R.D., M.S., for her guidance and nutritional analyses, Gene DeRoin for his editing expertise, Anna Layton for her multi-tasking help, and publisher Susan Schwartz for her support and encouragement.

J udging by magazines at checkout stands, cookbooks on bookstore shelves, and the buzz around workplace watercoolers, low-carbohydrate eating is widely popular. But low-carb diet plans may also be confusing because no standard for what constitutes low-carb exists and because no consensus has been reached on the value of one diet plan over another. Additionally, many who follow the diet-book plans for low-carb eating do so incorrectly. They eat too many foods with few health benefits (such as big steaks with blue cheese sauce) or excessive amounts of certain foods (such as bigger steaks with lots of blue cheese sauce). Others, in their crusade against carbs, needlessly eliminate foods that are inherently healthful and provide variety in the diet (such as non-starchy vegetables and many fruits). So before you commit yourself body and soul to a low-carb regimen, take a few minutes to read the following information about healthfuland successfullow-carb eating.

After all, no diet or eating plan will work, not even low carb, if you cant stay on it for lack of variety or if long-term health concerns arise. 1,001 Best Low-Carb Recipes was not written to be yet another diet book. It is written for people like you, who have already chosen to follow a low-carb diet plan. But be advised that your eating plan should be under the guidance of a physician or registered dietitian, and be sure to read this short introduction on nutrients and the role they play in maintaining health. With a fuller understanding of what nutrients are and how each impacts your body, you can use 1,001 Best Low-Carb Recipes to enjoy delicious recipes that help you lower and control carbs, control or lose weight, manage blood sugars, and lower the risk of heart disease. How a Low-Carb Diet Works Lets start with basic nutrition.

There are many kinds of nutrients, of which carbohydrates, or carbs for short, is just one. Other nutrients include proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. For the purposes of this book, we are concerned only with the nutrients that contain calories. These are: carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Whether trying to lose or maintain weight, improve blood sugar control, or prevent heart disease, calories count first, no matter what form they are in: carbs, fats, or proteins. And depending on your health goals, the idea is to find the balance of calories and nutrients that works best for you.

No one diet works for all people. Carbohydrates are the bodys primary and preferred source of energy. When you eat carbs, the body converts them into glucose, or blood sugar, which the bodys cells use for fuel. Think of your body as a car, with fuel, or blood sugar, being added at the gas pump. When the fuel enters your body, a hormone called insulin unlocks the bodys cells and allows the fuel to be absorbed. Carbohydrates contain four calories per gram.

They can come in a simple form called sugar, commonly found in foods such as candy, soda pop, cakes, pies, cookies, and ice cream. Carbohydrates can also come in more complex forms, sometimes called starches, like bread, grains, vegetables, and fruits. And finally, carbohydrates come in an indigestible form called fiber, or roughage. Fiber is found in foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables and is important because it helps to slow and regulate sugar entering the bloodstream. Fiber also provides other health benefits: it helps reduce cholesterol, aids digestion, and prevents constipation and possibly colon cancer. People with diabetes must carefully control the carbs they eat to avoid blood sugar highs and lows.

Using the car analogy again, when too much fuel enters the body too quickly, blood sugars can spill out into the bloodstream, raising levels. Too much blood sugar can also cause the cells to become resistant to insulin. If you are overweight by as little as 20 pounds or have too much blood sugar or insulin resistance, it can lead to a host of health problems, up to and including prediabetes, diabetes with all of its complications, and raised triglycerides (blood lipids or fats) that are implicated in heart disease. After carbohydrates, fats are the bodys secondary choice for energy, and they are also the preferred form of calories for storing body fat. Fat has nine calories per gram, or more than twice as many calories per gram as carbs. Fat calories, however, do not raise blood sugar.

Fat in a meal actually helps control weight because it increases digestion time and makes you feel full. When you eat fats, some will be used for energy, but excess amounts will be stored as body fat. The fat calories you eat, if chosen wisely, can help prevent heart disease. For example, saturated fats and cholesterol in the diet are associated with heart disease, while foods high in omega 3 fatty acids, such as salmon and walnuts, are associated with improved heart health. Some fats, such as hydrogenated fats found in margarine, shortenings, and many packaged foods, contain trans-fatty acids, a form of fat associated with many health problems, including heart disease. Your bodys least favorite source of energy is protein because it takes longer to be converted into glucose.

Proteins, with four calories per gram, are essential for growth and maintenance of muscle mass, but watch out for the fat that lurks within proteins, not only for weight control but also for your hearts health. When you eat protein it enters the small intestine where it is broken down into molecules of amino acids. These are absorbed into the bloodsteam and sent to the liver where some are converted into glucose, or blood sugar. However, the process takes some time and is not a major contributor to high blood sugar. Some of the amino acids are used to build new protein. Three keys to long-term weight control and good health can be clearly stated: balance the amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat that your body needs to function properly; eat healthful foods, such as carbs high in fiber and healthy fats; and burn excess calories by activity and exercise.