"LowCarb" news and stories

Recently, Scott and I have been trying to eat a bit more healthfully and shed a few of those winter pounds that crept on over the last few months. We've found that doing Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet helps us both get our eating habits in check and forces us to think a bit more carefully about the food we eat. While I'm looking forward to switching back to oatmeal and other whole grains for my morning meal once this very limited carb phase is over, I've also been enjoying making egg cups for our breakfasts.

These muffin-sized egg bakes (even when not following South Beach, I've made similar recipes in a larger baking dish for brunch potlucks and holiday morning buffets) are essentially portable omelettes that, once cooked, make breakfast prep a snap in the morning. Just grab one and reheat it for a morning meal that contains lots of protein and one healthy serving of vegetables.

The recipe I'm following this week is after the jump.

When it comes to cooking South Beach friendly foods, Scott and I have fallen into something of a rut. We've been eating tons of salads with grilled chicken, chili, turkey burgers (cooked on the ever-handy George Foreman grill) and lots of cauliflower puree (faux-ta-toes!). Last weekend, tired of these tried and true dishes, I started flipping through the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook that Scott brought with him into this relationship, searching for some new inspiration.

I actually found quite a few things that I thought were pretty appealing, and tonight, I cooked the Mini Greek Meatballs (Phase 1 and on page 216 of the book for those of you following along). They were tasty, filling and easy to put together. The only thing I would change in the whole recipe was the manner in which they were cooked. The recipe tells you to cook them in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Unfortunately, this means that they get crowded into the pan and end up a quarter submerged in the liquid they release by the time they are done cooking. Next time I make them, I will spread them out on a rack on a large cookie sheet, in order to get more surface area browning and prevent them from cooking in their juices.

For those of you who aren't are the South Beach diet, these are still yummy meatballs and could potentially spice up your weeknight dinners. If you want to try them out, the recipe is after the jump. For a more photogenic version of these meatballs, check out the batch that Kalyn made.

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Though the very height of the "low carb craze" has passed, millions of people still follow a low or reduced carb diet. A new study reveals that, though they are sticking to it voluntarily, at least 3 out or 5 low-carbers feel limited in what they are allowed to eat and regularly crave forbidden foods, which makes sticking to the diet that much harder. The number one thing that low carb dieters miss are baked goods (50%), followed by pasta (22%) and fruit (9%). More than 25% of respondents said that the prepackaged versions of baked goods and some mixes, though diet-friendly, were not worth eating under any circumstances.

The survey was commissioned by the baking-mix company Krusteaz, and coincides with the release of a new line of low-carb baking mixes, called CarbSimple. For the sake of all those poor, dissatisfied low-carbers, let's hope that the line turns out to be a good one.

But aside from promoting a new product, the results here indicate that the diet is not for everyone. If you constantly (or even frequently) feel that you are missing out, if baked goods of any kind - from blueberry muffins to sandwich bread - are at the top of your "must-have" list, the low-carb diet is going to be a tough one to follow and you might be better off choosing a different eating regimen. Picking one strategy that you can follow long-term - low carb or otherwise - will generally produce the best results because it is one that you can willingly and happily follow.

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Despite the fact that study results were released this week indicating that eating a strictly low fat diet will not lower the likelihood of developing cancer or heart disease, companies do not anticipate a decrease in the demand for low fat products.

All that the 8 year study of over 40,000 women proves is that there is no link between a strictly low fat diet and the onset of these diseases. By strictly low fat, I mean that the diets of the study participants did not take into account anything other than the fact that they followed a diet made up of less than 30% calories from fat. They could have had higher than the daily recommended number of calories, never exercised or simply been genetically predisposed to the diseases. In other words, while the low fat diets were not shown to lower the risk factors, they did not raise them.

So, should you still watch the amount of fat you eat?

Last week's Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published some findings about the effects of long-term weight loss with a low fat diet. The study was done in the context of the popularity of low-carb diet regimens (Atkins, South Beach), which are not necessarily low in fat. Supporters of the low-carb diets have suggested that it is low-fat, high-carb diets that have contributed to the US's obesity problem. The JAMA's conclusion? From the abstract, "A low-fat eating pattern does not result in weight gain."

No. Effin'. Way.

I am not poking fun at the JAMA, because, like, they're doctors and stuff. However, I am poking fun at everyone who 1) finds this information the least bit surprising, and 2) will twist the information and use it as license to reach for a dozen doughnuts with utter abandon.

No, no o ye of little restraint.