The French Fries Frenzy and the Pizza Predicament

The French Fries Frenzy . . .

Outback Steakhouse's Cheese Fries

  From time to time I have had some cravings for carbohydrate laden foods.  One of the most tempting treats I miss is French fries- with cheese melting over the pile of spuds creating a huge mountain of delicious.  Even better if that mountain is sprinkled with bacon boulders and red onion craters . . . okay, clearly I am entering the craving stage even as I type.

  Nothing is easier than finding a carb fix- they are everywhere.  From fast-food to bar-food to fine dining- carbohydrates are omnipresent.  As I mentioned in earlier posts, I spend most of my life in restaurants, as an occupational hazard, so the temptations are constantly lurking around every turn.  But you can pass on these hussy carb treats if you put some thought into what you are really craving.

  One of the earliest items on our appetizer menu at the school is "loaded fries" and every time I see one of these plates float by me headed to a guest I can't help but drool just a bit.  Chef Tina, bless her, saw me drooling one lunch service and decided to make a "loaded no carb fries" dish just for me.  When she handed me the plate at the end of service I was shocked.  How could she hand me a plate of loaded fries? SABOTAGE! SHENANIGANS! She knows how I lust after these things!

  "No, no" she smiled, "These are chicken fries, you can eat everything on them!"  Chef had replaced the fries with strips of chicken breast we usually use in quesadillas and to top salads.  On to a sizzle plate they went with all of the delicious cheese, onions and bacon that their potato cousins enjoy regularly.  I must say I think that I actually like these better than the fries I have been craving.  Plus the alternative is to try and pull the cheese off of the fries and make a sad attempt to quell a desire that can not be satiated by cheese alone.  What is left over after you try to remove the toppings . . . the French fries that you have been craving of course.  Argh!

  This is thankfully something that is so easy to make at home that you can squelch one of these cravings in a matter of minutes.  Tyson makes the chicken "fries" for you- precooked and all!  Just add the delicious toppings that you crave on your cheesy fries extravaganza and slide your cookie sheet right into the oven.  Once the chicken is up to temp and the cheese is melted you are ready to indulge.

 . . . and The Pizza Predicament

  Please believe that I have done just that with pizza- since the general belief is that everyone can eat pizza.  Every kid's birthday party that I take my son to seems to be catered by Dominos or Pizza Hut or XYZ Pizzeria and as a diabetic there are times I just need to eat.  These are not my favorite meals, and it makes me feel like a total weirdo to pinch the cheese off of more than one piece- I feel like I am wasting the food.  I even eyeball other guests going back for piece 3 and 4 but I can't stand the eyes on me when I am tossing out what must look like perfectly good pizza to anyone watching from a few feet back. 

  Who cares what they think? I would like to say, "Not me!" but my behavior reflects on my son and I don't want some mom to black-ball my kid from the play date circuit because they are afraid of what we will be eating at our house. Argh, again!  So, I reach into my purse and pull out an Atkins bar or string cheese or something that will get me through the opening of presents and the service of cake and ice cream.   Dear lord, just open the presents so I can get something substantial to eat.

  I have read A LOT of low carb recipes for pizza crust.  A LOT.  The Oopsie bread in my opinion is more of a pancake replacement and derivatives of this concoction have been pretty disappointing to me- perhaps I just don't have the knack for whipping this stuff up to the proper consistency.  What I have found that is the most pizza crust like to my taste is a lavash bread that is minimal in carbs- but not carb free.  If you subtract out the fiber, which I do, it comes in at 4 grams of carbohydrates for 1/2 a "sheet".  Here are the tricks- you must throw the lavash into the oven prior to adding any sauce or cheese- otherwise it stays limp and soggy.  I have found that a stone is the best option.  Another suggestion is to use a red pepper sauce rather than a tomato based sauce as the carb count is so much lower.  Don't forget your meats, cheese and veggies just as you would for a normal pizza.  Keep in mind that you must keep a close eye on the lavash pizza as the crust is really, very thin.

  So the plan is this- get ahead of the cravings and make things that really taste good.  It is possible to have food that tastes like a treat but registers very low on the carb-o-meter.  I will continue to post recipe ideas and tasty bits that keep me on track.  Let me know if you find something that you like or need more details on making any of these items.  Keep your carbs low and your spirits high!

LT

Fueling your body's bonfire . . .

Delicious Twigs and Kindling

 

Your metabolism is like a bonfire, feed it regularly in little doses of sticks and small logs and it will happily burn toasty warm all day long and into the night.  Throw a giant log on some gray ashes just barely kicking off heat and you may find your bonfire all but out.  Sometimes an explanation just sticks in your mental files better than you anticipated, this one worked for me.  After my sister shared it with me, I began thinking about smaller more frequent meals in a different light.  The campfire thing just made sense to me and even though I had read the glossy paged articles on this very topic over and over- it never stuck with me as a truly important part of my overall eating plan.

 

While I am able to multitask, or more honestly quickly plow through a long list of to-dos at a break-neck speed, I usually put my personal food management on the back burner when I am working.  I am surrounded by food, chefs and servers all day long but a recent review of how often I check my blood glucose levels revealed that if I don't eat breakfast, I may not eat until dinner. 

Yikes, my fire just went out.

 

I need to find something that is low-carb and easy.  The QSR market isn't exactly made to serve up low-carb at the drive through window.  Spoiler alert; I remove buns from bacon cheese burgers and eat them like runners throw back water in paper cups at hydration stations. So, you can find something in a pinch but a recent experiment at school has slowed my bacon cheese burger roll.  (Chef Z has had combo meals from several popular QSRs out on trays- the ones that are a month old look exactly the same as ones purchased that day) <Image thanks to www.delish.com, Fast Food History>

 

Path of least resistance then led me to the Atkins bars. There are a few things to note with these beauties. First, I can not subtract all the sugar alcohols that Atkins does to get to their 3 net carbs advertised on the banner on the boxes.  I can count about 1/2 of the alcohols against total carbs and about 3/4 of the fiber. Do figure out what your actual carb count is before you start to see these individually wrapped low-carb-crack treats as your personal dieting messiah. The substitute M&Ms are what I crave as a late night reward for successful couch surfing.

 

This can't be as difficult as I am making it.  Fast protein rich snacks that take less than 5 minutes to prepare and don't require me to drag out any "equipment" to complete. (Low carb "Doritos" I'm pointing my finger in your direction, your deliciousness is a pain in my butt and you take up all of my counter space with your cheesy lovin' mess)  I found my answer by looking back to snacks I had as a kid and some that have evolved into my go-to list while exploring the diet.

 

Meat Roll-Ups 

 

4 deli slices of Lebanon Sweet Bologna, Lebanon Bologna, Sandwich Pepperoni or Hard Salami

4 Tablespoons of "filling" 

Filling options: Extra Crunch Peanut Butter (Creamy if you are lame), Cream Cheese, Herbed spreadable cheese

 

Spread the filling evenly on the deli slice, roll it up, voila log. You can cut them into bite-sized pieces if you prefer.  If you have never had peanut butter with meat before- it is not just for pregnant women- the PA Dutch community eats this combo constantly and it is pretty yummy.

 

PB and Celery

 

You know how to do this one- but here is my recommendation- purchase the celery pre-washed and ready to smear with peanut butter.  If I don't have to get out the cutting board I'm more likely to eat this than an Atkins treat.  I find this to be true for all veggies- having someone else do all the prep for you is more expensive but if you will actually eat it- it is cheaper than just waiting until it rots in your refrigerator to throw it away.

 

This is PB & Celery plus frozen meatballs with the "hot sauce" from McDonalds.

String Cheese

 

No mystery here, my son and I both dig on these super easy treats.  Instructions- remember to remove the plastic sleeve.  Watch out QSRs, I'm on a roll here.

 

Nuts

 

Almonds to be specific- I keep the CA Almond industry in business.  Now you can get several savory flavors that don't add extra carbs to the natural count from the nut.  Even Giant's store brand has a Wasabi & Soy Sauce Almond that comes in for me at about 4g Carbs/ 1/4 cup.  If you need crunch this is a good snack that doesn't need refrigeration and will keep for months. (Mine never last that long)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cottage Cheese Sundae

 

 

Dollar Tree is my buddy on this concoction. They usually have 3 flavors of sugar free syrup and at a dollar each I use them in both foods and beverages.  This is sweet, creamy and crunchy- it satisfies much of my sweet tooth cravings and it is wicked fast to assemble.

 

1/2 cup of Cottage Cheese

1t - 1T flavored syrup

2 T of slivered Almonds

 

 

I hope that you are inspired to skip the Atkins trap or QSR siren song a bit more often with some simple options that are so easy even a wife of a chef can make them.  Keep in mind that veggies are your friend but I do get bored with them and will often just skip eating anything rather than gnawing on something I just don't want to eat.



Lunch at the House of Blues- Low-Carb Style

 

Better than a Rubber Biscuit

As I slide into the wooden seat and begin to soak in all of the ambience and Blues Brothers likenesses the familiar dread of what may lie inside the pages of the menu begins to bubble up.  Am I going to pay $20 for a plate of vegetables and a flat lifeless chicken boobie? In this case I found something way better than a rubber biscuit.

 

The House of Blues at Downtown Disney did not disappoint this low-carb "princess". (I was referred to as princess a number of times at Disney so I'm going to roll with it.) I started the meal with one of my magical low-carb cocktails and then set about finding something I would enjoy eating. 

 

So as a disclosure, I eat out a fair amount and most of my life takes place in a restaurant.  My job is to teach culinary students how to run the front-of-the-house operations of a restaurant.  So, Tuesday through Friday my work day is at Infusions (the school's restaurant) and if I want to see my husband, my son and I head into The Pressroom, where he is executive chef.  I am luckier than most type 1 diabetics in that I am constantly surrounded by chefs who will generally make me whatever I ask for. Thank you, pirates of the house of Swill & Gorge..

 

That being said, I get apprehensive about mining new menus. One never knows what might appear on those plastic wrapped menu sheets just waiting to hijack my day with hidden sugar in the dressing or a puree of potato hiding in a cream soup . . . ta-dah- high blood sugar!

 

There are also a lot of advantages of being familiar with a professional kitchen- I know which items are prone to have sugar added in, which items are likely to be easily modified without pissing off the line cooks too much and how picky I can be based on the business levels I see in the dining room. (FYI - the kitchen will be more likely to accommodate you on a Wednesday night than 7:30 on a Friday.)

 So, back to the House of Blues' delicious, spicy, engaging meal that had me plate-licking happy. 

 

 So what exactly did I order?  

 

The Heat Seeker

Certified Angus beef patty topped with pulled pork, pickled jalapeño peppers, buffalo sauce, Pepper Jack cheese on a brioche bun served with fries.

 

 

 

 

 

So what exactly did I eat?

 

The Heat Seeker, then I split the brioche bun between my son and my nephew and swapped my son my French fries for his veggie of the day. But let's be clear, this is low-carb, not no carb.  The pulled pork definitely had some sugars as did the pickled peppers and the pickles in the cup.  I ended up giving myself insulin for 15 carbs.  Each delicious one was worth the tick it earned on the gears in my insulin pump.

 

By the end of this meal I went through everything but the china and the flatware.

 

 

 

 

It was spicy-hot, juicy and filling.  We had a jam-packed vacation but for me this meal at the House of Blues won the Culinary Low-Carbie Award.

I should also mention that the server did a perfectly respectable job and made sure we were all happy with everything we had ordered, good service should never be overlooked.

 

So, low-carb eaters, I recommend adding House of Blues to your restaurant rotation if the mood strikes you for a hearty, guilt-free meal.

 



Drinking Low Carb

Drinking Low Carb

 

Open up any chain restaurant's drink menu and you will find a laundry list of exotic flavored cocktails- few of which will come in at less than 30 carbs/drink.  Occasionally, you will find a menu that offers a "skinny" option.  Awesome- love that and I order them every time because I want to encourage these chains to continue to offer options that don't require I come locked and loaded to alchemize my meal.  However, most bars have very few choices when it comes to low-carb mixers; Diet Coke and maybe Diet Redbull- if you are lucky.

A recent trip to Disney reminded me that I can enjoy eating and drinking like anyone else.  So I did. I used to be a strictly gin and tonic drinker but as it turns out the tonic is carb-tastic. So now I choose vodka soda- with a lime wedge if I'm feeling frisky and add about 1/2 of a packet of "water bottle flavor". The Dollar Tree has a wide selection of these little packets to doll-up your bottle of water, but I have found they make great mixers for grown-up beverages.  Because these powder mixes are sugar free and completely contained (don't leak) they are very welcome in my purse, pocket and car. There is the added bonus that you get to freak out your server or cocktail waitress when they return and your drink is a different color. 

I don't know your drinking habits, honestly, I don't drink on a regular basis right now but when I do it is often for a celebratory reason and I'm out with friends.  Some of my friends are heavier drinkers than others and in those situations I can easily loose track/keep track of my drinks by how many of the little sleeves I have left at any given time. (2 sleeves = 4 drinks) As a diabetic, my levels will often swing like crazy (if I start in the normal zone I get ready for a low dip- start high and I get ready for a big spike) as my body metabolizes the alcohol.  I do hate to end my night hanging out with EMTs in a prone position . . . since I'm already married . . . so keeping track is a good thing.

Combination Recommendations:

Mojito Limeade
    1 mini pack of Limeade (Wyler's Light)
    1 Mojito from your bartender, hold the simple syrup, make sure that they send the mint!
    When your drink comes, add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.

Cosmo
    1 mini pack of Cranberry Lemonade (I think this was 4C Sugar Free Totally Light 2 Go)
    1 Vodka, neat (or on the rocks)
    When your vodka, neat arrives add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.

Gin and Juice
     1 mini pack of Fruit Juicy Red (Sugar Free Hawaiian Punch)
     1 Gin and Soda or if you are totally Snoop Dog, Gin, neat
     When your gin arrives add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.

The Dude
     1 mini packet of Yoohoo ( I lost the box so I don't have the carb count on this but you are only going to use 1/2 of the packet so we are still pretty low here)
     1 Vodka with a splash of cream on the rocks from your bartender (expect raised eyebrows or slack-jawed confusion from your order taker)
     When your drink arrives add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.
     You may want to try this one at home first- it may not be your cup of tea but I miss  a good Caucasian a la the dude and this is a substitute I can live with.

Lemon Drop
    1 mini pack of Sugar Free Low Calorie Lemonhead Drink Mix
    1 Vodka, neat (or on the rocks)
    When your vodka, neat arrives add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.
   
**If I order a drink "neat" I will also request rocks on the side or rocks in a sidecar. In this case it makes it less messy to mix in the drink mix and you can add the ice as you see fit. Although "neat" does not indicate you would like your liquor chilled, many bartenders will make this assumption- it should assure you at the very least a rocks glass like the one pictured above.  Depending on the bartender, you may order your drink "up"- I have practically given up on this term because so few people seem to know what it means and it just makes me annoyed. Technically- "up" is what you want because it denotes that the liquor should be stirred or shaken over ice then strained into a martini glass or similar vessel. If you want the ice to come along it would be "up with the rocks in a side car".