Eat Your Vegetables!: Low Carb Food....The Good, The Bad and The OMG

So, last time I told you about my induction phase. The withdrawals; the almost fainting. Today, I shall tell you about the food. Oh, the food!! For someone that likes to eat like I do, these recipes were fun to make and mostly terrible to eat.

For one, I hope I never see another bell pepper again. Bell pepper cups. Bell pepper rings. Bell pepper sticks! I have never particularly cared for bell peppers. After the first two weeks I was so done with bell peppers!!

Also on the never again list (or at least the not for a long long while list), chef salad. I have made and had some very yummy salads but I hope I don't see another for a long time!

The first two weeks I tried all sorts of recipes. Some were good, but expensive to make, namely, the chili made with 5 pounds of beef stew meat. Yes. You read that right. 5 pounds. I don't think I'll have to worry about iron deficiency for about 10 years.

I have learned through this process that I do NOT care for goat cheese. In anything. Ever. I made a smoothie. I had a feeling it was going to be terrible when I read the recipe, but it had mostly IBS friendly foods in it and I was trying to be open minded. When you read the name of this smoothie you will most likely say, "what was she thinking?!" Ready? Avocado Gazpacho Smoothie. Yeah. It was bad. It consisted of avocado, goat cheese, chives and almond milk. Oh man!! I even tried to keep drinking thinking it was an "acquired taste". Halfway through the taste had yet to be acquired so I gave up. Ugh.

I also despise the taste of protein powder. Didn't know that until this venture into low carbedness. And if I'm honest with myself, I'd much rather get my nutrients from actual food. I had to stop taking the vitamins I bought because they made me sick. Through it all though, I learned how NOT to eat low carb.

I also learned that I could eat eggs multiple times a day for the foreseeable future and never tire of them. I have had scrambled eggs and fresh strawberries for breakfast every day for at least a month. I love eggs. I tried to take the easy way out with shakes and meal bars. While I was still losing weight, I quickly learned that the artificial sweeteners don't agree with me. Well I have always said that stuff wasn't good for me anyway. I use them every now and then when I want something sweet though.

Someone loaned me a copy of their enormous low carb cookbook and I found some great recipes in it, along with getting a grasp on some low carb baking. I figured out that my belly loves chia seeds and that I can use chia seeds to bake! Hmmmm. So I found a recipe that uses almond meal and flax seed to make bread. Flaxseed and I do not agree. That was a hard lesson....substitute the flax for chia and tada! Bread, pizza crust! I have made low carb pizza that is to die for people. And not a cauliflower in sight! What is people's fascination with cauliflower anyway?

I haven't had a stomach flare up since the first two weeks. I'm losing weight slowly but surely (about a pound a week). I should probably look into growing chia...