Hi All, I just started working with Dr. Bernstein's slution. And in a matter of 2 weeks I am finally hitting the 90s in my readings. And I woke up with a 109 BG this morning which is outstanding considering it was ranging from 140-180 when I woke up with the stupid dawn effect.

Anyway, problem for me is the veggies. I am trying to find a good recipe book that follows in line with Dr. Bernsteins principles or something that has good recipes for the vegetables we are allowed to eat. I use some of his recipes in the book. But I am trying to find variety. Especially for hubby (not diabetic) because, he doesn't like eating the same thing over and over again.

Any good recipe books?

For myself what i find with some of the veggies is they taste bitter to me... Is there a way to get them to not taste bitter. Like Romaine lettuce I taste bitter when the leaves are especially dark. Snow peas, taste bitter. Asparagus taste bitter.

My hubby claims they don't taste bitter to him. I must just be weird. But I like to enjoy eating instead of feeling like I am being forced to chew and swallow bad tasting medicine multiple times.

Any ideas?

Thanks so much for you help

You might be a super taster. I'm one. We perceive the taste of bitter at much smaller concentrations than other people. google "bbc science supertaster" for more info.

The best way to gag down veggies I've found:

use immature or baby varieties
mask with dressing that includes fat, salt, and fruit- this cuts down on the bitter.

One dressing I like is a topping of almonds and ginger. It tames just about every bitter vegetable.

4 T almonds
2 T minced fresh ginger
toast them slowly in half olive oil and half butter
add salt and white pepper

Or bacon and avocado (fat, salt, fruit)

Honey mustard dressing is good too. Homemade so you can use way less sweet than commercial varieties.

Congratulations on your rapid health improvements!

I second using the allowed fats to mask bitterness. One example, mash cauliflower with cream cheese and butter. There are tons of recipes right here: http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=44
Or at one of my favorite websites for diabetes information (check out the other links under each tab..it's a huge website):
http://www.nmsociety.org/low-carb-fun.html
There are so many good low carb recipe websites I dont have many recipe books, though our library has quite a few. Maybe look there first to see which ones you might enjoy.

Some people add a pinch of sugar when making vegetables, suppose you could try a small portion with allowed artificial sweeteners..but warning...i've never tried this myself! Not sure it would work the same way.

You must be a "super taster". Not everyone can taste the bitterness in veggies. There's a test you and your husband can do so you can show him proof of your super-human status.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/a...e-a-supertaster

I hated vegetables and avoided them my whole life before low carbing. Being 'allowed' to have butter changed everything. I slather it on hot vegetables and swish them in the melting goodness. Some veg also do well with cheese: melted on the hot stuff and shredded on the cold ones. Seriously, I can't get enough vegetables now. In fact I forgot I ever thought they were bitter until I read your post.

Yeah, I can also taste the "dirt" in veggies.

SeeJay, I will try to look for the immature/baby plants next time I go grocery shopping. Recipes sounds yummy but unfortunately with Dr B's list of allow carbs nuts are not one of them. you know I use to like bottle dressing, I really can't stand it anymore. They changed something and now they all taste sickening sweet. But that is a good thought. Going to have to make some of my own.

Nancy LC, thanks for the test I briefly looked at it... Maybe I can coax hubby into doing it this weekend

WhoFan, you know I did that tonight with the snow peas. I used garlic, 2 TBSP butter, lots of salt and pepper. They weren't as bad...Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks everyone for the info and suggestions.

JEY100, thanks I am so whicked stoked about this. All day pretty much I am hanging out in the 90s. I even reached 92 for the first time today!

I feel so much better, achiness has died down. Coughing as subsided. Mental and emotional health has stabilized. Jitteriness has gone. I have more get up and go energy. Although physically I am a little drained.

Having the energy to lift weights again. I am not waking up all stiff from the nights sleep.

I look forward to the pound melting off further. I had already lost 40 pounds on my own through my own food experiment but I was missing something. Which I found in Dr Bs book. Fast acting versus not and which foods constituted that.

And he confirmed the low carb conclusion I was drawing on my own.

I am glad I made the right decision and quite taking "modern" medicines advice and physical medications. I am a insulin resistant type 2 diabetic.

With the recipes. I spent about an hour looking through the recipes this on this forum. And I have bought low carb recipe books. But you know what the author may feel it is low carb but it is not the same as Dr. B's ideas.

I did look briefly at the site you recommend and will continue to explore that. Thank you for that!

I just figured if people here who have been through it longer might have accumulated some of their favorite resources.

I use bigoven.com for recipes but it not a low carb site. This is nice because you can sink your iphone/ipad to it and have a grocery list.

Of that recipe website list on NMS, Linda's Low Carb is the #1 most often mentioned here as the best. Her recipes are good, and if they didn't come out great or she tweaked them, she tells you. Laura Dolson has some good ones too and she covers so many other LC topics, like traveling and eating out, plus always sends out holiday suggestions, e.g. recipes for a low carb Easter and Summer holiday pinics will be out soon. I like her weekly newsletter emails..keeps me out of a rut recipe wise.
I have two of Dana Carpender's 500 LC recipe books. You will have to check just about any LC recipe that it fits within Dr. B's plan.

A number of recipe apps have LC "search filters". AllRecipes and Spark are two I use. Not all Paleo recipes are very low carb, but with no grains and no sugar, Everyday Paleo and NomNomPaleo are good recipe websites too.

I was at a low carb support group last night, and so very many find that without any grains and sugar, two major sources of inflammation, that arthritis pains go away long before major weight loss. Did for me too...the day about 3 weeks after starting I realized how much better I felt was the day I knew I would stay LC, grain-free forever.

The Flavor Bible, which came out a few years ago suggests flavoring combinations which can make a lot of veggies taste better. I use it as often as any other cook book in my collection.

Thanks RobLL, I ordered it from amazon... Much appreciated

Thanks so much Janet for giving me some more sites to look at. I am definitely going to be spending my time researching this weekend!

I am happy to have mental focus back as well. It was getting tough to work 8 hours a day. Especially when you do software programming work. Very mentally intensive not to have good focus...

Lifting of the "brain fog" is commonly reported too.
Slightly OT, but a recent integrative health podcast talked about the "treadmill" or standing desks. But without going to that extreme, there is a Mac App called "Time Out" which reminds you to take short eye breaks and slightly longer "get up and stretch or walk" breaks. Our eyes were never designed to look at a flat plane close up... And breaks can actually help concentration. There is an similar PC app too.

Laura Dolsons weekly email just popped into my inbox...all about Spring Vegetables and I thought of you...even Spinach Salad can be sweetened. Hot Bacon Dressing...
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/so...hsalad.htm?nl=1

Oh wow thanks Janet! I will definitely put that on my list to check out. How did you know I stay away from spinach? LOL...So far this week it has been green beans (I love) 3 times, broccoli 1 time, snow peas 2 times, fried zuchini...My goal this weekend is to come up with some recipes for squash, spinach, cauliflower, and zuchini. I might just make up okra or cabbage as a test batch recipe to see if I like it. I remember I didn't like cabbage when I was younger.

I also need to find some dressing recipes. I don't know what it is with dressing lately but they all (Caesar, Italian, Ranch) taste sickening sweet to me. Make my lips purse and instant gag reflex. Need to figure out how to make some homemade and see what happens. I look at them and they say 1 carb.

I like zucchini boats. you cut them in half, hollow out the seeds a little, then load up with allowable meat and cheese and mushrooms, salt and pepper. That really turns the summer squash and zucchini into little holders of the good stuff.