Has anybody got any advice for some quick and easy snacks? I come home from work and everything I see in the low carb books and websites seem to take a while to prepare or cook. Are there any quick any easy snacks that I could whip up in a couple of minutes? I love cheese put the love affair could soon be on the wain if I keep up my abuse of it.

Check out thread started by Bleuugirl entitled "Late Night Snacks"...under Daily Low Carber...

Bonnie

Hi again Gaz,

Nuts are my favourite crunchy nibble. U can get macedemia at larger branches of Sainsburys in the baking section.

Keep 2-3 boiled eggs always ready in your fridge. Plan ahead for those weak and vulnerable moments.

Beware with cheese. It was partly responsible for my plateau. Cheese is not carb-free. Nor are eggs.

Celery is a big favorite with me now. Crunchy crisp celery with Hellman's full fat mayonnaise. I never used to eat celery pre-Atkins.

There's more but that's something to keep you going.
Take care. Good luck.

You guys have got pork scratchings over there and fantastic, nitrate free bacon. Keep a pound of it already cooked in the fridge and heat it briefly in the microwave or in the oven. A lot of people eat it cold.

Cold cuts - but watch the carb counts - cucumber slices, chicken wings!

Karen

At the risk of being drummed out for heresy, have you tried chocolate? I'm not sure if I'm unique in this, but I find that eating a bar of chocolate (up to about 200g!) does not affect my weight-loss on a low-carb diet. This is not the first time I've admitted it here. But it has to be only chocolate. The thick, chunky Cadbury's is best. No-one has given me any feedback yet as to whether it works for them, or makes them put on weight. But it could be worth a little experiment!

Andy, is this chocolate with sugar? Any idea how much carbs are in it?

I do find that "big guys" can handle 100+ grams of carb a day while still in ketosis, but 200g with sugar, is a bit more than what I have experienced.

Wa'il

Wa'il. Yes, sugar contained. I'll check on carbs next time I go out. The only half-satisfactory explanation I have seen is that chocolate is low on the glycaemic index

Hi Andy. Hi Everyone.

Personally I am very - VERY VERY - wary of choclate. There are far too many promotions of chocolate {not to mention the zillion and one cookery programmes on TV} in UK, which can lead you astray - perhaps I should speak for myself … and say lead me astray. A mini mini bar of Kit-Kat contains 61g of carbs - mostly sugar. That's more than 3 (yes THREE) days allowance if u r on Induction .

There are very few (if any at all) choclate products that are safe for the carb-addict. I can stay off for months and then one little taste and I've opened a huge can of worms.

It’s all too tempting though when I see what used to be my favourite choc-snack on a special offer at one hundreth of the normal price and all the trolleys in front of me at the checkpoint are stacked with ten packs of them – I’m not the only one who noticed the bargain! It’s the psychological blackmail that the multi-billion pound Food Industry practices. I now understand it but still fall prey to it, if I relax my attitude and am not wary – VERY very wary.

Let’s face facts folks… my name is Fiona and I am a recovering carb-addict. I am discerning enough to know that when supermarkets give those fantastic prices on choclate they are hoping to keep me a carb-addict … and possibly the heatwave is causing the choclate to melt! …

Take care

...I'm **guilty** as charged. I have a little bit of very good chocolate every weekend, which is my splurge time. Not on Atkins, doing the Zone.

Luckily I don't have any major food addictions and it isn't a trigger for me.

It's certainly not for everyone, but I do look forward to the end of the week, I must say.

That's also when I work out more, as well, so I think it probably counteracts whatever extra ounces are generated by this aberrant behaviour!

My healthier snacks include:

A) spicy green olives (3)
OR
cheese (1 oz)
(goat milk feta; havarti; cheddar)

B) 3 or 4 raw almonds/cashews/pistachios
(roasted w/o oil are OK but
raw has more nutritional value)

C) 2 tblsp. tinned pineapple
or other low glycemic fruit

(the above three go together nicely as a protein/fat/carb combo required by the Zone and usually fill me up)

D) hummus and pappadum and a small glass of red wine

E) red wine and cheese = a perfect Zone snack (!)

F) hardboiled egg w/ a bite of cheese or mayo
and/or a slice of turkey bacon

This is why I love the Zone, because it's SO YUMMY...

179/161/150 (SINCE MARCH/01)

Hi Mrs Yogi

Hope u r fully recovered from that virus u spoke about in your Journal. Sounded absolutely terrible.

We are human beings and a little treat can be therapeutic. Goals of perfection that are difficult to maintain only exacerbate the problem and pull one down further.

I love pappadums - I can never stop at one, Therefore for me it is best not to start at all.

You are right it is not for everyone. And perhaps it is not even that important which diet I choose. What is important is my commitment to it once I have chosen.

Take care.

Hi Fiona,

Yes, I believe you are right about the addictive nature of chocolate. This has always seemed to me its greatest danger. In that respect, it is essentially no different from any other carbohydrate: anything containing starch or sugar can be addictive. Look, for example at the marketing strategy of "Pringles", which actively flaunt the fact with their slogan "We bet you can't eat just one". However, the fascination I have with chocolate specifically is that it bucks the theoretical trend. Let me explain. For the amount of carbohydrate in a 200g bar of chocolate, taken in any other form, I would be in trouble. For some reason, it has no effect whatsoever on my weight-loss programme. One week I did the experiment of eating a 200g bar of chocolate every day. No effect. And this was not instead of some other meal, but as well as all my usual meals. However, something definitely was happening, because I have a nose that glows red like Rudolph the reindeer when I eat carbohydrates. After 2 or 3 days, my nose started going red. I felt no other ill-effects, and there was no interruption to my weight-loss. Weird. Luckily for me, I felt no particular attachment to the chocolate, so I was not addicted, and had no trouble cutting out the chocolate at the end of the experiment. But I can quite see how you have built up a mistrust for chocolate. I am not in any way trying to contradict your assertions, especially as they have the feel of being based on experience. All I am saying is there is an anomaly here, which I do not understand.

Regards.

Wa'il,

57.1g of carbohydrate per 100g of chocolate.

Andy which brand of chocolate r u talking about that has only 57.1g carb/100g?

My mni bar of kit-kat is 61g carb.

{"However, something definitely was happening, because I have a nose that glows red like Rudolph the reindeer when I eat carbohydrates. "} LOL. Count yourself lucky particularly if u can eat it without it affecting your weight loss. How much have you lost so far?

Take care.

Thanks Fiona, I am all better now! It was a rough one, though, wouldn't wish it on anyone...

Sorry about your pappadums, everyone has different triggers it seems.

I'm glad to hear it. My mother and sister (who live in your part of the world) were having a pretty rough time recently. When I stumbled over your journal I took a vested interest in everything you (and everyone else) said. I sent quite a few tips to my mum, who is better but has still not completely got over it.

{Sorry about your pappadums, everyone has different triggers it seems.}
Well at least now I am more aware of what my triggers are. I plan to treat myself (once a year or something like that) AFTER I reach my goal weight. I've got some saffron rice in the freezer (left-overs from a meal I cooked for some visitors) waiting patiently. I've been very good about it and not gone near it.

Take care