How should I move up the rungs?

[RitaCeleste]

Okay, I tried to quit smoking and ate off plan. Its taken a week to get back fully on plan and loose most of the water weight. I ordered a little convection toaster oven. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to eat like when I'm done loosing the weight. My daughter is struggleing with her weight too. Once I did GFCF with her. I was making a roast or baking some meat and keeping soups in the crock pot at all times. She didn't have junky foods, she had chicken and rice out of the crock pot or a peice of fruit. I like being able to have dairy again, and the only thing I really miss is the fruit. Maybe a bowl of oatmeal here and there. But I am wondering if I should try bean soups, like navy bean soup? Also I can stick potatoes in the soups whole and just not eat them, but chicken and rice sounds like a bad idea. Anybody got an idea for chicken soup without rice or noodles? One of my kids won't eat veggie soup and if I make soups, I want to make ones everyone likes. I'm in a hurry to try to work in some fruit, but my overall carb limit is about 25g a day to still loose weight. I'm afraid beans will kill my weightloss and I'll never make to fruit. I only have strawberries and/or nuts about once a week. I've kinda figured out there is no going around eating whatever I want again. I am trying to make this a lifestyle everyone can live with. So any advice or hints are welcome. To try beans? To stick to lower carb soups until I'm closer to goal? To skip beans and see if I can have plum once in awhile? How should I do this???

[JulieB]

What about trying riced cauliflower instead of "real" rice...the kids might not even notice

[mizski]

Congrats on stopping smoking. That's HUGE!

You're close enough to goal that moving up the rungs now will give you time to figure out what will work.

I was on South Beach before Atkins and while I think that is an excellent plan I believe it was just too many carbs for me to lose weight continually...their phase 1.5 was more like maintenance for me. SBD requires you to have 1/3-1/2 cup of beans per day. That 1/3 c. beans + my small bowl of oatmeal/steel-cut oats + 1 fruit pretty much ended weight loss for me.

Now on Atkins, when I get up to those rungs I can try those very healthy foods but not have them all in the same day. I think I will be able to still lose weight doing it that way. Time will tell.

If you start moving up now you can find out what combinations of foods and what specific foods will work for you...or not. For you, I would definitely try various beans/legumes, oatmeal, other grains like quinoa and fruits as you get to those rungs. All these foods are so good for you. Personally, I think rice (except wild rice) and pastas should probably wait until maintenance or very close to it and then not eaten that often.

On to soups. I make a LOT of soups during the cooler months and even during the warmer times too. What I've done is make the basic soup but cook the rice, pasta, beans separately (cook those in some of the same or similar type broth so they have the same flavor) and then add to the family's portions.

This method will also be helpful for you when you are trying out new foods as you will be able to have the proper amount in your bowl. And, if say 1/3 c. of beans is proving too much then you can try 1 or 2 TBS. Ya, I know...who the heck has that little amount of beans (or corn or carrots or whatever)? I'll tell you though, right now I would be ecstatic at 1 TBS of lentils!!

I haven't figured out how to do pea or true lentil soup as those kind of disintegrate and become the soup. Might have to try something like thinning it out with broth so you are getting less peas/lentils.

I better stop writing...I hope this gave you some ideas.

[RitaCeleste]

Thanks! I think the kids would notice the cauliflower rice, but theres no telling if they'd like it or not. I'm thinking about trying it, then we'll know. I thought of thinning the bean soups down. But there are a lot of carbs in those beans. I could try making a bean soup once a week and just make enough for one day. I got a big crock pot, so I can make enough soup to last us two days. Then happy dogs take care of the leftovers. I'm smoking a little bit today still. My weight has went back down. I cooked something off plan for everyone else and didn't even lick a finger. I should be quitting smoking tomarrow. I just had to get back on track before I gave it another go. Well, when I went to get a little pack of rolling tobacco the pack had .65 of tobacco instead of .75 of tobacco. Its really time to quit being at these people's mercy! And I will find whole, real foods without corn syrup and red 40 for the kids to eat. Cassy asked me when I was cooking some soup this morning. So even my picky eater is looking foreward to it. I think it really helps that we've done something similar and liked it before.

[Elizellen]

Black soy beans are very lowcarb - about 1 net carb per half cup according to the ones sold on a lowcarb website in UK - so once you have reached the legumes rung and can add beans you could try to get some to use in your soups.

As for the cauli-rice - though you would not mistake it for 'real' rice, my husband actually prefers it to rice now!! It doesn't bloat him as much either.

[Momtofour]

When I make chicken soup I divide it into two batches. My daughter and I have soup that has veggies and chicken in the broth. The rest of the family has chicken, veggies, and noodles. Works for us.

[RitaCeleste]

I kinda want to avoid too much soy in my girls' diet. Most soy isn't easily diegested. Sometimes too much soy can cause growing girls problems. I never did well with soy products. Soy sauce is okay, and other soy products like soy milk have not agreed with me. The girls said as long as make then rice or something on the side that they could mix in fine. The one that eats broccoli is game to try riced cauliflower. So far I can cook a pork picknic and make a splitpea or navey bean soup with the left-overs. A boston butt roast should give me the left overs for a meaty soup, and leg quarters are cheap enough to do chicken soup anytime. I know they will eat two out of three. I might do some veggie soup and see if I can coax them into eating it too. Only one will eat no bean chili. But I guess the biggest thing is to get that one eating with me more. Now I got to make a grocery list and go shopping!