A1c 10.5/5.4/<6  T2 DX 05/2004
1g Metformin, 100ug Thyroxine
95/73/72Kg

From: "Jane Lumley" <lumley@purkiss.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Jane's LowCarb Substitutes: pro bono publico
Date: 02 February 2005 16:16

I've been chuffed by the interest in my low-carb bread, so I thought I'd
offer some more ideas.

All of us know the times when we lowcarbers long for those things we
aren't supposed to have.

What to do when the craving strikes?

First response should be to eat some Real Protein and try to make it go
away.

I'll just repeat that: First response should be to eat some Real Protein
and try to make the craving go away.

Second step, think about WHAT you crave.  Is it sweetness? Taste?
Texture?  If it's the taste of orange, for instance, would you be happy
with a sweet omelette made with either orange oil of a little bit of
orange zest? Or is it an acid-tasting drink you want and not orange
flavour at all?  If it is, a citron presse might hit the spot that feels
cold and naked.

Or is it normality that you crave?  Being able to eat like everyone
else?  If so, the substitutes below may make things look and feel more
normal.

Finally, often the best solution is to save up the carbs and have a
small helping of what you want early in the day right before cardio.
You can only do this if you KNOW you can stop, though.  I for one find
it hard.  Most of us do.

But if you're being haunted by longings, here are some substitutes,
which don't contain any dodgy polyols or additives, though some use
Splenda.  No need, either, for soy flour, or for those ridiculously
expensive low-carb speciality products with theer somewhat deceptive
carb counts.

If you long for chocolate

1.  eat one square of dark bittersweet chocolate (the French way).
Really savour it.  This is actually a good plan, as it teaches PORTION
CONTROL.  Lowfat went wrong in this area, and lowcarbers are even more
at risk because Atkins absolutely encourages portion blowout, as do the
dear manufacturers.

make hot chocolate with one tsp good Dutched cocoa (I like Valrhona),
water, and a dessertspoon of cream, plus half a chilli, unchopped,
floated intact in the hot chocolate for ten minutes.  Remove chilli.
Reheat.  Add cream and sweetener.  Trust me.

Or don't.  Susbstitute a vanilla pod or cinnaomon stick.

You'll feel very Vianne.

2.  make a sweet chocolate omelette or souffle.  Beat four eggs for five
minutes on maximum speed in a mixer.  Add 2 tsp cocoa and Splenda to
taste (don't use syrup, it won't work).  either bake for 12 minutes at
350 in a china dish inside a water bath, or cook in a buttered frypan
for ten minutes.  Top with whipped cream.

If you long for toast and Marmite, vegemite..

Brits and Aussies only.  Others look away now.

Smear a plate with a thin layer of chosen spread.  Now make juicy
scrambled eggs with two eggs and a splash of cream.  Dump eggs on
vegemite.  It's actually really lovely, and oddly Eastern-tasting.  Made
me see that vegemite is actually akin to Pacific rim cuisine.   Thanks,
Henry Hill, my lowcarb god.

If you long for cake

1.  Make a cake from a genoise recipe, using Splenda.  You can
substitute 1/3 cup ground hazelnuts for 1/3 cup flour.  Eat a VERY small
piece (the French way).  It will have about 10 g carbs.  A good time to
do this is just before cardio.  NB: obviously, if you do this often,
your diet will be over.

2.  Make a walnut cake (recipe below)

3.  If still in induction: make a souffle and flavour it with whatever
cake flavouring you crave - lemon, orange, maple flavour etc.  Top with
cream cheese frosting made with Splenda (either use the sachets, or
pulverise the granular stuff in a blender).

4.  Cheesecake.  Rose Levy Beranbaum's gorgeous recipe adapts perfectly
to lowcarb.  If you split it into 12 servings, each has around 4-5 g of
carbs, all form Spelnda and sour cream/cheese.  Remember to count the
cheese!

If you long for crusty bread

1.  Make Jane's Acceptable Low Carb Bread or Jane's Walnut Bread
(recipes below).

2.  If out of induction, a piece of pumpernickel won't kill you.  Eat it
for breakfast, and go very low the rest of the day.

If you long for pizza

1.  Make Jane's Acceptable LowCarb Bread, and use as pizza dough

2.  Make Jane's totally Authentic Italian Meatza, ripped off from the
brilliant Nonna's recipes, by Carol Field

3.  top grilled chicken fillets with salami, one spoonful homemade
tomato sauce, olives, anchovies, and thinly sliced mozzarella.  Grill.
Dump on salad.  This is ok even on induction.

If you long for cream puffs or profiteroles or puff pastry or phyllo

Make the Eades' Magic Rolls (in their book Low Carb Comfort Food - and
fill with goodness of whatever kind you crave - whipped cream flavoured
with coffee or cocoa, for instance.  Or make the rolls, fill one with
ripe camembert, and microwave quickly till camembert oozes.  If you
still feel deprived, you're insane.

If you crave potatoes

I never do, so I'm less inventive here.
? Cauliflower, turnip, mashed swede, modicums of pumpkin

If you crave pasta

1.  Spaghetti squash (but this doesn't work for most of us).
2.  Mostly it's the sauce people actually love.  Any pasta sauce is also
good on chicken or white fish.
3.  Naked ravioli - see below.

If you crave rice

See above on sauces.
if you just want something bland and soothing to eat with curry, see
above on potatoes.

If you crave cookies

Macaroons - almond or coconut
Other nut-based biscuits - biscotti, brutti mar buoni.  All these
recipes work with no change but Splenda instead of sugar.

Jane's Recipes

Do send these out, but PLEASE be kind and acknowledge that they're mine,
and that they are based on those of others (see below).

Walnut Bread

This is a fairly radical adaptation of a recipe in Dana Carpender's
first book, 500 Low-Carb recipes.  Hers is pretty leaden and uses far
less yeast and no walnuts, but I borrowed her hydration ratios.

2.25 cups vital wheat gluten (get it from www.flourbin.co.uk)
3.5 cups oat bran (Holland and Barrett) 1 cup ground almonds 1
cup vanilla whey protein powder 1 cup ground walnuts (grind
yourself in food processor, or more gorudn almonds, or use
ground seeds) 3 Tb flaxseeds 4 envelopes easy-blend yeast 3
Tb walnut oil 1 Tb salt - add a bit more if you like 3 eggs
4.5 cups double cream
5.5 cups warmish water

Mix dry ingredients, then add liquids, including eggs and oil.
Mix - it's too wet to knead, more like cake mix, but a dough
hook in a mixmaster will do it if you have one - until well
blended. It will be very sloppy. Oil two 2 lb loaf tins
thoroughly. divide mixture between them Let rise in tins in a
warmish place for around 1.5 hours, till dough crests top of
tins (don't cover with clingwrap for this reason - I use an
upturned plastic box. Bake at 200 C for 20 minutes, then lower
temp to 180 and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Rest in tins
for 10 minutes after baking, then cool on racks.

Flaxseed Bread

My adaptation - again, pretty radical - of Bernard Clayton's Gluten
Bread - again, what I've lifted is the hydration levels.

3 cups Vital Wheat Gluten
6/2 cup whey protein powder
7/4 cup coarse wheat bran
8/4 cup oat bran
2 envelopes Easy-Blend Yeast
2 Tb salt, or 2 Tb of Vegemite and 1 tsp salt
1 cup ground flaxseeds - best done in coffee grinder
3 Tb any oil - I use walnut, but it's an extravagance
1-1 1/2 cups water - depends on day.

Mix dry ingredients, then add wet ones. Knead on Speed 2 for
around 3-4 minutes - dough will be scarily rubbery, and you
mustn't overdo it. repress misgivings and place it to rise in
an oiled bowl. In around an hour it will look like a pregnant
football. Pat it out on the bench, divide in half. Oil tow
loaf tins and roll dough into loaves. Bung it in tins. let
rise again for one-one and a half hours. Bake at 180 for 20
minutes, then turn the loaves around in the oven. Bake for 15
minutes. Take out, remove at once from tins and cool on a
rack. Makes lovely chewy bread, much nicer than you will think
from dough.

Jane's Pancake Mix

Jenny does a mean pancake mixture too.

1/2 cup Vital Wheat gluten
1/2 cup very finely ground flaxseed.
3 Tb flaxseed
5 Tb soy protein isolate (or you can substitute ground nuts of any kind)
1 tsp baking powder

To make, add one egg and 3/4 cup water.  if it looks too gloopy, add
more water.  Makes small pancakes, not giant 8" jobbies.

Walnut Cake

Lifted pretty much intact from Emily Luchetti's book A Passion for
Desserts.  I made adjustments for Splenda.

11 oz toasted walnuts
1.5 cups Splenda
6 large eggs, separated
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tb instant espresso powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Grind walnuts in food processor with 1/2 cup splenda.  With a mixer, on
medium, whip egg yolks and remaining Splenda until pale cream in colour,
3-4 minutes, add the walnuts on low speed, together with the baking
powder, espresso powder, and salt.  Then beat egg whites and cream of
tartar until soft peaks form, fold whites into nut mixture, spread in
buttered, parchment-lined 9-in springform tin, bake at 350 F for 35-40
minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.  Top with cream cheese icing
made with Splenda, or simply with a light skim of whipped cream.

Remember, nuts have carbs.  And calories.

Meatza - Pizza di carne

10 oz ground pork
2 Tb fine lowcarb bread crumbs
2 Tb cream
2 pinches sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper OR 1 Tb dried oregano (the latter is MUCH nicer)
1 tsp olive oil
Toppings of choice - I use good garlic salami in paper-thin slices,
anchovies, mushrooms preserved in olive oil, flat-leaf parsley, basil, a
few slices of tomato, 125 g mozzarella, and a sprinkle of parmesan,
sometimes arugula/rocket or spinach

Mix the first five ingredients.  Brush a heavy 12-in skillet with the
olil, and then spread the meat mixture over the bottom; it will be about
half an inch thick.  (NB: this won't work in a much smaller pan).  Then
pretend it's a pizza and put all your toppings on it.  Put the pan over
medium heat and cook tillt he eat izzles.  Pour off the fat, then turn
down the flame to very low, clap on a lid, and cook for 7-10 minutes, or
until the meat is pale fawn.  Tip off the fat again.  YUM!  Serves four.

From Carol Field, In Nonna's Kitchen, p. 278.  Adapted by Jane Lumley

Naked ravioli
1 lb fresh spinach
2 tsp unsalted butter
1 tsp sea salt
1 2/3 cups ricotta
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan (freshly grated - not the soapy stuff)
1 egg yolk

Wash spinach, drain, place in 4 qt pot.  Cook until wilted, 4-5 mins.
Drain well, and press out all water. Yield will be 1 1/3 cups.  Warm
butter in 10-in pan, add spinach and salt, cook until no water is left.
Chop finely.  Cool.  Stir in ricotta, parmesan, egg yolk.  If it holds
together, good.  If not, add 2 Tb flour.  Shape into walnut-sized balls.
Roll in Atkins Bake Mix - very lightly - but then, we have to use up the
stuff somehow - and bring a large pot of water to the boil.  Poach in
small batches of 2-3 minutes.  If the first ones fall apart, add a tad
more flour.  It won't hurt you in these quantities.

Make a sauce of 4 TB melted butter and 10 fresh sage leaves.  Grate an
additional ounce of Parmesan.

Place poached ignudi (that's the little lumps you just made) in a
buttered baking dish.  Drizzle with sauce.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake
for 10 mins at 375 F.

From Carol Field, In Nonna's Kitchen, p. 178.  Adapted by Jane Lumley.

Happy lowcarbing all!
--
Jane Lumley