CARBSMART TO THE RESCUE!

  Dr. Atkins popularized the Fat Fast, based on the Keckwick diet developed in the 1950s by Prof. Alan Keckwich and Dr. Gaston Pawen. Fat fasting forces the body to burn stored fat by depriving it of glucose (sugar). Since even protein can be partially converted to glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis, eliminating almost everything but fat guarantees that even those who are most metabolically resistant to weight loss will switch to burning fat rather than sugar. By limiting calories to 1,000 per day, stored fat will make up the difference between the dietary fat coming in and energy needs.…

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MENU FOR VALENTINES DAY

Here’s what I made for my Valentine: Sliced tomatoes with Fresh Basil, Balsamic Vinegar, and Olive Oil Crispy Braised Duck Legs with Vegetables (from my section in Low-Carbing Among Friends Vol.3) Oven Roasted Asparagus (from Nourished) Cranberry Sauce (also from Nourished) Cherry Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream Everything was really easy (don’t tell my husband). The pie is a cherry version of my Three Fruit pie from a previous blog post here: http://goo.gl/Ztb0c I prebaked the bottom crust and a separate crust round for the top, cooked the…

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WHEAT BELLY COOKBOOK REVIEW: IS FLAX THE NEW WHEAT?

Dr. Davis has succeeded in drawing attention to the dangers of wheat and the benefits of a low-carb diet beyond what I thought possible. He builds a convincing case against this new plant that he says shouldn’t even be called “wheat,” and he documents most of his arguments with supportive research. I was already avoiding most grains and decided to eliminate wheat after reading Wheat Belly. I have been following a low-carb lifestyle and writing about it for over 13 years, so it wasn’t a radical change…

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PRODUCT REVIEW: NEW STEVIA AND MONK FRUIT SWEETENER

I promised to let you know when the new stevia/monk fruit version of EZ-Sweetz was available. So, for those of you who have been waiting for a more Paleo-friendly version, here it is! It hasn’t hit the retail stores yet, but it can be ordered from Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/EZ-Sweetz-Stevia-Monk-Fruit-1-36oz/dp/B00AQ50DEM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359567351&sr=8-1&keywords=EZ-Sweetz+stevia+and+monk+fruit . I received some advance samples about a week ago and I was pleasantly surprised that I actually like the taste of this new sweetener. The stevia-based sugar substitutes that I tried in the past always…

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SHIRATAKI NOODLES WITHOUT SOY: NASOYA PASTA ZERO

Suffering from pasta withdrawal? Here’s a clip from Portlandia to show you how hard it can get! (Thanks to Laurie-Avalanche Rosen for sharing this.) I’m still looking for the perfect pasta substitute. Dreamfield’s contains wheat; spaghetti squash is, well, squash; spiral-sliced zucchini, sorry, still squash; shirataki is rubbery and tasteless; tofu shirataki contains soy… Regular shirataki noodles are not really food. They have no calories, no carbs, no nutrients, and no taste. They are 100% konjak fiber. If I came across a bowl of shiritaki noodles in the wild, I would never say, “Yum, food!” I’d be no…

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BRAISED FENNEL

Fennel, (c) 2012, Judy Barnes Baker Fennel is to vegetables what bacon is to meat. This mild cousin of anise can be used raw in salads or cooked in stews and soups, but it only reaches sweet, glorious perfection when braised, sauteed, or fried. If you have never tried it, you are in for a treat! BRAISED FENNEL Ingredients: 2 fennel bulbs (about 1 pound, trimmed) 1/3 cup olive oil 1/2 cup water Salt Black pepper Grated Parmesan cheese Directions: Cut off the stalks close to the bulb, reserving some of the feathery…

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