Low Carb & Atkins Diet

ariannea · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 1:49 am Post subject: dinner out

Tonight was pretty difficult--my boyfriend, our roommate, and I went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. Right off, they started talking about what appetizers to get! I would have loved to have split their blooming onion and fried mushrooms, but I can't believe how self controlled I was. I sipped my unsweetened tea and read the menu until the food came so I wouldn't think about it too much, and when the appetizers arrived I made a beeline for the bathroom to stop from munching. I felt a little silly for spending ten minutes in there, but in the end I felt so proud of myself! I was even better about my dinner...I ordered chicken that was smothered in cheese and bacon with steamed broccoli on the side. By then I didn't even WANT the french fries that the others had. I know it's silly, but I can really feel my willpower growing, and that makes me so happy.

Something that really helps these days is having very supportive people around me. Even though dinner tonight was kind of tough, my roommate and my boyfriend are both very cool and understanding about the changes I've made in my diet....I've been pretty lucky that I don't have to hear any nay-saying about what I'm doing. My boyfriend even tried the diet for the first week to understand it, and won't even let me think about cheating again. And I have a George Forman Grill now so cooking is kind of fun (something it's never been for me!). The only thing that sucks is I'm getting a little tired of chicken and beef...I'm going to have to research some new recipes to spice things up!

Chrismcp · New Member Joined: 13 Aug 2003 Posts: 2

HI, what about fish, I never ate much fish until the Atkins but now I am enjoying it ( well nearly! ). I like prawns and smoked salmon with eggs is good. So go on try fish.

Glad to hear you were good when out for Dinner, keep it up. Trying to get back on the diet myself, so I need to practice what I preach and go and buy some fish.

blueskyes2 · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 1:38 pm Post subject:

You did a wonderful job eating out. Good for you! Very Happy

Fish and shrimp cook very well and quickly on the Foreman Grill. We just put a little lemon juice, a little butter and a few herbs and its wonderful and it has the added advantage of not having to worry about falling through the rack like on the regular grill. I have found that I like to cook pork steaks on the grill, sometimes marinaded with a little Italian dressing. I also like pork country style ribs (meatier with no bone). I cook them in the oven and they come out nice and tender. Nowadays you can find a lot of meats cut up in thin strips for doing stirfry which is something that you can try. Also, I have recently discovered the prepared food aisle near the meat department where they have meats like chicken, turkey, pork and beef already prepared and ready to heat. These are vacuum sealed so last a while in the fridge and are great for me being busy and single and I use the leftovers for lunch.

LoriAnn · Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2003 10:15 pm Post subject:

Excellent work, ariannea Exclamation

Next time, take the coating off the mushrooms & have one. Also, I don't know about outback, but some places are doing more lower carb apetizers. In some restaurants, you can even ask for an olive boat, or a veggie tray. I love the celery sticks that come with the hot wings - just dip it into the ranch dressing, or even a little of the wing sauce.

The George Foreman grill is the most used item in my kitchen now! We do all sorts of stuff in ours, even veggies. I brush on olive oil, or sometimes just marinate the meats or veggies in a mixture of herbs, spices & olive oil & put it on the grill. Blueskyes - I like the butter idea, that sounds good!