Atkins Italian Sausage Primavera Review

Let's start with a random tidbit!  My parents were *THIS* close to naming me Primavera.  Instead she chose Tamara (Layla is my youngest daughter).  Since that's what I thought about when I first saw this meal, you get to now think about it too!  So on to the real stuff.  This frozen dinner almost, kind of, sort of looks like the photo on the box.  More so than some other dinners.  The yellowish sauce on the box is drizzled on so it's not as yellow as the real meal.  However the veggies and meat really do look similar and are a great quality in my opinion.  Sometimes I have a real issue with the meat in frozen dinners as the quality is pretty dreadful.  I can see why we are paying a bit more for these than some other frozen dinners (I paid $3.98 at Walmart, which is the only place I've found them).  The price is worth it for the quality of the ingredients and just the fact that us low carbers have a frozen meal option!  I wouldn't say to eat one of these every day as real, fresh food is always going to be better than any frozen item full of preservatives.  However, I plan to keep one or two of these in my freezer to use for emergencies or lazy-days.

5 STARS
1 serving
5 net carbs per serving

Atkins Crustless Chicken Pot Pie Review

Atkins Crustless Chicken Pot Pie

click to enlarge

My Super Walmart FINALLY put these little gems in the freezer section.  So let's start with the obvious.  It does not look like the photo.  That's pretty normal for frozen meals so it wasn't much of a shock.  They are 5 net carbs for 9 ounces.  That's fairly large for a frozen meal, most of the low calories frozen meals are closer to 6 or 7 ounces.  I had this for lunch and it didn't have me stuffed but it satisfied me until time for an afternoon snack.  Now on to the important stuff, the taste.  This tasted good!  The chicken was pretty decent (I don't like the quality of the chicken in some brands of low calorie frozen meals), the veggies were plentiful and the sauce was great!  I don't think it really tasted like a pot pie but if you ignore the name of it, then it was very good.  The price point is higher than the low calorie frozen dinners (I think I paid $3.89) but you can't complain considering us low carbers finally have frozen dinners again!

4 STARS
1 serving
5 net carbs per serving

Eating Out Friday: Italian Restaurants

Courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dessertcomesfirst/68633154/

Welcome to another Eating Out Friday post!  This week is about eating out at Italian restaurants.  It's actually a bit easier than you think once you learn to ignore the Pasta and Pizza sections of the menu.  Get out of the house this weekend and go enjoy some antipasto!


Original Link: About.com
When most people think of Italian food, their minds immediately leap to dishes which are overwhelmingly carbohydrate –- pasta, pizza, and bread. But lots of Italian dishes are great choices for people who must watch their carbs. Finding them is easier if you start to “think like an Italian” when eating at Italian restaurants. 

There is a stereotype in the United States that Italians eat pasta all day. Surprise -- this is a myth. Kyle Phillips, About.com’s Guide to Italian Cuisine, tells us that an Italian meal is quite balanced, and includes perhaps a cup of pasta cooked “al dente” at a typical dinner. Cooking pasta this way (much firmer than is common in the United States) lowers the glycemic index of the pasta, and perhaps even the amount of carbohydrate available to for digestion (see resistant starch). This approach can be consistent with a moderately low-carbohydrate diet such as the Zone diet. However, in the United States, you’d be hard-pressed to find a restaurant that serves a cup of al dente pasta.

Low-Carb Italian Eating – Dos and Don’ts

Dos:

• Let your eyes skip past the pizza and pasta sections of the menu. You may be surprised to find how much low-carb gold is hiding in plain sight under other headings.
• Italians are known for shopping daily for the freshest and choicest produce, seafood, and meats, often with a fairly simple preparation so as not to hide the wonderful fresh flavors. So think like an Italian, and order items with lots of healthy fresh ingredients.
• Italian food often has olive oil drizzled over it, and sometimes there is olive oil on the table for this purpose. Take advantage of it. The type of fat as well as the antioxidants in olive oil are part of the reason for the healthfulness of the “Mediterranean Diet.”
• Eat slowly and enjoy. Italians don’t “wolf” their food. They eat their main meal slowly over several small courses, ideally with much conversation and laughter.

Don’ts:

• Avoid or minimize the following which are high in carbs: pasta, bread, risotto, polenta, bruschetta, crostini.
• If you are in a low-carb phase, such as Atkins Induction, avoid meatballs, which usually have bread crumbs in them.
• Be aware that fried items, such as a calamari appetizer, will usually be breaded. Ditto eggplant parmesan, and some meat dishes.

Now let's go through a typical Italian menu:

Appetizers (Antipasti)

In Italian, “pasto” means “meal,” and “antipasti” or “antipasto” is “before the meal.” A lot of antipasti are made with meats, seafood, and vegetables, so we’re in luck. For example:

• An “antipasto platter” typically contains an assortment of meats such as salami, cheeses, and marinated vegetables such as artichokes and peppers.
• Carpaccio is aged, raw, thinly sliced beef or raw fish, usually served with an olive oil dressing and a few vegetables.
• Gamberoni (shrimp) is a common antipasto dish, either cold or hot, often sautéed with garlic and wine.
• Look for grilled, roasted, or marinated vegetables.
• Steamed clams or mussels are common antipasti.

Soups

Italians love soup, and in Italy, soups are often served instead of pasta. Many Italian soups are low in carbs, although some have bread in them. Even the soups with beans or pasta in them often only have small amounts of these in a portion. Since there are so many different soups, the exact carb count depends on the cook, but generally you’ll want to go with thinner soups. Seafood soups are often thin. Stracciatelle is a sort of Italian eggdrop soup. Also, look for soups with lots of vegetables.

Salads (Insulata)

Salads abound in Italy, and are almost always a good bet, if you avoid croutons or other bread. An Italian salad could contain any fresh vegetables –- and, of course, olive oil. The classic caprese salad has mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil.

Dealing With Pasta

Find your eye drifting towards those tempting pasta dishes on the menu? Feel free to ask for the pasta “toppings” on a bed of vegetables, or even all on their own as a side dish. Pesto on chicken and vegetables is delicious.

Meats and Seafood – often labeled Secondi

This is the main part of the meal for someone eating low carb. Most of the meats and seafood on an Italian menu have little starch or sugar. If you avoid breaded meats (such as chicken or veal parmesan or milanese), you’re in great shape. True Italian tomato sauces have little or no sugar, although many pasta sauces in the United States are loaded with added sugars. If your local restaurant uses these, you’d want to avoid red sauces, or go for tomato sauces labeled “fresh.”

Desserts

In Italy, meals are often ended with fresh fruit, which is perfect for us. Needless to say, the richer desserts are well-endowed with carbohydrates, so best to stay away, or have one bite of a fellow-diner’s dessert.

Buon Appetito!

Eating Out Friday: Chinese Restaurants

*Chinese is probably one of the most difficult food types to eat out and stay low carb.  I didn't want to steer anyone wrong so I did a bit of research online and found this great article on About.com.  I hope you enjoy!*  


Original link: About.com
From the spicy food of Szechuan and Hunan to the more subtle flavors of Canton, Chinese food tends to present somewhat of a challenge for low-carb diners. Besides the rice and noodles, the majority of the dishes seem to have at least some sugar and starch. Although it is perfectly possible to eat a delicious controlled-carb meal in a Chinese restaurant, the diner must be careful.

Before You Go

Before heading out to the restaurant, it is important to make some decisions about how strict you’re going to be in regards to carbohydrates. If you are on a moderate-carb plan, then you probably don’t need to worry too much about a little cornstarch in a dish. On the other hand, if you are in a restrictive diet phase, such as Atkins Induction, you will want to be more “pure” in your low-carb eating. On the other hand, if low-carb eating has become a permanent way of eating for you, occasional, structured, planned deviations are probably going to be part of your life. You just have to decide when those times and places are going to be. Some people make Chinese restaurants such a planned deviation.

Variations in Chinese Food

Chinese food not only varies based on where in China the food originated, but according to where the restaurant is located. Featured dishes, levels of sweetness, and condiments on the table are different, for example, in various parts of the United States. This makes it hard to find strict rules about menu choices. Kung Pao Chicken may be relatively low-carb in one place, and loaded with sugar in another. However, some guidelines will help you in making selections. Here are the basics of eating out low-carb in Chinese restaurants:

Foods to Avoid

• Rice, including fried rice and steamed rice
• Noodles, including chow mein, lo mein, and chow fun
• Wontons, including the deep-fried type sometimes on tables
• Breaded meats, such as in General Tso’s Chicken
• Egg rolls

Sweet Sauces

It’s often hard to tell by looking at the menu which sauces have sugar in them, but these sauces generally will have quite a bit. Obviously the amount you eat will govern the carb level:

• Sweet and sour sauce
• Duck sauce (the orangish sauce for egg rolls in some places)
• Plum sauce (often served with mu shu)
• Oyster sauce
• Hoisin sauce

Proceed With Caution

• Thick soups and sauces are thickened with cornstarch. One tablespoon of cornstarch has about 7 grams of carb. In a platter of food with a thickened sauce, there will be about 1 to 2 tablespoons of corn starch. A cup of hot and sour soup might have about a teaspoon of corn starch (2 grams of carb).
• Cornstarch is also often used to “velvet” meats prior to stir frying. Meats prepared in this way don’t necessarily looked breaded, as it is a very thin coat of starch.
• Some Chinese dishes are quite sweet. If it’s a dish you’ve had before, your taste buds will be your guide. If not, ask. Spicy sauces are apt to have sugar in them, so ask about this. Lemon chicken almost always has a lot of sugar.
• Water chestnuts are somewhat starchy, but a few slices aren’t a big deal. 4 whole water chestnuts have about 3 grams of effective carb. ½ cup of slices has about 7 grams.

The Safest Choices

• Clear thin soups like egg drop, which is usually thin
• Steamed food, including whole steamed fish or steamed tofu with vegetables.
• Meat and vegetable combinations with thin, savory sauces (a small amount of sugar may be added, perhaps a teaspoon (4 grams of carb) for the whole dish. Examples would be (in many places) chicken with mushrooms, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Szechuan prawns, and curry chicken. Again, use your eyes and taste buds to figure whether the sauce is sweet and/or thick.
• Stir-fried dishes without sugar or starch (normally there may be a small amount, perhaps amounting to a gram or two of carb per serving)
• Black bean sauce does not tend to be carby as some of the others (there is a very small amount of beans in the sauce)
• Mu Shu without the wrappers
• Walnut chicken is usually not made with starch or sugar
• Egg Foo Yung (without gravy)
• Mongolian Barbeque, while not Chinese, is near to it. It is a good choice, as you can choose your own meats and vegetables and prepare them to order

Practice saying the following sentence: “Is it possible to have this dish without sugar or starch?” Many (but not all) restaurants will do this for you. An alternative is to ask for the sauce on the side.

Eating Out Friday: Mexican Restaurants

Photo from:  houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/04-15-10-tex-mex-to-your-office-picos-introduces-fajitadeliverycom/

There are actually plenty of options at Mexican restaurants for us low carbers.  You just need to be a bit creative.  Most restaurants are very accommodating to side dish change requests and I have yet to run into a place that would not accept my order.  If you really think about it, the only things you can't have at Mexican restaurants are rice, beans and tortillas.  There's tons of other stuff, good stuff to order.  Oh and tell them NO when they bring you chips and salsa.  You don't need the temptation!

Guacamole You can order guacamole to replace the chips and salsa they normally put in front of you the second you sit down.  Ask if they can give you bell pepper strips or cucumber slices to dip into the guacamole.  There's also nothing wrong with just grabbing a spoon and going to town!

Ceviche Oh how I love ceviche!  It's seafood (I prefer shrimp ceviche) marinated in lime juice and chopped onions, avocado, bell pepper, etc.  Just dig in with a spoon.


Fajitas This is one of the easiest for low carbers to order.  We can pretty much have everything they serve with it except the tortillas.  Slather on the guacamole, sour cream, etc and dig in with a fork!


Any non-breaded meat My favorite is carnitas (shredded pork) but there's carne asada (steak), pollo (chicken), etc.  Just ask for no rice, beans or tortillas and if they can replace them with either a side salad or fajita vegetables.

Chili Verde This is chunks of pork in a green tomatillo salsa.  Just ask for no rice, beans or tortillas and if they can replace them with either a side salad or fajita vegetables.


Grilled Seafood Fish and shellfish are pretty common in Mexican cuisine.  Usually if there is a sauce, it's a salsa type which is low carb.  Just ask for no rice, beans or tortillas and if they can replace them with either a side salad or fajita vegetables.

Tostada Salad Just don't eat the shell at the bottom.  Check the ingredients and if they serve with beans, ask for it without.

Grilled Meat Salads Most salads are fine but make sure to tell them not to put tortilla strips on.  Also, be careful with the salad dressing.  You are probably better off ordering ranch or blue cheese than whatever specialty dressing the restaurant serves.

Alcohol If you'd like a drink with your meal order a Corona Light, Skinny Margarita or an unflavored alcohol (meaning NOT raspberry vodka, etc) with diet soda, like vodka and diet coke, rum and diet coke, etc.  Don't get off course because of liquids!  Unflavored alcohols do not have carbs but your body will burn alcohol before anything else so it will slow you down.

Eating Out Friday: Fast Food Burger Chains

Low Carb at Fast Food Chains

*I live in Southern California and will be listing restaurants I am familiar with from my area of the world for my Eating Out Friday posts*

For my first Eating Out Friday I thought the classic fast food burger chain would be a good start.  It's easy, cheap and lazy when you just don't feel like cooking.  You shouldn't eat it every day but on occasion when it's just "one of those days" it can really hit the spot and not derail your Low Carb Lifestyle.  With that said, on to the goods!

Carls Jr aka Hardees:  One of the few restaurants that actual has low carb food on their regular menu.  I've listed those as well as some of the bigger items.  Order big as I don't feel like there's enough meat in regular size burgers to be filling without the bun.
Nutritional Calculator HERE.
Low Carb Six Dollar Burger - 8 net carbs (6 net carbs if no ketchup)
Low Carb Chicken Club - 6 net carbs
Mushroom Six Dollar Burger - 5 net carbs (request Low Carb Style)
Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger - 6 net carbs (request Low Carb Style)
Santa Fe Turkey Burger - 4 net carbs (request Low Carb Style)
Santa Fe Chicken - 6 net carbs (request Low Carb Style)
Steak & Egg Breakfast Burrito NO TORTILLA - 6 net carbs (request served in a bowl)


McDonalds: You are pretty safe with any burger or charbroiled chicken sandwich, lettuce wrapped and no ketchup.  I've listed the bigger burgers to be more filling.
Menu Explorer HERE.
Angus Bacon and Cheese - 7 net carbs (request lettuce wrap)
Angus Mushroom and Swiss - 7 net carbs (request lettuce wrap)
Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese - 4 net carbs (request lettuce wrap and no ketchup)
Premium Grilled Chicken Club - 3 net carbs (request lettuce wrap)
Premium Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT - 2 net carbs (request lettuce wrap)
Premium Bacon Ranch Salad w Grilled Chicken - 6 net carbs (add 4 carbs for Caesar Dressing or Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Other flavors are more)
Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken Salad - 6 net carbs (add 4 carbs for Caesar Dressing)
Side Salad - 3 net carbs (add 4 carbs for Caesar Dressing or Balsamic Vinaigrette)
Small Iced Coffee with Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup - 8 net carbs


In n Out: They have a pretty limited written menu but a much larger secret menu. :)  No official carb counts so I pulled the below one from fatsecret.com.  I highly suggest sticking with the double as their patties are pretty thin.
Double Double Protein Style (means 2 patties, 2 cheese and lettuce wrap) - 8 net carbs 


Anywhere you go, if you see a burger option on the menu, that's probably what you want to get.  Get plenty of bacon, cheese, avocado/guacamole or other low carb toppings but make sure to ask them to make it a lettuce wrap (or use a knife and fork) and no ketchup!

I know there are tons of other places so be on the lookout for next weeks Eating Out Friday!