Ice cream, cookies, chips, microwave popcorn, and candy bars are some of the popular snack foods. Unfortunately, they have little nutritional value and are packed with carbohydrates and empty calories. What are your options for low carb foods and snacks then?
You can choose foods that feature carbs with low glycemic indexes, contain heart-healthy fats, are balanced with protein, and are high in important nutrients and fiber. There are plenty of healthy snacks for people on a low carb diet. You can make peanut butter and celery sticks, Caesar salad with grilled chicken, avocado and shrimp cocktail, or carrot sticks and hummus. You can cut a large carrot into coins or sticks and serve with hummus. One serving contains 133 calories, 0.9 g saturated fat, 5.8 g fiber, and 15.8 g carbohydrates. Cold or hold soy latte is a low-carb beverage you can prepare at home. Blend a shot of espresso with a cup of light soymilk and serve with crushed ice.
Other healthy low-carb options include deviled eggs, celery with tuna salad, cheese sticks, and cheese with a few apple slices. You can make lettuce roll-ups by rolling tuna, egg salad, vegetables and luncheon meat in lettuce leaves. Alternatively, you can prepare lunch meat roll-ups. Roll vegetables, cheese, and other fillings in lunch meat. Making a low-carb dip is a good idea. You can spread spinach dip or bean dip on lettuce or lunch meat and roll it up. Another option is to have spinach dip and raw veggies or mushrooms with cheese spread. Other healthy options include ricotta cheese with nuts and fruit, pepperoni chips, low-carb snack bars, and parmesan crisps. You can have pork grinds as well and if you are a vegetarian, you can prepare fried tofu chips. Toasted squash seeds or pumpkin seeds are yet another option for low-carb dieters.
You can find low-carb snacks in the store as well, but make sure you look at the label. Sugar alcohols in low carb snacks include sorbitol, xylitol, and maltitol. Sugar alcohols are not fully absorbed by your body, and they provide fewer calories. Sugar alcohols aid your weight management efforts and don’t promote tooth decay. Some low-carb sweeteners also inhibit bacterial growth in the mouth. At the same time, sugar alcohols ferment in the intestines, and this can cause diarrhoea, gas, and bloating. Low-carb dieters have different reactions to artificial sweeteners, and experts recommend careful experimentation.
To read more about low carb food snacks go to: http://www.lowcarbfoods.org/
Friday, April 27, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Condiments Allowed on the South Beach Diet
The list of condiments allowed on the South Beach Diet is the same as the standard low-carb condiment list. As a rule, you should avoid foods and condiments that contain sugar.
Acceptable sauces and condiments include sugar-free peanut sauce, pesto, and red and white clam sauces. You can use tomato-based sauces such as pizza sauce, pasta sauce, and marinara with no added sugar. Basically, you should choose sugar-free foods and condiments. The list of sauces to avoid includes many homemade sauces and commercial sauces. They contain saturated fat and a lot of starch. Sauces to avoid include white sauces such as Mornay, Bechamel, and Bearnaise, and cheese sauces such as Alfredo. You can have gravies as a rare treat and after phase 1. You should avoid barbeque sauce because it contains a lot of sugar. Buy sugar-free cocktail sauce and tomato-based chili sauce. Salad dressings with sugar and regular ketchup should be avoided. The same goes for plum sauce, steak sauce, and jellies and jams.
The list of low-carb condiments includes sugar-free condiments such as dill pickle relish and low carb ketchup. The list of allowed condiments on a low carb diet also includes Tabasco and other bottled hot sauces, capers, and sugar-free salad dressings. Choose dressings that are high in monounsaturated fat and read the labels carefully. You can use mustard but avoid honey mustard and other sweetened mustards. The list of condiments also includes rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce, but it is important to check the labels.
Apart from condiments, there are plenty of foods you can eat on the South Beach Diet. There are a few restrictions on bacon, prepared luncheon meats, shellfish, and organ meats. You can eat poultry, including Cornish hen, goose, duck, and chicken. The list of allowed meats includes veal, lamb, and pork. Mussels and oysters are high in carbohydrates, and you should limit them to 4 ounces a day. Processed meats such as salami, pepperoni, and ham contribute carbs because they are cured with added sugar. You should avoid fish and meat products that are cured with nitrates. They are carcinogens. Avoid products that are not exclusively fowl, fish, or meat, such as breaded foods, meatloaf, and imitation fish.
Acceptable sauces and condiments include sugar-free peanut sauce, pesto, and red and white clam sauces. You can use tomato-based sauces such as pizza sauce, pasta sauce, and marinara with no added sugar. Basically, you should choose sugar-free foods and condiments. The list of sauces to avoid includes many homemade sauces and commercial sauces. They contain saturated fat and a lot of starch. Sauces to avoid include white sauces such as Mornay, Bechamel, and Bearnaise, and cheese sauces such as Alfredo. You can have gravies as a rare treat and after phase 1. You should avoid barbeque sauce because it contains a lot of sugar. Buy sugar-free cocktail sauce and tomato-based chili sauce. Salad dressings with sugar and regular ketchup should be avoided. The same goes for plum sauce, steak sauce, and jellies and jams.
The list of low-carb condiments includes sugar-free condiments such as dill pickle relish and low carb ketchup. The list of allowed condiments on a low carb diet also includes Tabasco and other bottled hot sauces, capers, and sugar-free salad dressings. Choose dressings that are high in monounsaturated fat and read the labels carefully. You can use mustard but avoid honey mustard and other sweetened mustards. The list of condiments also includes rice wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce, but it is important to check the labels.
Apart from condiments, there are plenty of foods you can eat on the South Beach Diet. There are a few restrictions on bacon, prepared luncheon meats, shellfish, and organ meats. You can eat poultry, including Cornish hen, goose, duck, and chicken. The list of allowed meats includes veal, lamb, and pork. Mussels and oysters are high in carbohydrates, and you should limit them to 4 ounces a day. Processed meats such as salami, pepperoni, and ham contribute carbs because they are cured with added sugar. You should avoid fish and meat products that are cured with nitrates. They are carcinogens. Avoid products that are not exclusively fowl, fish, or meat, such as breaded foods, meatloaf, and imitation fish.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Low Carb Diets - Do They Work
Low carbohydrate diets are diets that take advantage of the body's biochemistry to work. They do in fact work very well at helping dieters lose weight very quickly. A low carb diet such as Atkins, South Beach or the Zone lower the overall amount of carbohydrates and glucose (sugar) in the body. This causes a biochemical situation called ketosis to take place. If ketosis is maintained for an extended time, there will be significant weight loss.
The human body was designed to store excess calories such as carbohydrates as fat. The body did this because thousands of years ago man likely had to wait long periods of time before finding a meal. During winter months, it was possible that the fat that had been stored helped to keep man from starving. In order for a low carbohydrate diet to work, one must get around this food storage system and years of evolution. To do this, diets that are low in carbohydrates exploit this fat storage system to help burn it off.
When few carbohydrates are consumed along with very little sugar the body will begin to seek out alternative forms of energy supply. This means that once the few carbs that are eat are burned off, the body will then start to break down the excess fat. That excess fat breakdown is one of the reasons that weight loss is usually far more rapid with a low carb diet than any other type of diet. The dieter has fooled the body into burning off its own fat.
A low carb diet works very well. The induction phase that begins the process of ketosis can cause as much as two pounds of weight loss a day in that two week period. It also means that with little or no exercise a dieter can see significant weight loss and inches subtracted from their frame in a short period of time. Even when the dieter eats some fatty foods, the biochemistry of the diet will still have the metabolic processes breaking down existing fat before ingested fat.
If dieters are looking to lose inches and weight quickly they can consider the many low carb diets that are popular today. These diets are so popular because they do work very well. The one hardship on the diet is the loss of sugar (even fruit sugar) or carbohydrates. Some of these low carb diets integrate more of this than others. A low carb diet is a very fast solution to a weight loss dilemma.
To test your knowledge about low carb diets try the low carb diets quiz.
The human body was designed to store excess calories such as carbohydrates as fat. The body did this because thousands of years ago man likely had to wait long periods of time before finding a meal. During winter months, it was possible that the fat that had been stored helped to keep man from starving. In order for a low carbohydrate diet to work, one must get around this food storage system and years of evolution. To do this, diets that are low in carbohydrates exploit this fat storage system to help burn it off.
When few carbohydrates are consumed along with very little sugar the body will begin to seek out alternative forms of energy supply. This means that once the few carbs that are eat are burned off, the body will then start to break down the excess fat. That excess fat breakdown is one of the reasons that weight loss is usually far more rapid with a low carb diet than any other type of diet. The dieter has fooled the body into burning off its own fat.
A low carb diet works very well. The induction phase that begins the process of ketosis can cause as much as two pounds of weight loss a day in that two week period. It also means that with little or no exercise a dieter can see significant weight loss and inches subtracted from their frame in a short period of time. Even when the dieter eats some fatty foods, the biochemistry of the diet will still have the metabolic processes breaking down existing fat before ingested fat.
If dieters are looking to lose inches and weight quickly they can consider the many low carb diets that are popular today. These diets are so popular because they do work very well. The one hardship on the diet is the loss of sugar (even fruit sugar) or carbohydrates. Some of these low carb diets integrate more of this than others. A low carb diet is a very fast solution to a weight loss dilemma.
To test your knowledge about low carb diets try the low carb diets quiz.
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