Easy!

When out for dinner, nibble on olives (not bread or breadsticks), then start with pate, just leave aside the toast or oatcakes that are served with it.
Assuming you are a meat eater, order a steak, or other meat or fish & enjoy with vegetables, just leave the potatoes.
If vegetarian order a dish with lots of protein (eggs, nuts, beans) & again leave the potatoes or pastry.
If an alcohol drinker, enjoy a glass of wine.
For dessert I always have a black coffee & a brandy. An alternative is the cheeseboard, eating just the cheese & leaving the biscuits.

When in a coffee shop/café with only baguettes/sandwiches/rolls, buy one (or two) and take out the filling & enjoy that with a black coffee or black or green tea. The filling ingredients (e.g. ham & cheese, or chicken salad, or bacon) actually taste much nicer when not consumed with cheap bread.

In general the low carb gorgeous food way of eating makes things taste much nicer.

I’m experimenting with adding a few drops of vanilla essence to reduce the nutty taste of the ground almonds & make them taste more like traditional pancakes. However they are tasty & great on Shrove Tuesday with lemon.

Sarah’s Recipe For Low Carb Pancakes

Ingredients
4oz ground almonds
2 tbsps coconut milk or semi-skimmed milk
2 eggs (beaten)
Butter
Lemon juice
Sparkling water (optional)

Mix together ground almonds, eggs & milk. Add sparkling water if you want the pancakes very fluffy. Pour batter into non-stick small frying pan, or pan with coating of butter or oil. Toss when one side is done.
Serve with butter & lemon juice

This is also lovely made with chicken instead of pork

Sarah’s Recipe for pork casserole with sage

Ingredients
500g diced pork
100ml vegetable stock
4 tbsp dried or fresh sage
4 sprigs broccoli
4 carrots, chopped
20 black olives
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil or 6 fresh basil leaves
Ground black pepper
200ml white wine
Juice of half a lemon
4 tbsps mascarpone cheese

Mix together all ingredients, except mascarpone cheese, in a casserole dish with a lid. Cook in a preheated oven at 180oC for 1 & 1/2 hours. Once liquid reduced, stir in mascarpone cheese & heat for further 10 minutes.
Serve with steamed green beans tossed in butter & black pepper & a glass of chilled dry white wine

This does have some carbs in the shape of black treacle but it makes it so much better & is only 3 tablespoons for the whole loaf

Sarah’s Recipe for low carb gingerbread

Ingredients
100g ground almonds
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp milk
3 tbsp black treacle
1tsp bicarbonate
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
8 tsp ground ginger

Mix all ingredients together
Pour into a greased loaf tin
Bake at 170oC for 20 minutes
When cooled store in Tupperware box with lid.Serve with black coffee or tea or black chai

Sarah’s Recipe For Moussaka

Ingredients
2 aubergines, sliced into thick pieces
Meat sauce
0.5 kg minced lamb or beef
1 large onion, peeled & chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 oxo cube dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
2 tbsps tomato puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed herbs
White sauce
1 tub ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsps parmesan
1 tsp nutmeg

Fry meat with onion, then add tomatoes, tomato puree, oxo, herbs & cinnamon. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Beat egg into ricotta cheese & add parmesan & nutmeg.
Put aubergines in microwave on high power for 3 minutes.
Layer aubergines & meat sauce in casserole dish & top with white sauce.
Cook in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.
Serve with Greek salad & glass of red wine

Sarah’s Recipe for Lunch (serves 1)

4 slices smoked salmon cut into pieces
1 cooked diced chicken breast
10 fresh basil leaves (ripped in half)
6 cherry tomatoes (halved)
1 stick celery chopped into small pieces
10 black olives (pitted)
Juice of half a lemon
Lots of coarse ground black pepper

Mix ingredients together. May be stored in the fridge overnight &/or in a tupperware box

Serve with black coffee

I discovered that if I gave up rice, pasta, bread & potatoes, I lost weight. However for a couple of years I attempted to eat a low carb and low fat diet. This was extremely boring (and, as it turned out, unnecessary) and resulted in me frequently regaining 14 – 20 pounds (6 – 10 kilograms) whenever I stopped the diet & spent a few weeks or months eating bread & potatoes again.
Once I hit the age of 49 & my mid life crisis well & truly kicked in :), I decided there must be a way of doing this right. So I looked all over the internet & bought a book on low carb gourmet cooking. I then started adapting the recipes & then inventing my own. Since then I have remained at 11 stone (I am 5 feet 8.5 inches tall) having previously been 15 stone.

The general principles of the low carb gorgeous food eating plan are:

1. It is low carb not zero carb. The easiest way to start is to allow yourself 3 treat meals a week where you eat anything you like. I used to have pizza on Friday night, toast on Saturday & potatoes with Sunday lunch. I don’t bother now as I prefer the gorgeous low carb food anyway. I also start the day (before my bacon & scrambled eggs with mushrooms, tomatoes & basil leaves) with a bowl of bran cereal & semi-skimmed milk. I also use high carb ingredients like treacle,very sparingly, because they are so brilliant for certain dishes.

2. It includes lots of vegetables. Up to 10 portions a day. This keeps your digestive system regular & provides essential vitamins & minerals.

3. It restricts fruit a lot. Many fruits are full of sugar (fructose). I use lots of lemons in cooking (and in gin & tonic :)) and quite a lot of apples & oranges in cooking as well. I do not drink fruit juices or eat any other fruits (although berries are supposed to be relatively low carb so are probably ok)

4. It is high in protein, but eaten with lots of vegetables.

5. It utilises a lot of spices & flavours. Cinnamon, vanilla & mascarpone cheese add sweetness to dishes. Cakes, pancakes & gingerbread are made with ground almonds in place of flour.

6. There is no restriction on portion size. The dishes are so satisfying as the high protein keeps blood sugar very stable, that you will naturally stop eating when you are full. You will also stop craving carbs & getting low blood sugar.

Once I work out how to make low carb bread & chocolate cake, I will post up the recipes 🙂