gotbeer
Fri, Sep-19-03, 11:34
The Atkins Man: Wedding Bell Blues
POSTED: 7:15 a.m. EDT September 18, 2003
UPDATED: 10:16 a.m. EDT September 18, 2003
link to article (http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/food/2492955/detail.html)
Right now, my Atkins man and I are dealing with cravings -- mainly for sweets and starches.
The week leading up to the wedding is possibly the hardest yet.
The Atkins man and I are both dreaming about the wedding cake (lemon pound, with buttercream topping), the chocolate chip cookies at work, and that crusty warm Italian bread waiters put on the table automatically. The smell just wafts up and no amount of pushing it away will do.
Meantime, my mother is dreaming about baked potatoes. I can't imagine why that's what she's craving, when there are so many more delectable things to desire.
Many people on Atkins tell me you lose your cravings over time ... you simply stop needing chocolate, bread, noodles, or rice. This happened to my mother. In the beginning, she used to crave sweets so badly, she would eat one or two M&M's. "Better than a handful," she would tell me. "And besides, we're all human. It's not easy for anyone to follow any diet to the letter." Eventually, though, she stopped needing or even wanting chocolate, even when faced with the biggest challenge imaginable -- my little brother constantly bringing home free candy from his internship at Hershey.
If only we could be like her. But we can't. Our cravings are stronger than ever.
To try and distract ourselves, we tried the carbohydrate-light prepackaged cookies. Warmed in the microwave, they're pretty good, but not the same. The shortbread and sugar cookies are the chewiest. The chocolate chip and peanut butter were crunchier ... and my Atkins man topped it with (as usual) Cool Whip, walnuts and strawberries.
We're also experimenting with some new dinner recipes:
Taco Chicken
Chicken breasts
Taco spices
Sour cream
Guacamole
Grated cheddar cheese
Salsa (watch the carbs)
Salad greens
Sear chicken breasts, then put them in a pot with taco spices and simmer.
Pile chicken on salad greens, top with guacamole, sour cream, cheddar cheese and salsa.
And side dishes:
Leslie's Asparagus Salad
Asparagus
Feta cheese
Red onion (watch the carbs)
Olive oil
Lemon (watch the carbs)
Boil asparagus until tender, drain.
Pour a little bit of olive oil on, add feta cheese and thinly sliced red onion.
Squeeze of lemon juice on top, if you dare.
Mix it up.
The next column will address a controversial topic -- getting back into a low-carb lifestyle after the chocolate souffle at the wedding, and the French bread and crossants in St. Maarten.
Though Atkins sticklers will argue it's terrible to get off the diet at all, and people who do will balloon, my Atkins man and I view it this way: we've been dieting for better health but also to look good at our wedding. And we plan to enjoy every carb-filled minute of it.
As always, this column is the opinion of Michele Cohen and no other entity. Please feel free to write (mcohen~hearst.com) me your ideas, notes, criticisms and links. Please keep in mind, I am not a medical expert and can't give any medical advice. I am not affiliated with or employed by the Atkins Diet, nor am I a model of what you should necessarily follow should you decide Atkins is your route to svelteness.
POSTED: 7:15 a.m. EDT September 18, 2003
UPDATED: 10:16 a.m. EDT September 18, 2003
link to article (http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/food/2492955/detail.html)
Right now, my Atkins man and I are dealing with cravings -- mainly for sweets and starches.
The week leading up to the wedding is possibly the hardest yet.
The Atkins man and I are both dreaming about the wedding cake (lemon pound, with buttercream topping), the chocolate chip cookies at work, and that crusty warm Italian bread waiters put on the table automatically. The smell just wafts up and no amount of pushing it away will do.
Meantime, my mother is dreaming about baked potatoes. I can't imagine why that's what she's craving, when there are so many more delectable things to desire.
Many people on Atkins tell me you lose your cravings over time ... you simply stop needing chocolate, bread, noodles, or rice. This happened to my mother. In the beginning, she used to crave sweets so badly, she would eat one or two M&M's. "Better than a handful," she would tell me. "And besides, we're all human. It's not easy for anyone to follow any diet to the letter." Eventually, though, she stopped needing or even wanting chocolate, even when faced with the biggest challenge imaginable -- my little brother constantly bringing home free candy from his internship at Hershey.
If only we could be like her. But we can't. Our cravings are stronger than ever.
To try and distract ourselves, we tried the carbohydrate-light prepackaged cookies. Warmed in the microwave, they're pretty good, but not the same. The shortbread and sugar cookies are the chewiest. The chocolate chip and peanut butter were crunchier ... and my Atkins man topped it with (as usual) Cool Whip, walnuts and strawberries.
We're also experimenting with some new dinner recipes:
Taco Chicken
Chicken breasts
Taco spices
Sour cream
Guacamole
Grated cheddar cheese
Salsa (watch the carbs)
Salad greens
Sear chicken breasts, then put them in a pot with taco spices and simmer.
Pile chicken on salad greens, top with guacamole, sour cream, cheddar cheese and salsa.
And side dishes:
Leslie's Asparagus Salad
Asparagus
Feta cheese
Red onion (watch the carbs)
Olive oil
Lemon (watch the carbs)
Boil asparagus until tender, drain.
Pour a little bit of olive oil on, add feta cheese and thinly sliced red onion.
Squeeze of lemon juice on top, if you dare.
Mix it up.
The next column will address a controversial topic -- getting back into a low-carb lifestyle after the chocolate souffle at the wedding, and the French bread and crossants in St. Maarten.
Though Atkins sticklers will argue it's terrible to get off the diet at all, and people who do will balloon, my Atkins man and I view it this way: we've been dieting for better health but also to look good at our wedding. And we plan to enjoy every carb-filled minute of it.
As always, this column is the opinion of Michele Cohen and no other entity. Please feel free to write (mcohen~hearst.com) me your ideas, notes, criticisms and links. Please keep in mind, I am not a medical expert and can't give any medical advice. I am not affiliated with or employed by the Atkins Diet, nor am I a model of what you should necessarily follow should you decide Atkins is your route to svelteness.