Any Israeli LCers out there?

[teachkids]

Not sure where to post this one so I will put it here.

I hate to repeat what I have read is said over and over again but I must - this forum is amazing. I have been having such problems sticking to the LC diet and after finding this site - my mind just doesn't let me think carbs at all... Thanks everyone!

I am looking for more LCers that live in Israel. I haven't been able to find ANY LC stuff here in any of the stores and maybe someone out there can help me. I would love to make the faux bake mix or other things but don't know where to find soy powder or flax etc. The only thing I have found is soy flour. Health food stores just send me looking at protein bars etc but they all have sugar and tons of carbs.

Any suggestions? :confused:

[freydis]

Soy flour is not a bad choice, if that's what you've got available. Ask at the health food store for some kind of natural laxative to replace the flaxseed oil/meal. As for bars, there is at least one recipe on this website that tells how to make a home version of a food bar. Good luck! I hope you manage to find what you need.

[lkonzelman]

Hello -

My best friend is lcing and lives in Malvern, PA ... USA but is from Herzilya. She isn't on this forum though... she is not as obsessed as myself.

I missed the Henna but was there visiting for her wedding last March! We went to Eilat for the honeymoon! Great time!

I understand having a hard time lc ing in Isreal.... my gosh the food is great! I never had better olives or hummus in my life! In fact everyday at noonish while we were there my hubby (who isn't Jewish mind you) kept saying to us all "isn't it hummus time yet"???

[wwdimmitt]

As one who dwells in the hinterland of flyover country, I have some appreciation for what you are saying. We make a run to the city once a month to stock up on low carb food and supplements, and we are exploring using the internet to order some things.

But, the good news is that we have been more successful at this WOE because we have to plan and cook for ourselves, rather than relying upon ready made goodies, IMO.

There are great recipes on this site, and on the Atkins site, and we have two hard copy low carb recipes. Dr. Atkin's latest book and one other.

My wife has been marvelous in finding and adapting cheese cake, pie, cookie and ice cream recipes. And the only thing from the store has been soy flour and almond flour. You could make the almond flour yourself, if you can get the whole almonds. More important than the baking mixes is having lots of cream cheese, heavy cream, eggs, Splenda and the ability to cook.

She makes a dynamite pumpkin pie, with nut crust, and her biscotti are every bit as good as the ones with sugar and flour in them. All very low carb and also satisfying.

For those who can cook for themselves, I think that the bars and the bake mixes are actually a negative influence on successful LCing.

YMMV!

Keep on, keepn' on! :wave:

[teachkids]

Thanks for the replies... truth is that I agree with all of you - it is better to do the cooking yourself than relying on ready made things. Some of the recipes that sound good do include things like bake mixes and stuff and I thought it would be much easier to have than having to buy (with 3 kids under the age of 2 1/2 anything is easier when it is ready made for you).

I will check out more possibilities before giving up the search and also try using almond flour and sticking with the soy.

JFYI - wwdimmitt, you live in my old neck of the woods - I was born and raised in Denver. Nothing is as beautiful as Colorado!

As far as Israeli food - yes it is amazing and I do miss humus loads but I was never really into falafel. But the real thing I miss is the AMAZING bread they have here - fresh everyday.

[dannysk]

Yes, there is now. In J-m.
danny

[teachkids]

Hey danny - I am in Jerusalem as well.... I am on another LC group list and it seems there are more LCers out there as well. And I got some great advice as far as LC things here. But nothing like they have in the US.

Are you new to LCing or just to the list? Have you found any good LC products?

[dannysk]

Teach,
Just new to the list. I low carbed many years ago and recently.
It went much better before I discovered computer lists and bbds, I ate only food not lc "treats". The best quote I have found is "The road to hell is paved with good imitations".

Have you found protein powder and flax seed yet ?

there is a "kosher low carb" list with a bunch of Israelis on it.

Happy (lc) purim

danny

[mamasita]

Hi teach!!!
I'm from Hertzeliah!!!
I've got the recipe for Atkins bake mix, and I bought everything at the Nitan ha Dudevan, (you heard of it?)
I've been cooking low carb for months already, and my whole family enjoys it soo much...
I'll look it up and post for you...
Have fun :wave:
mamasita

[mamasita]

here's the recipe I promised you


i make my own bake mix- so much cheaper
1 cup soy flour
2 cups soy protien isolate
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons splenda
- mix and store in a container -same as the 'real stuff'
another recipe i have for this mix is esentially the same but you cut in 2 to 3 tablespoons of shortening- i got both of these from Carb-Lite.
servings 10, per serve 37 calories, 2gr fat, 3gr protien, 3gr carbs, 1gr dietary fiber, 969mg sodium. (these counts are w/out the shortening.
Happy cooking!

As I told you I bought everything in a Health food store...The isolate you have to look for it where they sell the stuff for the body builders...
Later :spin:
mamasita

[mamasita]

Hi!!
Saw that you checked out my journal... well to answer your questions...
I've been Lcing since Febuary, did Atkins, but it was really hard for me... I ate to much cheese, and all those sweets things you can make low carb, with heavy cream... well this wasn't good for me, I was too obsessed with food and sweets.
Oh my God I had these cravings!!!!
Well, I did it for a month and saw that it wasn't the way for me...
read Protein Power, and it did catch me either... but then I read Neanderthin, and that made more sense to me...
So I started, and I like it very much, but to tell you the truth...
sometimes it just takes a long time for your body to get used to this way of eating, and then all of a sudden you realize, that it's great. I'm not gonna tell you that sometimes i feel like eating chocolate or other things, but if i do, i eat so much less than i use to.
As I'm neanderthin, for munchies, I can eat nuts and dried fruit, but I've droped it as I've stalled... so I have salami, or cold meat,
or an egg...But with Atkins, you have so many choices...
If you go to the Dudevan place buy the things to make Atkins bake mix, so you can make some of the recipes they have, and look around there might be other things worth getting...
Let me know if you have any other questions, you have a journal?
I want to check it out...
Well, have a good week, talk to you soon,
:wave: mamasita

[debmeg]

Hi guys,

I'm also in Jerusalem (from England originally), and been LCing for over a year now. Did CAD for about 8 months and lost a lot of weight, then plateaud and coasted on it for another few months, then decided it was too easy to binge on it and I needed to keep losing so for the last 3 or 4 weeks I've started a more restricted diet - keeping carbs to under 60g a day, and sometimes less, and other than some challah on shabbat occasionally, all those carbs are from vegetables etc, not from 'real' carbs. And it's started working again... have lost 9lbs in the last few weeks, so I'm really happy.

Do any of you know addresses for health stores in Yerushalayim that stock stuff we could use? I've never seen any protein bars etc and I did take a look at shipping stuff in, but it was horrendously expensive. Also I was wondering whether it's kosher.

I tend to stick to pure foods - chicken, meat, eggs, cheese, fish and veg. At least the variety and cost of kosher meat and chicken is better here! I do get some of the lower carb cold meats as 'easy food' and there's a purple cabbage salad by shamir that's only 0.5g of carbs per 100g - put that with cold meats and you've got an instant and yummy meal.

Anyway, nice to see other Israelis on the board.

Layla tov le-kulam!

Deborah

[mamasita]

Hi Debmeg:
I'm from Hertzeliah, so I don't know about stores in Jerusalem...
I'm sure they have a Nitzat Ha Dudevan there where you can get
Stuff for baking and I buy these little munchies, that are made with sesame seeds or sunflower seeds, they're only like 0.30gr
of carbs for piece and they're yummy :thup:
Well,have a good week!!!!
Lehit!!
mamasita :wave:

[jodi363]

hi....Im new to this board, great to see that there are a few others out there from israel. I have been low carbing now for about 3 months and have lost about 15 pounds. I find it very diffcult to find low carb products here in Israel so 'm always searching for new recipes. Happy new year :wiggle:

[debmeg]

Shana Tova to everyone, and here's to renewed commitment to low carb for the new year...

By the way, my sister found a good protein shake in Superpharm in Bet Shemesh. I haven't found it in Jerusalem yet, but it's called 'Protein Plus' and only has 5g of carbs per serving for the vanilla flavour. Only catch is it's horrendously expensive - about 279 shekel for a container that supposedly has about 15 servings...

Deborah

[evelyne]

I'm an other Israeli, Ramat-Gan located. I've seen on this board and on other the need for a group eating LC and Kosher (more or less). But no one seems ready to "pick up the flag". And we do need a place to meet, where we can find recipe for meatballs without cheese and so on.
Gmar Hatima Tova to all!
Yael

[jodi363]

shana tova all...
i was wondering if splenda is sold in israel or maybe it's under a different name? also, any low carb breads w/o sugar or fat? thanks....jodi

[debmeg]

wish i did, to all of the above, but no, haven't seen any. I think you can get some varieties of diet RC cola that is sweetened with Splenda, but not all. And I haven't seen any low-carb breads. I did go into a health food shop in Jerusalem (on Emek Refaim) last week and saw that they had protein bars, and there's the shakes I mentioned above, but other than that, that's it. I've ordered some of the low carb tortillas online before, and they're quite good - they're also kosher. But it's expensive to get them delivered here, of course.

Shana Tova,

Deborah

[evelyne]

I think there is an equivalent in Israel to Slenda. It is called Sucra diet, it is based on sucralose. You can find it (although it's well hidden!) in all supermarkets, super-pharm and health stores, in diet products section. It comes in unit bags, like sweet' lo. It's not cheap. 10 shekels for a box of 25 bags. Also I use sometimes a sliced bread called 7 grains light bread by Angel. It has 4.4 g carbs. in it and 2.9g diet. fibers. Even if you don't substract the fibers, it's not a bad counting. I'm not sure if we're allowed to substract because I read somewhere that only in the States the fibers are listed separately.
Hag same'ach and low-carb sweet new year!

[jodi363]

thank you for your replies about splenda and the low carb bread...i'll keep on searching and let you all know what i find. im located in beer sheva where there is even a smaller selection than in some of the other cities but i guess i would be willing to travel to get some good stuff....chag sameach:)

[goldie]

How exciting - I just found this board, and it's great to know that there are others in the forum with the same difficulties and interests. The GMC stores have a protein powder - I just looked and didn't buy - and I'm not sure if it was kosher. I think it was about 140 shekel. Does anyone take supplements? - the ones Atkins suggest or Eades? Do you buy them here?
How about a prize for the one who comes up with a substitute for pork rinds?

Goldie

[MyJourney]

Hiya,

I dont really keep kosher, but I am Israeli and I go to the kosher butcher at times to get Israeli products. I make my own tahina which is low carb. Also ptit crackers have 3.3g a cracker.

The kosher butcher here surprisingly has lots of low carb products from LC candy and cookies to muffins and rolls.

[evelyne]

Shabat shalom,
I know that we are some Israelis on this list and/or on other lists. I was thinking we could perhaps unite once in a while and order stuff from the States. I would like for example to try the Keto cereal but the shipping is almost the price of the product.
Any comments?

[Tofu eater]

Hi: I live in Mitzpe Ramon. My nearest big town is BeerSheva.
Here's what I have found:
In the supermarket: Sweet N Low Tablets..sold in 1000 tables in
a tall red tube. This has 0 carbs per 100 gr. A liquid low carb sweetner
is a Sucrazit by dietif (eng. translation), sold in a tall plastic
container. Telma makes a 0.5 carb per 100 ml parve whipping cream
that whips up great in 2 minutes (sold in a 250 ml container in the
refrigerator section.) The Marmalite company recently changed their
package design to bright red. Now making various flavors of "jello"
which I have not tried. They also make chocolate & vanilla puddings
and mousses. The carb counts are a little high for me, but I use 2
250 ml cups to their suggested one cup, mix according to directions
and fold in either 1/2 cup or a full container of whipped cream. I use
it either as a pudding...or I put 1/2 cup into a paper cup with an ice
cream stick and freeze it. It's my husband's favorite dessert...and it's
very low carb.

Don't forget tofu..also in refrigerator section; it's only .86 carbs per
ounce (35 grs). Also, pure cocoa powder, is low carb.

In the health food store I found: A soy milk made by an Israeli company
Zuriel in Eng....I buy the 1 percent without sugar. It's sweet because
it does have asolfime K (spelling??) which does not afford metabolism
and the box lists 0.5 carbs per 100 ml. Another product: Cavalier brand
chocolate. Sweetener is maltitol which also does not affect metabollism.
Per portion of 4 pieces, their label lists 6.5 grs of carbs.

Hope this helps. If you've found others, please let me know.

Tofu eater.

[picaboo]

...Just to say "Shalom" to everyone here

[monicat]

Last night Rafi Ginat on tv spoled against Atkins as if he was the enemy of all mankind - but from watching the diet he did - well - he made it, more or less, the Atkins's wat... but instead of eating only one portion of meat a day he chould have had much more and not be hungry at all... :lol:

[dveykus]

hi teachkids - i also had 3 kids in 2.5 yrs ..now oldest is 3 and the baby is 6 mo.s...where in jlm?we just made aliya from the states with my 3rd 6 wks old ....im a little in "yiush" cuz i feel like i cant do atkins in israel...im fed up with my body after 3 pregnancies (i even lost 20 lbs on it b4 this third but gained it back and then some with this pregnancy)....im a picky eater and cant eat plain cheese or most fish so my diets pretty boring - in the states they had all sorts of low carb breads and atkins mixes ( & low carb ice cream that was delish) that kept me on it, and its the only diet that works for me but its making me crazy that i cant find any of the ingredients to make stuff even if i COULD find the time!! (i have a low carb cookbook but it needs vital wheat gluten, wheat bran, soy protien powder, most of which -besides the gluten -i found at the dudevan Health food store but with NO hechsher (1 thing was with a rabbanut that i didnt know if i could trust, but the rest mamish no hechsher!)) i need chizuk if im ever gonna lose weight........???
thanks!!!
giving up in jlm,
dveykus

[Westbrazil]

Hi,

I am living in Germany at the moment, but have lived in Israel (TA) for two years (1999 to 2001). I am in the middle of deciding whether I want to go back to Israel or to the UK, where I have also lived for quite some time (just under 9 years).

I would have thought that especially in Israel an LC WOE would be quite easy. Depending on the style of LC you do, I guess. You have a whole range of protine sources, that are also low in fat, which would suit SB, such as the 1/2% fat Cottege chese, yoghurts etc. As for the bread, there used to be this chain of breadmakers (I think they are called Lechem Ha Aretz or something along those lines anyway) that make wholemeal bread. OK, comming from Germany I am used to different kind of wholemeal. I used to buy the German imported bread (Pumpernickel kind), which you get in any suppermarket.

Viv

[Roma-girl]

Shalom le-koooooolam! :wave:

I had no idea there were any other Izzies out there! :lol:

Although I'm originally from the Netherlands, I have lived in Israel for over 30 years!

All you guys seem to be mostly in the central region while I'm in the extreme North: Etsbah ha-Galil.

I haven't really searched very hard for LC products, just working with 'real' food! But I do appreciate all the info you posted here and I'll certainly look for those things, hopefully before I get bored with what I'm eating now!

We don't keep 'kosher', so that's one less headache!

Anyway, just wanted to say Mah nishma! :lol:

Lehit!

[LindaTadir]

I'm looking for fellow dieters in Israel. Have a ton of questions about phase 1. Also want to know if anyone has an address of somewhere to buy splenda and stevia in Israel. :wave:

[evelyne]

Shalom Linda!
Welcome and I'll be very happy to know you! I'm just now in a period where I need support because I'm stalled. But I've done very well since Shavu'ot and I think after to get used to it, it's very easy to do low carb diet in Israel, especially if you don't speak about it around.
The good news is that you can find today splenda in every grocery store around. There are two brands of it: Sucra Diet and Sucar Light. They come in packets in a box and I saw also once the sucra diet in liquid and powder form. Stevia you can find in every Health Store.
I'll be glad to be in touch with you and to answer as well as I can to all your questions.
Are you close to Haifa or to Kiryat-Gat? I live in Ramat-Gan.
Yael

[Roma-girl]

Wow, I'd forgotten all about this thread! It's been inactive for so long!

Welcome, Linda! Great to 'see' you! :wave:

I have LC-ed now for over a year, but am in a stall since about june '05.

However, I have NOT gained any weight back which I find is very positive!

With any other way of eating (diet) that I've tried I always gained back whatever little weight I'd lost, and then some!

I also occasionally use Sucrazit dietetit and there's Patit shisha deganim which has 4.2 carbs and is nice with butter and yellow cheese!

I don't think LC is hard to do as long as you don't get a lot of opposition from health care professionals that you have to rely on.

Anyway, lots of good luck in your LC-journey!

Shabat shalom!

[LindaTadir]

Thanks for writing. I live in the south, near Netivot. I did the South Beach about 1 year ago and did well. I kept myself between phase 2-3 for 9 months, mostly phase 2, though. I fight to keep it down, but I lost the battle and gained 6 kilos - that's why I decided to do phase 1 again for 2-3 weeks. I don't know if it's OK- but I eat humous. Also I use rich's whipped cream. The kind that comes in the can. what do you think? Linda :agree:

[Roma-girl]

You're welcome!

I live up North, near Kash, and I'm on Atkins. Lost 13 kilos last year and have been in a stall from about June '05.

However, I haven't gained any weight back, which is all to the good, of course!

I don't eat humous (though I have it in the house as my sons like it), but I use whipping cream (unwhipped) of 'White Chef' 38% for my (Dutch type filter) coffee! :yum:

That's very good! I tried different things (soy milk, etc) but this is the best!

I know, I know, Atkins advises against coffee, but I'm Dutch. We live on coffee, so what are you gonna do! :o

[Roma-girl]

Sorry, double post!

[sondacop]

Hello Everybody!
Glad to have found you - I live in Beer-Sheva I didn't expect anyone else out there! As for l/c foods here, with the low fat craze, things will get worse before they get better. Have you notice the "Hultzut beten" (belly shirts) have gotten longer and now reach the top of the jeans? The girls are getting chubby, Gods' answer to Haradi prayer :-) I found l/c Cake and Cookies in the health food store "Beer-Teva" made by "Soya delight" call 04-6224695 its made in Emek Hefer. It costs about 25 Shkallim but it is worth it. I buy Feldman diet ice cream - not the box only the ones on the stick. On Sabbat I have a roll of Davidovich "Rayhayim kal". It has 29.8 carbs 12.6 fiber for 100 grams each roll is 75 gr so do the math and smile. But only on Shabbat. I have made a change in my life and I am not looking for an imitation of my old way of eating. I now eat lots of eggs, fish, meat, cheese and veggies. When I go out I go to a "Shipudiya" and skip the pita. I have been following Atkins Zt"l (zicron tzadik li'bracha) for a year and a half lost 10 Kg in the first 3 months and have been hovering around my goal of 60 Kg ever since. Don't look back Mrs Lot!
Marnina

[evelyne]

Hi Marnina
Welcome! Welcome!
How are you? I'm in Ramat-Gan, doing my LC as much as I can, adding to it gym. I would love to be a friend to you and to exchange tips about lc in Israel (it's easy until you say the word At...).
Yael

[Roma-girl]

Hi, guys! And Marnina, welcome to the boards!

I must confess I lost it a bit on LC during the war, rockets flying all around me here up in the "Etsbah haGalil", one actually slammed in at some 30-40 meters from my house.

It's been eerily quiet now for a full week and I am trying to be a good LC-girl again now!

Good luck, everyone!

[evelyne]

We all had for sure a challenging summer. Could we reunite in a blue -white challenge and be back on track?! (before ha'hagim...)
I'd dream to have a local daily meeting on this board . One of my problems, right now, is that I cannot stand the thought of a tuna can with a cucumber and some lettuce leaves for lunch and I cannot think of something else to bring to work that doesn't need fridge. I know of hard boiled eggs, but I have 2 for breakfast at home, and whatever is A's opinion about eggs quantity, I think 2 a day are enough.
Yael

[LindaTadir]

It's been too long and I am guilty of procrastination. I'm getting ready for my daughter's wedding (Sept 4th) and BEHAVING! Really have been good; walking everyday and staying away from the white flour, high fats and sugars. I have managed after months of this to loose NO WEIGHT :lol: . The only positive thing I can say is that I gained no weight either. I guess I'm still battling one of menopause's many gifts- enforced weight gain. I have one tip for everyone: Energy bar- there are 2 kinds (at least in the supermarkets in this part of the country). apricot & nut. They are no- sugar added. There are 52 calories, 7 carbs and low fat per bar (22 gram bars). Good luck to all. Take care; Linda :wave:

[sondacop]

Hi!
Thank you for welcoming me!
I would love to be a buddy - my doar electrony is marnina shtrudel netvision net il.
I have the same problem of food to take to work. I work outside and work shifts. In the morning shift I get a meal, but the afternoon and night shift I have to bring my food with me or buy food. Since I am now on a tight budget - now that we all have to get out of our "minus" - I stopped buying food at the "shipudiot". In the winter I was taking to work fennel (shumar), yellow cheese and hard boiled egg. But in the summer it does'nt keep. Last summer, following advice from the net on nuts (well they w e r e talking about macadimia nuts - which are very expencive and impossible to find) I tried sunflower seads but I started gaining. This year, boring as it may be, I stick to a small can of toov taam or yona tuna spread or salman spead. I keep my other meals interesting. Mah La'asot?

Anybody know how many carbs in Dalorit? I put it in a "cooking bag" Sakiot li'tziliya and in the oven for 40 min. I do that with fish, meat and other veggies - the oven stays clean, the pot stays clean, its already in a bag for the fridge and you can reheat in the microwave which also stays clean, and it comes out soft with lots of flavor. I even put eggplant in these bags and mash them with the skin. Quick, easy. l/c and good - the way I like it.
I am glad everything is calm up north. Here in Beer-Sheva the city filled up with guests and we constently heard the airforce over head. In times of trouble your body needs good healthy L/C food, and keeping to the nutrition of choice should give you a sence of continuity and pride that even in a crisis you stuck to your goals.
I wanted to share a problem I was having that I hoped I have solved. During the last 4 months I started gaining again. I didn't cheat or put anything not l/c in my mouth. I couln't figure out why I was gaining! I started to write down everthing I eat and noticed something amayzing! I was hooked on cottege cheese! even though it is l/c only 3 for a 9% tub I was avoiding meat in order to stay milchik (halavi)! I was robing myself of variety and of enough protien and fat. I would eat it for breakfast, as a snack and at night. then I would get hungry and binge on ... saled (!!). Yes I would have a 4 cucumber 4 tomato 1 onion, salt, lemon juice and olive oil Israeli salad and didn't think anything was wrong! The past two weeks I started to eat a variety including meat (O.K. so I'm Flashic, Bisary, so nu?) and I don't count on cottage cheese as a snack. Now that I am eating right I dont need a snack. I have lost all that I have been gaining and have once again reached my goal weight of 59 kg! Applause here. A post like this could only be posted here - who else would understand the challenges of l/c and kosher? Now if we could only do this in hebrew...
Enough Bilbul Moach
Keep with it.
Marnina

[Roma-girl]

Okay, so I don't do kosher, which makes it a bit easier to keep to LC as I have more choices I think. :agree:

I've been on Atkins for over a year and a half, in the first 3-4 months I lost 13 kgs and from June 2005 I'm in a stall, didn't lose, didn't gain.

LC had become a way of life for me now, my DH does the cooking and when necessary he makes something special for me.

I did notice that lately I started to nibble a little of the food of the rest of the family, but nothing major.

Then the war hit! Believe me when you have the feeling that your life (and those of your loved ones) can be extinguished at any moment, LC isn't exactly what's on your mind.

So, I gained about 2-3kgs and though I try to get back on track, I'm not completely weened of the carbs yet. :o

Oh well, them's the breaks.

Good going Marnina, with finding out your problem and then solving it! :cool:

Shabat Shalom!

[sondacop]

I found it very helpful to write down everything I eat when I am trying to find out what I did wrong. I don't like counting and it is very hard to figure out exactly what your serving size is. I estimate that if I try to make sure that most of my carbs are from veggies, and that the veggies themselves are low carb I should be o.k. The most important thing that I have learned is that you cannot be l/c Bearech (slightly, almost) either you are or your not. Either you are in ketosis or you are not. It is always a matter of your choice. You choose with every bite. I am sorry that the war got you away from your goal. Trauma is a "normal" part of life here! You have to learn to expect it and how to include it in your life. You must not let it get in the way of any of your long term goals - if you do than terror wins!

[evelyne]

wow!! kama pe'ilut pit'om baforum!
and every word is so right!
hi Linda, welcome back! Mazal tov for your daughter's wedding! I'm very proud and happy for you that you kept your goal.
There are so many things that I would like to say and the words (especially in English ) are missing.
Let's organize a meeting!!! A local meeting. I propose Sept 19 or October 10. It's a Tuesday, before or after ha'hagim. We could meet at Azrielyrail station and have a full day of fun, day off from work, family and carbs. I live not too far from the train so we can make a party where each will bring her favorite lc dish. I realize I sound totally insane and I even do it in bad English. But I swear, I'm not on anything! Just feel very strongly the need for a day off, with different people, new friends and shared interests. And of course welcome to every tourist from the world that will care to join us!

[Roma-girl]

Marnina wrote:
I am sorry that the war got you away from your goal. Trauma is a "normal" part of life here! You have to learn to expect it and how to include it in your life. You must not let it get in the way of any of your long term goals - if you do than terror wins!

Like I said LC is a way of life for me now, no longer a 'goal' as such. I got on with my life and have other goals now which I kept to rather well during the war.

As I have lived here already for 33 years I'm very well aware of the fact that trauma is a part of life here, but as long as it doesn't affect you personally it's not zo hard to 'include' it and stay focussed.

You're in Beersheva and though I'm sure you were concerned, I'm also convinced you do not really have an idea what those of us who stuck it out up North, really went through. Never mind. But believe me, terror didn't 'win' because I had some waffles at tense moments!

Yael, IMO your English is pretty good, so no worries about that. And you sound quite sane to me as well. :agree:

Your idea of a get-together is a nice one, but I won't be attending as I'm not a good traveler. I hope you'll have a lovely, reinforcing day when you do get some LC-ers together.

Also, I've no idea where Azrielyrail station is supposed to be, but I guess Tel Aviv! :lol:

Good luck with all your endeavors. :wave:

[evelyne]

RomaGirl,
Thanks for your fast answer! If my project of lc meeting in Israel puts some chair on its bones, I don't care to meet in the North if you don't like to travel. I suggested Azrieli station, because it is a central rail station accessible to all.
Anyway tomorrow is Sunday and my "vacation' is over. I enjoyed it in some way but I prefer to be in the lc wagon and lose more weight. I'm going slowly and the results are for us also not to gain weight.
How many eggs a week do you guys eating? I do two. I don't dare more especially that in the last year my total cholesterol has started to be higher. My doctor wants me to take medicines but I refuse. I know that having cholesterol in the blood is a genetic thing more that a food related one, but I don't think it's wise to act as if it is not related at all. In the last months, I also tried to cut on fat, not as I was eating so much of it, but especially in cheese, I tried to use the lighter ones. But then, did you notice they seem to have more carbs? I think it's because they replace the fat by polydextrins of all kinds.
Tomottow is a new day.

[Roma-girl]

Ya'el, you forgot to say where the heck Azrieli-station is. :q: Anyway, don't count on me for any meetings.

You say you're on Atkins, right? So why are you so scared of eating eggs (the perfect food) and fat?

Only trans-fats and poly-unsaturated fats are unhealthy and egg-eating makes no difference to your cholesterol-levels which aren't all that important anyway.

On Atkins they reorganize themselves, at least they did for me.

Whatever you do, DON'T go on cholesterol meds! Read Atkins again or check out the many threads here on the site. There's loads of info around. :agree:

Saturated fat is NOT the enemy, it makes you feel satisfied and you eat less naturally!

I love eggs and eat at least 3-4 each day! I also eat goose (kosher?), turkey, chicken and beef (not all together! :lol: ) and salmon, tuna and sardines. :yum: I take fish-oil capsules and a multi-vitamine.

I also eat more veg than I ever did before going LC.

Have a nice week! :wave:

[evelyne]

At last I'm home! I had a good lc day, but mostly because I was so busy at work! I had 2 eggs for breakfast, the usual. I also had some of this new dish cheese with eggplant salad. I brought to work frozen green beans and chicken breast pieces and with the microwave made a meal out of it. One sf yogurt, two cheese spread. Gym. And now at home herring, half a tomato, some cheese and a yogurt.
We'll see tomorrow. I don't count carbs. I just watch them!
I understand I should (or could) eat more eggs instead of cheese.
Tomorrow is an other day.
Yael

[JudyPinkey]

Try online to get your Flax flour. Go to search engine and put Flax products and see if comes up. I think that is where I found it?? Judy

[sondacop]

Great Idea! I am comming just tell me when and I'll be there. It would be nice to meet face to face and talk about things in person and meet new people.
Eggs are great - I have 2 in the morning and 1 hard boiled as a snack (I always keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge) and I add them to tuna saled and such. Sometimes at work we get Shakshuka plenty of eggs there. I understand that there is something in eggs that helps with high LDL cholesterol. The total cholesterol is not as important as the ratio between HDL and LDL. If the HDL is relatively high in its range and the LDL is low in its range you are O.K. and you don't have to worry about your cholesterol.
Of course fow fat cheese has more carbs - that is how they make it low fat. We have been brain washed to think that fat is bad for you but if you read the scientific evidence in the Atkins books or on the sites you will see that this is not true.

Yael - 2 yogurts a day might be a lot since I have never found a really low carb one. If you have found one I would like to know about it. I have cottege cheese (3 carbs in the tub) or sometimes sour cream 15% fat (6.2 carbs). I also snack on triangle Gvina mutechet (0.025 carbs each) and yellow gilboah cheese.

Anybody know how many carbs in Dalorit? Or at least what it is called in english so I can look it up?
lehitraot
Marnina

[debmeg]

i've found that since yoplait added fibre to their 0% fat yoghurts, i can eat them no problem - even two a day - without the carbs making me crave/hungry or anything. one yoghurt has 60 cals, 7g carbs and 4g fibre, and don't forget they're also made from bio yoghurt, and there's the whole theory that the bacteria in bio yoghurts actually eat up the carbs and convert them to lactic acid, so there's actually less carbs in there than it says on the label. i don't know how true it is; i only know that while i am staying very strictly low carb; ie protein, fat and veggies, i can still eat a couple yoghurts a day as snacks and they don't give me problems. the peirot ya'ar and mango vepassiflora flavours are my favourites :)

i can't remember what dalorit is in english, sorry.

[Focus]

Hi everyone in Israel. I am not Israeli but I lived there for over 5 years. I met my wife, who is Israeli, while there and we live in Massachusetts now. We've been back to visit a couple of times since moving here in 1993. Most recently was last February. My wife is from Kibbutz En Harod Meuchad and I lived/worked there. We also spent some time on a young kibbutz (Shizafone now it's Neot Smadar). We both started Atkins 4 years ago. She mostly did it to support me but has continued along with me. When we went back in February my wife's sister, who lives in Yoqneam, could not believe how much weight I lost and she has since started on Atkins. My wife and her sister talk on Skype every Saturday and she has lost about 10 kilos in a couple of months. I was surprised about the amount of sugar free products in Israel. I even brought back some liquid, concentrated, sucrazite. It was really cheap compared to the liquid splenda here that is hard to find. I had a bit of a problem with the elite spreadable sugar free chocolate. That is dangerous stuff and tough on the beten.

Anyway, Marnina, dalorit is called butternut squash in English. It is a bit more carby than other squashes. I think it's about 10 carbs per 1/2 cup.

I am going to put a link here of the photos from our trip last February if anyone is interested:

http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f120/Heap93/Israel/

[Roma-girl]

Hi, Focus! :wave:

Nice pics. You lost a LOT of weight and you're looking good! :agree:

IMO you count as an honorary Israeli! :cool:

Thanks for the info.

[evelyne]

Hi Focus,
You definitively count for us as an Israeli! And you are more than welcome to attend the get together that I try to organize here, next month. You will be the guests of honor.
Yael

[sondacop]

Hello!
How about a Marzipan cake for Rosh Hashanah?
My sister, Shoshi, made a wonderful L/C cake. Give it a try:
7 eggs
5 tablespoons of “nitzat HaDuvdevan” soy flour (38 carbs for 100 gr. 5 spoons is about 50 gr = 19 carbs)
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup oil
15 ml liquid diatip by sucrazit
1 tablespoon almond flavor

separate the eggs
whip the egg whites till stiff and add sweetener
continue whipping and fold in the egg yokes and everything else.
Put in oven 175C for 30-45 min

You can use 2 spoons of coco powder or coffee instead of the almond.

Shana Tova!

[sondacop]

Anybody know how to make coco taste like Shoko?
I put a half of a teaspoon in a mug, add sweetener hot water and milk, but it just is not chocolate.
How was your fast? I found it to be much easyer since L/Cing. No cravings, anrd the weather was wonderful.
Have a happy sukkot
Marnina

[sondacop]

Hi everybody!
I would like to know if I am allowed Elite sugerless chocolate?
Its ingredients are Maltitol, milk powder,cocoa butter, cocoa mass, emulsifiers.
It say per 100 gram:
carbs - polyols 47gr
other carbs 12 gr
(calories 459 protiens 7gr fats 31 gr)
If I understand properly alcohol sugers such as maltitol don't have an inpact like suger (the main inpact is smelly gas) so the carbs are not counted. Is this correct?

[evelyne]

As far as I'm concerned, you're allowed! I also use it, generally on Shabat, with a hot cup of tea. I don't eat more than a "stripe" ("pas") fearing the sugar alcohols.
And, by the way, I would like to know, at last, what is the minimum diturbing dose a day of these.

[sondacop]

Hi Evelne !
Thanks for answering I was begaining to think I was alone here! Posting in the desert. I don't have an answer for you. I tried contacting the company. From what I understand it isnt realy absorbed, probably the reason for the gas. Anyway, I don't eat it on Shabbat. I get enough carbs on Shabbat!

[Focus]

A few "cubiot" aren't going to hurt you but beware that a whole bar is going to give you a big belegan.

When we came back from Israel last year I brought with me a couple of jars of the spreadable sugar free chocolate from elite. It's very good but really hard to eat in moderation.

I forget who made it but there was quite a bit of sugar free halva and that was fantastic with a cup of coffee.

[debmeg]

you can also buy the lindt 85% dark chocolate in most supermarkets, which only has 19g of carbs per 100g, and no sugar alcohols at all, which means no stomach problems. It's very bitter, but some people like that, and since it's such a high percentage of cocoa, it's very low carb. When I use it to make chocolate mousse, I add splenda (which i bring in from england, but it could be there are other sweeteners here that could be used) to make it a bit sweeter.

this week for shabbat my sister dipped strawberries in melted sugarless chocolate - they were very good, but they did give us gas!

[sondacop]

What is the lindt 85% dark chocolate?
I use "Sukra Diet" Brown and white package or "sukarlite" by sukrazit Yellow package. they both are made of Sucralose and Dextrose and they come as powder or drops and you can cook and bake with them. Isn't that the same as splenda? I also found sugerless sweet almond, carob and sumsum spread made by Bereshet-Genesis. 30 Shekel. Carmit also now makes sugerless chocolate milk, dark and with nuts.
Happy Tu bishvat

[debmeg]

Lindt is a make of chocolate (Swiss?) and they have different amounts of cocoa in them - the 85% is so dark with so little sugar that it's fairly low carb - the whole 100g bar is only 19g carbs, and no sugar alcohols so it doesn't mess with your stomach, either. You can find it in the regular chocolate aisle in most supermarkets.

I've wondered about the sukrazit stuff here; saw that they were made with sucralose and wondered if it was the same as splenda. I'll have to buy some and try it out - not that I actually bake with splenda all that often.

I was actually really pleased - speaking of Tu Bishvat - to find that I could eat a decent portion of fruit salad on shabbat without it causing me any cravings.

[sondacop]

Good for you! On Tu Bishvat all I ate were the nuts. Purim I was thinking of baking soy flour "oznay haman" but didnt get the chance.
What do we do about Pessach? I was thinking of making l/c Harosset out of: dry red wine, wallnuts, cinnimun, nutmeg, tziporen, apple flavor, sweetner and geleten. What do you thing about that?
My father misses potato kugel and was thinking of making it out of cauliflower or eggplant. How do you get it to stick together and not be watery?
Any ideas?
The Atkins Pessach Challenge.

[Andyr]

Hi
My name is Andy an I am in Zichron

i was so gald to find this board and see there are ofther people from Israel here. I have been in a lot of forums and most of them are from USA.
Glad to meet all of you

[Roma-girl]

Hi, Andy, welcome to the forums!

Hope you find what you're looking for.

[LindaTadir]

Hi- I've been away from the forum for awhile, but I'm still keeping to low carbs, low fats. My latest favorites are the 92 calorie, 5 carb chocolate bars by elite called "only 92 calories". The dark chocolate ones are great. Also, the sugarless energy bar by ENERGY with almost half the calories and low carb count. They help get me thru the "hard times" in the day when I get cravings. Hope all are well and enjoying the summer time. Linda :wave:

[sondacop]

I am still not sure of the chocholate you advised, I think they are not reporting the correct amount of carbs. I have found in other items thet the carbs just dont add up. Such as in Straus Diet ice cream, or in the diet branflacks.I tried that chochlate and it caused terrible gas and I gained whieght. Not if I want sweet I make Cheese cake! I use 2 38% fat Bait HaLavan whip cream, Mix in sweetener, flavor (coco powder or coffie...) and 2 packets of geleten heated in the microwave. I pour into a pan and leave it in the fridge for 6 hours, yummie. You can also use the geleten to make jello - I mix it with diet "tarkiz".

[sondacop]

Hello everyone! This tread died a while ago and I would like to see if I could revive it. I think we need it here since we are dealing with problems that are unique to this area.
I have a few issues I would like discussed. See if you are interested and please join in!
First of all, Happy Pessah! What did you eat this holiday? I ate pretty much what I usually eat. People would say to me "oh you are doing l/c what will you eat", not realizing that the main problem on Pessah is davka with the carbs! I eat meat, eggs, cheese and so forth like I do all year. They are the ones with the problem, not me. They are the ones that need to look for replacement food for all of the high carb foods they are used to eating. Whatever would they do without kosher for Pessah macaroons, cookies, cereal and cake? And the prices they had to pay for all of that – crazy! This year I found Matzot Rishon light matza. I actually stood for 20 minuets in the aisle comparing the different matzot. It even says l/c on the box! Each matza is supposed to have 16.7g carbs and 6.9g dietary fiber. Now here is the problem: I have found that sometimes the carbs don't add up. Sometimes different companies list dietary fiber and different types of carb separately, so when it comes to counting total carbs and then subtracting the fiber the number is impossible. I am pretty sure that matzot rishon, who sell the product abroad list it correctly and each matza contains 10.7 carbs. But what should we do about other products. Has anyone contacted companies to find out? Who do you complain to? There should be a unified listing like they do with fats.
I contacted various tomato sauce companies such as yacin and others. I noticed that they advertise 100% natural and then in some of the products on the side in small letters it says glucose. Depending on the size of the package it would say if it contained glucose but both (even the one without glucose listed) said 16g carbs. Now how can that be? I got various answers, none made any sense (when they added glucose they got the same carb count). Have you noticed this? I have stopped using tomato sauce and now I use crushed tomatoes. I don't like the texture as much but it has only 6 carbs (who knows how much of that is fiber, it is not listed), and It goes just as well in Shakshuka!
Taubes book: Good Calories, Bad Calories. What about contacting Matar, the publishers of some of the Atkins books to get them to publish a translation. I read the book and I think it is well needed in Hebrew! Low fat is totally IN now, l/c is not healthy. I get that all of the time. I think this book in Hebrew would make waves. (and then we might have more to eat and less hidden glucose in 100% natural foods).
I have more issues to discuss but lets see if anyone is interested in this thread first!

[evelyne]

Hi, I'm here! Count me in! I do need the support!
And we do have certain issues with standard food in Israel. But I like to look at the bright side, so here it is: the new pies by Ma'adanot. Only vegetables, cheese and eggs. No flour at all. They labeled it as kosher for passover but it's kosher for lowcarbers (and non-gluten eaters). And it's good! I offered it to friends and children and they all like it. I tried them all. I especially like the mini, bites ones. By the way, I called them to ask for prepacked one portion. Sometimes you don't need the all pie.
I called also "salatey Mashani" and "salatey Strauss" and asked them why they have to put sugar in all their salads. I like the eggplant ones or peppers. They are still low carb, but I can't figure out how much sugar is in it. The truth is that I still didn't understand if sugar is a forbidden ingredient for us or if we take it in consideration of the total daily carb count, it's OK. Anyway, I told them, that, as they are making low-fat salads for those interested in it, they should do no sugar added for diabetics and me.
About the tomatoes boxes I consider tomato as an allowed vegetable and don't worry too much. I do check that there is no sugar in it.
There is definitively a problem in the food labeling. I see differences and errors in total.
Whi need matza or all these pricy replacement foods. Pessach is THE time to start lowcarb diet. No bread, no pasta.
Hag sameach,
Yael

[sondacop]

Hey Yael!
Thanks for answering, I felt like I was calling in the deserts (I'm in Beer Sheva) I haven’t heard of the new pies I will definitely look for them, I hope they don't have potatoes in them. As for sugar different items: Atkins (ZT"L) says that you should be alert for what he calls hidden carbs and that is why he advises making homemade mayonnaise, in the states they put sugar in it. HaMutag makes mayonnaise without sugar 1.6 carbs per 100g. So we don't have to bother with the homemade stuff. It is important to avoid sugar since it effects blood sugar and stops the ketons effect. You are supposed to spread out the carbs throughout the day and get them mostly from vegetables. Did you find any tomato paste without sugar in it? I haven't. Salaty Strauss has something like 5-8 carbs for 100g, I consider that high for a food that should barely have any and I don’t buy it. What did you do for Haroset? I made my own using walnuts, dry red wine, diet apple tarkiz, coconut milk and gelatin. It tasted wonderful but it didn't look to great, on the other hand nether does regular Haroset!
We still should find an official place to complain. The companies test the food to find which is preferred and nowadays with the sugar craze that has swept the country, especially the younger generation, that and the low fat rhetoric, the public prefers sweet food. Who would believe years ago that they would add sugar to Humus?! Anyway, the companies are going to produce food based on the results of their taste test and ignore the complaint of one or two people (crazy enough to do l/c!).
Hag Sameach!

[evelyne]

I forgot to write that I saw last week in a bookstore a book "lowcarb for vegetarians" in Hebrew. Looked interesting.
I must admit that I am not that strict as you are. I did eat "kazait" matza with my mother-in-law's haroset. Of course, I blame only myself for not losing these last pounds. But I eat wisely and I exercise. I changed place a month ago and I go now to Ladies Fitness.

[sondacop]

You CAN lose the last 3! I am sure of it. Give yourself a little push to be stricter for a while and you will see.

The greatest thing to be said about L/C and Pessah is that the house is mostly Kosher LePesach! The only Hametz I had in the house was a bag of roles in the freezer! The oven hasn't seen hametz in 3 years. Isn't that wonderful? No worries!

I think that vegetarians miss out on important nutrients. I was a vegetarian for a few years; I gained weight and was not healthy. People are more considerate of vegetarians than of l/cers. As a vegetarian I was never offered a piece of meat, no-one was ever offended that I wouldn't eat something. Now, people are always trying to give me high carb foods, they try to convince me that a little bit can't hurt, and are offended if I don't eat some cake that they made. I answer that if it was important to them if I ate anything they could have provided nuts. Why should it bother anyone if I ate Bamba and Bisly or not. They get very upset! It is crazy.

[sondacop]

Hello everyone!
I think I have finally found tomato past without sugar! "Tal" is the only one that doesn't add sugar! Notice all the others say they add glucose and fructose. I called some of them and e-mailed others.
Happy New Year!

[evelyne]

Hi,
Happy to hear from you. I definitively need support.
I also find annoying the fact that factories add sugar everywhere. I even called some: Strauss, Mashani etc, to wonder why they need to add sugar to eggplant salads, for example, while we don't use that ingredient when cooking at home. I told Strauss that they miss a part of the population that from this or that reason don't want sugar. They said they'll think about it. I told them that light hummus is good idea but no sugar added everything is better!
Yael

[LindaTadir]

FYI- lowest in carbs and calories of the red cabbage ready made salads is Achla. Zabar was low and then they changed their recipe. Carbs shot way up there. I'm also enjoying the 92 bars and the blue colored "light Energy" bars. Take care and Stay Strong. Shana Tova

[sondacop]

Yes, they said they did taste tests and the popular flavors were the sweeter ones so they stated to add sugar. The general public is getting a sweet tooth! Before starting Atkins, fruit was not sweet enough for me! Achla adds sugar to eggplant! Don't the 92 bars have white flour in them? What are the "Light Energy" bars?
Sukkot is one of the few holidays that don't have an obligatory high carb traditional food you must eat, so enjoy eating low carb in a Sukkah!
Have an easy fast!

[LindaTadir]

:thup: Energy bars- Light. blue package. they're snacks. 58 calories / 7 carbs
92 bars have 3 carbs and 92 calories.
Recently discovered this great hot chocolate, but they are expensive on delivery outside USA. need to have someone in the USA that can send it on to you. But it's really great. their link: http://ronandfranks.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RAF&Category_Code=050
I especially like their Raspberry Hot Chocolate, Kahlua & Cream Hot Chocolate, and their White Chocolate Raspberry. each cup of hot chocolate has 20 calories and 3 carbs. very filling.

[evelyne]

Can we organize our own new year commitment? But together, like with our Israeli menus and problems.

[sondacop]

Yes! what kind of commitment are you interested in?

[evelyne]

Honestly, I don't know. I just wish to tell someone how was my day, how I resisted the rogal'ach at work, hear about a new idea for breakfast, an option what to eat for a snack while out (not falafel, not sandwish, not pizza, I can only think of nuts but maybe you have other solutions) etc.

[LindaTadir]

sounds like a support team- I'll give it a try. I have my frustrations like everyone else and am always interested in hearing about new ideas. We're thinking of hiking/camping out on the Israel National path (shviel ha-aretz). the biggest concern is what kind of food that I can carry with me that isn't heavy and is as close as possible to south beach diet. the best option is "mana hama" but those are all carbs. I need something that can be filling and heated up; like dried veggies or something. anyone have any ideas, let me know. meanwhile: Hag Sameach!!! :agree:

[sondacop]

Okay, I like that!
I spent years working outside (no convenient refrigerator) dealing with problems like that:
1. Evelyne- for fast food I eat Shawarma! I ask for Shawarma (with extra fat yummy) salad fried eggplant in a pita. I eat the inside and throw away the pita.
I do everything possible with eggs for breakfast. I even make pancakes using only cinnamon. What kind of ideas are you looking for?
I just consider high carb foods "not kosher" and that's it. No temptation. Since starting Atkins TZL my problem has been fruit. (beforehand it wasn't sweet enough!) I planted lots of fruit trees and the ripe fruit grown in my yard is so tempting!
2. Linda - Hiking the National path is a dream come true! I wish I could come with you! Let me know when you reach the Negev - you are invited! On trips I take with me cans of tuna. If I don't think I will have anywhere to drain the oil I bring tuna or salmon paste. I eat it with a spoon of course. Hard vegetables like cucumbers, celery and fennel goes nicely in bags and don't spoil. If it is not too hot I will take hard boiled eggs with me. Low carb energy bars, a bit expensive but light weight. Whey powder - just mix with water. There are a few soy-flour based items sold at health food stores that are relatively low carb and light weight, like "soycrunch". Sugarless halva.
I hope this helps!
Hag Sameyah!

[sondacop]

Debmeg – I finally found the Lindt chocolate, I found it in Supersol. I don't know, it has sugar in it and 20 carbs for 100 grams seams like a lot to me. I didn't buy it.
LindaTadir – I looked at the "light energy" bars, they too seamed high carb to me and I didn't buy them. You must remember NOT to subtract the fiber from the total carbs. Here it is not included in the count of total carbs and is listed separate. I didn't find the 92 bars are they from eilit?

And for the support part – did you gain, lose or stay the same weight after these holidays? I hope all of you did well! No holidays till Hanukah – two months to dream up l/c sufganiyot! The Latkis is easy – supplement cauliflower for potatoes and use a bit of soy flour. Any ideas?
Enjoy the rain!