Hi All...

I am off to Russia (and Scandanavia) for a month, and I'm looking for any hints on staying LC there (eating in restaurants 3X/day for a month)...

Anyone out there been to Russia recently and have tips on what to order and what to avoid (I speak no Russian)? I'd like to try local specialties if at all possible, rather than just stick to steak or grilled fish, etc...

Thanks!

The little grocery stores will sell packages of nuts; you will also probably be able to buy cheese. Apart from that, I can't offer much. We stayed in a "western" hotel that had a hot bar for breakfast so you could see what you were getting. Meals off a menu are hard when you can't even recognize the letters.

OTOH, you'll walk absolutely everywhere and there aren't a whole lot of very overweight Russians, at least not yet. Solid, yes.

Earplugs and eyeshades, too. Stays light a long time this time of year.

Eat lots and lots of fish on your trip! The fish in Scandinavia is fantastic.

I have never been to Russia, so I can't offer any help there. But perhaps you'll find borscht (beet juice) - I think that is low-carb. And lots of cabbage.

I'm off to Lavia and Lithuania for a week, and I have similar qualms about finding low-carb foods. My plan is to do my best, sample a few (just a few) higher-carb local delicacies, walk everywhere, and try not to worry about it. I figure if I avoid processed foods as much as possible, I ought to be OK. At least I hope so....

Rachel

Actually beets are pretty high carb. They make sugar from some types of beets. (sugar beets)

1 cup
1 beet


Nutition Label for Beets, raw, 100 grams.

Serving Size 100 gramsCalories 43Total Fat 0.17g- Saturated Fat 0.02g

- Monounsaturated Fat 0.03g

- Polyunsaturated Fat 0.06g

Cholesterol 0mgSodium 78mgTotal Carbohydrate 9.56g- Dietary Fiber 2.8g

- Sugars 6.76g

Protein 1.61gVitamin A 2Vitamin C 4.9Calcium 16Iron 0.8


If you click where it says 1 cup of beets you will see how really high carb they are.

Like I mentioned in another thread, I just returned from Italy --- very tough for Low -carbers, but even after sampling what the country has to offer, I agree with Cs Carver that you will probably do a lot of walking --- that really really helps --- it helped me even after all the pastas and pizzas ( very tabu for Low carbers) but I did lose four pounds with the walking and the water. Be selective as to what you eat, and the amounts, even if it is Tabu, just do a lot of walking and drink lots of water.

Isn't reindeer/cariboo popular in Russia and Scandinavia? I'm sure you can find that for some yummy meat.

im from denmark and lowcarbing here isnt especially easy around here but its really not hard either. i just posted a big post in daisyboo's journal about lowcarbing in denmark and that would apply for scandinavia in general. go to my kuornal and find a post by daisy there and see her journal for my tips. russia is very carby as starhcy items are cheap and meat is expensive. as a foreigner with money you should be able to find something acceptable though.
good luck and if i can offer any help just stop by my journal and say so and i will be happy to help.

mylle