cold weather outside = hot porridge inside

Yes, this is one of my weaknesses and cravings too, such a comfort food on blustery winter days. I like Karen's idea, I just copied and pasted it to my recipe file.

Dr. Atkins suggests crumbling a couple Wasa fiber crackers (4 carbs each, after subtracting fiber), mix with a little boiling water or microwave to make a mush, serve with cream and lowcarb sweetener of choice. Add a Tbsp of chopped nuts or crushed flax seeds too. I like cinnamon, I would probably add some of that too!!

I have seen one of the lowcarb sites in the USA advertise a lowcarb "cereal". Anybody know about this?? I'll try to look it up and post here what I find.

I bet crumbling up a piece of Shepherd's Bread, and toasting it would be delicious too!!

Another thing I plan to use is SOY grits. You can buy this at a natural foods store, possibly a bulk food place. Soy grits look and taste just like hominy grits, or couscous if you're familiar with that. They just seem to take a long time to cook, at least to me. I soak it first for an hour, then steam in my rice cooker for about 40 minutes. It really fluffs up, so 1 cup of dry grits gives over 2 cups cooked. So, 1/2 cup of the hot grits would be 11 grams total carbs, minus 4 grams fiber. That's not bad.

Also, if you carefully plan and budget your carbs, an occasional serving of the real thing won't kill your lowcarb efforts. 1/3 cup dry Quaker oatmeal, the quick-cook kind, has 20 grams total carbs and 3 grams fiber. This cooks up to nearly a whole cup of porridge, would be enough for two people. Add some chopped nuts or seeds, some cream and sweetener ... YUMMMM. Natural raw oatbran is another good choice too, and cooks into a very creamy porridge. 1/3 cup dry oatbran has 23 total carbs, but 7 grams of fiber.

I think it's a good idea to plan to have these things once in a while, rather than craving for days and going overboard on a wild binge. Just remember to adjust the rest of your day's carbs accordingly.

enjoy!
Doreen