hi Susie,

I use bottled salad dressing ... I make sure it has 1g carb or less per Tbsp (15 ml) .. and add an extra 15 ml olive oil to that. That may be difficult if you are eating your lunch in a restaurant though.

Tea and coffee .... hmmm .... I know Atkins recommends avoiding caffeine because supposedly it can stimulate a rise in insulin levels .. But more recently it was discovered that the study was done using diet cola with caffeine ... and the rise in insulin was more likely due to citric acid in the cola, and not due to caffeine. It really is a YMMV thing (your mileage may vary). Many lowcarbers find they can consume a moderate amount of caffeine without affecting weight loss efforts. On the Atkinscenter.com website, they suggest eliminating caffeine for the 2 weeks of Induction, then you may add back an occasional coffee or tea ... as long as it doesn't stall you out. None of the other major lowcarb programs suggest avoiding caffeine, including Dr. Bernstein's Diabetic Solution.

Now, the MILK would be a problem ... Depends on how milky you like your tea. One fl. oz (30 ml) whole milk (3.5 to 4% fat) has 1.7g carbs. You might consider using cream, diluted a bit, instead. Cream has fewer carbs than milk, less than 1g per fl. oz. .. (BTW, coffee lattés are all the rage on this side of the pond .. )

Some lower carb fruits can be enjoyed on the Atkins program, once the 2 weeks of Induction are up, and you have increased your carb intake to your personal CCL for OWL. Berries, a slice of melon, 1/2 a grapefruit or a small peach all come to under 10g carbs per serving, and certainly you can fit them into your day's carb allowance every now and then ..

Doreen