My thought on mock mashed potatoes: If you want to lose weight, don't put mock starches on your plate.
Don't replace your carbs with a low carb version. It will be harder for you to lose weight this way. One reason we see successful weight loss is by calorie restriction. Once you start replacing foods, your cal intake goes up. Result: weight lose will slow down or stop. I'm saying I've seen people (I myself have done it) have a steak, mashed cauliflower, and salad. Now you're eating two types of veggies instead of one, increasing calorie intake. When I was trying to lose weight I stayed away from any mock foods, it just made sense to me.

just last night i added some soup to my menu so that i would not be bored with the food choices. i do this regularly and i love it!!! i made chili soup. my own version of course. ground beef-taco seasoned, celery, leftover green beans, 1 can of no salt diced tomatoes, 2 cans of beef broth no fat low sodium, and cabbage. i seasoned with cumin and garlic onion powder, mexican chili powder, etc. cooked it til done and divided into freezer bowls for some other day-possibly lunch or dinner in the next few days. i had a couple spoonfuls only as i had just eaten and it was delish!!! my next change will be creating more chicken and beef dishes other than roasted or baked breasts for salads.

p.s. i also have shrimp thawing at home right now. i am going to do more seafood--salmon, tuna, fresh fish, shrimp dishes-- instead of beef and chicken and pork as it is warming up here and i need to eat lighter including more creative salad dishes!!

Can I point out that mashed cauliflower isn't 'mock' or 'faux' anything? It's mashed cauliflower.
As for eating 2 veggies at a meal instead of one, why not? If I eat a slightly smaller portion of protein because I'm getting full from the veggies, that's not a terrible trade off as long as I'm still getting an adequate portion of protein.
1 cup of cooked cauliflower has 28 calories. Add a Tablespoon of sour cream (30 calories) and an ounce of cheese (100 calories) and I'm at 158 calories for the mashed cauliflower. Now, if I eat 4 ounces of steak instead of 6 because of the extra veggies (a savings of about 200 calories), I'm actually eating less calories, not more. Somehow, I don't think too many of us got overweight eating too many low carb veggies.

Lisa, I see your point. However, mashed cauliflower has more carbs and calories than plain cauliflower. (Using your figures 28 calories for plain cauliflower and 158 calories for mashed cauliflower, that is over five times the amount of calories. lets look at carbs plain cauliflower about 2 net carbs, mashed cauliflower about 4 net carbs, that is double the carbs.) If you are going to eat it count all the carbs. And watch out. When I started cutting back on things like mashed cauliflower, the weight seemed to come off better. And I felt better after dinner. It might have been more psychological than physical.


Note: I do eat mashed cauliflower, it is only when I'm trying to lose weight that I cut it out and other items, like tofu mac and cheese. I love it but not good when I'm trying to lose weight. Again it might be psychological.

I agree, it really is all about portion size when you getdown to this type of thing. As long as the mashed cauliflower isn't some processed product, it is not "mock".

I think that my downfall to this diet IS the lack of variety. But for me, its because of the cost of fresh meat and veggies. I know some people wrote about how its not as expensive as a "normal" diet, but I don't agree. To have to buy fresh meat and veggies is way more expensive than buying cans of soup and bagels (which is what I used to eat for dinner....yuck, I know!). It is definitely worth the price (in terms of health benefits), but I do think its more expensive. That's why I do stick to the same old meals time and time again. I can't afford to buy chicken breast...its chicken thighs for me! And I also rarely buy things like roasts because they're REALLY expensive! Anyway, just my two cents.

Whether or not low-carbing is cheaper depends on what you were eating before. Those who ate lots of packaged foods and snacks and lots of fast food will find that eating real foods is cheaper. Those who ate rice and beans will find it more expensive.

I like chicken thighs more than breasts and they are the cheapest chicken parts that I can find. I use them to make Buffalo 'wings' because they are cheaper than wings.

For supper tomorrow, I will be BBQing a pork shoulder that was really inexpensive.