Help me! Please

[Atsirk]

I'm going to try to make this as condensed as possible.

- DH and I are both very overweight.
- About two months ago I had a tooth extraction and was told my blood pressure was high and to get it checked out.
- I've been feeling really crappy the past couple of weeks especially if I was doing anything active.
- I went to urgent care where DH works today. Blood pressure was 150/110
- After laying on my left side for 20 minutes it was borderline normal.
- The doctor says if I lose 10% of my body weight that my blood pressure should go back to normal.

So all of that to say I need help with menu ideas. We normally eat a standard American diet. The doctor told me to quit eating out and to cut out most carbs plus I've known for a while now that gluten makes me feel really awful.

Here's a list of things we normally eat - maybe you guys can help me figure out how to make them healthy.

- Tacos
- Chicken fingers
- Fajitas
- Enchiladas
- Chicken Cordon Blue
- Fried fish
- Spaghetti/Ravioli/Baked Ziti
- Pizza

Links to recipes for breakfasts or dinners that you think we'd eat would be great.

Oh one other thing DH is SEVERELY allergic to coconut and avocado. Other than that no food allergies.

[greengirl19]

I know we've talked about this before but I'll play along

taco meat on rice with beans
chicken fingers (if you're up for making them yourself you can use rice flour to make them GF) with mashed potatoes
fajitas on rice with beans
baked ziti with GF rice pasta and sliced zucchini replacing some or a lot of the pasta
homemade pizza with lots of veggies on top (do you have a pizza stone?)

ETA: I also stretch meat when we're not grain free by adding corn to taco meat and lentils to anything with ground beef, the lentils really dissolve into the sauce and you don't notice them.

all served with sides of veggies (frozen are cheap and nutritious). Hummus if needed to eat more veggies. Instead of thinking about what you can't eat or trying to consciously limit yourself, just keep piling on veggies everywhere. You'll get to eat bigger portions

[Snugglebugmom]

My DH is having great results with eating low carb, and has lost about 60 pounds over the last six months or so. He was extremely overweight and has a long way to go, but he feels this is a sustainable way of eating.
Here are some things we've figured out over the months:

Chicken cordon bleu is actually low carb if you don't bread it. Check the labels on all cold cuts, it's insane how many have loads of sugar. We stick to the ones that are 1 gr of carbs per serving or less.

I invented a low carb tortilla, made with ground flax seed, a pinch of salt, and water. Not as good as the real thing, but surprisingly similar to corn tortillas both in taste and in texture.

Fried fish is your friend. Use real butter, not margarine, and instead of flour to coat it, you can use finely ground pork rinds.

There are many low carb pizza crust recipes out there, but unfortunately I have yet to find one that actually comes close.

Spaghetti squash is a great vehicle for pasta sauces. Your standard tomato sauce is very carby, so a cream-based sauce will work better. Thickening agents you can use are cream cheese and corn starch in moderate amounts.

Check out this site for recipes: Buttoni's Low Carb Recipes
Her pancake recipe is absolutely delicious, and she has a low carb substitute for pretty much anything you can think of. Some are better than others, but if nothing else, it's hugely inspirational.

Hope this helps some. Best of luck to you and your hubby, you'll do great!

[reb]

there are a lot of paleo/primal recipes you could use in place of those that are low carb and don't use highly-processed foods.

- Tacos (could you make a taco salad? greens, seasoned beef [i like this recipe for taco seasoning: http://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/565081], shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, etc. just leave out the shells)
- Chicken fingers (i have a recipe for almond flour chicken fingers if you're interested )
- Fried fish (i also have a recipe for hazelnut flour/almond flour fish sticks....not fried, but they're still very tasty!)
- Spaghetti/Ravioli/Baked Ziti (you could do a brown rice flour pasta [tinkyada makes the best - http://tinkyada.com/] or an almond flour pasta [https://cappellosglutenfree.com/] and a homemade meat sauce (http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes...th_meat_sauce/)

egg dishes can definitely be your friend! i like to make a pretty easy spanish omelet about every other week: http://www.plantoeat.com/recipes/711153

otherwise i have a list of other recipes i use here: http://ahumbleplace.com/recipe-collection/ we are gluten-free and mostly grain-free, but we still do raw dairy. only a few recipes with coconut and none with avocado.

[charla]

La Tiara brand has low carb shells at 4 carbs grams and are gluten free - I absolutely love them. They are really thin and incredibly crispy. The downside is that they break easily. If you wanted to get less carbs, you could make taco salad and crumble half of one of these taco shells on your taco salad.

I've used sweet rice flour as a good sub for any kind recipes that need thickening.

My favorite gluten free pasta is gluten free Ronzoni.

[Aerynne]

I really wouldn't go the low carb route. It's very popular right now but don't let that fool you. You can look at the evidence and decide how you feel but I don't want to turn your thread into a debate. But you could have normal blood pressure in two weeks without meds on this diet

http://www.drmcdougall.com

The results are astounding- people's blood pressure, cholesterol, etc, drop very far very fast to healthy levels once people stop eating the meat, dairy, eggs, and junk food that is making them sick. The food is delicious, and yes you can do it gluten-free.

[Katigre]

Ok, I think that you might feel better if you can cut out processed foods. That includes FLOUR, even "whole wheat" flour.

Eating real whole foods in whatever combination helps you feel good will help most.

I would also examine your sugar intake - do you ever count the grams you eat per day? It shouldn't be more than 25g which is easy to get with just a yogurt and salad dressing.

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[SouthPaw]

I find that it's easier to watch what I am eating when I do fewer complex Recipes and more easy meals - 1 serving of a protein, a serving of carbs, and the rest of the meal is fruit and veggies. So instead of chicken cordon bleu, get rid of the breading, deli meat, and cheese, and do baked chicken breasts or thighs w/ a touch of olive oil and lemon, brown rice, and broccoli. Baked salmon instead of fried fish. If you learn to cook lean meats but maintain moisture so it's not like chewing cardboard, that is a HUGE help (not assuming you can't but I know it took me a while!)

You can even keep some of the things you like but do smaller portions with healthier sides - 2 slices of homemade veggie pizza with a sprinkle of parmesan, with fruit salad instead of 5 slices of meat lovers oozing in goo.

[Katigre]

Also, when your dr says "cut out carbs" I'm guessing he means "cut out processed carbs" (breads, flours, etc...) and not all carbs (bc fruits and vegetables are carbs).

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[Atsirk]

She specifically said stay away from potatoes, pasta, corn, peas, and beans, but then followed that up with all carbs so . I was already planning on getting away from breads. pasta, etc because of my comment about gluten.

---------- Post added at 06:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:18 PM ----------

I definitely have an issue with sugar.

[SouthPaw]

I would say to start small and don't try to do a drastic diet change. It will be hard to follow and you'll probably get resentful. I honestly don't think "cut out most carbs" is good standard advice I'd say keep the tacos, use corn tortillas, use lean meat or ground turkey, and replace the sour cream and cheese with salsa and lime juice before I said to keep all the sour cream and cheese and wrap it in lettuce, if your primary goal is to lose weight. It's a lot safer generalization to say that finding ways to cut calories will help you lose weight.

[mamaKristin]

One easy thing to do is to at LEAST double the amount of veggies you eat with a meal. Either raw or cooked. So, say, tacos. Bulk up the lettuce, tomatoes, peppers you have with tacos.

Chicken fingers - serve with a huge salad or sliced raw veggies.

For pasta, add canned tomatoes to the sauce, and grate in carrots and zucchini.

If you make at least half your plate vegetables, that automatically cuts back on the processed carbs you are eating.

For a lot of people, processed carbs (like breading on meats, for example) aren't really filling. for example, compare commercial french fries (which can also be breaded and seasoned) vs eating a baked potato. Sure, adding butter and sour cream to the baked potato adds calories, but it's way more filling than fries. The more you eat food that looks like it's in its natural state, the less processing, the less opportunity for other "stuff" to get in there. Which is why I always try to have sliced veggies on the table, which my kids will eat more easily than many cooked veggies. (I personally am a junkie for veggies roasted with a little olive or coconut oil). If you can get half your plate to be veggies, you are going to be ahead of where you were fast.

[RealLifeMama]

Just adding more veggies to your diet would be a great place to start, whether or not you go "low carb" or whatever.
I would add a green salad every day at dinner or lunch, a fruit and veggie with lunch, and a whole food breakfast with a good amount of protein in it.

I used to eat three pieces of cheese pizza for dinner on pizza night. Now, I find it really easy to just eat 1.5 slices and a salad. A good salad at dinner really helps. Try to find tasty dressings that you like, and add fixins that make it fun.

[Katigre]

Are you pre diabetic? What beverages do you drink each day? How is your relationship with food - is your eating tied into deeper emotional issues that trip you up?

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[Atsirk]

Originally Posted by Katigre

Are you pre diabetic? What beverages do you drink each day? How is your relationship with food - is your eating tied into deeper emotional issues that trip you up?

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Not pre-diabetic. Drink lots of soft drinks/tea. Very little water. Relationship with food... hmm I definitely eat more when I'm bored or sad.