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Stopped by the local Goodwill this afternoon, and found, of all things, a bunch of Nutrisystem meals. Nutrisystem commercials have been all over television around here, boasting about how delicious their food is, how easy and effective their program is, how you never have to go hungry, etc, etc, etc. So I was understandably curious to take a look at the meals they were offering.

One of the greatest treats of summer is fresh berries. I’m happy to tell you that they fit
beautifully into a low carb diet Berries are among the lowest sugar fruits. So enjoy them while
they’re – well, less expensive.

Strawberries are summertime ambrosia, and a half a dozen large strawberries will only run you
8.3 grams of carbohydrate, with 5 grams of fiber – for a usable carb count of just 3.3 grams
Have a dozen

One cup of raspberries – a generous serving – contains 14.7 grams of carbohydrate – but 8 of

I would write about this myself, but I don't have access to the full text of the journal article, and anyway, Dr. Mike Eades has already done a bang-up job. You need to read this: Another China Study.

Hope you'll come back here afterward, but you really need to read Dr. Mike's article.

CRUISE! CRUISE! CRUISE! And Not JUST With Me!

When I recorded a podcast interview with Jimmy Moore of Livin' La Vida Low Carb the other day, he told me he was planning a low carb cruise for this January. Sounded good to me, and I told him so. Long story short, I'll be going, too, and will be joining the list of featured speakers! I'm really, really excited about this.

Well, no, she can't. Or rather, she could, but cherry pie involves a flour-based pie crust, which ain't happening 'round here. Which is why there is a cherry cheesecake in my refrigerator, instead.

There's a Montmorency cherry tree in the backyard of our old house. We still own the house; we rent it to a terrific tenant. A terrific tenant who spotted bugs. Which is why I was hanging around the backyard the other day, waiting for the nice Terminex man to finish his inspection. By the time he came out from under the house I'd picked almost a quart of cherries.

Since I wrote this column, a number of sugar-free chocolate products have gone off the market, while many new ones have appeared to fill the void. Hence the update.

“Health food” – how dreary! After all, everything that’s good for you tastes bad, or at the very least is dull to the point of joylessness. How sad, how prissy to eat only healthy foods – you know, like chocolate.

Breakfast:

Pepper jack omelet with chunky salsa

Lunch:

Leftover roasted chicken leg and thigh. Because the skin comes out flabby when you zap leftover chicken in the microwave, I always peel it off and lay it in a skillet. I warm it over medium-low heat till it's crispy again, and eat it as a treat after I'm done with the meat.

Snack:

Pea salad
Sugar-free dark chocolate

The Webmaster (aka That Nice Boy I Married) and I just got back from our local "taste" event, Taste of Bloomington. We hadn't actually been out on a date for a while, and it was a nice evening, not too hot, so it seemed like just the thing. Had a very nice time, and I am now quite full.

These things always have an abundance of carbs. Among the things we did not eat were all manner of sandwiches, fried rice, egg rolls, pizza, sugared strawberries, and ice cream. So what did we have?

I have a Google News Alert set for "low carbohydrate." For the past few days it's been sending me a headlines about the so-called "Big Breakfast" study. Here are some of them:

* Big, Well-Balanced Breakfast Aids Weight Loss

* Study: Big, Carb-Heavy Breakfast Key to Weight Loss

* Eating carb-rich breakfast helps lose more weight

* High-carb, high-protein breakfast for losing weight

* New Weight Loss Diet Recommends High-carb And Protein Big Breakfast

Note the editorial emphasis on the big breakfast being "high carb" or at the very least "balanced."

That Nice Boy I Married and I were invited to a small cookout Saturday night. Had a very nice time -- good food, good company, lovely evening for sitting out. Well, it kind of sucked that while everyone else was drinking wine, I was sucking down a whole 2 liter bottle of club soda. But other than that, a really great time.

Haven't done this for a while! Time to get back to it. Yesterday I ate:

Breakfast:

Omelet, filled with mushrooms and onions sauteed in olive oil, and about an ounce of liverwurst. So yummy, I made the same thing this morning!

Lunch:

Egg salad, with celery, scallions, green pepper, light mayo, and mustard.
3 Finn Crisp crackers

Dinner:

Pan-broiled rib eye steak
Green beans almandine

Snacks:

Sugar free dark chocolate
Sugar free Reese's cup

Around Easter I wrote about an egg casserole I'd invented that allowed for infinite variation. Well, my local Kroger put eggs on sale for 99c/dozen recently, and I bought... well, a lot of eggs. A whole lot of eggs. (I have two refrigerators and two deep freezes. I can work a loss-leader sale like nobody's business.) As a result, I've been making egg casseroles, and I came up with a new version last night. Loved it! This would be great for breakfast, lunch or supper, and it could be your ace in the hole if you have vegetarians coming over.

Spinach-Mushroom Casserole

Gosh, I love cherries. Talk about Nature’s Candy –– cherries couldn’t be sweeter or more delicious. I have a vivid memory of a summer afternoon in my youth, when I ate a whole pint of cherries while walking home from the grocery store. Even my pug, Nick, loves cherries! (And really, it’s hard to think of a more charming diversion than feeding cherries to a pug.)

It's not bad enough that my loved ones keep getting sick and dying. Now I've been diagnosed with Lyme disease. Pleh.

Fortunately, I was diagnosed within a week of contracting it. I was one of the lucky ones who actually knew she'd been bitten by a tick, so when I found swollen glands in my neck and developed a sore throat and low fever, I had an idea what was going on. Headed to the local walk-in clinic (my regular doc had gone home for the day,) where the nice doctor looked under my hair, where I'd found the tick, and sure enough, there was the characteristic rash.

Had some stuff in the house to use up, so I made a really great new salad. I'm calling it

Sun-Dried Tomato and Turkey Club Salad

3 slices bacon
1/2 head cauliflower
3 scallions
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (I used oil-packed, but I bet the dry pack would work fine)
4 ounces sliced turkey breast
1/3 cup mayo, regular or light (I used light)

Lay your bacon on a microwave bacon rack or in a glass pie plate, and stick it in the microwave on high. Mine takes about 3-3 1/2 minutes to cook crisp.