Some K/E questions...

[Distant Thighs]

I'm planning on starting K/E this weekend and have a few Q's:

What can I use to flavor my meat? Is salt a no-no?

Can I use salad dressings? As long as they are 0 carb?

What about pre-seasoned meat and fish? Again, am I looking for 0 carbs? I have some INCREDIBLE pre-seasoned fish from Trader Joes and it's 0 carbs, I also love their chicken skewers and a few other things.

Lunchmeat? yay or nay?

Thanks so much!!!

[Ladidah]

This brings up a question I've had...you ask about salad dressing, but from what I can gather in the K/E quick reference thread, no veggies (only lean protein) is allowed on K/E. I am really confused about that - it says only lean protein, but in another thread I read how on K/E you were supposed to concentrate on "jello cup sized portions of vegetables".

So, K/E, veggies allowed or no?

A tip I have about pre-seasoned stuff- don't just look at the nutrition label carb counts, READ the ingredients and look for anything sugar-ish that is not allowed...sometimes makers 'fudge" a bit and even though it says 0 carbs, there may be sugar lurking...

[Distant Thighs]

I was actually thinking of salad dressings on my meat!

Also, what about turkey bacon??

[Lioness0455]

On K/E turkey bacon YES
veggies NO

Just lean meats and eggs. Nothing else.

[Distant Thighs]

Whew on the turkey bacon! Another Trader Joe's fave - I can completely do this and am excited.

Thanks everyone!

[firegirl789]

What brand of turkey bacon to you use? I tried it once and it smelled and tasted like moist dog treats!

Not pleasant, and it took forever to get the smell out of the house. But I have heard a couple other people talk about turkey bacon that tastes like real bacon. I would love to know what is the brand that passes?

[Distant Thighs]

Trader Joes has the BEST turkey bacon - it doesn't have the wierd texture/taste that other brands I've tried have!

[Bunnymuffin]

You can use spices and liberally! I've taco seasoned my chicken and tandoori'd my fish. Mrs. Dash is my best friend now. I've never really salted my food, Mrs. Dash works for me. But herbs and spices are your friends.

Angelia

[firegirl789]

Yes, spices, yes! Mrs. Dash is amazing. I also love all of the Grill Mates and the little cheapo "chicken seasoning" one I got from Save-A-Lot one day. It has no salt in it, and tastes great on everything!

Due to my love of cooking, the family-in-law got me a neato spice rack last Christmas. A turntable full of various spices.. Yeah, I liked that one alot.

[gweny70]

I was looking for a recommendation on a good turkey bacon also. Last one I tried...ugh. And we don't have a Trader Joe's around here...Any other suggestions anyone??

[Dolly72]

What kind of condiments does everyone use to dress up your meat or eggs? I know we can have herbs and spices...little mustard....but what else has everyone been using? Anything to make some meats more moist?

[Bunnymuffin]

Originally Posted by firegirl789

Due to my love of cooking, the family-in-law got me a neato spice rack last Christmas. A turntable full of various spices.. Yeah, I liked that one alot.

That's a family in law to keep!! My spice rack is one of those over the door racks for your pantry. The best prices on spices are at Indian/Asian stores, you get so much for less than the supermarkets. In fact that was what set off my Indian craving tonight, walking into a new Indian market to check it out. I over came and came out with a new family favorite.

Angelia

[firegirl789]

Dolly - I will sometimes put soy sauce on my meat. I hate to do so because of the salt though. I have read about low carb BBQ sauce and you might want to check the recipe forum, they have a lot of great ideas!

Angelia - Yeah, the in-laws are pretty good. I have yet to spot an Asian or Indian market here. I live in South Carolina though. We had them all over in Florida. I will ask around. Perhaps there is some across the border in Georgia. I would love to get some pickled ginger. Whew, that is the most oddly addicting flavor ever!

[legomama]

I use jenny o turkey bacon and turkey hamburger and chicken breast. I tried the turkey ham yester day really good.

[camkrst]

Hi Jen, I'm brand new to K/E too (yesterday was day 1!), but one thing I'd caution about on pre-seasoned meat and lunchmeat (any kind of processed food really) is to watch the amount of sodium they contain! I stocked up on a bunch of that stuff, only to be completely dismayed yesterday by how much sodium is in everything! Yikes! That'll make you hold on to water weight, which you really don't want to do. I think the recommended daily allowance of sodium is somewhere around 1500 mg, but I've noticed that I stall if I go above 900 or so.

[firegirl789]

You are so right about the sodium. That is why I make it a point to enter any and all info I have into Fitday personally, rather than trust their numbers. That way I KNOW what I am getting.

[kimkimy]

Hi! I just wanted to point out that you're looking for low carbs, low calories and low fat. So, especially with the salad dressings, try to look at the whole picture. Also, to clear up the K/E, Kimkins question. K/E Experiment is 3 to 5 days to get into ketosis. It is lean protein and eggs only, along with 0 cal drinks. You can also opt to do it longer. Kimkins is Lean protein, with up to three cups salad, or two cups salad and half cup other veggie (like zucchini and the like). Only as much fat as you need (don't overdo!), no "frankenfoods" - ie protein bars, low carb ice cream, etc.

Check out the Ask Kimmer thread. You won't be able to read it in one sitting, but if you read it a lot you come away with a really good understanding of how the program works, how to overcome obstacles, what some common problems have been for other people, etc.

Sounds like you're off to a really good start! Good Luck!

Kim

[SplashAtl]

Hello. I am a new member of Low Carb Friends. I started K/E yesterday. I was sad this morning when I weighed myself I was up 1.2 lbs from yesterday morning. Is this normal? Below is what I ate yesterday. I know its boring but I have to keep it simple. What am I doing wrong ??? I was doing Atkins prior to yesterday and was losing.

Calories - 828
Fat - 34
Carb - 4 (from 4 eggs so don't count)
Protein - 111

B: 4 Scrambled Eggs cooked in 10 sprays of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray, a few dashes of black pepper, 4 strips of Butterball Turkey Bacon.

L: 2 Cans of Chicken of the Sea Tuna in Water (4 oz drained), 4 Tsps of Yellow Mustard.

D: Chicken Breasts (8 ozs) w/Creole Seasoning, 4 Tsps of Yellow Mustard.

Snack: 4 slices of Butterball Turkey Bacon

Drinks: 64 Ozs of Water plus an add'l 40 ozs of water mixed with Crystal Light Raspberry Ice.

Any feedback, advice, suggestions,etc... would be helpful. Thanks!!

[sails92]

Hi SplashAtl,

Your menu pretty much sounds like mind accept that I do egg beaters (southwestern is my favorite) and also I had to stop the Butterball Turkey Bacon because of the sodium. Very, Very, Very, Very high and so I substituted it with Turkey Pepperoni (7 or 8), grilled chicken and turkey burger, salmon, tuna. These are basically all the meats that I eat. I have stayed away from pork, beef etc for the last couple of years. I am a soy product girl. I consider myself a partial veggie - LOL

[SplashAtl]

Originally Posted by sails92

Hi SplashAtl,

Your menu pretty much sounds like mind accept that I do egg beaters (southwestern is my favorite) and also I had to stop the Butterball Turkey Bacon because of the sodium. Very, Very, Very, Very high and so I substituted it with Turkey Pepperoni (7 or 8), grilled chicken and turkey burger, salmon, tuna. These are basically all the meats that I eat. I have stayed away from pork, beef etc for the last couple of years. I am a soy product girl. I consider myself a partial veggie - LOL

Thank you!