Eating Out | The Sweet Life Sugar Free, LLC

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No More Buns!

Posted on July 8, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

So today I served up some leftover hamburger patties for my kiddos. As I was fixing my lunch and carrying on with my day, I suddenly realized that not one of my three children even asked for a bun! I had one ask for blueberries, one ask for milk, and the other ask for cheese, but not one asked for bread! What a glorious day!

This is what our hamburger used to look like:

Hopefully this image doesn’t send you to the nearest burger joint! Honestly, this image does nothing for me anymore. As a self-proclaimed carb-aholic, I am amazed that I no longer have cravings for the bun! The meat – yes! I could care less about the bun though. I never thought I would say this, so I post in order to bring you hope for a happy bunless forever.

I am so grateful too. A typical 100% whole wheat hamburger bun has 25-35 grams of carbs, and generally is about 75% carbs or more when calculating macros (Fat, Carbs, Protein). I’m not even going to talk about the dreaded refined white flour buns! And…30 grams of carbs is about my max intake of carbs on a typical day so that bun would be it.

I knew I had made it past the carb craving stage, but I also knew it would be a more difficult task for my children. After all, they usually eat what they are served and find themselves in places with many offerings. In the beginning of this new “Way of Eating” (WOE), I heard a lot of comments like, “How long are you going to do this diet?”, or “Why can’t we have buns?”

It is hard to explain to children how wheat, something that is grown from the earth, is harmful to them. I used to mill my own wheat and bake my own bread for goodness sakes. I get the questions! I used to think I was doing all the right things by giving my children fresh milled whole grains. Then I read Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD and Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD. Wow! What eye opening reads! Being a faithful person, I always believed that anything provided on earth and grown from the ground had to be good for us. I had no idea how much the wheat we were provided has been changed over the years by human scientists. It is actually very sad! I prefer my family eat things from nature, not the product of a scientist. So, that is why I removed wheat not only from my diet, but that of the rest of my family as well.

I was shocked today when I realized that there was not a comment, not a mention, not a whine for bread! Even the kids get over it!

At breakfast today, I served grain-free lemon blueberry muffins, and my oldest told me that he just doesn’t really care for the muffins anymore. When I asked him why he didn’t like the muffins, he told me that it wasn’t these muffins in particular, it was just muffins in general. He asked for a poached egg instead.

Wow! Breakfast breads used to be a staple, and now they are turning them away! What a corner we have turned.

So, I hope that this gives you a glimmer of hope that the whole family can live this Keto lifestyle. I emphasize lifestyle. This is not a diet for us anymore – it is a lifestyle. It is the way we shop, eat, cook, and live. We love it! It gives us more energy to get through the day and through these years of parenting. The kids notice the difference too. Everyone just feels better, which gives us the willpower to get through the choices that used to challenge us. Now it is not a obstacle for us, and surprisingly our children either. I do want to say, that I don’t offer the options at home, but if we are out, I don’t tell the kids it is off limits. I let them make the choice for themselves. I never want them to feel like the things we choose to eat are “forbidden fruit”. I try to educate them to make healthy choices so that they have a lifetime of healthy eating, not just the forbidden foods we tell them they cannot eat. Example teaches what 10,000 words cannot! Be a great example for the kids, and they will follow suit!

Here’s to healthy eating and healthy teaching! It is possible!

Posted in articles, Breakfast, Dinner, Eating Out, Health, Main Course, Research, tips, Uncategorized tagged with Bread, breakfast, Carbohydrates, Children, Choices, dinner, Eating Out, Hamburgers, kids, lunch, Macros, Wheat

It’s the Weekend! Let’s Eat Out!

Posted on May 30, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Another BIG question!

How do you eat out on Keto? Well, it’s not as hard as you would imagine…

When we first started cutting carbs, it was a bit intimidating to go out. I wanted to know the exact source of my food and exactly how it was being prepared. This is much easier to do at home, but I still wanted to socialize with my friends. I wasn’t about to give up my few evenings of “adult time” away from the kitchen because of Keto! I soon learned I didn’t have to give up restaurants and neither do you!

I had always considered myself an easy, low-maintenance restaurant patron. And, if I must be honest, I was a bit embarrassed when someone at the table was the “difficult one”. I really love all food, and am a bit of a foodie. I love trying new things and new preparations, so eating out was always an adventure. It still is an adventure, but I am a little more cautious when ordering.

I may not be quite as low-maintance, but I have found that restaurants are more than willing to answer questions about preparations, and even more willing to oblige on certain dietary restrictions. While once an insult to a chef to change his/her dish, it is now all the more common as consumers have more and more dietary restrictions, whether allergies or eating preferences. Don’t hesitate to ask!

Here are some of my general questions when asking about a dish:

Is there sugar in the sauce?

Is the dish gluten-free?

What is the side accompaniment?

Is it breaded?

May I substitute the starch for another vegetable?

May I have the protein grilled or sautéed instead of fried or breaded?

You will find that breading, sauces, and sides are the main culprits.

Here are the main things you need to do:

1. Ask for sauce on the side – every time (Unless it is a heavy cream sauce made without flour or a lemon butter sauce – if this is the case, the more the better.)

2. Ask for extra veggies with butter instead of potatoes, pasta, rice, or risotto.

3. First thing when you arrive – ask your waiter to hold the bread, but bring the butter (real butter) – you may get a funny look, but they will do it!

4. Order a bottle of wine, a martini, or vodka soda. Stay away from the sugary cocktails.

5. Order your salad without crouton or crisps and stay away from sweet dressings. Blue Cheese, Ranch, and Caesar are generally safe. It gets dicey with the vinaigrettes.

6. Read the menu carefully – learn the code words: crispy or coated usually means fried, seasoned could mean sugar so ask. Crunchy usually means it has something on top, like fried onions, tortilla chips, panko, etc. Sweet, glazed, or brushed are almost always code for the dreaded SUGAR. In short, always read the description, and if you are still unsure, ask!

7. Good things to look for are: grilled, broiled, steamed, seared, baked, and sautéed. Savory is usually good, and seasoned is often good as long as the seasoning does not contain sugar.

8. At the end of the meal, refrain from looking at the dessert menu. Too much temptation. Ask for a decaf with heavy cream if you need a little something while your friends order dessert. They won’t be used to the heavy cream order, but almost any good kitchen has cream, so ask the waiter to check the kitchen.

I promise it is really easy after you get used to ordering Keto. Restaurants are starting to have more gluten free dishes (I just ate at one that had a gluten-free menu – remember though that gluten-free doesn’t mean carb-free), and many are used to patrons ordering low-carb. Most of all, don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is not about weight at this point, it is about your health!

Good places to start are:

Bar-B-Que Restaurants (Have all the meat you want, but watch the sauce and sides)

Steak Restaurants (Steak is great – order with Béarnaise and side salad and veggies – skip the potatoes)

Seafood Restaurants (Shrimp and Fish are great – Add lemon butter and it’s even better)

Here are a few pictures of meals we have ordered out to give you some ideas:

Both dishes below were from Houston Street Bistro. They were wonderful about substituting the pasta that was supposed to be served with each dish with vegetables instead. The shrimp is in a lemon butter sauce with broccoli and carrots. The chicken and mushroom dish is in a flourless cream sauce served with a side of spinach instead of over pasta.