Monday, January 17, 2011

I haven't posted. Random ramblings

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I know if I want to keep this blog alive I have to think of continual things to post. But really, my life isn't so eventful that I have continual things to blog about just on the subject of low-carb or nutrition in general.

I've gotten Gary Taubes book Good Calories Bad Calories, and I'm slowly trudging through due to the, in a sense, "calorie dense" pages. It's not a book you can skim, and I'm the queen of skimming, and since it's time for mid-terms with my school the book is in the same place as other magazines in the bathroom, to get 3 or 4 pages read with every passing..... *cough*..... "rest."

So far, I'm hoping the two beginning chapters are the ones based more on science than the rest due to their titles. I appreciate Taubes' thorough analysis of the science in his writing, but the lazy teenager who skim textbooks in me sometimes goes "this could be so much shorter." But really I have to focus that the book tries to carry a really heavy load in terms of trying to change a perspective on weight loss strategies, and that it has to put up the greatest offense and defense to try and trudge through any and all misconceptions that say, all my town's East Indian doctors, might believe. I'll definitely be suggesting the new condensed "Why We Get Fat" for friends, though.

What else.... Since January 12th and 2nd are both family birthdays, I felt no shame in having birthday cake. But now that the birthday influx is over, I'm getting back on track. I am now on "grocery store flyer watch" to watch for sales on foods to combat the idea in my house that a healthy diet is expensive. Smith's just had "7 DAYS OF INCREDIBLE MEAT SAVINGS," for example.

Hm.... Drew Carey lost 80 lbs by cutting out starches, have you heard? I didn't even hear about this until I saw an old low-carb video blog about it. I know on PETA sites they have lists of celebrity vegetarians and vegans, they should comprise a list of low-carb celebrities somewhere as well.

I've found out my interview with Jimmy Moore is going to be posted on Feb 24th. I am so nervous, really. I hate listening to myself talk in general, and I'm trying to sound intelligent on the same blog as doctors and authors. Watch Birke Baehr, who's reportedly around 11 years old, sound 10 times more versed in nutrition than me. Just watch. *Ignores font change*

Actually there's nothing really else of value to report on. I just wanted to post something so the blog doesn't die.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Low-carb food review: Dreamfields pasta: Spaghetti and Penne

Coming from an Italian family, and with a mom whose homemade speciality is spaghetti sauce, you can imagine how hard that would be to deal with on a low-carb lifestyle. I'm not exactly sure how, but between amazon reviews and Jimmy Moore's interview with the founder, Dreamfields looked like a really promising product. It's not very available in my area, but the fact it's even available at all shows it's pretty widespread. While not available at my #1 grocery store, Walmart, (Don't judge, my parents choose where to grocery shop, not me.) it managed to take up 2 tiny spaces in the pasta aisle at my Albertson's, so I had to grab it up.

The only two available cuts were the spaghetti, and the penne. The penne is actually cut pretty thick, but otherwise they just seem like regular noodles. If anything I would advise during the first few times you cook up some Dreamfields, to test with your own palate how long to cook each cut. The times on the box don't do it for me. According to me preference for al dente, it tells me to overcook my spaghetti and slightly under cook my penne. So I'd advise doing your own taste test to find the right cooking time for you.

Most people can very much tolerate Dreamfields, but if you are diabetic, tread with caution. There are a few select people who can't tolerate Dreamfields because of a glucose spike, but they are few and far between.

Taste: Wow. By some kind of scientific, patent-pending miracle, me and my parents all liked the flavor and texture of this pasta. It does, in fact, taste "real." My Dad, usually hating any kind of alternative healthy food, asked me, intrigued, "What is this made out of?"

Because of the high fiber and protein content of the pasta, it's very satiating. Coming from someone who used to eat spaghetti portions half the size of basketballs, that means something. Of course the normal serving size, 2 oz or 6.5 per box, is BS to me, a 13.25 oz box of pasta managed to feed 3 hungry people, and we all had to stuff it in and have fullness-groans afterward.

Price: Averages at my Albertson's at $3 per 13.25 oz box.

Ingredients: The flavor and texture mimic that of normal pasta. Which isn't surprising due to the fact Dreamfields is made with semolina wheat, just like normal pasta. But according to the box, "Dreamfields' patent pending formula and unique manufacturing process creates a matrix within the pasta, protecting 31 grams of carbohydrates from being digested." The ingredients are mostly semolina wheat and added fibers and proteins, none of them from soy. Hooray!

Recommend?: Yes, yes, yes. Dreamfields is the saving grace of the Italian low-carber, or even anyone who loves white pasta but considers it unhealthy and easy to binge on.