Does your culture make it difficult to give up your favorite foods?

(traci simpson) #1

Being African American/Black/Person of Color/Brown people - whatever you choose to call it, during the holidays it was and still is a struggle for to give up on the typical “ethnic” foods. For instance how do I “KETO” Mac n Cheese, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, candied yams, corn pudding or sweet potato pie?

My family would never substitute any of these foods. I tried many times to make KETO/low carb dessert and have not been banded from making ever again!!!

Perhaps this could be the reason why there aren’t many of us doing KETO. Maybe they don’t want to give up that deep rooted connection and think everything in MODERATION (which I laugh at when people say this) ? or maybe that doing KETO the food will be bland and gross? which we know isn’t the case. Well, I choose health, which means that I have to bring my own food to holiday dinners because I want to be around to enjoy life!

KETO versions

Mac n Cheese
Mashed potatoes both made with cauliflower

How have you turned your traditional foods that are near and dear to you, into foods that fit into a keto lifestyle ?

(Karen) #2

You can make some foods that are somewhat similar. @carl has created a noodle that is pretty Pasta-like so perhaps in your future there could be macaroni and cheese that is more like the real thing instead of like cauliflower au gratin. I don’t really have a sweet tooth so I completely given up desserts. No one will fault you for not eating desserts.

(traci simpson) #3

Oh Mom would be salty if I didn’t eat her cakes!! lol

(Carl Keller) #4

I never thought rice and potatoes would not be a part of my life. I used to eat those religiously but six months later, I have simply lost my taste for those things. There are so many other good keto foods that can entertain my hunger and taste buds now. I just stick to those.

(traci simpson) #5

I don’t miss rice really. Pasta I miss every now and again but I really like shirataki noodles and spaghetti squash. I do miss French fries!!!

(Carl Keller) #6

I challenge you to eat a nasty french fry to dispel this notion. This is how I got over the idea that I missed potatoes. I ate a cold spoonful and instantly thought “Wow, this tastes terrible. Maybe I don’t like them anymore?”. Put a french fry in your fridge and leave it for a day. Eat it cold and teach your brain that it’s not how you used to remember it. :slight_smile:

(Omar) #7

My mom cries because I do not eat bread.

She tells all my brothers and her neighbors that Omar does not eat bread and fruits.

(John) #8

I have not really significantly missed potatoes, pasta, or rice, even though I did enjoy eating them all at one time.

What I miss is the convenience of bread - specifically, as a holder of condiments and other foods to make up a sandwich.

I realize there are probably keto-friendly replacements one can prepare or bake, but sometimes you just want a quick meal that is portable and edible in the hand, that all of the components come from the grocery ready to eat.

Ham, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard and/or mayo (so far so good, keto-wise), between two slices of whole wheat bread (the problem) sure makes a convenient lunch or quick dinner. Take away the bread, you have an edible pile of ingredients that requires a knife and fork.

Or a grilled cheese sandwich - cheese, mayo, butter - all good. Bread bad.

(Carl Keller) #9

I can relate.

Someone brought me a Jimmy John’s sub a month back and I couldn’t say no. But I did extricate the guts and wrapped it all in lettuce, threw away the bread and enjoyed it quite a bit. As long as the meat, cheese and condiments are quality, how it’s delivered to my stomach doesn’t seem as important as it once used to.

(traci simpson) #10

lol. aaah!

(John) #11

Jimmy John’s does offer their sandwiches in a lettuce wrap, which they call an “Unwich” - I get them occasionally, but that is only of value if you happen to be near a Jimmy John’s when you want to eat. I was thinking more along the lines of home-prepared food.

(traci simpson) #12

I made a “mock” grilled cheese sandwich where you use cauliflower as the bread and it was pretty darn impressive.

(Jody) #13

Food is just so critical in people socializing, showing their love, communicating…

I don’t have cultural roadblocks, but I do socially. I take a woman’s trip each year (20+ years now), we stay in a big house in the woods and craft for a few days (quilting, knitting, scrap, whatever…) so each of us prepares one meal. Of course each woman brings her ‘best’ dish essentially and it’s always FULL of sugar. Not to mention the mountain of sh*t on the ‘snack’ table. This trip ends up being all about the food! I have been excluding myself from the shared cooking for over a decade, long before I started going low carb and fasting, just because my stomach would pay hell for days after this trip. The ladies are nice, but I do feel a little left out and I still have to bring/prepare all my own food instead of relaxing.

By the time I take this trip, I may be 3 sizes down, so we’ll see the reaction of the ladies this year.

(Liz Ellen) #14

I definitely think culture makes this WOE difficult. So many of my family traditions are tied to food: rolls, fried chicken, pies, cakes, homemade candy.

I have two girls, 5 and 10, and my husband and I have been ketonians since the beginning of the year. The girls eat what we eat, but we fix them a carb side if they want it like a piece of toast or a Eggo with a keto breakfast. Often, they just eat what we eat. Last night it was grilled porkchops, grilled asparagus wrapped in bacon and sauteed mushrooms. They really seemed to enjoy it! Maybe they will have new traditions around different kinds of foods?

(adrianaros) #15

Three words: I AM ITALIAN
so yeah, pizza, pasta, risotto…
Following The keto diet ain’t Easy here, no one understands why I Fry things in lard but can’t eat fruit or bread. :slight_smile:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #16

I love the idea of keto becoming family tradition! Brilliant thing to pass to your children. :cowboy_hat_face:

(John) #17

Many long-standing cultural norms for food are based on scarcity being common, and plenty being a sign of wealth, status, and safety. Some arise from long agricultural customs of feasting on particular types of foods when they were in season, or eating foods before they would spoil, and preparing and preserving foods in particular ways so they would last beyond the harvest season.

It is only in the last 100 years or so that refrigeration became common, and where more and more of us have desk jobs, and where families have both adults in the work force instead of one managing the household (and cooking healthy meals from fresh foods).

Modern American culture, at least, is based on everyone working, and long hours, and the job coming first (or so it seems in the eyes of most corporate employers), and time for shopping, cooking, and eating is pushed out of the priority list. So we grab whatever is fast, pre-packaged, or convenient.

And the sellers of that food want to make money, so they need to outcompete others, and are happy to add whatever sources of palatability they can to make theirs taste the best, and that you want to eat more of (“betcha can’t eat just one”).

So we end up with the so-called obesity epidemic. That is the modern “culture” that surrounds many of us. And that is not even counting the family and other social pressures to conform to the norms.

It’s certainly one of the big challenges with adopting any eating style that is focused on eating non-processed real foods in reasonable quantities prepared in a healthy way. The modern world doesn’t make it easy.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #18

Fortunately I grew up as a Southern California mutt without any real food traditions. I used to kind of be jealous of people who had these kind of roots in their family but now that I’m reading this I think that it has made this transition in my life easier than it is for some.

I live 800 miles from my immediate family so holiday gatherings aren’t something I get to very much. But when I do, I have never been pressured to eat anything. It’s never been that way in my family.

I feel sorry for all of you that get criticized by family for not eating certain foods. Eating is a personal thing and family should love and care enough about what you’re doing to get healthy to not try to derail your efforts. Because family is about love, not food.

What we grow up eating is our “culture” even if it’s not a specific ethnicity. There are still bonds to break out of when you go ketogenic, because our whole society isn’t really keto friendly. We are cutting edge people. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Jody) #19

I saw a video for that, it looked AMAZING. I need to try it.

(traci simpson) #20

It’s wonderful!