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

(Edith) #61

I would love that!

#62

Growing up, any kind of diet was difficult. Mom’s family…entirely British. Read: Scones, Cakes, Puddings.
Dad’s family…German and French. Potato Bread, pastries galore, confections, Spaetzle, noodles, yeah…that list is a mile long.
Dad believed that “Bread is the staff of life”. He took that line literally, rather than in the biblical context. Gran did too. I learned to make that potato bread before I was 12. It was that one food that I swear got me hooked on bread and carbs. Delicious stuff, for sure.
So, yeah…growing up, I did feel the pressure of eating these foods when at family gatherings. However, both my parents and my only sibling have all passed away. My brother was morbidly obese, and could not break up with alcohol and carbs. He was 52. This was my wake-up call. While I had been on Atkins and done well with it, I fell off the wagon. After he died this past August, leaving behind his wife and young children- and his “little sissy” - I determined that I was not going down that road. So, I cleaned up my eating.
My response to the “When in Rome” pressure tactics? The Roman empire declined, folks. They got fat from eating too many carbs, and died. So there. Revisionist history at its finest. :grin:

Since Keto, I have discovered this amazing stuff called Fathead Dough. Base is shredded mozzarella cheese and bit of cream cheese. Adding in egg, coconut or fine almond flour, salt, herbs or sweetener…you have the base for things like regular tasting bread, garlic breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, etc. It can be made into a loaf, or single rolls/buns. Sliced, toasted, buttered, made into sandwiches…I do not - in the slightest- feel bread-deprived.

I may look into the pasta replacement, but for now, I am very happy with the bread options I’ve found- since that is my Kryptonite.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #63

Khara don’t let this happen to you. I would suggest sending the carbs leftovers home with the relatives just keeping enough to satisfy the husband and kids if need be. Make your keto desert and side dishes ahead of time so they just need a quick reheat. A green bean casserole or a good cheesy cauliflower dish would reheat well in the microwave or 12 minutes in the oven if you pull them from the refrigerator early to warm up to room temperature. Make a keto cheese cake or berry cobbler. Don’t try to convince carb eaters to eat your way and don’t talk about your food being keto, they will enjoy it without knowing. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #64

You’re still new to keto and my money is on you experiencing this less as time passes eating a Ketogenic Diet. In fact you may find the sugary treats unpalatable except for a few bites later on. You will also be able to have occasional holidays with a carb heavy day with way less of a reaction than you get early on from many people’s experience. I know that I can do a carb heavy meal occasionally without kicking me out of ketosis very long and no lasting weight change, (maybe the next day or two up a pound or two which goes away quickly eating keto again).

I agree with @atomicspacebunny that there’s not a solid reason for not enjoying family gathering meals with your traditional food for a day. Our bodies are resilient and will bounce back from a single indulgence rapidly after being keto for a while and fat adapted. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Khara) #65

Thanks. I will try again this year. I know now that things can come up that I didn’t expect and I need to have a plan and backup plans. And maybe being back here will help. At the time last year I had taken a break from this forum. Took a break from keto which resulted in a break from this forum and then when I went back to keto I didn’t come here right away, was just doing it on my own. After failing during the holidays I was desperate enough to come back here as I got back on track in the new year.
And, last year was just tough circumstances. We had planned a short visit initially but it got extended really to try and give support to my family. My elderly mother-in-law was the one visiting, along with the brother-in-law who drove her her. She’d just lost her daughter two months earlier (my significant others sister). First holiday for everyone after her passing. So, my eating seemed trivial.
I know though that if I can keep up with a healthy way of eating, it’ll only help support me through difficult times. I had been trying to get back to keto since July and one thing after another kept throwing me off of every little bit of progress I made. So I was just struggling to find and maintain my footing. This year, so far, I’m doing better and hope to be firmly grounded by the holidays. :slightly_smiling_face:

(Gordon) #66

My wife makes this, but replaces the cream cheese with Boursin, uses half the cream and extra butter. I’ve forgotten about macNcheese since.

(Karim Wassef) #67

Mediterranean and middle eastern food is a blend of good and bad…

Egypt was the breadbasket of the world for a reason and the implicit belief that everything should have or include bread is very difficult to dislodge. In many countries, it’s even subsidized by the government along with seed oil and sugar as basic human necessities (socialism).

Then rice became the next ubiquitous starch… now it’s another staple… followed by pasta from the east and modified by Mediterranean cultures.

Following in the heals of this starch epidemic is the belief that fruits are good for you… and then the next most ubiquitous food - beans and legumes… they’re usually made with seed oils too just to get the most impact…

This is really a matter of poverty driving necessity. Starch & beans are cheap… and many poor countries haven’t developed the infrastructure for proper ruminant cultivation… they’re considered delicacies. But they’re available… if you’ve never had the meat and tahini used to make shawarma… there’s a keto meat lover’s experience (https://www.plated.com/morsel/gyro-vs-shawarma-whats-difference/).

The flip side to this is that the non-starchy non-bean really veggie foods are actually good for you and delicious… there’s a lot of onion, garlic, and lime with spices … without the starches, they’re actually a good micronutrient source.

Also, in coastal areas where fish and seafood are available, there’s a vibrant cultural diet with tahini and mayo as sides… but with the ever abundant rice, bread or pasta polluting the plates.

So - yes… but I have no problem picking the good and tossing the bad or leaving it to those who choose to continue in their addiction.

I really can’t stand the “fruit is healthy” mantra. It’s a near-religious belief there.

(Nasir) #68

I live in UK and visited US a few times. I had gyro in Seattle and it felt like some sort of flour (wheat/gram) was a key ingredient in it. Didn’t like it at all. In UK, we have doner which resembles US gyros to some extent but chicken and lamb shawarma are just marinated meats.

(Nasir) #69

In my culture, bread (roti/naan rather than baked bread) is the main ingredient of food. Poor people can eat roti with just a bit of pickle or onions or a chutni. Desserts with almost half their weight in sugar are common as well. It is a real struggle to eat keto

Chapli-kebab-Famous-Pakistani-Food.jpg2048×1536 436 KB

#70

Thankfully Sahil Makhija in Bombay has produced tons of youtube cooking videos involving keto indian dishes, and his website has them all too (I use the search bar under his bio in the right column to find whatever indian or non-indian dishes I’m looking for).

And these videos too:

A no-guilt biryani for starters -

Desserts too! Not that I ever make any (I buy Emmy’s Organics golden milk ginger turmeric coconut macaroons/cookies as my fancy dessert, and also Ritter’s bittersweet chocolate…)

I also love the Keto For India site of certified nutrition coach Priya Aurora - tons of ketofied south asian foods, including this:

(Karim Wassef) #71

I like his videos too!

(traci simpson) #72

Wow. That would be tough trying to not eat that good looking food!

(Nasir) #73

Thanks @SlowBurnMary. Have been trying these recipes but a saying comes to mind “better be quiet than sing badly” :smile:

(Nasir) #74

@Diygurl19 It is really tough but managing it so far with some relapses. Eating that stuff once/twice a month is still relatively better than eating it multiple times a day.

(traci simpson) #75

I’ll email you.

(traci simpson) #76

Once/Twice a year!

(Mame) #77

keto dosas?! I will be checking that out for sure. wow

I find I can eat Himalayan food for one meal with onion/chickpea fritters without getting kicked out of keto. I avoid the rice though as it doesn’t agree with me. (which makes me so sad)

(Nasir) #78

That’s the goal, will get there someday.

(traci simpson) #79

Not anymore! they just watch me eat lots of fat and meat and I just smile!

(traci simpson) #80

I do not particularly like this bread. If you don’t toast it, it’s pretty gross IMO!

LOL