Cravings attack - I need to rethink my blog title. Maybe... Life With A Bite (of Pie)

Life without pie sucks...rationality is settling in like the morning fog. I now realize I may not be able to sever all ties with pie. It has been over a week of the new low-carb diet and the sugar cravings are slowly creeping in like an impending flood. At a birthday party on Saturday, I was able to gracefully hold back as I watched Zach devour a slice of gooey frosting laden cake. However, today I found myself about to rip lollipops out of the hands of babes. All those seemingly cute kiddos at the pediatrician's office were taunting me with their sweet, fruity smelling suckers. Even Zach felt my pain as he asked the nurse, "One for Mommy, too?"

So the question on my mind today is "What is better a strict, zero-tolerance diet plan or a diet that allows us the err's of being human?"

The dietitian in me says "Moderation, everything is good for you in moderation." But, my nature says that if I allow myself a lollipop today, then tomorrow it will be a bag of skittles and then an ice cream cone, and then I may just eat a whole pie! (You know the old saying... give Bev and inch and she'll take a pie.)

I find this theory to be true with exercise as well. The mind can easily talk the body into lax compliance. The brain says "Let's just take this one day off, your tired, you worked hard, you deserve a break." And viola - you are only working out "when you feel like it". And who really ever "feels" like working out - not me.

But, on the other hand, is life without pie really worth living? The most common reaction line I would get from my diet counseling days was "If I have to give up ____ you might as well just shoot me now." (Insert your favorite: pie, cookies, candy, bacon, butter, BEER, etc.) So if I can find a way to squeeze a beer into my low-carb diet, maybe there is a way to squeeze in a sweet now and then.

Let's take a look at the nutrition data (based on small portions):

Slice of Strawberry Pie (my personal favorite): 32 g carb

Slice of Cheesecake: 32 g carb

Jelly Belly's (about 30): 31 g carb

One Scoop Vanilla Ice Cream: 32 g carb

Okay, I'm noticing a trend here... my favorite desserts all have about 30 grams of sugar - same as a small (8 ounce) glass of orange juice. Wow, I thought I'd really be breaking the bank with a slice of pie here and there, but actually it's not that bad. In fact, I could make a slice of pie a reality once in a while, especially if I trade it for a beer or two. YUM!

Low-Carb Snacking On the Go

On Thursdays I do a marathon shopping trip. I hit about 14 stores within 5-6 hours time. It's a grind and yes... it IS work (I'm not a shopaholic). Anyhow, I typically skip lunch due to time constraints (not recommended.) So at about 1 PM, I am ready to raid any vending machine I can find. Of course vending machines prey on us hungry, low-blood sugar types with their plethora of sugary options. Potato chips, cookies, candy bars, licorice (my weakness)and sodas seem to be the only offerings I can find.

What's a girl to do? I buy the only low-carb option in the machine - a not so healthy Slim-Jim type sausage snack. Next time, I'll be better prepared. So what are some good options for On the Go Low Carb Snacks? Here's my list:

1. CHEESE - 0 g Carbs.
String Cheese is an easy one and usually easy to find and most convenience stores. Or just grab some slices from home to go.

2. NUTS - 6-10 g Carbs.
Nuts don't require refrigeration so they are a logical choice for backpackers and shopping marathoners like myself. Just watch the intake amount. Nuts also pack a punch in the calorie department.

3. VEGGIE CHIPS (Dehydrated) 18 g Carbs
Maybe you've seen these at healthfood stores? They are sold in the bulk section at Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc. They rank a bit higher in the carb department so don't eat more than a 1/2 cup or so.

4. PORK RINDS - 0 g Carbs
Not exactly my favorite snack but loads of people like them. They are fairly low calorie and packable.

5. BEEF JERKY - 2 g Carbs
Expensive but tasty. You can make your own if you own a dehydrator but I like the store bought kind better.

6. TUNA SALAD ON CUCUMBER SLICES - 2 g Carbs
Make your own or buy the little cans of pre-made tuna salad. Cucumbers travel well and don't need refrigeration if you plan to eat them within 4 hours or so. If you make your own tuna salad - it must be refrigerated.

7. EDAMAME - 15 g Carbs
I can remember eating fresh soybeans right out of the fields behind our house as a kid - and now, they are a trendy treat. Buy the frozen kind and let them thaw while you are on the go. Don't forget a bit of salt (if you like them that way.)

8. RAW VEGGIES AND DIP - 5-10 g Carbs
This is an easy treat to find at most grocery or convenience stores, but you will overpay. Make them at home and just pick up a little packet of dressing for dip while you are on the road.

9. HARD BOILED EGG - 0 g Carbs
An old-fashioned, inexpensive and easily portable snack. Peel at home as it can get messy on the road. An added plus - eggs are so cheap - this is a 15 cent snack at the most. Again bring some salt and pepper packets for optimal enjoyment. Or try egg salad on cucumbers instead of the tuna salad.

10. PLAIN FULL FAT GREEK YOGURT OR FULL FAT COTTAGE CHEESE - 4 g Carbs
Okay, I lumped these two together as I wanted a top ten list. These are both easily portable snacks (must be refrigerated or on ice) and they are easy to find at most grocery stores for a grab and go snack. Always buy the full fat versions as the others typically have thickeners (carbs) added to enhance the texture and taste. Avoid the flavored yogurts as this adds 20+ grams of sugar to your snack.

Sugar, sugar --- everywhere sugar!!

As a dietitian, I've actually never been one to pay much attention to food labels. Sounds crazy, but basically I already know what's in most foods. It's kind of a fun game in our house... Marc will ask me - how many calories, or how much protein is in an egg or slice of cheese and I can rattle it off like clockwork. However this new "low-carb" diet that we are now following has renewed my interest in reading labels, mainly carb content. And wouldn't you know it, I was wrong! I thought for sure my "natural chicken sausage" would be pristine and have 0 carbs. But I guess I'm out of the loop lately as wouldn't you know it, corn syrup was the 3rd ingredient in my sausage. Since when are they adding sugar to sausage? I need to investigate...

What I found is an absolute gluttony of sugar in our foods today. Every processed food item out there is laden with sugar. And I find it quite ingenious how manufacturers avoid listing sugar as the FIRST ingredient on their food labels. Here's the secret: if they add a variety of sugars, namely corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, brown sugar, molasses, honey, cane syrup etc, they can break up the types of sugar ingredients to avoid having just one as the main ingredient. Try it out - look at your favorite cereal, bread, or the image below. You may notice "whole grain blah-blah-blah" as the first ingredient and then eight types of sugar to follow. If they just used one type of sugar - well it would be the first thing listed.

Even the popular food chain restaurants like Applebee's, Chili's, Red Lobster etc. are finding that people's tastes are prone to sugar. Therefore they are adding more and more sugar to their sauces, entrees, and sides. You can't even avoid it going out for what you think is a "chef-prepared" meal. Sugar tastes good and it sells.

The original eye-opener for me in the 'sugar crisis' was actually very early in my dietetics career. Back in 1996, I started out as a kitchen manager/dietitian for the Kenosha County School District in Wisconsin. I was hired to re-vamp the school breakfast and lunch menus to comply with new government standards and oversee meal production. The federal government officials, with all their wisdom, had imposed a new regulation on school lunches - 30% or less calories from fat. Sounds great in theory - nobody wants our kids consuming so much fat.

Well, in practice, it's not so straight forward. In manipulating the menus, I quickly discovered that the only way to adjust meals to meet the new standards was to add canned fruits in heavy syrup and/or sugary jello to every meal. The only way to follow guidelines and stick within our food budget was to add more sugar to the menu. The carbs offset the fat calories and low and behold we had menus that fit the new guidelines! Does that sound like a healthy fix? Absolutely not, I was totally disheartened by this. As a fresh out of college, bound to save the world, dietitian, this was the first of many " sigh" moments for me.