The Low Carb Newsletter - August

Welcome to our monthly Low Carb Newsletter!

Our goal each month is to find the latest and greatest Low Carb products, places to eat, information, and inspiration for you.

This month we are introducing Jess, who will be the Low Carb Expert featuring in our newsletters. We are super excited to have her on board. Find out more about her below 👇🏼

Everything we talk about in the newsletter we have personally tried, tested and love.

Jo & I have both been passionate about Low Carb Living for the past 10 years, after it dramatically changed our lives, in different ways, from increased energy & clearer minds to weight loss & maintenance.

We understand that Low Carb means something different to everyone.

Some people may be trying to achieve less than 20g carbs per day, and be more focused on Keto, and some others may simply be trying to reduce the amount of sugar and carbs in their diet. We have a zero judgement policy, meaning that we respect that everyone is different, has a different lifestyle and different goals. If you are striving to reduce the carbs in your diet, by however much, we are here to help & support you :)

I hope our Low Carb Living Newsletter really helps to fast track your results, helping you to achieve your health goals, and feel your best, whilst enjoying the journey!

This month's features

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The Top 5 Fruit and Vegetables in season in August.

Each month we will feature what low carb fruit and vegetables are in season.

For the full list, visit: https://lovepbco.com/which-low-carb-fruits-vegetables-are-in-season-in-august/

References:

• https://www.taste.com.au/
• https://www.sydneymarkets.com.au
• https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

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Supermarket Product of the Month

OB Finest - 3 Seed Crisps

You all know how much we love Friday cheese and crackers...ok, any time cheese and crackers! 😂

New supermarket seed crackers 👍
Obviously, homemade will always be the best and cheapest HOWEVER I'm sure we've all had those Friday arvo cheese, cracker and wine cravings with no time to DIY crackers!

I found these at @colessupermarkets for $5 which for a 110g pack is pretty good value. Carman seed crackers (which I love) are $3.80 for an 85g pack.

Ingredients are pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, psyllium husk, salt & starch.

With just 1.2g carbs per 100g, there can't be that much starch!

If you DO want to make your own, we have 2 GREAT recipes online that are super easy to make.

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Low Carb Living Tip

Reading labels when living low carb.

This is the EASIEST way to check the carb content of foods.

Most veggies (except the starchy ones) and Protein (fish, meat, eggs and tofu) are all Low Carb and will make up most of our Low Carb meals.
However, if we find that we need or choose to use packaged products, how do we know which are the best ones?
There are so many misleading messages around sugar and carbs, it's easy to get confused!!

The best way to tell if something is truly Low Carb is:

🔹Aim for 5g or less per 100g.

🔹Look at the Total Carbs per 100g column of nutrition tables.

🔹The maximum should be under 10g per 100g.

To find our list of Low Carb Supermarket Comparisons, click here

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Eating Out… McDonald's!

Ok, so you probably never thought you’d see McDonald's feature in a Low Carb Newsletter...but the reality for some of us, is that we may find ourselves at McDonald's one day - your kids may love it, you swing by on a road trip, it’s the only place around open with food or you may just like it (and that’s cool too) Whilst it’s not fine dining or anything super fancy, there are still some options that use low carbers can have if we want to stay within our eating plan.

🔸 Brekkie 🥓 🍳 ☕️

Avoid ❌ Hot cakes, Hash Browns, Orange juice, Cafe menu and cakes and the English Muffins.

Enjoy ✅ Any Brekkie Burger or McMuffin “Naked” - sans bun and feel free to add extra tomato or lettuce, they will happily accommodate. Coffee/ tea with sweetener or milk (keep it small if you are having latte/ flat white) or black.

🔸 Lunch and Dinner 🥗 🍗 🥓

Avoid ❌ Fries….I know i know...but who can seriously stop at a couple??? All desserts and full sugar soft-drinks and frozen drinks!!

Enjoy ✅ Naked Burgers or Wraps with extra salad or pickles...mmm I LOVE McDonald pickles. They also have a gourmet salad range. Go for grilled chicken over the crumbed, you can also order a garden salad with an extra beef, bacon or chicken patty.

👉🏼 Extra wiggle room - The Chicken Mc Bites 10 piece pack has 8g carbs.
You can check out their menu here: https://mcdonalds.com.au/menu

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Low Carb Lover Profile

Julie Fielding

Meet Julie, she is almost at goal (close to 30kilo's down so far) following a Keto/ Low Carb meal plan.

I have struggled with my weight most of my life, and have been through various 'weight loss' programs. The programs did work but I always put the weight back on, and they would always cost a small fortune!.

I had to retire from teaching around five years ago as I have Fibromyalgia, and it became worse as I got older. My Dr put me on medication to treat some of the more severe symptoms. The result was no change in symptoms, just a rapid weight gain! I was so frustrated, finding myself once again on the weight-loss bandwagon. Three years later, after weaning myself off the medication, I decided I needed to do something about my weight. It was Christmas 2017

The old Dr Atkins low carb diet always worked reasonably well so I thought I would give it another try. But the ingredients were odd, as they were not Australian, and many of the recipes failed. I still managed to lose about 10 kg in 6 months and had started to design a new way of eating for life.

By October 2018 I was bored with making flat-looking muffins, creamy vegetable dishes, and tasteless cupcakes. I was reaching that 'danger zone'! In an effort to keep going, before I lost motivation, I searched the internet for new recipes and program ideas. I was disappointed at first, then I discovered The Protein Bread Company!

I have not looked back since, and I have shared their site with my Coeliac and Diabetic friends, as well as the many people who have asked how I have continued to lose weight. Since October 2018 I have lost another 20 kg, and I am now only a couple of kg from my goal. The best two things for me have been, the weight loss has not been difficult, and my food budget has stayed the same!

Thank you PBCo! I just made your new cookie recipe and it is a winner :-)

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Low Carb Snack Idea

Snacking can be the hardest thing when you are living low carb, as most convenience foods are packed full of sugar and carbs. Each month we will bring you a super simple snack idea for you to try!

Ready-made Supermarket Snacks

These are great options to keep in your work drawer, fridge or if you are on-the-go and forgot to take something with you.

• Pre-cut vegetable sticks or vegetables (carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes and baby cucumbers)
• Jar of Pickles. Check for no added sugar.
• Olives - choose from the self-serve (Coles) or deli section in Woolies.
• Portions of cheese (e.g.Babybel) or cheese sticks or slices.
• Nuts - either from Nut bars (Coles) or check the Health Food aisle for small packets of nuts (macro range - Woolies) Look for under 5g
• Yoghurt - look for something with high protein to keep you full. Any under 10g of carbs is a good, under 5g even better. The YoPro and Chobani FIT range sit at around 6-8g carbs per tub.
• Deli meats - deli section where you can buy the amount your need 50g is a good snack amount.
• Mini Protein Bars - supermarkets have a larger range these days, check for anything 5g carbs or less
• Fava Beans - the box shown has them already in little bags portioned out, or you can buy the larger bag and pop into 20g bags.
• Mayver's Peanut Butter Tubs (great for portion control 😂) This and a small pack of carrot/ celery sticks is a great snack.
• Seaweed snacks. - salty and crunchy like chips, but not carby.
• Strawberries - fresh or frozen berries are great to keep at work in the freezer.

The image was taken Woolworths - I'm sure Coles or Aldi have similar options available. A rule is to look for anything under 5g carbs per serve and if it has fibre and protein - winning!

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Low Carb Recipe of the Month

Apple, Almond and Cinnamon Muffins!

There is something so nostalgic and comforting about apple and cinnamon. When served warm these muffins taste like a wintery dessert. They’re great to bake up for a week or 2 of grab-n-go brekkies!

By switching from a store/ cafe bought muffin to homemade, you can enjoy a delicious muffin packed full of nutrition and save 36g of carbs per serve*!! 😱

• Protein Muffin Mix (whole pack) $13.00
• Unsweetened almond milk (315ml) $1.13 ($3/L)
• 3 eggs - $1.29
• 2 large apples (approx 400g) $3.50/kg - $1.40
• 100g almonds $6.20 (base on 110g packet of the Lucky brand)
• 3 TB cinnamon (24g) $1.86
• 2 TB sweetener of choice $0.52 ( we used Natvia)
• $25.40 (total) / 12 muffins

$2.12 per muffin! 😍 - Cheaper than a cafe! 👍

Monthly Goals

What are you working towards this month? Once you know what is it is you want to achieve, then you can commit to it and get into action. It’s also great to reflect back on what you loved in the previous month and noting something to look forward to in the future, this will keep you excited along the way.

We want to help our community achieve their goals and feel their best. The template below is to help you get there.

• Top Priority this month is:
• Little daily action to help me achieve my goal:
• What I am looking forward to this month:
• What I loved about last month was:

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Low Carb Expert - Jess Turton

Based on the feedback from our recent survey. We had an overwhelming request for articles and information on how Low Carb effects weight loss, insulin resistance, diabetes, fertility and low carb studies. Jess will be featuring in our newsletter with hot topics, video content and research.

Meet Jess! - Jessica is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) with post-graduate qualifications in Nutrition & Dietetics. She is committed to the application of high-quality nutritional science to empower individuals and groups with knowledge and behavioural skills to improve patient-centred care and promote the field of Nutrition & Dietetics. Jessica was introduced to low-carbohydrate, high-fat nutrition in 2012 during her recovery from multiple eating disorders which took over many years of her teenage life and adolescence. By following this simple and sustainable lifestyle which made complete sense on a physiological and biochemical level, she found what she likes to call “food freedom”. Her passion for this metabolic tool was then cemented after her father suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She shares more about her personal story during two interviews for the podcasts, ‘2 Keto Dudes’ (listen here) and ‘Keto Woman’.

For Jess's FULL bio click here

Check out Jess' article on Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes below.

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We want your feedback!!

Help us create the best Low Carb go-to newsletter there is. If you want certain topics covered or want to feature as our Low Carb Lover of the month, send an email to Jo 🤓 hello@lovepbco.com

Want to find out a bit more about Anna and Jo?

Click here and head to their bio's to find out why they live and love low carb!

Click here if you missed our first Low Carb Living Newsletter

References: *Carb comparison to the Woolies 4 x pack of apple and cinnamon muffins (44g carbs compared to our recipe with 8g carbs per serve)