The Low Carb Newsletter

Welcome to our monthly Low Carb Newsletter!

Happy Winter!

Entering into the cooler months, when cravings for heavier “carby” foods creep in, we‘ve packed this newsletter full of other great options, that still taste amazing, warm you up and satisfy you, but DON’T leave you feeling lethargic, bloated or stodgy!!

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

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

A Healthy Winter means a Happy Spring!!!

Low Carb Living Tip
Low Carb Supermarket Product
Low Carb Out & About
Featured Recipe

The Top 5 Fruit and Vegetables in season in July.

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

🍑 Fruits

Avocado - 1g
Lemon - 3g
Grapefruit - 5g
Strawberries - 4g
Rhubarb - 2g

All figures are carbs per 100g.

🍆Vegetables

Broccoli - 1g
Brussel Sprouts - 2g
Leeks - 2g
Kale - 2g
Fennel - 3g

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

References:

Supermarket Product of the Month

Ready-made Soups #2 Coles and Aldi

Last month we looked at Woolies, this month we searched Aldi and Coles for ready-made soup options. Nothing beats homemade, but if you are looking for something quick and convenient, these are a great option 👍

When looking for a ready-made soup here are our top tips.

Carbs per serve 15g or less. If you are in a very low carb plan, aim for 10g or less.
Add protein if the protein serve is low – under 10g is quite low. e.g cheese, meat, BBQ chicken, tofu 2 slices of protein Bread toast
Sodium (if you’re watching under 600-800mg per serve
Add extra veggies if there are none. Supermarkets have microwave veggies you can add in or have raw veg on the side.
Short ingredients list with no added wheat, fillers or sugar.

Darikay (2 serves per container)

Best ingredients list and cals per serve. 👍

Hearty Vegetables - C 14.6g / P 2.8g / F 1.1g - Cals 80
Chicken Noodle - C 8.8g / P 6.3g / F 1.1g - Cals 72
Hearty Chicken - C 7.4g / P 7.2g / F 1.1g - Cals 6.9

Coles in a cup (1 serves per packet)

1 serve per pack and decent amount of protein per serve.

Tomato and Basil C 12g / P 4g / F 3g - Cals 101
Hearty Chicken and Noodle C 12g / P 16.5g / F 2.1g - Cals 147
Chicken and Corn - C 11.1g / P 11.1g / F 6g - Cals 152

Aldi Soup Pouches (2 serves per pack)

Tomato and Capsicum - C 12.5g / P 1.4g / F 0.7g - Cals 69
Spicy Pumpkin - C 13.5g / P 1.9g / F 3.9g -Cals 102
Sweetcorn and Chicken - C 14.5g / P 4.5g / F 1.1g - Cals 92
Old Fashioned Chicken soup C 14.6g / P 5.8g / F 3.7g Cals 115

Coles Soup Pouches (2 serves per pack)

Creamy Pumpkin - C 11.8g / P 1.5g / F 8.0g - Cals 128.
Potato and Leek - C 13.5g / P 2.6g / F 4.9g - Cals 110
Lentil & Coconut - C 12.5g / P 1.5g / F 2.8g - Cals 64
Vegetable and Beef - C 12.7g / P 4.9g / F 1.5g Cals 87
Chicken and Corn - C 13.5g / P 5.2g / F 4.7g - Cals 120
Cauliflower and Broccoli - C 9.0g / P 1.9g / F 5.6g - Cals 98
Laksa with kojac noodles - C 8.6g / P 3.0g / F 4.9g - Cals 94
Pea & Spinach - C 11.6g / P 4.7g / F 5.2g - Cals 122

Low Carb Living Tip

EASY Everyday Low Carb SWAPS

🔸 Heading out to lunch? Swapping Chips or Rice for Extra Salad or Veggies. 'Naked' sandwiches or burgers

🔸 Morning coffee? - switch to Almond/ Nut milk, Black coffee or Piccolo. If you are a one-coffee-a-day person and prefer milk, choose a small milk based coffee. Small flat white (reg milk. No sugar) has 11g carbs.

🔸Out for Brunch? - switch your toast for extra low carb sides.

🔸 Feel like cookies? - Try our Low Carb Cookie Mix with varied flavours.

🔸 Miss toast? - Our Protein or Simply Low Carb Bread Mixes

🔸 Miss Mashed Potato or crave a wintery shepherd's pie? - Cauli Mash with a touch of cream cheese (makes it extra creamy) and some herbs and spices. You can check out Luke’s Low Carb Sheperd’s Pie here

🔸 Pasta/ rice - switch to Zoodles, Eggplant 'lasagne' sheets, cauli-rice or Slendier noodles. If I feel like pasta but want to stay low carb - Slendier Fettuccine is my go-to. You need to have a good sauce as they don't have a taste.

🔸 On the go? - Coles/ Woolies Nut Bars are a game changer. Measure out the perfect snack size between 20-40g and off you go. Or check out the Health Food aisle in Woolies for macro mini snack packs. Small packs of nuts/ seed etc - look for ones under 4g carbs or protein bars with less than 5g carbs per bar.

👉🏼 For the FULL List check out our blog ‘How to start Low Carb’

Eating Out… Italian

Italian is known to be quite hard to go out for when living Low Carb, especially if you’re thinking, but it's all Pizza, Pasta and Bread. While Italian cuisine is known for these 3, there is sooo much more on their menu worth trying.

TIP - If you know ahead of time, suss out the restaurant's menu online. Go in with a plan, this way it takes the pressure of ordering on the spot and being tempted by other diners.

❌What to avoid when following a Low Carb plan.
Garlic Bread, Pasta and Pizza - The 3 main meals that are mostly carbs. Not only are they not low carb, but they also give you more than a standard serving. Don’t let the waitperson bring the breadbasket Italian bread. Instead, as a starter, ask for a bowl of olives.

✅ What you CAN have when wanting to stay Low Carb.
Antipasto platters, Olives, Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, MOST of their salads (Caprese, Garden, Bocconcini) Seafood salads, ANY Meat/ Seafood dish that is served with veggies, Carpaccio. They also have a range of protein-based entrees you could add a side salad to Grilled Prawns in Napolitana sauce. Meatballs in Sugo (my FAVE), Grilled Sardines.

*LowER carb option for those that have more wiggle room: If you are dining with someone that you normally share food with (partner, bestie etc) Share an entree serve of Pasta and halve the carbs.

🍰To end a meal - Opt for a coffee with a dash of milk or an espresso with a dash of cream.

👉🏼 Check out Luke’s FULL blog here https://lovepbco.com/how-to-eat-low-carb-at-an-italian-restaurant

Low Carb Lover Profile

Kate Iskra

Hello fellow low carbers! I'm Kate & was diagnosed with type one diabetes at age eight & then coeliac disease when I was 11, the first on either side of the family.

About two years ago a specialist suggested low carb eating to help get better control my blood sugar levels - I thought I had misheard him, a diabetic eating low carb?! Unheard of! I'd been told repeatedly for years by nutritionists, dietitians & doctors to have carbs with every meal.
Where oh where would I find low carb, gluten free replacements that are Australian made/owned that don't taste like cardboard.... the answer Anna's Low Carb Kitchen!

My regular go to's? Definitely the pancakes, cupcakes/muffins & pizza! With these products I can have my cake (or pizza) & eat it too 😋

The best part about these foods is when I make for friends or family - they can't believe something low carb & gluten free can taste so good!

Thanks to the team at Love PBCo.

Low Carb Snack Idea - Mini M&M Cookies

Enjoying a treat every now and then keeps you sane and on track with your health goals. By switching to healthier treats (where possible) this allows you to have more wiggle room for occasions where you have less choice and want to enjoy your REAL favourite treats (birthday parties, events etc)
Rather than go without, simply swap.
When comparing to the Coles Cookies with M&M cookies 1 cookie - (25g) 18g carbs and 1g of Protein and 119 calories - Our recipe below makes 12 cookies (30g each), that are packed with lots of healthy ingredients and a little bit of fun.

A ½ packet of Protein Cookie Base Mix $7.00 ($14 FULL pack)
60 ml milk of choice $0.20 (based on regular full-fat milk $2.30/ 1L)
40g melted butter $0.40
1 egg $0.50
2 x 35g tube of Mini M&M’s (as you need 50g for the recipe) = $3
Total: $11.10
Per Cookie (30g) $0.93 each - makes 12 Cookies. 😍 🍫 🌈

Low Carb M&M Cookies with only 4g carbs per cookie! 😱

Low Carb Recipe of the Month

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

Cake for breakfast is a thing!! This Lemon Yoghurt Cake is my simple take on the Italian Breakfast cake “Ciambella Allo Yogurt” I LOVE this recipe. I make it quite often. It's one of those cakes that taste better the next day and since lemons are in season this month, it's the perfect recipe to try out.

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:

Coffee & Cake with Anna and Jo

Over the past month…

5. How do your food choices change at this time of year?

Anna: As it gets colder I do feel like more "comfort foods" which are typically higher in carbs, and more veggies as opposed to salads. I combat this by always having some low carb baked goodies on hand, a loaf of low carb bread in the fridge, and also stock up on heaps of veggies, my fave at this time of year is cauli mash to go with hot pot style dinners!

Jo: I seem to crave/ want sweet things more. I also drink more tea (so I am blaming that 😂) I use our Simply Low Carb Cookie Mix and make cookies that I allow as a treat/ or for breakfast each day.

4. What is your best Winter healthy living tip?

Anna: Always ask yourself "How will this make me feel" before digging into any meal or snack. There are plenty of healthy low carb comfort food options that allow you to enjoy now AND feel great later!

Jo: Food Tip: Cook BIG batches of soup loaded with LOTS of veggies and freeze and have some Low Carb Bread on hand. Lazy dinners FTW! Exercise Tip: Sign up to indoor class to keep moving. I walk home less at this time of year, so I need to plan extra movement. My top 2 Yoga and Spin classes.

3. What is your favourite Winter Warmer dish?

Anna: Shepard's pie with cauli mash and a tonne of cheese and sesame on top!

Jo: I make a big pot of bolognese and load it with extra veggies. I will either pour it on top of more veggies, or with Slendier noodles or on top of low carb toast. My second fave winter food - Radicchio. Its in season, and although its a salad veg, I eat it almost everyday its sooo good.

2. Favourite Low Carb treat?

Anna: LOVING out new recipe Simply Low Carb Cookies! Softer and chewier

Jo: Homemade Cookies!! Winter is my cookie season. So I make a batch each week. Rather than miss out, I factor in a cookie a day 😂 This way I am less tempted by what my flatmate brings into the home.

1. What was your biggest win last month?

Anna: Getting everything organised and planned at work so I was able to take a way overdue little holiday!

Jo: Consistency in my yoga and pilates. Started my new training program to move towards a pain-free (sort of) existence 🕺🏻 🕺🏻⬅️ Happy dance 🤓

We want to answer your questions!!

Hit us up with any question you have for us - each month we will choose the top 5 to answer - email your questions to: 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

If you missed last month's newsletter click here

References:

Cookie data: https://www.calorieking.com/au/en/foods/f/calories-in-cookies-bakery-cookies-with-mms/e5cgsy9HTuKrOVUic6SlVQ

Food Swaps 📸 Image

The Low Carb Newsletter - July