The Low Carb Newsletter - June

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.

Everything we talk about in the newsletter we have personally tried, tested and love. This months newsletter is CHOC-full of Winter Survival Tips that we can use all season to ensure that we come out the other end feeling fabulous.

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 June.

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-june/

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

Ready-made Soups

Nothing beats homemade soup! It’s a great meal that you can make in bulk. However, from time to time we may get stuck and are after some convenience. Each Winter Anna and I get asked about what are the best low/lowER carb ready-made soups available so I thought it was a good idea to see what was on offer.

This month I checked out Woolworths, next month I will review Coles and Aldi.

These are great if you; forget your lunch one day or if you are travelling for work, as most hotels have access to a microwave or if you just don't feel like cooking 😁

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Low Carb Living Tip

Support your immune system this winter...

Check out our healthy winter tips to help you get through the colder months, which will pay off when summer comes around!

1. Keep hydrated. It is so easy to forget to drink water in winter because we tend to go for warmer drinks (teas and coffees). While tea or coffee can add to your water intake, the caffeine can be dehydrating, which can have the opposite effect. Herbal teas or even sipping warm water is the best choice between meals. If you struggle to drink water, check out our blog
2. Load up on your veggies!!! Find our quick reference guide to Low Carb Vegetables. Create a list of your favourite Low Carb Comfort Foods and recipes to keep you on track. Soups, stews and casseroles are loaded with lots of veggies. More veggies mean more vitamins, minerals and fibre, which will keep us healthy.
3. Keep Active! Look for indoor training options that keep you motivated. Or work out at home. Perhaps set some fitness goals to keep you motivated over the next few months.
4. Vitamin D. Always check with your health professional first before taking any supplements to ensure if you really need to take them. We can lack vitamin D in winter because of the lack of sunlight and being indoor more. Vitamin D is especially necessary for bone health, energy levels and can even boost your mood. As well as from sunlight and from a supplement, you can find vitamin D in the following foods: butter, eggs, fatty fish and milk.
5. Sleep. This really should be an all-year-round thing. But winter is known to be the hibernation season, so it's important that you're getting the adequate rest your body needs. Lack of sleep can affect your immune system, which will leave us vulnerable to the odd cold or virus.
6. Wash your hands. It goes without saying that you should wash your hands! But it is an important reminder that in the winter months, germs spread easily from a hand that has been sneezed on and touched something. With flu season in full swing, there are people sneezing and coughing everywhere, so make the extra effort to wash your hands or use a hand sanitiser when you're out and about.

For more tips to help keep you healthy this winter check out the blog written by one of our experts Anushka here

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Eating Out… Thai

Now that it is getting cold, salads may not cut it when out and about...Here are some low carb tweaks that will help out in most Asian cuisines.

1. Opt for a stir-fry loaded with veggies and your chosen protein - ask for extra veggies and no rice.
2. When it comes to curries, same rules apply as above.
3. Soup - Did you know you can order a laksa/ pho sans noodles? (pictured). These requests are pretty common these days. Extra bean spouts can give you that ‘noodliness’ without the extra carbs.
4. Order some soup broth on the side if having a stir fry or a Thai Beef Salad - warm broth fills the belly for fewer calories. 👍

Note: I go out for Vietnamese quite often and Beef Pho is still super satisfying without noodles. I ask for extra beansprouts and meat. 🤓

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Low Carb Lover Profile

Pam Cox

I am 63, 18 years ago I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a very complex syndrome which affects all muscle and soft tissue and causes pain due to the pain receptors in the brain not filtering properly. My digestive system has been a massive problem with me having to continually add to or delete foods from my diet.

Being wheat sensitive led me to try PBCo and Anna’s Low Carb products, especially the bread and pizza mixes at first…2 of my loves…..WOW, big surprise how nice they tasted and to be able to enjoy them again without the nasty side effects was a big win for me.

I started this journey with PBCo to try to help my inner health but have also had an added bonus of losing weight as well whilst once again enjoying foods I had removed from my diet. I love to bake and have a sweet tooth so with Anna’s Low Carb mixes I get to enjoy sweet treats as well …Thanks, PBCo and Anna’s Low Carb for all your products and recipes...

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Low Carb Snack Idea - Double Choc Brownies

Cafe brownies or those ones you find in health food stores are usually $4-6 each. Then you have ones that you find in the Supermarkets that are significantly cheaper but are packed full of sugar. Our Double Choc Brownies are packed full of nutrition and have less carbs than a choccie Freddo! 😱

• 1 packet of Simply Low Carb Chocolate Cupcake Mix - $9.95
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk - $3.00 - $0.75 (250ml)
• Lindt 90% $4.25 (not sale price)
• Walnuts (loose) 100g - $2.50
• 2 TB (30g) of cocoa powder (supermarket brand $1.07/100g) - $0.33
• 250g grated zucchini ($5.90/kg) - $1.50
• 3 eggs - $1.29
• 50ml Coconut Oil ($1.47/100g) - $0.74
• Total: $21.31
• Per Brownie (60g) $1.20 each - makes 18 Brownies. 😍 🍫

Low Carb Double Choc Brownies with under 5g carbs per bar.

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Low Carb Recipe of the Month

Cheesy Chilli Focaccia

Soup Season calls for cheesy toasty goodness to be dipped in! This Cheesy Focaccia recipe is super easy to make. Change up the additions. Use different cheeses and herbs each time 😍

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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Jo's Hot Topic

Top 10 tips for Winter Weight Management

We received a few requests over the last month from our audience wanting to discuss weight loss or how to manage their weight during Winter. Some were new to low carb living, and others didn’t want the winter months to derail the progress they've made so far this year. So we thought we pop in a HOT Topic for this month.

1. Have your low carb “swaps” list ready to go. Soups, casseroles stews etc, mostly always served with a heavier carb side. What will you swap those with? Find a good list here on our blog - How to start Low Carb
2. Look up some Low Carb Winter warmer recipes online (there are sooooo many good ones to choose from) A lot of great one-pot wonders can be found here Bulk out your meals with lots of veggies too. Extra vitamins, fibre and fullness.
3. Schedule in your exercise - get a training buddy or commit to a class. That extra accountability does matter when it’s too cold to get up early, or it gets dark and cold too quick in the evenings. Find something you like - dancing, spin class, hot yoga.
4. Prioritise sleep. Ok, easier said than done, but sleep is the most underrated weight loss tool there is. If you are lacking sleep you will find that you will be more hungry and irritable. You will also be less inclined to exercise. When we sleep, our hormones used for digestion also get a much-needed break too. Learn more about this here
5. If you have to choose out of meal prep vs a workout. Pick meal prep. Yep, you heard right. Missing one workout so you can prepare 3-4 meals ahead of time is a much better option. It is not always easy to find healthy meals on the go, and as they say “you can’t out train a bad diet”
6. DRINK. YOUR. WATER. I know it’s harder to drink cold water at this time of year, but this is important. If you are looking for extra tips on how to drink more water, click here to see Anna’s blog on how to increase your daily water intake
7. Allow yourself planned “treats” or fun foods. Now, this is to keep you sane. That said, I would recommend you PLAN these in, whether it’s something daily, or an event, I always recommend planning these in, and the very next meal, go back to your normal weight loss plan. In Winter, I tend to want sweets more (mostly cookies) Rather than go out for one, I make a batch of Cookies using our Simply Low Carb Cookie Base Mix, as I still want them to be healthy and filling. I change up the additions and I factor them into my daily plan. This way I don’t feel like I'm missing out. Also, enjoying Pizza (Protein Pizza) a few times a week breaks the diet boredom for me.
8. Keep warm. Ok this may sound silly but the one reason my clients would say to me why they ate too much or veered from their plan in winter was that “it was too cold” - Keep warm, fill a mug with warm water and hold it (warms your hands) add a slice of lemon and drink - win-win.
9. Heading out to eat? - choose a broth or soup as a starter. This way it warms you up fills you up on minimal calories. If the restaurant has their menu online, check it out first and plan ahead what you will be having. For more tips on dining out Low Carb check out our Low Carb-Out and About blogs here
10. Manage stress - again easier said than done BUT super important all year round but if we are at the time of year when we are moving less, eating more, if we stress to this and find that we turn to food when we are stressed, this means we are adding extra calories in. Allow yourself some time out to do things you enjoy to switch off, massage, read a book, take a class, whatever works for you.

We hope the above tips keep you on track with your goals this winter. 👍🤓

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We want to answer your questions!!

Hit us up with any question you have for us or topics you would like us to cover - 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