Truly Low Carb

It is with great pleasure that I present this second volume of recipes. Much has happened to me in the three years since my first volume was published, but my low carb eating has remained constant. In fact, it is the rock upon which I draw strength. No matter what else may go other than planned in my life, this is something I can do. Its still easy. My lab tests and energy levels continue to encourage me, and I wouldnt trade any part of this experience for the fresh corn or white potatoes that I still dont really miss.

The popularity of low carb eating continues to grow, which means that more pre-made convenience items are available all the time. I firmly believe, however, that people do best on this type of plan when they do the majority of their food preparation themselves and stick to the basics as much as possible. I hope my simple-as-possible recipes will help you enjoy doing more of your own food prep.

Sugar alcohols (SA)s can make maintenance a real pleasure, but they can also wreak havoc on some individuals blood sugar and/or weight loss efforts (not to mention the gastric distress they cause others). I therefore specify the use of SAs very rarely - only when necessary for the successful outcome to a particular recipe. You can always substitute maltitol for Splenda in my recipes if you so desire, but in those instances when I do specify maltitol powder or syrup, please dont attempt to substitute something like Splenda in its place. You could substitute sugar free honey with maltitol and sorbitol for plain maltitol syrup. The honey substitute can be found in many regular grocery stores now - but please realize that the taste of your end result will, of course, vary.

Nutritional data for all recipes is complete as listed - if you subtract fiber and/or sugar alcohols from your carb counts, then you can and should subtract them from the total carbs listed here. Maltitol syrup was analyzed at 6 SA carbs and 24 calories per Tb. Maltitol powder was calculated at 52.5 SA carbs and 210 calories per 2/3 cup (100 g). These are my best averages, based on conflicting product regulations and labels at the time of publication. Yogurt is counted as per standard labels and carbs have not been adjusted.

When I list variations for an ingredient or a recipe, I always analyzed it using it the first choice listed.

SF stands for Sugar Free (a space consideration).

In recipes that call for protein powder, I am referring to shake mix. I figured carb counts based on using a brand with 6 carbs per cup (average at the time of publication). I recommend using a brand that blends soy, whey, and egg protein for the best baking results. (Because product availability and ingredients change so often, specific brand recommendations are listed only on the website, where they can be updated as needed.) Please be aware that different brands can yield very different results, and may necessitate adjustments to listed liquid measurements. (If batter that calls for protein powder looks too thick or too thin to you - it probably is.)

Almond flour, unsweetened coconut, flax seeds, and other low carb staples are often sold in bulk in the U.S., bearing no nutrition label (or worse, incorrect data). Please be advised that my nutritional counts are based on average product labels as well as USDA information, applied to weights and measures tested personally by Yours Truly. There are many ways to artificially lower the carb count of a recipe - but I do not do so. I pride myself on real portions and honest, accurate analysis.

Recipes in this volume that specify bake mix were analyzed based on the version included herein. If you own Volume I and prefer to substitute one of the other mixes, your results should be fine, but your nutritional analysis will necessarily vary some. By the same token, if you make Volume I recipes using the lower carb Volume II Bake mix, you will achieve a lower overall carb count.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER. No laboratory analysis has been performed on any of the recipes herein. No guarantee is being made as to the accuracy of nutritional statements and no liability will be assumed for any errors. This book does not attempt to provide complete instructions regarding cooking and safety procedures. None of the recipes or material herein should be used as, or construed to be, medical advice of any kind. No one should ever undertake any weight loss, nutritional, or exercise program of any kind without prior consultation with, and continual monitoring by, a qualified physician.

In other words. I do all my recipe analysis personally based on the best information available to me at the time. I find mistakes on manufacturer labels all the time. Since I cannot even guarantee the accuracy of information provided by manufacturers for individual ingredients, whose labels are constantly changing, I certainly cant guarantee that the dish you end up with will exactly match the analysis I provide. If you are a serious dieter, it would be best for you to always count your own carbs, calories, etc., based on your own products and current labels.

This book is not intended to serve as a diet plan itself. Doctors like the late Robert C. Atkins, M.D., to whom millions of us owe so much, design sound diets - I just create recipes. Please educate yourself about low carb eating and see a doctor regularly. Have lab tests done both before and during any diet plan so that your improved results can serve as additional motivation to establish better, healthier eating habits for a lifetime.

Advance food preparation is the one thing that can practically ensure low-carb success.

Regular, advance food preparation is the single most important thing low-carbers must do in order to succeed. Its really not difficult, even if you dont know how to cook, except for being time consuming. A lot like exercise, as far as that goes, but I assure you that both activities are worth your effort. I cant stress this enough -- this cant be just another diet. If you want to feel good, have more energy, better health, and/or lose weight (and most importantly, keep the weight off), then you will need to make lifelong, not just temporary, changes.

Fortunately, hunger is one thing you will NOT need to grow accustomed to when living a low-carb lifestyle. It is imperative that you make good choices at all times, however, and you will only do so when you have plenty of wholesome low-carb food available. Most people will need to dedicate one day per week to food preparation. If you work five days per week, spending an entire day in the kitchen can seem like a burden, but its worth it because it can make the rest of your week go so much better. After a while it will become second nature to you to plan ahead and youll find you can spread the tasks out over the week, but while you are trying to establish good low-carb eating habits, I recommend a regular, once-weekly shopping and prep session.

First, shop.

Decide what you like to eat best from among your allowable food list, and then shop accordingly. Go to your favorite grocery store or members warehouse, and stock up.

Id suggest choosing some green leafy veggies first from the produce section (romaine or leaf lettuce, endive, radicchio, escarole, spinach, kale, etc.) Next, select what you like from the following. asparagus, avocadoes, berries, broccoli, cauliflower, cantaloupe melon, celery, eggplant, daikon radish, hot and/or bell peppers, mushrooms, radishes, tomatoes, green beans, green onions, regular onions, and chayote, spaghetti, zucchini, or yellow crookneck squash. Avoid all root vegetables and fruits not previously mentioned, as well as any mentioned that might not fit into your particular eating plan.

Next, visit the meat section and select some meats you like to eat - perhaps some good cuts of beef, bacon and sausage, some chicken, some ground beef, some pork, and some fish. If you want some more convenience type meats, get some cans of tuna and chicken, some deli meats (ask them for nutritional info if it is not posted, since some deli meats are full of fillers and even sugars) or even hot dogs (Hebrew National and International Glatt brands dont add any sugar and are both kosher) or bratwurst. A favorite of mine for low-carb convenience is pre-cooked bacon. It is packaged in layers and you can grab a few pieces anytime to just heat in the microwave -- though not as good as what you cook yourself, when speed is imperative, pre-cooked cant be beat. Rotisserie chicken is usually acceptable, but it may be worth asking to see the ingredient list of any marinade they inject into the chicken before roasting it. Prepared buffalo wings are usually acceptable, too - just be sure to read every label, and dont be afraid to interrogate the employees at the deli counter for nutritional information.

Get some good oils for cooking (grapeseed, macadamia, and olive are the healthy oils that I use for cooking) and for things like salad dressings. Walnut and sesame oil are both great for salads, but should never be heated.

Get some salad dressings with full fat but no added sugar (check all labels) or better yet, whip up some home-made dressings. Blue Cheese, Ranch, Caesar, and Italian are usually good choices, as are vinaigrettes. Other allowable condiments include real mayonnaise, seasoned vinegars, mustards without added sugars, hot sauces, and Worcestershire sauce (which has a trace of sugars but in the amount typically used, does not present a problem for most people).

If you can eat nuts, get some macadamias, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, and/or walnuts - but pass up peanuts, pistachios and cashews. Get some spicy pork rinds (trust me on this. they make a great substitute for bread crumbs in lots of recipes, even if you dont care to eat them as a snack). Wasa Fiber Rye crackers and LaTortilla low carb tortillas are available in most grocery stores now and have a high fiber content, making them good choices.

Be sure to go to the frozen foods section and get some bagged legal veggies for busy nights when the fresh ones are just too much work, Buy canned black soy beans if you can find them. Canned vegetables such as tomatoes, green beans, asparagus, etc., are always good to have on hand in a pinch. Buy some frozen entrees like chicken tenders, pre-pressed burgers and fish fillets -- these can all go on a contact grill frozen and still be ready to eat in minutes. TIP. After cooking on a contact grill, simply unplug it, put a wet paper towel on the still-warm surface, and close it again. By the time youre finished eating, youll be able to wipe the grill surface clean easily so it will be ready for your next quick and easy meal.

Dont leave without a visit to the Dairy section for some sour cream, cream cheese, cream, real butter, buttermilk if you like it, eggs, and cheese.

Next, prep.

Im going to describe one of my own weekly prep sessions - you will need to vary this according to your own tastes, but most low-carbers will need plenty of clean salad greens. If you are like me, and dislike the sour taste of pre-washed salad greens, you will want to wash your own. I fill a clean sink with a mixture of water and produce cleanser and let the greens soak for a while. I mix three heads of romaine or red leaf lettuce with one bunch of spinach and one small head of iceberg, for a nice mix of healthy, leafy, and crunchy. Then I wash, peel, and chop the other low carb vegetables we like in our salads and place them all in vacuum seal containers. Well dried lettuce can last for weeks without turning brown when vacuum sealed. It will last up to a week when layered in clean toweling and then sealed in regular plastic bags, because the paper or cloth will absorb extra moisture. Do not chop greens with a metal implement ahead of time, however, because that will cause the edges to turn brown prematurely.

While my greens for the week are soaking, I hard-boil a dozen eggs. For easy peeling, use older eggs and prick a small hole in the end of each one with a pin or thumbtack. Always start them in cold water with a splash of vinegar and a spoonful of salt added. Once they come to a boil, shut them off, put on the lid, and allow them to set in the hot water for twenty minutes. Pour off the hot water and replace it with ice water until the eggs are completely cool, then drain and refrigerate. The shells should slip right off when the time comes.

Poaching chicken is best done at a very low simmer. Boiling toughens the meat proteins and causes that ugly scum to appear on top. I always save the liquid for use in soups or other meals, and either strip up the cooked meat for use in chef salads, or else chop it and add mayonnaise, along with lots of chopped celery and a little bit of red onion, salt, pepper, celery salt, and a teaspoon or so of lemon juice. Delicious chicken salad, ready at a moments notice -- Ive been known to eat it for breakfast. Some weeks I make egg or tuna salad instead, or in addition to, the chicken salad.

Plan breakfasts. make a batch of low carb muffins or crustless mini quiche in muffin tins. Pre-cook breakfast meats to save both time and mess. I like to bake both pre-formed sausage patties and bacon slices in the oven. If you can find a stacking cooling rack, its perfect for this use and will really simplify the whole process. I line the drip pan with disposable foil to save time when cleaning up.

I make some sort of casserole each week like TacoSagna or Mockaroni and freeze it in individual portions, so I can have a hot lunch anytime. Meatloaf is another good make-ahead meal -- just replace the bread crumbs with low carb ones or substitute Parmesan cheese, wheat bran, or textured vegetable protein.

Dont forget to attend to your sweet tooth and make some kind of artificially sweetened treat, unless you are one of the rare ones who can totally forego that occasional pleasure. I am not. I would never have lost ten dress sizes in one year and made it for the long haul without an occasional sweet treat. And the long haul is what it is all about. Feeling deprived is what always led me to stop low fat diets. I simply did not allow that to happen with low carb - and neither should you. But do remember that most people lose more weight when indulging in homemade treats and staying away from packaged low-carb convenience foods, especially those with high concentrations of sugar alcohols such as maltitol (common in most pre-made sugar free desserts.)

Now, enjoy.

Now that you have stocked your low-carb kitchen, just think of all the great meals you can whip up.

For breakfast, you can choose from any sort of egg dish hard-boiled eggs, omelets, crustless quiche , or my favorite -- scrambled or fried eggs served with steak, ham, sausage or bacon, along with a thin wedge of cantaloupe melon. You choose to eat cheese or any other meat, or even vegetables. Leftovers of all kinds make great breakfasts. What about a protein shake along with a handful of fresh berries and some nuts on the side (DaVinci sugar free syrups can make ANY shake mix taste good...) Even a low-carb protein bar is better than no breakfast at all, although this should not become an everyday thing by any means. Fiber crackers spread with cream cheese and low carb fruit spread or smoked salmon on top make for a nice change occasionally. Breakfast burritos are easy to fashion ahead of time out of taco meat or spicy sausage paired with things like onions, peppers, black soy beans, scrambled eggs and cheese inside of a low carb tortilla or homemade egg crepes. Wrap these individually and freeze, then wrap in a damp towel to reheat in the microwave.

For lunch, choose from any protein source paired with a healthy vegetable. I usually try to have an entree salad such as steak sauteed with onions and peppers and cheese, served over a bed of greens in place of bread. Enjoy previously forbidden salad ingredients like real bacon and hard boiled eggs and chunks of blue cheese. Enjoy fancy salads with ingredients such as warm goat cheese and pecans. My all-time favorite lunch is my Fajita Salad (shown at left). You could also roll up sliced deli meat and cheese around celery sticks, pickles, or green onions. Pile fiber crackers high with egg, chicken or tuna salad, any of which could be stuffed into celery sticks or hollowed-out tomatoes or peppers, as well. Wrap up sandwich fillings in a low-carb la tortilla or a large lettuce leaf.

For snacks, you can eat cream cheese in celery sticks, hard-boiled eggs, unsweetened yogurt, berries, Heavenly Mousse (shown at right), melon, nuts, olives, cheese crisps, raw veggies with ranch dip, and pork rind or vegetable nachos with taco meat, black beans, TLC picante, guacamole or sour cream.

For dinner, the possibilities are truly endless. You can make a low carb version of almost any meal you already like. Craving fried chicken No problem. bread it with egg andamp. pork rinds, wheat bran, parmesan cheese, or almond flour and then fry it as normal. Cream of mushroom or broccoli soup made with real butter and heavy cream is both heavenly and fast. Saute chicken in butter and olive oil, pour in a little whipping cream and some Parmesan cheese, and youll have delicious Chicken Alfredo with no effort. Eat it over steamed or stir-fried shredded cabbage or zucchini noodles, broccoli and cauliflower, or my favorite. fresh steamed green beans. Craving pizza No problem. get some pepperoni, saute some mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers and combine them with some no-sugar-added tomato sauce (like Hunts) and mozzarella cheese over the top of a cheese crisp or low-carb tortilla. Craving Mexican food No problem. make fajitas with low-carb tortillas or tacos on cheese crisp shells, and you can enjoy real sour cream, guacamole, and cheese on top. Make red chili with black soy beans or green chili with pork or poultry. Enjoy filet mignon or grilled salmon and steamed asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower with cheese or Hollandaise sauce over the top. Enjoy stir fry (without the starch) of beef and broccoli. Enjoy grilled chicken topped with bacon, melted cheese and mushrooms.

The key word here is enjoy. If youll just concentrate on all the wonderful food combinations you can eat, you will find yourself thinking less and less about those few things you are no longer choosing to eat. Low-carb eating is far more versatile than low-fat eating, but it does require a change in mind-set. Become a label reader. When I started this Way of Eating, I literally spent hours in the grocery store going down the aisles and reading labels. I found some surprises, and learned a lot. Eating low-carb is easy, and it should never be repetitive or boring, not when your menu choices are so varied and abundant.

In an attempt to provide some positive press for the Low Carb Way Of Life, I issued the following press release.

LOCAL AUTHOR MAKING HER MARK ON THE INTERNET

A Gypsum woman has found personal and professional success via an increasingly popular format the world wide web. Karen Rysavy of Gypsum, a weekly food columnist for the Summit Daily in Frisco, published her first website at www.trulylowcarb.com just last June, and on November 1st, she began filling orders on that site for her new cookbook, Truly Low Carb Cooking, Volume 1.

Said Rysavy I have had so much success with low carb, and improved my health so dramatically, that it makes me really angry when I read all the negative publicity floating around out there about low carb diets. Please note that I said low carb and NOT high protein. They are not the same thing - and I have made it my personal mission to let other people like myself know that there IS an easy, drug-free, and painless way to improve your health - and weight loss is just one desirable side effect. I have lost 66 pounds in less than a year, but I also cut my dangerously high cholesterol in half, lowered my average blood pressure and blood sugar, rid myself of all heartburn, acid reflux, and irritable bowel symptoms, plus, I feel GREAT. My husband lost almost as much weight in just four months, has rid himself of gout, and improved his chronic high blood pressure, too. I want to tell the whole world all about it, and I wrote this cookbook mainly to insure that I, and others like me, will find it easy to stick to this plan for the rest of our lives. My visitor counter on the website is likely to exceed 50,000 as of later today or tomorrow, so I think I am doing a pretty good job spreading the word so far.

Rysavy goes on to say that she was a real skeptic of low carb diets at first, but after going on prescription medication in an attempt to lower high cholesterol and then watching it double (almost reaching quadruple digits.), she was more than willing to try something else. When her husband suggested the Atkins diet, she immediately exclaimed But thats not safe. After deciding to keep an open mind long enough to actually look into it, however, she decided to try it. Ive been saying for years that all I have to do is smell food and I can gain weight. Well, now I understand the medical reasons that make that a true statement. If you eat less than anyone else in your household and yet weigh the most, you owe it to yourself to investigate this for yourself. Read books like Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and Protein Power with an open mind. And let me close by saying that I eat more vegetables now than ever before in my life. Yes, my fruit consumption is limited, but only until I reach goal weight which wont take much longer. I do not eat large amounts of meat, just the amount my body needs in order to maintain its muscle mass. And I have never had more energy or felt better. In my case, carbohydrates did not give me energy - they drained it from me.

The local newspaper printed the following article on January 24, 2001.

Local author making mark on diet industry

A Gypsum woman has found personal and professional success through an increasingly popular forum, the World Wide Web.

Karen Rysavy of Gypsum, a weekly food columnist for the Summit Daily News, launched her first Web site (www.trulylowcarb.com) last June, and on Nov. 1 she began filling online orders for her new cookbook, Truly Low Carb Cooking, Volume 1.

I have had so much success with low carb and improved my health so dramatically that it makes me really angry when I read all the negative publicity floating around out there about low-carb diets, said Rysavy.

Rysavy said the key is low carb, not high protein as stressed in the popular Atkins Diet.

They are not the same thing, she said. I have made it my personal mission to let other people like myself know that there is an easy, drug-free and painless way to improve your health. Weight loss is just one desirable side effect. I have lost 66 pounds in less than a year, but I also cut my cholesterol in half. lowered my average blood pressure and blood sugar. rid myself of all heartburn, acid reflux and irritable bowel symptoms. plus, I feel great. My husband lost almost as much weight in just four months, has rid himself of gout and improved his chronic high blood pressure, too. I want to tell the whole world all about it, and I wrote this cookbook mainly to make sure that I, and others like me, will find it easy to stick to this plan for the rest of our lives.

Rysavy said she was skeptical of low-carb diets at first, but after going on prescription medication to reduce her cholesterol then watching it double, she was more than willing to try something else. She then tried the Atkins Diet, which also proved unsuccessful.

Ive been saying for years that all I have to do is smell food and I can gain weight. Well, now I understand the medical reasons that make that a true statement, said Rysavy.

Rysavys approach includes vegetables, although her fruit consumption is limited.

Carbohydrates are out of the question.

I have never had more energy or felt better, she said. In my case, carbohydrates did not give me energy. they drained it from me.

Because I was concerned about the errors that were published (indicated in red), I sent a letter in the same day asking if we could print some sort of correction, or asking if I should address this issue in a Letter to the Editor format. Eight days go by with no response whatsoever. So I sent in this Letter to the Editor.

To the Editor.

I appreciate very much the article that the Erroneous Daily printed on January 24th about low carb diets in general, and my new Truly Low Carb cookbook. I cant figure out, though, where the line She then tried the Atkins diet, which also proved unsuccessful came from. I also cant quite decide how to interpret the line Rysavy said the the key is low-carb and not high protein as stressed in the popular Atkins diet - this one could be taken either way. You might think that Atkins promotes high protein after reading that... but in actuality, that is not the case.

My intent was to provide some positive press for Dr. Atkins, in an effort to counteract some of the negative things which are commonly said about the Atkins diet and other low-carb plans. I did indeed lose all that weight by following a combination of principles gleaned from the Atkins and Protein Power diets. Neither plan actually promotes high protein intake. That is the most common misconception the public has about low-carb diets and your article just perpetuated that myth.

Thank you for printing this and allowing me to clear this matter up for anyone who might have misunderstood.

Sincerely,

Karen Rysavy

This is what I received back.

Karen,

Let me make certain I have this correct.

Weve provided hundreds of dollars worth of free advertising and exposure for you and your business, in a publication that has almost 90 percent market penetration. People lobby us constantly for these slots.

Yet, the response weve received from you is an assertion that youve been misquoted and that, somehow, Dr. Atkinss plan was minimalized.

Im certain Dr. Atkins appreciates that you counted promoting his plan among your stated purposes. However, obviously Dr. Atkins is more than capable of promoting his own plan.

If you feel we need to discuss this, I am at your immediate disposal. Feel free to call me at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, or e-mail me at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sincerely,

City Editor

Vail Daily

So, I guess this guy thinks I should kiss his butt, now because he deigned to print my business name in this paper to heck with journalistic integrity and the actual intent of the press release if he does this humongous favor for you, then he can change what you say to whatever HE wants to say and you should be grateful, darnit

I dont really need his advertising, I was truly motivated to tell people that they should try low carb, not just that they should buy my book. You will note that I did not include any mention of my website address in my attempt to correct the matter - I am not trying to milk the sitation for further publicity or anything... I just wanted people to know that yes, I do follow Atkins and I DO NOT CONSIDER IT TO BE A HIGH PROTEIN DIET.

Where does he get off reacting so defensively just because I simply asked for a clarification

Methinks he doth protest too much.

I did think, at first, that the editing errors were just indicative of sloppy and hurried work. But now I begin to wonder if this particular hack job was deliberate..

Maybe the media really is out to get Dr. Atkins ... you know what they say ...

PARANOIA. You only have to be right once to make it all worthwhile....

or

Just because youre paranoid, doesnt mean theyre not out to get you.

Im going to keep trying to get the word out. I still have my weekly column (in a sister paper to that one, ugh.) and I can write low carb there as much as I want. Of course, I have to keep in mind that if I go so far out on a limb as to alienate the majority of the readers, they will of course discontinue my column. I am trying to be balanced - I publish recipes with regular flour in them, for example, but I always always mention or Splenda, next to the listing for sugar... several times I have published one lowfat recipe next to one lowcarb recipe - indicating that I had lost 65 pounds in the last year on lowcarb in the introduction to that one - whatever we can do, each of us, to inform people that we do not eat a pound of bacon for breakfast every day, we should and MUST do. To me, lowcarb is a magnificent gift that MUST be shared with the world.

April 10, 2003

My high altitude cooking column in the newspaper came out yesterday. I had reworked an old one on banana favorites. I got some feedback today - check it out.

dear karen.
i read your recipes for banana deserts. collectively you recommended using.
8.25 cups of sugar
2.25 cups of butter
8 eggs
at the end of reading these recipes i wondered if you were the pied piper of heart disease
i also wondered what planet you are living on
please, i am not trying to just insult or denegrate you. but what do 8 cups of sugar, 2 cups of butter, and 8 eggs have to do with all of the t.v. coverage of obese children and adults (). a hell of a lot.
one of my friends is getting kealation treatments for his blocked arteries. when i heard of it my comment was, well maybe all of those cakes and pies his wife shooved at him may have some to do with it.
my brother is stuck at the 245 barrier, with blocked arteries, and cant get below it.
im stuck at 185 with a roll of fat around my middle and struggling desparately to get it off.
my mother has successfully battled to control her weight for 35 years. but it has been a continuous battle.
my television screen nightly has a segment on americas obese children and adults. let alone the governments
burgeoning health costs.
and still you are pushing 8 cups of sugar, 2 cups of butter, and 8 eggs.
seriously. do you have any comprehension of cause and effect
I apologize for my rude tone, but what the hell are you and the summit daily news thinking
Name Withheld by me, I must be growing up

Just the day before Id gotten a lovely letter from a lady who runs a bed and breakfast in the area, requesting my biscotti recipe shed accidentally recycled recently, she said she uses lots of my recipes at the Inn, to the guests delight... I told her the biscotti recipe must have run alongside mine, but I would make sure my own (yes the TLC one.) appeared next Wednesday, and a simple substitution of Splenda for sugar, the way I always eat it, would make an low carb or diabetic guests very happy.....

Anyone who knows me very well at all can probably imagine how I felt upon reading this guys note. Granted that he is frustrated and upset and worried about his brother but where the hell does he get off taking all of it out on me, a stranger, based on a single column (I am assuming he is a tourist). This was the first dessert column Id run in weeks, and that comment about the wife shoving desserts at her husband.... well, okay, lets not psychoanalyze the guy online, there are reasons for everything, but his behaviour was still ridiculous - how is the pied piper of obesity and heart disease NOT an attempt to insult and degenerate me personally Taking it out on the WRONG PERSON, buddy..... But really, this is a good thing in the end because I get to get up on my soapbox in the open with blessings of the paper - because I did allow myself the luxury of forwarding the email to my editor, along with the following angry preface.

Did your editor get a copy of the below love note too - and shall I reply, or ignore
I would be happy to point out to this guy that these are DESSERT recipes, not everyday recipes, and the total amount of sugar called for is for TWENTY EIGHT servings in total, and so on.... in a much less rude manner than he did - once I calm down, that is....
As you all may or may not know, I have gotten REAL healthy, and fairly slim, eating lots and lots of fat and NO SUGAR on the Atkins diet for three and half years now .... but that doesnt mean there arent people out there who still want a real, no holds barred recipe occasionally - what I would really like is permission to run excerpts of this letter
without the *******s name in it , in next weeks column, along with some LOW CARBOHYDRATE DIET healthy heart advice, and a low carb recipe. I was planning to run this particular recipe ANYWAY next week, I just was not planning to point out to people that it IS low carb, once they replace
the sugar with splenda, but perhaps it is time for me to come out of the closet.... can I ,can I, please

I got this back.

This is *********, the editor. First of all, dont be overly offended and defensive when a reader is so passionate that he or she cares to respond in such an ethusiastic way. The newspaper biz is like show biz. You get out on the stage and you take your bows and your lumps. In a constructive way, you certainly should respond to the letter. And, use his name. In another vein, I am asking him to rewrite the letter in formal English for publication.
People are paying attention to your work. Revel in it. Inattention is the worst thing that a writer can experience.

Sooooooo - next weeks column could be VERY VERY interesting... I can hardly wait. I replied back to the editor right away, of course... He replied to parts, and Ill stick those in, in red.

Thanks for your response. I am a passionate person and this guy definitely pushed all the buttons I have - I really do feel a real sense of guilt when I publish a recipe like this, on one hand, because I do not even EAT this type of food myself anymore, but as a self-professed journalist, I feel it is my obligation to present all types of recipes in my column with you. I have included some low fat, some low carb, and mostly traditional recipes over the years, in keeping with my estimation of your readers demographics and interests. I have also attempted to keep my overriding bias for low carbohydrate eating firmly in check, so it would not affect this column. I do allow myself to talk a little about it, here and there, but every time I do, I wonder how it is going over with your staff.
So, how have I been doing I dont know how long youve been with the paper, or how many of my columns you have even seen, (theres been a lot of turnover there, as I am sure you know) but I would love to have the chance to start writing more openly about low carbohydrate cooking and eating and basic health issues.

Dr. Fred Pescatore, Hamptons Diet author and former Medical Director of the Atkins Center, says Learn the Low-Carb Lifestyle for Five Bucks is the perfect guide to choosing a low carb program that will work for you .

What can someone whos been living the low carb lifestyle for five years say about a basic book like Karen Rysavys Learn the Low Carb Lifestyle for 5 Bucks
BUY IT. This book is not only the absolute best short version of how and why low-carb works,
but Karens informal style and first-hand knowledge of the subject make this little gem a joy to read. It got me excited about low-carb all over again.
Whether youre a beginner, or a beginning-again dieter, youll find Learn the Low-Carb Lifestyle for 5 Bucks a suprisingly meaty (LOL) and helpful guide to improving your health by controlling your carbs.