21 October 2008

Oh, bummer!

Dr. didn't run cholesterol tests this time. I was hoping to see if it dropped again since I've been strictly following Atkins since Lent began. He decided, though, that last year's numbers were still so good as to not worry about testing again for a few years.

Cool thing was that last year when I went in, he saw my blood pressure and immediately said: "You're not exercising, are you?" This year, when he saw the blood pressure (116/72) he immediately said: "You ARE exercising, aren't you?" Smile!!! Thank you, Pr. Hall for encouraging me to get moving again in a regular workout.

What does a strict Atkins dinner look like for someone on maintenance?

A salad of spinach and lettuce, peppers, onion and cucumber with ranch dressing
Two salmon patties (has to be made with red sockeye) with cocktail sauce
A lo-carb banana muffin (one of Cindi's concoctions) with butter
A serving of chocolate mousse with whipped cream
Five almonds

Who could ask for a more diverse and delicious dinner?

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I am scared to go get a physical and hear about my cholesterol. There's a history of high cholesterol int he family...

The dinner sounds great, though. The almonds are a nice addition as I am a big fan of various nuts.

Besides Ranch, are there other types of dressing that someone on Atkins may eat?

Pax

Christopher D. Hall said...

You're welcome!

William Weedon said...

Omar,

Glad you weathered Omar! Besides Ranch, you can basically eat any kind of dressing on Atkins that doesn't have sugar - look for dressings with 1 carb per serving or so. Only really evil one I can think of is 1000 Islands. We use a lot of Ranch, Blue Cheese, Caesar, and Paul Newman's Olive Oil and Vinegar. Creamy is generally fine.

Unknown said...

Fr. Weedon,

Thanks. I weathered my namesake fairly well. My dwelling is largely hurricane-proof :-)

Good information about Atkins. I'm not on it, but I try to cut down significantly on (simple) carbs.

Pax

Omar

Jim Huffman said...

Over the years, we've grown to use this almost exclusively: good quality (WalMart variety, nothing fancy) extra-virgin olive oil and wine vinegar, in basically equal parts. It really grows on you, and the taste enhances rather than obscures the taste of the salad. I used to like 1000 Island, but the taste (forgetting the carbs) is overwhelming.

Anonymous said...

Pastor Weedon, you are an inspiration. I've been on Atkins since May. BP's falling, weight's dropping. Exercise is a joy, where once it was dreadful. We've become a carb-conscious household because of my six-year-old daughter's Type 1 Diabetes. Atkins maintenance, as her endocrinologist said, is the diet we all should be eating! It means that her insulin shots are very small, and she's become a model diabetic.

We grew a field of greens on our little farm, for a summer of fresh lettuces, collards, mustard, chard. Fall greens are still coming in, weathering the frost.

For dressing, we've been using this spice mix from Penzeys (out of Madison, WI, but you can order online).

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysbuttermilk.html

Lorrie mixes it with rich, unpasteurized milk from the farm, which makes this the best dressing I've ever tasted. It's also cheaper, and you don't have to endure the additives that the Waltons and Krogers add. Incidentally, Penzeys has the best spices I've encountered. Their black peppercorns (especially for those of us on Atkins, who eat salads, meat and eggs, and who pay more attention to taste because we don't use heavy sauces) are wonderful. And their cinnamon is great, too.

Yours,
Aaron

William Weedon said...

Two good recipes for salad dressing - sweet! Thanks, Jim and Aaron.

Aaron - glad to hear you're giving it a whirl. It really is a great way of eating - at least it has been for me.

WM Cwirla said...

Try a good aged Balsamic. You live close enough to St. Louis to hit Viviano's on The Hill. Balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, a dash of Dijon mustard, and a hint of honey (oops, no honey for the Atkins cult, I suppose). Anyway, honey for the free eaters; it's a great thickner for salad dressing.

You can also go with simple Balsamic and EVOO (as Rachel Rey likes to say). I prefer a clove of garlic minced in a pinch of sea salt.