An ode to Bacon.
I love Bacon.
Truly – it is the food of the gods, and should really be classed as a food group all on its own, along with coffee and chocolate. It’s a low-carbers dream, even if we don’t actually eat a ton of it at every meal as some suggest. And bacon has had a huge resurgence in popularity over the past few years, possibly because so many low-carbers are seen guiltlessly tucking into a breakfast of it rather than trying to eat a bowlful of straw and dust covered in milk without gagging. And because less and less people are buying into the nonsense that saturated fat will kill you.
It has become so popular you can get bacon flavour toothpaste, soap, and chocolate. (really want to try that if it comes in Sugar Free!)
I have just gone 2 weeks without eating any bacon. Actually coffee too but that probably deserves a blog all of it’s own for the sheer improbability of it all.
Anyway – in celebration of the food that can turn Vegetarians into carnivores – here is the Bacon Song.
Genius !
Clearwater’s Dairy Clotted Cream
It looks like New Zealand food producers are listening to the comments from people wanted clotted cream. 7 years ago when we first came here – it was not available. Anywhere.
In fact 3 years ago when I first wrote about the issue of clotted cream with the recipe (still one of the most visited pages on this blog), it still was not available for sale anywhere.
So I was dead chuffed when Fran told me that there was now another brand available!
Clearwater Dairy – who usually make yogurts have joined Country Fayre Cafe in commercially producing and selling Clotted Cream. At 59.6% fat content – its the real deal. And at $4.95 for 175g its actually pretty well priced.(Moore Wilsons Prices)
So this one works out considerably cheaper than the country fayre option, which is currently $25 for 180g. I’m guessing the price difference is merely a matter of production scale – Clearwater being an already set-up commercial dairy operation.
Its actually softer as well – in fact actually softer than you may be used to – a bit more like Extra Thick Double cream – but with a soft golden top typical with Clotted Cream. And the taste? Devine!
I couldn’t be bothered to make scones, so I decided on Low Carb Warm Chocolate Muffins – which it turns out is actually a perfect pudding to have with a dollop of the cream.
A sign up in Moore Wilsons suggests that this can also be used in coffee – but I actually don’t recommend that. While it tastes fine – it separates and leaves a film of fat on the top. I always drink my coffee with cream instead of milk, but for that I recommend sticking with the bog-standard cream, and use the Clotted Cream with warm muffins, berries or of course scones.
Either way – Clotted Cream has made a comeback to New Zealand. Long may it continue. If your supermarket doesn’t stock this, but has other Clearwater products – ask for it. It will be worth the wait I promise.
The Gluten free and allergy show in Wellington.
We aren’t in the Wairarapa this weekend! So – trying to make the most of a weekend in the city – we went to the above show. (It’s raining). Now, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t need to eat a gluten free diet – I eat Lo-Carb, which is a lot harder to do in New Zealand than it really should be. Gluten Free is really quite easy here, with a huge range of products available in the supermarkets, and a showcase of products you can wander round!
The good stuff.
I’m afraid I couldn’t do many taste-tests, because basically Gluten Free still contains a lot of carbs, and more importantly sugar, however – doesn’t stop me looking!
LoveCake: Boy did I want to try the cake samples. They looked so scrummy, rich an moist. The website unfortunately doesn’t actually show the ingredients list, so do make sure you check before buying.
L’affaire au Chocolate. makes and sells dairy,wheat and gluten free chocolates – and brilliant for me, even sells a 100% chocolate bar from France (Pralus brand). At $15 for 100g it works out about the same price as a bar of SchocBlack, so I look forward to trying it out.
SweetSmart: Oh Yes! Sugar Free! And some of their range is sugar free and gluten free. They sell sweets, chocolate spreads (sweetened with Fructose so no good for low carbers), and biscuits. Best thing is they sell DeBron brand sweets which is something that you can buy in the UK but not here – and they promise me that they will be ordering some Sugar Free Marshmallows, which I haven’t seen since ordering the DeBron ones when I was back in the UK. While I rarely eat sweets to be honest, to have the option is nice, and I think this new company may be the nearest we get to the UK’s LowCarb Megastore.
A lot of their products are sweetened with a product called Tagatose, which a quick search on LowCarbFriends suggests is highly laxative – so be warned.
The Protein Bakery: Oh boy – these guys are the Gods of LowCarb Cookies, and they are a Wellington company, born and bred. Unlike a lot of LowCarb (or Gluten free) biscuits or cookies – these are soft. And they really do taste as close to the real thing as i think you are gonna get without flour and sugar. They have been available for years now, and new flavours are being developed all the time. In fact at the show, they have 4 new flavors to try and vote on, including an Almond Cookie, which as far as I’m concerned was heavenly. The cookies with chocolate chips in do have a small amount of sugar, so you need to aware of that, but the flavors without are 100% sugar free, and all are gluten free.
gftreats: Ok, so here I broke the rules a little and did a taste test of something that was Gluten Free but not lowcarb. This company sells Battered Fish, Chicken Strips, Mini Hot Dogs and Donuts, all GF. I made a sacrifice and tried everything but the mini hot dogs (cos I refuse to eat horrid battered sausage with a stick up its back end and call it a hot dog!) I have to say they were really tasty, and the company thoughtfully had a sheet available to check the ingredients, and it seemed to be to fit the bill for GF food nicely.
Now the not-so-good.
To be honest – I skipped most of the main Gluten Free stands, because basically if its bakery stuff, I know it’s no good for me, and those were the stands that were obviously most crowded. And I really dont have a huge amount of patience at shows like this where you have to fight to get to the stand itself.
So in reality, there were only 3 stands that I had a problem with:
AriaFarm sell a brand called “Make A Meal Of It” which is basically “formed” meat, frozen into strips that you can just pour out of a bag and cook. I just kinda have a problem with a show that is basically about healthy eating showcaseing a product that takes perfectly good (gluten, sugar,dairy,wheat,soy,legume,you-name-it free) natural food, processing it and selling it as something healthy cos they managed to do it without adding gluten to it! Now the Meat strips are indeed 96% meat – but – um – call me crazy – why buy “Formed” 96% meat when most supermarkets sell 100% fresh meat in ready cut strips that you can bung in the freezer.
There was also a company there selling, amongst other things, Pork Scratchings and pork Rinds. Now I forgot to make a note of the name, but a process of eliminations means it looks like it was SweetsDirect. The website is unavailable I’m afraid. So what was wrong? Well basically Pork Rinds are about as LowCarb and gluten free as you can get. They are pretty much just fat and protein naturally. And the company had signs up saying they were Gluten Free and LowCarb. Except when I read the Ingredients list, they contains Wheat Flour and Sugar, so were neither Gluten free nor LowCarb. And yet on sale at a Gluten Free show. If nothing else this says that you really must read the labels and not take the companies word!
Kitchen Queens were selling non-stick cooking products, like Magic Baking Sheets – but at stupidly high prices. They were selling a 150cm roll for $50, and 100cm for $35. Lakeland sell 100cm for £9, so if you are in the UK – grab one, or if you are in NZ shop around. Even Kirkaldie & Staines sell it cheaper. It’s brilliant stuff, and I use it all the time, but I’m not going to pay that much when I can get it cheaper.
All in all it was a very good show, and even we managed to buy some goodies, so well worth the $10 fee to get in. It’s open again tomorrow, at the TSB Arena. Only problem – no coffee stand!
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Eating Low Carb in New Zealand.
I’ve been meaning to write about this for ages, and since the “new” Atkins Diet book is released this week, and Low Carb is back in the news I thought now would be a good time. So to get past the “controversial” bit – I eat Low Carb. Yes – I’ve been following what is basically an Atkins style diet for about 9 years now, and have not dropped dead from a heart attack.
Basically I don’t eat sugar (or honey or anything else vaguely sugar-like), flour, rice, potatoes, pasta, carrots, parsnips, apples or bananas. Pretty much anything else is fair game.
And in New Zealand I have really struggled with it. I lost about 4 stone (56lb or 25kg) prior to coming here and although it took about 3 and a half-years to do it – I never really struggled to stick to the rules – enjoying it immensly. I worked out a lot in a really good local gym, and was pretty fit and healthy.In New Zealand it was a different matter – the biggest issue being the predominance of sugar as a preservative. In fact – the use of sugar in anything and everything. My dislike of bacon here is down to the fact that it really shouldn’t be sweet. But it’s cured in sugar or honey rather than salt – as is just about everything else. It’s hard to find chicken that isn’t injected with sugar to make it plump and tender. I have even (I kid you not) been told in Logan Brown’s (best loved and expensive restaurant in Wellington) that they would have to prepare my steak specially because they season it with sugar.
Yep – sugar on a bloody fillet steak! I ask you??!
So if like me, you what to commit to a low carb way of eating and live in New Zealand, there are probably a few things you need to think about. It has taken me this long to get back on track, and I am basically having to start again and re-lose all that weight.
So here are some things to consider. Ill be adding Recipes and useful links in the comments section, so all the Low carb Info will stay in this post and not take over the blog – because at the end of the day this isn’t a diet or lo-carb blog.
Make sure you can cook!
You really do need to be able to cook food from scratch using ingredients that are in their natural form – that way you don’t end up eating tons of sugar and high-carb fillers. It took me a while, but I now have alternative recipes for just about ever High Carb food you could imagine – so I really don’t have to eat High Carb if I want a treat. I am immensely grateful to some seriously good low-carb cooks and bloggers who have invented some amazing recipes. Links in the comments.
Be Extra Careful in Cafes.
This is probably one of my biggest issues, because obviously I spend a lot of time in cafes. I absolutely Adore Flat White coffees, but I am actually very susceptible to even small amounts of carbs, so milk is an issue. On the positive side – almost every café I have been into will serve Pouring Cream on the side with a Long Black or Americano (Black Espresso coffees), so pick that.
Also most cafes will serve the Lo-Carb friendly all day breakfasts, but be aware that bacon has sugar in it, the sausages have probably got a huge amount of high-carb filler, and it can be difficult to convince staff that you really don’t want the Hash Browns, toast and other bits. But they will do it.
I am renowned for ordering Eggs Benny without the Muffin. Eggs Benny is a staple of most cafes, and while there’s a huge difference in the quality of the Hollandaise (some is out of a packet) – it’s a great low carb breakfast.
Eating out in Restaurants.
It’s actually been incredibly rare for a restaurant here to get snotty about swapping out the Carbs for salads or veggies. They will almost always check that you don’t want another carb to replace it with, but generally it all happens without a hitch. One of the reasons I love Boulcott St Bistro so much is because they swap the Chips for Cauliflower Cheese on their fillet béarnaise, and get a really scrummy dinner with no hassles.
Sweeteners.
The good news for low-carbers is that Splenda is readily available in the supermarkets. In fact – when we first came here, it wasn’t available in the UK, so we took 10 packets back with us. It turned up in the UK supermarkets 2 weeks later. Doh!
Baking Supplies
Learn to love ground almonds! (Or Armands as they are pronounced here). If you are in the Wellington region – you can buy in bulk at Moore Wilsons – otherwise look for a BinIn place where you can buy as much as you need rather than get little bags. If you like using soy or whey protein, then most health food shops sell a brand called Red9 in Silver bags. I tend not to use Soy these days – but use the whey protein to make batters and crispy coatings with.
Also, for thickening sauces – you cant get special thickeners like “Thick’n’Thin”, so I use Guar Gum, sold in small packs (Lotus Foods Brand). And I’ve learned that using a cheap flour dredger to add it to sauces prevents lumps. If you aren’t used to using it – add in very small amount, whisk well and allow the sauce to boil, before adding more.
You can get a wide range of veggies and berries most year round.
I know most people continue to think we don’t eat them, but we know we do. I avoid Kumara (a sweet potato) but its there for people who can manage the moderate carb level. Also, there always seems to be a lot of pumpkins and squashes. And the cherries are to dye for! I tend to stick to Cauli, Brocolli, Cabbage, Zuccini (courgettes), spinach – that sort of thing. And I love berries, so Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries – especially in Cheesecakes. In fact – I might go make one now.
Cream, cheese and eggs can be a bit of a problem.
Just accept that cream comes in one form, but you can cook with it – and if you want to know how to make clotted (Devonshire) cream – look here (people have been leaving some really helpful improvements,so we shoudl end up with the perfect method!) Most of the cheese is plastic and expensive, but there are some very good local firms making better cheeses. I am a real Fan of Kapiti Cheese, and they also make a wonderful Crème Fraiche, as well as Marscapone for cheesecakes.
Most eggs here are Battery Raised. The “Ethical” ones tend to be Barn eggs, and you tend to have look hard and pay lots for free range, but there are steps to make more eggs free range.
Meat buying
Be careful buying meat in the supermarkets – some of it is “tenderised” (aka – injected with sugar) or coated in marinades, which are also full of sugar. Again – if you have access to Moore Wilsons, and can budget to pay slightly more – then I recommend it. I now tend to buy large sides of beef and cut it into steaks myself. You can save up to $5 a kilo doing that. If you like buying deli meat – avoid “Corned Silverside” like it’s the plague. It’s a wonderful joint of meat that’s been preserved in sugar and ruined – turns into plastic tasting rubbish.
Mayonnaise – Stick to Hellmann’s!
NZ Mayo is really sweet and sugary so be sure that you only buy Hellmann’s mayonnaise (sold as Best Foods). Be aware that there is another brand called Real Mayonnaise that looks very similar. If in doubt – check the labels – and you want the one made by Unilever.
Speciality Foods.
It’s almost impossible to buy Low Carb speciality foods (or “Frankenfoods”) here. Atkins brand products were available, then went away, and have now come back again, so shakes and bars are available. I tend to avoid these, as I just prefer to eat “real food”, but I can tell you that the Coconut bars are to die for a treat. And the shakes are probably the best I’ve had, and good to have round as a snack. If you want sugar free chocolate – be ready to pay for it. You can get Cavalier chocolate bars here, but they currently sell for about $8-$10 for an 85g bar because they are imported. You can also get Woodies Bars, but they sell for about $3 a bar, so you really need to want them bad! You are probably better off buying from Schoc Chocolate: they do milk or dark chocolate sweetened with malitol, but they also do the sublime SchocBlack – a 100% chocolate bar which makes the most magical deserts and cake toppings.
Beer.
Oh yes – we have our own –local LoCarb Beer. Macs Brewery produces a beer called Spring Tide. Its lovely straight out the fridge on a hot summers evening, or with a low carb (cauliflower base) pizza. I think it says something that the highest likelihood of getting special low carb food is getting beer!
All in all, you will probably find it harder to stick to low-carb here, primarily because it looks like it never really took off here in the same way it did in the US and UK. Your best bet really is making sue you have a bunch of recipes you can use to create cakes, puddings and other low carb varieties.
If you are emigrating here – please consider making a bulk order before you come, from wherever you can get you special items from and shipping the stuff. We have done this over the past few years as my parents travelled over, but the fact is that no one will ship to New Zealand. MAF will let the stuff through – but companies just see it as a hassle and wont post. In the UK – I recommend Low Carb Megastore – that’s where I got all my stuff from for years.
I hope this will help people avoid the horrendous weight gain I went through. I’m getting it under control now, but the difficulty in knowing what’s in the food, coupled with the stress of the last few years has had a huge impact.
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