OK, so after crapping-up poor sandyfanny's thread with my whining :D I decided to do it on my own thread instead. Not only that, but the subject of her thread...what's for dinner?.....is not what I'm whining about....so it's like I bust into the middle of someone else's conversation and start whining. Waaahh! :tantrum::tantrum::tantrum:

So where was I? I'm not getting enough calories in to try and low-carb it while I'm having massive problems with chewing. Plus, it makes me get terrible hunger pangs...which I hate...and had not had them for almost a year while on Atkins. Plus having to eat empty calories....and sugar...which I consider to be really, really evil. :devil: I feel like eating sugar is like committing a sin (even though I don't think we have "sins" in the Jewish religion) :D Plus, all my great energy I had on Atkins. I'm very unhappy with this...very upset, actually.

I don't know what in the **** I was thinking.....well, I just didn't even think of it, to be honest. It never really occurred to me....and I don't know why...because I have actually known of several women who don't wear their denture(s) most of the time....and it makes your face look horrible...and just assumed the denture(s) was/were hurting them or something (??).....I guess...I never really gave it much thought.

Jeez, I heard once that Benjamin Franklin (or was it George Washington) made himself wooden dentures....can you imagine? How the **** did he chew with THEM?? Now that I realize the chewing problems involved, it really floors me to think of them being wooden and not professionally fitted, etc. How the heck did he even manage not having them falling out all the time(?)....much less, the chewing issue.

Anyway...had I realized or given it a lot of thought (I mean, who's gonna ask a woman why she doesn't have her denture(s) in, right?).....I could have been prepared. Not only mentally but as a practical matter.
I do all the cooking for my father and myself.....and his basic diet fits right in with Atkins (except he avoids fat...he thinks) so it worked out really great and I knew just what to get at the grocery store and have in the house and didn't have to figure out two different menus, etc.
So....I didn't buy stuff to prepare...only some yogurt and cream soups for the chewing problem that I thought would only last a week or so....but it's been over 2 months now.....HOPEFULLY due to not having the permanent liner yet and that this will fix everything in 6 days.

OK...so here's the plan. I'm gonna start a list of dental-soft low-carb foods that I can think of (and that I like...which is practically anything, to be honest)......and if anyone wants to help me or add things please feel free. In fact...PLEASE feel free....I can use the help.

Then, if I don't need it and can eat fine in 6 days, that will be great. But just in case, I'll be prepared and will know what to get at the grocery store.

Well....here's the things I CANNOT eat at the present time:

Most meats (except ground)
Shellfish (tried to eat calamari...forget it)
Raw veggies
cooked veggies with skins (corn, peas, beans, etc.)
pork rinds
Nuts of any kind

And meanwhile will make a list of what would be dental soft low carb:

most fish
most COOKED (soft) veggies (but with no sort of skins...corn, peas, beans etc.)...like broccoli and cauliflower. And veggie soup with only soft veggies with no skins.
eggs of any sort (scrambled, egg salad, etc.)
ground beef that I could create a meatloaf recipe for.
cottage cheese
sour cream
cream cheese
melted cheese or really soft cheese
Jello (sugar-free, of course)
cut up soft fruit with no skins
(butter, mayo, soup broth, of course)


OK...what else? I'd appreciate if anyone has something they can add that I've not thought of here. And I will add to it myself if I think of anything else.
Then I can prepare a grocery list (someone posted a nice meatloaf recipe on sandyfanny's thread so will list what ingredients to buy....after I evaluate every one (I'm wondering about the green pepper...crunchy plus has a skin). The onions, I think would be fine...and the crushed pork rinds. I could also use flax meal to bulk it up. Not an induction item but pretty low-carb and I think could be used for maintenance in reasonable amounts. And then I'll be prepared, at least, for what to do in 6 days....it things don't turn out exactly the way I hope they will. Anything can be revised, right? If you put your mind to it.

Meanwhile....I'm a nervous wreck about my son's wedding coming up in 2 weeks (the 28th). I'm getting a panicky feeling just thinking of it.
It's funny...but I HATE any sort of being in the limelight kinda thing. I'm really serious. Got married at a justice of the peace with nobody else there.
You couldn't PAY me to have a wedding....and I can't figure out why other women want one so much. I mean, I've heard of women offered a wedding or a new house, by parents, and they will choose the wedding. WTF? To me, that's nuts. I just can't figure it out. My soon-to-be DIL is really thrilled and looking forward to this big wedding....I'm a nervous wreck just thinking about it....or HER state of mind right now.
It's not that a wedding is the problem...as a guest, I'd be fine. It's the whole mother-of-the-groom thing...with other son being best man.....having to be announced, etc. GAAHHH!

But on that subject...I would be fine as a guest of a wedding IF I'm not fat. Whenever I was fat, I didn't want to go anywhere, much less a wedding. Family gatherings are a nightmare where everyone is checking out who's thin and who's fat. It makes me absolutely shudder to think of how I'd be if I was still 195 lbs....considering that it took me about 3 years to get the Atkins diet to work again and figure out what the problem was (artificial sweeter). Thank G-d I managed to get it to work in time for the wedding...in fact, I hope the gown still fits. To be perfectly honest...if I was still fat I would be in a panic, depressed, and trying to figure out a way to get out of it....get sick or something. Can you imagine? My own son's wedding? I would NEVER want to do that to one of my sons...not in a million years.
I keep thinking about that as the wedding has gotten closer and closer....what the **** would I have been doing now, in my sheer desperation? What would I wear? That hideous thing I wore to my half-sister's wedding? That was the only thing that fit and I had to spend time crying in the dressing room, frustrated and depressed and finally settled on it in disgust? Even came late to her wedding, not wanting to get out of my car wearing that horror (?) (who I've now given to another sister, BTW)
What in the world would I do if I had still not gotten the diet to work? With this wedding 2 weeks away? They'd probably have to commit me for massive depression....or panic attacks.:D
I remember driving to that wedding...it was also in August..and here I was with this ugly, tent-like pants suit, sweating and flushed....and very unhappy. I just wanted to get it over with. And that was a small wedding....nothing like this shindig my son's fiance whipped up....with the reception in a place called "The Penthouse" in NYC.
I just wanted to crawl into a hole. Plus, I was so uncomfortable in any sort of fitted clothes....and always rushed into loose stuff/elastic waist, etc. as soon as I'd get home. So I was hot and sweating, terribly uncomfortable in the outfit, fat with a horrible outfit....it was a nightmare. Seriously. I should go and make an offering to whatever deity got this diet to work again for me.:D

OK...hope this fits on the page, lol. It's a book...as usual. Better stop now as it's getting ridiculous in length.

deena :):D

Deanna52 - CONGRATULATIONS!!! You look AMAZING!!! You are so inspiring to keep at it!!!

Thank you flychick! :hug:

OK...126.9 this morning. You would think I'd be thrilled, wouldn't you? I'm not...I'm almost crying right now. I feel like crap....dragging/no energy and feel depressed. I truly believe I have some sort of sugar allergy or intolerance...probably why I feel so great and have so much success when I'm on Atkins....even better than many others. Because I really cannot tolerate sugar and should stay totally away from it.

Why else would I feel depressed? Almost in this despairing way? The quickly looming wedding? Yeah, I could see that if I was still 195 lbs. I'd be wanting to kill myself right about now.
Anxious, I could understand. Due to the not liking to get up in front of people or have any kind of focus on me in a crowd. But depression over that makes no sense. I should be all excited. But I feel like crying. I'm in that "feeling like a bad person" mode.....which does come from my childhood with a punitive, critical mother....but doesn't usually control my life....or just appear for no reason.

You all know that I'm a huge believer in the Gary Taubes' premise....and I totally believe that what we eat affects not only our health but also our mood, our energy, our state-of-mind.
I ALWAYS feel great on Atkins. Just an added benefit to the fact that it works so well for weight loss.
And ever since this chewing problem started...I'm feeling crap...worse and worse.

Of course, I'm holding out massive hope that this permanent liner...in about 4 more days....will fix everything. What probably already contributed to me feeling despairing is that on Friday, I drove my dad to his girlfriend's place...and stopped in for a few minutes. She told me that I shouldn't lose any more weight...that I was getting too thin. And I told her that I'm not doing it on purpose...it's due to the chewing problem from the plate.
And while she commiserated with me, I came to realize that she also wears plates....only she has both upper and lower (I only have upper). I'd had no idea she wore them....just assumed they were her own teeth.

So realizing that, of course, I began to ask her about my concerns....and she gave me the impression that it never gets much better (the chewing)...which really upset me.
Granted....she 1. has both uppers and lowers, 2. her upper is different than mine because she still has the bases of prior dental implants so it's shaped more like a lower denture (doesn't cover roof of mouth) and hooks on these implant bases. Plus she claims she never got or does not have any sort of permanent liner. And hers are a few years old, she said.

So maybe....it will turn out differently for me. Please G-d!
All week-end I wished I'd never asked her....just totally depresses and bummed me out the whole week-end.
And I should have been happy. Sunday they had a Margaret O'Brien film festival on TCM with all these movies I LOVE....The Secret Garden, Meet Me in St. Louis, Little Women, etc....probably the best child actor ever.

But my food was pure sh*t. Just pure carbs....and crappy carbs at that. Might as well have eaten the damn packages they came in instead. They don't even taste good anymore and I don't enjoy them. Only eat when I'm simply starving (why I'm losing....it's just flat-out not enough calories...which is also not good for me and probably contributing to me feeling draggy and depressed). I'm so jealous of reading everyone else here eating their healthy food. I am taking a multi-vitamin....and may add some iron since I can't chew meat.

I really need to get it together here. Like yesterday, I ate two of those "cottage cheese doubles" I'd bought to eat the first week or so after the surgery. There was no reason I could not just eat the cottage cheese and left off the "doubles" part. It's not like I'm still trying to lose and have to worry about the amount of dairy I eat anymore. Cottage cheese would be a whole lot better...plain....than the sugary fruit stuff in the doubles or the high-glycemic mashed potatoes, etc.

I need to make a major change NOW. Today. And not wait 4 days to see what happens. I hate to throw out food....but why eat stuff that's gonna make you feel crappy, lethargic and depressed? I could kick myself that I bought even more of it after the initial purchases I made to get me through the healing process the first week or so. Wouldn't have to feel so guilty about throwing it out. Maybe I could find out where the food bank is....not sure if they take refrigerated stuff though, like yogurt and cottage cheese doubles.

That's it. I don't care if it's text-book Atkins Maintenance right now. At least I can eat as healthy and as low carb as possible, even though it might not be exactly the way I'd be doing it without these chewing problems.
Plain cottage cheese, meatloaf, cooked veggies. I at least have enough of those few items I can live off of until I learn the ultimate truth in 4 days. Then I can go and shop for all that stuff I made in that list in the prior post here....to give me some variety so I don't get sick and tired of only being able to eat 3 things.

OK....I feel a little better...for now....making that decision.

Ya know, they make these jokes about losing weight.....that they should get their jaws wired. I know everyone's heard them. Then the punchline is "knowing me, I'd gain weight on milkshakes"....or something like that. But the truth is....you know how sick you'd get of only milkshakes? And how fast?
(I think I posted that already....it's sounding familiar :o)

Well, I'm hoping that when this is all sorted out, I will have least have gained some insight.....regarding why we eat/crave what we do and why the amounts. Why we eat when not even hungry. How much ability to eat affects hunger and cravings. How much we eat and don't even know it....take tastes of this or that....and don't even count them.

You really cannot even imagine what this is like unless you've been through it. A few years ago I broke my left shoulder and could not move my left arm for about a month. Suddenly....I was overwhelmed by the loss of having two functioning arms. I took for granted how much one needs both arms. This is the same thing. Suddenly you cannot do what most others can do. You feel crippled..."less than"...faulty. It's a horrible feeling.

Eh....I'll let you know how I do sticking with meatloaf, cottage cheese and soft cooked veggies.
And will definitely let you know in 4 days if this permanent liner fixes the problem....at least enough to allow me to eat a reasonable variation of Atkins Maintenance.

deena :(:blah::write::kickbutt:

Oh No....!!!
 

Oh, Deena, I'm so sorry you're having such a terrible time. Check the dates on the stuff you don't want to eat...can you return it to the grocery store? That sounds nuts, but I've done it more than once. As long as it's still fresh and unopened...take it back! Tell the nice lady at customer service, you've bought the wrong items.

And make some delicious cauliflower and cheddar soup; it's a pureed soup. While you're at it, puree some cooked chicken and blend it into with your soup. Instant Atkins! Blend pureed steak with cream cheese and horseradish, roll it into balls and eat appetizers for dinner. I want to help so badly; I don't want you to be sad and depressed.

Weight 127.6 this morning.

Aww, thanks so much sandyfanny. I'm happier today because I realized I miscalculated and I actually go to the dentist for the liner in 2 days...I go on Thursday...at 11:30, I think....so only two days to go. Keeping my fingers crossed for this to be the solution.

sandyfanny.....do you have a recipe for cheddar cheese soup? One that would be Atkin's friendly/OK? The reason I ask is that over the week-end I was watching the food network and one of the shows hosted by that guy named "Guy" with the spiked hair (called "Diners and"....something..."dives"?)....and he went to this one restaurant and they served a "cheeseburger soup" which he and all the customers raved about. But I can't remember specifically how they made the initial cheese soup part (base).
But what they did then was to add cooked and crumbled ground beef, chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce, believe it or not.....and it's supposed to be fabulous. It did look and sound delicious, I have to say....even though the thought of adding shredded lettuce to a warm soup kinda threw me at first. And all the ingredients were Atkin's friendly if I could just have a recipe for the Atkin's friendly cheese soup base.

And I was wondering how I could figure out a cheese soup recipe in order to make this....and you just mentioned cheddar cheese soup and I would love to have the recipe and try to make the cheeseburger soup and then we could post the combined recipe here if it does really taste as good as they said.

You mentioning the cheese soup just reminded me of this....that I wanted to find a recipe for the base....and voila! Here you are! Bless your heart.
And thanks so much for the sympathy. The dentist office just called to confirm my appt. on Thursday. Please G-d let this fix the chewing problem....at least enough for me to eat the foods that I feel good eating.

Do you think that if I left out the cauliflower and added the other cheeseburger ingredients instead, that your recipe would work as the cheese soup base to try to make this other recipe? I'd really appreciate if you could help me figure out how to make a cheddar cheese soup base (or any kind of cheese soup base, for that matter) so I can try to make this cheeseburger soup.

Thanks, deena :):hug:

Cheeseburger Soup for Deena
 

Deena, I'm so glad you're feeling better this morning. I'm your girl - here's a link to the recipe you want. I chose the Extra -Rich Cheeseburger Soup 'cause we Atkins girls can and because you're concerned about losing too much weight.

http://www.cheese-burger.net/recipes...rger-soup.html

If you scroll down, you'll find the original recipe Guy featured on the show and lots of other versions. Since you're trying to keep your weight UP, I'd make the Extra-Rich as it's written.

But, if you want to make it Atkins, substitute cauliflower for the potatoes, leave out the carrots and flour. The cauliflower (or the potato) is what thickens this soup; you'll never miss the flour.

Instead of 2 cups of milk, for Atkins, use 2 cups of heavy cream or 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup water or ( 1 cup heavy cream and an extra cup of chicken broth).

I think this will work just fine. Let me know if you like it. Good luck! I'm so glad your appointment is SOON.:cheese:

Another Option for Making Cheeseburger Soup
 

Deena, you also might consider making this recipe for cauliflower and cheddar cheese soup, using it as your "base" and just adding the other ingredients that make Cheeseburger Soup.

You need the cauliflower for thickening and for volume and texture in my opinion. You could play around with using 2 cups of heavy cream, heating it over low heat and slowly whisking in a couple of egg yolks, then the cheese to make a cheddar base without the cauliflower. The egg yolks will act as a thickener. If you do it this way, be careful not to let it get too hot while you're making this base. NEVER let cream boil. But I'd have to play with this a little to know it would be good.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/images/icons/icon1.gif Cauliflower and Cheddar Soup
Cauliflower and Cheddar Soup

1/2 head of cauliflower, washed and cut into florets
2 T. olive oil
2 cups of chicken broth (I use reduced sodium)
1/2 - 1 c. heavy cream
grated sharp cheese (as much as you like - I use about 1/2 c.)
chopped onion (I use maybe 1/2 cup)

In a large saucepan, sautee the onion in olive oil 'til it's soft over med - low heat. *Add the cauliflower and sautee it with the onions 'til the cauliflower shows a little golden color (about 7 min.) Add the chicken broth, cover saucepan and simmer until the cauliflower is soft. Let the mixture cool off the heat and put it in a blender and puree. You may need to do this in two batches. Return the pureed mixture to the saucepan and add cream, reheating over med.- low heat. Stir in the cheese and ground black or white pepper and serve. Don't add salt until you taste it; the cheese may be enough salt. This makes 4 - 6 servings. You can refrigerate leftover soup and reheat for another meal.

*If you're in a hurry, microwave the cauliflower until it's soft. Then add it to the onion, add chicken broth and simmer about 15 min. But I think it's better to sautee it a little with the olive oil.

Oooh, sandyfanny....thanks SO much for that recipe.

I'm thinking I want to first try to make it without the cauliflower...do you think it would still work? I'm thinking the cauliflower would affect the cheeseburger taste....but the onions would actually be a great addition!

What the customers and the host were saying on that show was that the soup tasted JUST like a real cheeseburger....so I'm thinking to only put cheeseburger ingredients in it the first time....just to be able to come up with this recipe and share it with everyone else here.

I think that adding either ground beef or ground turkey/chicken to cauliflower/cheese soup would taste fabulous....but not exactly like a cheeseburger, KWIM? But thinking about it....we could figure out all sorts of additions/changes to the basic recipe for new combos....like using broccoli florets instead of cauliflower, etc....right? Oooh....or figuring out some sort of base for an Atkins friendly french onion soup...yum. Maybe use a different cheese?

That recipe seems really easy too....all I need to get is the heavy cream, some more shredded cheddar and an onion.....plus the ground beef, tomatoes and lettuce to add. Plus....I will be able to eat it with no chewing problems!
The recipe you sent me the link to.....see, I would pull out many of the ingredients...like the potatoes, carrots, etc....and only add what would go on a cheeseburger. What do you think? Better to use American cheese or cheddar? I like cheddar on a burger so that should work just fine, don't you think?

OK...I'm gonna get working on this as soon as I can get to the grocery store and I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks so much again for this recipe.

deena :hug:

Shoot....thanks Sandy. I didn't even think of that!

Is there any other option, just in general, to use for thickening while on Atkins? Since I'm on maintenance at this point, it would probably be okay for me to use a bit of flour to make a roux with first before adding the cream....but I want to create this recipe so that it's approved for induction and only contains induction-approved ingredients.

I know that I've used butter to thicken certain items (like glazed sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving)....but butter wouldn't work here because there's already more than enough fat in the cheese, right?

So how many egg yolks per each cup of cream would work do you think? Two yolks per cup, whisking in each yolk separately? I've never before used egg yolks to thicken.....so have no first-hand experience with using them for this purpose.

You know....I also wonder if there would be any way to make a roux using that flaxseed flour. I know that there is some sort of flax one can substitute for flour while on Atkins....but of course, one has to be very careful to only use small amts. because it still does have some carbs in it. But I wonder if that would work for thickening.
And I would also have to check to see if that flax stuff is even okay for induction (I've got a feeling it's not...Jersey girl will let us know).

OK...have my list prepared for the soup ingredients....just have to get over to the nearby grocery store (plus have a bunch of other little errands I have to run...bank, etc.)

deena :hug:

Thick and Thin?
 

Deena, according to induction, egg yolks are the only thing I see that would work as a thickening agent. I don't think butter will do it.

As to maintenance, theoretically, you can use whatever you want to as long as you're within your CCL (Critical Carbohydrate Level), but Atkins warns against the trigger power of some carbs that got many of us in trouble in the first place. Specifically: "Be wary - endlessly wary- of sugar and corn syrup , and white flour and cornstarch." (pg. 221, Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, 1992...2002)

JerseyGyrl would know what you could use to make a roux with butter for your base. I've seen almond meal, which might work, but not for induction. I don't like the taste of flaxseed anything, so I'd be more likely to use 100% whole wheat flour or almond meal if I were determined not to use egg yolks. :dizzy:

OK...just got back and got all the ingredients.:D
As soon as I make my dad dinner, I'm going to start on the soup.....and I'll let you know how I'm doing. If you have a chance, Sandy, check over here later tonight because if I have problems with the thickening, I'm gonna be over here hollering HELP to you.:D

I'm guessing put in the chopped onion raw? What do you think? One would eat raw onion on a cheeseburger, right? Although one could also eat sauteed onions on it too, actually. And I'm not all that nuts about raw onion.

Boy oh boy....is this gonna have a lot of calories....heavy cream, lots of cheese and ground beef. Just shows you how many calories we can eat as long as we stick to the carb restriction.
I'm gonna make a large pot of it....got enough ingredients for that. Then I plan to freeze it in several batches. It sounds so rich that you wouldn't be able to eat more than about a cup for a meal....maybe with a salad or another veggie added.
I figured that no matter how it turns out, I love the ingredients anyway so I'd eat it anyway in case it turns out faulty...or needing tweaking/changes. So figured I'd take the risk of making a whole pot because no matter the thickness, knowing me, I'll eat it anyway.

This sounds so rich though that I would either make it in really small batches or else make a lot and freeze it in several small batches. I think it would take quite a long time to eat an entire pot of it if you were keeping it in the refrigerator....KWIM?

I could swear that there is a flaxmeal flour that is allowed on Atkins (in small amounts) but not sure if it's allowed for induction. You'd only need a very small amount just for thickening, I'd think....so you might not even taste it. But I'm going to try and thicken this with the egg yolks so will see what happens.

OK...hope you see this in time and can check back on me later.:hug:

deena:)

Oh good! I'm very curious about this soup business. I wouldn't put my onions in raw. I'd sautee them along with the ground beef - you have to brown it anyway...I think the soup will freeze just fine. How fun to have it handy to heat up when you're just plain not in the mood to cook.

I'll make it too...after you do! I'll check in from time to time. I'm cleaning house and love an excuse to procrastinate. :p

OK, the ground beef and the onions are all cooked up and browned. Now starting on the soup base. Plus have to cut up tomatoes.:D

OK...update. It is delicious! All it needs is mayo and ketchup.:D

Now, it's not quite as thick as I'd like, though it definitely is nothing close to thin. Here's what I did. I heated the chicken broth...then added the cream and heated that combo and then added the cheese. When the cheese melted, it did thicken it up a bit. Then beat 2 egg yolks, tempered them and then stirred them in. Just added the ground beef and sauteed onions, the chopped tomatoes and the shredded lettuce. I had sauteed the onions in a combo of olive oil and butter...and there was plenty to fill the olive oil requirement for the soup recipe, I think.

Now here's one thing....I thought I still had flaxmeal flour but apparently I used it up (I use it to put it in my dad's hot cereal in the morning to add fiber)....but I do have milled flaxseed.....and while not as well ground as flour, it is finely milled. It has 4 Gm. carbs per 2 tblsp. and 0 Gm. sugar.

So I was thinking of separating out like a cup or so of the soup and try a test with the milled flaxseed....BUT...do you think I should make a roux with it using butter or should I just make a slurry with it like you do with flour and water? Please give me your opinion, Sandy.:)

It is VERY filling, I'll tell you. A small bowl is a whole meal...at least for me...I'm stuffed and had about half a regular soup bowl of it. It's a good thing it was cheddar cheese because I think, after tasting it, that American cheese would have made it too bland.

deena:)

Edit....it's about the thickness of that chile con queso cheese they have in Mexican restaurants to dip the tortilla chips in. I'm really curious to see if I could make it thicker and then see if I like it better that way.

Great Recipes.