Quote:
Originally Posted by sandyfanny
The okra and green beans I referenced are packaged as a Lowe's Food brand item found in the produce section.
Were you using total carbs, or net carbs in the carb count (or was fiber count even listed?)
Did the ingredient label list anything besides green beans, oil, and salt?
It's also important, whether on Atkins or a low-carb exchange plan, to remember that any of the vegetable "chips" have to be counted. They're not a free food.
Atkins induction doesn't allow unlimited fresh green beans or even unlimited lettuce, and so these fried veggies have to be calculated into your allowed servings. And you have to remember that the measurements aren't identical.
I haven't eaten the fried beans or okra in quite some time, so I don't remember the math I had to do to determine the fresh food equivalents to the dried snacks.
If I remember correctly, one ounce (28g) was equivalent to one vegetable exchange and a couple fat exchanges.
This would translate into Atkins induction as one cup of raw vegetables.
For me, it made more sense to roast green beans as a snack (they're not really crispy like a chip though, which is why I didn't suggest them).
I toss long, thin green beans (ideally from the farmer's market) with just enough oil to dampen the bunch, then toss with low-carb seasonings and roast at 450 degrees until the skins blister and brown.
The carb and fiber counts are the same as for the vaccuum fried beans (unless a higher carb ingredient has been added before or after the frying to coat the beans), but the fat content is a bit lower (which isn't all that important on Atkins except for the fact that calories do add up, even on Atkins, and which Dr. Atkins acknowledges in his books).
If you eat when not hungry, or eat more calories than you burn, you can stall even on induction. I can't tell true hunger from false hunger, so I stall even on induction, so I had to add a calorie-counting element. That's why I switched to an exchange plan (which controls both carbs and calories).
I've used and still use Atkins, South Beach, and paleo principles to guide my food choices, but I use the exchange plan to limit the carbs and calories. I don't think most folks have to go this far, but my hunger signals are so screwed up I have to add the extra calorie-limiting step or I stall.
Concentrated foods (dried, fried, cooked down, or juiced) aren't as filling as fresh foods, so regardless of the food plan you're on, you have to take that into consideration. If all your veggies are fried until crispy they're not going to be as satisfying as fresh.
It doesn't mean you can't have any of these foods, but it does mean you have to be very careful with them, and you do have to count them, and especially on Atkins induction, you have to remember that the foods have to fit into the veggie limits (and that one cup of dried/fried green beans is not equivalent to one cup of fresh green beans).
The best way to do this on Induction is to look up the net carb value of the amount of fresh green beans you could eat, and then calculate the net carb value for your snack green beans (again making sure there aren't any ingredients other than beans, oil, and salt) and make sure you eat no more than an equivalent number of net carbs.