I’m currently reading The Dukan Diet. It is reportedly the diet plan the Duchess of Cambridge (formerly known as Kate Middleton) used to slim her slim figure into Super Duper Bride Slim! It’s sold out just about everywhere. So  in case you can’t find it at your local bookstore here’s the basic idea, there are four phases

Attack Phase – All protein all the time.  But different from say The Atkins Diet because it is low fat protein. You’re not going around eating salami and bacon and calling it healthy. SO it seems like an improvement there. This Attack Phase is also quick so you’re not eating this restrictive menu for long. Which is good because explaining to onlookers what the heck you’re doing becomes tiring. Although “explaining” does burn calories so that’s an upside. You could lose a couple of kilos in a couple of days in this phase. Quick question what’s a kilo?

Cruise Phase – This is where you go on a cruise and eat unlimited quantities of buffet style food and gain a metric ton. Quick question what’s a metric ton? Wait no. Scratch that. The Cruise Phase is a phase where you alternate pure protein days with protein and veggie days. This goes on until you’re the size of Kate Middleton and birdies are hovering around you carry your veil and train as you skip through the meadow. Wait no scratch that. You just stay on this phase until you get to some reasonable weight that Dukan helps you determine. This reasonable weight might not be the mythical ridiculous weight you’ve always fantasized about so that’s a good thing, IMHO.

Consolidation Phase - This is the phase where you merge all your companies into one conglomerate so your CEO has control at your Worldwide Headquarters. What? No. This is where you add other food groups. You gotta do this for x amount of days times the amount of weight  you lost. Truly this seems like a good way to step down from your more strict protein only diet. Or you could do my carb step down method knowns as the carbgasm where frosting in massive quantities is involved.
Permanent Stabilization Phase - This is where you do one protein day a week and mostly eat like a normal human. Quick question how do normal humans eat? I’ve got no idea.

Opinion – So far VERY interesting. It seems to have a lot to say on why you don’t maintain the weight loss and that part I really like. I’m still reading but it’s worth a read. I’ve always loved the way I feel when I restrict my carbohydrates but never felt I had the support for the lifestyle part of the dealio. That’s one reason I LOVE Weight Watchers meeting. Support is the Holy Grail for sustained lifestyle change so it may be taking a step in that direction for lower carb dieters.

And again - the book is sold out at nearly every book store SO if you’d like to read it click here to purchase The Dukan Diet: 2 Steps to Lose the Weight, 2 Steps to Keep It Off Forever. Because I’ll then get a HUGE commission. Okay so fine – I’ll make like 8 cents.

The new Weight Watchers Gourmet Cheese Wedges come in four mouth-watering varieties – Original Swiss, Garlic & Herb, Parmesan Peppercorn and Jalapeño Pepper – and are perfect for spreading onto crackers, apple slices, celery sticks and more for a deliciously fun and easy snack.  Each rich and creamy wedge has only 30 calories, packs more fiber than the leading competitor and comes with a POINTS® value of 1. The wedges have a suggested retail price of $2.99-$3.99.  The new eight-ounce variety of Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Cream Cheese Spread is ideal for baking and snacking alike with pre-measured servings and the same easy-to-spread goodness that has made Weight Watchers cream cheese products a hit. And in addition to its flavor merits, the spread boasts 40 percent less fat than regular cream cheese and a POINTS® value of 1 per serving. The cream cheese spread has a suggested retail price of $1.69-$1.99.

These wedges come in circular packages just FYI if you’re looking for them in the store.

So we want to spread the cheese around (sorry sort of punnish) and we’ve got two FREE COUPONS to share. So just drop a comment in the comments section and we’ll choose two winners at random. We’ll announce a winner Friday morning. And here’s our question what non-cheating thing should we spread these cheeses on? We’ve been eating ‘em on their own and know they would be perfect on top of…..

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 medium sized bonless venison shoulder roast (approx 3 lbs)    Cost: around. $2.00-3.00 per pound
1  package of onion soup mix    Cost: Approx $0.50
1 large onion- halved and sliced  Cost: Approx $0.25
5-6 medium potatoes, quartered and sliced Cost: Approx $3.00
1 medium bag of pre-sliced carrots   Cost: Approx $2.00/bag (You can go cheaper but more labor instensive by getting whole carrots and peeling and slicing yourself…I, however shun peeling and slicing if at all possible.)

Rinse the venison/beef shoulder, pat it dry and place it in your crockpot. Mix the soup mix w/ 4 cups of water and pour it in the pot. Dump the potoatoes, onions, and carrots on top.

Cook on low for 10 hours.

Serve it with with gravy if you like, though it should be pretty juicy on its own.

Total Cost: Approx. $12.75  (feeds roughly 4-6 people)

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 medium sized bonless pork shoulder roast (ours was a 4 pounder)    Cost: Approx. $1.25 per pound

1 jar of sugar free fruit preserves (We used Smucker’s Peach Preserve w/ Splenda. It has a mere 5 carbs per serving and you’re basically just using it for flavoring)    Cost: Approx $3.00

1 large onion- halved and sliced  Cost: Approx $0.25

1/2 cup of chicken broth  Cost: Approx $0.50

2 tablespoons of your favorite seasoned salt

Mix the preserves and the broth and set it aside.  Rinse the pork shoulder, pat it dry and place it in your crockpot. Pour the preserve/broth mixture over the roast. Sprinkle it with seasoned salt. Add the onion slices to the top.

Cook on low for 10 hours. This part works great since I leave for work at 7:00 a.m. and get home around 5:00 p.m.

Serve it with fresh veggies (I had broccoli w/ cheese sauce) or a salad and you’re good to go!

Total Cost: Approx. $8.75 (and it fed our family of 4 with leftovers for lunch)

Use  your favorite muffin recipe EITHER low carbohydrate or low fat. And then You.Must. Make. These. Chocolate.Chips. They are sugar free and low carb and you will feel like one naughty little cheater when you eat them.

Sugar Free Chocolate Cheater Chips
1 ounce unsweaetened baking chocolate
1/4 cup Splenda
1/4 cup Truvia
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon butter

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Or just put a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. As it’s melting mix the Splenda and Truvia. The combination of the two is going to make you think you’ve got sugar shugga.  In addition cover a flat plate with foil or waxed paper and set it aside. Once the chocolate is all melty use a fork to slowly add the Splenda/Truvia mixture. Then add the heavy cream and finally the butter. Keep stirring with your fork until you just want to die with how chocolatey it looks.  Remove from heat and spread it on the covered plate. Put the plate in the freezer for 20 minutes. After it hardens carefully chop the chips into what size you’d like. Eat a few before you add them to your cookies or muffins or pancakes or just eat ‘em solo. I know - we’re bad. We added them to the muffin above but who gives a tin about the muffin? The Chocolate Cheater Chips are the star dahlink.

Low Carbish Crockpot Venison Stroganoff

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. venison round steak cut in 1/2 inch cubes
3 TBS flour
2 TBS butter
1 cup beef froth
2 TBS ketchup
1 sm. crushed garlic clove
1 tsp salt
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 med. chopped onion
1 cup sour cream blended with 2 TBS flour
3-4 cups hot cooked Dreamfields low carb noodles (I used penne rigate)

Roll beef in flour and salt. Melt butter in large skillet and add meat and onion. Brown it. Mix broth, ketchup, garlic and mushrooms in crockpot. Add cooked beef and onions. Stir. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Add sour cream, cover and cook an addition 25 minutes on high. Serve over cooked noodles.

*This recipe calls for flour (although a small amount). As we all know, there are carbs in flour. Ergo, this is a low-ish carb recipe, not a no carb recipe. If you’re doing Atkins, this one is probably best for maintenance, not induction (though this is merely my opinion).

This will serve a family of 4 abundantly with leftovers for everyone. It’s a very rich recipe and you’ll feel sated and sluggish  afterwards

Enjoy!