Hi everyone, I started the BSD this morning and would appreciate your support. I have 2 girls ( 9 and 13 ) who come home for a cooked lunch everyday ( no school dinners in Switzerland 🙁 ) and I’m worried I’ll cave in having to make their meals everyday. I am very motivated at the moment but would love to hear all your tips to survive the next 8 weeks. I’m originally from Bolton, Uk, but have lived in Switzerland for almost 25 years. I am not diabetic, but have a 41 inch waist and feel like I’m heading that way! I would rather do something about it now before…..

Hi AliceInSwitzerland (love the name)
Welcome to the BSD forum and you new eating regime. I’m currently in week 7 and barring one or two small blips, have done okay – 12lb down so far. Try to plan meals for the family which can be adjusted for all – so you cook say a chicken dish, team yours with salad or veggies, but add in a carb element for the rest of the family. That way you are not catering a mass of different dishes. Just be aware of portion size when serving your own meal and try to stick as closely as possible to the 800cals a day, keep a check on the carbs and be sure to include fat and plenty of fluid in you diet each day.
Hope this helps a little and remember to make good use of the forum for advise and support and to let us know how you get on.

Hi Alice
let us know the types of food that the kids usually have at lunch and one or more of the cookery gurus will soon be along with some advice.
Kids are really adaptable and with the help of a food processor and a bit of out of the box thinking, you can get all sorts of good stuff into them and they’ll never know.
Welcome to the forums by the way, everybody here has the same goals as you so don’t be afraid to shout for any advice you may need.

Gruezi AliceinSwitzerland,
Welcome to the BSD way of life.
The sort of lunch meals that came to mind are hearty soups for cooler weather and salads as you head towards summer. The addition of legumes/pulses/meat to mainly vegetable soups/salads give them ‘staying power’ and should be manageable within your 800 calories. Remember small amounts of any of the beautiful Swiss cheeses adds variety.
As Bill1954 wrote about the food processor, if your children don’t like chunky soups, whiz them up – it’s amazing what you can hide in the soup! You should have access to some rye and other dense breads to add to the children’s lunch.
Peruse the recipes on this site, there are some great ideas.

Hi AliceinSwitzerland,
I am also cooking for family, usually 7 but often 8 when kids friends or my father in law stays over.
Today I have a full house with my lovely, nearly 80 year old F-I-L staying. I’m cooking curry with rice, popadoms and samosas for them. I will have curry, popadom and a samosa. The rest of the day will be low carb to allow for the samosa.
After a few weeks you won’t be tempted by carbs at all and will be able to cook for your family without worrying. You will very quickly be able to adapt your usual meals to your needs. Mums are usually very good at being creative with food 🙂
In the meantime, make sure you always have some low carb meals in your freezer, even if you have to cook extra just to freeze it. This will help you out if you can’t think of a substitute for what you are making for the rest of your family. Wishing you success on the BSD.

Hi AliceinSwitzerland

Welcome, no barm cakes here though! (Lived in Preston 2yrs a lifetime ago).

So, get Inspiralized! It’s a book & web site by Ali Maffucci Inspiralized.com.

You & the girls can have fun making & quickly cooking vegetable rice & pasta. It says here in my book, you can make; breakfasts, snacks & sides, soups, stews, salads, wraps, bakes,gratins, rice pasta & noodles & desserts!!

You can spiralize carrots, cucumber ,beetroot ,butternut squash,courgette, apples, parsnip, pear , swede the list goes on. These all make pasta or ribbon strands to cook or even eat raw. Low calories & carbs but very healthy

To create rice you need a food processor to pulse the pasta. It’s quick easy & fun. I love carrot & beetroot rice raw or cooked. You can steam , stir for or microwave

I got my spiralizer from Lakeland. You could go local or web for one if you like the idea. I paid about £29. It’s not electric. Your girls would have fun , just watch the blades, you put them in, they turn the handle. I will let my 3 yr old granddaughter help me make pasta. Look at the videos on line & have some fun

And don’t forget to look at cauliflower rice. It’s more like couscous but carries a curry or whatever you want to flavour it with. I much prefere veg pasta & rice now
Bis spoter En Guete (hope that’s right)
Eureka

Thanks SunnyB, I’m used to making different versions of each meal as 1 daughter is a vegetarian while the other loves meat with NO veg! Guess I’ll soon get the hang of doing the same just minus the carbs for me.

Thanks for the warm welcome everybody, day 2 nearly completed and I’m feeling great. I’m impressed by your use of German Switzerland and Eureka, I was wondering whether there could be any Swiss folks on here? I will definite look into getting a spiralizer and had seen some really tasty looking recipes on this website. I’m not as nervous today, it doesn’t seem as hard as I thought it would be.

Hi Alice, you really have to just jump in and see for yourself don’t you? There’s so much to learn, or unlearn, that it can seem daunting at first.
Bill likes to say it’s not rocket science lol. It isn’t, it’s just food as unprocessed and natural as possible. Low carb, no added sugar.
You learn as you go, and there is always someone on the forums to help.
Glad you’re feeling more confident and off to a good start 🙂

Hi AliceInSwitzerland

Glad you feeling more confidant Ask your girls for meal ideas too. Bet they look on line & can think of ways to feed you all with what you like. Catch em Young is what I say.
I watch lots of food programmes on TV in my kitchen when I’m preparing my food! I get good ideas that I can adapt to low carbs. I also become immune to the foods I don’t CHOOSE to have. There is nothing I can’t eat, but the choice is always mine. Now I make good, healthy type 2 diabetic reversing food choices.

I like soups & stews. Salads , chicken, lamb, pork ,beef & fish. I only had pork , lamb & beef a very few times during the 8 weeks BSD. I love vegetables. PLENTY MORE is a great cook book (all about veg) by Yotam Ottolenghi. He is Israeli & has a London based restaurant. He travels & makes tv food series. Eg Aubergine cheesecake. No pastry. Eat hot or cold, add salad or meat, very tasty

Re: more Swiss. I was going to say auf wiedersehen to you, then I noticed Switzerland had posted before me. She may indeed be Swiss. I’m not, just English! I speak Very Little German. Just try to acquire a smattering of the languages when I travel
A hui hou (until we meet again in Hawaiian)
Eureka

Hi AliceinSwitzerland and Eureka,
Unfortunately I’m not Swiss, just wanted to give a warm welcome to AliceinSwitzerland. In fact, living in Australia, the only other way I could get further from Switzerland is to accept a scientific posting in Antarctica! (Well, that’s how it feels).
How are you going AliceinSwitzerland? The great thing about the forums is that you’re able to get support from the ‘global BSD village’.
I’m entering Week 2 today. As well as following the guidelines for the BSD800, I’ve found vegetables most helpful in decreasing my usual carbfest. Cauliflower rice is delicious and this evening I’ll cook the cauliflower based pizza (a low carb alternative to my family’s ritual Friday night pizza.)
Merci vielmals (thank you) to all forum members.