My husband and I just returned from a short vacation that included riding AMTRAK from California to Denver (about 30 hours).  I did a bit of research ahead of time and decided to take a chance on train food especially since carrying on food was impractical for us.  I had no problem adapting dining car menus to my FTS standards and was pleasantly surprised by the scale this morning.  Since we had to eat on their schedule, I will plan to take some snacks the next time we take the train because the "snack bar" didn't have what I needed, but it was a fun experience.  The scenery is spectacular.

Cioppino
½ tablespoon Marjoram
¾ teaspoon Sage
½ tablespoon Basil
¾ teaspoon Rosemary
¾ teaspoon Thyme
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 clove minced garlic
20 raw clams or mussels
1 large cooked crab
20 raw prawns
1 pound white fish fillets
1 large (~29 ounces) canned tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
3 ounces tomato paste
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon pepper
¾ cup white wine

Mix herbs together to be layered with fish.

Layer fish and herbs in a large pot as follows:
Clams, 1/3 mixed herbs, crab, 1/3 mixed herbs, prawns, remaining herbs, white fish.

In blender, mix all remaining ingredients except wine.  Pour sauce over fish in pot and simmer 45 minutes.  Add wine and simmer 25 minutes more.  Stir Cioppino and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

My husband got this recipe when he took a cooking class in the late 1970s.  He and a friend thought it would be a good way to meet women.  It didn’t work for that but he got a really good recipe out of it.

Do you think this looks okay as it is?  The tomatoes and tomato paste are my concerns but it is so good that it is probably worth budgeting the carbs for.

Umpa,
I have several old recipes that would be great for FTS except for the use of flour as a thickener.  I have xanthum gum in my pantry but wonder if there is a calculation for the amount to substitute.  If there is something better to use, I'd love to hear about that, too.

We are expecting snow in Colorado tonight so I am thinking about a vegetable garden.  What does an FTS garden look like?  What would you grow?

Doug,
I was quite ill this past weekend (I'll post the good, bad and funny in another topic) but what to eat when my digestive tract was so very unhappy was really a challenge and one I wasn't prepared to deal with.  The traditional (and obviously carb-laden) program is bananas, rice, apples and toast.   (BRAT), supposedly because they are gentle to digest.  I didn't even know what to ask for besides sugar-free jello.  My husband would have gladly gone to the grocery store so availability wasn't the problem.

And suggestions on what low carb options there are when we are down and out?  I'd like to be prepared in case it happens again.

I started FTS cold turkey after a “come to Jesus” session with my doctor in late May.  He told me to read Fat to Skinny.  My weight gain was primarily related to thyroid issues but it was still weight that needed to come off.  I was lucky that I didn’t experience the sugar withdrawl symptoms that some of you described.  I also decided to not deal with replacements until I established a low carb pattern of eating so my first month was meat and salads.

My husband and 5 daughters are all tall, thin and athletic.  I am 5’3” and have a stockier build.  My husband, bless his heart, took on the low carb challenge, has done most of the search for new recipes and does most of the cooking and meal planning.  He lost 10 pounds he couldn’t afford to lose and has managed to put it back on by supplementing his meals with added carbs. 

To me, the best part of FTS is not being hungry.  On other eating plans, if I ran out of “points” or “exchanges” and was hungry at bedtime, celery was just not going to fix the problem.  A hard-boiled egg or piece of cheese, on the other hand, will get me through the night.

Once people started to notice that I was losing weight, I found that the phase “low carb” got a lot of negative reaction.  I started using the word “controlled” and found that people didn’t dismiss it quite as quickly.  My explanation to them is that for now I’m at a pretty low carb intake but that I will add when I’ve reached my goal weight but still “control” my carb intake.

So, 50 pounds later, I have a different relationship with food and with my doctor.  It is easier to focus in on the hypothyroidism that is my primary health risk.  I’m a “loser” in the finest sense of the word.