J’adore #82 – Low Carb Lifestyle Food – Edition 2

I've passed the 2-year mark doing this low-carb thing. I did a reboot July 1st in which I went back to counting carbs with an app so that I could lose 5 pounds that snuck on when I was a little less focused, but the low-carb lifestyle has served me well. I am still able to cheat from time to time and to have some carbs and treats while traveling, but my day-to-day life and diet continue to be low-carb.

I do not follow Atkins, Keto, or Paleo, I just count carbs and monitor calories. The addition of more and more low-carb snacks and food products on the market is a welcome addition as it is still an effort to find packaged food that is low-carb. Not that I eat a lot of packaged foods, but life is busy and there is the convenience factor.

A few months ago we had a great meal at a local restaurant chain that focuses on health good, low-carb, gluten-free, and food allergies. It was refreshing to see that people who want to eat a certain way aren't treated like pariahs or pushed to a small corner of the menu! I am happy to see there begins to be progress!

Here are some of my recent favorite low-carb snacks and food!

Cleveland Kraut

I love sauerkraut? I do! Americans do not eat as much of it as people in Western Europe, but you can find it. When you do it is usually not great or super healthy. But now there is raw, probiotic sauerkraut coming out of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland Kraut started as a farmer's market product, one created by a family trying to honor their heritage, with a huge following that eventually became a supermarket brand that you can now find across the U.S.

Mr. Misadventures and I tried the spicy Gnar Gnar with green cabbage, green bell peppers, jalapenos, leeks, Sriracha, garlic, and red chili – this one was my favorite as I love the hit of spice. We also got the Curry Kraut with cabbage, jalapenos, carrots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and mustard seed; the Whiskey Dill with cabbage, garlic, whiskey, and dill; and Classic Caraway with cabbage, Kosher salt, and caraway seeds. All of them are 1 carb per serving.

How did I eat all this kraut? Happily! Just kidding. We ate it with sausage for dinner (it has been over the 100's for weeks here in Phoenix so it is nice to have a cold item with our lunch or dinner); with a can of smoked trout, the acid in the sauerkraut matches perfectly with the smokey fish; I made a pastrami Rueben on our panini with low carb bread, pastrami, spicy mustard, and Cleveland Kraut. We also threw into our cooler when we went camping in Monument Valley and ate it with cold sliced chicken (again, it was 100 degrees so this was perfect!). I'm dying to get a bag of their Roasted Garlic to make this: Crockpot Pulled Loin with Roasted Garlic Sauerkraut (although I will wait until the weather cools a bit!).

If you can't find Cleveland Kraut in your stores locally, you can buy it online.

Old Trapper Beef Jerky

I can't say that I am the right demographic for the Old Trapper branding, although I do find some of their commercials amusing, but that doesn't stop me from grabbing the bag! I have always enjoyed jerky of all varieties and I am lucky that it is low carb (except for a few flavors that naturally have more sugar). I often bring a bag of jerky on planes, camping trips, hikes and yes, even the movies (popcorn is SO high carb!).

Old Trapper Beef jerky originally hails from Oregon's cheese mecca, Tillamook although now they have grown and expanded and are a little closer to Portland. I first ran across the brand at a jerky store on the Oregon coast and was immediately hooked. Oregon has its fair share of culinary treats coming out of the state and I would say this jerky belongs on the list. My favorites are Peppered and Teriyaki. They are a great low carb snack when you need something on the salty side or a hit of protein!

Catalina Crunch

As much as I love eggs (and I LOVE eggs) I do get tired of eating them almost every single morning for breakfast. From time to time I need something different! Since I have a fulltime job I also don't want to take the time to make low carb pancakes, I want something that is a little more convenient. At the moment the best option is a new product called Catalina Crunch.

I recently tried the Maple Waffle flavor which I ate with unsweetened vanilla almond milk from Silk. My gripe is this. The serving size is unreasonably small. For 5 carbs you get 3/8 of a cup (by the way that is kind of impossible to measure!) so I have to save for a “cheat day” where I gave can a larger serving. So that is exactly what I did!

Costco Protein Bars

Mr. Misadventures and I never shopped at Costco when we were living in the San Francisco Bay Area. We had a Costco card just to get the gas – commuting is expensive! The vegetable situation is so bad in the Phoenix area that we now shop at Costco for mostly frozen vegetables although we do pick up some fresh as well.

Mr. Misadventures is always on the hunt for low carb foods and on one of his solo journeys to Costco hell he found the Kirtland Protein bars in Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Chocolate Brownie and OMG are they darn good. They are also non-GMO which A LOT of the other low carb protein bars are not! They are gluten-free and I eat one just about every day. The first thing I do every morning in my tracker is put a bar in for a snack that way no matter what I eat the rest of the day, that treat has been accounted for!

On My Low Carb Snack Wishlist

Smart Sweets

I really, badly want to try SmartSweets! But I feel the price is prohibitive! From time to time I want something sweet that isn't chocolate, but is, of course, low carb!  I want to build a box and try ALL the flavors! But I just can't justify the expense. I believe that once the low carb lifestyle catches on more the prices of some of these products will go down. Or at least that is my hope.

Rebel Ice Cream

One product that I don't think is too expensive but just has limited availability in the Phoenix area is Rebel ice cream. There is only one store that carries it and it is an hour away. We'd have to load up the cooler and drive an hour there and back to get it. I will try to coordinate a swing by if we do anything in that area because I am dying to try this ice cream! I can order it online, but the ice cream would never make it in the delivery truck all day with 100-degree temperatures here!

For Your Health

Goli Nutrition Apple Cider Vinegar Gummy

This is Nikol and seeing her post on Instagram reminded me of this product I recently became aware of, Goli Nutrition Apple Cider Vinegar Gummy.  Apple Cider Vinegar is SO good for you and Mr. Misadventures and I use it daily, however, I know some people really can't deal with the taste! This gummy tastes like apple, give you all the benefits of taking a shot of apple cider vinegar and is low carb. So now there is NO excuse for not including this vinegar in your diet.

More Low Carb Snacking Inspiration

I recently got a copy of this Super Low-Carb Snacks book and have found a few recipes that we will be making in the Misadventures home. It is very easy to get into a rut one you are following a specific lifestyle so I like to pick up recipe books and read low carb blogs for inspiration.

Having said that I would REALLY love in recommendations you have for low carb products that you have tried!

How about you? Do you follow a low carb lifestyle? Do you struggle with boredom or do you have some of those recommendations to share?

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