Whats for supper? Pork cutlets in an apple onion soy reduction

Image via WikipediaWell, we all know the holidays are coming up and that means super rich foods that are so tasty and unfortunately fattening so I am trying my best to eat light and lean so that I can indulge a little when Thanksgiving rolls around.
Tonight I thought of a reasonably healthy and tasty supper. This is the low carb kitchen but it doesn't mean every meal is strictly low carb, it does mean however, they will be fewer calories in general and healthier. This meal is simple and comes to mind.

What I made..

Lean braised pork cutlets with a Macintosh apple, onion and soy sauce reduction
Pasta
Vegetable medley

Well this is a simple tasty meal for the family. Simply season your cutlets on both sides, place seasoned side down in a skillet and brown both sides. Remove from pan once browned, but not fully cooked through and set aside briefly.
Chop and dice one large onion, and core and chop two medium sized Macintosh apples.  You can peel your Macintosh apples if you like, but I left the skin on, I like the extra fiber and texture. Saute the onions and Macintosh apples in the same skillet. Add a small amount of liquid to coax the flavor from the bottom of the pan and let apples and onions simmer. When they are almost tender, add two to three tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce and add back into the pan the cutlets and finish cooking for an additional ten minutes. While the cutlets simmer, prepare pasta to directions on the box, I use Dreamfield's Low Carb pasta.

The veggie medley can be whatever you have on hand, I prefer fresh squash, zucchini and carrots, however, use frozen if you have to. Both are delicious.
Once your cutlets are thoroughly cooked, place on a clean platter, and add a couple of tablespoons of margarine to the apple soy reduction. If it needs a little more liquid, apple cider or water can be used but a reduction is about intensifying the flavor not watering it down so use only a little.

The reduction tastes wonderful spooned over the cutlets which can be sat on top of the pasta, and the colorful vegetable medley makes this a nice tasty, healthy meal.

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When your low carb diet quits working

Low carb diets are great, however like any diet, they have their faults and drawbacks..part of this is usually dieter error. Many low carbers start off with a bang and then hit a plateau that they can't seem to breach. There culprit may simply be in the form of that horrible " F " word,.... FAT.

Since most low carb diets are low in carbohydrates and a little higher in fats, it is easy to go too far with the so called low carb foods that have too much fat. These might be in the from of creams, cheeses, butter, sauces that are milk and cream based..while these add in items to many recipes may be low in carbs, too much of these good things can start coming back to bite you.

So what is the new strategy to override this oversight? Well keep in mind at all times, fat makes you fat. Low carb is a great way to jump start weight loss and low carbing is particularly great for diabetics, but when you hit that dreaded plateau, it is time to review your diet list of acceptable items and make changes, the human body is a wise old soul and it catches on to even the best thought out diet.

Low carb flies under the body's natural survival mode for a while and fools the body into burning fats in the diet for energy. However over time, low carbers tend to become so fixated on low carb they over do it on fats, especially animal fats.

This image shows a display of healthy foods on a table. Foods include beans, grains, cauliflour, cantelope, pasta, bread, orange, turkey, salmon, carrots, turnips, zucchini, snowpeas, string beans, radishes, asparagus, summer squash, lean beef, tomatoes, and potatoes. AV Number: AV-8812-3430 Reuse Restrictions: None - This image is in the public domain and can be freely reused. Please credit the source and/or author listed above. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you have hit a plateau, keep it simple, revise your diet by keeping your meats lean and increasing your intake of veggies, especially the leafy greens. Eat as much negative calorie foods as your hearts desire, because no diet works if you feel hungry all the time while you're on it. If you are using low carb pasta, make sure you do not eat the left over pasta because low carb pasta reverts back into regular pasta after it has sat around in liquids or is over cooked which releases the starchy glutens. its kind of like Cinderella, after midnight, it turns back to its former self.

If you are a diabetic it is imperative that you become a student of the disease. Do not make up your own rules as you go. You can not say, on the weekends I will allow myself to go off my diet and have whatever I like. Why can't a diabetic do this? Because you are a diabetic 24/7 (weekends included). What does this mean? Those regular slips in diet protocol for a diabetic could cause the body to adjust and respond negatively. The body will literally "figure out" that it is deprived during the week, and work harder to store fat on the weekends when it is getting it.

Image via Wikipedia

So what is a low carber or diabetic to do? Well, let yourself have random treats on occasion with no set time or schedule, this keeps the body guessing. The key factor is, these random treats have to be the smallest portion you can have, have a few tablespoons of mac and cheese, not two cups, have one or two cookies, not a half of a bag...if you can't be disciplined with this random treat idea, don't even start it, because letting up on yourself on a regular basis isn't really dieting at all.

This random treat idea also should never ever be done when you are a newbie at low carbing or just found out you have diabetes. This is for the tried and true dieter that actually knows how to show discipline and control and is experienced at maintaining their weight.

It takes time to know your body. You have to be strict and learn what will spike your sugar levels and avoid these foods. Don't make up your own rules, slipping up on your diet when you are a diabetic might have dangerous health consequences..just sayin...oh and did I mention exercise? Yeah, that too can offset a plateau as well.

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