I'm new and questions about supermarkets (I am based near Cambridge)

[cambridgeshiregirl]

Hello!!

Very glad I've found you! I have managed to do 4 days on attack and I am now getting my ducks in a row to make this diet as sustainable as possible. I have the book and I am following it very carefully.

What are your favourite (not expensive) supermarket shopping tips and tricks for Dukan?
I get oatbran at tesco, I also get wheat bran from Holland and Barrett.
I get only zero per cent greek yogurt and quark, but haven't found any other very low fat cheeses here (eg no such thing as fat free ricotta etc).

Otherwise, I have managed to find good ways to cook shirataki noodles (I love stirfries), but it costs me too much with postage to buy them in bulk online. I know it's a longshot but do any of you live near/in Cambridge (UK) and have any of you managed to find shirataki noodles in any chinese/japanese stores near here?

I am also thinking of getting a breadmachine to make proper dukan bread (yum!).

 

[alottolose]

Welcome to the board

Anja is out resident board member from cambridgeshire I believe, not sure of any others....and she is a whizz with the breadmaker ...so a good idea to have a look at her diary

I don't use wheatbran or the noodles so I'm of no use otherwise ....wishing you best of luck though....excellent idea getting your ducks....preparation really is the key for this diet xx

 

[cambridgeshiregirl]

I mix a little wheatbran in with the oatbran to (ahem) get things moving. I just spent a happy hour reading Anja's posts - I look forward to trying out the breadmaker recipe!
I spent a while in New York and was spoiled for choice with fat free cheddar, fat free ricotta (and don't get me started on the wonders of the WholeFoods stores!) and cheap shirataki noodles. In hindsight I should have brought a whole case home with me to my little Cambridgeshire village.
I understand there are quite a few chinese/japanese supermarkets around Cambridge so I shall be on the look out.

 

[anjuschka]

I mix a little wheatbran in with the oatbran to (ahem) get things moving. I just spent a happy hour reading Anja's posts - I look forward to trying out the breadmaker recipe!
I spent a while in New York and was spoiled for choice with fat free cheddar, fat free ricotta (and don't get me started on the wonders of the WholeFoods stores!) and cheap shirataki noodles. In hindsight I should have brought a whole case home with me to my little Cambridgeshire village.
I understand there are quite a few chinese/japanese supermarkets around Cambridge so I shall be on the look out.

Welcome to Cambridge, but you guys flatter me! About the bread: sorry I just gave my old breadmaker away last week via Freecycle - I have finally replaced my trusty 12-year old Panasonic (and it was working fine up to the last day) with an updated model

Shopping in Cambridge - sorry I have not many tricks (shirataki et al!), but for Oatbran and Wheatbran I go to Daily Bread in Kings Hedges (Kilmaine CLose). Also for herbs & Spices and general whole foods. See also:
Daily Bread Co-operative Cambridge

Disclaimer - their Oatbran is actually 'with Oatgerm', I chose to ignore that, but it's not strictly the right thing to buy! Otherwise I also get the Mornflake Oatbran (they now sell the packets as well as the tubes) from Sainsburys Coldhams Lane (but that's mainly because that is my default supermarket). I have also found Wheatbran in Asda. Holland & Barrett would be my last resort as it tends to be pricey unless they have an offer on.

As you found, Zero percent Cheese is just not available in the UK. You will be limited to yoghurt, quark, fromage frais, cottage cheese (lowest ones are Tesco and Asda value ranges). I find the fat-free quark from Asda, Tesco or Budgens (my local convenience store) is so close to philly extra light that I've never had to use the Philly.

At the moment the market in town is good for Rhubarb - or find it frozen in Asda (Beehive Centre).

Hunting for Shirataki - there are lots of Chinese and other ethnic shops and supermarkets on Mill Road, you might get lucky there, but I have never tried...

 

[ellie1969]

I just ordered a load of oatbran from holland & barrat.... they have buy 1 get 1 half price just now.... so my 8 bags cost me £7.07. I only ordered online as im 38 miles away from the nearest shop so the £1.99 postage was far cheaper than driving to aberdeen LOL

 

[Chereally]

There is a really good oriental supermarket in Peterborough called Janson Hong x

 

[cambridgeshiregirl]

Thank you Anja - I am planning to explore the Mill Road shops this week, if I find shirataki I shall report back.
I will look for the wheatbran at ASDA. Luckily I love quark (and it is SO filling!) so I am happy to have that. Funnily enough I just joined Freecycle (I gave away a tonne of furniture and kitchen equipment before I moved back to Cambridge so it makes sense).
Thanks for the tip Ellie - I didn't think to look at Holland and Barrett online.
Chereally - I haven't explored that far afield but I have made a note of it when I am feeling adventurous one weekend!
This week I am mainly getting creative with turkey mince
x

 

[alottolose]

Quark is the greatest ....I've stopped buying total as quark is cheaper and I really can't tell the difference in taste x

 

[cambridgeshiregirl]

Yes, I find quark so much more filling! I made a dessert with quark, splenda and some lemon flavouring and a sprinkling of oatbran. My husband loved it (hmmm lemon mousse!) and pronounced himself full for about a day and a half (this is unheard of: I am in a house of hungry men).

On another note I found the shirataki noodles in Cambridge today on Mill Road (as Anja so wisely predicted!) cost about £1.05 a pack (some were £1.25) which is a clear saving on the internet ones (it was in a shop called Seoul Plaza - full of delicious Korean and Japanese things). I also bought some herbs and spices there, to make things a little more interesting.

I also had a Dukan-friendly treat while I was out - stopped at a Costa coffee shop and had a black decaffeinated coffee on ice with some sugar free hazelnut syrup (it is a splenda-based syrup they use). It was delicious and cooling!

It was my first treat since I started on Attack - I've lost 7lbs already now, which is a big deal for me as I suffer from PCOS.

 

[alottolose]

Go careful with things like sugar free syrups, sometimes they're sugar but not exactly starch or carb free ...can be fat containing too xx

 

[anjuschka]

On another note I found the shirataki noodles in Cambridge today on Mill Road (as Anja so wisely predicted!) cost about £1.05 a pack (some were £1.25) which is a clear saving on the internet ones (it was in a shop called Seoul Plaza - full of delicious Korean and Japanese things). I also bought some herbs and spices there, to make things a little more interesting.

Thanks for sharing! I'd better pop in there one day, if only to see what all the fuss is about since I am allowed to have pasta anyway... in moderation....

 

[cambridgeshiregirl]

Thanks Alottolose, I hadn't thought of that: I have been known to demand to look at ingredients lists, so I think I shall have to be vigilant with sugar free syrups and demand to see the bottle if I do it again. It was a lovely refreshing treat though (as it was husband's birthday it managed to put me off the cake he was tucking in to ...).

Anja if you can eat pasta (or rice) in moderation I wouldn't necessarily bother with the shirataki - but what I did (pre-Dukan when I was on a low-GI diet for health reasons) was to chop some shirataki in a food processor until it was the size of rice and then mix in half rice, half shirataki (sometimes one third cauliflower "rice", one third basmati, one third blitzed up shirataki) and use that as a base for stirfries, cold salads, etc. or indeed, for faux risotto.
The shirataki disappears into the mix - but it bulks out the rice so that you feel as if you have a full plate of rice, whereas in fact you have only a couple of spoonfuls.
This also went down a treat at a picnic where I served this as a kind of Japanese-inspired cold salad (mixed with a little rice vinegar, low sodium soy sauce, spring onions, cucumbers and radishes): some people were on gluten free diets, others fat free diets, some vegan etc. but this seems to have been a hit with all ages and diets.

 

[xeilidhx]

Cauliflower rice? Please share this!!

 

[cambridgeshiregirl]

I will have to check the recipe threads to see if it isn't already up there - but I just use a (very old and second hand) food processor on the grater setting and grate washed, but raw, cauliflower: it already looks like rice. Then I just pop it into the microwave and cook it without water for 4 or 5 minutes (depends on your micro). I always do this in big batches and then freeze in individual portions (I did 5 cauliflowers last weekend but those frozen portions will last me weeks). You could eat this with some low fat cheese mixed in if you wished, or do season it with soy sauce etc. I also blitz shirataki noodles (with the chopper attachment) until it is in tiny pieces and mix that in with the grated cauliflower. I am not a big fan of the shirataki noodles mouth-feel (as "noodles") but this way it is like rice. Once I've added the shirataki pieces I might "stirfry" the cauli/shirataki with soy sauce, garlic, ginger and chilli (no oil) to make a base for stirfries and curries.
It is the closest I've come to rice, and it is very low calorie, fat free and filling.

 

[alottolose]

best to omit the low fat cheese from that recipe and go steady with the soy sauce, it packs quite a punch with the sodium x

 

[cambridgeshiregirl]

Very wise words - I always use low sodium soy sauce - it's amazing how much water retention can affect weight! I also use low sodium salt (lo salt) and low sodium stock: luckily I tend to make my own stock so I know exactly what is in it. I also make sure that two of my meals each day are salt-free.
Occasionally I use quark mixed in with some fresh chives or parsley: in particular as zero per cent ricotta/cheddar doesn't seem to exist in the UK! I wouldn't have that with curry or stirfry though. Perhaps some grilled fish and eggplant, as it has a more mediterranean feel.

 

[xeilidhx]

I need a grating machine! Grated my knuckle