Struggling with Red Days?

[Jellybeans9]

So I'm currently following the EE plan, but would like to incorporate a few red days into the mix. Mainly to cut down on carbs. I have managed to cut them down slightly by introducing the 1/3 superfree food. But I don't feel like I'm actually going to lose anything, because it doesn't seem that much different from the diet I've had my whole life... I'm so used to having either potatoes, rice, pasta, noodles or some sort of bread roll/tortilla wrap with every evening meal, as that is how I was brought up.

The amount of meat I've managed to cut down on by replacing beef mince with Quorn, vegetarian sausages I actually prefer to the meaty variety, and so the only meat I regularly eat now is chicken. But even that isn't an every day thing, just enough to not turn into a vegetarian The carbs on the other hand, I'm at a loss of what to replace them with? I know I could just have more superfree vegetables or salad, but I find this doesn't tend to fill me up for very long, unless I go for the starchy ones like sweet potato and parsnips. I did make tandoori chicken with sweet potato wedges and salad, which was really nice, but I can't make that every day haha!But then I don't know whether I should just stick with EE for now and see? As recently, I've barely touched the rice and pasta in the cupboard, it's usually just potatoes. Plus I'm no longer eating at least two slices of bread a day (quite often it was 4!), in fact I've not bought any bread in about two weeks!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone following Red Days could give me some ideas on how I could replace the carbs in my evening meal? For example, using sweet potato mash on a cottage pie would replace normal potato. But I don't want to get sick of eating the same two vegetables Is there anything interesting I could do with cauliflower or broccoli? Or any other vegetables? I know I could always use my syns for them, but that would be defeating the object of why I want to try red days.

 

[DollyGirl92]

Have you had a look at all the things you can do with cauliflower? the most popular thing being rice! I saw this article a while ago, now while most of it is some what un slimming world friendly, there's some great ideas here! http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/cauliflower-not-carbs#.bvyjl51Eq I'd also say to have a look on the website at the SP plans and get some ideas from there as they also don't use pasta, rice or potato. People in my group are also really into spiralling things! courgette pasta seems to be a favourite.

 

[lentil2]

Personally, whenever I cut down on carbs, I don't actually 'replace' them with anything as such, just usually up the protein as that's what fills you up for longer..and obviously still continue to have as much veg as well.

 

[louise1982]

I've recently cut down on the amount of carbs I'm eating. I've replaced them with:
Roasted butternut squash
Cauliflower rice
Swede mash
Carrot 'chips'
Courgette spaghetti
X

 

[Jellybeans9]

Thanks guys I forgot you could make spaghetti from courgettes! Definitely going to give that a try. I didn't realise you could make 'rice' from cauliflower though! I shall have to check out that link aswell DollyGirl92 And thanks for the tip lentil2, I shall have to give the whole more protein a try.

 

[swansong1a]

It takes some getting used to doing red days if you've only ever done EE. I'm not sure why you've felt the need to cut down on meat but Lentil2 is correct, you need to up your protein rather than technically replacing your carbs with something else - when you get the hang of it, your meals will probably change out of all recognition! You will probably find too that when you add more protein you won't need the same quantity of food to satisfy you either. Remember that the 1/3 of a plate of superfree is also not essential on red or green days like it is on EE (although it doesn't hurt to finish a meal with a piece of fruit I find, and you still need to fit in your five a day for health reasons).

I always cook a large piece of lean meat (instead of just enough for one meal) in the slow cooker with a little water and a spritz of Frylight. This will keep in the fridge for days and when you're hungry you can just grab however much you need to fight off the hungry-monster - so much cheaper and nicer than using "plastic" deli meats! I also keep hard-boiled eggs at the ready, so some meat, one of those and a piece of fruit will hit the spot most times.

My best side dish on red is to chop a load of different free veggies into very small pieces (remember no peas or corn) then roast them in the oven with Frylight, garlic salt and cajun seasoning for about half an hour. Then place them in a frying pan and cover with a few beaten eggs and cook quickly like a normal omelette. Delicious, and the flavour combinations are endless! You can of course use different seasonings if you like. I also like this mixture cold from the fridge as a quick snack, but then I'm strange - I also like cold omelettes! Oh, and if you can't be bothered chopping veg, you can also do this with the ready-made bags of fresh coleslaw mix and stir-fry veg you find in the supermarket. Quick and easy.

Best of luck with red, I'm sure you'll enjoy it once you get used to it!

 

[Nettee]

I do some red days and I eek out my 2 HexBs so that I have four half portions through the day. 100g of new, jacket or wedged potatoes, 60g of kidney beans instead of rice with chilli, 1 slice of hovis nimble, 17g whole meal pasta etc. then lots of protein and veg.

 

[NickySW]

So I'm currently following the EE plan, but would like to incorporate a few red days into the mix. Mainly to cut down on carbs. I have managed to cut them down slightly by introducing the 1/3 superfree food. But I don't feel like I'm actually going to lose anything, because it doesn't seem that much different from the diet I've had my whole life... I'm so used to having either potatoes, rice, pasta, noodles or some sort of bread roll/tortilla wrap with every evening meal, as that is how I was brought up.

The amount of meat I've managed to cut down on by replacing beef mince with Quorn, vegetarian sausages I actually prefer to the meaty variety, and so the only meat I regularly eat now is chicken. But even that isn't an every day thing, just enough to not turn into a vegetarian The carbs on the other hand, I'm at a loss of what to replace them with? I know I could just have more superfree vegetables or salad, but I find this doesn't tend to fill me up for very long, unless I go for the starchy ones like sweet potato and parsnips. I did make tandoori chicken with sweet potato wedges and salad, which was really nice, but I can't make that every day haha!But then I don't know whether I should just stick with EE for now and see? As recently, I've barely touched the rice and pasta in the cupboard, it's usually just potatoes. Plus I'm no longer eating at least two slices of bread a day (quite often it was 4!), in fact I've not bought any bread in about two weeks!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone following Red Days could give me some ideas on how I could replace the carbs in my evening meal? For example, using sweet potato mash on a cottage pie would replace normal potato. But I don't want to get sick of eating the same two vegetables Is there anything interesting I could do with cauliflower or broccoli? Or any other vegetables? I know I could always use my syns for them, but that would be defeating the object of why I want to try red days.

Hi, A friend of mine (polish girl) showed me a recipe where you part boil the cauliflower - then slice as best you can to stay in one piece so they are shaped like a crisp if you like - then cover in a beaten egg and fry on pan with frylight - YUMMY