they went from “we want to accommodate your needs” to “that’s too needy, here’s what’ll happen” pretty fast.

Hey, I know that song!

If anyone is low-carbing it and has some good resources or recipes they'd like to share, please give me a shout.

I went on a low carb/high protein diet when I lost 50 lbs, and it's still basically my meal plan though I'm not in hardcore weight loss mode anymore.

Some recipe staples:

Frittatas: Once a week. Sautee mushroom, zuchinni, onion, red bell pepper, whatever you've got in your crisper. Lots of seasoning - whatever you prefer. I use 8 eggs, whisked up, highly seasoned. Spray olive oil in the bottom of a Pyrex 8" pan. Pour in the whisked eggs. Pour in the sauteed veg. Stud with feta or top with cheddar. I make it no meat because JZ eats it, but you could add ham or sausage. Cook in the oven at 450 until done (usually about 25 minutes). It's at least four meals if you eat a whole quarter slice of the frittata. And it's more if you cut it into eight slices and augment it with a little salad, or something. Really easy to make, tasty and supremely easy for the rest of the week.

Meaty, no bean chili: I do a mix of ground beef and Hot Italian sausage. Sautee onions, mushrooms, bell pepper set aside. Brown the beef and sausage (after you take it from the casing). Season the beef. Sausage doesn't need it. (Use about half pound of ground beef, and two big sausage from Whole Foods.) Cook the whole thing in the 12" frying pan instead of a pot.

Drain the fat (My new method is to push the meat to one side in the pan, fold over two paper towels and roll them up, place rolled up paper towel at edge of the meat, tip the pan slightly so the fat runs down into the paper towel. Flip it over once to get it thoroughly saturated. Take out greasy paper towel with spatula, voila. easy).

Add the veg back into the meat. Put in a can of roasted Italian tomatoes. Season it. (I use cumin, cayenne, cinnamon, Urfa Biber, a little brown sugar, Worcestshire sauce, garlic powder - pretty much the whole array. Taste as you go!)

So again you've got something you can use for multiple meals. I vary serving it. Just straight up with some plain Greek Yogurt on top. Or I broil some Trader Joe's bratwust or Aidell's Chicken Apple sausage and have that with chili. Or I reheat the chili in my small 8" omelette pan, and make a well in the middle and fry an egg there. That's really good.

Trader Joe's seasoned chicken thighs: Not a recipe but a recommendation. You can find these in the meat section. I get the Shawarma thighs which are boneless and skinless. I cook it under the broiler in a foil lined pan. Very simple and tasty. Add salt and pepper, Hot sauce. I usually eat it with fresh tomato cut up and drizzled with a bit of Balsamic, S&P, and a bit of hummus. Tastes like a great Mediterranean plate without the tempting pita bread. They also have Pollo Asado, Chicken with Rosemary, Chicken Harissa, and beefy things like Bulgogi. Since it's all prepped and seasoned, it's just really easy to make.

I don't know how you feel about Greek Yogurt but I use that a lot. Make sauces with it. Use it to top the chili. Season it with stevia and add fruit for something sweet. It's high protein and filling and the ProBiotics help too.

David - those recipes sound delicious.

David - those recipes sound delicious.

They are, fortunately. Because I eat them so often, I'd get tired of them if they weren't yummy. You can vary the ingredients a lot in the frittata for variety, and also do different side salads.

Also, JZ and I both still do something recommended from the Dukan diet.

Which is we have two tablespoons of oat bran every morning. Which doesn't sound like much but it makes about half mug. The advantage of oat bran over regular oatmeal is that it clears out even more cholesterol (which I need considering how many eggs I'm eating), and also it expands quite a bit in your gut as you drink coffee or water. So...high fiber, lowers cholesterol, fills your gut so you're not hungry. Also, I don't cook it, as such, but just pour boiling water from a kettle over my two tablespoons of bran in a mug. As I recall, shrift, you prefer savory oats. Anyway, y'all know how you like your own oats, but between coffee and our oat bran, we're usually good until noon.

One other tip I'm doing lately...

I get a whole roasted chicken (Gus's Market on Haight has the most flavorful locally). After I eat the thighs and drumsticks for a couple meals, I break the bird down, and make a pot of really flavorful chicken stock, using the bones, carcass, skin etc. so the stock has body and flavor. I make mine with a lot of lemon and garlic.

Anyway, with the stock on hand I can make a quick soup for lunch. I already have the breast meat cut up, so I can just do a meat and broth, and then I can tweak it one way or another. I can add more lemon and Sriracha for a hot and sour flavor. I can add curry and Greek yogurt for another vibe. I can sautee some mushrooms and whatever veg I like, then add the stock and chicken.

The point of this is to have a very easy high protein meal, no noodles or rice in the soup. But by keeping the stock fairly simple, I can flavor it in different ways so it's not the same every day. You can sautee veg, or you can add frozen broccoli or peas. Or corn. You can put baby spinach in the bowl and just pour the hot broth over it. Put green onions on top if you want a ramen vibe. Or a jammy egg, or some porkbelly etc.

Again, it's simple, flavorful, easy to vary it from meal to meal, and very quick to cook. Especially if you use some of those pre-sliced veg sets at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. I get the stir fry with asparagus and put that in my soup instead.

Meaty, no bean chili

Why no beans? I know they're protein-y; are they also carb-y?

sumi, thank you for sharing your good news!

Beans are carby, yes.

Beans are carby, yes.

I honestly never really thought about that. My brain gets as far as "beans = protein and also yum" and then stops. I guess they would be carby. Huh.

It's funny because I've gone from making a vegetarian black bean chili with meatless ground soy for JZ, to flipping around and doing the all meaty chili.

A wreath of beef/pork chili around a fried egg? Superb!