Let’s get the boring part of this out of the way. Yes, in June 2003 I weighed 255 pounds. That is not obese for a man my height, but I certainly wasn’t svelte. I was enduring my annual physical when my doctor, Larry Kent, diagnosed that I had borderline high blood pressure. He told me that I had to lose 15 pounds, lower my stress, and reduce my salt intake. I reminded him that I had weighed this much for several years. He replied that I could no longer carry it. I told him that the salt part was just boilerplate. My salt intake was excellent. And as far as stress goes, I wasn’t getting divorced for two more years.
Dr. Kent gave me three months to lose the weight and lower my blood pressure. Otherwise, I would have to take medication. Regular readers of my other blog, Health Insurance Issues With Dave, know that I didn’t want to take any medication. I created a low-carb diet and followed it religiously. By my next visit I had lost twenty pounds and had reduced my blood pressure to an acceptable level. Dr. Kent was pleased. I was curious whether I could lose another twenty.
In one year I lost 80 pounds. I was too thin. A doctor friend asked if I had had bariatric surgery. By September 2004 I had regained 15 pounds. I have hovered between 190 and 195 since. The combination of a low carbohydrate diet and a lot of discipline have allowed me to stay at this healthy weight. I don’t find it difficult, in part, because of all of the tasty foods I have to eat.
Susie Sharp has been after me to publish a cookbook. I have adapted a number of recipes to low-carb and Kosher. I keep Kosher in my home and this just makes the whole process a touch more challenging. I made a pumpkin pie over the weekend. I hope you will give it a try.
Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust
This makes one 9” pie.
Crust
Ingredients:
2 cups pecan pieces
5 T melted butter or margarine
2-3 T fake sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Preparation:
1. This works best if the pecans were kept in the freezer until you are ready to make the crust. Pulse them in a food processor or grind them in a coffee mill. Keep them chunky. You don’t want powder.
2. Add the margarine, vanilla and fake sugar. I like Joseph’s liquid or a couple of Splenda packets. Mix the four ingredients thoroughly.
3. Dump into the pie pan and spread the crust with your fingers. There really is enough.
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
1 15 oz can of pumpkin or the better part of the 28 oz can
2 eggs
2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/3 cup coffee cream
1/3 cup fake sugar (this is a good time to use the liquid stuff)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
Pinch of cloves
1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Mix all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor. I don’t have a blender or food processor. I dump everything into a really big bowl, get out a whisk, and mix the daylights out of it. Works just fine.
3. Pour into the crust.
4. Put the pie into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 F. In 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 F. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the center looks to be about set or the pie starts to crack around the edges. This is 35 minutes in my oven. Yours? You’ll find out.
5. Cool and serve. I like The whipped cream in the can. There are almost no carbs.
Pumpkin is in short supply right now. I have found the larger can at Heinen’s. This allows me to use about 18 oz of pumpkin. You can use the rest as a side course. You can heat it in the microwave and serve it like mashed sweet potato.
I would like to know if anyone attempts this and if there really is an interest in other low-carb recipes.