Quest for Food

The Light House Restaurant, Rochester, IL

Yesterday I crashed hard after breakfast. I ate two pieces of whole wheat toast and drank some Orange juice. I think it was the carbohydrates, so this morning I had some unsweetened juice concentrate I found at the Vitamin Shoppe, some Beet Root, Tart Cherry, and Cranberry. Then I followed up with coffee and four slices of Bacon.

I'm sitting here now, a half-hour later, and I'm not feeling the weight of the world washing over me. That wave of inexplicable exhaustion, like an invisible weighted blanket. Maybe too soon? Maybe other circumstances?

According to Nutritiondata.self.com, bacon has a one star rating when it comes to weight loss, but only a two star rating for weight gain. One might think they should be diametrically opposed. 

I heard recently that dietary fat and cholesterol were given a false bad rap by the sugar industry. I did a little research and posted the links at the Cringing Consumer blog.

So, this morning before I go workout at Planet Fitness, I'm looking up foods that are highest in Protein and Potassium, and lowest in total Carbohydrates and total Fat. Here are just a few of the "999 results:" Spoiler alert: Mostly Pork, Poultry and Dairy with fresh fruits and vegetables.

• Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, raw 
• Cheese, mozzarella, nonfat 
• CAMPBELL Soup Company, V8 Vegetable Juice, Lemon Twist V8 
• Watercress, raw 
• Margarine, vegetable oil spread, stick/tub/bottle, 60% fat 
• Cowpeas, leafy tips, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt 
• Cabbage, chinese (pak-choi), cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 
• Cabbage, common, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt 
• Radishes, raw 
• Tomatoes, red, ripe, cooked 
• Beef, cured, pastrami 
• Pickles, cucumber, dill, low sodium 
• Peppers, sweet, green, raw 

The trouble is with making sandwiches, pizza or including pasta. Healthline.com suggests there are ten viable substitutes for "conventional wheat bread," I'm going to look at the Carbohydrate content of each to see which is the lowest. I'll just look at the three most easily accessible:

• Corn Tortillas - 8 grams of carbohydrates. Tend to fall apart raw, shatter, 3.5 star rating for weight gain.
• Rye Breat - Nope. 15 grams of carbohydrates.
• Sourdough Bread - Nope - 18 grams of carbohydrates

Normal wheat bread has 12 grams of carbs, and white bread has 23 grams if carbohydrates!
Then there is Rice Bran Bread with 12 grams of carbs.

It's been over an hour and I still feel pretty darn good.