32 Flavors — well maybe of vegetables

Trader Joes low carb options

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt:
“32 Flavors.” (Vanilla, chocolate, or something else entirely?)

Unfortunately I won’t get  to taste 32 flavors in the near future, certainly not of ice cream. I’ve started on the usual New Year’s resolution of dieting. After a few years of having thyroid problems, my meds are finally straightened out, but my weight is now up. I decided to try Dr. Oz’ Total 10 diet— which really is just a tweaking of the South Beach diet (on SB, I lost a lot of weight 9 years ago, so I know it works). …So I don’t get 32 flavors of ice cream…but I do get a smoothie every morning. I mostly do berries and banana, but sometimes add greens.

The Dr. Oz diet allows a small amount of the grain Quinoa because it is a complete protein. Quinoa tastes bland, but has the consistency of figs—without the sweet taste, kind of like chewing a mouth full of tiny seeds.

So no 32 flavors for me 😦 I don’t really crave ice cream, but more salty snacks like potato chips. To satisfy that craving, I’m allowed nuts, but since I tend to eat too much of them, I took a trip to Trader Joe’s for some low carb snacks. The photo to the right is the result of my trip. Left to right: Brown Rice/Quinoa Spaghetti tastes just like regular wheat pasta. If you are gluten free, I highly recommend it. Cruciferous Crunch Medley has shredded cabbage, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, and kale. I roasted it with olive oil, salt and pepper (in the pan at the bottom of the photo) but I think it would be better as a slaw or stir fried. And last, Crispy Broccoli Florets: The package does not tell you how it got crisped, but seems to be freeze dried (?). It actually is not bad as a salty snack substitute. The whole bag is listed as one serving (220 calories) but I can only eat about one third at a time.

As they say, “don’t do something today, you will regret tomorrow.” So right now I’m going to skip the ice cream (and the potato chips) and stick to my broccoli.