Mrs. May's Naturals are soo Good!

I just had a small package of the Pumpkin Crunch, and they are so very tasty. They are little clusters of pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and a little sweetness from rice malt and cane sugar. They are an easy way to get some extra calories without getting overly full. The little bag I purchased has two servings at 164 calories each, thats 328 per bag. They also have 8 grams of carbohydrate per serving (due to the rice malt/cane sugar.) and 1 g of fiber, bringing them to a net of 7 grams of carbohydrate or 14 per little bag. They also pack a walloping 18 grams of protein! Thats a really good thing. These would be perfect on a hike where you don't want something heavy to carry. They are also gluten free!! According to the package they are Kosher, wheat free, dairy free, vegan and contain no cholesterol.

These get 5/5 oven mitts.

Diet History

I have tried lots of different kinds of diets over the years. It started when I was 11 years old and told how fat I was by all the kids at school. They were so mean. I did the low fat diet and went vegetarian at that time. Then, when I was 19 I went vegan for about two years. I had not wanted to eat meat really. Then when I was 21 years old something in my head snapped. I had a craving for beef. I had the first 6 oz. at a steak house and I annihilated it in about 5 minutes. I have been a meat eater ever since. I eat chicken, beef, fish, and pork. I prefer the meats from Raley's, they have the most consistent and best flavored meats. I prefer Foster Farms unsalted chicken, anything else tends to plump me. That said, I do also eat a wide variety of vegetables, fruits and gluten free grains (in moderation.) I prefer to get my carbs from whole fruits and a little bit of grain. Lately I haven't wanted to eat as much meat. I'm leaning more towards a high healthy fat diet with lots of vegetables rather than a high protein diet. In a way I guess its actually a very clean diet. I do tend to eat more carbs than I should so I watch that closely, using portion control on the carbs.

So, here I am considering reducing my meat intake. Not so much for health but rather to keep my focus on healthy fats as my calorie sources. I'm not a body builder, I'm not focused on rebuilding muscle. I don't need the same level of protein that some people need. So what are your thoughts, if any, on a fairly low carb, high healthy fat, vegetable focused diet?

Vegan and Low carb?

I'm not really interested in going back to a vegan diet. I did that in my teens for two years and it really didn't work for me. However, I am focusing on more fat and vegetables and less protein these days. I have read on some other blogs about people who have embarked on a low carb and vegan diet. It was very interesting to read their ideas of what they think was a low carb diet. It certainly wasn't Atkins as laid out by Dr. Atkins himself. The further into this low carb adventure I go, the more I realize the tremendous importance of a high fat low carb diet. Protein is a free by to a point. Some of us do not tolerate protein very well. I do better with more healthy fats than with more protein. Once you have shifted your focus to healthy fats, its not so hard to get your calories from fats and not from animal based proteins. Many of the low carb vegetables provide the vitamins you need. Coconut fat, olive oil and avocados provide wonderful fats that are very good at helping you with your low carb diet because they satiete the appetite. That is what fat does for you, it turns off the feeling that you are hungry. Adding a slug of olive oil to a low carb soup brings up the calories and gives you what you need to be effective the rest of the day.