frustrated....

[phantasmagoric]

it seems when i started PP 1 year ago, the local grocery store had an ok selection of low-carb products. but as the year has passed, that selection has gone from ok to HORRIBLE!

everytime i go grocery shopping (every 2 wks.) i swear, they get rid of another product that i buy. first it was the hood's milk. then it was the low-carb cereal. then the yogurt....on and on and on. and i don't understand why they're getting rid of all this stuff, because the cashiers told me it "sells like hotcakes!" its so frustrating going to the store, and finding that all of the things you usually buy aren't there anymore. :mad:

and now this. when i first started PP, almond flour cost $5.49 a bag. a few months later, it went up to $7.49. needless to say, i wasn't happy about it, but i dealt with it. just 2 days ago, i went in to get a bag, and it now costs $9.99!!! its almost doubled in price in less than a year!!! i can't begin to tell you how angry i am. i use almond flour for everything! i'm sure i can find somewhere to buy it online, but that's beside the point (not to mention a pain in the butt)!

so i'm wondering, does anyone else have these problems? or is it just because i live in a small town?

[SherryJ]

(((((phantasmagoric...)))) BREATHE... ;)

Yes, that has happened not only in "the boonies", but also in some metropolitan areas as well...

I find that I do better withOUT the lc food... just stick to meat and veggies, with a bit of fruit thrown in... I'm thinkin' the stores will keep those in stock, whether they "sell like whatever" or not!

Hang in... :)

Sherry

[Mitra]

I sympathise over the price of almond flour, but the rest of it is just not necessary. As Sherry says, meat and veg, moderate quantities of real dairy etc are generally available everywhere. If you buy plain yogurt, then you can add some fruit, vanilla essence, whatever sweetener you like. In some ways, I feel quite lucky that there were never many LC products over here in the first place, so I just ate meat, cheese, eggs, veggies, fruit, plain yogurt and milk right from the start.

It's frustrating when things you're used to aren't available, and you have to rethink your menus yet again, but once you've done that, the chances are you'll be eating better.

[Gaelen]

hmmm...might be time to start a thread right here for those supermarket finds that work on plan but aren't labeled low carb. I'll do that, and link to the January challenge thread with those results, as soon as I finish this.

Phantasmagoric, for now...some things that can help.

Buy plain yogurt, and strain it in a coffee filter to make extra thick, 'greek-style' yogurt...twice the protein, half the carbs once you've drained out the excess moisture.

For cereal, look for Kashi puffed unsweetened, or All-bran extra fiber or even plain old unsweetened Cheerios...all fit on plain with a respectable serving size.

I drink small quantities of plain whole milk, and have substituted half and half and kefir for lots of places I used to use milk (like on cereal).

Yes, you can find almond flour online (do a search on 'the nutty guys;' they've got the best online prices I've ever seen) but you don't have to go online. Buy a coffee grinder or small food processor and a fine mesh strainer, and grind your almonds (either roasted or raw) from scratch. Run the ground almonds through the strainer to sift out the larger pieces for a second grind. I find this works best in small batches (1 cup at a time or less) but there's no reason you can't grind a few cups at a time and then freeze the meal until you need to use it.

Hope this helps.

Gaelen

[Thedabara]

I do grind my own almond flour, but I think almonds have gone up in general. I eat lots of almond butter and I was paying $6.99 for a jar, and 2 weeks ago I went to replace it and it was $10.99!
To replace the hoods milk, you might try buying heavy cream( in as large a container as they sell), and mix it approx half and half with water, and add a tiny amount of sweetener. It tastes just about like the hood countdown milk did, without the things I cannot pronounce!
Other than that there were a few low carb foods, I did like to buy that are gone now. That being said, in my local supermarket I find that regular products I like to buy are rarely in stock. I have trouble buying whole fat plain yogurt. I buy 2 or 3 large containers each time. I, personally, think that my store has a really bad manager who doesn't keep things in stock.
jenny

[banshee]

I seem to recall reading something about a problem with almond production that is causing the price increase. Something about a disease or bad season in one of the main production areas? I don't remember the details, but if it was a temporary problem, I would expect to see almond prices eventually come back down.

[BethB]

It is frustrating when items you're used to disappear. It's happening even here in Houston.

I really miss Garcia-lo's tortilla chips. I can occasionally find the flax seed variety but I don't care for them.

It also seems like I can't find a decent tortilla since Adios Carbs went away. There is nothing in our stores anymore. I've ordered Mama Lupe's and a couple of other brands and can't find one that doesn't taste like sawdust or glue.

I order almond flour from Bob's Red Mill online and buy in bulk. Haven't checked prices recently, though.

[backpacker]

I can sympathize with you. The only low-carb product I purchased was just discontinued this week - natural ovens 3g ECC per slice bread. It was great. Oh well, I'll survive.

Other than that, I don't buy anything that's branded as low-carb. I find myself following my way of eating much closer when I don't sub in phony frankenfoods and just do meat, veggies, fruits, etc.

[phantasmagoric]

thanks guys :)

i understand that i dont "need" those things. but sometimes its just nice to have things pre-made so i dont have to cook so much. especially the cereal. cereal is one of my most favorite foods. i can't eat the special K LC cereal, because it spikes my blood sugar. but that's all they carry at the local grocery store. :(

Gaelen- i thought i had looked at the all bran and found that it still was too high in carbs? i will have to look again. as for the kashi unsweetened, they only sell sweetened here :(

and the yogurt thing.....

i remember a thread in the old boards about subtracting a certain amount of carbs for how many forms of bacteria were in the yogurt. i can't find anything about this in my PP book.....is it from PPLP? :confused: anyway, i buy plain kefir that is 12 carbs ECC per cup. but it has 3 or 4 types of bacteria, so i'm not sure what the real count would be.

thanks again guys. i'm glad to know i'm not the only one experiencing this! :D

[Gaelen]

thanks guys :) i remember a thread in the old boards about subtracting a certain amount of carbs for how many forms of bacteria were in the yogurt. i can't find anything about this in my PP book.....is it from PPLP? :confused: anyway, i buy plain kefir that is 12 carbs ECC per cup. but it has 3 or 4 types of bacteria, so i'm not sure what the real count would be.

Phantasmagoric, you're talking about 'the yogurt exception,' which actually wasn't in either PP or PPLP at all. I'm sure if you google it, you'll find the webpages that discuss it, but I'm not sure the theory is in much favor these days. It's kind of like the theory that sugar alcohols don't get digested (well, not exactly) so don't need to be counted (well, not exactly.)

I've never subtracted carbs from yogurt or kefir based on the idea that the bacteria eat the sugars. There's really not too much scientific substantiation for that, and besides, it's only at worst 1g carb per ounce. I'd rather just count that in my daily total than spend a lot of time trying to create an 'adjustment' to the nutrient value based on a theory that the sugars are (maybe) all eaten in the fermentation process. ;) Nutrient labels are complicated enough these days!

[Always]

Speaking as the co-owner of a low-carb store...for the large grocery stores, it all about the bottom line. The major stores have gotten rid of all products labeled low carb like they were poison (some of them are) because they are not making the money on the products that they were making at the peak of low carb popularity. Large stores don't care what you need, it's about what sells. Small stores like ours and the on-line stores can cater to your needs much more easily.

We are having trouble finding things low or reduced in carbs for our store also. With Atkins cutting out many products and Keto going under and Carb Sense cutting way back and changing their name, it is harder finding products. We have to look carefully at the nutritional labels and the ingredient lists to find products that are low or reduced. We will not sell any product containing aspartame which cuts out alot of products.

No...you do not need to buy commercially produced products to low carb, but there are many people out there that do not cook and who are extremely busy...many more than I thought. We try to offer products that keep people on track. I try to bring in low carb ingredients so those of us who do cook, can get what we need in one place.

If you don't have a low-carb store in your area, you are stuck with the on-line stores for products you want. We tell people that come in our store that they don't need to buy anything from us in order low carb...and it is true...just shop the outer aisles of your grocery store, get yourself some cookbooks and you'll do fine!

See ya!

[Billie]

I agree about the Natural Ovens Bread backpacker and I was able to buy it just last evening at the Jewel/Albertson grocery store. It is pricey but it doesn't taste like cardboard. I usually keep a loaf in the freezer.

[backpacker]

Mary - since you are in the midwest and always looking for good low-carb products, check this out (they are in Minneapolis)

http://www.madwomanfoods.com/

They have personal pizza's that are 5-7 ECC and 25-27g of protein each. They taste great and are all organic. They cook up great in a toaster oven. My coop sells them for $3.50 each (cheaper than the site). I haven't tried their other products.

[Always]

Wow...I can't believe you mentioned Mad Woman....they called Michael earlier this week and are meeting with him next week. The pizzas do look good, however, the tea cakes are sweetened with Whey Low, which seems to me to be sugar. (www.wheylow.com (http://www.wheylow.com)) It contains sucrose, fructose and lactose monohydrate. Looks like sugar to me, so we'll see what they have to say next week.

[backpacker]

Yeah, I haven't tried the mad woman tea cakes for that exact reason. I'd be interested to hear what they have to say though. But, I can highly recommend the pizza's. Just had the veggie one for lunch today! :)

It's one of the few "processed" foods I eat.

[~april~]

Have you guys tried Village Hearth Italian Lite or Multigrain? They have 4 carbs per slice and taste just like regular bread. WHen I lived in a small town and did PP a few years ago, I went thru the entire bread section to find the lowest, and they were it!!
Beware though, more recently they started making a Low Carb version that has only 3 grams in it, and THAT tastes really bad...although I havne't seen it around in awhile, so maybe it's been discontinued.