newspaper interview, cooking lessons from my mother & balanced meals

Our interview with our local newspaper, "The Gleaner", went very well yesterday. During our interview, we cooked a nice meal - parmesan fried chicken strips, cooked cabbage with onions & green peppers and black beans with diced tomatoes & green chilis. I love cooking for people!
Cooking just comes natural to me. I learned a lot from my mother. I remember when I was a little girl, my mother used to let me bake 2 tiered cakes on Saturday afternoon. She'd tell me what to do, but she wouldn't help. I even learned to make icing from scratch. And I used icing to try to even out the uneven layers and then the cake would slide apart when you tried to slice it. For supper that evening, our family would have a nice little lopsided cake to enjoy - made by the baby of the family!
I still love to cook for my family. But switching to a low carb lifestyle, was a little difficult at first. We were used to having what I referred to as a well-balanced meal - a protein, a starch and a vegetable. That's basically what I grew up with - almost every supper meal consisted of all 3. So, if you're considering or currently following a low carb lifestyle, you may be faced with the same challenges of balancing your meals, especially your supper meal with your family.
Hopefully, the following ideas will help with your meal planning. A protein & a vegetable is still going to be easy when following a low carb lifestyle. Just be sure to choose low carb vegetables. Instead of a starch, how about a salad. Your salad can be as simple as lettuce or spinach leaves, lots of shredded cheese & a low carb dressing. Be sure avoid croutons.
Another option for a starch replacement is cauliflower. My family loves creamy mock mashed "potatoes" made with cauliflower. There's a recipe on the website. I'm also working on two additional recipes - cauliflower "rice" & a cauliflower substitute for hash brown casserole. I'll let you know when both recipes have been posted.
There are some instant "fake" potato products on the market. I haven't tried any, so there aren't any that I can recommend. However, we have tried the Miracle Noodles, which are made out of Shirataki mushrooms. The "noodles" contain no fat, sugar or starch. This means no calories & no carbs. Miracle noodles can be ordered on-line or bought in some Asian markets. I've tried a couple of varieties. My favorite are the smaller in diameter noodles. I haven't tried the "rice" version. The reviews were mixed - some of my family liked them & some, not so much!
If your family likes bread with their meals, that's still an option when following a low carb lifestyle. There are plenty of low carb breads available - just be sure to check the labels. You should be able to find a variety that is 5 to 7 net carbs per slice. I also have some bread recipes on the website. Our favorite is the flax seed meal flat bread with caraway seeds. If your family likes rye & pumpernickel bread, I think they'll like this bread, too.
I hope these suggestions help with your meal planning. If you have any questions or comments, just let me know. Thank you!