Serve celery with the salmon spread.....and the nuts...plan on Vodka for the Adkins dieter, he likely will eat a bit of the soup....no crackers.
He will eat the chicken and leave the crust and ask you not to serve the rice and will love the brussels sprouts.
Carrots are iffy.....depends on which stage in the program he is, peppers are good.
Adkins users don't DO dessert, unless it's sugar free jello based....or cheese....most fruits are a no no.
Serve him some strawberries ( lowest carb)with a bit of splenda and a pitcher of heavy cream......and maybe a few gratings of bitter sweet chocolate.
Linda C

An adkins friendly dessert is cheese cake made with splenda.....but again that's dairy.....

Well, a Google search for "Atkins desserts" didn't turn up much, but I did find this:
CINNAMON MERINGUES - 4 Servings
2 egg whites (0.6 grams of carbs)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
dash salt
1/2 cup Splenda
2 tsp ground cinnamon (3.6 grams of carbs)
1 tsp vanilla extract (1.5 grams of carbs)
1/2 tsp almond extract

In a medium bowl, combine egg whites with cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Fold in cinnamon, vanilla and almond extracts Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 300 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Carb Count: Recipe Total 5.7 grams of carbs, Carbohydrates Per Serving 1.4 grams of carbs

What do you think? Would this have to be made the same day, or can I make it a day ahead? How would I store it?

Also, can Atkins dieters have sugar-free jello? I don't know what stage of the diet he's on, but I know it's been a few weeks.

Lindac, I knew I could count on you! Thank you SO much.

The problem is that his wife said he doesn't eat vegetables or fish -- so much for celery sticks with salmon spread. Well, maybe he'll make an exception -- he has to eat SOMETHING. And the rice is mixed right in with the chicken in the main dish I'm making (it's already part made; too late to change). That's why I thought I would just have a separate piece of chicken for him.

Cuthbert is harder to cook for than my husband! We "did" the Atkins diet last year, and I was never able to find any dessert that would be suitable.

Plain cooked shrimp and salad (lettuce only) with oil and vinegar and beef were mainstays around our house. The store bought chicken sounds like a really good idea. It's so hard to make special things for someone, and, truthfully, my experience with my husband was that he really didn't like to be singled out. He always managed to find something to eat either by scraping or cutting off anything he didn't think he should have.

By the way, your dinner sounds scrumptious.

You know, this may sound harsh to some, but here is my opinion. You are having a nice dinner party that has been planned for a long time. Your menu sounds lovely. If someone has such particular food requirements (demands really) that are not true life threatening allergies, they should not impose their self-imposed dietary restrictions and picky food preferences on a hostess and all the other party guests. They should either bring something to eat, eat beforehand, or break their diet for one meal and eat what you provide in smaller portions. I entertain a lot and I'm also a nutritionist; believe me, breaking his Atkins diet for one meal or bringing something that he can eat is his deal, not yours. Please don't run around and spend hours trying to please this one guest. He may not even expect it...just my two cents here, but reading your post touched a nerve with me, please don't think me rude. I'd just be the gracious, talented cook that you appear to be and let him or his wife deal with his diet needs themselves.

Agree with Rose.

Side dish: Thick slided tomatos topped with mayo and crumbled bacon. Bake just until heated. Atkins friendly and wonderful.

You could make some stuffed chicken breast and serve it nicely sliced. It does not look like you are making something special, but offerring another entree .

I also agree with Rose. If I were the invitee, I would expect to eat my "special" meal before I arrived, then just pick at enough "legal" stuff to make it not so obvious.

You have a lovely dinner planned, and it has been planned for a long time. I think it's unreasonable to ask for a last minute special meal, although if you could come up with a couple of alternative choices I'd give you hostess of the year award for effort.

Annie

You could make-up some lettuce leaves wrapped around thinly sliced turkey. He could eat enough of those to keep him content through the rest of the meal.

I agree about not knocking yourself out. It really is his responsibility. It's no different that any other "dieter"...sometimes, you just have to make compromises in a social setting. He can control his intake by limiting his portion sizes. Personally, I don't think his wife should have even said anything to you. That was rude, IMO. You have a beautiful & well thought meal prepared & this is upseting.

What would the man have done if he'd been invited to his bosses' home for dinner????

I need to clarify -- they definitely did NOT ask for, much less demand, any special items. To the contrary, she made a point of asking me not to make anything special, and assured me he'd be fine. She offered to bring a burger or something for him, too, but as we keep kosher, I couldn't let her bring meat in.

The thing is, it's not for HIS benefit, it's for MINE that I want to have something for him to eat. Just by chance, this is a really, really non-Atkins-friendly menu; if there were even a few things I were serving that he would eat, I wouldn't worry about it. But it spoils MY fun as a hostess to have a guest who isn't eating ANYTHING (although I have learned not to watch what people eat or don't eat).

This is always an issue for guests who have special diets -- nutritional, allergy, weight loss, religious, vegetarian, etc. Some of these they just CAN'T make an exception for and eat your menu (I agree that if it's just something you don't LIKE, you should suck it up and eat a little!). So what is a polite guest to do when accepting an invitation -- mention or not mention any restrictions? You don't want to seem to be demanding a special menu, but you don't want to seem ungracious when you get there, either. I think that it really depends upon the occasion. If it is a big event, like a wedding reception, or an event with a sort of expected menu (like turkey at Thanksgiving or burgers at a BBQ), then I would keep my mouth shut and just eat whatever I could, as inconspicuously avoiding what I couldn't as possible. But if it is a small dinner, where you are the only guests, or there are only a few, I think it is better to tell the hosts when accepting the invitation. Once we had a family over for dinner, and they knew they were going to be the only guests. At least one was a vegetarian, and didn't tell me until she got there. Her explanation, of coures, was, "I didn't want you to go to any trouble." But -- I DID go to trouble (well, that's a poor term; I enjoyed it, but you know what I mean) to make a lovely meal for her -- she just wouldn't eat it. I don't blame her for not eating it, of course, but I feel she should have told me. It would have been no more trouble to plan a vegetarian meal for that evening, and I would vastly have preferred to do that, if only I had known. Hosts are delighted to "go to trouble" to cook for their friends -- just not to do all the work for nothing, and then feel like a bad host for not feeding our guests -- not to mention feeling terrible about eating the food in front of them while they sit there with a mostly empty plate (especially if they are the only guests). I mean, suppose you made a dessert, and not until you served it did your only guests tell you they were on a strict diet or couldn't eat sugar or something? I don't know about you, but I'd put it aside rather than serve it just to myself! (I'd eat it after they left, of course!)

I guess the bottom line of this long screed is that being a gracious guest can be trickier than it seems. I'm sure people THINK they are doing their hosts a favor by not telling them in advance of dietary restrictions. But I think they are setting them up for disappointment at the very least. I'm kind of surprised he doesn't feel this way, too; he is a locally famous cook himself.

So here is how I am handling it: if I have time, and I'm not feeling too frazzled, I'll grill a few pieces of salami for cocktail time -- otherwise, he can just eat the nuts. I have some chicken broth in small bags in the freezer, so I can easily give him a soup course. My husband bought a prepared chicken breast at the kosher market, so we'll heat that up for the main course. Tough luck about side dishes -- I think the brussels sprouts may be Atkins-friendly anyway, and besides she said he doesn't like vegetables. For dessert, I may make those meringues -- it looks easy and kind of fun -- and/or sugarless jello.

Too bad for him -- the pies are cooling and they came out great! :-)

Now, of course, they are predicting SNOW for tomorrow. So watch the whole party get cancelled (or worse -- they are the ONLY guests who can make it!) Listen, who cares. The fun of the party will be the conversation anyway.

Thank you all for your ideas and especially your support. You are the greatest!

gellcom - All I can say is you are a gracious host to be accommodating this at such late notice. My blood would be boiling. I was on this diet for a while and would never have put someone in this position. If it was a casual/close group, I'd ask if it would be ok to slap a burger on the grill (to keep out of the way in the kitchen)or simply bring something else along. Always something very basic so that I wouldn't upstage the host. If the company were such that I felt awkward about this (conversation invariably goes to the diet, do you really want to do this to the crowd?) I'd decline the invite. Simply not eating is pretty awkward for everyone, too.

Oh - and I second the strawberry suggestion. Those are allowed after the first couple weeks. They will add color to your table, and some other guests might enjoy them too.

I don't know if Cool Whip is dairy free enough for you, but it goes well with strawberries.

gellchom - our posts crossed. I take back the "blood boiling" comment and like Cuthbert and his wife again!

This is why I don't "diet"!

Glad your original post was misinterpreted... I was going to suggest you find a middle ground in accomodating him, and it sounds like you're doing just that.

Well, I made those meringues. Not too bad (but not as good as pie). They were very easy.

The reason I am posting again is to ask one more piece of advice: any advice on how to steer attention, conversation, and the other guests' diet consciences away from the Atkins items and the whole ^%^#!! issue? I don't want "Cuthbert" to feel self-conscious, and, to be honest, I don't want the party dampened by the conversation revolving around dieting (as fenworth points out) or the other guests' feeling self-conscious about their own eating and drinking.

How have you handled this?

By the way, the travails of this party just keep increasing. The snow is still predicted, and then my daughter told me that she hadn't known about the party and had arranged for her youth group, who are going out on an activity, to gather here to meet their bus (30 minutes after our guests arrive). These are the moments I thank heaven I'm old (well, pretty old) -- twenty years ago this would have really thrown me. Now it just makes me laugh -- I know it will be a fun evening no matter what.

Thanks again to you all. You are lifesavers! I feel like you will all be there with me tomorrow night.

"To the contrary, she made a point of asking me not to make anything special, and assured me he'd be fine."

gellcom, I might take the advice of the Atkin's guest's wife and just let the issue be. I know this party is important to you and that you have put loads of effort into it in anticipation of meeting all your guests needs. I'd offer a suggestion to just let the issue go where it will go, which is probably nowhere. When the topic comes up, it's really up to the guest to deal with it, after all, it's his trendy diet. As hostess, I'd stay neutral, and keep my comments to a minimum.

One reason this topic hits somewhat home with me is that one of my best friends of many years has an eating disorder (compulsive overeater) and is a restrictive dieter (ie. snack of 1/4 cup plain yogurt and 20 raisens). (I'm not comparing your friend to mine, just the situation from the point of view of a hostess) Her weight is essentially normal, but she has so many food issues (she does get therapy). Everything to do with food is difficult for her, and without fail, her anxieties can make every family or adult get-together and even restaurant experiences a pain in the neck as she attempts to "control", even subtley everything from the menu to phobing about what and how much wine we are going to order, etc. I'm really simplifying the issue here, to keep it brief!

As someone who loves food & cooking of all kinds as well as being a nutritionist and her friend, I used to try to cater more to her anxieties. Recently, however, I started to take a firmer stance with the situation, as I found I was spending too much time myself worrying about how to handle food situations to please my friend. I now just repeat to myself that her food issues and choices are hers, not mine, and not everyone else's at the party or in restaurants. I ignore her food eccentricities and pre-meal phobes (I can't eat mayo, pork, beef, non 100% whole wheat, etc.). I now make what I want to serve, and everyone eats it and usually loves it. Including my friend! If she wants, she brings her own brown rice or doesn't have wine, or does have wine. No one really notices or comments. I just choose not to worry about it or what she eats. Now, I do make healthy meals that also taste good 90% of the time, but at parties, it's time to splurge more and enjoy (my philosophy). With my new approach to my friend's issues (essentially, to normalize the situation, to maintain a neutral attitude, not comment on her preferences, not change my menu, not let her food issues dominate the party or event), the whole diet issue is diffused and no one notices. My friend even eats the food offered has a good time. I hope you have fun tonight!

I have a friend who is morbidly obese.....lost about 100 pounds on adkins and is still morbidly obese....
She did the Adkins thing for about a year.....she ate out, went to parties etc all without making a big deal.....she ate what she could and never mentioned she was dieting but for close friends. I served everything as usual, she left the bread unless it was whole grain and then only ate a very little. She ate berries and some fruits, always left potatoes and rice, except it it was brown rice and then she ate a little. She didn't drink wine, just vodka, When I serve hors d'ouvres, I ALWAYS provide celery to use instead of a cracker for dips and spreads.....dieters or not.
Lots of hors'douvres are adkins friendly, cheeses ( on celery, not on a cracker!) nuts, shrimp, smoked oysters ( they come in a can and are good served with a toothpick and a wedge of lemon) assorted rolled up meats, mustard or seasoned mayo-type dips.
As for the soup.....what's in it? Un sweetened peanut butter is allowed. Forget the chicken broth and serve him the soup, he can eat it or not....he can pick the chicken out of the crust. Brussles sprouts are very adkins friendly....if he woun't eat them....tough!
You might think of adding a plate of deviled eggs to the hors d'ouvres....he won't starve!!
By making additional foods for him that you are not serving to the others, you are only calling attention to his weight problem.....which I am sure he would rather you NOT do.
Linda C

Peanut soup contains

canola oil
onion
fresh ginger
garlic
light coconut milk
vegetable stock
natural peanut butter (no sugar)
mango chutney
jalapeno
salt

garnish:
sweetened flaked coconut
chopped scallions
sesame oil

He can shove aside the toasted coconut garnish, but what about the coconut milk? Is that Atkins-friendly? The chutney isn't, I assume, but he won't know it's there. There will only be 1/2 cup in the whole recipe. I just hope neither he nor his wife makes a point of asking about the ingredients -- but they both have enough class not to do it in front of the other guests.

I really am thinking you all are right about not serving him separately. We already have that chicken breast for him, so I might as well let him have it, but I can just put it on a serving dish near him without comment, rather on a dinner plate I bring to him. Does that sound like it would work? If the peanut soup won't do, it's easy enough to serve him the chicken soup without it being too obvious, as we'll be serving individual bowls from the kitchen anyway. And the meringues will just go on the table with the pies, and anyone can eat either or both.

Do I have it right?

Thanks. This feels better.

Coconut milk is low carb if memory serves me correctly. However, strange as it seems, scallions have carbs as do some herbs, peanut butter, even garlic. Not a lot but it adds up so from a atkins dieter, you just can't worry about this. He would feel terrible to know how much you have stressed out over this!! He will enjoy what he can eat, or chooses to eat. Sally

Coconut milk, canned, has 6 grams of carbs per cup. Almonds have 28 grams of carbs per cup.
Yes the soup is OK....don't know how much mango chutney, that woulkd be a good source of sugar.
Linda C

Was eating -- which is required to sustain our life -- intended to be this complicated??? I don't think so. Everything in moderation. 'Course we still have to respect the needs of those who wish to diet.

I agree not to get to stressed out about this and let him figure it out. I think there are a lot of items in your menu he can have. I have a friend who is always in to some new food thing (only humanely raised meat, South Beach etc) and often wants folks to accommodate her. It always makes me nuts. Especially as i am a diabetic and I just figure out what I need to on my own. Although when there are food labels around I do check the carb counts out, makes it easier to take the correct amount of insulin.

I like Linda's idea of adding deviled eggs as an extra hors d'ouvres. Any party that i have gone to that has served them they are always well received. Just don't add sweet relish to them.

-Robin

I'm still laughing!

Well, the dinner party went just fine. Thanks to all of you, I was able to relax and enjoy it all. There was no talk about dieting or that he was on a diet.

I couldn't wait to tell you about what happened with the food, though. You know what's coming, don't you? Of course you do.

Before dinner, I really didn't pay attention to whether "Cuthbert" ate the blintzes or not or if he ate nuts (I decided against serving the salmon spread), and I did overhear him choosing vodka rocks (as lindac predicted). At dinner, I decided just to serve him the same peanut soup as everyone else. He ate it (admirably slowly), although I noticed when I cleared the bowls that he left the coconut/scallion garnish. He was seated at the other end of the table from me, so I don't know whether he took any vegetables. I put that chicken breast on the table near his end of the table, without any comment. Someone else asked about it, and I just said something like, "Oh, that's just if someone wants something plainer." I served that chicken/pastry/mushroom/artichoke/rice dish individually, and Cuthbert did take a piece.

Not only did he eat every bite, he later asked if there was enough chicken left for him to have another helping. He finished that one, too.

No dessert for him, not even the meringues. My only comment when I served dessert was in answer to "What are those?": "These are sugarless cinnamon meringues; they're an Atkins recipe." "Mrs. Cuthbert" ate those and no pie. She was seated right next to me, so I couldn't help but notice that, and also that she ate all the chicken dish EXCEPT the chicken. Maybe she has become a vegetarian? I did not ask or comment, of course. The dog and cat were delighted, though!

So look at all I learned. I worried about entirely the wrong things. Mrs. C had said, "He finds the diet much easier if he just never deviates. But evidently, he was ready to take a night off. I only hope he didn't think *I* was trying to get him to stick to his diet or commenting on his weight!

Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart. You were great. I really wasn't as spazzed out as I seemed -- but I still really, really appreciated your support, sympathy, and suggestions. Oh, and by the way, the youth group didn't end up congregating here anyway; their program was cancelled due to the weather, even though it wasn't bad enough to delay our guests.

To thank you all, I want to share that peanut soup recipe with you. It is SO delicious, and really easy and fast -- and always gets "Wow, this is amazing!" from guests. I cut it out of the newspaper 2 years ago; it's by J.M. Hirsch, who writes a vegetarian cooking column. (He and his mom have a cookbook out; I've loved his recipes from the paper so much that I plan to buy it.) I hope you all enjoy it, too.

I always double this recipe, which serves only about 4-5.

Polynesian Peanut Soup

1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I had shredded, so I used that)
1 T canola oil
1 c finely chopped onion
1/4 c finely chopped fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 14-oz. can light coconut milk
3/4 c vegetable stock
3/4 c smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 c mango chutney
1 T minced fresh jalapeno chili, or to taste
salt to taste
1/4 c finely chopped green onions
2 T minced fresh cilantro [I omit this, as we are "tasters"]
sesame oil, for garnish

In a small dry skillet, toast the coconut over medium heat, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes (took less for me). Transfer to a plate and cool.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.* Add the onion, ginger, and garlic . Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and ginger are very tender, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the onion mixture to a blender or food processor. Add the coconut milk, vegetable stock, peanut butter, chutney, and jalapeno [I chopped the jalapeno in there first and then added the rest]. Puree until smooth (anticipate a little leakage if you're doubling the recipe!). If the peanut butter is too thick, it might be necessary to add more stock (I like it thick, though).

Transfer the soup to the Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until heated through. Season with salt to taste.

Meanwhile, toss the coconut with the green onions and cilantro, if using.

To serve, drizzle each bowl with some sesame oil and top with a mound of the coconut mixture.

*I found that the onions stuck too much, even though I stirred almost constantly, so I ended up using another pot after pureeing. Next time, I will use a nonstick pan first to toast the coconut, then use the same one to cook the onions, ginger, and garlic, and not use the soup pot (Dutch oven) until after pureeing. Still a total of 2 pans to wash.

Too funny! Isn't it always like that - the things we obsess most about are the ones that matter least.

Somewhere in the Atkins book is a reference to a someone's theory something to the effect of that if you are on a diet it's ok occassionally to go off the diet with no ill effects as long as the meal is consumed within a one hour period. Sounds like perhaps Mr. Cuthbert read that chapter. Maybe even twice!

Glad it turned out well for you!

Glad to hear the dinner went well.

I follow Atkins (my own version) to keep me from becoming a type 2 diabetic, and to keep my weight down, so I don't become a type 2 diabetic (vicious circle, isn't it) but I would never tell a hostess what I will or won't eat. I just eat what's offered. Taking a night off isn't the end of the world, I'm an adult, I can deal with it.

In my family I have vegetarian kids and Atkins kids - dinners are definitely interesting, to prepare and to eat, but we all do just fine.

Hey gellchom

Have you considered getting a stick blender for this soup? Puree it right in the pot! Thats how I'm making your recipe tonight!

Are your ears burning....I copied and posted on the Cooking Forum...

Here is a link that might be useful: Whats for Dinner