I'll tell you what, I definately have a wheat and cheese monkey on MY back, lol! They both have opiate like substances in them apparently, but I'll bet peaches do too! ;) I was reading long ago about the possibly inflammatory properties of wheat gluten, and I went on a wheat free diet for months and months, (along with many other strategies) trying to lessen my severe menstrual cramps and migranes. Did not do a thing! I do have my problem foods, but thankfully it is not gluten. Salt, red meat, artificial sweeteners, alcohol and tea and refined flour and sugar are the things that bother my system. Like I said, I balance carbs with protein and fats to avoid the blood sugar spikes that go along with eating "unopposed" carbs. A sugar binge can trigger a migrane for me. But a sugar binge also piles on the pounds so I try not to do it for so many reasons. But along the way I picked up the idea of eating a balance of whole grains and not overdoing the carbs. Luckily I actually do not like refined white flour or heavily spiced and salted products and really sugary stuff, so I have no trouble staying away from it. Really good bread and cheese is harder for me to moderate myself on. One thing that is troubling to me is the COST of some of these wheat alternatives. I wanted to get some brown rice spinach linguine at the health food store, but it was $3.50 for 12 ounces and the whole wheat Barilla was $1.30 for the same amount. I'm unemployed right now and can no longer afford these types of products. I stick to oatmeal, cornmeal and brown rice for my carb alternatives. Occasionally some quinoa or barley. Pasture raised chicken by me is $3.50 per lb. and the regular old store bought stuff ins $2.00 and below. Needless to say we can't afford that either! And fish is a rare luxury.

Be careful about low-carb high-protein diets. It may be okay to eat like that for a little while to lose some weight, but it is definitely not a healthy long-term diet. Carbohydrates are very important for cell activity throughout the body. The secret is to keep the blood sugar levels as steady as possible. If it is too high, the excess carbohydrates are turned into fat. If it gets too low, you won't be able to effectively burn any fat. "Good" carbs don't cause a quick raise in blood sugar levels. The glycemic index and glycemic load are definitely worth looking at. They give you a very good idea of which carbs to eat and which ones to avoid. For people who are not diabetic, I wouldn't recommend strictly counting all the carbs or indexes or calories. That would tke all the fun out of eating. Potatoes and whole wheat/grain pasta, brown rice and other not too refined products are very healthy and don't make you fat. They give you much more fiber than a high-protein diet will give you. The problem with eating too much protein is that the digestion of protein yields in large amounts of uric acid and the kidneys have to work hard to get rid of it. Animal proteins are worse than plant proteins. Too much uric acid in the blood can lead to gout. The recommendations for a well-balanced diet are 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat in regards to the total calorie intake. 40-30-30 like RoxieL states above is close to that, but a little too high in fat. The daily recommended amount of fiber is 35 gram which is quite a lot. Most people, including vegetarians, get too much protein and fat, but not enough fiber. By the way, fiber is also a carbohydrate!

I am making the Crack slaw tonight. I know the conversation has passed avocados, but for anyone who doesn't like them...and may not be able to understand why anyone does....let me say, there are good avocados and bad. There is nothing in between. when selecting an avocado, get the brightest green one you can find. That means it isn't ripe and no one has squeezed it yet. Don't squeeze it....ever. Every time you squeeze an avocado, you bruise it. A little bruise will change the taste of the entire avocado. Bring it home and set it on the counter. After one or two days, it will change color. when it is dark green, it is ready for slicing. The next day...guacamole. I eat avocados almost every day and I see people picking them up and squeezing them, and I cringe.

Thanks Dawn. I'm loving the tortillas because while I can't stomach straight eggs anymore, I can handle a breakfast burrito just fine. I will have to try those rolls. I ordered some bagels online that I am curious about. I also found some cauliflower pizza crust at Whole Foods that was pretty good once loaded with toppings. I should probably stop trying to replace everything bad that I used to like with low-carb alternatives and instead focus on whole foods, but it's such a drastic change for me that I'm doing what I can to stick with it, even if it's not ideal. Like you said, maybe once I get used to it i'll simplify my eating. It's funny - I would have thought that it was my sweet tooth that was my downfall but it's clear that it's the bread that I'm missing. I haven't wanted anything sweet, probably because I hate the taste of artificial sweeteners and stevia. My original goal was under 20 net carbs but i've adjusted it to 30, which helps because my meat replacements all have a few carbs, and I'm able to eat a lot of vegetables (my brussels sprouts were taking up half of my daily carbs). Seems to still be working.