Daily Archives: December 11, 2017

Restaurant Review – The Old Mill

Never have I been so stuffed as when we ate at The Old Mill Restaurant in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee recently!

I’m always on the lookout for a Low Carb friendly restaurant and The Old Mill had many options!  Follow the link above to see the menus for yourself!

There were so many Low Carb options like:

  • Appetizer: Pork Rinds with Bacon & Cheese Dip  
  • Salads: Signature Salad with Grilled Chicken, Ceasar Salad, House Salad, Wedge Salad
  • Soups: Tomato Basil, French Onion
  • Main Entry: Prime Rib, Steak, Grilled Pork Chop, Grilled Chicken, Cafe Chicken Florentine, Country Ham, Sugar Ham, Ground Round Patty, BBQ, Grilled Shrimp, Broiled Catfish, Broiled Trout, Quiche, Stir Fried Vegetables, Vegetable Plate
  • Vegetables: Green Beans, Cabbage, Turnip Greens
  • Sandwiches/Burgers: All if you leave off bread and substitute the fries for vegetables

I had the Ground Round with green beans and turnip greens.  My husband got the same thing.  It was the biggest slab of chopped meat that I have ever seen on a plate! I’m not kidding.  It was huge!  Okay, NOT eating their corn fritters was a killer.  We also had to not eat the complimentary corn chowder that comes with every meal, but the portions you get are enormous for everything else and so you don’t really care about what you couldn’t have.  We all had to get “to go” boxes to take home food there was so much!

There is the Old Mill itself and also the Pottery House Cafe & Grill.  Similar menus that you can check out online although the Old Mill menu doesn’t show the appetizer listing it has which appears on the Pottery House menu.  Either would be great to visit.

DO go here if you visit the Pigeon Forge area!  Well worth the wait to get in!  I  would go here again and again for quality of food and quantity of food for the low carb eater… heck, for any eater!

 

Thanksgiving & Christmas Eating

Christmas Dinner

November and December is the toughest time of year for us Low Carbers! Holiday meals can be daunting even when not going low carb.

I actually spent time going over the holiday food menus to see what I COULD eat and what I needed to adjust to be able to eat satisfyingly.

In our family, we eat turkey and ham for Thanksgiving and beef for Christmas.  I know everyone’s traditions are different, but that is ours. We have a few side dish adjustments depending upon the main dish.

Here is the usual menu for Thanksgiving:

  • Turkey
  • Ham
  • Dressing
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Green Beans
  • Squash Casserole
  • Spinach Casserole
  • Peas
  • Cranberry Relish
  • Gravy
  • Rolls
  • Pumpkin Pie

Here is the adjusted menu for Thanksgiving:

  • Turkey
  • Ham
  • Dressing – made with low carb almond flour “cornbread”
  • Mashed Cauliflower
  • Green Beans
  • Squash Casserole – using crushed pork rinds for the cracker topping.  No one noticed!
  • Spinach Casserole – using crushed pork rinds for the cracker topping. No one noticed!
  • Peas – we avoided but kept for others.
  • Cranberry Relish – we did two versions one with sugar for others and a low carb version with Truvia.
  • Gravy – we did regular gravy for others and had a recipe to do a low carb version.
  • Rolls – we avoided, but could have made low carb bread.
  • Pumpkin Pie – we did two versions one for others and a low carb version.

Now on to Christmas….

Here is the usual menu for Christmas:

  • Rib Roast
  • Yorkshire Pudding
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Green Beans
  • Broccoli Casserole
  • Carrots
  • Cranberry relish
  • Gravy
  • Rolls
  • Pecan Pie

Here is the adjusted menu for Christmas:

  • Rib Roast
  • Yorkshire Pudding – made with soy flour recipe instead.
  • Mashed Cauliflower
  • Green Beans
  • Broccoli Casserole – make with crushed pork rinds for Cheezit topping.
  • Carrots – We went ahead and kept this even though it is a little higher carb, but will use Truvia brown sugar to glaze them.
  • Cranberry relish – we will do a low carb version with Truvia.
  • Gravy – we will do regular gravy for others and have a recipe to do a low carb version.
  • Rolls – we will avoid, but we can make low carb bread.
  • Pecan Pie – we can use a low carb syrup version of this with a almond flour crust.

I also had plenty of holiday savory and “sweet” nuts on hand for nibbles.  We had the usual cheese and pork rinds on hand as well.

For those who are candy addicts like I can be at times (especially around the holidays) every store has a sugar free section of their candy aisle.  There are some pretty good selections including Bob’s sugar free peppermints. Russell Stover‘s has a great selection and they are changing all over to Stevia based products now that taste better and don’t give as much gastrointestinal upset that other sugar substitutes can give when you accidentally over do it.  (Come on… sometimes you just can’t stop at one piece!)  If you see a Russell Stover Outlet on your interstate travels, DO stop in!

It isn’t as bad as one might think when living low carb.  The possibilities are rather endless what you can do!  It is gathering or adjusting the recipes that takes time.  Hopefully I’ve gathered some on this site that are helpful.  Other sites have some great recipes too!  Too, Jennifer Eloff,  George Stella and Dana Carpender‘s cookbooks are terrific!

You can do this!  If I can… YOU can!

Restaurant Carb Review – Merv’s

If ever there was a Low Carb restaurant made from heaven… Merv’s in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee is it!

In the beginning of my low carb lifestyle… I wasn’t wanting to go to restaurants much until I knew better what things I could actually eat and not screw up my carb counts.

My husband was out and sent me a picture of the Cheeseburger Salad he was eating at Merv’s!  We went there a few days later.

I KNEW I was getting a Cheeseburger Salad, but then I clapped my eyes on the appetizers and it said Pork Rinds “made to order”… in other words fresh made!  And anyone that is on a low carb diet knows… pork rinds are our friends!  It is versatile, low carb and low fat (oddly enough!)

Someone at the restaurant must be a low carb eater because I hadn’t seen those on a menu ANYWHERE… as of yet.

I was at first a little depressed going to Merv’s because they are known for their fries and onion rings as well as their burgers, but there was this great and satisfying substitute in fresh pork rinds!  To those that turn up their noses at the notion… don’t knock ’em till you have tried them!  These were fresh, crunchy and didn’t stick to the roof of your mouth. (You rind eaters out there know what I am talking about… not all pork rinds are created equal!) It was the perfect alternate choice to fries and onion rings!

The Cheeseburger Salad was beyond delicious!  Better than I imagined!  Get it if you go there!!!

Of course Merv’s also has a Grilled Chicken Salad, that I will try one day.  A Super Salad with ground beef and ham that my husband likes.  They also have “naked” Wings.

And if you remember the rule of thumb below… your choices are sort of endless at Merv’s!  There is a lot to eat there if you go bunless!

Now you can also go to Merv’s in Chattanooga, but they have egg rolls instead of pork rinds! (at least on the menu I saw)!!  But otherwise, same great menu!

Just remember the rule of thumb… basically, leave off the breads, breading, potatoes, onions, high carb fruits and veggies and desserts.  Get lettuce wrapped double meat proteins (if they aren’t on a bone) or  have proteins on top of the salads.  Beware of hidden salad carbs, especially in croutons and sugars in dressings or toppings!  If you follow this rule of thumb you can find quite a lot to eat.