Cracker Barrel: A Low-Carb Diet Utopia

Cracker Barrel is the only major restaurant chain catering to low-carbers

On my recent trip from Spartanburg, South Carolina to Nashville, Tennessee for that obesity conference I attended there, Christine and I stopped for lunch in Lebanon, Tennessee at the Cracker Barrel franchise. I've always been a fan of these unique restaurants because of their reputation for being a fun, family-friendly place for good down-home cooking.

In fact, when we went on vacations in the 1980's, my mom often took us kids to Cracker Barrel because she knew we could occupy ourselves playing the little peg game, browsing around in the Old Country Store, or playing checkers on that big board outside while rockin' in those famous chairs lined up along the front. This place brings back a lot of happy memories for me, especially all those plates of homemade Chicken 'N Dumplins I downed. :)

But, now I'm in my mid-30's and that option isn't on my low-carb lifestyle anymore (gladly so!). Most places I have to come up with my own low-carb menu choices and they work with me to make that work. But have you been to Cracker Barrel lately? Not only do they make options available for low-carbers, but they actually CATER TO US with our own low-carb menu items! WOW!!!


Look for the "Low Carb Offerings" section of the Cracker Barrel menu

When I opened up the menu for Breakfast, I was flabbergasted that they actually used the phrase "low-carb" on their menu. Now that's a switch considering restaurants like Ruby Tuesday are running away from the low-carb market. And yet there it was staring me right in the face--"Low Carb Offerings" for Breakfast.

Amazing!

They explain why they have this separate low-carb section on their menu.

"Here at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store we know that many folks are watching what they eat, so we’ve prepared some of our favorite choices with fewer carbohydrates. From our Country Grilled Sampler to our Double Meat Breakfast, you can enjoy a low carb breakfast without sacrificing great taste."

Incredible!!! They also offer a lower-carb whole wheat bread option with "real butter and low sugar fruit spreads" for those who prefer to eat a few more carbs, but still want to watch their carbohydrate intake. They even offer Splenda as a sugar substitute--surprisingly, this is something not all the chain restaurants have done yet.

But wait, there's more! :)

Cracker Barrel also has a "Low Carb Offerings" for Lunch & Dinner with a whopping 11 genuinely low-carb meals to choose from, including roast beef, grilled chicken tenderloins, spicy grilled catfish, grilled steak salad, and so much more. These meals range from 0-10 carbs each--well within anyone's definition of a low-carb meal!

"We know many folks are watching what they eat, so we've prepared some of our favorite dishes with less carbohydrates. All salads served without croutons."

They even offer Blue Cheese crumbles as an added low-carb delight to any of their low-carb dishes. Side items that are excellent for people who are livin' la vida low-carb include Green Beans, TABASCO® Spiced Pork Rinds, Turnip Greens, and Tossed Salad with Blue Cheese, Peppercorn (my favorite!), or Buttermilk Ranch dressing.

While restaurants like Applebee's try to sneak in a low-carb menu item without explicitly calling it that, it's nice to know that at least one of America's top sit-down restaurants actively markets themselves to the low-carb dieter. With companies like Subway taking away our favorite low-carb menu items, perhaps the time has come to spend more money at Cracker Barrel.

Is it any coincidence that Cracker Barrel is the leader of their genre of restaurant for the past several years? They're innovators for the restaurant industry to mimic. As a strong support of the low-carb lifestyle, all I can say to them is THANK YOU for getting it and reaching out to people who are trying to limit their carb consumption. You don't know how good it feels to have a company willing to at least acknowledge our wants and needs with a menu that's actually low-carb.

The only complaint I have (and it's minor) is there are no low-carb dessert options. Ruby Tuesday used to have an outstanding cheesecake which had only 2g net carbs and was out of this world. Now, we're left with restaurants like the Olive Garden pushing a "no sugar added" dessert for diabetics and low-carb dieters that has an eye-popping 69g carbs in it!

EEEEEEK! We'd love to have a real low-carb dessert, Cracker Barrel, although I realize you sell some sugar-free, low-carb candy products in your country store. Just some food for thought to tweak your low-carb menu even more.

We appreciate your decision to include the low-carb customer in your in-store marketing efforts and it will not go unnoticed during the upcoming summer vacation season. I challenge everyone who supports livin' la vida low-carb to be on the lookout for Cracker Barrel restaurants along your traveling path this summer (they're EVERYWHERE!) and make an effort to stop in early and often to show them our support for being a low-carb diet utopia.

And if you appreciate Cracker Barrel's decision to meet your needs as a low-carber, then be sure to let them hear from you about it. Express your appreciation to them by writing or calling TODAY! Then go pay a visit to see for yourself what an awesome low-carb menu they have!

Surprising Kevin Perhaps For The Last Time

I hope this isn't the last picture taken with my brother Kevin

When it comes to going on vacation, I'm the kind of person who would much rather stay home and just take in the sights and sounds of life in my area that are normally overlooked in the day-to-day living to simply relax and enjoy myself. Loading up the car with a bunch of luggage, driving umpteen hundred miles to get to your destination, and then trying to cram in activity after activity to entertain yourself is not my idea of the perfect vacation. Don't you need a vacation from your vacation when you get back?!

But one thing trumps all of that when it comes to going on vacation: seeing your family! My wife Christine has family north of us and my family is split between west and south of our home in South Carolina. We try to make the rounds every year or so and it had been a couple of years since we went to visit my mother. stepdad, brother and sister who all live in the same town. So we decided to travel down I-85 (through some horrendous traffic there and back going through Atlanta!) to see my family over the Thanksgiving weekend.


Here's my family sitting around the table after the Thanksgiving meal

My sister Beverly was so gracious to open her home up for Thanksgiving when she heard we were coming and that we wanted to surprise Kevin. My mom had planned on going out to eat with my stepdad, Beverly and Kevin for turkey day, but my dear sister wanted it to be more special than that with us driving down to visit. She did an excellent job with the meal!


That's my pretty little sister Beverly who is two years younger than me

Mom cooked the turkey and brough ham and Beverly did the rest. They allowed me to cook up a batch of my mashed cauliflower and low-carb stuffing, although my mom and stepdad weren't very thrilled with either. Oh well, it wasn't for them to eat now, was it? :D

I didn't eat any of the desserts that were prepared because they were loaded with sugar and flour. But everyone made sure to tell me how mmm mmm good the chocolate pie and apple pie was. Not for me because I'm livin' la vida low-carb and those are just RAT POISON! LOL!


From left to right, my mom, my wife Christine, and my brother Kevin

We didn't have a whole lot of time together over the weekend because he had some odd and end things to do, but I was able to see my brother Kevin a little. As many of you know, he has had quite a year since being told by a doctor to lose weight or die. Despite this grim warning, Kevin has not lost a lot of weight yet and his health has paid the price.

I was very tempted to tell Kevin what he needed to do to shed those pounds and get his health in order. However, more than anything else, I just wanted him to know he was being thought about, prayed for, and wished well by countless numbers of people (mostly YOU!) who really do care about him and want to see him well. He wanted me to let you know he appreciates your concern and that he is going to try to do something about his situation. We can hope and continue to pray at this point.


Kevin's a big man who has had one doozy of a life so far

One thing that shocked me was when we sat down to watch a movie together as a family on Saturday night was when mom made a big batch of brownies. The aroma in the air was just too much for Kevin to bear, so he went and loaded up his plate with 4 large blocks of brownies with ice cream on top. Keep in mind he's a Type 2 diabetic and morbidly obese! Oh, you don't know how much I wanted to scream, "NOOOOOOO!!! YOU DON'T NEED THAT, KEVIN!!!" But I bit my lip and remained silent.


My beautiful Christine with my brother Kevin

I learned a long time ago that you can't force someone to change who isn't ready to change. They have to be ready and it's our job to serve as an example until they are. That's all I have left to hope for at this point. Kevin is a 39-year old man who doesn't need someone to hold his hand about what to do with his life. He alone makes the decisions about his life and he will have to face the consequences of his actions at some point. Hopefully he'll have a "later" to get to it.

It was so good to see my skinny momma looking so good following her gastric bypass surgery three years ago. But the woman eats worse than a bird does nibbling on about three or four bites of food and then stopping. Amazing! Yet she looks absolutely fantastic and I'm so proud of her.

My stepdad pulled out his glucose meter on Saturday to check his blood sugar and wanted to see what reading everyone else had. My mom was in the 160s, my wife Christine was in the 120s, and Kevin refused to have his checked (maybe 300+ after that brownie bonanza?!). So he came to me and his jaw dropped to the floor when he saw my reading was 86.

He asked me if I was feeling okay and I said I felt perfectly fine. He said that my blood sugar was a little on the low-side. I told him that's pretty normal for someone who is controlling his carb intake to manage his weight and health. Let's just say it left an indelible impression on him that may have him counting carbs and watching his sugar. THAT is the power of being an example for others to follow.

Overall, the time away was amazing except for the fact that I missed blogging for you while I was gone. But I promised Christine I would not blog, so I didn't. Now I'm back in the saddle ready to keep providing you quality content that you can use as part of your low-carb lifestyle. THANK YOU for giving me a few days off and I look forward to the year 2007 which will be here before you know it!

Hopefully, my brother Kevin will make 2007 his banner year for a comeback with his weight and health. Otherwise, I don't think he's gonna have any more chances. YOU CAN DO IT, KEVIN! JUST DON'T GIVE UP! DON'T EVER GIVE UP!

Traveling Is No Excuse For Not Doing Low-Carb

She Knows Network asks a good question for people who are livin' la vida low-carb especially in light of the upcoming vacation time coming this summer -- what can you eat at the airport?

I haven't traveled by airplane for more than five years and don't know personally about the limitations on food choices in airports. However, from what I do remember about airports, the food selection varies depending on how big it is. But with a little bit of creativity and planning, you shouldn't have to "blow" your low-carb lifestyle just because you are traveling.

"When I am forced to eat a mass-transit meal, my first low-carb thought is always eggs," says Derek Alessi, LowCarb Energy fitness expert and author of Lose Fat Forever. "Eggs -- especially the egg whites -- are a great source of protein. In fact, eggs have the highest absorption of any natural protein at a 96 percent value. That means 96 percent of the protein you consume from eggs will absorb into the body."

Eggs are very handy indeed. In fact, I just had egg with American cheese on Atkins bread for supper last night. Yummy! If you find a breakfast shop in the airport, this is a great place to stop for a quick bite between flights. Of course, a lot of people bemoan eating so many eggs when they are on Atkins. If that's you, then there are other options, too.

You can also order a cheeseburger or chicken sandwich without the bun.

"If I am fortunate enough to be at a restaurant that offers a salad, I will ask for the bun-less burger or chicken to be put over the salad," Alessi says.

For people on a low-carb lifestyle, you get used to eating a burger or other sandwiches without the bread. It's a way of life for us now because we know the carbs in that big bun or submarine sandwich would put us back for days. You can skip the fries, too, and ask for a salad, even if it happens to cost you a little more money. The savings to your health make it much more worth it!

I was concerned when I read about a woman who is doing low-carb and is lactose intolerant because of the following statement she made: "I'm also fat-conscious, so I will order my sandwich with no mayonnaise; then I'll add extra mustard," she says.

Yikes! As I have said many times before (but it's worth repeating often), it is extremely dangerous to mix a low-carb lifestyle with a low-fat diet. The two in conjunction are counterproductive to your weight loss and health goals. DON'T DO IT! Your body needs the fat in the foods you eat while livin' la vida low-carb to keep you satisfied and to do Atkins correctly. You are only going to get frustrated and eventually quit if you try to combine low-carb with low-fat.

Of course, you could plan ahead before you go on your trip and pack some handy low-carb snacks such as nuts, mozzarella cheese sticks, pepperoni slices, low-carb candy and bars, etc. It's a whole lot cheaper and you're sure to have something you can eat if the airport selection lets you down. This is a good idea anytime you are going somewhere unfamiliar and you want to make sure you don't mess up on your low-carb plan.

The article has a list of 5 suggestions for low-carbers while traveling that I agree with in part and disagree with other parts (look for my parenthetical comments):

1. Strictly avoid the "white hazard"-- white flour, white rice, potatoes, sugar and sweets.

2. Eat as many vegetables (I would add the phrase "that are acceptable on Atkins") as possible.

3. Strictly avoid all liquid calories, with the exception of one serving of wine, liquor or low-carb beer (I would remove the exception because I don't recommend any alcoholic beverages when you are livin' la vida low-carb because they dehydrate your body and slow your metabolism).

4. Always have some healthy protein such as seafood, skinless poultry, lean beef or pork, nuts, beans (I would not recommend you eat beans because they're too high in carbs!) or eggs.

5. Always control your portions: With the exception of vegetables, limit the amount you eat to the equivalent of your hands cupped together. Phetteplace spaces her allotted daily carbs over the course of several meals. "I'm much healthier if I eat three or four small carb meals throughout the day instead of one huge meal," says Phetteplace. (Okay, ignore this suggestion completely because portion size is irrelevant on a low-carb lifestyle. It's good to eat lots of small meals throughout the day to satisfy your hunger, but just eat until you're not hungry anymore. It's not rocket science people!).

One final point in the article that I thought was worth mentioning is the woman doing low-carb wanting restaurants and their employees to become more educated about what low-carb is all about. She detailed her concerns in a story about a recent visit she had to a national restaurant chain where she asked if he knew the carb content of the foods on the low-carb menu.

"The young man, who was probably new, gave me a, 'No, I don't know,' instead of trying to direct me to some of the literature they had that would have answered my question. I finally figured it out and was able to order, but it was frustrating," says Phetteplace.

Welcome to my world. I have to do this at literally any restaurant I go to nowadays. It is frustrating because it shouldn't be very hard to inform the staff of the carb totals in foods. It's no less important than knowing the fat content on the low-fat menu (and I bet most of them know that by heart!). The education about low-carb will need to continue as more and more people are livin' la vida low-carb.

The story ends with some good advice from a doctor: "With a little preparation and wise choices, you will be able to keep your nutrition disciplined on the road."

So enjoy your trip in the coming months, but don't use it as an excuse for not doing low-carb!