Dana Carpender

Dana Carpender, 46-year nutrition buff, 29-year low-carber, opinionated writer, congenital smarty pants, and low-carb recipe guru. Lives in Southern Indiana with Otis the Pug, Squeaky the Cat, and as always, That Nice Boy She Married.

Why I’m Not a Low-Carb Purist by Dana Carpender

I have, over the past many years in general, and in the past few days in particular, taken some heat for not being pure enough or restrictive enough or something enough about the diet I eat and the ingredients I use in my recipes. I was accused of something very close to a major character flaw in a discussion about sucralose, by a woman who was infuriated that I would use such an evil, evil ingredient, and that I dared to suggest that perhaps stevia was not utterly safe beyond all question. I've been taken to task for using/eating polyols. I've been told that I should only use, and only recommend, organic, grass-fed meat, and that suggesting that it's okay to eat battery eggs - factory farmed eggs - is just plain wrong.

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Getting Enough Potassium on a Low Carb Diet by Dana Carpender

Bananas must have a killer press agent. Over and over folks ask, "But if I can't have bananas on my low carb diet, where will I get potassium?" It is true that bananas are a pretty good source of potassium; one medium banana has 422 milligrams, or about 12% of the RDA of 3.5 grams. However, that banana also has 27 grams of carbohydrate, with only 3 grams of fiber, for a usable carb count of 24 grams - about half of my daily maximum carb intake, and more than the 20 gram upper limit for those of you who are in the induction phase of the Atkins diet. Clearly we can't count on bananas for our potassium! But where will we get it?

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Alcohol on Your Low Carb Lifestyle Revisited Includes Low Carb Mockahlua Recipe

Dana Carpender shares her recipe for Low Carb Mockahlua, as well as ways to fit alcohol into your low carb holiday celebrations. 'Tis the season to make merry! Seems to me that there are more parties crammed into the month of December than all the rest of the year put together. For many of us, parties mean downing cocktail or two. So how does drinking alcohol fit into a low carb diet?

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Thanksgiving Day Leftovers by Dana Carpender Includes Her Turkey Tetrazinni Recipe

Thanksgiving was Thursday. Maybe you took an Indulgence Day, maybe - like a growing (or, more accurately, shrinking) group of low carbers, you kept on low carbing right through the feast. I heard from a lot of people who had fauxtatoes and sugar-free pumpkin pie. Regardless, you probably have some leftovers kicking around. You're not going to be eating turkey sandwiches, or at least I hope you're not. So what to do with your leftover bird?

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Low Carb Stuffing Recipes by Dana Carpender

Call it stuffing, or call it dressing, it's just not a holiday turkey without it! For me, stuffing is an essential part of holiday dinners. Indeed, I used to have what I like to call an "indulgence" (a term I prefer to "cheat") on holidays largely so I could have stuffing! Since then, however, I've learned to cut back on the carb count of my turkey stuffing. Here are some ideas:

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You Can Have Low-Carb Gravy For Your Thanksgiving Dinner by Dana Carpender

Simple Flourless Gravy For Your Holiday Feast

Dana Carpender's Low-Carb Gravy Recipe. The holiday season is here! That means lots of big family dinners, flocks of roasted turkeys - and gallons of gravy. This last gives many people pause. I learned this at age twenty one, when a group of young and broke friends bought a couple of whole chickens on sale, and roasted them for a budget dinner party. When the chickens came out of the oven, I said, "Look at those nice drippings. Would anyone like it if I made gravy?"

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