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Here's another in my off-and-on series about specific vitamins and minerals. Since I last covered vitamin B1, aka thiamin, the next logical subject is vitamin B2, called riboflavin.

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It wasn't vitamin C. Although it was known for centuries that a lack of fresh food would cause scurvy, and that certain foods, especially citrus fruits, cabbage, and sauerkraut, could prevent it, the factor responsible wasn't identified until a few years after our front-runner.

Autumn is leaf season, deer season, Halloween season, and - Brussels sprouts season! However, Brussels sprouts are one of those vegetables that are often invoked as evidence that vegetables in general are loathsome, nowhere near as tasty as some other categories of foods. I, too, once disliked Brussels sprouts, yet I have come not only to like them, but to love them, and so has my formerly Brussels-sprout-phobic husband.

Let's talk a little about vitamin A. Vitamin A is important stuff, but it's a bit complex. Vitamin A is essential for your health, but because it's a fat soluble vitamin and can be stored in your body, it's possible to get too much. It also comes in a couple of forms, both with their virtues and their drawbacks.

A whole cup of fresh basil leaves has just 11 calories, and about 5 million metric boatloads of flavor. You'll get 2 grams of carbohydrate, but it's virtually all in the form of fiber. And you'll get one gram of protein, but who eats herbs for the protein? You'll also get 33% of your vitamin A, 13% of your vitamin C, 7% each of your folacin, calcium, and iron, 6% of your potassium, and 2% of your niacin and zinc.

Years ago, some furious online detractor of low carb diets threw at me the accusation that I ate "pork rind cake." This is not true. I have never eaten a cake made from pork rinds, and had never heard of such a thing till the accusation was made. And though she subsequently posted a link to a recipe, that is the only time I have ever heard of pork rind cake in my near-decade on a low carb diet.

One of the things low-carbers often bemoan is the lack of convenience items that fit on the plan. Sure there are a few foods like nuts, beef jerky (which you have to watch ingredients on) and the like, but filling low-carb meals you can just toss in the microwave are few and far between.

I think it's safe to say I've become a protein powder connoisseur. I've found it useful in various recipes, as well as its traditional use for shakes. One thing I've learned the hard way is that you get what you pay for. This is especially true when speaking of protein powder.

Writing a column on convenience foods goes against the grain for me - I'm always nagging people to just cook something, will you, for crying out loud?! A little simple, plain cooking is your best defense against bad food, not to mention a sky-high food budget. But I am aware that many people rarely eat anything that takes more preparation than three minutes in the microwave. Even folks who do cook occasionally have days when they just want something fast.

For most low-carbers, reading food labels comes as naturally as breathing. Sadly we have to be very suspicious of everything commercially made. That being said, our newest low-carb cohorts may not yet understand the dangers of blindly believing any and all claims made by food manufacturers.

Zesty Lemon Pork Stew recipe by Judith van den Broek.