From the Kitchen to the Newsstand - Turning a Low-Carb Passion into LowCarb Energy Print Magazine
The publisher of LowCarb Energy magazine's awareness of the low-carb market didnÂ’t come from the tremendous publicity the lifestyle has enjoyed over the past year. Instead, he was introduced to the concept of carbohydrate counting back in 1999, when his wife Karen, a graphic designer, was working hard to lose the pounds she put on in the months leading up to their sonÂ’s birth.
KIMBERLY, WI (PRWEB) May 25, 2004
Kyle Cox has one person to thank for the success of his latest magazine, LowCarb Energy: His mother.
But the 27-year-old entrepreneurial publisherÂ’s awareness of the low-carb market didnÂ’t come from the tremendous publicity the lifestyle has enjoyed over the past year. Instead, he was introduced to the concept of carbohydrate counting back in 1999, when his wife Karen, a graphic designer, was working hard to lose the pounds she put on in the months leading up to their sonÂ’s birth.
“My mom knew that Karen wanted to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight, so she gave her the Atkins book and an Atkins carb counter,” Cox says. His mother had been on a low-carb diet for six years at that point. “My mom is only 5’3”, but weighed 150 pounds before she started Atkins. A year later, she was down to 100 pounds, where she’s stayed ever since,” says Cox.
While diet tips from the mother-in-law usually rate pretty low on any woman’s wishlist, this suggestion was actually appreciated. By following the Atkins guidelines, his wife lost nearly 20 pounds in three months. “She’s been low-carbing ever since,” says Cox. “Though it helps Karen maintain her weight now, she really doesn’t even want to eat high-carb foods anymore.”
Cox himself tried the plan at the same time, and lost 25 pounds. “But then I took up cooking as a hobby, and ate everything in sight,” he says. At his peak, he weighed almost 240 pounds. “I felt unhealthy, sluggish and didn’t have much energy.” He started low-carbing once again, lost 40 pounds -- and kept it off.
The Cox’s passion for the low carb way of eating was what really propelled the couple to create LowCarb Energy. “Karen’s wanted to do this magazine for years,” Cox says, “but we didn’t think there was too big of an audience.” They worked instead on magazines in the fields of pregnancy and parenting, producing top-quality national print publications -- she as creative director, he as production manager, and, eventually, publisher.
In late 2002, “We started noticing more and more new low-carb products on the shelves,” Cox says. “When Michelob Ultra came out nationally in the fall of 2002 and quickly captured three percent of the beer market, we knew the time was finally right to launch the magazine we’d been thinking about for so long.”
Together with a few colleagues committed to a carb-conscious lifestyle -- and both his wife and father -- Cox created a new company, Coincide Publishing. The group put together a media kit and demo magazine, then solicited feedback from low-carb consumers and potential advertisers. “The response was fantastic,” says Cox. “And though we really believed it would work, we didn’t want to rush it. We wanted to take the time to make it great.”
By the time the first issue of LowCarb Energy magazine debuted this month, the buzz about low-carb was everywhere, and surveys showed that the majority of American adults now watch their carbs to one degree or another. “The response so far has been phenomenal,” he says. “People keep writing to us and saying, ‘Finally -- I’ve been waiting for a magazine like this!’”
But what does his most important critic -- Mom herself -- think of the first issue? “We have produced hundreds of magazines, but this was the only one we ever did that she could relate to,” Cox laughs. “She’s just in love with it -- she thinks it’s awesome.”
ABOUT LOWCARB ENERGY
More than 220,000 copies of LowCarb Energy magazine's debut issue are now available nationwide in bookstores, mass market retailers, drugstores and health food stores. The first issue of this 128-page print publication from Coincide Publishing, LLC, offers more than 50 recipes for breakfasts, barbeques, summer picnics, cocktails and even desserts, and has already been featured in TIME and USA WEEKEND cover stories as well as in newspapers across the country. Drawing on advice from health professionals, fitness gurus, researchers, nutritionists, chefs and other experts, readers will find articles on everything from low-carbing while traveling to smart exercise routines to a tropically-themed low-carb menu to enjoy while watching "Pirates of the Caribbean." 275,000 copies of LowCarb Energy's second issue will be out on July 5. In addition to Wal-Mart, Albertsons, Walgreens, Borders, Barnes & Noble and many other retailers, copies will also be available at GNC, Safeway and Target stores. Find out more online at www. LowCarbEnergy. com.
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-- BONUS RECIPE SEGMENT --
Kyle Cox, publisher of LowCarb Energy magazine, realizes that low-carbing has had a bad reputation, particularly because of its reliance on meat, cheese and eggs. “People think it sounds unhealthy and boring,” says Cox. “But living the low-carb way does work if done properly -- I’m proof of that.”
He also emphasizes that this way of eating doesn’t have to be dull, either, especially if you can get a little creative in the kitchen. “We have always mixed it up a bit when we cook, and it’s even easier now with all the new foods out there. Our goal is to show everyone what we have learned -- that you really can live this way, it’s healthy, and you can have all kinds of great food,” Cox says. “Especially with all the recipes and down-to-earth information in our magazine, low-carbing will seem like anything but a ‘diet.’”
And to prove how great the food really can be, here’s one of his favorite recipes, taken from the book “Eat Yourself Thin Like I Did! Quick and Easy Low Carb Cookbook,” by Nancy Moshier. (In fact, he liked the author’s work so much, Cox hired her to be LowCarb Energy’s Food Editor.)
PIZZA ROLL MEATLOAF
2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1/4 cup onion, chopped
3 teaspoons bottled fresh minced garlic, divide or equivalent fresh garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano leaves, divided
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, divided (optional)
2 1/8 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons water, divided
1/2 cup plain pork rinds, crushed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
8 ounce package mozzarella cheese, sliced
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped or a 4 ounce can of mushroom slices, drained
1/2 cup pepperoni slices
Mix ground beef, onions, 2 teaspoons garlic, 1 teaspoon basil, 1 teaspoon oregano, fennel seed, salt and crushed red pepper if using, 1/2 cup water and pork rinds. Mix well for 1 minute.
Shape into a 10" x 14" rectangle on waxed paper or aluminum foil. Set aside.
Mix tomato paste, remaining garlic, basil, oregano and remaining 2 tablespoons water. Spread evenly over meat. Sprinkle parmesan evenly over sauce, lay mozzarella slices over Parmesan cheese. Top with pepperoni slices, then mushrooms.
Carefully roll meat from 10" side into a roll resembling a cake roll, using waxed paper or foil to help roll. Seal seam by pinching together well, and seal ends by pinching together so cheese will not leak out.
Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let stand loosely covered with aluminum foil for 10 minutes before slicing into 8 equal slices.
*Makes 8 servings at only 2.5 grams of carbs per serving.
(Recipe © Copyright 1999-2004, Nancy's Cookbooks, All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. Visit Nancy’s site at www. low-carb-cookbooks. com.)
ABOUT LOWCARB ENERGY
More than 220,000 copies of LowCarb Energy magazine's debut issue are now available nationwide in bookstores, mass market retailers, drugstores and health food stores. The first issue of this 128-page print publication from Coincide Publishing, LLC, offers more than 50 recipes for breakfasts, barbeques, summer picnics, cocktails and even desserts, and has already been featured in TIME and USA WEEKEND cover stories as well as in newspapers across the country. Drawing on advice from health professionals, fitness gurus, researchers, nutritionists, chefs and other experts, readers will find articles on everything from low-carbing while traveling to smart exercise routines to a tropically-themed low-carb menu to enjoy while watching "Pirates of the Caribbean." 275,000 copies of LowCarb Energy's second issue will be out on July 5. In addition to Wal-Mart, Albertsons, Walgreens, Borders, Barnes & Noble and many other retailers, copies will also be available at GNC, Safeway and Target stores. Find out more online at www. LowCarbEnergy. com.
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