Low carb, corona, large family

brandyhaynes26

I am thinking of starting low carb. My question is how do I do it reasonably priced with a large family? And I’m not the most imaginative cook. So I’m a little worried I’ll get bored

ritzvin

If it's just you that wants to go low carb, than just lessen/leave out whatever calorie filler starchy item is on the menu when taking your portion and leave it for the family members (growing kids/larger sized males/athletes/..) that need those extra calories. (This won't work if you tend to do stuff like casseroles, but otherwise just leave the bread rolls/potato/corn/pasta side/etc for those at the table with higher calorie needs). If you aren't trying to lose weight and don't need to cut out some calories for yourself (ie you would need to replace those filler calories with something else), then no reason really to do it at all IMO.

cmriverside

When I was in weight loss mode I naturally cut back on carbs because I found grains to be too calorie heavy for my lowered calorie goal. I didn't quit them, I just cut back to one serving per day (so two pieces of bread, one serving of rice or pasta, plus one serving of corn, beans, or potatoes.)

That put me at 100-130g of carbs and 1500 calories on non-exercise days. I lost almost all my weight on this lowered carb plan. I didn't have to alter my general food preparation, I just ate more vegetables and stopped snacking.

youngmomtaz

I don’t cook any differently for my family now as I did when I was not low carb. Aside from the above mentioned casseroles. Those I will make myself something seperate and have lunch leftovers for the week. Just plan meals including enough protein for everyone, enough veggies and greens for everyone with extra for you, enough carbs and sides for your fam and let everyone dish up what they are eating. If yours needs more green veg, add in some more roasted broccoli, more fat, maybe you drizzle a bit more butter or cheese sauce over your veg or an oil based dressing over your salad. I have never found a good replacement for bread. I am gluten free and even those are just horrible, never mind the low carb ones. Occasionally I will make some “fat head” style biscuits to go with my meal. Soups, stews, and many casseroles can be made low carb without many changes. Pinterest has tons of recipes if you need ideas.

I am lucky in that we raise multiple kinds of meat in my back yard and I grow my own garden, so a lot of our food is right here and our protein sources are plentiful. Most of the time nobody notices I am eating differently from them at all.

kshama2001

brandyhaynes26 wrote: »

I am thinking of starting low carb. My question is how do I do it reasonably priced with a large family? And I’m not the most imaginative cook. So I’m a little worried I’ll get bored

How are you defining "low carb"? For example, what will your carb % target be?

I found it easy to reduce carbs by simply having smaller portions of foods like pasta and rice, and larger portions of meat and non-starchy veggies.

If you are keeping costs low by eating lots of foods like rice and beans, then perhaps low carb isn't a good fit. But good news! Low carb is not necessary to lose weight. I've lived three places where rice and beans were staples, and the vast, vast majority of us were not overweight. (We did have active lifestyles.)