Low Carb, High Protein Recipes?

kenziestabes

Roommate and I are trying to eat healthier and cheaper by splitting grocery bill and cooking more at home. There are only so many ways you can do grilled chicken with veggies and rice, and I want to expand my horizons. The issue we're running into is the scope of dietary restrictions between the two of us. It makes it difficult to cook meals both of us can eat.

Anyone have some lower carb (not necessarily keto), higher protein recipes that do not include the following?

• Beef
• Pork
• Dairy
• Tree nuts
• Avocado
• Artificial sweeteners (splenda, nutrisweet, aspartame, etc)

Fish and poultry are great, and I found a nut-free vegan cheese I'm willing to eat (although I definitely prefer the real stuff).

Thanks in advance!

goal06082021

Baked fish with veggies and rice is a go-to simple dinner for me, just had it last night as a matter of fact.

Taco night, but make them lettuce wraps instead of tortillas. If you do fish tacos, use cabbage.

Also, to be fair, there ARE actually a lot of ways to do chicken and veggies beyond just grilling them and varying the seasoning (but even that opens up a good half-dozen meals with different flavor palettes, before you even start picking different veggie combos). This is one - you can safely skip the prosciutto, but everything else should be OK. Maybe hold on to this one until it's peach season again, though.

Strudders67

Stirfry would be one option. Add your protein then, once cooked, add veg. Add a sauce or spices as required. I have a large plate of veg and don't need rice or noodles with it. Usually I use diced chicken (or prawns or whatever) but sometimes I just do stirfry veg and top it with a baked salmon fillet.

You could also make curries without any dairy in them. There are plenty of recipes using dry spices or dairy-free sauces. I usually find they result in too much sauce for my liking, so I tend to increase the protein quantity and also add veg as well.

I absolutely love balsamic baked chicken breast with mozzarella (see recipe at cafedelites.com), which you could do without the cheese on top (i've tried it and just increased the herbs, for flavour). I tend to serve mine on a bed of sauted cabbage rather than on rice or potatoes or pasta.

I actually use sauted cabbage as a base for most things these days - curries, chilli, fish, chicken etc. - and rarely use rice at all. Although a similar number of cals to what would be in a portion of rice or pasta, 200g of thinly sliced cabbage, sauted in 10g of butter is only 8 carbs and also boosts my fibre intake.

justanotherloser007

Don't forget the egg dishes! When I make an egg omelet - I use either one or two real eggs and then egg whites. Plus mushrooms, because I LOVE mushrooms. But you could have whatever veggies you would like to have: onions, squash, okra, sweet potatoes - truly eggs are versatile! This is also very budget friendly dish! Also, the egg white bumps up the protein.

Then you can add sauces - at our home we have varying tastes. I like ketchup, the hubby likes all kinds of salsa on his eggs, and we recently tried korma simmering sauce (yes it says chicken, but we have actually used it with shrimp, eggs and chicken because I think it has hubby crack in it - the man never wants leftovers but for two weeks it has been some kind of protein with korma sauce!) If you like fish, I bet korma would be good with fish.

I use Lotus Kitchen's Chicken Korma sauce, make it and then over the next few nights prepare the protein to go with the simmering sauce. So that I can control the portion of sauce mainly. Good luck!

kshama2001

I never get tired of chicken because I rotate between boneless and bone-in breast and thighs, rotate starches and veggies, and make dishes from a wide variety of cuisines.

I make all four kinds of chicken on a sheet pan with roasted root vegetables. If using boneless breast, I'll give the veggies a head start. If I need to slow down the veggie cooking I will cut them in bigger chunks. I've tried adding green veggies like beans and broccoli, but prefer them steamed. (Other people rave about roasting.)

I also make all four kinds of chicken on a sheet pan with Buffalo Cauliflower. I give bone-in chicken a head start.

https://www.franksredhot.com/en-us/recipes/buffalo-cauliflower-bites

Changes:

• I make a half recipe so there is room for the chicken on the pan
• I cook at 400 degrees instead of 450.
• I skip the "drizzle and return to oven" steps - after I cook the cauliflower for 30 minutes, I put it in the pan where I melted the butter and added the Frank's. I use a large enough pan so I can toss the cauliflower in it.

I keep the above chicken simple, usually just dredging it in flour, breadcrumbs, and Italian seasoning.

Various chicken dishes from around the world I like:

• Gumbo
• Pot pie
• Cacciatore
• Tikka masala
• Slow Cooker Burmese Chicken and Noodles

The recipe for the last follows. I follow most of the suggestions in aye999's comments.

https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/slow-cooker-burmese-style-noodles-31184

I made this recently and had broccoli on the side. Yum!

https://www.pepperidgefarm.com/recipe/one-dish-chicken-stuffing-bake/

ETA: just realized you said "low carb" (but not keto low) - I reduce carbs and my OH does not. So for the last dish, I have much less stuffing than he does and everyone is happy. But if you are both low carb, that might be one to skip.

Potatoes and noodles can be lower carb with portion control.

Butternut squash is surprisingly low carb.

debtay123

Also don't forget to try You-tube or Pinterest for some great ideas