Low carb dieting

thomas_odell
thomas_odell Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all

Does anyone have any nice meal ideas for a low carb diet as I am not very inventive.

I am trying to keep under 20g of carbs a day but I end up having the same meals for lunch & dinner (Chicken + few vegetables)

Also, what condiments would people suggest to have on the meals?

Many thanks

Replies

  • stacw1987
    stacw1987 Posts: 206 Member
    Perhaps looking up some Paleo recipes might be helpful for you. I recently had the same problem and its very easy to get bored and then of course eat the wrong things.

    I had steak yesterday with a cauliflower and peppercorn sauce! You could also do the same over chicken? It was really good and perhaps try roasting your veggies with some seasoning! I love garlic and rosemary roasted veggies personally!

    This may or may not help but some Paleo recipes I have found look tasty and easy!
  • HealthyVitamins
    HealthyVitamins Posts: 432 Member
    Sausage stew and cauliflower mash

    Beed stroganoff with cauliflower rice

    Thai green chicken curry soup

    Burgers wrapped in lettuce

    Cottage pie with cauliflower mash

    All of the above homemade of course :)
  • BerylX
    BerylX Posts: 108 Member
    For condiments Walden Farms and Green Valley Ranch make low carb, sugar free dressings, ketchup and sauces. They aren't the same as the real thing, but you get used to them. They are great for making stir frys.
  • jjreije
    jjreije Posts: 11 Member
    Awesome ideas! Trying to keep my calorie count to 1200 per day and cutting carbs certainly helps!
  • MagdaSea
    MagdaSea Posts: 78 Member
    I'm going to do that annoying thing and tell you that under 20g of carbs is a little extreme. Not in the sense of dieting but mental state. I was keeping to around 50g. Within a week, I was ready to murder everyone.

    In terms of meals, I stick to a few basic foods and simply mix it up as far as preparation.

    Meat : Chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, tilapia, chicken hot dogs (not the healthiest but whatever)
    Veggies: Asparagus, broccoli, spinach, avocado, brussel sprouts, cauliflower
    Condiments: mustard at 0g per tbsp and mayonnaise which usually ranges between 0.1 - 1.

    Unsweetened almond milk saved my life at 1g per cup as far as coffee.
  • gmstarr1
    gmstarr1 Posts: 66 Member
    It also really depends upon whether or not you like to cook. I didn't hardly cook at all before low carb, but since I'm the only one in the household doing low carb, I had to learn how to cook.

    There are a lot of recipes online. I'm always looking for new things to cook. And I look for low carb versions of things I liked that I had to give up. By looking up recipes online, I've found a low carb version that I can live with for everything I miss....except for corn dogs and cinnamon rolls. (I had a discipline lapse and went and had two corn dogs from Sonic on Saturday)

    Stir fry is good too because that's something you can make different each time you make it. Sautéed chicken in some olive oil using different spices and omelets are something that you can make different each time.
  • TwinsRaGift
    TwinsRaGift Posts: 37 Member
    I am doing low carb (with 25g of NET carbs per day) and I am having a lot of sandwhiches for my lunches while at the office. I found a bread...the brand is Joseph's...that is a flat bread with flax. It comes in huge sheets and is only 4 carbs for half a sheet. I do that plus ham and cheese with mustard. Then I usually have celery with guacamole or hummus for a side. Yummm! The whole meal comes out to something like 8 net carbs.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    I mostly do salads for lunch, with some kind of meat on top. Today it was leftover steak. The whole salad was a little over 300 calories and 9 net carbs. I use olive oil and balsamic vinegar as dressing most of the time.

    For dinner it's always a big portion of some kind of meat- steak last night, roasted chicken thighs with the skin on tonight. And then a big portion of a veggie. Sautéed broccoli last night. Mixed veggie stir fry tonight. Dinner will probably be 1000 calories or so and minimal carbs.

    For condiments, pretty much anything outside of ketchup/bbq sauce will work. I like hot sauce so I use a lot of that. Mustard is low carb, so is mayo.

    You can get stuck eating a lot of the same things, but if you find stuff you like, and prepare it in a variety of ways, it doesn't get boring.
  • stephanieharms1290
    stephanieharms1290 Posts: 48 Member
    In my opinion, if you are trying to strict with a low carb diet, you can't go wrong with sweet potatoes. It may be a little boring at first, but there are several recipes you can find. Sweet potatoes are one of the best carbs out there for you!

    I boil a couple sweet potatoes at a time, once they feel soft I let them cool. Once cooled, I cut into cubes and season for taste. (Pepper, Paprika, Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb, Mrs. Dash Hot N' Spicy, etc) You can even drizzle some olive oil on top. Bake at 400 degrees, for about 15-20 depending on how crispy you want them. This is almost as like sweet potato fries. You can store them in the fridge, and they stay good for a few days with any meal!

    Hope this helps :)
  • meach05
    meach05 Posts: 6
    I'm just starting low carb (again) and feel your pain. I made a huge pan of baked chicken (3 lbs I think) and have it cut up in cubes and in fridge as well as bought a brick of cheese and cut it up in cubes as well. That way I can grab that and be ok. I have been doing a lot of salads with a protein of some sort (usually chicken or tuna) and some shredded cheese. I have also been doing hamburgers with no bun topped with cheese and bacon. I'm pretty sure sweet potatoes aren't low carb. A cup of them has like 27-30 g - which is a ton if you are trying to stay below 20 a day...jmo

    Oh so far, my fav recipe has been

    pound out a piece of chicken
    put cream cheese in the middle and roll it up
    wrap bacon around it - pin with toothpick if needed
    bake at 350 til done

    I let it sit and cool before cutting. Super duper yummy
  • fit_rox
    fit_rox Posts: 83
    Check out recipes here: http://allrecipes.com/recipes/healthy-recipes/special-diets/low-carb/

    My recent favorite has been throwing in a couple pounds of chicken with Frank's Buffalo Sauce into a crockpot and making pulled buffalo chicken.
  • wolf39us
    wolf39us Posts: 163 Member
    Deviled Eggs... Duh :-)
  • earth_echo
    earth_echo Posts: 133 Member
    Pepperoni & cream cheese

    Hot dogs wrapped in cheese
  • Acardott
    Acardott Posts: 1
    [
  • ronrstaats
    ronrstaats Posts: 294 Member
    This is my favorite go to place for low carb recipes..http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html
  • alphabear_
    alphabear_ Posts: 11 Member
    Google "Keto Recipies"
  • BethHanson
    BethHanson Posts: 18 Member
    I make meals for my family, so when I'm on low carb I still have to prepare for them, so lots of times I do tacos and I use all meat, cheese and toppings on a nice large yummy salad and use hot sauce too...You don't really need any dressing with all the taco toppings but you can always use ranch ;) I find it filling and don't feel like I missed out on eating the tacos. It is summer now, any grilled meats and most green veggies would make a nice dinner. Lunches is always harder, for me it is usually left of protein from dinner the night before. Eggs and bacon and sausage make a good breakfast lunch or dinner. Steak and mushrooms yummy! Chicken salad, like chicken and mayo (and seasoning and some veggies) wrapped in lettuce.
  • aeb09
    aeb09 Posts: 424 Member
    My top 3 favorites:

    http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/recipe-index
    http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/
    http://peaceloveandlowcarb.com/
  • anupriyasin157
    anupriyasin157 Posts: 40 Member
    Bump this!
  • slash334
    slash334 Posts: 10
    Hi all

    Does anyone have any nice meal ideas for a low carb diet as I am not very inventive.

    I am trying to keep under 20g of carbs a day but I end up having the same meals for lunch & dinner (Chicken + few vegetables)

    Also, what condiments would people suggest to have on the meals?

    Many thanks

    Low carb diet consists mostly of meat and green veggies sadly. The worst part about it though is that you can't have a cheat day/meal every week. Which is something you can do often with a calorie deficet diet.
  • soontobeskinnytbird
    soontobeskinnytbird Posts: 10 Member
    I have just started low carb and trying for total (not net) 30-50g per day. Last night I had salmon topped with pesto & parmesan baked in the over, with a side of peppers and mushrooms fried in butter and philadelphia cream cheese stirred in. This was yummy and filling. I will check out the links others have highlighted. Am shocked that I am totally not hungry and my cals have dropped significantly (to around 1300) although i'm tracking the carbs really not the cals.
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    Back when I was a low carber I used a site called Livin' la vida low carb- it may help you!
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
    Aside from the fact 20g is very extreme, and you're unlikely to be able to sustain it, look at eating lean protein and lots of veg. For lunch perhaps chicken and broccoli, chicken/tuna/salmon salad, greek/natural yoghurt with anything you like. For dinner perhaps turkey/chicken breast and veg, homemade turkey burgers/meatballs - turkey mince is brilliant and really versatile, salads, salmon. For low carb, try to limit the amount of fruit you consume as fruit contains a lot of fructose (sugar is carbs).

    If you're doing heavy exercise you need carbs to fuel your workouts, as well as recovery.

    ETA - my go to condiment at the moment (for salads/tuna) is balsamic vinegar - amazing
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Hi all

    Does anyone have any nice meal ideas for a low carb diet as I am not very inventive.

    I am trying to keep under 20g of carbs a day but I end up having the same meals for lunch & dinner (Chicken + few vegetables)

    Also, what condiments would people suggest to have on the meals?

    Many thanks

    Condiments: Horseradish, Mustard, Salsa, Mayo, Soy Sauce, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, . . .

    http://allrecipes.com/recipes/healthy-recipes/special-diets/paleo-diet/

    For breakfast Yogurt, Cucumbers, and Dill.
    Or add spinach or another green to an omelet.

    Make a crustless pizza using cauliflower as a base.
    http://www.fitsugar.com/Low-Carb-Cauliflower-Crust-Pizza-Recipe-30739512


    Try cutting up some vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, asparagus, onions, or red peppers) to bake for ten mins at 350 /375. (You have to play with the temperature and the time a little the first few times depending on the vegetables.Drizzle with a little oil when they are done. They are lovely with chicken or salmon.
    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/grilled-vegetables-recipe.html
  • uchube
    uchube Posts: 44
    Hi all

    Does anyone have any nice meal ideas for a low carb diet as I am not very inventive.

    I am trying to keep under 20g of carbs a day but I end up having the same meals for lunch & dinner (Chicken + few vegetables)

    Also, what condiments would people suggest to have on the meals?

    Many thanks

    Low carb diet consists mostly of meat and green veggies sadly. The worst part about it though is that you can't have a cheat day/meal every week. Which is something you can do often with a calorie deficet diet.

    you can actually do cyclical ketogenic with 1-2 days of carb-loading, particularly useful on the days i do weight training. it won't do any harm, from what i've read.

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