Suggestions on Low Carb foods.

I'm so bored of the same old stuff. Would love to hear how anyone makes it more interesting.

Replies

  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    Do you eat meat?
    All the meats lol

    Dairy?
    Heavy whipping cream
    Cheese
    Sour cream

    Veggies?
    Broccoli
    Cauliflower
    Spinach
    Asparagus
    Brussel sprouts

    Fruit?
    Avocado
    Berries

    Meal ideas?
    Deli meat roll ups - meat of your choice with a squirt of mayo/mustard and some cheese
    Avocado baked in the oven with eggs
    Bacon wrapped egg frittatas
    Lettuce wrapped tacos
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Steak.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    I have a pretty pedestrian diet so I'm no help on the boring part but maybe you're being too strict with the foods you don't eat? I've been eating low carb for about four years now and what's made the diet sustainable for me is not ruling out any foods just because "high carb". Beans, potatoes, panko, pears, bananas and even tiny amounts of flour and sugar are all part of my diet (my carb limit is 50g). A little toasted panko and butter is a great as a topping or mix in some parmesan for a breading, flour to thicken a pan gravy, black beans in my chili, potatoes with roasted vegetable, thinly sliced pears and cheddar - the list goes on.

    Those are all simple foods that suit my tastes but small amounts of higher carb foods go a long, long way to adding variety to your diet even with a very low carb limit. Take a look to see if their are any foods you've ruled out that you can add back in measured amounts.
  • dancing_daisy
    dancing_daisy Posts: 162 Member
    A small sliced apple with smooth peanut butter
    Halved and gutted tomatoes with soft cheese in
    Natural or Greek yogurt with blueberries

  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Low carb has a huge variety of foods. Huge. All veggies and many fruits are eaten by low carbers. Meats? there are many: turkey, chicken pheasant, pork, beef, lamb, bison, other wild game, fish, shell fish, shrimps... Dairy is great for low carb as long as you skip the sugared up products and choose the higher fat products. Want milk? drink whole milk. Want yogurt? Go for full fat plain and add some stevia or berries.

    For dinner yesterday we had pork chops with a gravy; roasted peppers, carrots, onions, and peas; mashed potatoes (I had a tablespoon full - so that was moderated) and caesar salad.... I am very low carb, usually under 30g per day.

    The only thing most of us skip are grains and sugars but that does not exclude baked goods. Yesterday I had a pancake made from hemp, chia, flax meal, coconut flour, eggs, whole milk, protein powder and stevia, with whipped cream on top. I also made chocolate coconut flour muffins for my kids. I would not eat (or serve) pancakes made from starches or grain flours, use maple syrup, or eat cupcake style of muffins. There are trade-offs, but lots of variety.

    Variety in any diet is what you make it.
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    We had chicken cordon Bleu casserole last night for dinner. Other dinner favorites are Caramelized onion and bacon smothered pork chops and chicken Dijonaise. We also love meatballs in sauce. Stir frys are great as is Red Curry Chicken. I even found a decent lower carb recipe for cashew chicken. Bratwurst or cheeseburgers. Root beer float made with diet root beer and heavy cream! Good varieties of cheese and salami. The list is really endless.
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    Meat, fish, eggs, green vegetables, seeds, nuts, fat (full fat dairy, butter, coconut oil, avocados ect), berries.

    One of the things I love eating these days is a slice of salami and cheese wrapped around a pickle... So salty, so crunchy...so yummy...

    Oh. And bacon.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    That's one of the many reasons I don't eat low carb anymore.

    But this was one of my "sweets"

    cottage cheese and sprinkle sugar free jello (powder) and mix it to taste - warning go slow too much jello powder and its way too sweet.
  • pyro_guy7
    pyro_guy7 Posts: 104 Member
    I used to take slices of pepperoni and cook them until crispy to sate my potato chip cravings :lol:
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    johunt615 wrote: »
    That's one of the many reasons I don't eat low carb anymore.

    But this was one of my "sweets"

    cottage cheese and sprinkle sugar free jello (powder) and mix it to taste - warning go slow too much jello powder and its way too sweet.

    I actually love this lol...

    Also, chocolate paste. Cocoa powder mixed with a small amount of heavy cream and stevia. Tastes like cold chocolate goop. :lol:
  • bathmatt12345
    bathmatt12345 Posts: 145 Member
    How low are you talking? Like keto low (20g/day?)
  • MistressPi
    MistressPi Posts: 514 Member
    I love to try new recipes at sites like NOMNOMPALEO, IBreatheI'mHungry, Dietdoctor, forums.lowcarber.org etc. ... but I also collect cookbooks and love to cook. Basically, I try for a variety of textures, colors, and flavors (salt, umami, sour, sweet (achieved with splenda, stevia or sugar alcohols, or a combination thereof) and bitter. I add lemon or lime juice to soups and stews and sometimes hot sauce; I garnish with chopped herbs, and have contrasting textures on the side. I try to eat a good amount of vegetables and/or salads, with a little fruit (berries, melons are best, sometimes a bit of stone fruit like cherries or peach in season ... nothing is off limits forever. If you're losing weight, and you have a lot to lose, you could stay on 20g net carbs per day for a long time, but eventually you should gradually increase your daily carb count as a path towards pre-maintenance and maintenance. This makes it sustainable in the long run.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    MistressPi wrote: »
    I love to try new recipes at sites like NOMNOMPALEO, IBreatheI'mHungry, Dietdoctor, forums.lowcarber.org etc. ... but I also collect cookbooks and love to cook. Basically, I try for a variety of textures, colors, and flavors (salt, umami, sour, sweet (achieved with splenda, stevia or sugar alcohols, or a combination thereof) and bitter. I add lemon or lime juice to soups and stews and sometimes hot sauce; I garnish with chopped herbs, and have contrasting textures on the side. I try to eat a good amount of vegetables and/or salads, with a little fruit (berries, melons are best, sometimes a bit of stone fruit like cherries or peach in season ... nothing is off limits forever. If you're losing weight, and you have a lot to lose, you could stay on 20g net carbs per day for a long time, but eventually you should gradually increase your daily carb count as a path towards pre-maintenance and maintenance. This makes it sustainable in the long run.

    The bolded is not really true. Some people choose to eat low carb their entire life and find it very sustainable. I've been LCHF for about 18 months, and I see no reason to go back to eating higher carb, nor do I have a large desire to do so.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    MistressPi wrote: »
    I love to try new recipes at sites like NOMNOMPALEO, IBreatheI'mHungry, Dietdoctor, forums.lowcarber.org etc. ... but I also collect cookbooks and love to cook. Basically, I try for a variety of textures, colors, and flavors (salt, umami, sour, sweet (achieved with splenda, stevia or sugar alcohols, or a combination thereof) and bitter. I add lemon or lime juice to soups and stews and sometimes hot sauce; I garnish with chopped herbs, and have contrasting textures on the side. I try to eat a good amount of vegetables and/or salads, with a little fruit (berries, melons are best, sometimes a bit of stone fruit like cherries or peach in season ... nothing is off limits forever. If you're losing weight, and you have a lot to lose, you could stay on 20g net carbs per day for a long time, but eventually you should gradually increase your daily carb count as a path towards pre-maintenance and maintenance. This makes it sustainable in the long run.

    The bolded is not really true. Some people choose to eat low carb their entire life and find it very sustainable. I've been LCHF for about 18 months, and I see no reason to go back to eating higher carb, nor do I have a large desire to do so.

    Same. Keeping my carbs low is what makes my diet sustainable. I eat as many I can tolerate but it's still low enough it's not unusual for me to be noticeably in ketosis much of the time. If the benefits of eating low carb went away I'd happily add more whole food carbs to my diet but at four years in I don't expect that to happen anymore - I imagine I'll be eating a fairly strict low carb diet for life.
  • MistressPi
    MistressPi Posts: 514 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    MistressPi wrote: »
    I love to try new recipes at sites like NOMNOMPALEO, IBreatheI'mHungry, Dietdoctor, forums.lowcarber.org etc. ... but I also collect cookbooks and love to cook. Basically, I try for a variety of textures, colors, and flavors (salt, umami, sour, sweet (achieved with splenda, stevia or sugar alcohols, or a combination thereof) and bitter. I add lemon or lime juice to soups and stews and sometimes hot sauce; I garnish with chopped herbs, and have contrasting textures on the side. I try to eat a good amount of vegetables and/or salads, with a little fruit (berries, melons are best, sometimes a bit of stone fruit like cherries or peach in season ... nothing is off limits forever. If you're losing weight, and you have a lot to lose, you could stay on 20g net carbs per day for a long time, but eventually you should gradually increase your daily carb count as a path towards pre-maintenance and maintenance. This makes it sustainable in the long run.

    The bolded is not really true. Some people choose to eat low carb their entire life and find it very sustainable. I've been LCHF for about 18 months, and I see no reason to go back to eating higher carb, nor do I have a large desire to do so.

    Um... my point, really, is that one can (and most people should) increase their carbs above the 20 g per day threshold where most low carb diets begin. This is the path to maintenance that Dr. Atkins recommended, as well as the authors of the latest Atkins book. Eating 25, 30, 35, 40 grams per day or more (depending on your personal physiology) is possible while still allowing one to remain in ketosis and lose weight, although possibly more slowly, depending on how much exercise one does. People who follow Paleo diets are following diets that are "low carb" (relative to SAD), providing they're not stuffing themselves all day with bananas, sweet potatoes and the like, and many manage to lose weight by keeping their grams of carbs under 50 per day. Paleo proponent Mark Sisson recommends people following his program to consume zero to 50 grams a day for "ketosis and accelerated fat burning" and 50 to 100 grams per day as the "Primal sweet spot for effortless weight loss" when following his plan (which includes play as exercise, and lifting heavy objects). These are ALL "low carb" diets.

    YOU may choose to eat under 20 g per day for the rest of your life - that is a matter of personal choice. But I see so many people who stick with zero to 20 grams per day for months on end and then crash and burn, eat all the carbs, and regain every pound they lost. Because they didn't figure out what foods are their personal kryptonite. They didn't figure out what things will cause them to binge, and which foods proscribed at the beginning of their journey can now be reintroduced in moderate amounts without causing blood sugar swings or weight gain. They didn't modify their diets in a way that enabled them to maintain and reverted to habits that made them fat. This is what the Atkins method strives to void, and I believe it is important for most people who do low carb diets, whatever those diets are called.
  • jdwils14
    jdwils14 Posts: 154 Member
    edited October 2016
    *deleted because I am an idiot reader sometimes.
  • jdwils14
    jdwils14 Posts: 154 Member
    edited October 2016
    OP...what have you had that you are tired of? Knowing what you have regularly will give us a more targeted recommendation.

    Also, what are your carbohydrate goals?
  • tracefan
    tracefan Posts: 382 Member
    I wish I ate steak I don't like it.. I will have hamburger no roll
    Steak.
  • tracefan
    tracefan Posts: 382 Member
    I can't be completely without carbs.. because I will go crazy. I miss pasta for sure. But I need to really cut most of the carbs out for now because I need the weight gone.. between that and cardio it works for me. I think I'm just bored of the same things. I don't mind veggies but I think I'm missing something
    jdwils14 wrote: »
    OP...what have you had that you are tired of? Knowing what you have regularly will give us a more targeted recommendation.

    Also, what are your carbohydrate goals?
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    tracefan wrote: »
    I can't be completely without carbs.. because I will go crazy. I miss pasta for sure. But I need to really cut most of the carbs out for now because I need the weight gone.. between that and cardio it works for me. I think I'm just bored of the same things. I don't mind veggies but I think I'm missing something
    jdwils14 wrote: »
    OP...what have you had that you are tired of? Knowing what you have regularly will give us a more targeted recommendation.

    Also, what are your carbohydrate goals?

    Barring metabolic disorder, all you need is a calorie deficit to lose weight.

    That being said, if low carb keeps you satiated and helps keeps your calories under control, then go ahead.

    I eat low carb as well, (less than 25g daily), but it is because I find it easier to adhere to a calorie deficit this way.

    Taco salad is a great way to use ground beef, and it's not boring because you can mix up the vegetables you put in. Put some guac, sour cream, and cheese in if it fits your goals, and enjoy!

    Do you like chicken? I like to stir fry chicken with olive oil, a green veggie, and if you want some carbs, try a small amount of rice.
  • tracefan
    tracefan Posts: 382 Member
    As far as meat/fish, chicken, hamburger, no roll and salmon.
    fruit banana (carbs) and strawberries
    Green veggies mostly.
    I'm staying away from potatoes and rice for now. Even Quinoa for a while. Mornings are egg whites. and I have cottage cheese. blah I'll have deli chicken for lunch plain or a salad. dinner is fish or chicken or turkey and I mix it up and have a burger some nights or make ground turkey taco lettuce wraps. I made butternut squash soup but again (carbs)
  • jdwils14
    jdwils14 Posts: 154 Member
    edited October 2016
    sauteed vegetables (any variety) are awesome, in my opinion. A lot of the carbs are fiber, so its not all bad. Fried taters, zucchini, fried in butter, with melted mozzarella cheese and a hint of buttermilk ranch...tasty! Potatoes don't have fiber, but they provide a ton of potassium, so it evens out.

    I also like spinach and brussel sprouts. Sauteed asparagus is good too, when it is on sale. Last night, I sauteed it in bacon grease....kept the bacon in....it was killer!
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    tracefan wrote: »
    I wish I ate steak I don't like it.. I will have hamburger no roll
    Steak.

    tumblr_maqfyoR2sh1rugunyo1_250.gif
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    MistressPi wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    MistressPi wrote: »
    I love to try new recipes at sites like NOMNOMPALEO, IBreatheI'mHungry, Dietdoctor, forums.lowcarber.org etc. ... but I also collect cookbooks and love to cook. Basically, I try for a variety of textures, colors, and flavors (salt, umami, sour, sweet (achieved with splenda, stevia or sugar alcohols, or a combination thereof) and bitter. I add lemon or lime juice to soups and stews and sometimes hot sauce; I garnish with chopped herbs, and have contrasting textures on the side. I try to eat a good amount of vegetables and/or salads, with a little fruit (berries, melons are best, sometimes a bit of stone fruit like cherries or peach in season ... nothing is off limits forever. If you're losing weight, and you have a lot to lose, you could stay on 20g net carbs per day for a long time, but eventually you should gradually increase your daily carb count as a path towards pre-maintenance and maintenance. This makes it sustainable in the long run.

    The bolded is not really true. Some people choose to eat low carb their entire life and find it very sustainable. I've been LCHF for about 18 months, and I see no reason to go back to eating higher carb, nor do I have a large desire to do so.

    Um... my point, really, is that one can (and most people should) increase their carbs above the 20 g per day threshold where most low carb diets begin. This is the path to maintenance that Dr. Atkins recommended, as well as the authors of the latest Atkins book. Eating 25, 30, 35, 40 grams per day or more (depending on your personal physiology) is possible while still allowing one to remain in ketosis and lose weight, although possibly more slowly, depending on how much exercise one does. People who follow Paleo diets are following diets that are "low carb" (relative to SAD), providing they're not stuffing themselves all day with bananas, sweet potatoes and the like, and many manage to lose weight by keeping their grams of carbs under 50 per day. Paleo proponent Mark Sisson recommends people following his program to consume zero to 50 grams a day for "ketosis and accelerated fat burning" and 50 to 100 grams per day as the "Primal sweet spot for effortless weight loss" when following his plan (which includes play as exercise, and lifting heavy objects). These are ALL "low carb" diets.

    YOU may choose to eat under 20 g per day for the rest of your life - that is a matter of personal choice. But I see so many people who stick with zero to 20 grams per day for months on end and then crash and burn, eat all the carbs, and regain every pound they lost. Because they didn't figure out what foods are their personal kryptonite. They didn't figure out what things will cause them to binge, and which foods proscribed at the beginning of their journey can now be reintroduced in moderate amounts without causing blood sugar swings or weight gain. They didn't modify their diets in a way that enabled them to maintain and reverted to habits that made them fat. This is what the Atkins method strives to void, and I believe it is important for most people who do low carb diets, whatever those diets are called.

    I understand that is your point, but it is an opinion and not a fact. There is no health or scientific reason that people "should increase their carbs above 20g per day". I'm not saying that everyone should eat 20g of carbs per day. Most people don't need to restrict carbs that much and many won't want to. But they don't need to increase carbs for any health reason at all. Low carb diets have been proven safe over and over again.

    Sure, some people may eat their problem food and then binge on it but that is no different for any diet. If I eat some peanut m&ms I find it hard to stop. If I had a soda I would have sweets and carb cravings for days. That was true when I was attempting to moderate a higher carb diet than I eat now. I found it even harder to have just a little than I do to skip a food completely. I know my personal kryptonites and I avoid them. Kryptonite is generally a thing to be avoided and not something to expose yourself to in moderation... if from Krypton anyways.

    So people can choose to add back in some carbs, if their health allows it. Others can choose not to add back carbs.
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    tracefan wrote: »
    As far as meat/fish, chicken, hamburger, no roll and salmon.
    fruit banana (carbs) and strawberries
    Green veggies mostly.
    I'm staying away from potatoes and rice for now. Even Quinoa for a while. Mornings are egg whites. and I have cottage cheese. blah I'll have deli chicken for lunch plain or a salad. dinner is fish or chicken or turkey and I mix it up and have a burger some nights or make ground turkey taco lettuce wraps. I made butternut squash soup but again (carbs)

    I'd get bored of that too. Go google some low carb recipes OP! There are a bazillion websites with them. You can google almost anything you want and you'd find a low carb substitution. Then cook enough and eat during the week.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    MistressPi wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    MistressPi wrote: »
    I love to try new recipes at sites like NOMNOMPALEO, IBreatheI'mHungry, Dietdoctor, forums.lowcarber.org etc. ... but I also collect cookbooks and love to cook. Basically, I try for a variety of textures, colors, and flavors (salt, umami, sour, sweet (achieved with splenda, stevia or sugar alcohols, or a combination thereof) and bitter. I add lemon or lime juice to soups and stews and sometimes hot sauce; I garnish with chopped herbs, and have contrasting textures on the side. I try to eat a good amount of vegetables and/or salads, with a little fruit (berries, melons are best, sometimes a bit of stone fruit like cherries or peach in season ... nothing is off limits forever. If you're losing weight, and you have a lot to lose, you could stay on 20g net carbs per day for a long time, but eventually you should gradually increase your daily carb count as a path towards pre-maintenance and maintenance. This makes it sustainable in the long run.

    The bolded is not really true. Some people choose to eat low carb their entire life and find it very sustainable. I've been LCHF for about 18 months, and I see no reason to go back to eating higher carb, nor do I have a large desire to do so.

    Um... my point, really, is that one can (and most people should) increase their carbs above the 20 g per day threshold where most low carb diets begin. This is the path to maintenance that Dr. Atkins recommended, as well as the authors of the latest Atkins book. Eating 25, 30, 35, 40 grams per day or more (depending on your personal physiology) is possible while still allowing one to remain in ketosis and lose weight, although possibly more slowly, depending on how much exercise one does. People who follow Paleo diets are following diets that are "low carb" (relative to SAD), providing they're not stuffing themselves all day with bananas, sweet potatoes and the like, and many manage to lose weight by keeping their grams of carbs under 50 per day. Paleo proponent Mark Sisson recommends people following his program to consume zero to 50 grams a day for "ketosis and accelerated fat burning" and 50 to 100 grams per day as the "Primal sweet spot for effortless weight loss" when following his plan (which includes play as exercise, and lifting heavy objects). These are ALL "low carb" diets.

    YOU may choose to eat under 20 g per day for the rest of your life - that is a matter of personal choice. But I see so many people who stick with zero to 20 grams per day for months on end and then crash and burn, eat all the carbs, and regain every pound they lost. Because they didn't figure out what foods are their personal kryptonite. They didn't figure out what things will cause them to binge, and which foods proscribed at the beginning of their journey can now be reintroduced in moderate amounts without causing blood sugar swings or weight gain. They didn't modify their diets in a way that enabled them to maintain and reverted to habits that made them fat. This is what the Atkins method strives to void, and I believe it is important for most people who do low carb diets, whatever those diets are called.

    The original Paleo diet was not low carb. It has a range of carb levels that can achieved in that. And lower carbs doesn't accelerate fat loss. That is just BS that Mark Sisson promotes.


    OP, how about nuts, full fat cheese, full fat dairy?


    Also, eating carbs doesn't stop fat loss. A calorie deficit, regardless of carb level will provide overall fat loss. If you want better body composition, then lift and aim to get adequate protein.
  • Tammygreenspan
    Tammygreenspan Posts: 2 Member
    I really like this new lunch I've been making . Arugula then I add roast beef slices paper thin a few paper thin pieces of Lacey baby Swiss add a squeeze of lemon and olive oil if you like. I can bring in a box of arugula pound of roast beef and five slices of cheese and that's my lunch for the week
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    I had leftover Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole for lunch, super yummy. I also do a salad some days with Chicken, lettuce, cucumbers, bacon, walnuts, strawberries and Chipolte Ranch Dressing. I don't do pasta either, but I do enjoy a nice bowl of sauce and meatballs, stir frys are super great and fast (steak or chicken, brocolli, onions, peppers), had pizza topping casserole the other night for super when my sons had pizza. We try new recipes all the time. I have found a bunch that have become family favorites. When I started I knew I would get bored if I ate the same things for very long, so I bought a nice set of cookware and started googling new recipes.