Low Carbin' It

I've decided to go low carb for a while. Does anyone have any great recipes or suggestions? I'm especially struggling for ideas for quick lunches and breakfasts. Thanks!

Totally search south beach recipes - they are GREAT for the first 2 weeks of their "program"

I've been doing it for a while now, and have made quite a few recipes from the Low Carb Gourmet. It's available online here : http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qn_sPNKHOXkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=low+carb+gourmet&source=bl&ots=mtU5HzEBTI&sig=ujgHf0sdVMp-pr29bp_dzI9SKUE&hl=en&ei=TXajS7SkJpO7jAf7w7n8CQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false

great book!


I don't find it that hard as you still get the bit I really like (the MEAT) and then you can get some tasty side dishes. I don't do any pre-packaged low carb stuff at the moment, but know that low carb tortillas and pastas are available.

You'll find a lot of your recipes are fine with minor tweaks, but the side dishes get you, I found it hard to get around having meat + veg without potato or rice or something, but you get used to it as there's loads of tasty low carb side dishes

My low carb side dish staples (remember on low carb you need to balance your fats, I found that so hard, suddenly adding cream and butter to stuff after a lifetime of 1cal oil sprays and deathly thin low fat margarive, but it really works,  I'm down over 50lbs in total)

Cauliflower Rice - grated cauliflower that you stir fry in a pan with a little butter or olive oil, add a beaten egg, peas and scallions to make low carb egg fried rice
Cauliflower mash - even better spiced up with some mustard, or with butter/cheese
Low carb cheese sauce - to make low carb cauliflower cheese or broccoli
Creamed leeks, leeks cooked soft in butter, touch of cream and some cheese.
Creamed spinach, sauteed spinach with garlic, add parmesan and cream cheese
Salads, I eat a lot of salads and if I need the fat intake with dressings like blue cheese or caesar (check the labels to make sure there's not loads of sugar or god know what in these if you aren't making them yourself)
Stews and soups are a good one.
Stir Fried brocolli
Courgettes, I like them all ways, thin sliced quick with parmesan is good

There's a low carb thread in Shrinkers, if you're ever in there

Main dish examples:

Chicken "breaded" in parmesan
Fritattas! Great for breakfast but really good all the time, even cold sliced in a wedge with salad
Sag Paneer as a side dish with your curry or as a main course on it's own (you can make low carb onion bhajis if you're inclined )
Most types of Stir Fries, just watch the sauces. Sweet and Sour sauces are basically sugar syrup a lot of the time.
Lemon Chicken (chicken quarters, lemon weges and garlic) tray bake (with loads of roasted veg)
Steaks with cauliflower mash and sauteed spinach
Pork chops with creamed mushrooms and green beans

Track your carbs with spark people when you first start, and be religious, stuff like coffee, garlic etc all have carbs in them..

But like Jewlz said, what I want to know - what about breakfasts?

Sometimes I do reduced carbs & I find that easy enough for choices of things for lunches and evening meals.

But breakfast?

I don't want to eat bacon, ham & eggs every morning - nor do I have time!  What do you do?

I kind of do a modified thing (not strictly low carb) but where I might have yoghurt and fruit for brekkie (rather than cereal, toast, etc) - cos it just seems better to me for some reason.    Then keep the carbs down at lunch & tea. 

Also, carbs in black coffee?

But like Jewlz said, what I want to know - what about breakfasts?

Sometimes I do reduced carbs & I find that easy enough for choices of things for lunches and evening meals.

But breakfast?

I don't want to eat bacon, ham & eggs every morning - nor do I have time!  What do you do?

I kind of do a modified thing (not strictly low carb) but where I might have yoghurt and fruit for brekkie (rather than cereal, toast, etc) - cos it just seems better to me for some reason.    Then keep the carbs down at lunch & tea. 

Also, carbs in black coffee?

Creme fraiche and berries is my fave Or some yoghurts are low carb (you can strain out the Whey where most of the sugar is.) Add some nuts or seeds and you're on your way
There's low carb cereals you can buy Normally using flax, and some of the high fibre cereals you can get away with like All Bran - I use unsweetened soya milk.
You can make low carb waffles (flax)
Low carb pancake mix (flax again)
Protein shakes (by combining thinks like cream cheese, berries, veggies etc) or you can get low carb protein shakes. I make a protein shake from tofu and berries which is surprisingly good.
Tofu scrambles.
There's mock low carb oatmeal that people make from ricotta,but I've not tried it.
Low carb hash-browns from cauliflower.

Thanks!  I could do creme fraiche, berries, nuts, & seeds.

I'm not crazy about stuff like all bran, flax, tofu, or cauliflower made into other things (I've done South Beach before so I did try it!).

Apart from tofu, where would one procure a low carb protein shake?  Or which/where on the low carb yoghurts?

Thanks!  I could do creme fraiche, berries, nuts, & seeds.

I'm not crazy about stuff like all bran, flax, tofu, or cauliflower made into other things (I've done South Beach before so I did try it!).

Apart from tofu, where would one procure a low carb protein shake?  Or which/where on the low carb yoghurts?

I think the Fage Total is low carb compared to some of the others since it's already strained. But I'm no expert! If it is, I'm in good shape, as it's my fave anyway.  If I mixed it with a few berries and nuts I would be good to go! I'm sure you could also use that to make a smoothie with. I don't know. I'm going to skip the yoghurt for the first 2 weeks, though. I think I will make some egg frittata muffins or something to grab for breakfast. Maybe planning the night before would be the best bet. I could boil a few eggs the night before to at least have hard boiled eggs in the mornings.

Thanks!  I could do creme fraiche, berries, nuts, & seeds.

I'm not crazy about stuff like all bran, flax, tofu, or cauliflower made into other things (I've done South Beach before so I did try it!).

Apart from tofu, where would one procure a low carb protein shake?  Or which/where on the low carb yoghurts?

You mean ready made? You can buy the atkins shakes from Boots, they're like a meal in themselves. I get one from Euston Boots whenever I go to Liverpool, I doubt it has any nutritional value but it keeps me full and happy until lunch for about 120 calories.
You can also get low carb protein powder from places like holland and barrett, Designer Protein is one I've used.

You can also use coconut milk in moderation, as it's lower in carbs than regular milk, so you could do berries, yoghurt, coconut milk, unsweetened soy milk maybe , if you didn't want to use a powder.

Also have a look on -
http://www.lowcarbmegastore.com/

The FAGE greek style strained is the one I get, it's delicious! But any yoghurt with a high live bacteria count is normally a good bet, check the nutritional label and you can strain through muslin.

There is a low carb fruit yoghurt, which I think is made by Danone but I try to avoid artificial sweeteners whenever possible, so I haven't looked into it.

Yup Frittata muffins are good and can be frozen, boiled eggs, cold ham and cheese like a continental breakfast is also good.

http://www.avidlite.co.uk/


is a website devoted to low carb

I buy my protein shakes from there..dietimeal..

Oh as a follow up to this thread, I meant to ask - for anyone who does the ready made protein shakes...do you find that they really fill you up?  I ask because back in the olden days when I briefly tried the Slimfast thing, I remember having one of the Slimfast shakes & it was as if I'd had nothing really...so I would have the Slimfast shake, then still be hungry, and eat my way through a whole lot more.  Which sort of defeated the purpose. 

I can't answer the question about protein shakes, but when I've used Slimfast in the past, I would have it with an apple and some extra protein. Usually it was a couple crackers and a measured amount of cheese or peanut butter. I did lose weight doing this though maybe not as fast as if I'd just gone hungry on the shake alone.

I have tried low carb a couple of times with varying results. Mainly I find that prep time increases, and that it is hard to work in a large enough variety to keep boredom at bay. Chicken breasts can get a bit boring and I sort of leaned on them too much. But I lost about 15 pounds and kept it off so in the end it was worth the trouble.

My favorite lunch was broiled salmon over wilted spinach. The salmon I would do the night before just straight on a pan under the broiler (grill). Cook until done (crispy on top). Usually I did two small fillets and had one for dinner and put the other in the fridge for lunch the next day. Next morning heat a glug of olive oil and saute chopped garlic for just a minute, then toss in a huge heap of spinach (it shrinks mightily), toss about. Once wilted, the spinach goes in a tupperware thingie and I popped the salmon on top. I still eat it though I am off the diet.

I liked deviled eggs for breakfast with some crumbled up, browned streaky bacon mixed in with the yolk/mayo mix. They can be made anytime en masse and used as a snack or breakfast.

I found a bag or two of pre-chopped salad always available with something to dump over it - and I mean just about anything from a can of tuna to sliced deli meats to those pre-chunked chicken breast bits - to be life savers when I was on the edge of going pizza crazy.

How do people keep their energy up on a low carb diet? Don't you all feel tired and cranky?  I think I would faint!  I am not too sure I could do it.

How do people keep their energy up on a low carb diet? Don't you all feel tired and cranky?  I think I would faint!  I am not too sure I could do it.

Yeah, this is how I felt. I only lasted a week, and for that effort, I only lost about 2 pounds that week anyway, I think, if that. I was so incredibly cranky I wanted to rip someone head's off by the end of the week. The following week I just went back to my tried and true method of keeping a diet journal to reign in my calories, and I've been losing weight faster without a bad case of the grumps. DH was seriously pleased I switched back to the more sensible approach due to my bad attitude on the low carb. I know the low carb thing works for some people (my friend lost over 100 pounds and has kept it off for years) but I don't think it suits me at all. It sounds so good in theory and everyone loves a short cut, but I think it's probably best just to watch what you eat and eat more or less what you want without going overboard. I've lost half a stone this past month, which is great. 

You get Carb withdrawl/induction flu for at least the first two weeks, which feels like death, makes you cranky and is generally bad, then one day you wake up and it's like the sun has come out, you have about 10x more energy than you did and you feel bright and happy.

That's when you know you've kicked into ketosis and your weight starts dropping off.

But yes, absolutely isn't for everyone, really helps those with insulin resistance or metabolic issues, but if you can do it via portion control, then you probably should

Saying that, there's no reason why you should eat any of those white refined carbs anyway (aside from how blooming good they taste) as they're of little nutritional value and you could get more fibre, longer acting carbs etc from their wholemeal or brown alternatives.

Low GI might be a more manageable way to do low carb.