Low Carb Diet/Foods?

[Jennifer Marshall]

My Mom and I are "trying" to maintain a healthy low-carb diet. But we find ourselves "cheating" alot.. What are some good foods that are low-carb that we may look into trying out? Anyone know of any low-carb meal recipes? :) My mom is a Diabetic also.

[Penny]

I find that if I start my day with a lean protein - like hard boiled eggs - then I can keep cravings out of the way until the evening. Then, when the evening hits, I drink lots of water with citrus juice (lemon or lime) in it. That effectively stops me from wanting sweets, which I usually crave. I know they're not recipes, but I hope they help!

[bigbobby]

I'm on a low carb diet, too, and I just try to eat as many veggies as I can. I try not to count calories as much as eat right and keep my carbs low.

I enjoy chopped carrots, cherry tomatoes (alright, they're a fruit but I'm doing my best), celery, cucumber, and radishes. I mix them up and put them in a bowl when I'm watching TV so it still has that "snacking" feeling. It works for me.

[CuJo1992]

Try eating a dinner with a good fish in it. I love salmon, but my best friend likes halibut. Both of them have good fats, are very low in carbs, and are high in protein to keep you feeling full. I like to eat mine just pan friend (in a healthy oil) and I eat a side of snow peas, yellow bell pepper and a small salad of cucumber, tomato, fresh basil, and a touch of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It's a very satisfying meal and when I have it I don't crave anything with carbs. I think it's because there are so many different flavors in the dish that I have my taste buds covered, but I could be wrong about that.

[Jeremy]

All of the replies so far are pretty good. Eggs and veggies will work to keep you full and craving fewer snacks (for different reasons - either because of protein and fat or else because of fiber).

If you're looking for low-carb meal recipes, then Locarbolicious.com is a pretty good site to find interesting recipes. There are several others if you google something like "low carb recipes."

My one piece of advice would be to try to avoid snacking as much as possible. I know it's super hard, especially at first, but in the long-run, most people who are successful at losing a lot of weight and keeping it off find ways not to snack. The good news is that your body generally gets hungry whenever it's used to being fed. The upside is that if you eat just 3 meals a day for a couple weeks with no or very few snacks, then you'll mostly stop craving snacks in between meals.

[Mike]

Here’s one I like for weekends. It’s a healthy, tasty frittata that is easy to make:

- 4 lightly beaten eggs
- 1 pound asparagus with the woody ends broken off, cut into lengths of 1 inch at an angle
- 1 cup of swiss cheese (gruyere also works)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 thinly sliced small onion
- 2 tsp olive oil

Pre-heat oven broiler. In an oven-proof frying pan (mine’s 10 inches), heat up the oil on medium heat (I typically cook on the high side of med). Add the salt and onions and cook for around 3 minutes until soft (not brown). Add asparagus and turn the heat down to med-low. Cover and cook 6-8 minutes until the asparagus is tender. Add the eggs and cook until they’re just a bit runny (around 2 min). Sprinkle the cheese over the eggs and put the whole thing under the broiler until the cheese melts and browns (3-4 min), remove from oven and serve in wedges.

[silvertoes]

Here's a recipe for your low carb diet meal
(actually for me its not a meal, its more of a snack; the sweet potato which is the carb here but high in fiber)

Sweet potato chips with garlic mayonnaise

Olive oil for greasing
500g sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into wedges
5 cloves garlic, unpeeled, the skin of each pierced with the tip of a sharp knife
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise
paprika to garnish


Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Brush a roasting dish lightly with oil. Carefully arrange the potatoes and garlic in the dish. Season to taste.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, turning the chips occasionally, until tender and golden.

To make the garlic mayonnaise, carefully squeeze the cooked garlic flesh out of each clove (it will be very hot) then mash with the back of a fork or chop with a knife. Mix the garlic into the mayonnaise until combined. Sprinkle the top of the mayonnaise with paprika and serve with the sweet potato chips.