What's for low carb breakfast, lunch or dinner?

Hey HOs, happy new year! I thought I’d start a new low carb thread for 2017 since the last one spanned about a year and is getting a bit long. The last couple of weeks of 2016 were a festival of decidedly NOT low carb eating that have left me feeling bloated and blah, and with a BIG SCARY birthday coming up in April, I am feeling the need to take off a few of the pounds that have crept on recently and generally improve my overall state of health and well-being. I have a number of friends who are touting the benefits of the Whole 30 eating plan and I think it sounds interesting, although a very low carb approach already contains many of the same parameters (no sugar, grains, legumes, etc.).

Unfortunately, Whole 30 also disallows dairy, and I have a fridge FULL of wonderful cheese that was gifted to me for the holidays. Therefore, I am planning to return to Atkins induction-level carbohydrate intake until the cheese is gone, and then perhaps give Whole 30 a whirl. Whole 30 is not specifically low carb, as potatoes, root vegetables and fruit are allowed, but one is not REQUIRED to eat carby items and it may be a nice way to introduce some high-fiber carbs into my diet to fuel workouts (which I am also planning to resume as a contributor to health and well-being!). We shall see.

In the meantime, I had heavy cream in my coffee this morning, and I’m having a arugula/watercress salad for lunch today with grilled shrimp, salami, provolone, avocado and roasted red peppers. Dinner is slated to be herb roasted chicken thighs (with skin!) and Brussels sprouts with roasted garlic vinaigrette. Let the detoxing begin! I look forward to hearing about your low carb meals and finding inspiration from this wonderful group of creative cooks in 2017!

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Funny, I too had abandoned much of the low carb diet towards the 3rd qtr of 2016 even enjoying a few cocktails on the weekends. I’ve still been hitting the gym 3-5 days a week, a New Years resolution I made for 2016 and stuck to. My new plan is/was to enjoy the balance of 2016 until I started my new phase/resolution for 2017.

I’ve gotten back into weight lifting and felt the low carb diet was working against both strength building and muscle building, finding myself extremely fatigued many mornings when I would hit the gym. I knew I couldn’t continue doing low carbs and expect the strength training result I want to achieve so something was going to have to give, however I gave myself the luxury of a few months of free enjoyment before I started to kick my ass this year.

To start I’m doing the 28 day fat burning diet. A VERY regimented diet that is designed for body builders preparing for competition, not that I’m jokingly in the league. I just figure if I can do this for a month, shred some fat while gaining some muscle then I’ll be in good shape to sit down with and consult with a dietitian to figure out where I’m going from here. Primary focus no longer my actual weight, but my fat vs. lean muscle.

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/nutrition/meal-plans/28-days-lean-meal-plan

So far today I’ve had the protein shake (not pictured at 5am) - 5 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 6 oz of chicken, 1 cup of vegetables. After doing an hour of cardio and an hour of weightlifting this morning. So it will (hopefully) go for the next 27 days. (pics in response to my post since I’m posting on my pc and the pics are on my phone)

To all those who are trying a low carb or other diet I wish you success in your endeavors!! Happy New Year!!!

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This has been my experience as well. Not that I have ever been a body builder, but I did do the P90X program several times a couple of years ago, so I was doing reasonably serious lifting three or four times a week. I wasn’t making any progress at all until I shifted away from very low carb (20g a day) to a more moderate approach - still low carb by most people’s standards, but at 75-100g a day, many more carbs than any version of Atkins would probably allow. I kept my caloric intake mostly consistent and cut back on fat a bit to allow for more carbs and protein. This approach worked very well for me and allowed me to shed some pounds while making good strength gains, and it’s probably what I’ll try to do with the Whole 30 plan if I feel ready to tackle another round of P90X.

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I love how I feel on and after a Whole30. Our normal eating style has become very much like a Whole30 all the time- it really works for us. I use the Whole30 plate template as our standard way of eating. I’m thinking about doing one next month, this one doesn’t work for me because I know there will be eating out situations where ingredients will be out of my control.

Tonight will be a thai style chicken curry with several ingredients from the garden. Its technically both low carb and whole30 compliant.

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Last minute schedule changes meant we had Brussels and flank steak last night, chicken thighs and salad tonight! The Brussels were looking a bit past their prime, so I disguised them in a gratin - shredded sprouts, lightly sauteed with garlic, then doused with cream and topped with parmesan and thrown in the oven until the cream thickens and the cheese browns. Delicious. Salad tonight was nothing special, but I did make my own Caesar dressing - heavy duty mayo, lemon juice, Worcestershire, anchovy paste, lots of pepper and parmesan. Easy and way tastier than anything from a bottle.

I boiled a dozen eggs and am considering deviling them, although I may just peel and leave in the fridge for quick snacks or to add to salads. One cracked in the boiling process so I just had to eat it warm - I know most people prefer them cold, but to me, a hot, fresh, salted HBE is just irresistible.

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I was on my own for dinner tonight so I used some of my eggs from last night (all of which peeled PERFECTLY, by the way!) to make egg salad with bacon and smoked paprika. Like a deviled egg but a lot less work! I put it in little romaine boats to eat. Cheese for afters!

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Me too! Warm hard boiled eggs on buttered rye toast ipwasmome of my favorite breakfasts as a child.

A low-carb copycat of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana was for lunch today - it’s the one thing I like from the Olive Garden. Bacon, sausage, shallots, garlic, kale, chicken stock, half and half, lots of black pepper. Topped with parmesan cheese. Very tasty after a morning spent shoveling - we got about 6" of snow yesterday.

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Had a great low-carb lunch from Mooncake Foods in midtown Manhattan today - a spicy steak salad and some really great curry roasted cauliflower. I like most vegetables very al dente and theirs was perfect, still crunchy but with charred, crispy edges. A drippy, oozy wedge of Explorateur for dessert!

You know I’m about the last person that would post to recommend “gas station food” but I can’t believe how good this actually is. Wa-Wa has egg white omelette “bowls” with roasted vegetables that is truly very, very good. They have a virtual of options however I prefer the plain omelette with the roasted veggies sans the cheese or tomato basil sauce it comes with. (Pictured with some petes hot sauce)

Actually, you can do ketogenic and work out without loss of performance, even endurance athletes do so with no loss of performance after 3 weeks of adaptation. Some do it by sipping a dextrose drink or solution or having just a few glucose tabs during the workout, not before and not after. This way, it’s used up for the workout, doesn’t eff with your fat burning and if you feel dependent on a carb lift for a workout, does no or minimal damage to your overall plan.

So glad you are still so committed to your health!

One of my favorite low carb breakfasts (and one of only few that aren’t dinner leftovers) is egg white omelet with roasted ratatouille and mozzarella… similarbut with a lot of carmelization.

Hey!! Thanks for the encouragement, I actually had to abandon that Fat Shred Diet I had started, well not abandon it completely but I did have to cut back on the excessive protein. I was getting a gout attack a week with all the protein shakes and bars etc. I was taking. So I had to cut all the protein supplements out and just stick with natural food based proteins and I haven’t had a gout attack since.

I’ve been eating wonderful vegetable egg white omelettes in the morning (pictured above) and although they are prepared at a gas station / convenience store I truly enjoy them.

Hope all is well with you!

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Yeah, I definitely thing real food is the only way to go, not the low carb Frankenfoods that newbies often rely on more than long timers. It’s great that you found such a healthy breakfast where it’s easy to get what you need.

Another vote for real food, although I do understand that protein powder can be a necessity from a bodybuilding perspective. My husband was doing a bodybuilder/shred type program for a while and the macros were very strict, with ultra low carbs and not a lot of fat. The only meat sources that worked for him, macro-wise, were chicken breast, pork tenderloin, very lean beef, etc., and he just couldn’t bring himself to choke down a lot of that sort of meat every day (he LOVES fatty meat, more than anyone I’ve ever met). The protein powders were a much more palatable way to meet his macros.

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I’m cooking again, I seem to be back in the saddle after no inclination for most of the past year.

Tonight was wild caught shrimp scampi a la Ina Garten over cauliflower rice. A bit too lemony and next time I’ll go heavier on the garlic.

It was going to be shrimp tacos, but felt like something different.

I’m planning buttermilk oven fried chicken tomorrow, crust made from almond flour, a mite of gluten free panko, spices and baked at 400 after a long buttermilk soak. Planning home made cole slaw.

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Tonight jerk chicken marinated and grilled with a side warm “slaw” of sauteed collards with garlic and bacon with a whole grain mustard vinaigrette.

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I made pan seared salmon for dinner a couple of nights ago and had some leftover, but I’m not the biggest fan of reheated fish. So I flaked it and mixed it with mayo, hot sauce, chopped scallions and lots of cilantro, then scooped it up with pork rinds. Like tuna salad only better!

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Harvested some leaves from my ramps this morning - they were looking a little tired so I figured it was time. Made a FAB pesto with the ramps, some mint, garlic, walnuts and cheese, and served it with grilled chicken thighs and some raw sugar snaps and orange bell peppers. I’m considering some more cheese for dessert!

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