Let's Talk Low Carb!
 

Hubby and I are trying to do a little better about carbs-- usually I prefer carbs over meat, and we are trying to change that.

The problem is, we are on the go a lot. Long commutes, long hours, etc.

Anyone have any good recipes or low carb ideas that are quick and easy? I'm looking for dinners (crockpot would be great!) and especially snacks.

I really want things that taste good, too! Not a quinoa/kale/wheatgrass patty that I will swear tastes just like a cupcake. ;)

frenchfryqueen, in response to your question I just sat here well past midnight (!) and wrote a 2000 word essay (!!) on my diet, which probably wouldn't be that helpful, and who would want to read it! I cut and pasted it into a document, and maybe after I sleep on it I'll be able to cut it down some, or maybe I'll start a personal diary and refer people there who might be interested. To summarize, what works for me is shopping mostly around the edge of the store, getting whole, unprocessed food as much as possible, substituting green things for most of what's white on your plate, and basically using whatever recipe you like but leaving out the stuff that makes it not fit your diet. Leave out all the sugar and the refined flour. A little whole grain is all the starchy carbs anyone needs. The rest is all about portion control. There's a lot of conflicting information but mostly it boils down to what some famous nutrition expert (whose name I can't remember) said about food: Eat some, but not too much, and eat mostly vegetables. That's a rough paraphrase. Maybe someone else can come up with the exact quote.

It seems very hard when you first try to cut out carbs because we all love them, but when you do, and especially when you start to feel better and you lose a little weight (if you need to), you will wonder what was so hard. It took me 30 years of resisting these better habits before I finally got the motivation. Best wishes!

I had purchased Beyond Diet. It isn't a diet at all, it is a lifestyle of eating. It incorporates much of what Rose_P stated above and goes into more about using organics abstaining from sugars. I was one who ate little and wondered why I was a bit chubby, after all I didn't eat much. I wasn't much of a meat eater but was more a carb eater. When I followed the Beyond Diet (beyonddiet.com), I was eating far more quantity of food than ever, was actually having to make myself eat those meals some times, and yet I was losing weight without changing anything else (no exercise). I highly recommend it, nothing strange about it - no fads just good, clean, simple, foods. (Like Rose_P stated - the outer perimeter of the store - the perishables) Nothing processed. Her website has tons of recipes and even snacks. It does incorporate Stevia instead of sugar. Stevia is a natural sweetener derived from a leaf. It has a low glycemic index so you don't crave more carbs. The dietary sweeteners that they have out on the market are considered toxic for us. Anyway, I'm sending along this info because it made me feel more energetic and made me lose weight without trying. Best of luck to you.

When I was working and not home, I would take an apple, cherry tomatoes and cheese for lunch. This was quick and no prep to speak of. Also, my cholesterol was the lowest and I lost. I did as others mentioned... cut the amount of food, walk 1-2 ml per day, get off white stuff (potatoes, pasta, bread and desserts). Otherwise, I ate what I wanted which was mostly veggies/fruits nothing fried. I never felt better... You don't need special diets to do this and spend a lot of money on food that doesn't taste good...

We eat a lot of chicken I keep cooked shredded chicken breast in my fridge almost all the time. I buy boneless skinless on sale I simmer them with onion, garlic, celery, all the usual suspects. When done I cool and shred it with a fork. Great for topping salads, or eating with cheese and fruit or making burrito or taco bowls. I save the cooking liquid to make a varriety of chicken soups with the whatever fresh or frozen vegetables I have leaving out the high carb starches. You can also use whole chicken it's just more work to defat the broth when you want to use it.

This can also be done with a pot roast I throw a giant one in the crock pot with the onions celery carrots garlic rosemary what ever floats your boat and beef broth Cook till it falls apart shredd and use the same as above.

I don't know how no or low carb you are trying for but there are some breads and wraps available that are not bad and work for when you really want it in a sandwich.

We don't do no carb we just try to get 75% of our carbs from unprocessed sources like fruits and vegetables and keep the breads, pastas, and white or processed rice to a minimum.

My DH is doing the low-carb thing too! His favorite snack is Mac's Salt & Pepper Pork Rinds. We get them at Wal-Mart. Did you know that pork rinds have NO CARBS!

We ate pork rinds all the time when we were on the Adkins diet. We won't even look at them now. Adkins has a good concept, but IMHO, it needs to be tweaked for long term use as we did. We have also gone organic and gluten free.

Shiritaki noodles have 0 carbs, practically no calories, and 3 grams of fiber. They are substantial enough to get a "noodle fix" and since they are already cooked you just microwave for 2 minutes, pat dry and so what you want with them.

I found them in the produce section of my grocery store.

Carbs are not all bad, just have to watch your processed food. Your body does need carbs to make sure you don't get deficiencies.

Tried the Paleo Diet this summer and lost 12 pounds. Have not felt that good since my body stopped producing Estrogen! My SIL said to not eat anything "white". Sugar, Salt, Flour, Milk products, Pasta, Potatoes, Rice. It was the first time in a long time that I had no bloating and could actually hold my stomach in if I wanted to. Since Christmas (I gained back 4 lbs.) I have been having trouble getting back to where I was. BTW, I eat walnuts for snacks. Apparently, they are high in Omega 3. Good luck. It is a tough road but it is also great to feel so much better.