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| Want to go low carb but are addicted to carby foods? Here's the secret to making the transition quick and easy. |
January always brings a rush of folks to the low-carb fold.
Some of them are new and are interested in the quick fat-loss claims that ketogenic diets are known to produce. They want to see if they can lose weight as quickly themselves.
Others have come back to Atkins Induction for a second or third time because it worked so well for them in the past.
Stories that second-timers tell vary in the details, of course, but most of the stories have the same thread running throughout the tale:
Something stressful popped up in your
life, and you didn't know how to handle the challenge without eating
all of your favorite foods. Before you realized what happened, you regained part or all of your weight, and now you're back to try again.
Making low carb work long-term takes a strong mental attitude adjustment. You have to want to change your lifestyle, but the easiest way to go low carb takes more than desire.
First, let's talk about why ketogenic diets fail.
If you go into your new diet plan with the misconception that Atkins Induction is a weight-loss diet, you've already lost the game.
Protein foods, vegetables, and healthy fats are not temporary inconveniences. They are the backbone of a nutrient-dense diet that you can use as the foundation from which to rebuild your life.
For that reason, you don't need special foods or even low-carb recipes to make Keto work. Low carb is as easy or as challenging as you want to make it.
The easy way is nothing more than eating like you're used to eating but cutting out the carbs.
I'm going to start with dinner because dinner is the easiest meal to show you what I mean by just cook normally.
If you'd typically make burgers once a week for dinner, fine. Make them. But eliminate the carby bread and eat your burger with a knife and fork.
Hubby and I love our burgers topped with sauteed mushrooms, onions, and bacon.
While there are low-carb breads you can experiment with to replace that carby bun, save those recipes for later on after you've adjusted to eliminating the carbs.
Low-carb bread is tricky to make, and a lot of recipes use vital wheat gluten, which will backfire on you if you happen to be sensitive to gluten or wheat, but don't know it.
I'm currently experimenting with the FatHead Dough, and I have to tell you -- I'm SUPER IMPRESSED.
Recipes online use different combinations of almond flour, coconut flour, grated cheese, and eggs to make a low-carb biscuit-type bread suitable for pizza crust, biscuits, dumplings, and all sorts of things.
But in the beginning, even if you're returning to a ketogenic diet, you want to keep things as simple as possible.
Once you've adjusted to your low-carb lifestyle, there will be plenty of time to learn how to bring back some of the things you're missing.
If you normally take a sandwich to work, okay. A low-carb diet requires you to eliminate the bread.
Take your luncheon meats and cheese and stack them together with the meat or cheese on the outside and the lettuce and tomato in the middle.
The mayo or mustard is fine. So is the pickle. Some people put the lettuce on the outside, but I haven't had much luck eating a sandwich that way.
On Atkins Induction, it is recommended that you eat one or two snacks per day if you're hungry.
Snacks are not mandatory, however.
In fact, they are only included in my 3-day and 7-day Atkins Induction menus to help make your transition from a carb-filled diet to 20-net carbs more manageable.
Once you have immersed yourself in this new way of eating, you can branch out to experiment with low-carb breads and cereals or try your hand at making an easy sour cream gravy.
Ketogenic diets work. There is no doubt about that.
Maybe, not as quickly as you were hoping, but restricting carbohydrates is one of the easiest ways to lose weight because carb deprivation eliminates the hunger that is so typical on low-calorie diets.
Maybe, not as quickly as you were hoping, but restricting carbohydrates is one of the easiest ways to lose weight because carb deprivation eliminates the hunger that is so typical on low-calorie diets.
Making low carb work long-term takes a strong mental attitude adjustment. You have to want to change your lifestyle, but the easiest way to go low carb takes more than desire.
Whether you are brand new to low carb or you have been around the block a time or two, this can be
the year that you decide to finally take charge of your life.
Why Do Low-Carb Diets Fail?
First, let's talk about why ketogenic diets fail.
If you go into your new diet plan with the misconception that Atkins Induction is a weight-loss diet, you've already lost the game.
Starting low carb won't do you
any good if you have no intention of sticking with it long-term.
Successful fat loss requires you to transform the way you think as well as the way that you eat -- permanently. And it's the permanency, rather than the ease, that most people stumble over.
Successful fat loss requires you to transform the way you think as well as the way that you eat -- permanently. And it's the permanency, rather than the ease, that most people stumble over.
Another major challenge is food addiction.
Unless you're coming into a low-carb diet already eating mostly whole foods, the pleasure centers in your brain have been exercised plenty by the food industry to make you desire a certain ratio of salt to sugar to fats in your food.
The intention set by the food industry is to give you the ultimate eating experience, so you'll come back for more.
This means that anything short of the intensity you get from eating processed foods won't give you the same degree of pleasure and comfort that high-carb foods do.
Manufacturers have created their products this way on purpose.
The intention set by the food industry is to give you the ultimate eating experience, so you'll come back for more.
This means that anything short of the intensity you get from eating processed foods won't give you the same degree of pleasure and comfort that high-carb foods do.
Manufacturers have created their products this way on purpose.
A simple roasted chicken thigh and a hefty portion of steamed broccoli and cauliflower, even when smothered in real butter, won't give you the same lift and feelings of excitement that you'll get from a chocolate chip cookie or piece of chocolate cake.
Not because the cookie or cake is loaded with sugar and carbs, as most low carbers believe, but because of the specific combination of:
Not because the cookie or cake is loaded with sugar and carbs, as most low carbers believe, but because of the specific combination of:
- sugar
- salt
- fats
- dairy
- wheat
Food manufacturers have invested billions of dollars in food science technology to find the exact recipe for their products that will keep your cravings alive.
When paired with the habitual way the subconscious mind works and human nature's drive for instant gratification and entitlement, the greater majority of ketogenic dieters don't have a chance of breaking free of the addiction.
Ignorance keeps you enslaved.
When paired with the habitual way the subconscious mind works and human nature's drive for instant gratification and entitlement, the greater majority of ketogenic dieters don't have a chance of breaking free of the addiction.
Ignorance keeps you enslaved.
But you don't have to be among those
who fail to make the transformation happen.
Instead, you can use the knowledge of how the food industry has programmed you to eat to your advantage and rise above that subconscious programming.
All you have to do is use the following secret for making ketogenic eating easier, and tweak your low-carb diet to fit into the eating style that you're already familiar with.
Instead, you can use the knowledge of how the food industry has programmed you to eat to your advantage and rise above that subconscious programming.
All you have to do is use the following secret for making ketogenic eating easier, and tweak your low-carb diet to fit into the eating style that you're already familiar with.
Here's how:
The Secret to Making Low Carb Easy to Follow
Trouble starts when you think of Atkins
Induction, Atkins 20, or Keto as something special that you have to endure to shed the pounds.
A low-carb diet is not special.
In fact, it's not even different. It just looks that way because everyone around you is eating abnormally, which makes it appear that you're the one who's being unrealistic and different.
You're not.
Society has traveled so far away from reality, that it doesn't even remember what a healthy diet looks like.
A low-carb diet is not special.
In fact, it's not even different. It just looks that way because everyone around you is eating abnormally, which makes it appear that you're the one who's being unrealistic and different.
You're not.
Society has traveled so far away from reality, that it doesn't even remember what a healthy diet looks like.
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| People who say low-carb diets are unhealthy have never looked at what low carbers eat: protein foods, nutrient-dense vegetables, healthy fats. |
Protein foods, vegetables, and healthy fats are not temporary inconveniences. They are the backbone of a nutrient-dense diet that you can use as the foundation from which to rebuild your life.
For that reason, you don't need special foods or even low-carb recipes to make Keto work. Low carb is as easy or as challenging as you want to make it.
The easy way is nothing more than eating like you're used to eating but cutting out the carbs.
Doesn't sound much like a secret, does
it.
The easiest way to go low carb is to
simply cook what you normally would and then adapt it to fit within
the protocol of the weight-loss diet you're following.
That way, you're not giving up all that much. You're not making dramatic changes to the menu. You're just tweaking your current lifestyle to be more healthy.
That way, you're not giving up all that much. You're not making dramatic changes to the menu. You're just tweaking your current lifestyle to be more healthy.
How do you do that?
Come along, and I'll show you how:
How to Cut the Carbs Out of Dinner
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| Secret to low carb success? Eat normally. Just remove the carbs! |
I'm going to start with dinner because dinner is the easiest meal to show you what I mean by just cook normally.
If you'd typically make burgers once a week for dinner, fine. Make them. But eliminate the carby bread and eat your burger with a knife and fork.
Hubby and I love our burgers topped with sauteed mushrooms, onions, and bacon.
While there are low-carb breads you can experiment with to replace that carby bun, save those recipes for later on after you've adjusted to eliminating the carbs.
Low-carb bread is tricky to make, and a lot of recipes use vital wheat gluten, which will backfire on you if you happen to be sensitive to gluten or wheat, but don't know it.
I'm currently experimenting with the FatHead Dough, and I have to tell you -- I'm SUPER IMPRESSED.
Recipes online use different combinations of almond flour, coconut flour, grated cheese, and eggs to make a low-carb biscuit-type bread suitable for pizza crust, biscuits, dumplings, and all sorts of things.
But in the beginning, even if you're returning to a ketogenic diet, you want to keep things as simple as possible.
Once you've adjusted to your low-carb lifestyle, there will be plenty of time to learn how to bring back some of the things you're missing.
Do you have tacos and burritos a lot?
No problem. Skip the corn and flour tortillas, save the refried beans for the kids, and eat a taco salad or toss your burrito filling into a bowl and eat it that way instead.
Go ahead and garnish it with some healthy guacamole, a little sour cream, and homemade salsa. Once topped with a few whole black olives, you've got a masterpiece that's fantastic enough to serve to guests.
Chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp fajitas also work well served on top of a salad. Or just toss the filling into a bowl and garnish with chopped avocado, sour cream, grated cheese, olives, and some fresh salsa.
No problem. Skip the corn and flour tortillas, save the refried beans for the kids, and eat a taco salad or toss your burrito filling into a bowl and eat it that way instead.
Go ahead and garnish it with some healthy guacamole, a little sour cream, and homemade salsa. Once topped with a few whole black olives, you've got a masterpiece that's fantastic enough to serve to guests.
Chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp fajitas also work well served on top of a salad. Or just toss the filling into a bowl and garnish with chopped avocado, sour cream, grated cheese, olives, and some fresh salsa.
Roasted chicken is another staple at our
house.
I simply season it with seasoning salt, granulated garlic powder, and rosemary. The secret to roasting chicken is to make sure that the skin is good and dry and the oven quite hot. I like to roast my thighs at 400 degrees.
You can also stop by the grocery store and pick up one of those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens. Costco sells huge pre-cooked chickens for only 5 bucks, but they are also available at almost all major supermarkets.
I simply season it with seasoning salt, granulated garlic powder, and rosemary. The secret to roasting chicken is to make sure that the skin is good and dry and the oven quite hot. I like to roast my thighs at 400 degrees.
You can also stop by the grocery store and pick up one of those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens. Costco sells huge pre-cooked chickens for only 5 bucks, but they are also available at almost all major supermarkets.
When hubby has a hankering for
spaghetti, I cook up the sauce with extra hamburger or Italian sausage, along
with some sliced mushrooms and onions, and then spoon it over green
beans or broccoli instead of pasta. It's also great over summer squash.
Instead of a crushed meat sauce, you could make meatballs, too, if you like. I do this quite often. Instead of bread crumbs or oatmeal, you can crush up a bag of pork rinds, available in the chip isle at some grocery stores or online at Amazon, and use those to replace the crumbs.
Once cooked, you won't be able to tell those pork rinds are in there. The texture is similar to a regular meatball. Meatloaf can be made the exact same way. Just crush up the rinds into crumbs and use them to replace the bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, or oatmeal in your favorite meatloaf recipe.
Instead of a crushed meat sauce, you could make meatballs, too, if you like. I do this quite often. Instead of bread crumbs or oatmeal, you can crush up a bag of pork rinds, available in the chip isle at some grocery stores or online at Amazon, and use those to replace the crumbs.
Once cooked, you won't be able to tell those pork rinds are in there. The texture is similar to a regular meatball. Meatloaf can be made the exact same way. Just crush up the rinds into crumbs and use them to replace the bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, or oatmeal in your favorite meatloaf recipe.
Chicken-vegetable soup is made similar
to chicken noodle. You leave out the noodles and just toss in additional veggies. Shredded cabbage makes a great soup filler. You can also beat an egg or two into a bowl, and then drizzle the raw egg into the soup for a nice and chunky egg-drop soup.
When I was on the Weight Watcher's Old Exchange Plan, I used to add a couple of tomato bouillon cubes to the pot, available in the Hispanic section of the grocery store, instead of chicken broth. You can also leave the meat out if you want and just make a veggie soup to use for breakfast or as a side dish. Soup also makes an excellent snack.
When I was on the Weight Watcher's Old Exchange Plan, I used to add a couple of tomato bouillon cubes to the pot, available in the Hispanic section of the grocery store, instead of chicken broth. You can also leave the meat out if you want and just make a veggie soup to use for breakfast or as a side dish. Soup also makes an excellent snack.
Chili can be made without the beans. In
fact, originally, that's how it was made: chunks of chuck roast, lots of chili spices and onions, but no beans.
However, if you're in the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase of Atkins 20, doing Atkins 40 or Keto, and you feel like you really need to eat those beans, Eden canned organic black soy beans are available at the heath food store, Amazon, Vitacost, or other places online.
Black soybeans are super low in carbs due to their high fiber content. They will only cost you one carb for a half a cup of beans. I use them to make bean salad, as well as the chili.
These beans taste exactly like traditional black beans. There is no soy flavor.
But, if you live at high altitude, you'll need to toss them into the crockpot and let them cook a bit more. Here, in Texas, I haven't had to do that, but when I was in Utah and living at 4500 to 5600 feet, I did.
However, if you're in the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase of Atkins 20, doing Atkins 40 or Keto, and you feel like you really need to eat those beans, Eden canned organic black soy beans are available at the heath food store, Amazon, Vitacost, or other places online.
Black soybeans are super low in carbs due to their high fiber content. They will only cost you one carb for a half a cup of beans. I use them to make bean salad, as well as the chili.
These beans taste exactly like traditional black beans. There is no soy flavor.
But, if you live at high altitude, you'll need to toss them into the crockpot and let them cook a bit more. Here, in Texas, I haven't had to do that, but when I was in Utah and living at 4500 to 5600 feet, I did.
Additional dinner ideas are fried
cabbage or sauerkraut with slices of spicy sausage or all-beef hot
dogs that don't have carby fillers. We get the Hebrew National brand,
or whatever brand of kosher dogs Costco has, and then serve them
without the buns.
Kosher dogs don't have as many carbs as traditional beef hot dogs do.
Dip the dogs in mustard or smother them on your plate with homemade chili-con-carne (chili without beans) and onions. Add a little grated cheddar cheese on top and maybe a dab of sour cream, and you'll never miss the bread.
Many grocery stores also stock polish-sausage type dogs that are very low in carbs.
But be very careful when buying smoked sausages.
Most of the brands we've seen here in Texas are 2 or 3 carbs for a mere 2-ounce serving. They are NOT 2 or 3 carbs per sausage. A sausage averages 6 to 8 ounces each, depending on the brand, so you'll have to triple or four-times the carbs to get the correct count.
In 1972, sausages were not allowed on Atkins due to the carby fillers, but today, Atkins Nutritionals just advises you to count the carbs.
Beef smoked sausage will cost you 3 carbs per 2-ounce serving. The kind we use comes in a 12-ounce package, so half a package costs me 9 carbs.
Much too high, if you're on Induction or sticking to 20 carbs per day, but they can be suitable for those eating 30 to 35.
Kosher dogs don't have as many carbs as traditional beef hot dogs do.
Dip the dogs in mustard or smother them on your plate with homemade chili-con-carne (chili without beans) and onions. Add a little grated cheddar cheese on top and maybe a dab of sour cream, and you'll never miss the bread.
Many grocery stores also stock polish-sausage type dogs that are very low in carbs.
But be very careful when buying smoked sausages.
Most of the brands we've seen here in Texas are 2 or 3 carbs for a mere 2-ounce serving. They are NOT 2 or 3 carbs per sausage. A sausage averages 6 to 8 ounces each, depending on the brand, so you'll have to triple or four-times the carbs to get the correct count.
In 1972, sausages were not allowed on Atkins due to the carby fillers, but today, Atkins Nutritionals just advises you to count the carbs.
Beef smoked sausage will cost you 3 carbs per 2-ounce serving. The kind we use comes in a 12-ounce package, so half a package costs me 9 carbs.
Much too high, if you're on Induction or sticking to 20 carbs per day, but they can be suitable for those eating 30 to 35.
You don't have to spend a lot of time
in the kitchen, either. Many low-carb dinners can be made in a jiffy.
Try making a nice enchilada casserole by rolling your chicken enchilada filling inside turkey deli meat and covering the rolls with a green enchilada sauce mixed with a little sour cream.
At 2 net carbs per quarter-cup serving, you won't have to feel left out, especially since Las Palmas Green Chile Enchilada Sauce has even fewer carbs than traditional beef gravy. There's even some room for a few chopped green chilies or jalapeno.
Creamed eggs with bacon pieces or a well-seasoned sausage gravy made with butter, heavy cream, and cream cheese can be served over vegetables instead of biscuits. Low-carb cream sauce is simply alfredo sauce without the Parmesan cheese.
Alfredo makes a great base for casseroles. I use this quite a bit, almost every single week. I simply follow the casserole recipe, but leave out the carby stuff like pasta or rice. Instead, I toss in extra meat and vegetables to replace the bulk of the missing ingredients and use the Alfredo for the sauce.
Other sauces that work well in casseroles are Ranch Dressing, or mayonnaise mixed in with the cream cheese and heavy whipping cream. For a creamy sauce, you can leave out the Parmesan and use American, cheddar, or any type of cheese you like best. Cheese-less also works.
Try making a nice enchilada casserole by rolling your chicken enchilada filling inside turkey deli meat and covering the rolls with a green enchilada sauce mixed with a little sour cream.
At 2 net carbs per quarter-cup serving, you won't have to feel left out, especially since Las Palmas Green Chile Enchilada Sauce has even fewer carbs than traditional beef gravy. There's even some room for a few chopped green chilies or jalapeno.
Creamed eggs with bacon pieces or a well-seasoned sausage gravy made with butter, heavy cream, and cream cheese can be served over vegetables instead of biscuits. Low-carb cream sauce is simply alfredo sauce without the Parmesan cheese.
Alfredo makes a great base for casseroles. I use this quite a bit, almost every single week. I simply follow the casserole recipe, but leave out the carby stuff like pasta or rice. Instead, I toss in extra meat and vegetables to replace the bulk of the missing ingredients and use the Alfredo for the sauce.
Other sauces that work well in casseroles are Ranch Dressing, or mayonnaise mixed in with the cream cheese and heavy whipping cream. For a creamy sauce, you can leave out the Parmesan and use American, cheddar, or any type of cheese you like best. Cheese-less also works.
Half a cup of mashed potatoes contains
12 carbs, which is too much for Atkins Induction or even the Keto Diet at Reddit, but you can whip up
lightly steamed cauliflower to resemble mashed potatoes as the
following video shows:
Grated raw cauliflower can also be
sauteed in a pan to make a healthy batch of faux fried rice:
If you don't want to go to all that
trouble of grating the cauliflower, you can now purchase cauliflower rice in the frozen aisle of the grocery store.
You can also use shredded cabbage in your stir-fry recipes instead of rice. I do this quite often. The only warning I have for this is not to use the coleslaw mix that comes in bags. The cabbage overcooks way too easily. You'll want to shred it from a whole head of cabbage yourself.
In fact, cabbage that you shred yourself also makes a nice substitute for pasta in Alfredo recipes. Just saute it until it's as done as you want it, and then serve your meat-vegetable Alfredo mixture over the top of it.
I've even made sweet potato casserole using whipped pumpkin instead of potatoes. Pumpkin is very low in carbs and makes a great mashed potato substitute, as well.
You can also use shredded cabbage in your stir-fry recipes instead of rice. I do this quite often. The only warning I have for this is not to use the coleslaw mix that comes in bags. The cabbage overcooks way too easily. You'll want to shred it from a whole head of cabbage yourself.
In fact, cabbage that you shred yourself also makes a nice substitute for pasta in Alfredo recipes. Just saute it until it's as done as you want it, and then serve your meat-vegetable Alfredo mixture over the top of it.
I've even made sweet potato casserole using whipped pumpkin instead of potatoes. Pumpkin is very low in carbs and makes a great mashed potato substitute, as well.
I'm not really as creative with vegetables as I'd like to be. Vegetables is one of the areas that I need to explore in the future. Turning them into casseroles or using them as a pasta substitute is as far as I've taken them so far.
How to Slice the Carbs From Lunch
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| Turn your daily sandwich into a salad instead. Subway and other sandwich shops do this all the time. Why not just do it for yourself? |
If you normally take a sandwich to work, okay. A low-carb diet requires you to eliminate the bread.
Take your luncheon meats and cheese and stack them together with the meat or cheese on the outside and the lettuce and tomato in the middle.
The mayo or mustard is fine. So is the pickle. Some people put the lettuce on the outside, but I haven't had much luck eating a sandwich that way.
Alternatively, you could roll the
luncheon meat up like a tube, with the filling inside, for easier
handling. I do this quite a bit when I'm working online.
Lay the luncheon meat out flat, spread with chicken salad or some other sandwich filling, and roll it up. You could also just chop everything up and toss it all together over lettuce, turning the whole thing into a salad. This works for cabbage or fresh spinach, as well as lettuce.
I tend to eat lots of salads, myself.
Lay the luncheon meat out flat, spread with chicken salad or some other sandwich filling, and roll it up. You could also just chop everything up and toss it all together over lettuce, turning the whole thing into a salad. This works for cabbage or fresh spinach, as well as lettuce.
I tend to eat lots of salads, myself.
Do you usually eat lunch at your desk or the computer, too?
Deviled eggs are easy to manage, and so are stuffed mushrooms. You can also eat your chicken salad, egg salad, or tuna salad out of a bowl. Mix in a little cream cheese, a few olive slices, and some chopped jalapenos and you've kicked your lunch up a notch.
If you're in the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase of the Atkins 20 plan, doing Atkins 40, Nutritional Ketosis, or Keto at Reddit, toss in a few chopped nuts as well.
Deviled eggs are easy to manage, and so are stuffed mushrooms. You can also eat your chicken salad, egg salad, or tuna salad out of a bowl. Mix in a little cream cheese, a few olive slices, and some chopped jalapenos and you've kicked your lunch up a notch.
If you're in the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase of the Atkins 20 plan, doing Atkins 40, Nutritional Ketosis, or Keto at Reddit, toss in a few chopped nuts as well.
For a change of pace, add meats and
vegetables to shredded cabbage or bagged broccoli slaw, then toss
with a cole slaw dressing or oil-and-vinegar dressing. A bit of soy
sauce and hot sauce really perks this up, too.
If you're rather have finger foods, you
can also top sweet pepper squares, halved baby sweet peppers, cucumber slices, or zucchini
rounds with that chicken, egg, or tuna salad. I've also seen people slice a dill pickle in half lengthwise and pile the tuna between the slices, using the pickle for the bread.
Leftover chicken legs also make a great lunch idea.
Leftover chicken legs also make a great lunch idea.
The point is to keep your choices easy
until eating low carb becomes more of a habit, so don't over think this. Ask yourself what you would make if you weren't doing Keto, and then just eliminate the carbs from that choice.
Got a microwave nearby?
Leftovers from dinner make a great hot lunch, especially in the winter time. In fact, you can purposely fix too much for dinner, so you'll have enough leftovers for lunch the next day.
If you don't have a microwave, get yourself a thermos that keeps hot foods warm and carry a thermos filled with taco soup, spicy chili, or a low-carb stew. This is the one that we have. We bought it from Amazon several years ago.
Got a microwave nearby?
Leftovers from dinner make a great hot lunch, especially in the winter time. In fact, you can purposely fix too much for dinner, so you'll have enough leftovers for lunch the next day.
If you don't have a microwave, get yourself a thermos that keeps hot foods warm and carry a thermos filled with taco soup, spicy chili, or a low-carb stew. This is the one that we have. We bought it from Amazon several years ago.
It keeps soups and thin stews super warm all day long. In fact, when hubby hasn't had time to eat lunch, the soup is still nice and warm when he gets home several hours later.
You'd be surprised what tastes good cold or at room temperature, though.
Hot wings, jalapeno poppers, chicken strips breaded with pork rinds, and cauliflower salad put together in the same way you'd make a potato salad are all good cold choices for lunch.
For cauliflower salad, just use cauliflower or lightly steamed chopped broccoli instead of the potatoes. Add some meat, and you've got a main dish salad that's a great switch-up instead of lettuce.
You'd be surprised what tastes good cold or at room temperature, though.
Hot wings, jalapeno poppers, chicken strips breaded with pork rinds, and cauliflower salad put together in the same way you'd make a potato salad are all good cold choices for lunch.
For cauliflower salad, just use cauliflower or lightly steamed chopped broccoli instead of the potatoes. Add some meat, and you've got a main dish salad that's a great switch-up instead of lettuce.
How to Eliminate the Carbs From Breakfast
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| Egg Scrambles are faster to make than an omelette or even a quiche. At our house, these egg masterpieces are on the menu regularly. |
If you're used to eating a bowl of cold
cereal, a piece or two of buttered toast, and a large glass of orange
juice or milk, then yes -- you're going to have to revamp what you
call breakfast.
Typical American breakfast foods are out, at least initially, but don't panic.
The trick to eating a healthy low-carb breakfast is to stop thinking of breakfast, lunch, and dinner in terms of having to eat certain foods.
Anything you eat for lunch, dinner, or a snack will make an easy, acceptable breakfast.
Typical American breakfast foods are out, at least initially, but don't panic.
The trick to eating a healthy low-carb breakfast is to stop thinking of breakfast, lunch, and dinner in terms of having to eat certain foods.
Anything you eat for lunch, dinner, or a snack will make an easy, acceptable breakfast.
Most of the time, low-carb diets are
associated with eggs and bacon, sausage, or ham. Omelets and quiche is also quite popular. These breakfast foods contain almost
no carbs and lots of healthy fats.
While they make an adequate breakfast, egg scrambles are quicker and easier to make. All you have to do is eliminate the toast and juice that carb them up.
While they make an adequate breakfast, egg scrambles are quicker and easier to make. All you have to do is eliminate the toast and juice that carb them up.
Bacon is a great
side dish, but you don't have to eat bacon and sausage for breakfast
when time is short. Simply toss a few leftover vegetables into your
scrambled eggs instead, and you're good to go.
If you don't have leftover veggies, dice up some green onion, sweet red pepper, and maybe a bit of Canadian bacon or ham. With or without the grated cheese on top, which you can grate up ahead of time the night before, like I do, egg scrambles are quick and easy when mornings are rushed.
In fact, if I have everything already chopped up and ready to go, I can have them on the table, from start to finish, in less than 15 minutes.
If you don't have leftover veggies, dice up some green onion, sweet red pepper, and maybe a bit of Canadian bacon or ham. With or without the grated cheese on top, which you can grate up ahead of time the night before, like I do, egg scrambles are quick and easy when mornings are rushed.
In fact, if I have everything already chopped up and ready to go, I can have them on the table, from start to finish, in less than 15 minutes.
If you eat eggs every single day, it
won't take long before you're sick of them, however, so breakfast
tends to be the one place that just eliminating the carbs you'd
normally eat doesn't work as well as it does for lunch and dinner.
But that doesn't mean you have to eat a boring breakfast.
You'll just have to find new ideas or start eating low-carb foods for breakfast that you normally wouldn't think of.
But that doesn't mean you have to eat a boring breakfast.
You'll just have to find new ideas or start eating low-carb foods for breakfast that you normally wouldn't think of.
For that reason, I'm going to devote
the entire next post to what you can eat for breakfast on a low-carb diet.
How to Ditch the Carbs During Snacks
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| Snacks are not mandatory on Keto, so keep them simple and easily available when needed. |
On Atkins Induction, it is recommended that you eat one or two snacks per day if you're hungry.
Snacks are not mandatory, however.
In fact, they are only included in my 3-day and 7-day Atkins Induction menus to help make your transition from a carb-filled diet to 20-net carbs more manageable.
Each time you eat,
the body has to release insulin to get the nutrients into your cells,
so the fewer snacks you have, the quicker your overall insulin level
will fall and the faster your hunger level will return to normal.
However, insulin levels are not really something you have to worry about.
Atkins Induction is set up to get you into the state of ketosis quickly. Generally, it will take you three days, or less. This enables your body to begin burning fatty acids for fuel instead of glucose. Your insulin level will automatically drop as a result of eating this way.
You don't have to do anything special.
Keto is for life, so it really doesn't matter how long it takes for your excess body fat to come off. The point of moving to a low-carb diet is to permanently change how you eat.
Give yourself time to adjust and the weight loss will happen once your body is comfortable ditching the fat.
Atkins Induction is set up to get you into the state of ketosis quickly. Generally, it will take you three days, or less. This enables your body to begin burning fatty acids for fuel instead of glucose. Your insulin level will automatically drop as a result of eating this way.
You don't have to do anything special.
Keto is for life, so it really doesn't matter how long it takes for your excess body fat to come off. The point of moving to a low-carb diet is to permanently change how you eat.
Give yourself time to adjust and the weight loss will happen once your body is comfortable ditching the fat.
Anything you eat for a meal can be
eaten for a snack.
But keep in mind that the purpose of a
snack is to tide you over until you can have a meal.
A snack should be much smaller than what you'd eat for a meal, except maybe breakfast if you're not used to eating that much early in the day and would rather substitute a snack for breakfast.
Here is where it's important to know your plan.
For example, Atkins Induction doesn't allow you to eat plain yogurt on Induction, even low-carb yogurt, but the Keto Diet does. If you're in the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase of Atkins 20 or doing Atkins 40, low-carb yogurt makes a great snack.
Instead of reaching for a bag of chips, try:
A snack should be much smaller than what you'd eat for a meal, except maybe breakfast if you're not used to eating that much early in the day and would rather substitute a snack for breakfast.
Here is where it's important to know your plan.
For example, Atkins Induction doesn't allow you to eat plain yogurt on Induction, even low-carb yogurt, but the Keto Diet does. If you're in the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase of Atkins 20 or doing Atkins 40, low-carb yogurt makes a great snack.
Instead of reaching for a bag of chips, try:
- raw vegetables with Ranch dressing
- pork rinds with homemade salsa
- leftover chicken legs
- hard-boiled eggs with low-carb honey-mustard
- a couple of leftover hot poppers
- a cup of soup
- some leftover vegetables
- cole slaw
- a couple of cheese sticks
- ham slices stuffed with cream cheese or rolled around a dill pickle
A little tuna salad, leftover bacon (is
there such a thing?), or a deviled egg also makes a nice snack. If
you want to really feel pampered, add a little bit of heavy cream to
an ice cold diet root beer for a faux root-beer float.
How to Make Atkins Induction Work for You
Breaking the on-and-off dieting cycle
isn't difficult if you ease into your ketogenic diet by tweaking what you
normally eat, but you do have to get your mind in the game.
Look at the process as stepping toward a nutrient-dense diet that eliminates the excessive carbohydrates that contribute to fat gain, rather than being on a temporary weight-loss plan.
Look at the process as stepping toward a nutrient-dense diet that eliminates the excessive carbohydrates that contribute to fat gain, rather than being on a temporary weight-loss plan.
Once you have immersed yourself in this new way of eating, you can branch out to experiment with low-carb breads and cereals or try your hand at making an easy sour cream gravy.
In the meantime, you
can use this same eliminate-the-carbs technique to adapt high-carb
recipes to be more healthy as well.
What you don't want to do is settle for
foods you don't like. That's the quickest path to failure.
To fully transition to a low-carb diet,
you'll have to come up with a whole new list of favorite foods and
recipes, but you don't have to do that right away. Start with what
you enjoy eating right now that's almost legal and find delicious
ways of taking the carbs out of those dishes.
Beef Stroganoff, for example, doesn't
have to be served over noodles. You can simply make it thick enough
with beef, onions, and mushrooms to call it a stew.
If the family loves Chicken Cordon Bleu, you can use a low-carb alfredo sauce over the chicken bundles rather than a nutritionally-depleted starch-heavy canned soup.
Chicken tenders can be dipped in beaten egg or mayo and then rolled in a combination of crushed pork rinds and Parmesan cheese instead of flour or bread crumbs and then fried or baked.
If the family loves Chicken Cordon Bleu, you can use a low-carb alfredo sauce over the chicken bundles rather than a nutritionally-depleted starch-heavy canned soup.
Chicken tenders can be dipped in beaten egg or mayo and then rolled in a combination of crushed pork rinds and Parmesan cheese instead of flour or bread crumbs and then fried or baked.
A low-carb diet is only as restrictive
as you make it.
There are an infinite variety of ways to turn ketogenic foods and ingredients into a lifestyle without feeling deprived.
There are an infinite variety of ways to turn ketogenic foods and ingredients into a lifestyle without feeling deprived.
But you have to start by making a list
of your favorite foods.
While some things might not have a
low-carb equivalent, most dishes actually do.
Over the years, creative people have come up with ways to make pancakes out of cream cheese, muffins out of flaxmeal, french toast out of pork rinds, and Egg McMuffins and hamburger buns out of an egg-based bread that Dr. Atkins invented in the early 70s.
Over the years, creative people have come up with ways to make pancakes out of cream cheese, muffins out of flaxmeal, french toast out of pork rinds, and Egg McMuffins and hamburger buns out of an egg-based bread that Dr. Atkins invented in the early 70s.
However, the secret to making low carb
work isn't found in duplicating the diet you used to eat.
The whole idea of going Keto is to transform your current unhealthy eating pattern into something more nutritious you can comfortably live with for the rest of your life.
It's about cutting down on nutrient-depleted grains and starches and replacing them with healthier food choices than you were eating before.
The whole idea of going Keto is to transform your current unhealthy eating pattern into something more nutritious you can comfortably live with for the rest of your life.
It's about cutting down on nutrient-depleted grains and starches and replacing them with healthier food choices than you were eating before.
It's about changing the way you look at
what you're eating and seeing the value in making healthier decisions
most of the time.
A low-carb diet isn't about perfection.
It's about learning how you react personally to the foods you eat and making the necessary adjustments in your eating habits that will keep you feeling your best. Instead of nurturing your emotional attachment to food, it's better to find non-food ways to pamper yourself instead.
It's about learning how you react personally to the foods you eat and making the necessary adjustments in your eating habits that will keep you feeling your best. Instead of nurturing your emotional attachment to food, it's better to find non-food ways to pamper yourself instead.
If you feel good while eating Keto, you won't be tempted to quit when weight loss slows to a crawl or an
unexpected challenge rises up to confront you.
Also, give yourself the time you need
to adjust to this new way of eating, and you'll quickly discover that
sitting around mourning for the foods you can't eat anymore are a
thing of the past.
Why mourn foods that sapped your energy and made you fat?
Why mourn foods that sapped your energy and made you fat?
Better to clean out your pantry of all
of the junk, commit to a healthier life, and stop over-complicating
the diet. Keto is simply real food minus the carbs.
Is there a favorite food that you need
help converting to low carb? Let's talk about it in the comments
below.
What Can I Eat on a Low-Carb Diet?
7-Day Ketogenic Menu for Atkins Induction
Atkins 72 Induction Menu with Recipes
More Simple Low-Carb Menus, Recipes, and Food Ideas
What Can I Eat on Atkins Induction?What Can I Eat on a Low-Carb Diet?
7-Day Ketogenic Menu for Atkins Induction
Atkins 72 Induction Menu with Recipes
Thank you for this, I like your approach.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. And thanks for sharing your thoughts.
DeleteThese are good tips. One of them reminds me of my hubby. He doesn't like rice. But he likes Chinese food. So he has them substitute veggies for rice.
ReplyDeleteI also like the black bean idea.
Your article reminds me that eating can be a creative act and craft. One of the reasons I like Korean food is because of the attention to detail in preparing the dishes. Same for Japanese food. How you arrange the food and how it's cut up can make the food more enjoyable. In the west we've become conditioned to slapping stuff on bread. Eat and run.
There's a movement toward advanced food prepping. You dice,cut,chop for a week in advance. It appears from your article you've done this naturally while you shop.
Things have declined so much that people just want quick and easy. So the manufacturers give them junk. Then when they want to lose weight they "junk" their way out of it.
Thanks for this article. It re-inspires me once again.
You're waking people up and it's a good thing.
Thanks for your wonderful insights. I love to cook, including all of the chopping and dicing you talk about, but the vertigo doesn't always cooperate. I tend to live a bit in both worlds.
DeleteI really appreciate all your insight. I keep falling off the Atkins wagon and I think it's because I am over complicating things and also trying to use Lower carb substitutes for the less than stellar foods (the desserts). I'll admit to having the atkins treat bars on hand and I don't think those are helping me at all. I keep finding myself binging off plan, candy, cookies, chips and then starting all over. Going to sit and make a two week meal plan using your fantastic tips here.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing that. De-carbing what you'd ordinarily eat really helps make the transition to a low-carb lifestyle easier.
Delete