Delicious Low Carb, Ketogenic Concious Meals That You'll Love
A low-carb diet avoids starches, which range from rice and pasta to root vegetables. By avoiding bread and other carbohydrate-rich foods, dieters report feeling fuller, faster weight loss, and improved cognition. It also has proven health benefits such as better control over insulin in the case of diabetes, lower risk factors for heart disease, and reduced risk for certain types of cancer. All of these make trying a low-carb diet extremely desirable. However, one of the main problems is carbohydrates are everywhere, in every sandwich, pasta dish, and most restaurant side dishes.
Bacon And Eggs
A simple breakfast staple like bacon and eggs might not seem very exciting, but it is classic for a reason. The salty umami flavor of bacon mixed with the fattiness of eggs leads to a breakfast that leaves dieters feeling full several hours after the meal. This classic dish can be made with the standard scrambled eggs or made a little more sophisticated with a simple cheese, egg, and scallion omelet. Add a side dish of zucchini hash-browns for the low carb breakfast of champions.
The bacon is useful to add protein to the diet, but it is important to be careful to not have too much bacon, due to the high saturated fat content. Stick to the golden ratio of two eggs and two slices of bacon, for a breakfast that satisfies while maintaining a healthy-ish disposition. Other easy egg preparations include fried, poached, and over-easy. For a perfectly poached egg, add a little bit of vinegar to the water. It helps the egg stay in one place.
Veggie Omelet With Coconut Oil
If bacon and eggs aren't the preferred breakfast, or if the dieter is vegetarian, a veggie omelet with coconut oil is a great alternative. Coconut oil has super-food properties including lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, considered bad, and turning it into high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, considered healthy, which can lower the risk of heart disease. Add a half teaspoon or less of coconut oil per egg; any more can overwhelm the flavor of the eggs and vegetables.
Popular vegetables to add to omelets include spinach, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. If the dieter is looking for an additional flavor in the realm of vegetables, they can even add mushrooms and olives for a new twist. The best rule is anything you can put on a slice of pizza can also go in an omelet, so use the opportunity to create something new and be creative with new combinations.
Grilled Chicken Salad
Salads are inherently versatile: just throw some raw vegetables together with a little dressing and some chicken, and you have created a filling meal. A grilled chicken salad needs to start with a leafy green. Choose spinach or micro-greens for a larger serving of vitamins and nutrients than plain old romaine. A great addition to the standard toppings of tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots, is some fantastic fruit!
If you need to switch it up, try to emulate a fruit salad with chicken and spinach and choose a light fruity dressing. When sticking to the standard vegetables, it is more common to pick a creamy dressing or a vinaigrette. It is necessary to add it sparingly, so the salad isn't completely doused in ranch dressing. The normal limit for dressing on salads is three tablespoons. An estimate is okay, as long as it doesn't go overboard and remains conservative.
Carrot Ginger Soup
Even though carrots are listed as a root vegetable and are slightly starchy, their benefits to eyesight and sweet flavor make them a good occasional addition to a low carb diet. All an individual needs is a blender, a bag of carrots, and some ginger, as well as any desired additional spices to make carrot ginger soup. Ginger offers additional health benefits as well as great flavor, and individuals who don’t have access to fresh ginger can substitute ground ginger from the spice aisle.
Boil the carrots until soft, and strain the water before putting the carrots in the blender. If the soup is too thick, add additional water or cream, depending on the flavor desired. Simmer the soup a little longer on the stove if it is watery. Be sure to add salt and pepper to taste along with the ginger while the carrots are still in the blender for better taste. It is also recommended to add other ingredients to counteract the sweetness of the carrot. Ginger does a great job, but if someone doesn’t like ginger, they can add a little bit of spiciness from any pepper to balance this soup out nicely.
Baked Cauliflower Wings
When individuals on a low-carb diet need to add more vegetables, they can turn to baked cauliflower wings. Even when not on a low-carb diet, many turn to this trusted snack as an alternative to chicken wings, vegetarian or not. They can be dressed up with many different types of sauce, including barbecue, buffalo, and even sesame ginger. The cauliflower soaks up the flavor of the sauce, and the crunchiness of the stalk has an excellent mouthfeel. It is even acceptable to do half regular wings and half cauliflower wings for a meal with equal parts protein and vegetables.
Bake these wings at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for eighteen to twenty minutes. Halfway through baking, add more sauce, as some of it will evaporate in the oven, making the cauliflower a little dry. Cauliflower also can be processed into a rice substitute, which is especially helpful in Asian dishes where rice is prominent. Be sure to consider alternatives to carbohydrates in all recipes to reduce cravings for carbs.