I'm looking for low carb meals that are easy to make and don't take long...mostly that are easy to make as my cooking skills are non-existent...also I cook for me myself and I alone so I don't like to buy a whole bunch of ingredients that go bad...
Breakfast is easy--eggs, bacon, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. Lunch I guess salad or veggies and dip with some cheeses... Dinner, I get stumped. I want taste and flavour but nothing that has to cook for a long time...
I find that a good dinner can be made by selecting a protein fat centerpiece like meat or seafood and then selecting two side veggies. I have a big freezer and buys lots of individually sealed frozen portions of meat and seafood. Places like Trader Joes have individually sealed seafood for instance. You can put it in a large bowl of water and thaw it in 10 minutes. Once thawed, turn oven on to 250 deg F, season as desired, then fry it over high heat for one or two minutes, flip it over and put it in the oven. You can do the same basic thing with meat although you should cook it 2-3 minutes on both sides before the oven trick. I do burgers served naked without buns and just a slab of cheese on top.
Then, while that is cooking make some veggie sides. You can use fresh, frozen or canned in that preference order. Raw veggies are fine, I like to make up low carb dips. You can microwave pre-frozen veggie sides or pan saute veggies all which take but a few minutes.
The pan with the meat and seafood in the oven can rest 15 minutes finishing the cooking while you prepare the rest of the plate. All of this can be done within a half hour and by mixing around your selection of meat, seafood and veggies you can have an endless variety (and seasoning differently can further add variety).
Brian has some great advice for simple cooking. The real key to making this work is to plan ahead. I prefer fresh veggies, but always keep some frozen favorites for a quicker easier dinner. I ussuually try too make about 30 to 50 percent more meat than I will need for my meal. This gives me some options for an east luch o pack or another diner.
The other thinng I do to keep it interesting is to try different spices and spice blends. Check out Savory Spice Shop.com. They have fantastic products and great information on when and how to use them. I have fun just exploring the website.
And lastly, bone up on the cooking skills. There are a LOT of ways to prepare food that are not complicated and time consuming. Re think the fast cook time. I use a smoker quite a bit. Season the meat, turn on the smoker and come back later for a finished flavorful cut of meat or fish. A crock pot is juust about the same thing, slow but simple. Come home to a ready dinner.
I understand...a gourmet cook I am not! One of my favorites is sausage and peppers, which you can make by browning some hot Italian sausages, then mix up basil/oregano-seasoned diced tomatoes, sliced bell peppers, sliced onion, salt and pepper, and some olive oil, pour that over the sausages and bake for 50 minutes or so. Lots of recipes out there. It makes a lot, but they make awesome leftovers and heat up well! I also love cooking with eggs because you can always scramble in some random veggies and a little cheese for a really filling and satisfying meal. Tuna salad with celery and mayo is delicious too, and no bread needed. You can always do a tuna melt on an english muffin with a slice of cheese, which ends up being <30g of carb.
I like chicken as well. I buy rotisserie chickens almost every week. Who can beat a chicken for $5. Get it on the way home and eat a portion for dinner. Then you can reheat it for meals throughout the week.
I bought a smoker a couple of years ago and smoke some meat nearly every weekend. I usually load it down and then eat off it all week. Slow cooker meat, as Randy suggests, would work as well, make some extra and then incorporate it in meals later in the week.
My basic low carb meal is meat and veggies. The veggies don't have to be cooked I often have some meat and cheese on a salad or coleslaw. Things like sunflower seeds can be added to keep things interesting. Salad and coleslaw with toppings are great for lunch or when you are pressed for time.
Cooking shows on TV and cooking videos on YouTube are a good place to learn some basic techniques and get ideas for meals you might want to try.
Cooking from scratch is a good way to improve your numbers because you avoid all the extra ingredients like HFCS that can make control difficult.
Chicken thighs/drumsticks, season with garlic and pepper and throw them in the oven, google how long to cook them. Serve with steamed or raw veggies
I have to admit that, as a vegetarian, I'm always a bit bemused when omnivores seem puzzled over what to eat that is low carb. There are infinite combinations of meat or fish plus vegetables or salads! And none of these involve intensive cooking.
Do you have any easy go-to vegetarian dinners you like?
I cook such a variety of things for dinner that it's hard to focus on one recipe in particular. Most of the things I like to cook are not all that easy or quick as I enjoy cooking, have time, and like more complex dishes. When I want really fast and easy I will have a vegie burger topped with cheese and mushrooms and to go with it either corn in season or sometimes a baked potato. I also sometimes make nachos - I make the chips from tortillas then top with cheese, olives, chili pepper rings and vegie chorizo and pop in the microwave-very quick. It's not low carb (about 40 carbs with the chorizo) but I can handle it at dinner time.
Other than those quick always-available items I make very varied recipes.In winter I love soups in their infinite variety and if they are not filling types I'll add a handful of the lower carb crisps and chip snacks or make a small paratha. (Indian bread).I love various tarts with an almond crust, varied things made with filo, and souffles - all lower carb items. This week I'm making two dishes: tortilla soup (28 carbs)and Mushroom Gougere (19 carbs). If anyone who likes to cook is interested I can recommend several good vegetarian cookbooks but of course I have to sort through to find ones that are BG friendly (and for me, not heavy on ingredients that impact my acid reflux)
I love to cook, but when I don't have time or I'm too tired I have bell & evans frozen precooked chicken which nukes in 3 minutes or so. I add some mayo, horseradish etc., cut up fresh veggies, add some cheese, often add dressing with sour cream and dessert is berries with heavy cream, stevia, nuts and cocoa nibs. It still takes time to cut the veggies etc. but it is worth it. I prewash a lot of veggies and store them in a crisper so they're ready to cut and eat for whatever meal I want them for or for a snack. When I cook I usually cook for myself and I store the food in glass containers in the fridge, usually things will keep for a few nights at least. I would learn to cook some things like this because it tastes so much better and that alone is worth it. No frozen veggies etc. for me, I want everything fresh otherwise it just tastes awful and you're definitely not getting the nutrients and benefits that way. Nutriblasts are another fast meal, with veggies, berries, flax, nuts/seeds etc. There is still some prep but again much better than processed stuff. I never add the protein powders to any shakes, haven't had them for a while because they give me the runs, whatever is in them it doesn't agree with me at all.
Most of the meals I cook from scratch can be done in 20 minutes to 40 minutes in a pan or broiling etc. I rarely bake dinner type of meals.I recently discovered steamed edamame for a snack… low carb and high protein, and sooooo easy to make!
Lots of good suggestions in this thread. I've found a very quick and easy way to prepare healthy and hot low carb meals in a matter of minutes. I will take a protein, such as hamburger patties, chicken breast, sausages, fish, etc and grill them quickly using my Optigrill. Many of these can be purchased in bulk from Costco or Sams in the frozen section, broken up into individual portions. The Optigrill is an electrical appliance much like a panini maker. It has pre-sets for different meats and cooks them perfectly: http://www.amazon.com/T-fal-OptiGrill-Stainless-Electric-1800-watt/dp/B00H4O1L9Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416843041&sr=8-1&keywords=optigrill
I then pick any one of the fresh veggies I enjoy: Brussels sprouts, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, etc., and drop them into a microwave steamer which takes about 3-5mins.: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=vegetable+steamer+microwave&rh=n%3A1055398%2Ck%3Avegetable+steamer+microwave
The whole exercise takes about 10-15 minutes max. I season to my tastes and have a delicious, easy to prepare meal that requires a nominal amount of insulin to cover and doesn't spike me at all.
Hope this helps.
Everything tastes better with Sriracha
...and even better with Nando's. :-)
You live by a Nando's? I am sooo jealous. I always make sure to eat there when I'm in Ireland, the UK or South Africa. I didn't know they had them in Canada. One of my favorite dishes there is the 1/2 grilled chicken with medium Piri-Piri and a salad. Absolutely delicious! At least I can buy the sauces in the US. Walmart and Amazon carry them.
If the powders make you queasy, an alternative is just dropping in a handful of raw almonds instead.
http://www.nandos.ie/restaurants
Enjoy! :-)
Indeed, Eucritta. I couldn't agree more. Salsa is also great on eggs for breakfast, along with some cheese and sour cream.
I definitely would try some nuts/flax seeds etc. The protein powders do a number on my tummy too. I made a delicious mild chana masala last week which was so good and which went well with my bg too. It didn't take long to make. I will try to post the recipe later.