With New Year Resolutions coming in full swing, I thought I would help those who have promised themselves to lose weight and eat healthier with these 5 low carb alternative meals. Last January 1st I promised to give up (most) carbs until March 15th, my birthday. Of course, I didn't give up fruits and veggies, but things like potatoes, bread, pasta, flour, and that stuff was cut from my diet. Here are five meals I swore by while on this meal plan.
1. Spaghetti squash
Spaghetti squash (pictured above) is super easy to make, filling, and helps get at your pasta cravings when you are trying to eat healthy. It's also a dish that can be made many different ways so it's hard to get sick of it. Sometimes I put butter and parmesan on it, other times I do a vodka sauce, and sometimes I do a meat sauce with mozzarella and bake it in the oven. Each way is just as delicious but a great way to change up the basic veggie.
2. Meat & cheese platter
I did this almost everyday for lunch because it's simple and fresh and gives you a little taste of everything. I would try to do four different options onto one plate out of thing like deli turkey rolled up, sliced cheddar cheese, grapes, strawberries, apples with peanut butter, peanuts, almonds, summer sausage, etc. I would take a couple of these and it would be the perfect hit of protein, fruits, and dairy. You can always add your own variety too, like hummus and peppers or other healthy snacks.
3. Cheeseburger hold the bun
Whenever I was super hungry or craving something greasy, I always just made a cheeseburger and ate it with a fork. Yes, it's not a salad, but it still keeps you from eating the carb-y bread. This was also something I ordered at restaurants pretty frequently, and after awhile I didn't even miss the bun!
4. Bacon wrapped chicken with avocado
This was something I found off of a Tasty video on Facebook and fell in love with it. All you do is wrap bacon around a chicken breast, cook it on the stovetop until the bacon is cooked, then bake it. In the Tasty video, they cut open the chicken and put the avocado on the inside, but I wasn't sure how I would feel about warm avocado inside the chicken, so I changed it up and placed the avocado on top of the already cooked bacon wrapped chicken breast. This is super filling and delicious.
5. Breakfast for dinner
When I was low-carb I usually would make a smaller breakfast, such as smoothie bowls or yogurt, so I would make dinner with heartier breakfast foods when I was craving something like scrambled eggs. Sometimes I would do scrambled eggs with cheese, sometimes I would do banana and egg pancakes, sometimes I would do breakfast sandwiches using sausage patties as a bun.
These are five meals that are super do-able when trying to eat low carb. This diet doesn't consist of solely eating salad or of starving yourself, it just takes a little bit of creativity and an open mind. Good luck, and I hope your New Year's Resolution lasts!
