This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Atkins. The opinions and text are all mine. Todayโs post includes simple homemade low carb meals including ideas for easy breakfast lunch and dinner โ plus low carb snacks!
All of these meal ideas are in line with the Atkins20 Phase One Acceptable Foods List, which is a great resource for even more low carb food ideas!
I recently did a 4-part series on the Atkins Instagram channel where you can see my favorite low carb fast food options for โkeeping it ketoโ on the go.
You can click on each of these images to see those posts, and use the arrows to scroll through for a photo tour of easy drive-through low carb foods:
While I do travel often and eat on-the-go a lot, when I am home I make VERY simple meals. So today I wanted to give you some super easy ideas for at-home low carb meals that donโt require much time or prep.
This should help you with ideas when you need a quick low carb meal in a pinch on those days you didnโt have anything prepared!
โGetting Back To The Basicsโ
Easy Low Carb Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Snack Ideas
The longer youโre on a low carb lifestyle, it seems like carbs can creep back into your daily meals on you over time. This can cause weight loss stalls or plateaus, induce cravings, or just slow your weight loss down.
When that happens, getting back to the basics is ideal! ๐
When I first started eating low carb more than 7 years ago, I started with the Atkins20 Phase One Acceptable Foods List, which is a great resource for choosing whole foods you can mix & match for a wide variety of delicious low carb meals.
What many people donโt realize is that the Atkins20 or Phase One is โketoโ โ or a ketogenic low carb diet plan. While the term โlow carbโ can mean anything 100 carbs a day or less, keto is MUCH lower carb at 20 net carbs a day (ie Atkins20).
Atkins 20 is comparable to the keto diet, but overall Atkins allows for more flexibility as they encourage people to incorporate foods back into their meals and find their carb tolerance level.
Using their Acceptable Foods List, here are ideas and inspiration for โgetting back to the basicsโ with super simple low carb mealsโฆ
Low Carb Breakfast Ideas
Bacon and Fried Eggs
Fried Eggs over Fresh Baby Spinach
I like to fry my eggs in plenty real butter, then drizzle the hot butter over the spinach!
Egg Loaf or Low Carb French Toast Sticks
Keto French Toast Sticks Recipe
When you get tired of eggs, or if you donโt like eggs, this is a great breakfast you can make up and enjoy for a quick breakfast several mornings of the week!
My Low Carb Cinnamon Crunch Coffee Cake Recipe also makes for a GREAT breakfast!
Low Carb Omelet
See: Recipe for the PERFECT Omelets
Omelets are a fun way to dress up eggs with your choice of meats, cheeses & veggies!
I often donโt have time to cook in the morning, or get tired of eggs for breakfast, so Iโll make a simple snack plate instead. These work well on those mornings when youโre rushed and need to eat at your desk or on your way to work too. ๐
Salami, Almonds & Cheese
Meat & Cheese Rollups with Almonds
Low Carb Lunch Ideas
Tuna Salad over Fresh Baby Spinach
Meat, Cheese & Dill Pickle Rollups
Snack Plates make for a quick and easy lunch too.
I love simple plates with meat, cheese, nuts and just a few berries. I might add 18 grams of blueberries or raspberries, or one or two fresh strawberries.
Fresh Baby Spinach topped with Fried Chicken Sausage
Eggs are great any time of the day, so a few fried eggs on top fresh baby spinach drizzled with hot butter, makes for a super quick lunch!
Broccoli Slaw is one of my favorite quick & easy low carb vegetables. You can get it in the produce department at both Wal-Mart and Kroger stores. Sauteed in the skillet with a little butter & salt and paired with a slice of ham makes for a quick & delicious lunch.
Low Carb Dinner Ideas
Iโm all for one-skillet meals, crockpot meals, and anything you can serve for dinner thatโs healthy and delicious โ but doesnโt require an hour in the kitchen! ๐
This Low Carb Oven Stew fits the bill with a dish full of healthy low carb foods that makes a meal the whole family will love.
A hamburger steak (or โchopped steakโ) is basically a big seasoned hamburger patty. Paired with a low carb green vegetable it makes for an easy dinner!
Example โ Hamburger Steak with Sauteed Zucchini:
I usually just add an egg and seasoning to my hamburger steak, but my favorite way is to add steamed spinach!
Low Carb Spinach Burgers with Seared Yellow Squash
Delicious EASY Spinach Burgers Recipe
If you want to get a little fancier with your low carb dinners, this Low Carb Parmesan Chicken will please the whole family! ๐
Low Carb Parmesan Chicken Recipe
Low Carb Parmesan Chicken with Roasted Vegetables
I was recently invited over to a friendโs house for dinner, and was pleasantly surprised by a completely keto meal!
I shared this beautiful dinner with a carb eater and a teenager, and everyone at the table LOVED the meal. ๐
The bacon-wrapped asparagus was a HIT with everyone. What REALLY made it fabulous was the thick-cut bacon:
What an EASY and delicious low carb side dish!
Paired with that was steamed cauliflower tossed in salt and real butter, then sprinkled with pepper and topped with cheddar cheese shredded off the block:
And of course the highlight of the meal: a thick juicy ribeye steak. ๐
This is an example of a beautiful meal that almost anyone would enjoy, whether they eat low carb or not. Proving how easy it is to make delicious meals that are keto-friendly for you, and still delicious for anyone else at the table!
Low Carb Snack Ideas
Iโm not much of a snacker myself, but every now and then I crave chips โ or something salty & crunchy or crispy. Thatโs when I make cheese crisps!
These delicious Spinach Cheese Chips are simply leftover steamed spinach added to shredded cheese and baked until crisp.
You have to squeeze all the water out of the spinach of course, then just add it to your little piles of shredded cheese โ and bake it on parchment paper at 400 degrees until crispy.
Those cheese chips can be found in my 34 Easy Low Carb Food & Meal Ideas post. ๐
Other snacks I enjoy include mixed low carb nuts and cheesesโฆ
Or for a sweet & salty low carb snack I like a sugar free chocolate with almond butter or peanut butter with mixed nuts: pecans, macadamia nuts & almonds.
Salami slices make great little snack sandwiches!
Stuff them with crisp cucumber slices or dill pickle and a hard or soft cheese for fun finger-food snacks. ๐
And of course my favorite snack, especially when Iโm craving greasy salty crunchy chips, are BACON CHIPS!
Crisp bacon broken into chip sized pieces and dipped in a low carb ranch dressing makes for a great low carb snack on movie night. ๐
I hope this gives you some ideas for simple meals you can put together at home without much fuss. I love EASY meals and snacks. The simpler the better!
Keep in mind that the goal of Atkins or a ketogenic low carb diet is basically meat & greens + healthy fats.
Speaking of healthy fats, one of my favorite side dishes is fried avocadoโฆ
Take a firm (ripe) avocado and slice it or cube it, then salt it and fry it hot and fast in real butter for a delicious low carb side dish that is full of healthy fats โ plus plenty of potassium & magnesium!
I love that you can easily put a meal on the table for the whole family, even when youโre the only one eating low carb. Simply make a meat and green vegetable, then add a starch for the rest of the family.
As one example, I might make crab legs and steamed broccoli with a caesar salad. Iโll put the dressing and croutons on the side so everyone can โdressโ their own salad, and make baked potatoes for everyone else.
Then I simply enjoy delicious crab legs dipped in melted butter with caesar salad โ and I top my steamed broccoli with the baked potato toppings:
Because โloaded broccoliโ is amazing! ๐
I hope you enjoyed this photo tour of simple low carb breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas.
I would love to hear YOUR favorite easy low carb meals and daily staplesโฆ
The more ideas the better!
Next, see โก๏ธ Best Prices on Keto Delivery & Low Carb Groceries (Where To Get What You Need)
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
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P.S. I often refer people to the Atkins site for the Acceptable Foods List. The phase one list is low carb friendly and is exactly what I used to get started eating low carb.
You can also check out their site to learn more about the โHidden Sugar Effectโ โ foods that you think are healthy that actually turn into sugar when digested. You donโt see the sugars, but your body does โ and make sure youโre avoiding foods that you may think are healthy, but arenโt actually as healthy as you think.
On Atkins, you eat the right foods, not less โ which I love! You never have to go hungry on a low carb lifestyle. ๐ They have a new lifestyle book out by that title: โAtkins: Eat Right, Not Lessโ too that I recently reviewed.
Youโll get to read more about MY getting started story at that link too. ๐ *cheers*
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What model Ketone meter do you have? What all came with itโฆ..strips, anything else you need? Also I wanted to tell you my story with Ketologie. I ordered 10 single serving and the big container of the chocolate powder. I tried using it about 3-4 times. For whatever reason I noticed it seemed to oddly make me feel nauseous and to keep burping it, and I normally have NO issues with foods I eat, unless I just donโt like them. Anyway I contacted the company and asked if they had a satisfaction guaranteed policy because Iโd spent 79.00 on the order! By return mail I received an email with a return label to print but no text as to what or how to do it. I printed it, packed up the unused product, took it to the post office and sent it off. I didnโt hear anything from the company for over a week, so a couple of days ago wrote to them again asking for some communication. The next day I received another email saying they would look into the situation, and a matter of just a few hours received an email from them and from paypal saying the refund had been issued. A good virtuous dependable company! I wish I hadnโt had an issue, but happy they stood behind their product!
Hi Becky,
They really are good people. ๐ I hate to hear you had a digestive issue with that product! Iโd be interested if you ever discover which ingredient you have a tolerance issue with. Especially given they use great ingredients! Erythritol maybe?
The glucose/ketone testing kit I use is by Keto Mojo, and it comes with everything in the kit. They were kind enough to set us up with a 15% discount on those. Itโs coded into my affiliate link: https://keto-mojo.com/discount/nji98uhbvgy76tfc?rfsn=1556350.98e0df&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=1556350.98e0df so youโll get the discount automatically when you use that link. I love mine! ๐
Thanks for the ideas! Do you still eat the pecans with cream cheese and strawberries?
I do โ and cottage cheese, pecans & berries too. ๐ One of my favorite easy meals!
Hi, Lynn,
I made the low carb French Toast sticks yesterday and both my husband and I thought they were really yummy. We had enough left over for both of us to have them again this morning and there is still one more serving left.
Thanks, for the recipe. Itโs nice to find something for breakfast that feels like โcomfortโ food and is so tasty, low carb, and gluten free.
I love that recipe too. So glad you both enjoyed it! ๐ I may make them this week actually. I really love them with cinnamon & blueberries. Yum!