Who says you canโt eat out on a Low Carb Budget?
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I took the family out to lunch today, and we went to OโCharleys.
Itโs one of my favorites because they have plenty of low carb restaurant choices.
And their steamed broccoli is actually good!
Today I had the 16oz Prime Rib, medium & blackened, with steamed broccoli and a caesar salad.
Sometimes I order my broccoli loaded, but today I salted it lightly and dipped it in the au jus โ yum!
Caesar Dressing is one of the lowest carb salad dressings, generally 1 net carb per 2 tablespoons.
I always remove the croutons of course, and today I snuck some tomatoes and cucumber from the nearby house salad of a picky eater:
After lunch we stopped at Starbucks for dessert. I ordered an Iced Coffee with heavy whipping cream and sugar free French Vanilla syrup.
A fabulous way to cool down on a hot summer day!
This is a carb-free coffee, which you can order hot or cold. For low/no carb coffee you make at home, see: Carb Free Coffee Creamer (which features some of my favorite syrups too).
As you can see, Iโm including plenty of โgood carbsโ in my diet by eating romaine salads, broccoli, etc. And being on a โdietโ doesnโt stop me from eating out, or even ordering out, as much as I please!
There are tons of low carb restaurant choices just about anywhere you go!
I could not eat a Caesar salad without croutons. Wouldnโt you have been able to add maybe 4-5 croutons, instead of like 20-30 that normally come on the salad? It just seems soโฆ.not yummy (for lack of a better term)โฆ.. to have absolutely no croutons on a Caesar salad (or any salad for that matter).
That Prime Rib sure looks goodโฆ..
I get so hungry coming to this siteโฆ.lolโฆ..maybe I should just stick to good oleโ ClickNewz ๐
Croutons are a small sacrifice for having a waist again ๐ lol. I actually donโt miss them at all. Itโs funny how fast your tastebuds change!
I did salt the cucumber & tomato slices and that added a nice flavor to the saladโฆ
How many net carbs would just 4-6 croutons have? Itโs got to be fairly reasonable compared to having the typical amount of like 20 croutons. Isnโt there any point in which you can add small amounts of those items back in?
Sure, of course the overall benefit would be worth it by excluding them completely. For me I think that I would be deprived without just a few.
It might be a texture thing for me. I just love bread, potatoes, etc. However, I really control the amounts of them that I eat. For example, instead of 2 LARGE helpings of mashed potatoes (like I would normally do). I get by just find with a small scoop of them. I find that my stomach has sort of โShrunkโ over the years and Iโm satisfied with smaller portions and donโt have the horrible feeling of being stuffed.
Iโve also grown to really like sweet potatoes as long as they are not made sweet. A baked sweet potato with butter, salt and pepper tastes great and itโs a complex carb instead of simple carbโฆ.so much better for the blood sugar. As far as whether even a complex carb can be worked into a low carb plan is beyond me though.
I havenโt felt deprived at all. Actually I find eating low carb very liberating, as far as diets go.
Croutons are yummy no doubt. But not having had them for ~90 days nowโฆ I donโt miss them or even crave them. Iโm rather enjoying my meat & veggies. ๐
The last thing you want to feel is deprived โ on any diet. That leads to disaster. Especially if youโre a passionate eater (like me lol).
I used to think of indulging as a reward. But I was miserable after, and miserable with the weight I put on. I woke up one day and realized I wasnโt rewarding myself at allโฆ
Now I can still indulge, and Iโm still passionate about food. I am loving my food choices too โ even minus croutons *smile*. The only difference is that I feel fabulous and I am way lighter!
So no, no croutons for me personally. I do sometimes have sunflower seeds on my salad though. ๐
2 tablespoons of croutons has about 5 carbs. Soooooo not worth it! Imagine what those crunchy little jerks are doing to your gut and your blood sugar. No thanks!
โjust findโ
meant โjust fineโ
An iced coffee with heavy whipping cream from Starbucks is not exactly carb free. That much whipping cream does have carbs as there are 10 carbs per cup of hwc. And probably 1/4th cup or more in your Starbucks drink unless you measured it yourself.
Thanks Lynn! These options are great, and easy to implement! Iโm with ya, I can totally do a delicious Cesar salad without the croutons! Just add some extra bacon, haha! Also, my fav way to do an at home low car coffee is to add whipping cream instead of creamโฆ0carbs!
Eating a low carb diet is, in my opinion, the very best way to lose weight. You donโt feel deprived like on a low calorie diet! best of luck to you!