Who says you can’t eat out on a Low Carb Budget?
😉
I took the family out to lunch today, and we went to O’Charleys.
It’s 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 – 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, I’m including plenty of “good carbs” in my diet by eating romaine salads, broccoli, etc. And being on a “diet” doesn’t 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. Wouldn’t you have been able to add maybe 4-5 croutons, instead of like 20-30 that normally come on the salad? It just seems so….not yummy (for lack of a better term)….. to have absolutely no croutons on a Caesar salad (or any salad for that matter).
That Prime Rib sure looks good…..
I get so hungry coming to this site….lol…..maybe I should just stick to good ole’ ClickNewz π
Croutons are a small sacrifice for having a waist again π lol. I actually don’t miss them at all. It’s funny how fast your tastebuds change!
I did salt the cucumber & tomato slices and that added a nice flavor to the salad…
How many net carbs would just 4-6 croutons have? It’s got to be fairly reasonable compared to having the typical amount of like 20 croutons. Isn’t 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 “Shrunk” over the years and I’m satisfied with smaller portions and don’t have the horrible feeling of being stuffed.
I’ve 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 it’s a complex carb instead of simple carb….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 haven’t 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 now… I don’t miss them or even crave them. I’m rather enjoying my meat & veggies. π
The last thing you want to feel is deprived – on any diet. That leads to disaster. Especially if you’re 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 wasn’t rewarding myself at all…
Now I can still indulge, and I’m still passionate about food. I am loving my food choices too – 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. π
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!
“just find”
meant “just fine”
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! I’m 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 cream…0carbs!
Eating a low carb diet is, in my opinion, the very best way to lose weight. You don’t feel deprived like on a low calorie diet! best of luck to you!