Wednesday’s Meals & Macros: 19 Net Carbs

Yesterday was a weird day. I have bronchitis this week (YUCK!) and I woke up at 1am miserable – and couldn’t go back to sleep. So aside from a 2-hour nap later that morning, I was up from 1am until about 10pm last night.

It was WAY too long of a day. 😛

Sipping hot chicken broth is great when you’re sick, by the way. I usually use a can of Campbell’s chicken broth (the kind you cook with) and boil it with equal water as directed – then sip it hot out of a mug. It’s great for the low carb flu too, as it replaces sodium and electrolytes lost.

It’s just plain good ANYtime you’re feeling icky!

I should have made some broth yesterday. I’ll definitely have some today – for sure.

Of course, I have hardly any appetite being sick, but I’m forcing myself to eat as healthy as I can for two reasons: 1) to get well faster, obviously. And 2) because I need food on my stomach to get the meds down. 😛 Fortunately I didn’t have to do ANY cooking, because I certainly don’t feel like goofing off in the kitchen right now!

I started my morning off with a nice hot coffee, and 1/2 cup of pecan halves. Pecans are great because they are a single real food, and VERY low carb / high fat (LCHF). Because they are so high in healthy fats, they are actually quite filling (more so than you’d think!). I usually have 1/4 or 1/3 cup, but at a full half cup so I could take meds.

Later in the morning, sometime after sun-up I guess, I had “a real breakfast” – which is typical for me. I don’t really like to eat heavy first thing in the morning. I heated up leftover grilled chicken & roasted broccoli.

This was leftover from take-out the night before, where I ordered enough for dinner to have plenty the next day. Smart, right? 🙂

For lunch I had the last piece of leftover chicken, with 1/4 cup of Daisy Brand cottage cheese and a few more pecans. I mention the brand because that’s important – whether it’s sour cream or cottage cheese, you’re better off with Daisy Brand.

Just look at the ingredients compared to any other brand on the shelf! Daisy brand has WAY fewer ingredients, which is a plus!

For dinner, Ricky came over and made bacon & eggs. Yum. 🙂

Grilled Chicken is very low fat, high protein by the way. You really want to limit your protein to 20-25% of your daily calories. I got it because it made for easy low carb take-out, and easy leftovers. But I often order the Delmonico Steak from there instead. If you’re cooking at home, chicken thighs (with skin on) are much better – and taste tons better too, baked in the skin and in their own juices. I rub mine with a tad of olive oil and top with a pat of butter and just bake until done. Easy!

When I cook, that is. lol.

Here’s how my day came out, when you include my coffee & creamer:

Perfect! That’s what you want to shoot for: under 20 net carbs, around 70-75% fat, 20-25% protein, and 5% carbs. Hmm. there was butter on the broccoli too that didn’t get counted. Oops! All in all a good food day, super easy foods, and great macros.

Edit – I just remembered, I had a slice of plain ham and a slice of swiss cheese somewhere in between lunch and dinner.

You’ll notice I keep my foods super simple, with as few ingredients on my plate as possible. This is ideal. The less combinations of food, the less ingredients, the easier it is to digest your meal. You’ll feel less sluggish after eating because your body doesn’t have to work so hard to digest simple foods. My ideal number is 3 – I shoot for no more than three ingredients on any plate. That’s the goal anyway!

I ordered more Low Carb Bread and Low Carb Bagels from Netrition, and those should be here today. I’m SO glad. Something bland (and something quick & easy) sounds SO good right now.

And a toasted bagel will go great with that mug of chicken broth. 🙂

What about you – what did you have yesterday or today?

Best,
Lynn Terry, aka @LowCarbTraveler