A low-carbohydrate menu

What does a low-carbohydrate menu look like?

You can plan your daily menu by using the following as a guide:

Breakfast

Meat or other protein source (usually eggs) Fat source—This may already be in your protein; for example, bacon and eggs have fat in them.

But if your protein source is “lean,” add some fat in the form of butter, cream (in coffee), or cheese.

Low-carbohydrate vegetable (if desired)—This can be in an omelet or a breakfast quiche.

Lunch

Meat or other protein source Fat source—If your protein is “lean,” add some fat, in the form of butter, salad dressing, cheese, cream, or avocado.

1 to 11⁄2 cups of salad greens or cooked greens 1⁄2 to 1 cup of vegetables

Snack

Low-carbohydrate snack that has protein and/or fat

Dinner

Meat or other protein source Fat source—If your protein is “lean,” add some fat in the form of butter, salad dressing, cheese, cream, or avocado.

1 to 11⁄2 cups of salad greens or cooked greens 1⁄2 to 1 cup of vegetables

A sample day may look like this:

Breakfast

Bacon or sausage & Eggs

Lunch

Grilled chicken on top of salad greens and other vegetables, with bacon, chopped eggs, and salad dressing

Snack

Pepperoni slices and a cheese stick

Dinner

Burger patty or steak Green salad with other acceptable vegetables and salad dressing Green beans with butter

Fats

Include these fats into your cooking or meal planning

• Real Butter
• Olive Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Mayonnaise
• Tabasco/Hot Source
• Aioli
• Bearnasie
• Heavy Cream
• Vineigratte
• Guacamole
• Soy Source
• Cream Cheese

READING A LOW-CARB LABEL

Start by checking the nutrition facts.

• Look at serving size,
  • total carbohydrate,
  • and fiber.

Use total carbohydrate content only.

You may subtract fiber from total carbohydrate to get the “effective or net carb count.”

For example, if there are 7 grams of carbohydrate and 3 grams of fiber, the difference yields 4 grams of effective carbohydrates.

That means the effective carbohydrate count is 4 grams per serving.

No need to worry—at this point—about calories or fat.

Effective carbohydrate count of vegetables should be 5 grams or less.

Effective carbohydrate count of meat or condiments should be 1 gram or less.

Also check the ingredient list.

Avoid foods that have any form of sugar or starch listed in the first 5 ingredients.

Sugar by any other name is still sugar!

All of these are forms of sugar:

• sucrose,
• dextrose,
• fructose,
• maltose,
• lac- tose,
• glucose,
• honey,
• agave syrup,
• high-fructose corn syrup,
• maple syrup,
• brown-rice syrup,
• molasses,
• evaporated cane juice,
• cane juice,
• fruit-juice concentrate,
• and corn sweetener.