244. You cannot combine a low-fat and low-carb diet: To do so is dangerous. You need the fat to compensate for the low number of carbs – and to help you feel satiated.
245. Do include fruits and vegetables in your low-carb diet. (Just make sure you know exactly how many carbs is in the ones you choose.)
246. Berries are the most low-carb of all the fruits – use them in green, leafy salads to dress them up and give a hint of sweetness. Combine with your favorite nuts.
247. Arugula holds the record as lowest-carb veggie – so use it in your next leafy green salad (1 gram per cup –
half the carbs of iceberg and romaine lettuce.)
248. Watch those salad dressings – the carbs can really add up!
249. Asparagus, cucumber, celery, green pepper, mushrooms (white), okra, radishes, rapini, and – surprisingly –
turnip all contain around 4 grams per ½ cup. So mix-and-match them to dress up your salads.
250. Cabbage, cauliflower and yellow and red peppers all equal about 6 net carb grams per cup, cooked.
(Broccoli, surprisingly, has more net carbs than turnip at 10g per cup.)
251. Include fiber in your recipes – something low carb dieters often forget to do, when they give up starchy fruits and vegetables. Remember that low carb produce such as berries and leafy greens can contribute lots of fiber to your recipes. Fiber is not digested, so isn’t part of your carb count. And almost all of the non-starchy fruits and veggies do contain the highest amount of fiber.
252. If you are craving something salty and crunchy, make kale chips! Buy a head of kale. Heat your oven to 275°F, wash kale pieces and pat dry. Tear out the thicker part of the stem in an inverted “V” shape.
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Sprinkle with olive oil and coarse sea salt. Bake for about 40-50 minutes. Let chips cool before eating.
253. Use flax and chia seeds to make things like wraps: Not only are they low carb, but they contain great fiber content.
254. Try bacon “sandwiches” for breakfast. Cook bacon until crispy. Let it cool slightly. Dab real mayonnaise on each slice and layer a single strip of cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with pepper and enjoy!
255. Make crisp cheese “pizza” by pressing your favorite grated cheeses into the bottom of a greased pizza pan.
Bake in a hot oven (425°F) for 7-10 minutes. Let cool and carefully remove. (Tap bottom of pan sharply, and loosen with spatula knife.)
256. Try rice noodle nests instead of regular wheat noodles if you are craving a carbohydrate-loaded snack.
Cook according to directions and season with a dash or two of soya or tamari sauce. (Check your soya carb count: Remember there is wheat and therefore some carbohydrates in soya sauce.)
257. Add avocado to your salads – its satiety factor is high and a whole avocado contains only 3 grams carbohydrate. (In fact, 1 cup of blackberries at 6 grams contains twice as many carbs as avocado.)
258. Miss lasagna? No problem. Substitute zucchini for noodles – the net carb count in zucchini is less than 2
grams per ½ cup. (But sprinkle salt on the zucchini first, to absorb moisture and make them less mushy.) 259. Remember that fat is going to do the job that sugar and carbs once did, when it comes to leaving you feeling satisfied at the end of a meal. But do cook with healthy fats, such as olive oil and coconut oil.
260. Add butter to servings of meat, for a richer, higher satiety value. (Just make sure you count your daily fat servings, too.) Many low carb dieters cite this as the best trick to keep you on the straight and narrow.
261. Remember that you can now eat many foods that were probably previously on your “Foods to Avoid” list, if you tried other weight loss methods. Meat, fat and skin are now your friends.
262. If you can stomach them and have strong teeth, here’s another favorite low-carb “treat” to try – pork rinds.
You can get them in a variety of flavors and they will fill you up really quickly due to a higher fat content (29 g for ¼ cup rinds). However, almost half pork rind fat is oleic (the same as olive oil) and stearic (will not raise cholesterol levels). And there are zero carbs.
263. Another pasta substitute: Japanese Shirataki noodles, at 6 grams per ½ cup. They tend to be bland and somewhat gelatinous, with zero nutritious value, so use them as an occasional treat.
264. Be aware that Shirataki noodles can have an off-putting “boiled sock” smell. Open windows, use your fan
– and keep in mind that they will taste better than they look, providing you use lots of tasty sauce.