Favorite EASY low carb meals? DH needs to lose weight

[ktgrok]

So, most of you know I had bariatric surgery about a year and a half a go. So I'm doing really well. Lab work is excellent, I am no longer obese, etc. (although with pregnancy it's easy to eat a bit more/worse than I should, so I need to be careful too...trying to avoid excess pregnancy weight and another 10 pound plus baby if I can). 

 

But right now, DH is the issue. He's gained a lot of weight in the last year, much of it stress related. I can't get rid of the stress, but I can help with the food. He tends to gorge and fast, which he got away with when younger. Right now though, he needs to eat better. His weight is in his middle, he has sweats, blood sugar was pre-diabetic last checked at the doctors, etc. He needs to eat low carb. (he won't do low fat anyway, so let's please not discuss the merits of low carb versus low fat). 

 

What are your favorite easy to make low carb meals that are guy friendly? I'm not much for cooking when I'm pregnant (happens every single time.....then a day after the baby is born I'm happily in the kitchen again). Looking for dinners mainly, but some lunches to pack as well. In the past that was leftovers or salad with meat and such on top, so that I have a handle on. I'm just not inspired for dinners right now. 

 

I do have an instant pot :)

 

Thanks!

[kiana]

Roasted or oven-baked low-carb vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, or similar) and a chunk of meat. Burgers are great, a lot of times I'd briefly drop the vegetables into the pan I cooked the burger in so they'd get nice and burgery. Salsa on the burger makes it nicer too. Pork chops work fine for this too. If your budget's a bit higher steak would be great too. 

 

Chicken (dark meat w/skin) is also great because it reheats well, if you batch-cook the chicken then you can take it from the fridge and just toss it into the pan you're roasting the vegetables in -- by the time the vegetables are done the chicken is hot, the skin is re-crisped, and if you put the chicken on top of the veg they've soaked up some of the chicken fat which makes them delicious. Chicken dark meat is also pretty cheap. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

crack slaw ....my husband LOVES it

 

Bag of shredded cole slaw, browned ground meat of choice (I use turkey because my DH does not like beef), soy sauce and toasted sesame oil to taste.  You just saute everything in butter or bacon fat or whatever you want.  At the end drizzle on the toasted sesame oil.  It reminds me of egg rolls. 

 

Any kind of slow/low roast is good.  Either in the crock pot or Instant pot or oven. Whatever you have.  It's mostly hands off and leftovers are good. 

 

Wraps using low carb tortillas.  Super easy.  You can use leftover chicken or whatever or buy deli meat. 

I make a tasty coating for oven fried chicken using crushed up and seasoned pork rinds. 

 

 

[marbel]

We try to eat pretty low carb.  We eat meat, poultry or fish for dinner pretty much always, along with vegetables and almost always, salad.

 

For lunch my husband almost always takes some lunch meat, cheese, and a couple of pieces of flatbread and has a sort of sandwich with that.  A big salad and some yogurt (plain, full-fat) with a few berries on top. Sometimes I'll make tuna or chicken salad.  Leftover pot roast, or chicken curry is good too.  ETA: Whoops, saw that you did not need lunch ideas.

 

Eggs for breakfast every day.  

 

I'm trying Sparkly's crack slaw for dinner soon!  

 

I think of low-carb as being pretty guy-friendly but I guess that is because my husband doesn't like pasta, potatoes or rice all that much.  That cuts out a lot of carbs (but also a lot of quick/cheap meal ideas). 

Edited October 25, 2016 by marbel

[ErinE]

crack slaw ....my husband LOVES it

 

Bag of shredded cole slaw, browned ground meat of choice (I use turkey because my DH does not like beef), soy sauce and toasted sesame oil to taste.  You just saute everything in butter or bacon fat or whatever you want.  At the end drizzle on the toasted sesame oil.  It reminds me of egg rolls. 

 

Any kind of slow/low roast is good.  Either in the crock pot or Instant pot or oven. Whatever you have.  It's mostly hands off and leftovers are good. 

 

Wraps using low carb tortillas.  Super easy.  You can use leftover chicken or whatever or buy deli meat. 

 

I make a tasty coating for oven fried chicken using crushed up and seasoned pork rinds. 

 

This sounds good!

[Callie]

Linda's Low Carb site Big Mac in a Bowl, Whopper in a Bowl. 

 

Bag of chicken tenders, 2 blocks cream cheese, s&p, cayenne cook until meat shreds.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Linda's Low Carb site Big Mac in a Bowl, Whopper in a Bowl. 

 

Bag of chicken tenders, 2 blocks cream cheese, s&p, cayenne cook until meat shreds.

 

Lots of great ideas on that site.

 

I love the cabbage roll pie and bacon cheeseburger pie. 

[bolt.]

Supper: simply cooked, seasoned meat and 3 hot veggies (from fresh or frozen).

 

Lunch: salad if it's a warm day, veggie-rich stir fry if it's cold. Pre-cooked meat strips or cubes with either option.

[ktgrok]

great ideas! I also think I need to get the teenager to pull the grill out of the garage and put it back on the porch. (we had it in the garage because of the hurricane). I prefer grilling to cooking, lol and DH LOVES grilled chicken thighs. I could make a whole mess of those easily and cheaply. And the weather is gorgeous for sitting outside right now. 

[fraidycat]

My favorite low carb meals are a slab of some sort of meat and veggies of some sort - either fresh, with ranch to dip, salad or roasted - or a combination of two or three.

 

My other one is zuchinni "noodles" with meat sauce.

 

Or stir fry.

 

I have to eat grain-free for digestive issues, so by default my meals are pretty low carb. I'll add rice or gluten-free spaghetti on the side for the kids sometimes.

[Mama Geek]

Franks red hot mixed with ranch dressing is pretty good with grilled, baked or fried chicken.

[zoobie]

Crack slaw

Cabbage bowls (Kalyn's Kitchen has several)

Switch out pasta and rice for roasted cauliflower, spaghetti squash (if he likes it)

Lettuce wraps or salads for tacos, fajitas

PF Chang-style lettuce wraps

Lettuce wraps or bunless burgers of all types

Almond meal in meatballs and meatloaf in place of breadcrumbs

 

BBQ pork or chicken thighs made in slow cooker/IP with rub and a splash of vinegar. Serve over slaw.

 

Sautéed chicken breast, topped with different seasonings and cheeses

 

Eggs eggs eggs. Boiled, scrambled, frittatas.

 

Macadamia nuts (Costco has them cheapest. Bag in 1 oz servings.)

 

Cheese sticks, babybel cheese wheels

 

Sautéed kale and greens

 

Lots of water and extra magnesium, potassium, D3

[J-rap]

I make a cabbage roll casserole in my slow cooker that everyone likes and is super easy.

 

Here is a recipe for it that looks similar to mine:

 

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cabbage-roll-casserole/afe7d74e-7e65-4a98-8980-5c260b7ea1eb

 

I use regular rice, not instant rice, but you could definitely leave out the rice altogether.  

 

 

I also found a fried rice recipe that uses chopped cauliflower instead of rice, which is really yummy.  I can't seem to find it now but I see many variations of it online.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Sausage and peppers

 

Baked salmon and veggies (my recipe calls for cooking them in parchment, but I just put the fillets on top of the veggies in a Pyrex, season, put the glass lid on, and bake)

 

Taco bowls (brown ground beef/turkey/chicken slices with taco seasoning and add healthy toppings like peppers and onions like for fajitas, lots of tomatoes, onions, avocado, corn, salsa...)

 

Kielbasa and cabbage (cut cabbage down to desired size [smaller cooks faster], saute in a little olive oil/salt/pepper/herbs, put lid on pot to keep steam in and cook until almost cooked through, then add chunks of kielbasa and finish cooking until cabbage is at desired consistency)

 

Can you make a big vat of soup that he picks off of for a few days? 

 

:grouphug:  I can totally identify with not wanting cook. My first pregnancy wasn't too bad once the nausea wore off, but oh man, the second time? We ate takeout for the vast majority of my second pregnancy because I was so nauseated by the smell of food cooking in the house for the whole 9 months. And if I could manage to cook something for DH, by the time it was done, I was disgusted by it and couldn't eat it. You're a great wife for trying to overcome as much as you can in order to help him!

Edited October 25, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[Katy]

My DH loved cauliflower "seafood risotto" when I was doing low carb.  Shrimp, canned crab, canned oysters, shrimp stock (homemade), cauliflower riced in the food processor (though I think you can buy riced frozen cauliflower now in the frozen vegetable section).

 

He also loved steak topped with mushrooms (large package sliced mushrooms with ONE caramelized onion instead of 4-6, cooked in butter, add a dash of dry red wine or even bourbon for flavor) with a side of steamed broccoli.

 

Burrito bowls any sort of meat with cauliflower rice, homemade taco seasoning (cumin is the main thing, powdered chipotle pepper or chili pepper, onion, garlic, and smoked paprika) and melted cheese.

 

Stir fry with riced cauliflower and homemade sugar-free teriyaki (soy sauce, ginger, garlic, onion, and cilantro, add a tiny bit of artificial sweetener right at the end).  Lots of thinly sliced beef and sesame seeds was his favorite version of this.

 

Cauliflower crust pizza with tons of meats and olives was also a hit.

 

Cilantro Lime Chicken was a hit too. At the time I used boneless thighs marinated in soy sauce and bourbon, topped with a mixture of homemade sugar free ranch and salsa with cheese on top of that, baked in an oven at 350 for about 45-60 minutes (depending on if the chicken had been frozen in the marinade or if it had been in the fridge for the past 24 hours.  If he doesn't need ultra low carb though, I'd probably try just mixing commercial dressing first.  There is some sugar in it, but the overall meal will be much higher in calories from protein and fat than from carbs, which should lower his insulin quite a bit.

 

He also liked any sort of grilled meat with a salad and some sort of hot vegetable with bacon (green beans or bacon wrapped asparagus were frequent requests.

 

Omelettes for dinner (stuffed with tons of veggies and cheese with a side of bacon) was a big hit too.

 

Oh, and he LOVED low-carb cheesecake with a nut crust, but I stopped making it because I found I couldn't stay out of it. It seemed like such a good idea until I realized my weight loss had stalled and I was easily eating an extra 1,000 calories a day from several slices of it.

[KrissiK]

I'm doing low-carb right now and I make fajitas a lot. The tortilla is the only thing bad about fajitas... so I just sauté up a bunch of chicken strips and zucchini, onions and colored peppers, add a bunch of minced garlic, cumin and a bit of salt, pepper and chili powder. You can add cheese and guacamole and salsa, too. Hardly miss the tortilla.

Edited October 25, 2016 by KrissiK

[Carol in Cal.]

When DH had a similar circumstance, he went with low carb but prioritized low glycemic index as well.

So, for instance, he likes oatmeal so he will have that for breakfast but with some protein to further slow down the carb uptake, and walks immediately afterwards--oatmeal is medium low glycemic index among starchy breakfast foods so it's fine for him.  He also has a lot more eggs and more breakfast meat than before, but no toast.  If he is going to have fruit, it's strawberries (which are lower GI than other fruit) and never on an empty stomach.

 

For lunch, a huge green salad with protein on it--either fish, meat, or sometimes cooked dry beans.  At home he uses cooked chicken or canned salmon or tuna, occasionally canned white beans.  At work they also have stir fried meats that he can top his salads with--Chinese or fajita meat is good for this.  

 

For dinner, no carbs, just meat and veggies, doubling down on the veggie portion size.  I still make gravy but it's not thickened with flour or cornstarch anymore.  And DH eats it on the meat and the veggies, but no potatoes or rice.  Sometimes I make quiche and that seems to go OK occasionally, what with all the cheese and eggs and meat, despite the (thin) pie crust.

 

We found that Mexican food did not work at all, YMMV, but his blood sugar would skyrocket even with a tiny homemade corn tortilla and homemade refritos and meat and cheese.  I am not sure why that is, but I don't make my famous beans anymore.  In theory since the beans are low glycemic index and there is lots of meat and cheese to slow sugar metabolism down, this meal should be fine, but blood sugar testing demonstrated more than once that it's not, so I don't make it.

 

He doesn't mind skipping dessert if he is full to start with, but there are a few desserts that he loves so I never have them in the house--specifically pumpkin pie, key lime pie, and peanut butter cookies.  It's just too mean to eat those in front of him.  There are a few other dishes that are in this category--homemade macaroni and cheese is just plain too tempting for him to stand so I don't make it when he is around.  I make potatoes that he can take or leave; that means no mashed potatoes just oven fries and roasted potatoes and sauteed ones, all of which he likes but can resist.  

 

He switched to iced tea with sweetener instead of soft drinks; has an occasional diet coke when we are out.  

 

This is a low carb diet that wouldn't work for me at all; I hate warm meat on cold salad, for instance, and I hate oatmeal, too.  We developed it together when he got the bad news, based on what he could stick with.  YMMV.

Edited October 25, 2016 by Carol in Cal.