Low Carb Diets, Be Prepared!
Often I see people deviate from their low carb plan because they are simply not prepared, yes there is a bit more time involved in eating a more healthy whole food type of diet but it can be managed successfully. This is an issue not just for low carb diets but ANY diet however, low carb diets tend to be a little overwhelming at first due to not having the variety of processed foods that low fat diets have.
Trust me, you will be glad of the lack of processed foods later, in the meantime, here are some suggestions to combat that below:
• Keep your cupboards, fridge and freezer well stocked of low carbohydrate foods, consider growing some of your own commonly used herbs and even low carb fruits and veggies to ensure variety.
• A good idea is to do a big cook up on the weekend and make up meals in advance and then freeze them.
• When cooking your dinner consider cooking up extra, to use for snacks, lunches or another meal.
• Knock the dessert habit! Seriously its a good idea to stop associating something sweet with finishing off a meal, just have a bigger dinner instead!
• Consider planning your meals for the day in advance so your not caught off guard at an inconvenient time.
• Keep pre prepared items for snacks and salads ready to throw together. For my salads for lunch, I used to have a bunch of different ingredients prepared and stored separately, so when lunch came I could just wack what I felt like together. For example, I may have a container for torn lettuce leaves, another of baby leaves like spinach etc, some grated carrot and beetroot (don't use much!), sliced tomatoes and cucumber, marinated grilled capsicum, snow pea sprouts, some cubed fetta or goats cheese, some grated cheddar, boiled eggs, chicken... plus many more you could include. For ideas on snacks check out our snack ideas page here.
• Here's a great thread for more ideas: Time Saving Hints for Low Carb Eating