Low Carb: 6 months later + what I eat

In November I first wrote about wanting to cut down carbs. Not because I needed to lose weight, but because I found out that eating starchy, high carb foods gave me stomachaches. Now, six months later, I’m still going strong. I have been slacking a bit when it comes to sugary things in the past month or so. Easter, birthdays and the fact that I was tired and felt a bit out of sorts for a few weeks didn’t help. When I’m stressed I simply crave sweet stuff so that added to my intake of bad food. However, that was mainly snacks. Meal wise I haven’t strayed once from the path I started. I am still the same weight I was when I wrote my last update, and I still feel great!

Instead of telling you yet again about how I’m feeling, I thought it would be much more interesting to show you what I have been eating the past couple of weeks. Not everything is low carb, but since I work out nearly 5 hours a week that simply wouldn’t be feasible. They are easy to prepare and require little to no skill. I will take you through the meals from breakfast to dinner.

Breakfast

I am not an adventurous breakfast eater. I do have breakfast every single day though. My standard breakfast is some non-fat yoghurt with some kiwi fruit, but I sometimes change it up by using Turkish, Greek or Bulgarian yoghurt and I may add banana (when I get up late) or skip the fruit and just add some walnuts and a bit of honey.

Non-fat yoghurt with kiwi fruit

Lunch

There are several things that I will eat for lunch and I will show you my options below. I occasionally eat sandwiches, but usually only on Saturdays when I had a 2 hour work out.

Fried eggs with ham and cheese

This meal I also have as a late, late breakfast, or as lunch and if I’m exceptionally lazy it also functions as dinner sometimes. The ham can easily be exchanged for bacon if you’d like and I usually add some mayonnaise too.

Carrots & celery with hummus dip

I had this a few times during last week’s vacation and I even took the left overs with me yesterday for lunch. It’s just some raw veggies and hummus. It’s delicious and healthy too. I will post the recipe for the hummus some time later this week or next week.

Salads

I have been eating a ton of salads over the past few months. It’s what I usually take with me to work as lunch. My salads usually consist of at least 3 types of veggie, meat and cheese, but I also mix in nuts, or fish. Whatever seems like a good combination really. I will show you 3 different salads that I have been eating recently.

Cajun chicken with cucumber, lettuce, red bell pepper and cashew nuts

Salad with mixed lettuce, sweet corn, cucumber, red bell pepper, feta cheese and pepperoni

Goat’s cheese, cucumber, apple, raisins and walnutsChorizo, gouda cheese, olives, cucumber and bell pepper

As you can see, I love my cucumber and bell pepper. I also add black or green olives quite a bit, as well as capers, tomatoes, different types of lettuce, carrots, different meats and different cheeses. When I make a salad with fish it’s usually tuna or salmon with pickles, avocado and olives.

Dinner

Dinner is quite possibly my most variable meal in the week. I tend to eat the same thing for lunch for an entire week, as I live by myself and have no one to share the food with. Dinner is a bit easier for me to change up because if I have too much after making something I simply chuck it in the freezer. It is super handy, saves time, but I am limited in what I can do as some foods (like spinach) are not very fond of being reheated. With a new job starting in August though I hope to have more time for cooking and thus even more variation.

Mushroom soup

This simply came from a can. But if you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I also like to make my own soup occasionally. You can find my recipes for pumpkin and veggie soup by clicking here and here.

Farfalle pasta with creme fraiche (cream sauce), leak, ham and mushrooms

Not very low carb, but very delicious. It’s quite possibly my favorite pasta.

Broccoli with fish stick

Broccoli is my favorite veggie hands down. I eat it a ton. In fact, it’s on the menu again for tonight, but this time with a chicken cordon blue.

Chili

The easiest of easy meals! Instead of adding rice, I opted for two types of beans instead. So this has both brown beans and kidney beans in it, as well as some corn, bell pepper, onion and of course ground beef.

Kofta

Now this is a bit of cheat meal as well, but again delicious. I made this using a meal package which includes the rice and spices. All you have to add is some meat and veggies. Simple and yummy, though probably not the best for you. If you don’t know what Kofta is, it’s rice with meat rolls, tomato sauce and zucchini/ courgette.

Steak of tartar with rhubarb

Now it looks like I don’t eat any other veggies, but I do. I also have some other meals waiting for me in the fridge, which include an over dish consisting of bacon, a bunch of left over veggies and cheese. But this is mainly what I’ve been eating in the past 2 – 3 weeks.

Snacks & Drinks

One thing not shown here are my snacks and drinks. Drinks wise I’m insanely boring. I only drink water and tea and change it up with the occasional cup of Starbucks (I go once or twice a month) and I’ll have a glass of wine or have one or two beers when I’m at a party. And that’s pretty much it. I think I had a soda only a hand full of times in the past 6 months.

I eat bananas and apples as in-between-meals’ snacks (or any other fruit really). At night, if I still feel like having something I’ll have a slice of Dutch gingerbread. My only major snack moments are in the weekends. That’s when I allow myself to binge out and empty a bag of chips, M&Ms or whatever tickles my fancy. I also have the occasional craving for fries or pizza and I will give into that as well. I guess I have fast food once a month on average. That isn’t much of a change for me though as I rarely did take out or fastfood to begin with. I occasionally treat myself to a simple meal where I just buy some meat, cheese and olives and snack on that throughout the evening while lounging on my couch watching television.

I hope this gives you a general idea of what I eat throughout a week. Of course this is not all that I eat. I try to keep my diet as varied as possible. I change up my salads every week (this week it will be goat’s cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, olives and walnuts) and dinner changes daily. This has really worked for me. I feel fit, healthy and energetic. It doesn’t even feel like a big change until I tell people that I simply don’t eat as much pasta/ rice/ potatoes/ bread anymore. I now look forward to Saturday afternoon when I allow myself to have 2 slices of bread with peanut butter, rather than just wolfing it down without thinking about it. And what’s even more: no more stomachaches, and when I do, I know that I ate the wrong thing.

What are you doing to feel good?