The best part of going low-carb is all the great food you get to eat – while losing weight.
Crispy bacon for breakfast. Juicy steak. Creamy rich desserts. Butter!
The list goes on and on…
Look at all these fantastically rich and scrumptious foods you can enjoy freely on your low-carb diet – and still lose weight!
1. Bacon
Bacon is the best food ever. It is like carnivore’s candy! There are so many ways to cook it.
Have it pan-fried, grilled, oven-roasted, wrapped around other meats, added to salads or laced together in a bacon weave.
100 low-carb bacon recipes round-up
2. Steak
Nothing can beat a juicy, succulent rib-eye steak – with a buttery sauce and maybe a bit of mustard. Making restaurant-quality steak at home is easy – just a few tips to remember.
How to cook the perfect steak at home
3. Sweeteners
Sugar is off-limits on a low-carb diet, but we can have sweeteners instead. So we can enjoy sweet treats and desserts without a carb overload!
Best low-carb sugar substitutes
4. Almond flour and coconut flour
Do you love bread and cakes? You can still have them on a low-carb diet. Just use almond flour or coconut flour instead of standard flour.
Complete guide to low-carb baking
5. Sugar-free chocolate
Chocolate is another treat you don’t have to give up on a low-carb diet. Chocolate is not high in carbs – it just gets laden with added sugar.
So buy sugar-free chocolate (sweetened with Stevia or erythritol) or make your own from scratch.
Chocolate on a low-carb diet – oh yes, you can!
6. Cream cheese and mascarpone
Cream cheese works wonderfully in low-carb desserts. Simply add a bit of sweetener, plus cocoa powder or another flavouring for an instant dessert. Mascarpone is a slightly posher version of cream cheese that’s higher in fat and lower in carbs.
7. Butter
Butter is the most glorious ingredient in low-carb cooking. It can turn any boring and lifeless dish into something rich and scrumptious.
Butter makes everything better. Literally.
20 health benefits of real butter
8. Cheese
So many ways to enjoy cheese! As a snack, instead of dessert, grated and sprinkled on meals, roasted as cheese chips and added to all sorts of low-carb recipes.
Some cheeses can be pan-fried (halloumi) and baked (brie, camembert) for a main course.
Low-carb cheese recipes round-up
9. Eggs
Eggs are a staple of low-carb breakfasts. They are low in carbs, high in protein and fat, and packed with vitamins and nutrients.
Jazz them up with other ingredients like cheese, meats and veggies.
10 Ways to Jazz Up Scrambled Eggs
10. Macadamia nuts
Most nuts are reasonably low in carbs and high in fat, but macadamia are the best. Have them plain, or roast with a bit of salt for a perfect snack, or add to low-carb baked goodies and desserts.
Macadamia are not cheap, but you can save a bit if you buy in bulk.
11. Avocado
Avocado is full of healthy fats and fibre, and is very satiating. Enjoy it on its own, add to salads, or mash it up for a guacamole. You can even make a sweet mousse out of it!
Low-carb avocado recipes round-up
12. Cauliflower
Cauliflower helps to fill the void left by potatoes and rice. Cauliflower mash and cauliflower rice are classical low-car side dishes. Plus hundreds of other cauliflower recipes you can try.
Cauliflower – Low-carb alternative to potatoes
13. Zucchinis
Another fantastic low-carb vegetable is zucchinis (courgettes). You have probably already heard of “zoodles” – zucchini noodles. There is a lot more you can do with this humble but mighty vegetable!
14. Low-carb bars
Natural whole foods are always better than pre-packaged foods, but sometimes there is simply no time to cook. Some companies jumped on the bandwagon with sugar-free, low-carb treats.
Try Atkins Advantage
15. Berries
Fruit is high in sugar, but who cares when we can have berries instead. The options with lowest amount of carbs are blackberries, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.
Low-carb berry recipes round-up
16. Lemons and limes
Another way to curb fruit cravings is to use lemon or lime juice as flavouring.
Add several drops to your drinking water, make sugar-free jello or create a lemon-flavoured dessert.
17. Bulletproof coffee
Give yourself an instant energy boost with Bulletproof coffee.
Or just simply make your normal coffee fatty and satisfying by adding butter, heavy cream or coconut oil to taste.
How to make Bulletproof coffee
18. Fatty chicken and duck
On low-fat diets, they force you to discard skin from roast chicken or duck. Insanity!
Low-carb diet lets you indulge in glorious fatty poultry like duck breasts or chicken legs with crispy skin still on.
Pan-fried duck breast with vegetables
19. Pork rinds
Pork rinds (pork scratchings in the UK) are wonderfully crispy and salty. Extremely moreish and a perfect low-carb snack!
20. Biltong
Biltong is basically like potato chips made out of meat. Fantastic! Not to be confused with jerky, which is similar but with a high-sugar marinade.