Low Carb Breakfast Ideas for People Who Don't Like (or are Tired of) Eggs

Here’s something I see often on Facebook:

“I don’t like eggs.” (Or, “I’m tired of eggs.”)

What can I have for breakfast on low carb?

My knee jerk answer (which I say to myself, but do not write until I calm down a little): Eat something else.

Anything else.

Anything else at all.

Literally any other low carb food.

I’m not sure why breakfast is such an obstacle when there is one food people don’t like. Have you ever heard anyone say, “I don’t like salmon. What can I have for dinner?” Or, “I’m tired of bologna sandwiches. What can I have for lunch?”

There are, like, a zillion other possibilities there. And the same goes for breakfast. 

You see why I’m a bit dumbfounded, right? 

Low Carb Cooking Class! -- Roasted Chicken & Veg

Just when you thought my blog was becoming nothing but rants about ketogenic diets…

It’s time for another installment of Low Carb Cooking Class!

We’ve covered lots of ground so far in this series on very simple and easy cooking for low carbers like myself, who want to eat delicious, homemade low carb foods, but who are not about to spend a fortune on almond or coconut flour, erythritol, coconut aminos, and all sorts of other esoteric ingredients that are absolutely not required in order to put a nutritious and yummy low carb meal together. Here’s the territory we’ve visited so far: 

• Introduction to this series and why I'm writing it

• Stocking your kitchen with low carb staples in order to make all of this a breeze

• How to season food to give things different flavors even when you use the same main proteins and vegetables (i.e., make the same food taste totally different so you don't get bored)

• Tips for cooking in bulk and in advance

• Using salt, heat, and acids to up your cooking game

• Roasting meat and vegetables together in one baking dish -- possibly the easiest way to get real food on the table that doesn’t involve opening a can of tuna or calling for takeout.

To be honest, I feel kind of silly writing blog posts that boil down to, “brown ground meat in a skillet with some onions and zucchini, and add some salt.” I mean, really? There are people who don’t know how to cook low carb like this? But maybe there are. And that’s what this series is all about—low carb cooking that is simple, easy, and above all, practical—the kind of cooking you’ll do all throughout the week, on busy nights when your kids have six different activities going on, or you get home from work and you’re ravenous, and you “don’t know what to make” for dinner.

I have a nice collection of low carb, ketogenic, and Paleo cookbooks, and I love flipping through them for the food porn (and for ideas…food ideas, not porn ideas, haha), but to be honest, I rarely make any of the dishes in them. I have no kids and no boyfriend, so in preparing food for myself, sometimes dinner is as boring simple as a can of salmon and a raw green pepper. I think we somehow got this idea that every meal has to be the stuff of legends and worthy of being posted on Instagram. (I do not post pictures to Instagram, mostly because I’m a terrible photographer, but also because no one wants to see pictures of a can of salmon and a green pepper.)

So, in the interest of keeping things simple yet delicious, today we’re going to cover something that should be a staple of basic cooking for just about everybody, whether they eat low carb or not. It’s time for roasted chicken!

Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) -- Herbs & Spices (And Ground Meat "With Stuff")

Class is back in session!

In the previous post, we explored three things that professional chefs use prodigiously, but which are woefully underutilized in the home kitchen: salt, heat, and acid. I alluded to a fourth thing, but said we would explore it in a separate post. Well, this is that post. In case you missed the previous posts, we’ve covered why I’m writing this series, how to stock your freezer, fridge, and pantry with low carb staples to make cooking a breeze, and tips for using some of those staples for cooking in advance or in bulk. Like I covered in the intro post, my goal is to show newbies out there (and old hands who need a reminder) just how easy it is to stay on a low carb plan. No detailed meal plans needed, and no shopping lists that rival blueprints for the International Space Station. When you keep certain items on hand, and you know what to do with them, you don’t need to plan what you’re having for lunch three weeks from now.

Today’s lesson: herbs & spices -- and a tasty one-pan meal that couldn't be easier.

Review: IONUTRITION Meal Delivery Service

Even though I joke about how nobody reads my blog, and how I have even fewer readers than Robb Wolf’s podcast has listeners (“Six listeners can’t be wrong!”), I think the time has come for me to acknowledge that there are, in fact, a few of you out there who actually read what I write. (Woohoo!) Even though my following is teeny tiny and itty bitty, apparently it is large enough that I now receive free stuff from companies who would like me to review their products. (And authors who would like me to help publicize their books.)

I hope by now you trust me to give you my honest assessment of things. Also, please note I have no affiliate relationships whatsoever with these companies or individuals. I make exactly zero profit if you happen to buy any of their wares. (If that should ever not be the case, I will say so.) The only things I make a couple cents off of are if you happen to buy stuff from places where I do have affiliate links, such as Amazon, Netrition, or Vital Choice. (And, of course, my Alzheimer’s book.)

Ooookay!

Now that all that’s out of the way, I would like to introduce you to IONUTRITION. IONUTRITION (which I’ll just call “ION” from here on out) is a meal prep & delivery service specializing in gluten-free, dairy-free, mostly organic real food. They have low-ish carb options, a Paleo plan, and more.

Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) - Kitchen Prep

Class is in session!

Welcome to the second installment of Low Carb Cooking Class, a.k.a. LC³.

As I explained in the intro post, we’re starting things off with what is probably the most important lesson: how to stock your kitchen so that you can have delicious low carb meals ready quickly and with no need for advance planning. I realize that, as a single and childless individual, my notions of how simple it is to prepare food is approximately seventeen million lightyears away from what moms and/or dads of large families experience. That being said, I still have never understood some people’s certainty that they are incapable of sticking to a certain type of diet—be it Paleo, low-carb, keto, or anything else—without a “meal plan.” Even the phrase “meal plan” makes me cringe. It’s as bad as nails on a chalkboard for me.

I refuse to do meal plans for clients. I’m sorry, but you are a grown adult and I am not going to tell you what to have for lunch three Tuesdays from now. What I will do, and love to do, is show people how easy it is to stay low carb without a meal plan. (As they say, instead of cooking a fish for someone, I prefer to teach them to fish.) When you have a basic understanding of what to cook and how to cook it, you don’t need an instruction manual. (I did say this isn’t rocket science, yes?)

BUT: The thing is, even if you know what to cook and how to cook it, you can’t cook it if you don’t have it. So that’s what today’s post is about: what to keep on hand in your kitchen so that, when it’s mealtime and the house (or your life in general) is in chaos, the one thing you won’t have to stress over is what to make for dinner. (Or breakfast or lunch.)

Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) - Intro

Whaddup, y’all?

I tweeted this not long ago:

I don't understand ppl who "don't know what to cook." Grnd beef, onion, zucchini, lots of Indian spices, 1pan, done! pic.twitter.com/Z7SFKPM9m4

— Amy Berger (@TuitNutrition) June 14, 2016

If the unexpectedly large response to my tweet is any indication, there are a lot of people out there who want some super simple and quick low carb meals that can be put together in minutes. I have to say, I was surprised by the response. I guess I’ve been at this long enough that it’s never a struggle for me to prepare something to eat, and I don’t rack my brain trying to figure out how the odd mish-mash of things in my fridge and pantry can be turned into a meal that someone—me, usually, but on occasion, other people, too—would consider palatable and actually want to eat.

I take it for granted that everyone thinks cooking is as easy as I do. I’m no Michelin-starred chef, but I’ve been feeding myself for over three decades now, and I’m still here. (I’ll let you decide whether or not this is a good thing.) I don’t create dazzling, four-course gourmet meals every night (or ever, pretty much), but I can usually whip up a tasty low carb meal by grabbing a bit of this, a little of that, and a bunch of that other thing over there.

And that’s really the issue, folks: whether you’re cooking for one or cooking for a crowd, not every meal you prepare has to be the stuff of legends. You and I are not Iron Chefs, and we are not aiming to “beat Bobby Flay.” (Apologies to my overseas readers if you’re not familiar with the Food Network or the Cooking Channel in the U.S.) We do not have to jazz everything up with some fancy-schmancy roasted jalapeño & garlic aioli, or create a sweet & sour gastrique to impress the people gathered around the table. With a couple of good pots & pans, a baking sheet, and a well-stocked pantry, fridge, and freezer, low carb cooking is a breeze. Most cooking is a breeze. Really, it’s much simpler than you might think it is.

With this in mind, I am starting this “Low Carb Cooking Class” series, or, as I like to think of it: LC³.

Book Review: Sweet & Savory Fat Bombs

    

Like I said in the title of my review of this book on Amazon, Martina Slajerova has outdone herself! Her first book, The KetoDiet Cookbook (which I reviewed on the blog a while back) is a great addition to any low-carb kitchen, but with Sweet and Savory Fat Bombs, she’s knocked it out of the park. I’m not kidding, kids. This one’s a keeper!

(Before I go on, in the interest of full disclosure: I received a courtesy copy of this book. Take that for what you will.)

Whether you prefer sweet or salty, chocolatey or fruity, this book delivers. Even if you have a nut allergy or dairy sensitivity, there are plenty of delicious fat bombs here for you to enjoy. It goes way beyond the usual fat bomb recipes: peanut butter, chocolate, coconut. (Not that there’s anything wrong with those!) There’s orange creamsicle, dulce de leche, green tea & lemon, gingerbread, pistachio, strawberry basil. A huge variety of out-of-the-ordinary flavors and textures to keep you going back to this book again and again.

Book Review: The KetoDiet Cookbook

Fact: I’m a pretty boring cook. I generally keep things really simple in the kitchen. Lots of ground beef, baked sausages, steamed or roasted vegetables, meat & vegetable quiches, and lots & lots of canned seafood. This works for me. I’m single and I live alone. No picky kids to feed, no spouse or significant other who turns his nose up at leftovers. I could eat the same things three days in a row and be perfectly content.

It’s pretty funny, then, that I have a sizeable cookbook collection. What can I say? Just because I tend to stick to a relatively small culinary repertoire doesn’t mean I don’t like reading new recipes and, even more, looking at drool-worthy pictures of delicious food. (Yes, I’m a “food-porn” junkie, whether it’s LCHF or not.) I don’t often follow recipes step-by-step. If I’m making something for the first time, then yes, I stick to the recipe as written. But once I’ve made something a time or two, I tend to alter things a bit and make it my own. This is one of the best things about cookbooks, for me: inspiration. Above anything, cookbooks give me ideas for new things to try. New flavor combinations, new cooking techniques, ways to cook vegetables I see at the farmers’ market and have no idea what to do with. (Celery root and sunchokes, anyone?)

BUT: Even though I don’t use cookbooks as my roadmap in the kitchen every day, I know lots of you out there are always on the lookout for trustworthy low-carb, keto, and/or Paleo/Primal recipes. And with the exploding popularity of these dietary strategies, there is a corresponding explosion of cookbooks popping up online and in brick-and-mortar stores. I reviewed Jimmy Moore and Maria Emmerich’s The Ketogenic Cookbook a few months ago, and today, I’d like to share another keto winner with you. It’s The KetoDiet Cookbook, by Martina Slajerova, who is the brilliant woman behind the KetoDiet App, and she also has a great blog with tons of amazing recipes and down-to-earth info about keto diets in general.

I get emails from people interested in LCHF and ketogenic meal plans. This isn’t something I’m keen on creating, but since I know there’s such a high demand out there for good recipes for people who don’t want to just brown some ground beef in a skillet, add some hot sauce, roast some cauliflower, and call it good, I’m happy to have books like this to recommend.

Book Review: The Ketogenic Cookbook

As promised last time, here it is, a review of the recently released, hot-off-the-press, new cookbook by the Livin’ la Vida Low Carb man, himself, Jimmy Moore, and wildly successful low-carb & keto diet coach, Maria Emmerich.

If you’ve become bored with your same-old, go-to, low-carb and ketogenic meal repertoire, and are looking to rekindle your passion for this way of eating, this book is for you. If you can’t stomach the thought of another plate of eggs & bacon for breakfast (that is, if you’re a breakfast eater at all), or if you think you’ll scream if you have to choke down another bunless cheeseburger, consider this book to be the inspiration you’ve been waiting for. (Although, if you ask me, bacon, eggs, and bunless burgers never get old!)

The book is called The Ketogenic Cookbook: Nutritious Low-Carb, High-Fat Paleo Meals to Heal Your Body.

Taste Test: Primal Mayo

I have never made any secret of the fact that I’m not perfect when it comes to diet. In fact, with regard to eating not-so-nutritious things, I have a fair bit of experience. Most of the time, though, I do pretty well. If not by my own standards, then at least compared to the average soda-swilling, bagel-munching guy or gal on the street. I’ve been at this low-carb real food “thing” long enough that I’ve never found myself at a restaurant or dinner at a friend’s home and felt like there was nothing I could eat. I’ve learned to make my own no-sugar or lower carb versions of certain foods, and learned to make appropriate substitutions when necessary.

One thing I haven’t been able to replicate in a wholesome version is mayonnaise. Being pretty much just oil, eggs, vinegar, and maybe some salt and lemon juice, mayo is about as low carb as it gets. The problem with mayo isn’t the carb content; it’s the type of oil typically used in commercial brands. I’m not ashamed to say I’m a Hellmann’s gal. (That’s Best Foods to those of you west of the Rockies.) When Ina Garten, one of my favorite Food Network “celebuchefs” uses mayonnaise, she always says “Use a good mayonnaise,” and even though the network isn’t allowed to show the brand label on the front of the jar, you can clearly tell it’s Hellmann’s.

I have tried other brands. I’ve tried Duke’s, Kraft, and the store brands from Safeway, Giant, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods. I’ve tried mayo made with canola oil (gasp!). None of them even came close. A couple of those were okay; others were downright dreadful. I never bothered trying the olive oil mayonnaises. If you look at the labels, you’ll see that while they do contain a little olive oil, so the manufacturer can write OLIVE OIL in big letters on the front of the jar, they are still predominantly soybean oil. (Thanks to our generous tax subsidies, soy is super cheap for food manufacturers to use in their products.)

I’ve even tried making it from scratch a time or two. Let’s just say the results made me want to reach for the Hellmann’s even more. And frankly, considering my lack of dietary sainthood—and lack of desire to attain it—while I generally advise against consumption of large amounts of soy oil, if mayonnaise and the occasional blue cheese salad dressing are pretty much my only sources of it, I’m comfortable with that. (Let me pause while the gasps of horror subside and the whooshing sound in the wake of the purists getting up to leave quiets down.)

Low-Carb Lemon Ginger Cheesecake Truffles

Watching your sugar intake can be a bummer sometimes. I mean, let’s face it; there are plenty of reasons most of us like sweet treats, and number one topping that list is that THEY ARE YUMMY. So what’s a low carb or Primal eater to do when that late night or not-so-late night sweet snack attack hits? You could dive head-first into the Oreos, but since none of you have Oreos in your house (right?), you could try today’s recipe instead. I have nothing against Paleo and Primal desserts that employ things like almond and coconut flour jazzed up with dates, bananas, maple syrup, honey, and the like (well, I do, but not much, and it’s a topic for a different day anyway), but there are low carbers among us who really need to be more careful about the amount of sugar we consume, whether it comes from regular ol’ white table sugar or organic, unsulfured blackstrap molasses delivered on the wings of unicorns. But just because we can’t down “Paleo brownies” or “Paleo banana bread” any more often than we used to inhale the conventional stuff doesn’t mean we’re left out in the cold when it comes to desserts.

Label Madness Monday

Hey Everyone! In case you were wondering if I’d ever write about something other than digestion, I offer today’s post, the first installment in a new series about the complete wackiness of food labels, ingredients, and food marketing strategies. We’re nowhere near finished with digestion, and I’ll have more for you on that later this week. For now, though, I thought I’d give you a little break from the sciencey-stuff and start your week with something that will make you laugh, smile, and, ultimately, I think, say out loud to no one in particular, “WHAT THE??!!” (No “F,” since, as I have to constantly remind myself, this is a family show.)

Today I’ll highlight a few of the funnier examples I’ve seen lately, just to give you an idea of what we’ll be doing here on Mondays. (I thought about calling this “Freaky Label Fridays” or “Wacky Label Wednesdays,” but I already have dorky alliterative names for series I run on those days. [See here for the latest one from Wednesday 'Round the Web and here for the most recent Food for Thought Friday.])

Okay, here goes. First up:

Wednesday 'Round the Web

Hey Everyone!

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means: our weekly dose of link love to get us over the hump. Today we’ve got some great recipes for using more of summer’s produce bounty, a surprising take on fiber (and why more is not always better), and a couple of things to make us laugh. After all, laughter is a nutrient! I guarantee you’ll be healthier and happier if you get in a good guffaw now and then. Good ol’ vitamin L— it’s almost impossible to overdose on, no matter how much of it you get!

Stupid-Easy Meatloaf

It’s recipe time again, kids. Today’s feature: Stupid-Easy Meatloaf. See the dash between stupid and easy? That means this recipe isn’t stupid and easy; it’s stupid-easy, as in, so easy you’d be stupid not to make it. Like most of my “recipes,” this is more a loose guide than a by-the-numbers scientific formula. And also like most of my recipes, it requires no fancy or exotic equipment—not even a meatloaf pan! Yes, I said it – we’re making a meatloaf without a loaf pan. Wanna know how? Read on.