Three weeks ago I decided to start eating less carbs. Mainly to eat less bread, potatoes, pasta and rice.
I experienced some headaches in the first 2 days. But after that I just felt more energetic and I didn't crave sugary snacks anymore.
As I wrote here before; I was very amazed about the fact that I did not miss the carbs as much as would have thought.
For me the most difficult part of eating low carb is the fact that you have to plan meals more ahead.
Taking a sandwich and some sandwich fillings or spreads to work is so easy to do. And don't forget I'm used to this habit for more than 30 years already. Bread for breakfast and bread for lunch. It's really common in the Netherlands to eat like this.
In the third week I almost panicked about the fact that I was going to be home late because of a traffic jam and didn't have anything planned for lunch next day. Because if you eat low carb it will be mostly salads and soups for lunch (I don't eat low carb bread; it feels a bit like cheating to me). Which means you have to do some preparations the night before.
And because I'm still a foodie I don't want to eat the same things again every week. So after 2 weeks of delicious salads for lunch (see my first Low Carb Foodie post) I called my husband and asked him to get a bag of precut vegetables and 2 sausages to make a quick Dutch vegetable soup with little meatballs in it.
Ready in 15 minutes and enough for 2 lunches!
Last week I tried this thick Red Lentil Tomato Soup after reading the recipe on Simone's Kitchen blog.
Also easy to make, tasty and perfect to make ahead and reheat for lunch.
I think it's funny that my husband, who has absolutely no reason to watch his weight, doesn't miss the carbs either. He just enjoys eating tasty food, whether it's with or without carbs.
We both liked the lowcarb quiche with broccoli and bacon with a green salad on the side. For this dish I was inspired by this recipe from the blog Nutty About Health. I made it in a smaller amount, because it was just for the two of us, in a round baking tray and replaced the heavy cream with creme fraiche.
For breakfast I tend to eat oatmeal with milk, cinnamon and some dried figs.
Or Greek yoghurt with honey and walnuts. I could eat this every morning; so delicious!
And I started experimenting with green smoothies. Which make me feel even more healthy. But it doesn't give me the same satisfied feeling as a salad or soup. But as a quick breakfast it's fine.
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| Green smoothie; 2 bananas, 2 apples, 2 hands of spinach and 2 glasses of water |
I honestly don't feel hungry in between meals. But if I do want to snack something or if I'm having lunch or dinner later than normally I eat a cooked egg, some cheese, nuts or something sweet like dried dates or pure chocolate (minimum 70% cacao).
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| I always have this little snackbox in my bag |
If you tell people you eat less carbs they automatically think you're on a diet. I don't see it like this. I still eat carbs if I want to. But now it's more likely that I eat carbs only one meal a day instead of three. Believe me; I will never give up on a good pasta dish. Nor would I want to miss eating baked potatoes with mayonaise. And I don't even think about stop eating things as home made cupcakes ;-)
And because I do not see it as a diet I really think I will manage to keep eating less carbs. Not gain weight and maybe even slowly loose some weight as a benefit. But most important of all; feeling healthy and more energetic.
Tasty low carb recipes and tips are welcome. Please leave a comment.
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