How To Make Low Carb Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Ingredients:
- Chicken breasts free-range organic boneless skinless chicken breasts are what I use. If you use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, youll have to adjust the cook time. It is important to use a high quality meat as some chicken breasts are injected with a solution of saltwater to plump it up so it looks better on the shelves. Want more recipes using chicken breasts? Here are 50 more!
- Cauliflower cut into florets
- Spices dried oregano, paprika, onion powder, salt & pepper
- Feta cheese This is optional but great on top of the veggies.
- Lemon juice Also optional but I love to squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on top of my chicken.
INSTRUCTIONS
TIP:If youre unsure how to wash and cut cauliflower into florets, you can find instructions here.
- Cook the chicken
- Make the mashed cauliflower
Level Of Effort: Medium
Like many high-protein, low-carb diets, you may really need to change what you’re eating while you’re on this plan.
Limitations: Low-carb diets cut out a lot of foods.
Cooking and shopping: The book has sample menus with more than 100 recipes, and suggestions on how to order in every kind of restaurant.
Packaged foods or meals: None are required.
In-person meetings: No.
Exercise: Yes. The authors suggest resistance training, such as weight lifting, to help burn stored fat.
What Brunilda Nazario Md Says:
Does It Work?
A high-protein diet can help you lose weight. A number of studies show that diets higher in protein keep you fuller better than other types of diets. Other studies show that restricting carbs, as a result of a high-protein diet, causes more weight loss. But calories still count!
Is It Good for Certain Conditions?
The Protein Power diet could work for people with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or high cholesterol. The Power Protein diet is a low-carb diet with less than 20% of total calories from carbs or less than 100 grams of carbs per day. Limiting carbs may help lower blood sugar, insulin, bad cholesterol, and blood pressure. It also can boost HDL cholesterol.
But getting too much protein can raise your uric acid levels, which can cause gout. Too much protein load also could be a problem in anyone with kidney problems.
You also need to make sure that you’re not getting too much fat from your food if your doctor has given you guidelines on that to help lower your cholesterol, for instance.
Women of childbearing age need folate, which is added to flour, and if you cut out carbs, that will mean you get less folate. Prepregnancy weight loss is best done with a more balanced approach that cuts calories.
The Final Word
It’s a simple dieting approach that essentially eliminates one major food group, and, like any restrictive diet, it is difficult for most people to sustain for a long time.
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Lemon Dill Air Fryer Salmon
Love your seafood? Heres another dish for you full of healthy fats that are great for your high-protein diet.
This salmon is simple yet tasty. The dill and lemon juice freshen up the dish.
And its ready in under 20 minutes. So, its perfect for when you need dinner in 1, 2, 3.
Besides being yummy, salmon is good for you too. Its rich in heart-healthy omega-3s.
And it contains potassium. So, feast on that salmon.
To make this dish, youll be using an air fryer. It offers a healthier alternative to deep-frying.
And it makes your food crispy on the outside yet moist on the inside. If you dont have an air fryer yet, you can get a high-quality one here.
Serve with some air fryer zucchini fries. Yum!
Per Serving:
Sesame Ginger Cashew Chicken
Are you craving Thai takeout? Have one of these low-carb recipes!
This dish is full of flavor and texture. You have tender bites of chicken, crunchy cashews, and broccoli perfect for busy weeknights.
And the sauce has savory, sweet, and umami notes. The ginger and sriracha add some heat.
And whats Thai food be without some rice- cauliflower rice, that is?
For extra convenience, you can simply get pre-packaged cauliflower rice here. You can also just make some of your own.
Making it is pretty easy. Just cut your cauliflower.
Afterward, place your cauliflower pieces in a food processor and process until rice-like. This food processor is a good option.
Per Serving:
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Low Carb Breakfast Casserole
Mediterranean Breakfast Casserole is a low-carb, keto, rustic breakfast that is easy to make and is perfect for sharing with family and friends. It requires only chicken sausage, kale, tomatoes, and feta cheese. It contains only 7 grams of carb, so you dont have to worry about your health, and its too tasty.
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Parmesan Baked Cod Recipe
Want some more Italian eats? Ive got you covered.
Tender, flaky cod is covered in a homemade garlic butter sauce and topped with Parmesan cheese. Dont be surprised if you want seconds!
Besides being delicious, cod is good for you too. It contains B vitamins, which you need for your brain.
And its rich in phosphorus, which you need for healthy bones. As an added bonus, it contains selenium, a powerful antioxidant. So, eat up that cod!
And whats Italian food without noodles- zucchini noodles, that is?
Making zucchini noodles is quite easy. First, cut off the ends of your zucchini.
Then, spiralize it in a spiralizer like this. Finally, saute your zucchini noodles in some olive oil.
Buon appetito!
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High Protein Weight Loss Meal Plans
The following meal plans are designed for people who would like to lose weight and prefer a high protein, low carbohydrate approach. Although this is a low carbohydrate, high protein plan, some small servings of wholegrain carbohydrate foods have been included, as carbohydrates are needed by the body for optimum health and energy production. The plans are designed to provide you with balanced nutrition, including some carbohydrates, high levels of lean protein, and healthy fats. They also include plenty of fruits and vegetables, plus essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, essential fats, and fiber.
Each day provides around 1500 calories, which is the amount required by an average woman looking to lose 1-2 lbs per week, which is a healthy rate of weight loss. A steady rate of weight loss such as this is more likely to be maintained long-term than the faster weight loss promised by crash diets.
For men who would like to follow the plan, the total daily calorie intake should be increased by approximately 500 calories. This can be achieved by adding extra snacks and/or doubling some of the portion sizes, as shown in the example below:
Day 1
- 1 extra slice of buttered rye toast – 102
Snacks
- Double the size of Snack 2 = 157
TOTAL = 472 calories
You can also add snacks from other days of the plan if that works better for you.
Below are 7 days of low carb high protein diet plans.
Keto Cajun Shrimp & Cheesy Cauliflower Grits
Love Southern food? This dish is for you.
You have juicy, spicy shrimp and cheese topped grits. Its so tasty, youll be kicking up your cowboy boots.
Use cauliflower rice for your grits to keep it low carb. Besides being low carb, cauliflower rice is quite nutritious.
Its a good source of Vitamin C. It also contains folate, which you need for healthy DNA.
What I love most about this recipe is that it takes only 25 minutes to make. Thus, youll be in and out of the kitchen in no time at all.
Per Serving:
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Quick And Easy Low Carb High Protein Meals
If youre looking for some quick and easy low carb high protein meals to help you lose weight and stay on track with your fitness goals, youve just found them. This is a collection of super simple healthy recipes for dinner, lunch and some for breakfast.
As you may or may not know, I had been struggling for about three years to lose weight after having a baby. After giving birth some women just dust themselves off and look like Giselles. Not this beautiful face. It was round and chubby and had a double chin for a long time. Also a dash of insulin resistance which was new and pretty scary.
Not anymore folks. Not anymore. Ive lost the majority of the weight, Im now almost at my pre-baby weight and Im so happy about it, it literally feels like a weight off my shoulders. Eating a high protein lower carb diet and going gluten and dairy free has definitely helped the most, so I wanted to share some weight loss meals that I love, that have helped me and I still eat regularly. Because once you lose the weight, its not over. You cant just start eating panna cotta and tiramisu like you never learned from your mistakes. You keep eating healthy and keep going out for walks and keep getting enough sleep.
Now these high protein meals, theyre not all dairy-free, but theyre all delicious and you can either meal prep them on Sunday or make in 15-20 minutes during the week.
- Ready in: 20 minutes | Servings: 2
- Kcal: 443 | Protein: 28g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 7g | Fat: 31g
Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops
Chicken is good and all. But sometimes, you need a change.
These pork chops are off-the-charts amazing. They are juicy and tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, and best of all, theyll help to keep your carb intake low.
And theyre crusted in Parmesan cheese and crushed pork rinds. So, theyre full of flavoryoull definitely want these on your weekly rotation.
Besides making a good breading, pork rinds are perfect for snacking on too. Theyre low carb and they contain lots of protein too.
So, theyre quite filling. Feel free to get some here.
These pork chops are filling just the way they are and only have 5 grams of carbs. But for extra nutrition, you can serve them with a simple arugula salad.
Per Serving:
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Healthy Complex Carbohydrate Choices
Eating high-carbohydrate, low-protein, low-fat foods means that you need to include a variety of healthy carbohydrates in your daily diet. Ideally, you should eat a variety of complex carbohydrates, while minimizing your animal protein and fat intake. Fortunately, this means that a wide variety of plant-based foods are available to you since these foods are typically low in fat and most are low in protein. This means that complex carbohydrates can come from fruits like:
Complex carbohydrates can also come from grains and grain-products like:
- All-bran cereals and high-fiber breakfast cereals
- Pita, multigrain, pumpernickel and other types of whole-grain bread
- Oat-based products like oatmeal and oatcakes
- Cornmeal products like polenta and porridge
- Pasta and noodles, particularly those made with buckwheat and other whole grains
- Brown rice and wild rice
You can also obtain complex carbohydrates from nuts, seeds and legumes, such as chickpeas, lentils, split peas, and various types of beans, including soybeans. You should be aware that these foods have more protein compared to other plant-based products. However, these plant-based protein sources are a good way to enrich your diet with both protein and carbohydrates simultaneously. If you’re uncertain about how to plan a high-carbohydrate diet, you can always use the Okinawan diet as an example, since this high-carb, low-fat, low-protein diet has well-studied health benefits.
Read more:16 Diet-Friendly Healthful Carbs
What Are Complex Carbohydrates
Starches and fibre foods are complex carbs that can take a longer time to break down and keep us full and maintain the levels of sugar in a body.
Starches such as sweet potatoes, oats, brown rice, whole wheat, chickpeas, black beans are healthy carbs. They take a long time to break down and help maintain body weight in a healthy manner.
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Fibre is also a type of complex carb that does not break down and aids in proper digestion. Therefore, having these kinds of carbohydrates such as fibre rich foods helps in good digestion.
They also give energy as well as do not put on weight but having only fibre rich food is not digested quickly and cause lower blood sugars immediately.
Therefore, having carbs is essential but always try to include good carbs and not sugary foods to avoid weight gain. Do not confuse yourself and try to limit your intake of carbohydrates with a balanced diet.
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Mediterranean Salmon Lettuce Wraps
Not only are Mediterranean Salmon Lettuce Wraps from Tati of Chef Jar bursting with flavor, but theyre also ridiculously easy to make.
And you dont even need a fork to eat them. Lettuce wraps are one of our favorite food styles when we need a break from the heaviness of carbs.
This version is filled with flaky and tender salmon flavored with a tastebud pleasing homemade marinade with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, parsley, and more.
Then theres the Mediterranean salad filled with kalamata olives, cucumber, tomatoes, feta, etc. So who else is looking forward to lunch?
Visit Chef Jar for the recipe.
How Much Protein Do You Need
Simply loading up on a whole lot of protein is not going to help you. You need to determine exactly how much protein your body needs and how much you are currently consuming. Moreover, the amount of protein you need to consume per day depends on your body composition and total body weight. According to the US Department of Agriculture , every person above the age of 19 must consume 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of their body weight, per day.
This means that you will get your daily amount of protein intake by multiplying 0.8 with your total body weight. This is the amount that is adequate to maintain the lean muscle mass of your body and also keep you satisfied and full for longer. It’s also important to find out the percentage of calories that you should be getting from proteins. This will generally depend on your body goals and whether you are looking to gain or lose weight.Also Read: Dietary Protein Benefits: How It Can Help You Gain Muscles
High-protein low carbohydrate foods: Eggs, fish, chicken are great sources of proteins.
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Easy Keto Italian Sausage Meatballs
Meatballs are classic comfort food. They typically remind us of our childhood.
But what is not comforting about them is that they are not keto. That is because of the breadcrumbs that are used to bind them.
These keto meatballs are so comforting. They are juicy, tender, and nicely seasoned with a good sear on them.
All topped with some grated Parmesan and swimming in a delicious tomato basil sauce.
And since one serving contains only 5 grams of net carbs, they are perfect for your keto diet.
To keep them low carb, you use almond flour to bind the ingredients together. You can find some almond flour here.
Serve on top of zucchini noodles or some low carb pasta. Check out more high protein dinner ideas here.
Per Serving:
Cheesy Chicken Fajita Casserole
When youve had a tough day, you just want to curl up and relax. And eat some comfort food.
This casserole is for days like that. Juicy chicken is seasoned with fajita seasoning and loaded with Mexican cheese and topped with colorful bell peppers.
Its sure to transport you to a warm beach in Mexico Far from all your worries.
What youll love most about this dish is how fuss-free it is. You only use 5 ingredients and one dish.
Just dump all your ingredients in your casserole dish. And let your oven do the cooking.
Per Serving:
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Leg Of Lamb Stuffed With Garlic And Spinach
When it comes to red meat, lamb is arguably more nutrient-dense than beef on a gram-for-gram basis.
The majority of lamb is also raised on pasture, and it offers one of the best, most easily absorbed sources of omega-3 .
If you are lucky enough to have an affordable local source of lamb, make the most of it!
A leg of lamb makes an excellent centerpiece for a roast dinner. To prepare this dish, you need to make some incisions on both sides of the meat with a sharp knife.
Following this, push some mashed garlic and spinach inside these spaces.
Coat the meat with some red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and any other herbs you wish to use and then cook as usual.
Serve it with your choice of veggies for a delicious protein-rich, low carb dinner.
Types Of High Protein Low Carb Diets
Some of the most popular commercial diets commonly considered high in protein and low in carbs dont truly fit into both categories.
Notably, many people regard the Zone Diet and Sugar Busters Diet as high protein, low carb. However, these diets are moderate in carbs, as they typically provide about 40% of calories from carbs.
Additionally, many popular low carb diets, such as Atkins and ketogenic diets, are not considered high protein, low carb. Instead, theyre high fat, low carb or high fat, very low carb, and they only contain moderate amounts of protein.
In fact, no branded diets are known to conform to this pattern.
If youre interested in a strict high protein, low carb diet, you may need to count calories, protein, carbs, and fat to stay within your macronutrient ranges.
This can be difficult, so most people prefer to loosely follow a high protein, low carb diet by replacing high carb foods with protein sources.
Summary
Theres no set macronutrient range for a high protein, low carb diet, so most people tend to swap much of their typical carb-heavy foods with protein sources.
3 ).
As such, high protein diets may provide numerous benefits as may low carb eating patterns, which are often associated with weight loss.
Thus, combining the two diets may give numerous advantages.
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