These 12 days of menus are suggestions to get you started on a healthy low-carb diet. They each fulfill a full day's requirements for vitamins (except in most cases vitamin D), minerals (except, in some cases, calcium), and fiber. They range between 20 and 50 grams of net carb (total carb minus fiber) and from 1500 to 1700 calories. If you are eating more calories, but want to keep the carbs the same, add protein and/or fat. If you are eating more carbohydrate, add more vegetables and fruit (or, if your plan allows, whole grains and other foods from the low-carb pyramid).
1. Low-Carb Menu #1
Photo © Heiko Martin
2. Menu #2
Photo © William Mahar
You'll see that a lot of these menus have flax meal in them. This is because flax is jam-packed with fiber and nutrients including Omega-3 fats. This menu includes one type of my flax-based muffins, but there are other low-carb muffins you could try instead.
3. Menu #3 - Includes Sandwich for Lunch on Low-Carb Bread
Photo © Emily Dolson
This menu has 30 grams of net carb. The bread for the sandwich at lunch is my low-carb flax meal bread. To see how easy it is to make the bread, check out this video.
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4. Menu #4 - No Cooking
Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
5. Menu #5 - Includes Fruit and Yogurt
Photo © Ruben Joye
This menu includes some fruit and yogurt, and has 40 grams of net carbohydrate.
These menus contain at least the daily minimums of vitamins and minerals. Do you have room for carb in your eating plan? By all means, add more non-starchy vegetables and low-sugar fruits. These will give you the most "bang for the buck" in terms of nutrients. To get a variety of antioxidants, eat a variety of colorful vegetables and fruits. For more information about getting the most nutrition for the least carbohydrate, see Making Your Carbs Count
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6. Menu #6 - Good for Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet
Image Courtesy of Pricegrabber
7. Menu #7 - Breakfast Burrito
John Burwell
8. Menu #8 - Includes Dessert
Photo: Berit Myrekrok/Getty Images
Dessert can easily be added to most of these menus, as many of my low-carb desserts have only a few grams of carbohydrate per serving. The example in this menu gives you the nutrition of strawberries AND the power of chocolate!
This daily menu has 43 grams net carbs and 30 grams of fiber.
9. Menu #9 - With Pancake Breakfast
Laura Dolson
The photo here is of pumpkin pecan pancakes, which can be substituted for the almond meal pancakes in the menu for one extra gram of carbohydrate each. The entire day has 34 grams net carb plus 29 grams of fiber and 93 grams of protein.
10. Menu #10 - Very High Nutrient
Photo © Sebastian Vera
You may have noticed that many of my menus have salmon in them. This is due to their high nutrient value. Find out more about eating salmon, including farmed vs wild salmon. Any oily fish can be substituted for salmon. Of course, you can always put in any protein you like, as protein foods mostly have no carbohydrate.
This menu has a Mexican dinner. The day's total of net carbohydrate is 50 grams.
11. Menu #11 - Easy Menu
Photo © Paul Johnson
This is a very easy menu – no cooking except for the dinner, which is a non-fussy skillet meal. See other chicken skillet dinners It contains 49 grams of usable carbohydrate and 36 grams of fiber.
12. Menu #12 - High Protein, South Beach Friendly
Photo © Karen Struthers
This menu, with 32 grams of effective carbohydrate and 103 grams protein, works for Phase 2 of the South Beach diet (there is one serving of fruit).
