QandAs: Food

What are some Low-Carb Dinners?

Answer:
While meals lower in carbohydrates generally fit into

many people's diet plans, diabetics and low-carb dieters must be especially careful when it comes to the total number of carbohydrates they ingest at each meal.

Foods high in carbohydrates, such as pastas, breads, potatoes and rice, can cause blood sugar levels to spike dangerously high, and most diabetics do not have sufficient sensitivity to insulin to bring those levels back under control. This is why it is important to prepare low-carb dinners if diabetes or a restrictive low-carb diet is a factor.

Many low-carb dinners feature lean meats and seafood. Meats in general are naturally high in proteins and contain little, if any, carbohydrates, unless they are marinated in a sweet marinade or heavily breaded. Grilled salmon, tuna or swordfish filets are excellent choices as low-carb dinner entrees, as well as lean meats such as chicken, pork, and beef.

The portion sizes should be fairly small, approximately the size of a palm or a deck of cards. Meats can also be pan-fried, barbecued, slow-roasted or broiled without adding additional carbohydrates. Some sauces and gravies are safe for low-carb dieters, but many contain hidden sugars and carbohydrates, so it pays to read labels or use substitutes for higher carbohydrate ingredients.

Green salads make excellent sides with low-carb dinners, as long as the dressing does not contain significant amounts of sugar. A simple vinagrette dressing made with olive oil, vinegar and cracked pepper or other herbs should be considered in place of high carb dressings such as honey mustard or French. Green salads can be improved with fresh vegetables, but bread croutons should be used sparingly, if at all. Boiled eggs and bacon bits would also help to accent a low carb side salad.

In place of high carb vegetables and grains such as potatoes or rice, there are recipes available for low carb substitutes such as mashed cauliflower. Steamed cauliflower is mixed with the same ingredients commonly used to create mashed potatoes, including heavy cream, butter and chives.

Green beans are also good low carb vegetables to consider in place of rice or glazed carrots. A mixture of steamed vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, onions or squash would also mesh well with a low carb dinner plan. A low carb diet plan is not necessarily a bland diet, so entrees and sides can be seasoned quite liberally to improve their flavor.

There are also ways to modify a high carbohydrate dinner to make it more low carb. Spaghetti squash can be used as a substitute for high carb pastas, for example. Sugar substitutes can take the place of sugars in homemade sauces and glazes. Many grocery stores also offer low carb versions of many popular brands of potato, rice and pasta side dishes. There are also a number of cookbooks and diet guides which feature low carb recipes for every meal of the day.


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