Low carb foods are those that are naturally low in carbohydrates and include animal proteins like poultry, beef and fish; low starch vegetables such as leafy greens; and some dairy products, herbs and condiments. Finding low carb foods that are also quick and easy to make may seem like a challenge, but there are many low carb foods that come together in minutes.
Eggs
One of the fastest and easiest low carbohydrate foods to make is eggs. According to the Atkins Carb Counter, one large hard boiled egg has .6 grams of carbohydrates. Eggs are easy because you can pre-make them by the dozen by hard boiling them and storing them in your refrigerator, ready to grab whenever you are hungry. Or, you can quickly whip up some scrambled eggs in a matter of minutes with minimal mess or cleanup.
To hard boil an egg, place the eggs in a pan that has enough cold water to submerge the eggs by about 2 inches and place the pan on the stove. Bring the eggs and water to a boil and then remove them from the stove and let the pan stand off of the heat, covered, for about 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, submerge the cooked eggs in a bowl of cold water. Store the eggs in the refrigerator.
Chicken Salad
A chicken salad made with 2 cups of Romaine lettuce, 4 oz. of chicken and 2 tbsp. of vinaigrette has under 6g of carbohydrates according to the carbohydrate counter on the Atkins site. To make it even more convenient, grill some chicken and store it in the refrigerator along with some prewashed, prepared salad greens and a bottle of store-bought vinaigrette. When you're hungry, it's easy to pull your ingredients together to have a nutritious, low carb salad in minutes.
Steak
Steak isn't difficult to make, and even a huge serving is carb-free according to NutrientFacts. It takes just 4 to 7 minutes to grill a 1-inch thick steak on an indoor grill such as the Foreman Grill, according to George Foreman Grill Recipes. You can top your steak with a compound butter like garlic butter for extra flavor. To make compound butter, finely mince garlic and other herbs and mix into softened butter. Let the flavors mix in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before serving on top of the steak. Cook a few spears of asparagus grilled on the grill alongside your steak and you'll have a nutritious low carb meal in minutes.
Low Carb Strata
A low carbohydrate strata is similar to a quiche, but is very easy to make. It requires very little prep time, and once it is baked, you can slice it and store it in the refrigerator for several days. It warms up very well in the microwave. To make a low carb sausage and cheese strata, cook 1 lb. of bulk sausage in a frying pan or crumble 1 lb. of pre-cooked breakfast sausage. Place the drained sausage in the bottom of a buttered 9 x 13-inch glass baking pan and top with a combination of 6 eggs and 1/2 cup of heavy cream that have been whisked together and then mixed with 1 cup of shredded swiss cheese. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 1 hour, until the eggs have solidified and the cheese has slightly browned.
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