67 Low-Carb Dinner Recipes that are easy to prepare, perfect for meal prep and are great for those looking to make changes to their diet or maintain a carb-conscious lifestyle.
For those of you who are looking to clean up your diet after the holidays, I’ve gotchu. Before we dive into this recipe roundup, it’s important to mention I don’t recommend any one style of eating as a blanketed template, as our body’s needs are constantly shifting.
I do find eating a diet that is lower in carbohydrate tends to be how I personally function best. It is also sustainable for my body type, where eating low-carb for some people can be the kiss of death.
Regardless of your diet protocol, be mindful of what you are changing and observe your body’s reaction. Avoid “sticking it out” or “suffering through it” when something feels drastically wrong.
Why Eat Low-Carb?:
Again, I will never tell you how to eat. I will, however, tell you why one would choose to eat a diet low in carbohydrate.
Depending on your body chemistry, carbohydrate raises your blood sugar and can cause inflammation when eaten in excess. Higher blood sugar can result in insulin resistance or diabetes when left unchecked, leading to a slew of ancillary health issues. If you find you are constantly hungry, become angry or anxious if you go more than a few hours without eating, crave sugar or fatty processed foods, or if you experience mood and energy shifts, you could be insulin resistant. While this may not be life-threatening in the short term, it can lead to diabetes in the long-term.
Chronic inflammation in your body can also lead to numerous health complications and diseases as well as hormonal imbalance, gut dysbiosis and more. Chronic inflammation reduces your body’s natural immune system, making it more difficult to clear toxins, fight and prevent disease. All disease is the result of inflammation, so monitoring your inflammation is the best insurance policy you could possibly buy into.
When to Eat Low-Carb:
Uncovering how your body functions best is your journey. I shift my diet to low-carb when I notice something is off with my digestive system (i.e. I’m constipated, gassy, my poop is just weird, etc), when I’m noticing big shifts in energy or mood, wake up feeling puffy for no reason, and/or when I’ve put on some extra pounds that I’d rather not have.
When I shift my diet to include less sugar or carbohydrate, I notice an immediate difference in my energy level and mood. Within a few days, I feel trimmer and my digestive system usually resets itself. That said, the process of feeling better can require more time for those whose bodies are not accustomed to eating low carb and need time to detoxify. Your starting point matters here.
