Zucchini Noodles, AKA ‘zoodles’, are wayyyy better when you make them yourself. It takes, literally, 5 minutes to make them with a mandoline or spiralizer tool (which you can order on Amazon). Saute the noodles with salt before adding the sauce so your sauce doesn’t end up watery or tasting so much like zucchini. They also work great when you mix them 50/50 with carb-heavier spaghetti noodles so you can cut the carbs in half and the whole family will enjoy them.

These are shelf-stable and available at most grocery stores in the Asian aisle or inside the cooler where tofu is sold. You can buy them on Amazon, too! Many varieties exist. Try a few different kinds to see what you like best. ‘Pasta Zero’ makes theirs with a touch of soybean which makes them taste even more like regular pasta noodles!

These noodles originated by the Palmini brand, but now you can see them popping up everywhere at even more affordable prices! Hearts of palm resembles the texture of a canned artichoke heart. The thinner the noodles, the more they taste like actual pasta! They’re packed with healthy fiber, too. Next step is to buy canned whole hearts of palm and add them to your salads and dinners (the sliced ones are too mushy, so slice them yourself).

Rice is harder to substitute on a low carb diet, but when you go without it for a couple of weeks, you’ll be so pleased to have one of these substitutes! My favorites are Kaizen lupini bean rice, and cauliflower rice mixed 50/50 with white/basmati rice. Organic white basmati (especially from India) is the lowest in toxic arsenic, and this long-grain rice spikes blood glucose the least among white rices. Brown rice can be a good substitute but it’s difficult to digest for many of our guts today. Remember, rice eaten as leftovers is lower in carbs, too, thanks to the resistant starch.

Be aware that all gluten-free breads will be smaller or more dense than traditional bread because without gluten the dough cannot expand with air. The best low carb toast I’ve found is the original keto bread from Base Culture. Clean ingredients, and grain-free. Our favorite low-carb buns for burgers or sandwiches are by Fox Hill Kitchen called Awesome Bunz (I do not recommend the bagels, they’re nothing like an actual bagel). Pacha is another brand, not very low carb but safe for diabetics and weight loss. Pacha makes 100% buckwheat sourdough buns and sliced bread (use the buns, not sliced loaf, for sandwiches). We always have those three breads in our house. They’re expensive, but one look at the ingredients and you’ll understand why they cost more. I buy them when they’re on sale and keep them in my freezer.

Did you know you can make a pizza with ground meat as the crust? Look online for “meatza” recipes, and explore different options. Lou Malnati’s pizza place in Chicago makes a crustless pizza this way with sausage as the base. What a treat! And yes, of course it’s expensive, it’s loaded with meat!

Cereal is generally junk food or at the very least it’s inflammatory because of the processed grains. Luckily this brand Three Wishes came out with chickpea cereal that tastes a lot like cheerios with flavors that resemble frosted flakes, fruit loops, and more. I always have some grain-free paleo granola on hand, too, which I will eat like cereal sometimes. Purely Elizabeth has a line of grain-free keto granola, check those out and stock up on sale!

Here you see a steak dinner with roasted onion and peppers, plus chimichurri herb sauce (which acts like another vegetable because of all of the herbs!). I measured a serving of rice to keep the carbs under 40g. I recommend organic white basmati rice because it’s lower on the glycemic index and because it’s lower in arsenic among types of rice.

This paleo breakfast bowl is cauilflower fried ‘rice’ on the bottom (you can find some in the freezer aisle), two fried eggs and a side of fermented kimchi (spicy korean cabbage and veggies that are easy to digest and good for your gut microbiome!)

Make your own stir fry sauce without corn starch or sugar so you can have low carb stir fry any time. Mix it up with different veggies or crushed nuts on top, and try it with ground meat like you see here. With ground meat, every bite has that saucy flavor!

When I’m in a hurry during the workday, as long as I have some bagged lettuce in the fridge, I’ll build one of these quickie salads. It’s lettuce with whatever veg I have (avocado, tomato, jalapeno, cabbage, herbs), then I toss it with an olive oil dressing and eat it with canned seafood. The top brands for low-toxin canned seafood are Wild Planet and Safe Catch just to name a couple. I love these crackers by Simple Mills. If you can stop at one serving, they can be part of a healthy weight-loss plan.

We stuck with some low carb appetizers at the italian restaurant which served tuna crudo and an octopus salad. What a treat without all the extra carbs!

It’s easy to eat lower carb at restaurants, even an italian one! All I did here was order the fish of the day and I asked for roasted potatoes or veggies instead of the pasta and they gave me both! Even if I ate all of those potatoes it wouldn’t be as high in carbs as a full side of pasta.

My husband ordered the steak with red wine sauce, and instead of pasta on the side we opted for vegetables.

If all you do is make a batch of taco seasoned ground meat, you can build a low-carb taco bowl in no time for lunch! Use store-bought salsa or some pico de gallo from a taco joint in your neighborhood. Top your meat with salsa, avocado, jalapeno or onion, cilantro if you love it like me. Some fresh lime or hot sauce and you’ll be happy! Feel free to add some cauliflower rice at the bottom of your bowl to add more fiber and fill you up.

This is one of my go-to’s. I scoop some cottage cheese into my bowl, then I top it with nitrate-free breakfast ham, avocado, and jalapeno. If you don’t have/like jalapeno, try some low carb crackers or onion for that crunch. Oh, and ground black pepper or cayenne sure compliments this nicely!

These frozen mussels are from Aldi. I add a jar of tomato sauce and we get a nice meal for two out of this box. Sometimes I have it with “palmini” noodles (low carb, made of hearts of palm), sometimes with low carb toast and a side salad.

I love chipotle because they use real ingredients without all the processed crap other convenient chains use. You can get a salad instead of a rice/bean bowl to make a low carb version. Otherwise I’ll ask for EASY rice (choose brown rice OR beans for better blood sugar regulation). I skip the beans because combined with rice it really adds up with the carbs and because I prefer the rice. I also take digestive enzymes and Betaine HCl capsules with my meal to help break down all the bloating sugars in garlic, onion, and avocado (did you know that’s why a lot of people feel like crap after eating chipotle or mexican food? it’s all the fermentable sugars or FODMAPs as they call them in the nutrition world).

I make frittatas every month. Frittata is a crustless quiche or an omlette you bake to finish in the oven. I love how you can eat them cold, room temp, or warm. You can freeze slices for easy meals ready at hand. One of the best things about frittata is that you can put almost anything in them, leftovers are the best filling because the ingredients are already cooked and you just toss them in with the beaten egg. This picture is of a recipe that’s just as simple. Throw some pre-washed baby greens in the pan with diced jarred roasted peppers. No need to cook these ingredients first, so just add the egg and finish cooking. I cut them into small pieces here for “frittata dippers”. My dip is made with spicy mustard, water, and balsamic vinegar.

Here you see the meal ideas shared in the book which help you keep carbs low but still have some easy or comforting options to eat!