Low Carb Dieters: Want a Break from the Meat?
Make It Veggie!

At first, your low carb diet seemed like the best dream you'd ever had. A dietary expert was actually telling you to eat as much meat, eggs, and cheese as you possibly wanted. You could go to any restaurant, order the biggest slab of beef on the menu and—since you weren't eating bread or potatoes with meat—you could still claim you were watching your waistline when offered dessert. But, now that the low carb honeymoon is over, you might be finding that the thought of another pork chop, omelet, or hunk of cheese makes you sick to your stomach.

If you fit this description, there is a way to keep your carbs low, but your spirits high. Instead of a steak for your next breakfast, lunch, and dinner, why don't you try a low carb vegetarian dish?

Don't worry—you don't need a special ID card to eat vegetarian foods, nor do you need to wear sandals and burn incense. In fact, with nuts, fruits, and vegetables, you eat vegetarian foods all the time! But, if you're ready to skip steak once in a while, it's time to replace some of your meat entrees with vegetarian options. And, believe it or not, it's easier than you might think to whip up a low carb vegetarian dish.

"I can't believe it's not vegetarian!"

The easiest way to take your low carb diet on a vegetarian trip is by using meat substitutes. Meat substitutes taste, feel, and even smell like the real deal. When you simply substitute these faux meats in any of your meat-based recipes, you'll have to check the package twice to make sure it really says "Vegetarian" on the label. From tofu to tempeh, seitan to TVP, there are just about as many meat substitutes as actual meats on the market today. You can have vegetarian ribs, shrimp, steak, chicken, turkey, salmon, and just about any other meat you can think of. But, if you really want a break from meat, the real thing or even fakes, vegetarian dishes can serve you up right.

If you want to take a break every now and then from meat, faux or otherwise, stir fries, grilled veggies, and low carb pastas top the vegetarian list. Stir fry your favorite low starch, cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, daikon, radishes, chard, turnips, and watercress. For protein, add in seasoned tofu.

Grill up asparagus, peppers, zucchini, summer squash, or any of the veggies above. Marinade your healthy delights in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. For an extra zip, add cayenne pepper. Go Italian with a low carb pasta topped with your choice of garlic, herbs, and tomatoes. Add a light sprinkle of Romano or Parmesan cheese for the perfect touch.

Your low carb world has just gotten a bit brighter—there are so many vegetarian options that you can add to your diet. You don't have to give up meat, but if you want to add variety to your menu, grab something vegetarian today. And, you might just like the way those sandals feel after all!