Breakfast: Fried Eggs and SlowCarb Baked Beans

I love having a (healthy!) fry up most mornings, switching between bacon, eggs, smoked mackerel, sardines etc. But i always want to add some great British baked beans! It's just too much part of what a fry up is to me.

Sadly most store bought beans are pretty high carb with added sugar.

Here's how I make a great slowcarb replacement, really quickly.

In a large friying pan heat through you bacon/eggs etc. Then turn off the heat. Add half a can (drained) of your favourite pulses. I go for harricot beans, as they are really tasty and less than 1g of carbs a serving. Then simply add half a tsp of tomato paste and some pepper. A small splash of hot water will help break up the paste, and transfer the heat of pan to the beans.

Instant healthy beans, and a nice addition of fibre and added protein to your breakfast.

Got any of your own top tips? Let me know in the comments below.

Dinner: Chinese stir-fry with Asparagus

Super low carb dinner tonight - going to be away from home for a couple of days and pretty sure it's going to be tough keeping low low carb and high protein while I am away (we'll see!)

So tonight was a really fast stir-fry with asparagus.

I love cooking asparagus like this:

Cut the woody stems off the asparagus, but try to leave the stems as long as possible. Rinse then throw into a large heavy frying pan with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and then turn the heat up high. Let the asparagus fry on one side then turn and leave for another 30 seconds. Then /carefully/ pour on 1 tablespoon of water (it might spit!) and place a lid on. Let simmer for 30 seconds then remove lid and allow water to evaporate. You can add soy sauce or salt and pepper now.

Along side this I quickly pan fried a store bought bag of mixed stir-fry vegetables, and added garlic and soy sauce.

I then served it all with hot chilli sauce and a splash more soy.

Really tasty, filling (there was LOADS) and ZERO carb dinner!

Breakfast: Mackerel and egg - zero carb breakfast

Had my dad over and he is now eating gluten free, so thought we would have some fish for breakfast.

I love mackerel, it's a great fish, really cheap (about 80p a portion) great for you and almost instant to prepare and cook.

You can eat it cold, but I love it heated through in a frying pan (no oil needed), once you've heated it on high on one side for about 2 or 3 minutes, turn the fish over and move to the other side of the pan, then use the oil from the fish to fry and egg. The salty tasting oil heats to a really high temperature and cooks eggs amazingly!

For my dad I added a couple of slices of gluten free toast, but for me both the fish and the egg are more than enough for a filling low carb high protein, high GOOD fat breakfast. Cup of black coffee and you are ready for anything and everything!

Breakfast Peanut smoothie

Really nice, just created this from what we had in the fridge.

2 tablespoons of Fromage Frais
small handfull of mixed (unsalted) nuts (I used almonds, peanuts and cashews)
8 icecubes
2 teaspoons of peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon of honey

Place all in a blender and blend until smooth.

Really tasty start to the day.

Low Carb meal ideas - why I started this

About 5 months ago I read '4 Hour Body' and was reminded how great a low carb diet can be. I'd done Atkins in the past and really enjoyed it and lost a good chunk of weight.

But I'd found it hard to stick to, and over time I'd given up and slowly put all the weight I lost, back on.

The diet in '4 Hour Body' seems more up my street, plenty of pulses (which I love) and a carb heavy day once a week.

About 3 months ago I started the diet, and I haven't looked back since. I've found it pretty easy to stick to, and have lost about 10kilos so far (dropping from 22% body fat to 15% - with no exercise.

This blog isn't here to promote 4 Hour Body, or to replace it, but just a place for me to collect together all the different low carb meals I eat day in day out. I was going to just record this for myself, but I thought it would be worth sharing, as it took me a fair while to find quick and easy low carb high protein snacks and meals that i really enjoyed.

I hope you find this blog useful.

Liam