Video:Tips for Making a Low-Carb Dinner

Transcript:Tips for Making a Low-Carb Dinner

Hi, I'm Nutrition & Fitness Expert JJ Virgin of JJ Virgin.com, and I'm here today with About.com to give you some tips for making a low-carb dinner.

Elements of a Low-Carb Dinner

Let's first talk about what your plate should look like. You always want to have some clean, lean protein and that's something like: grass-fed beef, wild salmon, chicken. The next thing you want to make sure is you're getting some healthy fats. Some healthy fats are things like: avocado, olive oil, raw nuts and seeds, cold water fish, and coconut. And then loads of non-starchy vegetables. What is noticeably absent here are things that take a low-carb dinner and make it go bad and those are things like: pasta, potatoes and rice. But what can we replace them with so we don't feel deprived? Well what you're going to find is when you do some great roasted vegetables or sautéed vegetables and really spice it up with wonderful sauces and that clean, lean protein that you won't even miss those starchy carbs - I promise!

Example of a Low-Carb Dinner

So let me give you an example of one of my favorite low-carb meals. I take some artichokes, and by the way artichokes - I always thought that artichokes were a little bit starchy but they actually are not - they are a non-starchy vegetable. So I take some artichoke quarters and some pepper and onions and I cheat, I get them all frozen and already sliced up and I just throw them in a pan with some coconut oil, sauté that up. I add in some sliced chicken, pour over some Thai red coconut curry sauce, and I have an absolutely delicious, low-carb meal. And honestly, you will not miss the carbs and this will make you feel full for hours because when you take protein, healthy fats, and loads of fiber and put them all together, the result is steady, sustained energy and no hunger for hours. You see how easy it is to make a low-carb dinner?

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