Eggs are a great source of protein, are filling, healthy, and have very low carbs and sugar content. They are versatile, delicious, and should be a staple part of a healthy diet. But you can’t just scramble an egg for every meal! You need variety, we all crave different flavors, and eggs are a pretty adaptable and versatile food.
My family has a history of diabetes and heart disease, so trying to stay healthy now is really important to me. I want to be healthy and live a long life, and not have a chronic condition that I possibly could have prevented with a healthier diet. According to SFGATE.com, “The three types of carbohydrates are sugar, starch and fiber. During the digestive process, both sugars and starches are turned into the sugars [glucose] that the body uses for energy. People lack the enzymes needed to digest fiber, so it passes through the digestive tract without turning into to sugar.”
For people with diabetes, these carbs-turned-glucose drive up their blood sugar. For non-diabetics, a low carb diet can help you lose weight. WebMD explains, “When [your body] doesn’t have enough carbohydrates from food for your cells to burn for energy, it burns fat instead. As part of this process, it makes ketones. If you’re healthy and eating a balanced diet, your body controls how much fat it burns, and you don’t normally make or use ketones.” Basically, when you drop down on carb consumption, or start eating less calories, your body switches to ketosis for energy, instead of just burning the glucose from your carb heavy food.
You’re going to be replacing the carbs in things like pasta, bread, and bananas, with foods that are high protein and high fiber! Fiber is super important, because big changes in your diet, including cutting down on carbs, can cause constipation. Also, make sure to drink plenty of water! Ketosis uses more body energy and can cause dehydration.
Eggs are such a great way to have a low-carb food and incorporate it into different types of meals. Forget breakfast omelettes, here are 10 ways you can incorporate eggs in to every meal!
Breakfast
1. Very Low Carb Muffin Sized Egg Cups from Jyssica.blogspot.com
These are healthy and easy on-the-go breakfasts for busy people! Or lazy people. I made these on a Sunday, and my husband and I took them to work all week for breakfast. They are super simple and only 6 ingredients, with a ton of options for making it differently. You can make it yours using other vegetables and your favorite spices. This version has ground turkey, asparagus, spinach, eggs, and cheese. They take about half an hour altogether, and each egg cup is only 107 calories, 1.28 grams of carbs, and almost 11 grams of protein!
2. Low Carb Eggs Benedict Casserole from PeaceLoveandLowCarb.com.
A new take on the Benedict! Instead of carb-full English muffins, have a casserole. The sauce is really the star, and is still made with egg yolk and butter, so there is some fat, but each serving only has 2 grams of carbs and a whopping 22 grams of protein! This casserole is incredibly satisfying and has Canadian bacon all in, under, and on top of it. Drizzle with sauce and serve hot!
Lunch
I think everyone knows how great eggs are for breakfast, so let’s move on and find some low carb options that include eggs for the rest of the day!
3. Sausage Stuffed Peppers from MamaLovesFood.com
This author calls them breakfast peppers, but this great recipe of colorful peppers, ground sausage, onions and topped with eggs is an anytime meal and would make an incredibly healthy and filling lunch. They are easy to transport and would be great to take to work, too. Add some green onion, a little citrus, and some fresh herbs and you can make it pop even more! This blog has an amazing looking Mexican Stuffed Pepper recipe as well!
4. Shakshuka from ToriAvey.com
HELLO. Consisting of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, shakshuka is a staple food in Tunisian, Libyan, Moroccan, Israeli, and Egyptian homes! This one-pan meal is versatile and can be added to and modified a bunch of different ways, but is mainly made with bell peppers, tomato, tomato paste, onions, and eggs, and a lot of spices. You can add mushrooms, meat, green veggies, anything really, but this is a great dish as-is, too. Put it in a bowl and dip low carb bread into it for lunch, add a side salad for a dinner meal, or eat straight from the pan, but eat this shakshuka!
5. BLTs on Low Carb Bread from DietDoctor.com
This is exactly what you think it is! A bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich on low carb bread that they call “oopsie bread.” Filling, and an awesome addition to a low carb diet, so that you can have sandwiches! How is this incorporating eggs, you may ask? They are in the bread! The base of the bread is whipped eggs whites later incorporated into a mixture of egg yolks and cream cheese. Full recipe below!
6. BBQ Chicken Cobb Salad from DamnDelicious.net
Of course I had to put a salad on here! Salads, rabbit food, no matter what you call them, they are a lunch staple. You don’t need to be on any sort of diet to love a great salad. They are perfect for lunch. Filling, interesting, flavorful, but not heavy food that will keep you going through the rest of your work day. This one includes chopped hard-boiled eggs, black beans, tomatoes, BBQ chicken and more. This author tops hers with buttermilk ranch, but you can save on some calories with oil and vinegar!
Dinner
7. Zucchini Pasta w/ Poached eggs and Quick Heirloom Cherry Tomato Basil Sauce from HalfbakedHarvest.com
Oh. My. Goodness. This filling and healthy “pasta” dish is so amazing. You are going to feel like a kitchen goddess making this dish, and then not fall into a food coma afterwards! This meal uses zucchini and a spiralizer to make those noodles, but you can do it by using a mandolin to get thin slices then chopping those into skinny sticks, too. The poached egg oozes and coats the pasta to get a carbonara feel, and the cherry tomatoes and basil keeps it super fresh. This cook does add regular pasta to the zucchini noodles for more texture, but you do not have to do that! Or you can add quinoa noodles, or use spaghetti squash and a spiralizer for more veggie noodles. You have so many options!
8. Eggs & Vegetable Fried in Coconut Oil from AuthorityNutrition.com.
This is a simple recipe with 3-4 eggs and a bunch of stir-fry veggies being fried in one skillet in coconut oil, which has a ton of health benefits! You can do a lot of baking and cooking with coconut oil! These fried nuggets of goodness would be a great late meal on top of a bed of mashed cauliflower (simulating rice) or mixed in with some non-fried foods like squash and fresh mozzarella. You can also leave out the oil and do a stir-fry!
9. Fried Cauliflower Rice from Emma Christensen
Pieces of egg and vegetables make this cauliflower-turned-rice into a hit. Cauliflower has been growing in popularity due to its versatility and how you can use it to replace starchy and carb-full foods like rice, mashed potatoes, and more. This “fried rice” recipe gives you the flavors you expect from fried rice, but with a healthy twist. The egg in there makes it feel so real! And chicken, pork, turkey, or shrimp for a deeply filling dinner.
10. Ramen with Shirataki Noodles from Washoku.guide
I’m not going to lie, this recipe is pretty complex and has a lot of ingredients that you might not be able to find at your regular corner store. But the important bit is that instead of regular ramen noodles, try shirataki noodles! Shirataki are thin, translucent, gelatinous traditional Japanese noodles made from the konjac yam. They are low carb and have a similar width and texture of ramen noodles. You can use your favorite recipe for ramen, the veggies and spices, the sprouts and the egg, and pull it together with their shirataki noodles for an incredible meal.
Bonus: Bread Options!
Here are 2 low carb homemade bread recipes you can use for all manner of sandwiches and burgers, for dipping into soups, and dipping into hummus. These 2 recipes are both from DietDoctor.com, and I linked to their recipes below. These will really open up more possibilities if you are cutting back on carbs!
Oopsie Bread made from Eggs & Cream Cheese!
More complicated: Low Carb Naan Bread that looks so amazing!
Final Thoughts
Low carb doesn’t mean boring! Eggs can be a low carb and high protein alternative to some foods, and can feature in your meals throughout the day. Don’t just relegate them to scrambled eggs on the weekends sometimes, try these delicious ways to eat eggs all week long!
Featured photo credit: Guff.com via guff.com
