I always crack-up at the "but you need your fruits and veggies" response to low carb eating. First: No, you don't. Second: I eat way more veggies now than I ever did before LC. Raise your hand if you used to be a pastatarian before switching to LC!

I'm single, so I buy a lot of frozen veg, because otherwise they go bad before I can finish them. This means I can have more variety, which I like, instead of eating broccoli and nothing else for 4 days in a row. I usually only need one of the two vegetable drawers in my fridge for the fresh stuff that I do buy. But I just got home from the market and I ran out of room! I had to go to drawer #2 for the first time in ages.

What's on the menu for the next few days?

• A version of Two-minute salad from Mark's Daily Apple (stripped down a bit, since the original is higher in carbs)
• Tuscan Cauliflower Salad, which was originally a potato salad from Recipes from Moosewood (you can find a version of that at the link)
• Fish chowder with daikon radish instead of potatoes

Not to mention a slow cooked pork roast, organic bratwurst, and some canned cauliflower bisque that I'm trying out. I feel so "deprived."

Happy eating everyone!

My "thing" right now is brussels sprouts. Nothing in the world sounds as good as roasted brussels sprouts (cut in half, topped with butter & a bit of garlic, oven-roasted until they're JUST SO...



So I'm on a brussels sprouts kick.

But yeah, I laugh at the "you need fruits/veggies" bit, and the "But what about FIBER?!?" wail.

And yes... cauliflower & broccoli are staples in my freezer. If we run out, there's a PROBLEM. Salads are one of my go-to meals when I have to eat out... You know, the ones loaded with nuts, avocado, some cheese, and meat. (Just had a local friend post on FB today about how upset she was when she discovered how many calories her favorite salad has.... and how high in fat. See, I don't have to be disappointed.... I just have to watch my dressings for sugar, and I'm good.)

Have bags of Brussels sprouts in my chest freezer. I keep forgetting they are in there LOL I microwave em, but roasting sounds much better

I cut up 3-4 slices of bacon and cook it enough to render out lots of fat, then toss in the BS cut in half. s&p them. Cook stir-frying on medium until they're nicely caramelized.
I add a couple of pads of butter toward the end of cooking.
I use my heavy cast iron skillet which is the best for this kind of cooking.
If they're frozen, make sure to thaw, drain and dry really well first so that they caramelize which brings out the natural sugar and flavor.

ps When I first was learning how to cook, I tried many times to cook them whole and I found that the interior of the BS was never cooked well enough and it was bitter. Ever since I began cutting them in half, that solved the problem and they're evenly cooked and a lot more tasty now.

Some local grocers have prepped veggies now, included Brussels sprouts cleaned and cut in half, in case that time with a knife is too taxing. For a quick roasted side dish, skipping the prep part would be worth it, not more expensive and can get the amount needed. Meme's method is can also do a quick fry in the cast iron skillet finished under the broiler/ oven. Olive oil and butter works but bacon makes it better.

Roasting vegetables is one of my go-to methods. It's fast, easy, and I think the veggies have more flavor than sautéing or steaming.

Basically, any veggie: prep, toss with olive oil, salt & pepper, maybe some herbs if you're feeling it, and put on a rimmed baking tray in a very hot oven, say 450º. How long depends on the veggies. Cauliflower or broccoli takes about 15 minutes, sliced eggplant maybe 15-20, zucchini or tomatoes maybe 10.

If you want to get fancy, maybe you're having a party or a dinner, you can marinate them overnight. They're yummy cold, too.

My tip for zucchini is to quarter is lengthwise and then slice out the seeds in the middle. This is the most watery part and the solid part has much more flavor. I've been doing this for years and recently saw it recommended on America's Test Kitchen. And this is for however you cook zucchini, roasted or otherwise!

Yes I love oven roasted veggies too. My fav combo is zucchini, onions, red bell peppers all cut in 2-3 inch chunks. I use olive oil too. I turn the oven on the highest temp, lay the veggies in a single layer and not crowd the veggies in the pan and then they caramelize instead of release the juice which happens at lower temps.

I'm single too, and it's hard to motivate myself to cook for just one person! Plus, whatever I'm craving tonight I may not want tomorrow and I hate to waste leftovers.

My solution is I'm just inviting friends over more often for dinner Nobody seems to mind (or even notice) that the meals are low-carb, and it's more enjoyable to cook for people and to share a meal with friends.

I'll also chop up a lot of veggies one day and keep them in the fridge. I can use the same mix either stir fried with meat as a main dish, steamed as a side, or in an omelette for breakfast.

I like a different veggie every day and cooked a different way is good for me to not be board. For instance, with Zucchini, sometimes I cook on stove in a pot with onion and garlic, next time in the oven roasted, next time in a stir-fry on the stove.

Also, there is no need to do big batches when you cook for one. Sometimes just one zucchini cooked either way is enough.
I do the same thing with deviled eggs. instead of making a whole batch of them, I boil them and make just one deviled egg at a time and eat it.

I eat more vegetables now than I ever did when I was eating a lot of bread, sugar, & pasta.

While there are 2 of us here, we only eat one meal a day together - & that not every day. So it's like being single as far as food is concerned. What I found that works for me is to sauté almost all my veggies - cauliflower, zucchini, spinach, Swiss chard, radishes, mushrooms, onions (tho I'm trying to eat less of them because they're pretty high carb) - in butter or leftover fat from meat.

In the summer I get a lot of my vegetables from the farmer's market - then my refrigerator overflows! I can only go once a week, so I tend to buy a lot.

And I just remembered I bought some red cabbage to make coleslaw last week & it's still in the vegetable bin! That's going on my to-do list for tomorrow. I do like my sugar-free coleslaw.

I love the traditional German red cabbage with the sweet and sour flavor but since LC I haven't had it in a long time.
How do you make yours Bonnie?

This is the recipe I use: https://lowcarbyum.com/quick-cabbage-coleslaw/

I use a few squirts of Apriva, liquid sucralose, for the sweetener.

The freezer is my best friend. Get a bunch of decent matching storage containers. If they're matching, it makes them easier to make similar servings, stack, and fit in the freezer. I have about a dozen each in two sizes: a cube-shape 2-cup one and a flat square 3-cup. The 2-cups are good for things like soup, casseroles or other dished-up things and the 3-cups are good for flatter pieces of meat. Make a whole recipe of something and dish the other servings into separate containers. Maybe put one in the fridge and then the other couple in the freezer. Take them for your lunch or eat them for other dinners. If you grab one straight out of the freezer in the A.M. it will usually defrost by lunch time, and then it just takes a quick minute in the microwave to reheat.

I find this is a better method than storing it all in one big container--because then you defrost another big lump of something that's too much. You can always choose to defrost more than one if you're having guests. I made a big pot of fish chowder last night and put aside four additional servings. Today I'm going to make a big pork shoulder that I might get six to eight meals from. Though, I'm also thinking about inviting people for dinner, so we'll see.

That's a great tip about the smaller freezer containers for grab and go meals because I agree that a bigger container isn't practical when it's much more than you need! I love the matching container idea to keep freezer organized!
The thing is to keep the OP food available so you have it when you need it because I think it's so much more satisfying when you have a hot meal.

Having these all ready in the freezer is a life-saver in the morning when you're running off to work. I also sometimes toss some frozen veggies in alongside or in another container with a lump of butter. So you have your leftover main plus some veggies that you heat in the microwave for a full meal. It's basically like homemade Lean Cuisine.

I don't cook separately to stock my freezer like some people do, I just make extras of regular meals. I think this would work for someone with a family to cook for, too. Just make a larger amount and set some meals aside in containers before you put the rest on the table for dinner.