To expect shops to sell no-carb fast food alternatives?

[FlamedToACrisp]

My adult stepson wants to try the Atkins diet, but the 'meal suggestions' he's come up with are simply things like pork chops with veg but no potatoes and no gravy. Well, yeah, if he ate 6 pork chops and 3 huge plates of veg, he might not be hungry... but he wouldn't stick to that for very long!

He'll eat pretty much anything, but he doesn't like cooking, there's no way he'll spend hours researching what is and isn't no-carb, and I'm not wasting space in my tiny kitchen for peculiar ingredients I'll never use to make normal food, nor will I cook everything from scratch for him.

Unless I'm making dinner for us all, he normally eats lob-it-in-the microwave-lasagne type foods, followed by bags of crisps.

Surely there must be no-carb gravy granules and no-carb versions of a pie or sausage roll? All I can find is cauliflower rice - what else is there?

Help!

Is he not able to just figure this out for himself? If he wants to eat low carb it’s not that complicated but it does take some commitment to cooking. If he doesn’t want to do that then that’s his issue. I’m not sure why you’re getting involved OP? If you don’t want to cook separate meals for him then don’t. He’s an adult.

I'd suggest that, if he wants to try such a restricted diet, he does his own research and menu planning. Taking on a diet like Atkins is not a time to be passive about food choices and just expect the appropriate food to materialise in front of him without any thought as to what form that food might take.

I can't believe this joke op has actually received 50+ replies.

Lots of nuts are fine on Atkins.

Low carb sausage rolls, btw.

If he wants to do truly no carbs then there pretty much isn’t any veg he can eat

I don't do Atkins, but I do the Blood Sugar Diet which is also low carb. I highly recommend it and the recipe book. I think it's much better researched and much more effective than Atkins.

For lunch, my go to is cheese, cherry tomatoes and nuts. For breakfast, full fat yoghurt with a few frozen blueberries or raspberries. No cooking required. If you're cutting out the carbs you genuinely don't need to eat nearly as much to feel full. For the first couple of days it's normal to have cravings, but after that it's fine.

But he has to want to do it himself.

@MangoSalsa Lots of nuts are not OK on low carb. Eat too many and you get to many carbs. They’re high in energy also and best enjoyed when you’re maintaining weight, not wanting to lose weight but in small amounts.

Scrambled egg with tomatoes, or mushrooms for breakfast, home made soup for lunch, he can make one big batch on a Sunday and eat it all week by just putting it in the microwave. I made a chicken and veg soup Sunday evening and were having it for lunches this week, soup also freezes well. I make a good roasted red pepper, chilli and lime soup that's very low calorie but really warming and satisfying for lunch. This is really basic food. I also disagree with Atkins but if it gives him a kick start and gets him off processed foods that can only be a good thing

Snacks from the shops / fast food ideas: bbq chicken legs cold and cooked with coleslaw. Microwave vegetable mix with butter with hot chicken or ribs or sausages from the hot counter in the supermarket. M&S do really good protein pots and salads. He can have some soups in the microwave. Chicken satay. Moussaka ready meal. I used to have Nando’s chicken with coleslaw and macho peas. Peanuts are a good snack. Curry or stir fries from the takeaway with no rice. Avocado with ready made prawn cocktail mixture. Naked burrito. Kebab without the bread. Peanuts and cheese as a small snack. Hope that helps.

Are they still doing them meatzas at M&S?

I have tried Atkins and it is not a bad diet. Although Atkins or other low carb diets are sometimes described as eat unlimited meat, after you adjust to the diet your appetite reduces to the point where it is easy to lose weight. So 1 chop and veggies would soon be enough.

A simple LC diet is very easy to do and only very basic cooking skills are needed, its only when you start trying to recreate bread and cakes etc it becomes difficult. For example a breakfast of Eggs, lunch Chicken or Tuna salad with some mayo, dinner a piece of meat or fish simply fried or baked and some cooked vegetables. Simple tasty sauces are things like adding a little cream to the pan juices, mayo or melted butter with various herbs and spices, lemon or lime. You can also add some cheese. Remember you don't need to worry about fat so this is where you can add some flavour easily.

Of course if you keep low carbing long term you can learn more recipes but you don't have to.

It is more expensive than very cheap carb based meals like pasta, but you can do it for a reasonable cost. If your dss is currently buying a lot of processed meals and fast food then it will probably be very similar in cost if he shops around a bit.

Of course it is hard like any diet, when you are tempted by your favourite foods but the reduction in appetite and cravings can help you stick to it. So I think you should encourage him to give it a go.

For something quick buy a ready cooked chicken and a bag of salad .

Or bagged salad and any cooked meat, tinned fish, hard cheese.

Scrambled eggs (can do in microwave) with grilled tomato / mushroom.

A cooked breakfast should be ok - use good quality sausages (no fillers) and minus the hash browns/ toast.

Use pre-made corgetti with bolognese sauce and cauliflower rice with chilli / curry / stir fry

Boiled eggs, nuts as snacks

I think berries are OK

This is an expensive way of eating though!

@Hagbeth Funny how I managed fine with snacks of macadamias and pistachios then

Get him to batch cook with you

Roast a load of veg
Roast a chicken
Cook up some mince with spices

He just needs to reheat as he goes

Surely he can make an omelette?

He needs to make the effort too :) but it's great that you are wanting to support him

I make "egg muffins" for breakfast.

I cook some bacon or sausage, put a tablespoon or so in the bottom of each cup of a muffin tin, then add about a tablespoon of spinach or mushrooms, and a pinch of cheese. I put a dozen eggs in a bowl and whip them up like I'm scrambling them, then fill the muffin cups to the top with eggs. I season them to taste - sometimes just salt and pepper, sometimes Italian seasoning, sometimes red pepper flakes - then I bake them at 350* (F) for about 20 minutes or so. A serving is 3, so it's 4 breakfasts.

@Nextphonewontbesamsung

I can't believe this joke op has actually received 50+ replies

My original post wasn't a joke, and I'm very grateful so many MNers have been willing to make helpful suggestions.

I did laugh at the 'no-carb sausage roll is a sausage' comments!

I am not some poor Cinderella, waiting on my lazy stepson, who merely needs to be told to eat less and move more and there you go, problem solved.

We've tried Slimming World and My fitness pal.

I want to be supportive and reasonable. I have no intention of doing all the work or paying for expensive stuff I don't normally provide, and I agree this diet is stupid and unnecessarily restrictive, but it's the first time he's raised himself out of his depression to even give dieting a try for nearly a year.

He cooked himself a 5-egg (!) omelette with spring onions for lunch. We went shopping together and I helped him choose stuff he paid for. I bought normal food like chicken, veg, fruit. After that he was hungry again and cooked cauliflower rice in the micro, mixed with pre-cooked mango chicken.

Will it last? Will he lose weight? We'll see.

I would have a look at the low carb bootcamp threads here on MN they have a really simple set of rules that is easy to follow with very little carb counting needed

A low carb sausage roll is just a sausage.

HTH.