Summer's coming and the kids need some lowcarb meals. Any ideas?

[othervoice]

Message

[hrhboo]

Salads are always a good bet. I make a taco salad with lean ground beef/turkey and serve over chopped lettuce with salsa, sour cream, a little cheese and avocado. You can add black beans for heartiness. A 3-bean salad is good to make ahead and keep in the fridge for snacking. A grilled steak salad with chimichurri is summery and delicious.

Chilled seafood is always delicious in the summertime, I like to poach shrimp, crab, and calamari and arrange on a platter with lemon slices and dipping sauces. Smoked salmon with capers and creme fraiche is handy to keep around for light meals. Ceviche is wonderful in the summertime too.

Sometimes on hot days I go to our local Japanese market and buy several kinds of sashimi-grade fish, seaweed salad and marinated octopus for a light dinner that feels like a splurge.

The farmers markets are filled with beautiful veggies right now, cold steamed asparagus, green beans, articokes and summer squash make great sides or nibbles. A veggie frittata or crustless quiche is another thing you can make ahead. Lots of beautiful tomatoes around too, make a caprese salad with some fresh mozzerella and basil and a drizzle of good olive oil. Crudite with hummus, babaghanoush, tzatziki - quick and easy to eat!

I stuff halved aubergines and zucchini with a mixture of ground beef and herbs, top with cheese and bake. I serve this with marinara sauce for my boyfriend but I prefer it without. You could also stuff chicken breasts with spinach and feta and bake or pan roast.

Ricotta or greek yogurt sweetened with a little honey and served with berries makes a lovely summery dessert.

[othervoice]

Thanks to all so far.....keep them coming.
Don't get me wrong, I know that they need carbs.....I just want to get them away from the heavy pastas and white rices. I will definately try the omlettets and grilled fruits, the spaghetti squash is a great idea, anyone else have any specific recipes for it, and can it be done on the grill?

[Emme]

No grilling for spaghetti squash. Either pierce and microwave it, or you can *try* and cut it in half, then place in a micro safe safe dish cut-face down with water and nuke. You can also pierce, or place on baking dish cut-side down and do in the oven if you prefer.

[MMRuth]

I like to serve our favorite pasta sauces on grilled chicken cutlets, rather than on pasta.

[gridder]

Kids need carbs. (Sorry, had to say it.)

[leahinsc]

I agree with gridder. They need "good carbs" like fruits and vegetables and beans and whole wheat pasta and brown rice. Just skip the junk and empty carbs and sodas.

[weezycom]

lettuce wraps. Do up some chicken & veggies in thai style and spoon into butter lettuce leaves. Also works well to do tacos in a lettuce wrap, too. Or tuna salad

Low carb torilla made into a pizza.

omelets and deviled eggs

soda water with a splash of cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime for a beverage

chicken or pork satays with peanut sauce

[Candy]

Watch it on fruit, tomatoes esp. sundried, onions, and low fat dairy they all pack a lot of sugar into the diet which you want to avoid. See if you can find Dreamfield's pasta in your area or Google for it. It is very low carb. No need to use egg whites only, whole egg is fine, most kids love egg salad, tuna salad, chicken salad etc. Stay away from root veg. again much more sugar in them than leafy greens. Read lables religiously. Watch for sugar and learn to look at the carb count per serving and then to calculate carbs after subtracting for fiber. Look for lots of fiber too. See if your library has some of Dana Carpender's cookbooks. There are lots of good ideas and recipes in them.

[jinet12]

A kid's favorite, Buffalo Wings...Don't coat in flour, they're not as good that way, anyway...Fry or bake...Frank's buffalo sauce...You can serve them with bleu cheese or ranch dressing if you like....Chili without beans, grilled hot dogs covered with the chili ( no bun), grilled steaks, chicken...Chicken caesar salad sans croutons...Are you trying to serve lowcarb so that they will lose weight? Lowcarb only tends to work if you eat lowcarb all of the time, otherwise it does not produce weight loss...

[mojoeater]

GRILL!!!! Any beef, chicken, seafood, etc. with simple seasonings and veggies grilled alongside. No real need for carbs unless you want them.

[chrystaldawn]

Kabobs!!!!!!! Whatever you want!! Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Pork, Fish. Bell Peppers, Mushrooms, Onions, Egglant!!! LOVE IT!!!!! My favorite. I like to marinate Veggies/Meats with homemade marinades like Basil/Balsamic, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan.

[Emme]

Grilled veggies (eggplant, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, tomatoes) coated with garlic salt, then chopped and stirfried (use Pam), with drained and rinsed shirataki noodles, balsamic vinegar, Bragg's or soy sauce, lemon juice, mustard, and cooked chicken breast (or egg whites or tofu).

Turkey Chili without beans, served over steamed cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms

Spaghetti Squash cooked and mixed with a little chicken broth, parmesan, olive oil if desired and chopped garlic... served w/ protein of choice

Seared ahi tuna with a citrus reduction alongside roasted/steamed asparagus

Fish en papillote with veggies and white wine alongside an artichoke heart and hearts of palm salad, or just a steamed artichoke

Egg white frittata or omelette with sundried tomatoes, basil, eggplant, garlic and low-fat mozzarella, feta or parmesan

Lasagna made with long slices of eggplant and zucchini instead of noodles and low-fat ricotta cheese

Pasta sauces of your choosing served over veggies instead of pasta

Grilled fruit for desserts topped with some crushed fiber one cereal