When looking around the kitchen of a typical college student, you can usually find the same staple foods; pasta, pizza, Kraft Dinner, and chicken fingers; basically anything that you can throw into the oven and not worry about. The problem with these easy dinners is that while they’re awesome, they are high carb and full of salt and other nasty preservatives that sneak their way into packed foods. We at Her Campus Laurier put our cooking skills to the test and came up with these top five low carb meals that can be easily adapted to fit your tastes.
1. Avocado Tuna Melt
A twist on the classic, you can sub in the avocado for some or all of the mayo you would normally put in your tuna salad and slice a few pieces of your cheese of choice. The great thing about this recipe is that you can put this on top of bread, a wrap, crackers, or just eat it solo with some chopped veggies. Pop it in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
2. Spaghetti Squash
Spaghetti squash is a great alternative to regular spaghetti. All you have to do is cut it open and scoop out it’s spaghetti like inside and sauté it in a pan with olive oil, garlic, onion, and whatever spices or sauces you like. We like adding zucchini and shrimp, but you can serve it with anything you would regular pasta.
3. Cauliflower Pizza
Cauliflower pizza is awesome because you can load it up with whatever toppings you want! Try green peppers, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes for a fresh, vegetarian treat. The only thing that is different about cauliflower pizza from regular pizza is that the crust is made from cauliflower, and it is entirely gluten free. The key is to make the crust thin and crispy, you can find a super easy dough recipe here.
4. Cabbage Soup
Some people swear by the cabbage soup diet, and while we think it is totally not ok to only eat cabbage soup, it’s pretty tasty for a light dinner. You can find a basic recipe here.
5. Chicken Stir Fry
There’s nothing better than a simple stir fry, because every time you make one it can taste completely different. We like using thawed chicken thighs cut into cubes; however you can use already prepared chicken if you want. All you have to do is heat up a large non-stick pan with some butter or oil and cook the chicken until halfway, then add your vegetables. A good mix is broccoli, cauliflower and green beans, but you can use whatever you have on hand.Â
With these recipes at the ready you are sure to have some tasty, quick, low carb meals!