(spanish version: ¿Qué como?)

If you are looking for a comprehensive list of foods that you can eat on a low-carb/paleo diet, I would read these:

• http://authoritynutrition.com/low-carb-diet-meal-plan-and-menu/
• http://www.estilopaleo.com/2012/03/la-dieta-paleo-explicada-y-en-detalle.html
• http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

The contents below is about what I usually eat, not a generic list of low-carb foods. I don’t try to be an example of what to eat. I am just answering the request of a friend who asked for this list.

I recall that when I was reading «Dr Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution«, once he finished writing about all the foods that you should not eat, he asked «¿What is left to eat?» That was his thought and it is what we all think. In my case, if I avoid anything with gluten, bread, pasta, potatoes, grains, fruit juices, vegetable oils, added sugar (ice-creams, candies, sodas, etc.), alcohol and refined foods, what is left?!

You still have a lot of healthy natural foods:

• Meat and fish. Usually once per day. If it is chicken I like to add a little paté, making the food not so lean. I should eat more fresh salmon (but it is expensive).
• Eggs. At least 1 per day.
• Kefir. Home-made milk kefir. Everyday one or two cups.
• Flaxseed «bread». Home-made with powdered flaxseeds, salt and egg. Mostly with lots of butter and a little portion of low-carb strawberry jam, sometimes with paté or sobrasada.
• Unsweetened bifidus or  greek yoghurt. Not everyday. No sweetener, ever.
• Coffee. Everyday. No sweetener, sometimes with a spoon of cream (less carbs than milk).
• Water. Not a coke junkie anymore.
• Nuts. Cashews, macadamia nuts, walnuts, shelled sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, coconuts the Amazon (Brazil nuts), etc. I mix the ones I fancy and I eat somewhat between 50 and 100g per day (one or two 50g servings).
• Salad (avocado, arugula, canons, radicchio, tuna, sardines, olives, peppers, olive oil). At least once a day.
• Smoked salmon. 2 to 3 times per week, 100g each time.
• Fruit.  A couple of pieces per week.
• Brie Cheese. Not regularly
• Peppers, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, broccoli, onion, tomato. A small serving almost everyday.
• Sometimes a sugar-free candy (coffee or Halls Vita-C). But please beware, sugar-free means it is not bad for your teeth, but it still has chemical sweeteners and probably can create a glucose/insulin response. Moderation.
• Chicken broth. I drink it to replenish elecytolytes, something you must have in mind if you eat like I do. I usually drink it cold, one cup or two now and then. If I exercise I use to drink it.
• Bacon. May be once a week, usually with fried eggs.
• Frankfurt or «longanizas». Procesed meats are not that healthy so I don’t eat them too often. In any case I look for the ones with more meat and less carbs.

I use salt in my food, if I must. Salt is good.

I should eat more «jamón serrano«, but without bread it loses its appeal.

Cheats and treats (not too often, but sometimes…):

• Crème caramel without sugar
• Chocolate 85% (1 oz)
• Sparkling water
• Pork rinds (without added vegetable oil, only those fried using their own fat)
• Jelly without sugar

I don’t count calories, but I always have the carb content of foods in my mind. A always eat the 3 main meals of the day.

«Will I lose weight eating like you?» I don’t know. This is the food I eat while trying to maintain my current body weight, 70-71Kg (154-157lb), the weight I want. If I wanted to lose weight I would start to weigh the food again and count all the carbs I eat. I would eat the same food but if I couldn’t lose weight I would reduce carbs that don’t come from the green salads (kefir, nuts and obviously sugar-free candies)

Reading further:

• What do I actually eat? by Grant Schofield