7 Day Low Carb/Keto Meal Plan for Beginners

This 7 day low carb/keto meal plan is tailored for beginners.

Not sure how to start a low carb diet? These are tested and approved low carb/keto meals you and your family will love!

Starting a new way of eating can be so rewarding. If you’re anything like me, you’re doing all the research you can on a low carb/keto diet. As I’m sure you already know, there are a TON of recipes out there for low carb/keto foods, and to be honest it can be kind of overwhelming. As someone who has chosen to live a low carb lifestyle I understand the struggle, so I wanted to give you a whole week’s worth of easy and delicious low carb and keto meals that a beginner can appreciate.

You are going to learn that starting a low carb way of eating doesn’t have to be that difficult. Prepping your meals ahead of time can really help keep you on track. Once you have your meals prepped and ready to go, it really takes out all the guesswork and the stress. Meal planning can be so easy if you remember to keep it simple.

After learning that keeping it simple is the way to go, you’ll be a pro in no time and extra prepared when starting the work week.

This post is all about a simple low carb/keto meal plan for beginners.

Low Carb/Keto Meal Plan Ideas and Tips For Beginners

1. Low Carb/ Keto Breakfast Ideas

When you begin your low carb journey remember to keep all your meals simple. This post is all about creating a meal plan for beginners right? We don’t need to complicate things by creating a meal plan that has 100 different ingredients. You can absolutely build your pantry along the way.

Sausage, eggs and berries

Sausage comes in a few different varieties.   If you’re looking for super easy you can purchase the pre-cooked links/patties, or you can use the raw breakfast sausage that usually comes in a one pound roll.  You can make your own links or patties, or just crumble it up. If you plan on using the raw sausage I’d suggest cooking it first and then using some of that delicious sausage fat to cook your eggs.

Pick your favorite egg preparation: Scrambled, over-easy, sunny side up.. you get the point.

Berry options: Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.

Yogurt, berries and keto granola

Nowadays there are a lot more low carb yogurt options. The favorites in our house are:

1. • FAGE 5%
   • TWO GOOD
   • DANNON LIGHT & FIT GREEK YOGURT
   • HOMEMADE

Berry options listed above.

Delicious granola. You can certainly make your own, but for ease we buy “KETO NUT GRANOLA” from Costco.

Hard boiled eggs with cheese and avocado

Simple hard boiled eggs with some salt and pepper, a few pieces of cheese and avocado. Absolutely delicious and filling.

2. Low Carb/ Keto Lunch Ideas

Because you’ll have everything prepped ahead of time, you can pack your lunches the night before. Or you can even pack all of them on the weekend. Below are our absolute favorite, easy low carb/keto lunches:

Cheeseburgers

One of the easiest low carb/keto foods is the cheeseburger! Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, or your favorite seasoning. Throw it on the grill or even cook it on your stovetop. Next add your favorite cheese and serve it between lettuce leaves. Or you can make a lettuce bed, add mayo, mustard, pickles, onion and tomatoes.  We love cheeseburgers! Not only because they’re delicious, but  because prep-time is basically zero.

Cobb Salad

Another very easy meal. You can buy a rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked frozen chicken strips from the grocery store. You can also prepare your own by adding your favorite seasoning and grill, bake or panfry at home . First add your favorite lettuce. Grocery stores even have bags of pre-cut lettuce you can use, or you can simply wash and prep your own.  Choose your favorite ingredients.  Ours are:

1. • Chopped bacon
   • Hard boiled eggs
   • Bleu cheese crumbles
   • Avocado
   • Onion
   • Tomatoes

Drizzle your favorite low carb dressing and freshly cracked black pepper and you’ve got yourself an amazing lunch!

Baked Chicken and Broccoli

You can use whatever part of the chicken you like best. For simplicity we just go with the breast or thigh. Then you will choose whichever cooking method you prefer. The next step is to cook your veggies. Here we have chosen broccoli, but you can use any of your favorite low carb/keto veggies.

3. Low Carb/ Keto Dinner Ideas

Steak With Mashed Cauliflower

Pick out your favorite steak cut and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and cook using your favorite method. You can purchase already mashed cauliflower or you can make your own. One of our favorites (because it’s easy) is the Green Giant Cheddar and Bacon. This can be found at your local grocery store in the frozen section.

Salmon and Asparagus 

You DO NOT have to eat Salmon if it’s not your favorite fish. Pick whichever fish you like best. Or this can be swapped for chicken too.

Just like all the above meals please prepare anyway you like. You can bake your fish (or chicken) and asparagus all on the same sheet pan. Add some garlic, salt, pepper and lemon all over. Pop it in the oven for 15 minutes at 350°F. What I usually do is check at the 15 minute mark and add a longer cook time if needed. Thickness of your protein and oven time varies.

Beer Brats and Roasted Zucchini

My absolute favorite way to cook beer brats is in my instant pot. If you don’t have one, don’t worry. Pour your favorite beer into a sauce pan or stock pot and pop in your steamer basket. Next add your brats and cover your pan with a lid. Cooking them on the stove may take a bit of time, so I’d recommend checking on them after about 10 minutes. You can use a food thermometer to check for desired doneness. Now roast your zucchini. Remember keep it simple? Just sprinkle some black pepper, salt and onion powder on your zucchini and bake them in your oven at 375°F. Check for doneness at the 8 minute mark.

The awesome thing about a low carb/ keto diet is that you can interchange your lunch and dinner. Or, if you’re super adventurous you can interchange all 3! Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorites.

I’m sure you’ve already noticed, but in case you haven’t, each meal has 3 suggestions/ideas. There are a couple reasons for this:

1.  Variety.  If you have the same thing for every meal, you might get bored quickly.  Some people (like my husband) need to mix it up.
2. Weekend leftovers! Not only does this help you save on your grocery budget, but it will also free up a lot of time on the weekend so you can do other things you enjoy.

All of these foods should take maybe a little over an hour to make. I would suggest that you do not pre-cook your steak or seafood. Steak and fish cook really quickly and aren’t as good when reheated.

Below I’ve created a weekly low carb/keto meal plan just for YOU based off of the foods mentioned above.

This post was all about helping you in your very first week of low carb/ keto meals. If you remember to keep it simple (especially in the beginning) you’ll be a pro in no time!