Fish-based Atkins Meal Plan

We all know the health advantages of seafood and fish is a wonderful and creative way to add variety to the Atkins lifestyle. 

Breakfast
Start the day with a smoked salmon frittata, making a thick omelette with three eggs, smoked salmon trimmings (economical and available in any supermarket), chopped cooked broccoli (a handy use for last night’s leftover vegetables) and a little salt and pepper. By stage 2, you can add a little double cream to this mix to create a fantastic and super-indulgent scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. Black pepper is an ideal seasoning. 

Lunch
For lunch, an easy tuna pate can be made by mashing a tin of tuna into 4 tbsp full-fat cream cheese. The addition of a squeeze of lemon juice and a grinding of black pepper or a tsp of paprika barely affects your carb count but revs up the flavour. The pate makes a great filling for a green pepper (red peppers are fine from stage 2) and a large green salad with a no-carb dressing makes a healthy side-dish. 

Snack
Smoked salmon makes a useful wrap for lemon mayonnaise at snack time. Just remember to check you are using a no-sugar mayonnaise.

Dinner
For an evening meal, why not steam a fillet of plaice and top with a sauce made from 4 tbsp of boursin cheese, melted in the microwave for a few seconds to add a herby finish. Wilted spinach makes a classic pairing with fish, especially with a dash of nutmeg. In stage 2, you can add a delicious dessert of mixed berries, and what better accompaniment in stage 3 than a baked potato or a serving of brown rice if this is within your carb allowance for the week. 

Shopping list

Eggs
Smoked salmon trimmings
Broccoli
Double cream (stage 2) Tin of tuna
Green pepper
Cos lettuce
Lemon mayonnaise
Fillet of plaice
Boursin cheese (full-fat)
Fresh spinachMixed berries (stage 2)
Baked potato (stage 3)