Hello! I am starting up Atkins Induction and I am trying to find some meal ideas. I get very confused when I try to read the labels on food items, so I am not really sure what I am really looking for. (yes, i have read the book, but i feel as though i have missed some things. For example i know i can have nitrate free bacon, but i am not sure of what brand that can be.) I cant seem to come up with any great meal ideas. I am not worlds best cook either but i really want to do this. If anyone has any ideas or can tell me what they like to eat, that would be really great.

Unfortunately, the only way to get along on this diet is learning how to read nutiriton labels of packaged food and eating as much "real food" (non-packaged food) as possible. When you are having packaged food, it's very important to read labels--because "hidden" sugars are in a LOT of different foods. Nitrite-Free Bacon is with the other bacon and it will have "nitrite-free" on the label. You may have to look closely at the packaging. It might have something like "ALL NATURAL" or "100% Natural" or something in bold, but have the "nitrite free" in smaller print--make sure to look for the smaller print.

As far as something to help you to read labels, I found a few links. They're going to tell you on these links to eat lots of carbs and keep your fat intake low--you can ignore that advice Since that's contrary to the Atkins way of eating--but you can learn about how to read the labels by looking at it. Pay attention to Serving Size, Carbohydrate and Fiber especially for Atkins. I also count calories, but it's not 100% necessary on Atkins.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nut...-facts/NU00293
http://www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/fns/.../FoodLabel.htm

I personally go ahead and eat regular bacon, but keep it to a minimum, like once a week or so. Most mornings I have leftover steak with a couple fried eggs, or some organic chicken or turkey sausage with my eggs. I've found that some of the low carb recipes are nice, but most days I don't have much time to spend in the kitchen. I've worked out a plan for me that works with minimal preparation.

Typical day for me on atkins:
Bkfst: 4-5 oz meat/sausage and two eggs

Lunch: Big salad w/homemade olive oil vinegar dressing (just a splash of vinegar) with 8 oz meat (leftover chicken, steak, burger patty, or canned tuna) Or raw veggie slices dipped in tuna/olive oil/splash vinegar mixture.

Dinner: Small serving cooked veggies (brocolli or spinach etc.) and 5-6 oz meat (chicken, steak, baked fish, or boiled shrimp etc.) For dinners I always cook extra meat to have leftover for breakfasts and lunches throughout the week.

For snacks I have a small handful of walnuts, macadamias or pumpkin seeds. Every few days I'll have a small serving of low sugar fruit like melon or berries, usually in the evening.

Oh, and another thing, I had this leftover shrimp the other day, and mixed that in with my scrambled eggs and a teaspoon of salsa... it was delicious!!