Homemade Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet was once considered simply removing all carbohydrates from your diet. According to Atkins.com, the truth is that they divide carbs into two groups -- good carbs and bad carbs. While food products that balance these groups are available pre-prepared by Atkins, many people find the price prohibitive. Thankfully, Atkins-style foods are easily prepared at home.

Understand Carbs

• Learning about carbs can help you avoid them in your cooking and creating your own Atkins recipes. Bad carbs include refined sugars which quickly raise your blood sugar too high. They are found in products like breakfast cereals and breads. Another issues Atkins finds with bad carbs is that they are have a much lower nutritional value than good carbs. This being the case, eating these high sugar carbs can result in constant highs and lows in your blood sugar levels, as well as unwanted weight gain.

  Good carbs don't raise blood sugar quickly or too high, like bad carbs do. These foods are high in fiber and are found in unprocessed foods, like vegetables and fruits. Good carbs are naturally low in sugar. They also include unprocessed high fiber whole grain foods.

Understand Fats

• Understanding fats is another important aspect of the Atkins diet that will influence your choices when cooking. Atkins divides all fats into good and bad fats. Good fats aren't heat processed. Fat that is naturally found in food can be considered good fat, like the fat that is found in eggs, olives and flaxseed.

  Bad fats include oils that have been used in frying. Examples of bad fats include hydrogenated oils, which are also known as trans-fats. They can be found in products such as packaged snack foods like chips. The body has difficulty processing bad fats, which may cause them to form plaque in the arteries.

Substitutions

• Learning to substitute bad foods with good foods will allow you to create new recipes and update old favorites to being "Atkins friendly."

  According to Albert Alexander of Neuro-vision.us, a major source of difficulty for Atkins dieters is finding substitutes for bread. Some people get their breads by making their own bread using almond flour. The-atkins-diet.info, a site listing Atkins friendly recipes, also uses pork rind flour.

  Many people find that squash and zucchini are excellent substitutes for pasta and go very nicely with meat sauce. Lasagna lovers will find that substituting large slices of eggplant for lasagna pasta works well. Portobello mushrooms are also great substitutes for lasagna noodles. They are also used instead of crust in pizza.

  A popular food with those seeking substitute foods for the Atkins diet is cauliflower. It can be chopped and used instead of rice. It can be pureed and made into a creamy substitute for mashed potatoes.