Many people believe that the diet followed by human beings in prehistory, before the development of agriculture, was a low carbohydrate diet. At this time people would have eaten whatever was available to them. This was the time of the ‘hunter-gatherers’.

In some places, there would be a lot of fruit available, and it might even have been the main food source for some people. That would not be a low carbohydrate diet. But in cooler climates, people would have relied more on hunting animals, and the diet would have been high in protein and low in carbohydrates.

With the development of agriculture, of course, people came to rely more and more on high carbohydrate foods that they could grow. Wheat and other grains provided plenty of calories per acre and so these were popular agricultural foods. Of course, at that time people wanted to have a high calorie diet because starvation, not obesity, was the main risk.

But as societies became richer, weight related issues began to arise. Doctors began to be aware of the benefits of a low carb diet for certain diseases and conditions. In the early 19th century diabetics were already being advised to cut down on high carb foods like bread, potatoes and sugar.

It was just one step from there to the first low carbohydrate weight loss plan. This was published by William Banting in England in 1863. Banting was not a doctor, but a craftsman whose health had been seriously threatened by his obesity. His doctor had suggested a diabetic diet, having noticed that this had resulted in weight loss for many of his patients.

So Banting gave up most of the carbs and starches in his diet, including beer, as well as milk and butter. He ate mostly meat, green vegetables and fruit, with a little wine. He lost weight so successfully that in 1863 he wrote and published a booklet called “Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public”.

This publication was hugely successful. Originally, Banting just had a few copies printed at his own expense, but soon it was widely circulated and a commercial publisher took it up. It became so well known that around the turn of the century the word “banting” was in common use, meaning “following a weight loss diet”.

Unfortunately, Banting’s low carbohydrate diet also attracted a lot of criticism, especially from health professionals who pointed to his lack of qualifications. Rumors circulated about how the diet had affected his health, although he lived to the age of 80. Similar rumors would later arise over the health and death of Dr Robert Atkins, in an attempt to discredit the Atkins Diet.

The first half of the 20th century was a lean time for most Western nations because of the wars in Europe. Weight loss became less of an issue until the 1950s and 60s, when fat was seen as the main enemy to health. So when Dr Atkins published his diet in 1972, there were not many people still living who remembered the earlier popularity of low carb diets, and most people thought it was a brand new idea. But in fact, Dr Atkins only rediscovered and revised the low carbohydrate diet.

Of course, you have to avoid anything that is coated or served with a sauce if you don’t know what is in it, but there are plenty of choices for dishes that you can make at home. Here are some example low carb chicken recipes to start you off.

Chicken BLT

If you need something cold for your lunch bag or to eat in hot weather, try a chicken BLT sandwich – without the bread, of course.

Cut cooked chicken breast into small cubes and chop the tomato and cooked bacon. Mix all of this with mayonnaise, then spread onto washed romaine lettuce leaves. Roll the lettuce over the filling and enjoy!

Teriyaki Chicken

Make the marinade with a quarter cup dry sherry, a quarter cup soy sauce, a quarter cup water, 2 crushed cloves of garlic and a half teaspoon of ground ginger. Bring it to the boil in a small saucepan and then allow to cool (this boils off the alcohol).

Then take 2 raw chicken breasts and marinade them in the refrigerator in the sauce for at least 2 hours. After that, remove them from the marinade and grill them. Serve with stir fried vegetables.

For a stronger flavor, dice the chicken before marinading, and stir fry it in sesame oil along with some chopped vegetables.

Chicken and Broccoli Crustless Quiche

1 chicken breast, cut into small pieces
4 oz broccoli
2 oz onion, chopped
6 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
6 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Chop the broccoli small in a food processor, then steam for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the eggs, then add in the cream. Grease a large pie plate, put in the chopped onion, steamed broccoli and shredded cheese, and season. Pour egg and cream mixture over this. Cook for approx 40 minutes until golden brown on top. When it is done, a knife pushed into the middle should come out clean.

These are just a few examples of the low carb chicken recipes that you can find online or in books. Remember that if you are following the Atkins diet, you can also create your own versions of any fried chicken recipe by frying chicken pieces including skin in oil, flavored with spices. Don’t include bread or premade fried chicken coatings unless you have checked that they are low carbohydrate or, even better, carbohydrate free.

Chicken is one of the standbys of a low carb diet as well as being one of the country’s favorite foods, but it can be bland and boring if you have it the same way every day. Keep yourself and your family interested in your weight loss diet by trying plenty of new low carb chicken recipes.