Cheese Steak on Zoodles

We low-carbers tend to think of zoodles (zucchini noodles) only for Italian recipe applications.  But I’m finding the zoodles versatile and tasty enough for other uses.  Today, with a nice hunk of leftover sirloin steak in the fridge, I was thinking along the lines of a Philly Cheese Steak for lunch, but not with the traditional Frankenfood cheese sauce in a jar.  And certainly not with a big old carb-laden bun (although I have some low-carb psyllium hotdog buns cooked and at the ready).  I was thinking more along the lines of a Swiss cheese Patty Melt, but on noodles.  The above lunch is what I ended up doing.  It came out quite tasty!  My husband REALLY liked this!  It was very filling, too!

This recipe is acceptable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and those Primal folks that eat some dairy.  The portions were quite large and you might find this will feed 2 adults and 2 children quite nicely.  But I have calculated the numbers below for 3 equal adult servings.

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz. zucchini, cut into noodles

4 T. olive oil (total)

6 oz. cooked steak, sliced thin (I used pan-seared sirloin)

4 oz. yellow onion, sliced thin

6 oz. cheese, shredded (I used a mix of Swiss & Monterrey Jack)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat broiler.  Have two non-stick skillets ready, one large enough to fry steak and onions, one to cook the zoodles.  Cut the zucchini into “noodles” with a spiral tool or julienne peeler and have ready.  Slice the steak and onions and brown them in 2 T. of the oil in one skillet.  You want the onions to begin to brown and caramelize to release their natural sugar. When nearly done, heat remaining 2T. oil in the second skillet and place the zoodles in the hot oil.  Reduce heat to medium and stir-fry the zoodles just until they are no longer opaque, but not too soft. Plate the zoodles onto 3 serving plates and top with 1/3 of the meat and onion mixture.  Top with 1/3 of the cheese and pop into hot broiler just long enough to melt the cheese on top.  Remove with pot holder and serve at once.  Simple as that!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 3 large servings, each contains:

513 cals, 39g fat, 8.66g carbs, 2.3g fiber, 6.36g NET CARBS, 32.2g protein, 521 mg sodium

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Iraqi Grilled Cornish Hens

Up until now, I have only used my Baharat spice in braised chicken dishes (cooked in liquid): braised beef and braised lamb.  When I created this recipe, I tried it both grilled and baked in the oven.  I was most pleased with both methods of preparation actually.  Very tasty both ways!  In Iraq, they would likely use whole, cut-up chicken pieces as I don’t think Cornish hens are available there.  I especially like to use Cornish hens for serving company, if I can get them,  simply for the cute visual impact on the plate.  The meat doesn’t taste one bit different than larger chicken.  This recipe would be very for preparing quail, dove or other wild game fowl as well.  

I allow a half a bird per person when buying your Cornish hens but make sure there is one half bird extra for a bigger eater.  Most women and men will only eat ½ Cornish hen when two sides are served.  I have seen a man with a hefty appetite eat a whole hen on one occasion.  I have only done so once in my life, but it was a particularly small hen.   If I fix 2 sides, ½ Cornish hen fills me right up.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

2    1-1¼ pound Cornish hens (or appropriate # pieces cut up chicken for 4 people)

4 T. unsalted butter  (use less if you need to cut calories)

1 tsp. my homemade Baharat Spice Blend

½ tsp. Aleppo pepper  (or dried, ground ancho chile pepper)

1/4 tsp. onion powder

Optional:  1/2 tsp. sumac (if available)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Melt the butter in a saucer in the microwave.  Stir in the spices to mix well.  Split the hens in half up the back bone with a knife or kitchen shears.  This technique is referred to as spatchcocking or butterflying the bird.   If grilling, prepare the fire.  When it is hot, place the pieces evenly (or butterflied Cornish Hens cut side down) on the grill.  If baking them, place on a grate set inside a baking pan to catch juices. 

Using a brush, baste the hens well with the spice-butter mixture.  If baking, pop pan into 350º oven and bake for 45 minutes.  If grilling, turn once midway through cooking. Cook to internal temperature of 165º in the breast.  Turn up oven to 375º and continue to roast for about 15 more minutes to brown the skin.   Watch them closely this last 15 minutes, as ovens can vary.  When a meat thermometer poked in the center of the breast meat reads 165º they are properly cooked.  Remove from oven or grill and serve half a Cornish Hen to each person at the table to start off.   Only the hardiest of eaters will eat more, most likely.     

Traditionally, this meat is grilled.  Try it that way first as it is truly memorable grilled!  But also try it just baked in your oven sometime so you can see the difference.  This meat pairs nicely with any side dishes you like, but particularly nice with my Shawarma Roasted Vegetables.  I also like to enjoy it with my Iranian Mint Cucumber Salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings (I allow ½ hen per person), each contains:

501 cals, 39.3 g fat, 0.62 g carbs, 2.50 g fiber, 2.12 g NET CARBS, 34.1 g protein, 347 mg sodium

Cashew-Peanut Butter Cookies

I tinkered around a bit with the classic 3-ingredient low-carb peanut butter cookie recipe that floats around on the internet.  I like peanut butter a lot.  My husband, although he eats peanuts like crazy, hates peanut butter’s taste and mouth-feel.   So I backed off on the peanut butter and added some raw cashew butter to my new creation.  GOOD decision because he liked these!  I also wanted to pump these up with more nutrients so I added some whey protein to my cookie dough.    These came out GREAT!   These gems are not suitable until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb re-introduction ladder.  They are not suitable for Paleo-Primal followers at all.  Hope you folks able to have these like them as much as we do!

INGREDIENTS: 

½ c. (rounded) raw cashews (2½ oz. )

1 T. coconut oil

½ c. unsweetened chunky peanut butter (I use Laura Scudder)

3/4 c. granulated erythritol

1/4 c. granulated Splenda

¼ c. plain whey protein powder (I use NOW brand)

1 large egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS:  Soaking your nuts in some water and then draining to swell and soften them isn’t absolutely necessary, but it’s easier on your food processor blade and will render a smoother cashew butter.  I soaked mine 2 hours in warm water and then drained.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Line a cookie sheet either with parchment paper, a silicone sheet, or grease the pan well. Place cashews and coconut oil into food processor or blender and blend until smooth.  Scrape into a bowl with a rubber spatula.  Add the erythritol, Splenda, whey protein powder, egg  and chunky peanut butter.  Stir to blend mixture well.  In the name of uniform cookie size, using a teaspoon,  mark off the dough in the bowl into 4 equal sections.  You should get 5 cookies from each section, or a total of 20 cookies. Dip up enough dough with your spoon to roll into 1″ balls in your palms.  Set the balls onto the pan about 1″ apart.  These don’t spread much during cooking, so you can probably get all 20 on 1 large pan (4×5) .  When the 20 balls have been formed, take a fork and press them down slightly for that classic peanut butte cookie imprint we all know well.  Pop into preheated 350º oven for approximately 12-14 minutes or until just slightly brown on the edges.    These are crumbly when hot, so allow them to completely cool on the pan before removing with a spatula.  Store in an air-tight container when fully cooled.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 20 cookies, each contains:

76 cals, 5.8g fat, 2.6g carbs, 0.51g fiber, 2.09g NET CARBS, 3.56g protein, 30 mg sodium, 34 mg potassium

Salmon with Pink Tarragon Cream

Now THAT is a plateful of nutritious food!  Just look at the nutritional info below for this recipe!  I included more than I usually do here to drive home that point.  And those numbers are just for the fish and sauce!  If you add in values for the spinach and broiled tomatoes………WOW!  You can’t eat any healthier!  It probably almost meets your entire RDA nutritional requirements for the day!  This delicious sauce I have used on so many different things.  It’s good on with sautéed spinach, chicken, and over grilled shrimp.  It’s marvelous on scrambled eggs at breakfast (using diced tomato instead of tomato paste). I’m sure I’ll continue to find new ways to use this tasty pink sauce, changing up the herbs and spices.

I have discovered recently this is delicious on salmon.  It never disappoints! I served it alongside broiled tomatoes and sautéed spinach.   My husband isn’t terribly fond of salmon but he definitely liked this rendering of a very healthy fish that is very rich in Omega 3’s.   In order to be acceptable for Atkins Induction you must omit the wine.  It’ll still be good, just not quite as good.  😉  Wait until you get to Phase 2 OWL to add the wine.  This recipe is suitable for Keto diets but you might want to omit the wine as it may throw you out of ketosis.  It is perfectly OK for Primal-Paleo followers if you substitute coconut cream or coconut mild for the heavy cream.

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. salmon filet (skin removed)

2 T. butter (I use unsalted)

½ c. heavy cream (or coconut cream or coconut milk)

½ c. water (or ½ c. more cream, if you can afford the extra carbs)

2 T. tomato paste

½ tsp. dried tarragon leaves  (or about 1½ tsp. fresh, chopped)

Dash each salt and black pepper

¼ c. rose or white wine (omit for Induction)

1/8 tsp. xanthan gum or guar gum (or your favorite thickener)

1 sprig parsley, chopped or more tarragon (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS:  Cut the fish into two equal servings.  Melt the butter in a large skillet.  Sear the pieces of salmon on both sides over high heat until golden and flesh is fully done (peek in the center with a fork).  This will only take a couple minutes on a side.  Remove to a platter and pop into warm oven to hold while sauce is made.  Lower heat to medium.  Add the water, cream, tomato paste and tarragon to the skillet.  Bring to a slow simmer for about 3-4 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.   Dust the xanthan/guar gum slowly, a little at a time over the sauce and whisk it into the cream mixture.  Stir constantly as it begins to thicken.  Turn off heat, plate the fish and dip sauce on top.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley or bit more tarragon.  Save any unused sauce for your scrambled eggs in the morning!  So yummy on eggs!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes two 6-oz. servings, each contains:  (including half the sauce)

580 cals, 43.7g fat, 4.85g carbs, 0.6g fiber, 4.25g NET CARBS, 38.8g protein, 275 mg sodium, 92 mg potassium

57% RDA Vitamin A, 66% B6, 300% B12, 7% C, 18% E, 10% D, 10% calcium, 16% copper, 19% iron, 20% magnesium, 91% niacin, 71% phosphorous, 115% selenium, 20% thiamin, 12% zinc

 

 

Dad’s Peppered Beef Marinade

This recipe was my Dad’s pride and joy.  In 80 years of cooking he never found a marinade he liked better.  I often make this truly out-of-the-ordinary roast for company and holidays, but we do it on smaller cuts of beef year-round!  It’s DELICIOUS!  You grilling fanatics MUST try this recipe sometime!  This is truly my all-time favorite beef marinade as well and has been since I was in high school over 40 years ago.  We invariably have this recipe for Christmas dinner, because we are usually turkey’ed out by then.  This recipe makes enough marinade for an 8 lb. boneless rib roast, which will (after shrinkage) serve 10 nice servings, with some leftover for the most delicious cold roast beef sandwiches you ever had.  I do not recommend reheating this meat, as the meat and marinade loose some of their impact on reheating.   But it makes the best cold roast beef sandwiches you ever ate!  🙂

Once I realized this marinade could just as easily be used on smaller cuts of beef, we enjoy it much more often now.  I have used it for rib roast (shown top above), lean boneless chuck roasts, sirloin of varying sizes (shown above) and individual ribeye steaks.  It’s also good on wild game you want to do on the grill.  It’s a truly unique flavor when cooked over charcoal (not so good oven-cooked though).  It is Atkins friendly (just not Induction friendly, because of the wine).  Leaving out the wine just isn’t an option for this recipe, so wait until the Atkins OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) phase to enjoy this wonderful dish.  I guarantee, this is so good you’ll be fighting over who gets the two end slices, just like at my house.  🙂  

MARINADE INGREDIENTS: (remember, it is not all consumed)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

1/8 c. low-sodium soy sauce (1/4 c. if you can tolerate the sodium, I don’t though)

¼-½ c. dry red wine (burgundy or claret work nicely but any dry red will do)

1 T. tomato paste

1½ T. coarse ground black pepper (or enough to entirely coat your meat thickly)

DIRECTIONS:  Pound the coarse ground black pepper over all surfaces of an 8 rib roast (or sirloin, or chuck roast) using the butt of your palm or the smooth side of a meat cleaver. Use less pepper if doing a smaller piece of meat. Place meat in glass dish. I drizzle marinate every half hour (as often as you can remember to stop and do it) most of a day (minimum 6 hours). Most efficient way to marinate without disturbing pepper coating is to use a basting brush. Do not touch the meat with your brush, or you’ll wipe all the pepper off! Hold it over the meat and let it drip off the brush. When surface is soaked, put in refrigerator to marinate between “bastings”.  I baste hourly until cooking time.

COOKING:

This recipe really is not good cooked inside in your oven. Not sure why, but it just isn’t.  It seems it is the marriage of the marinade with charcoal smoke that makes this recipe taste divine.  You need to grill the 8 lb. rib roast for about 2 hours over medium coals (using a rotary spit if you own one).  If you don’t have one, like me, just turn the meat every half hour to sear all surfaces nicely. Best if not cooked past medium to medium rare stage.  I take mine off when my meat thermometer reads 120º degrees and set it on my cutting board for another 10 minutes to “rest”.  A piece of meat this large will continue to climb to around 130º while resting. That’s usually a nice pink medium-rare inside.

If doing sirloin or chuck roast (around 3-4 lb.) grill about 20 minutes on a side for medium-rare. This marinade really does a nice job of tenderizing a chuck or sirloin roast.  Cook rib steaks just like you usually would to your desired doneness.

This recipe always gets the WOWS when I serve it.  Hope you folks will try it! I think you’ll find you won’t be sorry you did! The outside slices are so good we always fight over them at home.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

The marinade is discarded when you cook the meat.  No further basting should be done while cooking as there is now raw meat juice in the marinade.   Calculating how much marinade is consumed is difficult.  It would also be impossible for me to know how many servings you are able to get out of your roast.  So I’m providing the totals for the entire batch of marinade and you will have to see how much it makes and how much is left in the pan before discarding to determine roughly how much is staying on the meat and thus consumed by how many people you are serving.   Most of the sauce goes down the drain, to be perfectly honest, so you’re getting mostly sodium from the soy sauce and a few carbs from the wine and tomato paste that cling to the surface of the meat (a little more if you get the end slices).  The figures below DO NOT INCLUDE THE MEAT.

The entire batch of marinade has:

131 cals, 0.7 g. fat, 18 g. carbs, 4.6 g. fiber, 15.4 NET CARBS (entire batch), 5.5 g. protein, 1070 mg. sodium

Peppered Bacon-Cheese Bread

I saw a Paleo Bread recipe on Elena’s Pantry blog and finally did get around to trying something similar.  But of course, I tweaked it up front, a permanent addiction of mine.  I added 3 flavor ingredients that produced a delightfully tasty breakfast or snack bread.  Hubby and I both liked this new creation.  I eliminated the honey in the original recipe, as I didn’t want any sweetness to the bread.  I eliminated the salt, as cheese and bacon have plenty in them.  Otherwise, the basic batter was the same as hers.  Adding the peppered bacon and cheese makes this memorable.  This bread is not suitable until you reach the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins OWL carb-re-introduction phase.   It is suitable for Primal diners, if you eat occasional cheese.   Omit the cheese to make this suitable for Paleo.  This batter cooks up nicely as biscuits or muffins, as the crust is particularly nice on this bread.  Muffins or biscuits will only take about 15-20 minutes to cook however.

You’ll find many more delicious bread recipes in our Low Carbing Among Friends cookbooks, a series by Jennifer Eloff and other talented low-carb kitchen gurus.  You can order them from Amazon or direct .

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. almond flour

2 T. coconut flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

1 c. grated cheese

4 oz. lean bacon, chopped (preferably peppered bacon)

¼ tsp. coarse black pepper (or just use Wright’s peppered bacon)

5 eggs, beaten

2 T. coconut oil, melted

2 T. olive oil

1 T. cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease a loaf pan and set aside.  I used a NON-standard sized loaf pan that is 4½” wide, 2½” deep and 12″ long.

Baked in an abnormal-size loaf pan 4½” x 3″ x  12″ (Italian import)

Measure all dry ingredients and cheese into a medium measuring bowl, stir and set aside.  Chop bacon and brown in skillet with black pepper shaken all over it (I didn’t measure the pepper, but I’d guess about ¼ tsp. total).  When bacon is done, set aside to drain/cool on paper towels a few minutes.  While it cools, add all liquid ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to blend.  Add cooked bacon and stir one last time to blend bacon evenly throughout batter.  Using a rubber spatula, scrape batter into non-stick, greased or parchment lined loaf pan and pop into preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.  Ovens vary, so check with toothpick test.  Remove and cool in pan a few minutes.  Run sharp knife around edges to loosen and tip out onto a cutting board. Slice into 10 servings and serve warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 10 large slices, each contains:

293.6 cals, 26g fat, 6.16 g carbs, 3.18 g fiber, 2.88g NET CARBS, 11.24 g protein, 481 mg sodium

Mexican Meatloaves with Chili Gravy

 

My husband REALLY complimented this variation on my regular meatloaf recipe.  Especially the sauce on top, and he’s not a big gravy  person!  Very simple dish to put together, too!  These little meatloaves were good on their own merit, so you could form this into a large meatloaf for slicing and not serve the sauce at all.  It would, of course, take longer to cook if made into a single large loaf.

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets, however not suited to Primal or Paleo diners unless the sauce is omitted or modified.

Many delicious low-carb recipes like this can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends (me included).  Chef George Stella also brings a wealth of his personal recipes to several of our books!  Order yours TODAY! from Amazon  or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php. 

MEAT INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. 90% lean ground beef (I used grass-fed)

1 lb. very lean ground pork

¼ c. + 2 T. Herdez Mild Red Salsa (in a jar) 

1/3 c. cilantro, chopped

1 large jalapeno, seeded and minced fine

½ tsp. ground cumin

1 T. chia seeds, ground & soaked 10 min. in 2 T. water

Dash salt & black pepper

FOR THE SAUCE:

¼c. Herdez Green Tomatillo Salsa (half a 7oz. can), or 1/4 cup jar Herdez Guacamole Salsa

3 oz. cream cheese

½ c. heavy cream

1/3 tsp. chili powder (I used my Smoky Chipotle Spice Blend)

Little water if needed (only if sauce gets too thick as it simmers)

Pinch stevia only if tomatillo salsa is very “acidic” tasting (tomatillos can be)

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Soak the chia seed in the water in a small dish to form a gel-like slurry.  While it is soaking, in a large mixing bowl, using a fork or your hands, mix all the listed meatloaf ingredients along with the soaked chia gel and mix well. Form into 4 oval mini meatloaves and place on a non-stick or greased baking dish.  Pop dish into 350º oven for about 35-40 minutes.  While they are baking, in a non-stick pan over medium heat, warm up the Herdez green tomatillo salsa.  Add the cream cheese and with a rubber spatula, blend in the melting cream cheese until it is smooth mixture.  Add the cream and chili powder. Stir well and lower heat to lowest setting.

When meat is done (130º on meat thermometer), remove from oven and lift meatloaves onto serving platter.  Thin the sauce, if necessary, with a dab of water and pour into a sauce/gravy boat for table serving alongside the meatloaves.

NOTE:  If making one single large meatloaf, it will take about an hour (maybe a bit longer, as ovens vary) to reach 130º in the center with a meat thermometer.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes four 6½-0z mini loaves, each contains:  

656 calories, 53 g fat, 3.30 g carbs, 0.37 g fiber, 2.93 g NET CARBS, 41 g protein, 662 mg sodium

Mushroom-Spinach Chicken Breasts

This dish is lip-smacking delicious!  The hemp hearts add a slight nutty taste.  We both gave this creative dish two thumbs up!  It was simple to put together, in the oven in 15 minutes and baked itself effortlessly to delicious perfection!  This will definitely make my regular chicken recipe rotations again!  It had, as you can see in the photo, lovely pan juices for basting during cooking and last minute drizzling over the meat when done.  This recipe is suitable for Phase 2 of Atkins once you have reached the grains level of the carb re-introduction ladder (it has Joseph’s pita bread in it).  You could use flax meal instead of the Joseph’s bread and enjoy this recipe once you reach the the nuts & seeds level of Phase 2, but it will have a grainier taste with that change.  This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction or Primal-Paleo followers.

Many delicious low-carb recipes like this one can be at your fingertips with your very own set of cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and her low-carb friends (including me).  Famous Chef George Stella also brings to these cookbooks a wealth of his personal recipes you will want to try!  Order yours from Amazon or the direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php. 

INGREDIENTS:

2  medium chicken breasts, skin on, boneless (boil bones for delicious stock for soups!)

2 T. unsalted butter

4 large mushrooms, chopped or sliced

2 c. spinach, chopped (1 c. packed)

2 T. Boursin soft cheese, ‘garlic and fine herb’

3 T. shredded Monterrey Jack

1/2 Joseph’s Flax and Oat Bran Pita Bread, softened with water (or 1 low-carb flour tortilla)

2 T. hemp hearts

Dash coarse black pepper

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Run a sharp knife between the rib bones and the chicken meat to remove the rib bones from the breast.  Boil them down for delicious chicken stock for future uses.  I freeze mine.   With a large knife, laterally slice the breast 3/4 of the way through making a pocket or shelf for the filling.  Place them in a lightly oiled baking dish and set aside.   In a non-stick skillet, heat the butter and sauté the mushrooms until no longer opaque.  Add the spinach and sauté just until it is limp.  Stir in the Boursin and Jack cheese.  Turn off heat.  Add the hemp hearts and stir filling well to blend the cheese.  With your fingers, mush up the softened bread and add it, stirring again.  Spoon half the mixture into each breast and fold the skin half over the filling.  Press lightly and sprinkle with pepper.  Pop the pan into a 350º oven and bake for about 1 hour (less time for small breasts, more for large ones).  When the skin has browned nicely on top, they should be done.   Serve in the baking dish pan so the pan juices can be dipped over the top if desired. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 servings, each contains:  (adjust ingredients for more servings)

478 calories, 33 g fat, 5.90 g carbs, 2.85 g fiber, 3.05 g NET CARBS, 39.35 g protein, 645 mg sodium

Montreal BBQ Sauce and Marinade

We’re grilling pork country ribs tonight.  This wonderful BBQ sauce is particularly good on pork:  chops, roasts (for pulled pork) or ribs.  You simply must try this one some time!  It has become a family regular!    You can also use this as a marinade for chicken pieces, shrimp and even on fish filets.  Marinate meat or seafood of choice in the refrigerator and then grill as usual.  Be sure to reserve some for use at the table for those that like more sauce.  This sauce is Atkins Induction friendly, too!

We find when we go out for ribs, the rub on the meat, although very tasty, is always so salty.  That just spoils my enjoyment of dinner, plus I gain weight just from the sodium load.  Tonight we’re having green beans and a delicious mushroom tomato salad  and some garlic bread made from some low-carb rolls I have in the refrigerator I baked earlier this week.   The above photo shows these ribs being served with loaded potatoes made from cauliflower, green onion, cream cheese, bacon and a little bacon.  Yummers.  

INGREDIENTS: 

2 tsp. “Montreal Steak” seasoning (recipe below)

1 stick butter, UNSALTED since the above spice has salt (but luckily no sugar!) (4 oz.)

1-2 tsp. red wine vinegar (more if you like)

1/8 – ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter, add Montreal Steak spice, vinegar and cayenne.   Simmer on lowest heat possible for 1 minute to blend flavors.  Remove and use as marinade & grilling sauce.  Place meat and sauce (reserve a bit of sauce for table use) into a large zip bag with sauce.  Zip and manipulate to coat all pieces/ribs well.  Marinate for 1-2 hours in refrigerator.

My Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning: 

• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated onion
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, coarsely ground
  
• 1 tablespoon dill seeds

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 8 tablespoons spice mix.  I use about 2-3 tsp. in the sauce above for doing a whole chicken, a full rack of ribs or 7-8 fish filets.  Each tablespoon of this sauce contains:

103 cals, 11.5g fat, 0.26g carbs, 0.1g fiber, 0.16g NET CARBS, 0.12g protein, 48 mg sodium

Boursin Scrambled Eggs

I keep Boursin  soft cheese “Garlic and Fine Herbs” flavor in the door of my refrigerator almost always.  Not something I like to run out of.  I keep finding interesting things to try it in or on.  It reminds me a lot of cream cheese, but much more intense flavor.  I find it way too heavy all by itself, as a dip or spread.  But I am really starting to like it in small amounts in a variety of odd places and sauces.  I’m having these eggs this morning so I thought I’d re-share this recipe with my readers today.  This definitely did not get the usual frowns and winces from my husband when I add something new to plain eggs (his preferred way to eat eggs, if not fried).  The “Chive and Onion” flavor Boursin cheese, which I have also tried, is delicious in this recipe as well.  Boursin cheeses are found in the deli or specialty cheese section of better grocery stores.

INGREDIENTS:     

2 T. butter, unsalted

4 large eggs, beaten

1½ T.  Boursin cheese, (I use mostly Garlic & Herb flavor)

2 T. parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS:   Melt butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add Boursin cheese and stir to dissolve.  Cheese will look like it’s curdling, but don’t worry, not a problem.  Add all the parsley but 1 tsp. reserved for garnish.  After 1 minutes, add beaten eggs and cook until done.  Serve with garnish of remaining parsley.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 2 servings, each contains:

262 cals, 23g fat, 1.2g carbs, 0.15g fiber, 1.05g NET CARBS, 13.1g protein, 165 mg sodium

If you’re not familiar with Boursin cheese, it’s a soft cheese that comes in a foil wrapper in a little box that looks like this.  It’s usually in the specialty cheese/delicatessen are of your grocery store.

“Apple Pie” Pastries

These tasty apple pastries can be put together in around 30 minutes!  Of course, if you use a low-carb homemade pastry dough in lieu of the commercial low-carb tortillas, it will take longer, but the carb count will be pulled lower. If you want dessert fast, the ready-made low-carb tortillas are nice to keep around for such occasions.  And I just recently learned about the small 4″ ZERO net carb tortillas Mission is making.  The fiber zero’s out the carbs and they would be perfect for this little dessert!  I bought some at Netrition recently and can’t wait to try them for this tasty treat!  When I do, I’ll post and recalculate the stats below, posting on this recipe.  You could also make these with fresh sliced peaches or nectarines.  These are very good on day two, so you can make a lot.  I would not recommend freezing this dessert treat.  

This recipe is not suitable until you are closer to Atkins Maintenance or are already to your  goal weight.  the tortillas have real flour and grains are the very last food you are allowed to add back after Induction.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Mission Carb Balance whole-wheat tortillas, cut in halves

6 oz. peeled calaba squash or Mexican zucchini pictured above (or peeled green zucchini)

5 oz. peeled apple, sliced 3/8″

3 T. unsalted butter, melted

½-3/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 T. granular Splenda (or equivalent sweetener of choice)

Optional: 1 T. more melted butter + mixture of 1 tsp. erythritol and a dash of cinnamon to sprinkle on top.

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Slice the zucchini 3/8″ thick.  Melt 3 T. butter and sauté zucchini squash and apple slices until nearly tender.  Stir in sweetener and ground cinnamon and remove from heat.  Cut tortillas in half.  On parchment or a silicone lined baking sheet, form cones with each tortilla half and place seam side down on the pan.  Fill with 1/6 the filling with a small spoon.  Melt remaining 1 T. butter.  Brush each pastry with the butter.  Mix on a paper towel the erythritol and cinnamon.  Spoon 1/6th of it over the top of each pastry.  Pop pan into oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until just lightly browned.  Remove from oven and serve hot.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 apple pastries, each contains:

127 cals, 8.73g fat, 10.98g carbs, 5.06g fiber, 5.92g NET CARBS, 1.83 g protein, 112 mg sodium

 

Greek Twinkies®

As a low-carber, I can’t have the typical puff pastry one uses to make Greek Spanakopitas, but I like to use my Mozzy Dough as a foundation for such applications.  It has a a hint of cheese and often works in such recipes.  These are delicious served with a Greek cucumber salad.  I think they would make great party finger food as well.  My husband gave these a two thumbs up and said they would be good with Tzatziki Sauce.  I think he’s on to something there and will definitely do that next time.  Click the above link for that recipe.  This is certainly not an authentic Greek recipe, but it has that Greek flavor we all love. 

These are not suitable until you reach the grains rung of the Atkins OWL Phase 2 carb reintroduction ladder.  Although high in calories & fat (not a bad thing if you need to boost your fat intake to meet daily macros), these are quite low in carbs.  🙂

INGREDIENTS: 

1 recipe my Mozzy Dough

1 lb. 90% lean ground beef

5 oz. frozen chopped spinach

1/3 c. parsley, chopped

½ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. dried dill weed

1 tsp. dried mint (or 1 T. fresh)

¼ tsp. coarse black pepper

1 oz. cream cheese

½ c. Feta cheese crumbles

4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

VARIATION:  Use ground lamb or ground goat meat instead of the ground beef. 

DIRECTIONS:  Brown meat over medium heat in skillet and drain off excess grease.  Add the spinach, parsley and all spices.  Stir for several minutes to be sure spinach is cooked. Dot the mixture with the cream cheese and Feta and allow to melt and blend, stirring often.  Add the 4 oz. mozzarella, which acts as a binding agent and stir until it melts into the mixture.  Remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the dough.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Make the Mozzy Dough per that recipe’s instructions.  Form the dough into a large log and divide it visually into 12 equal balls of dough.  Press each one into the slots of a Twinkie pan.  If you don’t own a Twinkie pan, use a muffin pan and fill 12 cups.  Press the dough into the slots as evenly as you can, pushing it up the sides to form a boat or wall for your dough cups.  Fill each pastry cup with 1/12 of the meat-spinach mixture (about 1/3 c.).  When all are filled, press down a bit and evenly distribute any mixture still unused.

Pop pan into 350º oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until to desired doneness.  Bottoms will be browned nicely, so don’t over cook.  Serve with a nice Greek cucumber salad and if you like, some Tzatziki sauce.  I found two of these filled me right up, so this recipe should serve 12 adults, but I’m providing stats, per my usual, per piece.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 12 Twinkies®, each contains:

282 calories, 20g fat, 6.39g carbs, 3.6g fiber, 2.79g NET CARBS, 22.6g protein, 474 mg sodium

Peach “Coffeecake”

I have 4 low-carb cake donuts leftover that are beginning to get dry so I’m going to make one of my favorites:  coffeecake!  I’ll thaw a bag of my frozen peaches which only take about 30 minutes.   Yes!   I’ll make this for my hubby for breakfast today!  He’s still sound asleep and will be so surprised when he wakes up.  This quick coffeecake can also be created with leftover low-carb muffins, biscuits or neutral-tasting low-carb bread slices.

I don’t care for sweets too much, but I try to bake some low-carb sweet treat for my husband once in awhile.  This one is delicious and we both love it.  I make it with berries when I need to cut the carbs even more, but today, I have no berries on hand so peaches from the freezer it is!   This tastes every bit as good as the pic makes it look!  This is not suitable until Atkins Pre-maintenance or Maintenance (the higher carb fruits rung of the OWL carb ladder).

VARIATION:  Use blackberries, raspberries, blueberries (for lower carbs) or perhaps grated apple, sliced pears or sliced plums for about the same in carbs.  Of course, changing the fruit will require you recalculate the net carbs per serving on a food tracker.

INGREDIENTS:

4 low-carb plain cake donuts

3 small ripe peaches (1½-13/4″ diameter), sliced thinly

3 T. butter

1 T. + 1 tsp. sweetener of choice

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  If not already made up, bake the donuts by that recipe’s instructions and cool. Slice 4 of the donuts in half laterally and place in the bottom of a non-stick cake pan, non-stick tart pan or greased baking dish.  Top evenly with the sliced peaches.  Sprinkle 1 tsp. sweetener on each serving.  Sprinkle cinnamon over all servings.  Dot evenly with butter (about 2 tsp. per serving).  Pop into the heated oven and bake for about 30 minutes so the peaches slightly cook.  Serve warm.

NOTE:  You can substitute 4 small slices any low-carb bread for the donuts, but be sure to sprinkle a little extra sweetener on top of them if you make that change.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

217 cals, 17g fat, 19.42g carbs, 10.2 g fiber, 9.22g NET CARBS  (lower using berries), 6.22g protein, 112 mg sodium

Black Soy Bean Salad

I don’t eat beans very often, but when I do, I reach for soy black beans.  This little salad is quite tasty and I do allow myself this treat once in awhile.  Black soy beans have so much fiber, it reduces their net carb count to 1g.  per ½ c. serving.  So they can be a very useful bean if you’re following a low carb lifestyle. 

This salad can be served as an entrée or with bits of leftover grilled steak or chicken, for a complete meal.  This dish is not suitable for Induction.  When you get to the legumes rung of the Atkins OWL carb re-introduction ladder, you can enjoy this delicious dish.

NOTE:  Black soy beans are not to be confused with regular black beans that have 14 net carbs per ½ cup!  So I only use the black soy beans for this salad or in your chili recipes. 

INGREDIENTS: 

1   14 oz. can black soy beans, rinsed and drained (I use Eden brand)

2 leaves romaine lettuce, sliced

1 oz. red onion, sliced thinly

2 T. balsamic vinegar  (or red wine vinegar)

3 T. olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Dash each black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:   Rinse beans in a strainer, drain well and put into a mixing bowl.  Slice lettuce and add.  Sliver onion and add.  Toss well.  Mix dressing ingredients and spices in a little jar, shake and pour over salad.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes or so to allow flavors to meld.  If adding leftover grilled meat, heat the meat and add slices on top right before plating.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

138.5 cal, 11.75g fat, 5.98g carbs, 2.53g fiber, 3.45g NET CARBS, 3.35g protein, 52 mg. sodium

Blueberry Muffins

We love blueberry muffins so you KNOW I had to try to make them low-carb.  Originally, I did this recipe for a loaf bread, but decided to make them a second time as muffins.  So I think I’ll make a batch of the muffins for breakfast tomorrow.  We haven’t baked anything sweet in ages. 

These have great flavor and are very moist and light.  So many low-carb baked goods are too dense for my liking.  Not so with these.  This recipe is not acceptable until you reach the grains rung of Atkins OWL (ongoing weight loss carb re-introduction ladder) when you are nearing goal weight.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. golden flax meal

½ c. Jennifer Eloff Vital Ultimate Bake Mix 

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

6 T. Splenda, granular

1 pkt. stevia powder

2 eggs, beaten

½ c. water

2 T. coconut oil

1 tsp. vanilla

¾ c. freeze-dried, frozen or fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º and place 8 paper liners into a muffin tin.  Measure dry ingredients into mixing bowl.  Beat in eggs, water, coconut oil and vanilla.  Beat batter about a minute until it is smooth.  Gently fold in berries and using a spoon or 2T. measuring cup, carefully fill the paper cups evenly.  They will be about 3/4 full with batter.  Pop into preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes.  You can also do this in a greased loaf pan (won’t rise much though) and if done as a loaf, bake for about 25 minutes or until center springs back when touched.  Slice into 8 slices.  Serve warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 8 slices or 8 muffins, each slice/muffin contains:

130 cals, 9.56g fat, 7.18g carbs, 2.84g fiber, 4.34g NET CARBS, 5.2g protein, 160 mg sodium

Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta a la Puttanesca

This tasty dinner sure goes together easily and FAST!  I would have used prosciutto (traditional) in this if I had any in the house.  Instead, in such cases, I either use dry-cured ham or dry-cured sausage, which my husband buys often.  I would NOT recommend using regular smoked sausage for this recipe.  It would not be very good and way too greasy for this dish.  Lean bacon will do in a pinch, but a totally different taste there.

I use Classico brand of sun-dried pesto sauce as it is only 7 net carbs per ¼ cup, spread out among the 4 servings.  I have calculated nutritional stats as if I had used the prosciutto, which is traditional for this dish, however.  This was outstanding in flavor profile!  My husband said I could make it again any time and I loved it as well.  This recipe is suitable once you get to phase 2 of Atkins, but those still on Induction need to leave out the white wine.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. unsalted butter

3 oz. onion, chopped (I used red onion)

4 slices prosciutto, chopped (or 4 oz. highly smoked dry-cured sausage  or dry-cured country ham, sliced)

1 fresh Roma tomato, coarsely chopped

½ c. canned sliced mushrooms with liquid (or 4-5 fresh medium, sliced)

10 black olives, sliced

½ c. parsley, chopped

½ c. white wine

Dash red pepper flakes

¼ c. Classico Sun-dried tomato Pesto (sold in a jar)

½ c. heavy cream

11 oz. Zeroodles “Penne” noodles with oat fiber (or 4 servings your preferred noodle alternate like zucchini noodles)

DIRECTIONS:   Melt butter in medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Sauté until tender.  Add all remaining ingredients but the cream and noodles.  Lower heat to medium and add cream.   Simmer until it begins to thicken up a bit.  Add the noodles and toss well to coat.  I let mine simmer for about 5 minutes longer.  Serve at once with a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

276.3 cals, 20.2g fat, 12.2g carbs, 5.92g fiber, 6.28g NET CARBS, 6.75g protein, 586 mg sodium

Topless Tamale Pie

I haven’t made this oldie but goodie in eons and am craving Mexican food tonight. I think I’ll make this quick and delicious meal tonight. Who needs those high-carb cornmeal toppings from tamale pies of old?  Walmart’s Great Value brand of canned corn only has 9g carbs per ½ c. minus 2g fiber or 7 net carbs per ½ cup.  Spread out in an entire recipe like this, if not still in Induction, you can use half a can (3/4 c.) in a recipe and get the real flavor of corn for mot too many carbs per serving.  Check out the numbers below.  This dish is so yummy I like to splurge a bit once in awhile and serve this.

This recipe is only suitable during Atkins Induction if you omit the corn.  It’s OK for other phases of Atkins however if it fits your daily macro goals. For those in Maintenance Phase, and can afford a few more carbs, here is my recipe with an actual topping on it: Tamale Pie.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. lean ground beef

2 oz. chopped onion

1 jalapeno, seeded, chopped

½ tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. granulated or garlic powder

3/4 c. canned corn, no-salt, drained

2.25 oz. can sliced black olives

4 slices American Deluxe cheese

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ c. canned diced tomatoes (no-salt)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 300º.  Cook ground meat over medium heat until no longer pink.  Add onion and jalapeno and cook until onion is softening.  Add all spices and stir.  Add tomatoes, corn, olives and the shredded Cheddar cheese.  Stir and simmer for 4-5 minutes.  The cheese will begin to get sticky and bind the mixture a bit.  Top with the 4 slices of American cheese.  Pop in a 300º oven for 5-8 minutes just to melt the cheese.   Serve directly in the baking pan or dish up onto a serving platter.  Pairs nicely with a guacamole or green salad of choice.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 4 servings.  Each serving contains:

493 cals, 31.5g fat, 10.1g carbs, 2.4g fiber, 7.7g NET CARBS, 39.8g protein, 882 mg sodium

Salisbury Steak

This delicious Atkins Induction-friendly dish is also acceptable for you other Keto & Paleo plans.  It is VERY easy to prepare.  When I was still teaching, I would often cook this when I came home particularly tired, or had a lot of papers to grade that night.  I have also done this recipe chopping up the mushrooms real fine and adding to the patties themselves.    It’s very good done that way, too.  This entrée pairs nicely with butter-rich mashed cauliflower and a green vegetable of your choice. This recipe is only suitable during Induction if you omit the wine.

INGREDIENTS:

½ lb. ground beef

½ lb. ground pork (or more ground beef)

2 T. finely minced yellow onion

1 T. chopped parsley

1 beaten egg

½ c. crushed plain pork rinds

1/3 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (or small can with juice)

½ c. low-sodium beef bouillon (preferably homemade)

¼ c. heavy cream (optional)

1 T. olive oil

2 T. white or red wine (omit during Induction)

Dash onion powder

Black pepper to taste

OPTIONAL:  Add some chopped celery to the pan after browning meat. It is very nice in the sauce.

VARIATION:  Add 1 T. finely minced red bell pepper to the meat for a slightly different taste.

DIRECTIONS:  Mix the meats, parsley, onion, pork rinds and egg together in a bowl with your hands.  Form into 4 patties.  Coat non-stick skillet with olive oil and brown patties over medium heat.  Lower heat to low and add bouillon, wine and cream.   Slice mushrooms and add to skillet.  Add seasonings and celery if using.  DO NOT SALT the meat mixture as the pork rinds will provide enough salt to this meat.   Cover and cook about 20 minutes longer, turning patties once during coking to ensure even cooking.  Uncover and simmer to reduce cream to thicken.  If not thick enough, dust on a couple light dustings of xanthan gum or guar gum.  Stir after each addition to prevent lumps.  Great with mashed cauliflower and some green vegetable.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:  (not including optional red bell pepper)

451.75 Calories, 34.28 g  fat, 2 g  carbs, 0.25 g fiber, 1.83 NET CARBS, 31.23  g  protein

Beef-Broccoli Pie

I was originally planning on doing empanadas (small hand pies) for dinner, but we just drove back from our rural cabin to mow the property and we’re both pooped when we got home.  So instead I’ll make a single large pie.  That’ll go much faster and is much easier.  I have some pie dough in the freezer I can thaw enough to roll out, so this will be much easier. 

I adore broccoli steamed, but I’m frankly not too fond of it added to casseroles.  It invariably cooks too long and gets strong-tasting.  I had strong misgivings about adding it to this meat pie recipe.  I think I must have used just the right amount of broccoli, because I LOVED this final dish and the broccoli, putting it in raw, did just fine! 

My husband, when he carried his plate to the kitchen sink, after having wolfed down seconds, said “You can add THAT one to your regular rotations.”  That’s always a pretty good sign from him. 😉  The filling was quite creamy yet not overly wet.  Having used grass-fed beef for this, the beef flavor was rich indeed. Give this one a try! I’m certain you’re going to like it.  Although not suitable until you are closer to goal weight, this one is well worth the wait.  If you use Induction suitable biscuit dough (like flax muffin batter) and not do a bottom crust, those still in the initial Atkins Induction phase could still enjoy this recipe. 🙂

VARIATION:  You lamb fans could use ground lamb in this pie for a very nice variation.

CRUST INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 c. CarbQuik bake mix (use a gluten-free bake mix for a gluten-free version)

¼ c. oat flour (from certified gluten-free oats if you require that)

½ c. coconut oil or cold butter

¼ tsp. sea salt

1/3 c. ice water

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. ground beef (I used 90% lean grass-fed)

6 large mushrooms, sliced chopped coarsely

1/3 c. red bell pepper, chopped

2 oz. onion, chopped

½ recipe Jennifer Eloff’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

½ c. drained yogurt (I used Fage 2%)

¼ c. cream

Dash each salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

1½ c. broccoli, coarsely chopped (I used mostly flowerettes)

DIRECTIONS:  Make the blender soup (linked above) per that recipe’s instructions.  You will only use half of this soup. Store the remaining half in your refrigerator for another use.  Set aside what you will be using for now.

Measure out the dry ingredients for the crust in a medium mixing bowl.  Stir well.  With a fork or pastry cutter, blend in the coconut oil or cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal and visually appears to be uniformly blended.  Add the ice water slowly and with your fork, stir until it forms a solid ball of dough.  I had to knead mine 4-5 times to facilitate that. Divide dough into a chunk of 2/3 of the dough for the bottom crust and 1/3 of the dough for the top crust.  Roll bottom crust between 2 sheets of plastic wrap until 1-1½” larger than your baking dish.  I used a 7 x 11 ceramic dish.  Remove top plastic and lift the dough, plastic and all and gently tip it onto the pan, centered.  Remove plastic and press it in the bottom and along the sides of your baking dish.  If there are any tears, just press it together.  Perfection here is not an issue.  Set aside while you cook the filling.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Brown the meat in a non-stick skillet (mine is ceramic) over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and bell pepper.  Sauté until veggies are nearly tender.  Add the chopped mushrooms and sauté the mixture just until they are no longer opaque.  Stir in the condensed soup, yogurt and cream until they are uniformly blended.  Stir in the RAW diced broccoli, salt and pepper last.  The broccoli will cook sufficiently in the oven baking process.

With a rubber spatula, scrape filling into the crust.  Now roll out the remaining dough to roughly the size and shape of your dish (again between plastic wrap) and top the pie with it.  Seal the edges of the top and bottom crust in any fashion you like. Make some vent hole with a knife tip or fork.  Pop into 350º oven for about 1 hour or until dough is golden brown.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 6 servings, each contains:

340 calories, 33 g  fat, 19.83 g  carbs, 11.26 g  fiber, 8.57 NET CARBS, 10 g  protein, 353 mg sodium

Bacon-Mushroom “Pancake”

I like to fix this delicious breakfast quite often.  It’s simple to put together and my husband loves things like this done in the skillet.  Unfortunately, he sliced off a portion  and was chowing down on it before I got my camera out to take my blog photo!    I call this a “pancake” (but it has no batter in it) because it is quite thin, with only 3 eggs in it.  I’m not terribly fond of eggs, so are you surprised?  If you prefer more of a fluffy frittata, just increase the eggs to 4 or 5 and whip them with a whisk before adding them in.  This breakfast or brunch offering is suitable for all phases of Atkins and most Keto programs.  It passes muster for Primal and Paleo folks as well, provided you clarify the butter, of course.

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. unsalted butter

6 medium mushrooms, sliced

2 oz. cooked bacon pieces (weighed after cooking)

3 large eggs, beaten

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  In a 10″ skillet melt the butter over medium-high heat and saute the mushrooms in the pan until tender and no longer bleeding moisture into the pan.  Turn off heat.  Spread the bacon pieces on top evenly.  Drizzle the beaten eggs over the top of the bacon-mushroom mixture, trying to moisten the entire contents with the egg.  Pop skillet into 350º oven for about 7-10 minutes or until eggs are just done in the center.  Remove from oven and run a spatula under the “pancake” to slide it onto a serving platter.  Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 4 servings, each contains:

213 cals, 18.4g fat, 1.37g carbs, 0.27g fiber, 1.1g NET CARBS, 10.9g protein, 382 mg sodium

Cajun Balsamic Fish Filets

This is a quick and delicious meal that takes almost no time to thaw and prepare for your family. I have tried my Homemade Cajun Seafood Spice on fish before, but I wanted to see what a dash of Balsamic vinegar would bring to that picture. Let’s just say we were both pleasantly surprised how much we liked that addition! Of course, if you’re not a balsamic fan, you can substitute lemon juice or just omit altogether. That will result in a delicious, classic Louisiana Cajun fish presentation.

This is low in calories yet filling! Best of all, it is suitable for Atkins Induction phase! This recipe would lend itself to a variety of white-flesh fish you may have available (I use what I can get in Central TX), but it would be delicious on 0salmon as well! I also think this recipe would be delicious grilled over charcoal.

INGREDIENTS:

2 6-oz. fish filets of your choice

4 T. unsalted butter

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. my Homemade Cajun Seafood Spice blend

VARIATION: Use jumbo shrimp, shelled all but tails & deveined.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400º. Prepare fresh or defrost frozen filets. Pat dry with paper towels. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the balsamic vinegar and spice blend and remove from the burner. Using a brush, coat all 4 sides of the two filets with the mixture and place them on a metal baking pan. Place pan into preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes. If fish is fully opaque & flakes nicely with knife tip (indicating it is done) but is not yet brown enough for you, turn the oven to broil and brown to your satisfaction for a couple minutes. Alternately, you can grill these over a hot charcoal fire, but be gentle lest they tear up in the handling. We love grilling fish! Serve with your favorite sides. We had ours with buttered cauliflower and my own home-grown green beans that were lightly sautéed in 50:50 butter/bacon grease a few minutes. Mmmm….This was a delicious meal!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:

426 cals, 31.5g fat, 1.29g carbs, 0.2g fiber, 1.09g NET CARBS, 32.44g protein, 226 mg sodium

Beef & Bacon Stuffed Squash

This delicious dish is so rich and creamy you’re going to love it!  Not a lot of ingredients but a nice combination of flavors in this one.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, and Primal diets.

INGREDIENTS: 

1½ c. cooked spaghetti squash threads (I used a 6″ squash which was perfect.)

2 slices thick bacon, chopped coarsely

10 oz. ground beef (I used 90% lean grass-fed)

3/4 tsp. Victoria Gourmet No-Salt Lemon Pepper

2 large green onions, chopped

2 oz. (4 T.) cream cheese

¼ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

VARIATION: Use other seasonings (Italian, Cajun).  I have made these with Montreal Steak Seasoning and I can vouch that one is super good!

DIRECTIONS:  Cut squash in half lengthwise and invert in a shallow dish with a little water.  Microwave on HI for 13 minutes. Remove and fork out the threads into a waiting bowl, being careful so as not to tear the outer shells that will become their own “bowl”.  You will only be using 1½ c. of the threads.  Reserve the rest for another use.

In a non-stick skillet or wok over high heat, fry the bacon.  When partially cooked, add the beef, breaking it up with your spoon as you cook the two completely until completely done.  Add the seasoning you have chosen and the green onions.  Just sauté until onion is slightly softened.  Add the cream cheese and stir until it is uniformly melted and blended with the meat mixture.  Remove from heat.  Spoon the meat mixture onto the spaghetti squash threads and stir to blend well.   Spoon half the mixture into each empty squash shell.  Sprinkle 2 T. mozzarella shreds over each filled squash half.  Pop into 350º oven for around 20 minutes or until cheese is melted on top and slightly beginning to brown.  Serve at once with a salad or green veggie.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 adult servings, each contains:

627 cals, 43.6g fat, 10.8g carbs, 2.25g fiber, 8.55g NET CARBS, 46.2g protein, 1100 mg sodium (in the bacon)

Seeded Dinner Rolls

These delicious rolls are made with my Peggy’s Sliced Bread batter.  I simply sprinkled on a topping of my seed/spice mixture and chose a square muffin pan.    I topped mine with my 8-Seed version of Victoria Gourmet’s 7-Seed Crust spice blend:  http://www.vgourmet.com/7-Seed-Crust/p/VIC-00143&c=VictoriaGourmet@SeasoningBlends plus a few nigella seeds.  Sometimes I even add a few sunflower seeds on top if I have some on hand, just because I love them on breads & crackers. 

For perspective on rise, the wells in my non-stick pan are 3/4″ deep, but rise is minimal, as with so many low-carb breads.  I don’t like to use paper liners with high-egg content breads as they just won’t get that tasty brown bottom crust when you do.  Therefore I have to gently coax these out of the pan with the help of a knife tip after a bit of cooling, to prevent tearing up the bottoms.  Alternately, you could just drop these by heaping spoonsful (20 mounds) onto a non-stick baking sheet to achieve a biscuit appearance, as the inside texture is very similar to a biscuit.  These are not suitable until the grains rung of OWL due to the flour products in the Carbquick.  Even on the Victoria Gourmet website, I was unable to get nutritional info for the spice blend I used, so I calculated 1 gram of each the higher carb seeds listed in the ingredients on my bottle.  Don’t fret about the topping, as you’re getting few carbs there, considering you divide that mix into 20 portions.

These would also make lovely little finger sandwiches for parties with your favorite meat fillings!  I just made the best mini-BLT’s for my lunch with two of these. Lots of possibilities!

INGREDIENTS: 

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs, beaten

1 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2011/04/im-very-excited-to-unveil-my-splendid.html

½ c. Carbquik bake mix (substitute ½ c. more Jennifer’s mix for gluten-free version)

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 T. seed/spice mix of your choosing (I use my 8-Seed Spice Blend)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Oil the cups of a non-stick square or round muffin pan.  Soften cream cheese in medium bowl and beat the eggs in until fairly smooth.  Add in all dry ingredients and stir until well blended.  Using a 2T. measuring cup, dip batter (rounded in the cup) into the muffin cups.  Batter is real thick, a bit sticky,  and you will have to scoop the batter out with your finger.  There should be enough batter for about 20 rolls and nutritional stats below are calculated on that number.  I took a round butter knife and tried to spread batter evenly into the cups.  Pop into 350º oven and bake about 20-22 minutes.   Check at 20 since ovens vary.  You don’t want to overly brown these or they will dry out.  Remove and cool a bit before gently coaxing them out of the pan with the help of a knife.  If the first one tears up a bit on the bottom, wait a little longer before removing the rest.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 20 rolls, each contains:

86.75 cals, 7.59g fat, 3.68g carbs, 1.96g fiber, 1.72g NET CARBS, 5.37g protein, 141 mg sodium

BBQ Crack Cabbage with Ham

I found a small package of grilled pork slices in my freezer this morning I need to use up.  Since I have cooked this recipe numerous times now and my husband and I just LOVE it, it’s what’s for dinner tonight!  It’s so simple to make you’ll want to try this some time.  The mystery added ingredient, to what is basically the Crack Slaw recipe, makes all the difference in the world!  The BBQ sauce is the KEY INGREDIENT, so don’t omit that.  The flavor impact is astounding.   Without the sauce, it’s pretty much just an ordinary Crack Slaw in my opinion.  Carb count is a little high on this dish, but it is all in the healthy vegetables in it.  This recipe provides your daily requirements for Vitamins B6, C, iron, manganese, niacin, phosphorous and thiamin.  So the carbs are well worth it in nutrition alone!

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and most Keto programs.  Paleo/Primal Blueprint folks must use a plan-acceptable BBQ sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

3 T. bacon grease

8 oz. cooked cured ham, cut in small strips

2 oz. red bell pepper, cut in small strips

1 leek (12 oz.), washed, sliced ½” (or 1 lg. yellow onion)

12 oz. green cabbage, cut in ½” stir-fry slices

¼ c. low-carb BBQ sauce (I use G.Hughes, thinned with 1 T. each vinegar & water)

Dash of coarse black pepper

VARIATIONS:  Instead of ham, use thinly-sliced smoked sausage, leftover grilled pork meat, breakfast sausage mini-meatballs, or leftover BBQ brisket.  Brown all meats first in the skillet as was done with ham in the directions.

DIRECTIONS:  In a large non-stick wok or skillet, melt the bacon grease over high heat.  Add cut-up ham (or leftover grilled BBQ meat) and stir-fry to caramelize and lightly brown it for about 3 minutes.  Add the red bell pepper next and sauté until just barely starts to soften.  Add leeks and stir-fry until it just begins to go limp (about 4-5 minutes).   Add the cut-up cabbage and cook all together just until cabbage begins to soften.  Drizzle the water/vinegar- diluted BBQ sauce over the top and turn off heat.  Stir to mix the sauce to coat all ingredients with its smoky, sweet goodness.  Sprinkle top of mixture with a quality coarse black pepper.  At this juncture, you have two choices.  You can either serve the dish at once if you like your cabbage to still be a bit crunchy.  Or you can pop it into a 350º oven for 15-20 minutes for flavors to develop further and for veggies to get a bit softer.  Your call.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Made with leek rather than yellow onion, makes 5 servings, each contains:

199 cals, 11.72g fat, 12.02g carbs, 2.78g fiber, 9.24g NET CARBS (only 7.5g NET CARBS using yellow onion), 11.78g protein, 768 mg sodium

Jicama Cinnamon Chips

My husband went to the grocery store today and came home with a jicama.  This is one of my favorite ways to have jicama.  I love these for an easy dessert, for breakfast or for a late night snack.  They are very filling and taste a lot like baked apples!  These things satisfied my sweet tooth during Atkins Induction Phase when I craved something sweet.  This recipe is suitable for Keto, Paleo and Primal diets.

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. jicama, peeled & sliced less than ¼” thick

2 T. melted butter

4-5 drops liquid stevia or liquid Splenda (or your preferred sweetener)

½ tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In sheet pan, melt butter.  Stir in cinnamon and liquid Splenda.  Slice jicama about 1/8″ thick (1/4″ if you like them crunchier) and place each slice into butter/cinnamon mixture.  Turn over so both sides are coated well.  Bake at 350º for about 20 minutes until begin to soften.  Serve warm!

VARIATION:   I have made this in a skillet using peeled chayote squash and a bit more butter.  Then I pop the skillet into the oven to finish off.  But I didn’t invent that wheel.  You can find that recipe over on Linda Genaw’s website:  http://genaw.com/lowcarb/fried_apples.html.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 1 person.  Entire recipe contains:

239 cals, 23.1g fat, 8.4g carbs, 4.8g fiber, 3.6g NET CARBS, 0.9g protein, 6.8 mg. sodium

 

Beer-Braised Beef Shanks with Leeks

The farmer that lease’s our pasture down on our cabin property gave us some beef shanks off the last Brangus he took to butcher.   I like to braise shanks with a little beer (low-carb, of course) or wine.  This is one of my all-time favorite braised beef recipes and ever so simple.  Cooks itself really, after searing the meat.   This dish is equally good made with large pieces of chuck roast or with beef short ribs, if you can’t get shank.  The carbs are coming from the leeks but they are really good with this meat.  This dish is only Induction friendly if you omit the beer. I served mine with buttered, steamed carrots and my Seeded Dinner Rolls . My husband likes his leeks stewed to “death”, as they appear in the photo.  But I would recommend if you like yours less “dead” (as do I), wait to add them to the pot after the meat has simmered for the first hour hour.   I thicken my broth with xanthan gum, but you can use whatever thickener is acceptable for your eating plan.

INGREDIENTS:

2½ lbs. lean, cross-cut beef shanks (or chunks of beef chuck/shoulder)

1 T. coconut or olive oil

2 oz. yellow onion, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 leek, cleaned and chopped into 2″ pieces

7 oz. large mushrooms, wiped clean

12 oz. low-carb beer (Michelob Ultra is low-carb)

1/4 tsp. ground thyme

1½ c. rich, homemade beef broth

about 1 c. water

thickener of your choice

VARIATION:  Use 1 c. white or rose wine instead of the beer

DIRECTIONS:   Cut root tip and top 1″of green part off the leek.  Slice it lengthwise and wash carefully with water between layers to get all “hiding” dirt out.  Cut into 2″ pieces and set aside.  Wipe mushrooms clean with a dry cloth, cut huge ones in half, leave others whole.  Set aside.    Heat a large dutch oven or stew pot until nearly smoking and add coconut oil.  Sear the pieces of meat on high flame until they are well browned on each side.  Add yellow onion, garlic, broth, beer, water to cover meat, thyme, salt and pepper.  Cover and lower heat to  slow simmer.  Simmer 1 hour.   Add mushrooms and leeks, lightly stirring them into the broth.  Cover again and simmer for about 30 more minutes or until meat is very tender.  Serve with your favorite low-carb bread or dinner rolls and a salad or another vegetable if you prefer.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains: (I have calculated the stats below assuming you consume an entire 1/4 of  the thickened broth, which is probably unlikely.  Actual consumed net carbs on the broth might be less than the 6.22 g. shown below.  But the actual consumed would be difficult to calculate any other way than I have shown at 1/4 the broth, 1/4 of the meat and 1/4 of the veggies.)

310 cals, 10.4g fat, 7.55g carbs, 1.33g fiber, 6.22g NET CARBS, 40.2g protein, 450 mg sodium

Strawberry Chocolate Torte

I’m not a big sweets eater, as many of my readers and forum acquaintances know by now.  But my husband is, so I fix him low-carb treats for special occasions otherwise he WILL go buy the awful flour/sugar laden versions at the bakery.  This dessert I created for his Valentine’s Day treat some years back and thought I’d share it today since there’s never a bad time for a good chocolate cake.  

The basic chocolate cake batter in this recipe is actually not my recipe.  My inspirational recipe was posted by a wonderful cook on LowCarbFriends forums named Gwen, known there as “The Chicken Lady” as she lives on a farm.  This cake is a testimonial to her incredible cooking skills. I love this cake and have made it more than one time now.  I can’t say that about many low-carb chocolate cakes I’ve tried.   Despite it looking sinfully rich, it was very light.   I have made no changes to her original chocolate cake recipe.  🙂

I did bake my cake in ONE 9″ round cake (wax-paper lined) cake pan that is unusually deep (2½”) and the cake rose nearly to the top!  It would bake OK in two standard shallow 9″ cake pans also, but reduce the cooking time if you make that pan change.  You’ll have more trouble slicing it into 4 layers, and might prefer to just do a two-layer final cake instead of three.  Or you could bake the cake in a wax-paper lined stew pot/Dutch oven.  That has worked for me many a time.  This dessert is not suitable until the berries rung of the Atkins OWL carb reintroduction ladder.  Due to the artificial sweeteners and dairy, this dessert is not be suitable for Paleo-Primal followers without considerable modification.

VARIATION:  Substitute raspberries for the strawberries.

This cake is fairly carb pricey, but if you can’t afford the carbs, you could cut it into 12 pieces.  That’s a wee bit better.  This should be considered a very special occasion treat because it IS so carb pricey.  Be sure if substituting other than liquid sweeteners, to add in those carbs!

CHICKEN LADY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE INGREDIENTS: 

4 c. almond flour
liquid sweetener to equal 2 c. sugar
½ c. granular erythritol (or equivalent sweetener of choice to equal 1/3 cup of sugar)
4 pkts. stevia (or equivalent for 8 tsp. sugar)  
½ c. cup cocoa powder
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/3 c. butter or coconut oil, melted
4 eggs, beaten
1 c. sour cream

MY FROSTING & FILLING INGREDIENTS:

2½ c. heavy cream, whipped

1/16-1/8 tsp. glucomannan powder, dusted over cream as you whip it (optional, to help firm up)

14 oz. frozen whole strawberries, thawed and drained of juice, chopped

1 c. fresh strawberries, chopped or 1 c. more frozen berries (or use all fresh berries)

Sweetener of choice to taste

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º.   Mix and beat the wet cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl.   If your almond flour isn’t room temperature, make it so and press out any lumps.  Measure and add in all dry ingredients to the bowl and stir well. Line your cake pan(s) with waxed paper or parchment.  Grease the sides of the pan(s) well.  Pour batter into pan spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Tap pan on counter to eliminate air pockets and pop into 350º oven.  Bake for about 60 minutes if using one, very deep pan like I did.  If using two 1″ x 9″ round cake pans, they will cook much faster, in about 25-30 minutes or so.   Toothpick test the center.  It should come out clean and dry when the the cake is done.  Completely cool before attempting to tip cake out onto a board to cut it into layers.  This cake can also be made in a rectangular 9 x 13″ pan, cut in half and each half then sliced laterally to form 4 layers (reserve 1 layer for another use as you only need 3 layers for this cake).  All sorts of possibilities with that cake size.

While cake is in the oven, make the frosting:  Whip the cream until thick.  Run the berries through a food processor (or chop coarsely) for a few seconds.  Fold the berries into the whipped cream. Dust the pinch of glucomannan powder over the mixture slowly, folding after each addition, until all of it has been incorporated.  Taste for sweetness and add your favorite sweetener to taste.  Chill frosting until cake is totally cool.

Next cut the cake layers:  I sliced the completely cooled cake very carefully with a long-bladed knife, using a piece of cardboard covered with foil to gently slide each layer onto to set aside while I filled/frosted the final creation.  This cake has a firm texture and is not as crumbly as some almond flour cakes.  All good, but you still need to be careful, as even firm cakes can break.

Place about 1¼ c. of the frosting on the bottom layer of the cake.  Spread evenly with a rubber spatula, going almost to the edges.  Place the second layer of cake gently on the top and press slightly.  Put another 1¼ c. frosting on this layer and spread it out evenly.  Place the top cake layer on the stack, press slightly and spread all remaining frosting on the top and sides. OPTIONAL GARNISH:  Decorate the top of your cake with fresh strawberry slices, a few strawberry leaves  or perhaps a sliced and “fanned out” single strawberry at the center.  Chill in the refrigerator with plastic wrap on top until ready to cut and serve.

This cake was simply DELICIOUS and I will definitely be making it again!   My thanks to The Chicken Lady for her wonderful chocolate cake recipe.  It truly made my Valentines treat a success!

CONFESSION TIME:  The reason I used both frozen and fresh berries in the topping is I only had one 14 oz. bag of the frozen diced unsweetened berries in my freezer.  I thought that would make enough frosting.  But 1½ c. cream and those berries didn’t make enough frosting to frost the sides of the cake!  So I had to whip up a little more frosting real quick with another cup of cream and berries, so the last batch of frosting had to be made with the few fresh berries I had on hand.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 10 servings, using the sweeteners specified, each serving contains:

632 cals, 57.8 g fat, 20.4 g carbs, 7.05 g fiber, 13.35 g NET CARBS, 15.2 g protein, 521 mg sodium

Almond Butter Cookies

These tasty treats come out kind of chewy and are still like that after they cool off.  I got this base batter idea from the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the Honeyvillegrain Blanched Almond flour bag.  I made some drastic changes to their basic dough, however.  They used all almond flour in their recipe and I’ve added some ingredients I find improve low-carb baked goods.  I’m very pleased with the chewy texture of these cookies and will likely use this cookie dough as a base dough for many variations in the future.  So far I have done variations with fresh cherry, pineapple and pecan, dried prune , currant-spice, pumpkin, and chia-chai .  All have been delicious.  If you’re tired of cake-y or dry/brittle cookies and are wanting a low carb cookie that is moist and chewy, this one you really need to try!  They really deliver!  They also freeze well and are even chewier when eaten right out of the freezer, if you’re into very chewy cookies!!  These are not suitable until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb reintroduction ladder.

DO NOT SUBSTITUTE OTHER SWEETENERS FOR THE SUGAR-FREE HONEY IN THESE OR THEY WILL NOT COME OUT CHEWY!  I tried that already.  Real honey works, but will also jack up the carbs considerably!

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. almond flour

½ c. coconut flour

1 T. oat fiber (substitute gluten-free oat flour for gluten-free version)

1 tsp. glucomannan powder (konjac powder)

1/8 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

½ c. coconut oil (or softened butter)

2 T. almond butter

1 T. vanilla extract

½ c. granular Splenda

1 T. erythritol

1 egg, beaten

¼ c. sugar-free imitation honey (no substitutions, unless it’s REAL honey)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In a large mixing bowl stir the almond butter and oil together until smooth.  Beat in the egg, vanilla and imitation honey.    Measure in all dry ingredients on top and stir well to form a smooth dough.   If your dough seems very dry or stiff (coconut flours vary), add in ½ beaten egg. Roll dough into 1″ balls and place them onto parchment lined baking sheet.  Leave 1″ space between cookies.  Press balls down slightly flat and pop pan into preheated oven.  Top with chopped, sliced almonds if desired, but this really doesn’t impact flavor, just the look.  Bake for about 7 minutes.  Do not over brown these cookies or texture will be drier and less chewy.  Remove from oven and cool on the pan a few minutes before removing with a spatula.  These are delicate while hot but “firm up” nicely when they cool. Store in an airtight container.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 28 cookies, each contains:

105.5 cals, 9.1g fat, 4.12g carbs, 2.07g fiber, 2.05g NET CARBS, 2g protein, 48.2 mg sodium

HOMEMADE IMITATION HONEY: If you really don’t feel like running to the store for ready-made sugar-free honey, but also don’t want to use all real honey because of the carbs, I have a homemade recipe you might want to try.  Boil for 2-3 minutes: ¼ c. erythritol, 2 T. + 1 tsp. real honey and 1 pkt. stevia (or Splenda).  Cool (thickens as it cools) and put in airtight jar.  Added note:  If it crystalizes over time, just soften in the microwave on DEFROST for 1  minute or plunge into a pot of slow simmering warm water a minute or so before stirring and using.

Air Fryer Whole Roasted Chicken

I finally got around to trying a whole, roasted chicken in my Power XL 7 qt. air fryer and we loved the results.   Haven’t tried it  on the Air Fryer setting on my new wall oven though.  I’m sure it will cook as well in the oven.  Must try that soon.   

The meat of the nearly 5# bird came out moist and cooked perfectly (even at the difficult hip joint).  My husband just loves chicken that is baked or roasted, so he was a fan for certain!  Also tried out my new Peggy’s Poultry Rub on it and that was a delicious choice!  I may add even more of the rub next time!  Yummy!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other keto diets, as well as for Paleo-Primal folks.

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole chicken (mine was 4.75 lbs)

1 t. olive oil

1 T. Peggy’s Poultry Rub (or seasoning of your choice)

DIRECTIONS:  Pat the chicken dry of any water/moisture with paper towels.  Rub olive oil all over the chicken getting all skin surfaces damp with oil.  You’ll want to wash and dry off your hands at this point.  Next sprinkle 1 tsp. of the seasoning bland over the top surfaces of the chicken.  Sprinkle 1 tsp. over the bottom surfaces of the chicken.  Invert chicken to expose the carcass opening and sprinkle the remaining spice blend as best you can inside, rubbing until it is distributed.  Although I did not do it this, next time I may make a slit into the lower leg quarter joints and rub a tad in that joint as well as a tad underneath the breast skin as I am able.

Preheat your air-fryer at 350º a few minutes (mine requires 4 min. preheat).  Open basket/drawer and place seasoned bird into the basket/drawer breast side down. Cook the bird for 30 minutes.  Then open drawer and using a heavy kitchen fork, turn the bird over, now breast up.  Cook for 20 minutes and open basket to (check leg quarter with a meat thermometer (165º internal is done).  Also check thickest part of breast.  If not to 165º yet, continue cooking another 5-10 minutes and check again.  My 4.75# bird took precisely 25 minutes on side two.  Cookers vary, so the rule of thumb with air fryers is CHECK YOUR FOOD OFTEN to avoid under cooking, or worse, over cooking and major disappointment.   Always remember that any air-fryer recipe is just a guideline and nothing more.  Cookers vary for any recipe cookbook for them to be always spot on……….even the manufacturer’s cookbook!  Food size and volume/weight impact any instructions and cooking times/temps.

ADDED NOTE:  I recommend soaking your basket in 1″ water while you enjoy your meal (for easier cleanup).  Also don’t forget when fully cooled, to wipe off (use a soapy sponge) the element at the top and back walls of cooker to get any grease splatters there.  If you don’t do that, the cooker is likely to smoke heavily at next use and you’ll think the machine is dying on you.  It just wasn’t thoroughly cleaned after roasting meat.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  I can’t really provide that for you as I can’t know what pieces you eat, how large your bird is, nor how many pieces you will eat.  I certainly can’t know how much of the seasoning you will be ingesting on any particular piece.  Best calculation I can recommend for you is to take the stats for the piece/size of piece(s) of chicken you eat and add 1/8 tsp. of the spice blend for each piece you consume.  That said, this recipe is so low-carb…………I wouldn’t bother calculating anything but the meat itself that you consume.  One can get too anal about any diet in my opinion.  Just enjoy this delicious recipe and know that you are not breaking the carb bank doing so!

1 tsp. spice blend = 0.84g NET CARBS

Apricot Trail Mix

I absolutely LOVE trail mix.  And such a healthy snack!  It has the added bonus of being very transportable, for hiking, biking, camping, or taking to the office in a little baggie.  This apricot-coconut mix was a Christmas favorite of a relative.  She always brought some to the holiday gatherings.  The pumpkin seeds are my addition to her recipe.  The stuff is so good I have to dip my ½ cup portion out and put the bag away, or I’ll just keep eating and eating it.  Wrapped prettily with a ribbon, this makes a lovely gift when going to parties or for the holidays.  Just place in a pretty clear glass container and affix a pretty bow on top!  This very nutritious dessert/snack is not suitable until the highest fruit rung of the Atkins OWL carb re-introduction ladder (pre-maintenance or maintenance).  This recipe is suitable for Paleo-Primal eaters.

VARIATION:  Substitute pieces of dried prunes (Delmonte has no added sugar) for the dried apricots. I also have a Cranberry Trail Mix recipe you might like.

INGREDIENTS:

5 oz. pumpkin seeds, hulled, roasted (unsalted)

5 oz. sunflower seeds, hulled, roasted (unsalted)

2 oz. walnuts (about 28 halves), coarsely chopped/broken up

6 oz. fresh coconut meat, slivered thinly

4 oz. sliced almonds

6 oz. dried apricots, no sugar added (I buy them at Sam’s)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 200º and spread thinly sliced coconut onto a sheet pan. Dry for about 1½-2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven before coconut begins to brown and cool.  You don’t really want to toast it for this recipe, just dry it out a bit.  In a large mixing bowl, toss all ingredients together.  Using kitchen shears, cut apricots into small pieces and add to the bowl.  Stir to mix well.  Store in a zipper plastic bag in your pantry.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 6 cups or twelve ½ cup servings.  Each ½ cup serving contains:

301.6 cals, 23.5g fat, 18g carbs, 5.3g fiber, 12.7g NET CARBS, 9.8g protein, 53.6 mg sodium

Blackberry Ice Cream

I created a delicious low-carb blackberry ice cream some time ago I think you’ll love!  Our tree trimmer doing a job for us today pointed out my wild blackberries were setting fruit (which I had not yet noticed), so I think I’ll make a batch with the bag of mixed berries in my freezer. 

I would start out with 1 cup berries and taste as you go.  They vary so much in tartness/sweetness it’s difficult to know how many to add to desserts.  The taste-as-you-go approach is safest when it comes to blackberries.  My husband ate two servings with the full 2 cups of berries, but I’ll have to back off next time, most likely.  He just loved this recipe!  He’s a real ice cream connoisseur, so I consider that compliment  🙂  This recipe is naturally not suitable until the berries rung of the Atkins Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase of the program.  If you don’t have the blueberry or blackberry syrup, you could sub in DaVinci Vanilla or French Vanilla and just omit the vanilla extract.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. blackberries, frozen, unsweetened (Do Not Defrost!)

1¼ c. heavy cream

1/8 tsp. vanilla

4 T. sugar-free blackberry or syrup

12-16 drops liquid Splenda (or your favorite sweetener to taste)

2 tsp. food grade glycerine (optional, but keeps it a bit softer)

¼ c. powdered erythritol  (or reduce granular to a powder in processor)

DIRECTIONS:  Place erythritol in bowl of food processor.   Add all remaining ingredients and pulse until berries are broken up and mixture is fairly smooth.  Scrape out into dishes for a soft serve gelato.  Freeze for 30 minutes for a firmer ice cream.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

282 calories, 27.7 g  fat, 8.25 g  carbs, 1.9 g  fiber, 6.35 g  NET CARBS, 1.98 g protein

 

Cranberry-Orange Ladyfingers

You are going to LOVE these!  They just get better and better each day that goes by.  They’re even gluten-free, if you leave out the oat fiber.  🙂  Hubby really liked these and he’s not really a fruit and nut man.  If you don’t have a Twinkie® baking pan, just make 12 small muffins, or bake in a round cake pan for cutting in wedges.  These are not suitable for Atkins Induction on several levels.  They are suitable for Phase 2 and above and Keto diets as well.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. flax meal (I use 50:50 gold and dark)

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free version)

1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

3 T. softened cream cheese

2 beaten large eggs

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

2 T. fresh squeezed orange juice

1 T. warm tap water

1 tsp. yeast + 1 tsp. sugar dissolved in the warm water above (or 1 tsp. baking powder)

½ c. cranberries (homemade, dried, sugar-free)

½ c. slivered almonds

1 oz. orange peel

VARIATION:   Add a few chopped pecans.

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly oil a non-stick pan of your choice (discussed above) and set aside.

Measure out the first 6 (dry) ingredients into a medium mixing bowl.  In a separate small glass bowl, soften the cream cheese either at room temp or in your microwave on defrost.  Dissolve the yeast in the tablespoon of warm water in a saucer and add to the cream cheese.  Stir. Beat in the eggs well. Add the cider vinegar and cream.  Add the creamy mixture to the dry ingredients bowl and stir.

Trim off 1 oz. of orange peel from an orange.  You want to get as little white, bitter membrane as possible.  Cut into approximately 1″ pieces.  Place in food processor or blender.  Add cranberries and nuts to the bowl and pulse it all together about 10 times or so, to a coarse chop.   Add the fruit/nut mixture to the batter.  Stir. Finally squeeze/measure out the orange juice. Stir well one last time to incorporate all to achieve a uniform distribution of the fruit/nuts.

Dip into/onto your chosen pan, distributing the batter evenly into 12 muffin cups, 12 Twinkie® slots or a greased round cake pan.  Pop into 350º oven and bake for  20 minutes until lightly browned.  Allow to cool a bit before lifting with the assistance of a knife tip.  If making a round or loaf bread, bake around 35 minutes or until the center passes a dry toothpick test.  As with all low-carb baked goods, store in a bag in the refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 ladyfingers (or whatever shape you make), so 1/12 of the batch (1 portion) contains:

160 cals, 12.64g fat, 6.53g carbs, 2.71g fiber, 3.82g NET CARBS, 8.3 g protein, 266 mg sodium

Einkorn Blueberry Crumble

When I don’t feel like the fuss of rolling out pastry but want fruit cobbler, I turn to fruit crumbles/crisps instead.  They just go together so much faster and are just about as good in my opinion.

For this crumble, I decided to open my first package of Swerve® sweetener and I was at a loss there.  It didn’t have any funny aftertaste sampled on my finger, nor in the final crumble dish that I could detect.  It is worthy of further experimenting in my opinion.  Just followed the info on the back of the packaging and it came out pretty close to my taste preference.  But honestly, it wasn’t quite sweet enough with 2 Tbsp. and I have therefore adjusted the recipe below for my future blueberry crumbles.   The final dessert came out quite tasty.

Blueberries are a little higher in carbs, so if you are still in the Induction phase of Atkins, use strawberries or raspberries instead for this recipe. To lower carbs further, omit the Einkorn flour totally and add in 2 more tablespoons of oat fiber or oat flour.  Be sure to recalculate when changing up ingredients however.  This recipe is not suitable until you have reached the nuts and berries level of Phase 2 Atkins.  It’s a little high carb for Keto diets.  This is not suitable for Primal-Paleo plans.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. fresh blueberries

3/4 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix (or other low-carb mix)

2 T. Einkorn flour

3 T. Swerve® sweetener (or equivalent sweetener to equal 3 T. sugar)

2 T. oat fiber

1 large egg

3 T. butter

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Rub butter lightly on a 6″ square baking dish and set dish aside.  Put rest of the butter in a medium bowl.  Add all the dry ingredients on top of the butter.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add the egg on top, beat it with a fork and slowly work it into a dough with the dry ingredients.  Using a fork or your fingers, crumble the dough evenly on top of the fruit.  Pop into preheated 350º oven and bake for about 20-23 minutes or until lightly browned on the top.  Slightly cool and enjoy warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

240 cals, 18 g fat, 20.25 g carbs, 7.12 g fiber, 13.13 g NET CARBS, 13 g protein, 46 mg sodium

Peach Cobbler

This quick cobbler is made from canned, no-sugar-added peaches.  The crust is fashioned after the late KevinPa’s pie crust recipe once posted at the now defunct Low-Carb Friends forums, for those familiar with his baking prowess.  The pastry goes together real easily and you can be enjoying deliciously sweet cobbler in no time. 

I find that even though these peaches are artificially sweetened, they are not, like most canned fruit, sweet enough for me using them straight out of the can.  Therefore I add a packet of Splenda or Stevia to the fruit every time.  That hasn’t backfired on me YET.  The peaches may vary from can to can, brand to brand, so do a taste test on YOUR peaches to decide if you want to add that additional packet of sweetener (or more, or none).  You can substitute ¼ tsp. xanthan gum for the glucomannan powder as your thickening agent if you prefer. 

This recipe is not suitable until the advanced fruits rung of the OWL ladder of Atkins, in pre-maintenance.  

FILLING INGREDIENTS: 

2  14.5-oz. cans (no added sugar)

¼ tsp. cinnamon

Pinch nutmeg

½ tsp. glucomannan powder or xanthan gum

1 packet stevia or Splenda

2 T. unsalted butter (plus 1 T. more to grease the baking dish)

CRUST:

1 c. + 2 T. Carbalose flour 

6 T. resistant wheat starch 

½ c. + 1 T. butter

¼ tsp. salt

¼ c. ice cold water

DIRECTIONS:  Drain the liquid off just ONE of the cans of peaches (unless you like your cobbler super juicy.  You will want the juice from the second can in this recipe.  Grease the bottom and sides of an 8″x11″ baking dish with 1 T. softened butter.  Set aside.  In a medium mixing bowl, mix the peaches, peach juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, stevia and glucomannan powder (or xanthan gum).  Stir well and pour into buttered baking dish.  Dot with the 2 T. of butter.  Preheat your oven to 350º.

For the crust, in a mixing bowl, measure out the dry ingredients and add the butter.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the flour to break it up until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal and the shortening is well-blended.  Slowly add the water, a little at a time and begin to stir into a solid dough.  Do not overwork the dough.  When you can form it into a single ball, it’s ready to roll.  I have two sheets of plastic I use for rolling out dough, but two pieces of any plastic wrap will do.  Moisten your counter top so the bottom piece remains still while you work.  Place dough on the bottom plastic and cover with a second sheet of plastic and roll the dough slightly larger than your baking dish. Lift the top piece of plastic off the dough gently and lifting up the bottom sheet of plastic, invert the dough onto your cobbler dish (folding the dough in half helps to lift it).  Trim off the excess dough about ¼-½” beyond the pan edges and crimp the edge inward so that it is entirely inside the dish.  Decorate the top with any surplus dough if you like.  I like to roll it again and cut out leaves and a representation of the fruit in the filling to dress up the tops of cobblers.  The color effect in the photo was achieved using a pastry brush dipped into watered down food coloring for added effect.  I sprinkled erythritol onto the cut-out peach as well.   Pop into preheated 350º oven for about 25 minutes or until lightly golden on top.  Cool slightly before attempting to dip up.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 servings, each contains:

330 cals, 26.3g fat, 21.27g carbs, 13.17g fiber, 8.1g NET CARBS, 1.23g protein, 108 mg sodium

Blackberry Cobbler

My husband requests blackberry cobbler periodically.  It’s our very favorite dessert actually.   I’m growing some thornless boysenberries (very similar to blackberries in taste) and can’t wait for the bushes start producing fruit!   Probably won’t happen until next season, but I can be patient.  

I make a fairly small pan of this that only serves 5 small servings because  blackberries are quite high in carbs and we might be tempted to eat to much.   I’m pleased with the results.  Just the right amount of fruit, liquid and sweetness.   And it seems to get even better tasting overnight  This recipe is not suitable until the berries rung of OWL. 

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. frozen blackberries (no sugar added)

½ c. water

½ c. granular Splenda

½ c. + 2 T. erythritol

1/3-½ tsp. xanthan gum (or your favorite thickener)

2 T. cold butter

1 recipe Peggy’s “Flour” Pie Crust

DIRECTIONS:  Make up the pie crust per that recipe’s instructions at the above link.  You will need 1/2 of the dough for this small cobbler.  Freeze the rest of the dough in a sandwich bag for up to 1 month for some other use.  Set dough aside while you prepare the filling.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Put the Splenda, erythritol and xanthan gum in a small mixing bowl and stir.  Add berries and water stir well.  Butter a 5×7 baking dish  and add berry mixture.  Dot with the 2 T. butter.  Roll pastry out between two pieces of plastic to slightly larger than your dish size.  Peel off the top plastic, lift pastry in middle by lower plastic and fold/lift to put over fruit.  Center the pastry over the dish.  Slowly peel of remaining plastic.  Fold excess crust edges inward and crimp against the side of the dish to prevent bubble-over during cooking as much as possible.     Pop into a 350º oven and bake until lightly browned, which will take about 30-35 minutes.  Partially cool.  I think this is best served warm.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 5 servings, each contains:

140 cals, 10.82g fat, 16.72g carbs, 9.04g fiber, 7.68g NET CARBS, 3.22 g  protein, 98 mg sodium

 

Best Banana Bread

Although I’ve said many times I’m not a BIG sweets eater, my husband is.  So I bake maybe one thing a week, enjoy one serving and he eats the rest.  That’s the way it was even before I started low-carbing.  This banana bread was one of the first sweets recipes I tried in 2009 when this journey began.  It came out so good, I still make it often.  I’m going to share those dessert recipes this week that I keep coming back to……favorites.  Although not always the spectacular, showy desserts, they are the ones I bake again and again.  That says something to me.  

To give credit where it is due, the basic batter that inspired this creation was a  recipe at Sugar Free Low Carb Recipes which no longer appears to exist when I Google it.   Hmm.   Anyway, I changed it up by adding vanilla, sweetener, baking powder and glucomannan powder.  I believe the smooth texture on my result is attributable to the glucomannan and makes this the perfect foundation for a wide variety of sweet bread possibilities.  

My first experiment with this batter was this banana bread recipe.  A slice only has 3.74 g net carbs using bananas!  The texture of this batter is amazing and the bread is ever so moist.  The basic batter made with only extract as flavoring has 1.08 g. net carbs (cut into 18 slices), so conceivably you could add any variety of fruits, dried fruits, nuts and flavorings for an endless variety of breakfast/dessert sweet breads.  Be sure to recalculate to include anything  you add and recalculate your new per-serving numbers, because the numbers below only reflect the basic batter and 2 mashed bananas.  This is suitable for Atkins OWL or above and I believe for Paleo-Primal adherence as well.

This recipe appears in Vol. 5 of Jennifer Eloff’s cookbook series Low Carbing Among Friends.  These books are a compilation of fantastic recipes from well-known low-carb cooking gurus on the internet.  Even Chef George Stella has participated in Jennifer’s cookbook venture. They make a wonderful addition to any low-carb cook’s library.  You can order copies at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 c. coconut flour

2/3 c. almond flour

¼ tsp. sea salt

1 T. glucomannan powder

1 tsp. baking powder

Sweetener equivalent for ½ c. sugar 

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

3 T. coconut oil, melted

½ tsp. vanilla

8 eggs, beaten

2 mashed bananas

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease a loaf pan with a bit of coconut oil or butter.  I use an odd-size loaf pan 4″x 2½x 10″ that allows me to get 18 smaller slices from my loaf.  Using a standard loaf pan, you may only get 9 slices and have to cut them in half to get the carb values shown below for each of my 18 slices.  Mix dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl. In a larger bowl, beat or whip all wet ingredients.  Add the dry items to the wet and whip with a whisk or electric mixer until smooth. Fold in your desired fruit, nuts or flavorings and stir well.    Spoon batter into greased pan, level with a spoon and bake at 350º for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into center comes out dry/clean.  Cool a bit, slice into 18 servings (or 9 cut in halves) and serve warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 18 servings, each contains: (2 bananas calculated in below, but no nuts)

141 calories, 12 g  fat, 5.61 g  carbs, 1.87 g  fiber, 3.74 g  NET CARBS, 4.24 g  protein, 90 mg sodium

Mayonado Dip

I usually keep the ingredients around the house for this favorite creation.  We call this one MAYONADO.  Nothing like coining your own words!  So I fixed this favorite to stand in as our salad to have with our Italian Bolognese Penne Bake tonight.   My husband brought home 6 avocados from the grocery store this afternoon that were discounted because they were already getting pretty ripe and one was past its prime.  I knew I needed to use that one tonight! 

I’ve combined mayonnaise with avocado for various purposes but never added Ranch® style flavoring to the mélange before this creation.  Man, is that ever good!  This dip is great on cucumber slices, but would be great for dipping cherry tomatoes, raw cauliflower, broccoli flowerets, sliced yellow squash, zucchini slices, carrot & celery sticks.  It would make a tasty dip for fried chicken strips or French fries, too.  The shawarma spice really adds something special and then the Ranch® seasoning………….well……takes it to a whole new level  This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly and suitable for all keto diets, Primal and Paleo.

INGREDIENTS:

1 small avocado, peeled and pitted

6 T. my homemade Shawarma mayonnaise

1 oz. yellow or white onion

Dash salt

few drops lemon or lime juice to prevent discoloring of the avocado

1 T. my Ranch Dressing Powder Blend

DIRECTIONS:  Peel and seed the avocado.  Place the flesh into a blender or processor with all the other ingredients.  Pulse until it it smooth.   Serve any of the above mentioned ways or get creative and think of new applications for this delightful concoction!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 10 T.  Each tablespoon contains:

90.4 cals, 9.2g fat, 4.29g carbs, 2.08g fiber, 2.21g NET CARBS, 0.62g protein, 19 mg sodium

Spicy Tuna Pâté

This is what got me through the first 2 weeks of my low-carb journey.  It’s very tasty and filling as well.  If you like things spicy, add even more spice than I indicate below.  A little Chipotle Tobasco® is also good in this spread.  This is very good on my Almond-Arrowroot Crackers or dipped up with celery or carrot sticks.  This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets.

INGREDIENTS:

3   2-oz. foil pouches oil-pack tuna (or 5 oz. can tuna, drained)

1 stick butter, unsalted, softened (4 oz.)

½ c. chopped parsley

1 tsp. fresh lime juice

¼ tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (more if you’re adventurous) or ¼ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

20 drops Chipotle Tobasco®

DIRECTIONS:   Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender and pulse until well mixed.  Garnish with a sprinkle more of the spice blend.  Serve with celery sticks or your favorite low-carb crackers.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings.  ¼ batch contains:

286 calories, 26.3g fat, 1g carbs, 0.25g fiber, 0.75g NET CARBS, 12g protein, 149 mg sodium

 

Jack Snacks

I’l bet you folks just starting your low-carb diet wonder what YOU can snack on when the rest of the family is enjoying verboten foods.  Well this recipe, if you can call it a recipe, is one solution.  It’s suitable for Atkins Induction Phase, Keto diets and even Primal followers that eat occasional cheese.  Takes just minutes to make and bake!  After 14+ years running this blog, this is now my #1 recipe in popularity, having garnered well over 30,000,000 Facebook fans in 2015 alone.  That blows even my Lebanese Baked Chicken right out of the water. 🙂

If you seed the jalapeno, like I did, these are not all that hot (I don’t like real hot/spicy) for the spicy-adverse members of your household.  Leave the seeds in if you like to spice things up!  These are delicious and so low-cal/low-carb you could eat the entire batch if you were so inclined!  The hubs and I split this batch equally and we both loved these!  Now, to be quite honest, I’ve also just melted plain old pepper-jack cheese before, but these really are better for some reason.  Maybe the cheese is better; maybe the fresh pepper is just better.  All I know is these are much better than just melting pepperjack cheese!  🙂  Some have asked, and if you try to save some and reheat, you better really watch them closely, as they are inclined to burn when reheated.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

1 medium fresh jalapeno, sliced real thin

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Place a sheet of parchment paper on a metal cookie sheet.  DO NOT use a silicone/silpat sheet, waxed paper or foil (unless it’s the special non-stick foil) to bake these or they will not cook properly.  Using a tablespoon, scoop up 1 T. of cheese and make a small pile on the parchment.  Press it slightly flat.  Repeat 15 more times. Place a slice of jalapeno on top of each pile.  Pop into 350º oven for about 10-12 minutes.  I would recommend browning them a wee bit more than shown in the photo for a firmer snack to serve at parties.  These are somewhat pliable if under browned. Allow them to completely cool and fully firm up before removing from the pan for best results. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 16, each contains:

25.5 cals, 2.13 g fat, 0.10g carbs, 0.02g fiber, 0.08g NET CARBS, 1.63g protein, 60 mg sodium

Einkorn Sausage-Cheese Balls

As I have mentioned before, I’m not much of a snacks eater being on a one-meal-a-day regimen these days.  But when I do want a snack, it must be easily prepared with always-on-hand ingredients.  I’m not making a trip to the grocery store for my snacks, in other words.

This is an ever-popular party appetizer that never goes out of favor with your guests.  I have another Sausage Cheese Ball recipe on my website that rings in at only 1 net carb per ball but I like this one a bit better because it’s a little easier to put together.  It features my convenient homemade Einkorn Low-Carb Bake Mix (similar to Bisquick and Carbquik).  Even with the bake mix, these only have 1.76 net carbs per ball!  Not bad for the convenience of just 3 ingredients.   These are not suitable until the grains rung of the carb re-introduction ladder of Atkins Phase 2 OWL.  They are OK for Keto diets if you can fit them into your daily carb limits.

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. breakfast sausage (I used my homemade breakfast sausage recipe)

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 c. my Einkorn Bake Mix  (For gluten-free version, use Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix or another GF mix of your choice)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. Mix the above ingredients in a medium bowl with your hands as you would a meatloaf mixture.  When thoroughly blended, form into 30 1″ balls and place on non-stick baking sheet or one lined with parchment or silicone sheet for ease of clean-up. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove to paper towels to drain off any excess grease (mine had none actually).  Serve warm and ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 30  1″ balls, each sausage ball contains:

95 calories, 7.81 g  fat, 2.4 g  carbs, 0.64 g fiber, 1.76 g  NET CARBS, 4.82 g  protein, 81 mg sodium

Flax Crackers

My very first low-carb crackers.  Flax itself carries a sodium load and I rarely have to add salt to anything made with flax.  Texture on these is very good:  brittle, crunchy and crisp, especially the browner crackers that bake around the outer edges of the pan. But even those in the center of the pan were pretty crisp.

Each time I bake these, I try some new seasoning in them.  I think rosemary/onion may be my favorite.  Those are so good!  I’m very pleased these will stay crisp all week long just in a ziploc bag on the counter!  Re-toast them a bit in the oven if yours do not stay crisp.  

The ratio of flax and almond meal in these is JUST RIGHT!  This is my go-to cracker recipe when I’m really watching carbs tightly.  My non-low-carb husband likes these as well!  These crackers, excellent with cheese, butter, soup or whatever, are suitable most Keto plans, Paleo, Primal and of course, Atkins followers, once you reach the OWL (on-going Weight Loss) phase ‘nuts and seeds’ reintroduction level.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. almond flour

1 c. flax meal (I use a 50:50 mixture of dark and golden)

2 tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. optional seasoning of your choice (see ideas below)

2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 eggs, beaten (or 3 egg whites if you prefer a crisper cracker)

VARIATIONS:  Any herb(s) you like along with onion and garlic powder, any combination of grated cheeses with or without onion/garlic powders, rosemary and onion powder, coarse black pepper, Everything Bagel spice, sliced toasted shallots, just onion powder, just garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne, onion powder and smoky chipotle powder, Montreal Steak Seasoning, Cajun seasoning.  Get creative!    

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Line a sided sheet pan with parchment.  Mine is 11½ x 17″.  Measure all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  With a fork, beat in the two eggs and olive oil until the mixture is moist throughout.  Crumble the dough evenly over the parchment lined pan.  Then, using plastic gloves or baggies on your hands press the dough evenly into the pan, trying to achieve the same thickness throughout.  If you have a straight sided glass, you can even roll the dough out for a smoother surface, but this isn’t really necessary.  This will take you a few minutes. Score into 48 crackers (8 x 6) with a straight edge knife.  Pop into preheated oven and bake for 15-16 minutes.  They will brown around the edges of the pan faster and you may have to remove outer crackers as they bake.  Don’t over brown as flax products can get a burned taste real fast if over-browned.  Cool and break apart along score lines.  When thoroughly cool, store in ziploc plastic bag at room temperature in your pantry.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 48 crackers, each cracker contains:

33.2 cals, 2.84 g fat, 1.37 g carbs, 0.93 g fiber, 0.44 g NET CARBS, 1.1 g protein, 15.2 mg sodium

Sesame Crackers

I have discovered I am so salt sensitive, I’m having to virtually eliminate the salt and greatly reduce the cheese and flax in my cracker recipes.  “Then along came my kidney stone in December and they told me to eliminate most of my salt intake and to stop using it when I cook.  Well, I cut way back on salt probably 30 years ago, so not really a problem for us.  These are not suitable for Atkins Induction Phase due to the sesame seeds.  Below is my lighter, blander version that I am going to use when I want sesame crackers from now on.   

Flax tends to burn (particularly around the edges) REAL FAST!!  So do watch these, as ovens vary.  I have to  remove the outer rows from the pan before baking time is up on these to avoid over-browning.  I used to crumble a chicken or beef bouillon cube into the dry ingredients of my crackers for a bit of a flavor twist, but I can’t do that anymore.  You might like to do so, however.  For a milder cracker, sometimes I reduce the flax meal 2-3 tablespoons and substitute in 2-3 T. almond meal, but only those on Phase 2 Atkins can do that and stay on program.  Both methods are good.  

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. flax meal (I use a mixture of dark and golden)

1 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1½ tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne or black pepper  (I like cayenne best; my husband likes black best)

¼ c. sesame seeds 

¼ tsp. salt

½ c. water

DIRECTIONS:    Preheat oven to 350º.  Line the bottom of a 12×17 cookie pan (with sides) with parchment paper and set aside.  In a mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients well with a wooden spoon.  Add water and stir to blend until all ingredients are moistened with the water.  Break up or crumble the dough onto the parchment paper evenly.  I use plastic gloves, but covering your hands with sandwich baggies will work.  Press the dough evenly over the paper to fill the pan.  I know it will seem like there’s not enough dough to reach the edges and it will seem very thin, this dough.  But trust me, it WILL reach the edges of the pan if you are patient and diligent with your pressing.  Smooth the dough until there are no holes or gaps in it throughout the entire sheet.  Check for places places where it may be thicker and smooth them out.  You  want this as even and thin throughout as possible.  If you want, you can cover the dough with plastic wrap and roll a smooth/straight-sided glass or rolling pin over it for a smoother surface, but I personally don’t bother with that.  Score the dough gently with a knife into 64 crackers (8×8).  This is done best by pressing the knife into the dough and gently lifting it straight up repeatedly.  I you drag the blade too fast through the dough, or back and forth, that will tear the dough up.

Bake at 350º for about 10 minutes.  Check often as flax burns easily.  The outside crackers will brown much faster, so I actually check at about 10 minutes and every 5 minutes thereafter to remove the outer ones to a platter as they brown.  Then I  put the pan back in the oven for the rest to finish browning.  I burned my first batch of flax crackers, so I learned my lesson.  Pop the remaining crackers back in the oven to finish browning.  When all crackers are done, turn the oven off, return all of the crackers to the the pan and set it back in the cooling down oven to “crisp up” to their ultimate crispness.  If you go to this extra step, they stay crisp for days and days in a ziploc bag.  When I don’t go to this trouble, they soften up on me and I have to go back and re-crisp them in the oven 2 or 3 days later.    Just my experience.   Store in a ziploc bag or airtight container.  DO NOT refrigerate or they will lose their crispness.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 64 crackers, each contains:

18.1 cals, 1.43g fat, 0.98g carbs, 0.84g fiber, 0.14g NET CARBS, 6.65 g protein, 11.5 mg sodium

Sunflower Cheddar Crackers

This was one of the first recipes I developed for crackers 14 years ago when I started this lifestyle.  The have that sunflower nutty taste and just a smidge of cheese to round them out.  I still make these when I remember to buy some shelled sunflower seeds at the Dollar Store.  These pack so much flavor I usually eat these as a snack by themselves.  

Because of the sunflower seeds, these crackers are not suitable until you reach the nuts and seeds level of Phase 2 Atkins.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. roasted and UNsalted sunflower seeds
1½ c. grated cheddar cheese
¼ c. water

Preheat oven to 325º. You need a 13 x 15 cookie sheet pan and parchment paper for these.

Process sunflower seeds to a fine meal. Add the cheese and process until smooth. Add water and process until it becomes a dough ball.

Cover bottom of sheet pan (cake roll pan 13″x15″) with parchment paper. Put dough in even globs on the parchment. Now the fun begins. Using plastic gloves (I keep them on hand for such things) or a plastic sandwich bag as a glove, press out evenly all the way to the edges of the pan. BE PATIENT! This takes a few minutes, but it WILL spread all the way out and be a very thin dough. If you get “holes” in the dough, press them out. With a knife tip, lightly (& carefully so as not to tear dough) score the sheet of dough into 92 crackers approximately 1″x1½” in size (7 crackers across the short side and 14 down the long side). If desired, sprinkle any of the following on the tops: cayenne pepper, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, rosemary crushed fine, oregano, Indian Garam Masala, black pepper. I did one row of each and one row plain and we liked them ALL!

Bake exactly 30 minutes at 325º. Remove and WHILE STILL HOT, complete the scoring with a knife to separate the crackers. If you wait until they are cool, they’ll be too brittle and will break all to tiny pieces.

I can see using these for not-too-stiff sour cream or yogurt dips, as a soup/cheese compliment or just by themselves!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Makes 92 crackers
Serving size = 3 crackers

Each serving has: 60 calories;
5.2g fat; 1.6g carbs, 0.69g fiber, 1g NET CARB and 0 2.7g protein, 1.0 g NET CARB

Barley Flour Crackers

Since my kidney stone ‘adventure’ in December, trying to accommodate the doctor’s request to follow a low-oxalate diet, has become a priority. One of the things I must avoid is most wheat product from my diet (this means even my lower carb beloved Einkorn flour). So now I’m starting to experiment with barley flour. Today, I tried a new cracker experiment that we both loved. My picky husband kept coming back to the kitchen for a couple more.

The crackers around the outer edge of the pan that typically brown too fast, at least did not taste burned as with all almond flour and flax meal crackers. I did not feel compelled to remove them early from the pan for the first time ever with low-carb crackers. These crackers are more crunchy/crisp than my other low-carb crackers, too! They suspect they will hold up nicely to dips or any toppings. I did encounter more difficulty pressing the base recipe’s dough out, finding barley flour drier, so it requires more water and a little more oil than my other cracker recipes. Even with those additions, I still wasn’t able to get the dough all the way to the edge of my 11×17 pan. I managed a sheet of cracker dough about 8×14 in each pan, which, after scoring, rendered 42 crackers in each pan (cut into 7 rows x 6 columns). I’m very pleased with this new cracker. I’ll start trying out different seasonings and additives in future batches.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. barley flour

1 c. almond flour

½ c. golden flax meal

2 T. oat fiber

¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese (I used Kraft)

2 tsp. baking powder

1½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. onion powder

1 1/3 c. warm water

3 T. extra light olive oil

VARIATIONS: Add 2 tsp. seasoning choice: my homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning, my Cajun seasoning, coarse black pepper, Everything Bagel blend , or my Ranch Blend.

DIRECTIONS:  Line two 11×17 sheet pans with parchment, cut to fit.  I use plastic food-service gloves to press dough into pans.  You can use a third sheet of parchment if you don’t have any or a plastic sandwich bag on your hands.  Preheat oven to 350º.

Stir warm water +olive oil together in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, measure out all the dry ingredients. Stir well with a fork. Add the water and oil mixture and stir well with fork to moisten the dough.  It will be clumpy and crumbly.   Divide the dough roughly into two portions and using hands crumble half the dough over each pan.  Press or roll the dough to about 8″ x 14″. I use a small piece of parchment under my hands so it doesn’t stick to my fingers while working. With a knife blade, cut/straighten up the edges as best you can for straightest edge possible.

Place pans in your freezer for about 12-15 minutes to help with scoring. Remove and press knife scoring gently into dough to form rows of 6 x 7 crackers, for 42 crackers per pan).  Lift the knife blade slowly to avoid messing up the cracker shapes.  If using a top seasoning, add it now. Pop pans into 350º preheated oven for about 18-25 minutes. Ovens will vary.  You don’t want to brown them too much, but they are most brittle when nicely browned.  Remove pans from oven and cool.  Separate into crackers with a knife point.  These crisp crackers are best when 100% cool. Store in lidded cracker container or gallon zipper plastic bag.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 84 crackers. One serving of 4 crackers contains:

104 cals, 5g fat, 13g carbs, 3g fiber, 10g NET CARBS, 4g protein, 235 mg sodium

Black Pepper Crackers

Early on in my low-carb journey I came across a pizza crust by Brittany Angell on RealSustenance.com that intrigued me.   Her sight and domain appear to have since shut down.  After making her recipe, I decided it was more cracker like than pizza dough like.  It was too thin and brittle for my taste……….definitely more like a cracker.   I adapted the pizza crust recipe to create what has become the BEST cracker recipe for me in my 14+ years of low-carbing.  I’m making crackers today, so I thought I’d share it with my readers once again.

This cracker is so good, I’ve now made this recipe probably 50 times or more in 14 years.  Since the predominant flavor is black pepper, I’m going to change their name to Black Pepper Crackers now.   These are delicious by themselves, with butter, toppings, dips or cheese!  Even my non-low-carb husband likes these!  I think the crisping magic here are the arrowroot and oat fiber, so I don’t recommend omitting or substituting for those two ingredients lest you end up with a totally different textured cracker than mine.

Let me say up front, my method for making the crackers does not read at all like the original recipe, but it sure produces a crisp cracker that STAYS crisp for days and days!   I changed amounts of come ingredients, added a couple things and definitely spiced them up a bit!  Those changes and additions are noted below in blue, including the oven temperature.  I also added a bit of oat fiber for a flour-y flavor, crunch and fiber.

This recipe is not suitable for Induction due to the oat fiber and arrowroot flour.  It isn’t suitable for Primal-Paleo unless you omit the oat fiber and cheese.  This is a really BIG recipe that makes two full sheet pans of 48 crackers each.  Half the recipe if you do not want that many (tasting them will change your mind next time 🙂 ).  That said, they do keep well and stay crisp in a loose-lidded ceramic canister on my counter for 2 weeks or so.  That’s much better than any of my other cracker recipes keep for me.

You can also make round crackers that are slightly thicker but just as crisp (a bit more trouble & time consuming).  Using 1 level tsp. dough per round cracker, I only got 66 round crackers.  I show numbers below for the round version also.

Round version made in silicone muffin molds/liners

VARIATION:   Omit the black pepper and add 1-2 T. of my 8-Seed Spice blend instead.

INGREDIENTS:

3 c. lightly packed almond flour (weighed out it was 11 oz. (311.8 grams)

4 T. arrowroot flour/powder

2/3 c. flax meal (I use a 50:50 mix of dark & golden)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1 T. onion powder

2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

2 T. oat fiber  (omit for gluten-free version)

¼ c. grated Parmesan Cheese

3/4 c. warm tap water

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:  Line two large sheet pans (mine are 11½ x 17) with parchment.  I use plastic gloves to press crackers into my pans, or sometimes I cut a third piece or parchment, lay it on top and roll out the dough that way, using my gloved fingers to finish off the edges evenly.  The key is to get the cracker dough thin and even in the pan.  Thicker areas  don’t cook well; thinner areas will burn quickly.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Stir the warm water and olive oil together in a small glass to mix well.  Measure out all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.   Stir well with a fork.  Add the water-oil mixture to the dry ingredients and blend with the fork to form a solid ball of dough.  I form the dough right in the bowl into in a log shape and cut in half to divide it equally.  Crumble half the mixture onto each parchment-lined pan.  Roll the dough or, wearing plastic gloves, press the dough in the first pan evenly and all the way to the edges.  It will be very thin, and I always think it isn’t going to make it, but half the dough WILL reach the edge of the pan.  I like to roll the surface with a straight-sided glass I own.  If rolling with a rolling pin or straight glass, cover crumbles with parchment and roll as evenly as possible all the way to the edges of the pan.  You’ll likely have to finish the edges with your fingers (use a piece of plastic wrap if need be).  With a large chef’s knife, score the rolled dough into rows of crackers 6 x 8 (48 crackers).  Repeat this process with the second pan of crackers.

Although a lot more trouble and time-consuming, to make round crackers for parties, I use silicone muffin pans or silicone cupcake liners.  You can also use paper liners in a metal muffin pan.  Measure 1 level teaspoon of dough into each mold and press down evenly with a your fingers (I use plastic glove to do this to avoid dough sticking to me). Set silicone muffin pans and/or molds onto metal sheet pans for support. Pop the pans into the preheated 350º oven and bake for for about 20-22 minutes.  Ovens vary, so start watching them at 18 minutes.  Do not over brown!  I recommend removing those around the edges as soon as they begin to brown and those on the outside are inclined to burn. When all have browned, remove, cool 1-2 minutes, re-score with the chef’s knife and then let them cool completely before eating.  These are not tasty hot in my opinion.  The flavor develops when they have cooled.

Break apart and enjoy plain, with butter, cheese spreads (I’m addicted to them with chive & onion cream cheese) or your favorite hard cheeses or salami!  Store remainders in a plastic zip bag or any canister of your choosing.  I just use a ceramic cookie jar on my counter.  These stay crisp for around 2 weeks.  Mine get eaten within 2 weeks, so I honestly don’t know if they would keep longer or not.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 96 square crackers, each cracker contains:

28.4 calories, 2.38 g  fat, 1.32 g  carbs, 0.68 g  fiber, 0.64 g  NET CARBS, 0.97 g  protein, 37 mg sodium

NOTE:  If you make round crackers pressed into silicone muffin molds/cups you will only get 66 crackers, using 1 level tsp. dough per cracker.  Each round crackers will contain 41.3 calories, 3.46 g  fat, 1.91 g  carbs, 0.98 g  fiber, 0.93 g  net carbs, 1.41 g protein and 54 mg sodium

Spicy Cheese Thins

We’ve covered the ground on soups, entrées, meat dishes, seafoods and vegetables.   Now let’s move on to the fun stuff:  snacks.  I actually actively avoid snacks to facilitate correcting insulin resistance.  With intermittent fasting, it’s just not allowed.  But with my eating window being 5-7pm, I am allowed a snack a little ahead of the meal if I’m struggling to make the full 23 hours of fasting.   So I’ll begin with an item that is often needed to consume certain snacks…….crackers.  I have a variety of cracker recipes now and would like to re-share them with my newest readers, as I’m pleased enough with them I no longer feel a need to create and post new ones.

This recipe, one of my very first cracker trials, is a variation of an Almond Thins cracker recipe posted on Low Carb Friends forum (no longer exists).  It allows itself to nicely be tweaked for a ton of wonderful savory and even sweet variations.

I took the basic almond flour thins recipe, doubled it, omitted the Splenda and then added cheese and one of my favorite seasoning combinations.  I was looking to achieve a cracker reminiscent of Cheez-its® or Pepperidge Farm Goldfish®.

My version is VERY crispy provided you allow them to brown a bit!  Less browning results in a not-so-crisp cracker………tasty, just not as crisp as I like.   They are good alone or they and delicious with soup! You can eat five of these crackers for under 2 net carbs, so definitely my kind of cracker!  These are not suitable until you get to the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) ladder.

VARIATION:  For an even cheesier taste, you can add 2 T. Nutritional Yeast to the dry ingredients when mixing the dough. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. almond flour

2 egg whites from large eggs

¼ tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional, use more if you like things hot)

1/8 tsp. chili powder

1 c. grated Cheddar cheese (½ c. more if you want them cheesier)

¼ tsp. salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 325º. Cut parchment paper to fit exactly the bottom of an 11″ x 16½” sheet pan.  Just set the paper on your kitchen counter for now.  Mix almond flour and seasonings in a bowl.  Add egg whites and stir with a fork.  Add cheese and continue stirring until it forms a moist dough.  Spoon (or crumble with your hands) the dough evenly onto parchment working from the center out. Cover the dough blobs with a sprayed/oiled sheet of waxed paper the same size.  Using a rolling pin, roll dough into a single, smooth rectangular sheet of dough the size of the parchment.  Be careful to not let the dough exceed the piece of parchment paper. If it does, put those bits back into the sheet and roll smooth again.  You definitely want this dough to go all the way to the edges of the parchment paper so the crackers will be thin enough to be crisp.

Slowly and carefully lift off the waxed paper.  Use the tip of a pointed knife to lift up two corners and with your hands, applying tension to keep the sheet stiff, carefully lift parchment, dough and all onto the baking sheet.  If you cut it the right size, it should sit right down on the bottom nicely.  Using your sharp knife, carefully (and gently since the dough is fragile) score the dough into cracker shapes (8 x 10, making 80 crackers total).  Pop into your preheated 325º oven and bake for about 10-11 minutes or until lightly browned.  The outer rows brown faster, so you will likely need to remove outer rows as soon as they are browned so those don’t get over-browned while  the center ones finish cooking.  Cool a few minutes and separate into separate crackers along your score lines.  Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag.  NOTE:  If these lose their crispness on day 2 or 3 (due to high oil content of cheddar cheese) re-crisp on a baking sheet in a 325º in the oven for about 10 minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 80 crackers, each cracker contains: (using 1 c. cheese only)

23.5 cals, 1.98g fat, 0.64g carbs, 0.3g fiber, 0.34g NET CARBS, 1.12g protein, 20 mg sodium

5-Spice Miso Moringa Soup

I finally decided to try one of the packets of Miso Soup I bought eons ago at the grocery store. I had no idea what flavor(s) to expect, but thought I’d try it and get creative. This was quite a surprise, as the light, flavorful result, with my additions, was quite good for lunch today. We’ll see if it staves off afternoon hunger pangs and holds me until dinner.

These packages when purchased have 3 single-serving packets inside the outer package. Since there are two of us, I made up all 3 single servings, assuming my husband would eat 2 large 1½ c. bowls (which he did). I just ate one bowl to be quite full. Of course, knowing me, after a quick taste with just water, per instructions, I decided it was just “meh” and I would not eat it unless I expanded the flavor profile. I added several vegetables, a few flavorings and ended up with a light soup I will certainly prepare again.

This soup is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets. Paleo and Primal followers can also enjoy this one.

INGREDIENTS:

3 individual packets Marukome Miso Soup (tofu flavor)

3 c. water

1 c. homemade beef broth (or chicken, pork)

1 sliced fresh mushroom

3/4 c. sliced cabbage

1 oz. red bell pepper, sliced or chopped coarse

1/2 c. green onion tops, sliced ½”

12 dried tiger lily buds, chopped ½” (optional)

1 T. Hoisin Sauce

1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce

¼ fish sauce (I use Thai Kitchen)

¼-½ tsp. Sriracha chili sauce

¼ tsp. Chinese 5-spice blend

1 T. dried moringa leaves

5-6 Baby Bok Choy leaves (added last 2 minutes of cooking)

DIRECTIONS: Place all ingredients but the Baby Bok Choy leaves into a 2 qt. sauce pan. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer soup for about 5-7 minutes to allow vegetables and mushrooms to cook. Add Baby Bok Choy leaves and cook just 2 minutes to just slightly wilt them but keep them bright green. Serve soup at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 bowls of soup, each contains:

112 cals, 3g fat, 10g carbs, 2g fiber, 8g NET CARBS, 10g protein, 751 mg sodium

Blue Crab Stuffed Fish

This is a delicious and very easy dish to prepare.  It’s one I developed while we lived down on the Texas Gulf Coast, where I had access to the freshest, sweetest Blue Crab right off the dock.  Now, since retiring and settling in Central Texas (to get away from hurricanes), I have to make do with what comes in a little carton in the seafood aisle of my grocery store.   Not as good, to put it mildly.  But even that beats the heck out of boarding up and preparing your home for 2-3 hurricanes a season.  Because this dish uses low-carb flax-based bread, this is OK for Induction.  I would NOT recommend substituting pork rinds in this recipe.   I think you will be disappointed if you do.

INGREDIENTS:

½ recipe my Blue Crab Stuffing

6   4-oz. flounder filets  (or any mild white-flesh fish filets)

2 T. butter, unsalted

1/4 tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Make the stuffing as instructed in that recipe.  Using the spoon you used to stir the stuffing, equally mark off 6 portions in the skillet.  This helps ensure each filet will get an equal portion of filling.  Melt the 2T. butter in a baking pan.  Take each fish filet in one hand, placing the center of the filet in your palm.  Spoon 1/6th of the stuffing into the center.  Then with your other hand, fold the tail flap over the stuffing, then the header flap on top.  Gently turn over and place seam down onto the baking pan in the melted butter.   With a brush, baste the top and sides of each “roll” with butter from the pan.  Sprinkle each with a bit of Seafood Spice Blend.  Pop into a 350º oven for about 25-30 minutes.  Lift gently with a long spatula when plating, so as to not disturb the filling that invariably spills out of the roll at each end.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 servings, each contains:

280 cals, 18.3g fat, 2.87g carbs, 1.23g fiber, 1.64g NET CARBS, 26.7g protein, 350 mg sodium

Fish Filet in Shawarma Sauce

This quickly thought-up menu turned out to be one of the best fish dishes I’ve created in a VERY long time!  I just can’t believe how good it is to be so simple.  A great recipe for weeknights when you’re tired after a long day at work.  This recipe just made my regular fish recipe rotations, for sure!  I don’t believe I’ve ever used my shawarma spice on seafood before, but will be definitely be doing so again in the future!  It’s truly delightful on fish!  It was almost like a Hollandaise sauce, but without all the fuss, since I keep a fresh batch of homemade mayo made up all the time.  This dish is acceptable for Atkins Induction and is Paleo friendly if you use coconut milk in lieu of the cream.  You can use Swai, sole, flounder, tilapia, bluefish, halibut or any mild fish.  I’ve even used this sauce on broiled salmon and liked the results.  I keep this spice blend made up in my spice rack so making this is a snap at my house. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

4   5-oz. fish filets or fish filet portions of your choice

2 T. unsalted butter

1½ tsp. Shawarma Spice blend

1/3 c. homemade mayonnaise

2 T. heavy cream

Pinch salt

DIRECTIONS:    Stir 1 tsp. of the spice blend and the cream or coconut milk into the mayo in a small saucepan and set on burner set to lowest possible heat setting.  Now to sauté the fish.  Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Pat any moisture off the fish with paper towels and sprinkle both sides evenly with the remaining ½ tsp. shawarma seasoning and a pinch of salt.    Raise heat to high and sear the fish on both sides until golden brown and done in center (takes just about 3-4 minutes on a side.  Plate the filets and spoon about 2 tablespoons of the creamy sauce over each portion.    Serve with a green vegetable or nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

338.5 cals, 25g fat, 0.63g carbs, 0.13g fiber, 0.5g NET CARBS, 28.3g protein, 83 mg sodium

 

Indian Broiled Fish

A lot of Indian food fans don’t realize what a stellar job they do with fish in India.  Many menus don’t have it on the menu, but a quick perusal of an Indian cookbook will have you realizing they eat a lot of fish.  Their exotic spices compliment fish in the most wonderful way. 

Originally posted in 2010, I thought of this recipe today and am fixing this for dinner tomorrow night, I think.  This baked fish dish goes together really fast, so it is an easy meal prep during the summertime when you’d rather be outdoors having fun than cooking in the kitchen.  If you wish, you can use whole fish for this recipe.  This spice mixture would also be good on flounder or trout.  This recipe is Induction friendly.  The batch pictured has 1 small Roma seeded and finely chopped.  I enjoy this entrée both with and without the tomato.  I have not included the tomato in the recipe or nutritional stats, however.

INGREDIENTS:

2   8 oz. tilapia or flounder filets (or white flesh fish of choice)

1 tsp. minced ginger root

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 finely chopped jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 T. chopped cilantro

¼ tsp. turmeric

Dash each of cayenne & black pepper

3 T. unsalted butter, melted

Dash/sprinkle of Garam Masala spice blend

OPTIONAL:  2 tsp. tomato sauce or 1 small tomato chopped on fish before spices added is very good.

DIRECTIONS:  Mix all ingredients in a glass bowl.  Do not use a plastic bowl or the turmeric will permanently stain it.  Add melted butter and mash it all up together.  Place fish on oiled, non-stick or parchment-lined pan.  Spread tomato sauce or chopped tomato on side that is up (if using), add seasoning mixture evenly on the top of each filet.  Broil for about 10 minutes (15or so for whole fish), until thickest part of the filet is firming up.  Or, you can bake for about 20 minutes (30 minutes for whole fish, depending on size), but I personally think broiling is best.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 2, each serving contains:

327 cals, 15.5g fat, 1.6g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 1.1g NET CARBS, 45.5g protein, 123 mg sodium