Chicken-Guacamole Salad

I had one leftover baked chicken breast in the fridge (didn’t even use it all, in fact) and 2 avocados that were at the peak of ripeness calling out to be used today, so I dreamed up this delicious little salad for lunch.  Pretty, isn’t it?  It rings in at just 4.95 grams net carbs (mostly the avocado), is very filling, ever so nutritious for your family, not to even mention it was delicious!

This simple-to-put-together dish can be enjoyed at all levels of Atkins and Keto diets if it fits your daily numbers limits.  This one would be suitable for Primal-Paleo as well.

Our latest volumes are selling fast! What are you waiting for? Volume 8, 9 and 10 are almost exclusively comprised of my recipes! Included are some tasty new creations of my dear friends George Stella and Jennifer Eloff. Special complete set pricing going on right now. Hurry and place your order today for one or more of our cookbooks at https://amongfriends.us/sale.php or at Amazon. After your book(s) arrive, and you’ve had a chance to try a recipe or two, do stop by and leave a review at Amazon here.

INGREDIENTS:

5 leaves romaine lettuce, chopped

1 Roma tomato, diced

1/3-1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine

2 avocados, skinned and seeded

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

4 oz. cooked chicken meat (more if desired, but adjust numbers below)

4 shakes/dashes of sea salt (1/16 tsp.)

VARIATION:  Instead of chicken, use 4 oz. leftover bits of grilled steak.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 2 servings, each contains:

406 cals, 30g fat, 18.45g carbs, 13.5g fiber, 4.95g NET CARBS, 21.4g protein, 497 mg sodium

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Baked Tilapia with Cajun Eggplant Stuffing

My grocery store had fresh (never frozen) whole Tilapia today.  I picked up a package of two of them that weighed 12 oz. and 13 oz., perfect for individual portions for two.  Having lived on the Texas Gulf Coast for over 30 years, I’m very familiar with stuffing red snapper, sea trout and flounder, but I have never tried to stuff tilapia.  It was plentiful in the Gulf, but I just never bought it for stuffing, or for anything for that matter, as we preferred flounder and red snapper.  Well, I discovered when I got these home the cavity in this fish does NOT lend itself to stuffing.  So for my creation tonight, I quickly decided to put the stuffing between the baking fish.  That worked out just fine though.  And man, did this stuffing ever taste good with it!  Dinner was ready in under 1 hour flat, 20 minutes to get the stuffing prepared, 30 minutes to bake the final dish.

One must eat whole fish carefully to get the bones out.  But using a fork skillfully for many years has enabled me to do this effortlessly.  Even my very detail-inept husband can do this on his own now without assistance now.  I taught him well.  🙂  This meal was absolutely yummy with a green salad.  One added note:  I ended up with slightly more stuffing than we needed (had a full serving leftover, so looks like I’ll be stuffing some jumbo shrimp next week).  So I have adjusted the ingredient amounts to reflect what you will need for just two nice 1 cup servings of stuffing.

This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction unless you substitute slices of an Induction suitable bread.  This recipe and many other tasty ones can be at your fingertips when you get  our LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS cookbooks.  Special complete set pricing going on right now. You can place your order today for one or more of our cookbooks at https://amongfriends.us/sale.php or at Amazon. After your book(s) arrive, and you’ve had a chance to try a recipe or two, do stop by and leave a review at Amazon here.

INGREDIENTS:

2   12-13 oz. whole tilapia, heads removed

½  cup (stick) unsalted butter

2/3 c. chopped celery

2  oz. onion, chopped

½ c. chopped sweet red bell pepper

1  clove garlic, minced

1  c. eggplant, peeled and cut into ½” dice

1½ Smart Buns (or 3 slices other low-carb bread of choice), chopped coarsley

¼ tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

6 oz. crawfish tails (I used ½ bag Boudreaux)

VARIATION:  Add 2 slices chopped, cooked bacon to the stuffing just before baking.

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  At my husband’s request, I cut off the fish heads, but actually don’t care one way or the other myself.  Leave them on if you like that look on the plate.  Rinse the fish well with cold water.  Set them aside for now.  Peel and chop eggplant and set aside.  Next chop the onion, celery, red pepper and mince your garlic.  In a large skillet over high heat, melt about 5 T. of the butter.  Add the chopped onion, celery and pepper.  Saute until all is getting soft.  Add eggplant cubes and garlic and continue to saute until eggplant is also getting pretty soft.  That will take about 10 minutes.   Stir the mixture often as it cooks.  When the eggplant is nearly done, add the crawfish tails and cook 1-2 minutes longer (they are usually already fully-cooked when you buy them).  Add just 3/4 tsp. of the Seafood Spice Blend and the salt to the stuffing next and stir well to blend.  Finally add the chopped bread to the stuffing and stir well to moisten the mixture evenly.  Turn off heat.

With your spoon or rubber spatula, push the stuffing to the middle of the skillet like a long log.  It will spread out during cooking as shown in photo.   Lay the two fish along the sides of the pan, slightly leaning onto the stuffing.   In your microwave, melt the remaining 3 T. butter and add the remaining 1/4 tsp. Seafood Spice Blend.  Stir well.  With a basting brush, coat the fish with this butter mixture.  Pop skillet into 350º oven for about 30-35 minutes.  Baste again with the melted butter mixture 1-2 more times during cooking.  Remove pan from oven.  Check for opaque, flakiness with a fork tip down to backbone.  If fish is done, turn off oven.  If not, bake 5-10 minutes longer.  Ovens will certainly vary.   Serve with a nice green salad or perhaps steamed broccoli.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 2 servings, each contains:

577.5 cals, 30.6g fat, 22.4g carbs, 14.1g fiber, 7.30g NET CARBS 67.3g protein, 635mg sodium

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Asian Cabbage Salad

This was our lunch today.  I love this recipe in the summertime!  So easy to throw together for lunch without heating up the kitchen.  To clear out the last of some Tahini I had on hand, I added it to the dressing this time and that is the dressing in the picture.  It was good, but since I don’t usually do this, I have calculated the nutritional info below without the tahini.  Despite the small amount of tahini (sesame seeds, not acceptable until OWL) each serving would get, I think you could enjoy this on Induction without doing irreparable damage to your weight loss program When I have a little leftover cooked chicken or steak, I like to add it to the top of this salad to make it a complete meal.  But this salad is delicious without any meat at all!  :).

Our latest volumes are selling fast! What are you waiting for? Volume 8, 9 and 10 are almost exclusively comprised of my recipes! Included are some tasty new creations of my dear friends George Stella and Jennifer Eloff. Special complete set pricing going on right now. Hurry and place your order today for one or more of our cookbooks at https://amongfriends.us/sale.php or at Amazon. After your book(s) arrive, and you’ve had a chance to try a recipe or two, do stop by and leave a review at Amazon here.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. lime juice

2 T. rice vinegar

2T. + 2 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. hot sesame oil

3-4 drops liquid sweetener

3 T. low-sodium soy sauce

1 tsp. minced fresh ginger

6 c. shredded Napa cabbage

1 c. chopped fresh cilantro

1 shredded carrot

½ fresh jalapeno, seeded, sliced in small julienne strips

OPTIONAL:  2 T. peanut butter added to dressing (not calculated in below).  Leftover cooked steak (or chicken as shown above).

DIRECTIONS:  Whisk first 7 ingredients together in a small bowl for the dressing.  Set aside.  Shred/slice napa cabbage and place in large bowl.  Add grated carrot, cilantro and julienned jalapeno.  Toss well and plate servings.  You can alternately so plate directly in layers on each person’s plate if you prefer (what I in the photo above).  If adding any meat, sprinkle in equal amounts on each serving.  Provide dressing in individual small cups for each person to add as they please.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 large servings, each containing approximately:

95 calories, 3.6 g  fat, 2.9 g  protein, 13.5 g  carbs, 5.0 g  fiber, 8.5 g  NET CARBS, 350 mg sodium

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London Broil

Shown with Garlic Herb Butter.

When you want to tenderize a tougher cut of meat, like flank steak or London Broil, you have to marinate it to loosen up those meat fibers a bit.  This is one of my favorite steak marinades to use on London Broil.  If you can’t get flank or London Broil, use a piece of lean chuck roast. The flavor on the outer crust of meat is just divine.  The longer you marinate the meat, the more tender the meat will get.  Marinating all day long is preferred, but a minimum of 4-5 hours is a must lest you end up with a very tough, difficult to chew experience.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins provided those still on Atkins Induction sub in some beef broth for the red wine.  It’s also delicious with my Garlic Herb Butter.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own copy of our cookbooks  LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  Volume 8 is almost exclusively comprised of my recipes with some new George Stella and Jennifer Eloff creations.  Order your books from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. piece of London Broil or flank steak

½ clove garlic, minced

1½ tsp. tomato paste

½ c. red wine (or beef broth if still on Induction)

¼ c. low sodium soy sauce

2 T. balsamic  vinegar

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:  Coat the meat with the black pepper and set in a glass or plastic marinating pan.  Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the tomato paste well until it is evenly distributed in the liquid.  Using a basting brush, drizzle the marinade over the meat and place marinating pan in the refrigerator.  Marinate for at least 4 hours to all day long, drizzling over the meat carefully hourly.  Turn the meat once or twice while marinating.

When ready to cook, prepare a hot charcoal fire.  Lift meat out of marinating pan and discard the marinade.  Place meat directly over the hot coals and grill for about 8-10 minutes on a side or until it reaches your desired stage (around 8 minutes per side for medium rare; around 10 for medium as shown).  These two cuts of meat are really too tough to cook them well done.  Just being honest.  Serve with a nice salad or your favorite green side dish.  This is delicious with compound butter, if you have a favorite recipe.  Here’s the one I used tonight:  Garlic Herb Butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  As the marinade is discarded, a firm count per serving is difficult to arrive at.  No more than 1 T. is consumed on the meat surfaces, if THAT much.  1 T. marinade contains around 1.27 net carbs, so that is what is added to the serving below.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Serves 6-7 people nicely (maybe 8), so each serving of meat with 1 T. marinade contains around:

297 calories, 12g fat, 1.3 carbs, 0 fiber, 1.3 NET CARBS, 44 g protein, 101 mg sodium

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Southern Fried Chicken

My husband asked me to come up with a “real” skillet-fried chicken recipe that would allow us to not break the bank on carbs.  I gave it a try, but since I haven’t been pleased with any of the low-carb fried chicken recipes I’ve encountered to date, I wasn’t too optimistic about outcomes.

You regular readers know how I hate to stand over a hot skillet of grease to fry anything.  I invariably get popped with hot grease and get burned, thus all the oven-fried recipes on my website.  But I will traditionally fry chicken!

I wasn’t sure what to begin with, but remembered reading a recipe somewhere on the web for a coating that used whey protein powder, so I decided that would be my foundation ingredient.  To that I added crushed pork rinds for crunch and a touch of oat fiber for a flour-y taste.  BINGO!  The resulting coating was very close to my old high-carb flour coated chicken.  I was astounded!  And being the gravy hound that I am, you’ll be happy to know that the browned coating skillet bits make excellent cream gravy!

I’m so pleased with this recipe!!  Great flavor!  Crispy!  Until you try this one, you just won’t believe it tastes just like your Mom’s flour- coated chicken!  A real winner!!!  And it’s great leftover, cold, right out of the fridge!!  Hubby said this was the best low-carb fried chicken I have cooked in my 10 years of low-carbing! My heretofore popular Oven-Fried Chicken, although very good, is just not the same as this classic Southern Fried Chicken, ya know?

A couple reader testimonials: 

John

January 28, 2017 @ 10:26 am

This is the most amazing recipe! I have used low carb diets for the last 12 years or so, and the one craving that I have never been able to satisfy was Southern Fried Chicken. Being a Southern boy, this was a staple every Sunday after church in my house. This recipe tastes EXACTLY like my mother’s fried chicken. I used Quest multi-purpose powder left out the oat fiber which essentially makes it zero carbs. My whole family loved it including my 80 year old mother and 5 year old son! THANK YOU!!!!

 Jamie

August 5, 2014 @ 6:50 am Edit

Peggy this was awesome. I made it with your oven fried okra. It was a bit of prep and work and I was nervous that it if my family didn’t like it, I would have put in a this time and effort for nothing. That was most definitely NOT the case though. It was perfection. I remember in my pre-low carb days trying to make fried chicken and honestly, it was never as good as this. My 2 picky boys loved it so much. They begged for me to start making it at least once a month. The okra was also so good and crunchy. I thank you so much for making recipes that really help a family of low carbers stay satisfied.

In order for this to be suitable for Atkins Induction, you’ll technically should omit the oat fiber.  As I can’t know how you cut up your chicken, or what size pieces you tend to eat, I can’t really provide nutritional stats for the entire final meat dish.  Instead, I am providing nutritional info for 1/10 of the coating, as it was just enough to coat 10 pieces of chicken: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 wings and 4 pieces of breast as I cut them into halves to speed cooking time.

Many more delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  You’ll LOVE these delicious recipes by famed Chef George Stella, renowned low-carb cook Jennifer Eloff and myself.  Order a complete set for besst discounts, or individual cookbooks from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.  Remember, they make GREAT birthday or holiday gifts!  If you’ve already purchased a book, take a moment and drop by the our Amazon page and  leave your personal review on the latest book.  Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 c. plain whey protein

1 c. crushed pork rinds (about 2 oz.)

1 T. oat fiber (omit if on Induction or for gluten-free version)

1 tsp. my Seafood Spice blend (or seasonings of your choice)

½ tsp. onion powder

½ c. Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

2 large eggs

¼ c. heavy cream

¼ c. water

½-3/4″ deep hot oil (I used palm shortening) in a large 13-14″ skillet

DIRECTIONS:  Measure out and mix all dry ingredients in a paper bag by shaking well.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and water together.  Toss in the pieces of cut up chicken into the egg wash and turn several times to well coat each piece.   Pick each piece of meat out of the bowl and drop into the bag of seasoned “flour” and when you have 3 pieces in the bag, holding the top closed, shake the bag to coat the chicken.  Don’t put more than 3 pieces into the bag at a time or they will not coat well.

Heat 3/4″ deep oil over high heat.  Place the pieces closely together.  If you’re creative, you can get an entire chicken in a 14″ skillet.  Lower heat to medium-high so larger pieces don’t over-brown before done. Repeat the coating process with the remaining pieces of chicken.  I was only able to fry 8 pieces of chicken in my largest skillet at a time, so I saved the wings for last as I knew they would cook quite fast.  Brown the chicken well on one side disturbing as little as possible.  Turn pieces of chicken over carefully to brown the second side.   When brown and done (about 30 minutes) remove to paper toweling to drain.  Finish cooking the remaining pieces if you were unable to get them all in your skillet.   Serve at once with your favorite sides.  I served mine with steamed cauliflower I topped with cheese and chives.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes enough coating for 10 pieces of chicken.  Numbers are for the coating only.  Be sure to add in the info for the chicken piece(s) you eat!  1/10 batch of the coating contains:

113.4 calories, 7.26 g  fat, 1.72 g  carbs, 0.53 g  fiber, 1.19 g  NET CARBS, 12.8 g  protein, 209 mg sodium

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Asian Meatball Lo-Mein

This quick lunch came about when I pulled some leftover Pork Patties and Dipping Sauce out of the freezer to have for lunch today.  But I instead decided to take them into a new direction and the result was quite tasty and most filling.  Needed to use up half a head of bok choy in the refrigerator, so this dish was born as my mind wandered.

Although this dish uses leftover meat patties cut up, you could also just make up a batch of the sauce and cook the base dish using thinly sliced, lean pork rather the cut-up leftover meatballs I used.  Your call there, bit I do think the seasonings in the meat mixture does considerably improve the overall flavor profile of the final dish.  This recipe is suitable for any phase of Atkins or other Keto plans.

Our latest volumes of LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS cookbooks are calling you. What are you waiting for? Volume 8, 9 and 10 are almost exclusively comprised of my recipes! Included some tasty new creations of my dear friends George Stella and Jennifer Eloff. Special complete set pricing going on right now. Hurry and place your order today for one or more of our cookbooks at https://amongfriends.us/sale.php or at Amazon. After your book(s) arrive, and you’ve had a chance to try a recipe, do stop by and leave a review at Amazon here.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. lean ground pork

1 beaten egg

2 jalapenos, seeded, ribs removed and minced fine

2 tsp. coconut aminos (or low-sodium soy sauce)

2 cloves, garlic, minced

4 T.  bacon grease (or oil of choice)

2 oz. onion, slivered in thin wedges

2 c. bok choy, coarsely chopped

12 oz. shiritaki noodles spaghetti shape

1/3 c. chicken broth (preferably homemade)

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

2 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. creamy natural peanut butter (omit if on Atkins Induction)

2 T. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. ginger root, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce (or Sriracha sauce)

2-3 drops liquid stevia or sucralose

1 T. low sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos)

1 T. finely minced green onion

2 T. water

DIRECTIONS:  Mix sauce in small bowl and set aside.  Mix meat ingredients in medium bowl.  Form into very small meatball shapes and set aside.  Open and drain/wash off noodles in strainer under running cold water.  Set aside for now. Cut bok choy coarsely, separating white stem from green leaves (leaves cook faster).  Set that aside for now.  Have all these items by stove at the ready.

In large skillet, melt the bacon grease.  Add meatballs and brown all sides.  Add onion and allow to brown.  Add white stems of bok choy and stir-fry just until slightly soft.  Now pour the sauce over the ingredients.  Then add the chicken broth.  Add green leafy parts next and stir for just a minute to allow then to go limp.  Stir in the drained noodles and toss well.  Continue to simmer and stir 2-3 more minutes to properly heat the noodles, to blend flavors, as well as to dry out the mixture a bit.  Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 large adult servings, each contains:

367 cals, 30.5g fat, 8.02g carbs, 5.25g fiber, 2.77g NET CARBS, 12.32g protein, 232 mg sodium

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Montreal BBQ Sauce and Marinade

Montreal BBQ Sauce (shown on grilled pork ribs)

This is a wonderful BBQ sauce for grilled pork and I’m having my husband grill 1/2 pork loin for dinner tonight.  So I thought I’d re-share this tasty sauce and marinade.  It is equally good on fish, chicken and shrimp.  I use this buttery BBQ sauce regularly on grilled pork, but also for inside baked chicken!  It is simply delicious!  And so simple to make!  It is certainly Atkins Induction friendly.  You can also use this as a marinade for grilling or baking fish filets.  Marinate for an hour in a [plastic bag in the refrigerator and then grill the meat or seafood as you do usually.  I always reserve some of the mixture for basting during cooking and a bit for table basting.  The pork ribs in the photo above are shown with Linda Genaw’s Just Like Stuffed Baked Potatoes recipe, a delicious side for any meat!

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Many of my recipes appear in these cookbooks, as well as Volumes 8, 9 and 10 being almost exclusively my recipe content.  Order your 10-volume set TODAY to get special discounted pricing! (books are of course, available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I choose not to get paid for my involvement with these cookbooks. I promote the books here because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

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

1/8 – ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter, add Montreal Steak spice, vinegar and cayenne.   Simmer on lowest heat for 2 minutes.  Remove and use as grilling baste.  If marinating meat first in this, set a little aside for a final basting right before serving meat at table.

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 around 8 tablespoons sauce.  Should be enough to marinate and baste 10 pieces (1 whole chicken cut up), a full rack of pork ribs, 8-10 fish filets, 4# shrimp or a 5-6 lb. pork roast.  Each tablespoon of this sauce contains:

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

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