Zuppa Toscana

This soup is similar to Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden restaurants, but mine has diced cauliflower standing in for potatoes.  I tend to use ground pork or my Homade Italian Sausage, rather than commercial Italian sausage, as I can control final sodium load as well as spices (and for fewer carbs) that way.  You just need to add oregano, fennel and garlic really.  But for convenience, you can certainly substitute in commercial Italian sausage if you prefer.  It almost DOUBLES the sodium using the commercial sausage.   Just be aware of that.  This soup is delicious and we both gave it a resounding thumbs up.  It will make the regular menu rounds at our house. 🙂

VARIATIONS:  Substitute 1/2 c. chopped parsley for the kale; substitute diced rutabaga for the cauliflower.

INGREDIENTS:

6 slices bacon, cut into 3/4″ bits

12 oz.  lean ground pork or Homemade Italian Sausage, coarsely broken up to 1/2″ chunks

2 oz. onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1½ c. coarsely chopped kale (about 3 leaves after stemming)

3 oz. cauliflower, diced to ½”-3/4″ pieces

1 oz. pimiento (half a 2 oz. jar)

3 large mushrooms, sliced or cut however you like (optional)

4 c. homemade chicken broth (32 oz.)

1 c. water

1 c. heavy cream

Dash black pepper

Dash crushed red pepper

3-4 drops Tobasco

¼ tsp. dried oregano leaves

½ tsp. fennel seed, crushed

DIRECTIONS:  In a large Dutch oven or soup pot over high heat, cook the bacon.  Add the pork, onion and garlic and sauté until meat is no longer pink.  Lower heat to medium.  Add all remaining ingredients but the cream.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Add cream and simmer 5 more minutes.  Thicken with xanthan or gum if desired.   Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes six 1-1¼c. servings, each contains:

356 cals, 30.5g fat, 5.51g carbs, 1.08g fiber, 4.43g NET CARBS, 15.6g protein, 865 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

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

As with most of my soups, this one was again a result of leftovers I needed to use up.  And as always, those soups often turn out to be the most delicious!  I had a lot of lean pork shoulder I whittled off a bone for my foundation.  I had two smallish baked sweet potatoes in the refrigerator.  I always have homemade pork stock on hand in my freezer, as I save broth from all roasted pork.  Then I just started adding ingredients I know to be delicious in Indonesian curries and a tasty, filling soup was the result.    

This soup is not suitable until Atkins Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance.  It is perfectly suited for Paleo and Primal diners.  You can reduce the carbs a bit (4.74 net carbs) by using only 1 small sweet potato or about 1/3 c. flesh.

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz. onion, sliced

1 T. coconut oil

1 lb. cooked, lean pork, chopped

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger root, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. dried lemon grass (or 1 small stem fresh, chopped, if available)

1/4 tsp. salt

Dash black pepper

1  13.5-oz. can coconut milk

3 c. homemade pork (or chicken) broth

2 c. water

1/4 tsp. Thai red curry paste

2 small baked sweet potatoes (about 3/4 c. flesh yield) [use less to lower carbs]

1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS:   Bake the sweet potatoes until done.  Heat coconut oil in a large soup pot and saute union until it begins to brown.  Add garlic and pork and saute a couple minutes.  Split the sweet potatoes with a knife.  Using a fork, mash the flesh and scoop it out and add to the soup pot.  Add to the pot the following:  garlic, ginger, all spices, lemon grass, coconut milk, broth, water and Thai curry paste (if using).  Stir well.  Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook about 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.  Add cilantro and cook 1-2 minutes.  Using either a stick blender, or transferring to a blender in small batches, pulse a couple times to reduce to a not-quite-smooth soup.  Serve garnished with a 1-2 cilantro leaves and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes six  1¼-cup servings, each contains:

294 cals, 20 g fat, 6.73 g carbs, 0.45g fiber, 6.33g NET CARBS, 21 g protein, 262 mg sodium

New England Clam Chowder

Can’t have a soup exposé without including this classic New England clam chowder.  I like Manhattan style (tomato based) as well, but New England style is my preference.   It’s super yummy and always a hit with seafood lovers.  We occasionally drive a half hour to the neighboring town to go to a big Asian grocery store there.  I am able to pick up specialty Asian food items we just can’t get at our local grocery stores.  A couple daikon radishes and Japanese eggplants are usually on that grocery list, along with some Asian sauces and condiments I can’t find locally either.

My local grocers have NEVER carried daikon radishes in their produce department for some reason.  They are not considered to be all that exotic on the American culinary scene, so that’s surprising to me.  I could get them in Galveston, Texas City and just about any store I’ve ever used.   Daikon radish makes a wonderful potato sub in soups!  Very close in flavor and texture, much closer than turnips for a potato sub and much softer in texture than rutabaga as a potato sub.  Rain and chillier weather always makes soup a perfect choice for lunch or dinner!  I always keep a couple cans of clams around, so a no-brainer today.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets if the macros will work for you.

INGREDIENTS: 

4 oz. bacon, coarsely chopped

3 oz. onion, chopped

10-oz. can of clams, with juice (or 2 6.5 oz. cans)

1 c. daikon radish, peeled, chopped

½ c. parsley, chopped

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

1/2 recipe Jennifer Eloff’s low-carb homemade Condensed Mushroom Soup

½ c. heavy cream

2 c. seafood stock or chicken stock (more, if thinning soup is required)

DIRECTIONS:  Make Jennifer Eloff’s homemade Condensed Mushroom Soup recipe by her instructions at the link above.  Reserve half in your refrigerator for some other use and use just half the batch for this chowder recipe.

Chop bacon, onion, daikon and parsley and set each aside.  Brown bacon over medium high heat in a 4-quart saucepan.  When it is brown, add the onion and black pepper and sauté to allow it to begin to brown/caramelize.  Add the clams, daikon radish and parsley.  Stir well.  Add the mushroom soup concentrate, the cream and water.  Bring to low boil and lower heat to a simmer about 20-30 minutes or until daikon is just tender.  Stir occasionally during cooking to prevent scorching on bottom of the pan.  A little more water or stock (added very slowly) if soup gets too thick for your liking. Serve at once with some low-carb rolls and a salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes five 1½c. servings, each contains:

274 cals, 20g fat, 7.38g carbs, 1.08g fiber, 6.3g NET CARBS, 13.9g protein, 434 mg sodium

Kale-Turnip Soup

When you want to add in some greens to your menu plans but don’t want it as a side dish, I tend to go for a soup.  This one is easy to put together.   It one has a simple flavor profile but is quite tasty!  This soup is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo as well.

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INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. pork breakfast sausage

3 oz. red onion, sliced or chopped

2 c. turnip, cut into large cubes

1 medium stalk celery, sliced coarsely

1½ c. kale leaves, stemmed, coarsely cut up

6 c. homemade chicken broth

Dash each sea salt and coarse black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Coarsely crumble the sausage into a soup pot and lightly brown.  Remove to a paper plate.  Sauté the onion in the same pot.  There should be enough grease from the sausage to accomplish this.  Add all remaining ingredients.  Bring pot to a boil and lower heat, simmering just until turnip pieces are tender (about 15-20 minutes maximum.  Kale leaves will be fully cooked at this juncture.  Add back the sausage, stir and serve at once.

VARIATION:  Add 3 T. rice wine vinegar to the pot during simmering for a slightly different tasting soup. Another variation would be to use ground beef or ground lamb instead of pork sausage.  Again, a slightly different tastes with those changes.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 6 nice bowls of soup (about 1-1¼ c. each).  Each serving contains:

243 calories, 19.2 g fat, 5.75 g carbs, 1.35 g fiber, 4.40 g NET CARBS, 18.2 g protein, 495 mg sodium

Louisiana Shrimp Gumbo

This is the best gumbo recipe I’ve found to date and it’s even Induction friendly if you omit the Carbalose® flour.  If you omit the Carbalose®, you can also omit the olive oil, which make up the “roux”.  If on Induction, skip the roux making altogether.  Won’t be quite as tasty, won’t really be gumbo, but rather a seafood stew or soup, but it will be OK for Induction and still have a very nice flavor.

A teacher I used to work with taught me how to make “roux”.  She was born and raised in Louisiana and cooked gumbo for one of our teachers’ social gatherings many years ago.  Though she used smoked sausage instead of bulk pork breakfast sausage, I find I like breakfast sausage better in my gumbo.  Sometimes I use a little of both types of sausage, actually.  Two things I have added to her basic recipe are the stick of butter and the parsley.  She used chicken stock and I prefer seafood stock I get from boiling the shrimp shells for 30 minutes in 1½ quarts of water.  Of course, you can add crab meat (and/or crawfish), but you would have to adjust the nutritional info below if you make these additions.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. shrimp in their shells, heads on (I often do half shrimp and half shelled crawfish tail meat)

2 T. Carbalose® flour (or CarbQuik®, or oat fiber, for the lowest carb count)

2T. olive oil

1 stick butter (1/2 c.)

½ c. chopped onion

½ c. chopped parsley

3 cloves minced garlic

6 oz. crumbled breakfast sausage (or sliced smoked sausage if you prefer)

3/4 c. chopped green bell pepper

½ c. chopped celery

3 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped (or a 14-oz. can diced tomatoes)

4 small bay leaves

1 tsp. thyme

10-15 drops Tobasco®

¼ tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or more if you like things spicier)

1qt. (4 c.) seafood stock

1½ c. frozen okra slices  (added last 5 minutes)

1 tsp. gumbo file powder (added last 5 minutes)

DIRECTIONS:  Shell the shrimp (and crawfish, if using).  Place them in a large soup pot and boil in 1½ qts. water 30 minutes.  I make seafood stock ahead and keep extra in my spare freezer in 1 cup portions in plastic tubs for such uses.  Saves so much time and effort when I want gumbo quick!  Then I can just pop one out and add to the pot for soups, gumbos and étouffées.  Scoop out shells with slotted spoon and discard.  Pour stock into bowl and set aside.   Wipe moisture out of pot.

Chop all your vegetables and have them at the ready by the stove top, because once you start to make the roux, you can’t stop to cut them up.

Now you’re ready to make the roux and start the gumbo.  The roux imparts a nutty, browned flour taste to the broth of this dish and if this step is bypassed, you will merely be making an ordinary fish soup with much less depth of flavor.

There is an art to making roux with respect to knowing when to “kill” the browning action (just short of it burning, which gives it an unpleasant, bitter taste).  If it burns, you just have to toss it out and start again and you’re butter and time are wasted.  I’ve burned it one time in hundreds and hundreds of batches.  Once you get the hang of it, it’s really quite easy!

Heat oil and add Carbalose flour (or oat fiber/Carbquik for lower carbs) and whisk constantly on high heat.   You want to brown the roux as dark as you can get it without it getting black.  I you see black bits of burned flour that look like pepper in it, it’s ruined and you’ll have to start again.  This can burn in the blink of an eye, so absolutely do not get distracted or walk away from the stove while making a roux!    The second it gets to a dark brown color, immediately dump the chopped vegetables in the pan to drop the temperature of the roux and halt further burning.  Now add the stick of butter, relax and continue sautéing the vegetables for 5-10 minutes until they wilt and begin to caramelize.  If still on Induction, you could consider omitting the Carbalose flour/roux process entirely and thicken with xanthan gum instead.  You won’t get that nutty flavor browning the flour gives, but it would be OK to do this, I think.

If on Induction and omitting the roux, just begin by melting the butter and sautéing the veggies until tender.  Now add all remaining ingredients (except the gumbo file), including the seafood stock.  Simmer covered on lowest heat for about an hour to meld flavors.  Add okra and simmer about 10 minutes, just until tender.  Slightly thicken your gumbo with xanthan gum, dusting it lightly over surface and stirring constantly.  Repeat xanthan gum additions until gumbo reaches desired thickness (takes about 1/4 tsp or so total).  Add gumbo file last and only simmer 5 minutes longer.  Serve gumbo at once with a salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: As a full meal, this recipe should serve 6 people a large bowl of gumbo.  If serving a small cup of gumbo as an appetizer to another entrée, it will make about 10 servings.

6 large bowl servings: each contains 450 calories, 30.28 g fat, 7.83 g carbs, 2.23 g fiber, 36.45 g protein, approx. 96 mg. sodium 5.6 NET CARBS

10 small cup servings: each contains 272 calories, 18.17 g fat, 4.7 g carbs, 1.34 g fiber, 21.87 g protein, approx. 58 mg. sodium, 3.36 NET CARBS

Montreal Chicken Soup

Take a little leftover baked chicken, add some cooked bacon and a little ground pork breakfast sausage, coconut milk and voilà!  A magical soup!  One of my best ever, in fact!    Since the leftover chicken used was some of my extremely popular Montreal Baked Chicken, I decided to increase the Montreal Steak Seasoning in the soup pot to pump the flavor profile up a bit more.  This seasoning has yummy amounts of black pepper and dill in it.  I’m not usually fond of dill, but with the right amount of black pepper, it’s yummy in this soup!

This dish is incredibly rich, has depth of flavor and the strong flavors of bacon and coconut in this soup are divine together.  I served it once as the soup course for our annual neighborhood round-robin dinner party and was it ever a hit!   This one’s a keeper and a must try for my readers who have not yet done so!  This soup is not suitable until the nuts and seeds reintroduction phase of Atkins OWL (Ongoing Weight Losss) phase due to the coconut milk.

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. cooked baked chicken meat, diced

4 oz. bulk pork breakfast sausage or ground pork

4 oz. lean bacon, chopped coarsely

2 oz. onion, chopped

1 T. shallot, chopped (or green onion)

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1/3 c. chopped parsley

3/4 c. leek, well washed, thinly sliced

¼ tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1½ tsp. homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning

4 oz. cream cheese

1/4 c. heavy cream

3/4 c. coconut milk

2 c. homemade chicken stock (low sodium)

2-3 c. water (to desired thickness)

1 tsp. chia seeds, ground (I use 50:50 dark and white)

DIRECTIONS:  Cut up the chicken into small bites and set aside.  Cut bacon and brown a bit, add onion, leek and garlic.  Sauté until onion is getting tender.  Add sausage, mushrooms, parsley, and all seasonings.  Sauté, stirring for 4-5 minutes. Add in cream cheese in small bits at a time, the diced chicken, chicken stock, water, coconut milk and ground chia seed.  Simmer over low heat for about 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.  Lower heat and stir in heavy cream.  Simmer about 5 minutes longer at lowest heat to slightly thicken up. Add a bit more water if the overall soup is too thick or doesn’t have enough liquid for your liking.  I found I wanted 1 c. more water in mine, as I don’t like too high a solids to liquid ratio in my soups.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Entire recipe has 35 net carbs.  I found my recipe made eight 1-cup servings, each containing:

315 calories

25.4 g  fat

5.74 g  carbs, 1.38 g  fiber, 4.36 NET CARBS

16.5 g  protein

580 mg sodium

Shrimp and Sausage Bisque

This is one of my most scrumptious seafood bisque recipes.  It can be prepared in just 1 hour, too!  I used my trusty gumbo recipe of many years and basically made that (minus classic okra) and used cream instead of canned tomatoes in my gumbo recipe to make it more like a bisque.  WOW!  We LOVED IT!  This one is a keeper for sure!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, provided those still on Induction omit the white wine and those on Paleo use coconut milk instead of cream.

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INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. bacon, coarsely chopped

1 c. celery, chopped

3/4 c. green bell pepper, chopped

3 oz. onion, chopped

½ c. parsley, chopped

6 oz. pork breakfast sausage

1 medium leaf kale, (about 3/4 c.), stemmed & chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp. Cajun Seafood Spice Blend

½ tsp. dried thyme leaves

¼ tsp. black pepper

Dash cayenne pepper

22 large shrimp, (shell removed), cut in halves (12 oz tail-on pkg)

2 c. chicken broth (preferably homemade, or seafood stock)

1 c. heavy cream

¼ c. white wine

Tiny dusting of xanthan gum or your favorite thickener

11 San Marzano mini tomatoes cut into 3-4 pieces (or 22 cherry tomatoes, cut in half)

VARIATION:   Add 1 c. shelled/cleaned fresh crab meat + 1 c. extra chicken/seafood broth.  Mmmm.

DIRECTIONS:  In a large soup pot, over medium-high heat, brown the bacon.  Add the Louisiana “Holy Trinity” (celery, bell pepper and onion) to the pot and saute until they begin to soften.  Add sausage and sauté, crumbling as you do so.  Add kale, garlic and the four spices.  Lower heat to medium.  Add shrimp and sauté until opaque.  Add chicken (or seafood) stock, white wine, and cream.   When returns to a simmer, lower heat to lowest setting.  Add tomatoes and simmer about 10 minutes.  Some like this stage of thickening from the cream.  But if you like your cream soups a bit thicker, add the light sprinkle of xanthan gum.  Alternately, if you like more broth in your soup, or need to stretch this out for more servings (it was a bit thick with “solids”) you can always add 1-2 more cups of chicken stock to the pot.  If you do add more broth, you will definitely want to use a thickener.  Simmer a few minutes longer for the thickener to go to work.  Pour into a soup tureen and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 servings (as written), each containing:

382 cals, 31g fat, 7.01g carbs, 1.53g fiber, 5.48g NET CARBS, 16.3g protein, 410mg sodium

Thai Chicken-Pumpkin Soup

Texas is seeing quite a chill in the air for April.  I went out looking for some bedding plants and was so cold wandering my favorite nursery, I just drove back home when done there, despite having a haircut and grocery shopping on my errand list. 

When it’s a chilly 52º, it’s not quite cold enough for making chili, but pumpkin and winter squash soups are nice at such times.  For this delicious soup, I just need a couple things in my pantry.  I use Sam’s “Daily Chef” canned chicken meat as it only has chicken, salt and water in it.  No modified food starch or other junk ingredients.  I always have some homemade chicken stock in my freezer, so this is an easy lunch for me.  This soup is quite tasty and is very nutritious, too.  I went for a Thai flavor today.  GOOD choice for my key ingredients!  This recipe isn’t suitable until you reach the nuts and seeds rung of Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  It is perfectly suited to other Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

1  15-oz. can pumpkin puree (please do not use spiced pumpkin pie filling!)

1  can (13 oz.) coconut milk

3 c. homemade chicken broth

¼ c. packed, fresh cilantro, chopped

¼ tsp. salt

Dash black pepper

¼ c. green onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. Thai Red Curry Paste (or to taste)

1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce

½ tsp. Thai fish sauce (I use Thai Kitchen brand)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1  can (13 oz) chicken meat (salt/water pack, with broth)

OPTIONAL GARNISH:  Sprig of fresh cilantro or my 8-seed Spice Blend

DIRECTIONS:   Basically, place all ingredients into a large soup pot, stir well and bring to a boil and then lower heat.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Although not absolutely necessary, use a stick blender to puree the soup if desired.  Garnish with sprig of cilantro or seed blend of choice.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes five 1½ c. servings, each contains:

273 calories, 19.2 g  fat, 10.2 g  carbs, 2.6 g  fiber, 7.6 g  NET CARBS, 13.66 g  protein, 432 mg sodium

Tomato Soup al Pesto

I have never liked how sweet canned tomato soup was.  Wouldn’t eat the stuff as a child.   But for some strange reason, I was craving tomato soup today and thought I can must make mine from scratch……..even better!  Made it a little different though.  It was thick and very flavorful.  Cream can be added for extra richness, but that is not used or included here.  This is Atkins Induction friendly at all phases and Keto friendly as well.  Paleo and Primal folks can have this delicious soup, too.

INGREDIENTS:

2    14-oz. can of diced tomatoes, no-salt added

12 oz. cauliflower, cooked and well-drained ( ½ large head)

4 oz. onion, chopped

3 T. my pesto sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:  Cook cauliflower in your usual manner, drain and pour into a bowl.  Cook tomatoes and onion in the same pot until very tender.    Add the cauliflower to the tomatoes and onion.  Add the 3T. pesto sauce.  Either using a stick blender or a food processor (in small batches) pulse/blend until fairly smooth.  Add hot water if you find it too thick for your liking.  Serve garnished with a fresh basil sprig as shown, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, or a sprinkle of parsley.  This would pair nicely with a salad and a piece of your favorite low-carb garlic bread.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 5 large bowls, each contains:

116 cals, 6.2g fat, 11.8g carbs, 3.9g fiber, 7.4g NET CARBS, 3.5g protein, 174 mg sodium

Fish Dill Chowder

I’ve been making this chowder for many many years.  It was actually a recipe my father created when I was in high school.  Daddy was the real cook in the family.  I can only emulate his culinary skill in the kitchen now that he is gone.   I’m not very fond of dill, and yet this was delicious then and is still one of my all-time favorite seafood chowders.   this one will pleasantly surprise you should you decide to give it a go.  

In my opinion, Redfish is best for chowders.  It is so firm (often  have to cut with a steak knife) it holds up to cooking without falling apart in the soup.  although readily available when I lived in Galveston, it is hard to come by for most of us.  The other fish varieties indicated below will also work nicely in this chowder if added last just before serving.  I often have to use whatever fish I can get here in Central Texas, since I no longer live on Galveston Island. 

The flavor balance of the fish, wine and dill in this recipe is quite delicate, so this is one fish chowder I would NOT recommend adding additional shellfish to.   The one time I added shrimp or clams, this just wasn’t as good a soup.   Dill just doesn’t seem to compliment shellfish quite like it does whole fish.  My original recipe called for 2 c. diced potato, not allowed on a low-carb regimen.   I substitute diced red radishes, parsnips, daikon radish  or rutabaga for the potato stand-in here.  If you’re up to the starchy veggie rung of the OWL carb ladder, I’d lean toward the rutabaga myself.  

Added note: I regularly make seafood stock from all my shrimp/lobster shells (simmered 30 min. in water) and keep frozen at all times in 1 & 2 cup jars.  Makes a recipe like this easy to put together.

A nice variation on this recipe is to use a little coconut milk for some of the cream.  I find the bacon simmering in this adds enough saltiness for us, but by all means, add more if you feel it needs it.   🙂  Induction friendly recipe if wine is omitted.

INGREDIENTS:

6 slices bacon, coarsely chopped

3 oz. onion, chopped

¼ c. parsley, chopped

¼ tsp. dill seed

2 sprigs fresh dill

8 c. seafood stock

1 c. heavy cream

2 lb. mild fish filets (Redfish if available, otherwise, any boneless fish filets will do), cut into 1″ chunks

½ c. dry white wine (omit if on Induction phase)

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

¼ tsp. black pepper

DIRECTIONS: On high heat, brown bacon in large stew pot until just done, not crisp.  Add onion and sauté until onion begins to brown and caramelize.  If you wish to add a starchy vegetable, pass on the potatoes and add lower carb diced rutabaga, daikon radish, red radishes, turnip or rutabaga.  Be sure to add those values in to the nutritional info provided below.  Add all remaining ingredients except the fish and cream.  Allow chowder to come to a boil and then immediately lower heat.  Simmer 30 minutes or until all vegetables added are tender.   When tender, add fish and cream.  Continue simmering on lowest heat just long enough for fish to go opaque.  Do not overcook lest the fish fall apart into threads in your liquid.  Won’t hurt the taste, but somewhat less attractive visually.  I usually add right before I want to serve the chowder.   You can turn the fire off awhile before adding the fish and cream with no harm to final soup.  Thicken with your favorite thickener if not thick enough for your preference.  Garnished service bowl with a sprinkle of chopped parsley.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 large bowls, each containing:

180 cals, 9.86 g fat, 3.25 g carbs, 0.66 g fiber, 2.59g NET CARBS, 22.4 g protein, 993 mg sodium (can be reduced with less bacon)

“Tortilla” Soup

Tortilla Soup is one of my favorites at Mexican restaurants.  My rendition here is delicious beyond words so I hope you’ll try this one!

My very first exposure to Tortilla soup was at a little place in San Antonio called El Mirador (Spanish for ‘mirror’). My Dad and Mom kept bringing up how fantastic this soup was and we finally went there on one of my visits to try it.   What a flavor delight!  It was every bit as good as my parents had advertised!  Let me tell you, I’ve had it many places since and none shine a light to El Mirador’s rendering of it.  🙂  I know the restaurant is still there and assume they are still offering this wonderful soup, but it looks like at their website linked above, they have changed the name of the soup to Chicken Cilantro Soup.  I’m sure it’s the same soup though.  You San Antonio dwellers who were unaware of this culinary treat need to get on over to El Mirado and try it if you haven’t yet!  The rest of you might want to try my version of it.  

I’ve tried to recreate that wonderful soup ever since I tasted it!  I’ve gotten pretty close, but it’s still not quite as good as theirs.  Not a true “mirror” version, in other words.  This low-carb rendition, without the little strips of crisp tortillas strips (very high in carbs) typically atop tortilla soup, will blow your socks off!  If the base soup is good enough, you really don’t need the tortilla strips for this to be delicious.  This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly and also suitable for Keto and Primal lifestyles.  Paleo followers will want to omit the cream or sub in coconut milk (which will greatly change the final flavor).

INGREDIENTS:

13 oz. cooked chicken meat (canned with juice is just fine in this)

1 qt. water + 2 c. homemade, low-salt chicken broth

1  oz. tomato paste

1 c. yellow squash, diced (about ½ med-large squash)

2 oz. yellow onion

2 oz. green bell pepper

1 oz. poblano pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 tsp. chili powder

dash chipotle chile powder (or 1 small chipotle in adobo, rinsed, seeded and mashed)

1 small Guajillo chile, seeded and chopped (these are very mild and found in most stores’ produce dept. dried, sold in a bag)

Dash cumin

1/4 c. heavy cream

VARIATION:   Bake thin strips of 1 cut-up corn tortilla until crisp and top each serving with a few.  Be sure to recalculate your numbers if you make this carb-y change.

DIRECTIONS:  Cut chicken meat up into small pieces.  If using canned meat, just break up the large chunks.  Put all ingredients but the cream into soup pot.  Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer until squash and all veggies are tender but not falling apart (about 15-20 minutes).  Turn heat to lowest setting. Now add cream and stir.  If you like, you can puree this soup with a stick blender or in small batches in your food processor.  I’ve done the soup both ways and prefer it chunky, as El Mirador served theirs.  

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  Serves 4, each serving contains:

283 calories, 15.1 g.  fat, 6.95 g.  carbs, 1.6 g.  fiber, 5.35 NET CARBS, 26.3 g.  protein, 780 mg sodium

Lobster Bisque

It’s hard for me to believe I would NOT eat lobster (or crab) when I was a child.  We lived on the east coast when I was in high school and I still did not care for either seafood.  Now, they are my absolute favorite seafoods!   Go figure!  Whenever I buy lobster (which I often do at Christmas or New Year’s  feasting), I invariably have a tail or two leftover.  I tend to overbuy by 2 tails to be sure I have enough for even the hardy eaters. 

The lobster tails I bought this year were so large, the two leftover tails weighed in at 17 oz.  !  So I made one of my favorite lobster dishes for lunch with them,  Lobster Bisque.  I added the leek as an after thought, but it was actually quite good in it.  I had 1/3 of a huge head of cauliflower I needed to use up, so I cooked and pureed to add as thickener for my bisque.    Still had to use a bit of xanthan gum to get it as thick as I like.   If you want to trim the carb count on this, you could increase the lobster broth and decrease the cream, but I promise it won’t be as rich or good.  But that is certainly an option if you’re about out of carbs for the day.  One of the reasons the carb count is a bit high on this is that lobster itself has carbs!  This is not suitable for Induction unless you leave out the sherry.  Sadly it just won’t be as good without it, but it’ll be OK :).  Those still on Induction would also need to reduce the cream to 1 c. and increase the stock to 4 cups.

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz. boiled lobster tail meat (4 small or 2 large)

3 c. lobster stock (use the lobster boil water)

¾ leek, rinsed, sliced thin

1/3 large head cauliflower, cooked

2 c. heavy cream (to cut calories & carbs, use 1 c. cream + 1 cup seafood broth)

2 oz. tomato paste

3 oz. sherry (or white wine)

plan suitable thickener (I use xanthan gum, about ¼ tsp.)

1/2 stick butter (4 T.)

DIRECTIONS: Boil or steam cauliflower until tender.   Drain well and puree in blender or food processor.  Boil lobster tails in water 1 minute per tail oz.  Chop lobster meat coarsely.  Reserve 3 c. lobster water in the pot for this recipe and freeze the rest for future use.  You can either sauté the sliced leeks in a bit of butter or just simmer them in the 3 c. reserved stock until tender.  Add all remaining ingredients and stir well to be sure you diffuse the globs of tomato paste (using the back of your spoon against the wall of the cooking pot).  Simmer the bisque on lowest heat, covered, for about 30 minutes.   Right before serving, lightly dust your thickener on surface and stir in, waiting a minute or two to see how thick it is getting.  Repeat 2-3 times until desired thickness is achieved.  Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley if desired.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each containing:

332 calories, 15.8 g  fat, 14.98 g  carbs, 2.4 g  fiber, 12.5 g  NET CARBS, 28.68 g  protein, 923 mg sodium

 

Texas Bone Broth Soup

Bone broth is so very good for you!  I make it, freeze it and use it at every opportunity in my cooking.  I like to collect my grass-fed beef bones in a large plastic bag in the freezer.  Then when I have a big batch, I make extra rich bone broth from them.  The man who leases our pasture down at our rural cabin property gives me grass-fed beef bones regularly, as he doesn’t save them.  His wife doesn’t cook much, apparently, and since he does most of the cooking, he isn’t into making soups and such and never keeps the bones.  His loss is my gain, is how I look at it.

I happened to have  1½ quarts of made-up broth in my freezer the day I made this soup.  Everyday is a good day for soup, non?   I didn’t need to add too much to the pot, it was so rich.  Just a few vegetables and some leftover grass-fed brisket that was also in the refrigerator.  I tossed in a couple things to spice it up and VOILA!  Another delicious, hearty soup for a chilly winter day.  This soup is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ qts. (6 cups) beef bone broth

1 c. rich, beef gravy or roast pan drippings (or beef broth)

8 oz. cooked beef, diced

½ c. Rotel tomatoes with green chilies

1 c. diced canned tomatoes (I use no-salt)

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 small carrots, chopped

4 T. my chimichurri sauce:  (or 2 T. each fresh parsley, cilantro and minced jalapeno pepper)

½ tsp. your favorite chili powder blend (I used smoky chipotle, guajillo and ancho)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Dash each salt & coarse black pepper

DIRECTIONS:   Place all ingredients in a large soup pot and bring to a boil.  Simmer for at least 1 hour to cook vegetables tender and to blend the flavors together.  Serve with your favorite low-carb crackers.  I served mine with my new Almond-Arrowroot Crackers.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 6 large bowls (about 1-1¼c. each).  Each serving contains:

228 cals, 14.5g fat, 6.01g carbs, 1.61g fiber, 4.4g NET CARBS, 16.4g protein, 262 mg sodium

“Potato” Soup

Probably the first low-carb soup I made when I began my low-carb journey 14 years ago.  Potato soup has always been my favorite creamy soup, so it was only logical it would be my first attempt at a low-carb version of one of my comfort foods.   My husband is a sandwich man at lunch, but I’ve always been a soup gal.  He tells me I have created probably  one new soup every week of my life.  My husband says I’ve never made a bad soup over the 54 years we’ve been married and I’ve almost made him a soup kind of guy now, too.

I have so many soups on my blog now, I think it is the largest category hands down.  I thought I’d feature come of my best soups this week.  This way I can share some oldies with my newer followers and remind my long-time readers of the many you keep meaning to try.  One of my favorite sayings applies here:  Too many recipes; too little time.

This “potato” soup is a low-carb version of the famous French Vichissoise, but I serve mine warm like a regular American potato soup.  I’ve never been fond of any of the famous cold soups:  vichissoise, ciopinno or gazpacho.  In Texas we like our my soup hot (in more ways than one  🙂 ).  This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly.  In fact, it (and the one-minute-muffin) are what got me THROUGH Induction, to be honest.

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INGREDIENTS:  

1  medium head cauliflower (about 12 oz.)

4 c. chicken broth, low-sodium or homemade

1½ c. leeks, cleaned, chopped or sliced thin

2 shallots, chopped fine

½  stick (4 T.) unsalted butter

¼ tsp. each salt & black pepper

1 T. green onion or chives, chopped (optional garnish)

½ c. heavy cream

OPTIONAL:  ¼ c. dry white wine

DIRECTIONS:   Cut cauliflower into flowerets and place in large soup pot.  Cut root off l leek and then cut the leek lengthwise in half.  Wash all “hiding” dirt from between the leaves, as it will really hide there!  You don’t want grit in your soup.  Slice thin 1½ c. of leek off and add to the soup pot.  Add broth, shallots, salt, pepper and butter.  Bring to a boil and lower heat to a slow simmer.  Cook until leeks and cauliflower are completely done.  Add heavy cream (and wine if using wine) and simmer on lowest heat for about 5 more minutes.  Using either a stick blender right in the pot (LOVE my stick blender), or doing in small batches in your processor or regular blender, puree the soup until smooth.  Chill if serving cold, as is traditional for this soup.  When ready to serve, dip into 4 bowls and garnish with a bit of chopped green onion or chives.  Serve with your favorite, program-acceptable bread and a nice salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:  Makes 4  servings about 1½ cups in size.  Each contains:

194 cals, 15.3g fat, 10.45g carbs, 4.10g fiber, 6.35g NET CARBS, 5.93g protein, 796 mg sodium

Peggy’s Texas Chili

How about a bowl of hearty Texas Chili (the dish is spelled this way) this week for lunch to wrap up our American foods celebration.  Doesn’t get more American in wintertime than a good bowl of hearty chili!  Many will tell you this is not American food, but I beg to differ.  You see chile  sauce is actually Mexican in origin.  But traditionally they do not put anything but cumin, chiles and garlic in chile sauce….no meat.    It is merely a sauce for topping meat-filled burritos and enchiladas in Mexico.  Food historians think the addition of meat and evolution of Texas chili came about when Mexican vaqueros (horsemen and cattle drivers) way back in Texas’ history, were hired to herd cattle and also to cook on those long cattle drives up to Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas.

I’ve read recipes that call for stale coffee, Mexican oregano, and even chocolate! In my elementary school in Alabama, they put a scoop of white rice on top of the chili they served.  THAT is most DEFINITELY sacrilege.  I always scooped it off mine the year we lived there.  😉   Although those other items I mentioned are often included at chili cookoff recipes, I am inclined to think only the stale coffee is accurate for what was eaten on cattle drives.

One tends to cook as you ate as a child, so these Mexican cooks surely knew how to make a simple chile sauce, having watched their mothers and grandmothers preparing it.  There was certainly plenty of beef and stale coffee available on cattle drives, so the transition to the American ‘variation on a theme’, adding meat, was only natural over time.  Truth be told, we may never solve the ongoing argument in Texas as to whether chili should or should not have beans, but what I DO know is one of my readers several years back took the time to chime in with a comment (see below).  His grandfather was a part of those cattle drives and came back telling stories of eating chili with beans, and tomatoes, too,  if they had any.  I’m sticking with his story.  🙂

I suspect they used canned small red beans, but don’t really know what kind of beans were canned in the 19th century when most of the cattle drives took place.  Right or wrong, I personally include beans to “tame” the heat of the chile peppers in it.  Many of my readers know well I don’t like food that is too spicy, nor does my body.  My entire family, 3 generations now, always included a small amount of beans into the chili pot.  But it’s clear to say, people are dead set on their chili preferences.  I guess it’s another example of “You do you; I’ll do me”.   For certain, I’ve never had a Texan back away from a bowl of my chili, so there you have it, as the Brits say.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you try my chili recipe.  🙂

Chili has to simmer quite awhile for the flavors to blend, so I make big batches and freeze the leftovers for future quick meals.  This recipe makes 8 large adult-size bowls or 16 small one cup servings for children.  The nutritional info is calculated with the can of Eden black soy beans, making the recipe as written unacceptable for Induction.  If you omit the beans, this chili recipe is perfectly suitable to enjoy during Atkins Phase 1 Induction!   🙂

I use several different chile peppers in this recipe, but each has a distinctive flavor they bring to the final bowl of flavor.  Anchos and guajillos are extremely mild as a general rule of thumb; the serrano and Chimayo are hotter.   Of course, you can change up the peppers called for (maybe hatch or ghost peppers?), if you can’t get some called for, but in doing so, you will definitely change the final flavor and most assuredly the ‘heat’ factor of your chili over mine as written. Below left dried ancho chilis are shown if you’re not familiar.  Guajillos shown below right.  Most grocery stores have them dried in the produce aisle of your store or on a special rack in the Mexican food aisle.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. ground beef

4 oz. onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2   4 oz. cans chopped green chiles (mild)

1  10 oz. can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles (mild, or original)

1  14.5 oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes, preferably no-salt

3 c. water

1 T. ordinary chili powder (I use 50:50 Bolners Fiesta & Chimayo blends)

½ tsp. ancho chili powder (or ¼ dried ancho pepper, seeded, chopped) 

2 tsp. ground cumin (more if you’re a fan)

1  dried Guajillo chile pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tiny Serrano pepper, seeded and chopped (or Jalapeno)

2 tomatillos, skin removed and chopped

1 c. cilantro, chopped (optional)

14.5 oz. can black soy beans (I use Eden brand)

2 T. tomato paste

DIRECTIONS: Over medium-high heat, brown meat and onion in large stew pot.  When done, add all remaining ingredients but the tomato paste and beans.  After the chili comes to a low boil, scrape bottom of pot, reduce fire to lowest heat possible, cover tightly and simmer for 1-2 hours (the longer the better, so the tomatoes literally cook apart into the liquid).  Stir often during the 2-hours of cooking to avoid scorching on the bottom of the pan.  Waiting to add beans the last 30 minutes of cooking will reduce this scorching tendency from the starch breaking down in the liquid if overcooked.  Add a little water throughout cooking, if needed, but only if mixture gets too thick to stir or is scorching too fast on the bottom of the pot.   When done, dip up and garnish with a sprinkle of Cheddar cheese (optional) and cilantro (if you’re a fan) on top for garnish.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 large 2-cup adult servings (or 16 one-cup servings).  Each adult-size 2-cup bowl contains:  (numbers calculated using the Eden soy black beans beans).  A 1-cup child portion has half this amount.

540 calories, 32 g  fat, 10.6 g carbs, 4.73 g fiber, 5.87 g NET CARBS (less without the beans), 49.5 g protein, 935 mg sodium

Hot and Sour Soup

This is my version of the well-known Hot and Sour Soup.  I always enjoy this soup when we’re at our local Chinese restaurant buffet.  Mine reminds me so much of the Hot and Sour soup served there, all but the tofu, that is.  I try to avoid soy as much as possible and used bean sprouts in place of tofu, but if you consume tofu, add about 1 c. small cubes of firm tofu to the pot during cooking for a more authentic soup.  This recipe is suitable for Atkins, ketogenic diets, Primal and Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

5-6 oz. piece of pork loin, trimmed of all fat, slivered thin

1 T. olive oil

4 c. pork or chicken broth (I use homemade)

1½ c. bean sprouts, fresh (or canned, drained)

1 large green onion, chopped

1 bok choy leaf (green part only), or 1 leaf kale, chopped

4 oz. red bell pepper, sliced (not authentic, but very good)

¼ c. dried sliced shitake mushrooms (equivalent of 2 mushrooms)

½ c. dried clour ear fungi/mushrooms

few drops of toasted sesame oil

¼ c. rice wine vinegar (no substitutions)

½ Tamari or soy sauce (I use Kikkoman low-sodium soy sauce)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce (more if you like real spicy)

Water (as needed to adjust excess saltiness lower)

½ tsp. xanthan gum to slightly thicken

Dash toasted sesame seeds

VARIATIONS:  Add 1 c. diced firm tofu.  You can also sub in slivered canned bamboo shoots for the bean sprouts for a different look but not much flavor change.

DIRECTIONS:  Brown slivered pork in the tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a 4 qt. saucepan.  Add all remaining ingredients but the last 3 (water, xanthan gum & toasted seeds).  Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat and simmer just until red pepper is starting to soften (but is not mushy, limp), or about 5-6 minutes.  Bok choy (or kale) will be done by then.  Add optional tofu cubes if using.  Taste broth.  If too salty for you add the water slowly until to your desired salty level.

I use a salt shaker for my xanthan gum.  Lightly dust it over surface and stir in.  Simmer a couple minutes to let it take action.  Repeat until soup is thick enough (or until all used).  This should be enough thickener even if you add the cup of extra water.  Add sesame seeds and stir or you can serve them with the soup at table, letting diners sprinkle seeds on their own.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

251 cals, 18g fat, 9.87g carbs, 4.85g fiber, 5.02g NET CARBS, 18.5g protein, 1207 mg sodium (Use low sodium soy sauce to reduce, but I was out of it.)

Peggy’s Texas Chili

How about a bowl of hearty chili this week for lunch?  Cowboys on cattle drives up to the midwest learned to make chili from the vaqueros (Mexican horsemen and cattle handlers) on the drives with them.  Often the cooks on the drives were Mexican.  Although classic Mexican chile sauce does not have meat in it, cattlemen ate what was available when salted, dried meats ran out (hundreds of beef on the hoof all around them!) to create what has become an American tradition!  Doesn’t get better than a good bowl of Texas chili!

Since chili has to simmer quite awhile for the flavors to blend, I like to make big batches and freeze it.  This recipe makes 8 large bowls.  The nutritional info is calculated with the can of Eden black soy beans, making the recipe as written unacceptable for Induction.  If you omit the beans, as many Texans would, this chili recipe is perfectly OK for Atkins Induction!  Although many Texans say “real” Texas chili doesn’t have beans, I beg to disagree.  I consider myself Texan (lived here 50 years now with my Texas husband) and I find chili without beans too rich and always put one can into a big batch to mellow out the heavy spices.  Quite honestly, I’ve never had a die-hard Texan in the “no beans chili” camp back away from my chili, my husband included.  So I do hope you’ll give this one a try. 🙂

I use several different chile peppers in this recipe, but each has a distinctive flavor they bring to the chili, in my opinion.   Of course, you can change the peppers called for herein, if you can’t get some of them, but in doing so, you will definitely change the final flavor and ‘heat’ factor. Below top photo are dried anchos.  Guajillos below.

INGREDIENTS:

3 lb. ground beef

4 oz. onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2   4 oz. cans chopped green chiles (I use mild)

1  10 oz. can tomatoes with green chiles (I use Rotel ‘mild’)

1  14.5 oz. can diced/crushed tomatoes, no-salt3 c. water

1 T. chili powder (mine is a 50:50 mix of Bolners ‘Fiesta’ chile powder & Chimayo chile powder)

½ tsp. ancho chili powder (or ½ dried ancho pepper, seeded, chopped) 

2 tsp. ground cumin

1  dried Guajillo chile pepper, seeded and chopped

1 Serrano pepper, seeded and chopped (or Jalapeno pepper)

2 tomatillos, skin removed and chopped

1 c. cilantro, chopped

1 oz. (2 T.) tomato paste

1  14.5 oz. can Eden Black Soy Beans with liquid (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Over medium-high heat, brown meat and onion in large stew pot.  When done, add all remaining ingredients.  After the chili comes to a boil, reduce fire to low, cover tightly and simmer poon lowest heat for 1-2 hours (the longer the better, so the tomatoes literally cook apart into the liquid).  Stir often to avoid scorching on the bottom of the pan.  Add a little water throughout cooking, as needed.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 8 large 2c. servings, each contains:  (these numbers include the optional beans)

540 calories, 32 g  fat, 10.6 g carbs, 4.73 g fiber, 5.87 g NET CARBS (less without the beans), 49.5 g protein, 935 mg sodium

Oyster Stew

I’ve eaten oyster stew many a time in New England and down on the Texas Gulf Coast where we had access to fresh oysters. I love the stuff almost as much as I love clam chowder. I have been missing it lately and want to to try a batch made from canned oysters (which I’ve never used before). For a totally different twist, am going to add smoked oysters and see what that does to this seaside coastal classic. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and most ketogenic diets, but not Paleo due to the hefty amount of dairy. I just don’t think coconut milk would work as a substitute here as it’s flavor is so dominant in soups, but you could try it if you’re feeling adventurous. My husband liked this so much he ate two huge bowls of it (equivalent to 4 c. measured). I put away 2 cups easily, as it did come out very tasty. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. unsalted butter

1 c. chopped yellow onion

1 c. chopped celery (1 lg. stalk)

1/4 tsp. Tobasco®, Sriracha or Tobasco Chipotle® sauce

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. coarse black pepper (white pepper if you prefer)

1 tsp. xanthan gum (or favorite thickener)

3 c. 2% milk

½ c. heavy cream

1 c. quality seafood stock (mine is from lobster shells boiled)

2 8-oz. cans Chicken of the Sea whole oysters, including juice (omit juice to lower sodium)

2 cans smoked oysters, drained of oil

½ c. chopped parsley (reserve a bit for garnishing)

DIRECTIONS: Melt butter in soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and sauté until tender. Add Tobasco®, salt and black pepper. Stir well. Add milk, seafood stock and cream. As soon as it comes to a slow simmer, lower heat quite low. You do not want the milk/cream to boil ever, just gently simmer.

Open oysters and drain off liquid into the soup pot. On cutting board, I like to cut the oysters up into at least 3-4 pieces (smaller bits if using extremely large fresh oysters). Add them to the pot. Open the smoked oyster cans and drain off juice in the trashcan. I like to gently rinse the smoked oysters off with a gentle stream of warm water in a sieve as well. Cut them in halves (unless already tiny) on the cutting board and add them to the soup pot. Add parsley to the pot next, reserving a sprig pinch for garnish if desired. Simmer low for 10 minutes.

This stew traditionally is not thickened, but if you’d like it thicker, go for it! Use your favorite thickener during this 10 minutes of simmering, gently stirring as you add it to the pot. I would say it will take about 1 tsp. of xanthan gum or 3/4 tsp. glucomannan powder to lightly thicken this amount of soup nicely. Mix them into a bit of the soup liquid in a small dish before slowly adding in. Alternately, if not doing a low-carb diet plan, a slurry of 1 T. einkorn or other flour mixed with 3/4 c. hot water in a lidded jar, shaken well and added slowly will also thicken your soup nicely. Transfer to your service bowl or tureen and place the reserved sprig on top when serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 10 servings of 1 cup each. Each serving contains:

193 cals, 12g fat, 10g carbs, 1g fiber, 9g NET CARBS, 11g protein, 310 mg sodium

Crab-Pumpkin Bisque

I love seafood and especially a good seafood bisque.  I have a cup of picked crab meat and a fresh-baked pie pumpkin to use up and decided to make them into a crab bisque for lunch today that came out super delicious!  We both decided this one was good enough to share with my readers.  This recipe is not suitable for Induction unless you omit the wine.  It is OK for all other phases of Atkins and Keto diets.  This soup is not suitable for Primal or Paleo as it is dairy heavy.

INGREDIENTS:

3 slices bacon, chopped

1/4 c. onion, chopped

1/4 c. celery, chopped

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1 c. pumpkin (preferably fresh)

Dash each black & cayenne peppers

½ c. dry white wine (use stock if still in Induction)

2 c. seafood stock (or chicken broth)

1 c. water

½ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

8 oz. white crab meat, picked of all shell

DIRECTIONS:  Brown bacon over medium-high heat.  Add onion and celery and saute until tender. Add white wine.  Add cream cheese and stir to blend.  Add the seafood stock and water.  Stir well.  Add pumpkin the spice blend, salt, pepper and cayenne.  Stir and lower heat to low.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Stir in crab and simmer 1-2 minutes longer only, or the crab will fall apart.  Serve at once with your favorite low-carb crackers.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 6 large servings, each contains:

256 cals, 21.2 g fat, 4.86 g carbs, 0.63 g fiber, 4.23 g NET CARBS, 10.7 g protein, 550 mg sodium (use less cream cheese to lower sodium)

Crab-Pumpkin Bisque

I love seafood and especially a good seafood bisque.  I have a cup of picked crab meat and a fresh-baked pie pumpkin to use up and decided to make them into a crab bisque for lunch today that came out super delicious!  We both decided this one was good enough to share with my readers.  This recipe is not suitable for Induction unless you omit the wine.  It is OK for all other phases of Atkins and Keto diets.  This soup is not suitable for Primal or Paleo as it is dairy heavy.

INGREDIENTS:

3 slices bacon, chopped

1/4 c. onion, chopped

1/4 c. celery, chopped

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1 c. pumpkin (preferably fresh)

Dash each black & cayenne peppers

½ c. dry white wine (use stock if still in Induction)

2 c. seafood stock (or chicken broth)

1 c. water

½ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

8 oz. white crab meat, picked of all shell

DIRECTIONS:  Brown bacon over medium-high heat.  Add onion and celery and saute until tender. Add white wine.  Add cream cheese and stir to blend.  Add the seafood stock and water.  Stir well.  Add pumpkin the spice blend, salt, pepper and cayenne.  Stir and lower heat to low.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Stir in crab and simmer 1-2 minutes longer only, or the crab will fall apart.  Serve at once with your favorite low-carb crackers.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 6 large servings, each contains:

256 cals, 21.2 g fat, 4.86 g carbs, 0.63 g fiber, 4.23 g NET CARBS, 10.7 g protein, 550 mg sodium (use less cream cheese to lower sodium)

Duck Soup

This year I served an oven- roasted Marinated Duck for Christmas dinner. There isn’t all that much meat on a duck, but our 4-pound bird fed two of us amply with a nice amount of meat still left on the carcass. I love to make soup from leftover fowl carcasses, so soup it was today! After simmering the carcass for an hour and cooling, it yielded about 2-2½ c. duck meat for my soup pot. I wanted my soup fairly simple, with rich depth of flavor, so I added the duck fat it rendered during the initial roasting. I also used some homemade chicken broth to add even more flavor to the final soup. We were both very pleased with this creation! I used no recipe, but threw in the “usual suspects” for tasty game birds. My Marinated Duck had some bay leaf in it, so you will want to add a bay leaf to your pot.

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo followers.

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices thick bacon, cut into 3/4″ dice

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped celery

1 c. chopped carrot

½ c. chopped parsley

2 cloves minced garlic

¼ c. duck fat (use butter if not available)

1 c. chicken broth (I use salt-free homemade)

water to cover meat and veggies

3/4 tsp. sea salt

½ tsp. coarse black pepper

1 large bay leaf (or 2 small)

3 T. Hemp Seed Hearts

1 4-oz can mushrooms with liquid

1 duck carcass (mine was from a 4# duck) or 2½ c. cooked diced duck meat

7 oz. pkg. shiritaki noodles with oat fiber, rice-shaped

DIRECTIONS: Brown bacon in soup pot over high heat. Add chopped onion, carrot, celery, garlic and parsley. Saute until onion begins to go translucent. Add all remaining ingredients to pot, bring to boil and lower heat to simmer. Cover and simmer for about 1½ hours, stirring every half hour.  Remove duck carcass and strip meat off bones, replacing meat into soup pot.  Discard bones.  Open package of noodles and rinse well in a sieve under running water. Add to pot and simmer 15 more minutes. I recommend serving this rich soup with a buttered low-carb dinner/sandwich roll if you have cooked and at the ready. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 large bowl, each contains:

454 cals, 37.2g fat, 10.1g carbs, 3.85g fiber, 6.25g NET CARBS, 21.9g protein, 635 mg sodium

Hot and Sour Soup

This is my version of the well-known Hot and Sour Soup.  I always get some when we’re at our local Chinese restaurant buffet.  It reminds me so much of the Hot and Sour soup served there, all but the tofu, that is.  I try to avoid soy as much as possible and used bean sprouts in place of tofu, but if you consume tofu, add about 1 c. small cubes of tofu to the pot during cooking for a more authentic soup.  This recipe is suitable for Atkins, ketogenic diets, Primal and Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

5-6 oz. piece of pork loin, trimmed of all fat, slivered thin

1 T. olive oil

4 c. pork or chicken broth (I use homemade)

1½ c. bean sprouts, fresh (or canned, drained)

1 large green onion, chopped

1 bok choy leaf (green part only), or 1 leaf kale, chopped

4 oz. red bell pepper, sliced (not authentic, but very good)

¼ c. dried sliced shitake mushrooms (equivalent of 2 mushrooms)

½ c. dried clour ear fungi/mushrooms

sesame oil (my bottle says toasted)

¼ c. rice wine vinegar (no substitutions)

½ Tamari or soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce (more if you like real spicy)

1 c. water (as needed)

½ tsp. xanthan gum to slightly thicken

Dash toasted sesame seeds

VARIATIONS:  Add 1 c. diced firm tofu.  You can also sub in slivered canned bamboo shoots for the bean sprouts for a different look but not much flavor change.

DIRECTIONS:  Brown slivered pork in the tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of a 4 qt. saucepan.  Add all remaining ingredients but the last 3 (water, xanthan gum & toasted seeds).  Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat and simmer just until red pepper is starting to soften (but is not mushy, limp), or about 5-6 minutes.  Bok choy (or kale) will be done by then.  Add optional tofu cubes if using.  Taste broth.  If too salty for you add the water slowly until to your desired salty level.

I use a salt shaker for my xanthan gum.  Lightly dust it over surface and stir in.  Simmer a couple minutes to let it take action.  Repeat until soup is thick enough (or until all used).  This should be enough thickener even if you add the cup of extra water.  Add sesame seeds and stir or you can serve them with the soup at table, letting diners sprinkle seeds on their own.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings, each contains:

251 cals, 18g fat, 9.87g carbs, 4.85g fiber, 5.02g NET CARBS, 18.5g protein, 1207 mg sodium (Use low sodium soy sauce to reduce, but I was out of it.)

Asian Turkey-Sausage Soup

I was digging around in my freezer for something to put together for lunch today and forgot I’d made a small turkey at Easter.  I had the torso part of the carcass still left in a bag and decided on some sort of soup.  Then when I went to the fridge to get some other veggie ingredients, I saw the highly smoked, dry-cured sausage my husband gets when he’s at his convention and thought I’d mix the two meats.  I don’t think ordinary smoked sausage would do well here, so if you don’t have a meat market that dry-cures their own smoked sausage, I’d just omit it altogether.   Then I tossed in some chopped Zeroodles Shiritaki Noodles with Oat Fiber, a bit of fresh spinach leaves, a little of this and that and ended up with a DELICIOUS soup!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and most Keto diets.  It’s very low in carbs yet so rich in flavor layer.  Hope you’ll give this one a try!

Our latest three volumes of LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS cookbooks are calling you. Volume 8 and Volume 9 are almost exclusively comprised of my recipes! Included in both editions are a few tasty new creations of my dear friends George Stella and Jennifer Eloff.   Volume 10 is hot off the press with more delectable goodies. Special prices 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:

½ meaty turkey carcass, 1 chicken carcass or 2½ c. diced cooked turkey meat

4 oz. highly smoked, dry-cured beef/pork sausage (see comment above)

6 cups water (if using diced turkey, I would use chicken/turkey broth for more flavor)

2 oz. onion, chopped

1 c. celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1 14-oz pkg. Zeroodles Shiritake Rice-Shape noodles (or other shape, chopped up)

1 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce (or few drops Sriracha, or 1 tsp. Thai red curry paste)

1 T. low-sodium soy sauce

2 T. rice wine vinegar

1 c. dried shitake mushrooms, broken into small pieces

2 c. fresh spinach leaves (added at very last)

OPTIONAL:  ½ tsp. toasted sesame oil

DIRECTIONS:  Into a 5 qt. soup pot, place the turkey or chicken carcass.  Add the sausage and water to the pot.  Add celery, onion, garlic and ginger next.  Add rice-shaped or chopped up shiritake noodles and shitake mushrooms next.  Bring this mixture to a boil over high heat.  Lower heat and simmer covered with lid 30 minutes, or until veggies and mushrooms are fully tender.  Remove carcass to a cutting board, cool and strip meat off bones.  Chop meat into bite-size pieces and add back to the soup pot.  Add all remaining ingredients listed above but the spinach leaves.  Simmer about 15 minutes more to blend flavors.  Finally add the spinach leaves cooking just until it is barely done, or about 5 minutes.  Serve soup at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 large servings, each contains:

205 cals, 9.85g fat, 6.33g carbs, 3.46g fiber, 2.87g NET CARBS, 20.8g protein, 486 mg sodium

Fruits de Mer Chowder

I no longer live on the Texas Gulf Coast and can’t get the wonderful fresh seafood I was accustomed to for 30+ years.  Most of what I can get up here in Central Texas is either frozen or canned.  Sigh.  But you work with what you have.  I wanted to make a new seafood chowder this week so I picked up some frozen and canned seafood at the local grocery store for this purpose.  You can, of course, change out the seafood in this recipe, but you’ll need to recalculate the nutritional info if you do.   Gulf Redfish, if you live on the Gulf Coast, is delicious in ANY chowder, in my opinion.

This recipe is high in sodium (due to canned items and the fact that seafood lives in well…….the sea, which is salty).  To reduce the sodium load in this, drain the canned seafood juices into a large measuring cup (missing out on all that flavor, sigh).  You can even rinse the solids in a colander to lower sodium a little more.  Then just add an equal amount of homemade chicken or seafood stock for the amount of drained off seafood liquid in your measuring cup.  You can either freeze the drained off seafood juices for parceling out in future chowders or discard.  Your call.  This is not suitable for Atkins Induction Phase unless you omit the wine.

INGREDIENTS:

5 thick slices bacon (6 oz.), cut coarsely

3 oz. onion, chopped

12 oz. crawfish tail meat (use fresh if you can get it.  I used frozen)

2 small lobster tails (5.5 oz. meat) shelled, coarsely cut up

1   4-oz. can whole mussels (4 oz.) with juice (or fresh if available)

2  8-oz. cans whole oysters with juice (or fresh if available)

1½ c. white clam sauce (canned, I used Progresso brand)

1½ c. homemade seafood or chicken stock (no-sodium)

½ white wine (I used Riesling) [omit if still in Atkins Induction Phase]

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ c. parsley, chopped

¼ tsp. black pepper

Few drops fish sauce (Thai Kitchen or Red Boat)

1 c. diakon radish (or turnip or red radish), chopped

1 c. heavy cream

1/8-¼ tsp. glucomannan or your favorite thickener

DIRECTIONS: Brown bacon in soup pot over high heat.  Add onion to pot when bacon is nearly done.  Sauté until onion is caramelizing.  Add all other ingredients but lobster, cream and thickener.  Bring all to a boil and lower heat to lowest setting to allow a slow simmer for about 30 minutes.  Add cream.  Simmer 10 more minutes.  Add glucomannan slowly (I dust on with an old salt shaker), stirring after each addition to allow time to thicken up.  When thick to your liking, remove from heat and serve with a nice salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 8 bowls (about 1¼c. each), each one contains:

348 cals, 27.5g fat, 7.55g carbs, 0.60g fiber, 6.95g NET CARBS, 22.7g protein, 1049 mg sodium (use the tips I gave above to lower sodium)

 

 

Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

Condensed Soup for recipes that can also be diluted for ready-to-eat soup!

I just LOVE Jennifer Eloff’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe.  It’s a no-cook food that I can whip up fast when I need a casserole or recipe “binder.” Well, I needed a lower-carb, healthier than Campbell’s brand of Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup for a recipe this week and thought I had seen one on her site before.  So I went to grab a copy and lo, despite much searching there, alas, I did not find one!  Maybe I just imagined seeing it there, or saw it elsewhere.     Sooooo, I took the mushroom soup recipe, omitted the mushrooms and subbed in canned chicken packed in water.  I made a couple other changes and VOILA!  A very tasty condensed soup that rivals what comes in the Campbell’s can, and is ever so much healthier!

The recipe made exactly 21 oz. or 2 cups, so it is equivalent to two cans of condensed soup and can be used in recipes you have that call for 1 can of soup!  How’s THAT for convenient?  Only thing is this should not be frozen or the cream cheese will break down.  Just whip it up in your food processor or blender right when you need it.  Any leftovers can be stored for probably up to a week in the fridge.  If you choose to make this up as soup, this undiluted soup should be diluted 1 for 1 with water:  1 cup undiluted + 1 c. water or broth = 2 cups finished soup.  This entire recipe, diluted with 2 cups of liquid (50:50) will yield 4 c. finished soup or four 1-cup servings ready to eat.

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

½ cup heavy cream

2 T. hot water

1 chicken bouillon cube (or 1/4 tsp. Chicken Better than Bouillon)

1 T. olive oil

1/9 tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. glucomannan powder (thickener)

2 drops liquid sucralose (optional)

1  13-oz can chicken meat, undrained (Sam’s Daily Chef is water/salt pack only)

DIRECTIONS:   Place all ingredients in food processor or blender but the chicken.  Process until smooth.  Add chicken with its liquid and pulse a few times to chop and blend.  Scrape out into 2 storage containers equally.  Half this recipe (10.5 oz.) can be used equivalent to 1 undiluted can of commercial soup in recipes.  To reconstitute as soup for lunch, dilute with water, chicken broth or milk, 1/2 c. concentrate with 1/2c. liquid for a 1 cup serving.  Cover and refrigerate any unused condensed soup mixture if not using immediately.  Keeps about a week in the fridge.  DO NOT FREEZE or the cream cheese will do funny things upon thawing/use.  Looks like curdled cream when you make up your soup if it has been frozen.  Learned this the hard way.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes total of 2½c. concentrated soup (21 oz.) or the equivalent of two 10.5 oz. cans of condensed (undiluted) soup mixture for casserole baking.

Entire recipe contains:  1320 cals, 104g fat, 16.2g carbs, 1.35g fiber, 14.9 NET CARBS, 11.8g protein,  

Each “can” worth of my undiluted soup (half the recipe, 10.5oz.) contains:   660 cals., 52 g fat, 8.1 g carbs, 0.65 g fiber, 7.45 g NET CARBS, 5.9 g  protein, 2784 mg sodium.   Reconstituted with 1¼ c. water would make two 1¼ cup servings, each contains:  238 cals, 23 g  fat, 8g carbs,1g  fiber, 7 g  NET CARBS, 2g protein, 223 mg sodium.  If you dilute it more to stretch it a bit, your numbers will be lower but you’d have to recalculate. 

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Cream of Broccoli soup

I just love creamed soups and plan to make this one again from a crown (not a full bunch) of broccoli I have on hand.   Because I’m short on broccoli, I’ll only make up a half recipe today.  I’m not seeking a real cheesy soup, but rather a creamy one here.  I think I’ll try Smoked Gouda in my soup today rather than traditional Cheddar.

I use water making my soup unless I have enough homemade chicken broth in my freezer, which makes it even tastier.   We actually like a little bit of Sriracha sauce in this, but omit if you don’t like things spicy.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets, although it will not fit a Paleo plan.  I don’t add salt to recipes with cheese, as it has so much in it already.  If sodium is a serious health issue for you, you can always cut back on the cheese in this recipe or eliminate it entirely.  🙂

INGREDIENTS:

20-oz. head of broccoli, cut into chunks

Water to cover nicely, (about 3-3½ cups)

¼ tsp. coarsely black pepper

½ tsp. onion powder

10 oz. shredded or sliced Cheddar cheese or a mixture of American Deluxe and Cheddar (I did the latter)

1 c. whipping cream

VARIATION:  1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce; use different cheeses for a change-up

DIRECTIONS:  Cut up broccoli into chunks, stems and all.  Place in a large soup pot.  Cover with water or homemade broth, if you prefer a richer soup.  Add salt, pepper, onion powder and stir.  Next add the Sriracha sauce (if using).  Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium-low.  Simmer until the broccoli is quite tender and then remove from heat.  You can either process the broccoli in batches with a bit of the broth in your food processor/blender (do not over fill when pureeing hot foods!).  OR, if you own a stick blender, you can wait to do this step.  Add the processed broccoli back to the pot and place back over a very low fire.   Add the cheese, stirring to facilitate melting and blending.  If the fire is low enough, it should not stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the cheese appears to be fully melted, add the cream and stir until it slightly thickens.   Place your stick blender in the pot and pressing down on the broccoli chunks throughout the pot, begin to pulse/break them up a bit.  Then blend in a continuous blending motion throughout the soup mixture (keep stick blade under surface at all times lest it splatters) until you have a uniform mixture to your liking.  The stick blender will create a “frothy” surface but that settles down with a few minutes and will totaly vanish if you thicken the soup.   If not thick enough for you,  thicken with a light dusting or 2 (or 3) of xanthan gum (or your preferred thickener).   Serve with your favorite low-carb rolls or crackers. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 6 large servings, each contains:

315 cals, 26.4 g fat, 9.96g carbs, 2.49g fiber, 7.48g NET CARBS, 11.9g protein, 500 mg sodium

 

 

Thai Chicken-Pumpkin Soup

When there’s a chill in the air I find myself wanting things made with pumpkin.  It’s also a time of year I love making new soup recipes.  For this delicious soup, I just need a couple things in my pantry.  I use Sam’s “Daily Chef” canned chicken meat as it only has chicken, salt and water in it.  No modified food starch or other junk ingredients.  I always have some homemade chicken stock in my freezer, so this is an easy lunch for me.  This soup came out quite tasty and it turns out it’s very nutritious, too.  I went for a Thai flavor today.  GOOD choice for my key ingredients!  This recipe isn’t suitable until you reach the nuts and seeds rung of Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  It is perfectly suited to other Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well.

Our latest three volumes of LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS cookbooks are calling you.  Volume 8 and Volume 9 are almost exclusively comprised of my recipes!  Included in both editions are a few tasty new creations of my dear friends George Stella and Jennifer Eloff.   Volume 10 is hot off the press with more delectable goodies.  Early orders can be delivered by Thanksgiving.  EARLY BIRD SECRET SALE!!  Special pricing and limited-time free shipping so hurry and place your order today.  You can order these or any of our cookbooks at https://amongfriends.us/Secret-SALE.php.  When you purchase our books, we would sure appreciate you stopping by Amazon to leave a review at this site

INGREDIENTS:

1  15-oz. can pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling!)

1  13.5-oz. can coconut milk

3 c. homemade chicken broth

¼ c. packed, chopped fresh cilantro

¼ tsp. salt

Dash black pepper

¼ c. green onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. Thai Red Curry Paste (or to taste)

1 tsp. coconut aminos or low-sodium soy sauce

½ tsp. Thai fish sauce (I use Thai Kitchen found at Walmart)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1  13 oz. can chicken breast meat (with broth)

Sprig of fresh cilantro or my 8-seed Spice Blend

DIRECTIONS:   Basically, place all ingredients into a large soup pot, stir well and bring to a boil and then lower heat.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Although not absolutely necessary, use a stick blender to puree the soup if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes five 1½ c. servings, each contains:

273 calories, 19.2 g  fat, 10.2 g  carbs, 2.6 g  fiber, 7.6 g  NET CARBS, 13.66 g  protein, 432 mg sodium

New England Clam Chowder

This classic chowder favorite is super yummy and always a hit with seafood lovers.  We occasionally drove over to Killeen to a big Asian grocery store and I picked up items we just can’t get locally.  A couple daikon radishes and Japanese eggplants are usually on that grocery list, along with some Asian sauces and condiments I can’t find locally either.

My local grocers have just never carried daikon radishes in their produce department, though they are not considered to be all that exotic on the American culinary scene.  Daikon radish makes a wonderful potato sub in soups!  Very close in flavor and texture, much closer than turnips for a potato sub and much softer in texture than rutabaga as a potato sub.  Rain and chillier weather always makes soup a perfect choice for lunch or dinner!  I always keep a couple cans of clams around, so a no-brainer today.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets if the macros will work for you.

INGREDIENTS: 

4 oz. bacon, coarsely chopped

3 oz. onion, chopped

10-oz. can of clams, with juice (or 2 6.5 oz. cans)

1 c. daikon radish, peeled, chopped

½ c. parsley, chopped

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

1/2 recipe Jennifer Eloff’s low-carb homemade Condensed Mushroom Soup

½ c. heavy cream

2 c. seafood stock or chicken stock (more, if thinning soup is required)

DIRECTIONS:  Make Jennifer Eloff’s homemade Condensed Mushroom Soup recipe by her instructions at the link above.  Reserve half in your refrigerator for some other use and use just half the batch for this chowder recipe.

Chop bacon, onion, daikon and parsley and set each aside.  Brown bacon over medium high heat in a 4-quart saucepan.  When it is brown, add the onion and black pepper and sauté to allow it to begin to brown/caramelize.  Add the clams, daikon radish and parsley.  Stir well.  Add the mushroom soup concentrate, the cream and water.  Bring to low boil and lower heat to a simmer about 20-30 minutes or until daikon is just tender.  Stir occasionally during cooking to prevent scorching on bottom of the pan.  A little more water or stock (added very slowly) if soup gets too thick for your liking. Serve at once with some low-carb rolls and a salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes five 1½c. servings, each contains:

274 cals, 20g fat, 7.38g carbs, 1.08g fiber, 6.3g NET CARBS, 13.9g protein, 434 mg sodium

Sausage-Chicken Bean Soup

My husband had to go have some lab work done for his doctor this morning so he volunteered to get my groceries on the way home.  Of course, it started raining, is a might chilly out as well, so when I asked him what he wanted for lunch today, I wasn’t surprised he said soup!  Well, since I’m always trying to use up leftovers and one-of’s in the fridge, I put together what turned out to be a very tasty soup!  My husband was doubtful when I said what all I was throwing into the pot, but ended up eating TWO bowls of it, so clearly not a problem for his palate.  LOL

What I had to work with was a small piece of a smoked sausage rope, 1 baked chicken thigh, half of a large yellow squash, and some fresh kale.  Also had in my freezer the cooking pan juices from my last batch of Montreal Baked Chicken (I always save it for just such uses) and homemade chicken broth that is always in my freezer.   VOILA!  A delightful lunch fit for a chilly, rainy day that you can have once you get to phase 2 of Atkins.

Our latest two LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS cookbooks, Volume 8 and Volume 9 are almost exclusively comprised of my recipes!  Included in both editions are a few tasty new creations of my dear friends George Stella and Jennifer Eloff.   EARLY BIRD SECRET SALE!!  Special pricing and limited-time free shipping so hurry and place your order.  Or you can order these or any of our cookbooks at https://amongfriends.us/Secret-SALE.php.  When you purchase our books, we would sure appreciate you stopping by Amazon to leaving a review at this site

INGREDIENTS:

3 T. unsalted butter

2 oz. onion, chopped

1 c. chicken meat, pre-cooked, chopped

4″ piece smoked sausage (beef or pork), sliced

1 can Eden soy black beans, with juice (not regular, high-carb black beans!)

2 large kale leaves, stemmed, rinsed and chopped

3 oz. yellow summer squash, diced or sliced

3 c. homemade chicken broth (mine is just chicken boiled in water)

¼-½ tsp. my homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning

¼-½ tsp. Sriracha Chili sauce (or other hot sauce to taste)

DIRECTIONS:  Melt the butter in a soup pot over high heat and saute the onions until they begin to brown.  Add the sausage and squash and saute until all are partially cooked.  Add all remaining ingredients and bring to just a simmer for about 15 minutes or just until the kale is just done.  Add salt to taste only if the sausage hasn’t already made the soup salty enough for your palate.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 4 servings (large bowls), each contains:

385 cals, 27 g fat, 12.25g carbs, 6.27g fiber, 5.98g NET CARBS, 21.4g protein, 485 mg sodium

 

 

Mushroom-Quinoa Soup

This was a quick and delicious lunch today.  My husband wasn’t home, so there is lots leftover, even after my eating 2 servings!  What can I say?  It was so good!  Whipped up a quick batch of Jennifer Eloff’s low-carb Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup in my blender.  Used half for this recipe and saved half for perhaps a casserole binder this week.  Dumped the rest of the ingredients in the pot and VOILA!  Tasty lunch in just 30 minutes!  This recipe is not suitable until Phase 2 of Atkins.  Keto and Paleo followers can enjoy as well.  Paleo people will need to omit the cream and up the broth or sub in coconut milk for the cream.

Our latest LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, Volume 8 and soon-to-be-released Volume 9 are almost exclusively comprised of my recipes!  Included are a few tasty new creations of my friends George Stella and Jennifer Eloff.   EARLY BIRD SECRET SALE!!  For estimated October delivery on Vol. 9, order it or any of our cookbooks at https://amongfriends.us/Secret-SALE.php or at Amazon.

INGREDIENTS:

½ recipe Jen Eloff’s low-carb condensed mushroom soup

1  4-oz. can mushroom stems and pieces

4 large fresh mushrooms, chopped

¼ tsp. onion powder

Dash each salt and black pepper

2 Tbsp. quinoa seed

½ c. heavy cream

1½ c. chicken broth bone broth (chicken broth will do)

DIRECTIONS:  Using your blender or food processor, make Jennifer’s condensed soup per that recipe’s instructions (it’s buried in her casserole recipe).  Spoon up half of it into a medium soup pot for my recipe here.  Store the rest in your refrigerator for another use.  If your family is large, you could double all other ingredients listed above and use the entire batch of her soup for a huge pot of this soup.  That will make 10 servings total!

After placing half the condensed soup mixture into a 4-qt. saucepan, add the can of mushroom pieces and chopped fresh mushrooms and stir to mix it well.  Add in the salt, pepper and onion powder and stir.  Next add the heavy cream and blend until it appears smooth.  Add in the bone broth (or stock) next and stir again.  Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add in the quinoa seed and reduce heat to medium/med-low until you achieve a gentle simmer.  Cook for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally to avoid scorching on the bottom of the pan.  When quinoa is softened and beginning to burst open it is ready.  Garnish with a sprinkle of parsley  if desired.

VARIATION:   I had 1 slice of leftover cooked bacon I crumbled into mine and it was a nice flavor layer for this soup.  So you might want to add 4 slices bacon, chopped and pre-browned to the ingredient list.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 5 large bowls, each contains:

203 cals, 16.8g fat, 6.74g carb, 1.2g fiber, 5.54g NET CARBS, 4.88g protein, 249 mg sodium

 

Shrimp and Sausage Bisque

I made the most scrumptious seafood bisque tonight for dinner.  It was ready in just 1 hour, too!  I wanted to make seafood gumbo, but I didn’t have okra in the freezer and gumbo just isn’t gumbo to me without okra.  So I pulled out my trusty gumbo recipe of many years and basically made that, less the okra.  I subbed in cream for all the canned tomatoes in my gumbo recipe to make it more like a bisque.  WOW!  We LOVED IT!  This one is a keeper for sure!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, provided those still on Induction omit the white wine and those on Paleo use coconut milk instead of cream.

Many more simple, tasty 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.  Volume 9, due out in October, has mostly my recipes once again.

EARLY BIRD SECRET SALE!!  Order here for estimated October delivery:  https://amongfriends.us/Secret-SALE.php

Order any of our books from Amazon  or here: amongfriends.us/order.php. There’s currently a special offer of a bundle of all 8 previous volumes that reduces their individual price to only $13.22!  Don’t miss out on this bargain!  And please, if you’ve already bought Volume 8, I sure would appreciate your taking a moment to stop by this page and leave your personal review:

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. bacon, coarsely chopped

1 c. celery, chopped

3/4 c. green bell pepper, chopped

3 oz. onion, chopped

½ c. parsley, chopped

6 oz. pork breakfast sausage

1 medium leaf kale, (about 3/4 c.), stemmed & chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp. Cajun Seafood Spice Blend

½ tsp. dried thyme leaves

¼ tsp. black pepper

Dash cayenne pepper

22 large shrimp, (shell removed), cut in halves (12 oz tail-on pkg)

2 c. chicken broth (preferably homemade, or seafood stock)

1 c. heavy cream

¼ c. white wine

Tiny dusting of xanthan gum or your favorite thickener

11 San Marzano mini tomatoes cut into 4 pieces (or 22 cherry tomatoes left whole)

VARIATION:   Add 1 c. shelled/cleaned fresh crab meat + 1 c. extra chicken/seafood broth.  Mmmm.

DIRECTIONS:  In a large soup pot, over medium-high heat, brown the bacon.  Add the Louisiana “Holy Trinity” (celery, bell pepper and onion) to the pot and saute until they begin to soften.  Add sausage and saute, crumbling as you do so.  Add kale, garlic and the four spices.  Lower heat to medium.  Add shrimp and saute until opaque.  Add chicken (or seafood) stock, white wine, and cream.   When returns to a simmer, lower heat to lowest setting.  Add tomatoes and simmer about 10 minutes.  Some like this stage of thickening from the cream.  But if you like your cream soups a bit thicker, add the light sprinkle of xanthan gum.  Alternately, if you like more broth in your soup, or ned to stretch this out for more servings (it was a bit thick with “solids”) you can always add 1-2 more cups of chicken stock to the pot.  If you do add more broth, you will definitely want to use a thickener.  Simmer a few minutes longer for the thickener to go to work.  Pour into a soup tureen and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 servings (as written), each containing:

382 cals, 31g fat, 7.01g carbs, 1.53g fiber, 5.48g NET CARBS, 16.3g protein, 410mg sodium

Tex-Mex Pepper Pot Soup

I have a tri-color pack of bell pepper in the fridge and got this soup idea for our lunch today from a photograph I saw on the internet today.  This isn’t a classic Pepper Pot, but with all the peppers I put in this, I’m going to call it my Tex-Mex version of a classic recipe (Google Pepper Pot for the original dish).  I also had 1 can of Eden brand soy black beans on hand which are so low in carbs (unlike regular black beans), I decided to throw them in the pot for good measure.  Good decision, as they made this delicious soup very filling!  They are not listed in the ingredients and are not calculated in the numbers below as I know many are opposed to consuming soy beans or any soy products.  This recipe is not suitable until you are in Atkins Phase 2, but omit the beans and you can enjoy it while still in Induction Phase.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. lean ground beef

4 oz. onion, chopped

4 slices thick bacon, coarsely chopped

½ c. each coarsely cut up red, yellow and green bell pepper

1 c. celery with leaves, sliced

1 c. each parsley and cilantro, chopped

6 plum tomatoes, diced very large

4 c. beef or chicken broth

1 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. chipotle chili powder (or more regular chili powder)

½ tsp. ground cumin

3 T. rice wine vinegar

½ tsp. each salt and coarse black pepper

VARIATION:  Add 1 seeded, chopped jalapeno for a spicier soup.

DIRECTIONS:  Brown the bacon in a large soup pot over high heat.  Add the onion and stir-fry until it begins to caramelize.  Add crumbled ground beef and brown until no longer pink.  Add all remaining ingredients.  When all comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until celery is tender.  Serve at once with a garnish of a few sprinkles of cheddar cheese if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 1c. servings, each contains:

214 cals., 13.3g fat, 5.82g carbs, 1.86g fiber, 3.96g NET CARBS, 17g protein, 296mg sodium.

• If you add the can of Eden soy black beans, it adds 3 net carbs to the entire batch or 0.37 net carbs to a serving, so only a trace number change. 🙂

“Pasta” Fagioli Soup

This soup was super yummy at lunch today.  Saw the can of Eden Black Soy Black Beans and knew I had some bulk pork sausage in the refrigerator.  Standing in for the pasta in classic Pasta Fagioli Soup, is thinly sliced yellow summer squash.  If you are at Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance levels of Atkins, instead you could break up one serving (2 oz. uncooked) Al Dente brand Carba Nada Egg Pappardelle noodles in place of the squash for a more authentic Italian soup.  Doing so adds about 2 net carbs per serving, whereas the squash only adds about 1/2 net carb per serving.   Another option would be to chop up some of those tofu-based Miracle Noodles (if you like them), for virtually no extra carbs or calories!  The squash, I have to admit, was tasty in this as well as a colorful stand-in for traditional pasta in pasta fagioli, but that’s your call.  This recipe, as written, is suitable once you get well into Phase 2 Atkins (remember, it has beans in it).

INGREDIENTS: 

2 T. bacon grease

2½ oz. onion, chopped

1 c. celery, chopped

4 oz. pork breakfast or Italian sausage, shaped into mini meatballs

2 oz. cured ham, chopped (or 4 slices bacon)

1½ c. homemade chicken broth

4 c. water

2 Roma tomatoes, cut in chunks

1 c. cilantro, chopped (use 1/2 c. parsley if not a fan)

1 medium yellow summer squash, cut lengthwise and then sliced

¼ c. rice wine vinegar or red wine vinegar  (optional, but really adds a lot)

½ tsp. coarse black pepper

¼ tsp. each dried oregano and basil

1 can Eden Soy Black Beans (not the same as high-carb black beans!)

Optional:  ½ c. low-carb pasta of your choice

DIRECTIONS:  Heat bacon grease over high heat and sauté onion and celery until translucent.  Add mini sausage balls and ham/bacon to pot and stir very gently to cook the sausage without breaking it apart.  Add all remaining ingredients to the pot.  There’s enough salt in the ham and sausage I don’t think you’ll need to add extra salt to this soup.  Add 1/2 c. small macaroni noodles (if using).  When the soup comes to a light boil, lower heat to a simmer.  Simmer until squash and noodles are tender, or for about 20-25 minutes.  Serve with your favorite low-carb garlic bread and a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 bowls (about 1½ c. each), each bowl contains (Remember to add in numbers for the pasta if used):

161.5 cals., 10.52 g fat, 5.77 g carbs, 3.48 g fiber, 2.29 g NET CARBS, 10.5 g protein, 235 mg sodium

 

Crawfish-Clam Chowder

I make a lovely seafood chowder with just a handful of crawfish and a large can of baby clams.  Using my last zucchini in the house for the “potatoes” in my chowder, the marriage of flavors in this soup was meant to be.  It came out VERY tasty and its extremely nutritious.   Clams are just so good for you as they are very high in Vitamin B12.   I have also omitted the cheese and added 4 slices of bacon crisps instead.  Yum! That is also very good!!  This is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.  It is not suitable for Paleo but Primal folks who eat a little dairy once in awhile can enjoy this.

INGREDIENTS: 

2 T. unsalted butter

10 oz. zucchini, diced

1 oz. onion, sliced

4 oz. crawfish tails

1 10.5-oz can of whole baby clams with their clam juice (or 2 small cans)

¼ tsp. Sriracha sauce or my Seafood Spice Blend

Dash each garlic powder and black pepper

¼ c. heavy cream

2 c. homemade seafood stock (I always boil my shrimp shells for mine and freeze)

1  4-oz can mushrooms, drained (optional)

½ c. shredded Cheddar cheese

3″ green onion, minced fine (for garnish)

VARIATION:  Omit cheese and add 4 sliced chopped, fried bacon.

DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter in medium soup pot.  Sauté onion until it begins to soften.  Add zucchini and sauté until just tender-crisp. Add spices, cream, crawfish and clams with their juice, the seafood stock (you can use chicken stock if you do not have any), mushrooms and Cheddar cheese.  Lower heat to medium and allow the cheese to melt, stirring often to prevent it from burning on the bottom of the pan. Cheddar does not melt easily in liquid.  Allow cream to thicken up a few minutes or you can thicken (if desired) with your favorite thickener.  Serve piping hot with a sprinkle of green onion on top for garnish.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes four 1-cup servings.  Each contains:

285 calories, 17.3 g  fat, 11.35 g  carbs, 2.42 g  fiber, 8.93 g  NET CARBS (clams are a bit carb-y), 22 g protein, 350 mg sodium

Collard Sausage Soup

What God-fearing southern gal wouldn’t include a collard greens soup in her collection of potages (French for ‘clear soups’)?  I stumbled upon this creation one day, having only 2 leaves left in a bunch of collard greens after throwing out those that had gone yellow in the refrigerator.   I had cooked classic southern-style collards, with sweet caramelized yellow onions and bacon earlier in the week, using most of the bunch of collards.   What to do with just two viable leaves left?  Soup, of course!

I had a package of fresh-cooked chickpeas in my freezer.  Chickpeas have a much lower glycemic index than most dried beans, but more importantly,  and the fresh are also lower in their actual glycemic load (impact on your blood glucose) than their canned cousins.  Although chickpeas are quite carb-y, they are still a healthy legume choice if used sparingly on your low-carb plan.  I sliced up a nice portion of smoked sausage and voilà, this incredibly delicious soup that turned out to be quite a surprise for both of us.  You can lower the carb count on this soup by using fresh cooked soy beans or soy black beans.  Your call there.  This soup really isn’t suitable until you are nearly at goal weight as it is high in carbs with the chickpeas/beans in it.

INGREDIENTS:

2 links smoked sausage, sliced thinly (4″ links, about 4 oz.)

3 oz. onion, sliced

1 c. collard green leaves, sliced and stems removed

3/4 c. red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

4 c. clear homemade chicken broth

2 c. tap water (or 2 c. more broth for richer soup)

2 tsp. Sriracha sauce (optional)

3 c. cooked chickpeas (less for lower carbs, or use soy black beans for lowest carbs)

Dash black pepper

DIRECTIONS:   Lightly sauté the sausage in a soup pot over medium-high heat until done and it has given off its grease.  Add onion and cook until it begins to brown. Add chopped collard greens and red bell pepper.  Sauté until they begin to wilt.  Add broth and water to the pot and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and add Sriracha and black pepper.   Simmer until collards are done to your liking, or about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve at once.  The sausage is salty enough here so no added salt needed.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 cups of soup, each cup contains:

214 cals, 8.48 g  fat, 19.37 g  carbs, 5.22 g  fiber, 14.15 g  NET CARBS (soy beans will have lower carbs), 12.6 g protein, 278 mg sodium

Bacon & Leek Soup

I opened the refrigerator to decide what to have for lunch on this chilly day and my bag of two remaining leeks was laying right beside my package of bacon.  Sounded like the makings of a good, hearty creamed soup to me!  Thus this simple dish was thrown together in under 30 minutes.  This recipe is suitable once you are past the Atkins Induction phase.   It is not suitable for Induction due to the quantity of cream in it.  Paleo-Primal followers will want to use coconut milk or coconut cream to make this recipe.

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INGREDIENTS:

5 slices low-sodium bacon, sliced

2 leeks, (white and green part) washed well, sliced thinly

2 c. homemade chicken broth

2 c. water

2 c. heavy cream (or coconut milk, coconut cream or any combination)

¼ tsp. each salt and black pepper

your favorite thickener (if needed)

DIRECTIONS:  Brown the bacon in a large soup pot.  When done, add the sliced leeks.  Saute for a couple minutes, stirring several times.  When the leeks begin to wilt, add the chicken stock, water, salt and pepper. Lower heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes to allow ingredients to fully cook and flavors to mingle.  Add the cream and allow to get fully hot.  Simmer a few minutes.  If not thick enough for you, thicken with a few dustings of your favorite thickener.

An alternate method is to puree the onion/broth mixture with a stick blender after simmering and not add the cooked bacon until after pureeing, right before serving.  If you puree the leek broth, thickening will definitely not be needed.  Either method is tasty and attractive when served.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 6 large bowl servings, each contains:

377 calories, 37 g  fat, 5.58 g  carbs, .6 g  fiber, 4.98 g  NET CARBS, 6.1 g  protein, 211 mg sodium

Beef-Quinoa Soup

Soups just go together for me no matter WHAT I throw into the pot.  At least that’s what my husband said today, as he devoured 2 bowls of this tasty soup creation at lunch today.  This goes together in no time at all.  Leave the quinoa out of this recipe if you are still on Atkins Induction Phase.  This recipe is suitable for all other phases of Atkins and many other Keto diets.

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INGREDIENTS: 

½ lb. ground beef (mine was 90% lean)

1 T. beef suet (I used rib-eye fat), chopped fine (only needed if meat is VERY lean)

2 c. homemade beef broth

1 c. tap water

10-oz. zucchini, diced ½”

2 can’s diced tomatoes

Dash each onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper and chili powder

1 chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce (canned), seeded, rinsed, mashed fine

1 T. quinoa (omit for Atkins Induction phase)

DIRECTIONS:  Brown meat in the bottom of a 4-qt. saucepan with the chopped suet (if using).  I prefer to not drain off any of the grease.    Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Then lower heat to just simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes, or just until zucchini is tender.  Serve at once.  Leftovers should freeze nicely.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 5 large bowls, each contains:

180 calories, 10 g fat, 8.78 g carbs, 2.24 g fiber, 6.54 g NET CARBS, 11.58 g protein, 108 mg sodium

Chipotle-Pork Soup

Man, to have so few ingredients, this soup was amazingly full-flavored!  DELICIOUS! The hubs is down in Georgetown today, so he won’t get to taste it until reheated tomorrow.  This is one of those foods that I just know is going to get even tastier upon re-heating.   I am out of Eden soy black beans, so I had to use pintos, which are much carbier.  So to lower the carb count shown below, use soy black beans with only 1 net carb per 1/2 cup rather than the pinto beans and you have a delicious, low carb soup.  The count isn’t terribly bad having used pintos, but I would have preferred to use soy black beans.    This soup is not suitable until you are farther along in your weight-loss journey.  Those still in Atkins Induction Phase need to omit the beans and add 1 c. more water, as I think you will find it too rich without the extra water).  Primal-Paleo followers will want to substitute chick peas or lentils for the beans.

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INGREDIENTS:

10 oz. breakfast sausage

3 oz. onion, chopped

3/4 c. red bell pepper, chopped

3 c. homemade chicken broth

1 c. water

1 c. canned pinto beans, drained (can use soy black beans, chickpeas or lentils)

¼ c. cilantro, chopped (optional)

1   7-oz. can Herdez Salsa Verde  (or 1/2 c. mixture of tomatillos & mild, canned green chilies)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 tsp. each regular chili powder, mild Ancho chile powder and Guajillo chile powder)

Dash smoky, dried chipotle chile powder (or 1 small chipotle in adobo, seeded and mashed)

DIRECTIONS:  Brown sausage in medium soup pot over high heat until no longer pink.  Add onion and bell pepper.  Add chicken broth, cilantro, Herdez Salsa Verde, garlic, chile powders and beans.  When it all comes to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until onions are tender and flavors have mellowed.  You Paleo-Primal folks will want to cook until lentils are done.  You will not need added salt in this recipe as the sausage and Herdez have plenty between the two (too much for my taste, in fact, but I’m a very light salt user.).  Serve and enjoy!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 8 cups, each cup containing:

191 calories, 11.5 g fat, 7.36 g carbs, 1.91 g fiber, 5.45 g NET CARBS, 10.9 g protein, 589 mg sodium

Kale-Turnip Soup

When you want to add in some greens to your menu plans but don’t want it as a side dish, I tend to go for a soup.  This one is easy to put together.   It one has a simple flavor profile but is quite tasty!  This soup is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo as well.

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INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. pork breakfast sausage

3 oz. red onion, sliced or chopped

2 c. turnip, cut into large cubes

1 medium stalk celery, sliced coarsely

1½ c. kale leaves, stemmed, coarsely cut up

6 c. homemade chicken broth

Dash each sea salt and coarse black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Coarsely crumble the sausage into a soup pot and lightly brown.  Remove to a paper plate.  Sauté the onion in the same pot.  There should be enough grease from the sausage to accomplish this.  Add all remaining ingredients.  Bring pot to a boil and lower heat, simmering just until turnip pieces are tender (about 15-20 minutes maximum.  Kale leaves will be fully cooked at this juncture.  Add back the sausage and serve at once.

VARIATION:  Add 3 T. rice wine vinegar to the pot during simmering for a slightly different tasting soup. Another variation would be to use ground beef or ground lamb instead of pork sausage.  Again, a slightly different tastes with those changes.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 6 nice bowls of soup (about 1-1¼ c. each).  Each serving contains:

243 calories, 19.2 g fat, 5.75 g carbs, 1.35 g fiber, 4.40 g NET CARBS, 18.2 g protein, 495 mg sodium

Thai Chicken-Pumpkin Soup

When there’s a chill in the air I find myself wanting things made with pumpkin.  It’s also a time of year I love making new soup recipes.  For this delicious soup, I just need a couple things in my pantry.  I use Sam’s “Daily Chef” canned chicken meat as it only has chicken, salt and water in it.  No modified food starch or other junk ingredients.  I always have some homemade chicken stock in my freezer, so this is an easy lunch for me.  This soup came out quite tasty and it turns out it’s very nutritious, too.  I went for a Thai flavor today.  GOOD choice for my key ingredients!  This recipe isn’t suitable until you reach the nuts and seeds rung of Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  It is perfectly suited to other Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well.

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INGREDIENTS:

1  15-oz. can pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling!)

1  13.5-oz. can coconut milk

3 c. homemade chicken broth

¼ c. packed, chopped fresh cilantro

¼ tsp. salt

Dash black pepper

¼ c. green onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. Thai Red Curry Paste (or to taste)

1 tsp. coconut aminos or low-sodium soy sauce

½ tsp. Thai fish sauce (I use Thai Kitchen found at Walmart)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1  13 oz. can chicken breast meat (with broth)

Sprig of fresh cilantro or my 8-seed Spice Blend

DIRECTIONS:   Basically, place all ingredients into a large soup pot, stir well and bring to a boil and then lower heat.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Although not absolutely necessary, use a stick blender to puree the soup if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes five 1½ c. servings, each contains:

273 calories, 19.2 g  fat, 10.2 g  carbs, 2.6 g  fiber, 7.6 g  NET CARBS, 13.66 g  protein, 432 mg sodium

519 mg potassium, 97% RDA Vitamin A, 39% copper, 55% iron, 19% magnesium, 41% manganese, 22% niacin, and 21% phosphorous  (nice nutrient profile on this one)

Lobster Bisque

Whenever I buy lobster (which I often do at Christmastime), I invariably have a tail or two leftover, as I tend to overbuy by 2 tails to be sure I have enough for the number of people dining with us.  The lobster tails I bought this year were so large, the two leftover weighed in at 17 oz.  So I made one of my favorite soups for dinner with them.  I added the leek as an after thought, but it was actually quite good in it.  I had 1/3 of a huge head of cauliflower I needed to use up, so I cooked and pureed to add as thickener for my bisque.    Still had to use a bit of xanthan gum to get it as thick as I like my bisque.

If you want to trim the carb count on this, you can increase lobster broth and decrease cream.  It won’t be as rich or good, but that is certainly an option if you’re about out of carbs for the day.  One of the reasons the carb count is a bit high on this is that lobster itself has carbs!  this fact came as quite a surprise to me, actually.

This soup is not suitable for Induction unless you leave out the sherry.  Those still on Atkins Induction will also need to reduce the cream to 1 c. and increase the stock to 4 cups (use either lobster or chicken stock).

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz. boiled lobster tail meat (4 small or 2 large)

4½ cups water or seafood stock

¾ leek, rinsed, sliced thin (optional, but quite good.  Green onion is a good substitute)

1/3 large head cauliflower, cooked

2 c. heavy cream (for Induction: use 1 c. cream + 1 cup seafood stock)

2 oz. tomato paste

3 oz. sherry or white wine (omit if on Induction phase)

plan suitable thickener (I use ¼ tsp. xanthan gum)

1/2 stick ( 4 T.) unsalted butter

OPTIONAL GARNISH:  One bite of lobster meat or sprinkle of chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS: Boil or steam cauliflower until tender.   Drain well and puree in blender or food processor.  Boil lobster tails in 4½ cups water for about 1 minute per tail oz. (4 minutes for small tails; 7-8 minutes for large tails). Reserve all stock for your bisque soup.  Remove lobster tails and pull meat from shells.  On cutting board, chop coarsely, reserving 6 bites for garnish.  I like to replace the shells back in the broth and simmer, with lid, for another 30 minutes to make the stock even richer from the oil and flavor in the shells.  Remove shells with slotted spoon when ready to proceed making the bisque. There should be about 4 c. lobster stock left in the pot if you simmer the shells an additional 30 minutes, but add water to make 4 cups total if not. Turn off heat from stock pot and discard shells.

In a skillet, sauté the sliced leeks in the butter until tender.  Add to the stock pot over high heat.  Add all remaining ingredients, including the cauliflower puree to the stock pot and stir well to be sure you diffuse the tomato paste.  Once the mixture comes to a light boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes for flavors to develop.  Right before serving, thicken the bisque by lightly dusting your favorite thickener on the surface and stir it in, waiting a minute or two to let it develop.  Repeat 2-3 times, waiting a couple minutes between additions, and stop this process when desired thickness is achieved.  Ladle the bisque into serving bowls.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 servings, each containing:

221.3 calories, 10.53 g  fat, 9.98 g  carbs, 1.60 g  fiber, 8.38 g  NET CARBS, 19.2 g  protein, 615 mg sodium

Mexican Turkey-Squash Soup

Sometimes dishes I create evolve from what I have leftover or “open” in the refrigerator, especially soups.  I do like to use up leftovers promptly.  When I opened the fridge at 11:00, I saw half a can’s worth of Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, and a bag of leftover turkey meat we just thawed last night. So this soup was born from that.  Took about 30 minutes to cook.  We both loved the taste and it was very light yet satisfying.  You can, of course, use chicken meat in this recipe.  This recipe is a great way to use up some of your Thanksgiving turkey this year!  It is not suitable until you are well into Phase 2 Atkins at the legumes rung of the carb re-introduction ladder, but those on Induction can just leav the refried beans out.  It is suitable for other Keto diets, but not Primal-Paleo unless the re-fried beans are omitted.

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 you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love!  Order yours TODAY! from Amazon  or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php. DISCLAIMER: I do not accept payment for this book promotion. I promote the books because they are great cookbooks anyone would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

3 c. cooked turkey meat, chopped (I used 2c. white & 1c. dark)

4 c. homemade chicken broth

2 c. tap water

1   16-oz. can re-fried beans (omit if still on Induction)

1½ c. yellow summer squash, chopped  (1 medium)

3/4-1 c. Ro-Tel tomatoes with chilies (half of a 14-oz can)

4 oz. onion, chopped

½ tsp. each ground cumin and chili powder (or 1 tsp. taco seasoning)

½ dried, mild guajillo (or ancho) chile pepper, seeded & chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt to taste (omit if broth has sodium)

1/4 c. cilantro chopped (omit if you’re not a fan)

DIRECTIONS:   Chop turkey into 3/4″ pieces.  Add turkey to a large soup pot and add broth, water and Rotel tomatoes.   Chop squash, onion and cilantro and also add to the pot.  Seed and chop the guajillo (or ancho) pepper and add to the pot, along with the taco seasoning and minced garlic.  Spoon the refried beans into the pot in small increments.  Turn on heat to high and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to medium, stir well to be sure beans have diffused into the broth and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until squash is just tender.    Spoon into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 10 cups, each contains:

160 calories, 5.5 g fat, 8.30 g carbs2.53 g fiber, 5.97 g NET CARBS, 16.4 g protein, 329 mg sodium

 

Thai Turkey Soup

I roasted a turkey recently that was one of those “injected with up to 5% solution” because my husband picked it up for me and didn’t think to check.  Those are a bit sodium-laden for this sodium-sensitive girlie.  I froze the carcass for a pot of soup anyway thinking soup with no added sodium was do-able with it.   I made a soup with the meat off that carcass today for lunch that was SCRUMPTIOUS!  I used common Thai seasonings with the mild taste of coconut in the background as is so typical of so many of their soups!  You non-coconut fans or those allergic can sub in heavy cream instead, but I’d only use 1 cup since I find it richer.  You’ll want to recalculate your nutritional numbers for that or other changes.

I didn’t thicken this soup, but you could, with a plan-suitable thickener, if you wish.  Chicken can be substituted in this recipe for turkey, but the carcass will not yield as much meat for your soup, so plan on adding some cooked chicken meat to have a total of 3 cups.  Omit the wild rice if you’re still on Induction.  Wild rice is the lowest carb rice their is, which is why I am willing to occasionally put a very small amount in recipes for its nutritional value and texture, but that isn’t suitable until you get much closer to goal weight on the Atkins program.  This recipe would be OK for Keto diets and for Primal-Paleo if you just omit the rice).

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 you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love!  Order yours TODAY! from Amazon  or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php. DISCLAIMER: I do not accept payment for this book promotion. I promote the books because they are great cookbooks anyone would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

1 turkey carcass

10 c. tap water (or chicken/turkey broth, if available)

1 c. celery, chopped

2 oz. onion, chopped

1½ c. green cabbage, thinly sliced

2 oz. red bell pepper, slivered or chopped

3/4 c. cilantro, chopped

1 tsp. fresh ginger root, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. Thai fish sauce (I use Thai Kitchen brand)

1 tsp. chili paste (I use Sambal Oelek)

1½ c. coconut milk (1 standard can)

¼ tsp. black pepper

¼ c. wild rice (omit for Induction and Primal-Paleo)

2 T. coconut oil

VARIATION:  1) Use chicken instead of turkey.  2) use fish stock and 3 c. cubed mild fish added last 10 minutes cook time in lieu of turkey.  3) Use heavy cream instead of coconut milk.

DIRECTIONS:  Place first 4 ingredients in a large soup pot.  I find breaking the carcass in half allows me to get one into my largest soup pot.  Add 10 c. water or broth, bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce to a simmer and simmer 30 minutes so meat begins to pull away from the bones.  Remove carcass to a cutting board or your counter to cool.  Strip meat off the bones and chop to desired size.  The average turkey carcass will yield about 3 c. meat.  Put the meat back into the pot of broth and discard bones (unless you wish to freeze them to use in your next pot of bone broth for added flavor and nutrients. 🙂  Add all remaining ingredients to the pot (but the cilantro) and simmer for 45 minutes.  Add cilantro last and cook 3-4 minutes longer.  Thicken with your favorite thickener only if desired (I did not).  If serving for company, a sprig of cilantro to garnish is nice.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes twelve 1-cup servings, each contains:

149 calories, 9.46 g fat, 5.20 g carbs, 0.84 g fiber, 4.36 g NET CARBS, 11.6 g protein, 208 mg sodium

Escarole Sausage Soup

        Shown with my Flax-Whey Protein Bread

The only way I’ve ever had escarole before was raw added to salads.  Its curly leaves are very attractive in green salads, but I don’t find it has much flavor, if you want the honest truth.  But I decided to cook it in a soup today just to see what that was like.  This Induction suitable soup was what I came up with and it was very tasty.  But again, I don’t think by virtue of the escarole itself, but from all the other ingredients in the soup.  This recipe calls for pork broth, which I always have around as I save all broth from pre-baking pork ribs or pork butt roast before BBQ’ing.   But other broths can be used instead.  Serve with a slice of low-carb bread and butter and a nice green salad.  This recipe suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well.

Many delicious low-carb recipes like this one can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends.  Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love!  Order yours TODAY! from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php. DISCLAIMER: I do not accept payment for this book promotion. I promote them because they are GREAT cookbooks anyone would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. Italian sausage, crumbled and cooked (I use this: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/italian-sausage/)

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 c. pork broth, my homemade has no-salt (chicken or beef is OK, but select no-salt or low-sodium)

4 c. water

7 oz. escarole, chopped, 1″ pieces

Curly Escarole

3 oz. onion, sliced

½ c. parsley, chopped

½ c. roasted red peppers (water pack), cut into slivers

1 large clove garlic, minced

Pinch oregano

¼ tsp. each of salt, black pepper, & crushed red pepper

DIRECTIONS:   In a large stew pot, crumble and cook the Italian sausage and onions in the olive oil until sausage is no longer pink.  Add the garlic, parsley, roasted red pepper, and all seasonings/spices.  Pour in the pork broth and water and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a medium simmer and cook just until escarole is completely done (about 15-20 minutes).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Though a cup is pictured, this recipe makes 5 large bowls, each contains:

199 calories

15.24 g  fat

5.62 g  carbs, 2.26 g  fiber, 3.36 g  NET CARBS

9.9 g  protein

325 mg sodium

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I just LOVE creamed soups!   Think I’ll make this one again today, but only half a recipe, as I only have a 10-oz crown of broccoli on hand.  My usual broccoli and cheese soup is chunkier and has more cheese in it, but today “cheesy” is not my goal…………rather creamy is what I want today.  I usually use water when making this soup, but if you have enough on hand, using homemade chicken broth will make this soup even tastier.  We actual like the little bit of bite the optional Sriracha brings to the flavor profile on this one, but omit if you’re not a fan.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto and Primal diets.  I don’t think coconut milk would be so good in this recipe, so Paleo folks will want to pass on this one.  I don’t add salt to recipes with cheese, as there is so much sodium in cheeses to begin with.  I am extremely sodium sensitive and have cut back so much on salt usage over the last 20 years, I actually don’t LIKE my food too salty anymore.  Using less brings out the natural sweetness of sooooo many green veggies, broccoli included.  If sodium is a health problem for you, you can always cut back (or even eliminate) the cheese in this recipe.  🙂

INGREDIENTS:

20-oz. head of broccoli, cut into chunks

Water to cover nicely, (about 3-3½ cups)

¼ tsp. coarsely black pepper

½ tsp. onion powder

10 oz. shredded or sliced Cheddar cheese or a mixture of American Deluxe and Cheddar (I did the latter)

1 c. whipping cream

VARIATIONS:  Add 2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce.  Add 4 slices browned, chopped bacon.

With Bacon Added. Mmmmm!

DIRECTIONS:  Cut up broccoli into chunks, stems and all.  Place in a large soup pot.  Cover with water or homemade broth, if you prefer a richer soup.  Add salt, pepper, onion powder and stir.  Next add the Sriracha sauce (if using).  Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium-low.  Simmer until the broccoli is quite tender and then remove from heat.  You can either process the broccoli in batches with a bit of the broth in your food processor/blender (do not over fill blender when puréeing hot foods or it will rise out of the container), OR, if you own a stick blender, you can wait to do this step.  Add the processed broccoli back to the pot and place back over a very low fire.   Add the cheese, stirring to facilitate melting and blending.  If the fire is low enough, it should not stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the cheese appears to be fully melted, add the cream and stir until it slightly thickens.   If using a stick blender, place in the pot and pressing down on the broccoli chunks, work your way through the pot contents, beginning to break them up a bit.  Once all chunks have been smushed, blend the soup pot contents in a continuous motion (keeping stick head under the surface at all times) until your soup is uniform/smooth to your liking.  This step creates a frothy surface, but that settles down with a few minutes of waiting and gentle stirring.   If the soup is not thick enough for you,  thicken with a light dusting or 2 (or 3) of xanthan gum (or your preferred thickener).   Thickening will eliminate all remaining traces of the “frothy” surface.  Serve with your favorite low-carb rolls or crackers. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 6 large servings, each contains:

315 calories, 26.4 g  fat, 9.96 carbs, 2.49 g  fiber, 7.48 g  NET CARBS, 11.86 g  protein, 500 mg sodium (use less cheese to reduce sodium)

 

 

Zuppa Toscana

This soup is similar to Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden restaurants, but mine has diced cauliflower standing in for potatoes.  I tend to use ground pork or my Homade Italian Sausage, rather than commercial Italian sausage, as I can control final sodium load as well as spices (and for fewer carbs) that way.  You just need to add oregano, fennel and garlic really.  But for convenience, you can certainly substitute in commercial Italian sausage if you prefer.  It almost DOUBLES the sodium using the commercial sausage.   Just be aware of that.  This soup is delicious and we both gave it a resounding thumbs up.  It will make the regular menu rounds at our house. 🙂

VARIATIONS:  Substitute 1/2 c. chopped parsley for the kale; substitute diced rutabaga for the cauliflower.

INGREDIENTS:

6 slices bacon, cut into 3/4″ bits

12 oz.  lean ground pork or Homemade Italian Sausage, coarsely broken up to 1/2″ chunks

2 oz. onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1½ c. coarsely chopped kale (about 3 leaves after stemming)

3 oz. cauliflower, diced to ½”-3/4″ pieces

1 oz. pimiento (half a 2 oz. jar)

3 large mushrooms, sliced or cut however you like (optional)

4 c. homemade chicken broth (32 oz.)

1 c. water

1 c. heavy cream

Dash black pepper

Dash crushed red pepper

3-4 drops Tobasco

¼ tsp. dried oregano leaves

½ tsp. fennel seed, crushed

DIRECTIONS:  In a large Dutch oven or soup pot over high heat, cook the bacon.  Add the pork, onion and garlic and sauté until meat is no longer pink.  Lower heat to medium.  Add all remaining ingredients but the cream.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Add cream and simmer 5 more minutes.  Thicken with xanthan or gum if desired.   Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes six 1-1¼c. servings, each contains:

356 cals, 30.5g fat, 5.51g carbs, 1.08g fiber, 4.43g NET CARBS, 15.6g protein, 865 mg sodium

Crawfish Etouffée

Crawfish Etouffée

Étoufée means “smothered or stewed” in French.  This popular Cajun dish is a classic example of slow cooking seafood to perfection.  There are as many étoufée recipes as there are gumbo recipes.  What the really good ones have in common is the very first step in the process……making the roux. The roux imparts a nutty, browned flour taste to the broth of this stew and if this step is bypassed, you will merely be making an ordinary fish soup with much less depth of flavor.

There is an art to making roux and knowing when to “kill” the browning action just short of burning it, which gives it an unpleasant, bitter taste.  If it burns, you just have to toss it out and start again.  I’ve burned it one time in hundreds of batches, so once you get the hang of it, it’s really quite easy to know exactly when to kill the browning action!

This Louisiana favorite has long been in my recipe files.  Had to tweak the roux making process to meet Atkins guidelines, but otherwise, my recipe is unchanged.  CarbQuik is only acceptable in OWL.  If you’re still on Induction, you could omit the roux process entirely (leaving out the CarbQuik) and at the end of cooking, thicken with successive light dustings of xanthan gum.  Won’t be as good, but OK if you crave this during Induction.  🙂

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 other wonderful cooks to bring you a wealth of recipes you will love! Some of my low-carb creations appear in each of the 5 volumes! Order yours TODAY! from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice, I do not accept payment for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein. I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. CarbQuik bake mix (I have since learned oat fiber works and for much lower carbs)

2 T. oil of your choice

1 c. chopped yellow onion

½ c. chopped green onion

1 c. chopped celery

1 c. chopped green pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

½ c. chopped parsley

4 coarsely chopped, seeded small Roma tomatoes

12 oz. crawfish tails

1½ c. seafood stock or chicken broth

1 tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

¼ tsp. each salt, black  and cayenne pepper

½ stick butter

10 drops Tobasco to start (more to taste)

DIRECTIONS:  Chop the yellow onion, celery and bell pepper and have it at the ready by your stove.  I use my non-stick wok for this but any large skillet will do.  Heat oil and add CarbQuick.  Whisk constantly on high heat.    You want to brown the roux as dark brown as you can get it without it getting black (burned).  This can burn in the blink of an eye once it gets really hot, so absolutely DO NOT get distracted or walk away from the stove while making a roux!    The second it gets to a dark brown color, immediately dump the chopped vegetables in the pan to drop the temperature of the mix and halt further cooking.  Now you can relax and continue to put the dish together leisurely.

Place the half stick of butter in the pan and saute the veggies until the onion begins to get soft and caramelizes a bit.  When this is  for company, I have to confess I usually put a WHOLE stick of butter in this dish, but only the 1/2 is calculated in nutritional info below.  When onion is caramelized,  add all remaining ingredients  except the green onion.  This should be added just minutes before serving as you want in only partially cooked.  Cover and simmer on lowest heat about 1-2 hours.  You’ll know when it’s done, because it isn’t until it tastes good!  Add green onions, cook 5 minutes longer.    I like to dust with xanthan gum several times, stirring between each addition, to slightly thicken if the roux didn’t do the job. Serve in bowls like soup or stew, with a green salad and your favorite low-carb dinner rolls.

Traditionally this seafood stew is served with a big scoop of rice in the center (not allowed until the grain rung of OWL).  If you are already near or at goal weight, brown rice would be a healthy choice.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each containing:

290 calories

20.18 g  fat

13.88 g  carbs, 4.38 g  fiber, 9.50 NET CARBS (5.50 net carbs using oat fiber for the roux)

17.63 g  protein

approx. 700 mg. sodium

Texican Pork Stew

Texican Pork Stew

It was 53º here at 6 am when I walked my dog today.  It was invigorating (after a 98º high yesterday) and put me in the mood for chili.  But the hubs said “You can’t call what you’re making for lunch chili if you’re using PORK and SQUASH in it!”  Since pork was what was thawed, I compromised and called this creation a “stew” to keep him happy.  😉

It had a lovely flavor and boy, was it ever tasty!  This went together in under an hour, start to finish, too!  This lazy cook’s kind of recipe!  This is suitable for Phase 2 of Atkins.  Keto followers may want to omit the soy black beans to drop the carbs low enough.

Dipped up Ready to Eat!

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. Several of my own creations appear in each of the 5 volumes! Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice, I do not accept payment for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein. I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. bacon grease or oil of your choice

2 large pork chops, deboned and chopped coarsely (mine yielded 12 oz. meat)

3 oz. onion, chopped

1 small (2″) mild jalapeno, seeded, chopped

2 oz. poblano pepper (mild by definition), seeded, chopped

1 can mole Ro-Tel tomatoes with chiles, undrained

1½ c. homemade chicken broth  (used 1 c. broth + ½ c. baked chicken juices)

1 tsp. chili powder

Dash ground cumin

¼ tsp. chile de arbol powder (or ¼ tsp. more regular chili powder)

2 tsp. seeded and ground dried guajillo chile pepper (optional)

1 medium yellow squash, diced in ½-3/4″ pieces

1  can (15-oz) Eden soy black beans, drained (omit if still on Atkins Induction)

DIRECTIONS:  Brown the pork in the oil in a non-stick deep skillet.  Add the chopped onion, jalapeno and poblano peppers.  Stir fry with the meat until all is lightly beginning to brown.  Add the tomatoes, all spices listed and bring to a slow simmer.  Add the squash, cover with lid and let simmer stirring every 5-10 minutes until the yellow squash is just tender but still intact (about 30 minutes total.  Serve at once.  Pairs nicely with a lettuce and guacamole salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

Without beans: 233 calories, 11.95 g fat, 8.65 g carbs, 2.52 g fiber, 6.13 g NET CARBS, 20.5 g  protein, 469 mg sodium

With beans: 271 calories, 13.5 g fat, 10.65 g carbs, 4.27 g fiber, 6.38 g net carbs, 23 g protein, 476 mg sodium

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

My husband and I disagreed on the name of this soup.   I voted for Stuffed Pepper Soup, as that taste was dominant for me; he voted for Stuffed Cabbage Soup, as that flavor was more dominant for him. What we DID agree on is that is was DELICIOUS!  I put way too much quinoa in mine and will cut back to the amount shown in the recipe below in future.  If you are still in the initial 2-week Induction phase, you need to leave out the quinoa altogether.

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. Even a few of my recipes are in each of the 5 volumes! Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice, I do not accept payment for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein. I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. chopped cabbage

3 oz. chopped onion

1 can (1½ c.) diced tomatoes (no sugar added)

1 c. green bell pepper, diced coarsely

1/3 c. quinoa

3 c. beef bone broth

8 oz. diced cooked beef (I used leftover chuck roast)

DIRECTIONS:  Place all ingredients into a pot.  Simmer just until the quinoa is tender.  Add water if the liquid evaporates too much. Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 6 servings, each contains:

175 calories

8.7 g  fat

12.76 g  carbs, 2.35 g  fiber, 10.41 g  NET CARBS

11.7 g  protein

140 mg sodium