Low carb recipes and food information

Found the MOST WONDERFUL NEW SQUASH……taste and texture of sweet potato but 1/3 less calories and half the carbs of butternut squash.

Its KOMBUCHA SQUASH

According to OrganicAuthority.com:

1. Kabocha is like butternut squash‘s sadly underappreciated sister. A single cup of kabocha has forty calories compared to butternut squash’s 60, and has less than half of the carbs of butternut squash (7 grams vs. 16 grams). But, it tastes better… the perfect substitute.

2. Kabocha squash is an excellent source of beta-carotene, owing to it’s bright orange flesh, which can be converted to vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is important for healthy white blood cells, good immunity and for vibrant eyes, skin and hair. A single serving of kabocha squash provides 70% of the day’s recommended requirement!

3. Kabocha is also a good source of iron, vitamin C and some B vitamins.

4. In addition, it contains fiber, which we could all use a little more of. To boost the fiber content even more, cook it with the edible skins on.

5. Which brings us to the next great advantage: You can eat the peel! And it is soft and delicious.

Had it for the first time last night and loved it. Very filling. One serving was supposed to be 1/4 of the squash (4 wedges) but could only finish 2 when served with Stir Fried Chinese Broccoli and sauteed filet of Spanish Mackerel.

So glad to find a yellow veg with beta carotene that is carb friendly….the other big players (carrots, butternut, acorn) all have too many carbs to eat as frequently as one would like.

Here is a reciped based on one from Yotam Ottolenghi in Plenty .

Parmesan & Herb Crusted Kabocha

http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/2013/11/parmesan-herb-crusted-kabocha-with.html

1 1/2 lbs pumpkin or squash of choice (skin on)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 Tbsp dried white breadcrumbs ….substitute ground golden flax seed for low carb
6 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 1/2 tsp finely chopped thyme
grated zest of 2 large lemons
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and white pepper
1/4 cup olive oil (or enough to coat squash as needed)

Topping
1/2 cup sour cream (or use Greek yogurt)
1 Tbsp chopped dill

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Cut the squash into 3/8-inch-thick slices and lay them flat, cut-side down, on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.

Mix together in a small bowl the Parmesan, breadcrumbs, parsley, thyme, half the lemon zest, the garlic, a tiny amount of salt (remember, the Parmesan is salty) and some pepper.

Brush the squash generously with olive oil and sprinkle with the crust mix, making sure the slices are covered with a nice, thick coating. Gently pat the mix down a little.

Place the pan in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, or until tender: stick a little knife in one wedge to make sure it has softened and is cooked through. If the topping starts to darken too much during cooking, cover loosely with foil.

Mix the sour cream with the dill and some salt and pepper. Serve the wedges warm, sprinkled with the remaining lemon zest, with the sour cream on the side.

Note: squash is easier to deal with if you trim off the two stem plugs, slice in half (used my heavy rolling pin to pound my chef knife down thru it) and then microwaved the half I was cooking that night in the microwave for 2 minutes….THEN cut it into wedges

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MCzkrZ_4IT8/Uoq8t5xmATI/AAAAAAAAXhg/Cqgt5sQRU-4/s1600/CrustedKabocha2.jpg

“Baked” Italian Style Cauliflower with Meat Sauce

One of my favorite winter meals….fast, warming, filling, and dirties only two dishes and one is only to steam (or par boil) the cauliflower. Don’t omit the kalamata olives….add a depth to the dish that it really needs.

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 ounces lean ground sirloin or can use Italian sausage
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups sugar free marinara sauce (such as Rao’s)
2 ounces pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 pounds cauliflower, cut into large knobs/florets (about 1 1/2 inches each )
1/2 cup grated mozzarella

Preparation

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in beef. Sprinkle with salt and peppers, and sauté 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in sauce and olives.
2. Preheat broiler.
3. Steam cauliflower 4 minutes or until crisp-tender (or can par boil in salter water for 2-3 min depending on the size of you pieces).
4. Add cauliflower to the skillet and toss with the meat sauce. Cook for 3 min to heat all through.
5. Sprinkle cheese over cauliflower mixture. Put skillet under broiler and broil 4 minutes or until browned.

ASIAN STYLE GROUND BEEF AND CABBAGE STIR FRY

This is one of the recipes that taste way better than the few ingredients it has would suggest. Great winter meal. Lots of healthy low carb and inexpensive cabbage in it filling in for what would normally be noodles in a standard Chinese stir fry dish.

1/2 pound ground beef (can use pork or ground turkey if you prefer)
2 cloves garlic, minced
half a cabbage, cut in 1/2 inch wide slices, seperated into strands
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ tsp grated (or tube) ginger, optional
Pinch cayenne
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp sugar equivalent, optional (I like a few drops of liquid stevia)
½ – 1 bunch green onions, cut on the bias, about 8 onions or 3 ounces after trimming

In a very large skillet or wok, brown the ground beef with the garlic and a little salt and pepper. Drain the fat, if you like, or just leave it in.

Add the cabbage and mushrooms and stir-fry just until the cabbage is tender-crisp. Do not over cook.

Add the remaining ingredients and heat through. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Makes 2-3 servings does not do as well with larger batches

No Flip Pan Fried Salmon Fillet 
 Jacques Pepin
serves one

The BEST salmon I have every had….comes out perfect every time, browned and a bit crusty on the bottom and gently self “steamed” through.

Ingredients


One 6 ounce salmon fillet (I prefer skinless, easier to cook)
1/8 tsp salt or more

oil

2 tsp unsalted butter

1/4 cup (loosely packed) very thin slivers of onion, about an inch long

1 to 2 tsp capers, drained
…optional
2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp coarsely chopped flat-leaf-parsley, for garnish….or some dried dill weed

Equipment: An 8 or 9 inch seasoned cast iron or stainless steel frying pan with a tight-fitting cover
Set the pan over high heat for a minute, until quite hot. Season both sides of the fillet with the salt and lay it down on what was the skin (will have a bit of gray fat remaining) in the dry pan.

Cover the pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes at medium-high heat, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Test for doneness by piercing the top with a sharp knife: the outside will flake but the center should still be medium rare and slightly coral colored. Cook longer for a better-done fillet.

With a long spatula, lift the fillet and flip it onto a dinner plate, with the cooked skin on top.

Wipe out the pan with paper towels to remove the fat released by the salmon.

Add the butter to the skillet. Add the onion slivers and sauté 1 minute or so. Add the capers and sauté briefly, tossing them with the onions. Swirl in the lemon juice. Pour the sizzling garnish over the fillet, sprinkle on the chopped parsley (or sprinkle with dried dill).

Spinach Cheese and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is a “company worthy” dish and could even be for Xmas dinner for a couple …easy to cut down for just 2.

Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 ounces each)
Salt and black pepper
4 slices (1/2 ounce each) prosciutto*
4 slices (1/2 ounce each) smoked provolone**
1 cup spinach leaves, chopped
4 tablespoons ground flax seed (or almond flour)
4 tablespoons canned/dried parmesan cheese (like Kraft)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 oz of cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth
Optional: 1 tablespoon dry vermouth

*Thinly sliced deli ham can be substituted for the prosciutto.

**Swiss, Gruyère or mozzarella cheese may be substituted for the smoked provolone.

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

To form pocket, cut each chicken breast horizontally almost to opposite edge. Fold back top half of chicken breast; sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Make a packet out of 1 slice prosciutto, 1 slice provolone and 1/4 cup spinach (make a total of 4) and stuff one into each chicken breast pocket, fold top half of breasts over filling.

Lightly sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

Combine ground flax seed and canned parmesan cheese in a shallow dish or plate (pie plate works great). Roll chicken breast in mixture, shake off excess.

Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken in skillet; cook about 4 minutes on each side or until browned. DO NOT OVERCOOK and dry out….will ruin the dish. It’s going to bake some more after this and will cook through.

Transfer chicken to shallow baking dish (best to use a pretty one you can then bring to the table…less dishes to wash). Note: Do not wash skillet; reserve to make sauce. Bake 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.

Make sauce: Heat skillet from cooking chicken gently until warm. Add cream cheese and cook until melted. Whisk in about 2 tablespoons of the chicken broth to thin the cream cheese. Then whisk in the rest. Add the 1 Tbs of vermouth if using. Whisk to combine well.

Spoon sauce over the chicken breasts.

Sprinkle some color over the top….some paprika, or dried chives, fresh parsley….whatever you have.

Serve.

ok Allie….there you go.

Esnecca…your turn.

LTC

Luvtcook, this savory recipe looks outstanding!!!! I’d long since forgotten about this
dish. It very well may be front and center for the two of us on Christmas Day. I think
you truly “hit one out of park”, if you’ll excuse the baseball analogy. I’m off to print
it out right now. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Hooray! Many thanks.

Allie

For all those fretting that you cannot have a Christmas Feast without destroying your BSD WOE, I suggest the following menu….all low carb, all with fabulous flavors and textures, topped with a wonderful pudding/ dessert of Pears Poached in Red Wine with a Vanilla Mascarpone Whipped Cream….MUST serve in either a pretty stemware or fancy desert plate…sprig of mint sticking out of the mascarpone dollop would be very festive.

Will post recipes for each of these over the next 10 days except for the beef roast…fill in your personal favorite here (or roast turkey, or grilled lamb chops….whatever floats your boat).

Top off with Red Wine Spritzer to ensure not too much alcohol eating up your calorie allowance….. Champagne/Cava/Prosecco for those that dare and can say no to more than a glass (or maybe one and a half).

Merry Christmas everyone. LTC

……………………………………………………..

CHRISTMAS DINNER MENU Low Carb BSD Friendly

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Walnuts and Stilton

Standing Rib Roast / Rump Roast of Beef / Filet Mignon for Two…or Turkey, Lamb Chops….your pleasure

Cauliflower Mash with Garlic Sour Cream and Chives

Steamed Broccoli with Cheddar Sauce

Parmesan & Herb Crusted Kabocha Squash Wedges

Pears Poached in Red Wine with Vanilla Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Red Wine Spritzer

Brava for this thread picking up loads of inspiration, Thankyou!

Looking forward to the sprout, Stilton and walnut salad recipe!

I have already ‘ordered’ my dessert …. berries, cream and just one tablespoon of Christmas pudding! I just cannot resist. Give me chocolates, mince pies etc. etc. and I can resist all but I just need one tablespoon of pud so I will !

Verano…go for it! You’ve got a plan….that’s the important part. Sounds great…I know you will savor every bite.

Hat tip to Alton Brown, LTC!

Allie: Shsssh. Don’t tell. I hope he doesn’t mind that I stole his title…….it was subliminal theft (I was a great fan).

He did an intesting show on his own diet plan (lost 50 lbs) using four lists based on the frequency he would allow himslef to have certain foods:

Daily (whole grains, green tea, fruit, nuts)
Three times a week (oily fish, tofu, yogurt, sweet potato)
Once a week (alcohol, desserts, red meat, white starch)
Never (soda, canned soup, “diet” anything, fast food)

Just a bit too micro managed for me….but hey, whatever works for ya. Worked for him,

LTC, we were great fans of his, too! I finally had to stop watching the food network
when “Guy FIETTI” (aka Guy Ferry) became their big star. No knowledge, and a
hopeless narcissist besides! Wretch…Did you ever follow Ina Garten?

LTC, I love kabocha squash, so good to know it is a lower carb one. Spaghetti squash is a good bet too. Also 40 cal per cup and 7.8g carbs. I was given a couple of spaghetti squash recently, and I cooked it in the oven (steams well too though) and then scooped out the spaghetti strands into a dish, added sour cream, garlic and chive flavoured cream cheese, and topped it with some feta. It was really delicious! I have also used it in place of real spaghetti and top it with a tomato sauce, olives and parmesan cheese.

Do you find this interesting, Articfox? (love your name, by the way). Myfitness pal lists
1 c. cooked spaghetti squash as 42 cal. 7.8 carb, and fat secret says 75 cal 7.8 carb.
I like to use this product too on occasion, and have a method to bake it that allows for
longer strands that aren’t at all “wet” when you serve it. If you’re interested, I’d be happy
to post it for you.

Allie

It is interesting to see that discrepancy, Allie. I use myfooddiary and that is where I got the 40cal and 7.8g carb figure. If the extra 30 odd cal per cup on fat secret isn’t from carbs, I wonder whether it comes from protein or fats? Maybe it is based on adding some oil when cooking it? I would be interested to see your method. I just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and bake it in the oven cut side down on a baking sheet, and it definitely results in a less wet product than steaming it.

Just to throw in another statistic Wikipedia shows raw spaghetti squash as 31 calories and 7g carbs per 100g. I find that most apps have inaccuracies and it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between cooked and raw foods. Also there are differences between US and UK apps. My guess is that the Fatsecret stats are for cooked squash, but it is only a guess. I often check calories etc by googling the nutritional value of a food.

Another fish recipe.

I choose Steelhead trout over Salmon because it is moister, tender and more forgiving. Our Pacific Salmon dries out when even slightly overcooked. Atlantic Salmon is more forgiving too.

Take a Steelhead fillet and put it on a sheet of foil, skin side down.
Drizzle generously with soy sauce.
Drizzle generously with olive oil.
Broil in the oven, about 10 minutes or slightly less.

The fish will develop a nice crust and the soy sauce will give it a great flavour.

Very easy and delicious enough for company.

I make a similar salmon recipe Jande9. I drizzle with soy and add grated ginger and fresh coriander. You can always add grated garlic too but I’m not fond of garlic with this recipe. I don’t use oil but I do wrap the salmon fillets in tinfoil and cook in the oven @ 180 c fan oven for 15 minutes. Never dries out.

Allie….Ina Garten YES YES YES. She is the only one of the lineup from whom I actually bought the cookbooks….have 3 of hers! And such a lovely personality, so warm. Nice to see such affection in a long married couple as well. Alton Brown often has some very good recipes……but some were a bit more bother. Half recipe half Rube Goldberg contraptions that had to be concocted.

This is the best spaghetti squash recipe I have tried to date because all the yummy stuff is put in the raw squash halves and then everything is baked together. The flavor really gets into the squash that way.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFED SPAGHETTI SQUASH
Recipe from the Complete Low-Carb Cookbook by George Stella

Serves 6

Ingredients
1 medium spaghetti squash (may use 2 small)
1 pound ground Italian sausage, casings removed
1⁄2 cup diced red onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1⁄2 cup black olives, chopped…do not omit …add a lot to the flavor
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preheat over to 350F / 175C

Poke a couple holes in the squash then microwave 2 min….easier to cut in half. Then take out seeds. Place squash cut side up in a baking dish.

(Note: Stella stuff his at this point but I would return to microwave for another 2 min as I did not find my squash cooked as well as I would like by baking alone…would like it a bit more tender. Maybe mine was just bigger.)

Saute the sausage, onion and garlic in a skillet until sausage is browned and crumbly

Add bell pepper and mushrooms and saute extra 3 min.

Drian excess grease

Stir in tomato sauce, olives and Italian seasoning….simmer 5 minutes

Now stuff the squash halves….half mozzerella first….then sausage /tomato mixuture….finish with final half of mozzerella.

Bake for 40 min. Cool 5 min before serving. Very yummy.

425 cal 6 net carbs

Good morning/afternoon everyone!

LTC, like you, I’ve had an interest in cooking and entertaining for many decades. As
a consequence, we can look at a new recipe and instinctively know what it will taste
like based on the proportions and ingredient list. Often I’m already making changes
before I’ve even had it the first time! Reading the latest on your fav spaghetti squash
made me think of pizza without the crust! Only thing missing could be anchovies
or pepperoni…Probably smells heavenly in the oven, too!

Keep ’em coming, girl 🙂

Hi Verano,
I prefer not to wrap the salmon but to just fashion a tray with the foil and leave the fish exposed to the broiler. When you broil the fish it gets a nice crust and it doesn’t dry out.
When you wrap it the fish it steams which gives it a different texture.
Pacific salmon goes dry when overcooked but not so much for trout or Atlantic salmon which are more forgiving. Even wrapping Pacific salmon doesn’t really help as it is hard to check when it is done.
I’ve lived on the West Coast of Canada for most of my life and it pains me to say this, but Atlantic salmon is better.
Jan

Hi, everyone. I’m really enjoying this focus on salmon! We eat it 2-3 x a week for the
heart healthy Omega3 fats. The technique that we find to be foolproof with Pacific
wild salmon is to sear it on the stove top in avocado oil, then roast at a relatively
high temp for 8-10 min. If you remove it from the oven before it is fully cooked, it
will continue to cook in the roasting pan. Dry salmon is a thing of the past for
us using this technique. Might be worth a try?

Allie

Much easier than the oven is the microwave. Put the salmon (I do two at a time – or one if just for me) in a small shallowish dish (deep enough for the salmon not to stick up above the level of the dish). Grind black pepper over them, and squeeze juice of half a lemon on them. Cover (I use microwave cling film) and microwave on full for about 2 1/2 mins for two pieces of about 120 gms each (about 1 1/2 mins for one piece – then check). You want it JUST flaking. So most and succulent. Morrisons (UK) do the best lightly smoked salmon pieces (I don’t mean the thin stuff you eat for starters or with scrambled eggs, but rather pieces of salmon just like the regular stuff, but lightly smoked – looks virtually the same. This is so much nicer than the regular stuff, we rarely eat the normal stuff just on it’s own (ok made into Jamie Olivers fishcakes though!). Great to do in the summer too as you don’t need to turn on the oven. So saves on the electricity or gas bill as well.

Yes Jande we have Atlantic salmon and I do like the texture of ‘steamed’ fish. I just don’t manage to cook it through, I don’t like it pink in the middle, if I pan fry or open roast it. I guess it’s horses for courses.

Inspired by an abysmal, tasteless, offensively bland meal at a so-called Indian restaurant last week, I made a highly idiosyncratic dinner tonight using Indian spices. My idea was to combine elements of chicken korma, tikka masala and saag paneer into a weirdo hybrid that would give me the lovely hit of spice that was so tragically missing at that dreadful restaurant. Since I don’t use tomatoes except in miniscule amounts, the tomato base was out. I pulled out my old shakshuka trick to solve that problem: greens. I used my slow cooker and the result was almost like a stew and reminscent of saag because the greens cooked for so long that they broke down and softened beautifully. The flavor was complex, layered, smokey, hot, zesty, exactly what I had been so cruelly denied. OH loved it too. He made a number of obscene noises as he inhaled it.

Indianish Chicken and Greens

1 tblsp cumin, ground
1 tsp sichuan or tellicherry peppercorns, ground
1 tsp sea salt, smoked salt, lava salt, flaked salt, whatever you’ve got that’s interesting. I used like 4 different kinds because the BSD has made me an insane salt freak.
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried ginger, ground
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cayenne (mine is 150,000 scoville units, so adjust according to how hot you like it)
1 lb skinless chicken thighs
1 bunch (about 1 lb) turnip greens or any other sturdy cooking green like mustard, kale, chard, collards.
1 cup chicken stock
4 cloves fresh garlic
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
2 oz creme fraiche (or Greek yogurt or cream cheese)

Mix the dry spices together in a small bowl. Pat the chicken thighs dry and rub the spice mixture into the flesh. I used about 3 tsp total for this stage. My slow cooker has the option of being used stovetop, so I sprayed olive oil on the bottom, heated it up on medium and added the spiced chicken. Flip it once to get a sear on both sides. You can do this in a separate sautee pan if your slow cooker can’t be used on the range and just transfer them to the cooker when they’re nice and browned on the outside, but still very pink inside.

Chop the greens crosswise, stems and all. Add them to the chicken in the slow cooker. Add the chicken stock and the rest of the dry spice mixture. Add the fresh ginger and garlic. Stir it all up, cover and cook on low for 5 hours. Taste and adjust for spices. I ended up adding more garam masala, turmeric and a touch of ghost pepper salt for intensity. Add the creme fraiche and stir to distribute. The chicken will be falling apart as you stir and the cooked down greens will have produced a lot of delicious pot likker, as they call the cook-off fluid from greens down South. I wanted to thicken it a bit to make it fork-ready, so I added a tsp of guar gum. Alternatively, you could just turn the cooker up to high, take the lid off and let some of the liquid evaporate. It’s delicious, though, so don’t lose to much of it.

That’s it. A lot of payoff for very little effort, and one of those dishes that is great to make for guests because you don’t have to be fussing over it while you’re entertaining. The work is done long before people darken your door. I’m looking forward to having it tomorrow to see if it makes an even better leftover. Spices can do wonderful things overnight.

I don’t usually eat breakfast but that Indianish recipe has made my mouth water! I will definitely try it. It’s funny that you should mention becoming a salt freak because I now use far more than I ever did before BSD. I wonder why that is?

HIGH FIBER HOT CHIA PORRIDGE

It is freezing cold with blustery winds today on the east coast of the US…perfect time for hot porridge. Here is a warming and very filling low carb one that it my go to in the winter.

High Fiber Hot Chia Porridge

Perfect warmer upper in cold weather
Yield: Serves 1
Ingredients
• 2 Tbsp chia seed
• 2 Tbsp flax seed meal
• half pinch of salt
• 6 Tbsp boiling water
• 1 Tbsp nut butter (optional) …peanut butter, almond butter, etc

Instructions
1. In a small bowl, stir together chia seed, flax seed meal & tiny pinch of salt
2. Top with the 1 Tbsp of nut butter
3. Add boiling water, stir and let sit for 2-3 minutes.

Delicious topped with a drizzle of heavy cream. In the winter I also add a drizzle of sugar free maple syrup and a bit of chopped walnuts.

In the warmer months I let the porridge cool a bit and top with heavy cream, fresh berries and sliced almonds.

For lower calories you could of course use almond or hemp seed milk.

Serves 1. Each serving (without optional toppings) has a total of 309 calories and 18 g of carbs and 18 g of fiber! Total NET CARBS = 0 g. And yes it will keep you full and satisfied as a meal.

Luvtcook you have made me very happy. Discovered chia seeds 2 weeks ago and am obsessed with them, in fact just finished my yoghurt and chia seeds. I’m, definitely doing this tomorrow for breakfast!

Great JackieM…let me know how you liked it. I love the stuff.

Hi Verano,
Tried your trick of adding ginger to my soy and olive oil steelhead. I also added a touch of garlic. I used my usual open broil technique and it was excellent. Tasty and moist with a nice crust.
I’m not a big fan of fresh coriander so I didn’t try that.
Jan

Hi Jan glad you enjoyed the added extras! I sometimes make the same recipe for a few people and just lay the salmon in a flatish baking tray, cover with the mixture and then tinfoil and bake in the oven for maybe 20 minutes or so until cooked through. I’m sure you could do the same with the fish uncovered.

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Walnuts and Stilton

Nice crunchy salad that is an alternative to a cooked veg when you want some variety.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. brussels sprouts
2 cups toasted walnut halves
3 Tbs of crumbled Stilton (or can use 1/3 cup grated pecorino), plus more for garnish
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
Juice of 1 lemon (sherry vinegar would be a nice alternative for a different flavor)
Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Working over a large bowl, shave brussels sprouts into very thin slices on a mandoline (or by hand), starting from each sprout’s top while holding it between thumb and forefinger by its stem. Discard stems.

2. Add walnuts, cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper to taste. Depending on the saltiness of the cheese, season lightly with salt to taste.

3. Toss with a spoon until just combined and divide salad between 4 bowls or small plates. Crumble a bit more cheese over the top; drizzle with more olive oil and add more pepper to taste.

LTC – this sounds luscious! How do you think I might fare using a box grater on the
largest opening? I can’t locate my mandoline. Would it be worthwhile investing in
a new one for this salad?

Your box grater probably has a slot cutter on its narrow side to slice veg…..mine does (mine has various size grated grids on 3 sides and on the 4th a small slicer).

If yours does not, I would go with hand slicing (cut the sprouts in half and lay the flat side down so you slice safely).

You can try the large holes on the box grated but I think you are going to end up with confetti or worse, mush.

Good luck!

Definitely mush. I tried to make my brussels sprout slaw with a grater once and it was an abject failure. Also more than a little blood was spilled because there’s no way to get purchase on a little sphere. Allie, like Luv said, if you don’t have the slicey side of the box grater, cut in half through the stem, lie flat and slice thinly crosswise. It sounds fiddly but it’s easy and fast.

Yippee finally a kelp noodle convert! I’ve been waiting so long for this day. Now the solution to all your problems. Luvtocook, meet Gold Mine: http://shop.goldminenaturalfoods.com/GLUTEN-FREE-KELP-NOODLES-2-LB/productinfo/1601-1902/ They’re Sea Tangle noodles, by the way, just custom packaged in larger sizes exclusively for Gold Mine. While you’re there, check out the sea vegetables category because it is a miracle wonderland: http://shop.goldminenaturalfoods.com/Japanese/products/28/. Their seaweed salad mix is beautiful. Oh, and Allie can confirm this, they make the some of the greatest sauerkraut and kimchi you’ve ever had: http://shop.goldminenaturalfoods.com/Sauerkraut-Kimchi/products/61/. And they carry the best organic traditional Japanese miso which is otherwise very hard to find: http://shop.goldminenaturalfoods.com/OHSAWA-YAMAKI-ORGANIC-2-YR-SOYBEAN-MISO-1-LB/productinfo/0407-1001/

Thank you, my friends! I didn’t hold out high hopes for the box grater, but I do have
a heavy, well weighted chef’s knife, and will use that. LTC, GoldMineNaturalFoods is a
great site, and I’m never without 2/32oz jars of kimchi in the refrig. at all times. Too
spicy for o/h, but I feed him the kraut every day. E., they even sell kimchi juice too,
don’t they? I need to go back thru your replies to locate your brussel sprouts salad
as well. Love the fact that it can be made in advance and improves with age. I prefer
to eat seasonally and locally, so brussel sprouts are definitely on the menu now!
This is a great thread. Thank you for all the time consuming posts that contribute to
it!

Allie

Bread and Chocolate

Many BSD folks have found they can do without and do not miss bread. I like it and am happy with the low carb bread alternatives out there.

This is a duplicate post per a response to a poster on another thread:

I make a loaf every other week or so and they keep well in the frig (don’t go stale like wheat bread). Occassionally I like a very thin slice for breakfast toasted….with cream cheese or salmon on it, or sometimes a fried egg. Toasted with tuna fish salad on for lunch, etc. Also make crumbs out of it for meatballs as it really lightens them up and have tried meatballs/meatloaf without filler and find I don’t care for them (dry and pretty tough).

Links to favorite breads are here:

https://www.lowcarbmaven.com/the-best-psyllium-flax-bread/ this is a bit of a fuss but goes a long way, keeps well in frig or frozen. I don’t bother with a bread pan…..just cook it Italian loaf style on a baking sheet.

https://www.lowcarbreviews.com/swedish-breakfast-buns/ I use hemp seed instead of sunflower seeds in this one for a softer texture. This is the softest of the three. I sometimes make as one big bun and slice into wedges.

https://www.lowcarbmaven.com/low-carb-rolls-keto/ this one is the easiest of the lot….makes nice dinner rolls, and excellent breadcrumbs for filler.

Save scraps from any/all of them and freeze in a bag for filler when I need it.

I also make/augment my own low carb chocolates. I use a bar of low carb chocolate such as Lily ,,,,break it up into chunks and put in a glass pyrex measuring cup. Add 1 1/2 Tbs of coconut oil, tiny pinch of salt and microwave until just melted (30 sec). Add 1/2 tsp of vanilla and any other flavor I want (mint, orange, almond, cinnamon, etc).

I pour/spoon this into a silicone mold such as this one ( https://smile.amazon.com/Freshware-CB-114RD-30-Cavity-Silicone-Chocolate/dp/B003VPW0V8/ref=sr_1_68?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1513452054&sr=1-68&keywords=silicone+mold) that gives me different shapes. Can do a different flavor for each shape.

Can add fillers to this….a piece of walnut in some, cocoa nibs in another, some unsweetened dried coconut, piece of blanched orange peel or ginger in another. Pop the silicone form into the frig for them to firm up. Then pop them out and put in a pretty tin and keep in the frig. The addition of the coconut oil gives them a silky texture that melts in the mouth like the finest chocolates…..but they get too soft if not kept in the frig. I love them and 2 of these small chocolates make a fine dessert once or twice a week after supper and feel very decadent for very few calories or carbs.

Calling LTC! Luv, I think I’m going to use your chicken, spinach and proscuitto dish for
Christmas Eve for the 2 of us. I’d like to use fontina because I prefer it as a melting
cheese. My question is, can I leave out the cream cheese, and do I need to add more
fontina to compensate? Thanks in advance for your reply 🙂

Allie

Allie, sorry to leave you hanging…..been baking gifts over the last couple of days and then just ran out of gas and crashed. Love the baking part….its the cleaning up after that gets ya in the end. Ugh.

Re leave out the cream: more Fontina wont do the trick as the cream cheese is the creamy sauce part (since no flour to thicken as folks normally would ) vs the cheesy filling part.

As an alternative , you could use heavy cream and cook down a bit to thicken, or do without the creamy sauce altogether and just add some wine and broth to the drippings to deglaze the pan after you take the chicken out…reduce by half, then add a pat of soft butter and swirl around, and pour over the chicken.

Hope that helps.

Of course it helps, Luv! Your insights always do. I’ll be reporting back to you
after the holiday. Thanks so much! What would we do without you here?

This a crazy time of year, so I’m wishing you joy and peace over the holiday, and that it
continues into 2018 and your accomplishing all the goals you have for yourself. I plan
to be by your side, to celebrate them with you!

Merry Christmas, my friend 🙂

Allie

Y’all need to get your hands on some xantham or guar gum or konjac/glucomannan powder. There’s no reason you can’t thicken anything you like. The no-carb gums work far better than flour or cornstarch, in my opinion, because you don’t have to take an intermediate step like creating a roux or a slurry. Konjac works better if you separate out some of the liquid and whisk it in for 10 seconds, but that’s just because it’s so insanely fast-acting that you can’t distribute it quickly enough in a big chunky sauce before it starts clumping.

If you can’t find it in a shop near you, Bob’s Red Mill carries both xantham and guar (https://www.bobsredmill.com/shop/baking-aids.html) and Netrition has the konjac (https://www2.netrition.com/konjac_glucomannan_powder.html ).

Which reminds me, LTC, I might have to make that amazing kimchi dish you posted in the phoenix thread using my latest find instead of kelp noodles. Zeroodles has a new type of konjac noodle with oat fiber added and it is PHENOMENAL. The fiber gives it a full-on ramen texture and taste. It doesn’t even have that fishy smell that freaks some people out so much when it comes out of the bag. (The smell doesn’t bother me in the least. I don’t know why people get so hung up on that. It goes away as soon as you prep them.) My local Stop & Shop carries it, believe it or not. You can get it on Netrition too, among other places: https://www2.netrition.com/zeroodle-premium-shirataki-oat-fiber.html

Okay, you 2 geniuses, I’m going to take this onboard, too!

Sweet! You’ll get a nice little bonus boost of fiber out of the deal as well as magical thickening powers. The first time I used the konjac to thicken chili I stared in awe as the cup of chicken stock I whisked it into turned into an aspic in half a minute. It literally set in seconds. I’ve never had powdered Jello work that fast. In fact, the last time I made Jello, which would have been when I was a kid, I’m pretty sure it never set at all and we had to dump it down the sink. 😀

Esnecca, thanks for the heads up about the new Zeros…..sounds PERFECT. The only bad part is I just did a big order to Netrition and since they charge for shipping will have to wait until I need more stuff n such. I will certainly keep my eyes open for it at local markets. Wonder if Whole Foods might have it….have a foray planned there in a couple of days to get things not available elsewhere.

RE thickening sauces: I use xanthan in baking…acts a bit like gluten does in traditional baking to provide a bit of sponginess to things made with almond so they are not so crumbly . Never had much success with it to thicken liquids. I did recently buy some glucommanan for that reason but have not used it yet on anything…..so will await additional feedback from Allie as to how her experiment with it went (if I don’t try it first just for the heck of it).

I bet Whole Foods has it. I haven’t looked for it there, but the last time I went a couple of months ago I noticed they had shiritake noodles. They were the kind with tofu added, though, and I don’t buy that because it’s inexplicably carby.

Xantham can definitely clump if it doesn’t get spread around quickly enough. I solve that problem with an immersion blender wich is fine for a cream sauce, but you can’t use that in anything that has chunks, like a sausage gravy. Have you tried the slurry method with xantham? When you add it to dry ingredients it does its faux gluten magic in private. If you add it to a big pot of something it’s hard to gauge whether you have to proper proportion. A good starting point is 1/4 tsp of xantham for every cup of liquid, but you might have to adjust that depending on how thick you want it to get. Scare up a slurry by adding 1/4 tsp to a couple of tblsp of water or of the liquid you want to thicken and whisk it quickly. Whisk the slurry into the pan. Give it a second to tighten up and if it needs more thickening, do another round.

Guar is easier to deal with. Sprinkle, mix thoroughly, wait a couple of minutes. You can add it to cold or hot liquids and it always acts the same. Konjac must be slurried, but it’s such an amazing chemistry experient it’s totally worth it just to watch the states of matter shift in the blink of an eye.