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Einkorn Asian Meatza Pizza

Peggy Leave a comment

I got this idea from all the meatza recipes I see on the internet.  I’m always looking for new ways to use napa cabbage (also called Chinese cabbage) and this creation just made my regular pork recipe rotations.   This was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!   One of the best Asian dishes I’ve made in a very long time!  Even my picky husband liked this and had seconds!  And it wasn’t as “heavy” as the meatzas I’ve previously tried made with beef crusts.  This recipe is not suitable for Induction as written.  That said, you could use pork rind “flour” or the dry ingredients for a one minute flax muffin (the original recipe with no almond flour!) and still be able to enjoy this recipe.  Those that need it to be gluten-free can substitute in Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix for the Einkorn Bake Mix (though mine is actually a tad lower in carbs ;).

MEAT CRUST INGREDIENTS: 

1 lb. extra lean pork, ground

1 T. low-sodium soy sauce

1 T. Sriracha chili sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tsp. fresh ginger root, minced

1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced fine

TOPPINGS:

1/3 c. red bell pepper, chopped

1 T. olive oil

2 c. shredded napa cabbage

½ c. green onion, chopped

3 large eggs

1/3 c. sour cream

3 T. my homemade Shawarma mayonnaise (or low-carb mayo)

¼ c. my Einkorn Bake Mix (or Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix for gluten-free version) [Use pork rind flour if still on Induction]

¼ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Mix the meat crust ingredients in a mixing bowl using a fork or your hands and press into a greased tart or quiche pan.  Press evenly and up the sides of the pan about ½ inch.  Pop into oven and bake 10-12 minutes to partially cook.  Remove and gently tilt to drain off excess grease & juices.

Shred the cabbage and place in a bowl.  Chop the green onion and red pepper.  Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté red pepper until tender. Add green onion to the skillet and sauté just 1 minute. Scrape this mixture into the cabbage and stir.  Add all remaining ingredient to the bowl and mix well.  Spoon the mixture into the meat “crust” and bake for 20-30 minutes longer or until center is firm and set.  Remove and cut into 8 wedges.  We each ate two wedges.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 8 servings, each contains:

281 cals, 25g fat, 4.06g carbs, 0.91 g fiber, 3.15 g NET CARBS, 13.8g protein, 322 mg sodium

 

Shortcake Cups

Peggy 2 Comments

Shortcake Cups

Shortcake Cups

Who doesn’t like shortcake in the summer time?  These 3½” tasty yellow cake cups are quick and have a lovely flavor.  Not to sweet, either.  You should use all golden flax meal for the lightest color.  These can be eaten as is, for a lovely plain single serving cake or topped with your favorite berries or sliced fruit and covered with sweetened whipped cream.  My favorites are strawberries, banana and peach.  These are not suitable until the grains rung of OWL.  Only use fruit whose carb count you can fit into your daily limits.  These are fairly large cups, so you might want to slice laterally into two “rings” for those that want a smaller portion.  These should freeze nicely for up to a month.

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 her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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:

½ c. Jen Eloff’s Gluten Free Bake Mix

¼ + 2 T. Carbquik bake mix (substitute more of Jen Eloff’s Bake Mix for gluten-free version)

¼ c. golden flax meal

2/3 c. granular Splenda or erythritol (or sweetener of your choice)

2 tsp. baking powder

Dash salt

4 eggs, beaten

2 tsp. melted butter

2 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:  Spray or lightly oil a shortcake pan, or 4 large muffin cups or 4 individual cake pans and set aside.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Measure dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl.  In a smaller bowl, beat the eggs with the melted butter and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat the batter well with a spoon.    Pour batter evenly into the four pan slots or muffin cups.  The cups will be about 1/2 full.  Place individual pans onto a small baking sheet and pop into a 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until firm in the center.  As ovens vary, check them at 15 minutes.  Partially cool before attempting to remove from pans.   I used a Chicago Metallic shortcake pan, but as I can’t find it on their website, they may not make this particular pan anymore.  Some other bakeware manufacturer might make something similar, however.  See photo of my pan below:

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 4 large cakes, each contains:

Shortcake Pan (you can use mini cake pans, large muffin cups or mini bundt pans)

Shortcake Pan (you can use mini cake pans, large muffin cups or mini bundt pans)

188 calories

15.35 g  fat

16.55 g  carbs, 10.6 g  fiber, 5.95 g  NET CARBS (only 2.9 NC if you slice laterally and just eat half.)

11.25 g  protein

481 mg sodium

Einkorn Loaf Bread

Peggy 5 Comments

I took my Lupin Flour Bread recipe, eliminated the lupin flour totally and did some major tweaking to come up with a delicious Einkorn Loaf Bread today.  My husband even said this was quite good and he’s real hard to please with low-carb baking.  It has a nice elastic mouth feel one finds in a good traditional yeast bread.  I even included some dissolved yeast but I think it only impacts flavor, not rise.  There’s not enough gluten in 2 T. Einkorn flour for proper yeast “action”.  But it does give a little yeast taste.

I am not eating baked goods right now, so I only tasted and my husband will get to finish off this loaf.  This should make very nice sandwiches and slices into fourteen ½” slices or twenty-eight ¼” slices.  Yes, this bread has enough structure to be able to slice it into ¼” slices!  WOO HOO!  🙂

It doesn’t toast much better than most low-carb breads, so I use this mostly for sandwiches and making croutons.  But the crust toasts quite nicely.  Here’s a loaf that I sliced into 27 slices.  I failed to make sure of my 1/4″ accuracy along the way.  But I almost got 28 slices. 🙂

I order my non-GMO Einkorn flour direct from Jovial Foods.  Some have found it in Safeways and other stores right on the shelf, but I’ve not been so lucky.  It’s not as expensive as some low-carb baking ingredients.  Einkorn is real, ancient wheat, that has not been hybridized.  I use only the tiniest amounts in the occasional baked goods recipes.  It brings so much texture and flavor for little carbs.  This recipe is not suitable until you are near goal weight (Pre-Maintenance).

DRY INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

2 T. Einkorn flour

½ c. egg white protein powder (I use NOW brand)

2 T. oat fiber

2 T. coconut flour

1 T. baking powder

2 T. golden flax meal (dark flax or a mixture can be used for a darker, nuttier-tasting bread)

¼ tsp. sea salt

3 T. psyllium husk powder (I use NOW brand)

WET INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp. dry yeast dissolved in 2 T. warm water + pinch sugar

5 large eggs, beaten

3 T. olive oil

¼ c. egg whites (I used the ones in a carton)

½ c. boiling water (added last)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease or oil a standard 5×8″ loaf pan and set aside.  Dissolve yeast in 2 T. warm water and add a tiny pinch sugar.  Set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, measure out all dry ingredients.  Stir well.  In another medium bowl, add the first 4 wet ingredients (all but the boiling water) and beat with a fork.  Add the dissolved yeast mixture to the wet ingredients and stir.   Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat well using a rubber spatula. Slowly add the boiling water to the batter and using a whisk, beat until smooth of lumps.  The more whisking the smoother the crust will come out, so don’t rush this step.  Spoon batter into greased loaf pan and bake at 350º for 30 minutes and test for doneness with toothpick.   If not done, cook 5-10 minutes longer.  Remove from oven and in a few minutes, tip onto board to finish cooling.  Stats below are calculated for 14 slices ½” thick.  I will also provide numbers for entire loaf so that you can figure out your own for the number of slices you choose to cut.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: 

Entire loaf:  1480 calories, 102.8 g  fat, 78.4 g  carbs, 47.2 g  fiber,  31.2 g  NET CARBS,     58.2 g  protein, 2669 mg sodium

If cut in 14 slices, ½”, @ contains: 106 calories, 7.3 g  fat, 5.60 g  carbs, 3.37 g  fiber, 2.23 g  NET CARBS, 4.15 g  protein, 191 mg sodium

If cut in 28 slices, ¼”, @ contains:  53 calories, 3.67 g fat, 2.8 g carbs, 1.68 g fiber, 1.12 g NET CARBS, 2.07 g protein, 95 mg sodium

Asian Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

Peggy 4 Comments

 

Asian Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

Asian Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

I love this recipe in the summertime!  It’s so easy to prepare and simply DELICIOUS!  Best of all, no oven required to heat up your kitchen.  Summer in Texas forces us to think about such things.  We’re already averaging 92º daily! Lord what will July and August be like this year?  I don’t mind doing a quick skillet sear, but don’t want to turn that oven on very often in summer.   And since I’m not eating sandwiches much these days, this salad is is just perfect and suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets as well.

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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 large chicken breast, skinned (8 oz.)

1 T. butter

2 T. lime juice

2 T. rice vinegar

1 T. olive oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. hot sesame oil (or 1/8 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce, or Sriracha)

2 drops liquid stevia

1/2 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos

1 T. peanut butter

4 c. Napa cabbage, shredded

½ c. fresh cilantro, chopped

2 large green onions, chopped

½  carrot (5″) shredded with a carrot peeler

1  fresh jalapeno, seeded, sliced in thin strips 1″ long

DIRECTIONS:

Slice chicken diagonally into smaller pieces for quickest cooking.  Heat butter in skillet and sear chicken well on all sides.  Remove and slightly cool.  Slice into smaller slices if desired.

For the dressing, whisk the next 8 ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside for flavors to develop.

In a large bowl or on your cutting board, shred cabbage and place in large bowl.  Add grated carrot, cilantro, green onion and chopped jalapeno.  Toss well and plate greens equally on two plates.  Top each with half the chicken meat.  Provide dressing in individual cups on the plate for each person to add as they please.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 large servings, each contains:

450 calories

25.5 g  fat

10.2 g  carbs, 3.35 g fiber, 6.85 g  NET CARBS

39.5 g  protein

632 mg sodium

 

Butter Sriracha Pot Roast

Peggy 34 Comments

Buttery Sriracha Pot Roast

Buttery Sriracha Pot Roast

The pan juices this roast made, melded with the butter, Sriracha sauce and caramelized onion was so sweet and tasty I was spooning it out onto my meat and licking the pan before I washed it after dinner tonight.  I made sure to not use much Ranch seasoning so as not to drown out the magic of the other flavors.  Man, was this roast ever good! If you’re a pot roast fan, this one is definitely worth.  I’ll bet you add it to your regular rotation roast recipes.  It’s THAT good.    It’s incredibly simple, too.  For those that shy away from spicy foods, there was a bit of tingle on my tongue, but this was not very hot with Sriracha really.  It wasn’t too hot for me, and I don’t like my food very spicy when push comes to shove.  🙂  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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:

2¼ lb. beef chuck roast (this was a very small roast)

½ pkg. Ranch Buttermilk dressing powder

3 oz. onion, sliced pretty thin

2 tsp. Sriracha sauce

4 T. unsalted butter, cut into smaller bits

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Place meat in suitable pan.  I used a 9×9 square metal pan.  Sprinkle the Ranch powder over the top surface of the meat.  Next top with the sliced onions.  Now invert Sriracha bottle and in a zig zag motion like they do chocolate sauce over desserts in the fancy restaurants, zig-zag about 2 tsp. Sriracha sauce over the onion layer.  Next dot with small pieces of the butter to evenly cover.  Top with a good sprinkling of black pepper.  Pop into oven without a cover and bake for about 2 hours.  Chuck takes longer to get tender.  There is a fair amount of shrinkage, so you’ll only end up with about 2 lbs. cooked meat which will serve 4 people nicely, perhaps even 5.  I’m calculating for 4 adult servings.  Cut meat into thick slices and serve with pan juices (that’s the best part!).  No need to thicken the pan juices.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Serves 4 adults, each generous serving contains:

397 calories

19.1 g  fat

2.9 g  carbs, .2 g  fiber, 2.7 g  NET CARBS

50.7 g  protein

432 mg sodium

 

 

 

Smoky Kale-Squash-Ham Casserole

Peggy 6 Comments

Smoky Kale-Squash-Ham Casserole

I threw this little dish together for lunch today and it was so tasty I thought I’d share it  with my readers.  I just love one-pan dishes.  The cleanup is just as easy as the cooking. 🙂  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.  Leave the cheese off for Primal-Paleo compliance.

VARIATION:  Make without the ham for a lovely vegetable side dish.  🙂

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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:

4 tsp. bacon grease

2 oz. yellow onion, sliced

5 oz. yellow squash, cut into medium chunks

5 oz. cured ham, sliced or chopped

3 oz. kale, stemmed and cut coarsely

2 oz. smoked Gouda cheese, shredded

Dash black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:  If you’ll soak your ham in warm water for 30 minutes, changing water at least once, this will draw out about 50% of the sodium they put in cured ham, without hurting the taste at all.  Remove from water and pat dry with paper towels.  Cut in small pieces.  Heat bacon grease in non-stick skillet. Add onion and saute until the onion begins to caramelize.  Add squash and saute, stirring often, until it is half done (no longer opaque).  Add the pieces of ham and saute 2-3 minutes or until done (squash should be done by now, too).  Add kale and saute 3-4 minutes, just until kale begins to wilt but isn’t overly cooked.  You don’t it want to lose its pretty green color.  The ham will make this dish salty enough, but add a dash of black pepper and stir one last time.  If serving in the skillet, top with the shredded cheese and put lid or foil on top for a couple minutes to allow heat to melt the cheese.  If serving in a pretty ceramic dish, dip up the mixture into baking dish.  Then sprinkle with cheese and pop into microwave on 80% power for about 2 minutes to melt.  Serve at once.  This would be good with a piece of your favorite low-carb bread slathered in butter.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 3 servings, each contains:

227 calories

15.3 g fat

6.63 g carbs, 1.26 g fiber, 5.37 g NET CARBS

16.2 g protein

609 mg sodium

 

Egg White Protein Buns

Peggy 19 Comments

Egg Protein & Rind Buns

Egg Protein & Rind Buns

I continue to try to improve the Oopsie-style sandwich buns.  My forays into using whey protein powder in the original Oopsie recipe dried them out a bit and made them crumbly.  This time I tried adding a bit of egg white protein and some crushed pork rind “flour”, a bit of glucomannan powder and eliminated the cream cheese totally.  The egg white protein idea I got from a bun recipe I saw over on Maria Emmerich’s blog, seen here:  http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/eggs-benedict-on-protein-bun-and-athletes/.  Thank you for that idea, Maria.  I think I will use a little less egg white protein next batch in an attempt to make them a bit less chewy.  This adventure makes me want to try pea protein in these buns next time, which I have on hand.  🙂  I know some folks having some amazing results baking with pea protein.  So many types of protein to try; so little time. 🙂  Lynne Daniel at the Duke University Low Carb Support Group put me on to the idea of pork rinds in them.  Thanks, Lynne.

Definitely this is an improvement.  They are sturdier, even chewy, without the slightest interior “egg-white wetness” the original recipe always had.  I could definitely eat a hamburger or cold cut sandwich on these.  I see some sweet applications for these in my future, too.  🙂  The texture is somewhat like angel food cake to me, drier and somewhat chewier then the original Oopsie recipe, which I always found to be a little wet inside.  Best of all, these only have .51 net carbs, as the recipe makes nine 3-4″ buns!  Oh, and these toast pretty nicely for butter or your favorite jams, but be warned, set your toaster low, as they are inclined to burn around the edges.  Keep an eye on them as they toast.  🙂  They tend to still get damp on the tops in the refrigerator, but I’m working on improving that issue next.  Perhaps a pinch of psyllium will stop that sticky top problem under fridge storage.

These are suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto, and Primal-Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS: 

5 eggs separated

½ tsp. cream of tartar

½ c. pure egg white protein (No substitutions. Some grocers carry in the baking aisle. I order on-line)

¼ tsp. glucomannan powder (pure fiber from the konjac tuber)

2 T. melted butter

3 T. (½ oz.) finely crushed pork rinds

DIRECTIONS:  Grease, line with parchment or cover 2 cookie sheets with silicone sheets.  Preheat oven to 350º.

Melt the butter.  Separate the eggs into two immaculately clean medium mixing bowls.  Add the crushed pork rind flour to the yolks.  Add the melted butter and glucomannan.  Whisk together and let sit to swell/soak up moisture.  Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the egg whites and with an electric mixer, beat them to the stiff peak stage.  Slowly sprinkle the egg white protein over the egg whites once they are stiff, continuing to run the mixer while you add them.  When all the egg white protein is incorporated, stop the mixer.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape the yolk mixture over the egg white mixture evenly and slowly, very gently fold the two mixtures together until they are well blended.  Do not stir roughly like cake batter or you will deflate the egg whites.  Using a ½ cup measuring cup, scoop the batter onto the baking sheets (they don’t spread much) and gently shape them round.  TIP: You have to use your finger to get all that batter out of the cup so they will all be uniform in size.  Pop into preheated 350º oven and bake for 17-18  minutes. Turn off oven and let them stay in there (DOOR CLOSED!) for a few minutes to begin to cool down. Remove and finish cooling.   I found the crust on these “powdery” and off-putting when right out of the oven.  But once they were totally cool and I bagged them up for an hour, the crust developed into a nice chewy crust.  They did NOT get sticky and stick to each other in the bag like the original Oopsie rolls always did.  Yaaaaay.  🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes nine 3-4″ buns, each contains: (size depends on how much you spread the batter on the pan)

88 calories

5.81 g  fat,

.57 g  carbs, .06 g  fiber, .51 g  NET CARBS

4.48 g  protein

124 mg sodium

Einkorn Sandwich Buns (or Hamburger Buns)

Peggy 12 Comments

Einkorn Sandwich Buns

Einkorn Sandwich Buns

I can’t take full credit for this recipe.  My inspirational recipe was Maria Emmerich’s “Healthified Sub” recipe. I had tried to make that bread on a previous occasion with Konsyl psyllium.  Big mistake.  Had to toss the whole mess into the trash can, as the dough was a brick and impossible to work with.  Clearly Konsyl is a unique psyllium product, so do not use KONSYL brand of psyllium powder.

I finally ordered some NOW band Psyllium Husk Powder (I ordered from Netrition.com) to test the recipe again and did so today.  You all know I’m hopelessly addicted to tweaking recipes, so I made just a few changes.  I added a small amount of Einkorn flour.  I will probably reduce the amount next time to pull the carbs down a bit. I also added 1½ tsp. of dry yeast for flavor, reduced salt and increased the water to 1 cup.  These had way too much sodium for me as the recipe was originally written so I greatly reduced that.

Man, the house smelled like a bakery while these were baking…..you know that yeast-y smell?!  These rose nicely, have a chewy crust and have a very nice texture inside, as you can see in the photos above and below.  They have the mouth feel and taste of real yeast bread, perhaps a wee bit more “elastic”, but not unpleasantly so.  These were simply DELICIOUS!!  I got five 3″ small buns from this recipe.   Being made with psyllium, these are VERY filling. 🙂

I then turned around and made the recipe a second time, making just four larger 4″ hamburger buns.

It goes without saying this recipe is not suitable until you reach the grains rung of the Atkins carb reintroduction ladder in  Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance due to the Einkorn Flour.  I order my Einkorn Flour from JovialFoods.com.  I order my NOW psyllium husk powder from Netrition.com.

If you want a lower carb bun, either reduce the Einkorn flour, or I just make Maria’s bun as her recipe is written (no Einkirn flour at all), but I would still add the yeast and pinch of sugar, as that added a lovely yeast taste and aroma to these buns. 🙂

UPDATE:  These freeze beautifully for up to 1 month.  Reheat directly on the oven grate for about 10 minutes at 350 minutes or broil,  or toast in your toaster.  The crust will get semi-crusty and chewy again. Man, these are like eating REAL BREAD!  Not sure I need to do anymore bread experimenting.  And they make OUTSTANDING hamburger buns that hold up to hot meat patties.  They do NOT fall apart while you eat your burger!!  🙂

Einkorn Hamburger Buns

Einkorn Hamburger Buns

INGREDIENTS:  

1½ c. almond flour

5 T. psyllium husk powder (I used NOW brand; DO NOT USE  KONSYL BRAND!)

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. sea salt (I used Himalayan Pink Salt)

1 tsp. dry yeast

¼ c. Einkorn Flour (I order from Jovialfoods.com)

Pinch sugar (consumed by yeast)

2½ T. apple cider vinegar

3 egg whites

1 c. boiling water

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.  Stir well to be sure it is uniformly mixed.  Mix the egg whites and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork and add all at once to the dry ingredients.  Stir quickly with the fork, to make a thick dough.  Pour the boiling water over the dough and using the fork, stir into a smooth liquid.  Transfer to using a rubber spatula and continue to stir and fold as it thickens up.   Portion off 5 equal portions (using your spatula) in the bowl (mark off only 4 portions if making the larger hamburger buns).  Roll each portion in your palms into a round ball.  Place on non-stick, silicone lined or oiled baking sheet.  Press them down to about 1″ thick.  They don’t spread much, so be sure you are shaping them the size you want right now.  Pop into preheated oven and bake for about 45 minutes.  Cool partially before attempting to slice or they will get pack-y inside just like regular flour bread when sliced too hot.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: 

Makes five 3″ sandwich buns, each contains: 247 calories, 17 g fat, 20.16 g carbs, 11.18 g fiber, 8.98 g NET CARBS, 10.46 g  protein, 308 mg sodium

Makes four 4″ hamburger buns, each contains:  309 calories, 21.2 g fat, 25.2 g carbs, 13.97 g fiber, 11.23 g NET CARBS, 13.1 g  protein, 385 mg sodium

 

 

 

Pork & Chorizo Taco Salad

Peggy 6 Comments

002

This is a variation on the popular taco salad we all know and love.  Constructing it with pork and chorizo, along with the spices and sofrito I included, I have discovered is quite delicious and a pleasant change of pace.  You can increase the ratio of chorizo to pork if you like, just maintain the total amount of meat if you do so.  You could also use 8 oz. ground beef plus the 2 oz. chorizo.  Any combination on the meats…..I say go for it!  I didn’t have an avocado in the house the night I took this photo, but when I do, I layer a nice spoonful of guacamole before adding the final cheese topping.   This salad is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. lean ground pork

2 oz. chorizo sausage, removed from casing and crumbled (more, using less pork above, if you’re a fan)

Dash ground cumin

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1-2 tsp. my sofrito sauce (optional, but real good in this)

1/8 tsp. my Smoky Chipotle Spice blend

2 c. Romaine lettuce, chopped

2 c. endive or curly leaf lettuce (green or purple), chopped

½ c. tomato, chopped

2 slices Monterrey Jack Cheese

½ c. shredded Cheddar Cheese

VARIATION:  Add 1 seeded, mashed avocado with a dash of garlic powder before the cheese is added last.

DIRECTIONS:  Have two plates ready by the stove.  If using guacamole layer as suggested above, make that now.  Brown ground pork in a non-stick skillet, along with the crumbled chorizo until they are done.  Add salt, cumin, smoky chipotle blend, sofrito and garlic powder.  Stir often as the meat browns.  Remove from heat when done.  Mix the two types of lettuce in a bowl and plate half on each of two plates.  Add half the chopped tomato on top of each.  Place 1 slice of jack cheese in the center of each stack of greens. Top each with half the hot meat.  The heat should melt the jack cheese nicely.  If using guacamole, add it now.  Top each with ¼ c. of cheddar shreds.   If you like cilantro, some chopped and sprinkled on the top as a garnish is delicious.  Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 2 salads, each contains:  (does not include guacamole)

597 cals, 46.7g fat, 6.95g carbs, 2.2g fiber, 4.75g NET CARBS, 37g protein, 748 mg sodium  (coming from the chorizo and cheese)

Einkorn Pancakes

Peggy Leave a comment

Einkorn Pancakes

My Einkorn Bake Mix experiments continue.  Hubby wanted pancakes this morning. I’m off baked goods right now, and didn’t have much appetite this morning anyway, but I figured, what the heck.  The bake mix is mixed up already so I made him a batch.  I did taste test just to see what they were like.  Not bad really.  Pretty light and very nice flavor.  He commented he thought they were quite nice this time, too (I used less egg last time and they were a little dense on first trial).  The recipe made 7 and he ate 3 and was very full.  The remaining 4 will get frozen and reinvented as a dessert, maybe strawberry shortcake or for making rum trifles with pudding and fruit.

These came out very tasty, but not quite as “fluffy” as Peggy’s Fluffy Pancakes.  Maybe I’ll add another egg next time or a tad more baking powder.  But we both thought they definitely passed the flavor and “I’d eat these again” tests.  🙂  It goes without saying that all Einkorn experiments are not suitable for Atkins Induction due to the Einkorn flour.  They’re OK for Phase2 OWL and beyond and Keto diets.  Obviously, the grain makes them not suitable for Primal-Paleo programs.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. my Einkorn Bake Mix

3 large eggs

¼ tsp. baking powder

splash vanilla (1/8 tsp)

1 T. flax meal

¼ c. heavy cream

¼ c. water

1 tsp. coconut oil to oil griddle

DIRECTIONS:  Heat griddle over medium-high heat. Glaze with coconut oil. Place mix in medium bowl.  Add baking powder, flax meal and stir.  Add eggs and beat in.  Add cream and water and stir well.  Using 1/4 c. measuring cup, dip out mix onto hot griddle, spreading into a 5″ circle with the back of the cup. Repeat 6 more times.  When bubbles begin to form, flip to second side and brown that side.  Serve at once with butter and sugar-free maple syrup.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 7 5″ pancakes, each contains:

216 calories

18.4 g  fat

7.6 g  carbs, 2.25 g  fiber, 5.45 g  NET CARBS

9.27 g  protein

120 mg sodium

 

 

 

 

Crawfish Dumpling Stew

Peggy 26 Comments

Moving along in our food journey, I was thinking about how much I miss the seafood we could get the 30+ years we lived on the Texas Gulf Coast.  Man, I had the very best at my fingertips there.   After moving up to Central Texas when we retired, I’m relegated to using frozen crawfish, shrimp, not-too-good crab meat and just awful fish unless you go fishing yourself and catch something good. 

I number of years ago I found a fantastic way to shake up my glucomannan dumplings recipe with crawfish! I hesitated to actually make it for the longest time, as I was afraid putting that much bulk into my dumpling batter would make them just totally fall apart in the simmering water.  As you can see in the pic, that just didn’t happen! 

This is 5-star restaurant eating experience as far as I’m concerned!  Not many recipes strike me that way, either.  It was every bit as good as the seafood fare served to me in the finest restaurants in Dallas or Houston, that’s for sure!  My husband and I were absolutely astounded at how good this idea I hatched one night would come out.    This opens the door for a world of new uses for this dumpling recipe.  

For those still on Atkins Induction, omit the wine and substitute 1/2 c. seafood stock or chicken stock in your sauce.  This recipe is suitable for Atkins OWL Phase 2 or beyond and Keto diets if it fits your daily carb limits.  You’d have to make the sauce with coconut milk for it to pass Primal-Paleo muster, but that would taste OK here.  By the way, these freeze beautifully and tasted even better than the first night they were made!  🙂

VARIATIONS:  Substitute either crab meat or shrimp for the crawfish.  These made smaller would also be lovely in a simple wonton-style soup, standing in for the meat-filled wontons.  🙂

DUMPLING INGREDIENTS:

6 oz. cooked, cleaned crawfish tail meat (the rest of the 12-oz. package goes in the sauce)

4 T. butter, unsalted

2 oz. celery, chopped

2 oz. green bell pepper, chopped

2 oz. yellow onion, chopped

½ c. green onion, chopped

1/3 c. parsley, chopped (3 more T. needed for the sauce, so go on and chop 1/2 c. total 😉 )

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

2 recipes my glucomannan Dumplings batter

 

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

4 T. unsalted butter, melted

6 oz. remaining crawfish

½ c. white wine (omit for Induction)

1 T. lemon juice

3 T. parsley, chopped

½ c. heavy cream

½ c. water

1 small clove garlic, minced

Dash each salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Chop all the vegetables up.  Melt 4 T. butter over high heat and add the celery, bell pepper, onion and minced garlic.  Sauté until they are tender.  Add 6 oz. of the crawfish, the parsley, and seafood spice mix.  Lower heat and let simmer 2-3 minutes for flavors to blend.  Turn off heat.

Bring a large stew pot of water to a boil.  While it is heating, make up a double recipe of my glucomannan dumpling batter and add the veggie crawfish mixture to the egg/water mixture and stir well. Stir the dry ingredients in and mix with a rubber spatula until it begins to thicken up.  Keep turning the dough until it is stiff enough to roll.  Roll 24 1″ dumpling in your palms and set on a sheet of silicone (best) or a baking sheet.  When all 24 are formed, your water should be at a rolling boil.  Drop all 24 dumplings gently into the water.  This will cool the water down a bit. You want a medium gentle rolling water bath.  Cover and cook for exactly 10 minutes without lifting the lid.

Make the sauce while the dumplings are cooking.  Melt 4 T. butter over medium heat in a skillet.  Add the remaining 6 oz. crawfish, garlic, wine, lemon juice parsley and simmer long enough to cook the garlic well. Add the cream and salt and pepper to taste.

When dumplings have cooked 10 minutes, lift lid and using a slotted spoon or tongs, gently lift onto a serving platter and spoon the sauce around them.  I served with steamed, buttered broccoli, but they would be good with a nice green salad and low-carb dinner rolls.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 6 servings of 4 dumplings each and ¼ c. sauce.  Each contains:

258 cals, 20.4g fat, 10.55g carbs, 5.96g fiber, 4.59g NET CARBS, 13.25g protein, 481 g  sodium

 

 

Chicken-“Potato”-Kale Soup

Peggy 4 Comments

Chicken-"Potato"-Kale Soup

Chicken-“Potato”-Kale Soup

This lunch creation this week was just scrumptious.  My husband had to admit (although he was expecting to not like the daikon) this soup really tasted like it had potatoes in it.  The daikon radish doesn’t taste at all like radish when it is simmered in soup.  Be sure to try it in your next soup, stew or seafood chowder.  You’ll just be amazed!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.  It is not suitable for Primal-Paleo.

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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. chicken broth, preferably homemade

1 c. chopped kale leaves (ribs removed)

½ c. green onion, chopped

1 c. cubed daikon radish (Japanese radish)

½ c. celery, chopped

Dash each salt and pepper

2 c. water

1/2 recipe my homemade low-carb Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1  13 oz. can chicken breast with juices

½ c. heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:  Make up the Cream of Chicken Soup recipe. Portion out half for this recipe and store rest in the fridge, covered, for up to a week.  Cut up all the vegetables as indicated above. Place all but the last 3 ingredients in a medium-large 4 qt. soup pot.    Bring to a boil and them reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook until veggies are just tender.  Add the chicken meat (and juices), breaking up the meat a bit as you add it to the pot.  Add the 1/2 recipe of the condensed soup next.  Stir to blend.  Add the cream last.  Simmer a couple minutes and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 9 cups of soup or six 1½ c. servings.  Each serving contains:

345 calories

26 g  fat

6.6 g  carbs, 1.33 g  fiber, 5.27 g  NET CARBS

4.16 g  protein

656 mg sodium

 

Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

Peggy 31 Comments

Condensed Soup for recipes that can also be diluted for ready-to-eat 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 was wanting a Condensed Cream of Chicken version 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 version, omitted the mushrooms and subbed in canned chicken.  I made a couple other changes and VOILA!  A very tasty condensed soup that rivals what comes in the Campbell’s can, and 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 (5o:50) will yield 4 c. finished soup or four 1-cup servings 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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

½ cup heavy cream

2 T. hot water

1 chicken bouillon cube (or 2 T. homemade broth reduced to be VERY concentrated with chicken fat)

1 T. olive oil

Dash onion powder

¼ tsp. xanthan gum or glucomannan powder (to thicken)

2 drops liquid sucralose (optional)

1  13-oz can chicken meat, undrained (Daily Chef at Sam’s chicken in water & salt 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 contains equally.  There will be 10.5 oz. in each. Cover and refrigerate if not using immediately.  Keeps about a week in the fridge.  DO NOT FREEZE!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes two 10.5 oz. soup cans worth of condensed (undiluted soup). Each “can” worth of my undiluted soup (half the recipe) contains:   660 cals., 52 g fat, 8.1 g carbs, .65 g fiber, 7.45 g NET CARBS, 5.9 g  protein, 1392 mg sodium.

NOTE:  If reconstituted with water or broth this recipe will make four 1-cup servings of reconstituted, ready-to-eat cream of chicken soup.  You should dilute with 50:50 water or plain chicken broth.  Each 1-cup serving of soup contains:  330 calories, 26.2 g  fat, 4.0 g  carbs, .3 g  fiber, 3.7 g  NET CARBS, 2.9 g  protein, 696 mg sodium.

Creamy Scalloped “Potatoes” and Pork Casserole

Peggy Leave a comment

Scalloped "Potatoes" and Pork Casserole

Scalloped “Potatoes” and Pork Casserole

My husband has to eat some Vitamin K every single day, on his Coumadin medication.  When I started to make dinner tonight, we realized he hadn’t yet had any today.  So the casserole I planned ended up getting some thrown in as an added layer and it turned out to be quite unobtrusive, perhaps even good, in the originally-planned scalloped pork casserole!  It added nutrition but it’s so mile, not so much flavor, actually.  This casserole is DELICIOUS!  And it would be even if you decided to leave the kale out!  The daikon does not taste like radish when cooked, so if you like scalloped potatoes, I think you’ll want to try this dish!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets but off-limits for Primal-Paleo with all the dairy in it.

VARIATION:  The top layer of “scalloped” diakon, without the meat or kale, would make an excellent side dish on it own. 🙂

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: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid 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

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

2 c. chopped kale, ribs removed

10 oz. cooked smoked pork loin or pork butt, cut in bite-size pieces

10 oz. daikon, peeled, sliced thin and then cut into 1″ pieces

½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. heavy cream

2 T. mayonnaise (I used my Homemade Shawarma Mayo)

1 c. shredded Cheddar Cheese

DIRECTIONS:  Grease a casserole dish and set by stove.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Heat bacon grease in non-stick skillet over high heat.  Add onion and saute until it begins to get tender.  Add chopped kale and just saute until it begins to wilt.  Spoon this mixture evenly on the bottom of the casserole dish.  Add daikon pieces to the skillet and saute until it begins to get tender.  While the daikon is cooking, soften cream cheese in a microwave in a medium bowl.  When daikon is just beginning to soften, remove from heat and add to the cream cheese in the bowl.  Add the mozzarella, cream and mayo to the bowl and stir well.  Last, add the pork to the skillet and saute (add more bacon grease if needed) a couple minutes. Layer the meat atop the kale mixture in the casserole pan.  Then evenly distribute the daikon mixture evenly on top.  Finally top with the shredded Cheddar.  Cover with foil and pop into a 350º oven foe 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes.  Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 6 servings, each contains:

358 calories

28 g  fat

6.91 g  carbs, 1.31 g  fiber, 5.6 g NET CARBS

22 g  protein

557 mg sodium

 

Daikon “Hash Browns”

Peggy 14 Comments

Daikon Hash Browns

Daikon Hash Browns

If you’re missing hashbrowns with your morning eggs, wait no more.  I’ve tried this with grated jicama, but that’s not quite as satisfying.  These made with Daikon or Japanese radish (available in Asian grocery stores) have a closer texture to potatoes than jicama.  I add the onion because my family always added it, and it helps to hide the very mild radish taste.  You mustn’t judge these until you’ve tried them.  They are pretty amazing.  And they are low in carbs.  They are suited to all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo.  As seen in the picture below, they can also be made with traditional red radishes.  Both are equally tasty in my opinion.

Daikon (Japanese) Radish

Daikon (Japanese) Radish

INGREDIENTS: 

2 c. daikon radish, peeled and cubed

1 T. + 2 tsp. bacon grease

2 oz. onion, chopped (I used purple onion)

Dash salt

Dash pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Melt bacon grease over high heat.  Add onion and saute until it is softened.  Add diced daikon and continue sauteing, stirring often to brown on all sides.  When tender, salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 2 servings, each contains:

127 calories

10.8 g  fat

7.0 g  carbs, 2.1 g fiber, 4.9 g  NET CARBS

.9 g  protein

468 mg sodium

 

 

Creamy Green Beans

Peggy 14 Comments

Creamy Green Beans

Creamy Green Beans

This isn’t in any way intended to be like the classic green bean casserole we all know and love.  I wanted creamy, but also the tang of sour cream and a bit of cheese as well.  The final dish I created last night was DELICIOUS!  This one will definitely be in my veggie recipe rotations from now on.  I always have these ingredients on hand.  This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets.  My Primal-Paleo followers will have to pass on this one due to all the dairy.

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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:

4 c. frozen green beans, French-Style, defrosted

1   4-oz can mushrooms, undrained

¼ c. sour cream

¼ c. chive and onion cream cheese, softened

1½ c. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

1 T. dehydrated or fresh sliced shallots (or minced dehydrated onion)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease an 8×11″ baking dish lightly.  Place green beans in a large bowl  Soften cream cheese in a medium glass bowl.  Add sour cream and stir to blend.  Add the mushrooms with juice and Jack cheese and stir again to blend.  Pour mixture into greased dish and sprinkle with dehydrated (or fresh sliced) shallots.  Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 6 servings, each contains:

188 calories

13.7 g  fat

8.61 g  carbs, 2.76 g  fiber, 5.85 g  NET CARBS

9.0 g  protein

365 mg sodium

 

 

Einkorn Cinnamon-Pecan Coffeecake

Peggy Leave a comment

Einkorn Cinnamon-Pecan Coffeecake

Einkorn Cinnamon-Pecan Coffeecake

This quick little microwave coffeecake made with my new Einkorn Bake Mix was delicious.  We were amazed at how filling 1 slice (1/8 cake) was!  Even my coffeecake hound husband only had half a second slice.  This had a very nice, soft, slightly spongy texture.  It was moist and flavorful; sweet enough,  without being too cloyingly sweet.

This recipe is not suitable until the grains rung of the Atkins carb reintroduction ladder.  It is suitable for Keto diets if you can fit the carbs in your daily limits.  This would not be acceptable for Primal-Paleo on multiple levels.

BATTER INGREDIENTS: 

2 c. my Einkorn Bake Mix (you’re on your own with substitutions in this mix)

4 large eggs, beaten

¼ c. Davinci vanilla sugar-free syrup (or sweetener to =1/4 c. sugar + 1/4 c. water + splash vanilla)

2 T. erythritol (or 2 pkts stevia)

 

TOPPING INGREDIENTS:

¼ c. pecans or other nuts

2 T. erythritol (or 2 pkts. stevia or Splenda)

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 T. cold butter

DIRECTIONS:  I find this mix doesn’t bake as well (less rise) in conventional ovens as it cooks in a microwave, though not sure why.  But if you insist, or don’t have a MW, bake in oven at 350º for about 20-30 minutes. I forewarn it does not rise as well cooked in a conventional oven.  I hope to figure out exactly why that happens. I used a 7x7x2″ vegetable dish, but you could use an 8×8″ square baking dish, or any shaped dish that will hold about 4 c. batter. Oil the dish.

Pulse or blend topping ingredients in processor or blender or with fork in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat the eggs, Davinci syrup, erythritol until well-blended.  Add in the bake mix and stir until well blended.  Pour 1/3-1/2 the batter in the baking dish.  Crumble half the topping on the batter evenly.  Pour remaining batter evenly on top and crumble remaining topping on top.  Microwave on HI for 4½ minutes.  Check, if no longer wet in center, it’s done. May take 30 seconds longer in some microwaves.   Run knife around edges and tip upside down on serving plate or cutting board.  Cut into 8 portions and enjoy warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 servings, each contains:

257 calories

22 g  fat

9.05 g  carbs, 2.81 g  fiber, 6.24 g  NET CARBS

9.22 g  protein

123 mg sodium

 

 

 

Einkorn Individual Vanilla Cake

Peggy 2 Comments

Shown on left = 1 recipe, on right is ½ recipe for an interior view.

This little vanilla cake is very light, spongy, smooth and tasty.  It is good eaten alone, or sliced laterally, would make a GREAT cake for Strawberry Shortcake or Peach Shortcake.  It uses my new bake mix.  The cakes above were baked in a microwave.  I don’t personally recommend baking this cake in a conventional oven as the muffin I baked in the oven in a 3¼” ramekin rose half as much and was more dense.  l will cook done, as mentioned below, but this cake is far superior baked in a microwave for best results.  This recipe is not suitable until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins carb ladder.  It is acceptable for Keto diets if you can fit the carbs into your daily limits.  This is not suitable for Primal-Paleo.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. my Einkorn Bake Mix

1 large egg, beaten

3 T. DaVinci sugar-free vanilla syrup (or 2 T. cream + 1/4 tsp. vanilla + 1 pkt. stevia)

DIRECTIONS:  Beat egg in a 4″ x 6″ ramekin (or two 3″ ramekins).  Add syrup and beat again.   Place dish in microwave and cook on HI for 1 minute or until top is no longer wet.  Though I can’t highly recommend doing so, you can also bake this cake conventionally in a well-greased, wax paper or parchment lined dish at 350º for about 15-20 minutes until the center is dry to the touch.  Cool a few minutes.  Run a knife around the edges to loosen and tip out of dish/pan.   Peel off paper if baked conventionally.  Cut in half and serve 1/2 to each person.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes one 6″ oval cake (or 2 servings).  Each serving contains:

203 calories, 16.6 g  fat, 8.45 g  carbs, 2.3 g  fiber, 6.15 g  NET CARBS, 8.85 g  protein, 125 mg sodium

Einkorn Low-Carb Bake Mix

Peggy 47 Comments

Einkorn Bake Mix

This is a low-carb complete baking mix, with shortening included.  It bakes just like Bisquick and CarbQuik.  I have added a small amount of ground Einkorn wheat for flavor and texture benefits.  Einkorn is one of the oldest forms of wheat whose grain has not been hybridized or genetically modified.  Einkorn is said to have less of a detrimental effect on blood glucose levels and the gut than modern wheat and is even tolerated by people sensitive to wheat products.  Modern wheat is partially to blame for the obesity problem we see in America today.   I make no promises regarding performance of this mix other than those recipes I have posted, but so far it exchanges 1 for 1 for  Bisquick/Carbquik with success.  All posted recipes using the mix will have ‘Einkorn’ as the first word in the name of the recipe.  This insures it is listed when you click the “Einkorn Flour Experiments” category on the right side of page or type Einkorn in the search box.

Added note:  I try to restrict use to ¼ c. (rarely up to ½ c.) to limit those carbs.

PRODUCT INFORMATION (much more info on Jovial Foods website)

EINKORN FLOUR – ¼ CUP

Click to enlarge

EinkornStats

Click to enlarge

This bake mix has evolved from my personal experience with low-carb baking ingredients, how they tend to act in the oven and what ratios to use them in to produce tasty baked goods.  I think I finally have the ratios about right.  This bake mix produced a very nice vanilla cake that serves 2 people.  It was moist, tasty, spongy, and had a nice crumb somewhere between a commercial box mix cake and a pound cake in texture.  This cake makes lovely Strawberry Shortcake.  I can see many uses for this 2-serving treat.  🙂    The texture is quite smooth, too.  Click here to see the recipe:  Individual (2-serving) Vanilla Cake .

001

Einkorn Individual Vanilla Cake [shown is 1½ recipes of this cake.  Cake on the left is 1 recipe.

This is a very large recipe of bake mix and you may prefer to make only a half batch to start out with if you want to experiment with it.  You SHOULD be able to use this mix as a substitute in any Bisquick or Carbquik recipes.  You should also be able to replace the flour+leavening+shortening in your regular baking recipes successfully with this, but never lose sight of the fact that all substitutions in recipes are ‘experiments’.

I would first try it in a favorite recipe, so fewer ingredients will be wasted if the test is a fail.  Feel free to post links to pictures of your experiments with this mix in the comment section.  We’d all love to learn from your experiences.  🙂

MIX INGREDIENTS:  (I recommend making NO SUBSTITUTIONS)

5 c. almond flour

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

1 c. Einkorn flour

1 c. oat flour  (ground from 1¼ c. rolled oats unless you can buy it pre-ground)

¼ c. oat fiber

1 tsp. glucomannan powder

3 T. baking powder

2 tsp. cream of tartar

2 tsp. salt

1½ c. palm shortening (I order at Tropical Traditions)

DIRECTIONS:  Grind the oats into flour in your food processor or blender as fine as you can get it.  Place the oat flour into a large mixing bowl. Measure out all remaining dry ingredients and stir well.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.  Place in a lidded container.  Can be stored on the counter safely as palm shortening is very stable at room temperature and has a very long shelf life.  If you decide to store in the refrigerator, be aware the shortening will firm up and cause the mix to clump a bit.  So you need to set it out, bring to room temperature and re-work with a fork in a bowl to evenly distribute shortening clumps before attempting to measure for use in recipes.

BAKE MIX NUTRITIONAL INFO:     Makes 11 cups of mix.  ½ cup mix contains:

338 calories, 28.2 g  fat, 15.99 g  carbs, 4.6 g fiber, 11.39 g  NET CARBS, 14.5 g  protein, 170 mg sodium

Savory Onion “Pancake”

Peggy 6 Comments

Savory Onion Pancake

Savory Onion Pancake

Allium Cepa, better known as the mighty onion, in the food world is something I would not want to live without.  I truly believe if I had yo stop cooking with onion and garlic, I wouldn’t want to cook anymore.  Not a day goes by I don’t reach for yellow onions, green onions, purple onions, shallots or chives, garlic.  So many foods would be so incredibly boring in flavor without the spunky taste of some onion in it. Can you even imagine spaghetti sauce without it?  or the stuffing for your holiday turkey? or virtually any one of you favorite casseroles?  I just cannot.

Today’s lunch pays tribute to the mighty onion.  This was the creamiest, most delicious thing I’ve made with eggs in a very long time.  Funny thing is, I think it was the cream cheese with chive and onion that was the pièce de resistance in this “pancake”.  I LOVE that stuff and keep it around all the time for dipping pork rinds into for a quick snack, or spreading on one of my low-carb crackers. 🙂  But I digress.

This quick meal I will definitely be cooking again!  This tasty dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal (if yo do a little dairy).  It is not suitable for Paleo followers.

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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:

4 large eggs, beaten

2 T. cream

3 tsp. bacon grease

1½ oz. onion, chopped (I used purple onion)

1 large green onion, chopped

1 lg. shallot minced fine (about 1½ T.)

2 T. chive and onion cream cheese spread

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the cream and set aside.  Heat the bacon grease over high heat in a skillet (mine was non-stick).  Add the onion, green onion and shallot and saute until tender.  Lower heat.  Add the cream cheese and allow to melt.  Stir and spread the onion mixture out evenly in the pan.  Gentle pour the eggs evenly over the onion mixture.   Your “pancake” will only be about 1/4″ thick, but it will puff a little thicker as it cooks.  Pop into hot oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until center is set.  I flipped mine upside down to serve, but you certainly don’t have to do that.  🙂  Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 large adult servings if eaten as a meal  It would serve 4 people if used as a side dish. 🙂  Half the batch contains contains:

313 calories

26 g  fat

5.95 g  carbs, .5 g  fiber, 5.45 g  NET CARBS

14 g  protein

215 mg sodium

 

 

 

Kale-Ham Upside-Down Omelet

Peggy Leave a comment

Kale-Ham Upside-Down Omelet

Kale-Ham Upside-Down Omelet

Now THIS was a very pleasant surprise.  I’ve only fallen in love with kale in the last few years, but what a love affair!  This morning I found yet another tasty way to incorporate this nutrition-packed veggie into our diet.  Check out the nutrtional stats below!  I had a tiny 1-oz piece of smoke ham to use up and some lovely kale, and although not typically used in omelets, I thought Why Not?   Glad I stepped out of my  usual breakfast box today!  This is delicious!  And it offers another way to vary boring eggs in the morning. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets,.  Primal and Paleo folks can eat this if the cheese is omitted.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. bacon grease

1 oz. onion (I used a purple onion), chopped

1 oz. smoked ham (or bacon could be used)

3/4 c. chopped kale leaf (1 large leaf, stem removed)

6 large eggs, beaten

½ c. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Beat the eggs and Jack cheese in a small bowl and set aside.  In a non-stick skillet, melt the bacon grease and saute the chopped onion until nearly tender.  Add ham and continue to cook until ham i s done.  Add kale and saute, stirring, until it just softens a bit and turns bright green (not fully cooked).  Spread the mixture evenly in the skillet and gently pour the eggs evenly on top.  Pop into oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until egg is just set in the center.  Remove from oven.  Invert a plate over the skillet skillet and using potholders, flip the skillet to drop the omelet onto the plate and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 3 servings, each contains:

313 calories

24.8 g  fat

3.33 g  carbs, .43 g  fiber, 2.9 g  NET CARBS

19 g  protein

388 mg sodium

245 mg potassium

38% RDA Vitamin A, 15% B6, 56% B12, 27% C, 9% D, 7% E, 6% calcium, 18% copper, 6% magnesium, 10% manganese, 31% phosphorous, 47% riboflavin, 60% selenium, 13% thiamin, 17% zinc

 

 

Pork in Queso Flameado Sauce

Peggy 48 Comments

Pork in Queso Flameado

If you’ve ever ordered the appetizer Queso Flameado in a Mexican restaurant, it’s a flavor you won’t soon forget. It’s a thick melted cheese fondu with chorizo crumbled in it served with flour tortillas to roll it up in. It is sooo good!  Well, this new dish I created takes that dish to the entrée level.  If you love Mexican food, you’ve GOT to try this dish!  It has been one of my more popular recipes!  My husband just loves this, as do I!   This dish also sports some very impressive nutritional numbers below, so it’s a keeper in my book.  It is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Ketogenic diets.

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 brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. pork loin, cut into 4 portions

1 link chorizo, removed from the skin and crumbled

2 T. unsalted butter

4 large green onions, chopped

1/2 c. red bell pepper, chopped

1 c. cilantro, chopped

1/2 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. water

6 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded (or more if you can afford the carbs)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Pound the 4 pieces of pork with a meat tenderizer.  Melt butter in large skillet over high heat.  Brown pork on both sides until nearly done.  Remove.  Add crumbled chorizo and brown, crumbling as small as you can as it cooks.   Add the green onions, bell pepper and sauté until tender.  Lower heat to medium low and add cream, water and cilantro.  Simmer a couple minutes to reduce a bit. Sprinkle the cheese over the sauce and lay pork on top.  Pop into preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly and the meat appear to be done.  Serve 1/4 of the sauce over each portion of meat.  This pairs nicely with mashed cauliflower or a nice guacamole salad alongside.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

567 cals., 45g fat, 4.35g carbs, 1.15g fiber, 3.2g NET CARBS, 36g protein, 654 mg sodium

Tex-Mex-Chix on Zoodles

Peggy 2 Comments

Tex-Mex-Chix on Zoodles

Tex-Mex-Chix on Zoodles

This is my variation on a recipe called Chicken Lazone that has circulated on many low-carb websites.  Though the recipes vary slightly, they all seem to have cream and chili powder in common.  When I cooked the inspirational recipe as written a few months back, we found it to be lacking in depth of flavor.  So I took this recipe and added onion, cilantro and BACON!!   After all, you can’t go wrong with a little bacon, right?  Or a little cilantro, for that matter.  The absolutely delicious dish that evolved is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets but not for Primal-Paleo unless you substitute coconut milk for the cream.  My husband is not low-carbing 100% and he had his portion on regular pasta.  He liked this dish a lot and said it reminded him of both Italian Chicken Carbonara and 7-layer dip.  He gave it a resounding thumbs up!

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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 medium zucchini, julienned or made into noodles

12 oz. cooked chicken, skin removed, cut into bite size pieces

3 slices bacon, chopped

3 oz. onion, chopped

1½ tsp. chili powder

1½ tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. cayenne

¼ c. butter

1 c. heavy cream

1 c. water

¼ tsp. xanthan gum to thicken (optional)

1/2 c. cilantro

DIRECTIONS:  Using a noodler, spiralizer-type tool or julienne peeler, cut the zucchini into noodles.  Place 2 T. of the butter oil in skillet over medium heat.  Place zucchini noodles in butter and allow to saute/wilt until just barely softened.  Turn off heat and set aside. Brown bacon in another skillet over high heat.  Add rest of butter and onion and saute until tender.  Add chicken and continue to saute to slightly brown the chicken. Add all spices and stir.   Lower heat to medium.  Add cream and water.  Dust in xanthan gum slowly, whisking to blend and allow it time to thicken sauce.  Add cilantro and simmer for 1-2 minutes longer.  Serve the chicken mixture over the zoodles.  Garnish the top with a sprinkle of chili powder.  This pairs nicely with a green salad and low-carb buttered dinner rolls (see my breads recipes for several roll recipes).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 generous servings, each contains:

559 calories

47 g  fat

8.3 g  carbs, 1.92 g  fiber, 6.38 g  NET CARBS

27.25 g  protein

478 mg sodium

 

Southwest Ham-n-Cheese Squash

Peggy 4 Comments

Southwest Ham-n-Cheese Squash

Southwest Ham-n-Cheese Squash

Once again, the Queen of Leftovers creates a surprisingly delicious dish with a bit of “this and that” she has been staring at the last few days in the fridge.  One small piece of thick ham steak, half a spaghetti squash and an avocado getting way too ripe on my kitchen counter.  Just sounded like a Mexican meal in the making to me!  This creation sort of reminds me of Ham-Mac-and-Cheese.  But the generous handful of cilantro really takes it to a different flavor level.  For those that don’t like cilantro, just leave it out and sub in a little chili powder.  This dish will be nearly as good without it, I’m sure.

The Mexican Poinsettia stuck onto my guacamole was an afterthought, but I thought it came out very pretty!    I quartered 2 San Marzano tomatoes and 1 thin slice of jalapeno pepper for my flower.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Ketogenic diets, but is not suitable for Primal-Paleo unless you sub in coconut cream for the cheeses (might also require a little chili powder to kill the coconut taste.).

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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:

1/2 of a medium, 7-8″ long spaghetti squash (about 1¾ c. threads)

2 tsp. bacon grease

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

4 oz. chopped ham

¼ c. red bell pepper, chopped

½ c. chopped cilantro

2 oz. American Deluxe or cheddar cheese, shredded

2 oz. Monterrey Jack Cheese (I used 2 slices)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Place the half squash cut-side down in a dish with ½” water and microwave on HI for 13 minutes.  Fork the threads into a bowl and save the shell to stuff.  While it is cooking, Melt the bacon grease in a skillet and saute the onion until tender.  Add the ham and bell pepper and saute until they are done/tender respectively. Turn off fire and stir in the cilantro.  Add half the ham mixture to the bowl of squash and stir well.  Add the American or cheddar cheese shreds and stir again.  Spoon into the squash shell.  Top with the 2 slices of Jack cheese any way you want to arrange/cut and place it.  Top with the remainder of the ham mixture and pop into the 3350º oven just long enough to melt the Jack cheese, or about 15 minutes.  Remove and scoop half the squash contents onto each plate and serve with guacamole or a green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 2 servings, each contains:

399 calories

26.5 g  fat

14.45 g  carbs, 2.65 g  fiber, 11.80 g  NET CARBS

26 g  protein

1600 mg sodium (soak ham in water for 1 hour before frying to lower sodium)

531 mg potassium

21% RDA Vitamin A, 29% B6, 29% B12, 35% calcium, 18% copper, 20% iron, 12% magnesium, 13% manganese, 33% niacin, 45% phosphorous, 32% riboflavin, 29% selenium, 46% thiamin, 34% zinc

 

 

 

 

Shrimp “Crowned” Swai with Creamy Cauliflower

Peggy 2 Comments

Shrimp "Crowned" Swai with Creamy Cauliflower

Shrimp “Crowned” Swai with Creamy Cauliflower

This delightful seafood dinner was just one of those incredibly successful uses of a dab of some leftovers in the refrigerator.   You’ve had those, too, I’m sure.  My husband calls me the Queen of Leftovers!  I had a little leftover Smoked Gouda Cauliflower , exactly 1 c. to be exact.  It was right at eye level in my refrigerator today, sitting beside the two fish filets and bag of shrimp I thawed for dinner.  I had yet to decide how to prepare my fish and shrimp this evening.   I just DO NOT like storing leftovers more than 2 days.  Thus, this idea “hatched” and what a tasty “egg” it turned out to be!  I decided to serve it atop a bed of sauteed fresh spinach, but that didn’t have great flavor impact on the final dish, so I’d say the bed of spinach is purely optional here.  But since that’s how I prepared it and photographed it, I have included it in the recipe and nutritional calculations below.  This dish is perfectly suitable for all phases of Atkins and Primal diners who eat occasional dairy.  This is not suitable for Paleo due to the cheese, but a creamy homemade mayo might be subbed into the cauliflower mixture, resulting in an equally tasty and allowable dish for my Paleo readers!

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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   6-oz. filets of mild fish of your choice

12 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left on for visual impact

5 oz. raw spinach

1 T. bacon grease

2 T. butter (I use unsalted)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T. lemon juice

1 c. cooked cauliflower, drained and slightly mashed with a fork

1 oz. each cream cheese (softened) and Smoked Gouda (grated)

1/8 tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

2 tsp. parsley, chopped (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat your broiler. Steam or boil cauliflower, slightly mash with a fork and stir in the two cheeses so they will begin to melt.  With the cold butter (or olive oil), lightly grease 2 individual baking pans or a heat-proof baking platter (which I used).  In another small baking pan, melt the rest of the butter in your oven.  Remove, add minced garlic and Seafood spice Blend to the butter and stir.  Holding the shrimps by the tail, coat each on both sides with the seasoned butter, lay them flat in the pan and broil the shrimp just a few minutes to slightly brown. Remove shrimp from broiler and change oven setting to 350º. In a small skillet, melt the bacon grease and saute the spinach leaves just until wilted.  Place half the spinach into two lengthwise batches on your platter (or into individual serving dishes), roughly the size of your fish filets.  Lay a fish filet atop each batch of spinach.  Neatly spoon half the cauliflower mixture down the center of each filet, pressing flat with the back of your spoon (which will allow for more even cooking of the fish).  Attractively lay 6 broiled shrimp in a row on each filet as seen int he pic above. Next, squeeze the lemon juice into the juices left in the pan you broiled your shrimp in.  Stir and drizzle over each serving.  Pop into 350º oven for about 20-30 minutes or until fish is opaque.  Shrimp should be beautifully golden now.  Remove from oven, garnish with the chopped parsley and ENJOY!  I served with a nice green salad. NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 servings, each contains:

435 calories

31.6 g  fat

7.6 g  carbs, 2.8 g  fiber, 4.8 g  NET CARBS

34.1 g  protein

Spinach Salad with Olive Dressing

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Spinach Salad with Olive Dressing

Whenever I make up a batch of my Olive Tapenade, I love to use part of it for a lovely salad dressing.  This salad came about in just such a scenario.  We had enjoyed the tapenade I made this week on my Almond-Arrowroot Crackers and there were just a few tablespoons left.  I had an open bag of fresh spinach, with just enough left for two salads, so I took the balance of the tapenade and created a tasty spinach salad to go with our dinner tonight.  It was DELISH!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well.

More delicious low-carb salads 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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in 1, 2, 4 and 5! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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:

3 c. fresh spinach leaves

12 slices cucumber

8 tiny San Marzano tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), sliced in half

2 T. my Olive Tapenade

3 T. olive oil

3 T. red wine vinegar

Dash each salt and pepper

Sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Few Slivers of red onion (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Plate half the spinach in each of 2 salad bowls or plates.  Top each decoratively with 6 slices of cucumber and 4 of the tomatoes.  Add red onion if using.  Sprinkle with Parmesan if using.  Drizzle each salad with half the dressing and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 salads, each complete salad contains:  (does not include Parmesan or red onion)

254 calories

26.3 g  fat

4.15 g  carbs, 2.2 g  fiber, 2.95 g  NET CARBS

1.75 g  protein

239 mg sodium

390 mg potassium

9% RDA Vitamin B6, 32% A, 25% C, 27% E, 12% copper, 20% iron, 14% magnesium, 27% manganese, 10% riboflavin.

DRESSING ALONE:  half recipe contains: 239 calories, 26 g  fat, 1.2 g  carbs, .5 g  fiber, .7 g NET CARBS and .2 g  protein

FREEZING FOODS

Peggy 2 Comments

CaptureChest

My readers often ask “Can I freeze this?”  In my personal experience, I haven’t found very many foods that don’t freeze well, but there are a few discussed below.  I often just wrap food up well and stick it in the freezer and find out by trial and error.   I freeze most casserole leftovers in 1 or 2 portion containers. Those come in very handy when hubby is out of town and I don’t feel like cooking just for me alone.  Nice to be able to pop out an already cooked meal I can just defrost in the microwave and be eating in under 15 minutes.  Just make sure foods are  properly wrapped to seal out air.  Store in proper freezer bags, freezer containers with tight lids  meats in waxed white freezer paper. 

Perhaps the most important thing to remember about freezing food is that once you throw it in there, DON’T FORGET ABOUT IT!  Label/date them and keep the foods you need to use up first at eye level or in top baskets of chest freezers.  That old saying “out of sight, out of mind” applies here.  🙂 

Do not keep foods frozen beyond recommended lengths of time for that food. My freezer book recommends the following storage times: Bread under 1 month; baked goods up to 4 months; beef and lamb 6-8 months; pork just 4 months; chicken 2-4 months; turkey 2-4 months, vegetables 1-2 months depending on packaging.  The food won’t necessarily spoil for longer periods of freezer time, but food moisture, nutrients and overall quality is diminished greatly beyond these recommended time limits.

FOODS THAT DON’T FREEZE WELL:

The few foods that I don’t like to freeze and why are discussed briefly below.  Please note that this is just my knowledge gained from 1 freezer book and personal experience over 50 years of freezing foods in a chest freezer.  It is not gospel and you may have good experiences freezing some foods I prefer not to freeze.  🙂

Pumpkin, whether fresh or canned, bleeds water after thawing in all but pumpkin baked goods. This simply ruins a dish for me. As we low-carbers often substitute pumpkin into sweet potato recipes, bear this “water bleeding” issue in mind before freezing a recipe made with pumpkin.

Rice gets mushy on the surface and the grains break down a bit into the surrounding food/soup when frozen. Flavor of the dish is still OK, but texture is off-putting for me.  Of course, low-carbers rarely eat rice, so this may not be important to you.  Wild rice freezes a little bit better than white or brown rice.

White and red potatoes (cooked) will get mealy and break down in soups and make the stock “grainy”, which just ruins it visually in my opinion.  The flavor will not be affected, however.  Interestingly, cooked sweet potatoes freeze quite nicely! 

Cream cheese tends to break down or separate when frozen.  This can really spoil the smooth texture you expect cream cheese to bring to a dish like a cheesecake or sauce. Makes it look kind of like curdled milk.  Fortunately, cream cheese keeps a very long time just in the refrigerator if unopened, so I just choose to not freeze it at all, even if I buy large amounts.   

Cheesecakes made with cream cheese don’t freeze well for the reason just discussed. The baked ones fare better than the unbaked, but there is still a tendency to break down. I just try to make and consume my cheesecakes the week I make them to avoid freezing them, but that’s never a problem in my house. 🙂

Heavy cream and milk I prefer not to freeze, but some say they freeze OK.

Low-carb breads can be frozen for 1 month, but my experience is that they deteriorate in flavor and dry out badly after just 2 weeks in the freezer.  Therefore, I personally tend to not freeze bread for any longer.  If I have forgotten some there for longer, they are still OK to thaw for crumbling to add into meatballs and meatloaves.  🙂

Low-carb cakes, sweet breads, muffins and cookies freeze fine for about 1-3 months, as they have higher oil content than plain bread.   Pumpkin baked muffins and cakes freeze particularly well.

I highly recommend investing in a good freezer book that will give you recommended lengths of time for freezing specific foods.  I have used Farm Journal  Freezing and Canning Cookbook for over 40 years.   A real gem, that one, giving info for blanching and freezing specific veggies, fruits, meats and other pantry items as well.  It also has canning tips, instructions and wonderful recipes. Sadly, it’s no longer in print, but copies can still be found out there on the web if you Google.  If not, I’m sure you’ll be able to find newer publications on the topic of freezing foods.

Broccoli and Mushrooms

Peggy 17 Comments

CreamyBroccoli & Mushrooms

This dish is a variation on a broccoli dip a friend of many years often served at parties.  I didn’t chop my broccoli as fine as she did, and there was no cheese in her dip.  Mine instead is made with a delicious low-carb soup.  The flavor was so memorable I decided to try and reproduce it as a vegetable side dish today.  It came out delicious!  Just as good as her dip, maybe even better with my addition of cheese!  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets but not acceptable for Primal or Paleo.

VARIATIONS:  Add 1 c. cooked leftover chicken or 1 cup cooked shrimp for a complete meal.  Substitute fresh cooked green beans for the broccoli.

INGREDIENTS:

½ bunch broccoli, stems and flowerettes cut into medium chunks (about 3 cups)

1 oz. onion, chopped

6 large mushrooms, sliced (or a 4-oz can sliced mushrooms, drained)

1 T. olive oil

½ recipe Jennifer Eloff’s low-carb Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

½ c. shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

¼ c. heavy cream

Dash black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly grease a medium casserole or vegetable dish and set aside. Make a recipe of the mushroom soup.  You will only use half of it for this recipe.  The remaining soup should be reserved for some other use.  It will keep a week in the refrigerator.  Chop and steam the broccoli over water or in your microwave just until tender crisp.  Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet and brown the onion and mushrooms until nearly tender.   Turn off heat.    Toss the broccoli into the skillet and toss lightly.  Stir the cream into the soup mixture and blend well.   Spoon it over the broccoli-mushroom mixture, add the cheese and stir gently with a spoon to mix. Sprinkle with black pepper and bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 4 servings, each contains: (does not include optional meat)

215.5 cals, 18.35g fat, 7g carbs, 2.22g fiber, 4.78g NET CARBS, 6.45g protein, 348 mg sodium

Spinach Mayonado with Sausage Meatballs

Peggy 4 Comments

Spinach Mayonado (optional meatballs)

This is essentially a creamed spinach dish, but with a very special cream indeed.  I decided to not stir it altogether as that does not photograph so prettily.  The flavor of this creamy spinach dish will blow you away.  It’s sinfully rich and ever so good!  So good, in fact, I lick every bit of the sauce off the spoon and food processor bowl.  Seriously good eats.

Of course, you can always stir the sauce right into the spinach. It certainly ends up mixed on my plate while eating it.  🙂  To be quite honest, ANY meat, seared chicken breast strips, beef or pork meatballs or smoked sausage would be good alongside (or on top as shown) this extremely nutritious dish.

This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly, as well as being suitable for Keto diets, Primal and Paleo followers as well.

VARIATION:  This makes a great side dish without meat.  In fact, that is the first way I ate it when I created this creamy sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

5 oz. lean pork bulk sausage (I use homemade sausage but any low-carb sausage will do)

6 T. my Shawarma Homemade Mayonnaise

1 avocado

16 oz. bag of frozen, chopped spinach

Water to cover spinach

DIRECTIONS:  Place spinach in large saucepan, cover with water and bring to boil and cook per package directions, about 5 minutes.  When done, drain spinach in strainer pressing out excess water as best you can.  Set aside while you make the rest of the dish.

While spinach is boiling, roll sausage into 6 small meatballs and brown in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, turning and rolling them frequently to brown all sides.  Cook until fully done (about 10-15 minutes, turn off heat remove and drain meatballs on paper towels.

In a bowl of a food processor (or blender), process the avocado with the 6 T. homemade mayo until fairly smooth.  You can also just mash it well with a fork, as it doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth.  Add a few drops of lemon juice (to prevent darkening) and pulse.

Spoon the spinach into your serving dish, Add the thick, creamy mayonado sauce to the top as shown (or stir into the spinach if you prefer) and top with your cooked meatballs.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 3 servings, each contains:

468 cals, 48g fat, 12.03g carbs, 8.66g fiber, 3.37g NET CARBS, 15.2g protein, 453 mg sodium

 

Tzatziki

Peggy 6 Comments

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Greek Tzatziki

This well-known Greek sauce is one of those recipes I’ve been meaning to put up on my site for ages and ages and just kept forgetting to do it.  This year I’m really trying to get to posting all those recipes I make often but are the meal “extras” and not the “main attraction”.   This is typical condiment with Greek food and  Middle Eastern/Mediterranean grilled beef or lamb kebabs and ground beef/lamb koftas.  It’s also great on tuna, salmon or crab cakes or on shawarma gyros-type sandwich wraps.  I’ve even used this sauce on cucumber-tomato salads as a dressing!  It’s ever so simple to make, too!

Be sure to squeeze out as much water from your grated cucumber as you can before combining all the ingredients or else it will bleed out its water into the sauce and really weaken the flavor and spoil the appearance.  This recipe is not suitable for Induction due to the yogurt, but you could make it with all sour cream and enjoy 2-3 Tbsp.  This sauce is suitable for other Keto diets and Primal Blueprint (occasionally), but not at all Paleo approved.

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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 large 8-9″ cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated

1 c. drained or Greek yogurt, or half yogurt and half sour cream (my personal preference), or all sour cream (for lower carbs)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T. yellow onion, minced finely

½ tsp. dried dill weed (or 2 sprigs fresh, chopped)

½ tsp. dried mint (or 1 T. fresh, chopped fine)

Dash each salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  At least 1 hour before serving, peel the cucumber.  Cut in half and seed with a spoon.  Grate the cucumber onto paper toweling double thick or even better, place it in a clean cotton woven kitchen towel (not terry cloth, please).  Blot the water away with paper towels or wrap, twist and squeeze it in the kitchen towel to remove all water.  You want to get as much water out as you can.  Add the cucumber to a medium bowl.  Add all remaining ingredients and stir well.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.  If it bleeds out more water, blot it from around the edges with a paper towel, stir and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 2 cups or 4 servings (perhaps more depending on how much people eat).  1/4 of the batch contains:

102 calories

8.1 g  fat

4.6 g  carbs, .8 g  fiber, 3.8 g  NET CARBS

3.2 g. protein

110 mg sodium

Smoky Chicken-Squash Gratin

Peggy 4 Comments

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Smoky Chicken-Squash Gratin

When I thawed chicken this morning, I thought I was thawing 2 nice chicken breasts in those ziploc freezer bags.  However when I went to debone them, what I had thawed was two leg quarters, and not very large ones at that.  So I skinned them, deboned and switched my menu plans to a little casserole of some kind. Had a leek I wanted to use, so this dish started forming in my head.  I grabbed the bacon of the refrigerator shelf and started the creative cogs.  The resulting dish was sinfully delicious and my husband said said to be sure to put this on my website.  That’s a thumbs up in my book, as he doesn’t like spaghetti squash very much.  🙂

This dish is a little carb-y, but virtually all the carbs are coming from the spaghetti squash and leek…..all healthy carbs, so I’m not worried there.  It is suitable for Atkins Induction and Keto diets if you can fit it into your daily numbers.  This would not be suitable for Primal-Paleo.  This recipe is high in sodium, from the cheese and bacon, so be forewarned.  If you are extremely sodium sensitive, you may need to cut back the cheese and bacon a bit.

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: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid 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:

5 oz. bacon, chopped small

5 oz. leek, chopped small

13 oz. chicken meat, cut into small pieces (or cooked turkey meat)

¼ c. heavy cream

¼ c. water

3 oz. smoked Gouda cheese, shredded

dash of xanthan gum (or your favorite thickener) to thicken

3 c. spaghetti squash threads (this is what my half of a squash yielded)

2 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Cut your spaghetti squash in half, reserving one half for another use.  Place one half, cut side down in a baking dish with ½” water and microwave for 13 minutes on HI.  You can also bake them in your oven (which I have never done) but it will take much longer, probably around 30-45 minutes?  When tender, holding in your hand with a hot pad, fork/strip the threads out onto a paper plate and set aside.  Preheat your oven now to 350º.

While the squash is cooking in the microwave, brown the bacon in a skillet over high heat.  Remove and drain on paper towels about 2 T. of it to use for top garnish.  Add the chopped leek to the skillet along with remaining bacon and continue sauteing until the leeks are nearly tender.  Add the chicken (or turkey) and continue sauteing until it too is done.  Lower heat to medium and add the water, cream and most of the Gouda cheese, reserving just a little cheese (about 3 T.) to sprinkle on the top of the casserole(s).  Stir the cheese into the mixture until it begins to melt.  Move the solids to the edges of the pan and dust a wee bit of xanthan gum/thickener into the middle puddle of liquid, stirring briskly and allow to thicken up.  You don’t want this very thick, so I only dusted it one time.

I made 3 individual 6″ long oval casseroles, but you can just make one using an 8/11 baking dish you have oiled lightly.  Spoon the mixture into your oiled baking dish(es).  Top the casserole(s) with the reserved cheese and the chopped parsley (if using).  Pop into preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes to allow flavors to meld and mellow.  Serve with a nice green salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 3 servings, each contains:

569 calories

42.5 g  fat

17.23 g  carbs, 2.86 g  fiber, 14.37 g  NET CARBS

30 g  protein

1365 mg sodium

 

 

Asian Dipping Sauce

Peggy Leave a comment

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Asian Dipping Sauce

This versatile Chinese-style dipping sauce is good for pork patties, Chinese dumplings, Korean BBQ and for using on various Chinese stir fries.  You can play around with the amount of peanut butter and Sambal Oelek chili sauce in this and change the overall flavor and spiciness to suite your taste.  This sauce is not suitable until the Atkins Phase 2 OWL level.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. creamy natural peanut butter (I use Laura Scudder’s)

2 T. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. ginger root, minced fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili sauce (or to taste)

2-3 drops liquid stevia or sucralose

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

1 T. green onion (finely minced)

2 T. water

DIRECTIONS:  Stir the peanut butter into the sesame oil until smooth.  Add all remaining ingredients and serve with Chinese dumplings, Korean BBQ or other Asian marinated grilled pork or beef.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 1/2 c. sauce (8 Tbsp.).

23 calories

1.45 g  fat

.91 g  carbs, .08 g  fiber, .83 g  NET CARBS

.32 g  protein

71 mg sodium

34 mg potassium

Einkorn Dumplings

Peggy 34 Comments

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For those who are familiar with my incredible Dumplings made with glucomannan powder, they just got BETTER!  I added a mere 1 T. Einkorn flour (non-genetically modified wheat flour) and cannot believe the improvement!  If you Google Einkorn Flour, you’ll find a lot of information on this flour made from non-GMO wheat, often referred to as ancient wheat.  Even my husband, who isn’t very vocal about such things, said it was a great texture and flavor improvement over my straight glucomannan dumpling recipe.  Now granted, the carb count jumped from 0.1 g per dumpling to 0.52 g per dumpling with this modification. However the difference is worth the increase and these are still very low carb dumplings by anyone’s definition of “low-carb per serving”.  This new version has more “structure” and “body” and definitely has a bit of flour-y taste!  All goodness and desirable improvements in my opinion. 🙂

Yes, I have read Wheat Belly and Grain Brain and am eliminating modern wheat products from my diet.  But I don’t think we have to live in an all or nothing world.   I sure don’t want to.  I espouse reasoned moderation over food fanaticism.  I’m still going to continue to experiment and consume the older form of wheat, Einkorn wheat, in very small amounts.  My old recipes I introduce Einkorn wheat in, will acquire the word Einkorn at the beginning of their name, for easy spotting by me in the archives, and to facilitate reader searches using the search box.  If you’re wanting to explore recipes with Einkorn flour, you will just need to type “einkorn” into the search box to pull up just those recipes or simply click on the “Einkorn Experiments” link at the right side of the page. 🙂

I ate 4 of these dumplings (1/3 the batch) at dinner tonight in my chicken and dumplings and was quite satisfied.   So we could say this recipe should serve 3 adults.  But stats are provided below per dumpling to make it easier for you.  That means I got a mere 1 tsp. of Einkorn wheat flour in my digestive track.  Certainly not the 1/4 c. or so one would get in my Grandma’s dumplings, or in a whole slice of traditional flour-laden bakery bread, and most definitely also a lot less (and better flour,  I might add) than those low-carb tortillas low carbers are so quick to say proudly they eat regularly because they “only have 4 net carbs per tortilla”.

It goes without saying this recipe is not suitable until the last and final grains level of Phase 2 Atkins OWL.  These are suitable for Keto if you eat wheat and can fit the carbs into your daily limits, but clearly would not be acceptable for Primal-Paleo.  FYI I buy my Einkorn flour from Jovial Foods on-line.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1½ T. glucomannan powder

1½ T. oat fiber (do not use oat flour or oat bran)

1/8 tsp. salt

1 T. Einkorn Flour

¼ c. + 2 T. tap water

1 extra large egg, or 1 large egg, or 2 small-medium eggs, beaten

DIRECTIONS:   Beat the egg in a small bowl with a fork.  Add the water and beat until both are blended well together.  On a paper plate or in another bowl, measure out the dry ingredients.  Stir well.  Slowly sprinkle the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring with a fork or whisk.  Switching to a rubber spatula, stir and begin to fold the slowly thickening mixture over and over itself until it is a contiguous batter and eventually turns into a thick, almost dry dough.  I let mine sit by the stove 2-3 minutes.  Then, using a teaspoon, dip 3/4″-1″ dollops of the dough into your palm.  This step is important:  roll them slightly into a ball shape in your palms.  If you just drop them directly into the broth from the spoon without rolling, they tend to fall apart in the broth during cooking.  Or for gnocchi, using your hands, roll the dough into ropes on plastic wrap or parchment and cut into short lengths for gnocchi, if that’s how you want to use this dough.

Drop the dumplings/gnocchi into gently simmering broth or soup and cover.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  This is IMPORTANT, as you don’t want to “rough up” these delicate babies. From the time you cover the pot, set timer for exactly 10 minutes (only 8 minutes for small gnocchi).  I like to remove chicken, meat or large chunks of vegetables to a platter while the dumplings are simmering to allow ample room for the dumplings to rise and swell up. DO NOT LIFT THE LID or disturb the pot during this 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, lift the lid and VOILA!!  They’re done!  They rise up incredibly during cooking but fall a bit after the lid is lifted.  You may want to thicken the stock depending on your personal preference.  I put 1-2 T. of water into the bowl I mixed them in and scraped the bits off the sides of the bowl with my rubber spatula for a bit of thickener and stirred it right into the broth.  Waste not want not. Worked just fine. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    UPDATED:  Math correction in the stats that actually lowers net carbs!  Yaaaaay!  This recipe makes twelve 1½”-2″ dumplings, each dumpling contains approximately ½ carb!

10.33 cals, 0.74 g  fat, 1.62 g  carbs, 1.10 g  fiber, 0.52 g  NET CARBS, 1.00 g. protein, 66 mg sodium

Chicken Florentine

Peggy 75 Comments

Chicken Florentine

This has, over time, become one of the most popular recipes on my website.  Sometimes we food bloggers get so wrapped up in creating new dishes, we can easily get lost and forget some of the old favorites and need to be reminded of them from time to time.  I’m making this again tonight, so I thought I’d share it with my newer followers that may not have seen this one. This recipe takes a mere 20-30 minutes to pull together.  It’s amazingly tasty and worth every one of those minutes.  So attractive on the platter, too!  And better yet, it’s Induction friendly!  The creamy spinach-mushroom topping compliments the seared chicken so nicely and is also good on seared salmon!  If in Atkins OWL Phase 2, adding 2 T. white wine to the spinach mixture is very, very good!  🙂

Who says low-carb eating is boring?  Low Carbing Among Friends cookbooks will dispel that notion and shows you through photographs a sampling of the delicious low-carb recipes you can have at your fingertips.  You can order your own copies of these low-carb cookbooks by Jennifer Eloff and her low-carb  friends.  Some of MY recipes are even in there!   The team of talent Jennifer has brought together over the years present an array of delicious recipes that will guarantee your low-carb meals are NEVER boring. You can order your personal copies of her cookbooks at Amazon or direct here

INGREDIENTS:

3 large chicken breasts, deboned and skinned (I used 30 oz.)

1 T. unsalted butter

½ lb. fresh mushrooms sliced thick

1 clove minced garlic

Pinch salt and pepper

6 oz. fresh spinach (3-4 oz. if using frozen)

1/3 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. chicken broth

3 T. grated Parmesan

2 T. white wine (optional)

Pinch xanthan gum (if needed to thicken)

DIRECTIONS:  If using frozen spinach, cook in water as directed on package in a saucepan and drain well.  Set aside.  Now slice each chicken breast diagonally into 3-4 thinner slices to speed up cooking.  Melt butter in non-stick skillet and sauté the chicken slices or “filets”, as I call them,  until lightly browned and thoroughly cooked (medium-high heat).  This won’t take long at all, which is precisely why I like to slice them.  Remove chicken to serving platter.  Add mushrooms to the same skillet and sauté until done.   Add fresh spinach and garlic.   Sauté until spinach is wilted.  Lower heat and add cream, broth, wine and cheese to spinach/mushroom mixture in skillet.  Add pinch of salt and pepper.  Lightly dust with xanthan gum 2-3 times, stirring between each addition to slightly thicken sauce.   Pour sauce over chicken.  Garnish with a sprinkle of parsley if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings each with:

436 cals, 23g fat, 6.8g carbs, 2g fiber, 4.8g NET CARBS, 49g protein, 200 mg sodium

Pork-Sweet Potato Cabbage “Rolls”

Peggy 2 Comments

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Pork Sweet Potato Cabbage Rolls

This little lunch was created with leftovers from a dinner earlier this week.  It’s a wee bit carbier than many of my entrees, but I do like to incorporate healthy, low-glycemic sweet potatoes into my diet once in awhile.  I had bought a lovely head of cabbage at the store Saturday and it had particularly green, undamaged outer leaves.  Thought those pretty outer leaves sure would make some nice cabbage rolls.  So when I opened up the refrigerator at 11:00 wondering what to fix us for lunch, and with the single serving of leftover Gingerale Baked Sweet Potatoes (I’ll be posting that recipe soon, as it was soooo good!) sitting right by the single leftover pork chop, “Hello”, the light bulb went off in my head.  This is invariably why my husband calls me “Queen of leftovers”, because I can recreate them and end up with a totally different dish.   It’s my way of dealing with his personal preference of not liking leftovers.  😉   My husband does not usually eat the outer leaves of cabbage rolls as he isn’t very fond of cabbage.  The outer leaves can be really tough sometimes if the cabbage has been picked awhile or long in getting to market, even with extra boiling.  But you certainly can eat them if you blanch them a little longer than inner leaves.  We found this to be delicious and I will definitely serve this again!

This dish is not suitable for Atkins Induction due to the carb-y sweet potatoes.  It is OK for Keto diets if you can fit the carbs into your daily menu numbers.  This is not be suitable for Primal-Paleo.

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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 large outer cabbage leaves (parboiled 2-4 min., depending on how tough they seem and whether you plan to eat them)

2 slices bacon, chopped

2 oz. onion, chopped

4 oz. cooked pork chop or pork steak, cut into small strips

1 c. chopped green cabbage

1 oz. cream cheese

2 T. my Shawarma Mayonnaise (or mayo of your choice)

3/4 c. cooked sweet potato, cut into small french-fry strips (½ of a small potato)

Dash each salt, black pepper

Dash ground cumin & chili powder (I used Spanish Smoked Chili Powder)

¼ c. Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:  Drop the 2 whole leaves of cabbage into simmering water and parboil for 2 minutes if you do NOT plan to eat the outer leaves;  boil for 4 minutes if you plan to eat the outer leaves.  While they are boiling, fry the bacon in a skillet over high heat.  When nearly done, add the onion and saute until tender.  Add the cooked pork to the skillet and saute until it begins to brown.  Lower heat to medium and add shredded cabbage.  Saute just until cabbage is wilted.  Add the cream cheese in dots and allow it to melt under the heat of the mixture, stirring often until it is fully melted and blended in.  Add the mayo and stir to mix well.  Finally, add the cooked sweet potato bits and all spices.  Stir to mix all uniformly.  Remove from heat and preheat your oven to 350º.

Next lay the whole cabbage leaves on an oven-proof serving platter.  Spoon half the filling along the leaf stem, in a column.  Spoon half the Jack cheese on top of the row of meat mixture.  Fold the base of the leaf inward on the other side and secure with a toothpick to close up one end, as shown in the picture.  Pop into 350º oven for about 1o minutes to melt the cheese.  Serve hot and ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 2 servings, each contains:

408 calories

35 g  fat

14.1 g  carbs, 3.25 g  fiber, 10.85 g  NET CARBS

16.1 g  protein

508 mg sodium

453 mg potassium

21% RDA Vitamin A, 24% B5, 24% B12, 41% C, 13% copper, 10% iron, 10% magnesium, 13% manganese, 18% niacin, 22% phosphorous, 18% riboflavin, 29% selenium, 33% thiamin and 15% zinc

Stuffed Crust Chicken-Spinach Pizza

Peggy 4 Comments

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Stuffed Crust Chicken-Spinach Pizza

This is one of those dishes that is MUCH tastier than it looks there in the photograph.  Even my husband had his doubts until he tasted this.  He LOVED it!

I thawed a chicken breast for dinner but my mid afternoon, still hadn’t decided what I was going to make for dinner tonight.  I looked in the fridge and saw that I had a little chive and onion cream cheese in the tub I wanted to use up.  I had thawed some frozen spinach, as my husband needed to have some Vitamin K intake.  He is on Coumadin therapy and needs to keep his Vitamin K levels consistent from day to day and I realized he had not eaten anything with K today.

As I thought about how I could incorporate spinach and chicken in our dinner, I remembered the chicken and spinach quesadillas I used to order at Pappacitos Cantina  on the Gulf Freeway in Houston years ago (in my pre-low-carb life).   Thought I might either try making something like that or an Alfredo-type pizza, but use a real simple open-faced presentation to avoid the grilling step.

At 5:00 pm, I sure didn’t feel like baking focaccia bread from scratch or making this more complicated than need be.  So I reached for the last two sheets of Joseph’s Whole Wheat, Oat and Flax Lavash bread in the refrigerator.  I opted to pre-bake the sheet that was going to be the bottom of my creation and then just started layering until I was satisfied and ready to bake the final dish.  This creation turned out quite delicious and not as “rich” as we thought it would be.  I will definitely be making this again.  The Joseph’s lavash on the bottom really crisped up nicely, too!

This recipe isn’t suitable until Atkins Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance because of the whole-wheat flour in the lavash bread.  It is low enough in carbs to be OK for Keto diets, but is totally unacceptable for Primal-Paleo.

INGREDIENTS:

2 full sheets of Joseph’s Whole Wheat, Oat, Flax lavash bread

4 T. chive & onion cream cheese, softened (or plain cream cheese + 1 T. ch. green onion)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1½ c. cooked chicken breast, shredded

1 c. frozen chopped spinach (uncooked), squeezed of all water (about ½ c. packed spinach)

½c. shredded Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Place 1 sheet of lavash on a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet.  Pop into hot oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until no longer soft, but not very brown or overly brittle/crisp.  Remove from oven and slightly cool.   Spread with the cream cheese.  Sprinkle 2/3 c. of the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the crust.  Next evenly spread the shredded chicken. Dot the chicken with half the frozen spinach. Sprinkle half the Parmesan on top next.  Next sprinkle another 2/3 c. mozzarella cheese on top.  No place the second sheet of lavash bread on top and press down with your hands.  Sprinkle the final 2/3 c. mozzarella on top of the top sheet of bread, followed by the rest of the spinach and finally the last of the Parmesan.  Pop back into the hot oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges like pizza crust.  The top cheese should be completely melted.  Remove and cut into 6 equal slices.  Serve with a nice green salad and ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 6 slices, each contains:

272 calories

15.5 g  fat

7.71 g  carbs, 2.80 g  fiber, 4.91 g NET CARBS

667 mg sodium

236 mg potassium

36% RDA Vitamin A

19% B6, 46% B12, 8% C, 7% E, 34% Calcium, 8% copper, 20% iron, 13% magnesium, 11% manganese, 34% niacin, 49% phosphorous, 24% riboflavin, 34% selenium, 8% thiamin, 22% zinc

Banana-Coco-Nutty Candy

Peggy 12 Comments

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Banana-Coco-Nutty Candy

I don’t eat many sweets, but when I do, it’s usually candy or pure chocolate.  I got to thinking about my Peanutty Coconut Candy yesterday and wondered what it would be like with banana in it.  So I mashed one of the beautiful bananas I bought at the store yesterday morning and just took equal amounts of the main ingredients I wanted to include and formed some of the tastiest candies!  They are very filling, too, and one takes the edge off my occasional sweet tooth.  I think I may even like this version better than the original peanut-coconut version!  After popping the candies out of the mold slots, I decided to store them in a zip-loc bag in the freezer.  They don’t get hard, just firm and chewy, so they can be eaten right out of the freezer!

I used 1″ square silicone candy molds to make mine,  but you could also just roll into balls and if desired, coat with more dessicated coconut.  You could also roll into balls and flatten into hockey puck disks.  Or you might roll then into little logs and coat with finely chopped peanuts!  HAVE FUN SHAPING THEM!

These are not suitable until the higher fruit rung of the Atkins Pre-Maintenance or Mainitenance Phase.  They are suitable for Keto diets as well.   The sweetener would have to be modified for this to be acceptable for Primal-Paleo.

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 the cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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     6-oz. banana, mashed

1 c. dessicated coconut (unsweetened)

1 c. natural peanut butter (I use Laura Scudder)

3/4 c. erythritol (or other sweetener to equal 3/4 c. sugar)

2 pkts. stevia (I used NuNaturals)

DIRECTIONS:   Using a fork, mash the banana in the bottom of a mixing bowl.  I added the juice of a wedge of lemon to prevent darkening, as candy is slow to be eaten in my house.  Add the peanut butter and stir well to blend.

Add coconut and blend it into the mixture until all ingredients are uniformly mixed.  Press into silicone molds, pressing down firmly.  Set mold on a flat pan and place in freezer for about 2 hours.   The mixture will make 28 small 1″ candies of about 1½-2 T. of the mixture.   Your numbers may vary, so I will provide the nutritional values for the entire recipe so you can calculate your per piece figures from the number you get.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    (does not include any additional coconut/peanut coating)  Entire recipe contains 3,034 calories, 239 g  fat, 133 g. carbs, 48.3 g fiber, 84.7 g. NET CARBS, 95.7 g. protein.

If yield is 28 pieces, each piece contains:

108 calories

8.55 g  fat

4.75 g  carbs, 1.72 g  fiber, 3.03 g  NET CARBS

3.41 g  protein

37 mg sodium

 

Stuffed Pork Chops

Peggy 9 Comments

 

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Stuffed Pork Chops

Oh my, I’ve not used my Jicama-Eggplant Stuffing any way but as a side dish with a holiday turkey before.  But it makes a WONDERFUL stuffing for such things as pork chops and probably stuffed shrimp and crab, too!  Whipping this stuffing together is fast…..you just have to wait for the final stuffed chops to bake. But you can sit down and put your feet up after a long day at work and let them cook themselves.  That’s my kind of meal!  Of course, any phase-suitable, plan suitable bread can be used for your ½ slice low carb bread called for in this recipe.  I used what I had on-hand cooked, a slice of my gluten-free Individual White Bread.

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo programs if you use a plan-suitable bread.  It will also freeze beautifully for you.

You’ll find many more delicious low-carb recipes in the latest cookbook series by Jennifer Eloff and friends.  Visit their Facebook page to see a sampling of the recipes this group of very talented cooks have collaborated to bring to you:  Low Carbing Among Friends.  Like their page if you like what you see and get your very own copies of this 5-volume set at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php.  It will be ever so nice to have such an array of easy recipes right at your fingertips!

DISCLAIMER:  I do not receive any remuneration for this promotion nor for the inclusion of a few of my recipes therein.  I simply support the effort this team has put forth to bring you the “tasty fruits” of their kitchen labors!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. boneless pork loin, sliced into four equal 4-oz. “chops”

1 oz. raw bacon, chopped (about 2 thin slices)

2 oz. onion, chopped fine

2 oz. celery, chopped fine

3 oz. jicama, peeled and grated (about 3/4 cup)

1 c. eggplant, cubed small

3 sprigs parsley (2 T.), chopped

Dash each salt, black pepper and poultry seasoning or thyme

1 egg, beaten

1 T. water

1 slice low carb or plan suitable bread or roll

 

DIRECTIONS:  Cook the chopped bacon until half done in a skillet over high heat.  Add onion, celery, jicama and saute until vegetables are half tender.  Add the eggplant and continue to saute until the eggplant is tender but not mushy.  Add parsley, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning.  Remove from heat.  Crumble in the slice of bread.  Beat the egg with the water in a dish and add it to the mixture and stir to moisten the entire mixture well.  It should hold together nicely, but if not, add 1-2 tsp. more water slowly as needed.   Divide it off int he skillet into 4 equal portions and set aside for now.

Preheat the oven to 350º. Cutting on the fat edge (if there is a fat edge), slice the pork chops laterally in half being careful not to quite cut them all the way through at the back edge where you will “hinge” them open to stuff.  Open each chop in one palm and with a spoon, pack 1/4 of the stuffing into it firmly.  Set it onto a greased ceramic or metal baking pan and press the top half of the meat down onto the stuffing slightly.  With a brush, baste the top layer of meat with a film of bacon grease or olive oil to keep it from drying out during baking.  Place the pan into preheated 350º oven and bake for about 1 hour.  Serve with your favorite green vegetable or salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 4 large servings, each contains:

275 calories

14 g  fat

5.72 g  carbs, 2.52 g  fiber, 3.20 g  NET CARBS

32 g  protein

271 mg sodium

650 mg potassium

41% RDA Vitamin B6, 42% B12, 8% C, 7% calcium, 17% copper, 25% iron, 11% magnesium, 44% niacin, 52% phosphorous, 40% riboflavin, 82% selenium, 93% thiamin, 29% zinc

 

 

Einkorn Pie Crust

Peggy 13 Comments

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I’ve been low carbing for 7 years now and had come up with some very good recipes for pie early on in my weight loss journey.  But I stopped eating soy products and have cut out most wheat intake a year or so ago.  That pretty much eliminated most of those pie crust recipes. 😦  They are still up on my site here, but I’ve had to start trialing new recipes to find a good one that doesn’t use (or uses less of) those ingredients.  I’ve tried 4 or 5 now, but have not happy with any of them.  So I tried mixing the ingredients I’ve had the best luck with last night and BINGO!  I think I may have found my prize!  This balance of “flours” is going to be my go-to pastry recipe henceforth.  It should make cobblers, meat pies and single or double crust pies quite nicely!  I had no trouble rolling it out between parchment/plastic sheets and plan to try a double crust this week to see if getting the top crust on a pie works or ends up in a crumbled mess.

I’ve been experimenting with Einkorn flour for several months.  This is the ancient form of wheat that has not been genetically modified and that is supposed to be digested better than today’s hybrids wheat.  Therefore this recipe IS NOT GLUTEN FREE, but I’ve never had issues with gluten.   Yes, I’ve read Wheat Belly and yes, I understand the dietary and metabolic risks.  There are very few farms producing Einkorn wheat today.  I try never to use more than 2-4 tablespoons in a recipe in order to keep carbs as low as possible.

The addition of oat fiber brings even more “floury” flavor and better floury texture to baked goods.  So that is also a winner here.  Honestly, this is the very first crust I’ve made in ages that isn’t “short” and cookie-like!  That’s OK for cobblers, but not for pies in my opinion.  I like my crusts a little brittle and flaky.  Well I got brittle here, but not quite flaky.  If you had blindfolded me and had me do a taste/texture test on this one, I’d have said I was eating my pie crust of olden days, made with Pillsbury all-purpose flour.   🙂  This one is not only tasty, it holds up nicely to a moist filling overnight in the fridge (coconut cream, at least 🙂 ) .   It also boasts a very acceptable carb count (considering it has ¼ c. real flour in it)!  Check our the numbers below!

I order my Einkorn flour direct from Jovial Foods on-line.  I store the surplus in my freezer, as I do all my flours.  This recipe is not suitable until you reach the final grains level of Pre-Maintenance of Atkins or toward the end of you Ketogenic weight loss efforts.  This would not be suitable for Primal-Paleo followers.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. blanched almond flour (I use Honeyvillegrains)

1 tsp. erythritol (this sweetener is optional)

¼ c. Einkorn flour, unsifted

¼ c. oat fiber (do not substitute)

¼ tsp. salt

4 T. butter, unsalted (if using salted, omit salt above)

4-5 T. ice water

DIRECTIONS:     Preheat oven to 350º.  this recipe is for a single crust pie.  Measure out the dry ingredients either into a bowl or your food processor. Stir/pulse to blend.  Add the butter and with a fork cut in or pulse the butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Slowly add the water, beginning with 3 T. and add 1 tsp. at a time as needed to form a ball of dough.  Stir with a fork or pulse until if will form a single ball of dough.  Only add as much as you need to form a thick ball of dough.  You don’t want the dough to be too wet.  Remove onto a sheet of parchment paper.  Press out a bit with your hand.  Place another sheet of parchment on top and roll out slightly larger than your pie plate.   Carefully remove the top parchment.  Invert the pie plate onto the dough, centering.   Now lift everything, parchment, crust and plate and invert.  The crust may begin to drop down into the pie plate on its own from gravity.  Carefully remove the parchment and help the crust settle down into the pan gently.  Press it down gently all around and on the bottom. Crimp the edge as you like.  Prick it on the sides and bottom with a fork.  Pop the pan into a preheated 350º oven for about 20-25 minutes, but check at 15.  I you will be filling with a filling you must bake again, you don’t want to over brown your bottom crust or it will burn during second cooking. If filling with a chilled filling, you want it browned to completion as pictured above.    Remove crust from oven when done and cool a bit before filling.

NUTRUTIONAL INFO:  Makes a single crust pie, 8 servings.  1/8 of the crust contains:

130 calories, 12.2 g  fat, 7.6 g  carbs, 4.1 g  fiber, 3.5 g  NET CARBS, 3.4 g  protein, 79 mg sodium

Orange Vinaigrette

Peggy 4 Comments

Click to enlarge

Orange Vinaigrette

This salad dressing has previously appeared on my website with a delicious kale salad I posted not long ago:   Kale-Orange-Walnut Salad.

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Kale Orange-Walnut Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

I am posting the dressing separately to add it to the salad dressing category so it won’t be overlooked when readers are reviewing Salad Dressings.   Just today, I used this dressing, adding a bit of Sofrito to create a  tasty chickpea salad.  I suspect you talented cooks out there will think of lots of creative ways to use it.

This recipe is not suitable until you reach Atkins Phase 2 OWL.  It is perfectly acceptable for Keto diets and Primal-Paleo.

VARIATION:  You can substitute 1 oz. sugar-free dried cranberries for some of the orange juice or just add them to this recipe as written and have a a totally different taste that is equally good!  Just add the cranberries to the dressing ingredients and when they have softened, mash them with the back of a spoon and blend them into the dressing.

INGREDIENTS:

1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/8 tsp. garlic powder)

3 T. fresh-squeezed orange juice

3 T. extra virgin olive oil  (I used a combination of Black Walnut oil and olive oil)

1 T. balsamic vinegar

Few shakes each of salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS:   Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and stir.  Chill until ready to use.  Should keep a week if any is leftover.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes a total of 6 tablespoons or 3 servings of 2 T. each.  Each 2 T. serving contains:

133 calories

13.65 g  fat

2.76 g  carbs, .06 g  fiber, 2.7 g  NET CARBS

.2 g  protein

104 mg sodium

39 mg potassium

10% RDA Vitamin C

Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad

Peggy Leave a comment

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Middle Eastern Chickpea Salad

I just keep finding more and more fun ways to use my Sofrito sauce.  This salad was absolutely delicious!  It’s a mixture of a common Indian salad and classic Middle Eastern Tabouleh and some Sofrito thrown in for fun.  If you are in a hurry and don’t want to make up the Sofrito, just add some chopped cilantro and a tiny bit of finely minced red bell pepper to your salad for what the sauce will bring in flavor.  I chose to serve the salad in layers as shown above, but it could just as easily be all tossed together.   Because chickpeas are high in carbs, this dish is not suitable for those on Atkins Induction or still in the early stage of your Ketogenic Dieter.  Wait until you’re nearly to goal or are already in Maintenance to enjoy this delicious salad.  This salad is not suitable for Primal-Paleo.

INGREDIENTS:

6 cherry tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters

1 c. canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed in a colander

1 recipe Tabouleh (below)

1 recipe Orange Vinaigrette (below)

TABOULEH INGREDIENTS:  Mix the following up in a medium bowl and set aside.

1 c. parsley, chopped

¼ c. fresh mint, chopped (1 2 tsp. dried, crumbled leaves)

1 6″ green onion , chopped

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic, ninced

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

Dash each salt and pepper

ORANGE VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS:  Mix the ingredients below in a small bowl and set aside.

1 T. fresh-squeezed orange juice

½ clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 T. walnut oil or olive oil

3 T. Sofrito sauce

ASSEMBLY:  If you are going to serve this layered as shown in the pic above, using a 3rd bowl, add the chickpeas and the cut up tomatoes.  Stir to mix. Add the vinaigrette to the chickpea-tomato mixture and stir well.  Spoon up 1/3 of the Tabouleh onto each plate, then top with 1/3 of the pea-tomato mixture.  Serve at once or keep chilled until ready to serve.  If tossing altogether and serving that way, well I don’t have to give you instructions on how to do that, do I?  🙂  ENJOY!

VARIATIONS:  Make a simple lemon and olive oil dressing or a Greek Salad Dressing instead of the orange vinaigrette.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 3 servings, each contains:

309 calories

22 g  fat

24.56 g  carbs, 5.63 g  fiber, 19.93 g  NET CARBS  (I DID say this is not for Induction! 🙂 Chickpeas are carb-y!)

5.63 g  fiber

19.9 g  protein

318 mg sodium

451 mg potassium

17% RDA Vitamin A, 31% B6, 62% C, 16% E, 7% calcium, 24% copper, 45% iron, 14% magnesium, 38% manganese, 14% phosphorous, 15% zinc

 

 

 

Einkorn Beef Pie

Peggy 2 Comments

Beef Pie

Beef Pie

I fell in love with Pork Pies in Britain.  So I thought I’d apply that approach to a beef pie.  So tonight I gave it a whirl as I wanted to try some Einkorn flour in my best pie crust, slightly tweaked.   I order my Einkorn flour direct from Jovial Foods. Yes, I’ve read the books and yes, I understand what eating modern wheat does to us metabolically.  This is ancient wheat that has not been genetically modified and I choose to do some moderate experimenting with it.  If you do not wish to eat it, use 1/4 c. more of the bake mix in your crust.  I often serve a light cream sauce atop my meat pies and it was delicious added to this one.  But I know that’s not traditional for British meat pies, so I didn’t picture it that way above. 🙂

The final dish was absolutely delicious!  I decided I wanted a 2-crust pie, and I’m glad I did.  The final dish was not to wet; not too dry……just the right moisture level.  It was also a good filling-to-crust ratio!  I could even slice it like a real pie!  My husband just loved this dish.   The carb count is a little higher than I like, but not bad really, considering there is ¼ c. real flour in it and it has both a bottom and top crust!  You could cut carbs by only doing crust on the top, but that wouldn’t be a traditional British meat pie then, would it?  😉

This recipe is not suitable until you reach the grains level at Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance in the Atkins program.  This recipe is probably too high in carbs for a Keto diet unless you are at or near goal weight.  It is not suitable for Primal-Paleo, but if you sub in a plan-suitable crust you could certainly eat this. 🙂

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 the cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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

DOUBLE CRUST INGREDIENTS:

½ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten Free Bake Mix

¼ c. Einkorn flour (or ¼ c. more of the bake mix above)

2/3 c. golden flax meal

2/3 c. oat fiber (I order from Honeyvillegrains.com)

¼ tsp. salt

4 T. cold butter

2 eggs, beaten

3 oz. heavy cream (¼ c. + 2 T.)

MEAT FILLING INGREDIENTS:

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

2 oz. onion, chopped

1 c. carrots, diced

1 c. frozen green beans, chopped small

1 c. yellow squash, diced (1 small one)

¼ c. homemade mayonnaise

2/3 c. good beef gravy (I save any leftover after cooking roasts and freeze for such uses)

1 beaten egg

Dash each salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:   Make the pie crust dough first.  Measure all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Stir to blend. Cut in the butter until it is well blended and the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Beat the eggs with the cream and work it into the crumbly mixture with a fork until it is well-blended and forms a solid ball of dough.  Set the dough in your fridge to chill while you make the filling.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Remove the pie crust from the fridge and divide it into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other.  Take the larger portion and set it on the bottom of the pie plate or baking dish (I used a spring form pan).  Press the dough evenly onto the bottom and up 1¼” up the sides of the pie plate or whatever dish/pan you are using.  Place remaining dough back into the fridge for further chilling. Pop the bottom crust into a preheated 350º oven and bake until half done and dry to the touch but not brown (about 15 minutes).

Prepare the filling while the bottom crust is baking.  For the filling, brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring and crumbling as it cooks.  When almost done, add the vegetables.  Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, but not mushy.  Turn the heat off and stir in the prepared beef gravy, the beaten egg, dash of salt and pepper and the homemade mayo (I used my seasoned Shawarma Mayo). Set the meat mixture aside.  The bottom crust should be done now.   Remove it from the oven.  Spoon the beef filling carefully into the bottom crust.  Set aside.

Now place the remaining chilled ball of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap on your counter.  Place a  second sheet of plastic wrap on top, press down with your hand a bit.  With a rolling pin, roll the crust slightly larger than your pie plate or baking dish.  It will be about 3/16″ thick. Remove the top piece of plastic.  You’re going to pick up and let the pastry fold downward onto itself by pick it up, plastic and all, holding it at an imaginary mid-point line, allowing it to fold downwards, plastic touching plastic.  Lay the folded crust side onto the top of the pan, lining up the fold with the mid-point of the pie plate.  Then gently unfold the other half and peel off the plastic wrap gently.   Press down the top crust onto the bottom crust to try and seal it a bit to avoid juices oozing out during baking.  If your top crust breaks apart a bit (mine did a bit), just press the portions together with a moistened finger as necessary.  Set the pan on a cookie sheet pan (to catch any that bubbles-over) and pop it into a hot 350º oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until browned nicely.  I served this with a tossed green salad topped with a raspberry vinaigrette.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 8 servings, each contains:

424 calories

36 g  fat

20.42 g  carbs, 12.22 g  fiber, 8.2 g  NET CARBS

22.6 g  protein

219 mg sodium

Crawfish with Eggplant

Peggy 2 Comments

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Crawfish with Eggplant

This would be Ecrévisses aux Aubergines in Louisiana or French-speaking Québec, but as the lion’s share of my readership is in the U.S. and Canada, I decided the title needed to be in English.  This tasty, cheesy, extremely nutritious  recipe came together as a result of a couple leftovers in my refrigerator:  ½ bag of crawfish tail meat and a few slices of eggplant,.  Both were leftover from making my  Crawfish al Pesto on Eggplant “Pillows” earlier in the week.  All the other ingredients listed below are pretty much always in my pantry and refrigerator/freezer.  Whenever I bake low-carb breads or muffins and have a couple leftover, I throw them in a plastic bag and freeze them for just such casserole “filler” use.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets, however it is not suitable for Primal-Paleo as written.  Be sure to notice the impressive nutritional info on this dish!

INGREDIENTS:

3 T. unsalted butter

1 T. extra light olive oil

6 oz. crawfish tail meat (I use Boudreaux’ brand, frozen)

2 oz. onion, chopped

5 oz. eggplant, diced in ½” cubes or smaller

¼ c. celery, finely minced

1/3 c. red bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend

1 small low-carb roll of your choice, crumbled (I used ½ slice of my Jalapeno Cheese Bread)

Dash each salt and black pepper

3/4 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º.  Melt the butter over high heat in a skillet and add the olive oil.  Sauté the onion and celery until they begins to soften a bit.  Add the eggplant and saute until the eggplant is nearly done (but not mushy).  Add the red bell pepper and minced garlic and sauté just to tenderize the bell pepper.  Next add the salt, black pepper and the Seafood Spice Blend and stir to blend. Next crumble the low-carb roll/bread into the mixture.  Stir one final time and remove from heat.  Spoon 1/4 of the mixture into 2 lightly oiled ceramic dishes.  Top each with 1/4 of the cheese.  Spoon the remaining mixture equally in the dishes and top each with half of the remaining cheese.  Pop into a 350º oven and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted well and bubbly around the edges.  Serve with a green salad or your favorite green vegetable.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes two 1¼ c. servings, each contains:

538 calories

43.3 g  fat

11 g  carbs, 4.25 g  fiber, 6.75 g  NET CARBS

907 mg sodium

570 my potassium

28% RDA Vitamin A, 17% B6, 48% C, 22% E, 9% calcium, 72% copper, 25% iron, 15% magnesium, 39% manganese, 19% niacin, 45% phosphorous, 19% riboflavin, 64% selenium, 10% thiamin and 22% zinc

Blueberry Chia Pudding

Peggy 6 Comments

Click to enlarge

Blueberry Chia Pudding

This is a quick treat if you have blueberries on hand.  I always keep a big bag of them in my freezer (along with a bag of strawberries) so I can whip up quick 1-2 serving desserts like this.  Although I used frozen berries in my pudding shown above, you could certainly use fresh blueberries instead.  This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction, but you can enjoy it once you get to the nuts and seeds level of Phase 2.  This is not suitable for Paleo-Primal followers as written, but you could certainly make it so with a couple little tweaks.

More delicious low-carb desserts 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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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 c. fresh or frozen (unsweetened) blueberries

½ c. coconut milk

¼ c. DaVinci blueberry sugar-free syrup (or vanilla)

2 T. ground chia seeds

OPTIONAL TOPPING:  ¼ c. heavy cream, whipped and sweetened to taste

DIRECTIONS:  Place all pudding ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the berries are smooth.  Dip into two serving dishes.

For the optional topping, whip the heavy cream.  I used a Cuisinart stick blender and the narrow plastic measuring cup that came with it as it’s almost impossible to whip such a small amount of cream in a larger bowl with a hand or stand mixer.  Place a dollop of whipped cream on both portions and chill until ready to serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 2 servings, each contains (does not include optional topping)

187 calories

15 g  fat

14.8 g  carbs, 4.9 g  fiber, 9.9 g NET CARBS

20 mg sodium

Crawfish al Pesto on Eggplant “Pillows”

Peggy 8 Comments

Crawfish al Pesto on Eggplant

This recipe grew out of a delicious spaghetti squash alfredo dish I did earlier this week.  At first I had my doubts on  crawfish for this, but it came out DELICIOUS!  I made a batch of my Oven-Fried Fish coating and baked off the eggplant first, as you would for classic Eggplant Parmigiana.  The crunchy coating on the eggplant very quickly loses its crunchiness, so serve this quickly and don’t hold it over for any reason.  This sinfully rich dish was so good I will definitely be doing this again!  It freezes nicely, too, getting even tastier upon re-baking!  The eggplant will lose that crunchiness from freezing, but the dish still tastes fantastic when reheated.

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto, and for Primal folks that consume occasional dairy products.  This would not be suitable for Paleo followers.

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. eggplant, sliced into eight ½” slices

3 oz. plain pork rinds, crushed fine

6 T. homemade mayonnaise

Dash salt

4 T. butter

1 large leek, ends trimmed off, washed well, sliced or chopped into small pieces (about 1½ cups)

¼ recipe Jennifer Eloff’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

¼ c. Parmesan cheese, grated

1½ T. homemade pesto sauce (or commercial)

8 oz. frozen crawfish tail meat, defrosted (or shrimp)

½ c. heavy cream

½ c. water

1 c. grated mozzarella cheese

2 T. chopped parsley for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 450º.  Lightly oil a baking sheet.  Cut the eggplant into ½” slices.  Baste all surfaces with the mayonnaise using a brush.  Spoon crushed pork rinds over each slice, coating well.  Place the coated slices on the oiled pan and pop into oven, baking at 450º for 20 minutes.

While the eggplant bakes, prepare the topping.  Melt the butter in a large skillet.  Add leeks and saute until tender. Lower heat to medium.  Add the mushroom soup, the Parmesan, crawfish meat, cream and water and simmer over low heat until eggplant is done.  It will thicken as it cooks. Add the pesto and stir.  Be sure to stir the mixture often during cooking so the flavors will blend.

When the eggplant is tender, remove from oven, top each slice with 2 T. of the mozzarella and then spoon 1/8 of the topping (about 1/3 cup) onto each slice of eggplant.  I made the mistake of putting 1 T. under and 1 T. over the topping and popped the pan back into the oven while my garlic toast cooked in the broiler to melt the cheese on top.  But it didn’t completely melt by the time the toast was done.  So in future, I’ll put all 2T. of the cheese underneath the bubbly hot topping so it will melt nicely for me.  Garnish tops with chopped parsley and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 8 servings, each contains:

355 cals, 30.5 g  fat, 6.06 g  carbs, 1.88 g fiber, 4.18 g  NET CARBS, 14.8 g  protein, 421 mg sodium

Mediterranean Chicken and Olives

Peggy 8 Comments

Click to enlarge

Mediterranean Chicken and Olives (shown with added link of chorizo)

I absolutely love olives but tend to think of them as a food eaten separately, or atop salads.  But when I put them into meat dishes I’m always amazed at what they bring to the final dish.  This was yet another example of a tasty surprise for me.

The Baharat spice blend I chose for this dish is prevalent in the countries along the extreme eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.  I think you’ll like it on chicken and it is equally good in stewed beef curries and on roasted vegetables.  I highly encourage you to give this blend a try sometime, even if not on this particular dish.    It was incredible on the chicken tonight.   The cinnamon and cloves come through the most, but the other spices in the blend have a subtle flavor presence as well.  The spice here is the key flavor ingredient here so I would not encourage substitutions or you will be creating a totally different dish.   This dish is suitable for Atkins Induction, Keto diets, and Primal-Paleo lifestyles as well.   Be sure to use a good quality extra-virgin olive oil for this recipe.  Note the incredible nutritional stats below!  Healthy, this one!

You may notice some small round brown bits in the pic above.  That’s 1 link of chorizo broken up into little pieces.  But we decided we don’t like it in this dish.  It conflicts too much with the Baharat spices.  So I won’t ever put that in this recipe again. I suppose you can try it if you’re a big chorizo fan.  You might even like it!  The link of chorizo, however, is not calculated in the nutritional info below.

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 chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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:

3 medium chicken thighs

3 medium chicken drumsticks

3 T. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. my Baharat Spice Blend  (the key flavor, so don’t substitute)

4 oz. purple onion, sliced lengthwise

3 plum tomatoes, each cut into 4 wedges

24 medium black olives

Dash each salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 425º.  Place olive oil, Baharat spice and minced garlic in a pan large enough to hold your chicken without any crowding.  Stir it well.  Take each piece of chicken and dip each side into the oil mixture.  Rub or baste each piece all over well.  Evenly space the pieces skin-side up in the pan.  Cut the tomatoes into wedges and space them evenly around the chicken in the pan, trying not to cover the pieces of chicken.  If covered, the juice from the tomato will inhibit browning of the skin.

Next place the olives evenly around the chicken pieces.   Lastly, separate the slivers of onion and spread them all around the chicken.  Dip a basting brush into the olive oil mixture and baste the olives and vegetables with the oil (add more oil if needed).  Lightly sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Pop into a preheated hot 425º oven and bake for about 1 hour, re-basting at 30 minutes cooking time to be sure the vegetables don’t dry out.   I served this with buttered, steamed asparagus.  It would also be good with a Greek salad.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 3 adult servings (serving = 1 drumstick + 1 thigh).  Each serving contains:

438 calories

32 g  fat

8.26 g  carbs, 2.26 g  fiber, 6 g  NET CARBS

29.8 g  protein

742 mg sodium

Individual “Irish” Chocolate Cake

Peggy 5 Comments

Individual "Irish" Chocolate Cake

Individual “Irish” Chocolate Cake

Today I offer my readers a delicious, quick dessert to top off that corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day.  Tasty and quite easy, too!  The cake goes together in minutes, microwaves in 1 minute and the icing is just as easy.  And boy, oh, boy, is this icing ever tasty!  This cake is moist and has just the right amount of whiskey flavor.

I normally bake this cake for 1 minute in a glass dish in the microwave.  But when I want to use a very large, metal shamrock cookie cutter, I bake it in the regular oven (15 min 350º), using foil to form a “bottom” for the cookie cutter.  I would recommend baking this either as 4 cupcakes or as I usually do other times of the year, in a 5″ square or round baking dish.  You could also use two small “mini-cake pans.  If doing cupcakes, fill them evenly, which will be about 3/4 full.  Don’t worry, this batter doesn’t rise too much during baking.

This recipe is not suitable until Phase 2  of Atkins.  Those on other Ketogenic diets may get bumped out of ketosis consuming alcohol, but there is very little in this, so that might not happen.   Of course, you should omit the booze if in the first 2 weeks Induction phase.

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: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 T. butter, melted

4 pkts. stevia (I use Sweet Leaf)

¼ c. erythritol

2 large eggs, beaten

1 T. Irish Whiskey (I used Powers)

¼ c. cocoa powder, sifted

1½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. glucomannan (konjac) powder

1 tsp. oat fiber

CAKE DIRECTIONS:   Spray or grease your dish(s) or pan(s) with coconut oil or oil of your choosing.  Melt the butter and place in a medium glass bowl.   Add the stevia, erythritol and stir well.  Next beat in the two eggs.  Add the vanilla and Irish Whiskey and stir again.   Sift the cocoa on top and measure the remaining dry ingredients in next.  Stir gently to incorporate the dry into the wet ingredients.  Beat the batter with a spoon until it is smooth.    Pour into greased glass or ceramic pan(s) and bake for 1 minute on HI.   If using metal pans or conventional oven, bake at 350º about 13-15 minutes or until dry to the touch in the center.  Remove, cool completely and ice.

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:  

1 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 T. softened butter

2 tsp. Irish Whiskey (I used Powers)

¼ tsp. vanilla

2 T. plain whey protein powder (I use NOW brand)

2 pkts. stevia

3 T. powdered erythritol (I just powder it in my food processor)

FROSTING DIRECTIONS:  Soften the butter and cream cheese in a small bowl.  Add the protein, whiskey and vanilla.   Stir well until smooth.  Begin adding the sweeteners slowly, tasting as you go and STOP when it’s sweet enough for you, or add more if needed.  Everybody is different on sweetness preferences.    You can use food coloring to make your frosting green if you like (about 13-15 drops).  Frost the cooled cake(s) and serve at once or chill and then cover with plastic wrap if you must hold them over.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 2 large servings, each contains:

316 calories, 23 g  fat, 11.2 g  carbs, 5.1 g  fiber, 6.1 g NET CARBS, 13.5 g  protein, 434 mg sodium

Homemade Italian Sausage

Peggy 7 Comments

I’ve been making this Italian sausage for nigh on to 50 years now.  By making it yourself, you can ensure no sugar or hidden carb fillers are in your Italian sausage and you can control the salt as well!   I keep some made up in my freezer all the time.  It’s so good in recipes, with Italian food, in soups or just as a SNACK!  This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly and also suitable for Keto, Primal and Paleo lifestyles.

I’m proud to say this recipe appears in Vol. 2 (p.298) of Jennifer Eloff’s cookbook series:  Low Carbing Among Friends.  Some of the very best low-carb cooks on the internet collaborated with her in producing a marvelous collection of kitchen-tested tasty recipes that will help you stick with your low-carb efforts.  GET YOUR COPIES TODAY! at Amazon or here.    I receive no remuneration for this promotion or my recipe contributions.  I do so simply because these are GREAT chefs creating WONDERFUL recipes!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1 clove minced garlic
¾ tsp. fennel, crushed
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt

VARIATION:  For HOT Italian Sausage, add 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper.  I prefer the mild myself.    

Traditionally this sausage is made with veal and pork, but as veal is so pricey I just use regular 90% lean ground beef. If you have or can get veal easily, GO FOR IT, by all means! Sometimes I use all pork in this recipe.  For freezing, I like to carefully lay a sheet of plastic wrap on a sheet pan, extended longer than the pan. I prefer patty shape and set four on the plastic in pan.  Then I fold the sides over and ends up and simply accordion the four into a stack, as pictured below.  I then place these bundles into a gallon Ziploc bag and freeze.

Lined up on plastic wrap in pan

DIRECTIONS:  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with your hands or a fork.  Do not stop mixing until the garlic, parsley and spices are WELL-blended.  Shape either into 16 patties or 16 cylindrical link shapes.  If you prefer, you can stuff casings, if you have the equipment, but that’s way too much trouble for me.  😉   The patties/links will be approx. 2 oz. each. Freeze and use as needed.  For ease of defrosting, it’s essential that plastic separate each patty so you can just  pop the number you need off a stack (cutting plastic wrap if needed) and cook over medium-high heat to brown  These are great with alongside Italian dishes or sometimes I crumbled it up right into Italian casseroles.

One wrapped stack ready to freeze

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:     Makes 16 patties, each 2 oz. patty contains:

149.3 cal, 11.88g fat, 0.29g carbs,  0.14g. fiber,  0.15g NET CARBS, 9.68g protein, 36 mg. sodium

Einkorn Dumplings and Braised Beef Oxtails

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Braised Oxtails & Dumplings

Oxtail is a cut of beef that is usually used in soups, but it braises nicely, too.  The above dish was made with grass-fed oxtail.  I added a recipe of my Dumplings with a little parsley added.  The final dish was incredibly delicious!  The stock was very rich and didn’t even require any thickening!  This was absolutely delicious!  I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten oxtail any way but in soups before and will definitely fix them this way again!

I used my pressure cooker to speed up the cooking and tenderizing of this meat that tends to be a bit tough.  But you can slow cook them in any stew pot with success.  This dish is not suitable for Atkins Induction unless you omit the red wine.  It is OK for all other phases.

Very little of the flour clings to the meat during dredging and ends up in the stock during cooking  (I started out with 1 c. total and measured what was left in the bag and had virtually 1 c. left!).  Therefore I only calculated 1 T. of each dry “flour” in the nutritional tallies below, but I am absolutely certain even less (more like 1 tsp. each) is actually consumed. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

1½ lb. bone-in beef oxtails (I used grass-fed)

2 T. olive oil

½ c. oat fiber

½ c. Einkorn flour (I order from Jovial) or oat flour

2 oz. onion, sliced or chopped

Water to cover meat

¼ c. red wine (any dry red will do) [omit for Induction]

1/16 tsp. thyme

Dash each salt and black pepper

1 recipe my Dumplings

¼ c. parsley, chopped (for dumplings)

DIRECTIONS:  Mix the flour and oat fiber in a small paper bag.  Add the oxtail pieces, close and shake to dredged the meat uniformly with the coating.  Heat the oil in your stew pot or pressure cooker over high heat.  Add dredged pieces of meat and brown well on all sides.  The browning is what gives your stock a rich, dark brown color so do not under brown it.  Cover meat with water.  Add the onion, thyme, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil (or pressure point) and then lower heat and cook under pressure for 30 minutes.  If you don’t own a pressure cooker, simmer on low heat for about 1 hour or until meat is tender.  Add more water when the meat is done if a lot has cooked away.  You need at lease 2″ of stock to cook your dumplings in.  Lift the meat out onto a serving dish and pop into a warm oven while you make the dumplings.

Make the dumplings by that recipe’s directions, adding the chopped parsley to the dry ingredients. Form 12 ball-shaped dumplings using either your palms to roll or use 2 spoons to form dumplings.  In GENTLY simmering broth, carefully drop the dumplings. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.  Lift lid and dip the dumplings onto the meat and gently pour the stock over all.  Serve at once.  I served mine with steamed broccoli.  Be sure to note the fantastic nutritional info for this meal:

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings (3 dumplings per serving).  Each serving contains:

549 calories

32.6 g  fat

8.45 g  carbs, 5.55 g  fiber, 2.9 g NET CARBS

55 g  protein

606 mg sodium

520 mg potassium

35% RDA Vitamin B6, 174% B12, 7% C, 7% E, 30% copper, 84% iron, 14% magnesium, 6% manganese, 33% niacin, 58% phosphorous, 82% selenium, 14% thiamin, 222% zinc

Chocolate Tea Cakes

Peggy 4 Comments

Click to enlarge

Chocolate Tea Cakes

These rich chocolate cake-like cookies are not too sweet yet they still satisfy your desire for chocolate and that sweet tooth.  They have a mere .82 net carbs per tea cake.  I used this pan to make these and although the picture is deceiving, the slots are only ½” deep, so they only hold about 2 T. batter at best.   I suppose you could also use a whoopie pie pan, but I’m not sure how many you will get from this amount of batter. I originally bought the braided cookie pan with the intention of using it to mold sugar cookies.  But it makes nice little cakes for toddlers hands or special occasion dessert trays.  This recipe is a tweaked version of the 3-minute Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe that is all over the internet. I’ve added 3 ingredients that I think give it better flavor, texture and structure than the original recipe.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and the rare indulgence won’t hurt someone on a Keto diet if you can fit the carbs into your daily numbers.  This recipe is not suitable for Paleo-Primal due to the oat fiber.

I have also cut this recipe in half and baked it in my microwave on HI for 1 minute for a quick 2-serving chocolate cake.  When I do this, I melt about 10-12 sugar-free chocolate chips on top while still hot and spread it thinly on the surface. Mmmm……a very good, fast chocolate fix.  🙂

I know the amount of sweetener in these sounds like a lot, but they are not very sweet and it is always difficult to get chocolate desserts adequately sweet, in my honest opinion.

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DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or 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. butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ c. erythritol

4 pkts. stevia (I use Sweet Leaf)

1 tsp. oat fiber

1 tsp. glucomannan

1½ tsp. baking powder

¼ c. cocoa

1 T. powdered erythritol for sprinkling on top (optional)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Spray or lightly oil your pan.  Measure out all the dry ingredients onto a paper plate or in a small bowl and stir.  Beat the eggs with a fork in a medium bowl, add the butter and vanilla and stir well.  Slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Beat the batter with a spoon or rubber spatula until smooth.  The glucomannan will make the batter appear a little thick and sticky, but that is normal.  Either carefully spoon the batter evenly into the greased 12 pan slots or you can do like I did and fill a ziploc bag with the batter, cut a tiny hole in one corner and pipe the batter into the pan slots.  I’m glad I did, as I’d have made a mess trying to spoon it into the slots.  The slots will hold about 2½ T. batter each.  I had exactly enough batter to fill the 12 slots 3/4 full.  Pop the pan into your preheated oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until dry and slightly firm to the touch on top.  Cool completely and sprinkle with powdered erythritol if desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 12 tea cakes, each contains:

28.5 calories

1.95 g  fat

1.68 g  carbs, .76 g  fiber, .82 g  NET CARBS

1.39 g  protein

57 mg sodium

19 mg potassium

10% phosphorous, <10% all other macronutrients