You are going to LOVE these! They just get better and better each day that goes by. They’re even gluten-free, if you leave out the oat fiber. 🙂 Hubby really liked these and he’s not really a fruit and nut man. If you don’t have a Twinkie® baking pan, just make 12 small muffins, or bake in a round cake pan for cutting in wedges. These are not suitable for Atkins Induction on several levels. They are suitable for Phase 2 and above and Keto diets as well.
INGREDIENTS:
½ c. almond flour
¼ c. flax meal (I use 50:50 gold and dark)
¼ c. plain whey protein powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free version)
1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
3 T. softened cream cheese
2 beaten large eggs
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 T. heavy cream
2 T. fresh squeezed orange juice
1 T. warm tap water
1 tsp. yeast + 1 tsp. sugar dissolved in the warm water above (or 1 tsp. baking powder)
½ c. cranberries (homemade, dried, sugar-free)
½ c. slivered almonds
1 oz. orange peel
VARIATION: Add a few chopped pecans.
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly oil a non-stick pan of your choice (discussed above) and set aside.
Measure out the first 6 (dry) ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. In a separate small glass bowl, soften the cream cheese either at room temp or in your microwave on defrost. Dissolve the yeast in the tablespoon of warm water in a saucer and add to the cream cheese. Stir. Beat in the eggs well. Add the cider vinegar and cream. Add the creamy mixture to the dry ingredients bowl and stir.
Trim off 1 oz. of orange peel from an orange. You want to get as little white, bitter membrane as possible. Cut into approximately 1″ pieces. Place in food processor or blender. Add cranberries and nuts to the bowl and pulse it all together about 10 times or so, to a coarse chop. Add the fruit/nut mixture to the batter. Stir. Finally squeeze/measure out the orange juice. Stir well one last time to incorporate all to achieve a uniform distribution of the fruit/nuts.
Dip into/onto your chosen pan, distributing the batter evenly into 12 muffin cups, 12 Twinkie® slots or a greased round cake pan. Pop into 350º oven and bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool a bit before lifting with the assistance of a knife tip. If making a round or loaf bread, bake around 35 minutes or until the center passes a dry toothpick test. As with all low-carb baked goods, store in a bag in the refrigerator.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 ladyfingers (or whatever shape you make), so 1/12 of the batch (1 portion) contains:
160 cals, 12.64g fat, 6.53g carbs, 2.71g fiber, 3.82g NET CARBS, 8.3 g protein, 266 mg sodium
This is a fairly easy dish to throw together and is quite tasty. Any leftovers can be reincarnated the next day by adding some browned Italian sausage and mushrooms or some super thin slices of green pepper and seeded tomato. My husband is a hearty eater and had 3 slices. It took only 2 to satisfy me. Not suitable until Atkins Phase 2 OWL unless you use a different, Induction-friendly bread instead of the bread mentioned below. I added 2 sausage patties to the focaccia pictured above, because that’s what I had cooked, leftover in the fridge. Next time I’ll use 4 patties. If you add sausage, be sure to add that to the nutritional info shown below.
8 oz. unpeeled, eggplant (sliced thin, about 1/8″-¼” thick)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary
¼ tsp. crushed dried oregano
Pinch each onion powder and garlic powder
3 oz. Havarti, Emmenthaler, Swiss or Jack cheese, grated
1 oz. Parmesan cheese for final topping
DIRECTIONS:  Slice eggplant and spread onto paper towels and lightly salt. Let sit 10 minutes and pat the water off tops. Repeat for other side of eggplant.
Preheat oven to 350º. While eggplant is “bleeding” out its water, make the Artisan Flat Bread per recipe instructions. I always use mozzarella cheese where the recipe says Italian blend cheese. Spread batter onto parchment-lined 13×15 pan. You can spread batter all the way to the edges and make the sheet rectangular, or make it oval like I did in the picture below.  Sprinkle rosemary, oregano and onion and garlic powder on top. Now evenly spread half the grated cheese onto the batter. If adding sausage, do it now. Arrange eggplant slices in 1-2 slightly overlapping layers evenly on top. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese.  Finally, top with the Parmesan. Drizzle with the olive oil and bake for 30 minutes at 350º or until eggplant is done. Remove from oven and slice into 12 pieces. Serve immediately. This is nice with a green or tomato salad. Easiest eaten with your hands like pizza.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 servings. Excluding any added sausage, each serving contains:
These are what we had for dinner last night. I thought I’d share my version of this popular meal. Sloppy Joes have always been a comfort food for me and my husband as well. Low-carbed, they still taste wonderful!  When I created my original recipe, I just started throwing things into the pot because I wasn’t sure what all to add, since I used to use one of those envelope seasoning mixes in ‘my former life’ to make my Sloppy Joes. Well, I guess I grabbed the right things, because my husband gave these Sloppy Joes two thumbs up and we fix the low-carb version exclusively to this day. They’re not too juicy and have a low enough carb count to have them on the rare occasion.
Now I didn’t exactly use the lowest carb bun recipe I have for these. You can trim the carbs a bit using a lower carb commercially available bun than my Einkorn Sandwich Buns I used last night. The Einkorn ones are what I already had baked and ready to use.  Since many of you will use other buns, I’m providing nutritional info for the meat mixture separately.
This meal would only be suitable for Atkins Induction if you use a Flax bun or a Muffin in a Minute (without sweetener and cinnamon, of course). These are suitable for Keto Diets on a plan-suitable bun, provided you can fit the total carbs into your daily limit.  Paleo-Primal suitable on a plan acceptable bun.
MEAT MIXTURE INGREDIENTS:
2 lb. ground beef
3 oz. onion, chopped
1Â 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 c. water
¼-½ c. apple cider vinegar (or other vinegar you have)
½ c. red bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. your favorite diet-acceptable sweetener
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
½ tsp. paprika
NOTE:You will need 8 of my 3″ Einkorn Sandwich Buns (linked in paragraph above) or 8 buns of your choosing.
I like to split and toast my buns, but not always. I actually prefer to eat mine open-faced, spooning meat mixture over both halves of the bun. Dip about 2/3 cup meat mixture for 1 serving.
NUTRITIONAL INFO (Meat Mixture alone): Make 8 portions of meat filling consisting of 2/3 cup each. 1/8 batch contains: (be sure to add in the values for the buns you choose)
My doctor has requested I eat more whole grains, something I have eschewed for a decade or more. I told him that was NOT going to do anything for my low-carb diet efforts, but he said in the long run, it would make me healthier. Told him I would try to have them 1-2 times a week in some form or another. I immediately went about ordering on-line the following favorites: Einkorn wheat kernels, triticale, steel-cut oats, buckwheat groats, hard red wheat berries, and some whole barley (not the processed, instant stuff my grocery store carries). I found most items at Bluebird GrainFarms.com but a few I had to get from other sources. For those wondering about the sesame seeds visible in the photo above, Za’atar herb blend contains sesame seeds.
I also ordered a product called Einka and French Lentils from them. What a wonderful discovery! The mixture of Einkorn hard red wheat kernels and black lentils went into a new dish I made tonight. The chicken bake I created with this blend is a variation on a recipe on their website for this product. I changed the dried apricots to dried, unsweetened cranberries (I make myself). I added Swiss Chard to the dish. I omitted the cilantro garnish. I like cilantro, but didn’t think it would be particularly compliment the Za’atarand thyme.
Because whole grains are high in carbs, even with the fiber ‘knock-off’, clearly this recipe is not suitable until you reach weight-loss maintenance on your plan, and should only be indulged in on the rare occasion. This recipe is not suitable for Paleo/Primal folks who avoid both grains and legumes.
INGREDIENTS:
2 T. light olive oil
½ c. red onion, chopped
1/3 c. dried cranberries, no added sugar
1 c. Einka and Lentils from BluebirdGrainFarms (no other ingredients in this product)
Remove the pan from the oven and set temperature now to 425º. Remove lid & without disturbing the pilaf too much, check to see there is still little stock (about ¼”) in the bottom center of the pan (add 1/8c.-1/4 c. water to pan if totally dry). Now place the chicken pieces on top of the pilaf. Baste each piece of chicken with melted butter and sprinkle on a dash each salt, pepper and the remaining Za’atar spice. Place skillet back in the 425º oven and bake another 20-30 minutes (time depends on size of chicken pieces). Cook until meat is done. Nearly all liquid will be absorbed at this point. Serve with a green salad or your favorite green vegetable. I chose roasted asparagus to have with ours.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes six 3/4 cup servings (1 pc. chicken). Each serving contains:
I served this alongside pot roast, but you could probably enjoy it with any dish you would enjoy that has spinach. This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Primal/Paleo as well.
This family favorite is Atkins friendly and I made it again for dinner last night. I thought I’d repost this delicious dish for those that are new to my site. Be sure to omit the wine if you’re still on Induction Phase of Atkins program.  Got to be honest, it won’t be as good without the wine, so you might want to hold off until you’re out of Induction to try this one. Â
I serve this dish to company often and it’s always a hit!   I actually won the Galveston Daily News Holiday Recipe Contest with this recipe back in the 80’s. You can actually make this dish ahead of time, holding off on adding the bell pepper and tomatoes upon reheating for just 1-2 minutes after guests arrive and you’re ready to plate up for service. Thicken the sauce with the butter past at the very last minute. When I have company, I usually just use a whole cut-up chicken, minus the back, which I boil for chicken stock for adding to the sauce if needed,. If not, the stock goes in the freezer for future uses. Â
INGREDIENTS:
16 oz. chicken breast, skin on (cut into 4 servings)Â (I often use 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs & 1 breast)
4 slices of thick-slice bacon (1″ pieces), or dry-cured Smoked Country Ham, if you have access
1/2 c. chopped onion
4 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms
2 lg. cloves minced garlic
1.5 c. chicken broth or water
1/4 c. dry white wine (omit if still on Atkins Induction)
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
1/2 c. green bell pepper cut into strips
4 plum tomatoes, cut into large wedges.
2 T. butter blended with 1 T. oat fiber or 1/8 tsp. xanthan gum
DIRECTIONS: Brown the chicken in a skillet heated up with 1/4 c. olive or coconut oil. When both sides are nicely browned, remove chicken pieces from the skillet to a platter. Brown the bacon, onion, mushrooms and garlic in the same skillet in the same drippings. When veggies are tender, add chicken pieces back to the skillet, skin-side up. Add water, wine, thyme and bay leaf. Cover and simmer 30 minutes until chicken is done and veggies are tender. Add 1/4-1/2 cup stock only if you feel the dish is too dry at this point.
Finally, the last 4-5 minutes of cooking, and right right before you plan to serve, add the bell pepper and tomato wedges. Cook another 2-3 minutes only, as you don’t want the peppers to lose their pretty green color. You want the tomato wedges slightly softened but not falling apart. The bacon/ham usually makes this dish salty enough without extra salt addition. Thicken with 2 T. butter that has been softened and blended with 1 T. oat fiber or 1/8 tsp. xanthan gum. Stir in slowly, simmering for 1-2 more minutes. Dip chicken onto serving platter and ladle the sauce over the meat.
I serve mine over a generous helping of buttery Mashed Cauliflower. In my pre-low-carb days, this dish was served over now-verboten mashed potatoes. 🙂
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:Â Â Makes 4 servings of 4 oz. meat each
Each serving has 504 calories, 33.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 1.9 g fiber, 40 g protein, 6.1 g NET CARBS
This dish is known as Khoreshe Bademjan in Iran. Khoreshe means roughly gravy or stew in Pharsi or Farci, the Persian language. Bademjan means eggplant. I lived in Teheran from 1958-1960 and I was introduced to some amazing food during our stay. My father was USAF assigned to teach their fledgling air force how to fly the F-84’s and F-86’s we sold to Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was still on the throne. Our maid, Fatimeh, cooked this for her daughter’s wedding feast, which our family was invited to attend. I got to watch her prepare it from start to finish in HER home. What a fun experience it was! This dish is but one delicious example and can be made with either beef or lamb. It is equally good with both.
Traditionally this dish would have 1/3 cup of one of the following dried fruit added (only allowed on fruit rung of Atkins OWL phase, so it is not included below or in the nutritional info): raisins, dried apricot halves, dried cherries, dried peach halves, or dried prunes. In my pre-Atkins days, I even used craisins in this successfully. But now I make it without the fruit……though it is not nearly as good without, I have to admit. It was also traditionally served with indescribably delicious Iranian rice, with its unique nutty flavor. There is no other rice quite like it, not even basmati, so my parents shipped 100# of it back home with us when we returned to the U.S. This would also likely be served with Iranian Noon, a sheet bread made with whole wheat flour that is cooked on scorching hot pebbles in an open oven, giving it a smoky tandoori taste. You want to be able to sop up that delicious gravy with something, non?
I did not post a photo of this dish when this recipe was originally published, as it is not a particularly attractive dish. But when I made it last night, the eggplant held together a bit bitter and I have now added a photo. Trust me, what this dish lacks in looks, it makes up for in the flavor department. I have tried this dish with Kubideh ground beef/lamb meatballs and that is good, too, but not how Iranians cook it.
INGREDIENTS:
6 oz. eggplant (I often use more), cut in 2″ cubes
1½ lb. chuck
3 oz. onion, sliced or chopped
4 plum tomatoes, quartered
2 T. olive oil
3-4 sprigs fresh parsley
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. turmeric
pinch salt and pepper
3-4 cups water or chicken stock (total)
DIRECTIONS:  Cut up chuck into 1½”-2″ cubes. Cut eggplant into 2″ cubes (do not peel). Brown meat on all sides in olive oil in oven-proof skillet. Add onion and cook just a couple minutes.  Add tomatoes and eggplant cubes. Lower heat and cook 5 minutes, stirring often. Add parsley and spices. Stir in half the water/stock.  Cover with tight-fitting lid and bake in a slow 325º oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, approximately. Mid-cooking, lift lid, add rest of water/stock, stir gently. Recover and finish cooking. It is done when the eggplant is soft but not reduced to mush.  For yourself and all low-carbers, serve over steamed cauliflower. For your non-ANA guests, they will want to serve it over steamed basmati rice.
A lovely side dish to enhance this, is sliced, butter-seared banana halves. Trust me, the sauteed bananas are to-die-for with this dish! The bananas always WOWS my dinner guests when they taste them with this stew (or any curry). If you’re an eggplant fan, you are going to LOVE this recipe!
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 4, each serving contains:
These biscuits were inspired by a recipe for Garlic Butter Keto Bread at Eatwell101.com. I made some changes in ingredients, amounts and how I baked them. The final product was so good I felt compelled to post it on my blog for you all to try some time. This recipe with my modifications is not suitable until you are adding back grains during Atkins Phase 2. These were very filling and we could only eat one, which is good, because they are a little higher in carbs than most of my breads. But they were delicious! I served them with lobster tails and salad tonight.
Many of my recipes are showcased in Volumes 8 and 9 of LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS. As always, included in both editions are tasty new creations of Chef George Stella and my dear friend, Jennifer Eloff.  You can order these or any of our cookbooks at https://amongfriends.us/Secret-SALE.php.  When you purchase our books, we would sure appreciate you stopping by Amazon to leave a review here.
INGREDIENTS:
2 T. butter
2 T. parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. poppy seeds (optional)
1½ c. almond flour
2 T. Einkorn flour (omit for slightly lower carbs)
1½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. psyllium husk powder
2 oz. cream cheese
2½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese
3 large eggs, beaten
DIRECTIONS: In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the parsley, garlic and poppy seeds (if using). Set aside for now. Preheat oven to 350º.
Lightly oil a 9″ cast iron skillet (I used an ebilskiver pan) or 7 slots of a large-muffin pan. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and set aside. On a paper plate, measure out the dry ingredients and stir. Set aside. In a large glass bowl, place the mozzarella and cream cheese. Microwave the cheeses on high for 1-2 minutes to melt well. Remove and stir well with a fork. Add the eggs and dry ingredients all at once and stir rapidly to mix the dry ingredients with the eggs and cheese. Knead a few times if needed to blend well.   Spoon up about 1/2c. dough and slightly roll. Place a ball of thick dough into each of seven slots of your pan. Press smoothly down into the slots. If using a cast iron skillet, place 6 of the biscuits around the outside of the oiled skillet. Place the 7th roll in the center. They will be touching when done if not before cooking.
With a fork, dip the melted butter-parsley mixture onto each roll top, pressing slightly down into the rolls with the tines of the fork. Pop into a 350º oven and bake for 20 minutes. Turn oven up to 450º and bake for another 5-6 minutes to brown the tops to your liking. Remove and serve hot with butter.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Â Â Makes 7 biscuits, each contains:
I was asked by my husband to cook a pot of pinto beans and ham with some cornbread tonight. I don’t like to eat such a carb-y meal, so I only ate a couple boiled eggs and 1/2 avocado during the day in plans for the carb-y dinner tonight.  I modified my Jalapeno-Cheese Bread recipe that has been on my website for years now and changed things up a bit. I added onion powder and a hefty amount of cayenne pepper, along with a small amount of actual cornmeal.  We both LOVED the result! This bread is not suitable until you reach Maintenance Phase of Atkins, since it has real cornmeal in it. Â
This would probably make up nicely as muffins, too. Muffins will only take about 15-20 minutes to cook.
The corn flavoring I use is, frankly, whatever brand I can find.  Select Products (who bought out Superior Flavors and then shut down their on-line website later. Superior Products website will still open for me and may accept orders on certain products.  I use their “Fresh Corn” in their Regular Shop, but you have to get the 8 oz. bottle.  I succeeded in ordering 6 small bottles last time OK. If you have no success placing an order at that site, try this corn flavoring (I have not personally tried): https://amoretti.com/products/sweet-corn-extract-ws, or try the corn flavoring at Naturesflavors.com (I hear it’s good, but I haven’t tried it yet).
INGREDIENTS:
1½ c. almond flour
2 T. coconut flour
¼ c. golden flax meal
1 T. baking powder
1½ c. shredded cheddar cheese (or other hard cheese)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. granulated onion powder
1/3 c. cornmeal (I use white, but yellow is just fine)
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a loaf pan well and set aside. I highly recommend using a piece of parchment to cradle the batter, as my bread is inclined to stick on the bottom at times, even in a non-stick pan! I can easily get 10 very thick slices out of this loaf. For those that use over-long size loaf pans (4″x12″) I have had luck with this recipe using both the extra-long loaf pan, as well as a regular loaf pan. The longer size will back a flatter loaf; the regular will make a slightly taller loaf.  Â
Measure all dry ingredients and cheese into a medium measuring bowl, stir and set aside. Add cheese and stir all dry ingredients together to blend.  Add all liquid ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to blend.   Using a rubber spatula, scrape batter into greased, preferably parchment-lined also, loaf pan and pop into preheated oven for 40 minutes in a 5×8″ pan (only 30 min if using a 4″x12″ pan). Ovens vary, so check center with finger for a dry touch and also do a toothpick test.  Remove and cool in pan a few minutes before attempting to tip out & slice. Run sharp knife around edges to loosen and gently tip out onto a cutting board. Slice into 10 servings. Â
This cornbread should make an outstanding“Cornbread” Stuffingfor your holiday turkey, I’m sure. Â
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Makes ten 1/2″ slices, each slice contains:Â
One of life’s culinary pleasures is lobster, in my opinion. Only thing that comes close for me would be a grilled-to-perfection 1½” thick ribeye steak. Both make my mouth water just thinking about them. We try to move away from Turkey after Thanksgiving, so right now, I’m planning on having lobster for my Christmas feast.  I think a lovely Lobster Bisque, a green salad, a crusty French baguette, and perhaps a lovely Broccoli with Caramelized Onion Sauce this year to accompany the seafood.
The lobster tails I can get at Sam’s Club usually ship from the Bahamas.  They taste a little sweeter than cold water lobster from New England, in my opinion, which I kind of like.  This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins.
INGREDIENTS:Â
1.25 lb. lobster tails (yields about 12 oz. tail meat after removing shell)
½ stick salted butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:   Put about 1½ cups water in a deep boiling pot and bring to a boil. Run two skewers from the base of the tail up the center of the belly, all the way up to the center of the thickest part to keep the tail from curling during cooking. When the water comes to a rolling boil, place the skewered lobster (tail up) in the pot. I usually lean the skewers against the top edge of the boiling pot so they stand upright. Set a lid on the pot slightly offset to reduce water evaporation, but it really doesn’t have to be 100% closed.   Lower to medium heat and let steam for 7-10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove skewers and holding shell with one hand, with the help of a kitchen towel or mitt, cut with kitchen shears straight up the belly shell from top to base of tail. Pull sides of tail shell apart and fork out the tail meat (I like to leave the tail fins attached and in tact) right out of the shell. Splay the tail fins out on the serving planner for a pretty presentation at table.  Another bread option would be my Rosemary Onion Dinner Rolls: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/rosemary-onion-dinner-rolls/
VARIATION: Sometimes I boil my lobster tails and when I do, I dispense with the skewer step. I do take the time before cooking to cut all the way up the back (arched concave side) just to the tail fan. This avoids your having to handle the tails when they are boiling hot out of the water. Â
NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 2 servings and each contains (including ¼c. of the butter):
367 cals, 23.9 g fat, 2.2 g carbs, 0 fiber, 2.2 g NET CARBS, 34.8 g protein, 1350 mg sodium
I meant to post this earlier in the week, but we had company and doctor’s appointments seems like forever. I want to wish all my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving! I know you’ll be serving up some delicious low-carb creations.
I’m fond of turkey roasted in my roaster oven as they always come out so moist cooked that way.  This year I’m actually cooking a turkey breast and two thighs instead of a whole bird. Nobody is visiting and I don’t want too many leftovers. Roaster ovens are especially nice for extra oven space needed at holiday gatherings.
What turkey would be complete without a good batch of dressing/stuffing? This recipe, modified to be low-carb, has been in my family for years (high carb version, that is). I think you’ll like my low-carb version. I like to bake the dressing separately from the bird as I like the crusty bits on top:
At a time to be thankful for family, friends and good food to share with them, I can’t imagine a more bountiful meal to serve. May all my readers be blessed with a lovely holiday get together this year.
I just this evening discovered that I have two Steak Diane ‘variation’ recipes on my blog, but have never photographed and uploaded the classic recipe itself! How silly of me! Since it’s what I fixed for dinner tonight with some fresh green beans, I thought it about time I did that little thing. So here your are, in all its lovely, lemony deliciousness for your perusal. We just love this simple dish and how the mushrooms soak up the lemon juice and become lemon-y themselves. Although I sometimes add 1/4 cup white or red wine to this dish, I’m not consistent about that addition, so I’ll not include in in the stats below. My mother never added the wine, so the recipe below is at least authentic to HER version of this famous dish. 🙂 You may think an 8oz. strip steak is too much for one portion, but after you trim off the gristle and fat on the outer rim of a strip steak, it will likely only be a 6 oz. steak. I know I cut 3 oz. tough gristle/fat from my steak tonight, so the protein & fat numbers, in reality, were much lower than is shown below. My Fitness Pal, which I now use to calculate my recipes, I seriously doubt, takes the waste into consideration in their food stats.
INGREDIENTS:
2 T. unsalted butter
2 8-oz. (raw) steaks (I used NY strips)
¼ tsp. each coarse black pepper & sea salt
2-3 cloves minced garlic (your call)
2 4-oz. cans sliced mushrooms (with juice)
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp. Better than Bouillon Beef Base
½ c. chopped parsley, curly leaf
OPTIONAL: ¼ c. dry white or red wine
DIRECTIONS: Sprinkle the black pepper onto both sides of the steaks. In a large skillet over high heat, melt the butter and sear the steaks on both sides until halfway to the stage you want. We like our steak medium rare, so that was about 6 minutes on a side. Kill the searing action by dumping the mushrooms with their juice into the pan around the meat and lower heat to medium. Add all remaining ingredients, stir as you simmer on medium for a few more minutes to finish cooking the meat and allow flavors to co-mingle. Using a knife, cut into meat to check. Turn fire off when steaks have reached the stage of doneness (check with a knife) your family prefers. If you wish, you can thicken the sauce a wee bit with a sprinkle of your favorite thickener (I used xanthan gum, around 1/16 tsp.). This dish pairs nicely with fresh green beans and mashed cauliflower.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes two adult servings (8 oz. steaks), each steak with sauce contains:
653 cals, 47g fat, 6g carbs, 1g fiber, 5g NET CARBS, 48g protein, 1160 mg sodium (omit salt to lower)
I don’t much feel like cooking tonight, so this is what I’ll throw together. We LOVE this! I have some small tubs of spaghetti sauce in the freezer that will do nicely here. This stuff is delicious, so I fix it often.  When I first created this recipe my husband was out of town that night. It tasted like I was eating real gnocchi or lasagna noodles!!  The next day when he got back home, I told him “You’re not going to believe what I made with my new dumpling recipe!” Even my husband now loves this mock lasagna as well as the real traditional lasagna preparation.
This recipe quickly made my regular recipe rotation and since its creation in 2014, has hopped right to the top of the list!  The dumplings hold up well in the sauce and do not break down during the baking process either, (although I always think they will). This is so good you simply must try it soon! You won’t believe you didn’t slave in the kitchen making this scrumptious Italian fare. This dish is suitable once you reach Atkins Phase 2 OWL, and is is OK for a variety of Keto programs. It is not, however, appropriate for Primal or Paleo followers due to the dairy.
1 c. my meaty Spaghetti Sauce (or low-carb Italian meat sauce of your choosing)
½ c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
¼ c. Parmesan cheese
¼ c. ricotta cheese
DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. Mix up the dumplings per that recipe’s instructions. Form the dough into 24 small balls about 3/4″ in diameter. Drop into boiling water and lower to a gentle simmer, cover and simmer for 8-9 minutes, DO NOT LIFT THE LID during cooking.  Drain off the water and pour the dumplings into a baking dish (no need to grease it). Dot evenly with your spaghetti sauce.  Dot evenly with the ricotta. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top evenly and finally, top with the Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350º for about 15 minutes to heat all and melt the cheese. ENJOY!
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Â Makes 3 servings, each contains:
When I have a couple of biscuits left over from breakfast I like to make combo dishes like this. Leftover cauliflower enhances the flavor profile, but if I have none left over, I cook it a few minutes from scratch in boiling water. This creation is always tasty, although a bit different each time I make it for some strange reason. Trust me, it tastes much better than it looks in the picture. What you end up with is a flavor similar to classic Shepard’s Pie but with sausage instead of the traditional beef. It really tastes like there is mashed potatoes in this dish! This dish is not suitable for Induction unless you make an unsweetened MIM with some cheese added and used that instead of the cheese biscuits.
We’re having this flavorful side dish with some broiled shrimp tonight. They should go well together.  I’ve seen a wide variety of recipes for this dish over the years, but my version with bacon is our favorite.  Bacon always seems to make everything a wee bit better. 🙂
For those not familiar with what we Texans call Calaba squash, the pic below is an example of one popular strain in all our local grocery stores. This squash is also referred to as ‘Mexican Zucchini’. They are mild and very similar to zucchini in taste, but are shorter, lighter green, slightly striped (some have even darker stripes than the squash in the pic) and they are more oval in shape than zucchini. The inside flesh is firmer, yellower and best of all, does not bleed water into your recipes as badly as regular Italian zucchini does. You can definitely substitute zucchini in this dish if you can’t get calaba squash where you live, but expect it to be a ‘wetter’ dish with that substitution. I’ve even been known to make this recipe with yellow summer squash. Comes out tasting a little different, but still quite good. This dish is most certainly Atkins Induction friendly.
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. diced calaba squash (½-¾” dice)
½ large leek, sliced thin
4 slices lean bacon, chopped
1 T. butter, unsalted
½ c. sweet red pepper, chopped
3 oz. cheddar cheese
3 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese
Pinch each of black pepper, ground cumin and celery seed
VARIATION:Â Omit the bacon entirely for the more traditional calabacita.
This quick dish originally came about one day at lunchtime because I had 1/4 pound package of fresh breakfast sausage in the fridge sitting center front of the refrigerator shelf today at eye level. Adding just 3 other ingredients made for a wonderful and delicious lunch. Today, however, I made this one for dinner tonight. I forgot how good this dish is! Even my greens-aversive husband enjoyed this dinner! I DID double the ingredients to make enough for two servings tonight. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo as well.
INGREDIENTS:
4 oz. pork breakfast sausage, crumbled large (I use Owens ‘regular’)
2 oz. onion, slivered large
1 c. chopped kale (or 2 leaves, stemmed and chopped)
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes one large serving (adjust for more servings) which contains: (Share with someone to reduce the numbers below. Remember, these are all “good” carbs)
442 cals, 32g fat, 12.3g carbs, 2.3g fiber, 10g NET CARBS, 24.9g protein, 1036 mg sodium (omit salt if super sodium sensitive)
This is my all-time favorite ways to cook eggs in the morning. I’m not terribly fond of eggs just scrambled or fried. I have always had to “doctor them up” quite a bit to eat them. This is one way I’ve succeeded in making eggs, to be quite honest, not taste so much like eggs.  It’s sinfully rich and Atkins Induction friendly!
It is also suitable for Primal diners, but not Paleo without a substitute for the cream. You can play around a bit with this recipe, too, adding other things to the sauce like cooked pork sausage, ham (as shown), sliced mushrooms, onion slivers. 🙂 Tarragon is a sweet, delicate spice with a slight licorice taste.  If you put too much in the sauce, you’ll probably not be happy with the result. When it comes to tarragon, MORE is not better!  For what it’s worth, although I sometimes add ham to this sauce (shown above) for my husband, I personally prefer this sauce without the ham.
If beyond Induction Phase of Atkins, 1 T. sherry or white wine is also good added to this sauce.
INGREDIENTS:
1 Roma tomato, seeded and chopped
Without the 2 oz. ham (my preferred way to serve this)
1 tsp. olive oil
¼ c. + 2 T. heavy cream
1/3 c. water
¼ tsp. crushed tarragon
Pinch onion powder
1 T. butter
4 large eggs, beaten
1/16 tsp. xanthan gum (only if you want it thicker)
VARIATION:  Add 3-4 oz. sliced/chopped cooked ham to the sauce before adding the other ingredients to the skillet. Add some cooked crumbled bacon to the sauce instead of ham. 🙂
Never a bad day to grill outside in my book. We love this good old classic.  Although considered an American classic, much like America’s nation of immigrants, we now have a ‘melting pot’ of cuisines. I often wonder if we are even correct calling our American favorites ‘American’ at all,  other than turkey and winter squashes known to be around at the First Thanksgiving. As other cultures have immigrated, so have their food traditions, slowly making them American regulars.
What’s more American than BBQ nowadays? Yes, the sauces people put on it vary from region to region, but the smoking meats and seafoods over open fire has always been an American favorite. Heavily smoked foods can upset my intestinal tract, but I love the taste so much, I just won’t give it up! It’s comfort food for me. As it reheats so nicely, we often cook it in large batches, freezing the leftovers. When thawed and warmed up with a little sauce on top, it’s like you just spent the afternoon grilling again! My husband’s philosophy on BBQ’ing briskets and ribs is “Might as well do two: one for now and one for later.” Besides, he just HATES the smell of smoke on himself (although I love it) and has to go shower after cooking BBQ. Shhhhhh! He would be embarrassed if he knew I told you his secret. Needless to say, he loves to eat BBQ out a lot because of this and we do have our favorite BBQ restaurants in the area.
I’ve never liked BBQ beef ribs quite as much as I like BBQ pork ribs. Must be my North Carolina roots? I’m a ‘naturalized’ Texan by virtue of marriage, as well as living here for over 50 years now. I’ve grown to prefer the slightly sweeter tomato-based sauce on my BBQ over the popular tart vinegar sauces of North Carolina, despite my mother’s best efforts to change me. What I just admitted is sacrilege for a ‘Tarheel’! 🙂
That said, I do have my limits on sweet. I don’t like my BBQ as unctuously sweet as some Texans like it either, so I never use ketchup in making homemade BBQ sauces. Typically, I will take a full bottle of G. Hughes low-carb BBQ sauce (or start with a base of tomato sauce, some Splenda and spices) and cut it with ¼-½ c. vinegar and ½ c. water to thin both thickness, until the taste is just right for me.
This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other keto diets. It is suitable for Paleo if a plan-suitable BBQ sauce is used.
INGREDIENTS:
1Â rack of pork spare ribs (silverskin/membrane removed from bones along concave side)
½ bottle G.Hughes BBQ sauce (or other low-carb sauce)
½ c. white vinegar
½ c. water
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 325º. Using a sharp knife, lift and remove the silver skin/membrane from the concave side of the rack of ribs. If done right, you can sometimes pull it all off the bones with one steady pull. Place rack of ribs into a large baking pan that will hold them completely. Cover with foil and pop into 325º oven and bake 45 minutes only. This is done to to pre-cook them a bit to speed up grilling time and also to facilitate ultimate tenderizing for tooth-tender eating.  Watch them, as you don’t want the meat falling off the bone. If done this way you can cook a rack of ribs, start to finish, in just 3 hours or so. If you try to cook them entirely on the grill without the pre-bake step, it will require multiple charcoal additions during cooking time, ribs take 4-5 hours cook and is an all-afternoon affair to reach the tender stage we love to call “fall-off-the-bone”.
When your charcoal is white hot, using a BBQ tool, push coals to one side of the grill. Go ahead and lay a few more fresh coals on the fire at this point as well. Lay the rack of ribs on the other side of the grill, away from the coals. You will need to grill them for a total of 3 hours. Using a brush, sauce the rack of ribs lightly on both sides.  After one hour cooking, sauce again with the brush and turn the rack over (sauce the cooked side up again, too). At two hours cooking, sauce the meat, turn and sauce the now cooked top again. At 3 hours, sauce the bottom side one more time and allow to cook just until the sauce has caramelized.  Remove the ribs to a serving platter and cut them apart between the bones to serve with additional sauce at your dining table. Sides that compliment this are a lovely green salad, coleslaw, my Mexican Bean Casserole or Sweet Green Cabbage.
NUTRITION: Â Contains 14 ribs, each rib contains approximately:
I saw a package of lovely Portobello caps in the grocery store yesterday and decided to bring them home for a new stuffing trial. Since we hadn’t done any in ages, it just sounded good. I decided to throw in several common stuffed mushroom ingredients and the combo came out particularly good. I think you’ll like these as much as we did! If you are still on Atkins Induction Phase, do leave out the Sauvignon Blanc wine called for below. You can use smaller button mushrooms to produce bite-size party food or snacks with this recipe. I would estimate the filling would stuff approximately 20-24 small mushrooms.
INGREDIENTS:
2 large 3oz. Portobello mushroom caps (mine had no stems)
2 tsp. olive oil
4 slices thick bacon, chopped
1½ links sweet Italian Sausage (I used Johnsonville), casing removed, crumbled
¼ c. chopped green onion (or yellow onion if you prefer)
1 small low-carb dinner roll, crumbled
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 T. (1 oz.) cream cheese
½ tsp. coarse black pepper
¼ c. white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
DIRECTIONS: Wipe mushrooms with clean cloth or paper towel to remove any dirt. Spoon out and discard the black gills. Using a brush, oil the smooth outside with olive oil and place gill-side up in your baking dish. Set aside and Preheat oven to 350º.
This recipe has been one of my most popular Middle Eastern recipes therefore I would be remiss in not including it in our adventure through my Middle Eastern recipe collection. It has garnered millions of Facebook fans where I once maintained a presence, during those years I was on the Low Carbing Among Friends team. I no longer maintain a Facebook presence.Â
Our dear friends in Dallas have taken us several times to a wonderful little Lebanese restaurant over in Ft. Worth named Hedary’s. Family-operated for many years by a Lebanese family. I can say their tabouleh salad and kebabs are the best I’ve ever eaten. So is their slow-roasted baked lemon chicken known as Frarej. For those tables positioned close enough to do so, they used to serve their fresh-baked Lebanese bread all the way from behind the counter on long, paddled poles used to place them into and out of the ovens for cooking.  Don’t know if they still do that, but is sure was fun to watch! Next time you’re in Ft. Worth, give Hedary’s a try!Â
In the meantime…………………..experience their delicious baked chicken at home! This Induction friendly version of their ever-popular lemony chicken dish is slightly changed, but just as yummy nonetheless. The original dish has potato wedges, so I always substitute rutabaga or turnip wedges to keep the carbs reasonably low. I did not include the root vegetables in the nutritional info below as I don’t always include them in the pan. I tend to vary the vegetables I use based on what I have on hand. So be sure to calculate the veggies you add (and consume) over and above what I consider to be the base recipe of onion, garlic and tomatoes. If you have family that are not on Atkins, I would definitely use a few wedges of potato for those folks, as they soak up those tasty pan juices like a sponge and are sooooooo tasty.
My rendition is very close to the inspirational dish from Hedary’s, though the tomatoes are my personal addition. I must confess, mine is good, but not QUITE as it is at Hedary’s. Sigh. I understand Hedary’s has left the original location and moved farther out in Ft. Worth somewhere.  This meal is easy to prepare and the oven basically does the work for you! Gives a whole new meaning to Ron Popeel’s expression “Set it & forget it.” for a sheer heavenly, delicious dinner almost effortlessly. 🙂 Please follow directions closely as they are KEY to getting the best results.
INGREDIENTS:
4 T. olive oil
1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces, cutting breast in half (Do not remove skin or you will ruin this dish)
4 oz. onion cut into wedges (separate layers)
2 Roma tomatoes cut into wedges
6-10 cloves garlic, (leave half of them whole, mince the rest)
½ tsp. oregano
Juice of 1 lemon
Dash salt and pepper
OPTIONAL: Original dish had potato wedges and whole carrots roasted in the pan with the chicken. The carrots are OK but I’d substitute in pieces of rutabaga, turnip or daikon radish for the potato wedges to keep carbs down.
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 500º (therefore do NOT use a ceramic baking dish!). Cut up chicken into separate pieces making 8 pieces in all.  I never use the back as I simmer that for broth to freeze for other purposes or it becomes dinner for my dogs. 🙂 Drizzle 1 T. of the olive oil on the bottom of a very large METAL baking/roasting pan (I use a 12 x 15 stainless steel metal pan).  If you don’t yet have a really large, good quality stainless steel roasting pan, I think it is one of the single most important investments you can make in your kitchen tools. Place chicken skin side up in the pan. You don’t want any overlapping or crowding. Do not use a glass/ceramic baking dish as it will break in a 500º oven. Â
Crowding of this chicken and the veggies in the pan will result in deeper pan juices. Deeper juices keeps chicken from crisping of the chicken, so use a really large pan. Place tomato wedges around and in between chicken pieces. Do the same with the onion pieces and add the garlic. If using the root vegetables, cut them up and place them evenly around the chicken. Squeeze the lemon over everything in the pan. Drizzle remaining olive oil over the pan contents as well.  Lightly sprinkle some oregano or Greek seasoning over all (about 1/4-½ tsp, I don’t measure it).  Bake 30 minutes at 500º. Baste with pan juices, lower heat to 350º and bake another 20 minutes or to internal temperature of 170º on a meat thermometer.  Baste with pan juices just before serving. I like to place the juices in a gravy boat and have it on the table for basting the drier breast meat while eating. If there are any juices leftover after the meal, I always freeze them and add them to the bottom of the next pan I make of this recipe (which is often!). Each successive pan is therefore better than the last! I like to serve this chicken dish with my Cucumber Mint Salad or my Tabouleh salad
NUTRITIONAL INFO: (does NOT include the optional vegetables). Please note, these numbers are only approximate, because the actual counts will vary depending on which pieces of chicken and which roasted veggies you consume.
Serves 4, each 2-piece serving contains: (these numbers do not include the carrots or rutabaga)
447 cals, 30.4 g fat, 7.98 g carbs, 1.1 g fiber, 6.88 g NET CARBS, 34.8 g protein, 39 mg. sodium
One of my Mom’s regular afternoon snacks to offer us when I was growing up was half a banana sandwich with a smear of peanut butter dotted on the bananas. If there were animal crackers in the house, she’d place a slice of banana on top of one of those with a dot of PB on top. Well, I took those memories to a new little creation…….a banana-PB muffin of sorts. These were tasty beyond words.
My Twinkies® are a little carb-y, so obviously not for daily consumption, but a tasty treat once in awhile. 🙂 These are not suitable until you have reached the higher-carb fruits level of the Atkins carb reintroduction ladder and are nearer to maintenance. These are too high carb for most Keto followers, but those at goal weight might indulge occasionally. Totally not suitable for Primal-Paleo followers.
VARIATION: If you don’t have a Twinkie® pan, just make as muffins. They’ll be just as good.
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly grease a non-stick Twinkie® pan (or use a regular muffin pan if you don’t have a Twinkie® pan). Make the recipe of banana muffin batter in a medium bowl. Stir until smooth. Spoon into the 12 slots of the pan equally (will be quite full as they don’t rise much). Bake at 350º for about 22-25 minutes. I’m still learning to use a new oven in a new house so these came out a little browner than I like, but the oven performed pretty well for me. Remove when firm to the touch and cool off. Slice in half and set aside. Stir the mashed whole banana and peanut butter together until well-blended. Makes 3/4 c. filling or exactly 12 tablespoons. Fill each “Twinkie”® with 1 T. of the filling, spreading somewhat evenly. You can, if you prefer, just “frost” the tops of the Twinkies® with the filling, if you find this easier. 🙂 ENJOY!
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 Twinkies®, each contains:
244.7 calories, 19.76 g fat, 13.15 g carbs, 4.29 g fiber, 8.86 g NET CARBS, 6.83 g protein
We love Mexican food around here! We are particularly fond of enchiladas and haven’t had them in quite awhile. I thought it time to make a batch today, since I have an avocado that’s ripe I can use for a guacamole salad. I’m going to boil a chicken thigh and a couple drumsticks ahead of time and strip the meat off the bones this morning.  Once I do that it’s pretty easy going getting these together. Just make up a batch of my low-carb corn tortillas this afternoon and roll ’em up! This recipe is not suitable until you are at the end of Atkins Phase 2 On-Going Weight Loss (OWL).
1 T. my Sofrito sauce (or 2 T. chopped cilantro + 1/2 clove minced garlic)
1 c. tomatoes and green chiles, drained (about 2/3 can)
3 slices Deluxe American or Cheddar cheese (for inside enchiladas)
5 slices Deluxe American or Cheddar cheese (for topping)
½ c. red mild enchilada sauce (homemade, preferably)
Optional: 1½ oz. chopped onion browned in bit of oil (adds 1/2 net carb to each enchilada)
DIRECTIONS: Lightly oil a baking dish and set aside. Make the tortillas per that recipe’s instructions. Set them aside, reserving 2 of the 8 for another use. Boil chicken until done (about 1 hour), cool, de-bone.  Shred the chicken meat into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to assembly your enchiladas. Once ready to roll (pardon the pun), add the drained tomatoes with green chiles, sofrito sauce (or cilantro option offered above) and the browned onion (if using) to the bowl. Stir to mix all well. Spoon 1/6 of the mixture down the center of 1 tortilla. Place ½ slice cheese inside in any fashion you like (or shred it up). Gently roll the tortilla over the filling and place enchilada seam-side down in an oiled baking dish. Repeat for the other 5 enchiladas.Â
Spoon or drizzle the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and top with remaining cheese. FYI, I make my homemade enchilada sauce from 1 small can tomato sauce, a couple slices cheese, some chili powder and garlic powder. If you use canned enchilada sauce, now add the remaining 5 slices of cheese atop the enchiladas. You can shred remaining slices of cheese if you prefer, but I rarely bother doing so. You can also put more cheese inside the tortillas (1 full slice in each enchilada) and only use 2 slices on top, if you prefer.  Cover pan with foil and bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with a refreshing guacamole salad.
VARIATION:Â You can use 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar on top rather than sliced American indicated if you prefer.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Â Â Makes 6 enchiladas, each contains:
347 calories, 27g fat, 7.83 g carbs, 1.7g fiber, 6.13g NET CARBS, 19.25g protein, 734 mg sodium (mostly from cheese)
This quick little dessert takes all of about 10 minutes to make and would make a lovely dessert for your honey on Valentine’s Day. It’s very tasty with a wide variety of berries and fruit. It’s a variation on my Einkorn Individual Vanilla Cake recipe. This recipe isn’t suitable until you are fairly close to goal weight. You can make this dessert with a few pureed strawberries if you like.
VARIATIONS: Substitute 3 pureed strawberries for the raspberries. Or, sub in 3 slices of pureed fresh peach. Or stir in 2 T. crushed canned pineapple (drained). All are delicious versions!
2 T. my Raspberry Coulis (or sugar-free raspberry preserves, or 7-8 mashed fresh berries)
½ c. heavy cream, whipped and sweetened (makes about 3/4 cup total)
DIRECTIONS: Make the cake per that recipe’s instructions, but use raspberry sugar-free syrup instead of the vanilla syrup.  Scrape the batter into a 6″ ramekin (or 2 smaller ones). Microwave on HI for 1 minutes or until center is dry to the touch. Cool completely. Slice cake horizontally into 2 layers. Place one layer on a serving plate. Whip and sweeten the whipping cream. Stir in the fruit/ puree. Spread half on top of the bottom layer. Place top cake layer on top and frost with remaining whipped mixture. Cut into two servings and ENJOY!
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Â Makes two servings, each contains:
Grass-fed beef steaks can be a little tough as they are so lean. However, grilling them with a nice marinade usually tenderizes them nicely. Hubby usually has a baked potato with his; I often have fried radishes & caramelized onions (shown above), as it reminds me of potato hash browns. And of course, you can’t go wrong serving a nice salad with grilled meat. This is a very simple marinade I think my readers will enjoy. The spices give it a distinctly Asian flavor. This recipe is suitable once you reach Atkins Phase 2 OWL, as the bit of white wine is not allowed on Induction. It would be acceptable for Paleo-Primal only if you consume small amounts of wine. Of course, leaving out the wine is always an option. As grass-fed beef does tend to be a little tougher to begin with, I would not recommend cooking grass-fed beef well-done or you are going to be doing a lot of chewing. 🙂
INGREDIENTS:
2Â Â 1″ thick steaks (I used grass-fed T-bone, each 14-oz bone-in steak yields=10 oz. meat)
3 T. coconut aminos, tamari, or low-sodium soy sauce
2 T. olive oil
2 oz. white wine (omit if still in Atkins Induction)
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. ginger, minced
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. coarse black pepper
1 tsp. toasted white sesame seeds
1 tsp. black sesame seeds (optional)
DIRECTIONS: Mix the two types of sesame seeds with the red and black pepper in a saucer. Poke the meat a few times with an ice pick, knife or kitchen fork to allow marinade to penetrate the meat a bit. Pound the sesame seed/pepper blend onto the surface of the meat either with the butt of your palm or a meat tenderizer mallet. Place the steaks into a glass marinating dish. Now add the coconut aminos (or soy sauce), wine and olive oil to the container. Add the minced ginger and garlic.  Mix it up a bit and then, using a basting brush, drizzle the marinade over the meat carefully trying not to disturb the spices on the surfaces. Cover and marinate for 4-5 hours in the refrigerator. Remove steaks 30 minutes before ready to cook to bring them to room temperature. While they come to room temp, prepare your charcoal fire. When coals are white-hot, cook the steaks for about 7-8 minutes per side for medium to medium rare as shown above (or until done to your liking).
NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Naturally, not all the marinade is absorbed by the meat and consumed. I show the total carbs for the marinade below, but you can assume around ½ g. net carb is consumed on the marinade. 🙂
Yields 2 adult servings (charcoal-grilled steak is the one time I indulge myself). Each 10 oz. serving of steak contains:
478 cals, 21.4g fat, 3.9g carbs, 2.1g fiber, 1.8g NET CARBS (only around ½ g net carb consumed), 62.8g protein, 948 mg sodium
I just love duck! We tried a new marinade on the duck in the pic.  I usually oven roast it in the oven but have also done this bird over a charcoal fire. It comes out absolutely delicious done either way! I’d like to share this marinate/sauce with my readers that may also be fans of duck. This VERY nutritious recipe (check out the stats below!) is suitable for all phases of Atkins (using broth rather than wine if still in the Atkins Induction Phase). It is also suitable for Paleo-Primal followers as well if broth is used rather than wine.
INGREDIENTS:Â
1 c. white wine (use chicken broth if still on Induction)
Dash each:Â salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
1Â whole 5-lb duck, neck and giblets removed for other use
DIRECTIONS: Remove neck and giblets from duck and save for other uses. My dog usually gets the giblets and neck meat I simmer until tender, but the neck will make great stock for soup if you want to add it to the carcass bones after dinner in a pot of water with chopped onion and carrot. Duck stock makes delicious soup!
Butterfly (spatchcock) the duck by cutting up the backbone and spreading the bird out in a marinating dish. Add wine (or broth in on Induction Phase), minced garlic and other spices. Marinate covered in plastic on your refrigerator shelf for 2-4 hours, turning and basting 1-2 times during this period with a basting brush.
You’ll need to allow about 1½-2 hours to cook a 5# duck to internal temperature of 180º. Duck is traditionally served a wee bit pink but you can cook it a bit longer if you prefer. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375º. Remove duck from refrigerator and lift out of the marinating dish. Pour marinade off into a small saucepan. Add compound butter and simmer for 5 minutes or so to allow raw duck juices to fully cook. Place duck skin side up in a large baking pan, baste with marinade and pop in hot oven. Using a basting brush, baste duck with marinade and pan juices every half hour. At 1 hour cooking, remove duck and cover wing tips and leg tips with small pieces of foil so they will not over brown/burn. Pop pan back into oven, lower oven to 350º and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour longer (ovens will vary), or until a meat thermometer reads 180º at center thigh and center breast.  Serve at once with your favorite sides for fowl. I served mine with steamed broccoli and broiled tomatoes. This would be delicious done on the grill with grilled fresh pineapple slices alongside.  Mmmm.  How I DOOOOOOOO love grilled pineapple! 🙂
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Â Makes 4 servings, each contains:
Years ago I used to buy and cook short ribs a lot. They were real cheap and ever so tasty braised in liquid. I find they are more difficult to find in the meat counters these days and fairly pricey when you do. I often forget about this tasty cut of beef when meat shopping as a result. I found some recently at my regular meat market and cooked them up in a new liquid……….diet root beer! I forget how much I love shortribs! Here’s one of my now favorite ways to prepare short ribs! And these are OK for Atkins Induction Phase. I added the carrots (shown in pic) for my hubby, who is not low-carbing as strictly as I am). This braising recipe is also good for large chunks of beef chuck, pork country style pork ribs cut into large chunks, or with chicken thighs and legs.
INGREDIENTS:
8 meaty beef short ribs or 1 lb. beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks
2 T. olive oil
1 onion, medium, cut into 1″ wedges
3 stalks celery (8″) cut into 1″ pieces
6 cloves garlic, cut into halves
¼ tsp. dried thyme or 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
½ tsp. cumin seed
3 c. low sodium beef broth
1 can diet root beer (I use Hansen’s, sweetened with Splenda)
2 star anise (or 1/2 tsp. 5-Spice Powder)
Pinch black pepper
3 drops liquid sweetener
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 300º. Season ribs with a pinch of black pepper. In 8 qt. Dutch oven, heat olive oil. Brown ribs on all sides in batches. Transfer meat to a plate and pour off excess oil. Add vegetables and spices. Cook 3-4 minutes, scraping brown bits loose from the bottom of the pan. Return meat to pot and add broth and root beer. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly and place in oven. Bake until meat is almost falling off the bones (about 2 hours). Using a slotted spoon, transfer ribs to a platter. Skim off and discard as much fat as you can. Boil over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced by about half. Add meat back and spoon liquid over ribs so as to “glaze” them with the sauce. Simmer about 5 minutes and serve. Salt to taste at table.
These would be great with my Chipotle “Sweet Potatoes” or a batch of well-seasoned Mashed Cauliflower. For those not on Atkins, it’s great with steamed rice.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each with:
707 cals, 45g fat, 7.03g carbs, 0.93g fiber, 6.1g NET CARBS, 67 g protein
I made some Moo Shu Pork for dinner recently and as I grabbed my homemade hoisin sauce from the refrigerator, I thought I need to post this recipe again for those readers that may have missed it.Â
My first exposure to Moo Shu Pork was at a restaurant in Houston called Shanghai East. On one occasion, the actress Debra Paget was dining across the room from us. She is/was married to an Asian oil businessman, my husband said.  I will always see her as the beautiful Indian princess Sunsiree, who marries Jimmy Stewart in “Broken Arrow”. The restaurant was fairly empty as it was mid-afternoon, so we walked over, introduced ourselves and chatted a moment about her career.  Such a pretty woman, even then, in her late 50’s or early 60’s maybe? I remember this occasion every time I eat Moo Shu Pork. Photo of this 60’s star below. 🙂
We love, love, love Moo Shu Pork. But to really enjoy it, you just have to have Hoisin Sauce to add and that, purchased at an Asian market, just isn’t a low-carb item. Several of my readers have been asking me for years to create this sauce in a low-carb version, but I kept hesitating to take that on, as I didn’t actually know where to begin & was reluctant to even start.  One day when we wanted to make some Moo Shu Pork, I said ‘Here goes!” that morning. Better late than never, as the end result it isn’t that bad. 🙂
Commercial Hoisin sauce either has brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup or a considerable amount of molasses in the ingredient listing. I tried several recipes for this sauce I gathered around the net over the past 9 years and the only two trialed to date were just not so good to me.  :{  So I set about creating my own finally.  By the way, this sauce is the very same plum sauce used in serving famed Peking Duck, and it also compliments my Asian Honey Duck recipe.Â
And so my experiment began that morning. I had an open bag of no-sugar-added prunes in my pantry, so I began there. I started with 10 dried prunes as a base. Then I added a few store-bought ingredients mention on commercial labels of the sauce, cutting carb “corners” wherever I could and literally guessing the amounts for all my ingredients to arrive at the desired taste.
Well, I’m here to tell you my final sauce, after aging, came out pretty darn good! Not exactly like the high-carb stuff in the jar at the Asian grocery store when finished, but it ages and gets closer to that flavor over time in the fridge. We ate it that first night, and were initially a little disappointed in its mild flavor. The anise (licorice flavor) in the Chinese 5-Spice Powder was pretty pronounced but the bean paste, not so much.  Those flavors however did mellow and develop in just 24 hours, getting considerably richer/deeper flavored in a week.
All in all, not bad for my first shot at a low-carb version of this essential Chinese condiment. Most commercial hoisin sauce has around 8 carbs per tablespoon, so this number is trimmed down considerably with my recipe. Using liquid Splenda lowers carbs a tad, but not very much. A couple weeks later, the sauce had aged quite nicely in flavor, so the key appears to be letting it age before using.
I’ll post the Moo Shu Pork recipe later today. I have been cooking many years with with Gloria Bley-Miller’s marvelous cookbook The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook as my “Bible” for Chinese cooking. I highly recommend her cookbook. I can cook Moo Shu pork blindfolded but must be sure to have dried tiger lily buds and dried cloud ear fungus on hand to prepare it.
This sauce is suitable once you get to Phase 2 of Atkins, since it is used in such small amounts on the “pancake” (low-carb flour tortilla) that you will use to roll up the Moo Shu Pork. This sauce is totally unsuitable for Primal or Paleo due to the soy beans, as all legumes are eschewed in those food plans. Sauce should keep a long time in a jar in the refrigerator. Mine is now 3 months old and it smells/tastes just fine.
INGREDIENTS:
10 large dried prunes (4 oz.), no sugar added (I use DelMonte)
½ c. water
1 T. rice wine vinegar
3 T. low-sodium soy sauce (use dark soy sauce if available)
¼ tsp. Chinese 5-Spice powder
1 tsp. molasses
3 T. Splenda or few drops of liquid sweetener of choice
2 T. Eden soy black beans, rinsed & mashed smooth
DIRECTIONS: Place prunes in small saucepan with about ½ c. tap water. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer until they are soft, or about 5 minutes. Mash well into the water with a fork until pretty smooth. You can puree in a blender or food processor if you like, but is difficult to do with such a small amount. Remove from heat.
Mash the beans on a paper plate to as smooth a paste as possible and stir into the prune mixture. Add vinegar, soy sauce and 5-Spice powder to the pot and stir well. Spoon into a lidded jar and store if in your refrigerator for a week. I do not know how long this keeps yet, and it sure has no preservatives in it. But since it’s just made from basically dried fruit, vinegar and sugar ( preservatives naturally) with some soy sauce (fermented), I suspect a pretty long time. Just don’t know yet. The soy beans will be what spoils first in this combo. I’ll try to remember to post back my findings on that when mine no longer seems to smell/look right to me and I toss it out. 🙂 UPDATE: Seems to last indefinitely in the refrigerator. That that I made ages ago is still good months later. No ill effects from eating it ever. Â
NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about 1 cup (16 Tbsp.). Each tablespoon contains:
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 375º. Cut the stems off the squash and level the outer bottoms with your knife so they sit flat on a pan. Slice the pattypan squash in half horizontally, making eight lovely, scalloped pieces. Place them on a baking sheet and lightly baste with olive oil on the tops.  Bake at 375º until half done when tested with a knife tip, or about 20 minutes. You’ll prepare the filling while they bake.
For the filling, in a non-stick skillet over medium-hi heat, brown the chorizo lightly, crumbling as you stir it around. If there is excess grease, spoon a little of it off. Add a dash of black pepper, the moistened crumbled bread and the sofrito. Stir to blend ingredients well. Beat the egg with 1-2 T. water and stir it into the chorizo mixture to bind all together. Stir well. Mark off the mixture in your pan into 8 portions and top each squash half with an equal portion of mixture. When the squash is half done, remove from oven. Lower oven to 350º, top each half with 1/8 the filling mixture. Pop the pan back in that oven and bake another 20 minutes or until golden on top. Squash should be fully tender when done. Enjoy with a green salad or a guacamole salad.
This Induction friendly dish is not one I fix often. Frankly, I just seem to forget about this dish until I buy a nice fresh head of cabbage with lovely outer leaves will usually bring this favorite to mind and that’s when I will bake this tasty dinner. I did so yesterday so I’m having it tonight. Mmmm.Â
This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly and suitable for most Keto diets it if will fit your daily macro limits.
6 large 1 oz. Savoy Cabbage leaves (regular green cabbage is OK, too, and what is pictured above)
Dash salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS: Plunge cabbage leaves into boiling water for 1-2 minutes, just long enough to make them pliable enough for rolling, but don’t let get too soft or they’ll tear all apart. Remove, drain and cool on towel.
Brown ground beef, onions & peppers together over medium heat until vegetables are soft. Moisten flax buns with water, squeeze out excess and mush them up into the meat mixture with your fingers. Add oregano and dash of salt and pepper.
Divide meat/bread mixture into 4 portions in the bowl. I mark it with the spoon side to be sure it’s evenly divided in each roll. Fill the four cabbage leaf “bowls” right in the center with 1/4 of the meat mixture. Next fold the stem base of the leaf up over the filling. Then fold the left and right sides inward and over the top snugly. Finally, roll so that the top is rolling over the entire roll. Optional, secure with a toothpick only if not inclined to stay rolled up. Place cabbage rolls seam side down in well-greased glass baking dish. Pour tomato sauce evenly over the rolls. The above photo shows the rolls BEFORE fully baked, as I don’t find this a very photogenic dish after they are completely cooked. Therefore I consider this family fare and do not serve these to company. To be bluntly honest, I’ve never seen cabbage rolls that were very attractive AFTER fully baked, even in Pennsylvania homes/restaurants.  That doesn’t make them one bit less delicious however. Â
Cover with foil and bake the rolls 20 minutes at 350º. Remove cover and add a few tablespoons water to the bottom of the pan. Recover and bake 20 more minutes. Again, add tiny bit of water to pan only if the rolls appear to be drying out. Bake UNcovered another 10 minutes or so to allow the sauce to caramelize a bit. In the old days, I’d serve serve cabbage rolls with mashed potatoes. Now I serve with well-seasoned mashed cauliflower. Just as good in my opinion. This dish freezes well.
NOTE: Be sure to remove any toothpicks you night have used before eating.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Makes 6 servings/rolls, each roll has:
This dish is not suitable for Induction due to the bit of wine in the brown sauce. You could omit the wine and have the dish, however. Won’t be quite as good, but pretty good. This dish is suitable for Paleo-Primal if you leave out the wine and use clarified butter). Although this dish is higher in calories than most of my recipes due to the sauces. Use a little less of the two sauces if you must lower calories also.
More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of our cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and friends. Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love! Order yours TODAY! from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php
INGREDIENTS:
2Â Â 5-oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 T. unsalted butter
1 tsp. olive oil
1 c. rich brown gravy (I used leftover gravy from a stewed beef roast)
¼ c. chopped parsley
¼ c. red wine (burgundy or claret are good choices, but any red will do)
DIRECTIONS: Make your Bernaise sauce per that recipe’s instructions and set on rear stove burner that is turned off. If it gets thick while waiting to do remaining steps, add a bit more butter and warm it up slightly on lowest heat possible, whisking constantly. You will have about ½ c. of the Bernaise sauce leftover, but it’s great warmed up with a bit more butter the next day to smooth it out. It’s simply wonderful over scrambled eggs or to complement a grilled steak!
To plate, spoon about 1/2 c. of the brown mushroom sauce in a tidy puddle on the center of the plate. Set a chicken breast on top. Spoon about ¼ c. Bernaise sauce on the top right down the center. Serve with your favorite side dishes.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Makes 2 servings, each contains:
786 cals, 55.7g fat, 5.3g carbs, 1.3g fiber, 4g NET CARBS, 46.7g protein
We low-carbers can’t afford to eat a lot of higher-carb fruit, especially if we are on the beginning of our weight-loss journey. But once we have increased our daily carbs a bit, we can enjoy the occasional treat with fruits other than berries. I find that if you mix a high-carb fruit with a lower-carb “disguising” vegetable, like a mild squash, one can trick the palate into thinking you’re eating the real McCoy :). This little cobbler is a perfect example of that. We both LOVED this cobbler! The flavor was truly amazing.
I learned early on in my Atkins journey that Baked Spaghetti Squash tastes almost exactly like apples, with nearly the exact same texture, too! When I tried this cobbler creation, I decided to add some real apple and see if I could keep the carbs low enough. I also decided to use my latest Einkorn Flour Pie Crust. As you can see by the per serving carb total below, this dessert is a wee bit higher in carbs than most of mine. HOWEVER, if you use only one apple and use my “Flour” Pie Crust recipe rather than my Einkorn Pie Crust, you can drop the per serving count to a more “palatable” 6.82 net carbs, which isn’t bad at all for a pastry dessert with real fruit in it.
This absolutely delicious recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction but is OK once you reach the final high-carb fruit rung of the Atkins carb-reintroduction ladder. Keto followers should make the alternate version suggested above for lowering carbs, and use the “Flour” Pie Crust and 1 less apple if you want to try this recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
½ spaghetti squash (mine was 9″ and yielded 4 c. threads)
2 medium apples, grated or sliced (I used Delicious apples)
3 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. erythritol (or preferred sweetener to equal 1/4 c. sugar)
VARIATION:Â Substitute 4 c. peeled, sliced zucchini or mirliton (chayote squash) for the spaghetti squash.
DIRECTIONS: Cook the spaghetti squash cut side down in ½” water in a dish in your microwave for 13 minutes. Remove, cool and fork out the threads into a large bowl. The exact amount isn’t crucial, but the stats below are based on 4 cups of threads.
Grate the apples on a food grater or in food processor. I find that cut in half and grated cut-side down, the grating process sort of peels the apples for you. 🙂 Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 350º. Add the grated or sliced apple to the bowl of squash threads.  Melt the butter and drizzle over the fruit-squash mixture. Add the cinnamon, sweeteners and water. Dust the xanthan gum or chia seeds over the surface and stir well. Pour into a buttered baking dish. I used an 8×11″ rectangular ceramic dish.
Make the pie crust according to the directions for that recipe (linked above). Chill the dough 30 minutes. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll between 2 sheets of plastic to the approximate shape of the dish you are making.   When you have rolled the crust slightly larger than your dish, remove the top plastic and gently lift the bottom sheet up over to the cobbler dish and flip the crust onto the cobbler filling. Push or crimp the edges of the dough up into to the dish and poke a few holes in the top of the crust with a fork randomly to allow air to escape. Pop into a 350º oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is dry to the touch in the center and golden on the edges. Serve warm. Leftovers store nicely in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave quite nicely.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Â Â Makes 8 servings If baked exactly as written, each serving contains:
195.4 cals, 14.7g fat, 18.6g carbs, 7.88g fiber, 10.72g NET CARBS (only 6.82 NC with just 1 apple & the “Flour” crust), 6.05 g protein, 202 mg sodium
This very old recipe of mine has made an appearance at many a party throughout my adult life. They are tasty and disappear so fast! This recipe is Atkins Induction friendly with no modifications! They are also suitable for most Keto and Paleo programs.
INGREDIENTS:
½ c. finely chopped tomato
¼ c. finely chopped green onion
1 clove minced garlic or ¼ tsp. garlic powder
4 eggs, beaten
2 oz. shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 oz. shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 4 oz. can mild, drained chopped green chiles
1 seeded, very thinly sliced jalapeno (optional garnish)
DIRECTIONS: Lightly oil a non-stick skillet with olive oil and lightly saute tomato, green onion and garlic a couple of minutes. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the mixture.
In a medium bowl, beat the 4 eggs, add the cheeses and green chiles. Now stir in the tomato mixture. Add spices and stir well to incorporate.
Either line with paper cups (best method) or oil mini muffin pans with olive oil. Spoon 1T. of the mixture into each muffin cup. There should be enough mixture for 24. Bake at 350º for 10-13 minutes or until centers are set. Let cool in pans 1-2 minutes if you did not use paper liners. Loosen edges carefully with a knife and gently lift from the pan. Serve garnished with a slice of jalapeno on top if desired. If you prefer, you can put the jalapeno on these before baking.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 24, each contains:
25.9 cals, 1.84 g fat, 0.67g carbs, 0.17g fiber, 0.5g NET CARBS, 0.17g protein, 45 mg sodium
This tasty dish is incredibly easy to make! It’s just a matter of layering the ingredients in a pan. The really hard part is being patient while it bakes, because it smells so darn good while it’s cooking! It takes some time for the eggplant to get tender, but it is well worth the wait. It went very nicely with a seared pork chop and small Italian salad. This dish is Atkins Induction friendly and Paleo-Primal friendly as well if you eat the occasional cheese. Of course, you can add browned ground beef to this dish for a complete meal.
This recipe appears in Vol. 5 of Jennifer Eloff’s Low Carbing Among Friends cookbooks. Be sure you add this series to your cookbook collection as it contains some of the tastiest recipes from George Stella and other very talented low-carb cooks. You can order your set (or purchase them individually) from Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/.
INGREDIENTS:
1 T. olive oil
16 oz. eggplant, sliced 3/16″ thick or less
3 large Roma tomatoes, sliced thin
1 c. grated mozzarella cheese
1/3 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
4 oz. ricotta cheese
1 tsp. oregano (or Italian Seasoning blend of your choice)
½ c. low-carb sugar-free spaghetti sauce (I use homemade, Belo vita or Lucini Italia Tomato Basil)
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Grease well a ceramic quiche or pie plate with the olive oil. Slice eggplant and tomatoes. I found I had enough eggplant and tomatoes for 3 layers in my pan. Begin with a layer of eggplant on the bottom of the quiche dish. Top with a layer of tomato slices. Next sprinkle with 1/3 of the oregano/Italian seasoning. Next sprinkle 1/3 of the Mozzarella and 1/3 of the Parmesan evenly on top. Dot surface with 1/3 of the ricotta. Repeat the layers two more times. Spoon the spaghetti sauce evenly over the top, spreading it with the back of your spoon. Pop into preheated 350º oven for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Check at 1 hour with a fork. The tomatoes and eggplant will produce a great deal of moisture during the first half of cooking (this is to be expected), but all of it will evaporate by the time the eggplant is tender. If the fork goes into the eggplant easily, the dish is done. If not, cook it another 15-20 minutes.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Â Makes 6 servings, each contains:
These eggs made for quite a tasty surprise at lunch today! DELICIOUS and even worthy of serving to company! The mushrooms were an afterthought, and although they were good on this dish, they can be eliminated if you personally don’t like mushrooms. They are not “in the driver’s seat” in the flavor department here…..the creamy sauce is. 🙂 You know what they say………The saucier is the most important chef in the kitchen. I totally agree with that. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well.
Up until now, I have only used my Baharat spice in braised chicken dishes (cooked in liquid): braised beef and braised lamb. When I created this recipe, I tried it both grilled and baked in the oven. I was most pleased with both methods of preparation actually. Very tasty both ways! In Iraq, they would likely use whole, cut-up chicken pieces as I don’t think Cornish hens are available there. I especially like to use Cornish hens for serving company, if I can get them, simply for the cute visual impact on the plate. The meat doesn’t taste one bit different than larger chicken. This recipe would be very for preparing quail, dove or other wild game fowl as well. Â
I allow a half a bird per person when buying your Cornish hens but make sure there is one half bird extra for a bigger eater. Most women and men will only eat ½ Cornish hen when two sides are served. I have seen a man with a hefty appetite eat a whole hen on one occasion. I have only done so once in my life, but it was a particularly small hen.  If I fix 2 sides, ½ Cornish hen fills me right up. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo as well.
INGREDIENTS:
2   1-1¼ pound Cornish hens (or appropriate # pieces cut up chicken for 4 people)
4 T. unsalted butter (use less if you need to cut calories)
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Melt the butter in a saucer in the microwave. Stir in the spices to mix well. Split the hens in half up the back bone with a knife or kitchen shears. This technique is referred to as spatchcocking or butterflying the bird.  If grilling, prepare the fire. When it is hot, place the pieces evenly (or butterflied Cornish Hens cut side down) on the grill. If baking them, place on a grate set inside a baking pan to catch juices.Â
Using a brush, baste the hens well with the spice-butter mixture. If baking, pop pan into 350º oven and bake for 45 minutes. If grilling, turn once midway through cooking. Cook to internal temperature of 165º in the breast. Turn up oven to 375º and continue to roast for about 15 more minutes to brown the skin.  Watch them closely this last 15 minutes, as ovens can vary. When a meat thermometer poked in the center of the breast meat reads 165º they are properly cooked. Remove from oven or grill and serve half a Cornish Hen to each person at the table to start off.  Only the hardiest of eaters will eat more, most likely.  Â
Traditionally, this meat is grilled. Try it that way first as it is truly memorable grilled! But also try it just baked in your oven sometime so you can see the difference. This meat pairs nicely with any side dishes you like, but particularly nice with my Shawarma Roasted Vegetables. I also like to enjoy it with my Iranian Mint Cucumber Salad.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 4 servings (I allow ½ hen per person), each contains:
501 cals, 39.3 g fat, 0.62 g carbs, 2.50 g fiber, 2.12 g NET CARBS, 34.1 g protein, 347 mg sodium
I tinkered around a bit with the classic 3-ingredient low-carb peanut butter cookie recipe that floats around on the internet. I like peanut butter a lot. My husband, although he eats peanuts like crazy, hates peanut butter’s taste and mouth-feel.  So I backed off on the peanut butter and added some raw cashew butter to my new creation. GOOD decision because he liked these! I also wanted to pump these up with more nutrients so I added some whey protein to my cookie dough.  These came out GREAT!  These gems are not suitable until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb re-introduction ladder. They are not suitable for Paleo-Primal followers at all. Hope you folks able to have these like them as much as we do!
INGREDIENTS:Â
½ c. (rounded) raw cashews (2½ oz. )
1 T. coconut oil
½ c. unsweetened chunky peanut butter (I use Laura Scudder)
3/4 c. granulated erythritol
1/4 c. granulated Splenda
¼ c. plain whey protein powder (I use NOW brand)
1 large egg, beaten
DIRECTIONS: Soaking your nuts in some water and then draining to swell and soften them isn’t absolutely necessary, but it’s easier on your food processor blade and will render a smoother cashew butter. I soaked mine 2 hours in warm water and then drained.
Preheat oven to 350º. Line a cookie sheet either with parchment paper, a silicone sheet, or grease the pan well. Place cashews and coconut oil into food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Scrape into a bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the erythritol, Splenda, whey protein powder, egg and chunky peanut butter. Stir to blend mixture well. In the name of uniform cookie size, using a teaspoon, mark off the dough in the bowl into 4 equal sections. You should get 5 cookies from each section, or a total of 20 cookies. Dip up enough dough with your spoon to roll into 1″ balls in your palms. Set the balls onto the pan about 1″ apart. These don’t spread much during cooking, so you can probably get all 20 on 1 large pan (4×5) . When the 20 balls have been formed, take a fork and press them down slightly for that classic peanut butte cookie imprint we all know well. Pop into preheated 350º oven for approximately 12-14 minutes or until just slightly brown on the edges.   These are crumbly when hot, so allow them to completely cool on the pan before removing with a spatula. Store in an air-tight container when fully cooled. ENJOY!
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Â Makes 20 cookies, each contains:
1/8 tsp. xanthan gum or guar gum (or your favorite thickener)
1 sprig parsley, chopped or more tarragon (for garnish)
DIRECTIONS: Cut the fish into two equal servings. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Sear the pieces of salmon on both sides over high heat until golden and flesh is fully done (peek in the center with a fork). This will only take a couple minutes on a side. Remove to a platter and pop into warm oven to hold while sauce is made. Lower heat to medium. Add the water, cream, tomato paste and tarragon to the skillet. Bring to a slow simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper.  Dust the xanthan/guar gum slowly, a little at a time over the sauce and whisk it into the cream mixture. Stir constantly as it begins to thicken. Turn off heat, plate the fish and dip sauce on top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or bit more tarragon. Save any unused sauce for your scrambled eggs in the morning! So yummy on eggs!
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Â Makes two 6-oz. servings, each contains:Â (including half the sauce)
This recipe was my Dad’s pride and joy. In 80 years of cooking he never found a marinade he liked better. I often make this truly out-of-the-ordinary roast for company and holidays, but we do it on smaller cuts of beef year-round! It’s DELICIOUS! You grilling fanatics MUST try this recipe sometime! This is truly my all-time favorite beef marinade as well and has been since I was in high school over 40 years ago. We invariably have this recipe for Christmas dinner, because we are usually turkey’ed out by then. This recipe makes enough marinade for an 8 lb. boneless rib roast, which will (after shrinkage) serve 10 nice servings, with some leftover for the most delicious cold roast beef sandwiches you ever had. I do not recommend reheating this meat, as the meat and marinade loose some of their impact on reheating.  But it makes the best cold roast beef sandwiches you ever ate! 🙂
Once I realized this marinade could just as easily be used on smaller cuts of beef, we enjoy it much more often now. I have used it for rib roast (shown top above), lean boneless chuck roasts, sirloin of varying sizes (shown above) and individual ribeye steaks. It’s also good on wild game you want to do on the grill. It’s a truly unique flavor when cooked over charcoal (not so good oven-cooked though). It is Atkins friendly (just not Induction friendly, because of the wine). Leaving out the wine just isn’t an option for this recipe, so wait until the Atkins OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) phase to enjoy this wonderful dish. I guarantee, this is so good you’ll be fighting over who gets the two end slices, just like at my house. 🙂 Â
MARINADE INGREDIENTS: (remember, it is not all consumed)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1/8 c. low-sodium soy sauce (1/4 c. if you can tolerate the sodium, I don’t though)
¼-½ c. dry red wine (burgundy or claret work nicely but any dry red will do)
1 T. tomato paste
1½ T. coarse ground black pepper (or enough to entirely coat your meat thickly)
DIRECTIONS: Pound the coarse ground black pepper over all surfaces of an 8 rib roast (or sirloin, or chuck roast) using the butt of your palm or the smooth side of a meat cleaver. Use less pepper if doing a smaller piece of meat. Place meat in glass dish. I drizzle marinate every half hour (as often as you can remember to stop and do it) most of a day (minimum 6 hours). Most efficient way to marinate without disturbing pepper coating is to use a basting brush. Do not touch the meat with your brush, or you’ll wipe all the pepper off! Hold it over the meat and let it drip off the brush. When surface is soaked, put in refrigerator to marinate between “bastings”. I baste hourly until cooking time.
COOKING:
This recipe really is not good cooked inside in your oven. Not sure why, but it just isn’t. It seems it is the marriage of the marinade with charcoal smoke that makes this recipe taste divine. You need to grill the 8 lb. rib roast for about 2 hours over medium coals (using a rotary spit if you own one). If you don’t have one, like me, just turn the meat every half hour to sear all surfaces nicely. Best if not cooked past medium to medium rare stage. I take mine off when my meat thermometer reads 120º degrees and set it on my cutting board for another 10 minutes to “rest”. A piece of meat this large will continue to climb to around 130º while resting. That’s usually a nice pink medium-rare inside.
If doing sirloin or chuck roast (around 3-4 lb.) grill about 20 minutes on a side for medium-rare. This marinade really does a nice job of tenderizing a chuck or sirloin roast. Cook rib steaks just like you usually would to your desired doneness.
This recipe always gets the WOWS when I serve it. Hope you folks will try it! I think you’ll find you won’t be sorry you did! The outside slices are so good we always fight over them at home. 🙂
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
The marinade is discarded when you cook the meat. No further basting should be done while cooking as there is now raw meat juice in the marinade.  Calculating how much marinade is consumed is difficult. It would also be impossible for me to know how many servings you are able to get out of your roast. So I’m providing the totals for the entire batch of marinade and you will have to see how much it makes and how much is left in the pan before discarding to determine roughly how much is staying on the meat and thus consumed by how many people you are serving.  Most of the sauce goes down the drain, to be perfectly honest, so you’re getting mostly sodium from the soy sauce and a few carbs from the wine and tomato paste that cling to the surface of the meat (a little more if you get the end slices). The figures below DO NOT INCLUDE THE MEAT.
Theentirebatch of marinade has:
131 cals, 0.7 g. fat, 18 g. carbs, 4.6 g. fiber, 15.4 NET CARBS (entire batch), 5.5 g. protein, 1070 mg. sodium
My husband really liked a new bread creation I came up with. The peppered bacon and cheese are memorable in this bread. This recipe is not suitable until you reach the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins OWL carb re-introduction ladder in Phase 2.  It is suitable for Primal diners, if you eat occasional cheese.  Omit the cheese to make this suitable for Paleo. This batter cooks up nicely as biscuits or muffins, as the crust is particularly nice on this. Muffins or biscuits will only take about 15-20 minutes to cook however.
You’ll find many more delicious bread recipes in our Low Carbing Among Friends cookbooks, a series by Jennifer Eloff and other talented low-carb kitchen gurus. You can order them from Amazon or direct .
INGREDIENTS:
1½ c. almond flour
2 T. coconut flour
¼ c. golden flax meal
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. white or cider vinegar
1 c. grated cheese
4 oz. lean bacon, chopped (preferably peppered bacon)
¼ tsp. coarse black pepper (or just use Wright’s peppered bacon)
5 eggs, beaten
2 T. coconut oil, melted
2 T. olive oil
1 T. cider vinegar
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. I used a NON-standard sized loaf pan that is 4½” wide, 2½” deep and 12″ long.
Baked in an abnormal-size loaf pan 4½” x 3″ x 12″ (Italian import)
Measure all dry ingredients and cheese into a medium measuring bowl, stir and set aside. Chop bacon and brown in skillet with black pepper shaken all over it (I didn’t measure the pepper, but I’d guess about ¼ tsp. total). When bacon is done, set aside to drain/cool on paper towels a few minutes. While it cools, add all liquid ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to blend. Add cooked bacon and stir one last time to blend bacon evenly throughout batter. Using a rubber spatula, scrape batter into non-stick, greased or parchment lined loaf pan and pop into preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. Ovens vary, so check with toothpick test. Remove and cool in pan a few minutes. Run sharp knife around edges to loosen and tip out onto a cutting board. Slice into 10 servings and serve warm.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Makes 10 large slices, each contains:
293.6 cals, 26g fat, 6.16 g carbs, 3.18 g fiber, 2.88g NET CARBS, 11.24 g protein, 481 mg sodium
My husband REALLY complimented this variation on my regular meatloaf recipe. Especially the sauce on top, and he’s not a big gravy person! Very simple dish to put together, too! These little meatloaves were good on their own merit, so you could form this into a large meatloaf for slicing and not serve the sauce at all. It would, of course, take longer to cook if made into a single large loaf.
This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets, however not suited to Primal or Paleo diners unless the sauce is omitted or modified.
Many delicious low-carb recipes like this can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends (me included). Chef George Stella also brings a wealth of his personal recipes to several of our books! Order yours TODAY! from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php.Â
MEAT INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. 90% lean ground beef (I used grass-fed)
1 lb. very lean ground pork
¼ c. + 2 T. Herdez Mild Red Salsa (in a jar)Â
1/3 c. cilantro, chopped
1 large jalapeno, seeded and minced fine
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 T. chia seeds, ground & soaked 10 min. in 2 T. water
Dash salt & black pepper
FOR THE SAUCE:
¼c. Herdez Green Tomatillo Salsa (half a 7oz. can), or 1/4 cup jar Herdez Guacamole Salsa
Little water if needed (only if sauce gets too thick as it simmers)
Pinch stevia only iftomatillo salsa is very “acidic” tasting (tomatillos can be)
DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. Soak the chia seed in the water in a small dish to form a gel-like slurry. While it is soaking, in a large mixing bowl, using a fork or your hands, mix all the listed meatloaf ingredients along with the soaked chia gel and mix well. Form into 4 oval mini meatloaves and place on a non-stick or greased baking dish. Pop dish into 350º oven for about 35-40 minutes. While they are baking, in a non-stick pan over medium heat, warm up the Herdez green tomatillo salsa. Add the cream cheese and with a rubber spatula, blend in the melting cream cheese until it is smooth mixture. Add the cream and chili powder. Stir well and lower heat to lowest setting.
When meat is done (130º on meat thermometer), remove from oven and lift meatloaves onto serving platter. Thin the sauce, if necessary, with a dab of water and pour into a sauce/gravy boat for table serving alongside the meatloaves.
NOTE: If making one single large meatloaf, it will take about an hour (maybe a bit longer, as ovens vary) to reach 130º in the center with a meat thermometer.
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes four 6½-0z mini loaves, each contains: Â
656 calories, 53 g fat, 3.30 g carbs, 0.37 g fiber, 2.93 g NET CARBS, 41 g protein, 662 mg sodium
I keep Boursin soft cheese “Garlic and Fine Herbs” flavor in the door of my refrigerator almost always. Not something I like to run out of. I keep finding interesting things to try it in or on. It reminds me a lot of cream cheese, but much more intense flavor. I find it way too heavy all by itself, as a dip or spread. But I am really starting to like it in small amounts in a variety of odd places and sauces. I’m having these eggs this morning so I thought I’d re-share this recipe with my readers today. This definitely did not get the usual frowns and winces from my husband when I add something new to plain eggs (his preferred way to eat eggs, if not fried). The “Chive and Onion” flavor Boursin cheese, which I have also tried, is delicious in this recipe as well. Boursin cheeses are found in the deli or specialty cheese section of better grocery stores.
INGREDIENTS:Â Â Â Â Â
2 T. butter, unsalted
4 large eggs, beaten
1½ T. Boursin cheese, (I use mostly Garlic & Herb flavor)
2 T. parsley, chopped
DIRECTIONS:  Melt butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add Boursin cheese and stir to dissolve. Cheese will look like it’s curdling, but don’t worry, not a problem. Add all the parsley but 1 tsp. reserved for garnish. After 1 minutes, add beaten eggs and cook until done. Serve with garnish of remaining parsley.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Â Â Makes 2 servings, each contains:
If you’re not familiar with Boursin cheese, it’s a soft cheese that comes in a foil wrapper in a little box that looks like this. It’s usually in the specialty cheese/delicatessen are of your grocery store.
These tasty apple pastries can be put together in around 30 minutes! Of course, if you use a low-carb homemade pastry dough in lieu of the commercial low-carb tortillas, it will take longer, but the carb count will be pulled lower. If you want dessert fast, the ready-made low-carb tortillas are nice to keep around for such occasions. And I just recently learned about the small 4″ ZERO net carb tortillas Mission is making. The fiber zero’s out the carbs and they would be perfect for this little dessert! I bought some at Netrition recently and can’t wait to try them for this tasty treat! When I do, I’ll post and recalculate the stats below, posting on this recipe. You could also make these with fresh sliced peaches or nectarines. These are very good on day two, so you can make a lot. I would not recommend freezing this dessert treat. Â
This recipe is not suitable until you are closer to Atkins Maintenance or are already to your goal weight. the tortillas have real flour and grains are the very last food you are allowed to add back after Induction.
INGREDIENTS:
3 Mission Carb Balance whole-wheat tortillas, cut in halves
6 oz. peeled calaba squash or Mexican zucchini pictured above (or peeled green zucchini)
5 oz. peeled apple, sliced 3/8″
3 T. unsalted butter, melted
½-3/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. granular Splenda (or equivalent sweetener of choice)
Optional: 1 T. more melted butter + mixture of 1 tsp. erythritol and a dash of cinnamon to sprinkle on top.
I don’t eat beans very often, but when I do, I reach for soy black beans. This little salad is quite tasty and I do allow myself this treat once in awhile. Black soy beans have so much fiber, it reduces their net carb count to 1g. per ½ c. serving. So they can be a very useful bean if you’re following a low carb lifestyle.Â
NOTE: Black soy beans are not to be confused with regular black beans that have 14 net carbs per ½ cup! So I only use the black soy beans for this salad or in your chili recipes.Â
INGREDIENTS:Â
1Â Â 14 oz. can black soy beans, rinsed and drained (I use Eden brand)
2 leaves romaine lettuce, sliced
1 oz. red onion, sliced thinly
2 T. balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
3 T. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash each black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper
DIRECTIONS:  Rinse beans in a strainer, drain well and put into a mixing bowl. Slice lettuce and add. Sliver onion and add. Toss well. Mix dressing ingredients and spices in a little jar, shake and pour over salad. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or so to allow flavors to meld. If adding leftover grilled meat, heat the meat and add slices on top right before plating.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Makes 4 servings, each contains:
We love blueberry muffins so you KNOW I had to try to make them low-carb. Originally, I did this recipe for a loaf bread, but decided to make them a second time as muffins. So I think I’ll make a batch of the muffins for breakfast tomorrow. We haven’t baked anything sweet in ages.Â
These have great flavor and are very moist and light. So many low-carb baked goods are too dense for my liking. Not so with these. This recipe is not acceptable until you reach the grains rung of Atkins OWL (ongoing weight loss carb re-introduction ladder) when you are nearing goal weight.
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º and place 8 paper liners into a muffin tin. Measure dry ingredients into mixing bowl. Beat in eggs, water, coconut oil and vanilla. Beat batter about a minute until it is smooth. Gently fold in berries and using a spoon or 2T. measuring cup, carefully fill the paper cups evenly. They will be about 3/4 full with batter. Pop into preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes. You can also do this in a greased loaf pan (won’t rise much though) and if done as a loaf, bake for about 25 minutes or until center springs back when touched. Slice into 8 slices. Serve warm.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Makes 8 slices or 8 muffins, each slice/muffin contains:
This tasty dinner sure goes together easily and FAST! I would have used prosciutto (traditional) in this if I had any in the house. Instead, in such cases, I either use dry-cured ham or dry-cured sausage, which my husband buys often. I would NOT recommend using regular smoked sausage for this recipe. It would not be very good and way too greasy for this dish. Lean bacon will do in a pinch, but a totally different taste there.
I use Classico brand of sun-dried pesto sauce as it is only 7 net carbs per ¼ cup, spread out among the 4 servings. I have calculated nutritional stats as if I had used the prosciutto, which is traditional for this dish, however. This was outstanding in flavor profile! My husband said I could make it again any time and I loved it as well. This recipe is suitable once you get to phase 2 of Atkins, but those still on Induction need to leave out the white wine.
INGREDIENTS:
2 T. unsalted butter
3 oz. onion, chopped (I used red onion)
4 slices prosciutto, chopped (or 4 oz. highly smoked dry-cured sausage or dry-cured country ham, sliced)
1 fresh Roma tomato, coarsely chopped
½ c. canned sliced mushrooms with liquid (or 4-5 fresh medium, sliced)
10 black olives, sliced
½ c. parsley, chopped
½ c. white wine
Dash red pepper flakes
¼ c. Classico Sun-dried tomato Pesto (sold in a jar)
½ c. heavy cream
11 oz. Zeroodles “Penne” noodles with oat fiber (or 4 servings your preferred noodle alternate like zucchini noodles)
1/3 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (or small can with juice)
½ c. low-sodium beef bouillon (preferably homemade)
¼ c. heavy cream (optional)
1 T. olive oil
2 T. white or red wine (omit during Induction)
Dash onion powder
Black pepper to taste
OPTIONAL: Add some chopped celery to the pan after browning meat. It is very nice in the sauce.
VARIATION: Add 1 T. finely minced red bell pepper to the meat for a slightly different taste.
DIRECTIONS: Mix the meats, parsley, onion, pork rinds and egg together in a bowl with your hands. Form into 4 patties. Coat non-stick skillet with olive oil and brown patties over medium heat. Lower heat to low and add bouillon, wine and cream. Slice mushrooms and add to skillet. Add seasonings and celery if using. DO NOT SALT the meat mixture as the pork rinds will provide enough salt to this meat. Cover and cook about 20 minutes longer, turning patties once during coking to ensure even cooking. Uncover and simmer to reduce cream to thicken. If not thick enough, dust on a couple light dustings of xanthan gum or guar gum. Stir after each addition to prevent lumps. Great with mashed cauliflower and some green vegetable.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Makes 4 servings, each contains:Â (not including optional red bell pepper)
451.75 Calories, 34.28 g fat, 2 g carbs, 0.25 g fiber, 1.83 NET CARBS, 31.23 g protein
I like to fix this delicious breakfast quite often. It’s simple to put together and my husband loves things like this done in the skillet. Unfortunately, he sliced off a portion and was chowing down on it before I got my camera out to take my blog photo!  I call this a “pancake” (but it has no batter in it) because it is quite thin, with only 3 eggs in it. I’m not terribly fond of eggs, so are you surprised? If you prefer more of a fluffy frittata, just increase the eggs to 4 or 5 and whip them with a whisk before adding them in. This breakfast or brunch offering is suitable for all phases of Atkins and most Keto programs. It passes muster for Primal and Paleo folks as well, provided you clarify the butter, of course.
INGREDIENTS:
4 T. unsalted butter
6 medium mushrooms, sliced
2 oz. cooked bacon pieces (weighed after cooking)
3 large eggs, beaten
DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. In a 10″ skillet melt the butter over medium-high heat and saute the mushrooms in the pan until tender and no longer bleeding moisture into the pan. Turn off heat. Spread the bacon pieces on top evenly. Drizzle the beaten eggs over the top of the bacon-mushroom mixture, trying to moisten the entire contents with the egg. Pop skillet into 350º oven for about 7-10 minutes or until eggs are just done in the center. Remove from oven and run a spatula under the “pancake” to slide it onto a serving platter. Serve at once.
NUTRITIONAL INFO:Â Â Â Makes 4 servings, each contains:
This is a quick and delicious meal that takes almost no time to thaw and prepare for your family. I have tried my Homemade Cajun Seafood Spice on fish before, but I wanted to see what a dash of Balsamic vinegar would bring to that picture. Let’s just say we were both pleasantly surprised how much we liked that addition! Of course, if you’re not a balsamic fan, you can substitute lemon juice or just omit altogether. That will result in a delicious, classic Louisiana Cajun fish presentation.
This is low in calories yet filling! Best of all, it is suitable for Atkins Induction phase! This recipe would lend itself to a variety of white-flesh fish you may have available (I use what I can get in Central TX), but it would be delicious on 0salmon as well! I also think this recipe would be delicious grilled over charcoal.
This delicious dish is so rich and creamy you’re going to love it! Not a lot of ingredients but a nice combination of flavors in this one. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, and Primal diets.
INGREDIENTS:
1½ c. cooked spaghetti squash threads (I used a 6″ squash which was perfect.)
VARIATION: Use other seasonings (Italian, Cajun). I have made these with Montreal Steak Seasoning and I can vouch that one is super good!
DIRECTIONS: Cut squash in half lengthwise and invert in a shallow dish with a little water. Microwave on HI for 13 minutes. Remove and fork out the threads into a waiting bowl, being careful so as not to tear the outer shells that will become their own “bowl”. You will only be using 1½ c. of the threads. Reserve the rest for another use.
These delicious rolls are made with my Peggy’s Sliced Bread batter. I simply sprinkled on a topping of my seed/spice mixture and chose a square muffin pan.  I topped mine with my 8-Seed version of Victoria Gourmet’s 7-Seed Crust spice blend:  http://www.vgourmet.com/7-Seed-Crust/p/VIC-00143&c=VictoriaGourmet@SeasoningBlends plus a few nigella seeds. Sometimes I even add a few sunflower seeds on top if I have some on hand, just because I love them on breads & crackers.Â
For perspective on rise, the wells in my non-stick pan are 3/4″ deep, but rise is minimal, as with so many low-carb breads.  I don’t like to use paper liners with high-egg content breads as they just won’t get that tasty brown bottom crust when you do. Therefore I have to gently coax these out of the pan with the help of a knife tip after a bit of cooling, to prevent tearing up the bottoms. Alternately, you could just drop these by heaping spoonsful (20 mounds) onto a non-stick baking sheet to achieve a biscuit appearance, as the inside texture is very similar to a biscuit. These are not suitable until the grains rung of OWL due to the flour products in the Carbquick. Even on the Victoria Gourmet website, I was unable to get nutritional info for the spice blend I used, so I calculated 1 gram of each the higher carb seeds listed in the ingredients on my bottle. Don’t fret about the topping, as you’re getting few carbs there, considering you divide that mix into 20 portions.
These would also make lovely little finger sandwiches for parties with your favorite meat fillings! I just made the best mini-BLT’s for my lunch with two of these. Lots of possibilities!
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Oil the cups of a non-stick square or round muffin pan. Soften cream cheese in medium bowl and beat the eggs in until fairly smooth. Add in all dry ingredients and stir until well blended. Using a 2T. measuring cup, dip batter (rounded in the cup) into the muffin cups. Batter is real thick, a bit sticky, and you will have to scoop the batter out with your finger. There should be enough batter for about 20 rolls and nutritional stats below are calculated on that number. I took a round butter knife and tried to spread batter evenly into the cups. Pop into 350º oven and bake about 20-22 minutes.  Check at 20 since ovens vary. You don’t want to overly brown these or they will dry out. Remove and cool a bit before gently coaxing them out of the pan with the help of a knife. If the first one tears up a bit on the bottom, wait a little longer before removing the rest.
This dish is known as 
Buttoni's Low-Carb Recipes 