Strawberry Chocolate Torte

May 5, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

I’m not a big sweets eater, as many of my readers and forum acquaintances know by now. But my husband is, so I fix him low-carb treats for special occasions otherwise he WILL go buy the awful flour/sugar laden versions at the bakery. This dessert I created for his Valentine’s Day treat some years back and thought I’d share it today since there’s never a bad time for a good chocolate cake.

The basic chocolate cake batter in this recipe is actually not my recipe. My inspirational recipe was posted by a wonderful cook on LowCarbFriends forums named Gwen, known there as “The Chicken Lady” as she lives on a farm. This cake is a testimonial to her incredible cooking skills. I love this cake and have made it more than one time now. I can’t say that about many low-carb chocolate cakes I’ve tried. Despite it looking sinfully rich, it was very light. I have made no changes to her original chocolate cake recipe. 🙂

I did bake my cake in ONE 9″ round cake (wax-paper lined) cake pan that is unusually deep (2½”) and the cake rose nearly to the top! It would bake OK in two standard shallow 9″ cake pans also, but reduce the cooking time if you make that pan change. You’ll have more trouble slicing it into 4 layers, and might prefer to just do a two-layer final cake instead of three. Or you could bake the cake in a wax-paper lined stew pot/Dutch oven. That has worked for me many a time. This dessert is not suitable until the berries rung of the Atkins OWL carb reintroduction ladder. Due to the artificial sweeteners and dairy, this dessert is not be suitable for Paleo-Primal followers without considerable modification.

VARIATION: Substitute raspberries for the strawberries.

This cake is fairly carb pricey, but if you can’t afford the carbs, you could cut it into 12 pieces. That’s a wee bit better. This should be considered a very special occasion treat because it IS so carb pricey. Be sure if substituting other than liquid sweeteners, to add in those carbs!

CHICKEN LADY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE INGREDIENTS:

4 c. almond flour
liquid sweetener to equal 2 c. sugar
½ c. granular erythritol (or equivalent sweetener of choice to equal 1/3 cup of sugar)
4 pkts. stevia (or equivalent for 8 tsp. sugar)
½ c. cup cocoa powder
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/3 c. butter or coconut oil, melted
4 eggs, beaten
1 c. sour cream

MY FROSTING & FILLING INGREDIENTS:

2½ c. heavy cream, whipped

1/16-1/8 tsp. glucomannan powder, dusted over cream as you whip it (optional, to help firm up)

14 oz. frozen whole strawberries, thawed and drained of juice, chopped

1 c. fresh strawberries, chopped or 1 c. more frozen berries (or use all fresh berries)

Sweetener of choice to taste

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Mix and beat the wet cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl. If your almond flour isn’t room temperature, make it so and press out any lumps. Measure and add in all dry ingredients to the bowl and stir well. Line your cake pan(s) with waxed paper or parchment. Grease the sides of the pan(s) well. Pour batter into pan spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula. Tap pan on counter to eliminate air pockets and pop into 350º oven. Bake for about 60 minutes if using one, very deep pan like I did. If using two 1″ x 9″ round cake pans, they will cook much faster, in about 25-30 minutes or so. Toothpick test the center. It should come out clean and dry when the the cake is done. Completely cool before attempting to tip cake out onto a board to cut it into layers. This cake can also be made in a rectangular 9 x 13″ pan, cut in half and each half then sliced laterally to form 4 layers (reserve 1 layer for another use as you only need 3 layers for this cake). All sorts of possibilities with that cake size.

While cake is in the oven, make the frosting: Whip the cream until thick. Run the berries through a food processor (or chop coarsely) for a few seconds. Fold the berries into the whipped cream. Dust the pinch of glucomannan powder over the mixture slowly, folding after each addition, until all of it has been incorporated. Taste for sweetness and add your favorite sweetener to taste. Chill frosting until cake is totally cool.

Next cut the cake layers: I sliced the completely cooled cake very carefully with a long-bladed knife, using a piece of cardboard covered with foil to gently slide each layer onto to set aside while I filled/frosted the final creation. This cake has a firm texture and is not as crumbly as some almond flour cakes. All good, but you still need to be careful, as even firm cakes can break.

Place about 1¼ c. of the frosting on the bottom layer of the cake. Spread evenly with a rubber spatula, going almost to the edges. Place the second layer of cake gently on the top and press slightly. Put another 1¼ c. frosting on this layer and spread it out evenly. Place the top cake layer on the stack, press slightly and spread all remaining frosting on the top and sides. OPTIONAL GARNISH: Decorate the top of your cake with fresh strawberry slices, a few strawberry leaves or perhaps a sliced and “fanned out” single strawberry at the center. Chill in the refrigerator with plastic wrap on top until ready to cut and serve.

This cake was simply DELICIOUS and I will definitely be making it again! My thanks to The Chicken Lady for her wonderful chocolate cake recipe. It truly made my Valentines treat a success!

CONFESSION TIME: The reason I used both frozen and fresh berries in the topping is I only had one 14 oz. bag of the frozen diced unsweetened berries in my freezer. I thought that would make enough frosting. But 1½ c. cream and those berries didn’t make enough frosting to frost the sides of the cake! So I had to whip up a little more frosting real quick with another cup of cream and berries, so the last batch of frosting had to be made with the few fresh berries I had on hand.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 10 servings, using the sweeteners specified, each serving contains:

632 cals, 57.8 g fat, 20.4 g carbs, 7.05 g fiber, 13.35 g NET CARBS, 15.2 g protein, 521 mg sodium

Almond Butter Cookies

May 4, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

These tasty treats come out kind of chewy and are still like that after they cool off. I got this base batter idea from the chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the Honeyvillegrain Blanched Almond flour bag. I made some drastic changes to their basic dough, however. They used all almond flour in their recipe and I’ve added some ingredients I find improve low-carb baked goods. I’m very pleased with the chewy texture of these cookies and will likely use this cookie dough as a base dough for many variations in the future. So far I have done variations with fresh cherry, pineapple and pecan, dried prune , currant-spice, pumpkin, and chia-chai . All have been delicious. If you’re tired of cake-y or dry/brittle cookies and are wanting a low carb cookie that is moist and chewy, this one you really need to try! They really deliver! They also freeze well and are even chewier when eaten right out of the freezer, if you’re into very chewy cookies!! These are not suitable until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb reintroduction ladder.

DO NOT SUBSTITUTE OTHER SWEETENERS FOR THE SUGAR-FREE HONEY IN THESE OR THEY WILL NOT COME OUT CHEWY! I tried that already. Real honey works, but will also jack up the carbs considerably!

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. almond flour

½ c. coconut flour

1 T. oat fiber (substitute gluten-free oat flour for gluten-free version)

1 tsp. glucomannan powder (konjac powder)

1/8 tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

½ c. coconut oil (or softened butter)

2 T. almond butter

1 T. vanilla extract

½ c. granular Splenda

1 T. erythritol

1 egg, beaten

¼ c. sugar-free imitation honey (no substitutions, unless it’s REAL honey)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. In a large mixing bowl stir the almond butter and oil together until smooth. Beat in the egg, vanilla and imitation honey. Measure in all dry ingredients on top and stir well to form a smooth dough. If your dough seems very dry or stiff (coconut flours vary), add in ½ beaten egg. Roll dough into 1″ balls and place them onto parchment lined baking sheet. Leave 1″ space between cookies. Press balls down slightly flat and pop pan into preheated oven. Top with chopped, sliced almonds if desired, but this really doesn’t impact flavor, just the look. Bake for about 7 minutes. Do not over brown these cookies or texture will be drier and less chewy. Remove from oven and cool on the pan a few minutes before removing with a spatula. These are delicate while hot but “firm up” nicely when they cool. Store in an airtight container.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 28 cookies, each contains:

105.5 cals, 9.1g fat, 4.12g carbs, 2.07g fiber, 2.05g NET CARBS, 2g protein, 48.2 mg sodium

HOMEMADE IMITATION HONEY: If you really don’t feel like running to the store for ready-made sugar-free honey, but also don’t want to use all real honey because of the carbs, I have a homemade recipe you might want to try. Boil for 2-3 minutes: ¼ c. erythritol, 2 T. + 1 tsp. real honey and 1 pkt. stevia (or Splenda). Cool (thickens as it cools) and put in airtight jar. Added note: If it crystalizes over time, just soften in the microwave on DEFROST for 1 minute or plunge into a pot of slow simmering warm water a minute or so before stirring and using.

Air Fryer Whole Roasted Chicken

April 30, 2023April 30, 2023Peggy 2 Comments

I finally got around to trying a whole, roasted chicken in my Power XL 7 qt. air fryer and we loved the results. Haven’t tried it on the Air Fryer setting on my new wall oven though. I’m sure it will cook as well in the oven. Must try that soon.

The meat of the nearly 5# bird came out moist and cooked perfectly (even at the difficult hip joint). My husband just loves chicken that is baked or roasted, so he was a fan for certain! Also tried out my new Peggy’s Poultry Rub on it and that was a delicious choice! I may add even more of the rub next time! Yummy! This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other keto diets, as well as for Paleo-Primal folks.

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole chicken (mine was 4.75 lbs)

1 t. olive oil

1 T. Peggy’s Poultry Rub (or seasoning of your choice)

DIRECTIONS: Pat the chicken dry of any water/moisture with paper towels. Rub olive oil all over the chicken getting all skin surfaces damp with oil. You’ll want to wash and dry off your hands at this point. Next sprinkle 1 tsp. of the seasoning bland over the top surfaces of the chicken. Sprinkle 1 tsp. over the bottom surfaces of the chicken. Invert chicken to expose the carcass opening and sprinkle the remaining spice blend as best you can inside, rubbing until it is distributed. Although I did not do it this, next time I may make a slit into the lower leg quarter joints and rub a tad in that joint as well as a tad underneath the breast skin as I am able.

Preheat your air-fryer at 350º a few minutes (mine requires 4 min. preheat). Open basket/drawer and place seasoned bird into the basket/drawer breast side down. Cook the bird for 30 minutes. Then open drawer and using a heavy kitchen fork, turn the bird over, now breast up. Cook for 20 minutes and open basket to (check leg quarter with a meat thermometer (165º internal is done). Also check thickest part of breast. If not to 165º yet, continue cooking another 5-10 minutes and check again. My 4.75# bird took precisely 25 minutes on side two. Cookers vary, so the rule of thumb with air fryers is CHECK YOUR FOOD OFTEN to avoid under cooking, or worse, over cooking and major disappointment. Always remember that any air-fryer recipe is just a guideline and nothing more. Cookers vary for any recipe cookbook for them to be always spot on……….even the manufacturer’s cookbook! Food size and volume/weight impact any instructions and cooking times/temps.

ADDED NOTE: I recommend soaking your basket in 1″ water while you enjoy your meal (for easier cleanup). Also don’t forget when fully cooled, to wipe off (use a soapy sponge) the element at the top and back walls of cooker to get any grease splatters there. If you don’t do that, the cooker is likely to smoke heavily at next use and you’ll think the machine is dying on you. It just wasn’t thoroughly cleaned after roasting meat.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: I can’t really provide that for you as I can’t know what pieces you eat, how large your bird is, nor how many pieces you will eat. I certainly can’t know how much of the seasoning you will be ingesting on any particular piece. Best calculation I can recommend for you is to take the stats for the piece/size of piece(s) of chicken you eat and add 1/8 tsp. of the spice blend for each piece you consume. That said, this recipe is so low-carb…………I wouldn’t bother calculating anything but the meat itself that you consume. One can get too anal about any diet in my opinion. Just enjoy this delicious recipe and know that you are not breaking the carb bank doing so!

1 tsp. spice blend = 0.84g NET CARBS

Blackberry Ice Cream

April 29, 2023Peggy 1 Comment

I created a delicious low-carb blackberry ice cream some time ago I think you’ll love! Our tree trimmer doing a job for us today pointed out my wild blackberries were setting fruit (which I had not yet noticed), so I think I’ll make a batch with the bag of mixed berries in my freezer.

I would start out with 1 cup berries and taste as you go. They vary so much in tartness/sweetness it’s difficult to know how many to add to desserts. The taste-as-you-go approach is safest when it comes to blackberries. My husband ate two servings with the full 2 cups of berries, but I’ll have to back off next time, most likely. He just loved this recipe! He’s a real ice cream connoisseur, so I consider that compliment 🙂 This recipe is naturally not suitable until the berries rung of the Atkins Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase of the program. If you don’t have the blueberry or blackberry syrup, you could sub in DaVinci Vanilla or French Vanilla and just omit the vanilla extract.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. blackberries, frozen, unsweetened (Do Not Defrost!)

1¼ c. heavy cream

1/8 tsp. vanilla

4 T. sugar-free blackberry or syrup

12-16 drops liquid Splenda (or your favorite sweetener to taste)

2 tsp. food grade glycerine (optional, but keeps it a bit softer)

¼ c. powdered erythritol (or reduce granular to a powder in processor)

DIRECTIONS: Place erythritol in bowl of food processor. Add all remaining ingredients and pulse until berries are broken up and mixture is fairly smooth. Scrape out into dishes for a soft serve gelato. Freeze for 30 minutes for a firmer ice cream. ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

282 calories, 27.7 g fat, 8.25 g carbs, 1.9 g fiber, 6.35 g NET CARBS, 1.98 g protein

Sunflower Cheddar Crackers

April 24, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

This was one of the first recipes I developed for crackers 14 years ago when I started this lifestyle. The have that sunflower nutty taste and just a smidge of cheese to round them out. I still make these when I remember to buy some shelled sunflower seeds at the Dollar Store. These pack so much flavor I usually eat these as a snack by themselves.

Because of the sunflower seeds, these crackers are not suitable until you reach the nuts and seeds level of Phase 2 Atkins.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. roasted and UNsalted sunflower seeds
1½ c. grated cheddar cheese
¼ c. water

Preheat oven to 325º. You need a 13 x 15 cookie sheet pan and parchment paper for these.

Process sunflower seeds to a fine meal. Add the cheese and process until smooth. Add water and process until it becomes a dough ball.

Cover bottom of sheet pan (cake roll pan 13″x15″) with parchment paper. Put dough in even globs on the parchment. Now the fun begins. Using plastic gloves (I keep them on hand for such things) or a plastic sandwich bag as a glove, press out evenly all the way to the edges of the pan. BE PATIENT! This takes a few minutes, but it WILL spread all the way out and be a very thin dough. If you get “holes” in the dough, press them out. With a knife tip, lightly (& carefully so as not to tear dough) score the sheet of dough into 92 crackers approximately 1″x1½” in size (7 crackers across the short side and 14 down the long side). If desired, sprinkle any of the following on the tops: cayenne pepper, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, rosemary crushed fine, oregano, Indian Garam Masala, black pepper. I did one row of each and one row plain and we liked them ALL!

Bake exactly 30 minutes at 325º. Remove and WHILE STILL HOT, complete the scoring with a knife to separate the crackers. If you wait until they are cool, they’ll be too brittle and will break all to tiny pieces.

I can see using these for not-too-stiff sour cream or yogurt dips, as a soup/cheese compliment or just by themselves!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Makes 92 crackers
Serving size = 3 crackers

Each serving has: 60 calories;
5.2g fat; 1.6g carbs, 0.69g fiber, 1g NET CARB and 0 2.7g protein, 1.0 g NET CARB

Barley Flour Crackers

April 24, 2023April 28, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

Since my kidney stone ‘adventure’ in December, trying to accommodate the doctor’s request to follow a low-oxalate diet, has become a priority. One of the things I must avoid is most wheat product from my diet (this means even my lower carb beloved Einkorn flour). So now I’m starting to experiment with barley flour. Today, I tried a new cracker experiment that we both loved. My picky husband kept coming back to the kitchen for a couple more.

The crackers around the outer edge of the pan that typically brown too fast, at least did not taste burned as with all almond flour and flax meal crackers. I did not feel compelled to remove them early from the pan for the first time ever with low-carb crackers. These crackers are more crunchy/crisp than my other low-carb crackers, too! They suspect they will hold up nicely to dips or any toppings. I did encounter more difficulty pressing the base recipe’s dough out, finding barley flour drier, so it requires more water and a little more oil than my other cracker recipes. Even with those additions, I still wasn’t able to get the dough all the way to the edge of my 11×17 pan. I managed a sheet of cracker dough about 8×14 in each pan, which, after scoring, rendered 42 crackers in each pan (cut into 7 rows x 6 columns). I’m very pleased with this new cracker. I’ll start trying out different seasonings and additives in future batches.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. barley flour

1 c. almond flour

½ c. golden flax meal

2 T. oat fiber

¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese (I used Kraft)

2 tsp. baking powder

1½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. onion powder

1 1/3 c. warm water

3 T. extra light olive oil

VARIATIONS: Add 2 tsp. seasoning choice: my homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning, my Cajun seasoning, coarse black pepper, Everything Bagel blend , or my Ranch Blend.

DIRECTIONS: Line two 11×17 sheet pans with parchment, cut to fit. I use plastic food-service gloves to press dough into pans. You can use a third sheet of parchment if you don’t have any or a plastic sandwich bag on your hands. Preheat oven to 350º.

Stir warm water +olive oil together in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, measure out all the dry ingredients. Stir well with a fork. Add the water and oil mixture and stir well with fork to moisten the dough. It will be clumpy and crumbly. Divide the dough roughly into two portions and using hands crumble half the dough over each pan. Press or roll the dough to about 8″ x 14″. I use a small piece of parchment under my hands so it doesn’t stick to my fingers while working. With a knife blade, cut/straighten up the edges as best you can for straightest edge possible.

Place pans in your freezer for about 12-15 minutes to help with scoring. Remove and press knife scoring gently into dough to form rows of 6 x 7 crackers, for 42 crackers per pan). Lift the knife blade slowly to avoid messing up the cracker shapes. If using a top seasoning, add it now. Pop pans into 350º preheated oven for about 18-25 minutes. Ovens will vary. You don’t want to brown them too much, but they are most brittle when nicely browned. Remove pans from oven and cool. Separate into crackers with a knife point. These crisp crackers are best when 100% cool. Store in lidded cracker container or gallon zipper plastic bag.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 84 crackers. One serving of 4 crackers contains:

104 cals, 5g fat, 13g carbs, 3g fiber, 10g NET CARBS, 4g protein, 235 mg sodium

Black Pepper Crackers

April 24, 2023July 28, 2025Peggy Leave a comment

Early on in my low-carb journey I came across a pizza crust by Brittany Angell on RealSustenance.com that intrigued me. Her sight and domain appear to have since shut down. After making her recipe, I decided it was more like a cracker than pizza crust to me. It was too thin and brittle to support my pizza crust, so I adapted the recipe to create what has become the BEST low-carb cracker I’ve tried in my 14+ years of low-carbing. I’m making crackers today, so I thought I’d share it with my readers once again.

This cracker is so good, I’ve now made this recipe probably 50 times over the years and with consistent results. Since the predominant flavor is black pepper, I’m going to change their name to Black Pepper Crackers. These are delicious by themselves, with butter, toppings, dips or cheese! Even my non-low-carb husband likes these! I think the crisping magic here are the arrowroot and oat fiber, so I don’t recommend omitting or substituting for those two ingredients lest you end up with a totally different textured cracker than mine.

Let me say up front, my method for making the crackers does not read at all like the original recipe, but it sure produces a crisp cracker that STAYS crisp for days and days! I changed amounts of come ingredients, added a couple things and definitely spiced them up a bit! Those changes and additions are noted below in blue, including the oven temperature. I also added a bit of oat fiber for a flour-y flavor, crunch and fiber.

This recipe is not suitable for Induction due to the oat fiber and arrowroot flour. It isn’t suitable for Primal-Paleo unless you omit the oat fiber and cheese. This is a really BIG recipe that makes two full sheet pans of 48 crackers each. Half the recipe if you do not want that many (tasting them will change your mind next time 🙂 ). That said, they do keep well and stay crisp in a loose-lidded ceramic canister on my counter for 2 weeks or so. That’s much better than any of my other cracker recipes keep for me.

You can also make round crackers that are slightly thicker but just as crisp (a bit more time consuming, so I stick to the square ones mostly). Using 1 level tsp. dough per round cracker, I only got 66 round crackers. I show numbers below for the round version also.

Round version made in silicone muffin molds/liners

VARIATION: Omit the black pepper and add 1-2 T. of my 8-Seed Spice blend instead.

INGREDIENTS:

3 c. lightly packed almond flour (weighed out it was 11 oz. (311.8 grams)

4 T. arrowroot flour/powder

2/3 c. flax meal (I use a 50:50 mix of dark & golden)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1 T. onion powder

2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

2 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten-free version)

¼ c. grated Parmesan Cheese

3/4 c. warm tap water

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS: Line two large sheet pans (mine are 11½ x 17) with parchment. I use plastic gloves to press crackers into my pans, or sometimes I cut a third piece or parchment, lay it on top and roll out the dough that way, using my gloved fingers to finish off the edges evenly. The key is to get the cracker dough thin and even in the pan. Thicker areas don’t cook well; thinner areas will burn quickly.

Preheat oven to 350º. Stir the warm water and olive oil together in a small glass to mix well. Measure out all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well with a fork. Add the water-oil mixture to the dry ingredients and blend with the fork to form a solid ball of dough. I form the dough right in the bowl into in a log shape and cut in half to divide it equally. Crumble half the mixture onto each parchment-lined pan. Roll the dough or, wearing plastic gloves, press the dough in the first pan evenly and all the way to the edges. It will be very thin, and I always think it isn’t going to make it, but half the dough WILL reach the edge of the pan. I like to roll the surface with a straight-sided glass I own. If rolling with a rolling pin or straight glass, cover crumbles with parchment and roll as evenly as possible all the way to the edges of the pan. You’ll likely have to finish the edges with your fingers (use a piece of plastic wrap if need be). With a large chef’s knife, score the rolled dough into rows of crackers 6 x 8 (48 crackers). Repeat this process with the second pan of crackers.

Although a lot more trouble and time-consuming, to make round crackers for parties, I use silicone muffin pans or silicone cupcake liners. You can also use paper liners in a metal muffin pan. Measure 1 level teaspoon of dough into each mold and press down evenly with a your fingers (I use plastic glove to do this to avoid dough sticking to me). Set silicone muffin pans and/or molds onto metal sheet pans for support. Pop the pans into the preheated 350º oven and bake for for about 20-22 minutes. Ovens vary, so start watching them at 18 minutes. Do not over brown! I recommend removing those around the edges as soon as they begin to brown and those on the outside are inclined to burn. When all have browned, remove, cool 1-2 minutes, re-score with the chef’s knife and then let them cool completely before eating. These are not tasty hot in my opinion. The flavor develops when they have cooled.

Break apart and enjoy plain, with butter, cheese spreads (I’m addicted to them with chive & onion cream cheese) or your favorite hard cheeses or salami! Store remainders in a plastic zip bag or any canister of your choosing. I just use a ceramic cookie jar on my counter. These stay crisp for around 2 weeks. Mine get eaten within 2 weeks, so I honestly don’t know if they would keep longer or not. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 96 square crackers, each cracker contains:

28.4 calories, 2.38 g fat, 1.32 g carbs, 0.68 g fiber, 0.64 g NET CARBS, 0.97 g protein, 37 mg sodium

NOTE: If you make round crackers pressed into silicone muffin molds/cups you will only get 66 crackers, using 1 level tsp. dough per cracker. Each round crackers will contain 41.3 calories, 3.46 g fat, 1.91 g carbs, 0.98 g fiber, 0.93 g net carbs, 1.41 g protein and 54 mg sodium

5-Spice Miso Moringa Soup

April 23, 2023June 8, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

I finally decided to try one of the packets of Miso Soup I bought eons ago at the grocery store. I had no idea what flavor(s) to expect, but thought I’d try it and get creative. This was quite a surprise, as the light, flavorful result, with my additions, was quite good for lunch today. We’ll see if it staves off afternoon hunger pangs and holds me until dinner.

These packages when purchased have 3 single-serving packets inside the outer package. Since there are two of us, I made up all 3 single servings, assuming my husband would eat 2 large 1½ c. bowls (which he did). I just ate one bowl to be quite full. Of course, knowing me, after a quick taste with just water, per instructions, I decided it was just “meh” and I would not eat it unless I expanded the flavor profile. I added several vegetables, a few flavorings and ended up with a light soup I will certainly prepare again.

This soup is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets. Paleo and Primal followers can also enjoy this one.

INGREDIENTS:

3 individual packets Marukome Miso Soup (tofu flavor)

3 c. water

1 c. homemade beef broth (or chicken, pork)

1 sliced fresh mushroom

3/4 c. sliced cabbage

1 oz. red bell pepper, sliced or chopped coarse

1/2 c. green onion tops, sliced ½”

12 dried tiger lily buds, chopped ½” (optional)

1 T. Hoisin Sauce

1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce

¼ fish sauce (I use Thai Kitchen)

¼-½ tsp. Sriracha chili sauce

¼ tsp. Chinese 5-spice blend

1 T. dried moringa leaves

5-6 Baby Bok Choy leaves (added last 2 minutes of cooking)

DIRECTIONS: Place all ingredients but the Baby Bok Choy leaves into a 2 qt. sauce pan. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer soup for about 5-7 minutes to allow vegetables and mushrooms to cook. Add Baby Bok Choy leaves and cook just 2 minutes to just slightly wilt them but keep them bright green. Serve soup at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 bowls of soup, each contains:

112 cals, 3g fat, 10g carbs, 2g fiber, 8g NET CARBS, 10g protein, 751 mg sodium

Asian Shrimp Patties

April 21, 2023April 21, 2023Peggy 1 Comment

These super easy, tasty shrimp patties make a wonderful lunch for us. We both LOVE ’em. They are suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets. This recipe was one of the first ever posted on my blog back in 2009. But it is still a keeper we enjoy occasionally.

INGREDIENTS FOR SHRIMP PATTIES:

8 oz. raw, peeled shrimp
1/2 tsp. chili paste (I use Sambal Oelek)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp. minced shallots or green onion
juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp. lemon grass, grated (if available)
1/4 of a Revo Roll or other low-carb roll, crumbled

INGREDIENTS FOR DIPPING SAUCE:
1 ¾ tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. peanut butter
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp. chili paste or Sriracha sauce
1 tsp. Splenda or sweetener of your choice
1 T. low sodium soy sauce

Process all the ingredients for the patties in a food processor or blender until well blended. Shape into 6 small patties and brown in a skillet rubbed with an oiled paper towel. You’ll know when they are done as they become visibly opaque and golden brown. This recipe is technically not suitable until Phase 2 OWL due to sauce ingredients, but the patties themselves are OK for Induction and there’s so little PB and rice vinegar in the sauce, it probably won’t cause you problems or cravings even if still in Atkins Induction phase.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: Makes 3 servings, each contains:

142 cals, 6.33g fat, 3.5 g carbs,0.92 g fiber, 2.58g NET CARBS, 17.6 g protein, 178 mg. sodium

Barley Flour Hot Dog Buns

April 21, 2023October 4, 2025Peggy Leave a comment

I have been experimenting today with my Gluten-Free Hamburger Bun recipe. Having had my first kidney stone in December, the diet they gave me to follow to help prevent formation of future stones says I need to reduce my intake of foods high in oxalates, which includes nuts, nut flours and wheat products. Well, I already use minimal wheat products. When I do, I use Einkorn wheat, which is not genetically modified. But I’m starting to test replacing almond flour, CarbQuik and Einkorn wheat from my baked goods with barley flour, which is a better choice for me. Bob’s Red Mill has small bags and Honeyville carries it in bulk. Another plus with barley flour is it is neutral in flavor. It is also low in oxalates that I must now try to eliminate everywhere I can. My husband has also had one kidney stone, so this low-oxalate diet is a must for both of us now. Hardest part for me to reduce is spinach……probably the highest oxalate food there is.

My favorite hamburger bun recipe contains almond flour, so I baked it today subbing in the barley flour for the almond flour and the whey protein in that recipe. Sandwich buns are a staple in my kitchen. A quick sandwich is our preferred lunch most days. Creating a bread that is moist, sturdy, tasty and meets my husband’s strict requirements, being a staunch bakery fan, has been difficult. These are very neutral in flavor and absolutely do not drown out the flavor of your grilled burgers like so many low-carb breads do. They are so sturdy they do not break apart under the heat of the hot franks inside. That says a lot right there! They achieve this sturdiness NOT at the price of “moist” either. They are not the slightest bit dense, “dry” or difficult to swallow. These are very soft just like real hamburger buns!

For those familiar with my Gluten-Free Grain Free Focaccia Bread recipe, that batter is my inspiration for these.

These buns are not suitable for Atkins Induction, but are acceptable once you get to Phase 2 OWL nuts and seeds level of the carb re-introduction ladder. They are also suitable for other Ketogenic diets and Primal followers if dairy is occasionally consumed. These buns are not suitable for a Paleo lifestyle due to multiple dairy ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 c. barley flour

¼ c. golden flax meal

2 tsp. baking powder

3 T. plain yogurt (or softened cream cheese)

2 large eggs

1½ c. mozzarella cheese shreds

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1 tsp. dry yeast + 1 tsp. sugar (consumed by yeast) dissolved in 2 T. warm water

Poppy or Sesame seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Soften cream cheese (if using) in medium mixing bowl in microwave or add the yogurt to the bowl. Add the dissolved yeast/water mixture. Beat in the eggs, cream, water, vinegar. Measure and add in all the dry ingredients and stir well. Fold in the mozzarella cheese with a rubber spatula until well mixed. It will thicken as you fold. Divide batter evenly amongst six hot dog mold slots. I use a silicone mold for my hot dog buns, so no need to grease it.

Using a 1/3 c. measuring cup, scoop up 1/3 c. batter and fill each of your 6 molds, spreading the batter evenly with the back of a fork to fill the slots level. You’ll need to use your finger or a tiny rubber spatula to get all the batter out of the measuring cup, most likely. Batter will be about ½” thick in the molds. If you run short of batter, even it out to make 6 total. Sprinkle on sesame or poppy seeds if you wish before baking. Pop pan into a 350º oven and bake 20-22 minutes or until done to the touch in the center and lightly browned on tops. Cool a few minutes. Slip them out of the molds with a knife tip. When totally cooled, slice carefully for receiving your cooked franks. Store any leftover in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 hotdog buns, each contains: (doesn’t include seed topping, if used)

228 cals, 10g fat, 18g carbs, 3g fiber, 15g NET CARBS, 11g protein, 347 mg sodium

Tuna Casserole

April 21, 2023May 10, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

Back in 2009 when I began my Atkins journey, there weren’t all the low-carb noodle options out there we have today. And since tuna casserole was a personal favorite, I had to get creative. This was one of the earliest creations back in 2009 when I started low-carbing. I threw this together one night with some leftover green beans and decided I didn’t need noodles to enjoy a favorite comfort food. It came out tasty and had a new twist. I added in some jicama. The jicama gives a crunch similar to water chestnuts, but jicama has even fewer carbs! The jicama adds no flavor, just crunch, so you can omit it if you like.

INGREDIENTS:

6.5 oz. canned or foil pouch tuna (I use oil pack)

2 c. cooked frozen green beans (French style or cut whole)

½ c. jicama, peeled or water chestnuts, julienne sliced (or slivered almonds)

½ c. canned mushrooms (2 small cans), with their liquid

½ c. cream

¼ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend (key flavor ingredient, so don’t skip)

2 slices American cheese

½ c. grated Cheddar cheese

Dash pepper

1/4 tsp. xanthan gum

VARIATION: Add some finely diced red bell pepper or pimiento for a slightly different flavor. 🙂

DIRECTIONS: Cook the frozen green beans until just, drain and put in a mixing bowl. Peel and dice the jicama and add to the bowl. Add the canned mushrooms, cream, tuna and all spices. Stir in xanthan gum and blend all well. Pour into microwaveable baking dish. Top with American cheese slices first and then with the grated cheddar. Pop into a 350º preheated oven for 20-30 minutes to blend flavors and thicken up.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains (using jicama):

307 cals, 22g fat, 9.53g carbs, 3.55g fiber, 5.98g NET CARBS, 19g protein, 450 mg sodium

Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp

April 20, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

Seafood with a Hawaiian twist. We just love these. These air-fried Parmesan-coconut shrimp are so good you need to try them. If you don’t have an Air Fryer, just bake them off on a sheet pan at 350º until they are browned on both sides. No strong with coconut flavor, but that suits us both fine.

I would have never bought myself an air fryer, but my husband went and did so for my Christmas present, so I’m trying to learn how to cook different things in it. I’ve since had to purchase a new wall oven and it has an air fryer feature built in. I use my Power XL basket fryer for small amounts of food; the Frigidaire oven ‘air fryer’ mode for larger amounts of food.

I’ve seen so many recipes for coconut shrimp on the internet, but the coatings can be pretty high carb. I have trimmed down the carbs and reached a total count of 1.8 net carbs per 6-shrimp serving! I did this by looking to my popular Oven-Fried Fish coating and then modified it even further. The end result is a dish we have had several times now. My husband really loves these shrimp and he’s not particularly fond of coconut! The Parmesan helps tone down the coconut taste a bit for us. This meal is suitable once you get to Phase 2 of Atkins ‘nuts and seeds’ level.

INGREDIENTS FOR SHRIMP:

26 medium-large raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1 low-carb slice of bread or roll (I used a Smart Bun )

½ c. pork rind crumbs (about 1 c. whole pieces)

¼ c. grated dry Parmesan

1 oz. desicated unsweetened coconut

1/3 c. Carbquik or other low-carb bake mix

3 egg whites

¼ tsp. my homemade Seafood Spice Blend

¼ tsp. sea salt

INGREDIENTS FOR OPTIONAL BANG BANG DIPPING SAUCE:

½ c. homemade mayo (or from jar if you prefer)

1 T. Sambal Oelek Asian chili sauce bang-bang-sauce

2 tsp. Sriracha sauce

Dash each salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS: Mix up the sauce ingredients well in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve shrimp. Drain off any water in the bag of shrimp.

In a food processor, crumb the pork rinds until fine, removing any large, hard chunks. Add the low-carb bread/roll, Parmesan cheese, coconut, spice blend and salt. Pulse until smooth mixture. Pour into a medium bowl. Break the egg whites into another small bowl. Place the Carbquik in yet a third small bowl. Line the bowls up beside a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat: flour first, egg whites second and crumb mixture last. Dip the shrimp first into the flour with your left DRY HAND, then drop into the egg whites. With your right WET HAND, turn each shrimp in the egg white to coat both sides. With the wet hand, drop the shrimp lastly into the crumb mixture without touching the crumb mixture with your WET HAND. With your left DRY HAND, toss the crumbs up over the shrimp to also coat on the tops (will be coated on the bottom from having been dropped into the crumbs). With your left DRY HAND, pick up and place gently on the parchment lined pan. Repeat until all shrimp have been cooked. If your hands get gooey/messy, just wash and dry them off mid process.

Preheat you air fryer for 3 minutes. Also preheat your regular oven at the lowest setting or around 200º-250º. I can do 12-13 large shrimp in my 7-qt. Power XL fryer at a time, so that means 2 batches. Do not crowd the shrimp even if you have to cook three batches if using a smaller fryer than mine.

Fry first batch of shrimp at 370º for 4 minutes. Gently turn shrimp over and fry 4 more minutes. When I placed the remaining shrimp on the fryer tray and turned it on for 8 more minutes (turning at 4 minute mark), I then placed the pan with the first batch into my regular oven to keep it warm until the second batch was done. If needed, fry your third batch similarly. When all are done, plate and serve with the Bang Bang Sauce or other sauce of your choosing.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes four 6-shrimp servings, each contains (not including sauce): 176 cals, 10g fat, 11g carbs, 8g fiber, 3g NET CARBS, 19.37g protein, 509 mg sodium

1/4 batch sauce adds: 200 calories, 22g fat, 1.05g carbs, .02g fiber, 4.5g protein and 175 mg sodium

Shrimp Cauliflower Curry

April 20, 2023May 10, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

We just love Indian food and I make it a little different every time, to be quite honest. I rarely use a recipe but they always come out good! This boasts a complex spice flavor profile I think you’ll like. I often add cauliflower or mushrooms (or both) to curried chicken or shrimp, so this curry has just the cauliflower . Pretty good combination, actually. Indian cuisine uses a lot of cauliflower, in fact. This Induction friendly dish pairs nicely with a cucumber mint salad or a crisp green salad.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lb. raw shrimp, shelled and cleaned

4 oz. onion, chopped or sliced thinly

1 T. olive oil

3 T. butter

3 plum tomatoes, cubed quite large

2 c. cauliflower, cooked until just barely tender

1½ c. chicken or seafood broth

4 oz. cream

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger root

2 tsp. my Garam Masala

2 tsp. curry powder

1½ tsp. cumin seed

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. turmeric

½ c. cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped (optional)

¼-½ tsp. Xanthan or guar gum to thicken.

DIRECTIONS: Heat a non-stick wok or large non-stick skillet over high heat. Add cumin seed and Garam Masala and dry roast for a minute or two, stirring until it smells aromatic. Add oil and butter and sliced onion. Saute until onion begins to brown. Add shrimp, tomatoes, chicken broth, ginger, ground cumin, turmeric and lower heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes. Lower heat to lowest setting and add cooked cauliflower, cilantro and cream. Stir well and continue to simmer on low heat. When cilantro loses it’s vibrant green color, thicken with successive light dustings of the xanthan or guar gum, stirring continuously, waiting a couple minutes between dustings so as not to overdo the thickening. When thickened to suit, serve immediately. For anyone at the dining table NOT ON ATKINS, this is divine on steamed basmati rice. Me, I eat it like a soup or stew, with a spoon. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 servings, each containing:

290 cals, 3.5 g fat, 7.43 g carbs, 2.4 g fiber, 5.03 g NET CARBS, 33.67 g protein, 438 mg sodium

Chipotle-Lime Shrimp Scampi

April 20, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

Once you get your ingredients together, this dish goes together in about 15 minutes flat! My kind of recipe! Both hubby and I REALLY liked this slightly different shrimp scampi creation. This recipe is the reason I use unsalted butter exclusively. The shrimp has a lot of sodium in it naturally. One serving provides 57% RDA vitamin B12, 45% vitamin D, 35% vitamin A, 38% copper, 42% iron, 26% niacin and 38% phosphorous, so this is a very nutritious dish! It is also acceptable for Atkins Induction Phase and other Keto diets. When you get to OWL (Ongoing Weith loss), 2 T. white wine added to this adds a nice flavor layer!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and cleaned

2-3 cloves minced garlic (I use 3)

½ stick unsalted butter

Juice of 2 limes (about 2-3 T.)

1/4 c. finely chopped parsley

1/8 tsp. smoked chipotle powder (if you can’t get it, use cayenne pepper)

¼ c. heavy cream

Sprinkle of xanthan gum to slightly thicken

2 c. spaghetti squash threads (½ c. per serving)

DIRECTIONS: Cut a medium spaghetti squash in half, remove seeds and put cut side down into shallow dish filled with 1/4″ water. Microwave on HI for 13 minutes. Drain and fork out threads and put in serving bowl with tight cover so squash will stay hot while you cook the shrimp topping. In a non-stick skillet, melt butter. Add minced garlic and sauté until cooked but not burned. You don’t want a raw garlic taste to dominate the final dish. Add chipotle powder and shrimp and sauté until shrimp curl and are opaque. Add parsley and lime juice and immediately lower heat to lowest setting. Add cream and stir well. Dust lightly with xanthan gum and stir until slightly thickened. Serve over spaghetti squash threads with a nice green salad!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each containing:

303 cals, 19.2g fat, 9.15g carbs, 1.38g fiber, 7.77g NET CARBS, 24.4g protein, 194 mg sodium

Cran-Orange Acorn Squash

April 18, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

I’m trying to use just fresh fruit for the occasional sweets craving. I’ve never been a big sweets eater, so this works just fine for me. I like to bake an acorn squash from time to time, especially at the holidays, both as a side dish and as a dessert. It goes so well with pork and roast turkey. Including holiday flavors like cranberries and orange, seems like you can’t go wrong.

I traditionally used maple syrup or brown sugar in this recipe, but maple extract can fill that brown sugar taste. Splenda or Stevia will have to do to sweeten up the squash a bit. This is a pretty high-carb vegetable, so it should not be enjoyed until Atkins Pre-maintenance or Maintenance phases. It is also suitable for Paleo-Primal dining. This was lovely with pork! This is also very good with a holiday turkey or wild game.

INGREDIENTS:

1 5″ diameter acorn squash

½ naval orange, peeled and chopped

1/3 c. fresh cranberries, chopped

½ tsp. cinnamon

Sweetener of your choice (I used liquid stevia extract)

¼-½ tsp. maple extract

4 tsp. unsalted butter or ghee

VARIATION: Sprinkle on a few chopped pecans before baking.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Using a large knife, cut the squash in half. Scoop out and discard seeds. Place a little water (1/4″) in a shallow quiche dish. Place squash cut side down in the water and microwave on HI for about 8-10 minutes or until it is beginning to get tender inside but is not falling-apart mushy. Remove from oven and drain off water. Turn squash cut side up and set aside while you make the filling. In a small bowl, place the chopped orange, chopped cranberries, cinnamon and if using, the sweetener and maple extract. Stir well. Fill each squash cavity with half the mixture. Top with 2 tsp. butter/ghee each and bake in preheated 350º oven for about 20 minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains: (not including any nuts used on top)

188 cals, 8.4g fat, 30.7g carbs, 5.8g fiber, 24.9g NET CARBS, 2.3g protein, 8 mg sodium

Ham & Veggie Terrine

April 18, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

I include this terrine with my vegetable extravaganza, but I did add ham to this dish, making it a complete meal. Omit the ham for a veggie side dish. These are kind of fun to make and so pretty and colorful!

I don’t own a ceramic loaf pan anymore, so I just use my metal 8″x4″ loaf pan lined with parchment to make my terrines. This dish is delicious, not to mention nutritious with all those veggies. A quick cutting of the vegetables, a brief sauté, fill the mold and it’s in the oven in no time! You could serve this tasty dish for breakfast, brunch gatherings, lunch or dinner. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets. Paleo and Primal followers will want to sub in coconut milk for the cream here. Omit the ham and you vegetarians can even enjoy this one!

INGREDIENTS:

1 large carrot, peeled, sliced thin

2 5″ zucchini (about 10 oz.), sliced thin

1 leek, washed well of dirt and sliced thin

3 T. olive oil

Dash sea salt and coarse black pepper

¼ tsp. garlic powder or 1 small clove garlic, minced

4 extra large eggs, beaten (or 5 large eggs)

2 T. coconut flour

3 T. oz. heavy cream, divided

5 T. water, total

1½ c. cooked, cured ham (omit for a vegetarian version)

VARIATION: Substitute cooked bacon for the ham

CHEESE SAUCE: 5-10 minutes before terrine is done, mix 3 T. of the water, 2 T. of the cream in small saucepan set into larger saucepan (or use double boiler) and heat. Add 4 slices American Deluxe or Cheddar Cheese. Stir and blend until cheese is melted and all is incorporated into a smooth sauce. Pour into serving bowl when terrine is out of oven, sliced and ready to serve. Sauce will thicken fast, so do not dip it up one minutes before you need it.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Line a metal or ceramic 4×8″ loaf pan with parchment. I don’t line the ends of the pan and just oil there lightly. Set aside for now. Stem and slice up all veggies. I used a food processor for uniform, thin slice. Heat olive oil in wok or large skillet. Add veggies, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Sauté stirring often over medium-high heat until veggies are tender but not mushy. Stir in sliced/diced ham. Turn off heat.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, remaining 1 T. cream and remaining 2 T. water until smooth. Add coconut flour. Stir again. Pour over veggies and stir well to blend. With rubber spatula, scrape mixture into parchment-prepared pan. Trim off excess paper above top of pan but leave a bit for “handles”. Pop into 350º oven for about 40 minutes. Check at 30 min. as ovens do vary. Top will be lightly golden and center should be firm (not damp) when touched. Do not over brown as terrine will be dry if overcooked. Remove from oven, run knife along ends of pan and lift out of pan holding the paper, tipping onto your platter. Slice into 6 slices (about 1″-1¼” thick). Serve with cheese sauce (or some other favorite sauce if you prefer)

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 servings, each contains (including 1½ T. sauce):

288 cals, 21 g fat, 6.88g carbs, 1.48g fiber, 5.4g NET CARBS, 18.6g protein, 689mg sodium

Green Bean Casserole

April 18, 2023Peggy 2 Comments

This is as close to the classic, ever-popular holiday green bean casserole as I’ve been able to achieve as a low-carb alternative. My husband liked it so much, he said “This one is your best version of this to date!” and dipped up seconds. So I’ll be making this version from now on, it would appear.

I owe many thanks to Jennifer Eloff for her inspirational recipe: Casserole Topping, to which I made a few additions. I finally got around to trying it, Jen, and it really does work with cheese and bake mix! I had visions of it sinking down into the bean mixture during baking, but it didn’t sink at all! I added even more crunch with the addition of crushed pork rinds, which I couldn’t taste as such in the final dish. 🙂

I also used her Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup for this dish, which I adore for so many things. If you haven’t tried it yet, you simply MUST! This delicious recipe is not suitable until you have gotten to Atkins Pre-Maintenance or Maintenance because of the grain in the bake mix. Sub in coconut flour in the mix if you avoid grains.

INGREDIENTS:

3 c. frozen green beans, regular or French style

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

1 can (6-oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained (about ½ c.)

Dab olive oil to grease dish

1 recipe crumble topping (see below)

CRUMBLE TOPPING:

½ c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

1/3 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Low Carb Bake Mix

2 T. cold unsalted butter

10 medium pork rinds

1 T. toasted, dehydrated (or fresh) shallots (or red onion)

¼ tsp. my Cajun Seafood Spice Blend

1 T. hemp hearts (optional, adds a nutty flavor)

DIRECTIONS: Lightly oil a 2-qt. baking dish. Preheat oven to 350º. Place defrosted beans (uncooked), soup and mushrooms in a large bowl and toss well to coat. Scrape the mixture into your lightly oiled baking dish.

To make topping, toss all ingredients but shallots or red onion into a food processor or blender and pulse a few times to make a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle topping over the green bean mixture. Sprinkle over shallots/onion and pop into 350º oven for about 20 minutes for French-style beans, 30 minutes for regular cut beans until golden brown on top. Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 5 servings, each contains:

237 cals, 18.3g fat, 9.52g carbs, 3.32g fiber, 6.2g NET CARBS, 10.3g protein, 294 mg sodium

Baked Sweet Potato Halves

April 18, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

Another holiday treat at my house. My mom just loved baked sweet potatoes with nothing but butter on them. Me, I like to dress them up with a hint of cinnamon and brown ‘sugar’ flavor. So I have blended her favorite way to cook them along with mine for this creation. This method of preparation is effortless, fast and you can make a lot of them for a crowd at one time using a larger baking pan! I just love to have any leftover halves for breakfast the next day, dotted with more butter and cinnamon. 🙂 Shown above with pork chop and delicious kale with bacon. But tonight, I’m serving these potatoes with some baked ham leftover from the holidays.

Now sweet potatoes aren’t something a low-carber should be eating daily, mind you, but I have a couple left in the house from the Holidays, so I’m springing for higher carbs to finish them off. Sweet potatoes are so nutritious and have a fiber deduction on the carb count as well, something white potatoes can’t boast about. These are not suitable until you are in Pre-Maintenance or have reached goal weight. Added note: these are wonderful with baked fish, shrimp, pork, ham, BBQ beef or JUST BY THEMSELVES!

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium 6-oz sweet potato, washed

2 T. melted butter

1/8-¼ tsp. cinnamon (I use Vietnamese cinnamon from Penzey’s)

OPTIONAL: few drops maple extract stirred into the melted butter for brown sugar flavor

DIRECTIONS: Wash potato and cut tips off each end. Cut in half lengthwise. Turn oven on to 400º. Melt the butter in pan as the oven preheats, right in your metal baking pan. Remove pan from oven and stir in the cinnamon and maple extract. Now rub the cut side of the potato in the cinnamon-y butter. With cut side of the potatoes still down, place pan back in oven and bake at 400º for about 30 minutes (longer for larger potatoes). When a knife tip can be inserted easily, they are done. Remove, serve and enjoy!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:

175 calories, 11.5 g fat, 17.35 g carbs, 2.7 g fiber, 14.6 g NET CARBS, 1.54 g protein, 48 mg sodium

Spinach Parmesan Bake

April 17, 2023August 17, 2025Peggy Leave a comment

This has been a very popular side dish on my recipe blog. Once you taste it, you’ll see why. Facebook shares were amazing on this recipe. This dish is simple to make and I’m very please with the resulting flavor profile. The concept came to me one night when I thought about making a spinach soufflé, but wanted something a little denser and cheesier.

This pairs nicely with roast pork and was delicious with our rosemary-onion pork steaks the night I created it. I did put 3 large sliced mushrooms in this, but they added absolutely nothing to the flavor impact. I won’t bother to include them again and I’m not including those in my recipe here. This dish is Atkins Induction suitable.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. olive oil

2 oz. onion, chopped

Dash salt

10 oz. box or bag of frozen spinach, thawed & well-drained

2 oz. cream cheese

2 oz. heavy cream

1/3 c. homemade mayonnaise

2 large eggs

3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

With Chicken Added for a meal!

VARIATION: Add 2 c. chopped raw, boneless chicken meat to the skillet with the onion and turn this side dish into a delicious meal.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add onion and salt and sauté the onion until tender. Add the drained spinach and cook a few minutes, stirring several times. Lower heat to medium. Cut the cream cheese into little chunks and melt and stir it into the warm spinach. Add mayonnaise and stir well. Turn off heat. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the cream and pour it evenly over the top of the spinach. Top with Parmesan and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350º.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

420 calories, 38 g fat, 6.78 g carbs, 2.75 g fiber, 4.03 NET CARBS, 15.28 g protein, 622 mg sodium

Spaghetti Squash Parmesan with Bacon

April 17, 2023April 17, 2023Peggy 2 Comments

This side dish is simply delicious, considering how little is in it! The bacon and onion really GO together in this one! It’s so good it had over 200,000 Facebook fans over time back in the day I posted there. If you don’t overcook the squash and are careful when removing the threads, you can serve this right in the shell for its own “bowl” for festive occasions! One reader suggests roasting the squash traditionally in the oven for added flavor if you have the time. This one is definitely a must try. This is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets.

INGREDIENTS:

½ large spaghetti squash (yields about 4-5 c.)

4 slices bacon, chopped fine

3 oz. chopped onion

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Dash salt

¼ tsp. pepper

DIRECTIONS: Cut a large spaghetti squash in half. Remove seeds with a spoon and discard them. Place one half of the squash face down in glass baking dish, reserving the second half for some other use. Surround with with ½” water and microwave 13-15 minutes. Drain off water, invert, remove/discard seeds (or feed to the birds in your yard 🙂 ) and fork out the threads into the same dish. If you prefer to roast your squash: after you cut and seed the squash, add 2 cups water (1/2 inch deep) to a ceramic casserole dish; add squash face up and place in a 375º F oven for 45 minutes. Then cover for 10 minutes with foil. Fork out the threads onto a plate. Meanwhile, in a non-stick skillet, brown bacon bits and onion until bacon is done and onion is tender. Sprinkle salt, pepper and Parmesan on top of squash. Then spoon into the empty squash shell. Spread onion/bacon mixture evenly on top. Microwave 5 minutes on high, or bake in oven at 350º for 20 more minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: Makes 4 servings each containing:

107 cals, 6.7 g fat, 4.8 g carbs, 0.8 g fiber, 4 g NET CARBS, 7.1 g protein, 429 mg sodium

Twice-Baked “Potatoes”

April 17, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

I have made this delicious side dish probably hundreds of times throughout my 14 years of low-carbing. I can make them blind-folded now, no recipe in front of me needed. You just can’t beat an all-time favorite food! Comfort food for sure at our house. This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets. It is not suitable for Primal-Paleo due to all the dairy.

INGREDIENTS:

24 oz. raw cauliflower (about 2/3 of a large head)

1 oz. heavy cream

1 oz. cream cheese

1 oz. sour cream

4 T. melted butter, unsalted

4 oz. Cheddar cheese, shredded

2 large green onions, chopped

1 tsp. or less olive oil to grease dish

VARIATION: Use American Deluxe cheese instead of Cheddar.

DIRECTIONS: Cut cauliflower into smaller pieces and boil or steam until tender. Drain well. Stir in the cream cheese and butter to melt. Add the sour cream and heavy cream and whip with a stick blender or hand mixer until smooth or nearly smooth. Spread into a greased medium baking dish and top with half the cheese, then the onions and finally the rest of the cheese. Bake in a preheated 350º oven for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 servings, each contains:

209 cals, 18 g fat, 7.85 g carbs, 2.98 g fiber, 4.87 g NET CARBS, 6.98 g protein, 257 mg sodium

Mom’s Roasted Candied Carrots

April 17, 2023April 17, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

This was always a favorite of my mother, as her mother before her baked carrots this way. At least 3 generations rest behind this recipe. Of course, Mom always made them with real brown sugar, but my low-carb version tastes just as good as Mom’s! These are seriously delicious and you will want to try them some time. Your family will love you for doing so, especially if they’re not carrot fans, like my husband (who LOVES these carrots). These are almost like a desert and not a vegetable dish. You can bank on that reaction!

Mom loved these carrots with baked ham, pork chops. baked chicken and seafood (just about anything, in other words). We had them often with our turkey at Christmas, or alongside baked chicken and pork roasts throughout the year. They shrink some during the baking/roasting process, so be sure to make plenty for your crowd. 🙂 These are a bit higher in carbs than the green beans on the plate above, but can be enjoyed once in awhile after you’ve graduated from the initial 2-week Induction Phase of your Atkins journey.

INGREDIENTS:

5-6 medium carrots (5-6″ long), peeled, each sliced in 3-4 long strips

2 T. melted butter

1 T. erythritol or sweetener of choice equivalent to 1 T. sugar

¼ tsp. quality maple extract

Dash salt (optional)

Dash pepper (optional)

VARIATION: When she made big batches for company & holiday feasts (stacked thick in the pan) Mom would always lay 4 or more slices of bacon atop the carrots. The bacon basted the carrots with a smoky taste and crisped up as the carrots finished baking. Man, the sweet from the carrots blended into the bacon; the smoke blended into the carrots. Flavor layers to beat the band. If you do this variation, be sure to allow 1 slice of bacon per person to avoid fights over who gets the bacon. Just sayin’. 🙂

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Peel and slice the carrots lengthwise (3-4 slices per carrot, or about 3/16″ thick). Melt the butter in a 9×13 baking pan (I used metal). Needs to be this large for easy tossing during cooking and to be sure they lay in a single layer. Remove from oven and add maple extract, sweetener, salt and pepper if using. Stir well. Lay the carrots in a single layer at the bottom, flipping them to coat both sides with the butter mixture. Pop into oven and bake around 40 minutes, tossing/flipping them once at the 20 minute mark. They should be fairly tender when done, but if thicker slices are slightly underdone, no problem. They will be just be a little chewier, which I kind of like, personally. 🙂 Enjoy with your favorite meat and green entree!

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 adult servings, each contains:

119 cals, 7.9g fat, 11.76g carbs, 3.43g fiber, 7.33g NET CARBS, 1.23g protein, 190mg sodium

Creamed Kale and Spinach

April 15, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

This little creation got a resounding two thumbs up from both of us. I’ve creamed spinach a bazillion times, but wanted to see what a little kale added to the picture would bring. Well, I knew it would bring a marvelous macronutrient profile, but flavor wise, did not want the kale to dominate the final dish. I wanted the onion and bacon to come through. By blending the green vegetables, they were a a nice complement for the bacon-onion flavor layers.

I added a secret ingredient, one of my favorite condiments, and THAT is what made this dish so special! Truly! I keep telling my readers how I love my homemade Shawarma Mayo , how it is almost addictive, and man, it really is! It brings a creaminess and flavor layer to recipes that to my way of thinking, is just indescribable. It scored again in this new dish in my collection. For those who say they don’t like kale abut like spinach, this one is a musts try. I think you’ll be quite surprised at how good this is. 🙂

This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal eating plans.

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. thick slice bacon (4 slices, coarsely chopped)

3 oz. red onion, shopped

1 large kale leaf, stemmed and chopped (2 c. total)

8 oz. frozen leaf spinach, thawed

2 T. my Homemade Shawarma Mayo

4 oz. cream cheese

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 325º. Lightly grease/oil a medium baking dish and set aside.

In a large skillet over high heat, fry the chopped bacon until done but not crisp. Drain on paper toweling. In the grease, sauté the onion until tender. Add the chopped kale and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until it is getting limp. Add the spinach and stir to blend the mixture well. Reduce heat to medium and add the Shawarma mayo and cream cheese, stirring to melt and evenly distribute the cream cheese. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish and top with the browned bacon. Pop into 325º oven and bake 15-20 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve with your meat entree and sit back and listen to them rave about it. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

328 calories, 31 g fat, 8.75 g carbs, 2.8 g fiber, 5.95 g NET CARBS, 8.9 g protein, 494 mg sodium

Sweet Steamed Cabbage

April 13, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

What’s there to NOT like about cabbage? The smell of it boiling on the stove, quite frankly. I love the TASTE of cabbage, but have never liked the SMELL of it slow cooking in that ham pot……..that is until I discovered how to cook it in the microwave. If you’ve never been particularly fond of cabbage, you may just want to give this one a try. I do hope all my cabbage haters out there will give this one a go before they write off cabbage forever, like my husband once did.

This method of cooking is my attempt to replicate a cabbage dish a little Chinese restaurant in Texas City used to serve. It was slightly sweet and cooked just until slightly soft wilted with a heavy dose of butter. I’ve gotten pretty close to their flavor now with this dish. I think you will REALLY like this method of cooking cabbage. For me, two key added pluses is 1) not having to heat up the house with slow boiling and 2) not having that odor in the house for hours on end either. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets, Primal and Paleo.

VARIATION: Add crumbled, cooked, crisp bacon on top right before serving.

INGREDIENTS:

3 c. green cabbage, cut into 2″ pieces (leaves separated)

½ c. water

2 T. butter

2-3 drops liquid Stevia, liquid Splenda or sweetener of choice

Optional: salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS: Cut cabbage into 2″ chunks and separate the leaves. Place in glass dish. Add water, butter and Splenda. Microwave 4-5 minutes only on HI, stirring once during cooking at 2 minutes. Test for doneness as microwaves vary. You want the cabbage just wilted and tender but not very soft really. If properly done, this dish has none of the strong cabbage flavor or smell cooked cabbage usually leaves behind for hours. It’s one of the few cooked cabbage dishes my husband will eat, in fact, for this reason. Serve at once. As I like the sweetness of this particular cabbage dish, I don’t usually add salt or pepper, but each to his own preferences.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains:

90 calories, 7.7 g. fat, 5.12 g carbs, 2.23 g fiber, 2.94 g NET CARBS, 1.2 g protein, 19 mg sodium

Lobster Salad

April 11, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

We bought a huge box of lobster tails at Sam’s at Christmas. We’re down to the last two tails in the box. Going to make a nice lobster salad for our dinner this evening. Neither of us are terribly hungry and we’ve been at doctor’s appointments and physical therapy all day long. Needless to say I forgot to defrost any meat and can thaw these tails fast.

This salad is visually appealing and its flavor matches its attractiveness on the plate. With avocado added to the plate, it is also extremely filling, so I would definitely call this one a main dish. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets. Paleo and Primal folks can enjoy this one as well!

INGREDIENTS:

4 c. mixed salad greens

10 leaves baby spinach

4 San Marzano mini tomatoes, sliced crosswise (or use 8 cherry tomatoes)

2 oz. red bell pepper, sliced thin

½ green onion, chopped into ½” pieces

1 ripe avocado, skin & seed removed, sliced

4 T. homemade mayonnaise, seasoned with your fav blend (I used my Shawarma Mayonnaise)

2 lobster tails (10 oz. in shell, 8 oz. meat yield total)

VARIATION: Add some finely diced celery and a dash of cayenne pepper to the lobster salad mixture.

DIRECTIONS: Bring a 4-qt. saucepan of water to a boil. Drop in lobster tails and boil for about 7-8 minutes. Remove, cool a bit and holding with a pot holder, cut the tail shell down the “belly” side and remove the meat from the shell. Cut meat into 1/2″ bite-sized pieces and set aside for now to cool further.

While the lobster is boiling, plate your base salad greens, dividing the above vegetables equally between two serving plates. In a small bowl, toss the cooled down lobster meat with the homemade mayo and spoon half of the mixture onto the center of the greens on each plate. You can use a plain, unseasoned homemade mayo, but I like to use a seasoned mayo for salad dressings, particularly good that way with lobster. Serve salads at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:

414 cals., 35.4g fat, 13g carbs, 7.25g fiber, 5.75g NET CARBS, 26.45g protein, 415 mg sodium

Chicken Waldorf Salad

April 11, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

Once Atkins followers get to the OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) carb re-introduction ladder, they can occasionally have a bit of fruit. I only allow myself to indulge a couple times a month, but it sure is nice. Sometimes we like to have salads as our main course, and my favorite is a good Waldorf Salad.

If you use mostly (or all) peeled jicama for the apple in a classic Waldorf Salad, the carbs will be less. But quite honestly, a little real apple greatly helps in taste. The nutritional stats below reflect the apple as stated in the recipe. As a result, this dish isn’t Induction friendly, but it isn’t half bad with just jicama, if you want to try it that way until you graduate out of the Induction Phase. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

1 13 oz. can chicken meat (water pack only), well-drained and flaked apart

1 red apple, UNpeeled and diced

3/4 c. walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 c. diced celery

¼ c. homemade mayo

DIRECTIONS: Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl with a spoon and serve in a pretty serving dish (over lettuce if you like).

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains:

551 cals, 44.9g fat, 11.9g carbs, 3.6g fiber, 8.3g NET CARBS, 31.6g protein, 152 mg sodium

Bacon Salad

April 10, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

This salad is one of my favorites. It was the only salad I would eat when I was a child. It combines two of my very favorite flavors: bacon and creamy tangy onion. This yummy salad makes a delightful, light lunch can be enjoyed during all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo regiments as well! Nutritional numbers are approximate, as I can’t know how much of the greens you will put into each salad bowl. Salads aren’t an exact science in my opinion. Most of the calories and fat are, as you might expect, in the dressing.

INGREDIENTS:

6 oz. raw bacon, cut into 1/2″ pieces

Enough greens for 4 salads: romaine or lettuce of choice, green onion, celery, bell pepper

1 small carrot, peeled and slivered with peeler

8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves

6 slices cucumber, sliced again into halves

4 T. my Homemade Mayonnaise or my Shawarma Salad Dressing

3 T. hot bacon grease

DIRECTIONS: Prepare the salad greens in a large salad serving bowl. Set aside. In a skillet, brown the bacon until fully done to your liking. Dip bacon onto paper towels to drain. Turn off heat and let skillet cool a few minutes. Drain off for some other use all but 3 T. of the bacon grease. You only want 3 T. left in the skillet. Add the shawarma mayo to the skillet grease and stir quickly. Pour over the salad greens and top with the cooked bacon. Serve at once as this salad is supposed to be slightly warm at serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 salads, each contains approximately:

409 calories, 43 g fat, 6.45 g carbs, 2.75 g fiber, 3.7 g NET CARBS, 4 g protein, 380 mg sodium

Spicy Purple Coleslaw

April 10, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

Everyone has their own favorite regular coleslaw recipe. Mine is here. But I developed a NEW spicy take on an old favorite, adding jalapeño to the picture. The final salad has a bit of a bite, but not too much for me, and you know I don’t like things too spicy. We just love this slaw! And it’s so colorful! Goes great with fried seafood or BBQ fare. This delicious salad is suitable for Atkins Induction and all Ketogenic diets. It also fits into a Primal-Paleo lifestyle.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. sliced purple cabbage, cut real fine

1 lg. or 2 small, whole jalapeños, seeded (or not), slivered into thin strips

1 oz. red onion, slivered very thin (or 1 whole green onion, chopped)

4 T. homemade mayo

¼ tsp. seasoned salt, Emeril’s Cajun Blend or my Shawarma Spice Blend

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

Dash granulated onion powder

DIRECTIONS: Cut up the cabbage as you usually would for coleslaw and place in a mixing bowl. You can use a food processor to slice it, but I don’t like mine as fine as my processor blade grates/chops it. Add all remaining ingredients, adding the jalapeño gradually to achieve your family’s taste tolerance for spicy. Toss all well to coat all cabbage. I like to chill for an hour before serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains:

202 calories, 18.6 g fat, 6.87 g carbs, 1.6 g fiber, 5.27 g NET CARBS, 76 mg sodium

Jicama Mint Salad

April 10, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

I’ve had this salad dressing on cucumbers many a time and loved it. Tonight I decided to try it on jicama and it was WONDERFUL! Very refreshing salad for summer. The crispness and slightly sweet quality of the jicama is perfect with mint! This salad is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal-Paleo as well.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. of my Mint Sauce

1 c. jicama, peeled, cut in strips about 1″ long (or grated if you prefer)

Sprinkle of salt to taste

Splash rice wine vinegar (optional)

DIRECTIONS: Mix up the Mint Sauce recipe linked above and set aside. Peel and cut up jicama and place in bowl large enough to toss easily. Add 2 T. of the mint sauce and toss. Taste to see if you want to add salt. If you prefer your salads tart, add a sprinkle of rice wine vinegar (available in most grocery stores in the Chinese Food section) to the jicama as you toss it. Plate and serve with tomato slices.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 1 serving which contains:

78 calories, 2.4 g fat, 13.2 g carbs, 7.1 g fiber, 6.1 g NET CARBS, 1.7 g protein, trace of sodium in vinegar

Purslane Salad

April 10, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

Does it get any prettier? I have seen the occasional recipe that called for purslane over the years, but was never inclined to try any. Quite honestly, I wasn’t very familiar with what it was. But I have begun growing it on my patio in huge pots. It is so hardy and has such lovely blooms! The entire plant is edible, leaves and flowers! I decided I was going to finally taste it today. To me, the flavor of all three parts of the plant (flower, leaf and stem) I would liken to a lemony bib lettuce. Purslane is a powerhouse of nutrition! I no longer live at the house with the ginormous pots of multi-colored Purslane, so I include a photo of my current small pot of yellow purslane below: http://www.naturalhealth-solutions.net/healthy-eating/powerhouse-of-nutrition-purslane.

Puslane

To harvest purslane, just pinch off individual stems from the mother plant, grab the end of the stem with one hand, and in one quick motion with your other hand’s thumb and index finger, strip the leaves off the stems like you would strip rosemary leaves off the stems. Place the leaves (and blooms,, if using) into a colander or sieve. Rinse under cold water to remove any dirt or insects hiding there. Purslane wilts fast in dressing, so wait and prepare and dress your salad right before serving. Below is a pic of what edible purslane looks like growing:

CAUTION: If you find and gather what looks like wild growing purslane, be sure to snap the stem. If it oozes a white, milky-looking substance, BEWARE! What you have found IS NOT edible purslane!! The plant that oozes the white milky substance when pinched is an inedible impersonator known as spurge that just happens to look like purslane! Its blooms are tiny and barely visible. The edible purslane, when a stem is snapped has clear fluid in it. Another difference, is the leaves are ‘alternate’ along the stem on the edible purslane. Leaves are ‘opposite’ along the stem of wild spurge. If eaten by mistake, wild spurge will make you very sick! It’s leaves are also less thick and fleshy than the leaves of edible purslane. Edible purslane has a clear fluid when squeezed. Toxic wild spurge has a milky white liquid and is shown photo right: creeping-spurge

The inspiration for this recipe is a Middle Eastern salad I’m familiar with known as Fattoush. It has toasted torn pita bread pieces in it. Well, I decided to just omit the bread because I sure don’t need to be eating bread in my salads. But you could break up toasted low-carb bread into this salad if you like.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. purslane shoots and leaves, stripped off stems (I only use the very tips of the stems)

2 c. romaine lettuce, broken into pieces

1/4 c. fresh mint, coarsely chopped

½ c. cucumber, peeled and diced

6 grape tomatoes (I cut mine into halves)

½ oz. red onion, slivered as thinly as possible

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 oz. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. sumac (optional, but traditional in Fattoush)

Dash each salt and black pepper

Couple purslane blooms (also edible)

OPTIONAL: Toasted, broken up bits of 1 slice of low-carb bread

DIRECTIONS: Harvest the purslane leaves and rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper toweling. Add the torn lettuce, mint, cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes and salt/pepper. In a small dish mix the measure out and stir the oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic and sumac. Drizzle over the salad greens and toss. Serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 3 servings, each contains:

101 calories

9 g fat

4.66 g carbs, 1.43 g fiber, 3.23 g NET CARBS

1.1 g protein

61 mg sodium

258 mg potassium

16% RDA Vitamin A, 25% C, 10% E, 16% iron, 11% manganese

Spinach Salad with Olive Dressing

April 9, 2023April 10, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

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

INGREDIENTS:

3 c. fresh spinach leaves

12 slices cucumber

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

2 T. my Olive Tapenade

3 T. olive oil

3 T. red wine vinegar

Dash each salt and pepper

Sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Few thin slivers of red onion (optional)

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

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

254 cals, 26.3g fat, 4.15g carbs, 2.2g fiber, 1.95g NET CARBS, 1.75g protein, 239 mg sodium

DRESSING ALONE: half recipe contains: 239 calories, 26 g fat, 1.2 g carbs, 0.5 g fiber, 0.7 g NET CARBS, 0.2 g protein

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

April 8, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

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

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

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz. onion, sliced

1 T. coconut oil

1 lb. cooked, lean pork, chopped

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger root, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

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

1/4 tsp. salt

Dash black pepper

1 13.5-oz. can coconut milk

3 c. homemade pork (or chicken) broth

2 c. water

1/4 tsp. Thai red curry paste

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

1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

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

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

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

New England Clam Chowder

April 8, 2023Peggy 2 Comments

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

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

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. bacon, coarsely chopped

3 oz. onion, chopped

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

1 c. daikon radish, peeled, chopped

½ c. parsley, chopped

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

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

½ c. heavy cream

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

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

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

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

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

Kale-Turnip Soup

April 7, 2023Peggy 1 Comment

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

Many delicious low-carb recipes like this can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends (me included). Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love! Order your personal copies from Amazon or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. pork breakfast sausage

3 oz. red onion, sliced or chopped

2 c. turnip, cut into large cubes

1 medium stalk celery, sliced coarsely

1½ c. kale leaves, stemmed, coarsely cut up

6 c. homemade chicken broth

Dash each sea salt and coarse black pepper

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

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

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

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

Lobster Bisque

April 5, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

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

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

INGREDIENTS:

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

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

¾ leek, rinsed, sliced thin

1/3 large head cauliflower, cooked

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

2 oz. tomato paste

3 oz. sherry (or white wine)

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

1/2 stick butter (4 T.)

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

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each containing:

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

Texas Bone Broth Soup

April 5, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

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

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

INGREDIENTS:

1½ qts. (6 cups) beef bone broth

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

8 oz. cooked beef, diced

½ c. Rotel tomatoes with green chilies

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

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 small carrots, chopped

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

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

2 cloves garlic, minced

Dash each salt & coarse black pepper

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

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

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

“Potato” Soup

April 5, 2023April 5, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

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

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

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

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS. She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and other talented low-carb cooks over the years along the way to bring you a wealth of delicious low-carb recipes you are going to want to try. Even a few of my recipes are in each of the volumes! Order yours from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium head cauliflower (about 12 oz.)

4 c. chicken broth, low-sodium or homemade

1½ c. leeks, cleaned, chopped or sliced thin

2 shallots, chopped fine

½ stick (4 T.) unsalted butter

¼ tsp. each salt & black pepper

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

½ c. heavy cream

OPTIONAL: ¼ c. dry white wine

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

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

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

Cheese Thin Buns (Gluten-Free)

April 2, 2023Peggy 6 Comments

Man, oh, man, when you can get a breakfast bun down to 2 net carbs per bun………..I don’t think anyone can top that, do you? And the key ingredient here is …………..drum roll………….glucomannan powder! Ages and ages ago I saved a recipe for a cheese bread that was posted on the once named Low Carb Friends forums (sadly Netrition abruptly shut down the forum June 1st, 2018 with little notice). Many of the great cooks there refused to stop sharing their low-carb cooking experiments and migrated to a new location, creating a new forum called Low Carb Neighborhood. A member at the original forums named Marcea posted a cheese bread recipe made from glucomannan (no flour) once that intrigued me and I had to explore that one for sure.

Shocked by the forum closure, it was quite some time before I found her recipe and tried the original. I found it was indeed like a bread (which astounded me), but I thought I might be able to improve on the texture a bit with a little experimenting. What can I say, I’m a veteran recipe tweaker. My changes created a bread my husband and I both found even more bread-like, with improved flavor as well! My creation made for some delicious sausage, egg, breakfast “sammies” (shown above).

Due to the fiber that glucomannan is, these are so filling, slicing the thin buns is the only way to go with glucomannan baked goods. One adult large bun will fill most people right up! The hubs wanted an extra slice of cheese on his but did not ask for seconds as he said he was bloat-0 from just one! All I can say is these are super yummy! This gluten-free bread has been a regular at breakfast ever since this experiment. This recipe is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto, Primal Blueprint, and clearly for a gluten-free diet. Clearly it is not suitable for Paleo due to the cheese.

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. plain whey protein isolate (I use NOW brand)

1 T.+1 tsp. glucomannan powder

1 T. baking powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

3 eggs, beaten

1 T. olive oil

1/4 c. tap water

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Measure all wet ingredients and add eggs to a medium mixing bowl. Beat with hand or electric mixer. Leaving mixer on as you work, with your free hand, slowly dust in or sprinkle the glucomannan onto the wet ingredients until it forms a smooth waffle-like batter. Will lump a bit with first addition but will quickly smooth out. Do not rush this step. When all glucomannan powder is incorporated, turn off mixer and remove/scrape down beaters. Add in baking powder, garlic powder, shredded cheese and whey protein powder. Stir well with rubber spatula to blend uniformly. Now it should be a pretty thick bread batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl of batter as you go.

Line a baking sheet or pan with parchment. Spoon batter onto sheet in 6 equal 4″ mounds. I flatten mine out a bit with the spatula to get this size and to eliminate a thick mound in the middle. If you are making the smaller buns, spoon your batter onto the parchment in 12 smaller mounds (no need to flatten). Pop pan into 350º oven and bake the larger buns for around 15 minutes; smaller ones take around 9-10 minutes. I don’t over brown these or they tend to dry out. Slightly cool and slice to make your favorite lunch or breakfast sammies (cheese included).

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 6 large buns or 12 smaller buns.

Larger adult-size buns (6) each contain: 139 calories, 10.55 g fat, 5.33 g carbs, 3.36 g fiber, 1.97 g NET CARBS, 10.5 g protein, 522 mg sodium

Smaller child-size buns (12) each contain: 70 calories, 5.27 g fat, 2.66 g carbs, 1.68 g fiber, 0.98 g NET CARBS, 5.25 g protein, 261 mg sodium

Bite-Size (24) each bite contains: 35 cals, 2.64g fat, 1.33g carbs, 0.84g fiber, 0.49g NET CARBS, 2.73g protein, 130 mg sodium

Correction to Cornbread Recipe posted today

March 31, 2023June 8, 2023Peggy 4 Comments

Regarding the Southern Buttermilk Cornbread recipe posted earlier…………Honeyville Grains has dropped their crude corn bran from their product line this year. One of my readers told me this awhile back but I completely forgot to alter this recipe. Lucky my bag will likely last me for a couple years to come, as I use so little in recipes.

Honeyville Grains has also apparently discontinued my preferred substitution for corn bran, which would be their Hi-Maize Resistant Starch. Man, they aren’t making low-carb baking so easy anymore, are they?

Good news though! You can still get Hi-Maize Resistant Starch at Amazon. As it, too, like corn bran, is pure fiber, this substitution should not affect the nutritional numbers for this recipe. I have corrected this recipe since posting it this morning if you want to print it out again. So sorry for the inconvenience. Take it out on Honeyville! 🙂

Peggy’s Original Dumplings

March 30, 2023March 30, 2023Peggy 2 Comments

For those who miss Chicken and Dumplings, here ya go! Only took me 4 years to develop these since requested of me by Dano, a member of the Atkins forums at one time! This one’s for you Dano! Besides, I just have to have me some Chicken and Dumplings once in awhile. It’s a Southern U.S. thing. What can I say? 🙂

When you can’t have flour, it’s really really hard to make dumplings that will hold together during cooking. I’ve used almond flour, coconut flour, flax meal and a variety of alternate flours. You name it and I’ve probably tried that alternate flour to make a dumpling. This is no easy low-carb feat. I wanted a similar taste and similar mouth feel as the dumplings I made before my low-carbing days. All attempts thus far have been mediocre, at best.

Somewhere on the net a year or so ago, on some forum (probably Low Carb Friends, but not sure), someone mentioned they made dumplings with glucomannan powder. Not being at all familiar with this product, I ordered some from Netrition.com and began to experiment. Its gel-like, fibrous qualities when wet lend themselves to a dumpling, providing structure and texture. It is also useful for thickening gravies, sauces and puddings. I’ve even found a tad of this stuff enhances low-carb cake, cookie and bread baking results, both in volume and texture. I’d love to give credit to my inspiration on this recipe, but I must admit I failed to write down the name of the person who’s ingenious idea this really was. But I’m thankful they triggered off some experimentation that has paid off!

If you’re not familiar with glucomannan powder, it comes from the Konjac tuber, and is used to make shirataki noodles seen in Asian menus. It can be used as a binding agent in some recipes. It is virtually a zero carb food, in that the fiber content is so high, it virtually negates the few carbs it contains as fiber is indigestible and passes right out of the system with zero blood sugar impact. Most importantly, glucomannan adds the structure and elasticity needed for dumplings and noodles. So I began experimenting.

I’m getting more comfortable using this tricky ingredient and have finally come up with a “dumpling” that feels and almost tastes like my dumplings of old. This will now be my go-to dumpling recipe. As you can see in the pic above, they hold together nicely during very gentle simmering (unlike all previous attempts), and the glucomannan powder also slightly releases in to the broth to thicken it as well! NICE!

For you “experimenters” under no circumstances, increase the oat fiber!! I did one time and they came out just awful, hard as a rock, plus they did not absorb any flavor from the chicken broth because of the density. Trust me, you DON’T want to go there! This balance of ingredients it really pretty special and all attempts to “improve” them have just not turned out as good.

The batch of Chicken and Dumplings shown above was the best batch I’ve had in 4 years! My husband gave these dumplings two thumbs up today, and he’s pretty picky about faux foods. They don’t have much taste, but instead pick up the flavor of whatever broth or sauce they are simmered in. The carb count for these dumplings is simply amazing! Guilt free dumplings at last!!

The recipe posted elsewhere on my site for chicken and dumplings is good, don’t get me wrong. But you have to bake the rolls separately for that recipe. With this dumpling recipe, I can stir the ingredients together, drop them into the broth, and the dumplings are simmering immediately! Much easier! And you regular readers know I’m really into EASY cooking.

These dumplings formed smaller work nicely in soups and I have made them into small, oblong shapes for marvelous gnocchi served in rich cream sauces. Some more adventurous cooks at Low Carb Friends forums are even using pasta extruders and coming up with all kinds of noodle shapes for this dough! But I don’t own an extruder and probably wouldn’t go to that much trouble anyway. Just being honest. I’m a lazy cook. 🙂

These dumplings are not suitable until the grains rung of the Atkins OWL carb re-introduction ladder due to the oat fiber, but omitting it is just not an option for these to cook right. I’m very proud to have developed a dumpling recipe that many who have tried freely admit fills void in their low-carb lifestyles. 🙂

My Lobster Linguine recipe is the first time I tried rolling and cutting it into noodles and the final dish was quite good.

This recipe isn’t 100% gluten-free due to the oat fiber, which CANNOT be omitted or subbed out with anything except perhaps my suggestion below.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1½ T. glucomannan powder (Konjac powder)

1½ T. oat fiber (For gluten-free version, try substituting oat flour ground from 100% gluten-free oats, but I’m not making any promises that will work. It might work. Carbs will be only a tad higher.)

1/8 tsp. salt

¼ c. +2 T. water

1 extra large or jumbo egg, beaten

VARIATION: Add 1-2 T. finely chopped parsley to the dry ingredients

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

I recommend removing the cooked chicken and vegetables to a platter before adding the dumplings to cook. This allows ample room for the dumplings to rise and swell up without beating each other. Have your soup/broth boiling. Drop the round dumplings/gnocchi into slowly simmering broth and immediately turn fire medium-low so it will only gently simmer. This is IMPORTANT, as you don’t want to “rough up” these delicate babies. Cover with tight lid. From the time you cover the pot, set timer for exactly 10 minutes for dumplings (8 minutes for smaller gnocchi). DO NOT LIFT THE LID or disturb the pot during cooking. After 10 minutes (8 minutes for smaller gnocchi), lift the lid and VOILA!! They’re done! You may have to thicken the stock further depending on your personal preference, but the dumplings themselves usually take care of thickening, as some of the glucomannan in then sloughs off into the broth, thickening it right up. Place chicken and veggies back into pot and serve at once.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 medium-large 1½” dumplings (24 gnocchi), each contains: (halve the numbers for each gnocchi)

7.17 calories, 0.49 g fat, 1.38 g carbs, 1.29 g fiber, 0.1 g NET CARBS, 0.61 g protein, 55 mg sodium

Beef Stew

March 30, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

I have always thought of stew as classic American fare, but it really originated in Ireland, after the potato famine I believe. Lamb (or more commonly amongst the poor, mutton and even young goat) was the meat most commonly used. All they put in the pot with the meat was potatoes and, if they had them, onions. Further additions to the pot have evolved over time, like parsley, turnips, celery and even barley! But since I’ve always thought of it as American classic food due to the many Irish immigrants into America early on in its history, I chose to include it in our foray through American classic foods, even though truly from our heavy Irish heritage.

Though I made this batch of stew with lean beef sirloin (what I had in my freezer this week), but I usually use beef chuck. I have even used used beef shank for stew. Your choice of beef cut will not change the nutritional info below much at all. In mine, I usually use rutabaga for the potato stand-in. Rutabagas are very similar to potatoes both flavor and texture but are considerably yellower in color. They (and carrots) are a starchy vegetable, therefore this dish is not suitable until the starchy veggie rung of the OWL carb re-introduction ladder. If you’re still in Atkins Phase 1 Induction, substitute turnip or red radishes for your stew ‘potatoes’.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ lb. lean beef sirloin or chuck cut into 2-3″ pieces

¼ c. Carbalose flour or sifted CarbQuik (2 T. consumed & calculated below) (use oat fiber for lower carbs)

Dash salt and coarse black pepper

2 T. coconut or olive oil

1 large stalk celery, cut 1″ pieces

1 large carrot, cut 1″ pieces

3 oz. onion, cut 1″ pieces

8 oz. rutabaga, peeled, cut in 1½” pieces

3 c. water (or enough to just cover pot contents)

DIRECTIONS: Heat oil in a non-stick stew pot or very large, deep skillet. Mix flour or oat fiber, salt and pepper on a paper plate and dredge surface of meat. Save extra flour for thickening at the end, if needed. Place meat into hot pan and brown thoroughly on the first side. Turn and brown the second side. Place cut up rutabaga around the meat. Pour water over the meat. 3 c. water should about cover the meat and rutabaga, but add more if it does not. Bring liquid to a boil and then lower heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Lift lid after 30 minutes, add carrots and onion evenly to the top, replace lid and simmer just until they are tender, but not falling totally apart, which is not so visually appealing. That will be about 15-20 minutes max. The flour will naturally thicken the liquid. However, if not thick enough for your liking, dust in a bit of the leftover flour or s sprinkle of xanthan gum, stir and simmer. Repeat in a few minutes with more flour/xanthan gum to your desired thickness. You can either serve all the meat and veggies on a platter with the beef juices in a separate serving bowl (what I usually do so I can dip just the amount of pot gravy I like over mine), or you can serve it all in one serving dish. Your call there.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 5 servings, each contains:

257 cals, 50.6g fat, 7.94g carbs, 2.62g fiber, 5.32g NET CARBS, 31.3g protein, 142 mg sodium

Chicken Pot Pie

March 29, 2023Peggy 3 Comments

Baked meat pies were a tradition in England, our Pilgrim ancestors continued baking various types of meat pies after surviving the brutal, long journey across the Atlantic. Meat baked into pastries have been around ever since. You can recreate a very popular American comfort food in a low-carb version with this recipe!

This one will amaze you! I’ve made it numerous times now and it’s consistently reminiscent of my mother’s homemade pot pies and even the little convenience one-crust frozen pies we often had when my parents were eating out (us not included) at someone else’s house. My brother and I loved them! The crust is fantastic on this meat pie. Added note: this crust is also good for sweet applications like empanadas with fruit or traditional sweet potato fillings. Makes a great pie crust, too!

This recipe is not suitable for Induction and should not be eaten until the grains rung of the Phase 2 OWL carb re-introduction ladder. Substituting daikon white radish for the rutabaga will cut the carbs a bit on this dish. You can also substitute a half recipe of my homemade low-carb Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup in place of the broth, cream and xanthan gum listed if you prefer to make that before starting your pies.

VARIATIONS: Instead of chicken, use turkey or 6 oz. pouch tuna for a change of pace. All are good!

CRUST:

2/3 c. CarbQuik bake mix (use Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix for gluten-free)

1/3 c. golden flax meal

1/3 c. oat fiber (or 1/3 c. more Jennifer’s mix)

Pinch salt

2 T. cold butter

1 egg

3 T. cream

FILLING:

12 oz. cooked chicken meat, chopped

6 oz. rutabaga, diced (use daikon radish or turnips for lower carbs)

3 oz. carrot, diced

1 oz. chopped leeks (or 1 green onion)

3 oz. frozen green peas (use chopped green beans for lower carbs)

1 c. cream

1½ c. homemade or low sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

1-3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

pinch salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. In a small saucepan, boil diced rutabaga, carrot, leeks and peas (beans) in water until just tender. Drain and pour into large bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix all dry crust ingredients together. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add beaten egg and cream and mix well. Using hand, knead into a ball of dough and place on plastic wrap. Place another piece of plastic on top and with a rolling pin, roll dough to slightly larger than the size of pan you are using. I use an 8″ square Pyrex glass dish that is greased with butter. Let rolled dough set while you mix the filling.

Placed chopped chicken meat into the large bowl where you placed the veggies. Stir in chicken broth, cream, xanthan gum, food coloring, and salt and pepper. Pour filling into butter-greased pan. Now pull the top plastic off the rolled crust. Grabbing the bottom plastic, pick up the crust at the midpoint (plastic and all), let it fold gently in the middle and place the fold at the pan midpoint. Gently lift the other half of the dough over onto the pie and remove the plastic wrap slowly & carefully so dough doesn’t tear. Finish by folding the excess crust edges inside the pan rim and crimp decoratively if you wish. Poke 3-4 holes in the top of the crust with a fork and bake in a 350º oven for about 35 minutes or until crust is nicely browned.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

442 cals, 28.2g fat, 30.2g carbs, 19.55g fiber, 10.65g NET CARBS (less if using green beans), 36g protein, 510 mg sodium

Asian Grilled Pork Chops

March 25, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

asianmarinated0032

It’s hard for me to believe this is one of the very first recipes I posted on my blog back in 2009. My, time flies. This grilling marinade recipe helps tenderize less-expensive cuts of meat. You can use it to oven-bake the meat, but grilling takes it to a whole new level as you can imagine. I have used this marinade on beef chuck, sirloin steak, flank steak strips, pork ribs and pork chops as shown above. I like to serve with grilled slices of yellow squash, onion and tomato. It is also good with my Eggplant in Garlic Sauce which I will post momentarily. This recipe is only Atkins Induction friendly if you leave out the sherry/wine.

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. low-sodium soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos

2 T. water

2 tsp. sugar equivalent sweetener of your choice

1 tsp. minced fresh ginger

2 cloves minced garlic

1 T. white wine or sherry (omit for Induction)

Dash of red cayenne pepper

3-4 drops Tabasco

2 tsp. olive oil (to coat steak before grilling)

1 lb. pork chops (about 4) (or 4 servings thick pork country ribs)

DIRECTIONS: Put first 8 ingredients into a gallon ziploc bag. Zip and manipulate to mix well. Add meat to bag, close and manipulate again until all meat is coated. Marinate for 6-8 hours. Remove from refrigerator and take meat out of bag. Marinade should be discarded. Pat meat dry with paper towels and baste with olive oil on all sides. Charcoal over hot fire (3″-4″ from coals) to desired stage. Remove to cutting board and let stand 2-3 minutes before slicing or serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings each containing:

207 cals, 20g fat, <1g carb, 0g fiber, 1g NET CARBs, 26g protein, 66mg. sodium

Asian Turkey Tofu Soup

March 25, 2023March 25, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

I made a delicious soup for lunch one day earlier in the month. My husband came across a 9.5# bird (a rarity) at the grocery store and bought it just because of its small size. The soup came out delicious. Small as my bird was, we still had a lot of meat leftover. This is one of the things I made with the leftover meat. As I was in the middle of our Indian food extravaganza here on the blog, I just photographed it and waited until we reached the Asian segment of our food travels to share this one with you. This soup was very light yet surprisingly quite filling.

We ate what we could for lunch that day (having seconds) and I froze the rest. This makes a big batch of soup! Should be good for about a month. Turkey fat can actually go rancid (even cooked) in your freezer. Been there myself once and had to throw out the meat. So I never keep cooked turkey frozen for long.

INGREDIENTS:

10 oz. turkey meat, chopped (with any meaty turkey bones you saved)

8 c. water

½ c. dried tiger lily flour, cut in halves

1½ c. bean sprouts

1 jalapeno, seeded & chopped

2 oz. red bell pepper, chopped

2 oz. green bell pepper, chopped

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

3 T. rice wine vinegar

1 T. Sriracha sauce

¼ tsp. coarse black pepper

2 T. my Hoisin sauce

3 T. low-sodium Kikkoman soy sauce

1½ c. bean sprouts, rinsed

5 oz. firm tofu, rinsed, cut into ½” bites

DIRECTIONS: Place turkey pieces (along with any carcass bones you probably saved) in large soup pot. Add water and bring to boil over high heat. Cook for an hour on low heat. A good cup or more of the liquid will evaporate during cooking.

Remove carcass to cutting board. Allow to cool a bit for handling and strip meat off bones, chopping up any large pieces. I got about 1½ c. meat off my leg bones, to which I added another cup of loose leftover meat. Add all chopped meat back to pot. Add all other ingredients above except the tofu. Simmer on low heat for maybe 8 minutes, just until bean sprouts are no longer opaque. Cut up tofu to ½”cubes. Add to the pot and stir. If not serving at once, turn fire off as you don’t want to overcook the vegetables. Freeze any leftovers.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes about ten 1 cup servings, each contains:

89 cals, 3 g fat, 5g carbs, 1g fiber, 4g NET CARBS, 15g protein, 430 mg sodium

Asian Pork Riblets

March 24, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

I’m a Baby Boomer, raised in the 50’s and 60’s. My first memories of Chinese food were of Chicken Chow Mein, with those fun curly noodles on top, and the Pu-Pu Platter all the Chinese restaurants offered as appetizers. No discussion of Chinese food would be complete without mentioning the Pu-Pu appetizer platter. Besides, it’s just fun to say the name, non? 🙂

It was the little, slightly sweet ribs I remember off those appetizer platters that were my favorite. I was never a fan of the crab toast or cheese stuffed fried noodles. If you love those ribs half as much as I did, you will want to give this recipe a try. They are not too sweet or sticky, but do have a slight sweet edge. There’s just the right amount of Asian spice on them for a nice flavor addition to serve alongside your next stir-fry dinner! Or have them as snacks or appetizers at your next party! These are suitable once you get past the first 2-week Induction Phase of Atkins and are OK for most Keto diets if the numbers will fit into your daily macro limits.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ lb. pork spareribs, cut apart into separate ribs/pieces

10 drops liquid smoke

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ginger root, peeled & minced

2 T. low sodium soy sauce

1/8 tsp. coarse black pepper

1 tsp. rice wine vinegar

1/8 tsp. dry mustard

1 T. molasses

1 T. my homemade Hoisin Sauce

¼-½ tsp. Sriracha sauce

1 T. dry sherry or white wine (tenderizes)

2 T. tap water

¼ tsp. Chinese 5-Spice Powder

DIRECTIONS: Cut ribs along bones to separate. If using the point end of a rack of ribs, that is almost totally boneless, cut any wider strips of boneless meat into strips about 3/4″ wide, or roughly the size of the bone-in ribs. Set them aside for a few minutes. In a large mixing bowl, measures out all other ingredients. Stir to blend well. Add meat and toss well to coat. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400º. Line a baking sheet with foil and place marinated meat strips onto pan making sure they are not touching. With a brush baste lightly with marinade. When oven is hot, place in oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Turn and baste the other side of the meat pieces and cook another 15-20 minutes. When browned nicely on both sides, remove meat to a platter and serve with whatever other Asian fare you like or enjoy these as an appetizer. Be forewarned this is finger food and can be a wee bit sticky. Have plenty of napkins on hand. 🙂

You can also grill these for even more flavor! They would also cook up nicely in an air fryer cooking at 360º for about 15-20 min. turning at the 10 min. mark. Fryers vary, so be sure to keep an eye on them the first time you try them in your air fryer.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

515 cals, 40g fat, 6.17g carbs, 0.27g fiber, 5.9g NET CARBS, 29.7g protein, 428mg sodium

Moroccan Grilled Chicken

March 20, 2023March 20, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

The Moroccan spice blend in this grilled chicken is an interesting creation that will take ordinary grilled chicken to a whole new level. I have also used it on on grilled beef chuck, lamb, pork and even for a whole grilled fish with good results. For those who don’t do much grilling, this recipe bakes nicely in your indoor oven. This one is suitable for all phases of Atkins and other Keto diets. I do hope you’ll try it someday. I think you’ll like it if you do!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. chicken breasts or 4 thighs, deboned only if you wish to speed up cooking

3 T. olive oil

1 T. my Moroccan Spice Blend

6 T. your favorite low-carb BBQ sauce + 3 T. water

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400º. Slice deboned chicken breasts laterally on an angle to form 4 thinner pieces. If using thighs, slit with knife so you will be able to spread the meat out as flat as possible. Place oil in baking sheet. Dip each piece of chicken into oil to coat. Sprinkle the spice blend over all meat surfaces. Lay coated chicken onto awaiting hot charcoal grill or your oiled baking pan if cooking indoors. If meat is deboned, grill for about 12-13 minutes on a side. Alternately, bake at 400º oven for about 20-30 minutes. Baste with sauce a couple times during cooking. Time will slightly vary depend on thickness of meat, type of meat/fish and of course, the heat stage of your fire/oven. If grilling, cook as you normally would the particular meat you are doing, basting with sauce several times during cooking to keep meat moist. I recommend serving with a green salad topped with tahini dressing, tabouleh salad, or roasted/grilled veggies of your choice.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

306 cals, 19 g fat, 3.1 g carbs, 0.95 g fiber, 2.25 g NET CARBS, 33.7 g protein, 42% RDA Vitamin B6, 30% iron, 102 % niacin, 34% phosphorous, 275 mg potassium and 50 % selenium. Another very healthy dish!

Moroccan Spice Blend

March 20, 2023March 20, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

If we move down and westerly along the Mediterranean coast of Africa on our travels, we eventually reach Morocco. A country I’ve never been to, but think I would like to go there one day. I have always loved their detailed wood art, wooden furniture, metal art and tile crafts. Their cuisine is an interesting mixture of Arab, French, Spanish, Berber and a heavy influence of Middle Eastern cuisine. Much of it is prepared in a tagine, a medium-sized clay pot. I personally have never used one. Photos of some lovely tagines below.

I’ve only tried to create a few Moroccan dishes based on my limited reading of a very few recipes. This spice mixture is very similar to Baharat spice in other Arab countries with the addition of paprika and a bit of spunk with the crushed red pepper (the Spanish and Berber influences). I think you’ll like this one. Delicious with everything I’ve tested it on so far. It’s great with grilled meats, or in water-braised dishes and stews. It really lends itself to dried fruit added to your meat dishes as well. I tried it one time on a grilled fish and it was most excellent used that way. As most spice mixtures, it is Atkins Induction Phase friendly.

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. Smoked Spanish paprika

4 3″ sticks cinnamon, broken up, (about 3 T. if using ground cinnamon)

¼-½ tsp. cayenne, depending on taste

3 T. coriander seed

1 rounded tsp. whole cloves (about ½ tsp. ground cloves)

1 tsp. cardamom seeds, removed from their outer pod/husk

1 T. coarse black pepper

3 T. cumin seed (whole)

½ tsp. turmeric

DIRECTIONS: Measure all whole seeds/spices into a dry, non-stick skillet. Turn heat to high and roast spices a couple minutes until they become very fragrant. Turn off heat and cool. Run through a spice grinder or coffee grinder dedicated to spice grinding. When you use your coffee grinder,, those tastes will linger for months and months, producing some really funny tasting coffee………so don’t do that. 🙂 Grind the mixture pretty fine. Add any UNGROUND spices you are having to use instead of whole (whole is best though), mix well and spoon the blend into a lidded jar. Store in a dark cabinet as is proper for all spice storage.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes about 1 cup or 16 Tablespoons. One tablespoon is about how much you would use for a 4-serving braised entrée or to grill fish or meat for four people. One tablespoon contains:

18.4 cals, 0.75g fat, 3.78g carbs, 2.28g fiber, 1.5g NET CARBS, 0.71 g protein, trace sodium

Turkish Pide (pronounced pee-day)

March 19, 2023March 19, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

Moving north out of Iraq, we end up in Turkey. I spent a very long day in Turkey’s Istanbul airport once. That part of my trip home to the States I would never willingly repeat. but the day included a wonderful little food experience I’ll never forget. I understand they make something similar to this ‘pizza-like’ dish in several Arab nations. How it is constructed may change a bit from country to country (probably spices, too), but the concept remains the same.

We purchased it at a little eaterie near the airport in Istanbul. Our flight was laid over due to an engine problem. They said the replacement engine had to be flown in from Paris, so the ‘short wait’ ended up spanning a period of about 16 hours in all. They kept announcing over the loud speaker it would just be another hour, so we were afraid to leave the airport for a hotel room, meal or any tourist sight-seeing when it got light in the morning. 😦 Sixteen hours on those hard wooden benches in the airport didn’t afford much sleep for this 12 year old (at the time).

At one point my parents sent my older brother and I on a food obtaining mission around the airport. We were all beginning to get pretty hungry. One food vendor had something that intrigued us. He called it (what sounded like) “pee day” 🙂 . Of course, being children, we found the name funny and smiled at each other. The item looked good, so we bought some and carried it back to where Mom and Dad were. They had been sick our entire trip back home. We loved the pide and gobbled it down!

We had no idea what we were eating, but could tell it was spiced ground lamb with a ‘pizza’ crust. Years later, at a Barnes & Noble bookstore, I found this dish mentioned in a book on Middle Eastern cuisine that was organized by country. After gaining more knowledge of Middle Eastern spices over the years, I made a feeble attempt to reproduce the flavors of this food memory. My recipe is close, but surely not quite the same.

I have also learned that Pide is typically served during the Moslem religious holiday known as Ramadan. It is shared when the feasting begins after the long fast. What we ate was clearly made with a whole wheat flat bread dough similar to Iranian noon/naan. My version posted here is instead made with my Mozzy Dough to keep it relatively low in carbs. My husband ranted about this the first time I made it for him, so I think you will like it as well!

This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction as the dough has a small amount of flour product in it (it’s in the Carbquik). Although this is a main entrée, it can be served in smaller slices as snack food. It goes over well at parties but does requires a plate and fork if served in the traditional longboat shape. For party serving, I have formed the dough into small mini muffin cups and filled with smaller portions of the toppings to make it more manageable as finger food.

INGREDIENTS:

½ recipe my Mozzy Dough

8 oz. lean ground beef (or lamb, to be authentic)

2 oz. onion, finely chopped

15 San Marzano mini tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), chopped

3/4 c. parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp. Baharat Spice

¼ tsp. each: dried mint

¼ tsp. crushed dried fenugreek leaves (optional, but a key flavor for me)

¼ tsp. each salt and coarse black pepper

DIRECTIONS: Make the Mozzy Dough per that recipe’s instructions, reserving half the dough for another use. It freezes well in a plastic bag. Roll the dough into a fat canoe/longboat shape about 12″ x 7″ on a parchment lined sheet pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375º. Brown the beef (or lamb) in a skillet with the onion. Add the parsley and all seasonings listed above. Cook over medium-high heat for a few minutes to tenderize the onions. Remove and spoon evenly into the “canoe” of dough, leaving a good inch of dough free of filling. Sprinkle the chopped tomatoes on top. Fold the uncovered dough up over the meat to create the sides of the “canoe”, pinching the pointed ends together with your fingers to help maintain the “canoe” shape. Traditionally, they sprinkle sesame seeds on the sides of the “canoe” dough before baking but I did not, as the hubs isn’t fond of seeds on/in breads. Pop into 375º oven for about 20-25 minutes or until begins to brown. Remove from oven and cut into four equal portions.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: As a meal, makes 4 servings of pide (cut smaller into snack size for lower carbs), each contains:

316 calories, 23.5g fat, 12.17g carbs, 6.2g fiber, 5.97g NET CARBS, 24.424 g protein, 476mg sodium

Imam Bayildi (Stuffed Eggplant)

March 18, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

These tasty stuffed eggplant will fill you right up! If you’ve eaten Dolmades in Greece, it was a tasty meat/rice filled rolled grape leaf; in Iran, it is folded into a square box shape and they call them Dolmeh. Stuffed peppers are called Dolmas in some Middle Eastern countries. Whatever the specific name, whatever the country, these things have a lot of flavor layers to excite your palate. My stuffed eggplant is yet another form of dolma seen in most Middle Eastern cooking. I know they usually choose the slender oblong strain of eggplant for making Imam Bayildi in most parts of the Middle East, rather than the larger, fat eggplants we grow primarily in the U.S., shown above. We use what we have on hand, right?

This dish is actually quite easy to make. It’s a little carb-y, but that’s because of the eggplant itself, not what’s in the stuffing. No empty carb/calorie fillers in this recipe! This dish is suitable for all phases of Atkins and Keto diets if you can fit the carbs into your daily limits. It is also suitable for Primal and will even work for Paleo if you sub in chia gel or an extra egg for the ricotta or cream cheese.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T. coconut oil

1 16-oz. whole eggplant, stemmed and cut in half lengthwise

10 oz. ground beef (or lamb)

2 oz. onion, chopped

¼ tsp. sea salt

Dash black pepper

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cumin

1 Roma tomato, seeded & chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

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

Pinch crushed dried dill leaf

2 beaten eggs

1/4 c. ricotta or cream cheese (instead use chia gel or an extra egg for a Paleo version)

VARIATION: Add just a few (1-2 T.) scissor-snipped raisins to the filling.

DIRECTIONS: Melt the oil in a very large skillet over high heat. Place eggplant in the pan cut-side down. Brown the cut surface, pressing the eggplant halves down with your hand as they cook. Cook them for about 10-15 minutes. Remove them to a cutting board to cool a bit.

Add the meat to the skillet and brown over medium-high heat. Add the onion toward the end of the browning process and cook until pretty tender. Add the seasonings next. Lower heat and simmer 5 minutes or so to let the spices mingle in the meat nicely. Turn off heat.

Preheat oven to 350º. Using a knife slice or scoop out most of the eggplant flesh from the halves, leaving about 1/2″ of the flesh intact on the skin for shell support during baking. Place the two hollowed out shells in a baking pan.

Next, chop the scooped out eggplant flesh into ½” dice and add back into the meat mixture in the skillet. If the eggplant is still opaque in places (likely it is not fully done), turn the fire on to medium and stir/simmer the meat-eggplant mixture until the eggplant is pretty tender. Turn off heat.

Stir the beaten eggs into the ricotta and add to the meat mixture and mix well to bind and moisten the filling. Spoon half the mixture into each eggplant shell. Pop the pan into your preheated oven and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the shells appear to be fully cooked. Pairs nicely with my Iranian Mint Cucumber Salad as shown.

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

467 cals, 42 g fat, 19.85 g carbs, 9.25 g fiber, 10 g NET CARBS, 38.4 g protein, 499 mg sodium

Iranian Mint-Cucumber Salad

March 17, 2023Peggy Leave a comment

This is one of those recipes I make so often, I no longer even think of it as a recipe. It’s just what I do with cucumbers, most times. I keep saying I’m going to upload it to the blog, but frankly have just kept forgetting to do it. I think it’s high time I shared this one. It’s so darn good with Middle Eastern foods!

When I lived in Iran, our maid Fatimeh made this salad often for us. She made hers, of course, with traditional Iranian sheep or goat yogurt, as that was what was available. I prefer it made sour cream or Greek Yogurt. This is absolutely delicious with baked or grilled meats, grilled fish and all Middle Eastern foods. We find it is even good with Indian food, as it is similar to their raita salad.

Fatimeh also made us a cucumber dish similar to Greek Tzatziki using 2 grated and well-drained cucumbers, enough yogurt to coat nicely and a bit of dried dill leaf (not dill seeds). That national favorite is known as Maast-o-khiar and is served alongside grilled kubideh and Iranian Grilled Chicken as well as being used as a simple bread ‘dip’. Dill is problematic for me, as it doesn’t sit well on my stomach (nor does fresh basil). The dried forms of these two herbs do not bother me…..just the fresh. So I much prefer Fatimeh’s sliced cucumber salad with mint.

This salad is suitable for all phases of Atkins, Keto diets and Primal Blueprint, if you eat sour cream or yogurt.

INGREDIENTS:

1 8″ long cucumber, peeled or not, your preference

¼ c. sour cream or Greek yogurt (or a mixture of the two)

2 tsp. crushed dried spearmint (or 1 T. fresh finely chopped)

Dash of salt

VARIATION: Add 1 T. finely minced onion

DIRECTIONS: Peel cucumber if that is your preference. Cut into slides not too thin and place in a bowl of water with ice cubes in it. Chill there for 15-20 minutes. Strain off water and ice and dump the slices onto some paper towels. Pat them dry with more paper towels and place in a medium mixing bowl. Finely crush the mint between your palms and add to the bowl. You can use fresh mint, of course, but the dried is what Fatimeh used. I have been known to use a mixture of dried and fresh. Add the sour cream (or yogurt) and dash of salt. Stir until all sides of the cucumbers are coated with sour cream and mint. Place in a pretty serving bowl. Garnish with mint or tomatoes if desired and serve right away or the dressing will get watery from the bleeding moisture of from the cucumbers. When I serve this for company, I toss the sour cream on at the very last minute before serving. 🙂

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 small servings, each contains:

40 cals, 3.15 g fat, 2.25 g carbs, 0.57 g fiber, 1.68 g NET CARBS, 1 g protein, 87 mg sodium