Mashed (cauliflower) 'potatoes' - 7g

Regular Idaho potatoes have great nutritional benefits... if you consume the skins.  However, most people don't include those when making mashed potatoes.

Instead, substitute cauliflower for the potato part, and you'll save yourself qutie a bit of carbs, and will also save yourself a spike in blood sugar/glycemic index!

Ingredients:
3-4 C steamed cauliflower
1/4 C heavy cream
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp butter (or Smart Balance)

In a food processor, combine the steamed cauliflower, heavy cream, water (as needed) and butter.  I had to add water in order to get it all to process smooth, but depending on the water in your steamed cauliflower, you may not need it.

Puree for a few minutes - until smooth and creamy.

Add salt, to taste. Makes 3 servings.

Tailgating Buffalo Chicken Dip

I won't even try to determine your serving size on this one - just know that in the entire dip, you've got about 30-35g of carbs - this dip makes a lot - so you're probably talking 3g per serving... but who knows!

I like to bring celery, cucumber & zucchini slices with me to parties where I know a dip will be involved... this way, I'm not tempted to munch on the crackers (remember, they're just a filler/means to an end), but I can still enjoy the flavor of the dip!

Ingredients:
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 C shredded mozzerella cheese + some to sprinkle on top
3/4 C blue cheese dressing
3/4 C buffalo wing sauce
20oz. canned chicken

Mix all together, and bake for 23 minutes at 350 degrees. 

This was gone in less than an hour!

Homemade Saturday Morning Waffles - 1g

Nothing says Saturday (or Sunday) morning like homemade waffles or pancakes...

As I was devouring these waffles this morning, it dawned on me that the reason they call them "Eggo Waffles" is probably due to their high egg content!  These tasted enough like eggo waffles to me, but with a slightly egg-ier consistency.  If you wanted to counteract that, I might add some almond flour next time (but that will up the carb & calorie count). I thought they were fabulous for virtually carb-free waffles! Makes 2 large waffles (1 carb/waffle)

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

1 egg

1/8 tsp cream of tartar 

2 Tbsp almond/coconut milk blend - unsweetened (or just regular unsweetened almond milk)

3 Tbsp whey protein powder (mine has less than 1 carb in 1/4 cup - watch that if you're counting carbs)

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 packets of splenda

1 tsp melted butter/smart balance (optional)

Set your waffle iron to the highest setting (400 degrees or so?)

Beat the 2 egg whites and the cream of tartar until stiff. Set aside.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Fold/mix into the egg whites - this will produce a pretty runny batter.

Spray or grease your waffle iron.

Pour in batter and close for 5 minutes.

Take out and top with your favorite toppings (I chose Smart Balance butter and a sugar free syrup)! 

What a perfect Saturday/Sunday morning treat... 

 

The total calorie content per waffle is 95, and 1 carb.

Cheesy Stuffed Zucchini Boats - 10g

I'm reading the book "Wheat Belly". The more I tell people about it, the more I see this terrified look on their faces when I tell them that the author proposes we cut all wheat from our diets.

"What will you eat, then?"
"Won't that get boring?"

along with a whole host of others, are very common phrases I hear.

So I set out tonight to make something FULL of flavor, without any wheat, and still restricting my carbs.

The good news is the only carbs in this meal come from the vegetables themselves (alright, and 2 or 3 from the ricotta & sherry), so this is one meal you can feel great about consuming.

Ingredients:
1 very large zucchini (mine weighed in at 400g after I cut the stem off) - about 8 in long
1/4 C red onion (or onion of your choice - shallots would be great in this recipe!)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
80 g cremini (or baby bella) mushrooms - which worked out to be about 5
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 C fresh spinach
1/4 C ricotta cheese
1/3 C parmesan cheese
2 tbsp sherry wine (or a white wine will sub - you'll just lack that slightly nutty flavor)
1 tbsp fresh chopped basil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the zucchini in half, length wise, and use a spoon to scoop out the middle. Set the zucchini skins to the side.

Finely chop the red onion, flesh of the zucchini, and mushrooms.

Add the onion & olive oil to a pan and heat on medium heat for a minute or two. Next, add the mushrooms, squash and garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes, lowering the heat just a little.

Incorporate the spinach, cheeses, sherry and basil, and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Place the 2 hollowed out zucchini halves on a baking pan, and spoon in the mixture. Each of my zucchinis held about 1/2 C of the mixture, leaving me an extra 1/2 C at the end (so I stuffed the mushrooms I had left over!).

Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes (mushrooms, not so long).  Makes 2 servings.

Tiramisu - 4g

Just a forewarning:

**This recipe is not for the faint of heart**

It's not some 'fake' tiramisu/low carb/low calorie 'knock-off'. This is legit.

And just like any little old Italian grandmother will tell you, "Cooking is a form of art," or "Anything worth doing is worth doing right," or "You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs" (I looked that last one up).

Cue the classic Italian music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZo0G3_DfdI

The honest truth? This tiramisu took me about an hour and a half - from start to finish. And then it has to chill for at least 4 hours. Find a friend who likes doing the dishes, and invite him over...

But coming in at only 250 calories and 4 grams of carbs, I'd say "It's worth it!" (since I'm on a quote roll). Makes 9 servings.

To start, follow the Best 'Bread' recipe, and add:

1/4 C Splenda
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp instant espresso (could use coffee, but then you'll need more)

to the yolk & cream cheese and blend. Fold it all together (with the egg whites) and spread it all out on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake as you would a sheet cake - for 30 minutes at 300 degrees.  When the 30 minutes are up, take the cake out, and break it into smaller pieces. *If you're a planner, break them into quarters that will fit nicely in the bottom of your 8x8 baking dish for later...  And bake the pieces again for another 5-7 minutes. Remove and set to the side.

~Layers~

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
8 tsp Splenda
1/3 C almond/coconut milk blend - unsweetened (or just almond milk)
8 oz. mascarpone cheese - room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 C heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp instant espresso
1/4 Splenda

1 oz (shot) of dark rum
1 tbsp instant espresso

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

In a sauce pan over medium heat, whisk together the yolks, splenda and milk. Whisk constantly for about 5 minutes or more.  The mixture in the pan will begin to take on a thicker, fluffier consistency - almost like that of a mustard. *WHISK CONSTANTLY - you don't want your egg yolks to turn into scrambled eggs here... Remove from the heat once it thickens a bit - mine took about 5 or 6 minutes to do so - and set in a bowl in the refrigerator or freezer to cool for 20-30 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream on high until it has the consistency of whipped cream. Add the vanilla extract, beat some more, and set half of the cream aside.  With the remaining whipped cream, add the instant espresso and blend. LAST (very important that you do this right at the end - there's some kind of chemistry that goes on between splenda & cream), add 1/2 of your splenda, mix for another 30 seconds, and set aside. Add the remaining splenda to the other half of the whipped cream and incorporate it thoroughly.

Once the yolk mixture has cooled, add the room temperature mascarpone cheese & vanilla extract and blend well. Set aside. *I'd suggest adding a little more splenda here, maybe 3 tbsp worth?*

~LAYERING~



In an 8x8 baking dish, lay down your first layer of coffee 'bread'. (Make sure the bread has completely cooked, and you don't have a moist center to your pieces - if the case is so, bake them a little longer).

If you can, I'd suggest using larger pieces than the ones shown above.

When making tiramisu with lady fingers, the recipe calls for you to dunk the lady fingers in a blend of coffee & liqueur, but since this is a carb-less version, and I'm not sure how the 'bread' would hold up to dunking, I'd suggest using a spray bottle here to spritz.  If you don't have a spray bottle, you can also use a brush.

In a spray bottle, mix 1 shot of dark rum and 1 tbsp of instant espresso.  Spritz the top of the first layer of bread until each piece is covered.

Now add a layer of the mascarpone mixture,

the coffee whipped cream, 

and then the regular whipped cream.

Repeat with the remaining bread & cream. You should have enough for 2 layers, total. Dust the top layer with the cocoa powder - using a sifter if you have one. If not, get creative.  I had a roll of 'screen' (for a window/door) in my garage, and i just cut a piece off and folded it in half:

Your job is done! Now just chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. The longer you let it set, the better this will be.  I think next time I'll add more splenda to the whipped cream - it could have done with a touch more sweet! Other than that, it tasted just like the real thing!



Almond Tea Cake - 4g

I found an amazing low carb blogger, All Day I Dream About Food, and I attempted to make the almond tea cake she was ranting and raving about.

As usual, I made my own tweaks and substitutions, primarily based on what I had in my kitchen, and also at an attempt to keep things as low carb as possible! Mine was a little on the dry side, so to counter act that, I would suggest using another tablespoon or so of butter.  I think I might also try adding zucchini next time!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C Almond flour/meal (I used half almond flour, half meal)
          *For a more cake-like consistency, use all almond flour. For a lower carb count, sub the almond meal
1/2 C Whey protein powder (natural flavor) - mine had less than 2g carbs for a 1/2 C
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt


6 Tbsp butter - room temperature
1/2 C Splenda
2 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 C almond/coconut milk - unsweetened

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, whey protein, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Blend the room temperature butter in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add your splenda, and beat for about 1-2 minutes.  Add 1 egg at a time, thoroughly mixing. Lastly, add your almond extract.

Next, slowly start adding in the dry ingredients. Once you are about half way through your dry ingredients, add the milk.  Finish with the rest of the dry, and mix well.

In a bread pan, line the sides with butter.  If you happen to have sliced almonds around, the original blog suggested sticking these to the butter on the pan, so they get baked into the outside of the bread.  Unfortunately, I did not have any of these, so I just had to go with butter.  Add your batter and smooth evenly throughout the pan.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a toothpick through the center comes out clean.

Cut into 12 slices. Enjoy with tea, or coffee, or a nice glass of almond milk!

Pizza. Plain & Simple & 3g per pizza!



As the blog implies, I am on a quest to recreate old favorites, but with a carb-less flare & better for you, to boot!

With this NEW way to make pizza, it's just as deceptive as the original.

You can pick it up with 2 hands.

You can top it with your typical toppings (watch out with your tomato sauce, as it can be riddled with sugars) and most importantly, unlike its counterpart, Cauliflower Pizza, it isn't made using any vegetables! Which, in turn, means no crinkling of noses as you're reheating your leftovers in the office break room...

How did I do it, you're asking? For starters, I began with the Best 'Bread' Recipe, and I added to the mix:

~DOUGH~



Ingredients:
Best Bread Recipe
Dried rosemary (imitating a rosemary focaccia)
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Garlic Powder

I mixed these dry ingredients in at the end - and to your liking. I probably used anywhere between a 1/2 tsp and 1 tsp of each, but you may prefer more or less. Start with whatever you're comfortable with.

Next, scoop the batter onto your parchment lined pan and smooth it out to about 1/2 - 1/4 inch thick. Mine was about 5 inches in diameter, but you could do more or less depending on how large you want your pizzas.

Bake them in a 300 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until they start to get a golden brown color on top.  Remove the pan from the oven and add your toppings. For my sauce (and this is important, so you don't overload your carbs here):

~SAUCE~



Ingredients:
1/4 C Hunts Oregano & Basil Tomato Sauce (check your carb count - you don't want more than 4g in a serving!)
1/4 tsp splenda

This should be more than enough for 2 pizzas - at 5 inches in diameter. This gives you 2g carbs per pizza.

I also used pesto as a base for one of my pizzas, and it turned out delicious.  Follow the recipe for pesto here:

Ingredients:
Pesto recipe
(I didn't use the pecans in this one!)

*Again, watch any store bought pesto if that is your preference - a few I was looking at today had up to 8g carbs per serving! This handy dandy recipe has no more than 1 per serving... And you can freeze your leftovers!

~TOPPINGS~

When it comes to choosing your cheese, I tried both the bagged shredded italian blend and fresh mozzarella. The fresh mozzarella has 0 carbs, the bagged has 1; however, the fresh has more liquid and therefore made for a slightly soggy crust... I still thought it tasted delicious.

I included a little red onion on my fresh mozzarella & pesto pizza.

Once you've added your toppings, bake for another 5 minutes, and broil for 1.  Let cool a little, and enjoy!!

Best 'Bread' Ever - less than 1g

I was skeptical.

Very skeptical...

I had read a few different recipes & posts about 'Cloud Bread' or 'Oopsie Bread', and I couldn't help but try it.  Coming in at a grand total of 3 (or 4) ingredients, there wasn't a whole lot stopping me.

The bread has a toast like consistency when it comes out of the oven, but if you store it in a partially opened ziploc bag in the refrigerator, it becomes more soft - and resembles a thin hamburger bun! I can promise that I will be using this recipe a lot to make a whole host of other things. This just opens up so many new doors in the low-carb world!

So here it is:

Ingredients:
3 eggs - carefully separated
1/8 tsp cream tartar
3 oz cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat & it was just fine)
*Optional sprinkle/packet of splenda

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar (an extra sprinkle won't hurt) for about 2 minutes, or until stiff peaks form like so:

*be careful not to allow any of the yolk to touch the egg whites prior to beating.

Next, beat the yolks & cream cheese together in a separate bowl. Use chilled cream cheese - it doesn't need to be room temperature. Another blog I read said that this was important, but I'm not sure what effect it would have on your bread...

Finally, add the yolk mixture to the egg whites, and 'fold' in with a spatula. I just swirled it throughout - making sure the batter was a uniform color, but careful not to mix/blend too much for fear the egg whites would lose their stiffness. 

Using a baking pan lined with parchment paper, scoop the batter onto the pan, and flatten out the top a bit (it will pretty much bake the same way you plop the blob of batter on the pan).

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or so (keep an eye after 25 - one of my batches got a little dark, but still taste just fine!).


*Someone else's blog said you can freeze this bread. I have attempted to do so, but haven't thawed it out yet, so I'm not sure how it will work. 

When using the bread after it's been refrigerated, I'd suggest you let it set out and get to room temperature for a few minutes.

Stuffed Zucchini Cups - 6g

Anyone notice a trend in my vegetable of choice?

Zucchini happens to be one of the most versatile low-carb veggie options, and since I can't fathom eating only meat and cheese on a low carb diet, I have to experiment with other options! I'm not a huge pepper fan - that, and they are higher in sugars, therefore higher in carbs compared to zucchini. So, alas! Another delicious recipe with the vegetable of the day (or month, or year):

Stuffed Zucchini Cups!  

Ingredients:

Meat mixture from Shepherd's Pie

Zucchini - extra large - about 3 in in diameter

Shredded italian cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cut your zucchini into 2-3 inch chunks, and use an ice cream scooper to hollow out the middle. Place on a baking sheet.

Stuff the zucchini with desired amount of beef mixture & top with plenty of cheese.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

A Healthy Shepherd's Pie - 11g

It may be no where near St. Patty's day (oh how I wish it was), but this dish is still delicious! When I was thinking about the ingredients in my fridge - cauliflower and ground beef - and how I could blend the two into a savory dish, cauliflower mashed 'potatoes' and a meatloaf came to mind. But I'm not too keen on meatloaf, plus it uses a lot of ketchup (therefore, sugars) and I had to think twice.

That is where this lovely idea came along:

It makes 4 hearty searvings, which ends up being a lot of meat. I used some of the meat in this recipe to fill my Zucchini Cups, which also lowered the carb count by one or two.

Ingredients:

1 lbs 94% fat free ground beef
olive oil
1 medium onion - 15g
1 clove garlic - crushed
Fresh spices (I used basil, rosemary and oregano) - about 1 1/2 tsp chopped
1 Tbsp Worstechire sauce - 1g
1 medium zucchini - 6g
3 Tbsp tomato sauce (spaghetti, or whatever you have) - 4g
salt to taste

1 lbs raw cauliflower - 18 g
2 Tbsp butter (I used smart balance)
2 Tbsp whipping cream - 1g

1/3 C shredded cheddar cheese - 1g

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Chop the onion and add to a pan with olive oil - saute at medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and ground beef, and brown. Next, add the worstechire sauce and spices.  If you don't have fresh, sub with dried. You can play with your flavors a bit, here.  Mine had a dominant rosemary flavoring to it, which I loved with this dish.

Dice your zucchini and add to the ground beef mixture on the stove, as well as the tomato sauce and any salt you deem necessary.

Turn the heat down to low, and move on to fix the 'mashed potato' topping.

Cut the flourets off your cauliflower - I used about a pounds worth (not including the stems). Place in a microwave safe container and add a little bit of water, then cover with syran wrap and microwave for 5-7 minutes. 

Drain any excess water from the cauliflower, and add to a food processor, along with the butter and cream.  Process until you have a smooth, creamy consistency.

Transfer the meat to an 8x8 baking dish, and smooth out.  Next, top the meat mixture with the mashed cauliflower, and spread evenly across the top. 

Place in the oven for 10 minutes.  Remove, and top with shredded cheese. Put back in the oven and cook for another 20 minutes. 

When you take it out of the oven, I would suggest letting it set for 20 minutes or so, for a 'clean' serving attempt, and to let all the flavors settle. 

Cheers!

Zucchini Marinated Salad - 8g

Ingredients:

3 small-medium size zucchini - cut into half moon slices
3/4 red onion
1 can artichoke hearts
1 can olives
1 C olive oil & vinegar dressing
4 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1/2 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
1/2 Tbsp dried basil
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Cook the sliced zucchini in boiling water for 3 minutes.  Drain.

Mix the ingredients for the dressing together in a bowl. Add the zucchini.

Drain the artichoke hearts and olives well.  Slice up into quarters & add to the zucchini. Chop the red onion and add to the salad.  Mix well and refrigerate overnight.

Makes 5 servings.

Crab Zucchini Cakes - 4g

This blog post goes out to my aunt, Colleen, who left me the basis of this recipe.  It has been sitting on my counter for the past week, and I've been dying to make it.  It's been a very busy week though, so I haven't spent much time in the kitchen.  I plan on rectifying that this week - starting tonight - with Crab Zucchini Cakes!

Ingredients:
1 can (drained) white crab meat
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 C almond meal
1 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 Tbsp mayo
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Shred the zucchini using the smallest shredder 'setting' possible:

(This was my overflowing cup - not recommended)

 

Squeez out some of the water. You should have about 1/2 C remaining zucchini.

Mix well with the other ingredients.

Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray. Spoon in ingredients until each tin is 1/2 full.  Avoid too much liquid in the tin - leave as much behind as possible.

Place the baking tin in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

Remove and let cool for 5 or so minutes.



Should make about 6 or so 'cakes' - at 2 cakes/serving, you take in about 4g carbs!