P1: Sesame Shirataki Noodles - 5g

In case you happen to be obsessed with Asian flavors (like myself), or you're just really missing that pasta chew, the following recipe uses Shirataki noodles (made from tofu/fiber) for virtually NO carbs, and a savings of 200 calories/serving! There is an extra bounce to them, but when you're used to eating Japanese noodles, you won't hardly notice a difference.

Eat up, pasta/Asian lovers! :)

Ingredients:


1 small zucchini - sliced & diced (4g)
1/2 small onion - sliced
1 (8 oz) package of tofu shirataki noodles, rinsed, drained well, in the shape of spaghetti (4g/bag)
1 Tbsp peanut butter (I used organic, which only had 3g carbs/Tbsp)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp Thai chili sauce (or chili flakes)
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame seeds

Heat up a skillet (medium-high heat) and lightly spray with cooking spray. Once skillet is warm, add the peanut butter, oil, soy sauce, vinegar and chili sauce/flakes and whisk together. Move this sauce to a different bowl and set to the side.

Add the squash and onions to the skillet and saute until tender (I added a little bit of peanut oil here, but you could add olive or whatever else you have, to help saute). Once the vegetables are soft, add the noodles and continue to saute until they are hot.

Lastly, add the sauce and sesame seeds and mix together, cooking until noodles are covered and everything is hot.

P1: Pancakes - 2g

I was getting slightly bored with the 3 slices of low sodium turkey bacon and an egg for breakfast every morning, so I decided to shake things up a bit for a nice Saturday breakfast.

The consistency is a little different than a fluffy white flour pancake, but the taste is the same. I have another recipe using cream cheese that I plan on trying next. Will post the results once I do!

Ingredients:
1/2 C almond meal (4g for the measurement)
1 egg
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp sour cream (1g)
1 Tbsp water
1 packet of splenda (>1g)
Splash of vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together, and cook as you would a normal pancake. Takes a little longer to cook all the way through, so make sure the heat is slightly lower than a regular pancake recipe.

Makes 3 pancakes - 2g carbs/pancake

*For syrup:

If you can't find a sugar-free syrup with 0 carbs (I could only find one with 8 carbs/ 1/4 cup), pour 1/8 C sugar free syrup and 1 Tbsp of butter into a sauce pan just long enough to melt the butter. This will help to make your syrup go a 'longer way', without watering it down or adding extra carbs/sugar to your pancakes.  This recipe made syrup enough for the 3 pancakes above, and only added an extra 4g of carbs to the meal!  That's less than 2 carbs per pancake!

P1: Taco Salad - 6g

When buying the taco seasoning for your meat, make sure you use a lower carb one – mine had 3g / serving, which is why I only used half of it. If you halve the seasoning mix, make sure you’re careful and also halve the liquids it instructs you to add!

Ingredients:
½ Packet Taco Seasoning (3g)
1 lbs 93% Lean Ground Beef
Water (according to taco seasoning mix – mine called for milk, so I used a little almond milk)

Lettuce
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Tbsp Guacamole (3g)

Add the ground beef, cheese and guacamole mix on top of the lettuce and mix well. Enjoy!

P1: Stuffed Mushrooms - 4g

I had leftover mayo/parmesan mix from the Parmesan Crusted Chicken, so I decided to make a few stuffed mushrooms with my baby portobello's before they went bad!

Ingredients:
4 Baby portobello mushrooms, stem removed
1 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
left over mayo/parmesan mix (exactly what it says - 2 parts mayo, one part parmesan)
dash garlic powder
italian seasonings to taste

Cut up the mozzarella into pieces small enough to fit into the hole at the base of the mushroom.  Top with the leftover may/parm. mixture (including any added seasonings such as garlic powder, italian seasonings, etc.). Top with some additional parmesan cheese, and bake in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes.

1 serving

P1: Parmesan Crusted Chicken - 2g

I heard about this one on the radio coming home from work today. Since it's a pretty simple recipe, and I had all the ingredients, I decided to try my hand at it! It was 'pretty good' for a quick fix.

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1/2 C Mayo
1/4 grated parmesan cheese (grated is key, but if all you have is shredded, you'll be find)
A few dashes of basil/italian seasonings
1/4 almond meal

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Mix the mayo, cheese and spices together. Lather and coat your chicken breasts. Top with the almond meal, acting as bread crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes.

Use any leftover mayo mix you have for my stuffed mushrooms recipe!

P1: Cheesecake - 8g

I must confess - I messed up as I was trying to halve this recipe:
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/desserts/r/lcarbcheesecake.htm
So here is my new concoction! I have to say - this is one of the best cheesecakes I've ever had... now if only this wasn't phase 1, and I could add some strawberries or blueberries...

Ingredients:

3/4 C Almond Meal (with skins)
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp artificial sweetener

Filling

1 1/2 packages of 1/3 fat cream cheese (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
3 eggs
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 C part skim ricotta cheese (or use more cream cheese if you have it instead)
1 C artificial sweetener (splenda)


Mix the almond meal, butter and 2 tbsp artificial sweetener.  Spread evenly in the bottom of an 8X8 glass pan. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes (or until it starts to brown slightly).

When the crust comes out, turn the oven to 400.

Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese with a mixer until 'fluffy'.

Be patient - this took me a good 3 minutes (and if your cream cheese is cold, it could take even longer). Start adding one ingredient at a time, mixing thoroughly each time, using a spatula in between each to scrape all the extra off the side of the bowl. 

Once all ingredients have been added, scrape and mix together one more time.  You should not see any lumps (or very tiny ones, if you're using the ricotta cheese). Pour the batter onto the crust, and place it in the oven, and about 1 minute later, turn the oven down to 200 degrees.  Bake for 70 minutes (while the oven is slowly cooling itself off).
**Check after 60 minutes, and check to make sure the middle is no longer liquid, but of more of a jello consistency. My oven ended up taking 70.

Remove once done baking, and place in the refrigerator until completely chilled. Slice up into 9 pieces, and enjoy!

P1: Marinade for Meats & Veggies (2g)

Ingredients:

1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C balsamic vinegar
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp crushed/minced garlic
1 Tbsp honey dijon mustard

Mix together and marinade for desired length of time (the longer, the better). Delicious - I've tried this on shrimp, steak, asparagus, mushrooms and zucchini as well - all fabulous grilled vegetables!