All posts filed under: Low Carb

Homemade Mayonnaise – Whole30 Compliant

Published by

I admit I really like mayonnaise, but it HAS to be Best Foods or else.  When I found out I can’t have my mayonnaise as it contains sugar and I needed to make the homemade paleo stuff to be Whole30 compliant, well……hmmm…..not too happy.  But I promised to follow the program as strictly as possible for 30 days so I went online and tried making a few of the Whole30, paleo mayonnaise.  But they didn’t do well.  I tried a recipe that said to use the blender – but all I got was very thin salad dressing and it tasted way to0 strong of olives.  The second recipe I tried using a food processor and that one curdled and was not fixable even though there were instructions on how to salvage it when the mayo turns ugly, (mine was uglier than Frankenstein). Then this morning I was watching the movie Julie and Julia (the one about Julia Child with Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci).  Towards the middle of the movie there is Julia memorializing the beauty of homemade mayonnaise and I …

Low Carb Parmesan Chicken

Published by

  This is an adaption of Best Foods “Parmesan Crusted Chicken” .  I deleted the bread crumbs because I want this recipe to be low carb, and added chives and roasted garlic to kick up the flavor a notch. I roasted the garlic in olive oil on Sunday, so I can use in multiple recipes this week – roasted garlic seems milder to me yet far more flavorful.  This recipe took 5 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.  Dinner in 30 minutes and I caught up on my emails while it baked – nice!

Lo Carb Taco Salad

Taco Salad the Lo-Carb Way

Published by

Am back on a Lo-Carb diet for the next few weeks but can’t bear to eat the same food every day (roasted chicken, steak, burgers, etc.)   So last night I made Taco Salad, which took less than 15 minutes to prep and cook – then brought left-overs for lunch today in a portable bento box. No, you won’t find a deep-fried taco shell or even tortilla chips hidden somewhere underneath, as they would take the carb count way beyond what I use in a day (which is 25 carbs or less). This recipe is very simple and quick to prepare; has an abundance of flavor, and I found I didn’t really miss having a taco shell after all.

Flat Iron Steak Argentine Style – Chimichurri Sauce

Published by

  Flat Iron steak is my new best friend – at least for this month.   Talk about scads of flavor – and it costs less than a NY steak or tenderloin.  I generally like a steak with a lot of fat (as I think it provides so much flavor, even though it isn’t so great for your heart or figure.)  The flat iron steak is flavorful because of the significant amount of marbling in the meat – if it’s Wagyu or Kobe beef, even better.  It can sometimes be a little tough (similar to skirt or flank steak), so marinating the steak will go a long way – shoot for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight if possible.  Toss it on the grill – it takes to the grill like wild fire!

Blood Pudding Sausage and Fried Egg (Low Carb)

Published by

Yum – a Sunday breakfast treat, especially tasty when one has been soooooo good throughout the week.  Since I am avoiding potatoes at all costs I can’t have hash browns, yet I still want something special for breakfast on the weekend  – and this dish is it!  I have fond memories of my Father making Blood Sausage for us on Sunday morning after Mass – it was such a treat for us (although for him this was served most days as part of an Irish breakfast growing up in San Francisco).  Blood sausage (which is also referred to as Black Pudding or Blood Pudding), is generally made from pork blood and a high proportion of oatmeal and sometimes barley, in addition to pork.  I realize this might not be to everyone’s liking just from the name of the dish, but if you try it, you will be delighted that you did.

Coq Au Vin

Coq Au Vin (Low Carb)

Published by

To me Coq Au Vin is the epitome of classic French cuisine – and now I find I can make a low-carb version and enjoy it just as much.  It’s sorta like when you use the holy trinity of French cooking – if you use fresh, good quality ingredients, you have some leeway on making it work for your eating plan. If you look at the true translation of Coq Au Vin, it means “rooster in red wine”, hence the use of Red Burgundy in a typical recipe for this dish.  I made Coq Au Vin the correct way for years, but half the time my sauce would turn the color of purple and even the chicken would have a purple tinge to it.  Mind you it still tasted terrific, but I found it hard to get past my chicken resembling Barney.   So I changed it up a bit and started using white burgundy instead (chardonnay or Chablis) – it both tastes good and looks appetizing as well.

Shrimp Scampi (Low Carb)

Published by

You can only eat so much beef when on a low carb diet, so I want to have a nice variety of seafood to choose from.  Shrimp Scampi is a goody – quick to make, intense flavors, and only 2 carbs per serving.  If you are not on a low carb diet I would serve this over toasted garlic crostini, or an ample serving of linguine.  I on the other hand, will serve mine over spaghetti squash – yum!

BBQ spareribs (Low Carb)

Published by

    I have been spinning the idea of low carb dieting for a couple of weeks now and finally settled down to officially and firmly starting today (after back/forth a bit the last 10 days, which did yield a weight loss of 8 pounds.)   Eons ago I did the Atkins diet, but quickly tired of eating the exact same foods each meal every day (bacon/eggs, salads, etc.).  Since I am committed to eating Low Carb for the next few months, I feel I should also be committed to creating some new and interesting twists on my old recipes, and making them low carb.  Sugar substitutes have vastly improved over the years, and there are a number of really good low carb blogs out there.    The following BBQ sparerib recipe is only 8 carbs per serving, primarily thanks to Splenda Brown Sugar and Heinz Reduced Sugar Ketchup.  The original recipe I grew up with is 51 carbs a serving (2 ribs) –  huge difference, and the taste is almost identical.