Thought I’d resume a favorite and busy thread from the other place for those of us who use both.
Last night I made a reduced carb lasagna for my husband and house guest; I used only a bottom and top layer of Barilla’s moderate carb no boil lasagna noodles. This way my ketogenic guest can eat just the cheesy top one and leave the bottom one on the plate as I do when I eat it.
I filled it with the loveliest smooth ricotta I’ve ever had, from a local pork store, adding well drained, chopped spinach, browned fennel sausage and a four cheese blend to the mixture along with 3 large eggs, Italian herbs, s and p. Used a basic jarred sauce that is really fresh tasting and good ingredients, topped with tons of shredded mozzarella.
For me, pan roasted veal loin chop with my lazy quick pan sauce; I deglazed with heavy cream, added mascarpone and a pile of fresh oregano leaves and had an arugula salad with baby heirloom tomatoes with white balsamic vinaigrette.
quinoa, eggs and great northern beans are my low carb go to’s.
for breakfast, i pan toast quinoa, then cook in coconut milk (2 parts diluted [equal parts coconut milk/water] coconut milk, 1 part quinoa), pinch of salt, splash vanilla. mix in favorite combination of nuts and fruit (fresh or dried). i also like to grate in a lot of fresh ginger.
for savory quinoa, i leave out the vanilla, add dried cranberries, hazelnuts or almonds and scallions. next up, ii’m going to cook the quinoa in parmesan broth, then add sun-dried tomatoes and basil
here’s a link to a recent discussion on frittatas:
the beans, i soak overnight, make soup with a smoked ham hock, then add some kale.
Dinner will be BISO chickie thighs that are currently marinating in olive oil, lemon oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon pepper (huh - there seems to be a theme here), paprika, oregano, thyme, rosemary & kosher salt. These will be thrown on the grill b/c it’s a fabulously balmy day in HV.
Side will be a traditional Greek salad - cuke, green pepper, kalamata olives, red onion, Greek feta, and (hopefully not too crappy) stupidmarket tomatoes. Just tossed with kalamata olive oil, a spritz of RWV, and oregano, s&p.
Tonight is BISO chicken thighs for me, too, baked covered with Walkerswood Spicey Jerk sauce. Arugula and baby heirloom maters of different colors and stripes again, evoo and white balsamic dressing.
Leftover lasagna as above for DH, baby romaine salad with grana padano and some of the little green maters.
Take out last night after hours of phone banking for local elections… I had pork chops with vinegar and peppers and a side of fresh veggies sauteed with garlic and olive oil. Chicken scarpaiello on the bone for my husband, same veggies. Really good dinner for our first chilly fall day.
Breakfast was a sort of low carb frittata: crispy bacon bits, chopped red onion, sliced white mushrooms, baby spinach & feta with nice pastured eggs & a bit of heavy cream…
JICAMA CHIPS: Not a meal but great side. Jicama is a low carb high fiber Mexican potato. Peal off thin waxy skin, thin slice ( I use a mandolin ) and fry in any oil/shortening of your choice. Little salt when first out of the oil so it sticks and your done.
I do a large batch that lasts a week. Great alone as a chip or to scoop things like homemade low carb guacamole.
I love jicama, Mexican turnip, right? I tried it as a sub for potatoes in a gratin I usually make with rutabaga, but it retained some of its crispness, even very well cooked, so not great for that. But even raw, great for dipping. I’ll have to try making chips from it. Do you think you could spray them with oil and bake a huge batch at once?
Its funny I didn’t even know what it was when my daughter brought one home from school. I googled it and came up with the fried chips. I do believe I saw something about oven baking when I googled it. Convection may help if your oven has it.
I tried making shoe string FF (frying) but the texture was significantly off.
Tonight’s dinner was a first for me; I had two beef cheeks from U.S. Wellness Meats, and have never had them before. I used a very simple recipe from epicurious.com and modified it for maximum flavor adjusted from 4 to 2 cheeks. I browned them in my instantPot, then did a 50 minute pressure cook on high pressure.
Where have these been all my life?!
I reduced the jus a lot after removing the cheeks, really concentrated the flavors well.
What’s for brunch: leftover pizza toppings (the gift that keeps on giving) - yellow, orange & green peppers and mushrooms were sautéed in cultured butter and seasoned with ichimi togarashi. Cracked two eggs in the pan, added some torn fresh basil: done.
Only about 7 weeks into the low carb diet…I don’t crave carbs anymore on a daily basis but every once in a while, IE a meal like tonight’s and a piece of crusty bread just SCREAMS!!!
Is there really a low carb Pita? Weight wise a friend says a hollowed out whole wheat roll actually has less weight/carbs that a whole wheat pita. (?)
Yeah, daily cravings go away fast for sugars, carbs, but there are some foods you keep wanting for years, but don’t have intense cravings for. I never think about eating it after over a decade without it, but anytime I’m asked what I miss, I say fresh, hot, NY pizza with the crust.
There are truly low carb pitas, some better than others, like Joseph’s Middle Eastern Bakery. They have low carb flat bread/lavash that makes a great home pizza crust sub, too. I like their tortillas and wraps, too. My husband likes Flatouts ok. We don’t use this stuff much because we’re years into not eating breads and starches in general, but once in a while, it’s nice to pull something out of the freezer and make a wrap to take kayaking or hiking, or to make pizza with. Can trigger cravings, though if you’re in the early days. Even tiny amounts of wheat can, for some reason. Artificial sweeteners, too. I’m at the point where I really love the way I eat now, can’t imagine wanting to waste calories on starches, but that complete happy adjustment took years of adapting, measuring my diet and my progress and finding my happy place diet wise.
I’ve been at this since 1998, increasingly starch free over the course of time. I don’t miss it at all, and the benefits have been critical to my well being, so no going back. My husband is more flexible; he just wants to be fit, healthy and active for as long as he lives. He’ll have a burger with half a bun if we go out, or with a sandwich thin or Fold-It at home, and some fries out, low carb crackers with PB, but day to day, he’s pretty low carb overall and it shows.
Just out of curiosity what jarred sauce do you use that is “fresh tasting and good ingredients”?
Breakfast has been the biggest b*tch for me doing low carb. I’ve actually started having a “jersey burger” which is a hamburger with pork roll egg and cheese melted on it. Regular eggs and standard breakfast meat just hasn’t been cutting it. Funny but breakfast has become the hardest non-carb meal of the day for me.
Most of my meals have been consisting of standard proteins Steak, Chicken, with salad and veggies on the side. If I’m making a pasta based dish, I’ll do a shit ton (I think that’s an official cooking measurement) of steamed spinach for my meal.
Last night was hamachi, sake & saba sashimi and two martinis for good measure
Right now, I’m munching down on a late lunch salad - Wegmans’ spring mix, a 1/4 avocado, a little Greek feta, tomatoes, red onion, all tossed with olive oil, balsamic & soy.
