Can’t wait to try this, thanks!
True, neither are dried fruit/tomatoes. But they may be a step away from higher carb/lower protein and fiber foods for Wonderwoman.
Sounds terrific biondanonima, Thanks! Was just trying to think of what to bring to a holiday potluck & wanting it to be something low carbish… Thought of meatloaf but didnt want it to be boring! This sounds like it totally fits the bill 
Some tasty stuff from my kitchen in the past week or so:
Fauxtato-Leek-Cheddar soup: Steamed cauliflower until soft with the white parts of some leeks and a clove of garlic, then whizzed it in the blender with a bit of cream and some goat cheese until completely smooth. Added some chicken stock and lots of cheddar, plus sauteed leek greens. Don’t miss the potato at all - in fact, DH asked if there were potatoes in it!
Spicy dry-fried beef and scallions: I had some ground beef that needed using so I threw it in a HOT cast iron skillet with some peanut oil and didn’t move it around until it had gotten REALLY crispy. Then I added lots of scallions in one inch pieces and a handful of chopped garlic and ginger, and sauteed for another minute or two, until the scallions were just wilted. Hit it at the end with lots of sambal oelek and sriracha, plus a spoonful of black bean sauce and soy sauce - not enough to make it saucy, just enough to coat. The heat of the skillet caramelized the sauces. Delicious with some peanuts to garnish!
Jalapeno salmon burgers from Fish Without a Doubt: http://www.oprah.com/food/Jalapeno-Salmon-Burgers I always use chopped cilantro in these instead of the red bell pepper and serve with a spicy mayo for extra kick. They are REALLY good and a great way to use up the leftover bits of a side of salmon (I buy sides and trim them into filets, and the extra bits get turned into these burgers).
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My go to low carb lunch has to be an wild smoked salmon & scrambled scrambled eggs in coconut oil with cheese & home pickled peppers, topped with avocado.
Made Kenji’s “perfect” soft-boiled eggs yesterday… alas – they weren’t even near perfect after five minutes, so I tossed them & made another couple that I let sit for 8 minutes. Better.
Topped with briefly nuked TJ’s hollandaise sauce & lotsa fresh ground pepper. Good.
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Made breaded / fried chicken parm last night using 6 parts ground almond paste/flour & 1 part grated parm cheese for the breading. One 1/4 cup of the mixture coated 1 BIG piece of pounded chicken (BSCB) so the carb count was about 7 grams per piece plus about 3 carbs for the mozz cheese melted on top.
Came out pretty good but the coating was a little dense as the almond meal is finely ground and packs pretty tight compared to bread crumbs.
Next time I think I will add some ground up pork rinds to the mixture to lighten it up.
Any other thoughts to lower the density of the breading?
Interesting, since cutting down/out carbs from my diet I purchased a bag of finely ground almonds as well. I’ve been hesitant to use them because, well I was just unsure how to use them, how their taste would affect things. Glad to know you are not reporting an odd taste attributed to the almonds. Thanks for sharing!
I really can’t detect any added flavor. We love crab cakes and I cut out the usual 1 cup of bread crumbs (70 carbs) P/lb of lump crab meat and add 1/4 cup of the almond flour (6 carbs) in its place.
Without the cup of bread crumbs the yield is lower but we like the moister all crab meat interior better anyway. We get around 12 balls that are about 1/4 bigger than a golf ball @ about 1 carb each.
Lack of bread crumbs does reduce the binding of the ingredients so we make crab balls which are less fragile and don’t require flipping like a cake.
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Pork rinds are the best thing I know of to make the coating lighter without adding carbs. A little bit of cornstarch will help too, especially with finely ground nuts, but obviously that adds carbs. If I’m using nuts to coat something like this, I prefer to grind them a little more coarsely than flour to avoid that density issue, but I nearly always use pork rinds as well.
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My only concern with the pork rinds was the fact that they were already deep fried at the factory and would they cook/brown too fast… (before the chicken is cooked & almond meal browns & crisps)
I also have a bag of coconut flour from the same co (Bob’s Red Mill) but have not tried it yet. At 16 carbs per 1/4 cup it bumps up the count vs 6 carbs per 1/4 cup of the almond flour.
Looking through the bag the coconut flour does seem a little lighter and fluffier. May also brown up a little faster as the almond meal did take a while to brown/crisp up. (maybe too long for a faster cooker like fried shrimp)
Thinking or trying 2 Tbsp of the coconut flour (8 carbs) + 2 Tbsp pork rinds (0 carbs) + 2 Tbsp green can grated Parm cheese (0 carbs as per can label).
I have used coconut flour as well but I don’t like it as much for this purpose as nut meal - it REALLY absorbs water, so it can get a little gluey as it takes in moisture from whatever is underneath. I haven’t had a problem with pork rinds browning too quickly, but if I am going to bread something, I generally make sure it’s fairly thin, so there’s not a long cook time involved.
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DUH…actually when you subtract out the dietary fiber, 1/4 cup of the Red Mill products contain significantly fewer NET carbs: Almond meal = 3 and Coconut flour = 6
Will definitely try the pork rinds.
Is it a problem where the C. Flour gets gluey & clumpy on the egg bathed product or does the bowl of C. flour quickly become a clumped up mess after a few items are rolled around in it?
My fear is your going to say both.
It’s a bigger problem on the food than in the bowl. If you work quickly/neatly, the bowl step isn’t much of an issue.
I am definitely going to experiment until I find the best mixture. Next try will be 25% each:
Almond flour, coconut flour, pork rinds & grated parm cheese.
For seafood such as shrimp I will cut out the parm cheese.
Thanks!!!
Tonight I’ll be breaking in my new Vitamix with broccoli cheddar soup! I may also try the “wet chop” method on some Brussels sprouts and saute them. Main course will be a Spanish-inspired recipe for chicken with garlic and sherry - just chicken thighs cooked with lots of garlic, pan deglazed with sherry and brandy, sprinkled with a handful of chopped parsley. Simple and delicious.
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Brunch: two scrambled eggs with leftover green pepper, a diced up slice of ham, all seasoned with urfa pepper.
Noice.
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Last night was a slow cooked eye of round roast with herb onion gravy (https://elanaspantry.com/herb-gravy/). Tonight is the usual New Year’s Day meal - collard greens. I’ll saute some ground beef in bacon grease with onions and garlic to mix in for a sort of pot likker collard green soup.
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