Category Archives: Appetizers

Appetizers, Atkins Diet Tips, Breakfast & Brunch, Healthy Life, Poultry, Vegetables & Salads

Induction Eating Plan Day 8

June 15, 2017 Rene Averett

First day of the second week and I am hanging in there. I feel some of the limitations of Induction, but it isn’t bad. It includes a repeat and lunch out. PK and I went to the movies, so we stopped by Skipilini’s after seeing “Wonder Woman” and had our favorite appetizer, bacon wrapped jalapenos, along with a salad.

Here’s the menu for the day:

	Day 8
	Food	NC
breakfast	Cloud muffin	2
	Sugar–free Jam	2.5
	Coffee with creamer	1
Lunch	Caesar Salad	2.8
	Chicken	0
	2 1/2 Jalapeno Poppers	1.7
	Iced tea	0
Dinner	Tilapia	0
	GG mashed cauliflower with bacon and cheddar	4
	sauteed greens	2
dessert	pumpkin mousse	3
		19

Breakfast was the Atkins cloud muffin from Day 4, but I toasted it and put 1/2 tablespoon of Smuckers Sugar-free Apricot Jam on it. Bliss! For lunch, we had the aforementioned salad with the poppers. I’m including the easy to make recipes for these for home use. I had iced tea with liquid sucralose so 0 carbs on that.

For dinner, I made seasoned tilapia and served 1/3 cup of Green Giant mashed cauliflower with bacon and cheddar cheese with it. I also sauteed some greens, namely spinach and beet leaves with 1/4 cup of grated daikon radish. Recipes follow.

Your alternate breakfast option is:

Bacon and Avocado Omelet

3 or 4 large Eggs
1/2 Haas Avocado, cut into slices
1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese
4 tablespoons Southwest Style Salsa (optional)
4 slices thick Bacon, broken into pieces
Dash Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Water

Break eggs into a bowl, add water, seasoning salt and pepper. Beat until foamy. Heat a medium-size round bottom pan or omelet pan with 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat.

Add eggs and let cook for a couple of minutes until the egg sets on the bottom, then begin lifting the edges with the spatula and tilting the pan so that the uncooked egg runs underneath. Repeat, working your way around the pan. Keep lifting and tilting until most of the liquid egg is gone. This builds a fluffier omelet.

Evenly distribute the bacon and most of the cheese down the one-half of the omelet. Use the spatula to lift and fold the omelet over the top. Reduce heat to low and put a lid over the pan. Let cook for about 3 minutes in order to melt the cheese.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cheese over the top. Cut the omelet in half and serve each half with 2 tablespoons of salsa and half the avocado slices. If you wish, you can heat the salsa before serving.

Makes 2 servings

Nutrition Info per servings
Calories: 430 Fat: 35.3 g Net Carbs: 3.0 g Protein: 23.5 g

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Peppers

Jalapeno Peppers, 5 pepper (remove)
2 tablespoons Cream Cheese, softened.
5 slices of thin Bacon
1/4 teaspoon BBQ Seasoning of choice

Set broiler to 485 degrees (F.)

Cut the peppers open on one side and remove the seeds if you don’t want them too spicy.

In a small bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon of BBQ seasoning to the cream cheese and stir until it is completely mixed in.

Put the bacon on a paper towel on a plate and put in the microwave for one minute to partially cook. This will make it easier for it to get crisp without over-cooking the pepper.

Stuff each pepper with the cream cheese mixture, then wrap with the partially cooked bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Put on a sheet of aluminum foil under the broiler and cook for three to five minutes per side until the bacon is crisp.

Let cool a couple of minutes, then serve. Makes two servings.

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories: 185 Fat: 16.5 g Net Carbs: 1.7 g Protein: 6.5 g

Caesar Salad

One of the best spots for good recipes is AllRecipes.com, so I am going to give you the link to a good Caesar Salad recipe. However, omit the croutons. They are not on the low carb diet at this point and quite possibly never again.

Broiled Tilapia Filet

The beet leaves are intent on dying everything pink.

PK and I weren’t all that hungry after our late lunch, so I split one filet down the middle for dinner, but feel free to make a full filet per person. They are carb free.

2 Tilapia Fish Filets or other white fish of choice
1 tablespoon of Butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
Sprinkle of Salt
Dash of Pepper

Rinse and dry the fish, then use a spoon to pour butter and lemon juice on the top. Put a sheet of aluminum foil on the broiler pan then place the filets with the butter side face down. Spread the lemon butter over the side that is now exposed to the flames.

Broil for about 5 minutes, then turn and broil for another 5 minutes on the other side. Test for doneness with a fork. The fish should flake, but not be dry.

Use a pancake turner (spatula) to move to a warm serving plate. Add vegetables and serve.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories:134.2 Fat:7.3 g Net Carbs:0.1 g Protein: 18.1 g

Appetizers, Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Baked Buffalo-Style Chicken Dip

February 17, 2016 Rene Averett

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been working on editing my new novel, O’Ceagan’s Legacy, that is now in the Kindle Scout program. (Shameless self-promotion: If you’d like to check it out, click here.) So, I haven’t had too much time for creative cooking, but I did find this great dip recipe from Chef John for a spicy chicken dip that really hits the spot. I made a few little changes to suit me. For one thing, I used three chicken breasts rather than starting with a roasted chicken, mainly because the grocery store I went to didn’t have any precooked chickens.

By the way, I love Chef John’s recipes and have adapted a few of them over the past few years to low carb. He does many videos and is an entertaining teacher. Visit his site to see more.

Baked Buffalo-Style Chicken Dip

This is based on Chef John’s original recipe at FoodWishes.com and is pretty much the way he did it. It’s a low carb recipe from the get-go.

3 cups Cooked Chicken, diced
2 (8 ounce) packages Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup Hot Pepper Sauce
1/2 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1/2 cup Blue Cheese Dressing
1/2 cup crumbled Blue Cheese
1/2 teaspoon Seafood Seasoning
1 pinch Cayenne Pepper
1/2 cup Onions, chopped
2 tablespoons Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
2 tablespoon chopped Chives or Green Onions (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F.)

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, hot pepper sauce seasonings and blue cheese dressing together until mostly combined. Add the chicken, onions and 1/2 cup pepper Jack cheese and stir together. Put the mixture into a 9-inch round baking dish, like a deep dish pie pan, and spread to smooth. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Pepper Jack Cheese.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Sprinkle with the chopped chives or onions. Serve with vegetable dippers like cauliflower, celery, tomato slices, mini-sweet peppers, or sliced rounds of kohlrabi.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving (1/8)
Calories: 407 Fat: 35.9 g Net Carbs: 2.4 g Protein: 17.1 g

Appetizers, Condiments and Sauces, Recipes

Cranberry and Peppers Salsa Perks Up a Party

December 15, 2015 Rene Averett

Here’s a simple and delicious salsa made with cranberries and Serrano peppers. I’ve adapted a recipe my roomie found on the web to a low carb version. We’ve increased the number of peppers and it still doesn’t have a really spicy kick to it. I think if it sits on the shelf for a month or so, it might get stronger, but when it’s fresh, it’s only a smoky hint of fire. If you want more kick in it, then add some of the seeds from the peppers, but be cautious. If you can’t find sugar-free honey, then omit it.

This is a great treat to take to a Holiday party along with crackers and softened cream cheese to spread it on. Pictured above with Flackers crackers. For my review of these, go here.

Cranberry and Peppers Salsa

Low Carb Ingredients:

6 cups Cranberries (two 12-oz bags), chopped
3 cups Red Onions, chopped
1 Apple, peeled and chopped
6 large Serrano Peppers, chopped
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon Water
3 tablespoons Sugar-Free Honey
2/3 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 tablespoon Canning Salt

Canning Recipe

In a deep, large pot, put four one-pint canning jars and lids and seals, placed independently of the jars, in with water to cover the tops and bring to a boil.

Chop cranberries, onions, apple and peppers. A food processor really speeds this process up. Be sure to use gloves unless you like pepper juice in your skin.

In a large pot, mix all ingredients except the cranberries and bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce the heat to a high simmer, add the cranberries and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

About 10 minutes before done, remove the jars and drain.

Spoon or use a funnel to fill jars to about 1 to 1/2″ from the top. Take lid and sealing ring from hot water and seal each jar. Places jars back in the hot water, making sure the water covers the top. Boil for 25 minutes.

Remove the jars and wait for the lids to pop, which indicates they are sealed. This can take several hours. The lid will appear dented down a little when they are properly sealed. Once sealed, this can store for up to one year on the shelf.

If you are going to eat within two weeks, you can skip the hot water seal and just store in the closed jars in the refrigerator.

Makes 4 jars with about 15 tablespoons in each jar.

Nutrition Information per tablespoon:
Calories:10.2 g Fat:0.1 g Net Carbs:1.9 g Protein: 0.2 g

Closer view of the cranberry pepper salsa.

Regular Ingredients

Cooking instructions are identical to the low carb ones.

Makes 4 jars with about 15 tablespoons in each jar.

Nutrition Information per tablespoon:
Calories:21.8 g Fat:0.1 g Net Carbs: 5.0 g Protein: 0.2 g

Appetizers, Product Review

Product Review: Flackers Flax Seed Crackers

December 15, 2015 Rene Averett 2 Comments

I have not received any promotional items to review and no one from any of the companies whose products I review have asked me to do so. I have purchased the product and am giving my honest opinion about it. Should any company send me a product to try, I will state it up front and will still give my honest opinion.

I am always on the lookout for a good cracker that is low carb so when I saw this one on Amazon from Doctor in the Kitchen, I decided to try them. They are a savory cracker with garlic, onion, red pepper and basil seasonings added. The main ingredient is flax seeds. They are sprouted, which, according to the box, makes them easier to chew,digest and absorb. If you eat low carb, you are probably aware that flax seed is very low in carbohydrates and high in fiber, being one of those foods that can actually give you a negative number on net carbs. They are also high in Omega 3 fatty acid, which is good for your heart.

If you like the taste of flax, you will probably find these to be very tasty and they are a good cracker for a snack or putting cheese or a little of the cranberry salsa on for a quick treat. They are surprisingly satisfying as well. I enjoy them although I really favor my own crackers made with flax meal and Carbquick. The seeds tend to stick in my teeth, so I prefer the ground flax.

Developed by Dr. Alison Levitt for herself and her patients, she decided to take them to the consumers, who can now benefit from these nutritional and tasty crackers. In addition to the flax, they also contain apple cider vinegar, vegetable protein from non-GMO soy beans and the aforementioned spices. One serving is a generous 6 crackers that amounts to 100 calories, 7 grams of fat, 6 carbohydrates with 7 grams of fiber, giving you a -1 net carb, and 5 grams of protein. On many levels, these are a win-win.

The only drawback is in the pricing. There are 30 crackers in a box, 5 servings, for $5.69 on Amazon as an add-on item, which makes them about $1.12 a serving. It doesn’t sound too bad unless you eat them daily.

In addition to these savory crackers, there are also Flax seed Rosemary, Flax seed Tomato Basil, Flaxseed Dill, and Flax seed Cinnamon and Currants. Unfortunately, this last one has a net carb count of 6 g per 6 cracker-servings, thanks to the currants. I haven’t tried any of the others, but it appears they are all a little higher on the carbohydrates than this one.

I give these 4 cooking spoons out of 5 for flavor and good taste.

Appetizers, Recipes

Quick Low Carb Snacking Options

October 13, 2015 Rene Averett 1 Comment

We’re into football season and baseball is wrapping up with the World Series, so we’re often thinking about a Sunday afternoon get-together with friends and delicious snack foods. They just naturally go together, right?

Well, it’s not the best thing for a low carb lifestyle unless those snacks are low in carbs. You can always put out a meat and cheese tray and a vegetable dish, but there are some quick put-together recipes that make great snacks.

Here’s a few that are already on this blog and a new one for Little Smokies Wrapped in Blankets is just below on this page. I’m sure you’ll find a couple of good choices for your television watching.

For a delicious do-ahead snack, you can’t beat deviled eggs and this is my recipe for Texas Style Deviled Eggs. Another easy one is Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts and these are so good you’ll want plenty of them. Ham and Pepper Madeleine Cakes are also a tasty snack and are great dipped in Chipotle Ranch dressing.

Little Smokies Wrapped in Blankets

This is a standard appetizer that normally uses crescent rolls and are easy to make. I’ve adjusted the recipe to a low carb option. For this, I use CarbQuick, but any low carb baking mix will work. I don’t know how well almond flour would hold together and I haven’t tried it. It uses Little Smokies or any other cocktail wiener. As another option, you could take premade cocktail meatballs, cut them in half and wrap those. For a vegetable version, try wrapping a 2-inch piece of asparagus or broccoli stems or kohlrabi cut into 1/4×2-inch sticks with the dough.

1/2 cup Low Carb Baking Mix
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 tablespoon Butter or Shortening
1 teaspoon of Buttermilk or Cream
1 tablespoon very cold Water
2 tablespoons Cheddar Cheese, finely shredded
Butter flavored Cooking Spray
15 Little Smokies or (8) Meatballs or (15) Vegetable sticks

In a small bowl, add the flour, garlic, salt, and butter or shortening. Cut together with a fork until the mixture turns to crumbles. Add the buttermilk and water and mix together until it begins to pull together. If it isn’t moist enough, add just a little bit more water until it forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F.) Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with baking spray or put a silicone mat on it and spray the mat.

Pinch off enough dough to make a one-inch ball and hand press it to a 2×1/2-inch strip. I use a sheet of wax paper to press this on. Place the smokie in the middle and press the dough around it to form a wrap over it. Press together to seal. If the dough breaks, simply press it back together. Repeat for each little sausage. For the meatballs, cut the meatball in half and roll each half in the dough.

Place on baking sheet, then spray the tops with the baking spray and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with a mustard and mayonnaise sauce. My preference is a cranberry mustard and mayonnaise. Or you can eat them as they are. These are usually a hit at a party.

Makes about 15 appetizers.

Nutrition Information per appetizer (Little Smokies):
Calories: 49 Fat: 1.7 g Net Carbs: 0.5 g Protein: 2.1 g

Nutrition Information per appetizer (Meatballs – 6 to serving):
Calories: 52 Fat: 3.6 g Net Carbs: 1.5 g Protein: 3.2 g

Nutrition Information per appetizer (Kohlrabi- 1/4×2-inch strips):
Calories: 22 Fat: 1.7 g Net Carbs: 0.4 g Protein: 0.9 g

Tip: To get a lower carb count on the meatballs, make your own. Most of the ones you buy pre-made have a bread crumb filler in them. Make one-inch meatballs and bake them until they are just done. Cool, cut in half and wrap. This will bring the carbs down to about a half carb each.