Category Archives: Recipes

Desserts, Recipes

“Snickers” Cheesecake Without Guilt

Don’t you hate it when you go to dinner and they have a “Snickers” Cheesecake on the menu and it’s not a low carb one?  It seems like the only option you can find in sugar-free cheesecakes is the plain cheesecake with maybe a few berries on top?  That’s been my experience and even at the Cheesecake Factory, as tasty as the plain cheesecake is, it pales beside all the other options they have for everyone else.

Well, if you’re willing to grab a box of the Atkins Caramel Nut Bars, you can make your own “Snickers” type cheesecake and enjoy this treat without blowing your carb count out the window.  This works with some of the other Atkins bars, so feel free to experiment a little… like a Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar Cheesecake.  This is a crust-less cheesecake, but you can easily make a crust for the bottom of the muffin pans by using 1/2 cup ground pecans, 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar substitute.  Mix together, spoon into sprayed muffin cups and press into the bottom.

Chocolate Caramel Nut Mini-Cheesecakes

4 oz cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoon sugar substitute
2 Atkins Chocolate Caramel Nut bars
2 eggs
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons Vanilla Whey Powder (optional)*
1 teaspoon vanilla

* Vanilla Whey Powder is optional, but I use it often in my baking to improve the texture.  If you are looking for gluten free, my brand of protein powder is gluten free, so check the label.  But I am not sure if the Atkins bar is.  It has wheat protein isolate in it, so it may not be.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Prepare a muffin tin by spraying 8 wells with cooking spray or put in baking cups.

Chop the Caramel Nut bar into small pieces. In a small bowl, use a mixer to cream the cream cheese, vanilla, egg and sugar substitute together. Mix in the whey powder and, cream until all ingredients are blended. Hand stir in the Caramel Nut Bar pieces.

Spoon into the muffin cups, taking care to try to distribute the candy pieces evenly. Stirring the batter each time you dip out a spoonful will help.

Put a little water in any empty muffin wells so you are not baking them empty. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean. Let cool before serving or refrigerate until about 30 minutes before you are ready to serve. To serve, put on a small plate or dessert bowl and top with a little sugar free chocolate syrup and a teaspoon of whipped cream, if you like.

Makes eight mini-cheesecakes.

Nutrition Info per mini-cake:

Calories: 128.5 Fat: 11.5 g Net Carbs: 1.75 g Protein: 4.35 g

 

Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

Italian Style Low Carb Stuffed Eggplant

If you like eggplant and Italian food, you’re going to lvoe this recipe.  It’s easy to make and the flavor is magnifico!  Best of all, it’s low carb.  You can either make it in the eggplant boat, as I did, or you can put it in a casserole dish and just discard the eggplant shell after you scoop the delicious vegetable out.  Either way, it’s great low carb’d dinner entree.

Stuffed Eggplant Boats

Eggplant boat filled with diced eggplant sautéed with onions, sausage and mushrooms, then stuffed into the shells and baked with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese topping.

1 large eggplant, about 1 lb)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup minced onion
1 cups shredded mozarella cheese, divided
1 tomato, sliced
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
3/4 lb Italian sausage

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out and chop flesh, leaving skin intact. Place in a shallow baking dish, and set aside.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat and stir in garlic to lightly brown. Add eggplant, mushrooms, and onion, stirring until tender, about 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside. Brown sausage until it is lightly browned. Pour off any grease and combine with the eggplant mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Fill eggplant shells with stuffing, arrange tomato slices over the top and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until warmed throughout and melted on top.

Makes 6 servings

Nutrition Info per serving
Calories 318.4 Fat: 24.8 g Net Carbs: 5.9 g

Main Dish, Recipes, Vegetables & Salads, Vegetarian

Summer Harvest Cauli-Risotto Is Amazing

After four years of making cauliflower pretend to be something it isn’t, I am still in awe of all the things you can make using this wonderful vegetable to substitute.  One of its applications is to reduce it to rice-sized pieces in a food processor (or by hand with a grater) and use it nearly anywhere that you use rice.  I have used it for Spanish Cauli-rice, a Basic Cauli-rice and with an Asparagus Cauli- Risotto.  All of them are great.

This adapted risotto recipe is also outstanding.  I don’t know why I don’t make risottos more often.  The flavor is wonderful and it isn’t too difficult, just takes a little longer to get all the liquid absorbed into the cauli-rice.  Unlike rice risotto, the cauliflower doesn’t expand as it absorbs liquid, so while it does puff a little and soften as you cook it, it doesn’t use as much liquid as rice does.

The other vegetable that contributes to the deception in this dish is daikon radish.  You’ve probably seen it at the grocery store.  It’s that long, white 3 or 4 inch in diameter root that may have puzzled you.  It has a slight peppery taste, but is otherwise very mild.  It works well in cauli-rice recipes and is great when grated and fried for hash browns.  You can also make fries out of it or simply cut or shred to add it raw to a salad.  Very versatile!

Summer Harvest Cauli-Risotto

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 cups riced cauliflower
1 cup riced daikon radish
1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
2 1/2 cups hot water
Salt and black pepper
1/2 cup snow peas or 1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (small dice)
1/4 cup Mushrooms, chopped (optional)
2 green onions, chopped (white and green parts)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
10-12 basil leaves, torn up small
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

 Bring the water to a simmer in a small pot or use an electric pot to heat the water and rewarm it as needed while cooking this.

In large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the riced cauliflower and riced daikon and coat with the olive oil. Sauté, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes.

Add the white wine (or chicken broth) to the skillet and stir. You will stirring frequently as you continue adding liquid to the skillet.  When most of the liquid is absorbed,  add a cup of the hot water to the pan and add a about 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Reduce the heat to a high simmer and stir often while the water is being absorbed and cooks out.  When it is almost dry again, stir in another 1/2 cup of hot water.  Continue to cook and stir until it is almost dry again, then add another 1/2 cup of hot water and repeat the process.

Take a small taste of the cauliflower to see if it is getting tender.  If so, then proceed to the next step.  Otherwise, add another 1/2 cup of hot water and stir it in until it is absorbed.

Add the snow peas or zucchini and red bell pepper. Add another 1/2 cup of water and stir until it is absorbed. Repeat with another 1/2 cup of hot water and large pinch of salt.

Cauli-risotto with zucchini, mushrooms and bell pepper is delicious and filled with healthful vegetables.

By now the cauli-rice should be close to being done; it should be firm, but not gritty and the zucchini should be soft, but a not mushy.  Now, stir in the green onions and grated Parmesan. When the water has been mostly absorbed, it is ready to finish.  Stir in the basil and butter and serve at once.

Makes 6 side dish servings or 4 main course servings.

Nutrition Info per 1/6 of recipe:
Calories: 122.6 Fat:8.0 g Net Carbs: 4 g Protein: 4.6 g

Condiments and Sauces, Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Peachy Keen Grilled Chicken with Peach Salsa

Chicken with Peach Salsa with a side of sauteed Broccoli and Kale with Raspberry Vinaigrette.

Confession right up front here, I adore peaches.  When I started the Atkins diet again four years ago, I was dismayed to see that peach was only an acceptable food in phase 4, the maintenance phase of the program.  I eased them back into my program about a year ago as I do consider myself basically on maintenance at this point.

So image my surprise when I got a regular update from Atkins touting this wonderful recipe that included a peach salsa and it said it was ok for phases 2 to 4.  That would be any time after the two-week induction phase.  Good news for all of us, but with all things that are too good to be true, it doesn’t mean you can go crazy with it!  You still need to watch the carbs because a medium peach is 9.1 g of sugar and that registers as 9.9 net carbs of the 10.1 carbs in it.  That can be a bump in your daily allotment.   So use in moderation.

So, peachy keen.  I was anxious to try this recipe from Atkins, but I did make a couple of modifications to my version.  It is absolutely wonderful, moving into the “make often” list.  And when I served the peach salsa up, I found it was more than enough for the chicken and actually got three large servings from it.  I put the last serving away and used it for two smaller servings as a side dish with Chicken Alfredo the next night.  The salsa would also be wonderful with grilled, broiled or braised white fish and I just bet it would be great with pork chops.

Grilled Chicken with Peach Salsa

My version of the Atkins recipe is almost identical to theirs except I substitute bell pepper for the jalapeno pepper. Love jalapenos, but my stomach isn’t so crazy about them as I age. Besides, I had a Mexi-red pepper from m garden to add in.

2 chicken breasts halves (about 4 to 5 oz each)
1/2 Teaspoon ground Cumin
1/2 Teaspoons Red Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Onion Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon ground Black Pepper
3 Teaspoons Olive Oil, divided
1/2 Peach, firm, but ripe, about medium-sized, diced
1/4 cup Bell Pepper, diced
1/4 cup Red Onion, diced
1/2 medium Tomato, diced
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh chopped Cilantro
1 teaspoon Sugar Substitute
1 Tablespoons fresh Lime Juice

In a small bowl, combined the chile powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and 2 teaspoons olive oil to make a paste. Rub 1/2 the paste into the top of the chicken breasts, turn them over and rub the rest onto the back. Let the chicken marinate while you prepare the salsa.

If you are using a grill that take 10 to 20 minutes to warm up, now is the time to start pre-heating.  I use a Foreman Grill for two, which is large enough for two small chicken breasts and takes about 5 minutes to do the job. It only takes a short time to warm up, so I go ahead with the salsa before warming the grill.

Chop the peaches, bell pepper, onion and tomato into bite-sized pieces. Be sure to remove the membranes on the pepper as well as any excess seeds or juices. Place in a small bowl. Add the cilantro, lime juice and sugar substitute with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Mix the oil and fruit, adding salt and pepper to season. Cover and refrigerate until the chicken is grilled. This can be prepared ahead of time and it will keep a couple of days in the refrigerator.

Grill the chicken until it is done and juices run clear. Place the chicken on serving plates and top with the peach salsa.

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition Info per serving
Calories:272.5  Fat:13.4 g  Net Carbs: 6.5 g  Protein: 29.8 g

Peach Salsa only
Nutrition Info per serving – 4 servings per recipe
Calories:44.9  Fat: 3.6 g  Net Carbs: 3.0 g  Protein: 0.4 g

 

 

Beef, Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Not-Quite-Traditional Corned Beef Hash

I had some left over corned beef and even though I have a great corned beef hash recipe, I wanted to try the more traditional version.  But it isn’t quite the traditional version since I used other root vegetables than potatoes for the hash.  While it doesn’t have the starch from potatoes to glue the hash together, it is still a very tasty dish with lots of wonderful flavor from my selected root – turnips and rutabagas, plus the addition of Irish cheddar cheese.

Just a note here, in the US, we call the purplish vegetable with the orange flesh a rutabaga, but I understand that in Ireland, and possibly other European countries, it’s referred to as a turnip.  Where US turnips are the white vegetable with a purplish blush skin.  Parsnips, on the other hand, look like a big white carrot and are higher in carbs.

Corned Beef Hash with Eggs

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
1 cup Turnips and 1 cup Rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
12 oz. cooked Corned Beef, cubed
1/2 cup Bell Pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried Thyme leaves
Salt to taste (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground Black Pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup Kerry Gold Irish Cheddar, shredded
4 Eggs, fried
1/4 cup Beef Broth
OR 1 teaspoon Better than Bullion Beef in 1/4 cup hot water.

 Peel turnips and rutabagas and cut in half, then into quarters.  .  Put into a pot and add enough water to cover.  Cook for about 20 minutes, then check for fork tender.  The turnips will probably cook faster than the rutabaga, so remove to a colander to cool, add more water to the pot if necessary and cook the rutabagas another 20 minutes, until they are also fork tender.  Drain and cool.  Dice turnips and rutabagas into 1/4 inch cubes.

Heat olive oil in the skillet over medium heat, add the onion and cook until it turns golden brown. Stir in the corned beef and cook a few minutes, stirring now and then. Add beef broth or bullion and seasonings and stir. Add the root vegetables. Continue cooking about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender and meat is hot.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Serve with a fried egg on top, garnished with a few green onion slices, if you like.

Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Info per serving
Calories: 383.2 Fat: 25.5 g Net Carbs: 5.8 g Protein: 26.6 g