Here it is January again and that means the “big game”.  I have to be honest – the game doesn’t hold much sway around our house, but coming up really soon are the Olympics and we will be glued to the television for some of those events.  So while becoming couch potatoes, snack foods are the easy way to munch without losing too much game time.  I’ve already got a few snack options up on the blog, so check out those in the Appetizers section where there are things like Pollo Pequitos, Stuffed Mushroom, alternate chips and nachos.

Here are a couple of additional ideas for easy to do snacks that are low carb, guilt free munchies.  They’re good for at home or taking to a viewing party where you may not have many low carb options.  They are easily doubled or tripled for more people.

Turkey Rollups With Cream Cheese

4 slices of thinly sliced turkey

1 oz of cream cheese
1 teaspoon heavy cream or sour cream
Mrs. Dash Garlic Pepper seasoning or seasoning of your choice
4 teaspoons of guacamole or 8 thin slices of avocado
1 ounce of Queso Fresca or other crumbly cheese

Makes 8 roll-ups.

Let cream cheese soften, then mix with heavy cream or sour cream and seasoning until well blended.

Put a slice of turkey on a plate, spread 1/4 of the cream cheese mix onto the slice near the middle.  Spread 1 teaspoon of guacamole or place two slices of avocado along the cream cheese.  Sprinkle with crumbled queso fresca.  Fold one edge of the turkey in and roll it over the filling into a tube.  Cut the tube across the middle diagonally.  Repeat with the other turkey slices.  Makes 8 small appetizers, which is one serving for a solo snack.

To increase the recipe, just double or triple the amounts used.

For  24 small snacks, use:

12 slices of turkey
3 oz. of cream cheese
1 tablespoon of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash or more to your taste
4 tablespoon of guacamole or 24 slices of avocado
3 ounces of Queso Fresca

Nutrition Info per recipe:

Calories: 223.7  Fat: 7.5 g  Net Carbs: 4.7 g  Protein: 13.2 g

Per each small piece

Calories: 28     Fat: 2 g        Net Carbs: 0.6 g  Protein: 1.7 g

Ham and Pickle Rollups

Among our Irish friends, there’s a saying that any true Irish meal has two kind of potatoes.  Given our fondness for bacon, I think it could also be said that any true Irish meal around our house includes two kinds of pork.

4 slices of Deli ham,  or 8 1/4 inch ( or less) thick slices about 3″ x 2″
2 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup cheddar jack cheese or other cheese of your choice, grated
4 small sweet pickles, sugar free
2 slices of bacon, broken into pieces (optional)

Cut the ham slices in half so they are about 2″ by 3″.  Soften cream cheese by putting in the microwave for about 15 seconds so that it’s easily spreadable.  Spread cream cheese thinly on ham slices across the shorter side.  Sprinkle with about a tablespoon of grated cheese.  Cut pickles in half lengthwise and put in the middle of the cream cheese.  Put two or three small pieces of bacon against the pickle.  Roll up from one to the other and secure with a toothpick.

For the photos, I secured the rolls in two sections with a toothpick and cut them through the middle.  It makes a pretty display of the filling but isn’t necessary if you prefer to leave them as longer rolls.

I also made these using sliced spiral ham left over the New Year’s dinner.  The slices were more triangular and thicker so it is a more open roll.  These didn’t include bacon.  ou can also see that I tried a whole pickle, but it was a bit too much, both in fitting it into the roll and in flavor.

Makes 8 rolls or 16 half rolls.

Per each roll (with bacon):

Calories: 51     Fat: 4.2 g     Net Carbs: 0.5 g  Protein: 3 g

Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 1/18/2014 2:38 PM