Looking for a simple but delicious dinner? This one fits the bill. It comes together quickly and doesn’t take long to bake in the oven. Even though you need to use an imitation sugar-free honey, it does bring the flavor and keeps the carbs down. Most of the sugar-free honey brands come to 1 net carb per tablespoon, so that’s what I used for the nutrition calculations.
I served mine with a side of steamed Brussels sprouts and butternut rotini. A nice salad would go well with it, as would broccoli or green beans.
Garlic Honey Chicken
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1-1/4 teaspoons dried rosemary or 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/3 cup honey
4 4-5 oz. skinless chicken breasts or thighs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Mix in garlic powder, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
Cook for 1 minute. Stir in honey and bring sauce to a boil. Turn the heat to a low simmer. Dip each chicken breast into the sauce, coating it completely, then place in a baking pan or an oven-safe skillet. Spoon the remaining honey over the tops.
Bake about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on thickness. An instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part should show 165 degrees F. Remove from oven; Use tongs or a fork to turn each piece over to coat it in the sauce on the bottom. If you want to get more color on the chicken, put it under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes.
Summertime is a great time for all kinds of salads. Looking for a substitute for potato salad to take on a picnic? This one might do the trick.It’s light, low caloried, and low carb’d, and it tastes wonderful. Like most seasoned items, it tastes better the longer it sits in the ‘fridge to allow the flavors to really come through, so allow several hours to chill if you can.
Originally, I spotted this recipe on Foxes Love Lemonswebsiteand I thought it looked delicious, so I wanted to adapt it for low carb. It was a pepe pasta recipe and the pasta is too high in carbs, so I pulled out the versatile cauliflower to stand in for it. After tasting it, I added in sliced radishes to give it a little more crunch and flavor and I also added in a little cayenne pepper. You can add sweet peppers for more flavor and color burst. If you prefer your salad dressing a little on the sweet side, add a teaspoon or two of sugar substitute when you mix the dill dressing.
By the way, the dill dressing is lovely for dipping vegetables in for a party. I cut back the amount of buttermilk for this as it made quite a lot, so unless you like your salad completely doused with dressing, the amount below should be enough.
This dish is good for all phases of Atkins except for Induction. For induction, you can substitute the buttermilk with heavy cream and add more seasonings or make a straight mayonnaise dressing.
Vegetable Summer Salad
2 cups riced Cauliflower
2 tablespoons unsalted Butter
1 Leek (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 bunch Asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Baby Corn, chopped
1 cup Grape Tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup Radishes, sliced
1/4 cup Sweet Peppers, chopped (optional)
Dill Dressing
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1 teaspoon Sugar Substitute (optional)
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dried fill or 1 tablespoon fresh Dill
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
If using purchased pre-riced cauliflower, cook according to directions on the package. Many of these are in steam bags that can be microwaved or cooked in a pot.
If ricing fresh cauliflower, put in a food processor and pulse until you have rice-sized pearls. Put in a microwave safe bowl, add a tablespoon of water, and cover. Microwave for about 2 minutes to cook the cauliflower. Set aside.
Cut all the vegetables up before starting so they are ready to go.
In a large pot or deep skillet, melt the butter, then add the leeks and sauté until they are softened, then add the cut asparagus spears. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the asparagus are just slightly tender. If using red peppers, add them when you add the asparagus.
Stir in the baby corn pieces and cauliflower and mix it well. Remove from the heat. Add radishes and grape tomatoes.
Mix the dressing by combining all ingredients in a small bowl and whisking until they are well blended. Taste for seasonings. If you want any of the flavors stronger, add a little more.
Put the vegetable mixture in a large salad bowl and pour the dressing over it. Toss to mix the dressing into the salad. Chill in refrigerator for at least two hours. Can be prepared up to two days in advance of serving.
Makes 6 to 8 servings, 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup.
Nutrition Information per serving (6 servings): Calories: 114 Fat: 7.5 g Net Carbs: 6.9 g Protein: 2.1 g
Nutrition Information per serving (8 servings): Calories: 85.5 Fat: 5.6 g Net Carbs: 5.2 g Protein: 2.1 g
Nutrition Information per serving with sweet peppers (8 servings): Calories: 86.7 Fat: 5.6 g Net Carbs: 5.5 g Protein: 2.1 g
One of the questions that’s often come up on the Atkins support list on Facebook is what can I eat while I’m on Induction? People want menu ideas and recipes. Believe it or not, many delicious and satisfying meals come in at under 5 to 8 net carbs.
Recently, I decided to go back to Induction to try to get the weight loss kick started after gaining back about 25 lbs of my loss. Many factors contributed to this over the past year, such as eating out frequently, experimenting with new recipes, and some stress eating in the OMG, I have to try that! category. Now I have about 20 lbs more than I want on my body. So I’m going back to phase 1 to get back on track and I decided to document everything I eat for the next two weeks.
Even better, I am going to post my meals each day and give your the recipes or links to the recipes. I’ll even tell you which brands I use on some low carb items.
Day 1
To start this off, yesterday, June 6, 2017, this is what I had for each meal.
Breakfast:
Cream cheese pancakes, with butter and zero carb maple syrup (Mrs. Butterworth’s) and 2 strips of bacon. I also had a cup of coffee with 1 teaspoon creamer and liquid sweetener.
Total net carbs: 4
You can find the Cream Cheese Pancakes recipe here. I did make an adjustment or two to it, but I’ll post those changes in a couple of days when I make them again.
Lunch:
I had a quesadilla made with 1 slice of 1/4″ thick ham, 1 slice Swiss cheese, and a low carb whole wheat tortilla cooked in 1 tablespoon butter.
Total net carbs: 4 g
Super simple recipe and here’s how you do it. Sorry, I didn’t take a photo so next time, I’ll do that and post it here.
In a heavy skillet, warm the tortilla so it is pliable, then remove and melt the 1/2 of the butter. Put the ham and cheese slice alongside the middle of the tortilla and fold it over to form a pocket, like a turnover. Cook in the butter for about three to four minutes until the cheese begins to melt and the tortilla is lightly browned. Turn the pocket over and add the rest of the butter, sliding the tortilla around in the skillet to get the butter on it. (Alternately, you can butter the tortilla top while it is cooking, then just flip it over.)
Cook another three to four minutes until the bottom side is browned. Remove to a serving plate.
Makes 1 serving
Nutrition Information: Calories: 150 Fat: 9.0 g Net Carbs: 3.0 g Protein: 15 g
Dinner:
I had Roasted Chicken Thigh with Spicy Seasoning, 1/2 cup Broccoli spears with butter, and 1 cup Green Salad with Romaine lettuce, spinach, chopped zucchini, chopped cucumber, and 1/4 of an avocado chopped and 2 tablespoons Walden Farms Chipotle Ranch Dressing (0 carbs). Total net carbs: 6.1 g
For a night time sweet, I had two pieces of Russell Stovers Miniatures Chocolate Candy – 0 net carbs. Total for the day: 17.1 net carbs
That included the 1 nc for my chewable Vitamin B12. Must look for sugar free next time I buy.
Simple Roast Chicken
(Pictured at the top of the page)
2 large Chicken Thighs or Breasts, skin on
1/2 tablespoon Spicy Rub (0 net carbs) *
Butter-flavored Cooking Spray or 1 tablespoon Melted Butter
Preheat oven to 385 degrees (F.) Put a sheet of aluminum foil over a deep-sided pan, such as a jelly roll pan or a pie dish.
Wash the chicken pieces and dry with a paper towel. Place on the aluminum foil and spray the pieces on top or brush melted butter over them. If any of the skin is tucked under the chicken piece, pull it out and spread it on the sheet so that it will crisp. Pat the seasoning into each piece of chicken.
Put in oven and cook for 50 minutes. Check that the chicken is done and the skin is crisp. Remove from the oven and let sit about 5 minutes before serving.
Makes 2 servings.
Nutrition information per serving (thigh): Calories: 92.1 Fat: 7.1 g Net Carbs: 0.0 Protein: 6.8 g
Nutrition information per serving (breast): Calories: 300.4 Fat: 19.2 g Net Carbs: 0.0 g Protein: 30.3 g
The chicken breast is actually 2 half breasts, which is how they are usually sold. If you find small chicken thighs rather than the bigger, plump ones, then count two thighs as one serving.
* I use Blazin’ Blends Zesty Seasoned Salt, 0 calories and 0 carbohydrates
Close up of the green salad.
Green Salad with Zucchini & Avocado
1 1/2 cups shredded Romaine lettuce
1/2 cup chopped Spinach leaves
1/4 cup Zucchini, chopped
1/2 medium-sized Cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/4 Haas Avocado, peeled
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
2 to 4 tablespoons Walden Farms Chipotle Ranch Dressing
In a large bowl, preferably with a lid, combine the lettuce, spinach, cucumber, and zucchini. Cut the avocado into small pieces and place in a small bowl, then add the lemon juice. This will help to prevent it from going brown. Put the rest of the avocado in a plastic baggie with a little lemon juice.
Put the lid on the bowl and toss the salad to mix the vegetables in. Serve on the plate or in a salad bowl, then top with the avocado. Pour chipotle ranch dressing over the top.
Makes two 1 servings.
Nutrition Information: Calories: 53.9 g Fat: 3.4 g Net Carbs: 1.6 g Protein: 1.5 g
