While potato chips are the greatest crunch around, they aren’t always the lowest carb or calorie item you can snack out on or use as a dipper. Other vegetable chips work really well also and have a great flavor. They aren’t hard to make and you feel a little less guilty eating them.
The ones I’ve found that produce great results are zucchini squash, turnips, kohlrabi and daikon radish. You can also use carrots, other summer squash and eggplant. Look for large vegetables for this purpose since they will shrink up to 75% while they are drying out. About 10 slices of these veggies will give you a satisfying serving and come in at around 3 net carbs per serving.
Cut the vegetable into 1/4 inch slices (or about that). I use a salad shooter to cut most of mine and even then, they don’t always come out to the same thickness. You can also use a slicer or just cut them with a knife. For the turnips, put them in a small plastic bag, add a teaspoon of vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon Splenda or other sugar substitute per cup of turnip slices to add a bit of sweetness to the turnip. Let sit for about 10 minutes, then drain the liquid off.
Zucchini slices ready to be oven dried.
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F.
Line a cookie pan with parchment paper. Place the raw chips on the paper as closely together as you can. They will shrink. Sprinkle with seasoning salt and pepper (I like garlic pepper) or any other flavor you would like to add. I put Parmesan cheese on zucchini sometimes. You could also make a sweet chip with a bit of sugar substitute, cinnamon and a dash of ground cloves mixed together and sprinkled over the top. This works well with squash, but I’m haven’t tried it with the other veggies. Pretty sure it would be good with carrots.
Put in the oven for about four hours. Check it after three hours to see how dry they are getting. They need to completely dry out and get crisp, but you don’t want to burn them. Once they are dry, remove from the oven and eat. You can store them in a paper bag for a couple of days, if they last that long, but they will eventually pick up moisture from the air and soften. You can dry them out again in a food dehydrator, if you have one.
Dried vegetable chips – from the top are turnips, daikon radishes and kohlrabi.
Nutrition Info:
Zuchinni (1/2 cup pre-dried – about 10 chips when dried)
Calories: 19.4 Fat: .5 g Net Carbs: 2.2 g Protein: 1.6 g
Turnips (about 10 chips when dried)
Calories: 42 Fat: .2 g Net Carbs: 6.9 g Protein: 1.6 g
Kohlrabi (about 10 chips when dried)
Calories: 30 Fat: .0 g Net Carbs: 2. g Protein: 2 g
Daikon Radish (about 10 chips when dried)
Calories: 20.7 Fat: .0 g Net Carbs: 2.9 g Protein: .7 g
Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 8/14/2013 11:24 AM
Holiday parties are coming up and a tasty little chicken-based treat is this Pollo Pequitos recipe (Little Chickens). Confession time, this is loosely based on a Raleys recipe that I got through their try it program for Chicken Littles made with BBQ sauce, blue cheese and minced celery. I wanted something a little spicier, so I came up with this delicious version. You can serve these as appetizers at a party or 3 or 4 of them will make a main course for dinner. Guess what I’m taking to the next pot luck party?
Pollo Pequitos (Little Chicken Bites)
2 large half Chicken Breasts , no skin
3 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup Green Chile Salsa, Mild or medium
1/4 cup finely chopped Celery (about 2 medium stalks)
1/4 cup Shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese
1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 tablespoon butter
Dash of salt and pepper
You’ll need tooth picks to secure the rolls.
If chicken breasts are very thick, cut them in half lengthwise. Pound each potion of chicken with a meat mallet on a cutting board to flatten and shape it into a rectangle as much as possible. Cut the chicken into 1″ wide by about half the length of the rectangle strip. (About 1″x3″ – if you have a short piece, don’t cut 3t into two pieces.)
Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat sprayed with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
In a small saucepan, melt a tablespoon of butter and saute the chopped celery until it is just tender. Set aside.
Mix the cream cheese with the garlic powder and the shredded cheese. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture on each strip of chicken, leaving about 1/4 inch on one end free. Brush or use a spoon to spread about 1/2 teaspoon green chili salsa on each strip and sprinkle in the middle with 1/2 teaspoon celery. Roll each chicken strip up toward the ingredient free end to form a roll and secure with a toothpick. Put each on the baking sheet as it is completed.
On the pan to be cooked.
Brush or spoon any extra salsa over the rolls. Bake for 20 minutes and check for doneness. Continue to cook at 5 minute intervals if they aren’t quite done. They won’t brown but if you poke the chicken, any juices should run clear. Let cool a few minutes then remove to serving dish. Serve with additional green salsa if you wish.
Tip: You might find it easier to spread the ingredients over the chicken without cutting it, leaving the straighter edge about 1/4 inch free of ingredients, then roll the whole breast up in one roll. You could cut it into 1 inch rolls before or after baking, I haven’t tried doing it this way yet, but it might be quicker and less messy.
Makes 14 to 16 appetizers.
Nutrition Info per appetizer (14 per recipe)
Calories: 72.2 Fat: 1.8 g Net Carbs: .6 g Protein: 8.7 g
It’s one of those days when everyone gathers around the TV set to watch a big game or the Olympics or even the Academy Awards. Snack foods are the order of the day and grazing is the commercial pastime. Staying on a low carb plan is a bit difficult in the face of this challenge, but here’s one that you can do in moderation… tasty low carb tostados made with Flax Corn Meal Tortillas. They are about 6 carbs for a serving of two 4″ tortillas. Or if you prefer, build your tostado on a low carb flour tortilla. Depending on your choices, the toppers will add 3 to 5 carbs to your total.
The toppers can be steak strips, shredded pork, or shredded chicken with cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo and guacamole. Yum… I love these! Add a little sour cream or low carb dressing if you like. Because there’s corn and corn meal in the tortillas, these are really a maintenance phase item, so if you add them to your menu, be aware that they might affect your next weigh-in, but it should be temporary.
Here’s the recipe for the tostado pictured above:
1/4 cup leftover or just grilled steak cut into thin strips
2 slices of onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
Olive oil
1/2 cup lettuce, shredded or chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons guacamole (ready made or your favorite recipe)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 flax corn meal tortillas or 1 large low carb wheat flour tortilla
2 tablespoons cheddar or jack cheese (not pictured)
In a small skillet, heat enough olive oil to make a thin layer. When it is hot, reduce heat to medium and fry the tortillas, one at a time, until they are crisp. Use a spatula to move and turn them in the oil and to remove the tortilla to a paper towel covered plate to drain. The tortillas are delicate and a fork will tear them.
Clean out excess oil, leaving just a thin film on the skillet. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the onion and add the rest to skillet with the garlic and stir until onion is starting to turn translucent. Add steak slices, coriander and chili powder and stir cook until mixed and ho, about 4 or 5 minutes. Turn off heat and/or remove pan from the burner.
Mix onions with chopped tomato and add 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro.
Place a tortilla base on a plate and put 1/2 the cooked meat mixture on top, spreading it to cover. Put 1/2 the lettuce on top of that followed by 1/2 the tomato mix. Top with one tablespoon guacamole and half the cheese. Repeat with the second tortilla.
Makes two tasty tostados. Increase the recipe to serve more.
Nutrition info for the toppings only:
Calories: 135.6 Fat: 7.8 g Net carbs: 4.6g Protein: 9.8 g
Original POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 5/5/2013 10:06 AM
It’s hard to beat topped crackers, breads, corn chips or potatoes for snacks while the big game is on. But, they can really add a lot of carbs to your intake for the day. Fortunately, you can have tasty snacks that are almost as good.
Here’s some suggestions that I use for sports viewing — or even awards shows viewing — that will round out the viewing without rounding you!
Pig Skin Nachos
This is a natural for a football game, but the pigskin I’m using is actually pork rinds or chicarrones. If this sounds odd, think about it for a moment. Bacon is made from pork and this is pork, so why not? It’s crispy like a tortilla chip and it has a pork flavor. What’s not to like? And best of all, it’s just about 0 carbs.
Use about 1 1/2 cups of cooked pork rinds on the plate, sprinkle with cheddar jack cheese and microwave for about 45 to 55 seconds. Watch for when the cheese begins to melt, then remove it. Put your favorite salsa in a dipping dish, a small bowl will work, and add some guacamole to the side of the dish if you’d like. Don’t put the salsa on the nachos as they will get soggy.
Nutrition Info 1 serving
(with guacamole) Calories: 399.3 Net Carbs: 3.8 Protein: 22.5 g
(1 servings without guacamole) Calories: 314.8 Net Carbs: 1.8 Protein: 21.5 g
Sweet Porkers
For those who might like a sweet snack and who like the taste of bacon and maple syrup, this is a tasty alternative (although the bacon works also). I use Piggy Tails cinnamon and sugar pork rinds for this snack. You can order them through Amazon.com and they come un-puffed. Put 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of pellets on a microwaveable paper plate for about 2 minutes and they puff up into a full plate of goodness. The cinnamon sugar flavor is really mild though, so I pour out a little cup of sugar free maple syrup and dip the pork puffs in those while I munch on them. Wal-Mart sells a sugar free Log Cabin syrup that is delicious. DaVinci also has a sugar free pancake syrup that tastes great, but is a little thinner.
Bacon Cheese Chips
Tempting tomato, cheese and bacon topped daikon chip.
Here’s a tasty little appetizer made with daikon chips topped with bits of bacon and cheddar cheese. What could be easier to put together for a TV afternoon? The daikon has a slight peppery taste that is enhanced by the garlic pepper seasoning.
6 inch piece of daikon radish, cut into 1/3 inch slices
6 thick bacon slices, baked and broken into thirds
Sharp cheddar cheese, grated or sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Garlic pepper seasoning
Heat a large griddle or skillet and put 1 tablespoon olive oil on it. Cook the daikon slices, 9 at a time on the griddle until they are browned. Add more oil before doing the second batch.
If you are making a lot, you can roast them instead of frying. Spread slices on a baking sheet and cook in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until just tender.
Place the cooked daikon on a baking pan and place 1/3 slice of bacon on each piece. Sprinkle a little garlic pepper on each piece. Top with a small piece of cheddar cheese or about a tablespoon of shredded cheese.
Place under broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Makes 6 servings, 3 pieces each.
You can also put these in a microwave for about 30 to 40 seconds to melt the cheese. Watch closely to make sure the cheese doesn’t overflow.
Makes 6 servings of 3 chips per serving.
Nutrition: per serving Calories 182.1 Net Carbs: 1.5 g Protein: 8.5
Variations:
Use cream cheese spread on each chip and top with sliced tomato or thinly sliced sausage or ham.
Italian style: Spread cooked daikon with pasta sauce and top with pepperoni and sliced mozzarella cheese
You don’t have to be limited to daikon. This also works well with kohlrabi, jicama, golden beet and turnip slices that are fried or roasted. Jicama remains crunchy when cooked.
Hot snacks: Top clockwise – salami and cheese beet chip, jicama chip & daikon chip
Hot snacks: Top clockwise – salami and cheese beet chip, jicama chip & daikon chip
I mentioned using the fillings for the mushrooms as snack toppers. Here is the Pesto Sausage filling on tops of daikon chips, golden beet chips and kohlrabi chips. Delicious although my favorite was the golden beet.
Pesto sausage filling on daikon, golden beet and kohlrabi chips.
I love stuffed mushrooms and it was ages since I last had a mushroom party, so I was excited for the one last week. A party means an opportunity to get creative with the fillings, meaning it was time to experiment. Between the roomie and me, we made four really super-tasting mushroom fillings and I’m sharing three with you – Turkey Teriyaki, Pesto Italian Sausage and Tamale Pie.
Each recipe made 18 to 24 plus stuffed mushrooms, so adjust down if you don’t want to make that many or bag and freeze the extra stuffing for another time. If, by any chance, you don’t like mushrooms, these fillings also work well in hollowed out zucchini or as a topper on toast or vegetable rounds.
This photo is actually from the first experiment that didn’t include the rice or cabbage. Adding these really brought the flavor in to the dish.
Teriyaki Stuffed Mushrooms
The objective was an oriental flavor in the filling and I think this one worked very well.
1 pound Lean Ground Turkey
1/2 cup Water chestnuts
2 tablespoons Onions, chopped
24 large Mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
1/4 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce & Marinade or a similar product
1 packet Swanson Chicken Flavor Boost or chicken bouillion
1/4 cup Celery, diced
1/4 cup Bean sprouts, chopped
1/2 cup Cabbage, fresh, shredded
1/2 cup cooked White Rice or riced cauliflower
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Makes 24 stuffed mushrooms
Clean and prepare mushroom caps. Lightly oil and bake, top down, for about 10 minutes in 400 degree oven.
In a large skillet. Add 1 tablespoon butter and sauté onion and celery until onion just begins to turn translucent. Remove from pan to a bowl. Add cabbage and stir fry until it is limp. Remove to a bowl with onion and celery. Wipe excess butter from the pan and add ground turkey. Cook until lightly browned. Add mushroom stems, water chestnuts and chicken broth. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes then add the rest of the vegetables, rice and teriyaki sauce. Stir until well mixed and cook about 10 minutes longer. Stuff each mushroom cap with the filling and serve.
Nutrition per mushroom (with rice) (24 yield)
Calories: 39.8 Net Carbs: 1.7 g Protein: 4.5 g
Pesto Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Pesto Sausage Mushrooms, ready for the oven.
These have a nice Italian flavor without any tomatoes in it, which pleases my friends who don’t like them.
2 Italian Sausage, pork, links
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese, whole milk
1 Egg, large
1/4 cup Baby Spinach, fresh and chopped
1 tablespoon Dried Onion Flakes in a tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Parsley, dried or 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
2 tablespoons sweet pepper, diced
1/4 cup Pesto Sauce (I used Classico Basil Pesto)
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, Finely shredded
1 to 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
18 to 24 Mushrooms, fresh, cleaned and trimmed – save stems for other uses
Heat the broiler and broil sausages until they are browned. Remove and cut into small pieces.
Put 1 teaspoon olive oil in skillet and heat. Sauté peppers in hot oil, then add onions. spinach and parsley. Cook and stir for a few minutes until spinach is limp, but bright green. Remove from heat.
In a bowl, combined ricotta cheese and egg until mixed well. Add vegetables and pesto sauce and mix well. Stir in sausage and mozzarella.
Spray a pan with cooking spray. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure mushrooms are dry, then stuff each mushroom with about a tablespoon of filling and place in the pan. If you have leftover filling, refrigerate until you use it. This also makes a great filling for a stuffed zucchini.
Sprinkle mushrooms with parmesan cheese, then bake 25 to 30 minutes.
Nutrition Info for 1 mushroom (18 yield)
Calories: 112 Net Carbs: 1.6 g Protein: 6.6 g
Tamale Pie ‘Shrooms
This, like the Teriyaki recipe, uses a couple of forbidden items unless you are on maintenance. But, honestly, it doesn’t use a lot and the carb count is still pretty low, so for special events, I think it’s a nice treat to include them. To stay legal on the OWL phase, omit the baby corn and cornmeal.
1.25 lbs Lean Ground Turkey
Egg, fresh, 1 large
Onions, raw, .5 cup, chopped
4 oz can diced green chiles, drained
2 tablespoons Red Chile Powder
1 15 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
2 tablespoons Black Olives, chopped
3 oz (1/3 cup) Baby Corn – chopped
24 to 30 Mushrooms, stems removed and trimmed
1/2 teaspoon Tumeric
1 cup Shredded Mexican Four Cheese blend
1 cup Ricotta Cheese
3 tablespoons Corn Meal Flour
In a skillet, crumble and cook the ground turkey until it is slightly browned. Remove to a bowl. Add the onions to the pan and cook them until they are just tender. Add the chiles, chile powder, tumeric, diced tomatoes, black olives, baby corn and the corn meal to the pan and stir together until all ingredients are well mixed. Cook for about five minutes. Add to the turkey and add ricotta cheese, Mexican cheese and egg and mix well.
Spray a pan with cooking spray. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure mushrooms are dry, then stuff each mushroom with about a tablespoon of filling and place in the pan. If you have leftover filling, refrigerate until you use it.
Sprinkle mushrooms with parmesan cheese, then bake 25 to 30 minutes
Makes 24 to 30 mushrooms
Nutrition Info (Yield 24) Calories: 64 Net Carbs: 1.4 g Protein: 7.1 g
(Yield 30) Calories: 58.3 Net Carbs: 1.3 g Protein: 6.1 g
Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 1/30/2013 3:48 PM
