Tag Archives: sugar-free honey

Seafood, Vegetables & Salads

Crispy, Cool Salad for Warm Evenings

Photo: Shrimp Salad

As we move into the dog days of August, I think about cool and easy to prepare dinners. That often means a salad. In this instance, it’s a lovely combination of shrimp, asparagus, avocado, and cucumber over a nice bowl of mixed salad greens. Requiring only a little cooking for the shrimp and asparagus, this dish comes together in about thirty minutes or less. The lemon vinaigrette can be prepared in advance and refrigerated until ready to serve.

For the salad:
8 oz Shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups Spring Mix Greens
10 spears Asparagus, trimmed and cut into one-inch pieces
1/2 Avocado, cubed
1/4 cup Red Onions, sliced
1 small Cucumber, peeled and sliced
Salt and Pepper, to taste

For the lemon vinaigrette
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 large Lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Sugar-free Honey
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1-2 cloves minced Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Make the vinaigrette first. In a small bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk together. Taste to see if it needs more honey, salt, or pepper. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Whisk again before serving. You can store any excess dressing in the refrigerator for about one week.

Heat a medium-sized pot to boiling and add the shrimp. Cook for about three minutes, then drain and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Heat olive oil in a saute pan and add the asparagus spears. Cook for about three minutes. Drain the shrimp, pat dry with a paper towel, and add to the pan and stir fry them for a couple of minutes to get slightly browned.

Remove the shrimp and asparagus to a pan or bowl to cool. Using two salad bowls, divide the spring greens and arrange half the onions and half the cucumber in each bowl. Divide the shrimp and asparagus between the bowls, then add avocado pieces. Spoon about two tablespoons of the lemon vinaigrette the ingredients in each bowl.

Serves two.

Tip: Buy pre-cleaned and deveined  frozen shrimp to save time, and it make less mess in the kitchen. If you don’t have a fresh lemon, use 6 tablespoons of lemon juice. 

Image: Nutrition Information: Shrimp Salad

Recipes

Flavorful Pork with Apples and Butternut Squash One Pan Dinner

Image: Sheet Pan Dinner of apples, pork, and butternut squash

Oddly, I had several recipes for sheet pan dinners show up in my email feed this past week. They prompted me to create a delicious one pan dinner using pork. This one was originally written for chicken, but pork is frequently interchangeable with the bird.  The attraction with a single pan dinner is that it’s easy to get your dinner on the table at one time and the seasonings used enhance all the components. This one has a lovely sweet and lightly spiced sauce that works beautifully with the apples and squash. It uses pecans, but if you prefer, you can substitute walnuts or omit them.

Most of my recipes are 10 net carbs or below, but this ones comes in a little higher, depending on whether you want a large serving or a smaller one.  It will make four large servings or 6 smaller ones. You decide.

Apple and Butternut Pork Sheet Pan Dinner

Photo: Serving of pork with apples and butternut.

8 slices of Pork Roast or 6 boneless Pork Chops, about 1/2″ thick
2 Apples, cored and cubed
2 cups Butternut Squash, cubed
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
3 tablespoons Sugar-free Honey
1 1/2 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees( F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easier. Spray with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, add olive oil, sugar-free honey, Dijon mustard, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.

Place pork slices or chops in the center of the baking sheet and season to your preference with salt and pepper.

If you’re cooking about 1″-sized cubes of butternut squash, precook them in the microwave for about five minutes. Smaller cubes will probably get done in the allotted cooking time, but the larger ones won’t. Alternately, you can cook them for about five minutes in boiling water, drain, then add them to the baking pan. Place them on one side of the pork.

Toss apple pieces and pecans together and arrange them on the other side of the pork. Brush or pour the seasoned honey and oil syrup over everything.

Place the baking sheet in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pork is done. Let rest about 5 minutes, then spoon the squash and apples on the place and top with a pork chop.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Image: Nutrition Information

Desserts, Recipes

A Norse Viking Apple Cake for Your Sweetie

Photo: Viking apple mini-cake.

Back in 2014, I copied down a recipe for a Viking apple cake that was called Mandel Eplekake, which is apparently Norse for it. I filed it away and hadn’t tried it. Last night, I had half an apple left over that needed to be used, so I adjusted the recipe down to make two mini-cakes and made it low carb. The recipe called for almond flour so I used that although mine is the coarse raw almond flour with the skins ground into it, so it has a darker, more whole wheat type appearance, but tastes very good. I also added sugar-free honey, cinnamon, and cloves to the recipe.

Now, the Vikings probably didn’t have cinnamon and clove, but I am pretty sure they used honey. No matter, I put them in to enhance the flavor of the apples. The result is a delicious little cake with slices of apple and a light seasoning that is not too sweet. I added a heaping tablespoon of whipped topping and served it warm. You could top it with more of the sugar-free honey or just a little heavy cream. It’s simple to make and makes a satisfying quick dessert. I suspect it would work equally well with pears and peaches.

Give it a try and let me know how you like it. It would be a nice capper after dinner for your sweetie.  I would love to get the feedback on it.

Viking Apple Cake

Two mini-cake low carb version

1/2 medium Apple, cored and sliced thinly
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1 Egg
3 tablespoons Almond Flour
2 tablespoons granulated Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoon Sugar-free Honey (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
2 dashes ground Cloves
1 tablespoon Butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) prepare two 1/2-cup ramekins or custard dishes by greasing them with butter. Alternately, and to remove from the cup easier, put a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the bottom in each of the cups, then butter or spray with cooking spray.

Put apple slices and 2 tablespoons of sugar substitute (liquid or granulated) in a small pan with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and cook about 5 minutes. Drain. You can also do this step in the microwave by covering the slices with water in a microwavable bowl and cooking for 3 minutes.

In a small bowl, add the egg and the remaining two tablespoons of granulated sugar substitute. Whisk until they are well mixed and frothy. Add the honey and whisk again. Add the almond flour and stir it into the egg mix.

Put the apple slices on the bottoms of the cups, dividing them evenly. Sprinkle half the cinnamon and cloves over each one of the ramekins. Stir the batter again and use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture into each cup so that they are even.

Put the ramekins on a baking tray and bake for 25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

Let sit about ten minutes, then serve with whipped cream or just heavy cream.

Makes two servings.

Photo: Nutrition Info Viking Apple Cake

Crock Pot Recipes, Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Slow Cooker Honey Chicken is easy

Looking for something simple to put together and put in a slow cooker while you’re busy with other things, like work or playing golf or swimming? You can come home to a delicious meal with only a little effort to get it going in the morning. This recipe for Honey Cooked Chicken came in my news feed and I thought it sounded great and only needs a couple of adjustments to make it a low carb delight.

I use sugar-free Honey that I order from Netrition.com because I can’t find a brand in my local stores, but you may find one at your market or a health food store. Let your fingers do the walking and check via phone or an online web site before running around town. In a pinch, I think sugar-free Pancake syrup can substitute, but it will give it a slight maple flavor rather than honey. You can also order a honey substitute from Amazon.com.

Honey Chicken and Vegetables

8 skinless large Chicken Thighs or Breasts
1 pound Cauliflower flowerets
1 pound Broccoli flowerets
1/2 lb Baby Carrots
1 pound Green Beans

Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar-free Honey,
1/2 cup Reduced-Sodium Soy Sauce,
4 cloves Garlic (minced),
1 teaspoon Basil,
1 teaspoon Oregano,
1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 teaspoon of Black Pepper

Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

In a regular-sized slow cooker, put four chicken thighs to make the bottom layer. Pour 1/2 of the sauce over the chicken.

On top of this add the cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. Top with the other four chicken thighs. Pour the remaining sauce over the top. Put on the lid and cook on low for 8 hours or cook on high for 4 hours.

Add the green beans for the last 30 minutes of cooking, put the lid back on and continue to cook on high.

To add a little crispiness to the chicken, you can remove it from the pot and broil for about 3 minutes on each side.  Serve with the vegetables from the cooker.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 154 Fat: 3 g Net Carbs: 8.8 g Protein: 18.2 g