Low Carb, Low Calorie Jambalaya

I love jambalaya and it is another food I miss making on a regular basis. Imagine that..another food I love and since I learned about cauliflower rice it has opened up a whole realm of possible alterations to my favorite recipes... This one was a wonderful success. I have always liked adding lots of extras to even my regular jambalaya so it is a complete meal and so do the same with the low carb version.


Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower - "riced" in a food processor
1 head broccoli fresh florets
1-2 large carrots thinly sliced ( or handful of baby carrots)
1/2 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small package of turkey lil smokies diced or other Sausage such as polish or polska kielbasa
1 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs cut into small cubes or slices
1/2 pound Shrimp cut - shelled and deveined
1 can of Rotele

Seasoning
3 tablespoons Paprika
1 tablespoons Chili Powder
1-2 tablespoons Garlic Salt to taste
1-2 tablespoon Creole Seasoning (we love Tony Chachere's) depending on how spicy you like it.

Add an inch of water to a stock pot and bring to a boil. Add broccoli and carrots to pot and simmer for 2 minutes. Then add the chicken, shrimp, sausage, and black beans and simmer for another 2 minutes. Finally add the riced cauliflower and simmer for another 4 minutes. If excess water remains in the pot put the mix into a strainer. Then return the contents to the pot and add the can of rotele with the juice with the heat on low. Add the seasonings and combine thoroughly.

Low Carb Garlic Beef and Broccoli

I love Asian style cooking. I really love the local Chinese restaurant but their perfect sauces are chalked full of sugar and starches, so I make it at home.You can also replace the "beef" in this recipe with chicken, venison, or pork. My kids love this in spite of the heavy garlic flavor and it has become our Saturday night staple. Here's my rendition for my family of 5 and there is leftovers:

2lbs Beef - I often buy round steak or we use venison, because both are cheap and lean. Slice thinly against the grain (or direction of the muscle fibers) so it is more tender. It's easier to cut if you put it in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes to firm up the meat. I set the cut meat on paper towels to absorb the extra moisture. If you want really tender meat, sprinkle a bit of meat tenderizer on it. I occasionally use Adolfs.

2lbs Frozen Broccoli Florets- I have used both fresh and frozen florets, depending on whether or not I have any from the garden or not.

1 quart Broth - want a darker sauce use beef broth or want a lighter sauce use chicken broth. My family seems to prefer the lighter sauce so I use chicken soup base.

1/4 cup Garlic - I often used minced to save time, or freshly minced if I'm in the garden
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1-2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil-  A little sesame oil goes a long way as the flavor is powerful.
1 tablespoon Dry Powdered Ginger

A thickener ---in my non-low carb days I would reach for the cornstarch. Lately, I have been using xanthan gum. It doesn't take much and has to be used a certain way or it gets gross, see below.

Basically, steps A-B are happening at the same time.

A)Put cooking oil into a very large teflon frying pan or wok. Heat oil until hot and carefully add a piece of meat to the oil. If it immediately starts frying great if not let the oil get hotter. If you add the meat before the oil is hot, the juices won't seal into the meat and it will basically boil or steam cook instead. Don't add it all at one time. Slowly saute the beef until medium rare ( it will cook more in the sauce), then remove from pan and set aside.

B)In a small stock pot. Add the broth, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil. Bring mixture to just about boiling then turn down immediately and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Then gently sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum over the entire surface of the sauce, wait about 15 seconds, and then vigorously mix it in with an immersion blender or by hand if you have the speed and stamina. You can't just plop xanthan gum on the top and stir it in it will be super lumpy. Xanthan gum is also different then using cornstarch or flour as it doesn't thicken immediately, give it several minutes before you decide if it needs more thickening. Basically, repeat adding the xanthan gum 1/4 teaspoon at a time and blending until it is as thick as gravy.

C) Frozen broccoli has been blanched (or pre-cooked for a short time before it is frozen to stop enzyme action) which basically means a chunk of the cooking time is already done versus using fresh. I like to take the frozen broccoli and pour it into a microwave steamer. Microwave on high until it is unfrozen and good and hot, which in my microwave is about 7 minutes. I do recommend stirring it half way through since most microwaves have a bit of a "hot spot".

When everything is ready, mix the meat and broccoli into the thickened sauce.
This particular batch I had zucchini from the garden. Zucchini can be steamed along with the frozen broccoli or stir fried with the meat.

Low Carb Italian Wedding Soup

I love Italian Wedding Soup, but it is chalked full of those evil little noodles that makes it off limits to me. This alternative turned out great and maybe even better then the real deal. This soup is really forgiving and you can really make to suit your tastes.

• 3 quarts or a 1/2 stockpot of Chicken Broth  - I used chicken soup base, but homemade or boullion will work too.
• Green Onions (3) / Or Leeks (1)
• 3-5 cups of chopped Dark Greens finely chopped ( Kale, Chard, and Spinach )
• Cauliflower - 1 head or frozen bag "riced" or cut very small
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic (minced, dried powder, whatever you have.)
• 5-6 Chicken Burgers, or sausages - I took chicken breast, spinach, egg, and feta cheese with roasted garlic and rosemary seasoning and ran it all through our meat grinder. We originally used the mix to make burgers earlier in the week, but the leftovers worked great for this recipe. A food processor would work just find if you didnt have a meat grinder. Put the raw mix into the freezer to firm up a bit and make it more workable and then form it into patties. Cook thoroughly in the oven at 350 about 15-20 minutes or until  no pink in the chicken.

Add kale (if fresh) and onions into stock pot with the broth and bring to a very gentle boil. Add spinach, swiss chard, and riced cauliflower (if fresh, if frozen wait) and boil 2-3 minutes. If you love commercial canned italian soup best, then let the greens cook longer so more mushy, but they are better for you if not cooked into oblivion. Once greens soften, turn down heat to medium and add pre-cooked chicken burgers/sausages (and/or frozen cauliflower). Add salt, pepper, and garlic to personal tastes. In about 5 -7 minutes you should be ready to go.

No Sugar Caramel Apple Salad / Apple Dip- Great for the kids!!

Every year when Halloween comes around, I am always tempted by the beautiful caramel apples that clients often bring in. This year I almost gave in and took some home to the kids, but decided to see how they liked a low carb version first.

My mother made something from cream cheese and brown sugar when we were kids, but trying to avoid the sugar this wasn't an option. Here is what I came up with and it was a hit with my kids.

Dip
1 package of 8oz Neufchatel Cheese -Its sold next to cream cheese, but has less fat than cream cheese 23% versus 30% with a creamier texture.

8 oz of Greek Yogurt. I buy a huge container at Sam's club for about 4$.

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Stevia Drops to personal taste

Place the neufchatel cheese into a bowl and place it into the microwave for only 15-20 sec intervals just to soften. Fold in the Greek yogurt and vanilla extract. Add 1 dropper full of stevia drops. Combine ingredients. Add additional stevia as needed to taste. Serve as dip with apple slices.

To make an excellent apple salad, cut 5-8 apples into bite size pieces. Fold the dip into the apples and mix well. The dip is a bit rich so a light coating is enough on the apple pieces. I also like to take the chocolate stevia bars I always have in the refrigerator and sliver tiny bits, it really adds something.

Low Carb Coleslaw

Love coleslaw, but don't like all the sugar??

Solution

Dressing

1/4 cup Mayonaise

1/4 Vinegar (regular, apple cider, rice...really whatever you got)

Stevia drops  (I use NuNaturals ..roughly 2-3 mls, but do it to your own taste)

teaspoon Salt

teaspoon cracked Black Pepper

 

 

Simply pour over Coleslaw mix out of a bag..or if you grow your own slice a head of green cabage really thin along with some carrots.

Tastes best if you let it sit overnight.

 

 

Homemade Healthy Popsicles

A new favorite treat around here and it doesn't get any easier!!
Pour Bolthouse Green Goodness juice into popsicle molds, freeze, and ta-da....amazing.

My kids love it. When finished the texture is almost a a bit slushy. Bolthouse makes other smoothie type drinks, but I like the idea that we are sneaking in some greens without argument.

Low Carb Chocolate Bar made with Stevia Drops

I love chocolate and it is one of the hardest things for me to to try to do without living a low carb lifestyle. So I have spent months on a the quest for the perfect way to make chocolate. I have tried numerous recipes on other blogs and pinterest but wasn't overly thrilled. Chocolate Covered Kate had the recipe with the best texture but way to dark for my liking. So far this is my current working recipe.
1 cup Coconut Oil ( I have used organic, but also just used LouAna brand as well which is significantly cheaper and was available at Walmart for around 6$ for 31.5oz)

1/2 cup of baking chocolate powder ( I use Hersheys brand)

5 mls Stevia Drops.. I use lots compared to some recipes and it still isn't as sweet as a standard hershey bar.

3 tablespoons heavy cream (optional - makes it a little less dense), I've also used evaporated milk, but that adds a bit more carbs.

I gently heat the coconut oil on the stove on the lowest setting. Be careful not to scorch anything. Coconut oil melts easily at temps as low as 80 degrees F. Once the oil is melted I add in the Stevia drops and cream or evaporated milk. I gently mix this but it doesn't completely go into a uniform solution. I then add the coco powder. I've found using my hand blender with the whisk attachment gives the most uniform chocolate at the end. I whisk the heck out of it until it starts getting thick. Using a candy thermometer bring the mixture up to 110 degrees while stirring. Let the batch cool down to about 83-85 degrees and then gently warm it back up again to  about 90 degrees to temper the chocolate. This helps the chocolate be more firm at room temperature, but they still need to be stored in the refrigerator.

Pour the mix into a chocolate bar mold and put into the refrigerator until firm.

This same chocolate mix can be used to coat things....like these frozen banana slices with and without peanut butter. Then dip the bananas into the chocolate while still in the pan...try to maintain the temperature of the chocolate. Lay them out onto a silicone bake sheet and then into the freezer until the chocolate is firm. My kids eat them as soon as they are ready, but they will keep a day or so in the refrigerator or you can keep them in the refrigerator and just set them out for a few minutes before you eat them.

You can also add goodies to your chocolate bar.  I like to add unsweetened coconut (usually have to purchase from health stores or organic sections) and chopped raw almonds immediately after I pour the chocolate into the mold. My husband prefers chopped salted peanuts added to his.