Posted on 10/17/2016 3:49:54 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
Last week, the Better Homes and Gardens email newsletter had some great pumpkin decorating ideas; I liked this one using mini-lights:
You could also do this using 'Funkins', the carve-able artificial pumpkins, for a more permanent decoration:
If you're somewhat artistically inclined, BHG also has a stencil for carving a pumpkin to represent your favorite Presidential candidate:
http://www.bhg.com/halloween/presidential-pumpkin-stencils/#page=2
(You do have to sign up, to get the stencil.)
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We've had a request to do a 'Low Carb' cooking thread, and I thought we'd start it early on this busy week.
One of my favorite - and easiest - lunches to take to work that's low-carb is a simple, or fancy, Chef Salad. The possibilities are endless: along with your chosen greens, you can add radishes, slices of bell pepper, a few cherry tomatoes; and scoops of egg salad or tuna salad. I sometimes use diced hard cheeses, and diced meats, like chicken, turkey or ham. I like adding something sour or pickled - dill pickle slices or marinated mushrooms.
You can make your own low-carb dressing; but for convenience I keep at work one of the refrigerated bottled dressings, like Marie's or Marzetti's - they generally have only 1 or 2 carbs per two tablespoons.
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Probably one of my favorites is the cauliflower-masquerading-as-mashed-potatoes, which we do with bacon, cream cheese, and cheddar:
http://lusciouslowcarb.blogspot.com/2011/02/cheesy-bacon-potato-bake.html
One of the Freepers' favorite websites for low carb recipes is Linda Genaw's site; I've made some of her vegetable casseroles, and they were great:
Lastly, something that has been a lifesaver for many on low-carb diets: The Eades Magic Rolls, a bread substitute that really tastes like bread! This is not for 'induction' or the beginning phases of low-carb diets, but can really help out in the later stages. The link is in post 18 of this previous thread - and the thread includes lots of other low-carb goodies, especially the stuffed mushrooms:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3343366/posts
-JT
“do you sautee the spiralized veggies BEFORE you put the sauce on or sauce them raw?”
It depends on how I’m using them. I don’t if I’m throwing spaghetti sauce on, then I just nuke a bowl (cooking for one here usually). I put them in last when I do fish and just stir around in the pan for a minute. If I just did them in butter, garlic and cheese, I’d saute them more.
It is hot here all the time pumkin, rightly or wrongly is something I associate with cold weather
My sister gives me the *junk* from some packaged food service she gets. She's a very picky eater.
The last big fail was a packet of BBQ'd Kelp. I can't see anybody in their right minds trying to market the stuff as snack food, but they did.
Overly fishy, dry, with led to a horrible texture. Makes the dried kale she got look great by comparison.
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Roasted kelp is tasty stuff!
It is used in hundreds of Sushi recipes.
Its also very nutritious.
Most pumpkin recipes these days are made from canned ‘pumpkin’ - which isn’t really pumpkin, but a kind of squash.
Sweet potato pie - or a yam pie - wouldn’t be much different from ‘pumpkin’, if you add the pumpkin-pie spices ;-)
You got bad stuff. The better ones don’t taste fishy at all, and neither should a good, fresh fish. They should both taste and smell ocean-y and fresh - not what we call ‘fishy’, which usually refers to a fish that is slightly ‘off’.
Thanks for this. No low carb discussion could do without “Crack Slaw”. So named because it is deliciously good. There are many recipes and variations on this theme.
Here’s a variation of the Classic Atkins Low Carb Buffalo-crack-slaw:
http://www.atkinsdietgeek.com/2012/04/atkins-diet-recipes-low-carb-buffalo-crack-slaw-if/
Now and then, I have a hankering for coleslaw, and buy a bag of the mix, but after one serving, that’s it the hankering is done and appetite for more is lacking. So now, I just use the rest of the bag to make this or some other variations for supper.
I have been on low carb for 18 months now and have lost 75 pounds! Only 25 more to go!
Anyway, I don’t miss the potatoes, rice or bread. But I do get a craving for pasta once and a while, so…
I’ve tried the tofu pasta stuff and ended up throwing the meal right in the trash, along with the rest of the product I bought at the time. YUCK!
Now, whenever I get a pasta craving, I get the Carba-Nada pasta from www.aldentepasta.com. This is a reduced carb pasta that really satisfies that pasta craving.
Please note however, while it isn’t exactly “low carb” it only has half the carbs that regular pasta has.
Onions do have carbs. Most all vegetables have some. The answer boils down to what diet you are following and where you are in weight loss. I follow a ketogenic diet which focuses on the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load of a food. Onions have a GI of 10. I include all foods below a GI of 35-40.
Quinoa flour works well for a little breading and is fairly low net carbs. Xantham Gum is a good substitute for flour for thickening sauces and is easy to use.
Have you looked at Ezekiel 4:9 Bread? It is made from sprouted grains. I try to stick to foods with a glycemic index below 40. Ezekiel Bread is 36, so I eat it sparingly; once a week or less. There are also a lot of good low carb wraps now that would help with a sandwich fix. I understand your craving. I love a toasted bread sandwich.
Ezekiel Bread can be found in the freezer section of your store with the Vegetarian foods.
Thx. Will check it out.
FYI - The second ingredient in regular Gatorade is sugar. The glycemic impact is similar to a potato or pasta. G2 is a little better but both will take you out of ketosis.
One observation I've made over the years of observing fads and diets is that no matter which you follow, you will find you are eating more whole foods. You'll shop the perimeter of the store almost exclusively and just get very select things like Tea, Coffee, etc. out of the aisles.
To make the point, my grandmother used to say: "When you cook, your ingredients shouldn't have ingredients." She grew up during the depression and her entire life was lived out of the garden and feedlot. Fresh, canned and later frozen, but all whole food. She passed at 90 and never had a regular prescription.
COEUR A LA CREME / French classic uses heart-shaped ceramic molds.
Fold into whipped cream combined cr/cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, vanilla, sweetener. Pack in damp cheesecloth-lined disposable muffin tins (bottoms vented). Chill/solidify/drain 24 hrs on rack over sheetpan. Invert on servers. Pull off cheesecloth. SERVE w/ pureed strawberries or raspberries.
APRICOT CLOUD version of classic English fool
Fold apricot baby food into whipped cream. SERVE chilled.
FRENCH CREAM / comes close to authentic French Creme Chantilly
Add dollop sour cream to softly whipped sweetened cream.
SERVE over strawberries.
All very good advice.
I haven’t yet perfected a good low-carb coleslaw..
I’ve never been pleased with the spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta, which so many people suggest; but I really like it just with butter and Parmesan cheese.
I don’t have the Atkins cheesecake recipe, but I was on a LC forum year’s ago & a lady named Myra came up with this one. It’s excellent.
Myra’s New York-Style Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/4 cups ground pecans
1 tablespoon splenda
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tbsp cinnamon
Topping:
2 cups sour cream (16 oz. container)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoon splenda
Filling:
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup splenda
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a bowl, stir nuts, splenda, cinnamon and melted butter until combined. Press into bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan. Chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
In a bowl, mix the sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon sweetener until well combined refrigerate.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1 cup sweetener until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Blend in the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Pour the cream cheese mixture into the spring-form pan, and bake at 350 degree for 50 minutes. With a spatula, spread the sour cream mixture over the top, making sure you reach to the edges of the pan. Return cake to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove cake from oven, allow to cool to room temperature (cake will settle in the pan). Slide a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it, then remove the spring-form ring. Keep chilled in the refrigerator.
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