All posts filed under: Recipes

Kohlrabi Slaw with cherries

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One of the cool things about using a CSA provider is getting “surprise” veggies you have not cooked previously.  A few weeks ago, Kohlrabi showed up in our box.  Kohlrabi are part of the cabbage family, and have an odd sputnik look to them.  (OK, that dated me…)  Here’s a recipe that not only uses them, but is DELICIOUS!  Want a twist on coleslaw?  Here it is, but first, a rundown of the benefits of eating Kohlrabi.  Low in fat, high in fiber, potassium, and a ton of Vitamin C, and they are in season now! This recipe is low in net carbs (watch out for the dried cherries, if you eat a lot, it will increase the carbs, and they are yummy!) Kohlrabi, Fennel & Cabbage Slaw with Cherries Ingredients: ¼ cup roasted salted sunflower seeds 2 medium bulbs Kohlrabi 1 small head fennel, outer leaves removed, shredded 2 cups shredded green cabbage 1/8 cup dried, tart, unsweetened cherries (no sugar) small fistful of coarsely chopped fresh dill (or dried, 2 tsp) Dressing: ¼ …

Low Carb Grain Free Bread

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I went to a conference last weekend, and asked my husband, who is hands down the better baker in our family, to find a grain free bread recipe.  He found one and modified it a bit and made this for me when I returned home on Sunday (what a guy!) and it was very good.  It is hard to find “bread-like” consistency without using grain or yeast, and this bread is denser, more like pound cake consistency, but it worked for my craving to occasionally have almond butter on bread!  I have used it as a quick snack this week, and it has survived for 7 days now in our frig in a ziploc.  Sharing with you, and I’d appreciate feedback! Pros:  amazingly low carb (3 net carbs!), high protein (7g) and easy to make, especially for non-bakers! Cons:  not “tall” like sandwich bread, and denser, and less flavor that flour based bread Low Carb Grain Free Sandwich Bread 2 cups + 2 T blanched almond flour (we use Honeyville) ½ cup coconut flour 1 …

10 Days, 10 Ways to Lower Carbs, Day 9

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Today is simple.  The next time you want to reach for potato chips, try one of these low carb snack alternatives!  In general, I’ve avoided cheese because I don’t eat dairy.  You can add cheese in small amounts if you can tolerate dairy. The key for a snack is this:  you MUST have some protein, some fat and some flavor!  Then, you won’t feel deprived! Protein  +  Good Fat = Good Snack! Olives – high in healthy fats, they’ll keep you feeling full. Celery with Nut Butter Cucumber chips with guacamole Hard Boiled Egg!  A little salt and pepper and you’re set A handful of almonds, cashews, pecans or walnuts. High fiber, low carbs, good fats ½ cup berries, and if you can do dairy, ½ cup greek plain yogurt One or two of my strawberry cookies! Half an avocado with tuna or chicken salad (home made if possible) Half an avocado with ½ tomato with salt and pepper Organic lunch meat without fillers (read your label) with asparagus or dill pickles Egg salad in …

Strawberry Cookies GF, DF, Low Carb

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I had a bunch of organic strawberries last weekend, and I didn’t want them to go bad, so I made this recipe based on a paleo recipe I saw.  You can also substitute blueberries, blackberries or raspberries.  And, because of their nutritional value, they make a great breakfast! This makes 36 small cookies.  You can freeze them too. The one thing our family has learned is once you stop eating processed food, most of it taastes too sweet once you try it again.  So, these cookies have only ½ cup of raw honey for 36 cookies.  I like using natural sweetners vs. others, but you may want your carbs even lower.  There are websites you can look up substituting Stevia for the honey, I just haven’t done it.  Each cookie has about 5-6 carbs and they are full of protein from the almonds, and net carbs are probably lower due to the fiber. preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) Ingredients 3 cups blanched almond flour (Honeyville is my fav) ½ cup raw honey 1 tsp sea …

10 Ways, 10 Days to Lower Carbs, Day 3

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Eat a Low Carb Breakfast My mother battled her weight her entire life.  She was never heavy, but it was a constant struggle for her, and she passed on to me and my sister a “deprivation mindset” about food.  But, that is a story for another day.  I have truly battled my weight, for a variety of reasons (read my story later) and changing how I ate breakfast helped enormously. A carb free/low carb breakfast is one way you can start your day off to not sabotage yourself!  My mother complained that “If I eat breakfast, I’m hungry the rest of the day“.  She probably was.  With the American custom of high carb, low fat, low protein breakfasts, you sabotage yourself.   Here’s what happens:   First, you eat a carb heavy breakfast. (BAGEL, OATMEAL, TOAST, CEREAL, JUICE, PASTRY…)→ your body gets a sugar load (that’s what carbs convert into once you digest them) so your body produces INSULIN in response to the spike in your blood sugar (Insulin stimulates the cells throughout your body to …

Almond Flour Pancakes (WF/GF/DF/Low Carb)

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If you are sugar free, wheat free and dairy free, and want to eat low carb, breakfast options are limited, just because our American culture is SO heavy on carbohydrates as the way to start our day.  I remember my Mom, who always seemed to be dieting my entire childhood, say “If I eat breakfast, I’m hungry the rest of the day”.  And she was right!  She would have a bowl of cereal (mostly CHO/Sugar) and milk (again, mostly CHO/Sugar), and toast (CHO), and NO PROTEIN.  Without protein and fat to slow down the digestion into your system, the typical American breakfast shoots a giant sugar load into your bloodstream, which in turn, causes a huge insulin spike, and overcompensates, and with many of us, we are STARVING 2 hours later.  Why?  Because although we’ve digested our breakfast, we still have too much insulin floating around screaming “feed me”!!  Again, it isn’t your fault.  You just have to know how to eat carbs wisely.  Here is a very low carb, low sugar, high protein breakfast …

Thai, Coconut, Broccoli and Cilantro Soup

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This recipe originated from Donna Hay Magazine.  I made it tonight, and it was delicious. I did a few modifications, but this is one of the healthiest soups I’ve seen!  Cilantro is a GREAT detox herb, and gives great flavor to this soup.  If you HATE cilantro, leave it out or switch to flat leaf parsley.  We made a supper of this soup, wheat free crackers, babaganoush, hummus, olives, and some fig flavored goat cheese.  Easy and done! Serves 4 Ingredients: ¼ cup store bought green curry paste (she calls for 1/3, but that was too spicy, so if you don’t like a lot of spice, go less, you can always add more at end) 1  13½ oz. can unsweetened coconut milk 3 cups water 1 lb. broccoli (organic) florets, broken into small pieces 2 cups organic baby spinach leaves 1-2 cups cilantro leaves, preferably organic 3 shallots sliced thinly coconut oil Place the green curry paste in a medium saucepan.  Cook for a minute under medium heat until you can smell the spices.  Add …

Black Bean and Corn Salad

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I love this salad for a few reasons:  it uses all that is summer, it provides protein, and it can be made ahead.  In fact, it is BETTER if you let it sit for a few hours in the frig.  We can make a batch of this and it keeps a few days in frig. Not to mention it is really pretty! If you are staying away from all carbs, omit or halve the corn and add some diced jicama. Printable recipe here. Ingredients 1 cup fresh cooked corn (I used two cobs), cooled and cut (can use frozen organic corn also) 4 green onions or scallions (white parts only) chopped fine OR ¼ cup finely diced red onion 1 can (16 ounces) organic black beans 1 small handful (½ small bunch) of chopped fresh cilantro (or basil if you don’t like cilantro) 1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half or quarters (cut large cherry tomatoes into quarters) ~ 20-30 green olives, sliced in half Optional:  add diced avocado for a burst of fiber and …

Eileen’s “Tastes Like Summer” Salad

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I threw together this salad today that was inspired by a salad we created in the cooking class at Food As Medicine recently.  Using what’s fresh, I gave it a new spin.  Similar to tabbouleh, it makes a great side dish, we had it with lamburgers one night and local wild rice brats on July 4th.  Yes, this does have a few carbs, but good ones. As you make this, keep in mind that any ingredient can be modified.  If you hate cilantro, leave it out, if you adore basil, add more.  If you are addicted to spicy, add some.  You cannot screw this up!  Just go slow and keep tasting it until you like it. Summer Quinoa Salad ½ cup quinoa, rinsed and cooked (I used white quinoa variety) 1 cup red seedless grapes, halved 1 handful parsley, stemmed and chopped 1 handful cilantro, chopped (stems are ok, they have same flavor as the leaf!) 1 small bunch of basil 1 handful mint, stemmed and chopped ¼ Cup Olive Oil (up to ¹/3 cup …

What are Garlic Scapes?

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We went to the farmers market this morning, and my husband was intrigued by what looked like a bunch of long curly green onions.  But we knew they were not onions! We asked and were informed they were “garlic flowers”.  We got home, looked it up, and found out they were Garlic Scapes!  What the heck is a garlic scape?  We asked the same question.  And so we investigated and purchased some and went home and made scrambled eggs with sauteed garlic scapes and baby asparagus.  Yum.   Garlic scapes are the soft, lime-green-colored stems and unopened flower buds of hard-neck garlic varieties. Scapes have a mild garlic flavor and a slight sweetness, which makes them a prized addition in the kitchen. You can find them in the early summer and mid-fall at farmers’ markets. What to do with them? There are some great links at the bottom of this page.  Also: Roast them! Place the scapes in a hot pan with olive oil and pan-roast them for 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Add …

Raw Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites

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I’m always looking for snacks that are low sugar and have some protein, but taste good!  I made these today, and they are good!  So, throw this all in your food processor with the metal blade, and violà!  You have a snack that will give you some holding power. Why does it have holding power?  It has three crucial ingredients:  fiber from dates, fat and protein from nuts.  Some things are this simple! Raw Dark Chocolate “Brownie Bites” Ingredients for ~ 12 balls: 1 ½ Cups Raw Walnut Halves 1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract ¼ Cup Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder 10 Medjool Dates, pitted Grind the above ingredients in a food processor. Continue processing until a dough-like texture is formed. Scoop out the mixture and roll into bite sized balls. Store in frig until ready to eat!  Yum.   Here are some finished Brownie Bites ready to eat!

Wheat Free Snickerdoodles

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It’s raining here today, as it usually does on Memorial Day weekend.  I decided to play around with a recipe that I had for wheat free snickerdoodles, one of my husband’s favorite cookies.  Success!  Here it is.  (These are higher in protein and lower in carbs, but they still have some carbs due to the maple syrup — those of you who want no carbs, you may know how to replace the maple syrup with sugar alternatives, but I haven’t tried that yet.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners. Makes approx. 2 dozen small cookies. Ingredients 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ cup arrowroot powder ½ teaspoon sea salt 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon 2½ cups ground blanched almond flour (it should be beige, blanched means no almond skin, I use Honeyville) 6 T shortening (I use Nutiva, a combination of palm, red palm and coconut, Spectrum is another brand) ½ cup maple syrup 2 tablespoons vanilla extract (I use Penzey’s double strength) cinnamon sugar for garnish (optional) …