1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (35 page)

¼ cup (60 g) plain nonfat yogurt

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

teaspoon cayenne

8 slices bacon, cooked and drained

24 lettuce leaves

Pinch the ends off your snow peas and pull off any strings. Cut them into ½-inch (1.3-cm) pieces—measure them after cutting, not before.

Put the snow pea bits in a microwaveable bowl with just a teaspoon of water, cover, and microwave on high for just 1 minute. Uncover the bowl immediately!

Put your snow peas in a mixing bowl and add the celery, onion, and chopped peanuts. Mix together the mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, and cayenne; pour over the veggies and toss. Crumble in the bacon and toss again.

Arrange four lettuce leaves on each plate— I like Boston lettuce for this. Spoon a mound of the snow pea salad next to the lettuce. To eat, spoon the snow pea mixture onto a lettuce leaf, wrap, and eat.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 8 g protein; 8 g carbohydrate; 3 g dietary fiber; 5 g usable carbs.

This salad is different and tasty! Do use snow peas instead of sugar snap peas—they’re lower carb.

2 cups (150 g) snow peas

4 slices bacon

cup (50 g) roasted, salted cashews

1 cup (160 g) diced celery

1 cup (150 g) diced cauliflower (about ½-inch [1.3-cm] chunks)

½ cup (120 ml) ranch salad dressing

½ cup (120 g) plain yogurt

1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard

You’ll want to pinch off the ends of your snow peas first and pull off any tough strings. Cut them into ½-inch (1.3-cm) pieces. Put your bits of snow peas in a microwavable bowl, add a tablespoon (15 ml) or so of water, and cover with a saucer or with plastic wrap. Microwave on high for just 1½ to 2 minutes and then remove from the microwave and uncover to stop the cooking.

Put the bacon on a microwave bacon rack or in a glass pie plate, microwave 4 minutes on high or until crisp, and then drain.

While the bacon’s cooking, coarsely chop your cashews. Combine all the vegetables, including the snow peas, in a mixing bowl. Combine the ranch dressing, yogurt, and mustard; pour over the vegetables and toss. Crumble in the bacon, add the cashews, and toss again. Chill before serving.

Yield:
4 to 5 servings

Assuming 4, each will have 8 grams of carbohydrate and 2 grams of fiber, for a usable carb count of 6 grams; 5 grams of protein.

This salad is filling enough to make a nice light lunch.

1 pound (455 g) bag frozen, crosscut green beans

½ cup (80 g) minced red onion

¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

5 tablespoons (75 ml) cider vinegar

½ teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon dried ginger

¾ cup (75 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Steam or microwave the green beans until they’re tender-crisp.

Let the beans cool a bit and then stir in the onion, oil, vinegar, salt, paprika, ginger, and Parmesan cheese. Chill well and serve.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 12 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 8 grams of usable carbs and 9 grams of protein.

This salad has the advantage of using mostly stuff that keeps well—so you just might have the ingredients hanging around the house when you discover that the head of lettuce you bought last week has gone south.

2 cups (280 g) sauerkraut, rinsed

½ green bell pepper

1 large rib celery

¼ medium red onion

¼ cup (6 g) Splenda

2 tablespoons (30 ml) cider vinegar

2 tablespoons (30 ml) oil

Rinse your sauerkraut and put it in a bowl. Slice your pepper into matchstick strips and thinly slice your celery and onion; add all the vegetables to the sauerkraut. Now, add the Splenda, cider vinegar, and oil, toss, and stick the bowl in the fridge. Let the whole thing marinate for a few hours before serving.

Yield:
4 to 5 servings

Assuming 5, each will have 7 grams of carbohydrate and 3 grams of fiber, for a usable carb count of 4 grams; 1 gram protein.

This looks very pretty and tastes surprisingly mild.

1 pound (455 g) bag frozen crosscut green beans

4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, and crumbled

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup (100 g) sliced radishes

3 tablespoons (45 ml) cider vinegar

1½ tablespoons (2.3 g) Splenda

¾ teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

¼ teaspoon pepper

Steam or microwave the beans until they’re tender-crisp.

Combine the beans, bacon, onion, and radishes in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar, Splenda, salt, and pepper.

Pour the mixture over the salad, toss, and serve.

Yield:
5 servings

Each with 10 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 7 grams of usable carbs and 4 grams of protein.

Salad niçoise is traditionally made with green beans and cold, boiled potatoes, but of course, we’re not going to be eating those potatoes. I thought I’d try it with cauliflower, and sure enough, it worked great!

head cauliflower

1 pound (455 g) bag frozen, crosscut green beans, thawed but not cooked

1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ to ½ cup (15 to 30 g) fresh parsley, minced

¼ medium, red onion, diced

8 to 10 olives, sliced (I used stuffed olives, but use whatever you like best.)

½ to ¾ cup (120 to 180 ml) vinaigrette dressing (homemade or bottled)

Lettuce (to line plate)

3 cans (6 ounces, or 170 g each) tuna, drained

6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

3 tomatoes, sliced

Slice your cauliflower quite thin. Put it in a microwave-safe bowl with about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of water, cover, and cook it for 4 to 5 minutes (we’re looking for it to be just tender).

Combine the green beans, garlic, parsley, onion, and olives in a good-size bowl. When the cauliflower is done, add that as well, and pour ½ cup (120 ml) of dressing over the whole thing. Stir well and stick it in the fridge. Let it marinate for several hours to a day, stirring now and then when you think of it.

When you’re ready to eat the salad, put a few nice lettuce leaves on each plate and spoon a mound of the marinated mixture on top. Put the tuna on top and in the middle—use as much as you like—and surround it with slices of hardboiled egg and tomato. Garnish it with more olives, drizzle more dressing on top, if you like, and serve.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 12 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 9 grams of usable carbs and 30 grams of protein.

You are going to be so surprised; this is amazingly like potato salad.

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small chunks

2 cups (240 g) diced celery

1 cup (160 g) diced red onion

2 cups (450 g) mayonnaise

¼ cup (60 ml) cider vinegar

2 teaspoons salt or Vege-Sal

2 teaspoons Splenda

½ teaspoon pepper

4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

Put the cauliflower in a microwave-safe casserole dish, add just a tablespoon (15 ml) or so of water, and cover. Cook it on high for 7 minutes and let it sit, covered, for another 3 to 5 minutes. You want your cauliflower tender, but not mushy. (And you may steam it, if you prefer.)

Drain the cooked cauliflower and combine it with the celery and onions. (You’ll need a big bowl.)

In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, Splenda, and pepper. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and mix well. Mix in the chopped eggs last and stir lightly to preserve some small hunks of yolk. Chill and serve.

Yield:
12 servings

Each with 3 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 2 grams of usable carbs and 3 grams of protein.

Use the time while the cauliflower cooks to dice your celery and onions.

Of all the unpotato salads I’ve come up with, this one is my favorite!

½ head cauliflower

½ cup (120 g) mayonnaise

2 tablespoons (30 ml) spicy mustard

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lime juice

1 small jalapeño

½ cup (30 g) chopped cilantro