1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (51 page)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon (10 g) finely minced green bell pepper

teaspoon cayenne

¼ teaspoon pepper

3 cups (710 ml) chicken broth

1 cup (240 ml) Carb Countdown dairy beverage

¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream

8 ounces (225 g) shrimp, shells removed

1 tablespoon (5 g) Ketatoes mix

¼ cup (25 g) scallions, thinly sliced

Guar or xanthan

Combine the cauliflower, carrots, thyme, garlic, green pepper, cayenne, pepper, and broth in your slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 4 hours.

Turn the slow cooker to high and stir in the Carb Countdown and cream. Re-cover the slow cooker and let it cook for another 30 to 45 minutes. If your shrimp are big, chop them coarsely during this time, but little, whole shrimp will look prettier, of course!

Stir in the Ketotoes mix. Now stir in the shrimp and re-cover the pot. If your shrimp are pre-cooked, just give them 5 minutes or so to heat through. If they’re raw, give them 10 minutes. Stir in the scallions and salt to taste. Thicken the broth with the guar or xanthan.

Yield:
5 servings

Each with 17 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 5 g usable carbs.

1 package (10 ounces, or 280 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed

2 cans (6½ ounces, or 185 g each) minced clams, including the liquid

1 cup (240 ml) half-and-half

1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream

1 cup (240 ml) water

Salt and pepper

Put the spinach, clams, half-and-half, cream, and water in a blender or food processor and purée.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to a simmer (use very low heat and don’t boil!). Simmer for 5 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 12 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 10 grams of usable carbs and 29 grams of protein.

If you prefer, you can purée everything but the clams, adding them later so they stay in chunks.

This recipe is so called because you’re cheating on the usual ingredients, and you sure are cheating on the cooking time! You are not, however, cheating on your diet. This filling soup is a meal in itself.

¼ head cauliflower

1 medium turnip (just bigger than a tennis ball)

3 slices bacon

½ medium onion

2 cups (480 ml) half-and-half

1 can (10 ounces, or 280 g) minced clams

Salt or Vege-Sal and pepper

Whack the cauliflower into a few good-size chunks and put it in your food processor with the S-blade in place. Peel the turnip, quarter it, and drop it in there, too. Pulse the processor until everything is chopped to a medium-fine consistency. Put the cauliflower and turnip in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on high for 12 minutes.

While that’s cooking, chop up the bacon—I snip mine up with cooking shears, right into the pot—and start frying it over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stirring from time to time.

Put that food processor bowl back on its base with the S-blade in place, throw in the half-onion, and pulse until it is chopped medium-fine. Dump the onion in with the bacon, which should be giving off some grease by now. Fry the onion and bacon together until the onion is translucent.

Pour the half-and-half and the clams into the pot—don’t bother to drain the clams. Stir it and then let the whole thing come to a simmer, stirring from time to time.

When the cauliflower and turnips are done, add them to the pot, too—no need to drain. Stir them in, add salt or Vege-Sal and pepper to taste, let the soup simmer just another minute or two, and serve.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 16 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 15 grams of usable carbs and 31 grams of protein.

By the way, I tried running the nutritional analysis for this soup using heavy cream in place of the half-and-half. It only cut 1 gram of carb off each serving—but it added 175 calories. Not worth it, if you ask me.

This soup is quick, easy, tasty, and what a gorgeous pale pink color! It’s simple to double, of course,
but it’ll take a little longer for the larger quantity of half-and-half to heat through. You could microwave it to speed things along, if you like.

1 pint (480 ml) half-and-half

3 tablespoons (49.5 g) tomato paste

1 can (4 ounces, or 115 g) tiny shrimp, drained

1 can (6 ounces, or 170 g) flaked crab, drained

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

½ teaspoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan over low heat, heat the half-and-half to just below a simmer. Whisk in the tomato paste and then stir in the shrimp, crab, dill, and lemon juice. Let the whole thing cook together for just a minute or two, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 11 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 10 grams of usable carbs and 24 grams of protein. Each serving also has 254 milligrams of calcium!

Monkfish has long been known as “poor man’s lobster,” so I decided to use it in a classic lobster bisque. However, if your budget allows, feel free to use lobster tail in this recipe instead.

½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream

1 cup (240 ml) half-and-half

½ cup (120 ml) water

10-ounce (280-g) monkfish fillet

½ cup (120 ml) dry sherry

1½ teaspoons Dana’s No-Sugar Ketchup (page 463) or other sugar-free ketchup

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

Guar or xanthan (optional)

1 scallion, finely sliced

First combine the cream, half-and-half, and water in a large, microwaveable dish. Microwave for 5 to 6 minutes on 70 percent power.

While the cream is heating, cut the monkfish fillet into bite-sized pieces. Bring the sherry to a simmer in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the monkfish, turn the heat down a little, and let the fish simmer in the sherry, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes or until cooked through.

Stir in the cream, which should be hot by now. Stir in the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and salt, and heat it only to a simmer. If you’d like your bisque thicker, feel free to use guar or xanthan, but it’s mighty nice the way it is. Ladle into dishes and top each serving with a scattering of sliced scallion.

Yield:
2 servings

Each with 10 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 26 grams of protein.

This is a wonderful substitute for mashed potatoes with any dish that has a gravy or sauce. Feel free, by the way, to use frozen cauliflower instead; it works quite well here.

1 head cauliflower or 1½ pounds (680 g) frozen cauliflower

4 tablespoons (56 g) butter

Salt and pepper

Put the cauliflower in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, and cover. Cook it on high for 10 to 12 minutes or until quite tender but not sulfur-y smelling. (You may steam or boil the cauliflower, if you prefer.) Drain it thoroughly and put it through the blender or food processor until it’s well puréed. Add butter, salt, and pepper to taste.

Yield:
At least 6 generous servings

Each with 5 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 2 grams of protein.

I’m not crazy about Ketatoes by themselves, but added to puréed-cauliflower Fauxtatoes, they add a potato-y flavor and texture that is remarkably convincing!

½ head cauliflower

½ cup (25 g) Ketatoes mix

½ cup (120 ml) boiling water

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

Salt and pepper

Trim the bottom of the stem of your cauliflower and whack the rest of the head into chunks. Put them in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid. Add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on high for 8 to 9 minutes.

While that’s happening, measure your Keta-toes mix and boiling water into a mixing bowl and whisk together.

When the microwave beeps, pull out your cauliflower—it should be tender. Drain it well and put it in either your food processor, with the S-blade in place, or in your blender. Either way, purée the cauliflower until it’s smooth. Transfer the puréed cauliflower to the mixing bowl and stir the cauliflower and Ketatoes together well. Add the butter and stir until it melts. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 10 g protein; 14 g carbohydrate; 8 g dietary fiber; 6 g usable carbs.

1 large chipotle chile canned in adobo, minced; reserve 1 teaspoon sauce

½ cup (60 g) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 batch The Ultimate Fauxtatoes (page 209)

Stir the minced chipotle, a teaspoon of the adobo sauce it was canned in, and the shredded cheese into the Ultimate Fauxtatoes. Serve immediately!

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 14 g protein; 14 g carbohydrate; 8 g dietary fiber; 6 g usable carbs.

My husband was crazy about these!

½ head cauliflower, cut into florets

½ cup (120 ml) water

½ cup (55 g) shredded cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons Classic Barbecue Rub (page 486) or purchased barbecue rub

2 tablespoons (10 g) Ketatoes mix

Put the cauliflower in your slow cooker, including the stem. Add the water. Cover the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 3 hours. (Or cook it on low for 5 to 6 hours.)

When the time’s up, use a slotted spoon to scoop the cauliflower out of the slow cooker and into your blender or your food processor (have the S-blade in place) and purée it there, or you can drain off the water and use a hand-held blender to purée the cauliflower right in the pot. Either way, drain the cauliflower and purée it!