1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (60 page)

¼ cup (30 g) chopped, dry-roasted peanuts

Mix together the lime juice, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

In a wok or heavy-bottomed skillet, heat a few tablespoons (30 ml) of oil over high heat. Add the cabbage, scallions, and garlic and stir-fry for no more than 5 minutes or just until the cabbage is heated through.

Add the lime juice mixture to the cabbage and stir to coat. Let it cook just another minute and then stir in the coconut. Serve topped with peanuts.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 13 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 9 grams of usable carbs and 5 grams of protein.

This is a simple way to cook a lot of cabbage!

½ head red cabbage

½ head cabbage

3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C, or gas mark 8).

Coarsely chop the two kinds of cabbage and separate the leaves. Put it in a good-sized roasting pan and toss it with the olive oil until it’s coated all over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again.

Put the cabbage in the oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until it’s just browning around the edges but still not entirely limp. Sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar, toss again, and serve.

Yield:
5 to 6 servings

Assuming 5 servings, each will have trace protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber; 1 g usable carb.

This is a really unusual twist on slaw.

4 cups (280 g) bagged coleslaw mix

3 tablespoons (45 g) plain yogurt

1 tablespoon (15 g) sour cream

¼ cup (60 g) mayonnaise

2 tablespoons (16 g) crumbled blue cheese

Just mix everything together—that’s all!

Yield:
4 or 5 servings

Assuming 4 servings, each will have 5 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 3 grams of protein.

If you want, you can streamline this further by substituting ½ cup (120 ml) bottled blue cheese dressing, but it’s likely to have a little added sugar—not much, but a little.

1 pound (455 g) asparagus

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons (18.8 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat an electric tabletop grill (or you can do this over your backyard grill!). Snap the ends off the asparagus where they break naturally. Put them on a plate and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss the asparagus a bit to make sure it’s all coated with the oil.

Place the asparagus on your grill—you’ll probably have to do it in two batches unless your grill is a lot bigger than mine. Set a timer for 10 minutes. (If grilling out of doors, just keep an eye on it and grill until it’s tender with brown spots.)

If you’ve had to do two batches, put the first batch on a plate and cover it with a pot lid to keep it warm while the second batch cooks. When all the asparagus is done and all on the plate, drizzle with the balsamic vinegar. Roll it around to coat it and then top it with the Parmesan and serve.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 6 g protein; 7 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber; 5 g usable carbs.

Cold asparagus dipped in garlic sauce and cheese—It’s so yummy!

2 pounds (910 g) asparagus

Aioli (page 479)

½ cup (50 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Break the ends off the asparagus where they snap naturally. Steam or microwave the asparagus for 3 to 4 minutes or just until the color brightens. (You want these even less done than tender-crisp.) Chill the asparagus.

At dinnertime, give each diner a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of aioli and a little bit of Parmesan. Dip each asparagus stalk in the aioli, then in the Parmesan, and eat.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 5 grams of protein.

1 pound (455 g) asparagus

4 tablespoons (56 g) butter

2 tablespoons (16 g) chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon cumin

1½ teaspoons Splenda

Snap the ends off of the asparagus where they want to break naturally. Put it in a microwaveable container with a lid or use a glass pie plate covered with plastic wrap. Either way, add a tablespoon or two (15 to 30 ml) of water and cover. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Don’t forget to uncover as soon as the microwave goes beep or your asparagus will keep cooking and be limp and sad!

While that’s cooking, put the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. When it’s melted, add the walnuts. Stir them around for 2 to 3 minutes until they’re getting toasty. Now stir in the curry powder, cumin, and Splenda and stir for another 2 minutes or so.

Your asparagus is done by now! Fish it out of the container with tongs, put it on your serving plates, and divide the Curried Walnut Butter between the three servings.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 3 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber; 3 g usable carbs.

This tastes great and has a cool-looking presentation, to boot!

1 pound (455 g) pencil-thin asparagus

7 slices bacon

Preheat an electric tabletop grill.

Snap the ends off the asparagus spears where they break naturally. Divide the asparagus into 7 bunches and wrap a slice of bacon in a spiral around each bunch. (In other words, don’t let the bacon overlap itself but cover as much of the asparagus bundle as you can.)

Place the asparagus-bacon bundles on the grill. How many will fit will depend on how big your grill is; mine will just fit all 7. Close the grill and let them cook for 7 minutes or until the bacon is cooked through and serve.

Yield:
7 servings

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

I never thought anything could be as good with asparagus as lemon butter is—and then I tried this.

5 tablespoons (70 g) butter

½ cup (60 g) chopped pecans

1½ teaspoons tarragon vinegar

1 pound (455 g) asparagus, steamed just until tender-crisp

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the pecans and sauté, stirring frequently, for 5 to 7 minutes or until the pecans are golden and crisp. Stir in the tarragon vinegar.

Place the asparagus on serving plates and spoon the sauce over it. Serve immediately.

Yield:
4 servings

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

This is good with any of the Asian-influenced main courses in this book—or with anything else, for that matter.

1 pound (455 grams) asparagus

2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice vinegar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) toasted sesame oil

1 jalapeño, finely minced

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Have your charcoal or gas grill ready; the prep on this recipe doesn’t take much time.

Snap the bottom off of each stalk of asparagus where it breaks naturally. Mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and minced jalapeño in a bowl. (Now wash your hands! You must always wash your hands after handling hot peppers, or the next time you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, you’ll be sorry.)

Put the sesame seeds in a small, dry skillet, and shake them over medium-high heat until they start to make little popping sounds. Remove the pan from the heat.

Okay, throw your asparagus on the grill, over a medium fire—it’s a good idea to have a small-holed grill for this. Baste the asparagus with the soy sauce mixture as it grills and turn the asparagus a few times. Grill until the asparagus has brown spots and then remove to serving plates. Drizzle with the remaining soy sauce mixture, garnish with the toasted sesame seeds, and serve.

Yield:
4 servings

Each serving will have 4 grams of carbohydrate and 2 grams of fiber, for a usable carb count of 2 grams; 2 grams protein.

1 pound (455 g) asparagus

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

2 tablespoons (20 g) minced red onion

½ clove garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons (10 g) sun-dried tomato halves, minced

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Snap the ends off of the asparagus where they want to break naturally. Put them in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, and cover—but don’t cook it yet. Make your sauce first.

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil and the butter, swirling them together as the butter melts. Add the onion, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes to the oil and butter and sauté until the onion is soft, being careful not to brown the onions or garlic. Stir in the lemon juice. Turn off the heat.

Okay, back to your asparagus. Microwave it on high for just 5 minutes. Uncover it the second it’s done! Divide it between 3 or 4 serving plates, spoon the sauce over it, and serve.

Yield:
3 to 4 servings

Assuming 3 servings, each will have 3 g protein; 10 g carbohydrate; 3 g dietary fiber; 7 g usable carbs.

2 artichokes

¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice

Using kitchen shears, snip the pointy tips off the artichoke leaves. Split the artichokes down the middle, top to bottom, and scrape out the chokes.

Fill a slow cooker with water, add the lemon juice, and put in the artichokes. Cover the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 3 to 4 hours. Drain the artichokes.

Serve the artichokes with the dipping sauce of your choice, such as lemon butter, mayonnaise, aioli, chipotle mayonnaise, or whatever you’ve got. If you have a big slow cooker, feel free to cook more artichokes!

Yield:
2 servings

Each with 4 g protein, 16 g carbohydrate, 7 g dietary fiber, 9 g usable carbs. Analysis does not include dipping sauces.

This is one of the fastest ways I know to cook artichokes.

1 large artichoke

Olive oil

Lemon wedges

Salt

Cut about 1 inch (2.5 cm) off the top of your artichoke, trim the stem, and pull off the bottom few rows of leaves. Now slice it vertically down the center. You’ll see the “choke”—the fuzzy, inedible part at the center. Using the tip of a spoon, scrape every last bit of this out (it pulls off of the yummy bottom part of the artichoke quite easily).

In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1 inch (2.5 cm) of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add your cleaned artichoke, flat side down. Fry for about 10 minutes, turning over halfway through. It should be tender and just starting to brown a bit. Drain on paper towels or a brown paper bag.

Serve the artichoke halves with lemon wedges to squeeze over them and salt to sprinkle on them to taste.

Yield:
1 serving

13 grams of carbohydrates and a whopping 7 grams f fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs (a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice add just 1 more gram) and 4 grams of protein.

If you’ve never encountered a fresh artichoke, you’ll probably be surprised to find that they’re sort of fun to eat: You peel off the leaves, one by one, and drag the base of each one between your teeth, scraping off the little bit of edible stuff and the bottom of each leaf. When you’ve finished doing that and you have a big pile of artichoke leaves on your plate, use a fork and knife to eat the delectable heart.