1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (61 page)

Spinach originated in Asia, so stir-frying is a very traditional way of preparing it.

¼ cup (60 ml) peanut oil

2 pounds (910 g) fresh spinach, washed and dried

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or wok over high heat. Add the spinach and garlic, stir-fry for only a minute or two, and then serve.

Yield:
6 servings

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

3 tablespoons (42 g) butter

2 pounds (910 g) fresh spinach, washed and dried

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 or 2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

Heat the butter in a heavy skillet. Add the spinach and garlic and sauté until the spinach is just limp. Stir in the anchovies and serve.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 5 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of just 1 gram of usable carbs and 5 grams of protein.

Not everyone likes anchovies, and if you’re among those who don’t, just leave them out.

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

¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream

¼ cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, crushed

Put all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 5 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 2 grams of usable carbs and 6 grams of protein.

This is about the easiest creamed spinach ever, and it’s quite good too.

Two 10-ounce (280 g) boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed, or two 10-ounce (280 g) bags triple-washed fresh spinach

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

5.2-ounce (145 g) package creamy garlic-herb cheese (such as Boursin or Alouette)

If you’re using fresh spinach, you might coarsely chop it. Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet, and add the spinach. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes—you want fresh spinach just barely wilted and frozen spinach just well-heated through.

Cut the cheese into a few chunks and add it to the skillet. Stir until the cheese is completely melted and then serve.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 4 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 1 gram of usable carbs and 4 grams of protein.

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

¼ small onion, minced

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

¼ cup (40 g) crumbled feta cheese

¼ cup (55 g) cottage cheese

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and let it sizzle for just a minute. Add the spinach and sauté, stirring now and then, for 5 to 7 minutes.

Add in the cheeses and stir until they start to melt. Let the spinach cook for another minute or so and then serve.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 7 grams of protein.

My husband liked this so much, he ate the whole batch.

10-ounce (280-g) package frozen chopped spinach

¼ medium onion

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

cup (75 g) sour cream

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Unwrap the spinach and put it in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid. Add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and cook it on high for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet, start sautéing the onion in the butter over medium-high heat.

When the microwave goes “ding,” check to see if the spinach is done—you want it good and hot all the way through but not cooked to death. If there’s still a cold spot in the middle, stir it and put it back for another 2 minutes on high.

When the spinach is cooked and the onion is translucent, drain the spinach and stir it into the onion in the skillet, combining well. Stir in the sour cream and the vinegar, heat it through without letting it simmer, and then serve.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 4 grams of protein.

With the cottage cheese, this isn’t totally authentic, but it’s mighty tasty.

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter

1 teaspoon curry powder

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

1 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

cup (75 g) small-curd cottage cheese

2 teaspoons sour cream

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over low heat and stir in the curry powder. Let the curry powder cook in the butter for 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and the salt. Cover the skillet and let the spinach cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until heated through.

Stir in the cottage cheese and sour cream and cook, stirring, until the cheese has completely melted.

Yield:
3 servings

Each with 5 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 2 grams of usable carbs and 6 grams of protein.

I came up with this for a Passover column I wrote, but it’s a great side dish for anyone, any time of year!

8 ounces (225 g) sliced mushrooms

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

3 10-ounce (280 g) boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

2 eggs

¾ cup (180 g) mayonnaise

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

2 tablespoons (20 g) almond meal

½ teaspoon guar or xanthan

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).

Sauté mushrooms and onion in the oil until the onion is translucent and the mushrooms soften. Transfer to a mixing bowl, reserving 9 mushroom slices for garnish, and add the spinach; mix well.

Stir together the eggs, mayonnaise, and bouillon concentrate until the concentrate dissolves. Stir into vegetables. Stir in the almond meal. Sprinkle half the guar or xanthan over the mixture and stir in well; repeat with the second half.

Spread evenly in a greased 8 × 8-inch (20 × 20-cm) baking dish. Decorate with reserved mushrooms. Bake for 1 hour. Cut in squares to serve.

Yield:
9 servings

Each with 6 g protein; 7 g carbohydrate; 3 g dietary fiber; 4 g usable carbs.

I’m always so torn about onions. On the one hand, they’re higher-carb than most vegetables. On the other hand, they’re extremely nutritious and taste incredibly good—and they certainly aren’t as high-carb as, say, a potato. So I grill onions, but I watch my portions.

2 large Vidalia onions

¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons Splenda

Peel your onions and slice them pretty thickly— about ½ inch (1.3 cm) or a little thicker. Mix together everything else. Lay the onion slices in a grill basket or on a small-holed grill rack over a medium fire. Baste them with the soy sauce mixture and grill them until they’re limp with brown spots; then serve.

Yield:
6 servings

If you can bring yourself to share these between 6 people, each of you will get 4 grams of carbohydrate and 1 gram of fiber, for a usable carb count of 3 grams; 1 gram protein.

You may well find that your slices fall apart into individual rings when you turn them. This doesn’t bother me, but if it bothers you, here’s a trick: before slicing your onions, pierce them with wooden or bamboo skewers (soak them in water for at least a half hour first) ½ inch (1.3 cm) apart and then slice between the skewers. Your slices will come out neatly skewered across the rings for easy turning.

The thing you’ll find hard to believe is that these are far lower-carb than the high-carb onion rings you get at restaurants! They’re not dirt-low in carbs, but to me, onion rings are crack in food form, so being able to have a really good, reasonably low-carb onion ring now and then is a very big deal.

3 medium Vidalia onions

1 cup (115 g) Atkins Bake Mix

2 tablespoons Atkins Cornbread Mix

¼ cup (30 g) oat flour

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

2 eggs

12 ounces (360 ml) light beer (Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite, or Milwaukee’s Best Light are lowest carb.)

Salt

Preheat a deep-fat fryer to 375°F (190°C).

Peel the onions and slice them fairly thick. Separate them into rings and set aside.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the Atkins Bake Mix, Atkins Cornbread Mix, oat flour, and seasoned salt, stirring them together well. Add the eggs and the beer and whisk them in.

When the fat is up to temperature, dip the onion rings into the batter and then drop them (carefully!) into the hot fat. (Note: If you’re using a deep-fat fryer, have your fry basket already submerged. If you put the batter-coated rings in the basket and then lower it, your onion rings will weld themselves to your fry basket and create a royal mess.) Fry until golden (you may have to turn them over to get both sides browned), drain on absorbent paper, sprinkle with salt, and devour!

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 14 grams of carbohydrate and 4 grams of fiber, for a usable carb count of 10 grams; 16 grams of protein. (By comparison, a serving of 8 to 9 restaurant onion rings averages about 30 grams of carbohydrate.)

I’m always bemused when I see frozen broccoli with lemon butter at the grocery store. I mean, how hard is it to add butter and lemon juice to your broccoli?