1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes From Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (62 page)

1 pound (455 g) frozen broccoli or 1 large head fresh broccoli

4 tablespoons (56 g) butter

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

Steam or microwave the broccoli. When it’s cooked, drain off the water and toss the broccoli with the butter and lemon juice until the butter is melted. That’s it!

Yield:
4 servings

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

This is a country-style dish that’s good with pork chops.

1 bag (1 pound, or 455 g) frozen broccoli “cuts”

4 slices bacon

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 tablespoons (45 ml) cider vinegar

Steam or microwave the broccoli until just tender-crisp.

While the broccoli is cooking, fry the bacon until crisp, remove from the pan, and drain. Pour off all but a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of the fat.

When the broccoli is cooked, drain and add it to the bacon fat in the skillet. Add the garlic and vinegar and stir over medium heat for a minute or two.

Crumble the bacon over the broccoli, stir for another minute or so, and serve.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 7 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 5 grams of protein.

Before I made this salad, I’d never had grilled broccoli. It’s wonderful!

1 head broccoli

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

¼ cup (60 ml) rice wine vinegar

¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) toasted sesame oil

¼ cup (30 g) sesame seeds

Start a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill.

Trim the bottom of the broccoli stem and cut into spears. Brush with a little of the olive oil and grill over a medium to medium-low fire until flecked with brown spots. Remove from the fire.

Put the grilled broccoli in a bowl and add the rest of the oil, the vinegar, the soy sauce, and the sesame oil. Stir to coat the broccoli and let the whole thing sit for at least a half hour or so.

Before serving, put the sesame seeds in a small, dry skillet and shake them over medium-high heat until they start to make little popping sounds. Add to your salad, toss, and serve at room temperature.

Yield:
4 to 5 servings

Assuming 4, each will have 12 grams of carbohydrate and 6 grams of fiber, for a usable carb count of 6 grams; 7 grams protein.

For the work involved—practically none—this is really great.

1 pound (455 g) frozen broccoli cuts or spears

¼ cup (60 ml) vinaigrette dressing (I use Paul Newman’s Olive Oil and Vinegar.)

1 tablespoon (15 ml) Dijon mustard

3 scallions, sliced thin

I like to use broccoli cuts for this, but use spears or florets if that’s what you have on hand; it’ll be fine. If your broccoli is frozen in a clump, throw the bag on the floor, hard, a few times to break it up, or if it’s a box, slam all sides of it against the counter. This will make sure it’s separated and cooks evenly. Put your smashed-apart broccoli, still frozen, in a microwaveable casserole dish with a lid. Add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and cook on high for 7 minutes. It should be tender-crisp by then, but if there are still cold spots, stir it and give it another minute or two. Don’t overcook!

While the broccoli is cooking, measure the dressing and the mustard into a bowl and whisk together.

Okay, the broccoli’s done! Drain it and then pour the dressing over it and toss. Add the scallions, toss again, and serve immediately.

Yield:
3 to 4 servings

Assuming 3 servings, each will have 5 g protein; 9 g carbohydrate; 5 g dietary fiber; 4 g usable carbs.

2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) peanut oil or other bland oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 bag (1 pound, or 455 g) frozen broccoli “cuts,” thawed

1 tablespoon (6 g) grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce

Heat the peanut oil in a wok or heavy skillet over high heat. Add the garlic and the broccoli and stir-fry for 7 to 10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender-crisp.

Stir in the ginger and soy sauce, stir-fry for just another minute, and serve.

Yield:
4 servings

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

This is quite special. Don’t cook your broccoli any longer than 2 hours!

1 pound (455 g) frozen broccoli, unthawed

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil

2 tablespoons (30 g) pine nuts (pignolia), toasted

Place the broccoli in a slow cooker. Stir in the garlic and crumble in the bacon. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 2 hours.

Before serving, stir in the butter and oil and top with the pine nuts.

Yield:
3 servings

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

If you’ve never cooked a spaghetti squash, you may be puzzled as to how to go about it, but it’s really easy: Just stab it several times (to keep it from exploding) and put it in your microwave on high for 12 to 15 minutes. Then slice it open and scoop out and discard the seeds. Now take a fork and start scraping at the “meat” of the squash. You will be surprised and charmed to discover that it separates into strands very much like spaghetti, only yellow-orange in color.

Spaghetti squash is not a terribly low-carb vegetable, but it’s much lower-carb than spaghetti, so it’s a useful substitute in many recipes—especially casseroles. If you only need half of your cooked spaghetti squash right away, the rest will live happily in a resealable plastic bag in your fridge for 3 to 4 days until you do something else with it.

We love this! My husband is an Alfredo fiend, so by using spaghetti squash instead of pasta, he gets his fix without all those additional carbs.

2 cups (450 g) cooked spaghetti squash, separated into strands

3 tablespoons (42 g) butter

3 tablespoons (45 ml) heavy cream

1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ cup (25 g) grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Simply heat up your squash and stir in everything else. Stir until the butter is melted and serve!

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 4 grams of carbohydrates, a trace of fiber, and 3 grams of protein.

This makes a very nice side dish with some chicken sautéed in olive oil and garlic.

This makes a very filling side dish.

8 slices bacon

4 eggs

¾ cup (75 g) grated Parmesan cheese

3 cups (675 g) cooked spaghetti squash, separated into strands

1 clove garlic, crushed

Fry the bacon until it’s crisp. Remove it from the pan and pour off all but a couple tablespoons (30 ml) of grease.

Beat the eggs with the cheese and toss with the spaghetti squash. Pour the squash mixture into the hot fat in the skillet and add the garlic. Toss for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat.

Crumble in the bacon, toss, and serve.

Yield:
6 servings

Each with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 5 grams of usable carbs and 11 grams of protein.

You can make this dish higher in protein by using a cup or two of diced leftover ham in place of the bacon. Brown the ham in olive oil, remove from the pan, cook the squash mixture in the oil, and then toss in the ham just before serving.

This isn’t terribly low-carb, but it sure can pull you out of the hole when you’ve got vegetarians coming to dinner.

3 cups (675 g) cooked spaghetti squash, separated into strands

¼ cup (60 ml) water

3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce

5 tablespoons (75 g) tahini

1½ tablespoons (23 ml) rice vinegar

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon (9 g) sesame seeds

2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) peanut oil or other bland oil

1½ cups (105 g) mushrooms, thickly sliced

cup (100 g) diced green pepper

½ cup (60 g) diced celery ½ cup (80 g) chopped onion

¼ pound (115 g) snow peas, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) lengths

2 tablespoons (12 g) grated fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ cup (55 g) cooked shrimp or diced leftover chicken, pork, or ham per serving (optional)

Place the spaghetti squash in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the water, soy sauce, tahini, rice vinegar, and pepper flakes, mixing well. Pour over the spaghetti squash and set aside.

Place the sesame seeds in a small, heavy skillet over high heat and shake the skillet constantly until the seeds start to make little popping sounds and jump in the skillet. When that happens, immediately turn off the heat and shake the seeds out onto a small plate to cool. Set aside.

Just before you’re ready to serve the dish, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the mushrooms, pepper, celery, onion, snow peas, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry over high heat for 7 to 10 minutes or until tender-crisp.

When the vegetables are done, add them to the large mixing bowl with the spaghetti squash mixture and toss until well combined.

Pile the squash mixture on serving plates. Top the meat-eaters’ servings with the shrimp, chicken, pork, or ham (if using) and scatter sesame seeds over each serving.

Yield:
4 servings

Each with 19 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 15 grams of usable carbs and 7 grams of protein. (Analysis does not include optional meat.)

This is a great dish to make for guests because so much of it can be done ahead of time: You can prepare the “noodles” and the sesame seeds before your company arrives and then just stir-fry the vegetables and garnish the plates when it’s time to eat.

The grilling mellows the bitter edge of the radicchio, and the balsamic vinegar complements and enhances its newfound sweetness. I really love this!

¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

2 tablespoons (30 ml) balsamic vinegar