300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes (47 page)

Put the greens, cilantro, and onion in a large salad bowl. Mix together the juice, vinegar, garlic, and cumin and set it aside. Pour the oil over the salad and toss well until all the greens are coated. Pour in the orange juice mixture, toss again, and serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 2 grams of protein.

Lime-Peanut Cucumber Salad

I just love cucumber salad, and I love peanuts in cucumber salad!

1/4 cup (35 g) dry-roasted peanuts

1/4 cup (40 g) red onion

1/4 cup (4 g) cilantro

1 large cucumber

1/4 cup (60 ml) lime juice

1/4 cup (60 ml) rice vinegar

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon Sriracha chili sauce

2 teaspoons Splenda, or the equivalent in liquid Splenda

Put the peanuts in your food processor with the S-blade in place and pulse to chop. Dump them into a little bowl. Now put your onion and cilantro in the food processor and pulse to chop them. Dump those into a mixing bowl.

Swap the S-blade for the slicing blade. Quarter your cucumber lengthwise and run it through the slicing blade. Add it to the mixing bowl with the onion and cilantro.

Mix together the lime juice, rice vinegar, crushed garlic, salt, chili garlic paste, and Splenda and pour them over the salad. Toss well. Add the peanuts, toss again, and serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 79 calories, 5 grams fat, 3 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber, and 6 grams usable carb.

Spinach Salad with Maple Glazed Bacon, Nectarines, and Feta

Even including making the salad dressing, I got this done by the 15 minute buzzer. This was inspired by a description I saw in my local paper of a salad made during a cooking contest by the best chef in town (David Tallent of Bloomington, Indiana). I just took the description and ran with it.

4 bacon slices

1/4 cup (80 g) sugar-free pancake syrup

6 cups (180 g) baby spinach leaves

1/2 nectarine (You could use a peach, but you'd have to peel it, which takes another minute or two.)

1/4 cup (75 g) crumbled feta cheese

1/4 small red onion, sliced paper-thin

Maple-Bacon Vinaigrette
(See recipe on
page 301
.)

First let's take care of the bacon: Brush it both sides with the pancake syrup and lay it on a microwave bacon rack or in a Pyrex pie plate. Nuke it on high for 7 or 8 minutes—for some reason glazed bacon takes longer; go figure.

Now make your
Maple-Bacon Vinaigrette
. (See
page 301
for the recipe.)

After that, dice your half of a nectarine and if you didn't buy your feta already crumbled, crumble it.

Pile your spinach in a big salad bowl. Pour on the dressing and toss until it's evenly coated. Top with the nectarine and feta and snip your now-crisp glazed bacon over the top. Fall face first into the salad bowl. No, I mean pile it on 3 or 4 salad plates and serve!

Yield:
3 to 4 servings, assuming 3, each will have 287 calories, 25 grams fat, 7 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber, and 7 grams usable carb.

Red Leaf Lettuce with Melon and Feta

What a beautiful summer salad this is! It could be a main dish salad, too, if you shared it between just two.

7 1/2 cups (210 g) red leaf lettuce, torn up

4 tablespoons (60 ml) vinaigrette—I like Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar.

2/3 cup (100 g) crumbled feta cheese

1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

2/3 cup (107 g) purchased cantaloupe cubes

2 tablespoons (18 g) roasted, salted sunflower seed kernels

Put lettuce in a big salad bowl, add vinaigrette, and toss. Add the feta and toss again. Pile on plates, top with the other ingredients, and serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 199 calories, 17 grams fat, 6 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber, and 6 grams usable carb.

Gorgonzola and Pesto Caesar Salad

Oh, all right, use another blue cheese if you must. But being Italian and all, gorgonzola is best here.

6 cups (282 g) romaine lettuce hearts, broken up

3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons (23 g) pesto sauce

1/3 cup (40 g) crumbled gorgonzola cheese

This is super simple! Put your lettuce in a big salad bowl. Mix the olive oil and pesto together and then pour over salad and toss furiously until it's all evenly coated. Sprinkle the gorgonzola over the whole thing, toss lightly again, and serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 163 calories, 16 grams fat, 4 grams protein, 3 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber, and 1 gram usable carb.

Quick Winter Salad

This is so good! It's like Waldorf salad brought into the 21
^st
century. This keeps very well in a snap-top container in the fridge, and it is a great choice for a potluck or if you want to make something special ahead of time.

1/4 cup (34 g) shelled hazelnuts

2 large celery ribs

1 fennel bulb

1 apple—I used a Gala, and it was great. 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil

2 tablespoons (22 g) brown mustard

2 tablespoons (28 ml) white vinegar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese

Put the hazelnuts in a Pyrex pie plate and microwave on high for 2 minutes or until fragrant—give them a 3
^rd
minute if they need it.

While your hazelnuts are toasting, run your celery and fennel through the slicing blade of your food processor. Cut your apple into matchstick strips; unless you have a julienne blade you'll have to do this by hand. (The easiest way I've found to do this is to quarter it, remove the core, and then set each quarter, in turn, on your cutting board. Cut straight down through the quarter, lengthwise—in other words, don't cut it into thin wedges, just evenly thick slices. Then cut across those to make matchstick strips.) Throw all your veggies in a big salad bowl.

By now the microwave has beeped. Pull your hazelnuts out and let them cool a few minutes.

Measure the olive oil, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt or Vege-Sal. Crush the garlic and throw it in, too. Whisk everything together well and pour it over the salad. Toss until everything's evenly coated.

Yield:
5 servings, each with 231 calories, 21 grams fat, 4 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, and 8 grams usable carbs.

Vegetables Vinaigrette

If your grocery store carries frozen mixed stir-fry peppers with onions, they're a handy item to have in the house. This is gorgeous—and tasty, too. A great choice for a dinner party.

1 pound (455 g) asparagus

3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil

1 bag (1 pound, or 455 g) frozen mixed stir-fry peppers with onions, thawed

1/3 cup (80 ml) Italian vinaigrette dressing

Snap the ends off of the asparagus spears where they break naturally. Slice them diagonally into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) lengths.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet or wok over high heat. Add the asparagus and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the peppers, and continue stir-frying until the vegetables are tender-crisp. Stir in the dressing, let the whole thing cook for another minute, and serve.

Yield:
6 to 8 servings. Assuming 8 servings, each will have 7 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of fiber, for a total of 5 grams of usable carbs and 1 gram of protein.

Orange Pecan Sprouts