Shaking Up My Weekly Menu With New Low Carb Recipes

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My weekly menu for January 11 is now up. I'm shaking things up with 7 new recipes this week. Hopefully a few will become part of my regular rotation.

My weekly menu for January 11 is now up. I’m shaking things up with 7 new recipes this week. Hopefully a few will become part of my regular rotation.

My January 11 menu is now posted.  This week’s menu features 7 new recipes I’m trying out. Since all but one recipe come from my cookbook stash, recipes will feature prominently in this week’s posts.

Maybe it’s the new year or a full moon, but this week I’ve got the urge to try something new. Clearly I’m in the mood to cook. Its funny, but I go through periods where I have to cook something new and interesting. It makes my time in the kitchen more fun. I’m also much more focused on measuring and weighing everything. And I’m more mindful of what I eat. Read More

Broccoli Basil Butter Soup… So Yummy!

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A big improvement over the cream of broccoli soup recipe I posted a few weeks ago. The basil butter make this recipe a delicious winner.

A big improvement over the cream of broccoli soup recipe I posted a few weeks ago. The basil butter make this recipe a delicious winner.

This weekend I decided to crack open Low Carb 1-2-3, a cookbook with just 3 ingredients per recipe. I picked it up a few months ago but only really started looking at the recipes on Saturday. I must say I started drooling as I leafed through the pages.

With 2 lbs. of broccoli in my fridge, I planned to make some cream of broccoli soup. But scanning Low Carb 1-2-3, I found a broccoli soup recipe that called for…basil butter!?! That sounded too tasty to pass up.

The soup is fairly simple to make, but you’ll need a food processor to make the basil butter. Trust me, it is worth it.

Oh, while Low Carb 1-2-3 only uses 3 ingredients per recipe, I strongly suggest adding 2 more ingredients for this dish – salt and pepper. It’s needed to boost the flavor. The recipe does call for salt and pepper, but they are not listed on the ingredient list. Read More

Sunday Stir-Fry With Scallops & Scallions

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My scallop stir-fry came out wonderful. Great taste for something so easy to make.

My scallop stir-fry came out wonderful. Great taste for something so easy to make.

In my quest to eat more seafood, I found a lovely recipe in George Stella’s The Complete Low-Carb Cookbook – Scallop & Scallion Stir-Fry. I do love scallops, but never tried cooking them myself. For some reason, I thought scallops were hard to cook. Turns out, a few minutes of sautéing is all it takes.

The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity. It’s so quick and easy to make, I see myself adding it to our dinner menu each week.

I did make two changes to this recipe. First I used olive instead of vegetable oil. After reading Denise Minger’s Death By Food Pyramid (review coming soon), I’ll never touch vegetable oil again. Read More

Taking Small Desserts A Little Too Far

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Under 6" in diameter, these pie pans are a great way to make smaller, pre-portioned pies.

Under 6″ in diameter, these pie pans are a great way to make smaller, pre-portioned pies.

Since it was just me and the hubby for Christmas dinner, I didn’t want to make a large dessert with leftovers. With all the holiday cookies, treats and snacks that arrived from friends and family, the last thing I needed to add was a tempting 10″ pumpkin pie. I really hate wasting food, but I knew I’d just toss it out after Christmas.  Then I saw the solution to my problem in William Sonoma — small pie pans.

My home pie pans are all 10 inches — that’s a lot of pie. But I spotted these lovely dishes (under 6″ in diameter). Sweet! While my husband views these as a single serving (heck, he thinks a 10″ pie is a single serving too), I view it as a double serving, or two days, of low carb dessert. Not too shabby. Read More

What To Do With That Left Over Turkey? Healthy Mac ‘N Cheese!

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A perfect, healthy lunch solution for all that left over turkey -- Mock Mac N' Cheese. It might not look pretty in the container, but it is tasty.

A perfect, healthy lunch solution for all that left over turkey — Mock Mac N’ Cheese. It might not look pretty in the container, but it is tasty.

With half a turkey breast and a leg sitting in the fridge, I started wondering how I could jazz up dinner.  I came across this George Stella recipe for Mac & Cheese (substituting cauliflower for the macaroni!) and it hit me. Add the turkey to increase the protein!

I ended up dividing the casserole up into 8 single serving size containers. A perfect Grab-&-Go lunch for my working hubby.

The dish is delicious and I didn’t miss the pasta at all…of course all of that glorious bacon helped.

For those of you not eating low-carb and want to use fewer points, try using fat-free cream and Cheddar cheeses, and less bacon (I can’t believe I wrote that!). Read More

Gobble, Gobble! Dot’s Healthy Turkey Day Menu

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low carb thanksgiving, weight loss,

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? To have the smarts to plan my menu before Turkey Day arrives. A food strategy is the best way to make sure you don’t pig out! (Image via marthastewart.com)

Well Turkey Day is upon us and that means its time for another low-carb holiday menu. We’re staying put for Thanksgiving so that makes it easier for me to control the points and carb count. My goal for my weigh in after Thanksgiving is to maintain my weight. That means I need a menu that is both filling and delicious.

You can take a look at a snapshot of my menu with the carb and Weight Watcher point count. Below you’ll find either the recipes or links to the recipes for my Turkey Day menu.

Building My Menu
I’m allowing myself to eat up to 25g of net carbs. I have 29 daily Weight Watcher points. Because I plan to have wine and dessert, I’m going to tap into a handful of my weekly allowance points. But that doesn’t mean I go crazy. I’m allowing myself between 4-7 extra points. No more. I need to keep control. Just because it’s a holiday doesn’t mean food is the most important thing. Being with family is what it’s about…oh god, maybe I need to budget more points for wine! Read More

Oopsie! Bread Is Back On My Menu

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Low-carb, delicious and easy to make. Faux bread never tasted so good. For my Weight Watchers peeps, you could try making them with low-fat or fat-free cream cheese to knock a point off.

Low-carb, delicious and easy to make. Faux bread never tasted so good. For my Weight Watchers peeps, you could try making them with low-fat or fat-free cream cheese to knock a point off.

One thing about going low carb is that my husband misses hamburger buns. He just loves ’em. So this weekend I turned my mad baking skills loose on Oopsies. I’ve heard about Oopsies and it just didn’t make sense. A nearly zero carb “bread” made from cream cheese and eggs…really?

Ugh! Why didn’t I bake these sooner? They taste soooo good. And they are a perfect replacement for buns (hamburger or hot dog) or wraps. Heck, I used one this morning as a faux taco shell to hold my scrambled eggs and salsa.

For those of you on Weight Watchers, 1 Oopsie is worth 2 points.  Considering I haven’t had a hamburger bun for nearly 2 years, I don’t have a problem with putting my points towards Oopsies once or twice a week. If that is too high for you, try using either a low-fat or fat-free cream cheese to knock off a point. I just can’t guarantee it will taste as good. Read More

3 Healthy Smoothie Recipes

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This strawberry watermelon concoction was delicious and surprisingly it didn't taste overly sweet. The Ninja did its job and created a chunk-free, creamy smoothie in less than 2 minutes.

This strawberry watermelon concoction was delicious and surprisingly it didn’t taste overly sweet. The Ninja did its job and created a chunk-free, creamy smoothie in less than 2 minutes.

These smoothie recipes came with my sample Nutri Ninja (check out my review). So they are designed with the Ninja in mind. If you try these in a blender, you may want to make some changes (like no peels, seeds or apple cores).

If you are following the Weight Watchers plan, these smoothies are very low in points, delicious and filling. Since I’m doing WW, but a low carb version, these recipes have too many carbs for me at the moment. Once I’m within 10-20 lbs. of my goal weight, I’ll start adding more healthy carbs (like fruit) back into my everyday diet.

1. Super Berry Recovery Smoothie
Net Carbs: 32g
Weight Watchers PlusPoints: 5
Servings: 1

Ingredients

  • ½ C green seedless grapes
  • ¼ green apple, unpeeled and uncored
  • 1 tbsp vanilla protein powder
  • ½ C coconut water
  • ¾ C frozen blueberries

Directions

  • Place all the ingredients into a small 18-ounce Nutri Ninja cup in the order listed and blend for 30 seconds.

2. Coconut Mango Energyade
Net Carbs: 19g
Weight Watchers PlusPoints: 2
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • ¾ C fresh chopped ripe mango
  • ¼ C fresh mint
  • 1-3/4 C coconut water
  • ½ C ice

Directions

  • Place all the ingredients into a 24-ounce Nutri Ninja cup in the order listed and blend for 20 seconds.

3. Strawberry Melon Energy Blast
Net Carbs: 31g
Weight Watchers PlusPoints: 3
Servings: 1

Ingredients

  • ¼ medium cucumber, peeled, cut in half
  • 4 strawberries, stems removed
  • ¾ C watermelon, cut in 1-inch chunks
  • ¼ C ice

Directions

  • Place all the ingredients into a 18-ounce Nutri Ninja cup in the order listed and blend for 30 seconds.

Bacon, Cheddar Mock Mashed Potatoes

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This healthy, low carb alternative to loaded mashed potatoes is delicious and easy to make.

Getting my ingredients ready! This healthy, low carb alternative to loaded mashed potatoes is delicious and easy to make.

One food I miss is the wonderful potato and all of its delicious incarnations – fried, mashed, baked and soup. But at 37g of carbs, it’s not the best thing for weight loss. Once I’m closer to my goal, I’ll start adding healthy, higher carb foods, like potatoes, back into my diet.

So I’m always on the lookout for low carb recipes to replace my beloved potato dishes. This one is from George Stella’s The Complete Low-Carb Cookbook. Cauliflower purée takes the place of the mashed potatoes. It’s a great, healthy alternative, but I have to admit, this recipe had me at bacon. Read More

Yummy Egg Dishes Will Fill You Up

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Nice thing about sauteed veggies -- you can cook them ahead of time. Just reheat either in a microwave or on the stove before adding them to an omelet.

Nice thing about sautéed veggies — you can cook them ahead of time. Just reheat either in a microwave or on the stove before adding them to an omelet.

I love eggs! To me, the egg is the perfect food  and just so dang good for you.  Back in December I actually thought about shaking up my breakfast and looked for recipes that didn’t include eggs.  Ha! I soon came running back to the incredible, edible egg. Yes, it’s just that good.

Right now I’m mining Dana Carpender’s amazing 500 Low-Carb Recipes for some tasty egg dishes. This week I tried her curry scramble and the Denver Omelet.

These dishes are low carb, delicious and filling! Start your days with either of these meals, I guarantee it will keep you full until lunch time and even then, you’ll want a light lunch. Read More