Green Bean Snackatizer

This evening I got the munchies with my Friday night glass o red wine. Normally, this would call for 10-20 carefully counted and recorded almonds at 7 calories each. Tonight, I was in the mood for a tastier more crunchy fare.

I choose steam-in-bag green beans with almond slivers. (green giant green beans and almonds).

I cooked them according to package directions, drained off excess water, and placed in a bowl.

I added 1 teaspoon of ghee and sprinkled with garlic powder and a dash of sea salt.

It was quick, tasty, crunchy, and only about 140 calories.

Of course, the best thing is to be sure and eat enough during the 4 meals a day, but if you wind up skipping one (like I did today) this will tide you over in a pinch.

Simple Lentil Soup.

Made this one today.

Tasty and Fast!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 large spoonfuls of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 (29 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1- 1 lb bag of dry lentils
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 6 cups water
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in lentils, and add water, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 hour.

If you have some diced and pre-cooked chicken, the chicken makes a great stir-in if you are looking for some extra protien.

If you want more veggies, chop up and wash a head of cabbage and put it in the pot when add the water and broth.

Shrimp, YUMM

We found a decent deal on frozen shrimp so I thought I'd use it in a nice stir-fry.

10 shrimp

1 cup of stir fry veggies (i used peppers and onions by birds eye)

1 tsp stir fry oil

salt

pepper

squirt of lemon juice

cajun seasoning mix (w/o sugar, check the labels)

Heat oil. Cook veggies till limp.

In a small bowl or on a plate:

Toss shrimp with squirt of lemon juice.

Add salt, pepper and cajun seasoning (dash or 2 of each)

add shrimp to cooking veggies, stir fry till shrimp are done (about 2 minutes)

Serve and garnish to your liking.

It is about a 300 calorie, high protein meal.

Faux Potatoes

This one is so far my favorite Faux dishes.

FAUX Mashed Potatoes:

Ingredients:

2 cans of cannellini beans, drained (keep the juice from 1 can for use later)

1 head cauliflower.

Directions:

1. Chunk up cauliflower.

2. Steam cauliflower till VERY tender.

3. Combine Cauliflower and beans in large mixing bowl.

4. Mash. or use mixer.

5. Blend until smooth. Add bean juice if you need more liquid.

6. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Here they are on a plate with other slow-carb fare.

(pork, onion, and bell pepper roast, lima beans, and FauxTatoes).

FAUX RICE

FAUX RICE
20 ounces fresh cauliflower, Butter (or Ghee).
Salt and pepper

Trim the leaves and most of the tough stalks of the cauliflower, then coarsely chop into manageable pieces that will fit the feed tube of your food processor. Using the grating disk, process the cauliflower; put in a 2 1/2 quart casserole with a lid. Add 2-4 tablespoons of water, cover and microwave on HIGH 8-14 minutes. Stir every 4-5 minutes and check for doneness. When tender, but not mushy, add some butter; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 6-10 servings
Freezing not recommended

Per 1/6 recipe: 58 Calories; 4g Fat; 2g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 recipe: 43 Calories; 3g Fat; 1g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs
Per 1/10 recipe: 35 Calories; 2g Fat; 1g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

Home made Mayo

Well, we made home made mayonnaise this weekend.

The idea is to use very little to make some items like deviled eggs and perhaps a slaw that is Slow Carb Friendly.

(we have chickens in our back yard, so raw eggs are not a concern for us. Use egg beaters if you want to start with all pasteurized ingredients.)

Most mayo that you get in the store is pretty horrible stuff. Sugar, additives, etc.

This is by no means Helmanns but it is tasty in its own right.

We used extra light, extra virgin Olive Oil.

• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
• 3/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine the egg, garlic, lemon juice and mustard in the container of a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, then blend on low speed while pouring oil into the blender in a fine stream as the mixture emulsifies and thickens.

(if you have a hand blender you can put everything in a mason jar and blend together in the container that it will be stored in).

Use within 1 week and keep in fridge.

Another good one from Sara

(for slow carb folks - omit the corn and do not garnish w/ sour cream at the end.)

From Sara:

1 bunch of asparagus 185 degrees 45-60 minutes

1 head of broccoli or 2 small heads 185 degrees 35 minutes

1 head of cauliflower or 2 small ones 185 degrees 35 minutes

28 oz can of diced San Marino Tomatoes

1 yellow onion 185 degrees for 60-90 minutes

2 to 3 stalks celery 185 degrees 60 - 90 minutes

2 to 3 carrots 185 degrees - 50 minutes

2 quarts chicken stock home made or organic boxed

4 sausages (2 sweet, 2 hot)

6 cloves of garlic

1 cup of corn ( I use frozen )


Sous vide each set of vegetables except the corn according to the time and temperature next to the veggie. Each veggie can be seasoned in its bag the way you like them with a little salt and pepper, fresh herbs and a little butter. By doing this you will add more depth to the finished product.

Asparagus benefits from lemon zest about 1 tablespoon
Broccoli is fine plain but be sure to add the butter
Carrots like sage
Cauliflower likes red pepper flakes
Celery likes a pinch of tarragon (leaves or dried)
Garlic is fine plain
Onions are fine plain

Remove the veggies as they are done and refrigerate until all of the veggies are finished.

While the veggies are cooking empty the tomatoes into a pot along with the chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and reduce to simmer.

Sauté the sausages until nicely browned on all sides. Remove from heat and drain. When cool enough to handle, slice the sausages into bite size pieces. If the soup is going to be blended to smooth, then the size of the sausage is unimportant. If it is not going to be blended then bite size is important.

Once all of the ingredients are prepped, empty each of the ingredients along with any accumulated juices into the pot with the tomatoes and stock. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Can be served at this point or stored in containers and either frozen for later use or can be stored for up to a week in the frig.

If they are to be blended to smooth then that can be done now or can be done on an as needed basis.

To blend until smooth, add the serving size to the Cuisinart and process until smooth. For additional smoothness, the soup can be strained through a strainer or a chinois. Fresh cream can be added to the serving size or sour cream. It can be spruced up with some heat from some hot sauce if you like. You can add beans to it for added protein. It is a very nice flavor to it because the sausages add great mouth feel.

Of course the veggies can all be done in the soup mixture of tomato and chicken stock and you would follow the normal course of action for soup prep and sauté the onions, celery, carrots, garlic together until onions are translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients (I would still sauté the sausages until browned but even that isn't necessary) and bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 60 - 90 minutes on top of the stove. Add the corn just before the end. Let it set up for about 5 minutes and serve. Add sour cream, heavy cream or crème fraiche as a dollop on top.

Hope you all enjoy this!

Sara

Easy lentil

Sautee 2 cloves of garlic in a little olive oil

Add 16 oz beef broth (low soduim)

Boil for 3 minutes.

Add 1 cup of water.

Add one, 1lb bag of dried lentils (sorted, rinsed)

Add 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning.

Bring to boil for about 1 minute, reduce heat to simmer.

Simmer till lentils are soft and most of the liquid is absorbed.

Put in fridge for an instant add on for your favorite protein.

Basic Navy bean and Ham

Ingredients:

• 1 pound navy beans
• 2 quarts boiling water
• 2 ham hocks or a meaty ham bone
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• chopped ham or ham from the meaty bone
• salt and pepper to taste (I add a little seasoned salt along with regular)

Preparation:

"fast soak" the dry beans by boiling for 2 minutes, soaking for 1 hour, then draining.

Add 2quarts fresh water, add beans and ham.

Simmer ham bone or hocks with the beans until beans are tender. Remove bones and chop ham. Add chopped onions and celery. Add water to make about 1 gallon. Add ham meat, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook about 30 minutes longer. Navy bean soup recipe serves 12 or more.