Category Archives: Low Carb

Turkey Cranberry Salad…Leftover Turkey Heaven

Leftovers won’t last long with this delish salad!

Who wants cold turkey sandwiches for 11 days after Thanksgiving? Not this girl. Your turkey just went to leftover heaven with this fabulous turkey cranberry salad. The secret ingredient is the heavy whipping cream folded in– it takes away that mayonnaisey taste that sometimes overwhelms chicken salad. The result is a salad that is creamy and decadent (and low-carb!) Sounds like the kind of legacy every turkey would want to leave behind, right?

Ingredients

4 cups of fresh roasted turkey chopped

½ cup of full-fat mayonnaise

3 Tb fresh parsley

3 Tb celery diced

3 Tb onion diced

3 Tb fresh cranberry sauce

3 Tb fresh toasted almonds

½ cup heavy whipping cream whipped into soft peaks

1 tsp kosher salt, more to taste

Directions: Mix everything together– fold in heavy whipping cream last. Enjoy!

Meaty Monday: Crockpot Orange Star Chicken

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You’ll be the STAR of your dinner party with Orange Star Chicken!

‘Tis the season for entertaining…..how about a one pot meal that will wow your friends and family with zero high maintenance prep work? Meet Orange Star Chicken. You’ll be the star of your party…and get to spend your evening sipping on a holiday cocktail instead of stressing in the kitchen! This is fabulous served with rice noodles…

Ingredients

1 package chicken drumsticks, skin removed

1 box of low sodium chicken stock

¾ cup soy sauce

½ cup brown sugar (low carbers, sub out for 1/4 cup truvia)

4-5 pieces of orange peel

4 spring onions chopped

2 Tb garlic chopped

1 Tb whole black peppercorns

5 star anise pieces

3 Tb fresh ginger

1 jalapeno chopped

Juice of one orange

2 Tb dry sherry

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions: Mix and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours

Serve over rice or rice noodles (Pad Thai noodles work great!)

Nut-free Pesto

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Go nuts…without the nuts!

Lately, nuts have been ~~giving me itchy, bumpy hives~~ doing not so nice things to my complexion. Pesto is one of my favorite toppings for pasta and pizza– hell, I’d even spoon that green goodness onto my cereal. Pesto Crispies, anyone? Anyhoo, I needed an allergy-free solution: I give you, NUT-FREE pesto. Almost, as good as the real deal.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups basil leaves

3 Tb parsley

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

1/3 cup + 3 Tb olive oil

1/4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

4 fresh garlic cloves

1/2 ts of salt (salt to taste since the parmesan adds quite a bit of saltiness)

Blend all ingredients in food processor. Add a Tb or two of water if you want to thin it down. Spread on fish before baking, or mix into pasta….or dip pieces of pita into it! DELISH!

Guilt-Free Lemon Cheesecake

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Guilt free, sugar free….and did I mention DELISH on a plate??

Stressed about holiday pounds? Fuhgeddaboutit….Try this lemony, creamy, guilt-free decadence. Gluten free, sugar free and NOT missing any delicious!

Crust

12 oz almonds ground up in food processor
4 Tb melted butter
Mix almonds with melted butter and press into a springform pan.

Filling

Blend in mixer:
Three 8oz blocks of full fat cream cheese
One pint sour cream
Juice from 2 lemons
Zest from one lemon
3 eggs
1/2 cup Truvia
1 Tb vanilla

Mix together until smooth and pour into pan over almond crust. Bake at 350 for one hour. Chill in fridge for several hours before you top with the lemon curd.

Lemon Curd

5 egg yolks
4 lemons juiced and zested
1/2 cup Truvia
1 stick full fat butter cut into pieces

Whisk together in a bowl over a pot of simmering water (or in a double boiler) until the mixture thickens– about 8 minutes. Whisk constantly during those 8 minutes! Turn heat down and add pieces of butter one at a time and stir until the whole stick has been melted and whisked in. Lay a piece of saran wrap ON the curd and chill for 2 hours.

Top chilled cheesecake with lemon curd just before serving.

I’ve served this many times at parties and people are shocked that it’s sugar free and gluten free!

Sugar-free Green Goddess Dressing

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Dressing Fit for a Goddess

No sugar and no heavy oils for THIS goddess. The base of the dressing is made with coconut oil, which contains Medium Chain Triglycerides. Medium chain whaaaat, you ask? According to Wikipedia: “Medium Chain Triglycerides are generally considered a good biologically inert source of energy that is easy to metabolize. Some studies have shown that MCT’s can help in the process of excess calorie burning, and thus weight loss.”

Parker translation: It’ll keep your ass in your skinny jeans!

Green Goddess dressing
Mix in food processor:
2 garlic cloves
1 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 Tb Dijon mustard
2 Tb Truvia
Sprinkle of kosher salt

Melt 1/2 cup coconut oil in microwave for 35 seconds. At room temperature it is congealed, so you have to melt it to mix it. Pour into food processor to emulsify and mix till blended. I prefer the refined coconut oil because if doesn’t have a strong coconut taste like unrefined does. Toss dressing on salad and enjoy! The dressing will congeal again quickly, so if you don’t plan to serve it right away, you may have to melt it down again before serving.

Meaty Monday: Buttermilk Thyme Chicken Thighs

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What’s up, tender juicy chicken thighs?

This is my new favorite way to prepare chicken! In the past, I’ve used buttermilk for frying chicken, but since I’m trying to keep things ~~extremely~~ relatively healthy, I decided to branch out into the buttermilk marinade style. The buttermilk really tenderizes the chicken beautifully. This is inspired by a Rachael Ray recipe that used a portion of the marinade for salad dressing (and that’s put aside BEFORE you marinate the chicken!…We’re not prepping a salmonella salad, y’all!)

Try my version– it’s fabulous and super easy. And, it’s perfect if you’re low-carbing.

Marinade:
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup full fat mayo
2-3 Tb fresh thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt

Chicken:
1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into chunks
1 Tb butter
1 Tb olive or canola oil

Whisk together and set aside 1/2 cup to use as salad dressing.

Cut up boneless skinless chicken in chunks or strips and soak in remaining marinade for 2 hours in fridge. Heat up a grill pan on medium/high with 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb oil. When pan is hot, put chicken chunks in (don’t crowd them) and grill for about 7 minutes per side on medium heat. Don’t move them around in the pan too much– let them sit and sizzle so they get that yummy, crunchy, caramelization!

1 pound of chicken pieces will require 2 batches of grilling. Replenish with more butter/oil before grilling second batch.

Serve with a salad tossed with the leftover dressing. Top chicken with a few sprigs of thyme before serving.

Bacon, Bacon, Bacon….

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Nothing better than crispy bacon….

Bacon is gooooooood. And it’s super easy to get crispy by cooking it for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. (Sometimes, it’s closer to 15 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs, so keep an eye on it.) Personally, I prefer regular, center cut bacon. Thick cut doesn’t get as crispy. Put down some foil on a sheet pan for easy cleanup. Drain on some paper towels and get your bacon on.

Peach and Brandy Marscapone Cheesecake with Pecan Crust and a Sweet Balsamic Reduction

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Peach and Brandy Marscapone Cheesecake that won’t make your ass fat, I peeeeeromise!

Now before you get your panties in a bunch cuz I’m tempting you to cheat on your diet— relax. It’s Sugar Free! And it’s Gluten Free! Go ahead, let your friends think they’re indulging– no one has to know it’s goodferya!

Cheesecake filling:
1 Tb butter
3 peeled, pitted peaches
1/4 cup brandy
1 Tb vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
8oz marscapone cheese
2 1/2 blocks of cream cheese (two 8oz boxes and 1/2 of another) *bring to room temperature
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
3 eggs
1/2 cup Truvia

Crust:
2 cups of pecans ground up in the food processor until fine
3 Tb of melted butter

Topping:
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar reduced down to a sweet syrupy delish

In medium sauce pan, melt butter and stir in peeled, pitted peaches. Smash down peaches into the butter and let simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add 1/4 cup brandy, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and let the peaches macerate (fancy way of saying let them get mushy and absorb the booze and butter!) for another 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

Put peach mixture into a food processor (or blender) and mix for 30 seconds. Add the marscapone and the cream cheese, lemon juice, truvia and eggs and blend for 1-2 minutes until combined without any lumps.

Combine pecans and melted butter and press down into a greased Springform pan. Pour in cheesecake filling and bake at 325 for one hour. Cool cheesecake in fridge for 3 hours before serving.

Immediately before serving, make balsamic topping. Pour 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce down on medium high heat until balsamic vinegar turns the consistency of syrup. Drizzle on top of cheesecake right before you serve it.

Fresh Mozzarella, Basil and Watermelon Skewers

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Alternate balls of watermelon, fresh mozzarella and basil

Salad on a stick? BAM.

Just get out your melon baller and scoop some juicy, seedless watermelon. Then alternate those delish balls of fresh mozzarella with basil. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar on it if you’re feeling crazy! Your guests will be super impressed, indeed!