Product Rave: Walden Farms Products

Product Rave: Walden Farms Products

So, it's been quite the week here in the low carb kitchen. First off, I had to help teach a BREAD MAKING class! LOL! It was fun, but quite hard to make delicious smelling bread and not eat any of it! (ok, who am I kidding, I totally had a piece! My high carb devil on one shoulder beat down my low carb angel on the other and won this round...)

The other unfortunate blunder in my kitchen this week was that our oven broke. :( The heating element completely snapped in HALF! No oven means no yummy food being made and no food being made means no recipes for the blog!

Now, I didn't want to leave you hanging... so I thought I would do a product review this time. Okay, it is a product RAVE. My new FAVORITE low carb and some NO CARB (and calorie free!) products.

WALDEN FARMS

I have seen them at ALL of the grocery stores I frequent, Smiths (Kroger), Harmon's (Western Family) and even WALMART! They are sometimes in the diabetic/low gluten/gluten free section. They have dressings (great for days when you really want a salad but don't want to "spend" your carbs on a dressing...), sauces (marinara sauce anyone?!), even jams. If you buy online they have small "to go" sizes of their products so you can use them while you are out.

Check them out. They are awesome!

Rhubarb Parfait

Rhubarb Parfait

The taste of Rhubarb is the greatest in the world. Okay, well, it's in the top 10 of my book. I take a bite of it and my mind goes back to rhubarb pies in the afternoon with whipped cream on top in the back yard. mmm....

Now, rhubarb pies aren't exactly low-carb friendly, so I came up with this delicious dessert that is the greatest summer treat.

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Rhubarb Parfait

Serves 4

4.5 Net Carbs per serving, 1.3 from veg

1/2 lb rhubarb (about 4 stalks), diced

1 cup water

3/4 cup - 1 cup xylitol, depending on how sweet you like your rhubarb. I prefer to use 3/4 cups (xylitol has 0 net carbs because it is a sugar alcohol. Don't use more than recommended, and always count the carb count if you use a different sugar substitute, like Splenda or Sweet n Low.)

1 vanilla bean, whole

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup Carb Smart Ice cream- either chocolate or vanilla- You don't need very much, just enough to give the parfait a cool temperature.

1. In a small sauce pot, heat water, xylitol and vanilla. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Add rhubarb and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let cool off the burner.

3. Once cooled, remove rhubarb with a slotted spoon and set aside. Put the syrup back onto the burner and let simmer for about 8-10 minutes.

4. Whip cream and vanilla extract until whipped and fluffy. Return rhubarb to syrup mixture. Let cool slightly. Divide in half.

5. Spoon 1/8 c of Carb Smart Ice Cream into the bottom of each parfait cup divide half of the rhubarb mixture among the 4 cups and then the whipped cream among them. Top with the other half of the rhubarb mixture. Serve immediately.

Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata

I love going to Italian restaurants and getting Chicken Piccata. One of my favorites is at Maggianos Little Italy. If you have one in your area-- go! It's so yummy. Sadly, it is breaded and the sauce is made with white wine, so it's not very induction (let alone Atkins) friendly. I had to find a good substitute. Some recipes for Chicken Piccata leave your chicken with a bland sauce or rubbery chicken. (yuck.) This recipe returns a delicious lemony sauce atop sautéed chicken. Remember to not overcook your chicken-- the cutlets only need about 4 minutes to cook.

Also, a great kitchen gadget to have that works wonders in this recipe is a Mandolin. I have one like this. It is great for slicing the shallot nice and thin and you can use the thicker slice guide to slice the lemon. (Plus it takes about a whole minute to slice both of them! How great is that?) Uniform slices and saves time! Go get one!

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Chicken Piccata

Serves 4

4.6 Net carbs

-8 Thin Boneless Chicken Breast Cutlets (about 4 oz each), or make your own by using 4 breasts and cut them in half.

-Salt and Pepper

-4 tbs Olive Oil

-1 Garlic clove, minced

-1 Shallot, thinly sliced

-1 cup Chicken Broth

-1 Large Lemon, sliced in about 1/4" slices

-1/2 large lemon, juiced

-1 tbs capers, with juice

-3 tbs butter in three slices, chilled.

-1 tsp Italian Seasoning spice

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Dry your cutlets and salt and pepper them.

2. Heat 2 tbs oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add 1/2 of your cutlets and cook until golden brown on both sides.

REMEMBER: These cutlets take only about 4 minutes to cook. DO NOT overcook them. You will end up with rubbery chicken. Rubbery=icky.

Remove from pan and put on a plate in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining oil and remaining chicken.

3. Add the shallot and garlic to the remaining oil in the skillet. cook over medium heat until soft- about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and lemon slices, while scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Let simmer for a few minutes until it thickens up a bit.

4. Stir in lemon juice, capers and accumulated chicken juice from the plate in the oven. Integrate well. Then, remove from heat and add the butter, a piece at a time waiting until the piece is fully melted and integrated in the sauce before adding another. Stir in Italian Seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Plate your chicken and spoon the sauce over before serving.

Herbed Faux-Rice

Herbed Faux-Rice

A few posts back, I told you how ridiculously easy it is to make "faux-rice", well, I completely agree that the taste of faux rice all by it self isn't the most amazing thing to ever spark your taste buds... And when making dinners where plain faux rice doesn't seem too yummy, I like to pump up the flavor.

The great thing about this recipe is that it is so easy to do whatever flavors you are feeling like. Having Indian? Add some Gram Masala or some curry powder... Mexican? Add a diced tomato (but note the carb count!) and some chili powder with a bit of garlic...

Recently, we had this as a side with a roasted whole chicken. I used the same spices on the chicken and rubbed it with some olive oil. It was so good paired with this rice! Such a versatile recipe, it's sure to be a great go-to!

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Herbed Faux Rice

Makes 6 heaping 1/2 cup servings

1.8 net carb per serving 1.4 from veg

(depending on your herbs and spices)

1 head of cauliflower (about 3 cups of florets)

3 tbs water

2 tbs butter

2 green onions

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbs finely chopped parsley (or sage, I used sage in the batch in the picture)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1. Shred cauliflower florets in a food processor. Put in a 2 1/2 qt. casserole dish with the 2 tbs water. Microwave for 4 minutes. Stir. Set aside.

2. Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add green onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add in spices and sauté for 1 minute til nice and fragrant. Add in shredded cauliflower and sauté until throughly mixed. Keep the cauliflower moving so it does not burn. Serve immediately.

You can keep the left overs from this recipe for up to three days. As time passes the "rice" gets more and more "cauliflower-y" and isn't as yummy.

Southwestern Chicken Tomato Soup

Southwestern Chicken Tomato Soup

I love easy, fast, one pot recipes.

This one was actually a mistake when I tried to make tortilla soup and I didn't have any of the ingredients. I ended up changing the whole recipe and boy did it work out. I love when I make a blunder in the kitchen and then my husband says, "Oh my gosh. This is so good!" (yay me!) I also like to double this recipe and eat it throughout the week for lunches. It is quite good reheated!

So here it is, a really successful blunder from my low-carb kitchen.

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Southwestern Chicken Tomato Soup

6.3 Net carbs per serving, 4.5 from Veg

4 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

2 tbs oil, olive or vegetable

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced, separated

1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes

3 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oregano

1/4 c jalapeños, diced (use more or less depending on your spice preference)

1 small onion, sliced thinly

6 cups of water or chicken broth

6 chicken flavored bullion cubes (omit if using broth)

1 tbs Splenda

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan. Add 1 garlic clove and sauté until fragrant and the edges start to brown. Add the chicken and sauté until cooked through and nicely browned. Remove and set aside.

2. Add tomatoes and the rest of the garlic, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of your hot pan.

3. Add the chili powder, salt, oregano, jalapeños and onion while stirring regularly. Cook for 1 minute.

4. Add to the pot your water and bullion cubes (or broth, if using) and your 1 tbs Splenda. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and let sit between a simmer and a boil for about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Chicken BLT Salad

Chicken BLT Salad

Bacon is so delicious... it makes everything that it comes into contact with so yummy. I mean think about it...

Lettuce...Ok...

Lettuce with Chicken Salad on top...Better...

Lettuce with Chicken Salad on top topped with BACON!.... Delicious.

This salad is SO easy to make and it's EASY. I prefer to bake my bacon. It makes life so much easier, and the house doesn't smell like a fried pig. (yuck.) For those of you who don't know how to bake bacon... here is a great link about How to Make Perfect Bacon.

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Chicken BLT Salad

Makes 4 Servings

2.3 Net Carbs, 1 from Veg

1/2 C Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese

3 Cups Chopped Cooked Chicken (about 4 boneless skinless breasts)

1/2 Cup Grape Tomatoes, Halved

1/4 Cup Chopped Green Onions

2 Bacon Slices

Microwave cheese in a small bowl on High for about 20 seconds until soft. In a large bowl, mix chicken, tomatoes and green onions. Pour softened cream cheese onto the chicken/tomato mixture. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve on assorted greens if desired. (As you can see from the picture, I didn't add any greens. SHAME ON ME! I know, I know. I need to eat my greens... but this is quite good as just a chicken salad!)

The Gyro Salad- Gettin' Back to My Roots

The Gyro Salad- Gettin' Back to My Roots

You remember the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding? One of my favorites! My grandmother is EXACTLY like Toula's mother in that movie. I swear that I have this conversation every time we eat at my grandmothers house...

Maria Portokalos: Ian, are you hungry?
Ian Miller: Uh no, I already ate.
Maria Portokalos: Okay, I make you something.

Remember when I told you that my husband is all about anything from Hong Kong? Well, I'm mad about being Greek. My Great-Grandfather Kristos came over to America from Greece. Olive Oil runs through my veins. I have had fantasies about a good Gyro sandwich. (Remember people, that is pronounced "yeer-oh" not "gee-roh" not "jai-roh" the best English translation that I have come up with is "yeer-oh" with the y really being a soft gutteral and the r rolled with the second syllable slightly accented.)

Well, being low-carb kind of makes it hard to get a good Gyro Sandwich... (tear) so I figure that a good Gyro Salad can be just as tasty.

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Gyro Salad

Makes 2 LARGE salads (a big plate full) You can easily turn this into four servings if you would like to use as a smaller or side salad.)

7.2 Net Carbs 5.6 from Veggies

1/2 c Water

1 Beef Bullion Cube

2 tbs Olive Oil

1 minced Garlic Clove

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Oregano

1 lb Beef Sirloin Steak, thinly sliced (or lamb)

5 cups Lettuce (I used Romaine, but you can use what you have on hand)

1 Roma Tomato, diced

1 Small Cucumber (Or half of a seedless English Cucumber), thinly sliced

1/8 Red Onion, Thinly Sliced (As thin as you can)

1/4 c Feta Cheese

1. In a large resealable plastic bag combine the first six ingredients. Seal the bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate overnight, or at least eight hours.

2. Cook beef on high heat until brown and cooked to preferred done-ness. Serve on a large plate atop lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion and feta. Drizzle with Tzatziki Sauce (see below).

Tzatziki Sauce

1.7 net carbs for about 1/4 cup of sauce

1 Medium Cucumber (or 1/2 seedless large English cucumber) (about a 1/2 cup processed)

1 Large Garlic Clove

1 c Sour Cream (I know I know... Grandpa Kristos is rolling in his grave, but no yogurt on induction so I use sour cream instead. The people at Atkins have said. " If you really want to eat yogurt, you should select regular unflavored plain yogurt and control your portion size. You should include the carb count in your total daily intake and budget for it." So, if you want to eat yogurt... go ahead, but this tastes pretty good with Sour Cream.

1 tbs Olive Oil

1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar

1 tsp Oregano

1. In a food processor, process cucumber and garlic until finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl.

2. Add sour cream and remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill for at least 15-20 minutes to let the flavors meld.

This sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week in an airtight container.