The Low-Carb Diabetes Solution Cookbook (21 page)

Guar or xanthan, as needed

YIELD:
8 servings 274 calories; 20 g fat; 18 g protein; 3 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Combine the broth, celery, green pepper, carrot, parsley, and black pepper in your slow cooker. Cover the pot, set the slow cooker to low, and let it cook for 6 to 8 hours (longer won't hurt).

When the time's up, either use a handheld blender to purée the vegetables right there in the slow cooker or scoop them out with a slotted spoon, purée them in your blender, and return them to the slow cooker.

Now whisk in the cheese a little at a time, until it's all melted in. Add the beer, salt, and hot pepper sauce, and stir until the foaming stops. Use guar as needed to thicken your soup until it's about the texture of heavy cream. Re-cover the pot, turn the slow cooker to high, and let it cook for another 20 minutes before serving.

One of the few carb-heavy foods I miss is split pea soup, so I came up with this. It's not exactly like split pea soup, but it's similar, and it satisfied my craving. It's also quick and easy to make.

3 tablespoons (42 g) butter

1
/
2
cup (80 g) chopped onion

1
/
2
cup (50 g) chopped celery

1 medium carrot, grated

4 ounces (115 g) ham

4 cans (14
1
/
2
ounces, or 441 g, each) green beans

1
/
2
teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

2 pinches of cayenne

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

YIELD:
5 servings 120 calories; 9 g fat; 5 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter and start sautéing the onion, celery, and carrot over medium heat.

While that's happening, put your ham in your food processor with the S-blade in place, and pulse until it's chopped medium-fine. Scrape this out of the food processor and into the saucepan with the veggies. Give everything a stir while you're there.

Return the processor bowl to its base, and put the S-blade back in. Dump in the green beans, liquid and all, and run the processor until the beans are pureed quite smooth.

Go back and look at your sautéing vegetables; when they are soft, add the garlic. Sauté it with the vegetables for just a minute.

Now dump in your green bean puree, and stir everything together. Add the thyme, bay leaves, and cayenne, and stir them in. Turn the heat to low, and bring the soup to a simmer. Let it cook for 15 minutes or so.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove the bay leaves, and pour into mugs.

S
auces, condiments, spice rubs, and sprinkle-on seasonings create great variety in our diets. Unfortunately, a dismaying number of commercially available flavorings are sources of sugar, often in meaningful quantities. When you're limited to 20 grams of carbohydrate per day, “spending” 8 grams on a couple of tablespoons (34 g) of ketchup is extravagant—and barbecue sauce runs 10 to 15 grams! You need alternatives.

Fortunately, Heinz, the undisputed king of ketchup, makes Reduced Sugar Ketchup (they can't call it “sugar free” because tomatoes have sugar in them) running just 1 gram of carbohydrate per tablespoon (15 g). I've been known to make my own ketchup, but Heinz Reduced Sugar Ketchup tastes just like the regular stuff, and has become a staple in my kitchen.

Here is a broad selection of sauces and seasonings that will add variety to your already luxurious meals.

This is tremendous over broccoli or cauliflower. But its highest use is over tofu shirataki for mac and cheese.

2
/
3
cup (160 ml) heavy cream

1
/
4
cup (50 g) whipped cream cheese

5 ounces (140 g) Cheddar cheese, shredded

1 teaspoon horseradish mustard (optional)

YIELD:
4 servings or 1 cup (235 g) 316 calories; 30 g fat; 10 g protein; 2 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

In a saucepan over the lowest heat, heat the cream and cream cheese together, whisking until they're combined. Whisk in the Cheddar a little at a time, letting each addition melt before adding more.

Whisk in the horseradish mustard, if using, and you're done.

This couldn't be easier, and it turns precooked shrimp from the grocery store into a great light meal. You could even get fancy and serve it on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce, for a classic shrimp cocktail. Great with other kinds of seafood, too.

1
/
3
cup (80 g) Heinz Reduced Sugar Ketchup

1 tablespoon (15 ml) Tabasco sauce (or Frank's RedHot or Louisiana brand), or to taste

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

1 tablespoon (15 g) prepared horseradish

YIELD:
6 servings or
1
/
2
cup (120 g) 2 calories; trace fat; trace protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Just mix everything together. Done!

This is one of those recipes that would have horrified me back in my low-fat days—and it's sooooo good! If you don't have a food processor, you can make this without one, it will just take some vigorous mixing. The “proper” way to serve steak butter is to spoon it onto foil or waxed paper and form it into a nice roll, which you then chill and cut into tidy slices to melt on steak. If you have that sort of patience, more power to you. I'll go with a bowl and spoon.

8 ounces (230 g) blue cheese, crumbled

3
/
4
cup (165 g) softened butter

1 or 2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon (11 g) spicy brown mustard

2 or 3 drops Tabasco sauce

YIELD:
8 servings 255 calories; 26 g fat; 6 g protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Just plunk all this stuff in your food processor and run it until it's well blended and smooth. Now taste it—do you want a bit more mustard? A little salt and pepper? A dash more Tabasco?

When it's so good you want to cry, put it in a pretty dish and chill it. Then drop a good, rounded tablespoonful over each serving of freshly grilled or broiled steak. You'll get roughly 8 rounded tablespoons out of this batch; each will have 1 gram of carbohydrate.

By the way, if you have steak-loving people on your holiday gift list—and hey, who doesn't?—a log of this steak butter wrapped in foil makes a nice present.

Take that, low-fat pundits! This is great on steaks or burgers, but try it melted over fried eggs, too.

4 slices bacon

1
/
2
cup (112 g) butter

1 teaspoon spicy brown or Dijon mustard

YIELD:
4 servings 120 calories; 13 g fat; 1 g protein; trace carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Lay your bacon on a microwave bacon rack or in a glass pie plate. Microwave on high for 4 to 5 minutes, or until crisp.

In the meantime, throw your butter in your food processor and add the mustard. Pulse until well combined.

By now your bacon is done. Pull it out of the microwave and use your kitchen shears to snip it into the food processor in little bits. Pulse the food processor to mix in the bacon. The more you pulse, the finer the bacon bits will be; go by your own preference.

A garlicky riff on mayonnaise that's good on artichokes, asparagus, fish, chicken, or even topping crab cakes or salmon patties. To change it up, double the lemon juice and add a little grated lemon zest.

3 cloves garlic

1
/
2
teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks

1 cup (235 ml) oil—I'd go with half virgin olive oil, half something blander—MCT oil, high-heat sunflower, or light olive oil

YIELD:
12 servings or 1
1
/
2
cups (355 mg) 172 calories; 19 g fat; 1 g protein; trace carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Put your garlic cloves and salt in your food processor, and run till the garlic is pulverized.

Add the egg yolks, and run till everything is well blended. While that's happening, you can measure your oil into a measuring cup with a pouring lip.

Now with the processor running, pour in the oil in a very thin stream, about the diameter of a pencil lead. When it's all in, it's done! Store in a lidded jar in the fridge.

Intense sun-dried tomato flavor. Consider using this on grilled fish steaks or chicken.

1
/
2
cup (115 g) mayonnaise

2 packed tablespoons (7 g) chopped sun-dried tomatoes

2 packed tablespoons (5 g) chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

1 teaspoon water

1 clove garlic, minced

YIELD:
12 servings or
3
/
4
cup (175 g) 68 calories; 8 g fat; trace protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Put everything in your food processor with the S-blade in place. Now run the processor, stopping it every now and then to scrape down the sides with a rubber scraper to get things back into the path of the blade. You want the basil and tomatoes chopped up pretty finely, and you want the mayonnaise to have taken on a little pinky-brown color.

Oh, my gosh, is this fabulous! Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. On asparagus. On shrimp. On artichokes. On fingers. Just fabulous.

1
/
2
cup (115 g) mayonnaise

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon wasabi paste

3 drops liquid stevia

YIELD:
8 servings or
1
/
2
cup (120 g) 100 calories; 12 g fat; trace protein; trace carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Just combine everything in a bowl, and whisk together well. Unbelievably good.

Sprinkle on pork or chicken before slow smoking for a true barbecue flavor. Good as a sprinkle-on seasoning at the table, too.

1
/
4
cup (60 g) erythritol
*

2 tablespoons (14 g) paprika

1 tablespoon (15 g) celery salt

1 tablespoon (8 g) chili powder

1 tablespoon (9 g) garlic powder

1 tablespoon (7 g) onion powder

1 tablespoon (18 g) seasoned salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon dried sage

1
/
2
teaspoon cayenne

1
/
2
teaspoon dried thyme

*
Alternative Sweeteners

1
/
4
cup (6 g) Splenda

1
/
4
cup (12 g) Stevia in the Raw

YIELD:
13 servings or a generous
3
/
4
cup (175 g) 15 calories; trace fat; 1 g protein; 3 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

Just stir everything together. Store in a clean old spice shaker.

I originally made this for steak. Then I tried it on pork and chicken and realized it was way too good to limit that way. Make this up, keep it in a shaker by the stove, and use it to improve all manner of things! It's the best rub I've come up with in a long time.

1
/
4
cup (72 g) salt or Vege-Sal

3 tablespoons (21 g) ground cumin

3 tablespoons (27 g) garlic powder

2 tablespoons (12 g) ground black pepper

2 tablespoons (15 g) chili powder

2 tablespoons (3 g) Splenda or (6 g) Stevia in the Raw

1 tablespoon (15 g) erythritol

1 tablespoon (7 g) onion powder

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

YIELD:
16 servings or a generous 1 cup (235 g) 17 calories; trace fat; 1 g protein; 3 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

Stir everything together and store in a clean used spice shaker. Use on steaks, pork chops, burgers, ribs, you name it. It's so good!

Lovely over tofu shirataki—the fettuccine style, of course, for fettuccine Alfredo. But try it over broccoli or chicken, too. Or, for bonus points, broccoli, chicken, and tofu shirataki fettuccine!

1
/
2
cup (120 g) chive-and-onion cream cheese

2 tablespoons (28 ml) heavy cream

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons (10 g) grated Parmesan cheese

YIELD:
4 servings or about
3
/
4
cup (175 g) 134 calories; 13 g fat; 2 g protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the chive cream cheese, heavy cream, butter, and garlic. Whisk until you have a smooth sauce. Whisk in the Parmesan, and you're done.

Maple syrup is out, but with this super-simple topping for pancakes, waffles, and the like, you'll never miss it.

1
/
4
cup (6 g) Splenda, (12 g) Stevia in the Raw, or (60 g) erythritol

1 tablespoon (4 g) ground cinnamon

YIELD:
10 servings or about
1
/
3
cup (80 g) 4 calories; trace protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Dead simple: Stir the two together. That's it.

A great alternative to sugar-free pancake syrup—all the maple flavor, none of the carbs. Great on pancakes and waffles, of course, but also wonderful for roasting turnips. I got the maple extract (Boyajian brand) through Amazon.com.

1
/
2
cup (112 g) butter, softened

1
/
8
teaspoon maple extract

20 drops liquid stevia (English toffee)

YIELD:
8 servings or about
1
/
2
cup (112 g) 102 calories; 11 g fat; trace protein; trace carbohydrate; 0 g dietary fiber per serving

Just run everything through the food processor till it's combined. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

This sinfully rich sauce turns a simple chicken breast into a gourmet meal. Also good tossed with shirataki noodles. Gorgonzola's mild blue cheese flavor is especially good here, but you could use any soft domestic blue cheese.

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

1 shallot, minced

3
/
4
cup (180 ml) half-and-half

1 cup (120 g) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

YIELD:
4 servings 186 calories; 16 g fat; 7 g protein; 3 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and start sautéing the minced shallot. When it's soft, add the half-and-half and the crumbled Gorgonzola. Turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring often, until the Gorgonzola is melted.

This is good for basting chicken or pork, but even better for basting salmon steaks!

3 tablespoons (45 g) erythritol

1 tablespoon (15 ml) water

1 chipotle chile canned in adobo

1 clove garlic, crushed

6 drops liquid stevia (English toffee)

6 drops maple extract

YIELD:
5 servings or about
1
/
4
cup (60 g) 1 calorie; trace fat; trace protein; trace carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Put everything in your food processor, and run it till the chipotle's minced fine.

Good for dipping chicken or shrimp, even roasted asparagus. A dollop atop an omelet wouldn't go amiss, either.

1 cup (225 g) mayonnaise

1 chipotle chile canned in adobo

1
/
2
teaspoon ground cumin

1 clove garlic

YIELD:
16 servings or 1 cup (235 g) 99 calories; 12 g fat; trace protein; trace carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Put everything in your food processor, and run till the chipotle and garlic are pulverized. That's it.