300 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes (52 page)

Souper Easy, Souper Quick

How much simpler could this get? It's a great, warming starter for an otherwise very low carb meal.

2 cups (475 ml) chicken broth

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 can (14 1/2 ounces, or 410 g) diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons (28 g) jarred pesto

Put the chicken broth, garlic, and canned tomatoes, juice and all, in a 4 cup (950 ml) glass measuring cup. Microwave on high for 6 to 8 minutes or until good and hot. Pour into two bowls or four mugs and put a dollop of jarred pesto in each serving.

Yield:
2 to 4 servings, assuming 2, each will have 96 calories, 2 grams fat, 7 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, and 15 grams usable carb.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Sage Pesto

I adapted this from a recipe by Bobby Flay. I both speeded it up and slashed the carbs. Given the pedigree, it's not surprising it's really good!

1 quart (950 ml) chicken broth

1/2 cup (50 g) walnuts

1/2 cup (30 g) parsley sprigs

2 tablespoons (5 g) fresh sage

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil, divided

1/3 cup (33 g) grated Parmesan cheese

12 ounces (340 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon concentrate

salt and pepper

1 packet tofu shirataki, fettuccini width

parsley

Pour your broth into a big saucepan and put it over high heat.

Spread your walnuts in a Pyrex pie plate and nuke them on high for 2 minutes.

While that's happening, assemble the parsley, sage, garlic, olive oil, and 1/4 cup (25 g) of the Parmesan in your food processor with the S-blade in place.

When the nuts are toasted, add them to the food processor and run until you have a paste.

Dice your chicken breast into 1/4 inch (6 cm) cubes—this is easier if it's partially frozen. Stir them into the broth, which should be getting hot by now. Stir in the bouillion concentrate, too, and salt and pepper to taste.

Drain your shirataki and rinse. Snip across them a couple of times with your kitchen shears and then add them to the soup.

When it's simmering and the chicken cubes are white through, serve. Add a couple of tablespoons (28 g) of the pesto to each bowl and top with the remaining cheese and parsley.

Yield:
3 servings, each with 525 calories, 38 grams fat, 41 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram dietary fiber, and 5 grams usable carb.

Cheater's Chowder

This is so called because you're cheating on the usual ingredients, and you sure are cheating on the cooking time! You are not, however, cheating on your diet. This filling soup is a meal in itself.

1/4 head cauliflower

1 medium turnip (just bigger than a tennis ball)

3 slices bacon

1/2 medium onion

2 cups (475 ml) half-and-half

1 can (10 ounces, or 280 g) minced clams

Salt or Vege-Sal and pepper

Whack the cauliflower into a few good-size chunks and put it in your food processor with the S-blade in place. Peel the turnip, quarter it, and drop it in, too. Pulse the processor until everything's chopped to a medium-fine consistency. Put the cauliflower and turnip in a microwaveable casserole with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (28 ml) of water, cover, and microwave on High for 12 minutes.

While that's cooking, chop up the bacon (I snip mine up with cooking shears, right into the pot) and start frying it over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stirring from time to time.

Put that food processor bowl back on its base with the S-blade in place, throw in the half-onion, and pulse until the onion's chopped medium-fine. Dump the onion in with the bacon, which should be giving off some grease by now. Fry the onion and bacon together until the onion is translucent.

Pour the half-and-half and the clams into the pot—don't bother to drain the clams—stir it and then let the whole thing come to a simmer, stirring from time to time.

When the cauliflower and turnips are done, add them to the pot, too—no need to drain. Stir them in, salt and pepper it to taste, let the soup simmer just another minute or two, and serve.

Yield:
3 servings, each with 16 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 15 grams of usable carbs and 31 grams of protein.

By the way, I tried running the nutritional analysis for this soup using half heavy cream in place of the half-and-half. It only cut 1 gram of carb off each serving—but it added 175 calories. Not worth it, if you ask me.

Sopa Aguacate

With one of the quesadillas from chapter 2 on the side (see
page 60
), this makes a nice light supper.

1 quart (950 ml) chicken broth

1 ripe avocado

2 scallions

2 canned green chilies or 1 or 2 canned jalapeños, if you like it hot!

2 tablespoons (2 g) chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

Start heating the broth—you can put it in a pan on the stove or you can put it in a large microwaveable container in the microwave.

While the broth is heating, scoop the avocado out of its skin and into a food processor with the S-blade in place. Add the scallions, peppers, cilantro, and salt. Pulse to chop everything together—you can leave a few chunks of avocado or purée it smooth, whichever you prefer.

When the broth is hot, divide the avocado mixture between 4 smallish soup bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the avocado mixture and serve.

Yield:
4 servings, each with 6 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 3 grams of usable carbs and 6 grams of protein.

Bonus:
You'll get a whopping 572 milligrams potassium and only 125 calories!

Curried Chicken and Tomato Soup

This is just astonishingly good and even better considering how quick and easy it is. Next time you come home tired and hungry on a cold, rainy night, try this and discover true contentment.

3 cups (700 ml) chicken broth

1 can (14 1/2 ounces, or 410 g) diced tomatoes with green chilies

8 ounces (225 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

1 1/2 tablespoons (9 g) curry powder

1 can (13 1/2 ounces, or 395 g) coconut milk

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon concentrate

guar, xanthan, or glucomannan

In a large microwaveable dish or measuring cup, combine the chicken broth and canned tomatoes with chilies. Nuke on high for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, dice your chicken breast; you want cubes 1/4 to 1/2 inches (6 to 13 cm). Then, in a large saucepan, sauté the curry powder in the butter over low heat.

Pull out your chicken broth/tomato mixture, which should be hot by now, and pour it over the curry powder. Stir it up and turn up the burner to medium high. Stir in the coconut milk and the chicken bouillon concentrate. Thicken the whole thing up a little with your guar, xanthan, or glucomannan shaker; you want it a little thicker than heavy cream.

When your soup is getting to the simmering point, stir in the diced chicken. Don't just plunk it in and let it sit or it'll congeal in a lump in the bottom of the pot. Stir it in so each cube cooks separately.

It shouldn't take more than a minute or two for those little bitty chicken cubes to be cooked. Serve it up!

Yield:
3 servings, each with 366 calories, 29 grams fat, 20 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams dietary fiber, and 8 grams usable carb.

When you read the labels, you'll be stunned at how much sugar you'll find in condiments, sauces, salad dressings, and even some sprinkle-on seasonings. Fortunately, it's quite quick and simple to make your own.