Low Carb Protein Shake

Here’s another super easy low carb protein shake.

You can find my other post here.

I’m not going to lie.  This is another post that only my honey darlin uses.  He is really into lifting weights and getting strong, big muscles (I’m ok with my hot yoga poses).  As soon as he gets home from getting his sweat on he fires up our vitamix and makes a low carb protein shake.

He kind of stumbled on this protein when we were browsing the aisles of Whole Foods (which I do a lot of).  You can also find it here on netrition for a lower price.

It’s simple.  Decide on a flavor: chocolate, vanilla or plain, add coconut milk, and slice up an orange or grapefruit and you got yourself a low carb protein shake.

Recipe:  Low Carb Protein Shake

2 scoops Garden of Life RAW Protein

ice

cup of Coconut Milk (unsweetened) add more for smoother consistency

peeled orange or grapefruit

Mix or blend and enjoy this easy low carb protein shake.

Kale and Beef Recipe

This is for all you kale and beef recipe lovers out there.

I unfortunately am not one of them.  Now, my honey darlin, he is a HUGE kale lover.  I’ve just never acquired the taste for the leafy green.

What’s great about kale is it only has 2 net carbs per ½ cup when you sauté in a pan over medium heat.  It has excellent nutritional goodness too.  Kale has a great source of fiber, vitamin K, vitamin A (a cup alone has 3 times the daily requirement).  It also has anti-cancer properties.  So eat up!!!

I should have started out with this is not my kale and beef recipe but my boyfriends.  He knows his way around the kitchen.  (He also makes a killer omelet, but that’s another blog post).  He kind of just stumbled onto creating this.  He loves meat and he loves kale. Put them together and have a nutritious low carb meal.

Melt a pat of butter in a medium size pan over medium heat.  Wait till butter is melted and add cubed beef.  Sauté until cooked to desired doneness.  He likes his medium.  Remember let the beef rest after you turn the heat off, as it will continue to cook.  (My boyfriend usually cooks up all of his beef at one time that he buys at Whole Foods (only grass fed by the way) and adds the beef cubes right about when the kale has a few more minutes to cook).

In another pan heat a medium size pan over medium heat.  Add a pat of butter and wait till butter melts.  Wash and cut up kale into pieces of your liking.  Remember the kale is going to shrink in size just a bit once it is cooked.

Let kale cook.  Tossing several times with kitchen tongs to make sure all sides are getting the love then need.  Kale will turn bright green when it’s ready to eat.  You also can you use any type of protein in this low carb meal.  Grilled chicken makes another nutritious low carb dinner.

After the beef has rested, add to the kale and saute together.  Wait about 30-45 seconds and plate and enjoy.

Beef and Kale Recipe

Half of a bunch a kale (we buy from Whole Foods.  Usually 2 for $5 bucks)

A handful of cubed beef

Salt and pepper

2 pats of butter too sauté the kale and beef

Net carbs are at 2 grams.  Not including any type of seasoning or hot sauce that he occasionally will use.

I hope you and yours enjoy this kale and beef recipe.

Seafood Salad Recipe

Seafood Salad Recipe

It’s summer time.  This seafood salad recipe is a refreshing dish you can enjoy at on a picnic or even a summer barbeque.  It’s light in taste and works perfectly along side a heaping mound of spinach.

Cook the Dreamfields pasta until it is tender then drain it completely. Allow it to cool then move it to a large bowl.

Drain the tuna and shrimp then add both to the pasta, stirring them in completely.

Break the crabmeat up and add it to the pasta, mixing it in.  Dice up the celery and add it to the mixture.  Fold in half a jar of Miracle Whip, mixing it until the pasta and seafood is completely covered.  Season to taste with salt and pepper then chill in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving.  Serve over spinach if you desire.

Seafood Salad Recipe

1 Box of Dreamfields Low Carb Pasta (your choice of type, I used shell for this time around)

1 can of Tuna (packed in water)

1 can of Miniature Shrimp

1 lb of Imitation Crab Meat

2 to 3 stalks of celery

1 large jar of Miracle Whip Dressing

This seafood salad recipe works well with a bottle of white wine.  My blue-eyed honey and I love to take it to the beach with us on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  Enjoy!

Broccoli Salad Recipe

Broccoli Salad Recipe

Broccoli and I haven’t been great friends for the good part of my life.  I will say the relationship has most definitely gotten stronger by eating this low carb recipe.  See, to me, when you add bacon to anything, it just makes whatever you’re adding to so much better.  I’m sure you’d agree.

Chop broccoli to the size of your liking and mix all ingredients and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

If you can spare the carbs, it is excellent with sunflower seeds or chopped almonds. If you can REALLY spare carbs, add dried cranberries or chopped apple.  I’ve had all three renditions of this broccoli salad and I love it just fine with bacon, bacon and more bacon.

Broccoli Salad Recipe

Chopped fresh broccoli

About 3/4 of a small red onion

4 tbsp Mayo

5 Tbsp Heavy Cream

1/3 Cup Cheddar cheese shredded

4 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped

1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Packet Splenda

4 servings

2.9 net carbs per 1/2C serving

Hoping you have a great relationship with broccoli and can thoroughly enjoy this broccoli salad recipe.

Taco Salad Recipe

There’s no hiding it, I love Mexican food and this taco salad recipe makes me want to shout how much I do from the rooftops!

Chop or shred lettuce to salad-sized pieces.  Set aside with tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream.

Brown the beef or you can choose to use extra lean ground turkey, your call, with olive oil in a large skillet as per instructions on the taco-seasoning packet. When beef / turkey is browned, mix taco seasoning with water and add to skillet. Simmer until reduced. Remove from heat when done.

In bowls or deep plates, spread one cup of shredded lettuce each. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of chopped tomatoes over lettuce. Add 1/4 of taco beef, top with 1/4 cup cheese and two tbsps cream cheese.

This was snapped right before the dollop of sour cream.  So yummy and delicious and so low carb!

Taco Salad Recipe

1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef

1 package Old El Paso Taco Seasoning

3/4 cup water

2 tbsp Olive Oil

4 cups shredded Romaine Lettuce

1/2 cup chopped Red Ripe Tomatoes

8 tbsp Breakstone Fat Free Sour Cream

1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Number of Servings: 4

8.2 net carbs per serving.

Even on a low carb diet you can still enjoy this taco salad recipe.  This recipe is a regular on our low carb menu.

Egg Salad Recipe

This is a SUPER easy egg salad recipe.  I mean SUPER easy.  Boil, chop and mix is all you have to do.  Simple as pie, really.

Boil 4 eggs. Chop up hard-boiled eggs into a mixing bowl. Mix eggs with all other ingredients.

I like to add a dollop of this egg salad on a piece of romaine lettuce or if you’re not low carbing it, right between two slices of bread.  1 serving = 1/4 cup (enough for a sandwich).  You can also add tuna to this egg salad recipe.  Your choice but I like mine without.

Egg Salad Recipe

4 hard-boiled eggs

3 tbs of light mayonnaise

2 tbs of prepared yellow mustard

Dash of pepper

Dash of salt

Number of Servings: 8

.6 net carbs per serving.

This egg salad recipe makes perfect for a picnic on the beach or in the park.  Just remember to chill for about an hour before you eat.

Shrimp Salad Recipe

Serves 4 – 4.4 net carbs per serving.

I hope you enjoy this simple shrimp salad recipe.

Healthy Carrot Cake

There’s nothing more that my honey darlin’ loves more than carrot cake, well maybe low carb red velvet cake but this healthy carrot cake recipe comes in at a very close second.  I was informed by his sweet mother that he LOVED carrot cake.  I had NO idea that this cake held a special place in his heart.  So after searching high and wide for an excellent and healthy carrot cake recipe, I came up with this one.  Actually I have turned them into a muffin recipe because he likes to grab and go in the mornings.  And since I bake these for him and him only (I’ve NEVER been a fan of any rendition of carrot cake) I bake them how he wants them.

This is a perfect recipe for low carbers on the go.  He grabs, nukes it for about 15 seconds or so, sprays I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter on top and heads for the door.  Easy and quick and super yummy.

Combine egg whites with rolled oats, cottage cheese, whey protein, baking powder, vanilla extract, splenda and cinnamon in a bowl.  Beat together with mixer. Gently fold carrots, pineapples, nuts and raisins (optional).

Spoon batter into muffin pans coated with cooking spray, filling  3/4 of the way full. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan immediately.

Recipe:  Healthy Carrot Cake

8 egg whites

1 cup Rolled Oats

1/2 cup cottage cheese, fat free

4 scoops Any Whey protein powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

½ cup splenda

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup grated carrots

1/3 cup crushed pineapple — drained

Optional (not included in cal calc)
2 tablespoons raisins — optional
2 tablespoons almonds — or walnuts, optional

Makes 14 muffins.  6.6 net carbs per muffin.

Here’s hoping your honey enjoys this healthy carrot cake recipe as much as mine does.

Roasted Zucchini Parmesan

Get ready for this easy, quick and full of flavor roasted zucchini parmesan recipe.  Who doesn’t love a quick and simple side dish or in some cases a whole meal you can fix under 10 minutes start to finish?  I know I do especially when I’m crunched for time.  I like to make this healthy low carb roasted zucchini parmesan side dish at least two times a week.  My boyfriends LOVES zucchini and I’ll eat anything that you sprinkle cheese over.   And when I’m eating alone, which is a rarity around here,  I’ll have this for dinner instead of a side dish.

Turn your oven to broil.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and then coat with some non-stick cooking spray. Place the zucchini slices out on the pan, then spritz with them with the butter spray or you can drizzle oil over the vegetable. Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese, add the spice of your liking (I used pepper flakes because we love heat in this place) and then pop it in the oven. Broil for a few minutes – until the cheese starts to brown. Enjoy it while it’s warm!

Recipe:  Roasted Zucchini Paresam

1 – Zucchini

2 tbsp – Parmesan cheese grated

a sprinkle of a spice of your liking – I used pepper flakes

I can’t believe it’s not Butter (the spray kind) or drizzle of EVOO (you pick)

Non-stick cooking spray

1 serving = 1 cup – 4.8 net carbs

Enjoy this healthy low carb roasted zucchini parmesan recipe.

Low Carb Tortillas

It’s mexican night in this apt!!!  We LOVE mexican food!  These little tortillas are AMAZING!  About 2 or so end up in my belly before even stuffing them with goodness.  They have an almost sweetness to them because of the coconut flour used in the recipe.

You can also use these for deli meat wraps.  Or if you’d like cut them into little wedges and fry them up into tortilla chips.  Which I have done and OMG they are so good!!!  How to instructions follow the low carb torillas recipe.

If you choose not to go forth with this recipe.  (No judgement)  Let me make it a little easier on you.  You can go here to find 3 net carb tortillas.  You can always look for low carb tortillas at your local grocery store but I always find that the carb count is high.

In a large bowl combine coconut flour, peanut flour, salt and baking powder. Mix in the butter with your fingers until a fine meal texture. Add the water and mix with your hands until the dough comes together.  Knead a bit in your hands until smooth divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Lay one piece of parchment paper onto your counter. Place 1 ball of dough onto the parchment then place another piece of parchment paper on top of the ball of dough.  Using a rolling pin, roll the dough ball into a thin, round tortilla.

Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly. Flip and continue cooking until browned. About 40 seconds on each side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer (or a plate with something covering it).  Continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.

Tortillas will soften up as they sit wrapped.

Recipe: Low Carb Tortillas

1/2 cup peanut flour
2 Tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons cold water

Makes 8 tortillas – Net Carbs 1.5 g

For chips:

Cut tortilla in quarters.  Fry in hot oil.  WATCH VERY CAREFULLY.  They burn QUICKLY.  Only fry about 10-15 seconds!  Lay on paper towel and sprinkle with salt.

Enjoy these super yummy low carb tortillas for your mexican cuisine night.