Bacon-Wrapped Halloumi Cheese with Pesto Dip

Appetizer à la LCHF at our house. Bacon-wrapped halloumi cheese with a pesto dip. Ridiculously delicious. It hardly gets better than this.

Ingredients
1 packet of halloumi cheese
1 packet of bacon
1 tub of sour cream
Pesto

Preheat oven to 450°F (225°C)
Cut up a package of halloumi cheese into 8–10 pieces
Wrap a piece of bacon around each piece of halloumi
Place on a baking sheet
Bake in oven until nicely colored, 10–15 minutes (turn at half-time).

Pesto dip: Mix pesto (to taste) with sour cream – done!

All of the above taken from the mega low carb site DietDoctor which can be found here. Eddie

Low carb and gluten free spring rolls

I made these while we were away, so I unfortunately couldn’t add a lot of exotic flavours or fresh herbs as very little was available where we were, but I cannot tell you how much my children loved these. So crunchy, tasty, healthy and full of vegetables. You could change the chicken to be shrimp or beef. Why not add lettuce, broccoli, sliced peppers, asparagus, coriander, mint, ginger, chilli, peanut sauce, cashews.

They are great as a dinner, snack, appetiser, school lunch boxes. Fill them with your favourite vegetables. You can also steam them or use salad ingredients inside and not even cook the rice papers, but personally, I like the crunchy texture of baked ones.

Serve with a salad, steamed vegetables, bok choy, dipping sauces, sprinkle with sesame seeds when the spring rolls come out of the oven. If you have time, make a double batch and that is school lunch sorted for tomorrow (and maybe the next day).

Wheat free, gluten free, low carb spring rolls.

Above photograph and text from the fantastic low carb food site 'Ditch the carbs' which can be found here. Who says great low carb food is not highly nutritious or boring? not me!

Why not hop over and take a look well worth your time.

All the best Jan

This low carb maple pecan granola is packed with nutrients and great flavour.

Nutritional Facts

Each serving has 12.31 g of carbs and 8.97 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 3.34 g. Food energy: 427kcal; Saturated fatty acids: 5.78g; Total fat: 39.68g; Calories from fat: 357; Cholesterol: 10mg; Carbohydrate: 12.31g; Total dietary fiber: 8.97g; Protein: 9.38g; Sodium: 87mg

Get all the details and more information from here.

Broccoli and Smoked Salmon Omelette

Ingredients For One

 

1 tbsp olive oil
100g Tenderstem® Broccoli, each piece cut into 3
Half a small red onion, finely sliced
3 large free-range eggs
Knob of butter
2 tbsp cream cheese
1 tbsp chopped chives
Salt and pepper
50g smoked salmon, cut into strips

 

Method

 

1. Heat the olive oil in a small non-stick frying pan (around 15cm diameter) and gently sauté the Broccoli and onion, until softened and onion starting to become golden. Remove from the pan and keep to one side.
2. While the onion and Broccoli are cooking, mix together the cream cheese and chopped chives. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Return the pan to the hob, increase the heat and add the butter. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk together with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Once the butter is bubbling, add the eggs. Swirl around the pan and either using a fork or rubber spatula, stir around until the eggs are almost set. Spread to cover the surface and leave to continue cooking for a minute or so, until the top of the eggs are almost set, with just a little liquid on the surface.
5. Spoon the onion and Broccoli onto one half of the omelette. Add the cream cheese and finally lay over the salmon. Tilt the pan and carefully fold over the other half of the omelette on top of the filling. Slide onto a plate and serve with a green salad.

 

Tip... Fried bacon or chorizo are delicious alternatives to smoked salmon. You could also add a pinch of dried chilli flakes into the pan with the onion and Broccoli for a kick.

 

For original recipe idea please go to the ‘Tenderstem’ site - link here.

  

All the best Jan

Egg Nests

"It all started with a book. A whimsically illustrated French children’s book about cooking, called La cuisine est un jeu d’enfants, or “Cooking is Child’s Play”. First published in French in 1963, a version that included both the original French and the English translation was published by Random House in 1965. I first stumbled upon this book a few years ago and have been buying up used copies wherever I can find them, as gifts for my young friends who like to cook."

We never get fed up looking at this fantastic site. So many fantastic recipes and food ideas. We never get fed up with a low carb lifestyle, how could we, it has put years of active life on us. 

Check out this fantastic recipe and site here.

All the best Jan

Asparagus spears with shell fish

You can use whatever shellfish you can get your hands on for this.

16 medium asparagus spears with the woody ends removed 

16-20 medium prawns, cooked and peeled 

200-250g freshly-cooked cockles or clams, removed from the shell 

200-250g freshly-cooked mussels, removed from the shell 

4-5tbsp olive or rapeseed oil 

The juice of 1 lemon 

½ tbsp chopped fennel or dill 

Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Serves four

Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes, then drain.

Mix the shellfish with the oil, lemon and dill or fennel, then season to taste.

Arrange the asparagus on serving plates and top with the shellfish.

Recipe by Mark Hix from here.

All the best Jan

Cheddar Cheese Straws – Low Carb and Gluten-Free

If there is one high carb food we still lust after, over six years into low carbing it's cheese straws. The trouble is we can't eat one or two. If we buy a box, the lot goes down our necks in a couple of hours, and BG meter off the scale. It's been some years since we ate cheese straws, but they could be back on our food list favourites.

Check out this low carb masterpiece and Carolyn's great site is here.

All the best Jan

Low carb grain-free meatballs with tandoori spices.

Check out this great recipe and many more at this goldmine of great low carb grub here.

Eddie

Low carb Angels on Horseback

Check out this mega site, not all recipes are low carb, but so many are. The site is a treasure trove of great food ideas, and in my opinion, just about the best food site I have ever seen, well worth your time. OK, I know this is not cheap food, but for a special occasion, it certainly hits the spot and very easy to prepare and cook.

The recipe and site is here.

Eddie

Great healthy low carb grub if ever I saw it !

2 large portobello mushrooms

2-3 tablespoons feta, crumbled

1 ripe tomato, finely chopped

1 small purple onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh oregano (or other herbs), finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon vinegar (any variety)

Freshly milled black pepper

Idea and photograph taken from the excellent Christopher James Clark blog full instructions and more great photographs here.

Eddie

Seared Sea Scallops with Browned Butter Caper Sauce.

"Once you’ve mastered the technique of searing scallops, the world is your “scallop” so to speak. The scallops are perfect just as they are, with perhaps a squirt of lemon. Or you can take them a notch higher, as we’ve done here with this sauce of browned butter, white wine, lemon zest, and capers."

The browned butter enhances the natural butteriness of the scallops, while the wine, lemon, and capers help cut through the richness of the scallops. Enjoy!

Another great recipe and food idea from Simply Recipes. Full recipe and instructions can be found here.

Yes, scallops are not cheap! Special event coming up ...then maybe this recipe just fits the bill?

All the best Jan

Please note we only log into this blog when we post up a new recipe or food idea. Thanks for your comments and sorry we do not always reply.

Pork medallions and vegetables.

Pork medallions, cheese stuffed mushroom with peppers, asparagus tips with a big knob of butter, mashed swede and carrot, roast celeriac. Swilled down with a glass or two of good wine. Less than 15 carbs. Low carb unsustainable long term, make you own mind up.

Beef burger, served with Cheesy Leeks and Mushrooms.

Well it may be nice to prepare, cook, eat and enjoy the worlds finest steaks, or the worlds freshest line caught fish, but I recently prepared, cooked and ate a gourmet beef burger! Well I thought it was pretty gourmet … Gordon Ramsey … may not agree, but if you‘re interested I‘ll share this easy recipe with you - and feel free to amend it slightly. For example you may wish to add a teaspoon of mustard to the recipe or use different herbs ..the choice is yours. That‘s the delight of cooking you can explore, invent, mix up the ingredients to better suit your palate. But here’s what I did.  

Serves Two Decent Sized Burgers

250/300 gram lean minced beef

1 red onion chopped

1 egg yolk

1 - 2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp dried mixed herbs *

Salt and pepper to season

* I used dried herbs but if you have fresh ones even better

Simple Method

Just place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, then stir very well making sure it is well mixed. Using your hands divide the mix and shape into two equal sized burgers. Place on a baking tray and cook in a pre-heated oven at 200 or Gas Mark 6 for approx 30 minutes. All ovens vary so check burgers at about 20 minutes and adjust cooking time as necessary. When cooking burgers in the oven it may be an idea to grease or line your baking tray …. helps with the washing up afterwards!

Optional

You can either have plain burgers or why not put some stilton cheese on top of the burgers, for the last 10 minutes of cooking and let it melt - it makes the burgers that extra delicious.

We enjoyed this dish served with some mushrooms cooked in butter, I use a small frying pan, with melted butter and cook on top of the hob. For the cheesy leeks, I just sliced up two leeks (wash them first) placed them in a small ovenproof dish. Covered them with double cream and cooked in the oven for approx 15 minutes. Take leeks out of oven and sprinkle with some grated cheddar cheese, return to oven for further 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted and it’s a slight golden brown colour - the leeks should be just soft.

Chicken curry with cauliflower rice

 

Ingredients.

Two chicken breasts cut into pieces

Two tablespoons of chopped green Jalapeno peppers seeds removed

Three tea spoons of Pataks madras paste (hot)

A cup of chopped mushrooms

Half a chopped red bell pepper

Half a cauliflower grated

Half a cup of double cream

Two large knobs of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Serves two

Method

Place chopped chicken in a frying pan with a knob of butter, cook at a medium heat turning to lightly brown all over.

Add the cream, peppers, mushrooms and curry paste. Allow to simmer for around 15 minutes, keeping well stirred.

Grate half a cauliflower and place in a frying pan with a knob of butter. Stirring well, heat until steam is rising.

Serve on a hot plate and enjoy. Very easy to make. No cookery skills required and tastes great. Low carb, fresh whole foods. Also cost around £2.00 or $3.00 per person. Who says good and tasty low carb grub has to be expensive.

Beef, slowly cooked with onions, carrots and cabbage

Slow Cooked Beef Casserole

For a lovely heart warming meal you just can't beat a nice slow cooked beef casserole. This one has onion and carrot added with some salt, pepper, mixed herbs and beef stock. Simply served with white cabbage. A truly tasty low carb meal. For dessert why not have some blueberries and thick double cream? Now that's what I call a satisfying low carb meal, and not a potato in sight!

Ingredients: Serves two

250/300 grams braising steak cut into small cubed pieces

 1 large red onion chopped

  1 large sliced carrot

1 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs

salt and pepper to taste

Just under 1 pint of gravy stock

Easy Method

Clean, cut and place all ingredients in a casserole dish or earthenware oven proof pot with lid. Pour over the stock and cook at 180c in an electric oven, or Mark 4 Gas Oven for 90 to 120 minutes. Obviously ovens do differ so check food is cooked thoroughly before serving.

Once you've enjoyed your casserole just serve up the blueberries and cream.

Green Spanish manzanilla olives, French brie and Italian sun dried tomatoes in olive oil.

This little combination makes for a fantastic low carb snack or starter. It goes very well with an ice cold dry white wine. 

Chicken Fillets with Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms and Green Vegetables

       
                    

I have enjoyed many low carb meals over the past five years. Quite honestly if it wasn't for my husband Eddie being diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic I probably wouldn't have heard about the low carb high fat lifestyle. Now five years on we, and many others, are doing great. Eddie's blood sugar numbers are consistently low. Both he and I are enjoying good health. In the early days when we first started low carbing the dire words of a 'certain' dietitian could well have caused worry. It was felt we were missing out on certain food and nutrient areas. Well I can report .... we are still here, very fit and well for our 60+ years (Sshh I didn't tell you how old we are!) and still following our low carb high fat lifestyle. Quite honestly I would not eat any differently, I feel so much better for this 'lifestyle'.

How I prepared and cooked tonight's chicken meal for two, obviously change amounts to suit your requirements.

Ingredients

350g chicken fillet roughly cut into cubes

little olive oil for use in frying pan

salt, pepper and mixed herbs to taste

4 chestnut mushrooms stuffed with cream cheese

selection of green vegetables - broccoli, green beans, peas

chicken stock

Method

1) Gently clean and prepare mushrooms. 'Stuff' with a little cream cheese - place on a baking tray, I either slightly oil it or place some foil on the bottom so the mushrooms don't stick, cook in a moderate oven 190C for about 15 minutes.

2) Wash and prepare chicken fillets. Roughly cut into cubes fry gently in a pan with a little olive oil added. Add salt, pepper, mixed herbs to season as appropriate. Usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes for chicken to cook but check before serving. It should not be pink!

3) Either steam cook, or microwave, your choice of vegetables. I used a mix of broccoli, cut green beans and a handful of peas.

4) Prepare and make your chicken stock.

5) When all ingredients are cooked and ready, simply serve and enjoy, this wonderful low carb meal.

Optional - a nice glass of your favourite Chardonnay, Chablis or Pinot Grigio.

Although if you want to spend a little more money I can recommend a lovely New Zealand 'Oyster Bay' Sauvignon Blanc.

Cheers and Bon Appetit !

Lowcarb lemon sponge cake.

OK I know what you are thinking, how many more variations can these people come up with on the lowcarb almond flour cakes, plenty for sure. This is a great cake, and served very chilled tastes great on a hot summer night. Add a scoop of lowcarb ice cream, and pour over some double cream, voila, tastes great. Check out the basic recipe here. We added grated lemon peel inside and across the top. We added the juice from a lemon to the wet mix before cooking.

Pork leg steaks with spiced apple stuffing.

A bit of a cheat because the meat was a ready meal from Waitrose. Pork leg steaks with spiced apple stuffing and wrapped in bacon. Carb content. per serving, 7.6 We  served with the pork, some cubed roast celeriac, a mushroom stuffed with cheese and  half a courgette. Total carbs, 10 maybe 15 tops. That's the sort of food that keeps BG in the safe zone.

Smoked and peppered Mackerel salad

 

 Smoked mackerel carbs 0.5 per hundred grams, apple raisin and walnut coleslaw carbs 8 per hundred grams, cabbage and carrot coleslaw 4.8 per hundred grams, tomato 3.1 per hundred grams, iceberg lettuce carbs 1.9 per hundred grams, cheese 0.1 per hundred grams.

Lowcarb bacon and mushroom breakfast crustless quiche.

Ingredients:
4 eggs

  4 rashers of bacon cut in to pieces around an inch square or 25mm

A cup full of quartered mushrooms

6 tablespoons of double cream

Salt, pepper and dried mixed herbs to taste.

Serves 2

Mix the eggs, cream and seasoning in a bowl or pyrex jug

Place the bacon pieces and mushrooms into a non stick baking dish 8" x 1"

Pour over the cream and egg mix

Place into a pre heated oven at 190c and cook for twenty minutes.

This crustless quiche rises like a souffle and is best served hot. 

Lowcarb Chorizo and red onion crustless quiche.

Ingredients:
4 eggs

  70 grams of thinly sliced Chorizo
A quarter of finely chopped red onion

6 tablespoons of double cream

Salt, pepper and dried mixed herbs to taste.

Serves 2

Mix the eggs, cream and seasoning in a bowl or pyrex jug

Place a layer of Chorizo and chopped onions into a non stick baking dish 8" x 1"

Pour over half the egg and cream mix

Add another layer of Chorizo
Pour over the remaining egg mix

Place into a pre heated oven at 190c and cook for twenty minutes.

This crustless quiche rises like a souffle and is best served hot. 

Sardines featured great food of the week !

Sardines are rich in numerous nutrients that have been found to support cardiovascular health. They are one of the most concentrated sources of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which have been found to lower triglycerides and cholesterol levels; one serving (3.25 ounce can) of sardines actually contains over 50% of the daily value for these important nutrients. Sardines are an excellent source of vitamin B12, second only to calf's liver. Vitamin B12 promotes cardiovascular well-being since it is intricately tied to keeping levels of homocysteine in balance; homocysteine can damage artery walls, with elevated levels being a risk factor for atherosclerosis. A true super food that will not break the bank !

Home made lowcarb Guacamole.

So low in carbs, not worth worrying about, serves two. And the taste blows away factory produced food. Avocados are one of the healthiest foods on the planet. 

Ingredients

2 medium sized avocados scrape out the flesh and chop.

I medium sized tomato finely chopped remove seeds

I heaped tablespoon of finely chopped green Jalapeno peppers 

I tablespoon of finely chopped white onion

One teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil

The juice from a medium sized lime

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a pyrex jug or bowl and serve, how easy is that.

Flax bread pizza

Recipe coming soon.

Shepherds Pie

 Use the standard recipe but substitute the mashed potato with grated cauliflower or mashed swede.

Chicken and mixed vegetable stir fry.

Ingredients: Serves two
2 Large chicken breasts cut into pieces

350 grams of Sainsbury's vegetable stir fry

6 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce

 Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Clean, cut and place chicken in a small frying pan I use a small 8" non stick omelet pan add some olive oil or butter and fry on a low heat until starting to brown. Place 350 grams of the vegetable stir fry into a large frying pan or wok. While the chicken is cooking heat the vegetables in some butter or olive oil at a low heat. When everything is piping hot, tip the chicken into the vegetables and stir, add lots of soy sauce and serve. Less than ten carbs, less carbs than one slice of white bread and quick, easy and tasty. I check the chicken is cooked through by cutting a few pieces in half.

Lowcarb Luxury Lasagne, lowcarb food at it‘s best !

Ingredients serves two
250 grams ground/minced beef 

1 aubergine/egg plant
1 red onion

A splash of olive oil

300 ml of double cream

One 400 grams tin of chopped tomatoes

A cup of fresh grated cheddar cheese

Half a red pepper chopped

Half a green pepper chopped

A handful of button mushrooms

Salt, pepper and mixed herbs to taste 

Method:

Fry the finely chopped onion with the olive oil in a large frying pan, Americans call this a skillet I believe. When soft add the minced beef and brown. Add the chopped peppers, mushrooms and chopped tomatoes. Allow to come off the simmer and add the double cream, and stir well. Cut the aubergine into thin slices around 6mm/ around a quarter inch thick. Layer up, one layer of aubergine and one layer of the beef mix, in your oven proof dish, adding some salt, mixed herbs and pepper. Place in oven set at 200c for around thirty minutes. Remove and cover with grated cheddar cheese. Place back in the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. 

A truly great meal, very easy and lowcarb, enjoy !

Pork casserole rustic style.

This meal is an absolute lowcarb stunner, and one of our favourites. 

Ingredients: Serves two
2/3 pork chops remove fat and cut into small pieces

2 large leeks chopped

1 hand full of button mushrooms
1 large sliced carrot
1 table spoon of dried mixed herbs
Approx 1 pint of gravy stock
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method
Clean, cut and place all ingredients in a casserole dish or earthenware oven proof pot with lid. Pour over the stock and cook at 190c in an electric oven 90 mins. Gas mark 5.

What could be easier, very lowcarb, real food and tastes great. Perfect for a cold winters night. Snuggle up with a glass of red wine and a good book. This is called living where we come from.

Great Lowcarb Grub ! Crustless Asparagus Quiche.

Ingredients:
6 eggs

One tin of whole asparagus spears 244 grams
1 heaped tablespoon of Jalapenos green peppers for extra zap
6 tablespoons of double cream

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 2-4

Mix the ingredients in a bowl or pyrex jug

Pour into a non stick baking dish 8" x 1.5"

Place the asparagus spears

Place into a pre heated oven at 190c and cook for twenty minutes.

Serve with a mixed salad. Great lowcarb food and won't break the bank.