Monday 10 October 2011

Great lowcarb bread !


Nutritional Information: If you cut this loaf into 12 thick slices each slice has less than 1 gram of effective carbohydrate, 5 grams fibre, 6 grams protein, and 185 calories.
 Flax meal loaf. Weight of cooked loaf 742 grams.
Ingredients.
2 cups of ground flax seeds (280 grams)
5  eggs
Half a cup of water
One third of a cup of liquid butter
One table spoon of baking powder
One tea spoon of salt
Added mixed dried herbs
Method
Place the eggs in a mixing bowl and whisk. Add the butter and water. Place the flax in another bowl and add baking powder, salt and herbs and mix.… Add the wet mix to the dry mix and mix thoroughly. Place the mix into a non stick bread tin and bake at gas mark 7 for 55 minutes, electric fan oven 200c for 55 minutes. All ovens are different, so you will have to experiment a bit. Add some walnuts and sun dried toms into the mix and you have meal in itself. Just add that lovely butter. The beauty of this bread is that it is easy to make, and requires no cooking skills or special equipment.
To spice this bread up, add walnuts, sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, what ever you like.

Saturday 8 October 2011

Lowcarb summer fruits cake.


Ingredients:
100 grams ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of melted butter
2 tablespoons of double cream
100 grams of thawed summer fruits 

Method:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Melt the butter I used a Pyrex jug, add the eggs, cream, then add the dry ingredients and mix. Pour into a 6" microwave proof dish. Microwave in a 700watt for 3 minutes. Allow to cool and cut in half. Spread on extra thick cream and add 100 grams of Sainsbury's defrosted summer fruits, serves four. 
Another variation on our lowcarb almond flour cake recipes.

Friday 7 October 2011

Brussel sprouts a true wonder food !



Brussels sprouts are rich in many valuable nutrients. They are an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin K. They are a very good source of numerous nutrients including folate, vitamin A, manganese, dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin B6 and thiamin (vitamin B1) and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, iron, phosphorus, protein, magnesium, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin E, copper and calcium. In addition to these nutrients, Brussels sprouts contain numerous disease-fighting phytochemicals including sulforaphane, indoles, glucosinolates, isothiocynates, coumarins, dithiolthiones, and phenols.


For more good food information please visit this great site.



Sunday 2 October 2011

Lowcarb bread roll-bap

Ingredients.

Ground flax seed 40 grams.
Ground almond meal 40 grams.
Baking powder one teaspoon.
A pinch of salt.
One medium sized egg.
One tablespoon of olive oil.
One tablespoon of double cream.

Method

Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly in a mixing bowl, then add the wet ingredients. When thoroughly mixed, pour/spoon into a micro wave proof dish. This bread was made in a Pyrex dish 6" by 2" deep.
 
Heat in a micro-wave oven 700 watt, for 120 seconds. This is a very filling bread and should keep you going for hours.

Broccoli

 


 
Broccoli contains almost 5 times as much vitamin C, 8 times as much Calcium, and almost 2.5 times as much Fibre as Potato.
 

Portobello mushrooms with pate and cheddar cheese



This food works well as a starter, snack or a main course served with a salad. Portobello mushrooms filled with pate. Cook in an oven at 200c for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with grated cheddar cheese and cook for a further 5 minutes. Easy, lowcarb and tastes great.


The Worlds Healthiest Foods Book


I have lost count of the times I have referred to the Worlds Healthiest Foods website, a fantastic resource of very in depth information on food. From nutrient values to the best way to cook, it is a masterpiece.

After using the free website for a couple of years, I thought it was pay back time, and purchased the book from Amazon, price including postage £28. Maybe it should be renamed ‘the worlds heaviest food book’ ! At 880 pages, close to A4 size and two inches thick in paper back, it’s one hell of a beast.

I cannot recommend it highly enough, the book is not aimed at diabetics, or low carbers, but I believe the book will be priceless, for anyone wanting to understand what good food is all about, and the correct way to prepare and cook, without wasting vital nutrients and flavours. In my opinion, this book is fantastic value for money, and an absolute must have for all foodies, check it out on the website below.

http://whfoods.org/

King prawns cooked in butter, garlic and seasoning.


King prawns cooked in butter, garlic and seasoning. Swede boiled and mashed with lots of butter. Purple sprouting broccoli with a knob of butter. Delicious and very low carb.

Fennel




From the same family as the herb and seed of the same name, it's also known as Florence fennel, finocchio, or sweet fennel, is very popular in Italian cookery. When eaten raw, the texture is crisp and the flavour is quite assertive and anisseedy. Cooked, it's softer and more mellow.


Saturday 1 October 2011

Bangers and celeriac mash

Bangers and celeriac mash with roast fennel and green beans.

Sausages are Sainsbury’s very lowcarb, ultimate outdoor bred 97% pork, at 1.2 grams of carbohydrate per 100 grams, i.e. 3 sausages 200 grams 2.4 grams of carb. Add the mashed celeriac, fresh green beans and fennel. A very tasty meal and very lowcarb, a very easy to prepare meal.

Peel a celeriac and cut into small chunks around an inch square, about 25mm in new money. Boil or steam for around 15 minutes. Drain off water and mash with a couple of knobs of butter. Place the sausages in a Pyrex dish and add the fennel with a little butter. Roast at 200 c for around thirty minutes, turning every 10 minutes, ladle some fat over the fennel. Warm up the mashed celeriac in a micro wave for a couple of minutes. Pour over some gravy (a beef oxo cube) Voila, a great lowcarb and tasty meal. It won’t break the bank and shouldn’t raise BG numbers to an unacceptable level.

Avocado Pear with Prawns

Avocado Pear with Prawns, a splash of 1000 Island Dressing and Paprika.

Fresh Berries

Some low carb fruits. Strawberries 6 grams. Blackberries 5.1 grams. Raspberries 4.6 grams. per 100 grams.

Asparagus

Asparagus is a great tasting food and packed full of great nutrients, with next to no effect on blood glucose levels. Go for it, add a large knob of butter and it can be a good meal in itself.

Celeriac Dauphinouse


Celeriac is one of the lowcarb mega stars. Much tastier than potatoes, lowcarb and unlike other root vegetables, which store a large amount of starch, celery root is only about 5-6% starch by weight. Collins Gem calorie counter states flesh only boiled 1.9 grams of carb per 100 grams.

Celeriac may be used raw or cooked. It has a tough, furrowed, outer surface which is usually sliced off before use because it is too rough to peel. Celeriac has a celery flavour, and is often used as a flavouring in soups and stews; it can also be used on its own, usually mashed, or used in casseroles, gratins and baked dishes. It can be roasted like a potato, giving it a crispy edge.

Celeriac is not available in some supermarkets. I get mine from Waitrose who sell two types ordinary and organic. Ordinary £1.79 per kilo.
 
Celeriac Dauphinoise
1 celeriac
300ml double cream
100 grams mature cheddar cheese, grated
Dried mixed herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
Optional 2 cloves garlic

Cut the celeriac into quarters then peel. Slice the celeriac into 5 mm thick pieces. Place a layer in a baking dish and add some double cream and dried herbs, salt and pepper. Continue layering up. Place in a hot oven 200 centigrade and cook for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and add a layer of grated cheddar cheese. Place back in oven and cook until cheese is golden brown. Serves 4

One of my favourite foods this dish goes with anything, meat, fish and even tastes great warmed up for breakfast with a couple of poached eggs and some mushrooms, or try with some kippers, great grub at anytime for sure and won’t raise BG.

Fish and leek cheese bake


Buy a fish pie mix from your local supermarket, usually cod, smoked haddock and salmon. Place in an oven proof dish. Chop up two leeks and place over the fish. Cover fish and leeks with double cream and top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 200c or until golden brown. Very lowcarb, takes 5 minutes to prepare and tastes great. Wash down with a couple of glasses of chilled white wine, Bon Appétit !

Mini pork belly joint with caramelised apple and shallot stuffing


Mini pork belly joint with caramelised apple and shallot stuffing (Sainsbury's) 6.4 grams carb per half pack, which includes two portions. Served with roast celeriac and micro waved cabbage and spring greens. A great meal and around ten grams of carb in total. Less than one slice of white bread, think about that !

Chicken, cauliflower cheese and purple sprouting broccoli.



Cut a small cauliflower into florets. Boil until soft. Drain off water and place in a baking dish. Put a cup of double cream in a non stick saucepan and heat (do not allow to boil) add a handful of grated cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Pour the mix over the cauliflower. Make a little tray with kitchen foil. Get a chicken breast and cover with some sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, and chopped olives. Bake the chicken and cauliflower cheese at 200c for twenty-five minutes. The broccoli takes around 10 minutes in boiling water. Around ten-twelve carbs,  Enjoy !

Luxury Low carb nut Cake

Ingredients
 125 grams of desiccated coconut un sweetened.
100 grams of ground almonds
55 grams golden flax seeds ground
4 beaten eggs
2 table spoons of sugar or sweetener of choice: see note below.
1 table spoon of baking powder
1 table spoon of cinnamon
1 table spoon of ground nutmeg
1 very large slug of Grand Marnier
half a cup of water
third of a cup of melted butter

I also add broken walnuts and almond flakes

Method same as the bread, mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix thoroughly. Bake for about 50 minutes at gas mark 7 or 200 in an electric oven. A little tip is to check it at around 45 minutes, by taking it out of the non stick tin, I line my tins with a long strip of baking paper, which makes it very easy to remove the cake from the tin. Cut it in half to check it has cooked right through. If not, back in the oven for a bit longer. I reckon the cake is less than 5 carbs for a nice thick slice.

Please note! If you are using aspartame/acesuflame sweetener, remember to reduce the heat to no more than 170 degrees. Above this and you end up with a truly awful taste and no sweetness.

 

Black forest gateau



Ingredients:
100g ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of melted butter
2 tablespoons of double cream
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
100 grams of pitted black cherries

Method:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Melt the butter I used a Pyrex jug, add the eggs, cream, then add the dry ingredients and mix. Pour into a 6" microwave proof dish. Microwave in a 700watt for 3 minutes. Allow to cool and cut in half. Spread on extra thick cream and 100 grams of pitted black cherries.. Serves four.

Crepes


These crepes are virtually carb. free and are very easy to make.
Ingredients.
200 Grams of ricotta cheese
3 eggs
I teaspoon of cinnamon
A splash of milk
Method
Mix the cheese, eggs and cinnamon into a small mixing bowl. Add a slash of milk if the mix is to thick to run freely. Place a small knob of butter into a frying pan, I use a small omelette pan 8". Heat the butter and spoon in 3 table spoons of mix. Fry until firm then turn over and cook for one minute or until the crepe is starting to brown. This mix makes between 6 and 8 crepes. Allow to cool and fill with cream cheese and finely chopped spring onions or smoked salmon and asparagus tips, whatever you like. Roll up the crepe and enjoy. Great at any time and very good for the lunch box or picnics. Also great warmed up with a scoop of low carb ice cream and double cream.

Lowcarb fruits


Black berries, blue berries, kiwi fruit and double cream. Very low carb and delicious.