The Low-Carb Diabetes Solution Cookbook (19 page)

I saw a recipe for a Vietnamese meatball sandwich and thought, “I could make that into burgers.” So I did. These are good with
Asian Ginger Slaw
, but plenty tasty on their own.

5 scallions, divided

1
/
4
cup (10 g) fresh basil leaves

1 pound (455 g) ground pork

1 tablespoon (15 ml) fish sauce (
nam pla
or
nuoc mam
)

1 tablespoon (15 g) chili garlic sauce (sometimes called
sambal oelek
)

1 tablespoon (1.5 g) Splenda, or the equivalent in liquid Splenda

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1
/
3
cup (75 g) mayonnaise

1 tablespoon (15 g) chili garlic sauce

YIELD:
3 servings 597 calories; 5 g fat; 2 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

Preheat an electric tabletop grill. If you can choose temperature settings on yours, use 350°F (180°C).

Cut the root and any limp greens off the scallions, whack them into a few pieces, and throw three of them into your food processor with the S-blade in place. (Reserve the other two.) Throw in the basil, too. Pulse until they're finely chopped together.

Now add the pork, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, Splenda, garlic, salt, and pepper to the processor and run it until everything is well blended.

Form the pork mixture into 3 patties and put them on the grill. Set a timer for 6 to 8 minutes.

Quickly wash out your food processor and reassemble with the S-blade in place. Put the remaining 2 scallions in there and pulse to chop. Now add the mayonnaise and chili sauce and run to blend.

When the burgers are done, serve with the sauce.

P
utting this chapter together has been eye-opening. I have long thought main-dish salads to be one of the tastiest and most nutritious ways to eat low carb, yet I found that the vast majority of my main-dish salad recipes have more than 5 grams of total carbs. These are the ones that don't.

We're starting with a couple of versions of good old tuna salad, then egg salad. In case you've only ever had these as sandwich fillings, I'd like to tell you about a stunning new technological development that lets you get food from your plate to your mouth without the use of an edible napkin: It's called the fork. Use it!

This is my lunchtime standby. With so many vegetables, this really is a tuna
salad
. Look for sugar-free bread-and-butter pickles alongside the regular pickles in your grocery store.

2 big ribs celery or 3 smaller ones

1
/
2
green bell pepper

1
/
4
medium sweet red onion

1 can (5 ounces, or 142 g) tuna packed in olive oil

1
/
3
cup (75 g) mayonnaise

2 tablespoons (30 g) minced sugar-free bread-and-butter pickles

YIELD:
2 servings 424 calories; 37 g fat; 22 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber per serving

Dice up the vegetables—I like them fairly chunky, so I get lots of crunchy texture. This comes to 1
1
/
2
to 2 cups of veggies! Then add the tuna, mayonnaise, and pickles, and mix it up. I've been known to eat this straight out of the mixing bowl. (Hey, I'm home alone at lunchtime. I'm allowed to eat out of the mixing bowl.)

I've always loved the bright, sunny flavors of lemon and capers in
piccata
-style dishes. This is my way of adding those Mediterranean flavors to tuna salad.

1 can (5 ounces, or 142 g) tuna packed in olive oil

2 ribs celery

1
/
3
cup (55 g) diced sweet red onion

1
/
3
cup (20 g) chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon (9 g) capers

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

1 tablespoon (14 g) mayonnaise

YIELD:
2 servings 212 calories; 12 g fat; 22 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber per serving

Just drain your tuna lightly—you want some of the olive oil in the salad —and dice your celery. Add to a mixing bowl with everything else, and combine lightly.

Jane was my mother, and she liked olives in her egg salad. Who am I to argue about something like that? It's really good.

4 hard-boiled eggs

1 rib celery, diced

4 scallions, sliced, including the crisp part of the green

5 green olives, pitted and chopped

1
/
3
cup (75 g) mayonnaise

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

YIELD:
2 servings 443 calories; 43 g fat; 14 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

Your basic egg salad procedure: Peel and coarsely chop your eggs, and cut up your veggies. Assemble everything in a mixing bowl, then stir it up gently, to preserve some hunks of yolk, till everything is evenly distributed. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and you're done.

A good reason to cook an extra couple of pieces of chicken every time you're roasting some. This will keep you full for hours and hours.

1
1
/
2
cups (210 g) diced leftover cooked chicken

1
/
4
cup (28 g) chopped pecans

1
/
3
cup (75 g) mayonnaise

2 big ribs celery, diced

1
/
4
medium sweet red onion, diced

Salt, to taste

YIELD:
2 servings 640 calories; 60 g fat; 24 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber per serving

Toss all ingredients together, salting to taste. That's it!

This salad is a snap. (By the way, a chicken Caesar, hold the croutons, is a pretty safe choice at restaurants.) If you miss the crunch, try this: Use Parmesan with no additives—that part is important—and spread it on a microwavable plate you've coated with nonstick spray. Microwave it for a minute, then let it cool into a crunchy disk, and crumble it into the salad.

6 ounces (170 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast

3 cups (165 g) torn romaine lettuce

2 tablespoons (28 g) Caesar dressing, homemade or bottled

2 tablespoons (10 g) Parmesan cheese—fresh, in thin slivers, is nicest, but you can use the grated stuff if you like

YIELD:
1 serving 402 calories; 22 g fat; 44 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber per serving

Start your chicken breast grilling; I do mine on an electric tabletop grill for about 5 minutes, but you could sauté it if you prefer.

Meanwhile, assemble your lettuce, pour the dressing over it, and toss well. Pile it on your serving plate.

When the chicken breast is done, slice it into thin strips, and pile it on top of the lettuce. Scatter the Parmesan over it, and dig in.

Tired of chicken Caesar salads? Try this! With precooked shrimp, it's even quicker and easier. Just substitute 10 to 12 good-size cooked shrimp for the chicken breast. Frozen, precooked, peeled shrimp thaw quickly, especially if you put them in a resealable plastic bag and put them in warm tap water for a few minutes.

YIELD:
1 serving 317 calories; 19 g fat; 30 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber per serving

Roughly a million years ago, when I was working at Chicago School of Massage Therapy, I used to walk out to a local health food store and—being sure that whole grains were good for me—buy a chicken, almond, and whole wheat pasta salad for lunch. It's been years, and I don't know how close this comes, but it's reminiscent of that salad. Darned good in its own right, anyway.

I used leftover roasted chicken for this—I always roast extra, for just such purposes. But if you have no cold chicken in the house, you could quickly cook a boneless, skinless breast.

1 package (8 oz or 225 g) tofu shirataki, fettuccine width

3 tablespoons (20 g) slivered almonds

1
1
/
2
teaspoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons (28 g) mayonnaise

1 tablespoon (16 g) almond butter

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1
/
2
teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

6 drops Sriracha

1
/
2
cup (70 g) cooked chicken

2 scallions

YIELD:
2 servings 298 calories; 26 g fat; 15 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber per serving

Snip open the packet of tofu shirataki, and pour into a strainer in the sink. Rinse well, and use your kitchen shears to snip across them a couple of times, as they're so long. If you want, you can put them to soak in a bowl of fresh water, but I didn't bother.

Put the shirataki in a microwavable bowl, and nuke them on high for 2 minutes. Drain again, and repeat with another 2 minutes and another draining. Let them cool while you do the rest.

In a small, heavy skillet over medium-low heat, start your almonds sautéing in your coconut oil.

Measure your mayonnaise, almond butter, soy sauce, ginger root, and Sriracha into a smallish dish, and stir together. This is your dressing.

Go back and stir your almonds! In fact, stir 'em once in between measuring the dressing ingredients. You don't want them to burn. When they're just getting golden, take them off the heat.

Cut your chicken into
1
/
2
-inch (1 cm) cubes. Thinly slice your scallions, including the crisp part of the green.

Okay, time to assemble your salad. Dump the shirataki into a mixing bowl. Add the chicken, scallions, toasted almonds, and then the dressing. Stir it all up, and you're done!

All the flavors you loved in a club sandwich in a filling salad. I used deli turkey, and had the guys at the deli slice it
1
/
2
inch (1 cm) thick, which made for nice cubes. But how great a Thanksgiving-weekend lunch would this make?

1
/
2
head cauliflower

2 cups (280 g) diced cooked turkey

1 heart romaine lettuce, cut crosswise in
1
/
2
-inch (1 cm) strips—about 4 cups (220 g) lettuce

1 large tomato, diced

1
/
2
cup (115 g) mayonnaise

2 tablespoons (28 ml) cider vinegar

2 tablespoons (28 ml) lemon juice

1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard

10 slices bacon, cooked crisp

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

YIELD:
6 servings 326 calories; 26 g fat; 21 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber per serving

Trim the leaves and the very bottom of the stem off your half head of cauliflower, whack it into chunks, and run it through the shredding blade of your food processor. Put the resulting “cauli-rice” into a microwavable casserole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, and nuke on high for 6 minutes.

In the meantime, throw your turkey, lettuce, and tomato in a big salad bowl.

When your microwave beeps, pull out your cauli-rice and uncover it to stop the cooking. Let it cool a few minutes, so it won't cook your lettuce and tomatoes! It will cool faster if you drain it, and stir it now and then.

Measure and whisk together your mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, and mustard.

Use your kitchen shears to snip the bacon into the salad, cutting it every
1
/
4
inch (6 mm) or so. Now add the cauli-rice, pour on the dressing, season with salt and pepper to taste, toss well, and serve.

Yummy, creamy, and rich. This is wonderful when made with leftover turkey, too.

1
1
/
2
cups (210 g) cooked chicken, diced

1 large rib celery, diced

1
/
2
green bell pepper, diced

1
/
4
medium sweet red onion, diced

3 tablespoons (42 g) mayonnaise

3 tablespoons (42 g) sour cream

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

Salt, to taste

YIELD:
2 servings 576 calories; 48 g fat; 33 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

Combine the chicken, celery, green pepper, and onion in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and dill. Pour the mixture over the chicken and veggies, toss, add salt to taste, and serve.

You got your chicken, you got your vegetables, you got your cheese. Pretty nutritious, you think? All that, and it tastes good, too. Feel free to make this with leftover turkey or ham, if you prefer. Or, for that matter, with canned chunk chicken, should you not have any cold cooked chicken in the house.

1
/
2
head cauliflower

1 cup (100 g) diced celery

1
/
2
red bell pepper, diced

1
/
3
cup (55 g) diced red onion

1
/
4
cup (60 g) diced green chiles

2 cups (280 g) diced cooked chicken

4 ounces (115 g) Monterey Jack cheese, cut into
1
/
4
-inch (6 mm) cubes

1
/
3
cup (75 g) mayonnaise

1 tablespoon (15 ml) white vinegar

1
1
/
2
teaspoons lime juice

1 teaspoon chili powder

1
/
2
teaspoon ground cumin

1
/
2
teaspoon dried oregano

2 ounces (55 g) sliced black olives, drained

YIELD:
5 servings 418 calories; 34 g fat; 23 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber per serving

First, chop your cauliflower into 1
1
/
2
-inch (3.8 cm) chunks. Throw it in a microwavable casserole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons (30 ml) of water, cover, and nuke it on high for 7 minutes.

While that's cooking, assemble your other vegetables, chicken, and cheese in a big mixing bowl.

As soon as the microwave beeps, pull out your cauliflower, uncover it, and drain it. Let it sit and cool for a few minutes. You don't want it to melt your cheese. The cauliflower will cool faster if you stir it now and then.

While you're waiting for the cauliflower to cool, measure your mayonnaise, vinegar, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Stir it all together.

Okay, cauliflower cooled a bit? Dump it in with the chicken, cheese, and veggies, and stir everything 'round. Dump in the olives, pour on the dressing, and toss to coat. You can eat this right away, if you'd like, or chill it for a few hours.

Our tester called this recipe that reader Eleanor Monfett donated for
500 More Low-Carb Recipes
“great stuff.” It's not a traditional main-dish salad, but it has so much cheese and bacon that it sure can serve as one.

6 cups (510 g) fresh broccoli florets

1
1
/
2
cups (173 g) shredded Cheddar cheese

1
/
3
cup (55 g) chopped onion

1
1
/
2
cups (335 g) mayonnaise