Low Carb Greek Salad

April 6, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

I don’t usually measure this stuff…

1/2 cup Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic, minced (why did I give away my Garlic Press? Oh yea, coz I want a Pampered Chef one!
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
a splash of Brine from the Kalamata Olives
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Basil

3 cups Spinach Leaves, washed and spun
1 Long English Cucumber, cut into chunks
1 each, Red Pepper, Orange, Yellow and Green Pepper, chopped
1/2 Red Onion, diced
4 ounces Feta, crumbled
Kalamata Olives
Grape Tomatoes, garnish

Measure all of the ingredients together in a resealable jar, screw on the lid and give it a good shake.

Toss together in a large bowl the spinach, cucumber, peppers and onion.

If serving all of it immediately, go ahead and toss in the feta, dressing and Kalamata olives.
If not serving all of it immediately, I like to just put a serving of the “Greens” in a large pasta bowl, top with a bit of crumbled feta, a few (lot) Kalamata olives and a generous drizzle of dressing.

Greek Salad doesn’t hold well which is why I don’t add the feta and dressing to a big bowl of prepared “Greens” thereby avoiding the soggy cucumber syndrome!

Atkins Diet Meals, Just Pics of Easy to throw together Stuff

Stir Fry Veg and Beef Strips

April 6, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

Oh man, so very tired when I came in from work and so did NOT want to cook last night! Alas the grocery store didn’t have a cooked chicken ready for at least 20 minutes and I sure wasn’t going to hang around the store waiting….oh, I could have hung out in the Book/Mag aisle and got all caught up on my mag browsing! Then again, like I said, I was fading fast and one of the purchases in my basket was coffee beans and I had a real fanging for a cup of coffee!

Anyway, I probably did my family a favour by leaving the store without the chicken but now I had to cook! My husband is trying to shed a few so we can no longer rely on the old, “Oh, we can just have a bowl of cereal, throw in some fruit and nuts and call Dinner done.” Sadness, I know. Another standby fave was Eggs, Hashers and Veggie “Bacon” or “Sausages” with Toast but, well, we don’t do that anymore either.

So, coffee now in hand, I chopped a few things, sliced a few others, threw them in a deep frying pan and made stir fry veggies. Normally I would have thrown in some Teriyaki sauce but apparently that is off limits now too O.o I threw in a few Tablespoons of H2O and crumbled in a McCormicks Vegetable Stock cube. It was pretty tasty!

For the Beef Strips? I had some Sliced Steak in the freezer from a couple of weeks ago that cooked up nicely in a Tablespoon of Hoisin Sauce combined with 1/2 cup of water; I just chucked the liquids on top of the still thawing steak strips, stuck a lid on the pan for a few minutes, removed the lid to reduce liquid.

Don’t call me Late for Dinner!

(Disclaimer…I didn’t actually eat that stuff aside from a taste of the veggies. Before, while and after that was cooking I made a great big bowl of salad which I hope will last through today 😉

Side Dishes

Frosted Cauliflower

April 6, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

The tangy sauce that blankets the cauliflower is to die for!

1 head Cauliflower, whole
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Mustard or Dijon Mustard
3/4 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated

Remove leaves and some of the core of the cauliflower but leaving it intact.
Cook cauliflower in a few Tablespoons of water in a covered casserole dish on HIGH in the microwave for about 8 minutes.
(Conversely, you can also steam the whole head on the stovetop, if you prefer)
Drain and let sit, covered for a few minutes.
While cauliflower is sitting, in a large pyrex measuring cup combine the mayo and mustard.
Microwave for a minute.
Frost the surface of the cauliflower with the mayo mixture, sprinkle with grated cheese.
Return to the microwave and cook just until the cheese melts, 1 – 2 minutes.

Muffins in a Minute (MIMs)

Savoury Muffin in a Minute

April 6, 2012 Sonte Leave a comment

A nice bread replacement to toast and have alongside Bacon and Eggs in the morning or stuffed with delicious Pulled Pork!

Savoury MIM — A low carb savoury bread to go with your meals.

1 teaspoon Butter, just melted
1 large Egg
1/4 cup Golden Flaxseed Meal
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt and Pepper

Lightly spray a 4″ Ramekin with vegetable oil spray.
In large measuring cup melt the butter.
Add egg to melted butter and stir well.
Add flaxseed meal, baking powder, salt and pepper.
Pour into prepared Ramekin.
Microwave on HIGH for 1 – 2 minutes depending on the strength of your machine.
Remove from microwave oven, run a small metal spatula around the edge and turn out onto plate.
Serve with a pat of butter or a dollop of cream cheese.
Can also pop into the toaster on a light setting.

Notice the Butter? I pre-measured a bunch of butter and keep them handy in the fridge to make it even easier to whip up a MIM!
* Note – I did not create this recipe but have no idea who did so I cannot properly credit them. Whoever created it? Genius! Pure genius!

Atkins Diet Meals

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

April 6, 2012 Sonte 2 Comments

I had found a great Slow Cooker Pulled Pork recipe at Canadian Living that I was really happy with and then Low Carb dieting hit! So I mucked around a lil bit with the recipe I liked; I am sure it is lower carb than the original version and I now serve it on an Oopsie Roll or a Savoury MIM (Muffin in a Minute) rather than a scrumptious Portuguese Roll.

Low Carb Pulled Pork — Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

3 1/2 lb Pork Shoulder Blade Roast
Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 Onions, sliced
4 cloves Garlic, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
2 teaspoons Ground Coriander
2 Bay Leaves
2 cups Tomato Sauce
1 Tablespoon Xylitol
1 Tablespoon Molasses
2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
Green Onions

Trim off excessive visible fat.
Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper.
Heat oil over med-high heat in large, deep frying pan and brown pork all over.
Place in slow cooker which has been lightly sprayed with vegetable oil spray (for easy clean up)

To frying pan, add onion and cook for a minute or two.
Add garlic and continue cooking for another couple of minutes.
Add tomato sauce, chili powder, coriander and bay leaves; stir well.
Stir in xylitol, molasses, worcestershire sauce and cider vinegar.
Pour over pork roast in slow cooker, cover and cook on low until pork is tender, 8 – 10 hours.

Transfer pork to cutting board and tent with foil.
Let stand for 10 minutes.
With two forks, shred or “pull” pork.

Spoon sauce into a bowl for serving.

Split a bun or low carb alternative, heap with pulled pork, top with sauce and garnish with chopped green onions.

Aysontespli's Kitchen

Low Carb Greek Salad

Stir Fry Veg and Beef Strips

Frosted Cauliflower

Savoury Muffin in a Minute

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Welcome to my Kitchen where the most important ingredient is Love.