low carb recipes

LOW CARB ALMOND PIE CRUST From Laura Dolson, This is a very easy pie crust to make. It goes great with the fresh blackberry pie. This works best for a 9" pie pan. If you have an 8" one, the crust will be a little thicker, or you can cut back on the ingredients a bit. INGREDIENTS: 1 and 1/2 cups almond meal or almond flour 3 tablespoons melted butter Artifiical sweetener equal to 3 tablespoons sugar PREPARATION: Melt the butter (if the pie pan is microwave safe, melt the butter in it) and mix the ingredients up in the pan and pat into place with your fingertips. Nutritional Information: The whole pie shell has 11 grams effective carbohydrate plus 17 grams fiber and 30 grams protein. PECAN NUT CRUST From Laura Dolson, This is a great pie crust, particularly for pumpkin pie, but it could be used for other custard/pudding fillings. It really helps to start out with pecans from the freezer, because then the butter blends through but quickly sets up so the "mass" is pliable. INGREDIENTS: 1 cup pecan pieces (frozen) 2 T melted butter 2 T worth sweetening power from artificial sweetener of your choice PREPARATION: 1. Take pecans out of the freezer and measure them into a food processor (you can use a blender, but be careful not to blend them down too small). Pulse the processor until the largest pieces are as big as lentils or split peas. 2. Add the butter and the sweetener (I prefer "liquid Splenda"). Blend until it's mixed evenly and then quickly 3. Dump it into a pie pan, and push with your fingers to cover the bottom and sides. It should be the right consistency to mold the crust to the pie pan evenly. Nutritional Analysis: Whole crust is 4.5 grams effective carbohydrate plus 10.5 grams fiber, 10 grams of protein, 101 grams fat, 950 calories LOW CARB PUNKIN PIE From Laura Dolson, People love this pie. People have told me it was the best they've even had, and they didn't know it was low carb or sugar-free (or gluten-free). You must make it with the pecan crust for full impact. That said, it's great on its own as a baked pudding, even for breakfast. INGREDIENTS: 1 15 oz can pumpkin 2 eggs 2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk (or cream) 1/3 cup cream 1 C "sweetening power" from artifical sweetener 1 t molasses (optional) 2 t cinnamon 1 scant t nutmeg 1/4 t ground ginger Pinch cloves 1/4 t salt PREPARATION: As an artificial sweetener, I prefer a form of liquid sucralose 1) Preheat oven to 425 F. (important) 2) If you've just used the processor or blender to make the crust, dump all the ingredients in and whirl to blend. 3) Pour into the crust. 4) Put the pie in the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 375 F. In 15 minutes, turn the oven down to 300 F. (This cooks the crust, so it isn't soggy, but then allows the custard to bake more slowly.) Bake until almost set in the middle, about 30-40 minutes more. If it starts to crack a bit around the edges, it's probably done. 5) Cool and serve with whipped cream (the real stuff, made with vanilla and sweetener). How To Make Homemade Whipped Cream Nutritional Analysis: 8 servings, without crust: 3.5 grams effective carbohydrate plus 2 grams fiber, 3 grams protein, 5.5 grams fat, 80 calories. With pecan crust, each serving is 4 grams effective carbohydrate with 3.4 grams fiber FLAX MEAL PIZZA CRUST From Laura Dolson, This is a variation of my flax meal focaccia bread. It makes a pizza that is about 12 inches in diameter, although you can spread it thinner and larger if you want. INGREDIENTS: 1 and 1/2 C flax seed meal 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon oregano Sweetener to equal about 1 Tablespoon of sugar 3 Tablespoons of oil 3 eggs `1/2 C water PREPARATION: Preheat oven to 425 F. 1. Mix dry ingredients together. 2. Add wet ingredients, and mix very well. 3. Let sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. 4. Spread on pan (I put it on a silicon mat or greased parchment paper). 5. Bake for 15-18 minutes until cooked through, then add toppings and coo****il they are done. Nutritional Analysis: Whole crust has 7 grams of effective carbohydrate, plus 52 grams fiber, 47 grams protein, and 130 grams fat. LOW CARB BISCUITS From Laura Dolson, It took me a lot of fiddling to get these the way I wanted them to be - with a fluffy texture inside. In order to achieve this, they had to be "drop biscuits", though, not the kind you roll and cut out. INGREDIENTS: 2 1/4 C almond meal/flour 3 T coconut oil or palm oil (see note below) 1 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 C powdered egg whites 1/4 t salt 1 T "sweetening power" from artificial sweetener 1/2 C heavy cream 1/2 C other milky liquid - can be unsweetened soy milk, milk, cream, or half and half PREPARATION: ***It is very important that you use a fat that is solid at room temperature. Coconut oil (the refined kind that doesn't taste like coconut) or palm oil (sometimes marketed as "trans-fat free shortening") are ideal. Sponsored Links Low Carb Superstore Over 1000 low carb products. Including zero carb fresh bread! www.vivalowcarb.com Carb Counting Information on food, diets, free recipes, and more at dLife.com. www.dlife.com Butter is OK, but they won't be quite as fluffy. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER OIL - believe me, it will end in tears if you do - I speak from experience! Preheat oven to 400 (important, as the water turning to steam is part of what makes them fluffy.) 1. Mix oil and almond meal together with a mixer or pastry blender until it's like coarse meal. 2. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. 3. If you're using liquid artifcial sweetener, put it in with the cream. 4. Mix wet and dry together, and let the mixture sit for 3-4 minutes. 5. Drop by tablespoons on foil-covered baking sheet. (If they are a little bigger or smaller, no problem.) Bake for about 10 minutes, depending upon size, until golden brown. Nutritional Analysis:Makes 12 biscuits, each with 2 grams of carbohydrate plus 2 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein. LOW CARB CHEESECAKE From Laura Dolson, This is a basic cheesecake recipe. It is fairly dense (and becomes more so when completely cold). We like it with a strawberry topping, especially when strawberries are in season. I haven't tried very much variation as far as fat levels in the cream cheese, but I think you can substitute, at least to an extent. When I tried just substituting low fat for one of the bricks, the batter seemed slightly looser, but I only detected a slight difference in the final product. INGREDIENTS: 3 packages (1 and 1/2 lbs) cream cheese (preferably room temperature) 4 eggs (preferably room temperature) 1 and 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 Tablespoon) vanilla 1 and 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 Tablespoon) lemon juice 1 and 1/3 cups worth of artificial sweetener (I like liquid concentrages for this recipe) 1/4 cup sour cream Crust 1 cup almond meal 2 T melted butter 2T worth artificial sweetener PREPARATION: Heat oven to 375 F. Tip: If you have bricks or a pizza stone or unglazed ceramic tile*, put them on the lower rack of the oven. This will hold the heat in the oven. This is good for cheesecakes not baked in a water bath. 1. Combine ingredients for crust, and press into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until fragrant and beginning to brown. Raise oven heat to 400 F., or lower to 350 F if you're using a water bath (see below). 2. Put cream cheese in mixing bowl, and beat until fluffy. Add other ingredients, scraping the bowl and beaters each time (this is very important), fully incorporating each ingredient. When all ingredients are combine, scrap one more time, beat one more minute, and pour mixture into pan over crust. Instructions for water bath: Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan in foil, put it in a baking pan and pour boiling water around the sides. Bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes, checking often. When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 155 degress F., remove from oven. Instructions for non-water bath: For this method, you start the cake at a high temperature, and it slowly drops. If you have stoneware, bricks, etc, this allows it to happen at a slower rate, and I get better results in less time. Put the cheesecake on a sheet pan in case of drippage. After putting the cheesecake in the oven at 400 degrees, turn the oven down to 200. Bake for 60-90 minutes, checking often after an hour. When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 155 degrees F., remove from oven. Chill completely. Top with fruit, if desired, such as Sugar-Free Strawberry Topping. Makes 16 servings. Nutritional Information:With regular cream cheese, each servings has 1.5 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams protein, and 174 calories.