by Lisa Douglas
25 Quick and Easy Low Carb Recipes:
Delicious Food That Helps You Stick to Your Diet
Volume One: Breakfast
By Lisa Douglas
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
A Note on the Carb Counts
Eggs
How to Cook a Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg
Cheesy Eggs Benedict
Veggie Parade Scrambled Eggs
Baked Eggs
Texan Huevos Rancheros
Feta, Ham and Basil Scramble
Creamy Cheesy Scrambled Eggs with Basil
Chive and Parmesan Shirred Eggs
Omelets, Frittatas & Breakfast Quiches
How to cook a perfect omelet
Spinach and Mushroom Omelet
Sweet Potato Omelet
Basic Baked Omelet
Spinach Breakfast Frittata
Mediterranean Frittata
Sweetheart Baked Omelet
Sides
How to Cook Perfect Bacon
Sweet Potato Hash Browns
Low Carb Pancakes
Egg and Sausage Muffins
Homemade Breakfast Sausage
Breakfast Smoothies
Attack of the Health Monster Smoothie
Wake You Up Smoothie
Strawberries and Cream Smoothie
Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie
Have a Blue Cow Smoothie
Notes
Copyright
Introduction
You might be reading this book because you’re a low carb dieter who can’t face another plate of bacon and eggs, a diabetic watching your blood sugar, or someone who just plain wants to cut back on refined carbs. Whatever your reason for reducing your carb intake, I wrote this book for you and I hope the recipes and tips in this book help you stick with a very healthy way of eating.
For most people, the hardest part about sticking to a low-carb diet is the eventual boredom that sets in after the novelty of all-you-can-eat bacon wears off. At its heart, low-carb eating is about eating real, unprocessed food, which often means actual cooking is involved. These days, most people are busy and don’t have much time to cook, so can fall into the habit of eating the same easy-to-prepare breakfast foods over and over again. Boredom kills diets, so having a stockpile of delicious, quick-to-make low carb recipes in your arsenal is absolutely crucial to your success.
This book is about breakfast and I’m starting here because multiple studies have shown eating a protein-filled breakfast helps people control their appetite for the rest of the day. Long story short, eating breakfast will help you succeed on your diet and you should do it every day. (I’ve included a section in the notes at the back of the book with speedy low carb breakfast ideas for the mornings you’re in a hurry and have no time to cook.)
In creating this book, I deliberately made sure the ingredients didn’t include many substitutes for high-carb foods, because they are usually pale imitations of the originals. The one exception is Splenda (sucralose), which is a very good alternative to sugar. Every recipe, except for the Low Carb Pancakes (because what’s a breakfast book without pancakes?) is made with ingredients you can find at any grocery store. This means you can also prepare the tasty dishes in this book for your non-low-carbing family members and say goodbye to cooking separate meals.
There are a variety of low-carb plans out there, Atkins, Paleo, Protein Power, and so on, and they all have different guidelines and daily carb limits. There are also people interested in just cutting back on carbs, generally. With that in mind, I included recipes with a variety of carb counts in this book. Generally, though, I kept the carbs as low as I could without sacrificing taste, to keep this book useful to as many people as possible. If you track what you’re eating, complete nutrition counts appear at the end of every recipe to help you do that.
A Note on the Carb Counts
All of the nutritional information in these recipes was calculated using Fitday.com. The counts shown for carbohydrates include fiber, which is listed separately from total carbohydrates. A count of Carbs 4g, Fiber 2g would mean that the food has 4g of total carbohydrate, of which 2g are fiber.
Eggs
How to Cook a Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg
Eggs are, in many ways, the perfect low-carb food: filled with nutrition, inexpensive, and incredibly low in carbs. So, before we get seriously into the egg recipes, I thought I’d take a moment to share my simple technique for the most basic of egg dishes: the hard-boiled egg.
A perfectly boiled egg has a tender white and slightly moist golden yolk at the center. Unfortunately, if you cook them too long, things can quickly go horribly wrong, leaving your egg with the texture of rubber bands and the yolk a completely gruesome green. Fortunately, this easy method for making hard-boiled eggs will stop that from ever happening to you.
To end up with a perfect boiled egg, you need to start with room temperature eggs (this stops the shell from cracking when it comes in contact with the boiling water). Food safety experts recommend storing your eggs in the fridge, so let them sit in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for ten minutes to bring them to room temperature. Or, if you’re like me, and comfortable dicing with death, then leave them out on the kitchen counter overnight.
Before you start cooking, fill a bowl with ice water and have it nearby.
Turn your burner on high. Add enough water to cover your eggs in a saucepan just big enough to hold your eggs, and then bring your water to a boil.
Using a large spoon or tongs, gently lower the eggs one at a time into the water, being careful not to damage the shell. Reduce the heat to medium-high and boil the eggs for exactly 8 minutes (or 10 minutes if you plan to do something like make deviled eggs.)
When your timer goes off, pop the eggs into the bowl of ice water to cool so they stop cooking immediately. When they’re cool enough to handle, crack the shells all over, then peel the shells off under the water, which stops the shell bits from sticking.
Serve your perfect hard-boiled eggs and enjoy!
Cheesy Eggs Benedict
Classic Eggs Benedict is made with Hollandaise sauce and English muffins. Hollandaise is considered one of the most difficult French haute cuisine sauces to master. Since all of the recipes in this book are designed to be easy, the Hollandaise sauce has been replaced with an incredibly delicious cheese sauce.
I think you’ll really enjoy this recipe without an English muffin, but if you feel something is missing, adding a low-carb English muffin is an option, of course.
1 1/2 cups half and half
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 eggs
1 teaspoon white vinegar
8 cooked bacon strips, crumbled
8 slices Canadian bacon, heated
For the sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the half and half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add mustard, salt, pepper, Cheddar and Parmesan, stirring until the cheese is completely melted. Cover and keep the sauce warm until the eggs are ready.
For the poached eggs: in a deep-sided pan, bring approximately three inches of water and vinegar to a boil. Reduce heat until the water and vinegar are simmering. Break each egg into a saucer, then, holding the dish close to the water’s surf
ace, slip the egg gently into the water.
Poach four of the eggs at a time without a cover for 3-5 minutes, or until the whites are completely set and the yolks start to get thick. Remove each egg with a slotted spoon or spatula. Repeat with the other half of the eggs.
To assemble your low carb Eggs Benedict, layer one slice of warm Canadian bacon with one poached egg, the cheese sauce and then top it with crumbled bacon.
Serves: 4
Ready to Eat in: 30 minutes
Carbs 6g Fiber 0g Calories 496 Fat 38g Protein 33g
Veggie Parade Scrambled Eggs
I love the colorful variety of vegetables in this recipe. They remind me a little of confetti at a parade, which is where the name of this dish comes from.
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
1/4 cup chopped fresh tomato
6 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the sliced mushrooms, chopped onions and green peppers. Sauté the vegetables until the onions are transparent.
In a large bowl, beat together the half and half and eggs. Add the egg mixture to the skillet with the vegetables, and then stir in the tomatoes. When your eggs are almost completely set, stir in the Cheddar cheese. Allow the cheese to melt. Serve immediately.
Serves: 3
Ready to Eat In: 20 minutes
Carbs 6g Fiber 1g Calories 278 Fat 21g Protein 17g
Baked Eggs
Though this is, technically, a recipe for bacon and eggs, there’s nothing boring about eating them this way. They’re delicious and the end result is a treat for your eyes, as well as your taste buds.
This recipe is for one baked egg, but you can make as many eggs as your muffin pan will hold. Just multiply the ingredients and be sure to space the eggs out in the pan so that they cook evenly.
1 slice bacon
1 egg
1 teaspoon melted butter
1/2 slice Cheddar cheese (the right size for the top of a muffin cup)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook the bacon over medium high heat until it’s brown but still fairly soft. The bacon will continue to cook in the oven, so keep that in mind. Wrap a single bacon slice around the interior of each muffin cup. Pop a teaspoon of butter into the bottom of the muffin cup. Break one egg into each muffin cup.
Bake the egg in the oven for 12 minutes. Slide the muffin pan out to place a slice of cheese on top of the egg, and keep cooking until the cheese is melted and the egg is cooked, about another 5-10 minutes.
Serves: 1
Ready to Eat in: 30 minutes
Carbs 2g Fiber 0g Calories 182 Fat 15g Protein 11g
Texan Huevos Rancheros
Huevos rancheros are traditionally served with corn or flour tortillas, but the tortillas can add a whopping 40g of carbohydrate per serving! This recipe skips the high-carb tortillas and focuses on the ingredients that give huevos rancheros their distinctive Mexican flavor. (Although, if you really love tortillas with your huevos rancheros and have the carbs to spare, La Tortilla Factory and Mission both make excellent low-carb wheat tortillas.)
8 bacon strips, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 (14.5 ounce) cans Mexican diced tomatoes
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
10 eggs
1/2 cup shredded Colby cheese
Cook the bacon in a skillet until crispy, and then drain away the excess fat. Stir in the chopped onion, Mexican tomatoes and drained green chilies. Simmer uncovered, until the onion is tender and turning transparent.
Make 10 wells in the vegetable mixture with the back of a spoon; break one egg into each well. Cover the skillet and cook the eggs and vegetables over low heat for 15-18 minutes, or until the eggs are firm. Sprinkle everything in the skillet with cheese. Cover the skillet again until the cheese is melted, about a minute. Serve with avocado slices and sour cream if desired.
Serves: 5
Ready to Eat In: 30 minutes
Carbs 15g Fiber 3g Calories 287 Fat 17g Protein 20g
Feta, Ham and Basil Scramble
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup cooked ham, diced
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
Start warming a skillet at medium heat. Beat the eggs lightly in a bowl, then whisk in the feta, ham and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the butter to the skillet. When the butter is melted, pour the egg mixture into the skillet and scramble eggs until they’re firm, about 5 minutes.
Serves: 2
Ready to Eat In: 15 minutes
Carbs 5g Fiber 1g Calories: 321 Fat 22g Protein 25g
Creamy Cheesy Scrambled Eggs with Basil
3 tablespoons sour cream
4 eggs
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
Beat the sour cream and eggs in a bowl until they are smooth. Stir in the shredded mozzarella. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place a skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Pour in the egg mixture and stir slowly until it reaches the desired consistency. Stir in the basil during the final minute. This is especially delicious served with diced fresh tomatoes on the side.
Serves: 2
Ready to Eat In: 15 minutes
Carbs 4g Fiber 1g Calories 311 Fat 24g Protein 21g
Chive and Parmesan Shirred Eggs
The basic version of this recipe is fabulous, but you can make lots of different variations. You’re really only limited by your imagination and the low-carb ingredients you have on hand. A favorite variation of mine is adding a little shredded prosciutto and crumbled goat cheese on top of the cream.
8 teaspoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon softened butter
8 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
4 teaspoon minced fresh chives
4 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Place four 6-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet and butter the insides. Crack two eggs into each ramekin without breaking the yolks. Position the yolks in the center of the ramekin with the back of a spoon; then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat with the rest of the eggs.
Bake the eggs in the oven until the whites of the eggs are starting to set and turn opaque, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle each ramekin with about 2 teaspoons of heavy cream. Sprinkle a teaspoon of chives and Parmesan over the cream and return the eggs to the oven until the eggs are set, but the yolks are still a bit runny. Remove from the oven and let cool for one minute before serving.
Serves: 4
Ready to Eat in: 35 minutes
Carbs 1g Fiber 0g Calories 174 Fat 13g Protein 14g
Omelets, Frittatas & Breakfast Quiches
How to cook a perfect omelet
Omelets freak out a lot of cooks because, before the advent of nonstick pans, cooking a perfect omelet meant mastering some specific and tricky omelet-making techniques, as well as owning a perfectly seasoned iron skillet. However, making a great omelet at home is now something anyone with a nonstick pan can accomplish quite easily.
All you need are eggs, a little butter, a non-stick pan, a fork and a spatula to make an omelet that could go toe-to-to with the best work of any French chef.
The Perfect Omelet
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1. Lightly beat the eggs and a pinch of pepper and salt with a fork until the yolks and whites are completely combined.
2. With the stove set at medium high, heat the butter in a medium non-stick skillet (8-9 inches). When the butter stops foaming, add the eggs. Give the edg
es of the omelet a few seconds to start to set, then begin stirring the eggs in the pan with the back of a fork (make sure the tines don’t come in contact with the pan). This integrates the uncooked egg with the cooked egg and gives the finished omelet a wonderful, consistently tender texture.
3. When the eggs are thickened, but not set completely, use a spatula to pull the cooked edges of the omelet toward the center of the pan. As you do that, tilt the pan in that direction so any uncooked egg runs to the edge. Keep doing this until the omelet is set, but still moist on top. Cook for just a few more seconds to brown the bottom of the omelet.
4. Now it’s time to fold the omelet. You have the option of being fancy and jerking the pan sharply away from you to slide the omelet up the opposite side of the pan while using your fork to fold the edge in towards the center. Or, you could be like me and do it the easy way by just folding your omelet using your spatula. Either way, your omelet will be delicious!
Serve immediately.
Spinach and Mushroom Omelet
4 eggs
