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Recipes for Indispensable Low Carb Treats
You can make easy homemade treats that taste better than expensive "low carb" foods you see in stores. Not only that, but the stuff you cook at home has no hidden carbs to stall you, unlike 99% of the commercially produced "low carb" treats.
Most of these recipes were designed back in the bad old days when the only diet foods available were sugar-laden stuff for people on low fat diets. Low carb dieters got creative back then and the results were some wonderful, easy recipes that every serious low carb dieter should know.
The recipes below are by no means all the great recipes, only the ones I couldn't live without. You will find more recipe ideas and links to some other web sites packed full of useful recipes HERE.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Feedback from people who have used my recipes suggests that you may get disappointing results if you use some of the more expensive whey protein powders. The carb counts below are for the Precision Engineered brand. Others may have more sugar, so adjust your carb counts accordingly.
Also, given the dangers posed by inorganic phosphate additives, I have replaced the baking powder in the original recipes I published with a mix of Baking Soda and concentrated lemon juice. (The kind that comes in the plastic lemons.)
Indispensable Almost No Carb Barbecue Sauce
This isn't a substitute for the "real thing," it's an improvement. It's so good the rest of the family gobbles it up and I have to keep making more.
3/8 cup vinegar
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce. (1 15 oz can) Don't buy a tomato sauce that has spices or flavorings in it!
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon yellow hot dog mustard
3/4 tablespoon Franks Hot Sauce
3/4 tablespoon salt (optional)
1 dash cayenne pepper. Go easy!!!!
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
6 teaspoons Splenda or 18 drops of Liquid Splenda
Add vinegar and all other ingredients except mustard to a sauce pan and slowly heat. Put mustard in a cup and slowly stir in a couple tablespoons of sauce until well blended. Then add mustard mixture back to sauce in pan.
Bring to a boil, and lower heat. Let simmer for a few minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate.
Note: this sauce will taste a bit peculiar if you taste it when it is still hot. Don't worry! Something magical happens when it sits in the fridge.
Carbohydrates per Serving (1 tablespoon): Less than 1 gram. Half an ounce is 1 gm carbs, 6 calories.
Better than the Boxed Stuff Homemade Low Carb Pancakes
No hidden carbs, great flavor, and a texture that is very close to the real thing. The recipe below takes one egg and makes 2 pancakes. Double or triple it to make more.
2.5 tablespoons vanilla whey protein powder.
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1 egg
1 tbs half and half
1 tablespoons water
If you wish to add a sweetener, substitute 1 tbs of DaVinci Sugar Free syrup for 1 tablespoon water or add 1 tsp sugar for an added 4 g of carbohydrate.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the egg, oil, Syrup or Splenda, and water. If batter is too thick to pour easily, add another tablespoon or two of water to thin out. Stir. Fry in a pan or griddle as you would regular pancakes. Turn when bubbles appear at edges.
Serve with Maple Grove Farms "Cozy Cottage" sugar free Maple Syrup, 1 gm sorbitol per tablespoon.
Nutritional Information: For two pancakes made with DaVinci syrup: 1 g carb 0 gm fiber.16 g protein. 14 g fat. 197 calories.(Some protein powders have more carbs. This assumes
Something Different for Breakfast: Low Carb Cinnamon Spice Pancakes
This is an adaptation of Garth's Protein Spice Bars that makes a killer pancake better than any of the mixes.
Garth's Low Carb recipes can be found here HERE The recipe below takes one egg and makes 2 pancakes. Double or triple it to make more.
2 tablespoons vanilla whey protein powder.
3/4 teaspoons baking powder (Or 1/8 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp lemon juice)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
1 dash ginger
1 egg
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon DaVinci Vanilla Sugar Free Syrup (or substitute 1 teaspoon Splenda with 1/2 tbs vanilla and 1/2 tablespoon water)
1 tablespoon water
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the egg, oil, Syrup or Splenda, and water. Stir. Fry in a pan or griddle as you would regular pancakes. Turn when bubbles appear at edges.
Nutritional Information: For two pancakes made with DaVinci syrup: 5 g carb 1 gm fiber.14 g protein. 10 g fat. 167 calories. Add 10 grams if using Trader Joe's.
Jenny's Version of Garth's Macaroons
Garth Lamson has removed his delicious macaroon recipe from his web site but has given me permission to post my revision of it. This is a truly low carb, low cal cookie that satisfies my need for a little after meal treat.
1 1/3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut. (I buy mine from Whole Foods bulk section.)
1 tablespoon vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Splenda powder
1 3/4 tablespoon DaVinci Amaretto sugar free syrup (you can use other flavors if you don't have this one) 3/4 teaspoon Almond extract 2 medium egg whites
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix ingredients together in a bowl in order given.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. These do not spread out so you can put them close together.
I usually make 24 from this recipe.
Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Edges of cookies should be light brown. Remove from cookie sheet immediately.
Nutritional Information for each Macaroon (24 total): Calories: 17, Carbs: ~1 gm Fiber less than 1 gm, Fat 1 gm, Protein 1 gm.
Almond or Hazelnut Cookies Made From Home-Ground Nut Meal
This recipe makes 18. Delicious, but relatively high in calories. So use this when you are in maintenance or if you need to boost your calories with nutritious foods. Hazelnuts are very high in healthful unsaturated fat.
1 cup homemade hazelnut or almond flour
1 tbs vanilla whey protein powder
1/3 cup Splenda or
1/3 cup DaVinci sugar free vanilla or amaretto syrup
1 egg white
1/2 tsp almond extract
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
To make nut flour, chop 1/3 of a pound of hazelnuts or almonds very fine. (I used a little electric "chopper" which I bought for about $10. It looks like a tiny food processor.)
Stir in rest of ingredients in order given. Using DaVinci syrup instead of powdered Splenda will cut the carb count of the total recipe by 11 grams but will make the cookies moister.
Use a teaspoon to drop blobs onto cookie sheet about 1/2 teaspoon in size.
Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until very lightly browned.
Remove from oven and let cool. Then peel off foil.
Nutritional Info: 46 cal , fat: 4 g, sat fat: 0, carb 1 gm, protein 1 gm, sodium 5 mg
No Hidden Carb Fudge
This recipe makes 4 servings. 2 oz cream cheese (use the expensive kind with less starch filler)
2 ounces Cream Cheese (use the branded kind with less starch)
1 oz baker's chocolate (the kind with NO sugar.)
1 tbs DaVinci Vanilla Sugar Free Syrup (OR substitute 1 tbs Splenda and 1 tsp vanilla)
2 Tbs Cream
Melt the chocolate in the bottom of a greased small saucepan at low heat. Add the cream cheese and stir in with the chocolate.
Add cream and simmer. Add the DaVinci syrup (or Splenda and vanilla) and stir in. If it isn't sweet enough, add a tiny bit more syrup or Splenda until it tastes right. Cook until it starts to thicken. Take off the stove.
Grease a small bowl or individual pie plate. Spoon fudge into bowl or plate. Chill in refrigerator until hard.
Cut into 4 pieces. Enjoy!
Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 2 gm carb 1 gm protein 9.8 gm fat. 99 calories.
Low Carb Yankee Chili
Here's another recipe the whole family loves--especially since these particular beans do not cause gas! One caution: DO NOT EAT SOY IF YOU HAVE ANY THYROID ISSUES. SOY WORSENS THYROID PROBLEMS. IT may also cause autoimmune issues.
Makes 3 servings:
10 ounces hamburger
1 can Eden brand Black Soy beans (Buy them at Whole Foods or other Health stores. Do NOT use regular Black Beans!)
1-2 tbs strong chili powder. I use "Hard Times" brand Chili Mix.
14 oz crushed peeled tomatoes (1/2 large can or 1 small can) Don't buy the seasoned versions!
1 cup of water.
Fry up meat in skillet, when cooked drain fat. Add tomatoes, beans, chili powder and water. Simmer until thickened.
Makes 3 servings. Per serving: 22 g carb 13 g fiber. 38 g protein. 20 g fat. 411 calories.
Very Low Carb Cocoa
This makes a nice substitute for coffee if you're trying to kick the habit, or just use it to keep warm in winter.
1 rounded teaspoon Hershey's Dutched Cocoa or other real cocoa powder
2 cap fulls DaVinci Sugar Free Syrup of your choice. Kahuli Cafe is awesome. So is Amaretto.
1 cup boiling water
Cream or half and half (as much as you'd put in coffee)
Boil the water. Put the cocoa powder into a cup and stir in the sugar free syrup until it makes a nice paste. Gradually pour in the water while stirring to dissolve the cocoa. Fill almost to the top. Then lighten with the cream or half and half the way you would lighten coffee (1 to 2 tablespoons.)
One Serving. 1 gm carb. 2 g fat. 27 calories made with 1 tbs Half & Half, more with cream.
One teaspoon of sugar (measured with a measuring spoon, not a silverware spoon) only contains 4 grams of carb. I make this cocoa with real sugar instead of the artificial sweetener because it tastes a lot better that way.
Low Carb Muffin/Sweet Bread Mix
I discovered this recipe while trying to make a low carb pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving. To my surprise, the squash gave these a wonderful, moist, non-rubbery, bready texture while contributing almost no pumpkin flavor. That makes the batter ideal for the muffins of your choice.
The recipe below will make 9 muffins or 1 loaf of sweetbread. At the bottom of the recipe are some ideas for different flavors.
7 1/2 oz pumpkin or squash (one half of a 15 ounce can).
1 1/2 scoops (equivalent to 4 1/2 tbs)vanilla whey Protein Powder. (I used Precision Engineered.)
1 tbs vital wheat gluten.
1 tbs melted butter
1 egg
1 1/2 tbs DaVinci caramel (or vanilla) sugar free syrup
1/2 tsp baking powder (or substitute 1/8 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp lemon juice) 1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup grated coconut (the kind with no sugar. I buy it at Whole Foods.)
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of 9 muffin tin cups or a single bread pan. Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl in order given until completely blended.
Pour batter into muffin cups or bread pan until it is about 1 inch deep.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin or bread comes up dry. Remove from pan and allow to cool. Cover with plastic wrap to retain moisture. Please note these are very moist and will mold after two days if you don't refrigerate them.
Makes 9 servings. Per 1 1/4 ounce serving: 3 gm carb, 1 gm fiber, 4gm protein, 4 gm fat, 64 calories.
Variations on the Muffin Mix
Pumpkin Bread
To the batter given above add:
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger pinch nutmeg
Pecan Rolls
Soak 1/4 cup pecans in a tablespoon or two of DaVinci Sugar Free Caramel Syrup for about five minutes. Be sure they are completely coated. Press into the tops of the muffins.
Blueberry or Raspberry Muffins
Stir in frozen blueberries or raspberries into the muffin mix just before baking.