Peruvian Chicken Thighs with Spicy Cilantro Sauce Salad
I’ve made this delicious recipe before from The New York Times by Melissa Clark and it is delicious. I used thighs, but breasts or the whole chicken work just as well. I cooked the chicken for two night’s dinner. The first night, my husband and I ate it hot with asparagus.
Peruvian Roasted Chicken With Spicy Cilantro Sauce
The second night, I turned it into a salad. I spiralized yellow and green zucchini, steamed and chilled the asparagus and added pickled onions to the vegetables. Fantastic and perfect for a hot, humid summer night!
Peruvian Chicken Thighs with Spicy Cilantro Sauce Salad
Allow squash to drain in a colander or squeeze out extra water. Combine vegetables and add spicy cilantro sauce and toss. Place room temperature or cold chicken on top of salad and drizzle extra sauce on top.
Spiralizing vegetables is a great way to eat more veggies and have the fake-out mouth feel of a high carb food like pasta, rice and potatoes. Most spiralizers work best if the diameter of the vegetable is 1 ½” or more.
Lowest carbs
Green bell pepper: sauté, raw
Broccoli stem: roast, sauté, raw
Cabbage: roast, sauté, raw
Cucumber: raw
Daikon and other radishes: roast, sauté, raw
Kohlrabi: roast, sauté, boil
Turnip: roast, sauté, boil
Zucchini: sauté, boil, raw
Higher Carbs, avoid if keeping carbs at 20 grams or less, or use sparingly, like pickled onions. For example, one medium onion, 2 ½” diameter, is 10 grams of carbs. A small handful of them in your tossed salad would add about 2 grams—but will give your salad a total lift in flavor.
Carrots: roast, sauté, boil, raw
Beets: roast, sauté, raw
Celeriac: roast, sauté, boil, raw
Jicama: roast, sauté, raw
Onion: roast, sauté, raw
Rutabaga: roast, sauté, boil
I like to pickle onions, carrots and daikon after spiralizing, because it looks nicer than simply cutting them.
You can make slaw out of any of the vegetables by adding your favorite slaw dressing or any salad dressing.
Add oil, butter, ghee, bacon fat, lard spices, lemon, and vinegars to cooked spiralized vegetables. A base of spiralized zucchini is a great substitute for pasta—just top it with whatever meat and sauce you are cooking.
For example, I just made Peruvian Roasted Chicken thighs with Spicy Cilantro Sauce from The New York Times. I cooked asparagus and spiralized zucchini and both got a liberal dose of the cilantro sauce. Delicious—and the sauce made both vegetables so tasty that I didn’t miss a high carb side, like potatoes or rice.
This is Melissa Clark’s recipe from The New York Times. I made a few changes—used brussels sprouts and red cabbage instead of napa cabbage and added pickled onions. I omitted the red peppers and cucumbers—mainly because I didn’t have them. What vegetables you use doesn’t matter that much; it’s the marinade and dressing and garnishes that make this dish a standout.
I served this main course salad with a Keto roll. The perfect summer meal!
I was really in the mood for fish with a crunch—like the kind from breadcrumbs, but wanted to keep it low carb, so I used almond flour and it turned out great! The almond flour imparted both crunch and a subtle flavor of almonds. Will definitely make my latest creation again soon!
The raw kale salad with bacon worked very nicely with the fish. You can also use brussels sprouts or coleslaw with the dressing. To make this salad a complete meal, add nuts and cheese.
Almond Flour Coated Cod and Kale Salad with Bacon
4-6 ounces per person Cod
Egg
Almond flour to coat
Salt & pepper
Butter
Avocado oil
Lemon juice and zest
Preheat oven to 424. Coat cod in egg, salt and pepper mix, then dredge in flour. Take a cast iron pan and heat enough oil to coat pan. When hot, add fish. Let cook a few minutes then flip when brown. When both sides are brown, place in oven for 5-10 minutes, depending on thickness of fish. Remove from oven and add a bit of butter to pan, coating the fish. Squeeze lemon juice and zest n fish and serve.
Kale Salad with Bacon Dressing
Serves 3- 4
1 large head of kale, stems removed, leaves chopped into bite sized pieces
Avocado oil
Coat kale with avocado oil and let sit for 30 minutes to wilt it a bit. Add dressing and toss in bacon before serving.
Bacon dressing
6 ounces bacon, diced
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon
3 tablespoons avocado oil
Pepper
Cook bacon until fat is rendered on medium-low heat, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon. Turn off the heat and add remaining ingredients, using a whisk. Toss bacon into dressed salad last minute.
I had a flat iron steak from the farmer’s market that I was in the mood for and wanted to use up my vegetables, because I’m going away for the weekend. I ended up with a slaw/salad and it was very tasty!
I used a sumac dry rub and a bit of cider vinegar and covered the sliced-up steak and put it in the broiler for 5 minutes. I make a big batch of the dry rub; it’s made with equal parts of sumac, garlic, cocoa, coffee, salt and pepper and I store it in the freezer.
Steak and Slaw
Flat iron steak or other, sliced
Dry rub
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Coat steak with vinegar and dry rub and place on an oven proof tray. Put broiler on high and cook 5 minutes.
Slaw
Serves 2
Slaw with pecans, celery, parmesan and pickled onions
Low carb tofu with peanut sauce, spiralized zucchini and cucumber
I was first introduced to cold noodles with sesame by my boyfriend in college and it was the first spicy dish I had ever eaten! The first few times I ate them, it took forever because they were so hot. But I immediately loved them and when my boyfriend would visit for the weekend, he always brought me an order. I haven’t the restaurant version in years—I find them too sweet—but I’ll never forget how much I loved the cold noodles from Empire Szechuan in New York City.
This version has spiralized yellow squash or zucchini and Shirataki noodles. Use any combination; it’s all good. I add baked tofu to make the dish more substantial. Roasted chicken on the side with a little peanut sauce would also be good. Anything with this peanut sauce is good!
The first night I made this I used only yellow squash, but didn’t have enough for the second night, so I added the Shirataki noodles.
Shirataki noodles are made with yam flour and have virtually no carbs or calories. According to Wikipedia: “Shirataki are thin, translucent, gelatinous traditional Japanese noodles made from the konjac yam. The word “shirataki” means white waterfall, referring to the appearance of these noodles.”
Some brands of Shirataki noodles have soy or preservatives added, but I buy a brand that is only made of yams. I posted a picture of it on my blog, because the name is only in Japanese. It has little flavor, but absorbs whatever sauce you use on it. Buy it in the refrigerated section of your grocery store or an Asian specialty grocer.
Shirataki
If you want the traditional (high carb) recipe, simply substitute 1 pound Chinese-style dried noodle or spaghetti/fettuccini.
“Cold Noodles” with Sesame Sauce with Baked Tofu
Serves 4
4 yellow squash or zucchini spiralized or a combination and/or Shirataki noodles
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced
3 tablespoon black and/or white sesame seeds, divided
1 bunch scallions, chopped
4 curby cucumber, cut into long thin shreds or spiralized
Cilantro, chopped
Sauce:
2 tablespoon San-J® All Purpose Szechuan Hot and Spicy Sauce
1 cup crunchy or smooth natural peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy or tamari sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Hot pepper flakes to taste
Water
Baked Tofu
If you are using Shirataki noodles, drain, rinse and add them to boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain.
Sauté ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and garlic on low heat for about a minute, or until garlic becomes fragrant. Add sauce ingredients, stirring well. Add small amounts of water until you like the consistency—should be thin enough to coat the pasta easily. Taste the sauce, as you may want to add more of one or more ingredients. If it is too hot and spicy, add more peanut butter.
Mix sauce with noodles and spiralized veggies.
Top with baked tofu and add more peanut sauce. Embellish with cucumber, remaining sesame seeds and cilantro. Serve at room temperature.
Have been making kale “pie” for years and used to follow the recipe and baked it with a pie crust. Even before I went low carb, I omitted the crust, as this dish doesn’t need it. If you are eating them, sweet potatoes go well with the kale pie.
I have also made this with mushrooms, like shitake, instead of the cabbage and tomatoes.
I don’t add salt, as the feta cheese is salty enough for me.
Kale Pie
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1 large bunch kale, stems removed, leaves roughly chopped
¼ large red head of cabbage, cored and sliced (optional)
Handful grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
Avocado or extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup milk or heavy cream
6 oz feta cheese, preferably sheep’s, crumbled
6 eggs, beaten
Pepper
Sauté onions and garlic until translucent and add kale and cabbage, if using. Sauté, about 15 minutes or until tender. Allow vegetables to cool a bit.
Mix remaining ingredients and add kale mix and combine. Place mixture in a pie dish or other shallow baking dish, add tomatoes cut side down and bake 45 minutes.
French Onion Soup with Bone Broth and Tomato Salad
Bone broth. Onions. Raw milk cheese. Put them together and magic happens…French Onion soup is a classic for a reason. Use the best ingredients for an unforgettable meal.
Beef bone broth recipe. If you cn’t make your own broth, organic, grass fed broth is available–but it won’t be as good as your own.
Traditionally, pieces of a baguette or croutons are placed in soup, but I omitted to make this low carb. However, if it’s a cheat day, serve with a hot baguette!
6 cups bone broth, preferably beef, but chicken or vegetable can be substituted
Coupled sprigs thyme
4 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
8 ounces cheese, preferably raw like Emmentaler and Swiss Gruyere, sliced
Heat a cast iron casserole or other sturdy pot on medium and melt butter. Add onions. Stirring occasionally, cook them slowly—you may want to lower temperature—until they slowly collapse and begin to brown, 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400. Add stock, thyme, salt and pepper and bring just to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes.
Ladle soup into portion sized bowls and place on a parchment lined sturdy baking sheet. Place cheese over soup and bake about 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.
Cooked onions for French onion soup. See how they meld into a mass?
This is the perfect summer dish, with all the vegetables fresh from the farmer’s market! I have both kale and cabbage from the market, but the kale needed to get used up first—and, the purple/green leaves are so pretty!
This for two nights for my husband and I, and I make the guacamole fresh each day so that the tomatoes are never refrigerated, as this makes it so much more flavorful.
You can use pretty much any ground meat that you are in the mood to eat. I choose pork from a local farm.
The flavors are really good here, but if you can easily make this dish without the added peppers and onions and it will still be satisfying and delicious.
Low Carb Mexican Slaw
Mexican Farmer’s Market Bowl
Serves 4
Meat and Peppers
1 pound ground turkey, pork, beef, buffalo
2-3 peppers, cut into bite sized pieces
1 red onion, sliced thin
4 ounces shredded Colby and or cheddar
Taco or Cajun seasoning
½ lemon or lime, juiced
Cook meat on medium high until pink is gone and add seasoning. Remove meat and cook peppers and onions on high until limp, about 10 minutes. Add meat, draining fat, if desired. Turn off heat and add cheese and lemon and stir.
Guacamole
1-2 avocadoes, diced
Pint grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 small red onion, sliced thin
Cilantro, optional
½ -1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper
Slaw
½ head kale, stems removed, cut or town into small pieces or small cabbage, sliced thin
2 medium beets, peeled, spiralized and chopped into bite sized pieces
1 carrot, peeled, spiralized and chopped into bite sized pieces
Extra virgin or avocado oil
Coat kale with oil and a bit of salt and allow to soften, about 30 minutes. (If using cabbage, no need to add oil.) Add remaining vegetables. Add some of the pepper sauce and toss.
Pepper Sauce
3/4 cup sour cream or crème fraiche
Handful cilantro, chopped
1-2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 small garlic clove
Zest of one lime and juice
2 tablespoons of tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Mix all together with a blender
Assemble the bowl: put slaw on the base, add the meat mixture, then the guacamole. Top with more pepper sauce.
Instead of cauliflower, this recipe uses ground turkey or chicken as the main ingredient in the crust. I got this recipe from a friend and couldn’t wait to try it! While it doesn’t taste like pizza crust to me, it was good, and I piled on lots of veggies and cheese and this made a nice dinner. I used way more ingredients on the pie crust than what you get when you buy pizza, because I didn’t want to make a side dish. Just pile it on! I chose broccoli, shitake mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, but use your favorite pizza toppings. I roasted grape tomatoes because I usually make my own sauce and didn’t feel like cooking. With summer tomatoes at their peak, roasting them seemed like the best choice.
My husband and I ate this for two nights; I cooked the pizza crust and reserved half for the next day.
Low Carb Pizza Crust
Low Carb Pizza
4 servings
1-pound ground chicken or turkey
1 egg
½ cup parmesan
Mix ingredients and lay out very thin on parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes at 450. Then add toppings and bake 10 minutes more.
Top with whatever you like on your pizza and enjoy!
