www.lowcarbdiabetic.co.uk

GOOD FOOD

"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food. "Hippocrates,

Most food nutritional values have been taken from the "Collins gem Calorie Counter" book.

Roast Vegetables

Roughly chop the veg. add plenty of extra virgin olive oil and pepper, a little salt and dried mixed herbs. Bake for about an hour at gas mark five. The trick is to turn every ten mins. or so to stop burning.

Carb. counts. Swede 2.3, celery 0.8, mushrooms 0.3, onion fried in oil 14, courgettes 2.6, cherry toms. 5, red pepper 7, green pepper 2.6, yellow pepper 5, brussels 4, All numbers per 100 grams.

Flax meal loaf. Tastes fantastic and packed full of great nutrients, a low carb star.

Nutritional Information: If you cut this loaf into 12 thick slices each slice has less than 1 gram of effective carbohydrate, 5 grams fibre, 6 grams protein, and 185 calories.

Flax meal loaf. Weight of cooked loaf 742 grams.

Ingredients.

2 cups of ground flax seeds (280 grams)

5 eggs

Half a cup of water

One third of a cup olive oil

One table spoon of baking powder

One tea spoon of salt

Added mixed dried herbs

Method

Place the eggs in a mixing bowl and whisk. Add the oil and water. Place the flax in another bowl and add baking powder, salt and herbs and mix.… Add the wet mix to the dry mix and mix thoroughly. Place the mix into a non stick bread tin and bake at gas mark 7 for 55 minutes, electric fan oven 200c for 55 minutes. All ovens are different, so you will have to experiment a bit. Add some walnuts and sun dried toms into the mix and you have meal in itself. Just add that lovely butter. The beauty of this bread is that it is easy to make, and requires no cooking skills or special equipment.

Crepes

These crepes are virtually carb. free and are very easy to make.

Ingredients.

200 Grams of ricotta cheese

3 eggs

I teaspoon of cinnamon

A splash of milk

Method

Mix the cheese, eggs and cinnamon into a small mixing bowl. Add a slash of milk if the mix is to thick to run freely. Place a small knob of butter into a frying pan, I use a small omelette pan 8". Heat the butter and spoon in 3 table spoons of mix. Fry until firm then turn over and cook for one minute or until the crepe is starting to brown. This mix makes between 6 and 8 crepes. Allow to cool and fill with cream cheese and finely chopped spring onions or smoked salmon and asparagus tips, whatever you like. Roll up the crepe and enjoy. Great at any time and very good for the lunch box or picnics. Also great warmed up with a scoop of low carb ice cream and double cream.

Celeriac Dauphinoise from Karen

1 celeriac
200ml double cream
200ml crème fraiche
200g mature cheddar cheese, grated

Optional 2 cloves garlic, thyme, mix crushed garlic and thyme in with the grated cheese before assembling this dish.

Peel the celeriac, slice the roots away, make sure all roots have gone. If necessary slice off in sections with a knife, rather than just a peeling. Slice the celeriac into 5 mm pieces.

Generously butter a medium sized ovenproof dish, add a layer of celeriac slices, then a drizzle of cream and a sprinkling of cheese, then repeat with a dollop of crème fraiche and a sprinkling of cheese. Repeat this process until all ingredients are used up, and finish with a thin layer of cream and cheese and a few thyme leaves if using.… Sprinkle each layer with a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Italian style Courgette Soup From Marmot

Ingredients
1kg/2¼lb green courgettes cut lengthways into quarters then into 1cm/½in slices
60ml/2fl oz extra virgin olive oil
15g/½oz garlic cloves, chopped
750ml/1¼ pint chicken stock
60ml/2fl oz single cream
Italian basil leaves, chopped
continental parsley, chopped
50g/2oz freshly grated Reggiano parmesan
sea salt and ground white pepper, to taste
Method
1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan.
2. Cook the garlic, basil, salt and courgettes slowly for approximately 10 minutes, until the courgettes are lightly browned and very soft.
3. Add some pepper and stock and simmer for 8 minutes, uncovered. Remove from the heat.
4. Put ¾ of the soup into a food processor and process until smooth.
5. Return to the pan and stir in the cream, parsley and parmesan.
6. To serve, place in a bowl and sprinkle with cheese and some pepper.

Fish Pie

Buy a fish pie mix from the big supermarkets, around £3.00. Smoked haddock, salmon and cod. Simmer in double cream, add some salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Cover with mashed swede. Add some grated cheese and cherry toms. Cook at gas mark 5 for 25-30 minutes, when golden brown serve. Wash down with a glass or two chardonnay. Sublime food and low carb.

Kegeree from Larsson

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 cauliflower, grated
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 dessert spoon of Patak's Madras curry paste
3 boiled eggs (8 minutes in boiling water), quartered
250g smoked haddock, or unsmoked salmon is also good, poached in water for 5 minutes
Lots of chopped parsley, or coriander
Some lemon wedges to serve

Fry the onion in olive oil or butter until soft. Add the curry paste and fry for 3-4 minutes more. Now add the grated cauli and cook until all the ingredients are well coloured, maybe 8-10 minutes. Add the flaked fish, then the herbs and finally the eggs. Salt and pepper to taste, then spoon onto warmed plates with the lemon wedges.

Avocado Pear with Prawns, a splash of 1000 Island Dressing and Paprika

Typical nutritional values per 100 grams

Avocado Pear
Calories: 190, Protein: 1.9g, Carb: 1.9g, Fat: 19.5g, Fibre: n/a

Prawns (boiled)
Calories: 99, Protein: 22.6g, Carb: nil, Fat: 0.9g, Fibre: n/a

Salad from Marmot

Salad consisted of mixed leaves, parma ham, radishes, cherry tomatoes, avocado, olives, spring onion and artichokes, with a balsamic dressing.

Luxury Low carb nut Cake

Ingredients

125 grams of desiccated coconut un sweetened.
100 grams of ground almonds
55 grams golden flax seeds ground
4 beaten eggs
2 table spoons of sugar or sweetener of choice: see note below.
1 table spoon of baking powder
1 table spoon of cinnamon
1 table spoon of ground nutmeg
1 very large slug of Grand Marnier
half a cup of water
third of a cup of melted butter

I also add broken walnuts and almond flakes

Method same as the bread, mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix thoroughly. Bake for about 50 minutes at gas mark 7 or 200 in an electric oven. A little tip is to check it at around 45 minutes, by taking it out of the non stick tin, I line my tins with a long strip of baking paper, which makes it very easy to remove the cake from the tin. Cut it in half to check it has cooked right through. If not, back in the oven for a bit longer. I reckon the cake is less than 5 carbs for a nice thick slice.

Please note! If you are using aspartame/acesuflame sweetener, remember to reduce the heat to no more than 170 degrees. Above this and you end up with a truly awful taste and no sweetness.

Cauliflower Cheese From Fergus

The cauliflower is a wondrous thing indeed. Sadly, no soaring poetic eulogies to this low carb foot soldier were available at the time of going to press. Instead, let this recipe for cauliflower cheese raise your spirits but not your blood sugar. Honestly, I could happily eat just this for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 cauliflower, broken into bite sized florets
140ml double cream
125g mature cheddar cheese
1-2 tsps dijon mustard
1 large free range egg
salt & pepper

Steam the cauliflower (in a colander over a pan of boiling water) until a fork passes easily through the stems. Remove to a baking dish and discard the water.
Pour the cream, cheese (reserve some to sprinkle over the dish) and mustard into the pan over a medium heat and stir until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg. Now pour the mixture over the cauliflower and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake in a fan oven at 170 until the cauliflower is golden brown (30-35 minutes).
Now compose an ode to the cauliflower.

Fresh Berries

Some low carb. fruits. Strawberries 6 grams. Blackberries 5.1 grams. Raspberries 4.6 grams. per 100 grams.

Swede Rosti

Cut a swede into large chunks or strips and put through a food processor fitted with a fine slicing blade. Or grate with a coarse cheese grater. Put the sliced raw swede into a mixing bowl and add some olive oil and three egg yolks per medium sliced swede. Mix well with a spoon and place a handful of mix into a steel ring. I use one 3.5" dia.x 2" deep. Get a cup or glass and compress the mix until firm within the ring, remove the ring. Rosti will be around an inch thick. Make up more until you have used all your mix. You can then fry them straight away in oil or butter or store them in a fridge. Carbs. around three per rosti or 100 grams.

Stilton with Grapes and Red Wine

Typical nutritional values per 100 grams

Stilton Cheese
Calories: 410, Protein: 23.7g, Carb: 0.1g, Fat: 35g, Fibre: nil.

Black Grapes
Calories: 60, Protein: 0.4g, Carb: 15.4, Fat: 0.1g, Fibre: n/a

Red Wine per 100ml.
Calories: 68, Protein: 0.1g, Carb: 0.2, Fat: 0g, Fibre: n/a

Shepherds Pie

Use the standard recipe but substitute the mashed potato with grated cauliflower or mashed swede.

Ultimate Chicken Soup From Larsson

Ingredients:
750g of chicken thighs and drumsticks
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 slicks celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed,
2 bay leaves
750ml chicken or vegetable stock
100ml double cream
100g pureed celeriac (a great side dish, keep a little aside for the soup!)
large handful chopped flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
olive oil

Fry the onion and celery in olive oil for 5 mins, until soft. Add the stock, bay leaves and chicken pieces, cover and simmer for 30 mins. Remove the chicken from the liquid and allow to cool before breaking the meat into small bite sized pieces.
Meanwhile, quarter and fry the mushrooms in olive oil, or butter, until well coloured. Stir the celeriac into the liquid to thicken it. Add the chicken and mushrooms, double cream, and season to taste. Just before serving, add the parsley and remove the bay leaves.
This is substantial enough to have on its own, but some low carb bread is a great with it too.
Bon appetite.

Chicken Stroganoff

Chicken Stroganoff

Ingredients.
Skinless boneless chicken breasts ( one per person )
1 large onion
100 grams of chestnut mushrooms
50 grams of butter
A small cauliflower
A quarter pint of chicken stock, salt and pepper.
A small pot of sour cream
Lots of paprika pepper.

Cut the chicken into thin slices, half mushrooms through the stalk.
Melt the butter and gently fry the chicken for 5 minutes, or until they have lost their pinkness. Lift out with a slotted spoon.
Add the chopped onion and fry for about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and fry for two minutes. Return the chicken with the stock. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Season, stir in cream and simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve onto a bed of finely grated fried cauliflower and add plenty of paprika pepper.

Fergus' Low Carb Walnut Bread

JAG BANTAR 'CARBOLIGHT ' BREAD

JAG BANTAR ‘CARBOLIGHT’ IS A NEW TYPE OF BREAD WHICH WILL SOON BE ON SALE IN THE UK, BOTH IN SHOPS AND TO ORDER.

IT IS A VERY LOW GI LOAF, HIGH IN FIBRE AND PROTEIN, BUT SUGAR FREE AND VERY LOW IN STARCH. THE INGREDIENTS IN A TYPICAL LOAF ARE ENTIRELY NATURAL, WITH ABSOLUTELY NO CHEMICAL ADDITIVES OR PRESERVATIVES OF ANY KIND.

AVAILABLE IN THREE DELICIOUS VARIETIES: WHEAT BRAN, PARMESAN & LINSEED, AND WALNUT, THIS IS A HIGH QUALITY ARTISAN BREAD WITH A MINIMAL EFFECT ON BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS.

‘CARBOLIGHT’ IS PERFECT FOR EVERYONE LOOKING TO CONTROL THEIR BLOOD SUGAR AND THEIR WEIGHT. IT DOES CONTAIN SOME GLUTEN. WITH A CARBOHYDRATE CONTENT OF 4.25g PER 100g, IT HAS LITTLE IMPACT ON BLOOD GLUCOSE AND INSULIN. WHEN THESE ARE STABLE, OUR HEALTH BENEFITS IN MANY IMPORTANT WAYS. MORE DETAILS COMING SOON.

PRODUCT WEIGHT CARBOHYDRATE PROTEIN FAT

JAG BANTAR 400g 17g 124g 47g

This great bread is now available via mail order, contact Fergus at jagbantar@hotmail.co.uk for details.

More good food ideas coming soon