Part 14 (2/2)
While that's cooking, a.s.semble the celery, pepper, onion, chilies, cheese, and chicken in a big mixing bowl.
As soon as the microwave beeps, pull out your cauliflower, uncover it, and drain it. Let it sit and cool for a few minutes, though-you don't want to melt your cheese. While you're waiting for the cauliflower to cool, combine the mayonnaise, c.u.min, chili powder, oregano, vinegar, and lime juice in a bowl. Stir everything together.
Okay, when the cauliflower has cooled a bit, dump it in with the chicken, cheese, and veggies and stir everything to mix. Dump in the olives, pour on the mayonnaise mixture, and toss to coat. You can eat this right away, if you like, or chill it for a few hours. This is nice served on a bed of lettuce, but you could serve it stuffed into tomatoes, too.
Yield: 3 to 4 servings 3 to 4 servings Each with 24 g protein; 7 g carbohydrate; 2 g dietary fiber; 5 g usable carbs. a.n.a.lysis is for salad only.
Tex-Mex Chicken Salad head cauliflower red bell pepper, diced [image]cup (55 g) diced red onion cup (30 g) canned green chiles 4 ounces (115 g) Monterey Jack cheese, cut in -inch (6 mm) cubes cup (25 g) sliced black olives 1 cup (225 g) diced cooked chicken [image]cup (80 g) mayonnaise teaspoon ground c.u.min teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 tablespoon (15 ml) white wine vinegar 1 teaspoons lime juice [image]cup (21.3 g) chopped fresh cilantro Chop the cauliflower, including the stem, into -inch (1.3-cm) bits. Put them in a microwaveable ca.s.serole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover, and cook it on high for 7 minutes.
a.s.semble the red pepper and the next 5 ingredients (through chicken) in a big mixing bowl.
When the cauliflower comes out, uncover it and let it sit to cool for at least 5 minutes, and more won't hurt-you don't want it to melt your chunks of cheese. When the cauliflower has cooled a bit, drain it and add it to the chicken mixture.
Meanwhile, mix together the mayo, c.u.min, oregano, chili powder, white wine vinegar, and lime juice. Pour over the chicken-cauliflower mixture and toss well. Add the cilantro and toss again. Chill it if you have time, but it's pretty darned good even if it's still slightly warm!
Yield: 3 servings 3 servings Each with 25 g protein; 9 g carbohydrate; 3 g dietary fiber; 6 g usable carbs.
Taco Salad This is a great summer supper. The wild card in this recipe is the ranch dressing-different brands vary tremendously in carb count. Choose a really, really low-carb one, and you'll drop the carb count below what's listed here.
8 cups (160 g) romaine or iceberg lettuce, washed, dried, and broken up 1 cup (150 g) diced green pepper medium cuc.u.mber, sliced 1 medium tomato, sliced into thin wedges, or 15 cherry tomatoes, halved cup (80 g) diced sweet red onion ripe black avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into small chunks cup (32 g) cilantro, chopped (optional) 1 can (4 ounces, or 115 g) sliced black olives, drained (optional) [image]cup (173 g) salsa plus additional for topping cup (120 ml) ranch dressing 1 batch Chicken or Beef Taco Filling*
1 cup (120 g) shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese Sour cream Put the lettuce, pepper, cuc.u.mber, tomato, onion, avocado, cilantro (if using), and olives (if using) in a large salad bowl.
Stir together the 2/3 cup (173 g) of salsa and the ranch dressing, pour it over the salad, and toss.
Divide the salad between the serving plates and top each one with the taco filling and shredded cheese. Put the salsa and sour cream on the table so that folks can add their own.
Yield: 6 servings 6 servings Each with 12 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 8 grams of usable carbs and 22 grams of protein.
*To make chicken taco filling, combine 1 pound (455 g) boneless, skinless chicken b.r.e.a.s.t.s, 1 cup (240 ml) chicken broth, and 2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning (page 483) in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover, put it over low heat, and simmer for 1 hours. Tear chicken into shreds.
To make beef taco filling, crumble 1 pound (455 g) ground beef into a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and cook until brown. Drain and stir in 2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning (page 483) and cup (60 ml) water.
Souvlaki Salad This skewered lamb is usually served as a sandwich in pita bread, but it makes a fabulous salad for a lot fewer carbs.
2 pounds (910 g) lean lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes cup (120 ml) olive oil 1 cup (240 ml) dry red wine 1 teaspoon salt teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon oregano 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 head romaine lettuce sweet red onion, sliced paper-thin 24 cherry tomatoes, halved [image]cup (160 ml) Greek Lemon Dressing (page 172) 6 tablespoons (90 g) plain yogurt or sour cream (The yogurt is more authentic.) Put the lamb cubes in a large resealable plastic bag.
Combine the oil, wine, salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic. Pour the mixture over the lamb cubes in the bag. Let this marinate for at least a few hours.
When you're ready to cook the lamb, pour off the marinade and thread the cubes onto skewers. You can grill these or broil them 8 inches (20 cm) or so from the broiler. Turn the kebabs while they're cooking and check for doneness by cutting into a chunk of meat after 10 minutes. They should be thoroughly cooked in 15 minutes. (If you don't have any skewers, you can always just lay the lamb cubes on the broiler pan. They're a lot easier to turn over if they're on skewers, however.) While the meat is cooking, wash and dry your lettuce and arrange it on serving plates.
Push the cooked meat off the skewers and onto the prepared beds of lettuce. Scatter some red onion over each plate and arrange 8 cherry tomato halves on each. Drizzle each plate with a couple of tablespoons of dressing and top each with a tablespoon of yogurt.
Yield: 6 servings 6 servings Each with 11 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 7 grams of usable carbs and 34 grams of protein.
Summer Tuna Salad 1 medium cuc.u.mber, cut into chunks [image]cup (50 g) sweet red onion, sliced [image]cup (20 g) chopped fresh parsley large green pepper, cut into small strips 15 cherry tomatoes, quartered 1 can (6 ounces, or 170 g) tuna, drained cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons (30 ml) wine vinegar 1 clove garlic, crushed teaspoon salt [image]teaspoon pepper Put the cuc.u.mber, onion, parsley, pepper, tomatoes, and tuna in a salad bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour the mixture over the salad, toss, and serve.
Yield: 2 servings 2 servings Each with 16 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 12 grams of usable carbs and 25 grams of protein.
Tuna Egg Waldorf 2 large ribs celery, diced cup (80 g) diced red onion cup (43 g) diced red apple cup (60 g) chopped pecans 1 can (6 ounces, or 170 g) tuna, drained 3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped cup (175 g) mayonnaise Salt Lettuce Put the celery, onion, apple, pecans, tuna, and hard-boiled eggs in a big bowl. Toss with the mayonnaise until it's all coated. Add salt to taste and serve on a lettuce-lined plate, if you like.
Yield: 3 servings 3 servings Each with 10 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber, for a total of 7 grams of usable carbs and 23 grams of protein.
Thai-Style Crab Salad in Avocados Short on time, I got my pal Julie McIntosh to try out this recipe for me. She loved it the way I'd conceived of it but suggested a little more cilantro, plus a little scallion, so that's what we did. Thanks, Julie!
1 ripe black avocado 3 tablespoons (45 ml) lime juice, divided 1 can (6 ounces, or 170 g) crabmeat, or 6 ounces cooked lump crabmeat 1 teaspoon lemon juice cup (60 g) mayonnaise 2 tablespoons (8 g) chopped cilantro 1 scallion, thinly sliced teaspoon pepper, or to taste Salt, if desired Split the avocado in half, remove the seed, and sprinkle the cut surfaces with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the lime juice to prevent browning.
Combine the crabmeat, remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) lime juice, lemon juice, mayonnaise, cilantro, scallion, pepper, and salt in a mixing bowl and mix well. Stuff into the avocado halves, piling it high. Garnish with extra cilantro, if desired, and serve.
Yield: 2 servings 2 servings Each with 9 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of fiber, for a total of 4 grams of usable carbs and 20 grams of protein.
This salad also provides 932 milligrams of pota.s.sium and 110 milligrams of calcium.
Shrimp and Avocado Salad Here's a cool summer night's dinner that will take all of 10 minutes to a.s.semble, yet impress the heck out of any guests who might happen to have wandered in-or just the family.
2 pounds (910 g) shrimp, cooked and sh.e.l.led 1 black avocado 10 scallions, sliced thin [image]cup (160 ml) bottled vinaigrette dressing (I like Paul Newman's Olive Oil and Vinegar.) 1 head romaine lettuce This is very simple if you buy your shrimp already sh.e.l.led and cooked. I like to use little bitty shrimp for this, but feel free to use middle-sized shrimp if that's what you have on hand. Put the shrimp in a big mixing bowl. Peel and seed your avocado and dice it, somewhere between -inch (6 mm) and -inch (1.3 cm) big. Put that in the bowl, too. Slice your scallions, including the crisp part of the green, and throw them in the bowl as well.
Pour on the dressing and gently stir the whole thing up to coat all the ingredients. Let that sit for a few minutes while you break or cut up the lettuce. Arrange it in beds on 6 serving plates.
Now stir the shrimp salad one last time to get up any dressing that's settled to the bottom of the bowl and spoon it out onto the beds of lettuce. Serve immediately.
Yield: 6 servings 6 servings Each with 35 g protein; 8 g carbohydrate; 4 g dietary fiber; 4 g usable carbs.
Ham and Cheese Salad When I tried this recipe, I didn't eat much else till it was gone!
head cauliflower 8 ounces (225 g) cooked ham, cut in -inch (6 mm) cubes 8 ounces (225 g) Swiss cheese, cut in -inch (6 mm) cubes cup (40 g) finely diced red onion cup (75 g) chopped dill pickle cup (60 g) snow pea pods, cut in -inch (1.3-cm) pieces [image]cup (80 g) mayonnaise 1 tablespoon (15 ml) brown mustard 1 tablespoon (15 ml) white wine vinegar 1 teaspoon dried tarragon First chop your cauliflower into -inch (1.3-cm) chunks-include the stem. Put it in a microwaveable ca.s.serole dish with a lid, add a couple of tablespoons of water, and cover. Cook it on high for 7 minutes.
Use the time while your cauliflower is cooking to combine your ham, cheese, onion, and pickle in a big mixing bowl.
Then pinch the ends off of your snow pea pods and pull off any strings. Cut into -inch (1.3-cm) pieces and put those in a microwaveable bowl. Add a tablespoon (15 ml) of water and cover. When the cauliflower is done, pull it out of the microwave and uncover it immediately-both to stop the cooking and to let it cool. Put your snow peas in the microwave and cook them on high for just 1 minute. When they're done, uncover immediately, drain them, and add them to the mixing bowl.
While your cauliflower is cooling, combine the mayo, mustard, vinegar, and tarragon in a small bowl and stir together well.
When the cauliflower is cool enough to not melt the cheese, drain it and add it to the ham and cheese mixture. Add the dressing and toss to coat. This is good right away, but it's better if you let it sit in the fridge for at least a few hours to let the flavors blend.
Yield: 4 servings 4 servings Each with 28 g protein; 8 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 7 g usable carb.
Ham-Pecan Salad with Apricot Dressing Always read the labels and buy the lowest-sugar ham you can find-they vary quite a lot in carbohydrate content. This recipe a.s.sumes ham with 1 gram of carbohydrate per 3-ounce (85 g) serving.
5 ounces (140 g) cooked ham, diced 1 stalk celery, diced 2 tablespoons (20 g) diced red onion cup (30 g) chopped pecans 2 tablespoons (30 g) mayonnaise 2 teaspoons low-sugar apricot preserves 1 teaspoon spicy brown or Dijon mustard teaspoon soy sauce Mix together the ham, celery, onion, and pecans in a mixing bowl. Combine the mayonnaise, preserves, mustard, and soy sauce and pour this over the ham mixture. Mix well and serve. This is really nice on a bed of lettuce.
Yield: 1 serving 1 serving 15 grams of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fiber, for a total of 11 grams of usable carbs and 29 grams of protein.
Artichoke Prosciutto Salad This salad is rich and more filling than some others in this book. Serve it with a lighter grilled dish-maybe a seafood kebab or grilled chicken.
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