Low Carb Pasta

I would recommend low carb dieting to anyone who would like to lose some weight and be able to keep it off. For our family, it has become a life long eating habit, vs. a crash diet where the weight lost is only temporary. Being the pasta lover I am, I have developed a fondness for low carb pasta and have been able to satisfy that crave quite well with some of the products I have shared with you. My favorite low carb pasta is Miracle Noodle by far.

Most of the low carb meals I prepare consists of boneless, skinless chicken, steak, pork, bacon, shrimp, salmon, eggs, cheese, and various other fish and meats. I use a sugar substitute to make my own sauces, dressings, and dips, rather than buy the many bottled sugary sauces found in the grocery store. Another food I’m fond of is potatoes, which contain a great deal of carbs. So I make a “mock” potato salad using cauliflower instead. I want to share with you one of my favorite “potato” salad recipes today. Try this at your next get together and it will be a hit! (And you’ll be asked to bring it again and again)

You will need:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1/2 lb of prepared bacon (see tip below)
• 1 1/4 cup finely diced celery
• 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup pickle relish (no sugar added)
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar substitute (Splenda recommended)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
• 2 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons prepared ground mustard
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped

1. Break apart the head of cauliflower int nickle and dime sized pieces. Place in a bowl, then into microwave for 6 minutes on high. Remove and place on paper towels to remove some moisture.

2. Place the remaining ingredients into a bowl (except for the eggs) then stir to blend well.

3. Add the cauliflower and eggs to the mixture and gently fold until combined.

4. Cover and chill completely.

* Bacon bit tip: Partially freeze your package of bacon. Use a sharp knife and cut the frozen bacon into long strips about 1/4 inch wide. Turn the bacon and cut the strips into pieces also about 1/4 in wide. You now have perfect raw bacon pieces to fast fry. No need to separate. They will separate during cooking. Perfect bacon bits. Add 1/2 teaspoon pepper to bacon while cooking.

This makes the best “mock” potato salad I’ve ever tried. Leave a comment and tell us your results. And remember; you can low carb!

Technorati Tags: cauliflower, Diet, Low Carb Pasta, recipe, salad

Low carb pasta ratings can be useful in assisting the low carb dieter in staying below the maximum level of carbs their particular diet allows. There is a lot of competition in the market and one should really check the labels. How many low carb pastas are available will not be the big issue. Concerns like how many carbs in pasta, and which ones taste best are things you would want to know before making a selection. Other than carb count and taste, availability can become an issue. Some low carb pasta is only available by mail while others can be found in stores.

Some choices allow larger amounts than others due to the carb count. Miracle Noodle for example, there are zero carbs in their product. This allows guilt free eating although the average low carb dieter tends to eat less the longer they are on the diet. This zero carb pasta is a little chewy and has no flavor of its own. It simply absorbs the flavor of the dish its added to. Also, it’s ready to go right out of the package after a rinse.

Dreamfields is another low carb pasta that should rank high in low carb pasta ratings. The taste and texture is closer to the real thing but the amounts you can have is something to be considered when using one of their many low carb pastas. The box claims to have only 5g digestible carbs per serving.

Carba-Nada is the last one we’ll look at in this post. It is very close to the original and the reviews for this low carb pasta rank right up with Dreamfields. It is a little more difficult to locate than Dreamfields , and the carb count is 18g net carbs. This would be a product you should certainly use portion control for.

In the coming post, let’s continue to look at the different qualities and prices of the many low carb pastas available. Meanwhile, please comment below on your experience with low carb pasta and leave your own low carb pasta ratings.

Technorati Tags: Diet, how many carbs in pasta, low carb, Low Carb Pasta, low carb pasta ratings, low carb pastas

Technorati Tags: Diet, low carb, Low Carb Pasta

It can be a challenge for a low carb dieter to stay on course if there aren’t good choices around when its time for a snack. Being prepared for those between meal times is crucial. You can completely throw your body out of ketosis if you consume too many carbs at one time. It does not take a lot of work to have the right choices available when you need them.

Low Carb Pasta offers another recipe to help keep you on the path at snack time. This cracker recipe is very satisfying and the taste is delicious too. Its also very easy to make. So let’s get into the kitchen and cook! If you want to learn to be creative and enjoy a low carb diet, check out Low Carb Pasta’s free recipe for crackers.

Special Equipment You Will Need:

Food processor or hand blender with chopping bowl attachment
Parchment Paper- About $3 per roll   (Do Not Try This With Wax Paper! It WILL Stick)

Ingredients:
1 cup nuts (almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or try a mixture)

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt (or 1/2 teaspoon if you perfer saltier crackers)

1.  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2.  Place the nuts in the food processor with the s-blade and chop until finely ground.

3.  Add the cheese and salt. Pulse the processor several times until well blended. (8 to 10 times will be fine)

4.  Add the water, pulse several more times. A ball of dough should form in the bowl.

5.  Turn the “dough” onto a sheet pan or a cookie sheet that has been lined with the parchment paper.

6.  Tear off another equal size of parchment paper and place it on top of the dough ball.

7.  Begin to press down on the dough that is now between the two sheets of parchment paper making it thinner and thinner. Don’t be in a big rush. Take your time.  This is important to making a good and crispy cracker. The thinner the better. Keep pressing and working the dough evenly without leaving holes. When you are finished, there should be a very thin layer of dough between the sheets of parchment paper.

8.  Now the hard part is over. Remove the top piece of paper and lightly sprinkle salt over the dough. Take a pizza cutter or use a sharp knife and score the dough in squares, triangles, or whatever shapes you like.

9.  Place pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove then peel off the bottom piece of parchment paper. Let crackers cool, then break apart. Enjoy!

The crackers should be stored in an airtight container and will keep for about a week. The carb count will vary depending on the type of nuts used and size of each cracker. But if you eat the whole recipe, you will have about 13-15 net carbs. Use these any way you would use a cracker.

Technorati Tags: free recipe, ketosis, low carb, Low Carb Pasta

Going into the 9th week of a new lifestyle of eating and 40 pounds later (WOO-HOO), I was getting the urge for something different. So I decided I would try Miracle Noodles Low Carb Pasta. After placing the order, there was some anticipation. I have read where some people did not like the product. Was this going to be a let down or would I be able to incorporate this into my low carb lifestyle?

A little research on the product revealed its a product made in the USA. It has been known for its  health benefits for over 2000 years in China and Japan. Also called Shirataki Pasta, it is made only from the soluble fiber from the root of a plant called the Konnyaku Imo. As such it only contains a healthy soluble fiber known as Glucomannan. And since it is made from soluble fiber, it has ZERO calories. This isn’t some product that is made from 842 different chemicals, mono-poly-hydrogenated-silly putty-mumbo jumbo. It has 3 ingredients: Purified water, Konnyaku (Glucomannan), and Calcium Hydroxide. By the way, Calcium Hydroxide has long been used in Native American and Latin American cooking. Its also used in baby formula as well as soft drinks.

So the research was great but, Will I like it??? Well….four days after placing the order, the package came. The noodles are packaged in pouches about the size of a flattened out soda can. But the package is not flat. There are 7 oz. of noodles in each package. They come packed in water and have somewhat of a fishy odor when you first open them. Not to worry. As soon as you rinse them for about three minutes in a colander, you cant smell anything. They are somewhat translucent and fairly sturdy when you work with them.  After the rinse, place them between a couple of paper towels and press down to dry the noodles. I like to put them in a non-stick skillet and “dry roast” them for about one minute. then they are ready to go.

I made spaghetti and meat sauce for the first time in 3 months. It was fantastic. If you were to put the Miracle Noodles on one plate and regular pasta on the other. Blindfolded, it would be difficult to tell the difference. The noodles absorb the taste of whatever you use them in. The only difference I could tell was the Miracle Noodles were more sturdy than regular pasta. However, they were not difficult to eat at all. This is definitely a product I intend to keep around as I continue to low carb it. I plan to try some of the other low carb pasta available but it can be a slippery slope when you are counting carbs and different products say only a few carbs per serving. I suggest you become and avid label reader if you don’t want to blow your low carb diet.

Technorati Tags: low carb, Low Carb Pasta

Let me confess first off two things. I have a fondness for rice that has existed since I was a very young boy. My father was a rice and gravy-meat-bread eater all of his life. So I guess I got that part honest. But I developed a love for Chinese food that would be hard to match. That second confession has been a major part of my downfall. I went from graduating high school at 300 pounds to over the last 25 years adding 145 pounds to that. To say I was in major trouble doesn’t even scratch the surface.

But today’s not about all of that. That’s just a little nugget for future talk. Today I want to share with you a low carb pasta alternative. It combines two of my favorite things. Rice and Chinese food! I was skeptical at best when I first tried this but let me say, this is a fantastic dish! So here we go! You’ll love this free recipe.

You Will Need:

3 cups raw cauliflower

1/3 cup green pepper (diced)

3 to 4 green onions

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 pound cooked shrimp (salad or cocktail-tail removed)

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 cup soy sauce

4 eggs (beaten)

salt and pepper to taste

1. If you don’t have a food processor with a grating blade (much easier) then use a cheese grater on the side with the largest holes and grate the cauliflower into a bowl. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil and butter. Add the pepper and onion and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

3. Add the shrimp and garlic, stir for 1/2 minute.

4. Add the cauliflower and cook. Make sure to continue stirring constantly for 4 1/2 to five minutes. By now the cauliflower should be tender.

5. Add the soy sauce and stir. Move the mixture over in the pan to make a space to cook the eggs. Pour the eggs into the space and allow to cook for 1 1/2 minutes. (You can gently stir the eggs as they cook, but don’t mix them with the cauliflower at this point.)

6. At the point the eggs look soft scrambled, remove skillet from heat. Softly chop the eggs and fold into the cauliflower.

That’s it!! Serve with salt, pepper, and soy sauce available and enjoy!

This really will fool you. It will also satisfy that Chinese food craving for you low carbers.

Hope you enjoy this low carb pasta alternative. ALSO the sauce recipe on this page goes E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-T !!! with this dish.

Technorati Tags: free recipe, low carb, Low Carb Pasta

This sauce is fantastic! A low carb must try. A wonderful sauce for mock “rice”, low carb pasta, or just to dip!

If you are tired of the same low carb choices, believe me I know it can get boring if you don’t get creative, this is a free recipe that anyone can do. And It will spice up anything its used on!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Mayonnaise (Your favorite brand)

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/8 teaspoon White Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

1 Tablespoon sugar substitute (Splenda recommended)

2 teaspoons Chili Garlic Sauce (found in the Asian section)

3 dashes of you favorite hot sauce (Tabasco recommended)

2 Tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well blended. Chill for 1 hour and serve as a condiment or sauce with any number of low carb veggies, over low carb pasta, or shrimp with mock fried rice (I’ll share this one with you next time).

Store sauce in the fridge in a glass airtight container. It should keep well for a week.

Enjoy!

Michael

Technorati Tags: free recipe, low carb, Low Carb Pasta