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Herb Crusted Turkey Breast

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This year we decided to do turkey parts instead of a whole turkey and it turned out to be a great decision. We picked up 1/2 breasts, turkey legs and turkey thighs from the butcher (all with the bone in and skin on) and then I set about experimenting until I found a way to roast them that I thought would make everybody forget that there wasn’t a huge turkey presentation. My brother-in-law declared this the best turkey he’s ever had. I heard whispers around the table to the tune of “did you try the turkey?” so I think it’s safe to say that this one’s a winner.

Since it’s now past Thanksgiving I’m going to give you all the recipe for one half breast, which you can of course double, triple, quadruple as needed. I would count one package of legs or as 1/2 of a 1/2 breast so the mixture below would be for 4 legs.

Ingredients

1/2 turkey breast

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried powdered savory

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 carrot

1 onion

1 stalk celery

Instructions

Mix spices and salt together in a small dish.

Rinse turkey breast and pat dry. Rub spice mixture over the turkey breast or under the skin. Set aside overnight or proceed on to roast immediately.

Peel carrot and onion and slice into large chunks. Cut celery into large chunks. Place vegetables in bottom of roasting pan to form a bed for the turkey. Place turkey breast on top of vegetables and roast in a covered pan until the juices run clear when pierced with fork and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165 degrees F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Note 1: I had 4 breasts, 4 legs and 2 thighs in the roasting pan and roasted everything for 2 and 1/2 hours. It was falling off the bone tender and not dry at all.

Note 2: The second time I made turkey this way I was all out of carrots, onions and celery (it was the week after Thanksgiving and I was still trying to use up leftovers so while I ran out and picked up turkey breasts I forgot to pick up the fixin’s) so I made a bed of quartered apples and – well lets just say WOW!

Let rest, covered with foil, for 10 minutes before carving. The temperature will continue to rise to 170 to 175 degrees F while resting.

Variations

Smash and mash 4 garlic cloves with the sea salt until it’s a paste, then mix with remaining spices.

Stir 1 to 2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil into spice mixture.

Add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper to spice mixture.

Use dried crushed rosemary in place of the savory.

Use 1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence in place of the spices.

Use 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning in place of the spices.

Use 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning in place of the spices.

High Protein Low Carb Vegetarian

List of Low Carb Veggies For Induction Phase

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mixed-vegetables

This list of vegetables that are 3 net carbs or less is for those in Phase 1 or the Induction Phase of a Low Carb eating plan. I’ll be posting a list of vegetables that are 3 to 6 net carbs a bit later in the week.

1 carb

Asparagus: 4 five-inch spears
Haas avocado: ¼ small fruit or ¼ cup chopped
Bok choy: 1 cup, raw, chopped
Brussel sprout: ¼ cup raw
Broccoli: ½ cup, raw, chopped
Celery: 3 five-inch stalks
Cabbage: ½ cup, raw, shredded
Daikon radish: ½ cup, raw, sliced
Chard & kale: ¼ cup, raw, chopped
Eggplant: ½ cup slightly rounded, raw, cubes
Endive: 9 cup, raw, chopped
Green chilies: ¼ cup, diced
Green onion: ¼ cup raw, chopped
Hearts of palm: ¼ cup rounded, sliced
Lettuce: 2 ½ cup, raw, shredded
Mushrooms: ¾ cup, sliced or pieces, raw
Onion: 2 tablespoons. Chopped
Radish: ½ cup sliced
Spinach: 2 cups, fresh or ½ cup frozen

2 carb

Celery root: ¼, raw, chopped
Cucumber: 2 cups, sliced
Green beans: 10 four-inch long beans
Mustard greens: 1 cup, raw, chopped
Summer squash – such as zucchini or yellow: ½ cup, fresh, chopped or sliced
Tomato: ¼ cup rounded, chopped or sliced, raw

3 carb

Cauliflower: 1 cup, raw pieces
Fennel: ¾ cup raw, sliced
Green bell pepper: ½ medium pepper, raw
Onion: ¼ cup, raw, chopped

High Protein Low Carb Recipes Vegetarian

Cheesy Frittata Dinner Menu

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red-pepper-frittata

I love a good frittata. I’ve given you a specific recipe but really you can add any vegetables or cheese that you have handy.

Since I’ve been working on this series of low carb recipe books I’ve been focusing on low carb, high protein recipes, however if you don’t tell anyone they’ll never know this is a “diet” dinner. It’s not low calorie, but it is low carb or Paleo (if you leave off the cheese).

Cheesy Italian Frittata

Ingredients

1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced (2 roasted cloves)
1-1/2 cups egg whites, or 6 whole eggs
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
14-16 ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained (save juice to add to salad dressings or a soup)
1/2 cup diced or shredded mozzarella
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute onion and garlic for 5 minutes in a little olive oil in 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium high heat:

In bowl stir together eggs, salt, pepper and roasted peppers and pour into the skillet with the onions and garlic.

Cook for 5 minutes without stirring then place in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Take frittata out of oven. Turn oven temp to broil. Sprinkle cheese over top of egg mixture. Broil 3 minutes. Cut into wedges to serve. Top with chopped tomatoes and parsley.

 

Zucchini & Mushrooms

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups sliced zucchini
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed in your hand or 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 2 teaspoons fresh
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black or white pepper
1/2 cup white wine or broth

Instructions

Saute garlic, zucchini, mushrooms, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper over medium-high heat in a little olive oil for 1 minute.

Add white wine and cook 6-8 minutes longer until veggies are tender-crisp.

 

Pesto Stuffed Celery Sticks

Ingredients

8 ounces softened cream cheese
3 tablespoons storebought or home-made pesto – try basil or sun-dried tomato
celery sticks

Instructions

Mix cream cheese and pesto. Pipe or spoon into celery sticks.

 

Green Salad

Dress your greens with this dressing from my book “14 Days – 14 Pounds – Low Carb Daily Eating Plan Volume 1”.

Balsamic Dressing

Ingredients

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, grated on a fine grater
¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Whisk together all ingredients except olive oil. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Taste and adjust season if needed.
You could also prepare this dressing a blender by buzzing the first four ingredients, then while leaving the blender on slowly pour in the olive oil.

 

High Protein Recipes

Gyro Burgers

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low carb Paleo gyro burger recipe

We ate the gyro burgers before I could get a pic!

This recipe is from a book I’m working on with all recipes being 3 ingredients (or less). Ridiculous right? It was a challenge that I set for myself and I was surprised at how many recipes I came up with. Anyway, I’ll be sharing a few of them on the blog – teasers 🙂

4 servings
You can use ground lamb, turkey or beef for this recipe or a mix of any of these.
If you want to step up the flavor quotient of your meal look for feta cheese that has herbs and other ingredients such as sun-dried tomatoes added to it. You’ll need to adjust the carb count to account for these additions though.

Carb counters will want to know that this recipe is ½ net carb per serving. Yea, you read that right – .5 carbs! Nice!

Ingredients

1 pound ground meat
1 teaspoon Greek seasoning
¼ cup feta cheese
¼ cup Tzatziki Sauce

Instructions

Gently mix all ingredients together. Divide meat in half and form one half into 4 patties and the other half into 8 sliders DO NOT pack the meat together, just loosely form them into burgers and then use your thumb to create a gentle indentation in the middle of each burger. This prevent them from bloating in the middle which is why most grill masters are tempted to flatten the burger with a spatula, which squeezes out all those lovely juices that you want to keep in your burger.

Heat a lightly oiled skillet over high heat or heat your grill. Cook 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. When you see the juices start to sweat out on the top of the burger then its time to flip it. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes less than you cooked the first side.

Let the burgers sit for at least 5 minutes before digging in.

Top each burger with 2 tablespoons Tzatziki Sauce.

Gyro Sliders

Shape burgers into 8 sliders instead of 4 burgers. Cook as directed above.

Place one slider on top of one lettuce leaf and top with 1 tablespoon Tsatziki Sauce. Roll up the leaf around the slider, then position the roll on top of another lettuce leaf. Roll this leaf up and place on plate seam side down. Continue assembling until all 8 sliders are rolled up.

High Protein Recipes

Avocado Steak

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4 servings
If your counting carbs then it would be helpful to know that this recipe has 2 net carbs per serving if you use Haas avocados which have a much lower carb count than other types of avocados. Everybody else just needs to know that this is a quick and easy healthy recipe that the entire family will relish digging into.

Ingredients

1 flank steak, about 1 ½ pounds
8 tablespoons salsa verde
1 Haas avocado, sliced

Instructions

Preheat grill, broiler or pan to high heat. Using a fork pierce steak all over on both sides. Season with salt and pepper. Oil your grill or pan and cook steak, turning once until done to your liking. Remove from heat and let rest for at least 10 minutes. Thinly slice the steak against the grain. Serve topped with salsa verde and avocado.

High Protein Kid Friendly Recipes

Tacos Etc.

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Tacos are a favorite around here and so easy to make that I generally like to make up a big batch of taco-seasoned meat and then use it throughout the week in other dishes. I also make up my own taco seasoning mixture in bulk for two reasons – 1) I haven’t found any taco seasoning mixes that don’t come loaded with sugar, white flour and/or corn products and 2) it’s easier to make it up in bulk and use it the next few times I make tacos. I’ve included the bulk seasoning recipe below. Don’t sweat it if you don’t have all these ingredients – tacos are very forgiving.  And if you have a sugar-free, flour-free seasoning mix you can eliminate all of the spices including the salt and pepper.

You’ll set aside half of the seasoned meat to make a Taco Salad the next day for lunch and Taco Eggs for breakfast or another dinner.

I like fresh tomato salsa way better than the jarred stuff, however I like the consistency better when it’s roughly pureed. Drain off some of the juice and dump the remaining salsa into your Magic Bullet or blender and pulse a few times until the consistency is more like a chunky sauce than diced tomatoes in liquid. Add some of the liquid back if needed. Any leftover liquid can be added to tomato soup or make up a quick salad dressing by stirring it into sour cream or yogurt.

Don’t sweat it if you don’t have all the ingredients listed below. Tacos are very forgiving. If you have a sugar-free, flour-free seasoning mix you can eliminate all of the spices including the salt and pepper.

Tacos are also a great way to have a family dinner when not everybody is interested in eating healthy or low carb. But beware, some low carbers I’ve talked to have assumed that there are no carbs in taco meat but there are a lot of spices that go into making the taco meat, enough to give this recipe a carb count of ½ carb per ½ pound of meat. That’s not a lot, but if you’re in Phase 1 of a low carb eating plan 1/2 a carb is worth accounting for. I’ve included the carb counts for all the recipes here, although all of these recipes are just plain delicious and healthy whether you’re eating low carb or not.

There are 8 servings in this recipe, 4 to serve for dinner and the other 4 to set aside for 2 more meals.

Taco Meat Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground beef, pork or turkey

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (medium hot) or just eliminate them for a milder taco

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ cup water

Taco Ingredients:

½ cup tomato salsa

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

16 romaine or butter lettuce leaves

Instructions:

Cook ground beef on medium heat until no longer pink. Drain well and return to pan. Stir in spices and cook for 10 minutes. Set aside half of the taco seasoned beef for lunch tomorrow.

Spoon about ¼ cup meat mixture into one lettuce leaf. Top with 1 tablespoon cheese and 1 tablespoon salsa. Roll up and secure with a toothpick. Or skip the toothpick and eat immediately after rolling.

Taco Seasoning Mix

¼ cup chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon sea salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Use 2 tablespoons of seasoning per pound of meat.

 

Taco Salad

2 servings = 9 carbs per serving

This is a bit carb heavy for a Phase 1 lunch, however if you go light on carbs for the rest of the day you’ll be fine.

If this isn’t enough food for your lunch you can add up to 2 cups shredded lettuce for a mere ½ carb for the entire 2 cups.

Ingredients:

¼ recipe Mexi-Cauli Rice (half of the leftovers set aside)

½ Haas (California) avocado

2 tablespoons black olives, sliced

¼ recipe Beefy Tacos (half of the leftovers set aside)

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

¼ cup sour cream or crème fraiche

Instructions:

In a medium bowl layer Mexi-Cauli Rice, avocado, and Beefy Tacos.

In a small bowl stir together spices, citrus juice and sour cream. Pour dressing over salad. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt if needed.

 

Taco Eggs

1 serving = 2 net carbs per serving

Ingredients:

½ cup egg whites

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 tablespoon water

½ pound taco seasoned meat or ¼ recipe Beefy Tacos

¼ cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend

Instructions:

Beat egg whites, water and cream  in a small bowl until blended. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and push the cooked edges toward the center. Microwave until egg is almost set, about 15 to 45 seconds longer, stopping every 15 seconds to push the cooked egg toward the center.

Top with taco meat and microwave for another ten seconds. Remove from microwave and top with cheese.

High Protein Recipes Vegetarian

Hot Chocolate Almonds

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This isn’t your grandmother’s hot chocolate. These chocolate spiced almonds are spicy hot!

If you’re not concerned with the carb count you can use any nut that you like, but if you’re counting carbs then stick with the nuts in this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pound raw almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts or peanuts

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 teaspoons chili powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cocoa powder

½ teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Place the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot add the nuts and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until the nuts are slightly darker and you can smell their nutty deliciousness.

Mix together the spices in a small bowl or cup and sprinkle over the nuts. Continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring often. Remove from heat. Transfer to a bowl. Eat when cooled to room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or a dark cupboard.

Nutrition Info:

6 servings = 6 net carbs.

I included the carb count with this recipe because it’s one of the recipes in my new book “14 Days – 14 Pounds” which gives you two weeks worth of extremely low carb menus and recipes with the carb counts figured out for each day. If you’re interested in receiving notice when this book comes out on Kindle (there will be several days when it’s available for free!) just subscribe to this blog using the box in the upper right corner.

 

High Protein Recipes

Avocado Egg Cups

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I love the simplicity and elegance of this low carb breakfast. It’s so easy to make this up on a busy morning and the end result is so impressive that you could serve this at your next brunch. Come on – you brunch don’t you?

The carb count doesn’t include salsa or cheese but if you’re not in Phase 1 of a high protein eating plan you can indulge in those extras.

Fat and calorie alert! If you’re on a low calorie or low fat eating plan, this breakfast is NOT the way to go. If low fat or low calorie is your plan of choice check out one of our other healthy breakfast recipes.

2 servings = 2 carbs per serving

Ingredients:

1 Hass avocado

2 eggs

pinch each sea salt and black pepper

Instructions:

Cut a small slice from each side of the avocado so that each half won’t roll around in the pan. Cut avocado in half. Remove and discard pit. Use a spoon to remove about 2 tablespoons of avocado so that you have a space large enough for an egg to fit into.

Pour one cup of water into a baking dish. If you have any broth handy use that instead of water to give your avocado cups a little extra flavor. Place avocados into the dish. Crack one egg into each avocado cavity. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the whites are set.

Remove from oven and eat as is or season with hot sauce. And if you’re at my table you’ll have to wrestle the hot sauce away from me. Now that I think of it, I should probably give everybody their own personal bottle of hot sauce.

High Protein Recipes

CC Cucumber Mint Salad

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CC as in “cottage cheese” which I like to use in place of yogurt when I’m looking for a super low carb meal.

This salad is a spin off from a cucumber raita which is commonly served in India as a condiment to cut the heat of the spicy dishes on the table. My salad has more cucumber and less yogurt than a traditional raita. In fact I’ve subbed in cottage cheese for the yogurt because it has much fewer carbs than yogurt, 6 net carbs versus almost 17.5 for plain yogurt! If that’s not a reason for a low carber to switch to cottage cheese then I don’t know what else to say to convince you. I’ve used cottage cheese in place of yogurt in salad dressings, smoothies, puddings … with great success.

Be sure to use 1% cottage cheese, that’s the sweet spot for less carbs. Nonfat cottage cheese tastes so bad that it’s not even worth going there.

I’ve also experimented with the carb counts using sour cream and crème fraiche in place of some and even all of the cottage cheese, thinking that it would reduce the carb count  even further and both substitutions actually RAISED the net carb count!

This salad is fabulous as a sauce for steak or chicken as well as fish. If you’ll be serving this recipe as a sauce instead of a salad, dice the veggies instead of chopping them.

This salad can be prepared anywhere from 2 hours to 1 day ahead.
Ingredients:
2 large unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, halved, seeded, chopped
1 cup 1% cottage cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ rounded teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions:
Wrap chopped cucumber in a kitchen towel and squeeze to eliminate some of the liquid.

Puree cottage cheese in a blender. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour cottage cheese over salad and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

 

Cucumber Cilantro Raita

Simply substitute cilantro for the mint.

4 servings = 5 net carbs per serving with 1 cup Greek yogurt
4 net carbs per serving with ½ cup Greek yogurt

High Protein Kid Friendly Low Carb Recipes

Low Carb Peanut Butter Muffin

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peanut-butter-muffin

from The UnDiet Low Carb Phase 2 – 14 Days of Menus With Recipes scheduled for release September 2016.

This recipe makes 4 muffins with 3.5 net carbs per muffin, however it’s super easy to double or even quadruple the batter and then bake fresh muffins whenever you want them.

Don’t be tempted to substitute cream cheese for the mascarpone cheese, cream cheese will add 1 carb to each muffin which makes the mascarpone cheese the super hero of this recipe.

Nobody will guess these muffins are part of your diet plan. Just serve up a plate of them along with a selection of toppings such as natural peanut butter, sugar-free jam, maple syrup sweetened mascarpone cheese … for everybody who isn’t eating low carb to enjoy.

Ingredients:

¼ cup peanut butter

¼ cup mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 packets Splenda or Truvia

Blend together peanut butter, mascarpone cheese, and butter. Mix in baking powder, Splenda, and egg. Divide among 4 buttered coffee cups or ramekins. Microwave for 1 minute to 1 minute and 15 seconds. The time will vary according to your microwave. You could also spoon the batter into 4 muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (check at 10 minutes) or 8 muffin tins (for thinner muffins) and bake for 10 minutes (check at 7 minutes).