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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.

 

Basic Information

Protein Substitutes for Food Combining

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Breading for a Protein Meal

Can be fried in any type of oil, but olive or canola oil is the best.
The following (except for the soy flour) can also be used to substitute for bread crumbs.

  • ground pork rinds – sounds gross but their slight bacon-y flavor works well in most recipes
  • soy flour
  • ground sesame seeds
  • ground sunflower seeds
  • ground nuts
  • any mixture of the above

Crust for an entree

  • If your recipe calls for a rice crust substitute textured protein granules, soy granules or finely chopped nuts. You may need to add extra moisture to hold the crust together. You can add water, softened or melted butter, broth, or just omit the crust.
  • For recipes calling for a pastry crust substitute crepes or melt butter in an omelette pan, thinly coat bottom of pan with egg and cook until done; or butter pan and dust with finely grated parmesan cheese or just skip the crust.

Crust for a dessert

  • For a crumb crust substitute ground nuts or sesame seeds mixed with a little soy flour.
  • For a pastry crust substitute soy flour pastry in your favorite crust recipe or use a crumb crust.

Eggs

  • Frozen egg substitute or egg whites. Make sure that you buy the kind which has no additives.
  • Substitute two egg whites for one whole egg in baked goods, except cookies.
  • Use one whole egg and two to three egg whites and you won’t notice any difference in the taste.
  • Baked Goods (these substitutions don’t work well for cookies, but work very well for cookie bars, cakes & pies.)
  • Two egg whites for one whole egg in baked goods, except for cookies.
  • Replace oil with the same amount of pureed Fruit. Pumpkin, and applesauce are the best because they are low in carbs, next on the carb count meter are dates and prunes and bananas are way too high in carbs to use when on a high protein diet.
  • Replace white flour with soy flour.
  • Replace sugar with Splenda, Truvia, Sweet n Low or Stevia if you’re trying to lose weight, Equal or other aspartame sweetener if you’re on maintenance. Experiment with the amount of sweetener that will work with your recipe. If you’re making a Fruit dessert add 1/2 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon baking soda before adding the sugar substitute. The baking soda counters the tartness of the Fruit, allowing you to add less sweetener.
  • Don’t use sucrose, molasses, raw sugar or cane sugar. All of these will sabotage your carb count.
  • Substitute cocoa powder and unsweetened or bittersweet (bittersweet does have some sugar though) chocolate wherever you can. Adjust the sweetener to compensate for the loss of sugar that would have been in the semi-sweet or milk chocolate.

Basic Protein Recipes

This bread is so easy to make I often make a double batch and spread the extra batter onto an oiled jelly roll pan or pizza pan. Bake the bread for 15 minutes and you’ve got a pizza crust. Yea, bet you thought you’d never eat pizza again!

Protein Cheese Bread

  • 2/3 cups soy flour
  • 2/3 cups whey powder (found in health food stores)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream, cream cheese, tofu or ricotta cheese
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
  • 1-2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, parmesan, or whatever you have)

Mix all ingredients well and pour into well greased loaf pan. Bake in preheated 275 degree oven for one hour. Test with toothpick inserted into middle of loaf. You should see moist crumbs clinging to your tester but not wet crumbs. If the outside of your loaf is getting too brown cover the top with aluminum foil or if the sides and bottom are getting too brown. Take the loaf out of the oven. Let cool completely, carefully slice and spread slices out on an oiled baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until bread is done.

Variations:

  • 4-8 slices crisply cooked crumbled bacon and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped, sliced or whole black or green olives, use parmesan or mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tablespoon fresh herbs, or1 teaspoon dried herbs

Dairy-free version:
Use nondairy cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream in place of regular cheese.

Substitutes for Bread Sandwiches

  • cucumber slices
  • lettuce leaves with filling inside)
  • roasted eggplant slices (cut eggplant in 1/4″ slices, place on greased baking sheet, sprinkle with salt if desired, broil for 5 minutes on each side)
  • carrots cut lengthwise into thin strips
  • filled celery sticks
  • sausage patty
  • roll up inside deli-sliced meat or cheese
  • a slab of cold meat or cheese

More Protein Recipes

Coming Soon: The UnDiet: 2 Weeks of Extremely Low Carb Menus & Recipes

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Detailed List of Foods: Proteins, Starches, Neutrals

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go_undiet1Review your packaged foods with this detailed list. You can filter the list by whatever it is you’re watching in your UnDiet, fiber, sugar, fat, transfats …

This page is designed to educate you as to what food group a particular food belongs in – Neutral, Protein or Starch. Use this list to guide you in planning meals and help you to choose appropriate substitutes.

Starches

Grains

    barley
    brown rice
    buckwheat
    bulgar
    couscous, whole wheat
    kasha
    millet
    rye
    wild rice

Legumes/Beans:

    black beans
    black-eyed peas
    garbanzo beans
    kidney beans
    lentils (come in many colors)
    lima beans
    mung beans
    navy beans
    pinto beans
    split peas

Seeds:

Seeds are best eaten raw as toasting or roasting destroys their digestive enzymes. That said, a toasted pumpkin seed is a wonderful thing to behold. Since seeds are high in calories use them as a garnish rather than eat them by the handful.

    caraway
    poppy
    pumpkin
    sesame
    sunflower

Pasta:

Avoid pasta made with anything other than a whole grain.

    artichoke flour
    brown rice flour
    corn
    buckwheat such as soba noodles
    whole wheat

Cereals:

Look for cereals made with:

    whole grains
    no refined sugars
    chemical-free
    additive-free

Starch Ingredients:

These become starches only when cooked:
Use fresh potatoes. Frozen and dried potato products contain additives which make them difficult to digest. Exceptions can be found in health food stores. corn starch (use browned whole wheat or arrowroot flour instead)

    beets
    carrots
    corn
    fructose (made from corn)
    peas
    potatoes including sweet potatoes & yams
    potato flour
    soy sauce (wheat free can be found in health food stores)

Proteins

Note: the following is one of the more stringent food combining rules – keep each Protein group separate as it takes different digestive juices to digest each group. Honestly, I don’t follow this rule most of the time, but hey – maybe if I did I could lose those last ten excruciating pounds!

Dairy:

Use raw (unpasteurized) dairy products whenever possible. All dairy products contain casein and should be avoided as much as possible.

Cheeses: avoid yellow cheeses if you can, they contain dyes

    cream cheese
    cottage cheese
    farmers cheese
    half & half
    hoop cheese
    kefir
    milk (avoid completely)
    ricotta cheese
    yogurt (avoid completely)

Eggs

Meat

    bacon and sausage – be careful of chemical additives
    fish
    poultry
    red meat
    shell fish

Nuts:

Nuts are a carb/protein mix so limit them and remember that toasting or roasting destroys their digestive enzymes. The list below shows those nuts with the higher protein counts first.
brazil
macademia, pine nuts
almonds, pecans, pumpkin seeds, walnuts
hazelnuts, filberts, peanuts, pistachio
mixed nuts, peanut butter, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds
soybeans, cashews
coconut, almond paste

Protein Ingredients:

    gelatin

Neutrals

While vegetables are a carbohydrate they’re considered Neutral and can be eaten with any other food. The only time you need to be aware of vegetables as a carbohydrate is when you’re on an extended (more than one day) Protein Binge.

All vegetables (except Starch Vegetables when cooked)

    agar-agar (gelatin substitute made from seaweed)
    agave nectar
    honey, preferably raw, unfiltered
    maple syrup
    nuts, preferably raw
    soybeans
    soy flour
    soy milk (check label for chemicals or processed sugars)
    soy products (check label)
    soy nuts (check label for chemicals)
    tofu – silken, soft, medium, firm, baked

The predominant element in the foods below is fat. These can be used with both Proteins and Starches as the fat makes them Neutral.

    creme fraiche
    whipping or heavy cream
    butter
$$$avers Beverages High Protein Vegetarian

Protein Powder – Find the Right One

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I like to have a vanilla and a chocolate protein powder in my cupboard at all times. Besides all the benefits cited by health professionals they are simply a quick and easy way to make a meal when I’m hungry, when I’m losing weight, when I’m on the run, when I feel like a sweet snack …

UnDiet Tip:

Save $$$’s by using any of the following in your protein drink:

  • fruit that won’t make it to the next day in your protein drink
  • the last bit from a sugar-free jam jar
  • any fruit or sweet potato puree that your baby refuses to eat

There’s a protein powder out there for everyone

Organic Protein Powders

Isagenix has one of the best tasting organic and refined sugar free protein powders out there.

Muscle Building Protein Powders

Joey Vallancourt gives readers 5 ways to choose the right protein powder to match your weight lifting goals.

Vegan Protein Powders

One Green Planet has 7 Must-Try Vegan Protein Powders which they have tried and tested. They also have some great suggestions for how to use protein powders in things other than smoothies.

 

Gluten Free Protein Powders

Thank you to FitSugar for sharing these five gluten free protein powders with us.

Sugar Free Protein Powders

Whether I’m looking for a muscle building protein powder or a vegan or organic powder, as far as I’m concerned it should definitely be free of refined sugars. The Celiac Diva has the lowdown on sugar free protein powders.