Low Carb Pizza

It's been awhile since I posted, but I've been busy losing weight, not to say it's been a struggle at all. It's been effortless. So, this entry is about low carb pizza. There's a story behind this. My co-worker has been on a low carb diet with me and he started to miss pizza and asked me for some recipes. Well, since I've turned to cauliflower for many things (mock fried rice, mock mashed potatoes, for example), I looked for a recipe online for pizza made from cauliflower. What a strange idea, right? However, it's easy and tasty and you will have to let your taste buds decide. Many of my co-workers now are making it so I hope you will try it too.

LOW CARB PIZZA
(Crust)
1 cup cooked cauliflower, grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 egg
Fennel
Parsley
Oregano

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Mix cauliflower, mozzarella and egg together in a bowl, then press onto a non-stick cookie tray (or use parchment paper) and shape into a pizza. You can decide if you want to have a thick or thin crust. Sprinkle on herbs to taste. I like the smell and allure of fennel, but I don't spare the oregano or parsley. Bake for about 15 minutes or so. Remove from oven. Add your tomato sauce (I use a San Marzano pizza sauce) and your favorite toppings (such as pepperoni, mushrooms, green bell peppers, etc.). Add mozzarella on top. You will need about 6-8 ounces on top. Move your oven rack into position and broil the pizza until the cheese melts.

The texture of the crust will be crispy as long as your toppings aren't too wet which will make it soggy. In that case, put it in the fridge and eat it the next day. Or before you add toppings, flip the crust over on the parchment paper and cook for a few minutes. If you are worried about the herbs falling off, then mix the herbs into the dough or add the dough after the crust is done. Or add a harder cheese into the mix like parmesan.

Low Carb Pizza (with crust made with cauliflower!)

The crust mixture can be used for other things. If you want to make a gyro, for example, I think the crust can substitute for pita bread. And if you're making butter chicken, I think it can substitute for naan bread.
     In any case, if you hear people whining about their inability to give up certain bread items, make this for them and they will change their minds. Or at least they will bug you to make it for them again.

Veggie Burgers with Salsa and Guacamole

Fighting Laziness and Boredom

Laziness and boredom are two problems that keep us fat. I ate a lot of bacon and eggs and got tired of both. So, I switched out the bacon and had pork sausages and then I got bored with sausages AND eggs, so then I started eating turkey burger patties and I quickly got bored with that. So, now I'm on veggie burgers. I was eating them with mustard or ketchup and that got boring, but I'm currently into ANYTHING with salsa and guacamole. And I'm loving the fact that I can microwave them. These are from Morningstar and are low in carbs and there's 15 grams of protein per patty too. It's not pretty, but I like eating them . . . for now.

Weight Loss/Fat Loss Update



Finally!

      For many months, I've been holding steady within a range of 183-187, even though I was continuing to lose fat around my waist. The 34 waist jeans were quickly replaced with 33 waist jeans and even those were now really loose.
     I went to the store and I tried on a pair of 32 inch waist jeans and I was happy that they fit! However, they fit in the way that they're comfortable while standing only, so I didn't buy them. I'll wait until next month and see.
     It just goes to show you that the scale and fat loss are only loosely correlated. So much so, that I haven't been as diligent about weighing myself. However, I did get on the scale this morning and discovered that I had fluctuated lower and 181 is the lowest I've been all year! So, the weight is finally catching up with the fat loss. My BMI is 25.7, which they still consider overweight. I'm only six pounds away from my original goal, even though I have reached my waist size goal. The year isn't over yet so there's still time. It hasn't been a struggle and with patience and day-to-day focus, it has been, more or less, easy. I hope you are making your goals.

Onion Tart (Low Carb)

Onion Tart

An onion tart is, more or less, a quiche. There's no bacon and there's quite a bit of onions. If you want, you can use Walla Walla onions or Vidalia onions for sweetness. Onions are not high carb vegetables, so go ahead and have a slice or two or three.

ONION TART

Crust

1 1/2 cups of almond flour (or hazelnut flour)
1/4 cup butter, melted
pinch of salt (sea salt preferably)
1/4 cup of baking soda (if using)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, butter, salt and baking soda together. Press into a 9" removable bottom quiche pan. Bake until you get your desired color, about 10-15 minutes. Cool. Here, I used half almond flour and half hazelnut flour. There's 5 grams of net carbs per 1/4 cup as opposed to 22 grams for wheat flour.

Onion filling

2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of thyme (dried)
2 teaspoons of clarified butter
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Gruyere cheese (or Swiss), grated
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
nutmeg, to taste

Warm large skillet to medium heat and add butter and fry onions until they are slightly brown, about 10-15 minutes. Add thyme, mix, and let cool. Mix eggs, cream and cheese together. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir. Spread onions into pan, pour egg mixture in and bake for 35 minutes and let it rest at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Eggplant Fries

Eggplant Fries

My co-worker has been on a low carb diet with me for about a month and he started to miss fries. Sure, he's seen my mock fried rice made with cauliflower, so he wanted to know what a good substitute was since french fries are really high in carbs. I told him eggplant fries. He asked me if I've ever tried them and I said no. So, I told him I would try them and get back to him. I'm glad I did. At first, I thought I made too much, but I sure finished them like they were enough. They will give you the french fry experience without the carbs. They're sweeter and creamier than potato fries, but the taste is similar.

EGGPLANT FRIES
1 small to medium-sized eggplant
sea salt
palm oil or shortening (non-hydrogenated)
other spices, to taste (if using)

Serves 2 or 1 greedy person.

Peel the eggplant and cut into fries. I've seen recipes where they then dredge them in flour and flour has carbs so I didn't. I dredged mine in parmesan cheese, which I do not recommend either. I don't mind the texture of the outcome so feel free to stay natural. Heat your palm oil (white 'palm shortening' is fine if it's not hydrogenated) to 350 degrees and fry in batches until you achieve a golden brown color. I use palm oil because it has a high smoke point. If you would rather use lard or peanut oil, go ahead. Sprinkle salt and spices (you could use garlic powder, cayenne pepper, etc.) to taste. Serve immediately.

My eggplant fries were a little greasy, but tasty. Grease is fine when you're on a low carb diet so don't worry about it. I've seen other recipes where they put them in cold water before frying to reduce greasiness and if you've tried this, let me know how it went.

1 cup of eggplant has about 3 grams of net carbs. 1 cup of potato is about 29 grams of net carbs.

Low Carb Chocolate Cake

Low Carb Chocolate Cake

     Chocolate cake is probably one of the most iconic high carb foods around, don't you think? With its luscious, moist cake made with soft, white flour and enough sugar to rot your teeth and to put you on the road to Fatland with pit stops at ecstasy and regret both. For the low-carber, finding a cake you can eat is like discovering a new g-spot. Chocolate itself is not so bad since it has health benefits and not to mention fiber.
     I found a recipe on the web and I made adaptations. The first substitute is the flour. Regular flour has about 22 grams of carbs per 1/4 cup, whereas a flour like almond flour only has 5 net carbs. The second obstacle is finding a suitable sweetener.
     Splenda is the go-to sweetener it seems, but it's not really that great in cake. I like using Splenda if I'm having a hot chocolate, but in cake it seems to be not well-rounded and it has a light aftertaste, while not bitter, it reminds me that it's Frankenstein sugar. Stevia is great in tea, coffee or soymilk, but in chocolate, I feel, it's absolutely gross. Luckily, I found erythritol, which tastes great with chocolate. It's one of the ingredients in Truvia. Truvia has stevia in it, otherwise, I would just use it with chocolate. So, here it is, a low carb chocolate cake I think you will like. Try this out and get back to me. It's satisfying, tasty and 2 net carbs a slice!!!

LOW CARB CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 cup almond flour
1 cup hazelnut flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup erythritol
4 eggs
1 stick of butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9" round pan and put a round piece of parchment paper on the bottom, if desired.

Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients and mix. Bake for about 25 minutes and test with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, take it out of the oven to cool. Otherwise, bake for up to another 10 to 15 minutes or so. The cake should be moist, but it will be slightly crumbly because it's made with nuts, but just slightly. Enjoy with whipped cream (and vanilla and Splenda) or with Clemmy's Ice Cream!

Add Fiber the Easy Way

Benefiber

     There's no way the typical person can get all the fiber they say you need, 30-35 grams a day. Let's just take that as fact. You could sit down and have 9 apples, but are you going to eat 9 apples in a day? Besides, that's a lot of carbs. Even if you were on a low carb diet, it's not likely that you can get that much fiber. Salad has little fiber unless there's beans or avocado in them.
     There are fiber supplements out there and I enjoy Benefiber the best. It's tasteless, it's not gritty and you can add it to your coffee, tea, soup, baked goods or whatever (just don't add it to carbonated beverages). It's made from wheat dextrin, which is fiber from wheat. It doesn't make you go. It makes it easier to go.
     I add two teaspoons (3 grams of fiber) to my morning tea. So, this is the ritual. I steep the tea, I add two small scoops of stevia, two teaspoons of Benefiber and I pour in some half and half. And it's great, especially if you're having a few sugar-free Oreos with your tea!
     The directions say to take it three times a day, which would give you 9 extra grams of fiber a day. I am finding that I get benefits from taking it only once a day. Thanks, Benefiber!

Sugar-Free Oreos!

Sugar Free Oreos

I like baking and it's fun coming up with or finding new low carb recipes. However, even I get lazy at times and would rather just find a store-brought product. Thank goodness for Nabisco's Sugar Free Oreos! (I got these at the north Broadway QFC) They really taste great. They're made with the usual maltitol and Splenda combo like you find in a lot of sugar-free products, which tastes great to me. Of course, now that I've been lowcarbing for awhile, my taste for sweet things have diminished somewhat, but it's nice to know that every once in awhile, if I want to re-live that part of my life where cookies played a bigger role in my life, that there is a ready made product I can impulsively buy to satisfy that fleeting, but violent urge for something sweet and culturally burned (that is to say, familiar and comforting) into my brain. No, they're not organic or made from free-trade quinoa or rainbow wonder. They're the cookies you grew up with, opened up, or dunked into carb-laced milk or broke open and stole the creme with your greedy tongue. They taste just the same! Dare I say, even better???!!?!!!

Salmon Cakes

Salmon Cakes

I rarely eat canned salmon and I think it's the same for most people. More people are likely to have canned tuna than canned salmon. There's fresh salmon available here and if you are around here, you grew up eating it and you're probably tired of it. Fresh salmon is expensive, so maybe that's why you turn to canned salmon every now and then. Or if you happen to have spare salmon, or salmon chunks left, you can make salmon cakes. And if you're vegetarian, you can make wheat meat or tofu cakes. I got this recipe off of a pouch of salmon and I made minor adaptations.

SALMON CAKES
1 pouch or about 10 ounces of cooked salmon
1/4 cup mayonnaise (to taste, use less if desired)
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 cup red bell peppers, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
salt to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste, if using
1 egg
1 cup of almond flour
Clarified butter or palm oil

Squeeze out any liquid from the salmon and the red bell peppers. Add the mayonnaise, green onions, garlic powder, salt, cayenne pepper, egg and mix, breaking up any chunks you might find. Depending on how watery this mixture is add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of almond flour. The consistency should be like 'stiff peaks' if you can use this terminology for salmon cakes. Form into four disks. Coat the four disks with the remaining almond flour. Warm pan to medium heat and add clarified butter or oil. Fry each side about three minutes. If you are concerned about color, fry each side about two minutes and put into a 350 degree oven for five minutes. The salmon cakes above appear dark, but the taste is a great toasted almond flavor and best of all, there's only 2 grams of carbs per salmon cake. Serve with salad or green beans.

Mid-Year Results

Mid-Year Results

Here is a chart of my weight loss for the year. My resolution to lose weight started in November 2010, which this chart doesn't show. I weighed 205 at the time. I weighed myself in the morning every day and took an average on Saturday and that was the number I entered into the spreadsheet. Right around April, I was getting cocky and I started eating Haagen-Dazs (and Ben and Jerry's) every night. I gained a few pounds and I was glad that I didn't gain more than a few pounds. It's been gradual, but I'll take whatever I can get. My waist has gone from just under 36 to about a 33. My Body Mass Index is at 25.9. My goals are to reach 175 or a 32 waist/scant 33 waist or a BMI of 24.9. I feel more energy. I feel sexier. I feel like I let myself out of a prison and I feel like I should have done it a long time ago. So, I focus on the present, not worrying about the past, not worrying about how long it will take in the future and I take it day by day.

New York Cheesecake (Low Carb)



New York Cheesecake (Low Carb)

 Cheesecake has so much potential to become low carb since it is made mostly from cream cheese. However, with the addition of regular flour and sugar, your average slice can come up to 45 grams of carbs or more. This version has about 3 grams of net carbs per slice!!! Instead of graham crackers, I use almond and hazelnut flour and instead of sugar, I used a sugar substitute (in this case, Splenda). I borrowed this recipe off the internet.

New York Cheesecake (low carb)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups of nut flours (almond and hazelnut blend, for example) (or up to 2 cups for a thicker crust. Add 1 teaspoon of butter)
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
2 tablespoons of sweetener (equal to sugar), if using.

Melt butter and pour into nut flours. If using sweetener add to crust. Mix well. Press into a springform pan (preferably 9"). Alternatively, you can press up the sides for about an inch around if desired.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Filling:

1 1/2 pounds of cream cheese (room temperature)
sweetener equal to 1 1/3 cups sugar (such as pourable Splenda)
3-5 eggs (3 eggs will be creamier, 5 eggs will be denser) (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon juice
16 ounces of sour cream
1 teaspoon of lemon zest (optional)

Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, add sweetener and one egg at a time. Add vanilla, lemon juice (and zest if using) and sour cream. Other recipes will have a separate layer for sour cream and if you want to do that, then don't mix it in. Pour mixture into pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off heat and prop the door open until the cake is cool (about an hour). Let it rest overnight for 24 hours. (These were all tips I picked up on the cream cheese packaging). Depending on how lucky you are, you may have cracks or not. I don't care about cracks, but you might. I mean, really, it tastes the same, doesn't it? You can always hide the cracks in the way that you serve the slices or you could put on some topping. If it cracks, you can practice compassion. Also, you can amaze everyone by letting them know that each slice has about 3 net carbs in it!!! They won't care about the cracks, believe me!!!

Classic Quiche Lorraine (Low Carb)

Quiche Lorraine

Quiche Lorraine is already pretty low carb except for the crust. Here, I replaced the typical wheat flour crust with almond flour and it's really low carb. Typical all-purpose flour has 22 grams of carbs in 1/4 cup and almond flour has only 5 grams.

Quiche Lorraine

Crust:
1 1/2 cups of almond flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
pinch of salt (sea salt preferred)
1/4 cup butter, melted

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix almond flour with salt and butter. Press into a 9 inch removable bottom tart pan. A spoon is handy to smooth things out. Bake for 15 minutes. There's no need to add pie weights.

Filling:
1 cup of heavy cream
3 eggs
10 oz of bacon (thick preferred)
salt
pepper
nutmeg

Fry the bacon to desired color. The fat will render so there's no need to add oil unless you want. You can even fry them in clarified butter if you want. Let them cool and cut them into pieces and place them evenly into the crust. Mix the eggs and cream. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste. Pour the mixture into the crust. The oven should still be at 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for five minutes before serving. At first, the filling may be inflated, but it will deflate while it's cooling.

And actually, I prefer the almost flour crust because it has more flavor that your typical wheat flour crust. And I like the texture better too. Please try this and let me know what you think.

Mock Fried Rice



Mock Fried Rice

 Cauliflower is a low carb friend. I know quite a few people who don't like vegetables, but I like cauliflower. Well, what if it was substituted into things they like, like rice? Sure, cauliflower is not rice, but it tastes just as good.

MOCK FRIED RICE (Fried Cauliflower)
1/2 head of cauliflower, grated
2 eggs
half and half or cream, if using
coconut or palm oil
soy sauce, if using
1 cup of peas
Chinese sausage (cooked), chopped, if using
2 green onions, chopped
sesame oil
Asian chili pepper, if using.

Makes about 3 servings.

Pre-heat a pan and add oil to coat pan. Scramble two eggs with a dash of half and half or cream. Put aside. Add more oil to the pan and toss in grated cauliflower and stir-fry to desired texture. Add enough soy sauce to coat the cauliflower. Toss, in the Chinese sausage and peas and eggs and mix in. Toss in the green onions, a few dashes of sesame oil and a dash of chili pepper. Serve immediately. If you don't want to use Chinese sausage, you can add cubed chicken, sauteed wheat protein (seitan), etc.

Cheese Crisps



Swiss cheese crisps with basil or cayenne pepper

 Here is a quick and easy snack you can prepare in minutes.

CHEESE CRISPS

Cheese
Spices, if using.

Grate some cheese onto a piece of parchment paper and divide into mounds. Nuke until the cheese darkens, about 2 minutes. (You can also do this in a non-stick frying pan or a non-stick sheet pan, but why bother?) Remove the cheese from the parchment paper and flip over and nuke the other side for about a minute for even color and texture. The end result will be crispy with rough edges. Feel free to use kitchen scissors to shape into desired shape. My friends say they taste like Cheez-Its and they really like them. Well, they do taste like Cheez-Its, but they have ZERO CARBS!!!! This batch was made with swiss and parmesan mix with basil and some made with cayenne pepper. I really like making it with Tillamook Pepper Jack cheese. You can even make a taco shell.

Taco shell made with cheese

Instead of making small mounds, make a big mound on top of a piece of parchment paper and nuke for 2 minutes or so. Use enough cheese or the end result will be brittle and will break when you bite into it (much like some taco shells anyway) You can use something to drape it over to make a taco, but I find if I just pick it up and hold it for a few seconds that it'll hold its shape. Serve with your typical Tex-Mex fillings (which all happen to be low carb).

Calories Don't Count



Herman Taller's Calories Don't Count

      Prior to the Atkins Diet, in 1961, Herman Taller published 'Calories Don't Count.' It is interesting that the basic principles he prescribed is what we know of today, as then, as the low carb diet. Taller himself was obese and he followed the prevailing low fat diet and was fatter and miserable and he was made to feel guilty for not having self-control and he was labeled as lazy. A colleague who knew of the low carb diet (from an earlier time even) suggested that he supplement his diet with 'magic capsules' which turned out to be filled with fat. He lost weight and for that generation, he was the Atkins of his time. The only difference I would say is his approval of potatoes. On the other hand, he could have suggested a low carb variety not on the market now, but who knows. However, we have carb budgets and if you want to blow it on a potato, that's your choice. I love french fries like the next person, but I won't eat more than five fries at one sitting.

No time to read?

There's a great documentary on hulu.com (free) called 'Fat Head.' If you don't have time to read, check it out.



'Fat Head'

 http://www.hulu.com/watch/196879/fat-head

How do we become fat no more?

Gary Taubes's Why We Get Fat

     It is very simple. Stop eating digestible carbs. That's it. The principles are explained in the recent book, 'Why We Get Fat.' Digestible carbs are things like sugar, soda, fruit juices, cereals, whole wheat anything (that's right!), fruit (that's right!), beans, potatoes, corn, products made with flour, etc.
     Simply speaking, your body can only digest a certain amount of carbs and it will turn the rest into fat. If you stop eating carbs, you stop making fat and your body will start to burn fat for fuel.
     There's no need to avoid eating fat. There's no need to count calories. There's no need to eat meat. There's no need to exercise!
     For those of you who have been around the block, this sounds a lot like the Atkins Diet. It is. However, it would be unfair to call it the Atkins Diet since the diet existed before Atkins by over 100 years. There's aspects of it in other diets too such as the Paleo Diet, The South Beach Diet, The Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, Protein Power, etc. Let's just call it the Traditional Low Carb Diet. Every diet has their own little spin for marketing purposes (and also their own findings and biases), but the basic principle is the same: stop eating carbs and you will lose weight!
     Like any lifestyle change, you will need support and we will be here for you. It's been working for me and my co-workers, so why not make it work for even more people. Feel free to ask questions too!
     The book is available at the Seattle Public Library and there's an electronic version of it too. The book is a simplified version of his orginal book, 'Good Calories, Bad Calories,' so if you want to get that one instead, it's just as good, but it's longer. Read either book and let me know what you think.
  

The Beginning



A snapshot of my weight/fat loss journey. I am currently at 182.

 At the end of last year, I made a goal of losing 30 pounds. I am 5' 10 1/2" and was 205. My goal was to make it down to 175. I was doing fine on my own. As I was losing weight/fat, a few co-workers noticed that I was losing weight/fat and then told me about other co-workers who were having problems and I thought it would be more fun to lose fat together. Then, more co-workers got involved. Then, I got to thinking: there are probably even more people out there who are doing this alone and if they could connect to our common energy, that maybe we could all get something out of it. Most of us are following a classic low carb diet, but not all of us. This blog hopes to bring together all us Seattleites (and beyond) and share our weight goals, our progress, our frustrations, our food diaries, our recipes, so that we can all be FAT NO MORE!