Low carb ideas and hacks

[audreyh1]

Audrey, your mayo recipe sounds yummy. How long does it last in the fridge?

Don’t know, but I really do try to use up within a week. That’s pretty easy with chicken or tuna salad, making blue cheese or Caesar salad dressings, etc.

I’m not going to let it sit around.

 

[tmm99]

My mayo:

1 coddled egg - steeped in simmering water for a minute, then ice bath for a minute
1 clove of garlic minced - optional
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 quarter cup avocado oil

I put all the ingredients in an immersion blender, pouring the oil in last and waiting for it to float to the top. Then I use the blender holding it to the bottom until it it half emulsified, then gently move blender head until well mixed.

1/4 cup top quality EVOO

I remove the blender head and pour in the EVOO and whisk it in by hand. This avoids the blender breaking up the EVOO globules and releasing bitter compounds.

This makes the most delicious mayo. I’m never going back to store bought again!! I adapted my recipe from this: https://www.everydaymaven.com/how-to-make-mayonnaise/

I make my own Caesar salad dressing from this mayo, and it is also outstanding.

Thank you for the recipe, Audrey. I made your may today. It tastes really great, but mine came out more runny, like a creamy salad dressing and the avocado oil separated a bit. I'm sure I'll get better at making it next time (I used a bowl but I should probably use a cylinder), and I will not discard the raw egg white (I only used the yolk... Not a fan of raw egg white, but maybe that makes it more like mayo?)

 

[audreyh1]

Thank you for the recipe, Audrey. I made your may today. It tastes really great, but mine came out more runny, like a creamy salad dressing and the avocado oil separated a bit. I'm sure I'll get better at making it next time (I used a bowl but I should probably use a cylinder), and I will not discard the raw egg white (I only used the yolk... Not a fan of raw egg white, but maybe that makes it more like mayo?)

Right - a cylinder type container really helps with creating the emulsion. Also, refrigerating the mayo makes it thicker. Plenty of folks use just the egg yolk in their mayo.

Immersion blender mayo demo.

 

[tmm99]

Right - a cylinder type container really helps with creating the emulsion. Also, refrigerating the mayo makes it thicker. Plenty of folks use just the egg yolk in their mayo.

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Great! Thank you so much for the tips and the demo video, Audrey! Yeah, the mayo has settled down a bit in a fridge. I will definitely use a cylinder-shaped container next time as well. Thank you! It's a very tasty mayo.

 

[Winemaker]

Pinot Noir... 3.4g carbs per 5oz glass.

This amount will vary, depending on which wine you purchase. Although 3.4 g carbs seem small, it presents some difficulty when going totally carb free.

The carbs in wine depend on how much residual sugar is left in the wine. The residual sugar is the amount left behind after the winemaker stops the fermentation if warranted, OR how much fresh grape juice is added to the wine. California law does not permit added sugar; it is permitted elsewhere. But it is deceiving to many people. Apothic Red, and extremely popular red blend, is marketed as a dry red. However, it has 10-30 grams of residual sugar. It has to do with the sugar/acid balance. Cheaper, unripened grapes will need adjustment to counteract the acid.

And because of the archaic laws regarding the approval of wine labels, listing ingredients and nutritional values makes things worse. Apothic's mix this month will be different next month, requiring state and federal approval of the bottle label, even though it may taste the same.



https://winefolly.com/update/carbs-in-wine/

 

[audreyh1]

Great! Thank you so much for the tips and the demo video, Audrey! Yeah, the mayo has settled down a bit in a fridge. I will definitely use a cylinder-shaped container next time as well. Thank you! It's a very tasty mayo.

The types of containers that come with the immersion blenders, where the bottom is not much wider than the head of the blender seem to give the best result. Plus you want to wait until the oil settles to the top. This way the oil is mixed in gradually once the initial emulsion is created. This approach mimics the old pour oil in slowly blender technique with a lot less hassle.

 

[audreyh1]

Pinot Noir... 3.4g carbs per 5oz glass.

The US carb numbers in wine, if you can find them, apparently include other remains from fermentation that should have minimal effect on the blood sugar. In European nutrition info these extra remains are not included in the carbs on any nutrition facts label. It's more like:

• Champagne or sparkling wine (brut or extra dry) - 2 carbs per serving (5 or 6 fl oz)
• Dry red or white wine - 2 carbs per serving (5 fl oz)

And some of the articles I've read plus my database list Pinot Noir as one of the lower carb red wines.

Please note that dry wines usually contain less than 0.5 grams of sugar per glass.4 The other substances, often counted as carbs, constitute miscellaneous remains from the fermentation process, like glycerol, that should have a minimal effect on blood sugar or insulin levels. Using the number 2 grams of carbs per glass of dry wine is conservative. All dry wines fit well within a keto diet.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/alcohol-guide
I'm pretty sure this article is free access. There are lots of reference links that let you study further.

I drink wine on my ketogenic diet, but not every day at the moment, nor even a full serving. I'll usually have 75 ml, or at most a 4oz serving 2 to 3 times a week. This serving size goes reasonably with a meal and doesn't cause a buzz for me. I'm still using the old-fashioned carb counts for the wine servings as that's what is in my database.

As I transition above my current 20-25g net carbs daily limit to a higher limit approaching 50g, more wine is definitely on my list along with more fruit and larger servings of cooked vegetables.

I am looking forward to sampling some 0 carb Armagnac brandy in southern France!

 

[tmm99]

The types of containers that come with the immersion blenders, where the bottom is not much wider than the head of the blender seem to give the best result. Plus you want to wait until the oil settles to the top. This way the oil is mixed in gradually once the initial emulsion is created. This approach mimics the old pour oil in slowly blender technique with a lot less hassle.

I must have a cheap immersion blender, it didn't come with any accessories, but I looked up immersion blenders on amazon - I will use a glass cup. The problem may be with the blender too. The blender head covered the egg yolk, and when I started it, it swirled around the yolk inside the head and didn't do much else, so I started moving the head around a bit from the beginning. I will break the yolk, and maybe slightly raise the head next time if nothing happens. Now that I watched the demo video, I think I'll be alright. Thank you!!

 

[euro]

I have never seen a olive oil mayonnaise that didn’t have soybean or canola oil, with only a small amount of olive oil.

.

This is because mayo made with 100% olive oil tastes awful. Extremely bitter. So, any edible olive oil mayo has to be cut with some other oil. OP mentioned avocado oil and macadamia nut oil - those are my favorites for this purpose as well.

 

[audreyh1]

This is because mayo made with 100% olive oil tastes awful. Extremely bitter. So, any edible olive oil mayo has to be cut with some other oil. OP mentioned avocado oil and macadamia nut oil - those are my favorites for this purpose as well.

It depends on the technique. I believe that if you hand whisk in olive oil, it will taste great as long as you really like the OO taste. The hand whisking does not break up the olive oil globules that releases the bitter compounds. There are plenty of olive oil mayo recipes on the web, but most of them instruct hand whisking for making the emulsion.

My technique of whisking in 1/4 olive oil by hand later works very well. You get a lovely extra virgin olive oil flavor since the base avocado oil is super mild.

But honestly, the mayo made by the manufacturers would never be 100% olive oil because of the cost! They will always use the cheaper seed/bean oils as much as possible - lower cost plus shelf stability. You won't see one that is mostly avocado oil with some olive oil added, for example. So far, Primal Kitchen is the only one I've every seen that doesn't use a seed/bean oil. And sure enough, it's more expensive.

 

[marks]

You might try Mark Sisson's Primal Kitchen line of products. They make a few different mayos that are made with 100% Avocado oil. They also make salad dressings and other products. They are available at Whole Foods and other chains.

https://www.primalkitchen.com/collections/mayo/products/avocado-oil-mayo

Ingredients:
Avocado Oil, Organic Eggs, Organic Egg Yolks, Organic Vinegar, Sea Salt, Organic Rosemary Extract.

 

[Winemaker]

The US carb numbers in wine, if you can find them, apparently include other remains from fermentation that should have minimal effect on the blood sugar. In European nutrition info these extra remains are not included in the carbs on any nutrition facts label. It's more like:

• Champagne or sparkling wine (brut or extra dry) - 2 carbs per serving (5 or 6 fl oz)
• Dry red or white wine - 2 carbs per serving (5 fl oz)

And some of the articles I've read plus my database list Pinot Noir as one of the lower carb red wines.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/alcohol-guide
I'm pretty sure this article is free access. There are lots of reference links that let you study further.

I drink wine on my ketogenic diet, but not every day at the moment, nor even a full serving. I'll usually have 75 ml, or at most a 4oz serving 2 to 3 times a week. This serving size goes reasonably with a meal and doesn't cause a buzz for me. I'm still using the old-fashioned carb counts for the wine servings as that's what is in my database.

As I transition above my current 20-25g net carbs daily limit to a higher limit approaching 50g, more wine is definitely on my list along with more fruit and larger servings of cooked vegetables.

I am looking forward to sampling some 0 carb Armagnac brandy in southern France!

My point was that unless you know the wine was fermented to total dryness and no additional juice is added, you do not know if a wine is totally dry. You would have to use a hydrometer to check. We assume that a dry wine like Pinot is dry, but not necessarily true. It is one of the drier wines out there, but may contain 1-2 grams of sugar per serving. It's not an evil thing, it's the balance thing.

 

[eytonxav]

As I've been reducing my after dinner carb loaded snacks, I decided to try something else as a substitute and found it to be pretty good. While not a recipe, it's a low carb keto ice cream made by Rebel Creamery:
https://rebelcreamery.com/pages/mar...ssZBmY6ejrno1JAqWaYMP9vnqs&stockist-tags=1971

 

[tinlizzy]

I'm not on a low carb diet but I can think of a couple concoctions from my childhood that are no carb.

Dill pickle and cream cheese wrapped with corned beef.

And the neighbor's dad used to make wilted lettuce. Which was cooking bacon, pouring the grease over a bowl of lettuce, then crumbling the bacon on top.

 

[joeea]

I'm not on a low carb diet but I can think of a couple concoctions from my childhood that are no carb.

Dill pickle and cream cheese wrapped with corned beef.

And the neighbor's dad used to make wilted lettuce. Which was cooking bacon, pouring the grease over a bowl of lettuce, then crumbling the bacon on top.

Cream cheese has carbs, but not a lot.

Sounds like a good concoction!

 

[mpeirce]

As I've been reducing my after dinner carb loaded snacks, I decided to try something else as a substitute and found it to be pretty good. While not a recipe, it's a low carb keto ice cream made by Rebel Creamery:
https://rebelcreamery.com/pages/mar...ssZBmY6ejrno1JAqWaYMP9vnqs&stockist-tags=1971

I eat this stuff:

https://www.breyers.com/us/en/carbsmart.html

It's available at Kroger and WalMart (and other places I'm sure).

It's not exactly ice cream, but for me close enough - and better than the other low carb ice cream's I've tried.

Ingredients are: Milk, Cream, Sorbitol, Maltodextrin, Water, Whey and less than 2% of: glycerin, mono and diglycerides, vegetable gums, natural flavor, acesulfame potassium, Sucralose.

So no exactly a "whole food" but it tastes good to me and the really questionable ingredient is Sucralose and AP, both sweeteners.

 

[eytonxav]

I eat this stuff:

https://www.breyers.com/us/en/carbsmart.html

It's available at Kroger and WalMart (and other places I'm sure).

It's not exactly ice cream, but for me close enough - and better than the other low carb ice cream's I've tried.

Ingredients are: Milk, Cream, Sorbitol, Maltodextrin, Water, Whey and less than 2% of: glycerin, mono and diglycerides, vegetable gums, natural flavor, acesulfame potassium, Sucralose.

So no exactly a "whole food" but it tastes good to me and the really questionable ingredient is Sucralose and AP, both sweeteners.

Take a look at the comparison chart. Breyers would be too high in carb for what I am trying to accomplish as I attempt to move more toward a keto diet: https://rebelcreamery.com/pages/about

 

[FrankiesGirl]

I do low carb cheesecake bites or pancakes when I'm craving sweets. I use splenda knockoff for the sweetener. I also just discovered my sugar free french vanilla creamer ROCKS when adding a bit to my creamcheese/egg "pancakes" I end up with a stack of thin, sweetened cheesecakes, and then drizzle some sugar free syrup over them... sooo good.

 

[mpeirce]

Take a look at the comparison chart. Breyers would be too high in carb for what I am trying to accomplish as I attempt to move more toward a keto diet: https://rebelcreamery.com/pages/about

If you like the taste and it works for you, excellent.

I avoid products with Erythritol, it just doesn't "work" for me.

And I'm lucky, I'm just maintaining my weight, so am not as strict on the carbs as I was when I was losing weight. Also, portion size matters ;-)

 

[Winemaker]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/are-you-sure-that-wine-you-ordered-is-actually-dry-11566492508


Another article about the amount of sugar in wine, sorry about possible paywall.

 

[TromboneAl]

I avoid products with Erythritol, it just doesn't "work" for me.

Do you mean it doesn't taste sweet?

It's my favorite because it has zero effect on blood sugar and no gas or bloating as with some other polyols. You can replace regular sugar in a sugar bowl, and most people won't notice. It's only 60% as sweet as sugar.

Xylitol is almost as good.

Re Ice Cream, this is the best thing you can put in your mouth without asking permission:

Choc. Chip Ice Cream

Don't forget to start the coffee!

2 c Heavy whipping Cream
24 drops liquid splenda
.5 tsp Vanilla
.5 tsp Torani Hazelnut
1 square unsweetened chocolate, chopped
5 Macademia nuts chopped

It takes about 25 minutes. You don’t need to wait for the ice cream maker to stall, stop when the ice cream sticks to the paddle.

It doesn't store well, however. It turns rock hard in the freezer. The trick is to store serving-size amounts and defrost them in the microwave when you want ice cream.

 

[audreyh1]

I’ve been enjoying shredded cabbage sautéed in butter or zucchini noodles quick sautéed in olive oil as the starch substitute for pasta sauce or stews.

 

[mpeirce]

Do you mean it doesn't taste sweet?

It causes me intestinal distress.

 

[harley]

DW has been making some muffins that we are really enjoying. I haven't worked out the carb count, but we're not doing hard core keto, just LCHF. The basic recipe is 1 cup almond flour, one cup coconut flour, 1/2 cup flax seed meal, one cup splenda, 1 stick butter, 6 eggs, vanilla extract, heavy cream to get the consistency right. She usually throws in some blueberries, but sometimes uses pumpkin and some pumpkin pie spices.

I'm sorry for the lack of a real recipe, but she cooks by instinct, not numbers. But the muffins are great. I did a quick calculation and it looks like about 5 net carbs/muffin. That may be too high for some, but it's fine for us. You can cut it a little with fewer blueberries, and there's less in the pumpkin ones.

 

[TromboneAl]

It causes me intestinal distress.

I see. You might reevaluate that. Everything I've read says that E. does not have that effect.

This article says that 90% of the E. is excreted unchanged. Ten percent makes it to the colon:

In the study, researchers evaluated the fermentation potential of erythritol compared to other sugars and sugar alcohols. The researchers discovered that the small amount of erythritol that did make it to the colon was “completely resistant to bacterial attack”.

The researchers found that no gasses or short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were produced as the result of fermentation… and the erythritol was recovered unchanged after traversing the colon.

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