Low carb ideas and hacks

[EastWest Gal]

In the low carb thread, someone mentioned that we should start a recipe thread.

This is not a recipe thread. There are so many recipes available on the internet, there is no need for one here.

What I'm hoping for is to create a thread of ideas that work for low carb health that we can share. I'm posting two posts here-one on "healthy mayonnaise" yes-a recipe, and one on tooth health.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Avoiding harmful ingredients is a theme in the low carb world. The ingredients we need to avoid are: (sugars, starches and grains, and seed oils-very high in omega-6 fatty acids). That eliminates one of my high fat ingredients for veggie sauces, tuna or egg salad-mayonnaise.

My healthy stick blender mayonnaise recipe-I do this regularly.

In the low carb world, there is much discussion of avoiding excess omega-6 fatty acids. I've learned to make my own mayonnaise, useful as a dressing, for chicken/tuna salads, and because I grew up loving this flexible dressing item. Mayonnaise and creamy dressings use soybean oil as a major component. Cheap, but nutritionally problematic.

I use the recipe from The Joy of Cooking, but here are my hacks.

-1-1/8 cup of oil-I usually use 3/4 c olive oil and 3/8 cup of another oil-I like avocado oil mostly, but have tried macadamia nut oil too. I may reduce the olive oil ratio depending on how I'm using the mayo.

-1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk-I pasteurize my eggs for safety using sous vide technology, and I have seen pasteurized eggs for sale in my local health food grocer.
-3 tbsp acid = lemon juice+ vinegar. I use 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice + 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar. White vinegar works ok too. Lemon juice seems necessary for flavor.
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
-(1/8 tsp white pepper-if desired, for fun)

Put oil in 1 quart mason jar. Dump in egg yolk/egg. Add dry ingredients, then lemon juice/vinegar.
Place stick blender in bottom of jar.
Run blender, and as yolks/oil incorporate, gradually lift blender higher in the jar and tilt as needed to incorporate the oil. This only takes about a minute.

Cover and store in refrigerator. Makes about 1-1/2 cup.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Tooth health:

Here is a hack especially for those who are still working:

When you take a shower, brush your teeth. In the shower.

Take the toothpaste-laden toothbrush with you. Keep it in your mouth as you wash yourself. Brush intermittently and enjoy the water. Your teeth will thank you. You spend more time brushing your teeth while you're in the shower. That is the goal.

 

[REWahoo]

Tooth health:

Here is a hack especially for those who are still working:

When you take a shower, brush your teeth. In the shower.

Take the toothpaste-laden toothbrush with you. Keep it in your mouth as you wash yourself. Brush intermittently and enjoy the water. Your teeth will thank you. You spend more time brushing your teeth while you're in the shower. That is the goal.

Whew. For a moment there I thought you were going to say after brushing your teeth, use it to clean the grout...

 

[karen1972]

When I was doing low carb, I stuck with lots of cauliflower, egg beaters, and cheese which you can pretty much make anything out of to substitute everything that has carbs in it.

Cauliflower rice, cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower mashed potatoes, etc

Revolution rolls were a game changing to replace bread

Chick peas as thickening agent

Pickle juice as a substitute for making things creamy (not really a carb related but if you are adding lots of cheese to get carbs, this is a good substitute to balance out the diet). I use it for a tuna salads and mashed cauliflower.

 

[COcheesehead]

There are olive oil mayonnaises on the market now with zero carbs. I use them to mix with salmon instead of tuna. I am trying to limit tuna intake with the mercury.

 

[audreyh1]

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.

 

[audreyh1]

There are olive oil mayonnaises on the market now with zero carbs. I use them to mix with salmon instead of tuna. I am trying to limit tuna intake with the mercury.

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

Full fat mayo is not supposed to have any carbs except for maybe a little from the eggs.

Primal Kitchen makes an avocado oil one with no other oils added, and it’s pretty good. But my homemade is way better.

 

[griffithee]

that sounds really yummy Audrey. I never thought about whisking oil in after the original emulsifier. Makes total sense. Thanks for the tip.

 

[audreyh1]

that sounds really yummy Audrey. I never thought about whisking oil in after the original emulsifier. Makes total sense. Thanks for the tip.

That works very well. I figured it out from seeing recipes where people made olive oil mayo by hand with a whisk. The initial emulsion is rather thick, which makes moving the blender head around a bit harder, but no big deal.

 

[misshathaway]

I think this gets into aioli territory, but if you have some handy try adding 1/2 tsp smoked paprika to any of the mayo recipes. I keep this mayo in the fridge all the time.

 

[misshathaway]

Pork rinds

They are delicious and 100% fat. Let the scoffing begin

 

[LOL!]

Electric toothbrush is probably better for one's teeth. I'm not doing it in the shower. But I brush my teeth while doing something else anyways (and no something else is not using the toilet).

 

[LOL!]

Let me ask this: Oatmeal? Allowed on a low-carb diet?

 

[mpeirce]

Let me ask this: Oatmeal? Allowed on a low-carb diet?

Not really.

One serving (half cup) is 27 carbs...

 

[RAE]

Let me ask this: Oatmeal? Allowed on a low-carb diet?

Generally, no. Oatmeal, like all grains, is fairly high in carbs. I suppose you could technically include a small daily bowl of oatmeal, but you'd have to then severely restrict your carb intake for the rest of the day (depending on what level of daily carb intake you were aiming for........100g? 50g?). Here is something on the carb content of oatmeal:


Carbs in Oatmeal

There's no such thing as "low-carb grains," but oatmeal is lower in net carbs than many other grains, according to Daisy Whitbread, MScN. A regular serving size is usually 1/2 cup of dry oats, according to Healthline. One serving of natural, whole-grain oatmeal provides 28 grams of carbs and 24.5 grams of net carbs, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. Plain, instant oatmeal is slightly lower in carbs, with 27 total grams and 23 net grams.

Flavored oatmeal can be higher in carbs due to the addition of sugar and fruit. For example, instant oatmeal with apples and cinnamon has 31 total carbs and 27.5 grams of net carbs.

 

[mpeirce]

A couple things I do.

I add some cream to the eggs that go into an omelet - it gives a nice, well, creamy omelet. Same for scrambled eggs.

I make "breadless sandwiches" for lunch sometimes. I use two slices of cheese as my "bread" and fill it with various lunch meats like ham or turkey. My very very favorite is when I smoke a brisket - a slice of that makes for a very nice "sandwich".

I don't know if this would work for other folks, but around 3PM I make a cup of coffee and add cream to it (I usually drink my coffee black). It does a very nice job of suppressing my appetite until diner time. YMMV

 

[audreyh1]

Let me ask this: Oatmeal? Allowed on a low-carb diet?

No, not on a ketogenic diet which limits daily carbs to under 20-30g net (subtracting fiber) for most people. To maintain such a low daily carb intake, no grains or starchy vegetables are eaten and fruit is extremely limited, and only fullfat dairy like cream, cheese, butter. No milk as even whole milk is high in carbs (lactose).

But if you had a much higher carb limit like 100 to 150g it might be accommodated. 150g or less daily is generally considered low carb.

 

[audreyh1]

Not really.

One serving (half cup) is 27 carbs...

23g net carbs after subtracting 4g of fiber. But still that exceeds the total number of net carbs I eat daily.

 

[LOL!]

OK, thanks. I guess I'm fortunate that I can lose weight readily even while eating more carbs. I tend to avoid sugar, bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice, but not fruits nor oatmeal.

And by 'avoid', I don't mean zero of these.

I drink unsweetened soy milk every day which I don't see mentioned much.

 

[audreyh1]

OK, thanks. I guess I'm fortunate that I can lose weight readily even while eating more carbs. I tend to avoid sugar, bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice, but not fruits nor oatmeal.

And by 'avoid', I don't mean zero of these.

I drink unsweetened soy milk every day which I don't see mentioned much.

You must be nicely insulin sensitive so don’t have to battle metabolic problems like many people do. A very low carb diet is usually necessary for someone dealing with metabolic disease - even if it is just slightly elevated fasting insulin. It’s all about keeping insulin levels down to allow fat burning to happen, to correct insulin resistance, and other potential issues like fatty liver. In order for insulin levels to be kept down, blood sugar levels must be kept very low, thus the severe carb restriction.

Some unsweetened milk substitute drinks have 0 or just 1 carb per serving, so those are compatible with very low carb.

Some of us avoid all grains and legumes including soy.

 

[Cobra9777]

I use finely chopped cauliflower as a rice substitute in stuffed bell peppers. But my favorite way to prepare cauliflower is roasting at 450 for 10-12 minutes. Whatever size you like, put the flat, cut side down with a very small amount of oil. Simple, fast, and amazing every time.

DW and I typically split an avocado with our evening meal about 60-70% of the time. I cut into 4 wedges and season with a very small amount of salt, pepper, and paprika. Maybe a squeeze of lime juice if it fits with the rest of the meal. Sometimes I brown the wedges in the grill pan for 3-4 minutes per side. It's a nice textural contrast to vegetables and salad, almost like a potato dish.

I use almond flour and sometimes a pinch of xanthan gum to thicken sauces. For example, I make a low-carb brown gravy for hamburger steaks with mushrooms and onions.

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

When we were actively trying to lose weight, we kept our total daily carbs below 30g, which took a lot of careful planning and tracking. Now we are in maintenance mode and just try to keep it between 50-100g. So it's not unusual for us to have small amounts of black beans or even corn. My breakfast most days is plain greek yogurt with blueberries and a small amount of grape nuts cereal for some crunch. Omelettes are common as well, using whatever veg happens to be in the fridge.

 

[Tiger8693]

Dukes Mayo.... 0 carbs, and the best tasting.

 

[tb001]

For those of you making your own mayo, how long does it keep in the fridge?

 

[tmm99]

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