The Low-Carb Diabetes Solution Cookbook (9 page)

With the processor running, add the butter and the rosemary. Then work in the cheeses in 3 or 4 additions.

With the processor still running, add the egg white, then the water. When you have a soft dough, turn off the processor.

Line a cookie sheet with baking parchment. Make a ball of half the dough, and put it on the parchment, then put another sheet of parchment over it.

Use your rolling pin to roll the dough out into as thin and even a sheet as you can. Carefully peel off the top sheet of parchment.

Use a straight, thin-bladed knife to score the dough into crackers—I make mine about the size of Wheat Thins. Sprinkle them lightly with salt.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden. Score again before removing from the parchment.

T
ime to shift mental gears: Eggs are good for you. You can eat them daily. Furthermore, the yolk is by far the most nutritious part of the egg. Throw away yolks and you'll toss out all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. If you love fried eggs over easy, with gooey, runny yolks, or soft-boiled eggs with butter melted into them, dig in!

(An idea that's not quite a recipe: I often top warmed-up leftovers with fried eggs to give them new appeal. I find fried eggs improve meat loaf, leftover hot vegetable dishes, whatever.)

Add to this that eggs are comparatively inexpensive, and quick and easy to cook, and you've got a low-carb superfood. And, as this chapter will demonstrate, they are endlessly variable. Have fun, and feel free to serve eggs not only for breakfast, but also for lunch and dinner.

As for cheese, quit with the low-fat stuff already; 1 to 2 ounces (28 to 55 g) of cheese per day will add terrific flavor and nutritional value to your menu. And don't miss the
Backwards Pizza
recipe at the end of this chapter—the crust is made out of, you guessed it, cheese!

I'm assuming you already know how to fry, scramble, and boil eggs; I'm jumping right to something a little more complex.

If I had to choose just one skill to teach to every new low-carber, it would be how to make an omelet. They're fast, they're easy, and they make a wide variety of simple ingredients seem like a meal.

You'll need a good pan: 9 to 10 inches (23 to 25 cm) in diameter, with sloping sides. Nonstick is preferable. If you've been leery of the chemicals used in traditional coatings, take a look at the new ceramic nonstick cookware. It's wonderful.

Have your filling ready. If you're using vegetables, you'll want to sauté them first. If you're using cheese, have it grated or sliced and ready to go. If you're making an omelet to use up leftovers— a great idea, by the way—warm them through in the microwave and have them standing by.

Coat your omelet pan well with cooking spray if it doesn't have a good nonstick surface, and put it over medium-high heat. While the skillet is heating, grab your eggs—two is the perfect number for this size pan, but one or three will work—and a bowl, crack the eggs, and beat them with a fork. Don't add any water or milk or anything, just mix them up.

The pan is hot enough when a drop of water thrown in sizzles instantly. Add the oil or butter, swirl it around to cover the bottom, then pour in the eggs all at once. They should sizzle, too, and immediately start to set. When the bottom layer of egg is set around the edges—this should happen quite quickly—lift the edge using a spatula and tip the pan to let the raw egg flow underneath. Do this all around the edges, until there's not enough raw egg to run.

Now, turn your burner to the lowest heat if you have a gas stove. If you have an electric stove, you'll need a “warm” burner standing by; electric elements don't cool off fast enough for this job. Put your filling on one half of the omelet, cover it, and let it sit over very low heat for a minute or two, no more. Peek and see if the raw, shiny egg is gone from the top surface (although you can serve it that way if you like—that's how the French prefer their omelets), and the cheese, if you've used some, is melted. If not, re-cover the pan and let it go another minute or two.

When your omelet is done, slip a spatula under the half without the filling and fold it over; then lift the whole thing onto a plate. Or you can get fancy and tip the pan, letting the filling side of the omelet slide onto the plate, folding the top over as you go, but this takes some practice.

This makes a single-serving omelet. I think it's easier to make several individual omelets than to make one big one, and omelets are so quick to make that it's not a big deal. Anyway, that way you can customize your omelets to each individual's taste. If you're making more than two or three omelets, keep them warm in your oven, set to its very lowest heat.

Now here are some ideas for what to put in your omelets!

The cheese and avocado combination is my favorite omelet. Avocados are so good for you—loaded with the healthiest of fats, and the best-ever source of potassium, which is why they're the one exception to the only-5-grams-at-a-time carb rule. Enjoy them often!

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons butter

1 ounce (28 g) Monterey Jack, pepper Jack, or Cheddar cheese, sliced or shredded

1
/
2
avocado, sliced

YIELD:
1 serving 372 calories; 32 g fat; 19 g protein; 7 g carbohydrate; 3 g dietary fiber per serving

Just make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
. Add the cheese, turn the burner to low, cover, and let the cheese melt. Add the avocado just before folding.

I had leftover buffalo wing sauce and thought of this. It turned out great! You could use bottled buffalo wing sauce if you have some on hand, but half-and-half, melted butter, and Frank's RedHot is the canonical recipe.

1
1
/
2
teaspoons bacon grease

2 eggs, beaten

3 tablespoons (24 g) crumbled blue cheese

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

1 tablespoon (15 ml) hot sauce (preferably Frank's RedHot, or Tabasco or Louisiana brand)

YIELD:
1 serving 384 calories: 34 g fat; 17 g protein; 2 g carbohydrate; 0 g dietary fiber per serving

Make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
using the bacon grease for the fat. Fill with the blue cheese.

While your omelet is covered on low heat, melting the cheese, melt the butter with the Tabasco sauce in a small saucepan or nuke for a minute in a custard cup. Stir them together well.

When your omelet's done, fold and plate, and then top with the sauce and eat. Yummy!

If you can't find kasseri, you can just double the feta. Or you can substitute shredded Romano; I find the flavor similar.

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons (20 g) crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons (14 g) shredded kasseri cheese

1
/
2
cup (28 g) chopped fresh spinach or baby spinach leaves

4 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

YIELD:
1 serving 457 calories; 40 g fat; 21 g protein; 4 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
, using the olive oil for the fat. Layer in the cheeses, then the spinach, with the chopped olives on top. Let it cook till the cheese is hot and the spinach just starting to wilt a bit.

One of the few high-carb meals I miss is the turkey club sandwich, so here's the omelet equivalent. I developed this using deli turkey, but what a great breakfast for the weekend after Thanksgiving!

2 slices bacon

2 ounces (55 g) sliced turkey breast

1
/
2
small tomato

1 scallion

2 eggs

1 tablespoon (14 g) mayonnaise

YIELD:
1 serving 383 calories; 28 g fat; 29 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

Cook and drain your bacon—I like to microwave mine and crumble it up. Cut the turkey into small squares, and slice the tomato and scallion.

Beat the eggs, and make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
, using a couple of spoonfuls of the bacon grease. Add just the bacon and turkey before covering. Once it's cooked to your liking, sprinkle the tomato and scallion over the meat, spread the mayonnaise on the other side, fold, and serve.

I've had breakfast down near the waterfront in San Diego. This is what it tastes like. Beachfront ambience is up to you.

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

2 eggs, beaten

2 ounces (55 g) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1
/
4
avocado, sliced

1
/
4
cup (4 g) alfalfa sprouts

YIELD:
1 serving 545 calories; 47 g fat; 26 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

Make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
, placing the Monterey Jack over half of your omelet when you're ready to add the filling. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook until the cheese is melted (2 to 3 minutes). Arrange the avocado and sprouts over the cheese, and follow the directions to finish making the omelet.

Hey, don't make that face! Some of us love liverwurst! And this is an easy way to get the extraordinary nutrition of liver into your diet. Read the labels, by the way—my grocery store carries two brands of braunschweiger, one with just 1 gram of carb per serving, and one with 4 grams. Yeesh.

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

2 eggs, beaten

2 ounces (55 g) braunschweiger (liverwurst), mashed a bit with a fork

1
/
4
medium ripe tomato, sliced

Mayonnaise (optional)

YIELD:
1 serving 443 calories; 39 g fat; 19 g protein; 4 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Make your omelet according to
Dana's Easy Omelet Method
, spooning the mashed braunschweiger over half of your omelet and topping with the tomato slices. If you'd like to gild the lily, a dollop of mayonnaise is good on top of this.

Named for the cheese, not the town, though this has a sort of California feel to me. This would make a nice quick supper.

2 canned artichoke hearts

2 scallions

1 ounce (28 g) Monterey Jack cheese

3 eggs

1 teaspoon pesto sauce

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

YIELD:
2 servings 449 calories; 36 g fat; 26 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Thinly slice your artichoke hearts, slice your scallions, shred your cheese and have them standing by. Scramble up your eggs with the pesto until it is completely blended in.

Give your medium skillet a squirt of nonstick cooking spray, and put it over medium-high heat. Add the butter and let it melt.

Throw your veggies in the skillet, and pour the eggs in on top of them. Scramble it all together, until the eggs are set almost to your liking. Scatter the cheese over the top, cover the skillet, turn off the burner, and let the residual heat melt the cheese and finish cooking the eggs.

Sounds fancy, I know, but this takes almost no time and is very impressive. It's terrific to make for a special brunch or a late-night supper. A simple green salad with a classic vinaigrette dressing would be perfect with this.

4 eggs

1
/
2
cup (120 ml) heavy cream

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

4 scallions

4 ounces (115 g) chèvre (goat cheese)

4 ounces (115 g) moist smoked salmon

1 to 2 tablespoons (14 to 28 g) butter

YIELD:
3 servings 407 calories; 31 g fat; 27 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving

Whisk the eggs together with the cream and dill. Slice the scallions thin, including the crisp part of the green. Cut the chèvre—it will have a texture similar to cream cheese—into little hunks. Coarsely crumble the smoked salmon.

In a large (preferably nonstick) skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. (If your skillet doesn't have a nonstick surface, give it a shot of nonstick cooking spray before adding the butter.) When the butter's melted, add the scallions first, and sauté them for just a minute. Add the egg mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until the eggs are halfway set—about 60 to 90 seconds. Add the chèvre and smoked salmon, continue cooking and stirring until the eggs are set, and serve.

This is so simple and so wonderful. If you like Italian food, you have to try this. It's also easy to double or triple. You can use whole, dried rosemary, but you'll have little needles in your food. If you do use whole rosemary, increase the amount to 2 teaspoons.

6 eggs

1
/
2
cup (50 g) grated Parmesan cheese

1
/
4
cup (60 ml) heavy cream

1 teaspoon ground rosemary

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon (14 g) butter

YIELD:
2 servings 448 calories; 36 g fat; 26 g protein; 4 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber per serving

Whisk together the eggs, cheese, cream, rosemary, and garlic. Put a large skillet over medium-high heat (if it isn't nonstick, give it a shot of nonstick cooking spray first). When the pan is hot, add the butter, give the egg mixture one last stir to make sure the cheese hasn't settled to the bottom, then pour the egg mixture into the skillet. Scramble until the eggs are set, and serve.

The frittata is the Italian version of the omelet, and it involves no folding! If you're still intimidated by omelets, try a frittata. This is a good family supper. It's also good for making ahead, so you can just microwave a slice in the morning.

4 ounces (115 g) bulk pork sausage

1
/
4
cup (38 g) diced green bell pepper

1
/
4
cup (38 g) diced red bell pepper

1
/
4
cup (40 g) diced sweet red onion

1
/
4
cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon original flavor Mrs. Dash

8 eggs, beaten

YIELD:
4 servings 279 calories; 22 g fat; 16 g protein; 4 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber per serving