Chicken : Low Carb : Keto : Three Delicious Recipe Choices

Chicken's many plus points - its versatility, as well as the ease and speed with which it can be cooked - make it one of the most popular meats around. It has a high level of good quality protein, as well as B vitamins, iron, copper and selenium.
The pale flesh has a close texture and a mild flavour that pairs up well with many different ingredients. Never eat raw chicken, and always thoroughly wash your hands, utensils and cutting board as soon as you've cut or handled raw chicken.
Here are three popular low carb/keto chicken dishes you may wish to try:-

Chicken and mushrooms with tomato cream sauce

Ingredients

Serves Four

4g net carbs per serving

4 chicken breasts (without skin)

sea salt and ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp salted butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

225 ml heavy whipping cream

75 g finely grated parmesan cheese

110 g fresh, diced tomatoes

fresh basil, for garnish

Instructions can be seen here

Chicken with mushrooms and Parmesan 
Ingredients

Serves Four

6g net carbs per serving

2 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil

650 g boneless chicken thighs

salt and pepper

225 g baby bella mushrooms, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

350 ml heavy (double) whipping cream

50 g parmesan cheese, grated

1 tsp fresh parsley

Instructions can be seen here

Cauliflower Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients

10g net carbs per serving

Serves Four

150 g bacon, diced

650 g chicken breasts (without skin)

50 g butter

4 garlic cloves

200 g baby spinach

350 ml heavy (double) whipping cream

110 g grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

550 g cauliflower

Instructions can be seen here

As my blogging friend Debbie would say; if you love chicken you will love these recipes; definitely a case of winner, winner, chicken dinner!

I wonder which of the above three recipes may you try first?

Alternative Recipe Suggestions
For our vegetarian and vegan readers, why not have a look at these recipe suggestions;
Vegetarian Choices, five recipe suggestions can be seen here
Mushroom Bourguignon with Celeriac Mash, more details here
Vegan Choices, lower carb recipe suggestions can be seen here

Lentil Shepherd's Pie, more details here 

Dear reader, you will find a variety of articles and recipe ideas within this blog. It is important to note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter. 

All the best Jan

Intense Chocolate Pots : A Lower Sugar Treat

Sometimes we all need a treat, and this dessert is just that! It's a low-sugar treat. The vanilla increases the sense of sweetness, as would other flavourings such as finely grated orange zest or a pinch of ground cinnamon. This rich dish can also be chilled in smaller containers such as egg cups or as squares in a large ice-cube tray. 

Ingredients:
80g/3oz dark chocolate (80% cocoa solids), cut into small pieces
120ml/4fl oz double (heavy) cream
2 drops vanilla extract 
Method:
1. Divide the chocolate and cream between four ramekins. Microwave on a medium heat for 20 seconds. Stir the mixture with a fork until combined. If there are still lumps of chocolate after stirring, microwave for another 5–10 seconds.
2. Stir in the vanilla, cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 1 hour, or until set. 
Each serving provides:

1.5g protein, 12.5g carbohydrates, 22g fat, 0.5g fibre 

From original idea here 

Some Other Mousse and Dessert Type Recipes 

There's a Mousse in the Housse, and it's Low Carb
Did you like my play on words? There's definitely low carb mousse in our house!
With quite a selection of mousse's to choose from - see here

Chocolate : Vegan : Low Carb : Desserts

Two nice recipe suggestions for you - see here 

However, you may not want to do any baking, so why not just enjoy a square of dark chocolate. Many studies have shown that dark chocolate is incredibly healthy, and may reduce your risk of several diseases. Dark chocolate is loaded with fibre and antioxidants, as well as minerals such as iron, magnesium, copper and manganese. Plant compounds in dark chocolate have been shown to lower blood pressure, protect against heart disease, improve brain function and protect the skin against the sun’s harmful UV-rays. To make the most of the health benefits, it is recommended to eat dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70–85% or higher. A piece of dark chocolate is especially delicious when enjoyed with a good cup of coffee.

Bottom line: Dark chocolate contains high amounts of fibre, antioxidants and minerals. It may reduce the risk of heart disease, improve brain function and protect the skin from the sun, read more here 

Related Posts
There are times when only chocolate will do, see here
Chocolate Treats, the LCHF way, see here
Low Carb Chocolate Cookie / Biscuits, see here 

Dear reader, we bring a variety of articles and recipe/food suggestions to this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter. 

All the best Jan

DIABETES NEWS AMERICA : Top health insurer to launch lifestyle-based program for controlling type 2 diabetes

Franziska Spritzler RD CDE at Diet Doctor Site writes: 

"Top health insurer to launch lifestyle-based program for controlling type 2 diabetes. 

A lifestyle-based program dedicated to improving type 2 diabetes control — and potentially achieving diabetes remission — will soon be offered to hundreds of thousands of Americans insured with UnitedHealthcare.

As reported in a recent article by diabetes advocacy group diaTribe, UnitedHealthcare members who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the past 24 months are eligible for the Level2 program. Those who enroll in Level2 will be provided with a Dexcom G6, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) that tracks blood sugars in real time, along with a FitBit device that records daily activity.

In addition, participants will be given an app that allows them to receive personalized remote coaching from dietitians, nurses, and other diabetes specialists at no additional cost.

In a press release discussing an unpublished pilot study of 790 people who completed Level2, UnitedHealthcare reported that some participants achieved diabetes remission, which the study defined as an HbA1c below 7% without taking medication. According to that press release, to date, the program has helped eliminate the need for more than 450 prescriptions among participants.

At Diet Doctor, we view this as another sign of the paradigm shift away from diabetes medications and toward a lifestyle approach that not only improves blood sugar control but may in fact lead to diabetes remission.

Although insurance companies often cover CGMs for people with type 1 diabetes, they do so far less often for those with type 2 diabetes. So we think it’s exciting that a leading healthcare insurer is providing CGMs to people with type 2 diabetes so they can learn how different foods and activity affect their blood sugar.

With their CGM data, along with personalized coaching and support, they’ll be able to figure out what they need to do to keep their blood sugar well controlled at all times — not just first thing in the morning or two hours after eating. For most people with type 2 diabetes, blood sugar control improves when following a low-carb lifestyle.

We applaud UnitedHealthcare for taking this major step, and we hope that other health insurers will soon offer similar programs to their members with type 2 diabetes."

Words and picture above from here

Diabetes News : Related Posts

New study shows low carb outperforms standard care for type 2 diabetes - here 

American Diabetes Association CEO manages her diabetes with a low-carb diet - here

Diabetes Canada publishes paper endorsing a low-carb option - here
New “real world” study confirms benefits of a self-selected low-carb lifestyle for type 2 diabetes - here
How Low Carb Can Help, plus a favourite low carb recipe - here
Introduction to low-carb for beginners - here

This blog brings a variety of articles and recipe ideas, and it is important to note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use a reliable meter.

All the best Jan

Ya gotta larf.

Eddie

Banana Blueberry Pancake : Lower Carb

Regular readers may recall our youngest grandson loves helping out as can be seen on this older post here, but oh dear, he did get rather wet didn't he! 

Another thing he loves doing is eating pancakes, and I share a recipe that you may like too! 

In fact, a few ingredients are all you need to make this fast and delicious lower-carb pancake. The sugar content is reduced when the banana is not yet very ripe, but the fibre and nutrients remain. The riper the banana, the higher the carbs. Unripe or green bananas have resistant starch that withstands digestion, acting like a soluble fibre and having less impact on blood sugar and insulin release.

Ingredients

One Serving - 4 small pancakes

43g Fat  13g Protein  18g Net Carbs

Pancakes
1 medium unripe banana, mashed
2 eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp (5 g) baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp butter, or ghee for frying
30 g fresh blueberries or frozen
Serving
2 tbsp butter

Recipe Instructions

can be seen here

Blueberries (and blue fruits) are tasty and packed with nutrients. They’re low in calories, high in fibre, and loaded with essential micronutrients, such as manganese and vitamins C and K. These delicious berries are also high in anthocyanins, which are potent antioxidants that help defend your cells against harm from unstable molecules called free radicals. Additionally, research indicates that diets high in anthocyanins from blueberries and other fruits and vegetables may help prevent chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and brain conditions like Alzheimer’s.

Readers, we bring a variety of articles, studies etc. plus recent news/views and recipe ideas to this blog, we hope something for everyone to read and enjoy. Please note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

Stilton ... Britain's Historic Blue Cheese, and some recipes

The history of Stilton can be traced back to the early 18th century and although it is clear that the recipe used has changed quite dramatically over the years it remains one of the world’s best known and much loved cheeses. Since 1996, Stilton has borne European Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. This means that it can only be made in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, and producers have to follow traditional recipes that have been around for generations.

Stilton is a creamy, strong-flavoured British blue cheese. Read more and find out how to buy the very best stilton, plus how to store, cook and serve it.

What is stilton? 

A true glory of British cheese-making that has much controversy about its origins, how it’s made, where it’s made and how it’s best eaten. 

Stilton is a large, tall round of lightly pressed cheese with a rugged grey crust; its creamy to golden-yellow body is tangled with savoury blue-green veins. Originally made with unpasteurised milk, most stiltons are now made with pasteurised and the difference on the palate is marked.

How to cook stilton 

Adding a crumble of stilton at the last minute to a sauce or onto pasta or a baked potato can be interesting but take care not to heat stilton too much, as warmth increases the cheese’s inherent bitterness and changes the flavour.

The savouriness of stilton makes a great addition in small cubes to a salad and it makes for a great pairing with sweeter stone fruits. It is very amenable to combining with butter, which softens its salty savouriness. A dribble of fine, clear, floral honey onto stilton is a simple but effective accompaniment. The classic way to eat stilton, of course, is with a glass of port, although other dessert wines such as Tokaji, or Satuternes also pair very well. 

How to store stilton 

Stilton should be kept cool, with any cut surface protected from the air. 

Where to buy stilton 

Stilton is available year round, usually in pre-cut portions but plenty of speciality cheese stores and counters still buy the whole barrel and slice it to order. 

Choose the best stilton 

Stilton cheese, the full-sized one, takes three months to mature to perfection. Those made with rich autumn milk are thought best, hence why stilton is so featured at Christmas time.

A perfect cheese is neither white and chalky, meaning it’s immature; nor yellow and oily, nor with a sharp nose, both of which mean it’s over ripe.

Most stiltons available are pasteurised but a cheese called stichelton is made the same way with unpasteurised milk; try it if you see it and decide which you prefer.

Above information/read more here and here

Some recipes that feature Stilton

Stilton bites, a crisp and refreshing canapé, low carb and gluten free - here

Broccoli and Stilton soup, with a pinch of nutmeg and Stilton croûtons - here

Baked Salmon Steaks with garlic, shredded cabbage and Stilton - see here

Can I offer you a Stilton Bite, see recipe details here

You will find a variety of articles and recipe ideas within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

Lemon Cheesecake : Low Carb : Sugar Free : Gluten Free

I am sharing one of Libby's at 'Ditch The Carbs' site recipes. It is for her sugar-free no-bake lemon cheesecake, a lovely low-carb dessert, which is easy to make and healthy to eat, just 3g net carbs per serving!

Ingredients

Cheesecake Base
2 tsp granulated sweetener of choice or more, to your taste
150 g almond meal/flour
55 g butter melted
50 g desiccated/shredded coconut unsweetened

Lemon Cheesecake Filling
12 g powdered gelatine
2 tbsp granulated sweetener of choice or more, to your taste
200 ml boiling water
200 ml cold water
500 g cream cheese full fat (not the 'spreadable' variety)
4 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice

Recipe Instructions and Video Guide 

can be seen here

If you are just starting a low carb diet/lifestyle you may feel confused with which low carb flours to use. You may never have used any of them before and how to use them properly can be daunting. Low carb flours do not behave like wheat flour, and how to use them in your old regular high carb recipes is a common question. Of course you may also be interested, or want to know more about them. If that is the case then Libby at 'Ditch The Carbs' site has a very good guide, why not read it! Find it here

a cup of tea, or coffee if you'd prefer,

with a slice of cheesecake is so nice!

We bring a variety of recipe ideas to this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

Happy Sunday

Wishing all readers a Happy Sunday
Find time to relax and enjoy your day.

All the best Jan

Wasps : Friend or Foe !

Like them or loathe them, and I don't think many of us do like them, wasps seem to become so annoying at the end of summer - have you ever wondered why?

Seirian Sumner is Professor of Behavioural Ecology at University College London, and she has recently written an article titled 'Why wasps become so annoying at the end of summer' which I now share with you.

"The sausages are sizzling, the burgers browned, and the beer is cold. You’re all set for the perfect end-of-summer BBQ. Alfresco dining, drinks in a garden of a country pub, ice-creams – we grasp at the last shreds of summer, precious times with loved ones before an uncertain winter of local lockdowns and Zoom.

And then an unwanted visitor arrives.

Jazzily dressed, trim-waisted, your uninvited guest is brimming with confidence. She’s carefree and cocky – anyone’s sweet drink is hers for the taking. If you stand in her way or brush her aside, you’ll find she’s got a nasty surprise in her stripy derriere.

As the end of the summer approaches, so does wasp season, when these hated insects start to bother us at our picnics and beer gardens. It happens every year, without fail, and feels especially rude at a time when we’re counting the few days we have left for outdoor, coronavirus-friendly socialising.

There are no silver linings to a pandemic-gripped world. But one thing it has perhaps given us is a word to explain the late-summer antisocial behaviour of wasps: furlough. And as someone who spends their time researching wasps, a word to excuse their bad behaviour is pretty exciting. If you are one of the many people furloughed right now, you are especially well placed to understand the late-summer wasps.

furloughed wasp’s playground, photo credit Jay Si

Worker wasps
Despite appearances, wasps only tend to upset your outdoor life at the end of the summer. There is, in fact, plenty of wasp action throughout the summer, but you are not interesting enough for them to bother with at that time. It is very likely that the wasp you swatted at your BBQ last weekend has spent the summer removing caterpillars from your vegetable patch, or aphids from your tomatoes.

That wasp was part of mother nature’s team of pest controllers: without wasps, we would need to use a lot more pesticide to keep our lettuces whole and tomatoes aphid-free. Wasps are good; they are natural enemies of other (even peskier) insects.

To that hard-working mid-summer wasp, your prosecco luncheons and BBQ beers were a bore, because what she was after was protein. She is a hunter, a worker. In mid-summer, her purpose is to provide her baby siblings with protein. She is a sterile cog in a big superorganismal machine, driven by evolution to pass on her genes by raising siblings. Usually, the protein she hunts is other insects (garden caterpillars or flies). She brings prey to the colony where there are thousands of baby siblings to feed.

She might chew the prey up a little (and perhaps ingest some too) before feeding it directly to a larva, but the bulk of the protein goes to the babies. In return for her hard work, the larva will give her a carbohydrate-rich sugary secretion. This is thought to be the main mode of nutrition for adult worker wasps. Each colony will produce several thousand worker wasps and they are kept very busy for much of the summer feeding these brood; with the drive of a drug addict, they are hooked on the sugary secretions from the lips of their baby siblings.

Summer leave
As summer progresses, the colony grows into a citadel with up to 10,000 workers; concurrent with this growth in worker numbers is brood pupation. When a larva is fully fed (at about two weeks of age), it is ready to metamorphose into a beautiful adult wasp. It will spin its own pupal cap and it no longer needs the care of its adult siblings.

Not all brood pupate at once; there are still many larvae left to feed. But the ratio of workers to larvae shifts, and as summer tips into autumn, this ratio shifts further, leaving more and more workers under-employed and – importantly – without their sibling-administered sugar fix. They have, in effect, been furloughed. And like furloughed humans, their behaviour changes accordingly.

Now they look for sugar away from the colony – often at your picnics. In the absence of those easy sugary feasts, they visit flowers: pollinating, just like bees. In fact, wasps can be as effective at pollination as some bees. In evolutionary terms, your picnic is a relatively novel distraction.

Such behavioural shifts arise in response to the needs of their society; shifting demands are perceived by individual workers and result in changes in how genes are expressed in their brains. Inside these insect brains lie some clues about how helping behaviour evolves and what the molecular machinery is behind it.

A wasp pollinating, photo credit Paul Reeves

Inside wasp brains
My team is researching the molecular machinery underpinning the behaviour of these wasps to understand how and why social traits evolve. The worker wasps you see at your picnic are part of one of the most complex biological products of evolution found in the natural world: a superorganismal colony.

Just like a honeybee hive, each colony is headed by a single mother queen who lays all the eggs; her early season offspring are the sterile workers who help raise more brood and eventually rear the “sexuals” (males and next year’s queens). The queen, workers and sexuals all look and behave very differently, so much so that you might mistake them for different species. They depend on each other as different components of the superorganismal “machine”. What is extraordinary is that they are all produced from the same building blocks – they have a shared genome. This is possible because genes are expressed differently.

Understanding how genomes evolve to produce such contrasting but integrated components of a superorganism remains one of the big outstanding questions in evolutionary biology. That wasp at your picnic is a highly honed product of evolution with an important role in a society that outstrips our own in complexity and coordination.

No one likes their picnic plagued with wasps, but with some understanding of the biology behind their behaviour, everyone can adapt to respect them. The pandemic has forced changes in our own behaviour and we have adapted. If there are any silver linings to the challenges we currently face, perhaps one is that we can empathise a bit more with these misunderstood and important insects."

Words/pictures and more from original article here

Now if you may have a picnic or late summer BBQ planned, I hope you find it wasp free, and if you should be looking for lower carb burger recipes, have a look here and here

You will find a variety of articles and recipe ideas within this blog, but not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

Tumbet : A Tasty Vegetarian Dish !

Similar to a French ratatouille, Tumbet is a traditional dish from Mallorca, Spain, in which vegetables such as tomatoes, aubergine (eggplant) and bell peppers simply sing of summer. The inclusion of potatoes makes it hearty enough for a vegetarian main, although it is also delicious served as a side to roast or grilled meats. If your tomatoes are ripe enough, you can prepare them for this dish the Spanish way. Instead of peeling and chopping them, you can slice them in half crosswise, then rub the cut sides against a handheld grater. 

So why not take yourself on holiday to Mallorca in the comfort of your own kitchen with this dish of layers of roasted vegetables. This recipe is by 'The Hairy Bikers.' The Hairy Bikers are "David Myers and Simon King, two northern blokes with a passion for cooking and food."

Ingredients

Serves Four

2 medium aubergines (eggplants), cut into 1.5cm/⅝in rounds
up to 200ml/7fl oz olive oil
2 medium courgettes (zucchini), cut into 2cm/¾in slices
500g/1lb 2oz large waxy potatoes (such as Charlotte), thinly sliced (around 3mm/⅛in) - you may prefer to swap with swede for a lower carb choice
2 roasted red peppers (from a jar), cut into strips
small bunch fresh oregano
small bunch fresh basil
For the sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
400g/14oz ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch sugar (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6.

2. Arrange the aubergine (eggplant) slices on a large baking tray and brush with olive oil. Season with salt. Roast for 20–25 minutes, or until softened and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3. Pour a 5mm/¼in thick layer of olive oil in the base of a large, heavy-based frying pan. Fry the courgettes on a medium heat, for a couple of minutes on each side, then remove and drain onto kitchen towel. Season lightly with salt.
4. Add the potato slices to the frying pan and fry on both sides until they are softened all the way through and a very light golden colour around the edges. This will take up to 10 minutes. Drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper.
5. To make the sauce, put the olive oil in a saucepan and add the garlic. Cook for 3–4 minutes on a low–medium heat until soft and aromatic, then add the tomatoes and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook gently, uncovered, until well reduced – around 25 minutes. Taste after 10 minutes – if the sauce tastes acidic, add a pinch of sugar.
7. Reduce the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.

8. To assemble, spread a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce in the base of an oven dish. Sprinkle over some fresh oregano and basil leaves. Top with all the aubergines.

9. Add more tomato sauce, then sprinkle with more herbs and add the courgettes. Repeat with more tomato sauce, more herbs and the peppers, then finish with the last of the tomato sauce and herbs, and top with the potatoes.

10. Sprinkle over more salt and pepper and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, or until the potatoes are crisp and browned and the vegetables underneath are tender.

Recipe Tips/Suggestions

Using fresh (rather than tinned) tomatoes really makes a difference here – it’s mellower and creamier.

You may prefer to swap potato with swede for a lower carb choice

From original recipe here

Some Other Recipes To Try

Panhaggerty, it's a one-pot wonder, - see here

Sausage Casserole, it's great, - see here

Celeriac and Apple Soup with Bacon and Parsley, see here

Posh Roasted Vegetable - see here

You will find a variety of articles and recipe ideas within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

September ... Did You Know !

September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, coming between August and October. It has 30 days. Its name comes from the Latin word sept for "seven" (it was the seventh month of the year, before January and February were added to the beginning of the year.)

September begins on the same day of the week as December every year, as each day in September and its equivalent in December are 91 days (13 weeks) apart.

In the old Roman calendar, September was the seventh month, which is where it got its name ("Septem" means "seventh"). The ninth month at the time was November ("Novem" means "ninth"). With Julius Caesar's calendar reform, September became the ninth month, with 30 days. September comes after August and before October.

An equinox occurs in September, either on the 22nd or 23rd, meaning there are days and nights of about equal length, half way between the June and December solstices. In the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn (Fall) begins in this month, while in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the beginning of Spring. 

In most Northern Hemisphere countries, school starts in this month, following the summer holidays. (In 2020 Covid 19 has affected school attendance with many pupils studying at home with online sessions).

In Ancient Greece, September was called Boedromion. The Anglo-Saxons called it Gerstmonath, meaning "Barley month", referring to the harvest. In other countries, it is referred to as Autumn Month, such as in Finland (Syyskuu) and German-speaking parts of Switzerland (Herbstmonat). 

The birth stone for September is the sapphire, symbolising clear thinking. 

The birth flowers for the month are the forget-me-not (picture above), morning glory and aster.

The Zodiac signs for September are Virgo (August 23 – September 23) and Libra (September 24 – October 23).

In the English language, September comes last alphabetically out of all the months of the year.

Also in the English language, September has the longest name of all the months of the year, with nine letters. Coincidentally, it is also the ninth month.
September is the first of four months in-a-row to have a name ending in "ber", with the last three months of the year, October, November and December, also doing so.

The above and more to read with all reference links here

September 5th is National Cheese Pizza Day, so have your ingredients and recipe ready!

Pizza Night ... the Low Carb Way

more details here

Dear reader, you will find a variety of articles and recipe ideas within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

‘Meatball Moussaka’ in a frying pan : Makes a good mid-week meal

In these times of Covid 19 food shopping has definitely changed. Some folks are still finding shortages of certain items, whereas others are finding prices are creeping up. Face masks seem to be worn in most countries, and it is still quite usual to wait in queues (social distancing of course) before you can get into a supermarket.

Here in the UK our supermarkets do still have some special offers on items, which are always worth keeping an eye open for. I do like to keep a selection of frozen vegetables and meat handy in the freezer, I find there are times when it can come in so useful.

For example take this recipe suggestion, it's for a meatball moussaka made in a frying pan. Wonderful for a mid-week meal, it uses frozen vegetables and a pack of meatballs (which I happened to have in the freezer - just had to defrost them).This is a tasty and quick meal, you can have it on the table in about thirty minutes. 

Ingredients

Serves Four

1 x 500g pack frozen chargrilled Mediterranean vegetables
1 tbsp olive oil
1 x 350g pack lamb meatballs - use gluten-free meatballs if required
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried mint
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
250g (low fat) Greek-style natural yogurt
1 large egg, beaten
100g Greek-style cheese, crumbled, optional

Method

1. Preheat the grill, spread out the frozen Mediterranean vegetables on a large baking tray and grill for 8-10 minutes, turning half-way.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the meatballs and onion over a medium heat for 5-7 minutes, turning the meatballs occasionally to brown all over. Stir in the garlic, mint and cinnamon and fry, stirring, for a further 2 minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes with a splash of water and simmer for 10 minutes. In a bowl, mix the yogurt, egg and some seasoning to make the topping.
4. Layer the chargrilled veg on top of the meatballs and sauce in the frying pan (or transfer to a baking dish if your pan isn’t ovenproof), then spoon on the topping. Scatter over the Greek-style cheese if using, and pop under the grill until the topping starts to turn golden brown, then serve, perhaps with a nice leafy green salad.

Nutrition

Per serving: Fat 22g Protein 29g Carbs 24g

From original idea here

Some other recipes you may like

Vegan power-balls with courgetti and cashew cheese - see here
Lemon and Oregano Greek Meatball Salad - see here

Swedish Meatballs - see here
Chicken meatballs with cauliflower mash - see here
Pork and Apple Meatballs, tasty served with a lower carb mash - see here
Italian Meatballs with Mozzarella Cheese, low carb and delicious - see here

We bring a variety of recipe ideas to this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

A Quick Minestrone Soup

Hard to believe that we are now in the ninth month of the year. Here in the UK the temperatures seem to be dropping slightly and the nights are drawing in; having said that we could be in a heatwave again next week, the weather sure can be changeable sometimes! But with cooler temperatures I thought it would be nice to share a soup recipe, this one is from Angela Hartnett who is one of the most high-profile women in the restaurant world and one of the brightest talents to have emerged on the UK food scene in the past few years. She is a protégée of Gordon Ramsay and was made famous by her appearances on British television.

This recipe suggestion from Angela is for a quick and healthy minestrone soup which uses white beans rather than pasta for extra protein and flavour.

Ingredients

Serves Four
4 tbsp olive oil
2 large carrots, diced
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
pinch dried red chilli flakes
200g/7oz tinned white beans, such as haricot, also known as white navy beans (drained weight)
500ml/18fl oz vegetable or chicken stock
100g/3½oz Parmesan (or alternative vegetarian hard cheese), finely grated, to serve
250g/9oz kale, stalks removed, roughly chopped
handful fresh flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped

Serving Suggestions

ciabatta bread*, cut into slices, 

or Low Carb Zucchini/Courgette Ciabatta - see here

or Focaccia Bread, low carb and gluten free - see here

Method

1. Heat a dash of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the carrots, onion, celery, garlic and chilli flakes. Fry until softened, then tip in the beans and stock. Stir, bring to a simmer and cook for 5–8 minutes, or until cooked through.
2. Preheat the grill until hot. Toast both sides of the ciabatta slices*. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and toast until melted.
3. Stir the kale and parsley into the soup just before serving. Serve the soup in warm bowls with the Parmesan toasts.

From original idea here

Some other soups you may like 
Creamy Cauliflower Soup, it's low in carbs - here

Celeriac and Bramley Apple Soup, welcome on a cooler day - here

Cheezy Vegan Broccoli Soup - here

Dear reader, a variety of articles and recipe suggestions are found within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

DIABETES NEWS : Type 2 Diabetes : A Diet Low in Refined Carbohydrates may help say experts

Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE on Diet Doctor site writes
Once again, low-carb diets are getting good press — this time, on a major Irish news website:

The Irish Times: Type 2 diabetes: A diet low in refined carbohydrates may help, say experts

The piece features a 2020 narrative review on low-carb diets for people with type 2 diabetes or obesity. The review — written by Irish dietitian Tara Kelly, Irish endocrinologist Francis Finucane, and UK physician David Unwin — discusses the many benefits of carb reduction for managing blood sugar and weight. In addition, it emphasizes the importance of working with medical professionals to reduce or eliminate diabetes medications and monitor heart disease risk factors when eating low carb.

Praise for low-carb diets also came from Professor Carel le Roux, a clinical researcher and metabolic health expert at University College Dublin. “Reducing sugar and starch-containing carbohydrates can improve diabetes control, promoting sustained weight loss and less medication for patients,” he told The Irish Times.

Acknowledging the growing interest in pairing low-carb education with technology, the article mentions the impressive two-year results from Virta Health’s clinical trial in people with type 2 diabetes using a web-based app.

It also features the recent launch of Gro Health, an online app from UK-based Diabetes Digital Media (DDM) that provides patients with low-carb guidance and support for achieving type 2 diabetes remission.

Additionally, it hints that more diabetes professionals seem open to a low-carb option. Pauline Dunne, senior dietitian at Diabetes Ireland, voiced support for the Gro Health app and stated that although a single approach doesn’t work for everyone, low carb is one of many diet patterns endorsed by the American Diabetes Association.

The article concludes, “A low-carb approach may have an important role to play in both managing type 2 diabetes and in challenging the perception that type 2 diabetes is lifelong and progressive.”

At Diet Doctor, we’re encouraged to see a pro-low-carb article published by a major Irish news source. We hope that this type of mainstream coverage helps persuade more people to consider carb reduction to reverse type 2 diabetes.

All above words from article here

Diabetes News : Related Posts
Diabetes Canada publishes paper endorsing a low-carb option - here
New “real world” study confirms benefits of a self-selected low-carb lifestyle for type 2 diabetes - here
How Low Carb Can Help, plus a favourite low carb recipe - here
Introduction to low-carb for beginners - here

This blog brings a variety of articles and recipe ideas, and it is important to note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use a reliable meter.

All the best Jan

Crispy Chicken with creamy Dijon lemon dressing: Keto : Low Carb

Now ... if you are a fan of juicy, flavourful, tasty chicken, I'm sure you will like this satisfyingly filling salad. The secret in this recipe is the dressing that combines the fat and juices from the chicken. The combination of spicy Dijon mustard and the freshness of lemon juice will surprise and delight your taste buds. 

Ingredients

Serves Four

5g net carbs per serving
Chicken
2 1⁄3 lbs (1 Kg) chicken thighs (bone-in with skin)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
½ tbsp salt
½ tbsp ground black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
Dijon lemon dressing
The juices from the chicken
¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
½ lemon, juice and zest
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Serving
12 oz. (350g) tomatoes, cut into wedges (about 4 oz. per tomato)
4 oz. (110g) leafy greens

Recipe instructions

can be seen here
Looking for more Low Carb/Keto Chicken Recipes
please see here

Italian Seasoning Recipe

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons dried rosemary

2 tablespoons dried thyme

2 tablespoons dried marjoram

more details here

For our vegetarian and vegan readers, why not have a look at these recipe suggestions:
Vegetarian Choices, five recipe suggestions can be seen here
Vegan Choices, lower carb recipe suggestions can be seen here 

A variety of recipe ideas are found within this blog. Please note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan