My endocrinologist has asked me to follow a 50g of carbs or less daily diet for the next two months. I did the low carb thing years and years ago when the Atkins diet was just starting to be known. It was the most miserable year of eating I have ever experienced. I felt like everything was a 'No, you can't have that!' and almost nothing I liked was a, 'Yes, you can.'
Since I had my gallbladder taken out several years ago, my body just does not process highly fatty foods very well at all. I am almost instantly sick if I try to eat something fried or heavily oiled. I am also lactose intolerant, so that takes out a lot of the traditional dairy meals and snacks. Dairy alternatives have come a long way, but some dairy items are just not replaceable. I can thankfully take Lactaid to stave off most of the negative side effects from dairy for a good number of ingredients. I left the heavy cream in the recipe below, and I desperately regretted it. I will be switching it to an oat cream or a coconut cream next time.
This dish was inspired by a Moussaka recipe in the Going Greek on Keto cookbook by Nicholas Diakos.
We made some changes to suit our tastes and line up more with the ingredients we had on hand as well. I do not like egg plant, so I switched that out with thin slices of zucchini. We switched the ground lamb to ground pork to help prevent my wife's gout from flaring up due to red meat. I also used some of my home canned spicy marinara instead of store bought tomato sauce to reduce both sugar and salt.
Low Carb Moussaka
Ingredients
1 pound ground pork
2 large zucchini squash sliced thin
1 medium onion diced
1 pint home canned spicy marinara
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon Italian herbs
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon lite salt
Additional pinch of Italian herbs and red pepper flakes for final seasoning (optional)
1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Brown ground pork in a skillet over medium heat. You could also use pork sausage, but be aware there may be added sugar and salt in pre-made sausage. While the meat is browning, slice the zucchini into either thin strips (think lasagna noodles) or thin rounds using a mandolin.
3) Add tomato sauce, spices, and herbs to meat and turn down on low to simmer stirring occasionally.
4) In a saucepan, heat heavy cream on medium low heat. Add a small shake of nutmeg. Stir in Parmesan and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella until melted and smooth. Remove cheese sauce from heat and take a small amount of the sauce out into a separate bowl to use to temper the egg so that it does not scramble. Add egg mix back to saucepan stirring until incorporated. Meat sauce should be done now.
5) Spray casserole dish with oil of your choice or non-stick spray. Put down a layer of sliced squash. Next add layer of the meat sauce and then a layer of cheese sauce. Sprinkle a thin layer of mozzarella over top of cheese sauce. Add second layer of each ingredient ending with your second layer of mozzarella. Sprinkle top with a shake or two of Italian herbs and a shake of red pepper flakes (optional).
6) Bake for 25-35 minutes until cheese on top is a golden brown. Let cool for about 10-12 minutes before eating so cheese sauce will thicken.
Nutritional Info
Calories per serving 450
Net Carbs 8g
Total Carbs 9g
Fiber 2g
Protein 21g
Fat 37g
After Cooking/Meal Notes:
Next time, we think we would use a cottage cheese and egg mixture in place of the cheese sauce like we do in lasagna.
We also prefer more vegetables, so we would add diced mushrooms to the meat sauce and put in another layer of sliced squash as well.
