Maker Monday: Kitchen Witchery: Adventures in Low Carb Cooking - Moussaka

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.

Maker Monday: Fast, Healthy, and Flavorful Breakfast Ideas - Protein Tubs

I saw the video below on Facebook showing how to use Greek yogurt and protein powder to make  breakfast bowls. I am not much on breakfast. I'm not awake enough most weekday mornings to appreciate a good breakfast, and if I am not going to have a good breakfast I'd rather skip it. And let's be honest, for a lot of us, the extra half hour of sleep we can exchange for the time it would take to prepare and eat breakfast is worth skipping the meal. I usually toss a protein bar or an apple or banana in my bag and head to work.


When I saw this video, I instantly thought it was a great idea. I have tried so many different brands and flavors of meal replacement shakes. Some of the pre-mixed ones are okay, but they are really expensive. The cost is lower if you just buy the powder and add your own liquid, but the consistency is just awful. No matter how thoroughly or long I mix the powder into the water or milk, it seems to be both watery and clump. The powder settles to the bottom so that occasionally you will get a big mushy clump of protein powder with barely flavored milk/water. It is not pleasant. I like the idea of an almost instant meal, but the texture inconsistencies get me every time.

So, when I saw that they mix the protein powder into plain Greek yogurt, I saw that this very well might solve my texture issue while helping me create a very fast, flavorful, healthy breakfast alternative. Last night I decided to put together a couple just to try. I already had some slim fast breakfast shake mix in my cupboard, and I picked up some fresh  yogurt on our grocery trip earlier in the day (I love plain yogurt on pretty much anything you would normally use sour cream or Miracle Whip).

Once the scoop of protein shake mix is added to a cup of Greek yogurt and mixed well, the yogurt has a very fluffy, whipped texture. It's almost like a dense chocolate mousse. I really like the extra tang that the yogurt adds to the flavor too. I have never liked any of the flavors of protein shakes other than chocolate for drinking, but I could see really enjoying vanilla, strawberry, or caramel as a yogurt/mousse flavor. I slice two to three strawberries to go with each serving and stored them in my Rubbermaid Takealong containers that have the removable trays to keep the fruit from getting soggy. I think I might try some almond slivers, granola, or maybe some dried fruit as mix-ins for some later in the week.

Maker Monday: Fast, Healthy, and Flavorful Breakfast Ideas - Nordic Stone Age Snack Bars

 

I really like the convenience of being able to grab a granola or protein bar, stash it in my purse, and go to work or to the park or wherever I am headed. Some are acceptable meal replacements, and some are very enjoyable snacks. Almost all of them have more sugar than I can for or are so dry and flavorless I might as well be eating cardboard. And so very many of them are peanut butter flavored. I like peanut butter a lot, but I do not care for peanut butter flavorings at all.

I have occasionally made my own granola, but I had never attempted to make my own snack bars. I saw a video cross my feed on Facebook describing a homemade bread loaf made from seeds and nuts. I watched the video (posted below) and thought it looked like a great idea for a lower sugar, flavorful alternative snack.




I did decide pretty quickly that I thought I would prefer this in a more easily portable bar or square format. So, instead of putting the whole mix in a loaf pan, I split it into two 8x8 stoneware dishes.

For my snack bars I included:

• 1/2 cup raw slivered almonds 
• 1 cup raw chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup brown flax seeds
• 1/2 cup golden flax seeds
• 1 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 1 Tbsp. clover honey
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 olive oil
• 5 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

Mix all of these ingredients in a bowl and then half between two 8x8 lightly greased baking dishes. I cooked my bars at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. They turned out crisp along the edges and chewy in the middle. I cut one pan into small granola bar size, and I cut the other pan into small squares like I would brownies.

They are chewy and crunchy at the same time, very flavorful, and filling. Next time I might try adding a touch of cinnamon or ginger to the mix just to punch the flavor a bit. I think oats would also be a nice addition. The original recipe did not call for the dried fruits or honey, but I wanted a hint of sweetness without adding too  much. The dried fruits also add some varied texture to the bars as well. I packaged them up into snack bags and popped them in the breadbox so that they will be easy to snag in the mornings on our way to work.