Low Carb Pancakes

Last week I posted this very simple crepe recipe. It's a handy way to get some eggs inside you in the morning. However, if you're willing to go to a little more effort or want something a bit more substantial, try these gorgeous pancakes.

pancakes ala instagram

I'll usually have these with M&S dry cured smoked streaky bacon and sugar-free maple syrup. Like the crepes, these also work well as a dessert option with homemade nutella and mascarpone.

These measurements make about four pancakes. Make more and keep the mixture in the fridge for up to three days. If you find the coconut flour too sweet, just switch it for almond flour.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons coconut flour
2 Large eggs
2 Teaspoons of unsweetened almond milk
1/2 Tablespoon of double cream
Pinch of cinnamon
3 Teaspoons of stevia or another sugar substitute

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients together, whisking well.

2. Put your frying pan on the heat, and melt a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil. I like to use refined oil as it is odourless and tasteless.

Pro-Tip: Fry your rashers first, then cook the pancakes in the same oil for extra bacon-y goodness.

3. Spoon the mixture into the  pan and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Done!

If you're counting carbs make sure to do the math based on the ingredients you've used.

Fillet Steak

Tonight I made fillet steak with some simple sides of steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. I picked up the steak on my way home through The English Market, though for the life of me I can't remember which stall I settled on! I've outlined what I think is the best way to cook steak here.

Also pictured is Le Froglet Shiraz from M&S. It's a light, easy to drink wine which is perfect with steak. Le Froglet is great value for money at only €7, though it definitely benefits from decanting.

Low Carb Milk Alternatives

When you start to think about it, drinking another animal's milk is pretty odd behaviour. Are there any other creatures that do what we do? The fact that babies can't digest cow milk leads one to wonder if that's a sign that we're just not built for it.

As a child I suffered with asthma, and on a nutritionist's advice I stayed away from dairy products for a couple of years. It made massive difference to my breathing, and allowed me to cut down on the inhalers and chemicals I was putting into my body. Though I grew up in the hippy-organic-food-mecca that is West Cork, the options for non-dairy milk were far more limited than they are now. Thankfully, overpriced and oversweet rice milk has given way to gorgeous almond and soya milks which you can get in pretty much any supermarket.

coffee with foamed almond milk

These days I stay away from cow's milk for another reason. Think back to your secondary school science or home economics classes; anything ending in -ose is a sugar, and sugar is a carbohydrate. Cow, goat and sheep milks (even low-fat) all contain lactose.

You can think of your traditional cow's milk as what's left over once all the good stuff has been skimmed off, and you can get more than enough calcium and other good nutrients from cream and cheese, both of which contain far lower levels of carbohydrates.
A cup of full-fat milk will have about 12g of carbohydrates in it, while a cup of double cream will have about 6g. If you're trying to stick to a low-carb diet (less than 20g per day) then even adding milk to your tea or coffee can push you close to your daily limit.

S and I are both into our coffee, and thankfully both almond and soya milk foam beautifully. If you feel like it's still missing something, try mixing a little bit of double cream with water and you really won't know the difference.

There are so many other milk options out there that going without cow's milk is really no challenge at all these days.

Crepes

I'm not a big fan of eggs, I don't like them boiled, fried or scrambled. My mother blames herself for not giving them to me as a child, though she didn't give me wine either and I certainly developed a taste for that.

Eggs are such a great source of protein, and an important part of eating a low-carb diet, so I'm always looking for a way to trick myself into eating them. These crepes are so quick to make, and go with everything.

The recipe below makes three crepes, but it's a great idea to triple the quantities and keep the mixture in the fridge. You'll have three days' worth of breakfast ready to go and a washed out squeezy mayonnaise bottle is a handy dispenser.

Ingredients

2 Large eggs
2 Tablespoons of double cream
1 Teaspoon of vegetable oil

Method

1. Mix everything together in a bowl.

2. Lightly grease the hot frying pan with a small amount of butter or oil, then spoon in the mixture.

3. Give each crepe about a minute on each side.

4. Serve with streaky bacon and sugar-free maple syrup for an American-style breakfast.


Pro-Tip: These crepes also make a great dessert option. Serve with homemade nutella, mascarpone and crushed walnuts or pecans.

Steak

When I lived in Poland, there was this twee Wild West themed steak restaurant in the centre of Łódź. A group of us would go there at least once a fortnight, and sit in Little House On The Pairie-style covered wagons for the sake of their blue cheese steak. It was a wonder.

The cold weather's been making me nostalgic, so tonight I made striploin steak with blue cheese sauce, asparagus and tomatoes. Though there were no wagons or racially insensitive costumes involved.

Below I'll outline what is the absolute best method of cooking steak I have come across, which S picked up from Tim Ferris' book The 4 Hour Body.

Firstly, get the best possible cut of meat you can afford. I know that sounds very Jamie Oliver, but it really is true. Spending even an extra euro will make such a difference.
If you can, go to a butcher and choose your own piece of meat, tell him/her how thick you want it cut.

I think fillet is the best cut of steak, hands down. However, it can be expensive. In that case, striploin is your guy. It's a great cut of steak for frying. It's generally lean, with just enough fat to give the meat some flavour. Ribeye is also a good cut, but tends to have a lot of fat running through it.

I got two gorgeous slices of striploin at Bresnan's in The English Market- they've been trading there since 1898! It was about €13, but in my defence they were very thick slices- easily an inch. Plus, it's not the kind of thing you're going to make every day.

Pretty much the whole meal was purchased in The English Market, apart from the cream. The asparagus and tomatoes came from Superfruit, and the Cashel Blue cheese I used for the sauce was from On The Pig's Back.

Pro-Tip: The meat should be fully at room temperature before cooking. Take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you start.


Ingredients

1 Slice of Striploin Steak per person
Sea salt & Pepper
Olive oil

5 Spears of Asparagus per person
1 bunch of cherry tomatoes on the vine (about 4 per person)

50ml Double Cream
50g Blue Cheese- I used Cashel Blue but Roquefort would work too
1 White Onion, chopped into rings or long pieces


Method

1. Preheat the oven to about 220/430 degrees.

2. In a roasting tin, place the tomatoes and asparagus. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Put them into the oven.

3. Get out your frying pan and put it on a high heat. I use a heavy-bottom cast iron pan as this stays evenly hot. Allow the pan to heat but don't put any oil in it.

4. Pat the steak dry with some paper towel. This sounds weird, but it will make a difference. What you are doing is drying the moisture off the surface the steak so it won't steam once it hits the pan.

5. Season the steak with sea salt, pepper and olive oil. Put it on both sides and massage it in little bit.

6. As soon as the pan is very hot, drop your piece of steak onto it. Let it sit in the same place for 2 minutes (time it, seriously!) and don't move it around the pan. Because you have oiled the steak, it shouldn't stick to even an average quality pan.

7. After two minutes, flip it over and do the same to the other side. It should look a little something like this:

8. Give it another two minutes on the second side, and then you can use tongs to turn it on its pink edge for about 30 seconds. This will caramalise all the edges.

8a. If you're doing another slice of steak, repeat the process- 2 minutes on either side. Don't wash the steak pan, you'll need it for the sauce.

9. Turn the oven down to about 100/220 degrees.

10. Place the steak on some tinfoil on an oven tray. I like to fold up the edges of the tinfoil to create a little box to catch any juices which may run off. You can add these to the sauce later. If you have a meat thermometer stick it into the centre of one of the slices.

10a. For a medium steak I like to let the internal temperature get to about 58-60C (140F) degrees. This takes about 15 minutes. Add another 5 minutes if you would like it well done.

11. Now, get to work on your sauce. Using the steak pan, add a little more oil if needed and begin to fry off the onions.

12. Once the onions have begun to soften, add the cream. Stir. Crumble in the blue cheese and allow to simmer over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has reached a desired thickness (about 5 minutes), take it off the heat. It should look something like this:

11. Once your thermometer beeps (or 15 minutes has passed, you cretin!) then it's time to get that meat out of the oven. Here's what my medium steak looks like:

Pro Tip: Make sure to let the steak stand for five minutes before you cut into it, this will stop all the juices from escaping immediately.

12. The asparagus and tomatoes can come out now too. The tomatoes should be bursting from their skin and the asparagus should be on the softer side of al dente. 

13. Dish out the steak and vegetables. 

14. Put the cheese sauce back on the hob (you probably don't even have to turn the ring back on, the residual heat should be enough), and add in any delicious meat juices which were collected in the tinfoil.

15. Stir and allow to blend, then you can devour.

Low Carb Breadless Mozzarella Sticks

Mozzarella Sticks are one of my favourite things, ever.
As a teenager my friend A and I would annoy the waiting staff in Captain America's on North Main Street by sitting in there for a whole afternoon and ordering only those golden breadcrumbed bites.

Thankfully, eating a low-carb diet doesn't mean having to give these up. Here is S's take on a brilliant starter or snack option.

Ingredients

1 Block of Mozzarella
2 Eggs
1/2 cup powdered Parmesan cheese
1-2 cups preferred cooking oil (vegetable/ sunflower oil is fine)
Garlic powder to taste
Salt to taste

Method

1. Cut mozzarella block into 'sticks'.

2. Whisk 2 eggs in a bowl.

3. Mix dry ingredients on a plate.

4. Dip the mozzarella sticks in the egg and roll in dry ingredients.

5. Re-dip the mozzarella sticks in the egg and repeat coating.

6. Place the sticks in a freezer for 30mins (This will prevent them leaking during frying).

(mozzarella sticks after freezing)

6. Heat the oil in a pan and deep fry the mozzarella sticks until golden brown. This should take 1-2 mins.

Serve with a dollop of sugar-free (diabetic) jam or a handful of fresh redcurrants. 

Chocolate Almond Cake

This gorgeous chocolate cake is adapted from my Mother's gluten-free recipe. Have it warm, with a big dollop of double cream, or use Homemade Nutella mixed with mascarpone as icing.

Ingredients

8oz dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)
4 large eggs
2oz stevia
3oz sugar-free drinking chocolate (ie Options)
1 tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4oz ground almonds

Method

1. Melt chocolate and leave to cool slightly.

2. Beat eggs, stevia, drinking chocolate, coconut flour and baking powder until blended.

3. Fold in the oil, almonds and melted chocolate.

4. Pour into a lined baking tin- this recipe makes enough to fill an 8 inch round tin.

5. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 180C/360F degrees. Pierce with a skewer or knife to check that the centre is fully cooked.


Of course, if you are trying to lose weight make sure to do the carb math based on the ingredients you use.

However, a good size slice of this after dinner with some double cream or a spoonful of homemade nutella icing has never kicked me out of ketosis.

Homemade Nutella

This simple chocolate spread is great to dip strawberries into, or serve warm with mascarpone and crepes. It's a lovely dessert option, and tasty enough to give to carb-eating friends. It will keep in an airtight container for up to a month.

Ingredients

6oz Hazelnuts
6oz Dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)
3/4 Cup soya milk
3 Tablespoons sugar-free maple syrup or stevia

Method

1. Spread the hazelnuts out on a roasting tin and oven bake for 15 minutes at 180/350 degrees.

2. Let the nuts cool for 5 minutes then blitz them in a food processor until they have the same texture as smooth peanut butter. It will take a while for the oil to come out of the nuts and give the mixture a smooth consistency, but give it time and it will work.

3. Melt the chocolate.

4. Add the melted chocolate, syrup and milk to the hazelnuts and blend until smooth.

5. Pour into a jar, refrigerate or leave in a cool place for it to set. Can also be nommed immediately.

Pro-Tip: Use a spoonful as 'icing' on low-carb chocolate almond cake.

Of course, if you are trying to lose weight, make sure to do the carb math based on the ingredients you use. The last batch I made used 85% chocolate, and contained about 28g of carbs in the whole jar (about 400g). Real Nutella has 57g of carbs per 100g. 

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan Gum is made from processed corn syrup. It's a gluten-free and low-carb powder which is great for thickening soups and sauces.

You can pick it up in the Quay Co-Op for about €8. That sounds a bit expensive, but you use so little of it that one tub will last a very long time. I'm only half way through mine and have had it about a year!

Pulled Pork Belly Salad

This Pork Belly salad is a great option for warmer days, and is my favourite type of food to make- the type that you can leave in the oven and forget about for a few hours. The barbeque sauce gives the meat a smokey, sweet taste and pulled pork is always impressive to serve to guests.

Pro-Tip: If you're looking for a salad dressing to go with this I'd recommend Nash 19's homemade (restaurant-made?) Citrus and Poppy Seed Dressing. You can pick up a bottle in the shop for €3.95 and it lasts in the fridge for ages.

Ingredients

1 Pork Belly

Barbeque Sauce

Salad Dressing

Mixed Leaves

Cashews (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160/320 degrees. Place the pork belly on a roasting tray, with the fat side facing up. For this recipe I don't season the pork at all before putting it in the oven, just put it straight in.

2. The cooking time will vary according to the size of the pork belly, but an average size joint (about 1 kg) will take roughly 4 hours at 160/320 degrees. You will know it's ready when the meat comes away easily.

3. Once you take it out of the oven, turn the heat up to 200/395 degrees. 

4. Using two forks, pull the meat apart into stringy pieces. Place in an oven-proof dish.

5. Coat the meat sparingly in your choice of barbeque sauce, I like Jack Daniels, Try to choose a brand with a low sugar content.

6. Put the pork back into the oven for ten minutes to crisp.

7. Once ready, allow to cool slightly and serve with a mixed leaf salad. If you'd like to add a bit of texture sprinkle with a few roughly crushed cashews.

Cauliflower Mash

One of the hardest things about eating a low-carb diet is wondering what to have with your enormous hunk of meat each evening. It seems like Irish people are particularly fond of putting some form of carb-laden food with every meal- be it rice, potatoes or pasta. I am definitely guilty of this habit.

In order to make the transition a little easier, there are a couple of quick and easy tricks you can use- and in this respect cauliflower is your new best friend. There are about 5g of carbs per 100g of cauliflower and 2g of that is dietary fibre.

Cauliflower Mash goes with loads of meals, soaks up gravy beautifully, and is so, so simple to make.

Ingredients

1 Head of Cauliflower
2 Tablespoons of Cream Cheese or Real Butter
A Good Dollop of Double Cream
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Method

1. Break up the head of cauliflower into small florets and steam until soft. Use a potato masher to crush the cauliflower then drain off any excess water. Expressing the water will make your finished mash much creamier.

2. Chuck it into your food processor along with the cream cheese/ butter and double cream.

3. Add a pinch of salt and dash of black pepper- I like a LOT of pepper.

4. Whizz it up until it becomes a soft, mushy mess.

5 Serve!

Welcome To Low Carb Cork

This blog is a collection of recipes and tips I've collected over the course of my transition to a low-carbohydrate diet.

People typically think of a low-carb diet as consisting mainly of unhealthy, samey fried meats day in, day out. This blog shows the many varied, delicious and healthy meals you can put together while avoiding unnecessary sugars. And some of those fried meats too.

Some of these recipes have come from friends and family, some I've picked up from TV, books, other blogs. Some are just experiments I've come up with over the course of switching to a low-carb diet. A little bit of trial and error later, what is posted here is the end result. I'll also try to include local recommendations for other ketoers in the Cork area.

A lot of the information and ideas come from S, who is at this stage a low-carb expert and my keto spirit guide.

What is a low-carb diet?

Carbohydrates in the form of sugars and starches come from foods like potatoes, grains, (most) fruits, pasta, rice, breads, sugary drinks and cereal. A typical diet will burn carbohydrates for energy and convert the left-over carbs into stored body fat.

Eating low-carb food removes sugar and starch from the diet, and forces the body into a state called 'ketosis'. In ketosis the body will instead burn fat for energy (including stored body fat). Ketosis is a much more efficient metabolic process and more in line with the diets of our ancestors than typical modern diets.

Typically, a low-carb diet for weight loss should contain less than 20g of carbohydrates per day. This does not include dietary fibre, which is passed through the body. If you're at a healthy weight but want to cut back on your carb intake, the recommended level is about 50g per day.

Even if you are not trying to lose weight, eating meals made up of low carbohydrate ingredients can help health issues from asthma and arthritis to PCOS and diabetes. If you are interested in finding out more, the keto thread on reddit is a great source of information.

Once you start to take notice, you will be shocked at how many every-day foods contain sugar.

Beautiful West Cork

What can I eat?

You can eat as much as you want of dark green leafy vegetables, small amounts of high-water content veg such as peppers and cucumber, red meats, white meats, fish, offal, eggs, seeds & nuts, full-fat dairy (including cream and cheese, but no milk) or anything else you can find rich in nutrition, fat, protein and fibre.

Stay away from any 'diet' or 'low-fat' products- these contain man made chemical compounds which often consist of sugars.

If you like a drink, stick to spirits with tonic water or sugar-free mixers. Dry red wines like syrah or cabernet sauvignon are also a great option, with about 2-3g of carbs per glass.


Any Tips?

If you want to undertake a low-carb diet in order to lose weight, get some Ketostix (aka urinalysis strips). You can use these to test if you’re ‘in ketosis’ or not.

As long as you are in ketosis you will be burning your fat stores. If you fall out of ketosis, you'll have to go back into it again which means going through sugar withdrawl all over again.

It's very important to keep hydrated on a low-carb diet, so drink as much water as you can. Drinking a large glass as soon as you wake up will kick-start your system and boost your energy levels.

A Food Thermometer makes cooking steak, ham, roasts and chicken so much easier. It allows you to cook just about anything with little knowledge. Just stick it in the oven and wait for the beep.

Stevia is a natural sugar substitute plant extract. It looks and tastes like sugar and can be used in baking or added to tea and coffee.

Take some supplements. Green Tea Extract will increase the rate of weight loss and boost energy and Psyllium Husk is great fibre supplement to keep you regular and prevent diarrhea.


Disclaimer

And hey, I'm not a dietitian so don't be looking for detailed nutritional information. If you're trying to lose weight make sure to do your carb math based on the ingredients you use. I'm just posting recipes that I love, and that keep me on the dark end of the keto strip.

All oven temperatures are in degrees celsius, unless otherwise stated.