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!
Friday, 18 October 2013
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!
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!
Saturday, 12 October 2013
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.
Tuesday, 8 October 2013
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!
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!
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
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.
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.
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.
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.
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