Teriyaki Beef Salad

Trying to keep salads varied and interesting can be tough, especially if you're having them for both lunch and dinner. For me, this teriyaki beef salad is a real winner.
If you can, plan ahead and allow the beef to marinate overnight for the full flavour experience.

Ingredients
For the marinade (makes enough for 2 steaks):
1 cup soy sauce (soy sauce can be surprisingly high in sugar. if you can find a sugar free version go for it, otherwise try the Kikkoman brand.
1 cup water
3/4 cup Stevia or other sugar alternative
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup dried onion flakes
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

For the salad:
Handful of Rocket
Thinly sliced Radishes
Thinly sliced Cucumber

1 striploin steak per person (about 1/2 inch thickness)
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds to garnish

Method
1. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in one bowl. Place your steaks in a plastic freezer bag and pour over with the sauce. Tie off the top of the bag and shake well to ensure an even coating.

2. Ideally you'd allow the steak to sit in the bag overnight in the fridge. If time is scarce then just an hour or two in the fridge will be okay, but to get the best of the flavours plan ahead and give it the full night!

3. After marinating, take the steaks out of the bag and save the leftover marinade.

4. Heat a small amount of vegetable or peanut oil in a hot frying pan and sear the steaks on both sides. Give it 3-4 minutes per side for a medium-done steak.

5. After frying, wrap the steaks in tinfoil and allow to stand.

6. Add the leftover marinade to the hot pan and allow to simmer for a minute or two. It should reduce to a nice thick sauce that you can dribble over.

7. Slice the steak and erve with a simple salad, for me the rocket/ cucumber/ radish combination is perfect with this steak. Pour over your marinade reduction and garnish with the sesame seeds for a little crunch.

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!

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.