Cut-Down-on-the-Carbs Ice Cream & The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Okay, I'll do it. Wasn't sure if I was going to post this low-carb recipe wonder, but here's the story....

One of the the low-carb dieter's bane is ice cream. Not having any can be the thing that sends the sweet tooth crying out in pain. Well, here's a recipe that can be that special treat for Atkins dieters and which quiets that nagging sweet tooth. It's a low carb ice cream! (I'm using 'C' for Cream and Cut-down-on-the-Carbs.)

Here's what you need:
Heavy whipping cream, stevia (a natural zero carb sweetener), sugar-free jam (not totally necessary, but it adds that extra flavor), chopped nuts (also not necessary, but it adds that extra texture), and a mixer.

1. Pour about 1 cup of heavy whipping cream into a mixing bowl
2. Add stevia to taste (start off using very, very little, because stevia is potent)
3. Whip cream with a mixer or whisk until cream is fluffy like whipped cream is supposed to be
4. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar-free jam and fold into cream
5. Dish cream into a serving bowl and place in freeze for approximately 2 hours, until cream is frozen. It's best if there's a nice little soft spot in the center, which happens after about 2 hours.

Then take out of the freezer and enjoy! Again, you can add a teaspoon of chopped nuts over the top for texture and who doesn't like chopped nuts!

# of carbs:
Without jam or nuts: 0
With jam and no nuts: 5 grams
With jam and nuts: about 7 grams

Alex J. Cavanaugh's 

Insecure Writer's Support Group

This past month hasn't been very productive writing wise. My critique partner I met with once has been busy and I'm not sure if it'll work out or not. The other writing group meets twice a month, and I was able to go only once last month. Another one meets only once a month. I'm planning on meeting someone else on the 13th, but she's not really writing anything right now, so it would just be about me. Doesn't quite seem the same thing, but we'll see.

Other things are promising however, including a book signing I have coming up on April 20th, and The Book Shop in Hayward purchased a copy of my book to place on the shelf. But, I need to get writing!

Okay, I'll stop whining. I'm blessed. :) But I do need to write.


*** Remember you can still enter A Most Amazing Giveaway where everyone wins something until April 5th by clicking here.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Delight

For some crazy reason, many people don’t like Brussels sprouts. I think they’re just misunderstanding the magnificence of this wonderfully healthy veg. That, or someone did those little pod look-alikes injustice in how they cooked them up. 

Here’s a great low-carb veggie delight that is easy and will please anyone. I dare even one person to say they don’t like this. 

(In case you hadn’t guessed, B in this A to Z Challenge is Brussels sprouts.)

What you need:

Fresh Brussel sprouts, fresh mushrooms, olive oil, garlic (I use the diced jarred garlic), salt, cayenne pepper (if you like). Of course you can use whatever mushrooms you like, but I’m partial to the brown crimini Italian mushrooms, and not just ‘cus I speak Italian.

1.    Cut off the ends of the Brussels sprouts and slice the sprouts in half.

2.    Cut the mushrooms in halves or quarters, depending on how large the mushrooms are originally. Let them be similar in size to the halved sprouts.

3.    Place the veggies in a large mixing bowl, add olive oil just to coat the veggies and toss (or mix with your hands, for those non-cooks)

4.    Add spices and toss

5.    Place veggie mix in baking pan evenly laid out in one layer and bake (or roast) at 350-400F for approximately 20-30 minutes, until the loose leaves of the sprouts are a deep brown color. You may need to stir them up a bit after about 10-15 minutes.

And that’s it. Dig in and enjoy! 

# of carbs per 1/2 cup serving: approx. 6 grams

April's A to Z Challenge is Here!

I'm one of those who didn't have a theme for this most wonderful challenge started by a great list of hosts. Check them out by clicking here. I have to give thanks to all of the minions as well! You can check out who the minions are by clicking here. I've had some ideas of what I could talk about for one month, but my focus changes so often, it's hard for me to commit to one or two ideas for a theme.

One of my ideas was recipes for people on the Atkins, or low-carb, diet. Thus, for A in this A-Z challenge, Atkins it is. In a nutshell, the Atkins diet is eating foods low in carbohydrates in order that your metabolism changes from burning glucose, or sugars, to burning stored fat. This process is called ketosis. Instead of counting calories, you count carbs. The benefits of this is losing weight, reducing or ending many medical issues caused by high carb diets, and it's a diet in which you don't go hungry. Anything with sugars, natural or otherwise, and starch, which converts into sugar in the body, are drastically reduced. Fortunately, there are options which help to put a curb to a lingering sweet tooth. So maybe I'll stick with the Atkins diet for a while in this challenge.

I learned to do this diet from reading the Atkins Diet book, which worked well when I did it for more than four months over 12 years ago. Here's how it works: In the first two weeks, you want to eat around 10 carbs a day or less to get the ketosis kicking in. Then you can up it to about 25 carbs. People adjust the levels depending on what they were taught.

Here's a recipe that I like to use even if I'm not doing the Atkins diet, because it seems better than using white flour and oil.

Non-fried, Crispy Pork Rind Chicken:

This is a simple recipe that requires chicken parts, chopped pork rinds and spices. You can use flavored or plain pork rinds.

1. Chop pork rinds using some form of chopper. I have a Ninja chopper that works great and quickly. You can add spices such as salt (not too much because pork rinds are already somewhat salty), parsley, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic, and whatever else you'd like before or after chopping.

2. Put the chopped and spiced pork rinds in a plate or shallow bowl.

3. Wet your chicken parts, and coat them with the pork rinds.

4. Bake them on an oven sheet at 325F for approximately 40 minutes. The skin will be crispy and delicious.

# of carbs: 0

One great benefit is that it satisfies your craving for fried food. This recipe could even be used to cook fish. But since fish cooks so much quicker than chicken, the pork rinds didn't have enough time to crisp in the oven and I had to pan fry the fish to get the crispiness. I used Maki loins, and I tell you, it tasted just like the best fish sticks.