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Low Carb Ideas
by Mary Beth Voelker
Country Store
Fresh Produce
Sam’s Creamery
I’ve recently gone on a strict low-carb
diet to lose weight. Cooking for this diet isn’t
particularly hard, though shocking amounts of
carbs lurk in surprising places such as kielbasa,
hot dogs, taco seasoning mix, and spaghetti
sauce. If you or a family member are thinking
about this sort of diet, then I have some ideas
for each meal of the day.
Breakfast
Eggs are very nearly the perfect breakfast
food for a low-carb diet. Unfortunately I’m
thoroughly conditioned to eating eggs with
bread and find them unappealing plain. Nesting
them in a bed of spinach and tomatoes works
perfectly-not only getting past my bread–
conditioning but being delicious in their own
right. Quantities could be doubled or halved,
but I don’t recommend making extra to reheat
because the eggs will get rubbery.
Low-Carb Eggs in a Nest
Ingredients:
1 tbs butter
1, 10oz package of frozen spinach, thawed and
drained
1, 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp dried onion
1 dash garlic powder
4 eggs
1 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
• Melt butter in a medium-sized skillet on
medium heat.
• Add well-drained spinach and tomatoes.
• Add onion and garlic powder.
• Saute, stirring frequently, until steaming hot
or until spinach is halfway to your desired
doneness.
• Make 4 divots in the mixture then crack an egg
into each divot.
• Sprinkle Parmesan over everything.
• Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until eggs
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Mary Beth Voelker is a writer, a mother,
a cook, a gardener, and a crafter. Though
originally from Pittsburgh, she and her
family kept coming back to North Carolina
until God let them stay. She likes to say that
while she has often been bored at work she
has never been bored at home.
HOME SWEET SOUTHERN HOME continued
HOME SWEET SOUTHERN HOME continued
are cooked to your desired doneness.
• Use a pancake turner or slotted spoon to serve
in order to reduce the drippiness.
Variation: Use seasoned tomatoes or
tomatoes with green chilies.
Variation: Use cheddar, jack, or mozzarella
cheese instead of Parmesan.
Note: Both the juices originally drained from
the spinach and tomatoes and the pan juices
can be saved as a flavorful addition to soups or
sauces.
Note: Quantities could be expanded easily
to serve more people but do not use a skillet
too large for the burner to maintain and even
simmer or the eggs in one portion of the pan will
overcook before the rest set.
Serves 2. Each serving is 16g of carbs total
with 7g fiber so only 9g net carbs.
Lunch
Lunches are the trickiest thing for me. Some
people can live happily on a steady diet of salad
topped with meat and cheese and 4-6 wholewheat
crackers on the side every day. I need
some more variety. 15 years ago low-carb bread
was readily available, but it’s out of fashion now,
so I’m sort of stuck on sandwiches and had to
come up with other ideas. Here’s some of the
best:
The obvious: Hard-boiled eggs, cheese
sticks, cold not-fried chicken (accompanied
with measured portions of fruit for vitamins and
fiber), and re–heatable portions of your dinners.
The slightly less obvious: Peanut-butter or
cream cheese on celery. Tuna salad, chicken
salad, or egg salad made with real mayonnaise
and without sweet pickles. Full-fat cottage
cheese in measured portions with something
on it—avocados have been affordable lately so I
find that a ½ cup cottage cheese with half a small
avocado is a nice base for a meal. Be careful,
“lite” mayo, sour cream, cheeses etc, very often
substitute carbs for fats; so read your labels.
And beyond the obvious: Some tortillas have
a low-enough net carb content to use one for
a base. I had a sort of open-faced quesadilla
one day with steak, spinach, artichoke hearts,
and plenty of cheese. You can also use them to
make not-exactly-pizza by covering them with
low-carb toppings, lots of meats, and plenty of
cheese. Dinner
Dinner is the easy part once you’ve figured out
where the high-carb traps are. Meat, prepared
in any way that doesn’t involve breading, batter,
or a carb-heavy sauce (real Alfredo made with
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heavy cream instead of white sauce is fine), plus
a salad or green vegetable.
And there’s your problem. Plain green
vegetables. Which are fine plain when you have
a nice, rich starch side on the plate but really
boring sitting there alone next to your pork
chop. I have to consciously remember to butter
them because I never have before.
So go ahead and butter your vegetables.
Simmer them with bacon, top them with cheese,
mix them with sesame seeds or almond slivers.
Saute them in olive oil with garlic and dress
them with mayonnaise or sour cream. And try
this simple recipe for carrots.
Cider Carrots
Ingredients:
2 lbs carrots
2 tbs butter
1 tbs Canola oil
1/2 cup hard cider
2 tbs soy sauce
Directions:
• Peel carrots then slice diagonally ¼'' thick.
• Mix cider with soy sauce.
• Melt butter with oil in a large, heavy skillet on
medium to medium-high heat so that the butter
will brown but not burn. Choose a skillet that
has a lid.
• Add carrots to browned butter. Allow them to
begin to brown before stirring. Continue resting
then stirring until most of the slices have a bit of
brown on them but do not allow them to burn.
Reduce heat to low. Pour cider mixture over
carrots and cover immediately.
• Allow carrots to steam in the cider, stirring
occasionally, until tender. Add more cider if the
liquid runs out before the carrots are ready.
Note: Substituting whole baby carrots for
the slices will require adjusting times and
temperatures to prevent burning and achieve
tenderness.
Serves 6. Each serving contains 15g total
carbs with 4g fiber so 9 net carbs. ☐
No. 134 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.11
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