I have a dehydrator…something tells me I should get back to using it
@oldbrookie Great idea! I hate cutting a raw spaghetti squash in half…too hard. This is a welcomed tip!!
@conmama do you use a bottled pasta sauce that is low in carbs? Which brand(s) have you found to be tasty and low carb?
Spiral veggie or spaghetti squash “pasta” just doesn’t do it for me. I’m Italian. I want PASTA. Has anyone tried those shiritaki noodles that are supposedly zero calories? People says they smell funny but rinsing helps with that and the Hungry Girl diet blogger says they’re awesome. They scare me.
For sauce, I buy a low or no-sugar brand sauce or make my own. Sugar isn’t necessary-basil will work for a “sweet” flavor in sauce.
@mom2collegekids, can you get Rao pasta sauce where you live? It has no added sugar.
^^^
Yes, I can. It’s quite popular here. And Sam’s sells it in larger bottles. Glad to hear it has no added sugar.
<<<
Spiral veggie or spaghetti squash “pasta” just doesn’t do it for me. I’m Italian. I want PASTA
[QUOTE=""]
[/QUOTE]
I’m Italian, too, so I totally “get” that. I grew up having pasta very often…LOVE it!!!
I have a pasta maker and am thinking of experimenting with it to get a lower “net carb” pasta. Maybe adding some Benefiber? Lol… Seriously…If I can add fiber (veggie or otherwise) to reduce the “net carbs,” and come up with a tasty option, I’ll be happy.
In the past, I’ve purchased that pasta (Barilla?) that has a version that has add’l fiber which cuts down the “net carbs” a little bit…but not enough. I’d have to do some figuring and trying, but maybe a mix of some “real pasta” (the Barilla higher fiber version) with some spiral veggie noodles, will be satisfying and meet or almost meet the low carb threshold.
I have tried the shiritaki noodles and I do not care for them - the texture isn’t quite the same as pasta. I’d rather have the spiralized veggie noodles! I second the vote for Rao’s pasta sauce.
Instead of bottled tomato/pasta sauce I have replaced that with Campari tomatoes which are sweet so no need to add sugar. For example if I make a pizza at home I will use olive oil, garlic, Italian seasonings, oregano, and thinly sliced Campari tomatoes. ( I am not a tomato lover but can have these) I also put some shredded spinach in the sauce which you can’t even taste.
http://www.sunsetgrown.com/products/campari/
Added sugar is not the issue. I use Teddie peanut butter, which contains nothing but peanuts and salt. (And it’s delicious. 
)
The issue is that a really small apple has about 15 gms of net carbs (which means after subtracting the fiber) and even Teddie has about 4 gms of net carbs per 2 flat measured Tbs (which isn’t very much). This means that an average sized apple plus PB is most likely to be in the range of 30-40 grams of carb, and far more if you aren’t eating natural peanut butter.
Now that isn’t much compared to a lot of other snacks, but it is a lot if you are trying to control T2 diabetes, for example.
@raclut, thanks for the caulifower pizza recipe! I’ll definitely be trying that.
I started eating a lot of cauliflower when I could no longer eat potatoes. I’ve always loved potato gratins, sometimes with slices of sausage or gam or other meat. Now I use blanched cauliflower pieces instead. (Blanching it for 6 min in boiling salted water helps prevents excessive fluid release into the dish.) I put the cauliflower in a shallow baking dish with cheese, meat if I’m using it, and pour in the quiche filling (1/2 cup cream to 1 egg times 3, 4, 5 depending on how much you’re making, plus S&P and whatever other spices you like. Thomas Keller puts curry powder in his cauliflower gratin, and so do I. It’s a background flavor) Bake like a quiche.
I never buy bottled sauce. It is just so easy to make your own! I don’t think that any tomato sauce needs sugar.
I found done low sugar spaghetti sauce last year, but don’t recall the name, sorry.
@mom2collegekids - I never saw it offered as breakfast when we were in Jordan, but my son said that he had it at a Lebanese restaurant restaurant for breakfast. I don’t see why eggs need to be relegated to breakfast food. It would be perfect for brunch. In a similar vein, I’ve had ratatouille with poached or baked eggs.
You’re right…it does sound like a fab brunch dish!..or anytime.
I really, really like Kaylyn’s Kitchen for healthy low-carb recipes:
http://www.kalynskitchen.com
We have been trying to clean up our eating by adopting the South Beach Diet plan. I have a couple of small reservations with it (am not a fan of sugar substitutes, other than Stevia, in moderation), but for the most part, we like all the recipes we’ve tried in their cookbooks. We also don’t think of it as a diet, but rather a lifestyle choice that we have to maintain if we wish to clean up our eating for the rest of our lives.
Also, for newcomers to South Beach Diet, unfortunately, they were bought out by NutriSystem and everything I’ve heard about NutriSystem is that the food is horrible. But the old SBD books are still available on Amazon and in libraries. Like I said, lots of great recipes. Here’s an excellent one that I like to share, because it gets me to eat fish, and there are very few things that get me to eat fish:
Tilapia with Chermoula:
1 bunch of cilantro
4 garlic cloves
2 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. ground red pepper flakes
1/4 c. EVOO
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
up to 24 oz. of tilapia filets
Mix all ingredients (except fish and salt and pepper) in food processor until consistency resembles pesto. Season fish with salt and pepper on both sides to taste. Spread 1/4 of the Chermoula sauce on the bottom of a ovenproof baking dish; place fish on top and spread with rest of sauce. Bake until fish is opaque and tender, about 12-15 minutes.
We almost always serve this dish with the wonderful frozen broccoli florets we get at Costco. I like to sort of dip my broccoli in the extra Chermoula sauce that finds its way around my plate as I eat the fish.
I know there are some people who can’t stand the taste of cilantro (it tastes like soap to them), so obviously this wouldn’t work, but I LOVE cilantro!
My mom is Morroccan and we grew up on a form of “shashuka” - which she would make in batches minus the egg - we’d then eat it cold almost as a salsa (or warm). We’d also eat it for breakfast topping scrambled eggs with it.
OP, is your reason for wanting low carb for losing weight reasons or otherwise? Because speaking of pasta - and I personally agree that “pasta is pasta” - if you can choose something like a Barilla whole wheat pasta - so you’re at least getting some grain - and keep the portion size small, then you might be able to still have your real pasta. 1/2 cup of pasta, but lots of sauce, veggies or lean meat on top!
If you’re up to the challenge of homemade pasta, here is a recipe that uses spelt flour - I’m honestly not sure how much of a difference that makes nutritionally: http://nourishmentconnection.com/healthy-homemade-pasta/
I like the chickpea flour fusilli they sell at Costco and also Lotus brand rice ramen. 35 grams of carb for both of those versus 42 in the regular Barilla buried in the back of my pantry. I also like a lot of the recipes in the South Beach plan books.
How about the dishwasher salmon recipe? Easy peasy. http://www.food.com/recipe/dishwasher-salmon-13246?photo=356502
Eggplant is another good choice for low carb versions of tasty foods that might otherwise use noodles or pasta. You can get the flavor profile without the carbs. (I understand the love of real pasta; believe me, I could LIVE on pasta, bread, and potatoes, but when you have T2 diabetes it ceases to be a matter of choice.)
There are various methods of cutting it into long skinny strips to make something spaghetti-like, which generally I don’t find worth the effort. You can cut it into thin disks and roast them with a little olive oil, then use them to make lasagne. (Or you can just sautee them in the olive oil, but they soak it up like a sponge, which can be an issue in terms of calories.) Barbara Tropp has a wonderful recipe for Hunan-style eggplant with spicy meat sauce. (The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, or you can google it.) Of course, good old ratatouille qualifies also.
@Consolation I really want to “like” eggplant. But, I think I don’t prep it correctly because it’s bitter.
Soaking in salt water can get rid of the bitterness.
I love eggplant!
@mom2collegekids
A few tips:
Buy younger, smaller eggplants. Choose heavier, firmer ones which indicate freshness.
You can salt them after cutting into slices or chunks and let the bitterness leach out for awhile then rinse.
Also, some people recommend getting a male eggplant instead of a female eggplant. It will be less bitter, supposedly.