First off, my apologies for not posting anything for ages. Last week was crazy busy, both at work and personally. Combine that with the time change and I was just wiped out. But hey, I’m back, and I’ll hopefully have time to post two recipes today!

This one is based off of my favorite dish at the lunch buffet that I go to every now and then with my co-workers. They have a Szechuan chicken that is the perfect level of heat and salt and a tiny bit of sweetness, and I’m addicted to it. I have it maybe three times a year, but it’s definitely not fully keto when I get it from there. I’m sure the sauce has cornstarch and sugar in it. Also, last week we did the final harvest off of our jalapeño plant, so I had the amount I needed to make this recipe. And honestly, I think I nailed it!

Start out by thinly slicing 2.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken. I used breasts for this because it’s what I had, but thighs would probably be more accurate to the original recipe. Set that aside and begin working on the veggies. Slice half of a large onion into slivers and an entire bunch of well-washed green onions into 3-inch pieces. Put the white parts in with the onions, and put the green parts into a separate bowl. Slice 4 jalapeño peppers into thin rings, leaving the membranes and seeds intact. Put those in the bowl with the onion slivers. Finally, in a small bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup of soy sauce (use tamari or coconut aminos if you want), 2 tablespoons each of rice wine vinegar and sesame oil, a tablespoon each of minced garlic and chili garlic sauce, and a teaspoon each of ground ginger and brown sugar substitute.

Now that you have your mise en place together, heat up 2 tablespoons of avocado oil in a large wok over high heat. Carefully add the chicken, letting it slide down the sides of the wok into the oil. Be careful of spatters! I still have healing burns on my hands because I was working too quickly. Sprinkle it with a little salt and white pepper, and stir fry it until the pieces are just cooked on the outside but you can still see that they’re pink in the middle. At that point, add the contents of the bowl with the onions, peppers, and white parts of the green onions. Continue to saute until the onions are soft and the chicken is mostly cooked through, then add the liquids. Let those cook down for a bit, then add the green onion strips. Stir until the green onions are wilted but not brown. If you want, sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum into the wok and stir a few times until the liquid thickens. Serve it immediately over cauliflower rice or Miracle Rice. This reheats pretty well too, so if you want to use it for meal prep, you certainly can. I just ate the leftovers straight out of a bowl.

Low-Carb Szechuan Chicken

Tastes just like your favorite take-out!

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 6

Calories 291 kcal

Equipment

• Wok

Ingredients

  

• 2.5 lbs Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 large onion sliced into slivers
• 1 bunch green onions sliced into 3" strips and separated
• 4 jalapeño peppers sliced into rings
• 1/3 cup soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
• 1 tsp brown sugar substitute
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• salt and white pepper to taste
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp xanthan gum optional

Instructions

 

• Slice your chicken and set it aside. On a separate cutting board and using a separate knife, sliver the onions, slice the peppers, and cut the green onions into 3" strips. Put the white parts of the green onion in a bowl with the onions and peppers, and put the green parts of the green onion in a separate bowl.
• Whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, garlic, chili garlic sauce, sweetener, and ginger in a small bowl.
• Heat the avocado oil in a large wok over high heat. Add the chicken by sliding it by handfuls down the sides of the wok into the oil, being careful to avoid spatters. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Stir fry the chicken until the outsides of the pieces just begin to turn white but the insides are still visibly pink.
• Add the onions, peppers, and white parts of the green onions and continue stir-frying until the onions are soft and the chicken is almost cooked through.
• Add the liquids and continue to stir fry for about 2 minutes, allowing some of the liquid to reduce. Put in the green parts of the green onion and stir fry until they're wilted. If desired, sprinkle the xanthan gum over the contents and stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Serve immediately over a rice substitute.
• Macros, calculated using chicken breasts: 291 calories, 4 grams net carbs, 44 grams protein, 11 grams fat.

Keyword Asian, chicken, Chinese, keto, low carb, spicy

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When I discovered the chaffle, I started making all of my favorite sandwiches that I hadn’t had in ages. It’s definitely been a game-changer. If you me to recreate a recipe for your favorite regional sandwich, let me know! I can probably pull off everything but Primanti Brothers, as I have yet to find a decent keto french fry recipe. Today’s recipe is yet another famous sandwich–the Cuban.

A Cuban sandwich is a grilled panini-style sandwich consisting of roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, mustard, and pickles on grilled bread–most often a baguette. A chaffle is a perfectly good substitute, because you get that nice crunchy texture from it. If you’re making this for non-keto family members, definitely use a baguette and a weight or a panini press to grill it, so it smashes nice and flat.

For the roast pork, I used my Sous vide Cuban pork tenderloin, but you can use any pork recipe you want. Even a simple crock pot or Instant Pot shredded pork will work, as long as you drain it thoroughly so it’s not super liquidy. You’ll also want deli ham without added sugar or honey, both sliced and shredded Swiss cheese, pickle slices, and Dijon mustard.

To make the chaffle, start out by preheating your Dash mini-waffle iron. While it heats, beat one large egg with a tablespoon of almond flour, a tablespoon of full-fat Greek yogurt, and 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder. You’ll recognize this as a variation of the Wonder Bread chaffle recipe, but this one uses Greek yogurt so the flavor is more reminiscent of a sourdough. If you don’t want to deal with buying yogurt just for this, then go ahead and use the Wonder Bread recipe, or just use a plain beaten egg with no fillers. Measure out 1/4 cup of shredded Swiss cheese and divide it into 4 equal piles. Sprinkle one of the piles on the surface of the Dash, pour half the egg mixture onto it, then sprinkle with another pile of cheese. Close the Dash and cook for 3-5 minutes, until it’s golden brown and crispy. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.

While the chaffles cook, prepare the inside of the sandwich. Put 3 ounces of cooked roast pork on the bottom of a round microwave-safe bowl. I use these Gladware containers because they’re also very useful for meal prep. Top the pork with 2 ounces of deli ham, then top the ham with a slice of Swiss cheese. Microwave the whole thing for 40-50 seconds, a bit longer if your pork is also cold.

To assemble the sandwich, figure out which bun you want to be your top bun. Usually my chaffles have a pretty side and an ugly side–the ugly side is the top side when it’s cooking. On the ugly side, spread some Dijon mustard and put some pickle slices on the mustard. Invert the pork, ham, and cheese so the cheese is touching the pickles, then put the bottom bun on top of the pork and invert it to serve.

Keto Chaffle Cuban Sandwich

A Florida favorite, the Cuban sandwich gets a keto makeover with sourdough chaffle buns.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Course Main Course, sandwich

Cuisine American, Cuban

Servings 1

Calories 522 kcal

Equipment

• Dash mini-waffle iron

Ingredients

  

For the Chaffles

• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp almond flour
• 1 tbsp full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

For the Sandwich Filling

• 3 ounces roast pork
• 2 ounces deli ham
• 1 slice Swiss cheese
• 3-5 sliced pickle chips
• 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Instructions

 

For the Chaffles

• Preheat the Dash mini-waffle iron.
• Beat together the egg, almond flour, yogurt, and baking powder in a small bowl.
• Sprinkle 1/4 of the shredded Swiss directly on the preheated waffle iron. Top with half of the beaten egg mixture, then add another 1/4 of the Swiss on top. Close the Dash and cook for 3-5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
• Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

For the Sandwich Fillings

• Layer the pork, ham, and slice of Swiss cheese in that order in a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 40-50 seconds, until the cheese melts.
• Spread the inside of one chaffle with the mustard, then top with the pickles. Invert the bowl onto the top chaffle so that the melted Swiss is touching the pickles. Place the bottom chaffle onto the roast pork and invert the sandwich so that the pork side is down and the mustard side is up.
• Macros per serving: 522 calories, 4 grams net carbs, 46 grams protein, 33 grams fat.

Keyword chaffles, Cuban, high protein, keto, lchf, low carb, sandwich

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I can’t remember the first time I had picadillo, but it was instant love. Spiced beef mixed with capers and olives, raisins and potatoes. Well, I can’t have those last two anymore, but the good news is that it’s actually even better without them. I’m not big on sweet and savory, even though it actually works for this particular dish. And the potatoes are mainly just unnecessary carbs. So instead I’m just eating savory and salty, and it works out well. This is also a great recipe for meal prep, because it’s quick and to make and both freezes and reheats well.

By quick and easy, I mean that this might be the shortest recipe post I’ve ever made. Start out with 2 pounds of ground beef. I used 93% lean because that was what was on sale, but normally I’d use 85%. My macros count 93% lean, so make sure you adjust for that if you use something different. Chop up a small onion (I ended up with about 2/3 cup) and half a green pepper. Throw all of this into a large Dutch oven or deep non-stick skillet, add two tablespoons of cumin, a tablespoon of oregano, a tablespoon of garlic, a teaspoon of salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Brown the beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Once the beef is browned, add a can (about 1.75 cups) of tomato sauce and two tablespoons of capers. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for ten minutes or so, until the onions and pepper are soft, then add 12 halved jumbo pimiento-stuffed green olives. Serve it by itself or over cauliflower rice. See? Literally one paragraph of description. The recipe will almost be redundant.

Keto Cuban Picadillo

Salty and savory, this Cuban recipe is great for meal-prep.

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Course Main Course

Servings 6

Calories 286 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 small onion diced
• 1/2 large green pepper diced
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp capers drained
• 12 jumbo pimiento stuffed olives halved lengthwise

Instructions

 

• Add the ground beef, peppers, onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper to a Dutch oven or deep non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Cook, stirring the beef to crumble it, until the beef is browned.
• Add the tomato sauce and capers and simmer until the peppers and onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the olives and remove from heat. Serve alone or with cauliflower rice.
• Macros per serving, using 93% lean beef: 286 calories, 7 net carbs, 32 grams protein, 13 grams fat.

Keyword beef, Cuban, easy, high protein, keto, low carb, meal prep

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