Broccoli and Stilton Quiche

I made this yesterday for Ronan's Aunty Breda. My brother and his wife were convinced that the crust would taste of marzipan but there is absolutely no almond taste at all!

Ingredients

Crust:
4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
180g ground almonds
75g gluten-free oat flour (if you can't find oat flour, grind gluten-free porridge oats in a food processor)
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp cold water

Filling:
7 eggs
150g blue cheese (I used Aldi's Tipperary Blue), cubed
Small head of broccoli

60g grated cheddar cheese, grated
200ml milk
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Lightly grease 27cm quiche dish with some coconut oil
3. Combine dry crust ingredients in a large bowl
4. Add melted coconut oil and mix well
5. Slowly add water until you are able to form a ball out of the mixture with your hands
6. Place the dough ball into your quiche dish and gently press out towards the sides (and up the sides) until evenly covered
7. Bake the crust for 15 minutes
8. Chop the broccoli into small florets and parboil the 5 minutes
9. Remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes
10. Beat the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper
11. Distribute the broccoli, blue cheese and half the cheddar evenly around the crust
12. Pour the egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the cheddar
13. Bake for 30 minutes or until top has turned golden and eggs have set
14. Serve with a green salad

Aubergine Lasagne

Ingredients

400g lean minced beef
500g passata
2 aubergines
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped/minced
12 mushrooms, chopped
2 tbsp dried or fresh basil
2 tbsp dried or fresh tarragon
2 tbsp dried or fresh oregano
3 tbsp tomato purée
200g cream cheese
100g parmesan, grated


Method

1. Fry onion until soft
2. Add garlic and fry for another minute
3. Add mince and fry until brown
4. Add passata, mushrooms, herbs and tomato purée
5. Simmer for 20 minutes
6. Thinly slice aubergine length ways and griddle each slice on both sides for approximately 2 minutes until tender
7. Melt cream cheese in a small pan
8. Place 1/3 of the mince sauce into a square oven dish
9. Cover with sliced aubergine
10. Sprinkle 1/3 parmesan over the aubergine
11. Repeat until all sauce and aubergine has been used
12. Cover last layer of aubergine with the melted cream cheese and sprinkle top with last of the parmesan
13. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 200°C

Beef Stroganoff

I made this for dinner yesterday evening using left over roast beef from Sunday. However, the following recipe is assuming you are cooking the beef from scratch.

Ingredients:

500g beef, cut into strips
2 tbsps paprika
200g mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, finely sliced
1/2 cup of brandy
1 beef stock cube
200g crème fraîche

salt and pepper
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 cup of water
coconut oil
cauliflower rice (see https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7361794025237498990#editor/target=post;postID=9157502184713393239;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=14;src=postname)

1. Fry onion in a little coconut oil until soft
2. Add beef and cook on a medium heat until browned
3. Add mushrooms, brandy, paprika, stock cube, salt and pepper, tomato purée and water
4. Simmer gently for 5 minutes
5. Lower the heat and add the crème fraîche
6. Serve with cauli rice

Snacking

What can you eat as a snack on a low carb diet? As long as you're prepared it's quite simple to organise a wide variety of tasty snack foods. Here are some of my favourites:

• Nuts - almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts. These can be home roasted and a little salt added. Do not include peanuts as they are actually part of the legume (peas, beans) family so are not low carb

• Dark chocolate - a little good quality dark chocolate with at least 80% cocoa. The high cocoa content means there is less sugar. Aldi do a lovely 85% one. It's called MoserRoth and looks like a large bar of chocolate but is actually 5 individually wrapped bars. I find these very handy as they stop me eating too much of it!

• Fresh strawberries and cream - I do say not to eat too much fruit but strawberries have one of the lowest amounts of sugar

• Fresh figs and parma ham - figs are very high in fibre and contain as little sugar as strawberries 

• Parmesan crisps - bake finely grated piles of parmesan on a greasproof paper lined tray in the oven (at 180°C) for 5 or 6 minutes

• Carrot sticks and cream cheese

• Carrot sticks and almond butter

• Olives

• Cheese and gherkins

• Mixed seeds - dry fry a mixture of pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a little soy sauce with chilli flakes

Sometimes if we're peckish in the evening, Ronan creates a platter of goodies!

Why does a low carb diet help chronic pain conditions, such as, Fibromyalgia, CFS and Rheumatoid Arthritis?

No food or combination of foods have been proven to relieve chronic pain conditions. However, it has been widely reported by sufferers that a high protein, low carbohydrate diet has helped to alleviate some of the pain. But how could this be?

One common issue with Fibromyalgia, CFS and Rheumatoid Arthritis is weight gain. This can be caused by reduced mobility, medication and decreased metabolism due to hormone deficiencies brought on by the disease. If you eat a low carb diet, you will lose weight so will therefore be putting less pressure on your joints and muscles.

Another issue is the inflammation in the body. Carbohydrates, particularly sugar actually cause inflammation. By avoiding these in your diet you should theoretically reduce inflammation. Isn't it worth a try?

Breakfast

Wondering what you can have for breakfast on a low carb diet? There are plenty of options!

Here are some of my suggestions:

• Greek yogurt with a tablespoon of flaxseed and a teaspoon of sugar free jam. Make sure that it is true greek yogurt. The only ingredient should be milk

• Oat bran made into porridge by adding milk and heating in a pan or the microwave. Oat bran is allowed because it has a very low sugar content

• Avocado, poached egg and bacon bits

• An omelette using any of the following ingredients: cheese, meat, mushrooms, onions, asparagus, olives, tomatoes

• Bacon and egg

• Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, smoked mackerel or cheese

      Avocado, poached egg and bacon bits

Ronan's Chocolate Buns

Ronan has developed this recipe by trial and error. This is his perfected version but he still tinkers with it occasionally! You may wish to add more Stevia if these aren't sweet enough for you.

Ingredients:

100g chopped walnuts

150g grounds almonds

50g milled flaxseed

12g Stevia

50g cocoa powder

pinch of salt

4 medium eggs

1. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl
2. Add eggs and stir well. The mixture should be quite stiff
3. Divide evenly between 12 bun cases
4. Bake for 12-14 minutes in a preheated oven at 200°C

Chicken, Chorizo and Prawn Paella

I created this recipe yesterday and Ronan and I tested it for dinner. It's more 'saucy' than proper paella made with rice but its just as tasty.

Ingredients:

1 medium cauliflower, grated (cauli rice)

1 onion, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 chicken breasts, diced

150g chorizo, sliced

10 large prawns (raw if possible)

2 tbsp tomato purée

1 chicken stock cube

2 pinches of saffron

fresh chilli or chilli flakes to taste

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 cup of white wine

salt and pepper

1. Fry chicken in the coconut oil at a low heat until cooked
2. Add sliced onion, garlic, pepper and chorizo and sauté for 5 minutes
3. Add grated cauliflower and stir to coat with the chorizo oils
4. Add wine, stock cube, saffron, tomato purée, salt and pepper, chilli and 2 cups of water
5. Add prawns and keep stirring until cooked (they will go pink!), adding more water if required
6. Serve immediately

N.B. If you choose not to eat nightshade foods, exclude the red pepper, chilli and tomato purée

Cottage Pie

This is the easiest thing in the world to cook. Just use your usual cottage/shepherd's pie recipe and top with cauliflower purée instead of mashed potatoes. If you don't have a recipe, here's mine!

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
400g lean minced beef
1 beef stock cube
4 tsps Worcestershire sauce
10 button mushrooms, sliced
1 large cauliflower
20g cheddar, grated

1. Sauté onion in a large frying pan until soft
2. Add beef and cook until thoroughly browned
3. Add mushrooms
4. Crumble in stock cube, Worcestershire sauce and about 4 tablespoons of boiling water
5. Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes
6. Transfer the meat mixture into an ovenproof dish
7. Chop cauliflower into florets and steam or boil for 8 minutes
8. Drain and purée (I use a stick blender)
9. Cover meat mixture with the cauliflower
10. Sprinkle grated cheddar over the top
11. Cook in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 200°C or until heated through and cheese has melted and browned
12. Serve with steamed green beans and carrots

Fat vs Sugar

Why do we all believe that fat is bad for you? It has recently been revealed that there is no proper scientific evidence to support this. So why is this belief so widespread?

This article from the Guardian newspaper from February of this year explains:

http://lowcarbhealthily.blogspot.ie/2015/06/cauliflower-saviour-of-low-carb-diet.html

It is fast becoming the belief that sugar and not fat is the leading cause of obesity. In fact, it is being likened to a drug. The more you have, the more you want. Next time you go to the supermarket, read the ingredients of every item you put into your trolley. Nine times out of ten you will read the word 'sugar'. Even ready made coleslaw and the majority of breads contain it. And if you don't see 'sugar', you'll see 'sucrose' or 'fructose' or some other name for what is still, essentially, sugar.

And one last bit of interesting information. In 2003, it was discovered that the sugar lobby in the US blackmailed the World Health Organisation into changing their new guidelines on healthy eating. The new guidelines stated that sugar should account for no more than 10% of your diet. Understandably, the sugar industry did not want this information getting out. So they told WHO that they would get Congress to cut their funding if they went ahead and published the report. This fact terrifies me because if we cannot trust the WHO to tell us the truth, who can we trust?

Bolognese stuffed peppers

This recipe uses the same bolognese sauce as my Leeksagne but I've included it below for convenience. Stuffing the peppers with the sauce was Ronan's idea!

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
10 button mushrooms, sliced
400g lean minced beef
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato purée
1 beef stock cube
1 tsp Stevia
3 red or orange peppers or a mix of the two
2 large buffalo mozzarrella balls, sliced
20g grated cheddar

1. Pan fry onion until soft
2. Add mince and cook until browned
3. Add chopped mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato purée, stock cube and Stevia
4. Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes
5. Slice peppers in half, down the centre
6. Place peppers in an ovenproof dish and fill with bolognese mixture
7. Cover each pepper with sliced mozzarella
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 30-40 minutes until cheddar is melted and browned
9. Serve on their own or with a green salad

N.B. This recipe is not suitable if you avoid nightshade foods.

Leeksagne

Ingredients:

2 large leeks
1 onion, chopped
10 button mushrooms, sliced
400g lean minced beef
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato purée
fresh basil
oregano
1 beef stock cube
1 tsp Stevia
1 tub cream cheese
20g grated cheddar

1. Peel and rinse the leeks. Cut each stalk in half and place in a large saucepan. Boil for 8 minutes. Drain and soak in cold water for 10 minutes
2. Pan fry onion until soft
3. Add mince and cook until browned
4. Add chopped mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato purée, stock cube, oregano, basil and Stevia
5. Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes
6. Remove leeks from water and separate into their layers. Pat dry with kitchen towel
7. Place half the mince mixture into an oven proof dish
8. Cover with leek layers, using only as much as you need to cover the sauce
9. Place the other half of the mince over the leek layer
10. Cover the mince with rest of the leeks. Again, only using as much as you need
11. Melt cream cheese in small pan and pour over the leeks, smoothing it to cover them
12. Sprinkle grated cheddar over the top
13. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 30-40 minutes until cheddar is melted and browned
14. Serve on its own or with a green salad

 Leek layer

N.B. This recipe is not suitable if you avoid nightshade foods.

Low carb 'pasta' bake

This is such an easy recipe. It's a great use for left over roast chicken and it's my partner's new favourite dinner!

Ingredients:

1 large cauliflower
4 chicken breasts or left over roast chicken
4 handfuls of fresh spinach
1 slice Le Roulé or 1 whole Boursin cheese
75g cheddar cheese

1. Chop cauliflower head into small florets and steam for 5 minutes. Drain immediately and place into large mixing bowl
2. Pan fry diced chicken breasts in a dessert spoon of coconut oil until cooked through. Add to mixing bowl
3. Grate cheddar and place 50g into the bowl
4. Add spinach to the bowl
5. Put Roulé or Boursin into a small saucepan and heat, stirring constantly until melted into a smooth sauce
6. Add sauce to the bowl and mix all ingredients well
7. Season with salt and pepper
8. Pour mixture into baking dish, sprinkle remaining cheddar over the top
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 30 minutes until cheddar is browned and bubbling
10. Serve with a green salad.

Why low carb?

My name is Eleanor. I am 38 and reasonably healthy but I do have fibromyalgia. I have no medical qualifications but I have been studying Clinical Nutrition for some time now. I have found that the healthiest way to eat, for me anyway, is to maintain a low carb diet. What does that mean? Simply put, I rarely eat the following:

Potatoes
Bread
Pasta
Rice
Sugar

I am not suggesting that you follow Atkins or similar diets. I don't believe that any extreme diet is the way to go. I do however eat a high protein diet but I also eat carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, salad and a little fruit (fruit contains fructose which is essentially sugar). The protein I eat consists mainly of meat, seafood, cheese, dairy products, eggs, nuts (excluding peanuts as these are not actually a nut but a member of the legume family) and seeds.

So many people tell me that they couldn't possibly manage without potatoes or bread. But it really isn't as difficult as it sounds. Lunch doesn't have to be a sandwich. It can be a delicious fresh salad. There are so many fantastic ingredients you can use to make an incredible salad. Or what about a mushroom omelette or scrambled eggs with smoked salmon? Homemade soup is another option.You don't need to start spending longer in the kitchen to create low carb meals, you simply need to learn to think differently about food.

I have two reasons for maintaining this way of eating. Firstly, my weight. You hear all the time that people can't lose weight because they have a slower metabolism or that they don't eat badly but with me it REALLY is true! I have battled with my weight all my life yet I have always been interested in what I put into my body so have consciously never overeaten or indulged in regular takeaways etc. I'm not obese but I've never been skinny or even slim really. Since I started eating low carb I finally feel that I can control my weight. I don't think I will ever be a stick but I am able to stay at a reasonable weight and ensure that it doesn't go up and if I'm particularly strict, it even goes down!

My second and more important reason is that the symptoms of my fibromyalgia are much better when I eat a high protein diet. I discovered this whilst on holiday in Italy. Usually I relax my diet when I go away and Italy is of course the land of pizza and pasta. Very shortly after I started indulging, the pain in my legs became unbearable. I literally could hardly walk. Once I stopped the bread and pasta, the symptoms faded rapidly.

I am hoping, with this blog, to share my knowledge and recipes to help other people in their quest to eat more healthily and reduce their pain.