Snow Peas

Snow Peas

SNOW PEAS · PEANUT OIL · SESAME SEEDS

Sauté — High

Keep your peas in the pod and eat the whole damn thing. The more plant parts, the better. We like to cut off the ends, but if that sounds like too much work, just leave ‘em. Sauté in peanut oil, but make it quick—2 minutes, tops. Think wok, but don’t bother buying one. Depending on what else is on the plate, flavor with sesame seeds and a splash of soy sauce, or with salt, pepper and a little crumbled feta. 

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~ 5g net carbs per cup of raw snow peas

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Sirloin Tips

Sirloin Tips

STEAK · MARINADE · PEANUT OIL · SOY SAUCE

PARSLEY · PEANUTS · RED PEPPER FLAKES

Sauté — medium — IT 145°F

Bruce Lee fast but without the toughness. The secret to stir-fry tenderness is a quality cut—sirloin or similar—sliced across the grain into bite-size strips. Marinate for whatever time you’ve got, hours, minutes, or not at all. Sauté in peanut oil over medium-high heat until barely done, maybe 2 minutes per side. The USDA says shoot for an IT of 145°F, but we get them off the heat sooner rather than later; they’ll cook a little more as you season them. Drizzle with soy sauce, top with chopped parsley and crushed peanuts, and add some crushed red pepper for an extra kick. 

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

Baby Bok Choy

Baby Bok Choy

BOK CHOY · PEANUT OIL · SOY SAUCE · SESAME OIL · RED PEPPER FLAKES

Sauté — high

Your mom may not have made this, but we promise you someone else’s mom did. Baby bok choy is easy, tasty and, like all babies, so cute! Slice in half lengthwise, and do your best to rinse off any dirt around the base, but don’t freak out about it. Pan-fry in peanut oil in a hot skillet, about 4 minutes per side. Dress the babies in sesame oil and soy sauce, red pepper flakes if you are feeling feisty.

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~ 1g net carbs per cup of raw bok choy

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Cauliflower Rice

Cauliflower Rice

CAULIFLOWER · BUTTER · HERBS

Sauté — medium-high

Okay, we know it’s not rice. But why add a nutritionally wimpy starch to a meal when you can add a vitamin-packed veggie? Grate the cauliflower—or save your knuckles and buy your cauliflower already “riced.” Melt a bunch of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add your “rice” and stir, sautéing until slightly golden. Like any good love story, you want it tender, but not mushy. Add more butter if needed, plus some chopped herbs. It may not really be rice, but it can still soak up any yummy sauce that comes its way from other dishes on your plate.  

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~3g net carbs per cup of raw cauliflower

Lamb Chops

Lamb Chops

LAMB CHOPS · MARINADE · OLIVE OIL · BUTTER · MUSTARD · MINT

Pan-fry — medium — IT 145°F

Don’t feel sheepish about breaking out the lamb chops when you want an easy, elegant treat. Marinate chops for a few hours if you can—or skip this if you’re in a hurry. Season your chops with salt and pepper and pan-fry over medium heat in a cast iron skillet coated with a little olive oil—grilling works too—for about 5-10 minutes per side. Use your instant-read thermometer and take them off the heat a little early. While the little lambs rest a wee bit, add some butter and mustard to the frying pan for a simple pan sauce. Skip the green jelly and add a sprig of fresh mint. 

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

Romaine Salad

Romaine Salad

ROMAINE · CREAMY DRESSING · PARMESAN

Cold Prep

Caesar salad without the fuss. Just clean up the romaine, make sure it is dry, and layer leaves on plate. Top with a creamy dressing and shaved parmesan. Walnuts? Certainly. Bacon? Of course. Parmesan crisps? If you’ve got ‘em. Making it yours makes it even more delicious.

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~ 1g net carbs per cup of raw romaine

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Grilled Eggplant

Grilled Eggplant

EGGPLANT · OLIVE OIL · VINEGAR · HERBS

Grill — medium

#freetheeggplant. Get this racy emoji’s namesake out from under all those breadcrumbs and let its own flavor stand out. Here’s how: Slice the eggplant lengthwise, salt it all over, and let it bask on some paper towels for a while. Towel off some of the salt and slather on the olive oil. Grill over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes per side (broiling works too); slices should be brown and tender. Splash. Drizzle. Sprinkle. Balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar if you are sugar-sensitive) or soy sauce. Olive oil. Herbs. In that order. Satisfying enough to turn anyone into an eggplant lover.  

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~2g net carbs per cup of raw eggplant

Lamb Kebabs

Lamb Kebabs

GROUND LAMB · SPICES · OLIVE OIL · TZATZIKI

Pan-fry — medium — IT 160°F

Kebabs are quick and fun, like little meat lollipops, and a nice change from the same-old, same-old. Start with ground lamb in a bowl. For a pound of meat, you’ll need a tablespoon each of cumin, paprika, and chili powder, plus a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. (Your own favorite spice blend works too.) Form the meat around skewers; shoot for 5 skewers per pound of meat. Pro tip: square them off for easy cooking. Pan-fry the kebabs in a little olive oil, turning often and getting all four sides. Remove from heat when internal temp hits 160°F. Spoon on some tzatziki, which is easier to make than it is to spell, and even easier to buy, if your market carries it. 

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

Cucumber Salad

Cucumber Salad

CUCUMBER · CREAMY DRESSING · FETA CHEESE

Cold Prep

Keep your cool with this no-sweat side dish you can make in minutes. Peel your cucumbers as much or as little as you like. Slice them in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon or just leave ‘em. Slice your cukes into bite-sized chunks and toss with our creamy dressing and crumbled feta. You might want to add fresh herbs and few sliced bell peppers or cherry tomatoes. You definitely want to add salt and pepper. What could be more chill?

(When in doubt, add salt and/or pepper.)

~ 3g net carbs per cup of raw cucumber

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Veal Scallopini

Veal Scallopini

VEAL CUTLET · BUTTER · CAPERS · LEMON · HERBS

Pan-fry — medium — IT 145°F

Forget the wiener and the schnitzel. Veal cutlets are delicious, super quick, and a lot less messy without the breading. Cover them with parchment paper and work out any anger issues by pounding them to about 1⁄4-inch thick. Very therapeutic. Pan-fry in butter over medium heat; a couple of minutes per side will do. Remove the cutlets and add more butter to the pan. Allow it to brown, mixing in parsley and capers and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice. Drizzle the sauce over the veal, and don’t be shy with the salt and pepper. Serve with calm and a (relatively) clean kitchen.  

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

Tomato Salad

Tomato Salad

TOMATOES · BUFFALO MOZZARELLA · OLIVE OIL · VINEGAR · HERBS

Cold Prep

Grab a taste of sunshine with this quickie salad. Buy cherry or grape tomatoes (full-size ones work too) and slice them into halves. Arrange on a plate with slices or chunks of fresh mozzarella (the kind bobbing around in water). Pour on olive oil and splash on some red wine vinegar (or balsamic for sweetness, if you are not sugar-sensitive). Top with chopped basil, or other fresh-tasting herb, plus lotsa salt and pepper.  Summer lovin’, any time of the year.

(When in doubt, add salt and/or pepper.)

~ 4g net carbs per cup of raw tomato

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Braised Fennel

Braised Fennel

FENNEL · OLIVE OIL · STOCK · PARMESAN · HERBS

Braise — medium-high

Beautiful and overlooked, fennel is the girl-next-door of veggies. A leisurely cook time banishes the licorice flavor you’ve heard about and brings out the sweetness. Slice the bulbs, top to bottom, into 1⁄2 inch planks, and pan-fry in olive oil over medium-high heat, browning each side. Carefully add a cup of stock or water and turn down the heat. Simmer uncovered; the water will evaporate as the fennel softens. When it’s done, sprinkle on parmesan cheese and cover, allowing the cheese to melt. Serve with a drizzle olive oil, a couple of fennel fronds, and chopped herbs. Fennel, where’ve you been all my life?  

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~4g net carbs per cup of raw fennel

Canadian Bacon

Canadian Bacon

CANADIAN BACON · BUTTER · DIJON MUSTARD · MAYO OR AIOLI

Pan-fry — medium — IT 145°F

More ham than bacon, it’s aboot time you made this conveniently packaged meaty treat from our neighbors to the north. Use a large skillet to pan-fry slices in butter over medium heat until brown around the edges on both sides. Serve them up with a yummy Dijon mustard-mayo combo. Or homemade aioli. Anyway you top ‘em, they’re a beauty, eh?   

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

Braised Collards

Braised Collards

COLLARDS · BACON · STOCK · RED PEPPER FLAKES

BRAISE — MEDIUM

Kale’s redneck cousin, collards need bacon fat. Pan-fry bacon over medium heat. Remove when crisp, leaving the fat. Rinse collards, remove thick middle rib, and cut leaves into squares. Sauté them with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add a cup of liquid (chicken broth or water, maybe with a little vinegar). Cover and cook 20 minutes more. Uncover and simmer until tender and only a bit of liquid is left. That potlikker is the best part, y’all.

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~ 1g net carbs per cup of raw collards

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Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Cauliflower

CAULIFLOWER · OLIVE OIL · GARLIC · HERBS

Roast — 400°F

Cauliflower may be cabbage with a college education, but this recipe is a no-brainer. Rinse the whole thing, cut away the green stuff, and separate the rest into little florets. Toss them on a baking dish with plenty of olive oil and as few—or as many—cloves of garlic as you see fit. Slide into hot oven and roast until brown around the edges and fork tender, about 30 minutes. You can also try swapping out the olive oil for butter and/or cheddar. Smart thinking.  

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~3g net carbs per cup of raw cauliflower

Italian Sausage

Italian Sausage

ITALIAN SAUSAGE · SOUR CREAM · TOMATO

Sauté — medium — IT 160°F

Kielbasa. Brats. Chorizo. Even hot dogs (gasp!). A sausage by any other name is still a crazy convenient way to get dinner on the table. You can even start with a precooked link and save yourself all kinds of time. We’re going precooked Italian here (hot or mild is up to you). Slice at an angle, and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, maybe longer if you like more char. Try to get the cut surface browned on both sides. That’s it. Skip the bun, because you’ve got sour cream—or any other favorite rich creamy thing—for dipping.   

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

Roasted Rapini

Roasted Rapini

RAPINI · OLIVE OIL · GARLIC · RED PEPPER FLAKES

BRAISE — MEDIUM

Raab, rabe, rapini. Looks like baby broccoli, but it’s really the European version of turnip greens. The whole thing—leaves, stems, flowers—gets rinsed and tossed with olive oil. You can be fancy and throw in some minced garlic too. Either way, roast it all in a 400°F, until the leaves get a little brown and crispy, about 20 minutes or so. Serve with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, or a squeeze of lemon, or—of course—a generous pat of butter.

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~ 0g net carbs per cup of raw rapini

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Turkey Meatballs

Turkey Meatballs

Ground Turkey · Olive Oil · Egg · Parmesan

Heavy Cream · Tomato Paste · Herbs

Sauté — medium — IT 165°F

We’ve all heard the song. “On top of spaghetti” is no place for meatballs. They’ll be safer in a luscious pool of rich creamy tomato sauce. Mix ground turkey in a bowl with one egg and about 1⁄3 cup shredded parmesan cheese per pound of meat, plus some salt, pepper, and Italian herbs. Make the mixture into golf ball-sized spheroids. Sauté in olive oil, turning, until brown on all sides, then add about a cup of cream and a tablespoon or two of tomato paste per pound of meat. (It helps to mix those two together first.) Simmer until your instant-read thermometer hits 165°F. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and more parmesan. Let the good times roll.   

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

Zucchini Zoodles

Zucchini Zoodles

Zucchini · Butter · Herbs

Sauté — MEDIUM-High

Basta with the pasta. Who needs it when there’s zoodles? You can buy ‘em prepped. You can buy ‘em frozen. You can buy zucchini and run it through a spiralizer, which takes literally two minutes and is so much fun it isn’t even fair. Whatever way you go, melt some butter in a pan and sauté your zoodles for a couple of minutes. We like them soft, but not mushy. Some people eat them raw. You are the master of your own zoodles.

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)

~ 2g net carbs per cup of raw zucchini

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Braised Bratwurst

Braised Bratwurst

Bratwurst · Beer · Yellow Mustard · Mayo

Braise — medium — IT 160°F

Crack open a beer for this one. But don’t drink (much of) it. Brown sausages in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and carefully pour (what’s left of) that beer into the pan. Simmer, turning the brats occasionally, until the beer is gone for real. If you started with uncooked brats, check for an IT of 165°F before serving. If they need more time, add a little water to the pan and simmer on, while you grab your own beer.   

(When in doubt, add butter and/or salt.)