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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Creamed Leeks

Creamed Leeks

Leeks · butter · heavy cream · parmesan

Sauté — Medium

Wicked good. Leeks have a sweet, delicate flavor that belies their scallions-on-steroids appearance. They do tend to be a little grubby though, so after you trim off the dark green leaves and the roots, be sure to rinse out the sand from between the layers. Slice the leeks crosswise, on a slight diagonal, and sauté in melted butter over medium heat. If you flip them carefully, you’ll keep some of the pretty concentric circles intact. Here’s the real witchcraft: When they are soft and beginning to brown, pour some heavy cream over them and cook a few minutes more. Then top with a little shaved parmesan. Magic.  

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

~11g net carbs per cup of raw leeks

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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Sweet Corn

Sweet Corn

Corn · butter · herbs

Boil

Corn is a grain masquerading as a veggie. So if grains are your frenemies, time to vamoose. Skedaddle. Scram. If you’re still with us, you know what to do: Open freezer. Dump frozen corn in saucepan. Add a little water. Heat until hot. But, but, but, remember: What would your grandmother do? Add butter. A butt-load of butter. (Believe it or not, butt-load is a vintage term...)  

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

~24g net carbs per cup of raw sweet corn

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.)

Creamy Coleslaw

Creamy Coleslaw

Cabbage · Coleslaw Dressing · Herbs

Cold Prep

It’s totally affordable. Crunchy. And everyone forgets that coleslaw is just dressed-up cabbage. So this dish has its own superlative: slawsome. It is so easy to make it delicious. Grate or slice up a head of cabbage, or buy pre-prepped coleslaw mix. Toss with our easy slaw dressing and some chopped herbs.

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

~ 3g net carbs per cup of raw cabbage

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Roasted Butternut

Roasted Butternut

Butternut Squash · olive oil · herbs

Roast — 400°F

Why do we love this dish so much? 1) Because most markets sell pre-cubed butternut. 2) It tastes fabulous. 3) It’s a breeze to make. What’s not to like? Just toss the cubes of squash with olive oil and arrange on a baking sheet. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Roast in a 400°F oven for about 25 minutes. Remove when brown on the edges and fork tender. You could use other winter squashes, although you might have to peel them. And they don’t have “butter” in their names.  

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

~14g net carbs per cup of raw butternut

Grilled Swordfish

Grilled Swordfish

Swordfish · Tartar Sauce · Lemon · Tomato/olive Garnish

Grill — medium — IT 145°F

A fish you can cook like a steak. What a relief! Just season with salt and pepper, and slap it on the grill over medium heat (or you can use the broiler, but be warned, steak-like qualities aside, it does still smell like fish when you cook it). Flip once, after about 5 minutes. Cook until your instant-read thermometer reads 145°F. (Them’s the USDA rules. If you like it rare, do your own thing.) Serve with our simple tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon. Or just melt some butter on it—like a steak, right?   

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

Roasted Zucchini

Roasted Zucchini

Zucchini · Butter · Parmesan · Herbs

Roast —400°F

How do you make zucchini that your family will fight over? Try a vintage-style formula our grandmothers deployed: Butter + cheese. Slice zucchini, lengthwise, into ~1⁄4 inch thick planks. Arrange them in buttered baking dish and dot with more butter. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle on grated parmesan. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, or until zukes are tender and cheese is browned. Sprinkle on chopped herbs, serve, and stand back.

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

~ 2g net carbs per cup of raw zucchini

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Baby Beets

Baby Beets

beets · butter · herbs

Boil

Fresh baby beets. Sounds like a chillhop playlist for the cool kids, but these babies are hot stuff. Rinse, trim, and chuck them gently into a pot of boiling water. (Or toss them in olive oil and roast them in a hot oven.) Done to perfection is when they are just tender—maybe 20-40 minutes. You can use grown-up beets too, it just takes longer. Either way, serve with plenty of butter, and these beets will be a smash hit.  

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

~9g net carbs per cup of raw beets

Broiled White Fish

Broiled White Fish

White fish · Mayo · Lemon · Tartar sauce

Broil — high — IT 145°F

Fish with a mayo crust. It’s a bit of kitchen magic that means you don’t need breading. Use whatever fish fillets you like: cod, haddock, halibut, tilapia. Arrange on a buttered baking dish, spread with mayo, sprinkle with a squeeze of citrus—lime, lemon, even grapefruit. Bake until the fish is just cooked (145°F on your handy-dandy instant-read thermometer, or less if you like it rare) and the mayo browns and forms a crust. If you don’t care for mayo, try thin slices of butter instead. If you do like mayo, don’t forget the tartar sauce.   

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

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts · Olive Oil · Bacon · Herbs

Roast —400°F

This veggie might conjure up memories of soggy green spheres of bitterness, but these are not your mother’s B. sprouts. Give the “cabbage patch kids” a shower, trim off stems and slice 'em in half, lengthwise. Coat with olive oil, season, and place in single layer on baking dish. Roast in hot oven for ~30 minutes, stirring once toward the end. They’re done when well browned, with some crispy leaves. Crumble on bacon and make some new memories.

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

~ 5g net carbs per cup of raw Brussels sprouts

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Baked Sweet Potato

Baked Sweet Potato

sweet potatoes · butter

Bake — 400°F

The good ole baked (sweet) potato. It’s not for everyone. Because, sweet. Also: potato. And if the carbs don’t scare you away, the cook time might. You only need about a minute to prep, but you’ll need close to an hour for baking. That said, they’re easy. Just rinse, prick the skin with a fork, and place right on the rack in a 400°F oven with a foil covered baking sheet on the rack below to catch drippings. Do something else for about 30 minutes. Flip the sweet potatoes. Leave for about another 20 minutes, more if the potatoes are larger. Fork-tender = done. Slice in half, lengthwise, and serve with lots of butter on top. Because, butter.  

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

~11g net carbs per half of a 5" sweet potato