Keto Lemon Pasta

If you’re a diabetic and celiac and love pasta, your options are limited. For many years, I spirialized zucchini to make noodles or used shiritaki noodles, but I’ve since discovered noodles made from hearts of palm that are only 4 grams of carb per serving! They are far superior to any of the low carb options available and now they’re my go-to pasta alternative. There are two brands I recommend: Palmini brand, which can be purchased at WalMart, Costco, Sprouts, some other stores and online. My favorite that comes in spaghetti style is made by Natural Heaven and can be purchased on Amazon or on the company’s website.

This recipe is excellent served alone as a vegetarian main or side dish, or served with fish or chicken. If you miss pasta, I highly recommend you give hearts of palm noodles a try soon!

Keto Lemon Pasta

Makes 2 servings

Sea salt or freshly ground pepper

1 package hearts of palm spaghetti or linguine noodles (9 oz)

4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)

1/4 cup heavy cream

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Fresh chopped parsley for garnish

Shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish

1. Boil the hearts of palm noodles in salted water for a few minutes to soften.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the zest and juice of one lemon, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmer. Add the heavy cream and continue to simmer until sauce is reduced and thickened slightly. When the sauce has thickened, strain the noodles and add them to the sauce. Toss the noodles in the sauce until well coated. If needed, continue to simmer until sauce reaches your desired consistency.

3. Divide the noodles and sauce between two serving plates. Garnish each with fresh parsley and parmesan. Serve immediately. (Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days. To reheat, gently warm in a covered, oven-proof dish at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.)

Nutritional Information per serving (1/2 recipe): 347 calories, 7.6 g carbohydrate (2.9 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugars), 35.4 g total fat (21.8 g saturated fat), 102 mg cholesterol, 219 mg sodium, 36.5 mg calcium, 183 mg potassium, 352 mg Vit A, 16 mg Vit C, 2.1 g protein. Net carbs per serving: 4.7 grams

Photos and recipe by Kathy Sheehan, copyright 2019

All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate without the author’s permission.

Eggs Benedict Chaffles

Eggs Benedict is one of my favorite egg dishes. They’re perfect for brunch or a light meal. Traditionally, Eggs Benedict sit on a base of split english muffins, but in this recipe I’ve made 4” White Bread Chaffles with a hint of Everything But the Bagel Seasoning (from Trader Joe’s) and they were the perfect bread substitute. The accompanying Hollandaise Sauce is typically thought to be a difficult or fussy recipe, but when you use an immersion stick blender, it’s quick and easy, taking less than one minute to make! Finally, I recently purchased a microwave egg poacher that makes easy work of creating the perfectly poached egg in 30 seconds, with no mess. Put all of these luscious ingredients together with bacon, spinach and a couple of slices of tomato and you have the BEST, low carb breakfast ever. Elegant enough for company or treat yourself!

White Bread Chaffles

Makes 2 chaffles (1 serving)

1 large egg, beaten

1 tablespoon sour cream, ricotta cheese or mayonnaise 

1 tablespoon almond flour (or coconut flour)

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon Everything But the Bagel Seasoning (optional, but adds a nice flavor)

1 teaspoon water, if needed to thin batter

Preheat a 4” mini waffle maker (I use a Dash Mini). In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients. The batter may be thin, which is fine. Divide the batter in half. Add about 4 tablespoons of the batter to the heated waffle iron and spread around to cover the waffle bumps. Close the lid and cook for 4 minutes. Remove chaffle to a wire rack to cool and repeat with the remaining batter to make a second chaffle. This recipe makes 2 chaffles. (If you’re using a regular size waffle maker, you will need to double or triple this recipe.)

Nutritional Information per 2 chaffles: 202 calories, 2 g carbohydrate (0.8 g dietary fiber, 0.4 g sugars), 18.3 g total fat (3.3 g saturated fat), 7.8 g protein. Net carb per serving: 1.2 grams

Make One Minute Hollandaise Sauce using an immersion stick blender. Watch this excellent YouTube video by The Food Lab to learn how: https://youtu.be/rOWzVV_XrcM

1/2 cup butter

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon water

A pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, water, salt and pepper into a pint mason jar or the cup that comes with your immersion blender; set aside. Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until beginning to bubble. Once the butter is heated, pour it into a heat-proof glass measuring cup (alternatively you can melt the butter in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds in the microwave-safe measuring cup covered with a damp paper towel until bubbly). Put your stick immersion blender into the jar or cup with the yolks and turn it on. Slowly add the melted butter and continue to blend until the sauce thickens.

Nutritional Information per 2 tablespoons of sauce: 100 calories, 0.7 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 10 g total fat (6 g saturated fat), 60 mg cholesterol, 197 mg sodium, 0 g protein.

Make Poached Eggs using your favorite method. I used a Joseph Joseph Microwave Egg Poacher (see above image).

Now put it all together with your favorite Eggs Benedict toppings:

Bacon

Canadian Bacon

Sliced ham

Sliced tomato

Fresh spinach leaves

Fresh Swiss Chard leaves

Photos and Recipe by Kathy Sheehan, except where noted, copyright 2019

All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate without the author’s permission.