BUNS!!! Almost 0 carb!

Hey y'all!

This is what I'm having for lunch today.

Raven's Mushroom/Asiago burger with"Bun".

Fixin's:

I sauteed 1/2 inch of onion (thin rings) with about a 1/4 cup sliced mushroom in butter, with granulated garlic. Then I set it aside.

Then, I took about three or four handfuls of pork rinds and crushed them in my hands (till I had a little more than half a cup) and added 1 egg, and two small handfuls of Mexi-melt cheese, and mixed them well. (It's a dry mix, don't be put off by this.

I added a little granulated garlic and basil to the mix for seasoning.

I poured about a tablespoon and a half of peanut oil into a crepe pan, and made two patties out of the mixture. (It tends to be prone to falling apart-- however, I'm stubborn-- I got two hand sized buns out of this, with a small "bonus bun" leftover. That one became a snack.

Then I fried them (on low medium heat) till they were golden brown on one side-- flipped them, and cooked them till they were golden brown on the other side.

Then I took some organic ground beef-- seasoned it with Trader Ho's beef grill seasoning, and made it into a patty to fit the "buns" I'd just made. I cooked it till just a little over medium rare.

I put the Onion/Mushroom mixture on top of the burger and covered that with two thin slices of Asiago cheese. I covered the whole thing with a lid that fit the pan, cooked for about 4 minutes or so-- until the cheese was well melted. I let it cool for about 2 minutes.

Then I placed the burger on one slice of the "bun" and slathered mustard over the other one, and topped the burger.

The completed burger held up all day-- I tend to eat one quarter of a burger at a time, with about 2 hours between each mini-meal. The bun did not get too soggy.

Oh. My. Heavens!!!YUMMMY.

Raven's Mexican Pizza or A Variation on a Theme

(Raven's Take on Nancy Elle's Classic)

This Pizza is awesome! Good cold, too!

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

For the Crust:

In a large bowl combine:

4 cups shredded mozzarella
2 Cup Cheese, cheddar , 1 cup, shredded
5 LARGE eggs
1 tablespoon Kraft's Parmesan Cheese (in the box)
½ tsp Granulated garlic
½ tsp Oregano
½ tsp onion powder
½ Basil

Use baker's parchment to line a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan, then pat mixture into a thin even layer. Spread mixture to the edges-- pat down with fingers, to ensure an even thickness. Trim excess parchment paper from pan with scissors.

Bake at 450 for 20 to 30 minutes on your middle rack.

When crust is browned and crisp at the edges, remove from oven and let cool.

For the Toppings:

Crumble 1 lb Chorizo in pan, cook at low-med heat until done, drain, and crumble some more into smaller pieces.

Caramelize Onions on low heat in olive oil. Remove when browned. Add chopped broccoli, chopped mushrooms, and zucchini to pan. Cover with lid, until broccoli is a bright green and zucchini is tender-crisp. Remove from heat.

Spread pizza crust with the salsa, and place toppings on pizza. Smother with Mozzarella cheese.

Place under broiler on Lo, until cheese is just beginning to brown.

The recipe above is only one variation on a theme-- one can make a white Pizza, using Low Carb Alfredo sauce, or Pizza Carbonara using a good Marinara-- I've also made a heck of a Pesto, Spinach, Mushroom and Roasted Chicken Pizza using the same crust. Varying your spice can make a big difference.


TTL Grams Per Entire Pizza Crust: 19.7 grams carbs
1.31 grams carb per slice
2.62 grams carb for 2 slices
Toppings: 12.97 ttl grams

35.67 grams carb per entire recipe
2.3 per piece
4.756 grams for two pieces
6.9 per Three pieces

RAVEN'S PIZZA HUT (ish) PIZZA CRUST

(Raven's Take on Nancy Elle's Classic)

Ingredients:
5 jumbo eggs
3 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup mexi-melt cheese
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
½ teaspoon fennel seeds (crushed)
½ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon oregano
Low Carb Marinara sauce ¼ cup/ Or Red Salsa ¼ cup
Or a mix of both, to create ¼ cup total.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Line a large rectangular baking pan with parchment paper. Using a spatula , spread egg/cheese mixture evenly.

Place pan in oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes to half an hour, or until cheese/egg mix is browned and firm.

When done, set out to cool. Loosen the crust on the parchment paper.

Spread with a low carb pizza sauce or for even fewer carbs, use salsa, or a salsa/marinara sauce mix.

Place toppings of your choice on the pizza--

Pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, shrimp, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, onions, Canadian bacon, etc, . Use your imagination!

Top with mozzarella cheese, and place under broiler on HI (middle rack) and broil 'till cheese is just starting to brown.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

My Housemates were apparently quite wowed by this recipe.

*notes:

This Pizza heats up well, and travels well for a work lunch. You can pick this pizza up and hold it in your hands, eat it like a regular pizza. It's also very filling.

WHAT TO DO FOR LUNCH???!!!

A common question is what to have for bagged lunches. When you eat a “normal” diet, you get used to the convenience of processed foods, sandwiches, or just going out and getting junk food.

On a low carb diet, that gets to be a bit of a hassle, and it's expensive and unsatisfying. And I like knowing what's in my food, too. So-- over the years, I've come up with some bagged lunch choices that work-- without having to have as fridge or a microwave.

Here are some of those lunches choices...

Scotch Eggs are AWESOME!!! They travel well, and are good cold.

I boil up some eggs-- I like them medium, and cool them and peel them.

Then I completely cover them in Jimmy Dean sausage, and roll them in either pork rinds (crushed), or protein powder (keeps them from sticking). ( So basically, they are eggs encased in sausage balls)

I place them in a baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Slice in half and eat. Take some to work!

**
These are lunches I've had in the last few weeks...

*The above mentioned Scotch Eggs

*turkey/swiss cheese rolls

*small meat balls

*mushrooms stuffed with sausage

*parmesan cheese and pork rinds (crushed)

*Oven fried chicken strips (coated w grated parmesan)

*Catfish nuggets,done same way

*no bread quesadilla (two pieces of turkey ham with cheese, fried up the way you'd do a quesadilla,sliced into quarters...


*Celery stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese or blue cheese

*Cream Cheese and Lox spread with pork rinds

*Bacon-wrapped shrimp and or Catfish

*No sugar,nitrate free chicken sausages,cut in quarters

*Country style Pork Ribs cut in Bite size pieces

*Homemade Quiche

*Egg/cheese/ sausage mini quiche-muffins

*Shiritaki Noodle stir-fry using Leftovers...

* Just plain old Leftovers!!! !

If I'm caught without a lunch to take to work-- I generally go to QFC (my nearest grocer) and get 1/2 pound "Boars Head Oven Roast Turkey Breast"(0 carbs, all natural) sliced medium, and 1/2 pound of some sort of aged, hard cheese, sliced. I make roll ups from these, dipping them in deli mustard.

My lunches are designed to be eaten with minimal mess (finger food, mostly) and without needing either microwave or fridge.

I also like to keep "Liptons Green Tea to Go" packs to add to bottled water.
I try not to go over 2 per day.

Happy Eating!