NEW RECIPES - three low carb recipes for the holidays

You will not have to feel left out at the Thanksgiving table with these three treats.

Crackers:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a half sheet or cookie sheet with parchment or use a silpat sheet. Put six to eight piles of shredded cheese, evenly spaced, on the sheet. (You can get eight on the sheet if you form them into ovals.) I use about two tbsp. per cracker. Put in the hot oven for 7 minutes. Watch them closely so they don't burn!

Remove from oven and immediately put on cooling rack. Experiment with size, also with types of cheese. Even the brand of cheese will affect the outcome, so when you find one you really like, make note of it for future batches.

6 of these crackers provide ONLY 1 GRAM OF CARBOHYDRATE! And they will stand up to dip.

Faux mashed potatoes:

Boil a head and a half of cauliflower (or two smallish heads) roughly chopped in a large pan of water with 1-1/2 tsp. sea salt. Drain thoroughly. In fact, I put the cooked cauliflower in the sink in a colander and forget about it for an hour or more so it gets good and dry. Put the drained cauliflower back into the pot you used to boil it. Throw in half (or more) of an 8 oz. package of cream cheese. Use a stick blender to thoroughly blend, or use a food processor and do in batches. When ready to use, heat in a heavy bottom sauce pan over very low heat, watching to make sure it doesn't burn. Use like mashed potatoes.

Four ounces of cauliflower provides 3 net carbs, and the cream cheese will add about another gram to that four ounce serving.

Gravy:

The better the stock you use, the better the gravy will taste. I have even used canned broth, and it's pretty good. Start with two cups of broth or stock. Heat it and reduce it by about a fourth to enrich the flavor. Lower the heat and add about a tbsp. (or to reach the consistency you like) of xanthan gum. Beat well with a wire whisk while you increase heat and bring it back to a boil. It takes a bit before it thickens. Start on the low side with the xanthan gum, as it will thicken as it sits. Last thing, add some heavy whipping cream. I put about a half cup of cream in the amount listed here. Bring back up just to the boil and immediately remove from heat.

So now you too can have "potatoes" and gravy on Thanksgiving Day. What a deal if you can get the hostess to give you a bit of turkey stock, a pan and a whisk (bring your own stash of xanthan gum) and make your own gravy. I doubt the diners will know which is the low carb gravy!

Per 1/4 C. of gravy  - less than one carb.

Let's talk dessert:

Forget the pie. Just cross it off your list. But how about a big bowl of whipped cream with vanilla? You can add a tbsp. of sugar free vanilla pudding, or go all natural and add a tsp. of real maple syrup. If you are really, truly minimizing carbs and using little or no artificial sweeteners in your diet, that tsp. of maple syrup will add only 4 carbs and will provide an explosion of sweetness! The cream is about 3/4 grams carbs per ounce. You do the math and decide how much you want to splurge.

For a point of reference, a piece of pumpkin pie has 43.4 net carbs. Does that help you make a choice?

Oh, one last note - a slice of turkey, any size - 0 grams carbs. :)