Beef Stir Fry - wheat free/grain free/sugar free/dairy free

Beef Stir Fry

 This is similar to beef and broccoli only I had more vegetables, so I wanted to use them all.  Most Chinese sauces have wheat in them, but they are usually easy to duplicate, so I make my own.  You just need a few specialty ingredients to give it an authentic Chinese flavor.  You probably know about soy sauce, but even more important is sesame oil.  It has a definite but subtle flavor and aroma that will make the difference in any Chinese dish.

1 6-8 oz steak, any steak you have will probably do fine.
1 crown of broccoli
1 carrot
1/4 head of cabbage
1 small onion
1 T sesame oil
1 T gluten free soy sauce or shoyu or liquid aminos
1 t lemon grass
2 t grated ginger
1 t xanthan gum (optional - this makes it a bit thicker)
1/2 t red pepper flakes (optional)

While the steak is still a little bit frozen, slice it thinly against the grain.  It's easier to slice when slightly frozen. Peel the carrot and cut all the vegetables into bite sized or smaller pieces.  Cutting the carrot on a diagonal and slicing the cabbage into thin strips makes it look more like servings in a Chinese restaurant.

Mix the soy sauce, lemon grass, ginger and xanthan gum into a sauce.  You can taste it and adjust the seasonings, adding flakes of red pepper if you are brave.

Pour the sesame oil into a hot pan, a wok would be best, but I don't have one.  Cook the vegetables first until they just barely start to soften and add the steak.  As soon as the steak starts to brown, add the sauce and cook until it thickens (if you are using xanthan gum) or heats through (if you are not).

You can eat this as is, or make cauliflower "rice" by grating cauliflower and then microwaving it until soft.

Serves around 3 -
Calories using xanthan gum and pepper flakes:  246, 15.5 grams carbohydrates, 5.6 grams fiber

Grilled Steak - wheat free/grain free/sugar free/dairy free

Grilled Steak

This one is about the easiest meal you can make.  I have a George Forman grill, so I didn't even have to go outside.  Sprinkle the seasonings on the steak, let it sit for 10-15 minutes at room temperature (this makes it cook more evenly) and then stick it on the hot grill for about 5 minutes if you like it medium rare, longer for well done.

For each person:  1 6 oz rib eye steak

1 t ground pepper

1 t salt

1/2 t paprika

1/2 t onion salt

1/2 t garlic

Sprinkle steaks, let them sit at room temperature and grill 5 minutes per side on a traditional (one sided) grill, or 5 min total on a George Foreman Grill.  Served above with leftover cheesy cauliflower bake.

Calories: for each 6 oz steak, around 460 calories, 0 carbohydrates

Chile Rellenos Fritatta - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free - sorry, not dairy free

Chile Rellenos Fritatta

Chile rellenos are usually made by stuffing large, mild green chilies such as Poblano or Anaheim peppers with cheese, then covering them with a flour or corn batter and frying them and they are wonderful.  But with no flour and no corn, pretty much impossible to make that way.  So I found some "chile rellenos casserole" recipes that I could actually play with to make wheat and corn free.  Here is the result.  If you like chile rellenos, you'll love these, and you serve this the same way, with salsa, tomato or tomatillo sauce, sour cream, avocado or whatever you like served with other mexican foods.  This is very mild despite the peppers, so if you have any people with squeamish taste buds, don't worry, they will probably still love it.

1 C grated cheese - I used cheddar because it's what I have, but you could use a milder cheese like monterey jack or pepper jack if you are more adventurous

1 can (4 oz) green chiles, I used Old El Paso brand, but if you have any whole roasted Poblano or Anaheim chiles, they would be much better, just cut them and lay them out instead of spreading out the canned chopped chiles.

2 eggs separated

2 T cream or whole milk

1 t salt

1/4 t ground pepper

1 t almond flour

This recipe can be doubled or quadrupled and made into a family sized entree.

Grate the cheese and put half in a small individual casserole dish (or a 9x9" dish or 9x13" dish if you are doubling or quadrupling).  Spread the chiles on the cheese and top with remaining cheese.  Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until stiff.  Mix the remaining ingredients with the egg yolks and gently fold into the egg whites.  You usually read to fold with egg whites by hand, but I just use my same mixer, being careful not to keep the batter still fluffy enough to form peaks (picture to the left is with the yolks and other ingredients folded in).  Pour over the cheese and chiles and poke with a fork to get the egg all through the cheese and then smooth out the top.

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, depending on how deep and how big your casserole is, checking to see that its cooked through and not liquid in the middle.  Cool, and serve with salsa, sauce, sour cream and/or avocados.

Makes one large serving with amounts above:  390 calories, 12 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber.  I kept getting different numbers on this when I entered it into my calorie counter, so don't quote me on these.  The variation may be different kinds of cheese, different types of chiles or just weirdness in my counter.

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies - Wheat Free/Grain Free - can be sugar or dairy free.

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

I discovered Guittard extra dark chocolate chips, which are dairy free.  Ingredients are chocolate liquor, sugar, soya lecithin and vanilla and that's it.  They are only 63% chocolate (not the 85% recommended by the Wheat Belly diet), and 8 grams carbohydrates  for a 40 gram serving (all of which is sugar), so if you can't do that, just substitute sugar free chocolate, loosely chopped.

2 C almond flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking soda (not powder)

1/3 C grapeseed oil (if you don't have any, regular cooking oil should be fine)

1/3 C swerve or other sweetener

1 t vanilla

zest and juice from 1 orange

1/3 C chocolate chips (see above for options here)

Mix almond flour, salt and baking soda.  Add sweetener, grapeseed oil and vanilla and mix well.  Grate the zest from the outside of the orange and add that, then juice the orange and add the juice as well.  Mix until dough consistency.  The nice thing about this is there are no raw eggs, so you can taste the dough and see if you need more sweetener - I think you shouldn't though, this was plenty sweet.

I think this should have made a dozen cookies, but I ended up with 14  - 2 extra :)

Roll into balls (or use a cookie scoop like I did, I love those things), and bake on a parchment lined sheet at 350 for 7-10 minutes or until the edges start to brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

Even after cooling these weren't exactly a cookie consistency, a little more gooey than I expect cookies to be, but they were so good I ate way more than I should have and will definitely be making them again.

With 14 cookies like I ended up with and using the dark chocolate chips, each cookie is 162 calories, 7 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams fiber (not counting the Swerve/erythritol/sweetener).   If you use sugar free chocolate, chopped into chocolate chip sized bits - 160 calories, 6 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber.  In either case, these are a splurge so you shouldn't eat the whole pan, but trust me, you'll be tempted to.

Cheesy Cauliflower - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free - sorry, this one's not dairy free

Cheesy Cauliflower

Homemade macaroni and cheese was always one of my favorite "comfort" foods, but I found I could make something similar, but much healthier, using cauliflower and gluten free cheese sauce.

1/2 head of cauliflower, steamed and broken into florets
1/2 C shredded cheddar, I used white extra sharp
1 T butter
1 T almond flour
1 t xanthan gum
2 T milk
1 t mustard
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper

While the cauliflower is steaming (on the stove or in the microwave), melt the butter.  Add the almond flour and mix.  Add remaining ingredients, mix to make sure almond flour and xanthan gum are blended with no lumps.  Microwave until it starts to boil and thicken a bit.  Add half the cheese and mix, still microwaving until the cheese is all melted and it becomes an even saucy texture.  Put cauliflower in a casserole baking dish.  The one I have pictured is 6.5" square and 2.5" deep.  If you don't have anything that size, you can increase each ingredient by about third and use a 9x9" casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese starts to brown on top.  This makes a great side dish for meat and veggies.

Makes around 6 servings as a side - 63 calories, 19 grams carbohydrates, but 17.5 of these are fiber, so only net 1.5.

Teriyaki Style Pork Chops - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free/Dairy Free

Teriyaki Style Pork Chops

This is a delicious way to make pork chops and makes a nice change from regular chops.

Marinade:

1/4 C gluten free soy sauce - if you can't find this, you can use Bragg liquid aminos or Shoyu sauce, both of which can usually be found in the health food sections of grocery stores or specialty health food stores.

1/4 C Worcester sauce

If your diet allows honey, you can add 1/4 C honey.  Alternately, you can add another sweetener, but I'm fine with my pork chops not being too sweet anyway, so I just leave it out.

Mix all ingredients and pour over six 1 inch thick pork chops in a shallow dish or pan (I use a large covered tupperware) and place in the refrigerator - I used pork loin chops, you can also use bone in pork chops and other cuts.  Leave in marinade, flipping occasionally for 1-2 hours.  Remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature (this will make it cook more evenly and not leave a so much of a pink center with a charred outside).  Then grill on a barbecue or broil in the oven (grilling is so much better though).

The sauce adds only 14 calories and about 2 carbs to each pork chop - probably less since much of it is poured off.

German Pancakes - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free/Can be made Dairy Free

German Pancakes

German Pancakes are usually light, puffy and much fatter than regular pancakes.  Normally they are made with some flour, but I thought I'd try almond flour instead.  It turned out not as light and fluffy and didn't puff up as much as the traditional recipe did, but they were yummy anyway and a good substitute for regular pancakes.

1 T butter or coconut oil

3 eggs
1/4 C almond flour
1/4 C milk or almond milk

This can be doubled to make enough for 4 servings.

Place butter in a shallow dish, like a pie dish or a 9x9" square baking dish.  Put it in the oven while you preheat to 400 degrees.  Meanwhile, beat together the remaining ingredients until smooth.  Once the butter has melted and oven reaches temperature, pour in the batter and return to the oven.  (Pictured above just as I popped it into the oven).  Bake at 400 degrees until it puffs up and lightly browns.

I served with 1/4 C strawberries (fresh from my back yard) and Nature's Hollow sugar free raspberry syrup.

Makes two (slightly small) servings, 245 calories, 5 grams carbohydrates, 1.5 grams fiber - recipe only.  With 1/4 C strawberries - 250 calories, 6.4 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber.  2 T Nature's Hollow syrup will add 20 calories and 1 net carb.