Lunch ideas please

I have been totally off low carbing lately. So many things going on and so little time so been eating any old crap and feel like crap too now so need to get back onto low carbing again as always felt so much better when I did it.

Am in desperate need of lunch ideas. I prefer to take hot stuff to work, dont really like salads as dont like raw veg and am very fussy re veg as well. I dont like mushrooms, aubergines, courgettes, pumpkins, butternut squash or any of those sort of veg so really just stuck with basics like peas, carrots, green beans, sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli at a push. Have to be careful what I bring to work though as sprouts are definitely out as I eat at my desk so dont want everyone complaining, lol

I have a flask and also have access to a microwave at work as well so any ideas would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks.

Hi there - you may just find these articles helpful, to spur you on ...

http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/the-first-six-things-you-need-to-know.html

http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/another-six-things-you-need-to-know.html

http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2015/09/15/ultimate-healthy-lunch-box-ideas/

Out and about today took a lovely flask of cauliflower soup ... a low carb bap was optional.

http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/creamy-cauliflower-soup-low-carb.html

Do take time to look at the recipes available using the foods you enjoy, but consider slowly introducing some others.

As Hippocrates once said  'Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food'

Our bodies have to last us a lifetime, and doing our best to live as healthily as possible, is surely worth doing

I wish you ...

All the best Jan

Thanks Jan, will definitely check out all the links and the recipes

ajsherlock wrote:Thanks Jan, will definitely check out all the links and the recipes  

Ok 'aj' do hope you find them helpful and gets you back on the LCHF track

All the best Jan

Ingredients:
Serves Four
2 outdoor-bred pork sausages
1 tbsp oil
3 smoked back bacon rashers fat trimmed cut into cubes
75 g button mushrooms sliced
62.5 g pkt (pomodorino) tomatoes halved
4 large (British) free-range eggs
12.5 g bunch fresh chives snipped

Method:
1. Squeeze the sausages out of their skins, and roll the sausage-meat into 12 bite-size balls.
2. Heat ½ tablespoon of the oil in a 20cm ovenproof frying pan. Add the sausage and fry all over for 1 minute, until browned and cooked through. Add the bacon and mushrooms and fry for a few minutes, until golden. Add the tomatoes for a further minute. Remove the mixture and set aside. Discard excess fat from the pan.
3. Whisk together the eggs and chives and season with freshly ground black pepper. Stir in 2/3 of the fried sausage mix. Preheat the grill to medium.
4. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Add the egg mixture, tipping the pan so that it covers the base. Turn down the heat and scatter over the remaining sausage mixture. Cook for 8 minutes, or until almost set.
5. Place under a preheated grill, for 2-3 minutes, until the frittata is set and golden. Let cool slightly, then slide out of the pan, cut into wedges and serve.

This can make a lovely breakfast and can be eaten cold, or possibly warmed up, for lunch.
The ingredient contents can always be amended slightly to suit

See article and full link here

http://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/english-breakfast-frittata.html

All the best Jan

Ooh, I do like the look of that. Thanks Jan

This delicious gluten-free frittata is ideal for a light lunch or supper with a green salad.

Ingredients:
Serves Four
600 g pumpkin or squash (approx. 500g) cut into 1.5cm pieces
3 tbsp olive oil
100 g curly leaf kale
6 large eggs
200 ml double cream
25 g grated parmesan (or a vegetarian hard cheese alternative)
0.25 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 garlic clove, crushed
150 g tub soft French goats' cheese (or vegetarian alternative)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan 200°C, gas mark 7. Put the pumpkin in a shallow roasting tin, toss with two tablespoons of olive oil, season well, and roast for 20-25 minutes or until just tender.
2. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, blanch the kale for 3 minutes, then drain and pat dry with kitchen paper.
3. When the pumpkin is ready, remove from the oven and set aside; reduce the oven temperature to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas mark 6. Put the eggs, cream, parmesan and chilli flakes in a bowl, season, and whisk to combine.
4. Heat the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil in a 22-24cm nonstick ovenproof frying pan. Add the crushed garlic, stir over the heat for 30 seconds, then add the kale and cook, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes. Tip into the bowl with the egg mixture and stir in the pumpkin.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and dot over the goats’ cheese. Add a little more pepper and cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes, then transfer to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden – cover with foil if the top is over-browning. Slice into wedges to serve.This lovely meal is ready in 1 hour 15 minutes. The cooking time is 25 minutes but preparation time is about 50 minutes so why not get ahead and roast the squash and blanch the kale a couple of hours ahead...

Each serving provides:
1.9g carbohydrate 0.4g fibre 7.8g protein

Original recipe idea from Sainsburys ...
https://www.homemadebyyou.co.uk/recipes/sainsburys/pumpkin-kale-and-goats-cheese-frittata

All the best Jan

A great favourite of ours and so simple to prepare and cook that ‘sausages wrapped in bacon’ often appear in our house as a breakfast, lunch, or supper time snack. Perfect too for family gatherings and parties, the grandchildren love them.

The recipe below is what I call ‘The Professional - sausages wrapped in bacon' and it comes courtesy of Nick Nairn at bbc food recipes. I think my way tastes as good and works perfectly for an extra quick prepare and bake … but whichever method you use (in fact you may already have your own) if you follow a LCHF lifestyle then make sure you start with a low carb sausage i.e. always check the carb content on the label, our favourite is the Sainsbury’s 97% pork chipolata.

Serves 1 - 2
Ingredients
5 rashers of streaky bacon
5 chipolata sausages
1 tbsp oil

Preparation and method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Lay the bacon out on a chopping board. Place one sausage at the end of each rasher of bacon and roll the sausage up in the bacon.
3.Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan, add the bacon-wrapped sausages and fry for a few minutes until lightly browned all over.
4.Transfer to the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden-brown and completely cooked through.

To serve, place the sausages into a serving bowl with cocktail stick
Original Idea Here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sausageswrappedinbac_87690

Jan’s Way is:
1. As Above
2. As above - but also once sausage is wrapped, cut each sausage in half or third in order to make bite sized.
3. Place on very lightly oiled/greased  ovenproof plate/dish (important that it has upturned edge) and transfer to oven for 20 - 25 minutes turning half way through cooking. Make sure the sausage wraps are cooked through before allowing to cool slightly and serve ….. Delicious.

All the best Jan

Jan1 wrote:

SAUSAGES WRAPPED IN BACON

A great favourite of ours and so simple to prepare and cook that ‘sausages wrapped in bacon’ often appear in our house as a breakfast, lunch, or supper time snack. Perfect too for family gatherings and parties, the grandchildren love them.

The recipe below is what I call ‘The Professional - sausages wrapped in bacon' and it comes courtesy of Nick Nairn at bbc food recipes. I think my way tastes as good and works perfectly for an extra quick prepare and bake … but whichever method you use (in fact you may already have your own) if you follow a LCHF lifestyle then make sure you start with a low carb sausage i.e. always check the carb content on the label, our favourite is the Sainsbury’s 97% pork chipolata.

Serves 1 - 2
Ingredients
5 rashers of streaky bacon
5 chipolata sausages
1 tbsp oil

Preparation and method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Lay the bacon out on a chopping board. Place one sausage at the end of each rasher of bacon and roll the sausage up in the bacon.
3.Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan, add the bacon-wrapped sausages and fry for a few minutes until lightly browned all over.
4.Transfer to the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden-brown and completely cooked through.

To serve, place the sausages into a serving bowl with cocktail stick
Original Idea Here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sausageswrappedinbac_87690

Jan’s Way is:
1. As Above
2. As above - but also once sausage is wrapped, cut each sausage in half or third in order to make bite sized.
3. Place on very lightly oiled/greased  ovenproof plate/dish (important that it has upturned edge) and transfer to oven for 20 - 25 minutes turning half way through cooking. Make sure the sausage wraps are cooked through before allowing to cool slightly and serve ….. Delicious.

All the best Jan

My favourite snack!! Everyone in my house fights over these!

Ever had angels on horseback? Oysters wrapped in bacon and fried or grilled. Usually served pinned together with toothpicks on a slice of toast. I feel a visit to the fish restaurant coming on, and I burn off the toast by walking along the sea wall and back.

I used to be able to buy tinned oysters and make them myself but haven't seen them for years now.

chris c wrote:Ever had angels on horseback? Oysters wrapped in bacon and fried or grilled. Usually served pinned together with toothpicks on a slice of toast. I feel a visit to the fish restaurant coming on, and I burn off the toast by walking along the sea wall and back.

I used to be able to buy tinned oysters and make them myself but haven't seen them for years now.

Haven't had the chance to try them yet but they sound very good indeed! I have tried Scollops with black pudding once at a wedding reception years ago-Initially I was horrified at the thought of eating that combination but I have to say it was delicious!

The problem with the fish restaurant is they have so many goodies I can never make my mind up which to have (mainly I have starters as the main course). Angels on horseback, griddled squid, smoked cod's roe on toast are among my favourites, not to mention smoked prawns with salad. Mostly these days I go to the shop and buy stuff to take home with me. They have their own smokehouse as well as their oyster beds.

Yes you can wrap scallops in bacon too! The fish van had them yesterday but I was fixated on a herring and a bloater. Most of the farm shops have various forms of fish and shellfish in their freezers too, I don't know how local that is being as how we're in easy reach of Great Yarmuff.

This recipe was recently highlighted on Franziska's Low Carb Dietitian Blog ... it may make a good lunch idea for you ... what do you think?

Paleo Chicken Nuggets

Number of Servings: 4
Ingredients:
​
1.5 lb (680 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon (15 ml) almond milk or coconut milk
1 cup (100 grams) almond flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup (30 g) grated Parmesan cheese (or 1/3 cup additional almond flour)
2 Tablespoons (30 g) melted coconut oil or ghee

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius. Using a paper towel, dab any excess moisture from the chicken. Dice the chicken breasts into medium-sized pieces and season with half of the salt.

Mix the egg with the almond milk and season with the rest of the salt. Pllace the chicken pieces into the egg mixture.

Mix the spices, almond flour, and grated Parmesan cheese together. Pour mixture onto a large baking sheet.

Lift up each piece of chicken, letting some of the egg mixture drip off, then transfer to the baking sheet containing the almond flour mixture. (Avoid letting any excess egg mixture dribble in or else it will clump up the dry ingredients). Cover all sides of the chicken pieces with the dry mixture. Do this in batches and do not overfill the baking sheet.

Move the coated chicken nuggets to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drizzle with ghee, and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden.

Remove the tray from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Serve with Spicy Chocolate BBQ Sauce (pictured), mayonnaise, ketchup, or Dijon mustard.

Nutrition Facts per Serving:

Calories: 463
Total Carbohydrates: 6.3 grams
Fiber: 2.8 grams
Net Carbs: 3.5 grams
Protein: 46 grams
Fat: 28.3 grams

Macronutrient Ratios: 3% carb, 41% protein, 56% fat

Franziska's Low Carb Dietitian Blog Here http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog

Original recipe from Martina's 'Keto Diet Blog' here http://ketodietapp.com/Blog

Of course these could also be enjoyed for tea / supper / any time

All the best Jan

This is such a lovely, simple recipe idea from Karen Thomson ... and I love the grated Parmesan on top! How about you?

Serves 1:
½ a red pepper, grated
½ a green pepper, grated
½ a yellow pepper, grated
4-5 asparagus stalks
Handful of kale
1 red onion, sliced
75g smoked salmon
30g cream cheese
Parmesan cheese, optional

Method:
Stir-fry the vegetables until they are slightly soft.
Add the salmon and cream cheese and season to taste.
When everything is cooked through, top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve, and enjoy.

See original recipe idea here
http://www.thesugarfreerevolution.com/smoked-salmon-and-peppers-stir-fry/

All the best Jan

She missed out the BACON! Otherwise very similar to one I do.