Saturday, November 12, 2011

Low Carb Crackling Cornbread? and Ham (or Bacon) and Beans?!

A Gift for my fellow low carbers;
   Upfront, I am not much of a cook, but I know simple foods that are nutritious and taste good. I miss high carb, Southern cooking, and when I came across a simple flax bread recipe, I got inspired. I'm four pounds from goal today, but I've made my first cooking video. I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Atkins, About.com's Low Carb Forum, Kent Altina who makes inspiring videos on Atkins friendly recipes, and so many others who've been so encouraging. Nothing I could offer is going to be enough to repay the debt I owe for a new life and finally being healthy. Still, this is my gift back to them, and to the many others who are on the journey to better health. If I can do this, anyone can.
   Here's my video with a few, hopefully humorous mistakes. Recipes are written below.



Cracklin' Mock Corn Bread?!:
 Ofcourse in low carb recipies, corn meal and flour aren't wise choices as they are very high in carbs. This recipe is built upon one I saw online from Kent Altina. Seen here.  
 I'll be using the same ingredients with a few variations. Here we go!
1 oz. Pork Cracklings
1 1/2 Tablespoon of water
 In a small bowl, Break up cracklings into small pieces, add water and toss. Leave sit for 5 minutes to soften
In a separate flat bottomed cereal sized bowl, combine the following ingredients:
1 Tablespoon melted butter
2 Tablespoons ground Flax seed. (Golden will look more corn bread-like, but I usually use brown as it's less expensive)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Almond Meal (I added the almond meal only because I want the familiar grit of cornbread.)
   Add crackling and water mix to the second bowl, and mix all ingredients with a fork. Microwave on High for 2 minutes. It's done then, but I like to do more.
  I remove my loaf from the bowl, and turn it upside down. I put this in my toaster oven, and toast to crisp the bottom side. After, I only top with butter, however if a person wanted, they could sprinkle the loaf with 1/2 packet of whatever sweetener they like. Southern cornbread is usually sweet, and a person could go in the tradition of Johnny Cakes. They'd use Sorgum Molasses or Maple Syrup on top. Ofcourse, we need to avoid sugars, so one could drizzle with just a teaspoon of Sugar Free Maple Syrup.
  In this case, I like to take a separate small container and put a teaspoon or two of butter in it and melt it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. I add an equal amount of Sugar Free Maple Syrup, and drizzle this over my dish.
  Your loaf can be cut in half or quarters for two Thick, hearty servings. Total carbs: 1.35, 1 serving 0.675 carbs which I'd round out to 0.68 net carbs
  Warning, for those who've not had cornbread in a very long time, this is exceptionally good. Please do not make six loaves of this and eat it in a day. Not only will you consume an uncomfortable amount of fiber from the flax, when eating even low carb dishes in mass, we can go over our carb limits easily.

 Ham (or bacon) and Beans:
   3-4 oz. pre cooked, chopped ham (make sure there is no sugar added) or 4 slices of (no sugar added) bacon cooked and chopped (reserve fat and cool to room temp)
  (Optional at  0.25 carbs per 1/4 tsp) 1/4 tsp. of ham or chicken flavored bullion (You may want to use 1/8 tsp, as this was salty though not too salty for me)
  1/2 cup Eden black soy beans (Do not use regular black beans.) Keep the liquid. 8 carbs and 7 of them are fiber, so this is 1 net carb (I like to fork smash roughly 2 Tablespoons of my beans to make the sauce thicker, and leave the rest whole.) Do add roughly 1/3 of the juice from your can of beans
  Black Pepper to taste.
   Stir first three ingredients together ingredients together, and microwave for 4 minutes on high. Add pepper if you like. Done.
  Optional additions (be sure to add the carbs) are Salsa or chopped Green Onion

  Greens:
    1/2 cup canned or frozen or fresh Collard Greens, Spinache or whatever you like. (If using fresh, rinse thoroughly and start with 2 cups of them. They will cook down measurably. Measure 1/2 cup for a serving after. For ease, I like canned collards) 1/2 cup cooked collards have 2 carbs and 1 fiber for a total of 1 net carb.
    1-2 Tablespoon of reserved bacon fat
    Salt and pepper to taste
     Either add greens to skillet with cooled bacon fat, cook and stir until hot. (If using fresh, set on medium to low heat, cover and wait about 7-8 minutes. They will cook in their own steam and the fat. ) Cook to your desired tenderness.

Total net carbs for the whole meal: 2. 68 which I'd round up to
  2.7 net carbs
 Remember to add 1 carb for every packet of artificial sweetener, should you choose to use it. A bit of White Vinegar (Avoid Balsamic or Cider Vinegar, as these contain sugar/carbs), salsa or chopped green onion can be added. Just be sure to add the carbs from these.
    This is a very filling comfort meal. One won't be hungry for a long time after this. Ofcourse, the Ham and Beans, and Greens can be doubled for two and the Crackling "cornbread" is already two servings. I hope you all enjoy, and stay true to you. You can do this!
  Oh, and it's no extra carbs to go ahead and crumble your Crackling Mock Cornbread into your beans. Enjoy!
tina jones
p.s. I've already begun work on my blog for when I reach goal. I even got the perfect red dress! Stay tuned...

3 comments:

  1. can't wait to try this meal.

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  2. did you limit how many carbs a day ?? to what I have just stared my low carb journey and I must say anywhere from 50-100 carbs a day losing about 1/2 a day scenes 11-1-13 i stared at 233 down to 225 lbs now but wondering if i'm going to have cut cut back way lower on my carb intake to get this weight off ??

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  3. Great article Sasto65! I love the ham and beans recipe, I'm not sure if I'm ready to try the bacon version just yet :-)

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