Favorite recipe makeover's for comfort foods???

[tammarra5]

Hi! :wave , What are your personal favorite recipes for comfort food meals switched to the atkins woe? I'll be waiting to hear! Thanks!... Tammy

[not2late]

I'm a starchy carb addict, specifically potatoes, rice and pasta.

I found that cauliflower, turnips, celery root, pumpkin and kohlrabi bulbs made very good subs for potatoes.

Leeks, zucchini (cut into long strips), spaghetti squash and even eggplant, made good subs for pasta.

Some people swear by cauliflower as a rice substitute.

As for hearty meals like stews, I never had a problem adapting those types of recipes. I tried those gum thickeners but found them too slimy in texture, so instead, I add onions to stews and at the end of cooking time, I strain the cooked onions out, add the cooking juices and puree in a blender for a nice gravy. If you do this during Induction, you'll have to watch your veggie amounts because onion is on the "other veggie" list and is limited to 1 cup daily.

[Isabeau]

Turnip fries! Who knew they'd be sooooo great!

[tammarra5]

They sound like really good ideas! What kind of taste would you say they have? (califlower , turnips and spaghetti squash)? Thanks... Tammy

[not2late]

They sound like really good ideas! What kind of taste would you say they have? (califlower , turnips and spaghetti squash)? Thanks... Tammy

For faux mashed potatoes, I find a 3:1 mixture of cauliflower to turnip gives the best results---especially if you add an ounce of grated parmesan cheese. It makes the faux-tatoes taste more potatoey, imo. The basic faux mashed potato recipe is in the sticky above called "Induction Recipe Basics".

Cauliflower is sort of like a blander and sweeter broccoli. Turnips have a slight radish-like taste, but it's also fairly mild, imo. Choose the smaller turnips because the larger ones can be strong tasting. When you use them in the turnip fries recipe (see the recipe section of DANDR 2002 for the turnip fries recipe), it has an almost sweet flavor.

You can chop cauliflower, turnips, etc. and fry them like hash browns for breakfast or as a side dish for dinner.

Spaghetti squash tastes like a bland acorn squash to me. It does have some sweetness that isn't overpowering so it does okay if you use it like spaghetti.

[tammarra5]

Sounds good! I think I'll try the mashed version with roast beef for dinner this week, and maybe turnip fries with hamburgers tomorrow! Thank you so much! :hug ... Tammy

[earthgodes]

Hey Tam!

One of my favorite "comfort food" meals is Meatloaf and Just Like Stuffed Baked Potatoes. The JLSBP are on Linda's Low Carb site, which is wonderful! If you haven't checked it out yet, you must!

JUST LIKE STUFFED BAKED POTATOES
16 ounce package frozen cauliflower *
8 ounce cream cheese, softened
8 ounce cheddar cheese, shredded
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 pieces bacon, chopped and fried until crisp
Paprika, optional

Cook the cauliflower until soft, about 8-10 minutes; drain very well and break up florets a bit with a spoon (it's also very good if the cauliflower is still a little chunky). Put in a greased 8 x 8" baking pan or 2-quart casserole. Mix in the cream cheese, cheddar, green onion, salt, pepper and bacon. Dust top with paprika, if desired. Bake at 350º for 20-40 minutes, until browned and bubbly. Or, microwave, loosely covered, for about 40 minutes on 50% power, turning dish after 20 minutes.

Makes 6 servings
Can be frozen

Per Serving: 324 Calories; 27g Fat; 15g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs


* You can use up to 2 pounds of cauliflower and there will still be plenty of sauce and cheese to go around. With 2 pounds of cauliflower the count would be:

Per 1/8 recipe: 256 Calories; 21g Fat; 12g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs
Per 1/12 recipe: 171 Calories; 14g Fat; 8g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs


There are a ton of meatloaf recipes out there too. Some people use porkrinds as the "binder", though I haven't tried that yet, just do it without.

Anyway, here is Linda's LC site:

http://users3.ev1.net/~fontlady/recipes.html

Finding and using LC recipes has been invaluable to me.
Good luck!

[tickletussler]

I tried the fauxtatoes.. but my brain really cannot be fooled - it still tastes and smells like cauliflower, no matter how much I try and drown it with mozarella and cream. Then, I tried to give some to my other half without telling him what it was, and straight away he knew it was cauliflower!

How do you hide the taste so it tastes more like potatoes?

[earthgodes]

Hey Tickle!~

I had tried a faux mashed potato recipe before too, and it just didn't work for me. When I heard people gushing about the JLSBP, I decided to give them a try, and it was WONDERFUL! Try the recipe I posted, honestly, I think you will be surprised!

[tickletussler]

Hey Earth Goddess (gosh, that is such a nice name)

I'll give the JLSBP a go - I know now who to turn to in case I get it wrong!

My colleague tried the fauxtatoes and she said it was really watery. But luckily I read enough posts to do it properly.

So at least I've now got you to turn to if I stuff up my JLSBP

[Effie]

favorite comfort food

My favorite recipe for good comfort food is chicken broccoli alfredo. It's basically identical to the good old pasta dish, but without the pasta of course. I haven't made this in a while, but it's basically just heavy cream & parmesan that you keep on the stove long enough so it reduces down to a thick sauce (normally you'd thicken it with a roux or just flour, but adding those carbs isn't necessary).

[MotherOfGizmo]

I tried the fauxtatoes.. but my brain really cannot be fooled - it still tastes and smells like cauliflower, no matter how much I try and drown it with mozarella and cream. Then, I tried to give some to my other half without telling him what it was, and straight away he knew it was cauliflower!

How do you hide the taste so it tastes more like potatoes?

thank you. I thought I was the only one! Fauxtatos gross me out! I love cauliflower so don't get me wrong there, but I do not like cauliflower masquerading as mashed potatos! :no

[tickletussler]

thank you. I thought I was the only one! Fauxtatos gross me out! I love cauliflower so don't get me wrong there, but I do not like cauliflower masquerading as mashed potatos! :no

You put it soooo well Karen!!!!
I LOVE cauliflower and plain cauliflower it would probably stay! LOL

[MotherOfGizmo]

I like mine with cheddar cheese or with butter salt and pepper! I even like it raw dipped in ranch or blue cheese, oh and its also great in a stir fry! :joy

[tammarra5]

Man! The chicken broccoli alfredo sounds really good!!! That is going to be on our menu this weekend !!! (If I can wait till then to try it!) :yummy... Tammy