Insane as I am, I started yet another attempt at the Atkins diet today, just in time for the most fattening time of the year.
We are having a holiday potluck in two weeks (just so happens to coincide with the induction burnout), and I’m looking for suggestions for Atkins-friendly items I could make and bring; maybe a recipe if it’s not glaringly obvious how to make it from the name.
One idea I’ve been kicking around are these little beef and/or ham rolls I’ve seen in the past. Deli ham or roast beef, with a layer of seasoned cream cheese, and maybe a thin pickle slice, rolled up, and cut. The problem with this idea is that I’ve never stopped to figure out what seasonings are in the cream cheese is.
My mother makes those roll-ups, and I’m pretty sure there aren’t any seasonings in the cream cheese. Just the cheese and meat.
I’d like some ideas, too. I’ve been doing Atkins for awhile, and lost about 50 pounds, but seemed to have stalled a bit. I’ve put myself back on the Induction two days ago. I think I’ll go for the regular 2-week period, to try and kick-start the ketosis process again.
You don’t have to season the cream cheese, just so’s ya know, they’ll still taste fine. Or you could try a cream cheese with chives or ??? already in it.
My favorite semi-Atkins friendly appetizer is good roast beef wrapped around a sundried tomato. I’ll eat plates of that. Add some thin slices of hard parmesan on the side too. drool…
Home-made Buffalo wings are a treat as well. Cut up some wings (throw away the tips) and deep fry them for 10 to 12 minutes (you can use a large pot and 2 inches of oil on medium heat if you don’t have a fryer). Melt a stick or two of real butter and add an equal amount of hot sauce (I use a Thai hot sauce that comes in a catsup size bottle)(or buy some buffalo wing sauce and follow the directions), maybe add a spoonful or two of vinegar to tart it up a bit. Mix the cooked wings in the sauce. Serve with real blue cheese dressing and cut-up celery.
Stuffed mushrooms: take/break the stem out of a bunch of large white mushrooms. Crumble a few strips of cooked bacon into a bowl and mix with chopped green onions or chives and a thing of cream cheese. Fill the mushrooms up and bake them on 375 (preheated!) for 15 minutes, or until they look done. You can also use bacon and shredded cheddar.
the Atkins website does have a recipe section where you can get some ideas. they also have some reduced-carb adaptations of regular recipes.
i’ve also seen Meringue cookies advertised for sale in their food products. that should be one that’s easy enough to adapt. egg whites, appropriate sugar substitue, flavoring (Atkins flavored syrups would probably work, but i imagine the minute amount of flavoring volume in the recipe isn’t likely to blow the carb count in any event). what else is in a meringue… cream of tartar maybe?
cheese cake with a ground-nut-and-butter crust (instead of graham crackers) and sugar substitute ought to be another relatively low-carb alteration.
Those slim-jim and cheese combos they sell in convenience stores … what could be more Atkins. And beef jerky … also very Atkins, and it lasts a long time, cuz its chewy.
Can you find low-carb tortillas in your area? If so, we had tortilla-meat-cream cheese wraps at our wedding reception. Make ahead the night before, chill overnight, and slice the next day.
We did flavor our cream cheese - just slightly. I think we used a little horseradish for the roast beef, mustard for the ham, and lemon juice and chives for the chicken. None left!
Not quite. More often than not, beef jerky and processed cheeses are not Atkins-friendly, as they either contain sugar or trans-fats–both of which are basic no-nos in the diet.
I really like Tomcat’s idea of the stuffed mushrooms–people will think they’re decadent, but you’ll be able to eat them happily.
If you want to go easy, what about a fantastic cheese platter? Get some really good, high-quality cheeses such as brie, chevre, a well-aged cheddar… slice and arrange artfully, and you don’t even have to cook.
Beef and chicken skewers, with dipping sauces (one can be something not-so-friendly, and the other can be one you can eat, such as my favorite, a mixture of mayo & pesto)
If you’re still going with the idea of the meat & cream cheese roll ups, you can flavor the cream cheese with all kinds of flavorings–pesto, lemon juice/zest, chopped herbs–the possibilites are endless.