by Jan McCracken Healthy Carb Cookbook FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_584766 ffirs.qxd 6/9/05 2:27 PM Page i 01_584766 ffirs.qxd 6/8/05 7:03 PM Page iv by Jan McCracken Healthy Carb Cookbook FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_584766 ffirs.qxd 6/9/05 2:27 PM Page i Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies ® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. 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Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2005923783 ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-8476-3 ISBN-10: 0-7645-8476-6 Manufactured in the United States of America 10987654321 1O/SQ/QW/QV/IN 01_584766 ffirs.qxd 6/8/05 7:03 PM Page ii About the Author Jan McCracken was born and raised in the Midwest, in a small, farming com- munity in Illinois. Adopted by her grandparents, Jan grew up gardening with her grandfather and canning and cooking with her grandmother. She spent most of her early life in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas. In the early ’80s, Jan and her faithful friend, Mr. Bear, a fluffy husky-chow mix, relocated to a cabin in the mountains above Santa Barbara, California. Given her love of country living, the mountains, and cooking, Jan later opened a country bed-and-breakfast in the Ozark Mountains of Branson, Missouri. It was during her inn-keeping years in Branson that Jan wrote her first self- published book, the Ozark Mountain Christmas Recipe Collection, First Edition. With the grand success of her first book, her extensive recipe collec- tion, and her love of cooking, Jan continued to write “little books of recipes” that included the Garden Recipe Collection and the Fruit Sampler Collection. Her personal favorite is a gift book collection of eighteen Little Books of Tea. Jan began living the low-carb lifestyle about ten years ago and is an advocate of preventive medicine through diet, exercise, and lifestyle. As a proponent of healthy lifestyles, her love of research keeps her tuned into the pulse of what’s happening in the low-carb genre as well as in nutrition and wellness. Jan’s works in these areas include Low Carb Christmas Cookin’ and the Carb Countin’ Holiday Cookbook with Sassy Stepper. You can count on Jan’s recipes to always be easy and delicious, and her motto is, “Fresh is always best.” Jan has two grown children, Katie and Ray. Katie has blessed Gammy Mac with twins, Sara Jane and John Edward, and Ray and Lori have blessed her with Kaylie Elise. Jan’s ever-present smile is especially warm and proud when she talks about her grandchildren. Jan’s long-term goal for her books, speaking engagements, and teaching is to help people understand that food truly is great medicine; it can prevent and heal disease by making a positive impact on the health of people around the world. As a health advocate for all ages, Jan has set up an international group of Sassy Steppers to combat obesity and disease, stepping out with people all over the world on the road to wellness. In addition to her other endeavors, Jan continues her freelance writing career and is currently at home in California. She feels very blessed to have been given the opportunity to write Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies. When you see Jan’s name in print you’ll usually see her personal slogan, which comes from her heart: Change Your Mind . . . Change Your Heart . . . Lose Weight for Life! 01_584766 ffirs.qxd 6/8/05 7:03 PM Page iii 01_584766 ffirs.qxd 6/8/05 7:03 PM Page iv Dedication To all of you with “low-carb” in your vocabulary who never want to diet again and who want to pursue a healthy, low-carb, active lifestyle for life — yes, the very life of you! I wrote this book for each of you! Author’s Acknowledgments Sincere, heartfelt thanks to the entire team at Wiley Publishing. They have become like family to me. I have learned so much that I almost feel as if there should be some sort of graduation ceremony for all authors that write For Dummies books. A very special thank you goes to my agent, Grace Freedson, for so graciously getting me off on the right foot and for her ongoing guidance and warm support. My heartfelt thanks to Stacy Kennedy, my acquisitions editor, who has been a gem and a delight to work with since Day One. Big thanks to my project editor, Mike Baker, for his patience, his ability to keep me and the project on track, his willingness to go the extra mile, and his great sense of humor. Mike gets stellar points! Sincere appreciation and marvel for what they do goes to my copy editors, Trisha Strietelmeier and Tina Sims. Special thanks to Lesa Grant, my marketing manager and a talented lady whose enthusiasm is conta- gious. I got the luck of the draw with my recipe tester — very warm thanks to Emily Nolan. Thanks to technical reviewer and nutritional analyst Patty Santelli, who made sure all the net carb math was done precisely. My dear friend Debra Hartman, who, long distance from Branson, has been so supportive throughout this entire project. A very special thanks to Deb for being such an ongoing source of encouragement and delight in my life! The praise and glory of this book goes to the Lord, with thanks for His blessing me with the authorship of this book. Without Him I could not have written a word. 01_584766 ffirs.qxd 6/8/05 7:03 PM Page v Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development Project Editor: Mike Baker Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy Senior Copy Editor: Tina Sims Copy Editor: Trisha Strietelmeier Editorial Program Assistant: Courtney Allen Technical Reviewer and Nutrition Analyst: Patty Santelli Recipe Tester: Emily Nolan Senior Permissions Editor: Carmen Krikorian Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck Editorial Assistants: Hanna Scott, Melissa Bennett Cover Photos: © Alan Richardson/FoodPix. Meringues with Berry Filling Cartoons: Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com Composition Services Project Coordinator: Nancee Reeves Layout and Graphics: Kelly Emkow, Stephanie D. Jumper, Barry Offringa, Lynsey Osborn, Julie Trippetti Special Art: Elizabeth Kurtzman Photos: © T.J. Hine Photography Food Stylist: Lisa Bishop Proofreaders: Carl William Pierce, Jessica Kramer, TECHBOOKS Production Services Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services Special Help: Elizabeth Rea Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_584766 ffirs.qxd 6/8/05 7:03 PM Page vi Contents at a Glance Introduction 1 Part I: Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Counting Carbs 9 Chapter 1: Taking Control of Carbs In and Out of the Kitchen 11 Chapter 2: Raising Your Total Carb Awareness 21 Chapter 3: Organizing and Shopping for the Low-Carb Kitchen 39 Chapter 4: Adopting a Healthy, Carb-Conscious Lifestyle with Ease 57 Chapter 5: Completing the Wellness-for-Life Puzzle: Putting Your Body in Motion 69 Part II: Low-Carb Cooking Made Easy 79 Chapter 6: Waking Up to Breakfast 81 Chapter 7: Soothing Your Low-Carb Soul with Soup 99 Chapter 8: Building More Than Just a Salad 111 Chapter 9: Living a Low-Carb Life by the Sea 131 Chapter 10: Stickin’ with Chicken in Your Low-Carb Lifestyle 151 Chapter 11: Visiting the Meat Counter 171 Chapter 12: Serving Up Veggies Galore 187 Chapter 13: Dazzling Low-Carb Desserts 205 Part III: Expanding Everyday Low-Carb Cooking 229 Chapter 14: Outsmarting Cravings with Low-Carb Snacks and Dips 231 Chapter 15: Wrapping It Up, Low-Carb Style 247 Chapter 16: Coming Home to Slow-Cooked Comfort Foods 263 Chapter 17: Even More Delightful Dishes with 5 Net Grams of Carbs or Less 277 Part IV: Eating Low-Carb on the Town and on the Run 289 Chapter 18: Taking the Low-Carb Road to Restaurants 291 Chapter 19: Brown-Bagging It, Low-Carb Style 299 Chapter 20: Cooking Dinner in a Low-Carb Heartbeat 307 02_584766 ftoc.qxd 6/8/05 7:02 PM Page vii Part V: The Part of Tens 323 Chapter 21: Ten Easy Ways to Simplify Your Low-Carb Cooking 325 Chapter 22: Ten Foods to Eat More Of 329 Chapter 23: Ten Carb-Counting Web Sites 333 Appendix: Common Abbreviations and Metric Conversion Guide 337 Index 341 02_584766 ftoc.qxd 6/8/05 7:02 PM Page viii [...]... Index 341 xxiii xxiv Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies Introduction A re you hankering for some new horizons for cooking low -carb? Well, you’ve come to the right place This book is fun, and I’ve developed and de-carbed some pretty awesome recipes for you to incorporate into your daily low -carb lifestyle whether you’re cooking for one, two, or an entire family Lowcarb never tasted so good! Regardless... Weighing Your Carb Choices .29 Healthy carbs .29 Carbs that aren’t so healthy 30 xviii Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies Meeting Your Metabolism: Becoming Carb and Calorie Conscious .31 Reinserting calories into the metabolism discussion 31 Working on metabolism mechanics 32 Surveying Blood-Sugar Levels and Their Role in a Low -Carb Lifestyle .34 Glycemic index... part Part I: Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Counting Carbs A lot of smart people are confused about counting and controlling carbs — bad carbs, good carbs, and no carbs In this part, I clear this matter up for you, setting you on the straight and narrow of your choice of a great healthy low -carb lifestyle You’ll decide to throw your diet yo-yo in the ocean forever and aim directly for a lifestyle of health,... low -carb staples While cruising the aisles, you’ll become an expert at label reading and looking for hidden sugars and carbs I teach a couple of short classes — one on net carb math and another on low -carb nutrition and the glycemic index But don’t worry: You don’t have to take any written tests I also show you how to become an amazing grazer, grazing your way to 5 6 Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies. .. chapter, go to another chapter for a side of veggies, and then hop over to the desserts chapter for a perfect sweet ending to your low -carb meal Part III: Expanding Everyday Low -Carb Cooking In this part, I give you some easy options for whipping up great low -carb snacks and dips, rolling up recipes for fun and tasty low -carb wraps, getting your low -carb meals on the table almost effortlessly with a slow cooker,... Indulgence 287 xxi xxii Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies Part IV: Eating Low -Carb on the Town and on the Run 289 Chapter 18: Taking the Low -Carb Road to Restaurants 291 The Art of Placing Your Low -Carb Order 292 Taking precautionary dining measures 292 Scanning the menu: Keyword traps and treats 293 Indulging in guilt-free, low -carb cuisine 294 Reviewing... to flag some areas in your low -carb healthy cooking where you can save some time This icon accompanies all recipes that have less than 5 grams of net carbs per serving — and there are a bunch of them This icon helps you immediately find the recipes that have less than 10 grams of net carbs per serving — and there are a bunch of these too 7 8 Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies Where to Go from Here The... Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Counting Carbs 5 Part II: Low -Carb Cooking Made Easy 6 Part III: Expanding Everyday Low -Carb Cooking .6 Part IV: Eating Low -Carb on the Town and on the Run 6 Part V: The Part of Tens 6 Icons Used in This Book 7 Where to Go from Here 8 Part I: Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Counting Carbs 9 Chapter 1: Taking Control of Carbs In and... comfort food, and that’s what I learned to cook — three squares a day and plenty of desserts Then, about 20 years ago, I moved to California, and my entire eating lifestyle changed Even though I’d grown up eating veggies fresh from the garden and canning every year, the word fresh took on a whole new meaning for me when I was introduced to California cooking Grilling became 2 Healthy Carb Cookbook For. .. low -carb food! Part I Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Counting Carbs I In this part n this part, I help you take control of your low -carb dietary choices as part of an overall healthy and active lifestyle You’ll be jumping off the diet merry-go-round forever, aiming directly for a lifestyle of health, wellness, and longevity Knowledge is wonderful stuff, so I clear up confusion about counting carbs, . 28 Weighing Your Carb Choices 29 Healthy carbs 29 Carbs that aren’t so healthy 30 02_584766 ftoc.qxd 6/8/05 7:02 PM Page xvii Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies xviii Meeting. iv by Jan McCracken Healthy Carb Cookbook FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_584766 ffirs.qxd 6/9/05 2:27 PM Page i Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies ® Published by Wiley Publishing,