Category Archives: Recipes

Fruit Smoothie #1: Grapes, Mandarin Orange, Banana, Pear, Chia Seeds, Kale

Posted on December 14, 2014 | Comments Off on Fruit Smoothie #1: Grapes, Mandarin Orange, Banana, Pear, Chia Seeds, Kale

 

A 12 fl oz serving

A 12 fl oz serving

My wife has started to experiment with smoothies. Most Americans should eat more fruits; smoothies are one way to do that. Here’s one she made today. Note the trendy chia seeds and kale. You can easily include today’s recipe in your Advanced Mediterranean Diet. Smoothies are a great substitute for junk food desserts.

We’re using a Vitamix mixer. Other devices may be able to get the job done. The mixing speeds our device range from one to 10. (Tip for a competitor: make one that goes to 11.) We love our Vitamix and have no regrets about the purchase. It is hard to hear anything else when it’s running at top speed.

One potential advantage of blending these fruits is that one fruit may provide nutrients that the others lack

One potential advantage of blending these fruits is that one fruit may provide nutrients that the others lack

Ingredients

1 cup (240 ml) grapes, green seedless

1 mandarin orange, peeled, halved

1 banana (7 inches or 18 cm), peeled, cut into 3–4 pieces

1 pear, medium-size, cored, quartered (ok to leave peel on)

1/2 tbsp (7 g) chia seeds

1 cup (50 g) raw kale

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

2 cups (480 ml) ice cubes

Instructions

First put the water in the Vitamix, then grapes, pear, orange, banana, chia seeds, kale, and finally ice. Ice is always last. Then blend on variable speed 1 and gradually go up to high level (10). Total spin time is about 45 seconds.

Full speed ahead!

Full speed ahead!

Number of Servings: 2.5 consisting of 12 fl oz (350 ml) each.

Advanced Mediterranean Diet boxes: 2 fruits

Nutritional Analysis per Serving:

7% fat

88% carbohydrate

5% protein

160 calories

38 g carbohydrate

6 g fiber

32 g digestible carbohydrate

15 mg sodium

520 mg potassium

Prominent features: Good source of vitamin C, fair amount of fiber, miniscule sodium.

Steve Parker, M.D.

 

 

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Recipe: Santa Fe Soup

Posted on November 11, 2014 | Comments Off on Recipe: Santa Fe Soup

We’ve been eating this for years at the Parker Compound. It’s one of my daughter’s favorites in autumn and winter. Can’t remember how we came up with it.

This soup is heavy with the musical fruit: beans. You’ll have to determine your own gas threshold level; most folks have no problem with a 1-cup serving.

Ingredients

1 lb (454 g) ground beef, raw, lean (85 percent lean, 15 percent fat)

½ (120 ml) cup onion, diced

1 garlic clove, diced

ground pepper

1 packet (2 oz or 57 g) Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing and Seasoning mix

1 16-oz (454 g) can black beans (Bush’s Best)

1 16-oz (454 g) can light red kidney beans (Bush’s Best)

1 16-oz (454 g) can dark red kidney beans (Bush’s Best)

1 28-oz (790 g) can tomatoes, diced (Hunt’s)

2 packets McCormick Original Taco Seasoning Mix

1 15¼-oz (454 g) can white corn (Del Monte Fresh Cut)

1 15¼-oz (454 g) whole kernel yellow corn (Del Monte Fresh Cut)

4 oz (120 ml) water

½ tbsp (7 ml) sour cream per serving

1 sprinkle of fresh-cut chives per serving

Instructions

In a 5- or 6-quart (5 liter) pot, brown the crumbled ground beef (i.e., pan-fry without oil) along with the garlic, onion, and pepper to taste. When finished cooking, drain and discard the excess fluid. Add the Ranch Seasoning and Taco Seasoning, then mix well. Next add the beans, corn, and tomatoes along with all the juices in the cans. Add 4 oz water. Simmer for 1½ hours. Serve 1 cupful in a bowl with ½ tbsp sour cream in the center, then sprinkle with chives.

Yield

Servings per batch: 17 1-cup servings

Advanced Mediterranean Diet box breakdown: 2 veggies, ½ protein  (or simply count as 1 protein). 200 calories.

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Recipe: Beef Soup, Asparagus, and Blackberries

Posted on October 23, 2014 | Comments Off on Recipe: Beef Soup, Asparagus, and Blackberries
low-carb diet, paleobetic diet, diabetic diet

Yum!

The entree is a cross between stew and soup. Stoup?

Since I provide the recipe’s carbohydrate grams in the nutritional analysis below, you can fit this into the Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet and Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet, as well as the Advanced Mediterranean Diet.

Ingredients:

2 lb (0.9 kg) stew meat, lean, bite-sized chunks (tenderized by the butcher if able)

1 garlic clove, finely minced

6 sprigs cilantro, de-stemmed, whole leaves

2 oz (58 g) sweet onion, diced (1/2 of a small onion)

1/4 of a medium-size green bell pepper, de-seeded, diced (medium bell pepper weighs about 5.5 oz or 155 g)

8 oz (227 g) canned tomato sauce

2.5 cups (590 ml) water

1.25 tsp (6.2 ml) table salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste (1/4 tsp or 1.2 ml?)

16 oz (454 g) fresh raw asparagus, no larger in diameter than your little finger, with any dry or woody stalk cut off and discarded

1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

7.5 oz (213 g) raw blackberries

Instructions:

Stoup first. In a frying pan or electric skillet, place the stew meat, cilantro, garlic, bell pepper, onion, and cook over medium heat (350º F or 177º C) until the meat is done. Then add the tomato sauce, two cups of the water, one tsp of the salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer for two hours, then add a half cup water to replace evaporation loss.

low-carb diet, paleobetic diet, diabetic diet

Cooking stew meat. NOTE: this is double the amount the recipe calls for.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, diabetic diet

Meat is done and the “gravy” has magically appeared

low-carb diet, diabetic diet, paleobetic diet

Appearance after addition of the tomato sauce and 2 cups water

Now the asparagus. Preheat oven to 400º F or 204º C. Place asparagus on a cooking sheet covered with foil, brush the asparagus with the olive oil, then lightly salt (1/4 tsp?) and pepper to taste. (If you don’t mind cleaning up, just use a baking dish without the foil.) Roast in oven for 8–15 minutes; thicker asparagus takes longer. It’s hard to tell when it’s done just by looking; if it’s still hard, it’s not done. Click for another post I wrote on cooking asparagus and brussels sprouts.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, diabetic diet

Asparagus roasted at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes

Enjoy the berries for desert.

low-carb diet, diabetic diet, paleobetic diet

2.5 oz or 1/2 cup of blackberries

Servings: 3 [one serving is 1.5 cups (355 ml) of soup, a third of the asparagus (5 oz (140 g), and 2.5 oz (70 g) berries]

Advanced Mediterranean Diet boxes: 2 veggies, 2 fats, 1 protein

Nutritional Analysis per Serving:

40 % fat

12 % carbohydrate

48 % protein

590 calories

19 g carbohydrate

8.5 g fiber

10.5 g digestible carb

1,557 mg sodium

1,778 mg potassium

Prominent features: Rich in protein, B6, B12, copper, iron, niacin, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc

low-carb diet, paleobetic diet, diabetic diet

The fresh cilantro is a nice touch

 

 

 

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Recipe: Low-Carb Spaghetti Sauce

Posted on September 29, 2014 | Comments Off on Recipe: Low-Carb Spaghetti Sauce
paleobetic diet, low-carb spaghetti sauce

A spaghetti squash in the background

My wife is Italian so we eat a lot of spaghetti at the Parker Compound. When spaghetti squash is in season, we use it instead of wheat-based pasta with this sauce, to make it less fattening. The substitution also makes the combo compliant with paleo and diabetic diets.

A definitely non-paleo ingredient below is Truvia, a sweetener that’s a combination of stevia and erythritol. Stevia is supposedly “natural.” I don’t know where erythritol, a sugar alcohol, comes from. The purpose of a sweetener is to counteract the tartness or bitterness of the tomatoes. Honey would probably serve this purpose—for those of you on a pure paleo kick—but I’ve never tried it in this recipe. If you use the honey or the table sugar option below, it will increase the digestible carb count in each cup by three grams. Whatever your favorite non-caloric sweetener, use the equivalent of two tablespoons of table sugar (sucrose).

Ingredients:

1 lb (454 g) sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing

3/4 lb (340 g kg) lean ground beef (lean = up to 10% fat by weight)

1/2 cup (118 ml) onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz or 793 g)

2 cans tomato paste (total of 12 oz or 340 g)

2 cans tomato sauce (total of 16 oz or 454 g)

1/2 cup water (118 ml)

2 tsp (10 ml) Truvia (combo of stevia and erythritol; optional substitutes are table sugar  (2 tbsp or 30 ml) or honey (1.5 tbsp or 22 ml), or leave out sweetener

1.5 tsp (7.4 ml) dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) fennel seeds

1 tsp (5 ml) Italian seasoning

1/4 tbsp (3.7 ml) salt

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) ground black pepper

4 tbsp (60 ml) fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:

Put the sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic in a pan and cook over medium heat until well browned. Drain off the excess liquid fat if that’s your preference (not mine). You’ll probably have to transfer that mix to a pot, then add all remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat for two or three hours. You may find the flavor even better tomorrow. If it gets too thick, just add water.

If you’re predisposed to carbohydrate toxicity—high blood sugar—eat this over spaghetti squash rather than pasta. Here’s a post on cooking spaghetti squash. Small or inactive folks may find a half cup of sauce over one cup of cooked squash is a reasonable serving (about 250 calories). I prefer to double those portions, making it a whole meal.

Sometimes I just eat this sauce straight. But I’m weird. A cup of sauce with some veggies or fruit is a meal for me. If you have other uses for spaghetti sauce other than over spaghetti squash or grain products, please share in the Comments. One of my readers puts it on zucchini (presumably cooked).

Number of Servings: 9 (1-cup each)

Nutritional Analysis: (assumes you retained all fat)

55% fat

23% carbohydrate

22% protein

345 calories

21 g carbohydrate

4 g fiber

17 g digestible carbohydrate

985 mg sodium

1,117 mg potassium

Prominent features: Rich in vitamin B12, iron, copper, niacin, sodium, and selenium

Advanced Mediterranean Diet boxes: 1 veggie, 1 & 1/2 fats, 1/2 protein (Advanced Mediterranean Diet information here)

Steve Parker, M.D.

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Recipe: Turkey Tomato Bowl + Macadamia Nuts

Posted on June 30, 2014 | 1 comment
paleobetic diet, low-carb

This Turkey Tomato Bowl is low-carb

This is what I did with some of our leftover Thanksgiving turkey last Novermber. If you don’t have leftover turkey, I bet leftover chicken or steak would be  fine substitutes. Heck, I’m tempted to try it with salmon or canned tuna or chicken. In addition to the flavor, what I like about this meal is that it’s crazy quick.

Ingredients:

6 oz (170 g) cooked turkey chunks, light meat (or 8 oz (225 g) if you’re starting raw and planning to cook it)

5 oz (140 g) raw tomato (2 small roma tomatoes, for example), cut into chunks

2 tbsp (30 ml) balsamic vinaigrette

black pepper to taste

1 oz (30 g) roasted macadamia nuts

paleobetic diet, low-carb, diabetes, diabetic diet, paleo diet

These roma tomatoes were amazingly flavorful for late Fall in the northern hemisphere. Before cooking, my wife injected the bird with olive oil, massaged periodically over 30 minutes, then popped it in the oven.

Instructions:

Toss the turkey and tomato chunks in a bowl, splash on the vinaigrette, then microwave for 60-80 seconds. Pepper as desired. Drink the leftover juice right out of the bowl. Enjoy with macadamia nuts for dessert and you’ve got a full meal.

Discussion:

paleobetic diet, low-carb, diabetes, diabetic diet

Use commercial dressing if you’re in a rush

I was lazy when I made this so I just used a commercial salad dressing rather than making my own vinaigrette. Wish-Bone Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing “with extra virgin olive oil.” Here are the top ingredients, in order: water, balsamic vinegar, soybean oil and extra virgin olive oil (sic), sugar, salt, spices, etc. So the oil could have been soybean oil with only one drop of olive oil for all I know. Olive oil is a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acid, so you might be able to calculate how much EVOO was in the dressing if I tell you there were five grams of fat per two tbsp (30 ml) serving, of which 1.5 grams were monounsaturated. That serving also has three grams of carbohydrate (all sugar) and only 60 calories. Right there on the bottle is says gluten-free and “no high fructose corn syrup.” I bet it had HFCS in it three years ago and there would be no mention of the trendy “gluten-free.”

I don’t know any home cooks who add water to vinaigrettes. They are essentially oil and vinegar (in a ratio of 3:1) and spices (or not). The ones I make have quite a bit more than 60 calories per two tbsp (30 ml); more like 220 cals. All of the oils you would use have about 120 calories per tbsp all from fat. If you make this recipe with home-made vinaigrette, add 150 calories to the nutritional analysis below. It won’t affect the carb count.

Note that of the common vinegars, balsamic has the most carbohydrates—some vinegars have zero. If you use typical amounts of balsamic vinaigrette, you shouldn’t need to worry about the carbohydrates unless perhaps you’re on a strict ketogenic diet and limited to 20-30 grams of carb daily.

Servings: 1

Advanced Mediterranean Diet boxes: 1 vegetable, 2 protein, 1 fat

Nutritional Analysis:

58% fat

7% carbohydrate

35% protein

620 calories

11.5 g carbohydrate

3.7 g fiber

8 g digestible carbohydrate

743 mg sodium

877 mg potassium

Prominent features: High in protein, vitamin B6, iron, manganese, niacin, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc.

paleobetic diet, low-carb, diabetic diet, paleo diet

Bonus pic! Java, one of the horses at the Parker Compound. He’s an old-style Morgan.

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Recipe: AMD Vinaigrette

Posted on June 25, 2014 | Comments Off on Recipe: AMD Vinaigrette
Steve Parker MD, Advanced Mediterranean Diet

Two diet books in one

Try this vinaigrette on salads, fresh vegetables, or as a marinade for chicken, fish, or beef. If using as a marinade, keep the entree/marinade combo in the refrigerator for 4–24 hours. Freshly seasoned vinaigrettes taste even better if you let them sit for several hours after preparation.

I’ll warn you, this is pretty spicy and tangy. If you prefer less flavor (is that the right word?), either use less of it, or reduce these particular ingredients by half: lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika, and mustard.

This recipe was in my first book, The Advanced Mediterranean Diet from 2007; hence, “AMD vinaigrette.”

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves (6 g), minced

juice from 1 lemon (40–50 ml)

2/3 cup (160 ml) extra virgin oil olive

4 tbsp (16 g or 60 ml) fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 tsp (5 ml) salt

1 tsp (5 ml) yellow mustard

1 tsp (5 ml) paprika

4 tbsp (60 ml) red wine or apple cider vinegar

Preparation:

In a bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk together. Alternatively, you can put all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake vigorously—my preferred method. Let sit at room temperature for an hour, for flavors to meld. Then refrigerate. It should “keep” for at least 5 days in refrigerator. The olive oil will solidify, so take it out and set at room temperature for an hour before using. Shake before using.

Number of Servings: 6 servings of 2 tbsp (30 ml). (In Australia and NZ, you guys say “serves” instead of servings, right mate?)

Nutritional Analysis:

98 % fat

2 % carbohydrate

0 % protein

220 calories

1.4 g carbohydrate

0.3 g fiber

1 g digestible carbohydrate

400 mg sodium

41 mg potassium

(You may see a slightly different nutritional analysis—2 g of digestible carb versus 1 g here—at one of my other blogs. That’s the difference between Fitday.com (here) and NutritionData, and rounding.)

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Recipe: Waldorfian Salad

Posted on May 9, 2014 | 4 comments
paleobetic diet, low-carb diet

One cup of Waldorfian salad. I doubled the cinnamon in this batch, so yours will look less brown.

Today’s meal is inspired by the classic Waldorf salad, made famous by New York’s Waldorf Hotel over a century ago. The hotel today is called the Waldorf-Astoria.

The primary ingredients are apples, walnuts, and celery.

The original salad was made with mayonnaise, which I left out this time as an experiment in Old Stone Age eating. Cavemen didn’t have mayonaise or Miracle Whip, after all.

paleobetic diet

Good source of omega-3 fatty acids

Instead of mayonnaise, we use a dressing—a vinaigrette—made with walnut oil. Walnut oil is attractive in part because it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids: 1.77 grams per tbsp (15 ml). Compared with Paleolithic diets, modern Western diets are too low in omega-3s and too high in omega-6s. You can use your left-over walnut oil the way you’d use olive oil.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, ketogenic diet

I made my dressing in this BPA-laden plastic container

This recipe makes two large servings of 2 cups (480 ml) each. Small or sedentary folks may well be satisfied with a 1- or 1.5-cup serving.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, ketogenic diet

Try different varieties of apple and let me know how it works out.

Ingredients:

2 apples, raw, medium size, skin on, diced (I used Red Delicious; consider Granny Smith, Fuji, or Gala)

3 celery stalks, 8-inches long (20 cm), diced

1 cup (240 ml) walnuts, broken by hand into small chunks (Option for ? more flavor: toast in a skillet over medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes or in oven (350 F or 175 C) on baking sheet for 10 minutes

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) black pepper, ground

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) salt

1.5 tbsp (22 ml) walnut oil

1 tbsp (15 ml) cider vinegar

1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) cinnamon

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) nutmeg

Instructions:

First make a dressing with the bottom six ingredients. I put mine in a small container with a lid, then shook vigorously. Or you can put them in a small bowl and whisk them.

paleobetic diet, low-carb diet, ketogenic diet

Walnut pieces

Place the walnuts, apples and celery in a bowel, add the dressing and toss thoroughly. You’re done.

Serve as is, or chill first in the refrigerator. Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought it tasted better after it sat on the counter for 10 minutes. Consider serving on a bed of lettuce (1-2 oz), but if you do, increase your digestible carb count by 1-2 grams.

If you want more calories or protein than this recipe provides, chicken or steak should go well with Waldorfian salad and won’t increase your carb grams.

Number of Servings: 2 (2 cups each)

Advanced Mediterranean Diet Boxes Per Serving: 3 fats, 2 fruits

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving:

73% fat

21% carbohydrate

6% protein

500 calories

27.5 g carbohydrate

7.6 g fiber

20 g digestible carbohydrate

341 mg sodium

529 mg potassium

Prominent features: High in copper and manganese, low in sodium. This is vegetarian (so much for the paleo diet being meat-centric). On a 2,000 calorie diet, this provides only 15% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for protein, so you’ll want to eat more protein at some point during the day.

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Recipe: Avocado, Tomato, Olives, and Steak

Posted on May 5, 2014 | Comments Off on Recipe: Avocado, Tomato, Olives, and Steak
Paleobetic diet

I ate mine for breakfast. Who needs bagels, cereal, and donuts?

This was super-easy to put together because I used leftover steak. But I’ll assume you’re cooking your steak fresh. We bought ours as thinly sliced round steak, about a 1/4-inch thick (0.6 cm). Some places might refer to this as a “minute steak” because it cooks so quickly. Minute steak also refers to a piece of beef, usually the round, that’s been pounded flat, about a 1/4-inch thick. Even if you start with raw meat, you can prepare today’s recipe in 10 minutes.

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It tastes as good as it looks

Ingredients:

4 oz (113 g) cooked thin round steak (start with 5 oz raw)

1 California (Hass) avocado, standard size (4.5 oz or 127 g), peeled, pitted, and chunked

14 black olives, pitted, medium size (Purist alert: probably highly processed)

1 tomato, medium-size (medium size or 2.5-inch diameter (6,4 cm), or a large roma tomato), cut into wedges

Salt and pepper to taste, or use commercial steak seasoning such as Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick (a favorite at the Parker Compound)

Instructions:

Sprinkle your steak with seasoning then cook over medium or medium-high heat in a skillet, about a minute on each side. Or heat your leftover steak in the microwave. If you overcook, it will be tough.

Place all ingredients artfully on a plate and enjoy.

Advanced Mediterranean Diet Boxes: 1 protein, 6 vegetable

Servings: 1

Nutritional Analysis (via Fitday):

60% fat

12% carbohydrate

28% protein

600 calories

20 g carbohydrate

12 g fiber

8 g digestible carbohydrate

587 mg sodium

1530 mg potassium

Prominent features: Lots of protein, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, copper, iron, niacin, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc

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How to Make a Super Salad

Posted on April 25, 2014 | Comments Off on How to Make a Super Salad
diabetic diet, Paleobetic diet, diabetes,

You won’t be able to eat this in one sitting if you’re small or sedentary

This huge salad is a full meal. It fills a 10-inch plate (25 cm). Since it contains five vegetables, you should feel virtuous eating it.

Ingredients:

8 oz (230 g) raw chicken breast tenderloin (it cooks down to 5 oz)

1/4 cup (60 ml) canned mandarin orange wedges (6-7 wedges) (if you can only find these packed in syrup or light syrup, add 3 g to the digestible carb count below)

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) lemon pepper seasoning

4 oz (110 g) hearts of romaine lettuce

1 oz (30 g) baby spinach

2.5 oz (1/4 cucumber or 70 g) cucumber, peeled and sliced into discs

2 oz (60 g) California avocado, peeled and seeded, cut into wedges (1/2 of standard-sized avocado)

3 oz (85 g) fresh tomato (a typical roma or small tomato)

1 oz (30 g) walnuts

6 tbsp (90 ml) extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp (30 ml) vinegar (we used balsamic)

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) salt

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp (1.2 ml) crushed dried rosemary

diabetic diet, Paleobetic diet, low-carb, seasoning

Like Deborah on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” my wife often makes “lemon chicken.” Have you seen the cost of steak lately? Jeez…for what the supermarket’s asking, it’d be cheaper to go to a steakhouse!

Instructions:

First cook the chicken breast over medium heat in a skillet. If you think the meat will stick to the pan, add a smidgen (1/2 tsp or 2.5 ml) of olive oil to the pan. Don’t overcook or the meat will get tough. It’ll take five or 10 minutes.

While that’s cooking, prepare your vinaigrette. In a jar with a lid, place the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and rosemary, then shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Not 21 or you’ll ruin it. You’re done.

If you use a commercial vinaigrette instead, use one that has no more than 2 g of carbohydrate per 2 tbsp. You may have trouble finding that since so many of the commercial guys add sugar.

Place the lettuce and spinach on a plate then add the cucumber, avocado, tomato, cooked chicken, walnuts, and mandarin orange wedges on top. Drizzle two or three tbsp of the vinaigrette over it (nutritional analysis assumes three). Enjoy.

You could easily substitute steak, turkey, cooked salmon, or canned tuna for the chicken.

Servings: 1

(Actually, you’ll have enough vinaigrette left over for one or two more salads or vegetable servings. Save it in the refrigerator.)

Nutritional Analysis:

57 % fat

12 % carbohydrate

31 % protein

710 calories

25 g carbohydrate

10 g fiber

15 g digestible carb

990 mg sodium

1,570 mg potassium

Prominent features: Rich in protein, vitamin A, B6, C, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, pantothenic acid, selenium, and phosphorus.

low-carb diet, diabetic diet, Paleobetic diet, balsamic vinaigrette,

I like this and use it. The lower left corner says “with EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.” In order, the listed ingredients are water, balsamic vinegar, soybean oil and extra virgin olive oil, SUGAR, etc. Which oil would you guess predominates? Two tbsp has 3 g of carb.  BTW, balsamic has the most carbs of all the vinegars.

 

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A New Toy at the Parker Compound: a Vitamix

Posted on April 7, 2014 | 6 comments
Our first creation with the Vitamix

Our first creation with the Vitamix

 

I call it a mixer; my wife calls it a food processor. We’ll be mixing up a storm and reporting at my various blogs. My wife’s been thinking about getting a contraption like this for months. She got excited and bit the bullet when she saw a live demonstration at Costco yesterday.

Almost immediately out of the box, my wife threw in a couple handfuls of ice, couple handfuls of frozen strawberries, and one and a half bananas. I thought this would be a fruit smoothie, but with the very thick consistency, “Italian ice” might be a better term.

One of our goals is to sneak more fiber, vegetables, and fruit into our kids diets. (Shhhh….don’t tell!)

It's a little noisy, but easily bearable

It’s a bit noisy, but easily bearable

$500 (USD) at Costco, so not cheap. It seems well-made and has a good SEVEN-year warranty!

$500 (USD) at Costco, so not cheap. It seems well-made and has a good SEVEN-year warranty!

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