Easy Low Carb Recipe Conversions Part 3

Crockpot Recipes, Round 3

Hi! In my previous two articles about recipe conversion, I’ve gone over ‘The Big Three’ recipe conversion “rules,” and also taken three crockpot (or slowcooker to some of you) recipes through the low carb conversion routine for you.

This week, I’ve got two more crockpot recipes for you, but with a little bit of difference: these two have a bit more ethnic flavour and fun, and just might fulfill those ‘take-out’ cravings, as they’ve been infused with Italian and Chinese flavours.

By the way, each crockpot recipe includes low carb vegetables (for those valuable “nutrient-dense” carb and fibre grams), but you can easily leave out the cooked vegetables if you prefer a crisp, cool side salad instead. For that matter, if you have the carb allowance on your personal low carb plan, have both! With spring coming, fresh greens of all varieties are a natural “craving” for us to indulge in.

For previous recipes, I’d recommend (and I’m getting hungry just thinking about it):

• a refreshing romaine lettuce salad with cool, creamy Ranch dressing (full fat, not low fat!) and a generous sprinkle of grated sharp cheddar to accompany the Chunky Beef Chili.
• more romaine lettuce, with spunky Caesar dressing and a generous sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper, delicious with the Zesty Lemon Pork Stew – a spring-like butterhead lettuce salad with an Herb & Olive Oil Vinaigrette and some crumbled, crisp bacon “bits” (the real thing) to accompany the Chicken with Wine Stew.

For today’s recipes, I think:

• baby gourmet greens mix or mesclun with a Sesame Oil, Rice Vinegar & Ginger dressing would complement the Asian Steak Stew.
• more gourmet greens with Italian dressing or a good Olive Oil & Balsamic dressing would set off the Sausage Tomato Stew with its hint of Italian flavour.

Well, now that I’ve made myself ravenous, I’ll plug in the last two crockpot conversion recipes and then go away so you can enjoy them in peace (while I raid the refrigerator for some greens and cooked sausage).

Original Slow-Cook Asian Steak Stew

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 pounds beef top round, cut into stir fry strips
• 2 whole medium onions, chopped
• 2 whole carrots, chunked
• 2 whole garlic cloves, minced
• 1 8-ounce can sliced waterchestnuts, drained
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger root
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water 2 cups broccoli florets

In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Brown the meat or chicken in batches. Transfer to an 18-24 Cup (4.5 to 6 L) slow-cooker or crockpot.

Prepare vegetables, liquids and seasonings and pour into crockpot/slowcooker; cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.

Whisk the flour with water or stock and whisk into the cooker. Stir in the remaining ingredients; cook on high for 15 minutes or until brought back to a simmer. Let stand for 5 minutes to “set.”

Serves 6 @ 361 calories, 17 grams fat, 38 grams protein, and 15.3 grams of carbohydrates w/ 2.9 grams fiber per serving.

Conversion Notes:

• Filler: There is no filler in this recipe.
• Colour and flavor are provided by the onions, carrots, and waterchestnuts.

The onions add 15 grams of carbohydrates to the recipe, the carrots add 10, and water chestnuts add 14. To make the dish lower in carbohydrates, reduce the amount of onions and carrots and substitute lo bok (daikon radish) for the waterchestnuts. (You could substitute celery for the waterchestnuts.)

Reducing the amount of onions subtracts 7.5 grams of carbohydrates from the recipe. Reducing the amount of carrots reduces the carb count of the recipe by an additional 5 grams of carbohydrates. Substituting the lo bok (daikon radish) for the water chestnuts reduces the carbohydrate count of the recipes by a further 9.6 grams of carbohydrates. That’s a net savings of 17.6 grams of carbohydrates for the entire recipe.

The texture of the dish is definitely effected by the flour which is used as a thickener in the original recipe. It also adds a whopping 23 grams of carbohydrates to the recipe. You can eliminate it entirely. If you like your stew thick, you can replace it with Expert Foods ThickenThin not/Starch, which is what I did. I also eliminated the water, since it’s not necessary and merely thins the broth.

Now, here’s the Low Carb version of this tasty, easy stew that just might satisfy your craving for “Chinese Food” flavours.

Low Carb Slow Cook Asian Steak Stew

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 pounds beef top round, cut into stir fry strips
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chunked
• 2 whole garlic cloves — Minced
• 2 cups of bok, sliced (*see note below) 7.2/2.8
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger root
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ExpertFoods ThickenThin not/Starch (optional)
• 1/4 Cup water (optional)
• 2 cups broccoli florets

In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Brown meat or chicken, in batches. Transfer to an 18-24 Cup (4.5 to 6 L) slow-cooker or crockpot.

Prepare vegetables, liquids and seasonings and pour into crockpot/slowcooker; cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.

Whisk not/Starch with water or stock if you like a thicker stew (optional) and whisk into cooker.
Stir in remaining ingredients; cook on high for 15 minutes or until brought back to a simmer. Let stand for 5 minutes to “set.”

Serve & enjoy!

Serves 6 @ 329 calories, 17 grams fat, 36 grams of protein, and 8 grams of carbohydrates w/ 3.1 grams of fiber per serving.

Note: * Lo Bok (a.k.a. Daikon radish), is an oriental white root vegetable with good texture, and which holds its crispness quite well through cooking.

Are you craving that “Italian” food taste? Here’s the original and then a low carb version of an Italian-inspired, convenient, and flavourful dish.

Original Slow-Cook Sausage Tomato Stew

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 pounds Italian sausage, sliced
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 carrots, chunked 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 19-ounce can stewed tomatoes 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup tomato paste 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning or
• 1 1/2 teaspoons basil and 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup water (optional)
• 3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

Serves 6 @ 645 calories, 50 grams fat, 27 grams protein, and 23.1 grams of carbohydrates w/ 4.1 grams of fiber per serving.

Conversion Notes:

• Filler: There is no filler in this recipe.
• Colour and flavor are provided by the stewed tomatoes (32 grams of carbohydrates), carrots (21 grams of carbohydrates), onions (15 grams of carbohydrates), tomato paste (9+ grams of carbohydrates).

Replacing the stewed tomatoes with a reduced amount of plain diced tomatoes reduces the carbohydrate count of the recipe by 25.6 grams. Reducing the amount of carrots eliminates 5 grams of carbohydrates from the recipe, reducing the amount of onions lowers the carbohydrate count of the recipe by 7 grams, and reducing the amount of tomato paste carves an additional 5 grams of carbohydrate from the recipe. Add the celery only increases the carbohydrate count of the recipe by 4.5 grams. These substitutions, reductions, and addition lower the carbohydrate count of the recipe by 38.1 grams! That’s quite a savings!

The texture of the dish is definitely effected by the flour which is used as a thickener in the original recipe. It also adds a whopping 23 grams of carbohydrates to the recipe. You can eliminate it entirely. If you like your stew thick, you can replace it with Expert Foods ThickenThin not/Starch, which is what I did. I also eliminated the water, since it’s not necessary and merely thins the broth.

Generally, the Italian sausages are so fatty (compared to the other stew meats) that the amount here has been reduced to 1.5 pounds to bring this recipe’s meal/serving size into closer “range” with the other crockpot recipes (300-450 kCals per serving).

Low Carb Slow-Cook Sausage Tomato Stew

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage, sliced
• 1 medium onions, chopped
• 1 carrots, chunked
• 3 celery stalks
• 3 whole garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 teaspoons Italian Seasoning or
• 1 1/2 teaspoons basil and 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
• 1/4 tablespoons ExpertFoods ThickenThin not/Starch (optional)
• 1/4 cup water (optional)
• 3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper

In a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Brown the meat or the chicken in batches. Transfer to an 18-24 Cup (4.5 to 6 L) slow-cooker or crockpot.

Prepare the vegetables, liquids and seasonings and pour them into the crockpot/slowcooker; cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.

Whisk not/Starch with water or stock if you like a thicker stew (optional) and whisk into cooker.
Stir in the remaining ingredients; cook on high for 15 minutes or until brought back to a simmer. Let stand for 5 minutes to “set.”

Serve & enjoy!

Serves 6 @ 465 calories, 38 grams fat, 19 grams protein, and 11.6 grams carbohydrates w/ 4.9 grams fiber per serving.

Stovetop Instructions For All Slow-Cooker/Crockpot Recipes:

• Brown the meat or chicken in a Dutch oven as is directed for the crock pot versions above.
• Combine all the remaining ingredients except the not/Starch in a large bowl and stir to combine them. Pour them over the meat in the Dutch oven.
• Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender.
• Remove a small amount of the broth from the Dutch oven. Whisk the not/Starch into a small amount of the broth. Combine the not/Starch/chicken broth mixture with the stew and stir to combine. Let stand a few minutes while the broth thickens.

*Note: All the crockpot/slow-cooker recipes in this series make 4 very generous or 6 ‘regular’ servings.

Slow-Cook Suppers (CrockPot OR StoveTop)

Original recipes courtesy of Canadian Living Test Kitchen, February 2000

LC Conversions courtesy of LowCarb FoodExperts, Canada (Click here: LowCarb FoodExperts Canada), February 2001

(Nutritional Information as provided by MasterCook software.)