Low-carb comfort food?

[runningLou]

Is there such a thing?! Am struggling at the moment as going through a stressful time - moving house, changing job etc. In the evenings, and at weekends, I am craving carbs so badly, even just a bowl of cereal would be amazing, let alone (whispers) cake!!
Are there any low-carb comfort foods that you snack on and that give you that feeling of having had a 'treat' but without OD'ing on sugar?

[Buffieorpington]

Sainsbos and Tescos sell the Atkins low carb stuff. Chocolate bars etc. they are about 1.50. Not delicious but definitely satisfy craving for something sweet mid-afternoon

[Southeastdweller]

Scrambled eggs with ketchup
Fried halloumi

[clare8allthepies]

In one of the nigella shows, I think it's express she makes a bolognese ragu type thing then just eats a bowl of it with grated cheese on top, lovely! Who needs the pasta?

[teaandthorazine]

Yep, ragu with plenty of cheese is good.
Celeriac dauphinoise, all creamy and garlicky, yum.
Greek yoghurt with double cream and frozen raspberries.
72% chocolate with a cup of coffee and cream.
Pork scratchings!

[runningLou]

Oooh, all great ideas, thanks everyone!

Is there anything vaguely resembling cakes, muesli, flapjack, biscuits etc that I can make?? Really missing these!!

[milkybarsrus]

Look on the Atkins web site as I'm sure I saw a muffin cake recipe, which you could have with diabetic jam and extra thick double cream. I think it was made with ground almonds. Or, sometimes I mix cocoa powder , Truvia (sweetener) with double cream, lovely.

[UriGeller]

There's an ace microwave cake in a mug made with flaxseed and butter, egg , stevia etc. I think its on the paleo or primal diet website. Its delicious.

[RayPurchase]

Like whipped cream with cocoa powder and a sprinkle of stevia mixed in scooped up with a square of dark chocolate.

[FruitBasedDrinkForALady]

I don't know any cakey type fixes, but I have discovered roast sweet potato chunks are a good sweetness fix, I've had a bowl of them in the fridge for the last few days and pick as need be.

[mscnile]

crispy smoked bacon
TTD chipolatas from sainsbos

[spilttheteaagain]

Erm, this is with the disclaimer that the recipe contains sugar, - I expect you could do some form of sweetener but I've never used them so no idea how they behave in baking. However, I give you:

Flourless chocolate and almond cake
It is amazing. Dense, fudgey, like a giant chocolate brownie, fab with really thick cream and some raspberries.

200g dark chocolate (70% or higher cocoa solids preferred)
1 tbsp strong espresso coffee
1 tbsp rum or brandy
150g caster sugar
150g butter
100g ground almonds
5 eggs, separated
1 tbsp of icing sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven at 180°C. Butter and flour a 20cm round cake tin really, really well. This cake likes to stick!
Melt the chocolate, coffee, rum or brandy, sugar and butter in a glass bowl sitting over a pot of barely simmering water (ensure the bowl does not touch the water). The chocolate should melt in 5 – 7 minutes. When all ingredients are liquid, remove from the heat and stir to combine. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
Add the ground almonds to the liquid chocolate mix and mix well. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time (I added all five egg yolks at once and the cake seemed okay).
In an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff and peaky. Add a third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and combine to loosen the mix. Doing this makes adding the rest of the egg whites much easier. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites, until just combined, with no specks of egg white visible.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Less if you like it fudgey, more if you like it cakey.
Leave to cool. The cake will collapse and crack. Gently remove from the tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve (but obv this is just for aesthetics and can be omitted)

[spilttheteaagain]

In terms of more genuine low carb food, comfort food wise I would go for:

Bacon, eggs & mushrooms
Cauliflower & broccoli cheese with sausages/steak
Sag aloo (sub the potatoes for chunks of swede/turnip, it's brilliant) with maybe chicken tikka, or a rich slow cook beef & tomato curry
Turnip dauphinoise with duck/steak/venison served rare with a slosh of red wine round the pan and some dark green veg
Slow roast pork shoulder, tons of crackling, mashed buttery swede, steamed greens, broccoli

Snacky treats in the evening for me are a bit of Lindt 90% chocolate with soem almonds & pecans. And maybe a date or two (but I am not trying to lose weight & appreciate dates may be an issue for some)
Or greek yog with a few frozen blueberries mixed in and a sprinkling of flaked almonds on top
Whipped cream with 1-2 strawberries sliced and sprinkled on top.
Cocoa type drink: Big heaped tsp or so of cocoa powder, slosh of double cream, mix, top up with boiling water.

Another real favourite if you permit yourself an occasional banana is this:
Slice a ripe banana in half lengthways and fry it in butter until it goes all caramelised. Meanwhile warm a couple of tbsp double cream and then mix in finely broken 80% dark chocolate, stir to melt. Deposit hot lovely bananas in the chocolate sauce.

[GoodnessIsThatTheTime]

I'm eating less carbs at the moment (hence clicking on the thread).


What I don't get is all the emphasis on emphasising that you're having x y or z WITH cheese or cream or whatever? It's still low carb without extra fat? Or is that somehow important?

I'm so far cutting out most bread, reducing carbs in general but low carb not no carb.


I'm eating things like mixed nuts/seeds for snacks. Or hummous and veg sticks.

Is there anything wrong having say just ragu? Are my snacks ok?

[teaandthorazine]

The fat is vital, goodness. It's what your body runs on when you cut the carbs right down. The fewer carbs you eat, the more fat you need. Low carb and low fat is a very bad idea.

Your snacks look ok, nuts and seeds are generally fine; personally I wouldn't go for hummous as all those chickpeas are pretty carby. It depends how strict you want to be, really!

Just ragu is fine, though I tend to eat my bolognese sauce with shredded, buttered Savoy cabbage. And cheese of course!

[GoodnessIsThatTheTime]

Ah thanks for the expanation. I'm probably ok not adding extra fat if I'm not very low carb (ie hummous) then, just cutting back on bread pots and pasta and going for protein plus veg...

not sure I'm doing it "right" but losing a bit and bizarrely not as hungry. Still git a lit to learn so will lurk for other ideas.

[hazchem]

85% chocolate
Fat bombs
Greek yoghurt mixed with double cream and frozen rasberries

[GoodnessIsThatTheTime]

I do greek yog and frozen raspberries. Yum :)

[spilttheteaagain]

Latest discovery:
A square of suitably dark chocolate. Thickly spread with peanut butter (sainsburys basics is only 3.something g carbs per 100g). Bloody gorgeous. Like snickers but nicer.

[SayraT]

What is a fat bomb hazchem?

[SayraT]

I've just looked up fat bombs. They look yummy, I might try some this week.

[Itstartshere]

Paleo pancakes or cauliflower bread are my go to treats. Also Greek yogurt and berries, sark choc and nice nuts. I do occasionally miss a really nice crunchy bit of toast and scones but less and less with time I find.

[AngelaDaviesHair]

Parmesan crisps.

Grate Parmesan cheese, add flavourings (I like smoked paprika), put into little mounds on baking tray and cook at 180C for about 10 mins. You end up with little cheese thins. They don't stay crisp, you have to eat them all at one go.

I've got an actual recipe for this somewhere that I'll try to find.

[Custardo]

it depends what you define as low carb I suppose because AFAICS a lot of the suggestions on this thread are not low carb

ketchup is basically red sugar

I have never understood why people eat yoghurt on low carb

and a high % of cocoa chocolate = 1 piece, anything more and you undermine the principle of low carbing which is to:

not feed the body the energy it needs so it uses your existing stores of fat

rather than to just not eat pasta and potato and bread, there really is a huge difference


anyway

in reply to your enquiry on snacks

sugar free jelly with full fat cream - I make these in disposable party drinks cups at the beginning of the week and keep them in the fridge as needed

cheese - most kinds but read the packet there is a small carb value - I eat leerdammer just as it is out of the packet if I am hungry at lunchtime

cheese strings
pepperami - small carb value

mattesons do packets of chicken bites and something else - I forget- again there is a carb value, but IIRC it is fairly low


if you have spare cash, visit www.lowcarbmegastore.com they sell LC wraps and bread - but beware the LC sweets, the same principle applies, they are marketed at sugar free, but this means there is a sugar free alternative chemical - some kind of polyol, again the body cannot distinguish that is is not energy and you will not lose weight if you eat more than one piece

I cannot eat 1 piece of anything, hence why I was fat in the first place - if I had that kind of control it would negate the need for the diet imo

[Custardo]

in he same vein as parmesan crisps

you cn get a frying pan - no added oil, make 4 small mounds of grated cheese. it will cook to a consistency you can flip it

let it cook - add curry, paprika, chili as it cooks


also

celeriac crisps - use a cheese grater and thinly slice celeriac

heat oil - as per you would if you were making chips - fry the celeriac pieces until brown

drain pat down with kitchen roll

you have veggie crisps fantatic enough to rival pret-a-manger type in a packet

[HolgerDanske]

Sugar free jelly with whipped cream.

A few squares of 'Divine' 70% chocolate with chilli and orange. Luxury.

A teaspoon of Nutella and peanut butter (only one though,)