3 Low-Carb Dinner Recipes

Sometimes we have to change our diets for health reasons, or simply to try something new in life.  Thinking about these situations is what has led me to three low-carb recipes for a special time in the day; dinner.  Dinner is the end of our culinary activities, and is the most charming meal where the lights are turned down, and the tablecloth is happily unfolded, waiting for its surprise.  Serving a few different dishes doesn’t imply a loss of fun for the taste buds, or a lack of elegance to the meal.  I hope that you will continue to find everything that is special about dinner in these following recipes.

To start off with, we’ll have a chicken salad with grapes, a few nuts, and an olive oil dressing, followed by spaghetti.  Wait…didn’t I just say these were low-carb recipes?  How does spaghetti fall into that category?  Well, this is zucchini spaghetti with pesto and cherry tomatoes (that’s the secret).  To end with, we’ll have one more option, which is salmon patties with onion.  I’m excited to get to the dinner table, but first we need to make dinner.  Remember to leave your questions or experience in the comments section.

Zucchini Spaghetti with Pesto

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 zucchini, depending on size
• ½ c. basil
• 3 Tbsp. pine nuts or walnuts
• 1 clove of garlic
• ¼ c. olive oil
• 70 grams parmesan cheese
• 1 c. cherry tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Use a spiral slicer to slice the zucchini.  If you don’t have this, thinly slice the zucchini.
2. Add a little bit of salt to a strainer to remove excess moisture while preparing the sauce.
3. Use a blender to blend the basil leaves, garlic clove, olive oil and nuts.  Once blended into a thick mixture, add the grated parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cut the tomatoes in half and set aside.
5. In a frying pan, heat a bit of olive oil and add the zucchini and diced tomatoes.  Saute for a few minutes until soft.
6. Add the pesto and mix well.  Serve the pasta with a bit of grated parmesan cheese.

Chicken salad with Grapes and Mint

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• ½ red onion
• 1 c. green grapes
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/3 c. walnuts
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Boil the chicken breasts in boiling water with a bit of salt and the garlic clove.  It should take around 25 to 30 minutes to cook all the way through, depending on how big the breasts are.
2. Thinly dice the red onion.  You can either slice it or dice it, but make sure it’s thin.
3. Slice or cube the celery and set aside.  Don’t forget to peel the fibrous strands off the celery.
4. Remove the chicken from the water and allow to cool; once cooled, cut the chicken into medium or small sized cubes.
5. Add the chicken to a deep bowl so you can mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Then add the diced vegetables: the onion and celery.
6. Add the grapes and nuts, mix until all ingredients are well blended.
7. Add the lemon juice and oil and mix the dressing for the salad.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve the fresh salad.  You can serve with salty crackers, bread, corn tortillas or wheat toast.

Salmon and Onion Patties

Ingredients:

• 700 grams salmon
• ¼ c. Panko or breadcrumbs
• 3 Tbsp. chives
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. ginger powder
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Blend the fresh salmon in the blender until pureed, then set aside.
2. Dice the chives and mix them into the salmon.
3. Put the processed salmon in a bowl and add the garlic, ginger, panko and egg.
4. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients together into a compact form.
6. Make discs out of the mixture while heating the oil in a frying pan.
7. Place the discs into the frying pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until golden on both side.  This time could vary depending on how thick your patties are.
8. Serve with a fresh salad or steamed vegetables.

About the author