 | BREADING ALTERNATIVES
- coating with Atkins or Carbolite bake mix (too much of a soy taste for me, though =-P)
- coating in soy flour (less expensive than above)
- Wasa cracker crumbs
- grated parmesan
- almond flour
- crushed pork rinds; plain, spicy, sour cream & chives,BBQ
- chopped pecans
- crushed branacrip cracker
- KETO crumbs, commercial low cqarb bread crumbs, available at most of the large low carb sites.
Add spices of your choice to any of above.
Add parmesan to any of above.
All of these coatings work best if they adhere well to the protein to be fried, and that usually means you need to dip the item in beaten egg first. It also works sometimes if the item is simply wet with water. PROTEIN POWDER
There are many types and brands of protein powder, so it is impossible to tell you which specific one you should buy.
Only some of them are appropriate for the low carber, though, ones with reasonably low carb counts. ALWAYS check the nutrition label.
Some aspects to consider:
Soy, vegetable, whey, milk & egg protein are used for the various pp's.
Which particular one you choose is a matter of taste, carb count and price point.
Most people feel the soy (isolate) pp's have a distinctive soy taste which is unappealing. That's why most veteran low carbers I know choose whey; it's the most readily available after soy.
Two popular brands are Designer Protein and Optimum Nutrition, but there are many good ones out there.
Most are flavored and sweetened. Most common flavors: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, unflavored. The Keto brand of pp's are a bit more exotic, come in banana, choco-peanut butter, etc.
There are several sweetening agents used, primarily aspartame, Acesulfame-K, sucralose. Many of us avoid aspartame due to the many health-related problems believed to be associated with its use.
You can even have your protein powder customized, made to your exact specifications, at www.proteinfactory.com
And their website is well worth a visit. You'll find much more info there to explain this low carb 'staple'.
Where to get protein powder:
Online --- don't ask me which is cheapest, because on the net, that's a moving target; things change. But here are some places to look:
www.vitaglo.com
www.netrition.com
www.low-carb.com
Real Life:
GNC (but they are outrageously expensive, you'll always get better prices at online sites)
Bread & Circus
Trader Joe's; their egg & milk pp is excellent and reasonably priced)
Walmart - Naturade, Body Fortress are both reasonably priced brands
Vitamin World
Other health food stores near you
Body builder type stores --- but make sure you get a pp with a reasonable carb count; most body builder products are high carb
Although you'll get a better deal for larger sizes. I strongly recommend you try a smaller size first to make sure you actually like it. Some places, like GNC, will take anything back even if you're returning it simply because you don't like the taste. Other places don't. You should probably ask first, before ordering/purchasing.
Why use protein powder?
- It is one of the common substitutes for flour in low carb recipes. Other flour substitutes: finely ground almonds (almond flour), ground flax seeds (flax meal), soy flour, 'low carb' (a relative term ;-)) flours.
- It's used to make 'shakes'; usually a little heavy cream and flavoring agent (extract, berries, PB, etc) is added, along with water, maybe raw egg, cottage cheese. These shakes are a great quick meal, especially popular in the morning when time is tight. Also, some people drink them to fill themselves up and get additional protein in addition to their regular meals.
- Some people get tired of meat, fish, fowl, cheese and eggs, want a break from the same old thing. Variety makes the woe more do-able. And having a nice, sweet "milkshake" type drink is a treat =-)
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I don't want to discourage you from getting and using protein powder. It's one of the weapons in a low carber's 'arsenal'. However, most do best on this woe when they stick primarily to the basics: fresh, unprocessed food, animal protein, veggies and dairy.
WHIPPED CREAM
This is another one of those topics that comes up all the time, and on which there is a broad range of opinions and experiences.
The purist approach:
Get either "heavy" or "whipping" cream, add a little artificial sweetener of choice, a little vanilla (or other flavoring extract) if you like, then:
- beat it up with a whisk (great exercise), electric mixer OR
- put it in a cream whipper (available at www.cooking.com; also available at Kitchens, etc, Lechters, any store with a good kitchen supply dept)
Please Note:
- Heavy / whipping cream has 6.6 - 8.8carbs/cup, depending on brand, even though the nutrition label may say "0 carbs". That's because they stipulate nutrition info 'per serving size', and they generally use a small serving size, 1Tbl for cream, for instance.
- The only difference between heavy cream and whipping cream is that the latter has a stabilizer in it which accelerates the conversion to whipped cream.
To keep whipped cream for several days, Just before whipping the cream:
- soak 1/2 teaspoon granulated plain gelatin in 1 tablespoon cold water (for each cup of cream to be whipped) in a heatproof bowl.
- When softened, place in a pan of hot water til completely dissolved.
- Using chilled bowl and beaters, whip cream until almost as done as you like it.
- Quickly add the dissolved gelatin and continue beating til proper consistency.
The whipped cream will hold its shape and consistency on a cake or dessert for up to a week, and is thick enough to be used in a pastry bag for decorating and will hold its shape. Gelatin does not harm the taste or texture.
I know a lot of successful low carbers who have used small amounts of prepared whipped cream, not just Redi-Whip, but Cool Whip. Both are contra-indicated on a low carb diet because they contain small (or, in the case of CW, relatively large) amounts of sugar. This is one of those things YOU have to decide for yourself, based on how the prepared whipped cream affects your progress.
Most people who choose this option do so for the convenience. However, if you use a cream whipper or the gelatin tip above, then the convenience factor is pretty much obviated.
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