Of course, there’s very little worse for you than traditional fried chicken tenders: they’re loaded with fat, calories, and empty carbohydrates. That’s where this recipe comes in. By using whole-grain soy flour instead of regular flour, this breading cuts down the carbs to a total of 8 grams, 3 of which are dietary fiber, for a total of 5g usable carbs for the whole batch. And soy flour, unlike bleached white flour, also has a lot of protein - 10g per 1/4 cup serving. That’s enough to get your mouth watering, no?

For two people, you’ll need:
5-6 chicken tenderloin pieces
1/4 cup whole-grain soy flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill Organic)
1/2 tsp. creole seasoning (I like Tony Chachere’s)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 egg
1 tsp. each heavy cream and water
2-3 tbsp. peanut oil

Heat oil in a heavy pan or dutch oven, and preheat oven to 350F.

Stir together soy flour, creole seasoning, and garlic powder in a shallow dish or pie plate.

In a separate dish, beat together egg, cream, and water until thoroughly combined.

Dip chicken tenders first in breading mixture, then in egg wash, then in breading. Carefully place them in hot oil (I always use tongs for this - this stuff spatters a lot at first).

You’ll need to pay close attention to these while they’re frying, because the soy flour burns very quickly - I only browned them a minute or two on each side. Transfer browned pieces to a baking sheet and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

These tenders are not as crunchy as traditional fried chicken, but they have less fat and far fewer carbs and, in Steve’s opinion, are better because they’re lighter: since they don’t fry very long, they don’t have time to absorb much oil, and the soy flour isn’t heavy when fried like bleached white flour can be. With seasoned dredging flour, they’re also really tasty, and are perfect to satisfy your junk-food cravings.

On a side note: I decided to play around with jicama fries to serve with our fried chicken, since George Stella (one of my favorite low-carb cooks) has a recipe for them in his book Livin’ Low Carb. While I typically like his recipes, I have to say these fries didn’t do anything for either Steve or me. I tried them two ways, matchstick and home-style, and neither crisped up very well. I probably won’t be trying these fries again, but the chicken is definitely a winner!

Sometimes I get a hankering for chocolate milk, one of my favorite childhood indulgences. But with an average of 30+ grams of sugar per serving, chocolate milk isn’t exactly low-carb, so I never get to have any.

That’s where Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze almond milk comes in. I found this at my local EarthFare, a grocery store dedicated to organic and “health” foods. I love almonds, so I gave the unsweetened chocolate flavor a go. (The unsweetened variety also comes in vanilla and original.) It’s relatively cheap, at $2.29 for 32 fluid ounces, and it’s remarkably nutritious: one 8 fl. oz. serving contains 20% DV of calcium, as well as 25% DV of Vitamin D, 50% DV of Vitamin E and 10% DV of Vitamin A, with just 45 calories and 3.5 grams of fat.

It is really tasty, and has a subtle chocolate flavor, not overpowering, which is particularly nice when warmed. It doesn’t have a weird aftertaste and the texture is very smooth. Apparently you can cook with it in almost all recipes that use dairy milk, except instant pudding. My only quibble with the unsweetened chocolate flavor is that it’s not quite sweet enough for drinking, but that was easily rectified with 1/2 tsp. of Splenda. I’ll be thinking up some recipes to use this product in, but it’s worth a try if you need a lower-sugar milk substitute.

For two people, you will need:
1 tbsp. peanut oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 package frozen broccoli florets, defrosted and drained
2 tsp. lime juice
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. five spice powder
1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
splash apple cider vinegar

Stir together lime juice, soy sauce, red pepper, five spice powder, ginger, and vinegar in a small bowl; set aside.

Heat oil in a wok over high heat until oil begins to ripple at the surface. Add chicken; stir until chicken begins to brown. Add broccoli florets and spice blend; stir well.

Continue to stir until chicken is cooked through. Serve alone or over cauliflower rice.

Anyway, last week, inspired by the movie Julie and Julia and the celebration of the husband’s birthday, I decided to undertake the mother of all French recipes, at least to people who watched Julia Child growing up (I did - thank you PBS!) - Boeuf Bourguignon. I’m still recovering.

Well, not really. But seriously, consider this your warning: this recipe is a lot of work and requires some serious time commitment, so don’t try throwing it together for a quick supper - it ain’t gonna happen. However, for a special occasion this is definitely a tasty stew worth spending the time on. I’d never made it before, and the way I ended up cooking it is not exactly according to Julia’s recipe, but given her emphasis on the fun of cooking, I think she’d be okay with it. You can find Julia’s original recipes from Alfred A. Knopf at their website, here.

First, you’ll need to make the Champignons Sautés au Beurre, also known as Sautéed Mushrooms. These were very simple, and I did nothing to the recipe except halve the amounts, since I don’t need to feed 6 people. (Oh, and I added the “optional” 2 tbsp. of shallots, because I love their flavor.) Set these aside when browned; I was really pleased with how these turned out, sort of nutty brown and rich - they were tasty even to me, who doesn’t eat mushrooms!

Next, you will have to prepare the Oignons Glacés a Brun, or Brown-Braised Onions. These are delicious, but looking back I would probably cut the pearl onions in half rather than trying to keep them whole as they braise, which was hard to do and rather pointless, since both Steve and I cut them up while eating anyway. I didn’t alter this recipe besides halving it either. And these things are goooood. I ate one just by itself!

Finally, you can prepare the stew. I used Julia’s methods, but my changes to the ingredients are below. Basically, I increased the amount of vegetables, reduced the amount of beef stock, omitted the flour, and doubled the amount of garlic. To feed 2 extremely hungry people (or 4 regular people), you’ll need:

3 slices of bacon
1.5 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into cubes
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 shallots, sliced
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 cup beef stock
1 tbsp. tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
10-12 pearl onions, braised (see above)
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sautéed (see above)

Mostly, I followed Julia’s directions, but I didn’t simmer the bacon, as Julia suggests; she says if you don’t simmer it the dish tastes very bacony, but since I didn’t think that was a bad thing, I merely browned it and reserved the bacon fat. I needed to add more oil than Julia calls for when browning the stew meat; I used about 2 tbsp. of peanut oil in addition to the bacon fat, since the browning is done at very high heat. I didn’t flour the meat and didn’t notice any problems with the finished product.

After the meat was browned, I finished the stew off according to Julia’s recipe, including separating the beef from the juices and reducing them, which I have to say produced a rich, thick gravy even without any thickening agents. It’s an extra step and extra dishes, but it’s worth it.

After it was finished (5 hours and a sinkful of pots and pans later!) I served it over garlicky cauliflower rice.

Steve’s verdict was enthusiastic: he thought it was delicious and appreciated it even more when I told him how much work went into it.

Like me, he would have preferred the onions sliced or quartered rather than whole, so the next time I make it I won’t worry with braising them whole. I was really pleased with the taste of the stew, and I have to say it was almost as good as the version I had in Paris. I’ll be making it again, and I hope you will try it out too!

It all started on Friday, when my best friend and I went to see the movie “Julie and Julia.” I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, actually; while Meryl Streep tends to overact, it worked for a larger-than-life figure like Julia Child. And all the cooking made me really hungry. There is some seriously beautiful food in that movie.

The only time I’ve ever had boeuf bourguignon was actually in Paris, at a tiny little bistro overlooking Notre Dame, so I’ve probably set the bar absurdly high for myself. But since it’s the husband’s 26th birthday, I figure I should attempt something spectacular. Julia calls it “one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man,” and as Steve’s a fan of all things beef (and BACON!), it can’t really go wrong - can it?

I’ll let you know tomorrow. For now, I will be reciting Julia Child’s advice to myself as I juggle 35 or so ingredients: “Try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!”