Japanese Coffee Jelly Drink (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free, Paleo/Primal)

I don't see it very often in the United States, but coffee jelly is actually a pretty popular drink in Japan. It's served about a million and one ways over there, but my favorite way to eat coffee jelly is simply by serving it with milk or cream. It makes for an excellent summertime pick-me-up, plus there's something about a glass of jelly that is very refreshing to look at. When you've let it sit for a long enough time, the color of the coffee actually melds with the white of the cream, giving the drink a lite, mocha tan. Speaking of mocha, you can add chocolate liquor to the coffee (while it's still liquid) or milk for a nice kick.

One serving of low-carb coffee jelly drink is 2 grams of carbs.

Rasmalai (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free, Primal)

When I made this, I actually went through the whole process of making the paneer from scratch. You need quite a bit of milk to yield the amount needed for this recipe, but the recipe is very simple and also kind of rewarding to make. Maybe it's because I never made cheese from scratch before, but I couldn't get over the fact that I was making cheese. It's just such a "gourmet" thing to do. Making paneer from scratch is time-consuming though, so I decided to just adjust this recipe to a one step ricotta paneer I learned about from my friend's mother. But if you want the experience of making your own paneer for rasmalai, here is a link to get you started. 

For those doing low-carb, rasmalai using Splenda as a sweetener comes to 6.6 grams of carbs per serving. 

Spicy Banana Fritters (Gluten-Free, Paleo)

This fritter is inspired by the Puerto Rican dish, Alcapurria. In the original recipe, banana and taro root masa are used to envelope seasoned ground meat. The wrapping portion can get a bit messy and difficult to get right, so I skipped that part, and just added my cooked and seasoned meat to the masa. The original recipe also calls for sazon with achiote and other flavorings, but I just chose the spices I already had in the kitchen. It is a very versatile recipe, so experiment with it! I actually made the batch pictured above a few weeks ago, but there was something off about the seasonings I used in my first batch, so I gave it another go about a week ago. I added cumin and cinnamon, and wow, what a difference it made. 

Spicy Tuna Roll-Ups (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free, Paleo)

I've been wanting to try this recipe out for a while now. I first got the idea when I saw this video on YouTube. I can't even fathom having that much finesse with a knife, so I had to think of alternative way to make cool sushi rolls. I found that using a peeler to make slices down the length of either zucchini or cucumber achieves nearly the same results, though I have to say, the sushi in the video looks way more fancy and put together. You could of course try to learn the technique shown in the video. All it takes is a sharp knife and a lot of practice. I might even give it a shot some day, once I feel confident enough with a blade.

This entire recipe feeds about two people, with about 3.5 grams of carbs per serving. These are best eaten right after they are made, since--after a few hours--the avocado starts to brown.

Cinnamon Ice Cream (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

I never realized until this morning how difficult it is to take pictures of ice cream in the summer. Seriously, it is nearly impossible. The picture above is the best picture I took, out of like fifty pictures. The ice cream was melting at a rapid pace and the glass cup I scooped it into was fogging up. It was a race against the green house effect taking place in my sun room. I should probably choose a different place to shoot, but the lighting there is so great.

Anyway! I received an ice cream maker for my birthday a few weeks ago, and last night I finally got a chance to use it. I spent a great deal of time mulling over what sort of ice cream I could make that was low-carb and not just vanilla or chocolate flavored. I also didn't want to add anything that would bump up the carb count too high. So, enter cinnamon; it's got only .5 grams of carbs per teaspoon, but it's so often associated with sweets that it pretty much acts as not only a flavoring, but also a sweetener for desserts. I love cinnamon's role in this recipe. The slight warmth it provides is a welcome contrast to the chilly sweetness of the base.

One serving of this recipe comes out to around 5 grams of carbs.

Thin-Crust Cheddar Ranch Pizza (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

This was my first try at a flax-based pizza crust, and it turned out a lot better than I thought it would. The original recipe called for baking powder, but I didn't want a thick pizza crust--I like my pizzas thin and crunchy. The modifications I made achieved a crunchy outer crust, and firm inner crust. This recipe could either make 4 very large slices or 8 medium sized slices. The pizza I made was actually shared between five people, with a slice left over.

A quarter serving of pizza is 4.5 grams of carbs.

Zucchini Pasta Salad (Low-Carb, Gluten-Free)

I made this pasta for my birthday lunch and received rave reviews. The idea for a pasta salad came to mind when I suddenly started craving my mothers macaroni salad. It's a summer staple, so I thought I'd make my own version of a cool and creamy side dish. As with most of my other recipes, the ingredients for this dish can be easily substituted, either with different cheeses, different cuts of meats, or even different salad dressings. The salad was paired with roasted chicken inasal and baked eggplant slices rolled with ricotta. My sister took a few quick shots of the tablescape. The pictures are down below the recipe. 

One serving of zucchini pasta salad is 6 grams of carbs.

The longer this dish sits, the better it tastes. Make a huge batch and pack it for work during the week for a quick and easy lunch. This would also be great to pack for trips to the beach and picnics just as long as it's kept chilled inside a cooler.