Indian Kababs and Curried Spinach Almond Cake (Low-carb, Gluten-free)

I know--this meal is calorie dense. In fact, it's almost 600 calories for the entire thing. This is actually a meal I ate all the time when I first started keto and wasn't concentrating on my calorie intake as much as I was my carbs. When I was beginning my low-carb journey I needed a bit of leeway to get over the fact that I would be giving up carbs for an indefinite period of time. Now that I've been off of carbs for a few months, I hardly ever feel like eating this heavily anymore. But when the mood strikes for something savory and spicy, these two recipes never fail to hit the spot.

The kebab recipe comes out to 1.75 grams of carbs per serving, while the curried spinach almond cake (a mouthful, I know) comes out to 3 grams of carbs per serving, for a combined total of 4.75 grams of carbs for the entire dinner.


Ingredients for the kebab (serves 4)

• 16 oz of ground beef or lamb meat
• 1/2 cup of minced onion
• 1 tsp shredded ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• A handful chopped cilantro
• Olive oil

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and let the meat sit in the fridge for about an hour to marinate in the spices.
2. Take about a handful of the mixture at a time and shape the meat around skewers. Place the skewers back into the fridge while you bring an indoor grill or skillet up to medium-high heat. 
3. Oil the grill and cook the kebabs until they are browned on all sides, about 6-8 minutes.

Nutritional Info (for the entire recipe)

Calories: 924 calories

Total fat: 66 grams

Total carbs: 10 grams

Dietary fiber: 3 grams

Net carbs (entire recipe): 7 grams 

Protein: 113 grams 

Ingredients for the curried spinach almond cakes (serves 1)

• 1 cup of baby leaf spinach
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 3 tbsp almond meal or flour
• 1 egg
• 1/3 c almond milk
• A pinch of salt

1. In a small pan, saute the spinach in the butter on medium-high heat. Season the spinach with the curry powder. 
2. While the spinach is cooking, combine the almond meal, egg, almond milk, and salt in a bowl to create the cake batter. 
3. Gather all of the spinach to the center of the pan and cover with the almond cake batter. Brown the cake on both sides, flipping when necessary. 
4. Alternatively, if you wanted to make a batch of these for multiple guests, you could cook a larger amount of spinach en masse, and then add the cooked spinach to a proportional amount of batter. You would then only have to add ladle-fulls of the batter onto a hot buttered pan. 

Nutritional Info (for 1 serving)

Calories: 315 calories

Total fat: 26 grams

Total carbs: 8 grams

Dietary fiber: 5 grams

Net carbs (1 serving): 3 grams

Protein: 15 grams