Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) -- Herbs & Spices (And Ground Meat "With Stuff")

Class is back in session!

In the previous post, we explored three things that professional chefs use prodigiously, but which are woefully underutilized in the home kitchen: salt, heat, and acid. I alluded to a fourth thing, but said we would explore it in a separate post. Well, this is that post. In case you missed the previous posts, we’ve covered why I’m writing this series, how to stock your freezer, fridge, and pantry with low carb staples to make cooking a breeze, and tips for using some of those staples for cooking in advance or in bulk. Like I covered in the intro post, my goal is to show newbies out there (and old hands who need a reminder) just how easy it is to stay on a low carb plan. No detailed meal plans needed, and no shopping lists that rival blueprints for the International Space Station. When you keep certain items on hand, and you know what to do with them, you don’t need to plan what you’re having for lunch three weeks from now.

Today’s lesson: herbs & spices -- and a tasty one-pan meal that couldn't be easier.

Not So ... Fast ... (A Rant)

Hammers are great. Except for when you need a wrench.

Wrenches are great. Except for when you need a drill.

Drills are great. Except for when you need a crowbar.

Different job, different tool.

Different need, different tool.

With me so far?

With this in mind:

Fasting is great. Except when it’s not.

I think you’ll find I’m one of the more open-minded people in the low-carb/keto community. (I don’t know if this is good, bad, or meaningless. Maybe I should align myself with one camp and subscribe to that dogma and only that dogma. Then again, there’s enough of that out there already, right? And when Robb Wolf starts talking about eating lentils [as he did on this podcast], and Chris Kresser points out some of the potential dangers of going overboard with vitamin D supplementation, I guess I’m in good company if I’m able [and willing!] to see and respect the nuance some of this stuff requires.) I firmly believe in certain basic principles of nutrition that are forged in unalterable aspects of human physiology and biochemistry, but beyond that, if someone tells me they feel better eating a little bit of rice and potatoes now and then, and that they don’t feel so great loading up a cup of coffee with 4+ tablespoons of butter and coconut oil, who am I to insist they’re lying? Who am I to insist they force themselves to do something they insist makes them feel terrible? (Except bacon. If you’re not eating bacon, you are doing it wrong. [No, just kidding. Shout-out to anyone reading my blog who keeps kosher or observes the laws of halāl!])

So in my non-dogmatic perspective, what’s the deal with fasting?

Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) -- Pro Tips for Home Cooks

Class is back in session!

The theme of this series is: if you have time to wait for fried chicken, pizza, or Chinese food to be delivered, then you have time to whip up a completely yummy low-carb, Paleo, or ketogenic meal. In earlier posts, we covered how to stock your freezer, fridge, and pantry to make meal prep a cinch, and tips for cooking in bulk and in advance. That’s sort of “prepping the battlefield,” as they said when I was in the military. Setting the stage, if you will. Now, it’s time to start talking about how to take these ingredients and starting points and turn them into meals.   

Professional chefs will tell you their “secrets” aren’t really secrets at all. They’re actually basic, fundamental things that the pros simply employ differently in the kitchen than home cooks do. Sure, maybe they went to culinary school, did a few years staging under more established chefs, and know way more than you or I do about creating culinary magic, but that doesn’t mean we simpletons can’t hold our own and serve ourselves and our families delicious low carb food. We’re not out to win Chopped All-Stars, after all, just to put some edible food on the table, right? If you want to impress people, then quit reading my blog and go read this one instead, for Paleo. (Or this one, for low carb.) (Or this one, for keto.)

For the rest of us, who just want to make easy and convenient low carb meals, here goes.