I have been building up my repertoire of mixes lately. (Check out my Basic Low Carb Flour Mix, All Purpose Seasoning Mix, and BBQ Base mixes!)

If you are low carbing, you will want to be careful of seasoning mixes and packets. Many have thickening agents (i.e. arrowroot or cornstarch); others have anti-clumping properties, which can add carbohydrates to the total. Of course, many of us home cooks have been doing many homemade things for years and years—including sauces, seasoning mixes, and more—in an effort to either save money or be able to put into our foods exactly what we want (and know what that is!).

Regardless of your reason for using homemade mixes and seasonings, I think you will agree that every home cook needs an Italian Dressing Mix in her cupboards!

I “developed” this recipe by combining some ingredients from the “Make a Mix Cookery” cookbook (though it doesn’t have the seasoning mix itself), a knock off “Good Season” dressing mix, and a couple of other from Pinterest. I knew it needed some red pepper flakes for some kick—and I can never use too much basil in my cooking! Also, some do not have any sweetener in them at all, which I think is a mistake in such a “spicy” dressing and mix.

If you want to become a “make-a-mix” cook, then this is the the book for you! You can see how worn out mine is—and this is my third copy! See that little sticky note? That is from a dozen years ago! It makes me smile…

Of course, this mix can be used to make salad dressing (Olive Garden knock off recipe here!). But there are so many other uses for this!

Homemade croutons!

Just like my all purpose and BBQ sauce base, I constantly use it as a seasoning mix blend (another step or two I can eliminate when cooking—not having to get out ten spices at one time). Oh, and of course, for marinades. I love to marinate—or even marinate and then stick the entire bag in the freezer for a quick freezer entrée later.
I will be posting many recipes with this mix—including Philly Cheesesteak Casserole, Homemade Croutons (oh my word!), Cracker Barrel Grilled Chicken Tenderloins, steak salad, kielbasa stir fry, and Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Breasts. And some marinades. So stay tuned!

Roasted vegetables are simple: mix olive oil, broth, and one of my seasoning mixes. Drizzle over veggies on a large roasting pan and roast! Try this Italian Dressing Mix or All Purpose Seasoning Mix or BBQ Base Mix!!!

Oh, for those just sticking their toes into the whole mix cookery, I have the half measurements in parentheses following each ingredient. You will wish you had doubled or tripled it—not halved it. But baby steps, right? 🙂

Mixes make dinners for family and friends a cinch to put together!

Let me know what you think—or if you tweak it, please share your tweaks with me and why you like it better. I’m always into learning!

Italian Dressing Mix

2015-08-03 08:06:11

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Ingredients

1. 2 TBSP dried basil (half 1 TBSP)
2. 2 TBSP dried parsley (half 1 TBSP)
3. 4 TBSP dried oregano (half 2 TBSP)
4. 2 TBSP garlic powder (half 1 TBSP)
5. 2 tsp dried rosemary (half 1 tsp)
6. 1 tsp dried thyme (half ½ tsp)
7. 2 TBSP onion powder (half 1 TBSP)
8. 2 tsp black pepper (half 1 tsp)
9. ½ tsp crushed red pepper (half ¼ tsp)
10. 2 TBSP bulk sweetener* (half 1 TBSP)
11. ½ tsp celery salt (half ¼ tsp)
12. 1 TBSP salt (half ½ TBSP)

Instructions

1. Combine all thoroughly.
2. Store in airtight container.
3. Use liberally!
4. Yields 1 cup.

Notes

1. Note: Amounts for half a recipe are listed after each ingredient.
2. Also, for uses in recipes that call for Italian Salad Dressing packets, 2 TBSP of this recipe is equivalent to one store-bought packet.

By Donna Reish

Character Ink https://characterinkblog.com/

*Any sugar-free bulk sweetener (granulated) that measures cup-for-cup like sugar will work this recipe. These include (but are not limited to) Swerve, Splenda, Erythritol, and Xylitol. You will have to convert the measurements if you use a Trim Healthy Mama sweetener, Pyure, Truvia, or granulated stevia. For more information about sweeteners, see this post.

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): This is a very low carb recipe with no added carbs—assuming you use a zero net carb bulk sweetener like erythritol, xylitol, Truvia, Pyure, Splenda, etc.

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): The sweetener in this is minute, and nobody can tell this is a “low carb food”—for those trying to persuade their family to enjoy foods with few carbohydrates/lower on glycemic index.

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): While there are many seasoning combinations out there for SBS’s, be sure that if you are concerned about carbs (and you don’t’ choose to make this one!) that you read the labels carefully. If you want to use the packets of Italian Dressing mix for the convenience, you may use it in all recipes on my blog that call for Italian Seasoning Mix!

Homemade Hannah (HH): This is very homemade! You can make this completely whole-foods as written above—or make it even more homemade by using your own dried herbs.

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): These could be used in an S setting or an E setting—no real carbs and no fat as it is given (the mix)! Use it on all of that protein in both meal types! If you use it as part of a rub or as part of a marinade without fat, you may have an E or a FP. If you use it as it is traditionally used (with olive oil), it is an S.

Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and healthy option!

Gluten Free (GF): No fillers so no concern about hidden gluten.

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): This is one of over two dozen of my low carb mixes that I will be bringing to the blog this summer (after eighteen months of testing them!). While the mixes say low carb, they have family-friendly options, gluten-free options, and just “regular” options. Mixes fit all cooking styles—I’ve been using mixes for twenty-five years this month!

Please note: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

The post Italian Dressing Mix appeared first on Character Ink.

I have been doing some podcast episodes about efficiency in the kitchen and freezer cooking. I wanted to have this as part of our back-to-school 2015 series, but I knew that auditory presentations would work better.

There are many things in the summer that you can do to set your kitchen up so that you can work more efficiently during the school year thus giving you more time for homeschooling, school activities, and heart training.

In this post I would like to share some links to those things to help you be able to go back and listen to podcast episodes and find the new posts (and old!) containing this information.

1) Podcast Episode: Five Tips to Be More Efficient in Your Kitchen

In this podcast episode, I get my five tops tips for efficiency in the kitchen including using the crockpot (even for all kinds of meats, such as ground beef and shredded chicken), having ten meals that you always have ingredients on hand for, making combination meals whenever possible, and putting something – even if it is just a casserole or two – in the freezer each week.

2) Podcast Episode: Ten Questions to Ask Yourself Before Beginning Freezer Cooking

In this podcast episode, I present you with ten questions to ask yourself before you begin freezer cooking. These questions will help you determine what kind freezer cook you are and which methods, types of dishes, containers, and more will help you the most. If you have questions about state in which to freeze something, freezing entire casseroles versus just parts of meals, and what to put your freezer entrées in, this episode will help you.

3) Podcast Episode: Learning About Cycle Cooking for the Freezer 

In this podcast episode, I explain how I do cycle cooking with various types of meat. If you truly want to be efficient in putting things in your freezer, this episode is for you. I describe the four types of cycles that I have: shredded chicken, crumbled brown beef, chicken breast and fish fillet, and shaped (roasts, swiss and smothered steaks, meatloaves, etc.). Then I give ideas under each cycle type so that you can see what you are already cooking and how you can start putting those in to freezer meals.

4) Blog Post: Ten Freezer Meals That I Don’t Like to Be Without 

This old blog post will at least get you thinking about some freezer meals that are important to growing families. These are some of my very favorites both for serving my family as well as for giving to others in need, using potlucks, and serving at parties, etc.

5) Blog Posts: Using Mixes

I have been a mix user for twenty-four years – ever since I got the book Make a Mix Cookery. We all know how convenient store-bought cake mixes, Bisquick, bread mixes, brownie mixes, and seasoning blend are. Making homemade mixes allows the efficient cook to enjoy the ease of using mixes while controlling the ingredients. I have a few mixes and seasoning blends at the blog now, but please check back often as I’m adding my healthy cake mix, Healthy BakeQuick mix, and more.

6) Blog Posts: Ten Ways to Help Your Family Work Fast 

I have been working on a series of posts about helping your family learn to work fast. Check back with that series frequently because many of the tips that are there, such as kitchen blitzes, horizontal surface cleaning, and more will help you become more efficient in the kitchen as well.

I hope these links will help you in your quest to become more efficient in the kitchen this summer. For me personally, in my thirty-one years of homeschooling, each time I added an efficient method or tip, it improved another area of our family, homeschool, and life.

The post Getting Ready For School 2015: Become More Efficient in Your Kitchen appeared first on Character Ink.

Once I got on to using crepes (and/or tortillas, depending on your preference) for so many things (advice from DJ Foodie of Low Carbing Among Friends), I went crazy! There are literally dozens of things to do with crepes (savory or sweet) and/or tortillas—low carb or other!

(So if you are not a low carber but just trying to make things more healthfully for your family, read on….using healthy crepes and torts is a great way to reduce white flour and high carb/starchy use and feed your kids healthier options without their knowing it! 🙂 )

Making things with crepes or torts as the base is an amazing find for the low carber because these are either (1) easy to make (in the case of the crepes) or (2) easy to find (in the case of buying low carb tortillas). (Here are two of my faves to purchase: Mama Lupitas (they are brownish but I like them best—and I usually prefer “white”—they have a more nutty taste and make better tort chips and crackers imho and Mission (available in local stores too)—these are more acceptable to my teen sons.)

Low Carb Pizzadillas!

I will be sharing the dozens of ways I use the crepes and torts (see using crepes as noodles here)  on the blog in the future, but today I bring you a super alternative to frozen pizza for your family! (My teen and college sons will eat this readily for a party/movie night—that is a really good sign!)

You cannot pick this dish up like you can pizza or even quesadillas simply because it is too chock full of yumminess. But it is worth all the messiness and utensil-needing!

Here’s the scoop (very loosely!)

•Crepes or tortillas

•Pizza or marinara sauce

•Pizza ingredients: cheeses, veggies, meats (precooked)…whatever you like

1. Place one crepe or tort on a baking dish sprayed (and I use parchment…always parchment…no time for messy dishes!).

2. Put sauce on that crepe (according to how saucy you like your pizza).

3. Put pizza ingredients on top of sauce.

4. Top with another crepe or tort.

5. Bake at 375 for about 15 to 20 minutes convection (20 to 25 regular) until filling is gooey and crepes are golden.

6. Remove from oven and slice with pizza cutter into fourths. Serve with forks! 🙂

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): With the homemade low carb crepes, this is an extremely low carb dish. I would guess that with those, a full double-crepe pizzadilla (which would be a lot of food!) to be one-twentieth of a personal pizza carb count! They are extremely low carb and quick to make. Depending on which low carb tortilla you use, the carb count on the torts alone (two per huge double tort pizzadilla!) would still only be between six and twelve net carbs. Technically, depending on how full you fill the crepes/torts, a full pizzadilla (with two crepes/torts) is probably two servings anyway….very filling. So yes, very low carb!

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): This is one of my MOST family-friendly low carb recipes—especially with store bought, slightly higher carb torts (Mission). It is still going to be probably one tenth of a personal pan pizza carb-wise, so the carbs are still low even with the store bought, white torts. But the real kicker here is how “un-low-carb” this dish tastes. (Yes, that is a word when you are trying to feed teen and college boys!) Nutshell: low carb and kids love these!

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): You Stellas are in business here….you can quite literally buy everything in this dish and simply spend ten minutes assembling a bunch of them! Low carb tortillas; pre-cooked crumbled or link sausage; pepperoni;  pre-chopped onions, peppers, and mushrooms; shredded cheeses; jarred pizza sauce. Go make this!

Homemade Hannah (HH): For you Homemade Hannah’s out there, try the homemade low carb crepe recipe! It is a homemade treat that gives homemade cooks a lot of homemade options! (Emphasis on the “homemade” there!)

 Freezer Cooking (FC): I definitely use my freezer cooking skills to do prep work for this. In other words, I always have these things for this dish in my freezer: crepes (just make and stack in a plastic bowl with parchment between…always parchment…) and freeze; pre-cooked hamburger or ground turkey; pre-made sausage patties or links that I cut up for dishes like this one; and more. Other variations of this use other freezer items I have on hand: taco meat for tacodillas (!); shredded chicken and pre-cooked chicken chunks for Alfredo-dillas (okay, getting a little carried away here!); etc. Somehow I always dovetail all new recipes with my long-term-love-affair with freezer cooking!

 Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): While this is not an Oldie Goldie recipe, it is a whole lot easier than my OG homemade pizzas!

 Trim Healthy Mama (THM): This is a definite S entrée for THM’s. And depending on which base you use and what your fillings are, you could probably even make it an E—with low fat meats, low fat cheeses, and the right fat count base. I could see making this an easy E with shredded chicken, veggies, and Laughing Cow cheese.

 Cycle Cooking (CYC):  Just like my Freezer Cooking, this is not in a “cycle,” so to speak, but I do the various meats and even the torts in my cycles. Ground beef and taco meat are in my crumbled beef cycle. Shredded chicken in my Shredded Chicken Cycle; chicken chunks in my Chicken Breast Cycle; and the crepes in my Basic Flour Mix Cycle. Cycle cooking, along with Freezer Cooking, makes everything faster!

 Sugar Free (SF): No sugar in the crepes or torts to speak of. Definitely choose a low sugar pizza sauce or marinara (i.e. not the luscious, sugar-laden Prego!). My experience has been that lower sugar sauces are often found in glass jars (i.e. often more expensive, lesser known brands) and generic brands. Check them out!

 Gluten Free (GF):  The gluten-free option for this recipe is to make the crepes using the Basic Flour Mix Gluten-Free option. Very doable!

 Low Carb Mixes (LCM):  The crepes are made using the Basic Low Carb Flour Mix. Love my Low Carb Mixes!

DISCLOSURE: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

The post Low Carb Pizzadillas appeared first on Character Ink.

When I first began low carb baking seriously over one year ago, I had way more failures than I did successes. No one flour seemed to make anything edible—especially for my sons and husband. Almond flour was too heavy. I didn’t understand how much liquid/how many eggs to use with coconut flour—plus the texture was just off when I followed recipes using solely coconut flour. Don’t even get me started on the recipes I tried using straight flax or oat fiber.

Then I started reading about low carbers who were having success at combining non-grain flours. All Day I Dream About Food used two thirds to three fourths almond flour and the remainder of coconut flour quite often in her recipes. Other low carbers had various combinations—and some were even in mix form (that you mix up and use cup-for-cup in place of regular flour). This appealed to me because I have been a “make a mix” cook for many years (starting twenty-four years ago this summer with the book Make a Mix Cookery).
Thus, I began a quest to combine low carb flours into a baking mix that my family would eat—and that didn’t taste so “off.” (I also began making various low carb mixes—cake mix, brownie mix, “Bisquick,” and so on—so stay tuned as I unveil those throughout the summer.)

Breading Mix, Pecan Crust Mix, and BBQ Sauce Base

I have probably tried over twenty different variations in the past sixteen months or so. I had tried putting in some “gluten free” flours (that bake more like white wheat flour) and oat flour—both in an effort to dilute the low carb-not-real-flours. The results were better tasting, but the carb count was a little high.
I have come to the conclusion that I need a basic flour combination that I can live with—and then mix it with oat flour, sprouted wheat flour, and/or gluten free blends to get a more normal taste when I am baking for my kids. (See my info on using less low carb flour in general for better tasting results in the post “Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Low Carb Baking and Treat Making.”) This solved the “two mixes—one very low carb and one more ‘family-friendly low carb’” problem and helped me get this mix to be tastier for those who are not used to low carb flours. That has been working for me for about six months now, so I am going to stick with that. (See more info about various uses and ideas in the Recipe Labels and Variations section beneath recipe.)

I know that I will get asked if you can sub this or that—and you can. The combination is up to you and is dependent upon your budget, the availability of products, your family’s taste, and even your carb “budget.” I have put the approximate carb count of the products that I use in this mixture in parentheses. I will say, though, that if you can bite the bullet and buy the products and make it one time, you will have the products for refills of the mix over and over since it uses small amounts of various things and since it is a bulk mix (makes a lot). (Then I recommend buying the products one at a time each month or however often you order or go to stores carrying the products, so that it will not feel overwhelming to continue making the mix cost-wise.)

Yummy strawberry crepes made with the Basic Flour Mix

For substitution purposes, here are some general guidelines:

(1)     Obviously, any substitutions will potentially alter the final outcome of a recipe and the taste (at least from what my recipe tester and I got when we made it just as is). Keep that in mind when using substitutions.

(2)     If you want to keep the mix super low carb (as it is written), be sure to substitute products with the same or similar carb count. (For example, oat fiber has a zero carb net count so if you substitute oat flour {at approximately eighty carbs per cup} for oat fiber, the carbohydrate total will be MUCH higher than a version with oat fiber.)

(3)     You can also double some of the flours that have the same count and omit one. This would make fewer number of total products to buy, but you are going to miss a little bit of the dilution factor if you do not care for the taste of any one single flour.

(4)     If you are making substitutions, I would be careful that the coconut flour is not more than twenty-five percent of the total mix since it requires much more moisture (especially eggs) in order to bake with it straight up. Your baked goods might be too dry with too much coconut flour.

(5)     I gave a few suggestions in the recipe to help you with substitutions. If you are trying to just buy a couple of things to start with, you could do a combination of ½ almond flour, ¼ coconut flour, and ¼ oat fiber and then grow from there as your budget allows.

So….here is the final version (!). I will link recipes to this Low Carb Mix as I put them up. I have a lot of recipes that I have used with this mix over the past year and many more in my “to test” file. So stay tuned!

Note: Given carb counts are from the products that I used and are all net carbs—total carbs minus fiber.

Basic Low Carb Flour Mix

•3 cups almond flour (12 net carbs per cup–TOTAL  36)

•3/4 cup coconut flour (24 net carbs per cup–TOTAL 18)

•1/2 cup golden flax (OR more oat fiber—be sure you like oat fiber; it is kind of strong) (0 net carbs per cup–TOTAL 0)

•1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (OR if you do not want gluten in your mix, you could use more coconut flour, a half cup of oat flour or quinoa flour, or more almond; I love putting gluten in my low carb baked goods) (24 net carbs per cup–TOTAL 12)

•¾ cup oat fiber (OR more golden flax) (0 net carbs per cup–TOTAL 0)

•½ cup plain whey protein powder (OR may be omitted or just increase almond flour) (16 net carbs per cup–TOTAL 8)

•3 TBSP Glucomman (OR may use xatham gum) (0 net carbs per cup–TOTAL 0)

Note: Carb counts vary among products. For example, some gluten free flours have 110 carbs per cup, while Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour has eighty! Be sure to check carb counts on various products!

Makes approximately six total cups. Each cup has approximately 12 NET carbs in it.

While this Basic Flour Mix can be used in place of almond flour alone or in place of any flours in a recipe (can be used to replace almond flour, coconut flour, and whey protein, for example, in a recipe that has all three of those items), here are a couple of my recipes to get you started using this mix:

1. Low Carb Crepes

2. Chicken Noodle Soup

3. BEST Low Carb Biscuits

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): This is about as low carb of a mixture that you will get in low carb baking (except for straight up flax or oat fiber). You could get approximately the same carb count with almond flour alone, but I don’t like feeding us huge handfuls of nuts over and over again every time we eat any baked good. (I know the low carb high fat people say it doesn’t matter, but it feels like it matters!)

 Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): Again, to make this more Family-Friendly Low Carb—or to just create a healthier baking mix for your family that is not reliant on processed or over-consumed white flour and other grains, you can do a couple of things: (1) Make this as it is listed and use it half and half with oat flour, quinoa flour, sprouted wheat, or other higher-carb flours that bake up more like regular grains; (2) Make this almost as it is given but use a higher carb flour for any of the really low ones. For example, if you use Bob’s Red Mill Oat Flour or sprouted white wheat flour for some of the flours, you can still end up with a forty-carb-per-cup mix that is healthy as opposed to a one-hundred-carb-per-cup grain (white or wheat flour) that is less healthy. Family-Friendly Low Carbing is a very healthy approach to baking!

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): While this is not an SBS model, it is that mindset—get something you can use easily and quickly later so that you don’t have to spend so much time mixing flours, getting out various products all at once, etc. Make the mix once (or double it!), and you have a “homemade convenience food.” 🙂

Homemade Hannah (HH): This is very homemade! You can make this completely whole-foods as written above. Coming from a HH background myself (out of necessity of cooking for a family of nine on one income), I adore mixes and always have. If you are a HH who has never used mixes, keep following Character Ink’s blog. You will love what is upcoming!

Freezer Cooking (FC): This isn’t in my monthly freezer entrees since it really isn’t an entrée; however, you can make up a double batch and store one in your pantry for everyday use and put one batch in the freezer for later.

Oldie Goldie Family Recipes (OG): Mixes are definitely Oldie Goldie for me as I began cooking and baking with them twenty-five years ago before the birth of our fourth child. They have been a huge part of my kitchen ever since I can remember.

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): This is an S baking mix as it is written due to the heavy almond flour amount. However, it could easily be made into a Fuel Pull or an E mix by reducing the amount of almond flour. For the FP, you would reduce the amount of almond flour and replace it with oat fiber. For the E mix, you would reduce the amount of almond flour and replace it with oat flour or sprouted wheat flour. Easy peasy! Also, like the suggestions above for the Family-Friendly Low Carbers, you could make it as it is listed and then use half and half—half Basic Low Carb Flour Mix and half oat fiber for FP OR half Basic Low Carb Flour Mix and half oat flour or sprouted wheat for E mix. (I do not do much FP or E baking, but I would do the latter–make the Basic Flour MIx and use it half and half with oat fiber (FP) or half and half with oat flour (E) rather than making up multiple mixes.)

Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free!

Cycle Cooking (CYC): While this isn’t in my “Crumbled Ground Beef Cycle” or “Shredded Chicken Cycle” or “Chicken Breast and Tenders Cycle,” I do rotate a cycle of mix cooking—a day in which I make a lot of mixes/refill my mixes. I love Cycle Cooking!

Gluten Free (GF): This can definitely be gluten-free if you do not add the gluten and you are sure your oat fiber is completely gluten free. Again, just like the Family-Friendly Low Carb and the THM E mix options given above, if you are not after low carb but simply after healthier and gluten-free baking options, you may omit the lower carb flours (oat fiber, golden flax, etc.) and use part oat flour or part gluten-free flour. (Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour is the lowest carb gluten-free flour I have found—by many carbs in some cases!) Also, you can do the option of making it as is and using half Basic Low Carb Flour Mix and half gluten-free flour for a healthier alternative to just gluten-free flour (which is often made with corn starch, rice flour, and other “white” flours).

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): Yay for Low Carb Mixes!

DISCLOSURE: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

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The post Basic Low Carb Flour Mix appeared first on Character Ink.

Low Carb Cole Slaw—just in time for grilling season. We had this last night with grilled pork chops and strawberries and dip. My hubby loved it!
Cabbage is one of those foods that I never dreamed I would be buying almost weekly! I use it chopped and sprinkled in layers that would potentially have had pasta. I use it for Egg Roll Skillet (recipe coming soon), also known as egg roll in a bowl in many circles, and I use it without the meat at all in stir fried cabbage (sort of Egg Roll Skillet with no sausage). Gone are the days of smelly boiled cabbage that nobody would eat. Cabbage is now cool!

And so today, I bring you Low Carb Cole Slaw. This recipe actually began as a sugar-laden, high-carb KFC Cole Slaw knock off. I can’t attest to its tasting like KFC cole slaw now because we haven’t had much KFC, but I do know that my guys liked it a lot—and with the All Purpose Seasoning Mix, it is super easy!

There are options to not make it as low carb (but why not, right?). Oh, this is not a creamy slaw (though I guess it could be with more mayo or liquid). It is more of a crispy, barely-coated slaw, which my family likes better. (It is also good to put on sausage tacos, also made low carb—sort of like the Won Ton Tacos that they make at Applebees, which my guys crave!)

Low Carb Cole Slaw

½ cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup creamy, milk-like liquid (see Note below)
1 ½ TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/3 cup bulk sugar-free sweetener (Swerve, erythritol, xylitol, a blend, or Splenda)
1/2  to 3/4 tsp All Purpose Seasoning Mix (may just use salt & pepper here, but this is so much more flavorful!)
½ tsp celery seed
16 ounce bag shredded cole slaw mix

Note: The original recipe called for buttermilk. I would say that you can use any “milk” that your family is used to. I used half and half. (See Labels for Recipes below for more info.)

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): This is a very low carb recipe if made with the no-carb bulk sweeteners suggested and by using your normal low carb “milk” subs. I used half and half. Very low carb folks might want to use cream. Others might want to use almond milk or other non-dairy milk substitute in order to keep the carbs low.

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): With half and half, regular mayo, and sugar-free bulk sweetener (I used Splenda), my family loved this. If you don’t mind adding a few carbs, you could use whole milk and low fat mayo. This version would probably not be low enough for an under-forty grams low carb diet, depending on how much you eat, but would definitely work for FFLC.

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): If you want to save money, you could use Splenda rather than one of the other more expensive bulk sweeteners suggested. I’m all about simplicity where possible (while still cooking and baking low carb and homemade), so I used the bagged slaw mix—a great SBS tip in general for veggies if your budget allows them.

Homemade Hannah (HH): Of course, this could be made more homemade if you do your own mayo and buy cabbage and carrots whole and shred them.
Freezer Cooking (FC): Don’t freeze this—or fresh salads in general (except for some fruit salads).

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): This can definitely work in an S setting very well with grilled meats and more! I would think you would be a little challenged to get it low enough in fat to use in an E setting—maybe use fat free mayo (is that allowed?) and almond milk or skim milk (?). Just some thoughts.

Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and healthy sweetener options! See ideas for sugar-free sweeteners here!

Gluten Free (GF): No reason to add gluten to this. Use my All Purpose Seasoning Mix, and you’ll be covered!

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): This recipe uses my All Purpose Seasoning Mix, a combination of amazing spices that is a great seasoning for meats, veggies, fish, salads, and more!

The post Low Carb Cole Slaw appeared first on Character Ink.

I have been trying to develop a seasoning mix that can be used in meats, fish, vegetables, and salad. I think I am finally there!
If you are low carbing, you will want to be careful of seasoning mixes and packets. Many have thickening agents (i.e. arrowroot or cornstarch); others have anti-clumping properties, which can add carbohydrates to the total. Of course, many of us home cooks have been doing many homemade things for years and years—including sauces, seasoning mixes, and more—in an effort to either save money or be able to put into our foods exactly what we want (and know what that is!).

Regardless of your reason for using homemade mixes and seasonings, I think you will like this All-Purpose Seasoning Mix. I have been sprinkling it on frying meats, stir it into crock pot concoctions, and adding it to soups and salads.  I love to sprinkle it over the olive oil and beef broth mixture that I just sprinkled over vegetables for roasting! (The small amount of moisture from the olive oil/broth combination helps the seasoning to stick to even slick vegetables like zucchini better!)
I just tweaked a cole slaw recipe using this seasoning—even though it contains seasonings that we do not traditionally think of with cole slaw, my guys loved it! (Update:  click here for cole slaw recipe!)
Let me know what you think—or if you tweak it, please share your tweaks with me and why you like it better. I’m always into learning!

All Purpose Seasoning Mix

3 tsp. salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 ½ tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper (black or white; I like black because with the paprika, this seasoning mix is pretty!)
¾ tsp oregano
½ tsp ground bay leaves
½ tsp basil
Optional: 1 tsp red pepper powder or 1 tsp chili powder!

1.    Combine all thoroughly.
2.    Store in airtight container.
3.    Use liberally!
4.    If you don’t want the pepper powder or chili powder in it all the time, you can omit it (like I did), and when a dish seems like it would benefit from it, just add a pinch of it with each teaspoon of All Purpose Seasoning Mix!

Note: To use this mix in recipes that call for other seasonings, if you are one to experiment (!), just add the total number of teaspoons of the seasonings your recipe calls for that are similar to the ones listed here and use that amount of All Purpose Seasoning Mix (while still adding in other seasonings that your recipe might call for, such as celery seed, ground mustard, etc.).

Recipe Labels and Variations

Low Carb (LC): This is a very low carb recipe with no added carbs.
Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): Great in many of my FFLC recipes!
Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): While there are many seasoning combinations out there for SBS’s, be sure that if you are concerned about carbs (and you don’t’ choose to make this one!) that  you read the labels carefully.
Homemade Hannah (HH): This is very homemade! You can make this completely whole-foods as written above—or make it even more homemade by using your own dried herbs.
Trim Healthy Mama (THM): These could be used in an S setting or an E setting—no real carbs and no fat! Use it on all of that protein in both meal types!
Sugar Free (SF): Sugar-free and healthy option!
Gluten Free (GF): No fillers so no concern about hidden gluten.
Low Carb Mixes (LCM): This is one of over two dozen of my low carb mixes that I will be bringing to the blog this summer (after fifteen months of testing them!). While the mixes say low carb, they have family-friendly options, gluten-free options, and just “regular” options. Mixes fit all cooking styles—I’ve been using mixes for twenty-five years this month!

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Low Carb (LC): Many of my recipes (especially the newer ones that I have been creating over the past year and that I am putting up as of Spring 2015) are low carb or else have low carb options. Generally speaking, when a recipe has the LC label, it means that a serving (or more!) of that recipe would fit well into a low carb eating plan, such as one that is fifty net carbs per day or fewer. Many of the LC recipes are very, very low carb, meaning that they would be appropriate for a twenty net carbs or fewer diet.
 

Family-Friendly Low Carb (FFLC): Because I have been trying to tweak recipes to appeal to my teenage and college age sons, as well as my husband, some of my recipes have the FFLC label. This means that I am giving an option to up the carbs a little bit (for example, to use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour or Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa Flour or Oat Flour for part of the “flour” {rather than all almond flour, coconut flour, wheat fiber, etc.}) or to add oats to a baked good. Additions or changes to a recipe to make it FFLC often make the product more welcomed by family members who are not used to completely grain-free foods—but still make each serving seventy-five percent—plus less carby than traditional recipes of that same dish (due to partial use of low carb flours, low carb liquids, and sugar free/zero net carb sweeteners).

Store-Bought-Stella (SBS): Some people would never dream of using canned soups or Splenda or sugar-free jello mixes in their kitchens. Others are okay using some non-homemade or “less healthy” products in their cooking and baking. If something could be made easier by purchasing something pre-made, the SBS label will be used, indicating that there is a way or ways to make the recipe given easier with store-bought helps.

Homemade Hannah (HH): There are many healthy cooks who desire to make as many things from scratch as possible—and definitely would not use a store-bought cake mix or sugar-free pudding, etc. When a recipe could be made more “homemade” by doing it yourself or has healthier options, the HH label will be given, along with suggestions on how to keep that particular recipe as homemade as possible.

Oldie Goldies (OG): The Reish family is a family of thirty-plus years of home cooking! Raising seven children on one income for twenty-five years caused me to learn how to cook—and how to cook large amounts in easier ways (whenever possible). Because of all of those years in the kitchen, I have more recipes, menus, and tricks than one can imagine. When a recipe is an old family favorite (or a new family favorite that I think other families would enjoy), the OG label will be given, along with a note or two about how we used that recipe, what we liked to have with it, etc.

Freezer Cooking (FC): I began “mega” cooking via freezer cooking, mix making, cooking sessions to prep fruits and veggies, and more in 1990 while preparing for the birth of our fourth child (who, coincidentally, was “Colic Kara”—and boy was I happy to have so many things made ahead of time!). It is not uncommon for me to have fifty to one hundred freezer entrees, starters, and more in my freezers at any given time. And I love to help Moms learn how to freezer cook since it has been a huge blessing to my family for the past twenty-four years—and has been an amazing way for us to bless and help others through the years too. The FC label will show up when I give an option to “mega” cook something and put a few entrees in the freezer.

Cycle Cooking (CYC): Once my freezer cooking (described above) was well underway, I developed even more shortcuts and helps to get meals in the freezer. My most time-saving method was using what I called “cooking cycles.” In this approach, I would cook up a certain type of meat and make all of my entrees during that cooking session out of that type of meat. This turned out to be such a great help that I still do this type of cooking nearly every week to this day! When you see the abbreviation CYC (along with a link to that particular type of meat prep—crumbled ground meat, shredded chicken, etc.), you will find ideas on how to “cycle” cook that recipe.

Trim Healthy Mama (THM): You would be hard-pressed to be on FaceBook and not find a friend who is eating the Trim Healthy Mama way. This method of eating/weight loss program is a low-grain, no-sugar approach in which the “dieter” eats protein with each meal but then chooses to either have fat OR carbohydrates with that protein (but not both at the same time). Many (if not all) of my low-carb and family-friendly low carb recipes are perfect for the THM eating style. I do not have a lot of E recipes on here because of my carb intolerance/pre-diabetes, but I will indicate if one would fall under an E meal.

Sugar Free (SF): Recipes on this blog will indicate if they are NOT sugar free (such as Oldie-Goldie Chocolate Chip cookies, graduation recipes, etc.). To learn about healthy, low-carb/no net carb sugar substitutes, check out my post “Low Carb Baking & Treats: What I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me.”

Gluten Free (GF): Most low carb baked good recipes on this blog are also gluten-free since they utilize almond flour, coconut flour, oat fiber, golden flax, protein powder, etc. The lowest carb gluten-free flour that I have found is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour. This flour has under eighty carbohydrates per cup while many others have well over a hundred carbs per cup.

Low Carb Mixes (LCM): I have been working on making over a dozen mixes low carb—trying to re-create my Make a Mix Cookery days but with low carb, sugar-free ingredients. Finally (as of May 2015!), after a year-plus of testing and re-testing my mixes, I am ready to start sharing those! When you see the LCM label, there will be a link to the “master mix” that is used in that recipe. If the thought of making and using mixes is overwhelming to you, just try one of them! Make some things from that one mix, and you will discover the ease of cooking with mixes!

DISCLOSURE: I am an affiliate for these products that I recommend. If you purchase these items through my links, I will earn a commission, but you will not pay more when buying a product through my link. 🙂

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