Teriya-what?

Low Carb cooking presents many challenges, even to a seasoned cook like myself. Before I would have looked down upon certain things such as the "cooking wine" I mentioned in last post's moussaka, or upon almond and coconut flour. For certain thing, yes, the mega-sulfates in cooking wine are pretty scary but in small quantity one can oblige. Although if I had known about replacing some regular flour with almond/coconut would add such a wonderful flavor to cake and cookies, I would have done it a long time ago.

More recently, the Atkins company has come up with a line of frozen meals, I obliged and purchased one, to test it out. At $3,99 a piece, the price is comparable to a Lean Cuisine in matter of price/quantity. I have to admit, the broccoli & chicken alfredo was.. good! A bit salty, with a wooping 1000mg of sodium per portion and a 5 gr of net carb. But when you compare the ingredients to a Lean Cuisine, I was very impressed. No hidden starch of any kind. I went and bought three others, clocking in at 800mgr of sodium each, which I still find high.

I also came across this chocolate, a new product in the "health" alley of Stop n Shop. Steviasweetened chocolate bars. I was a bit skeptical at first but since studies are telling us that Stevia does not affect our insulin levels like some other sugar alcohol do, I indulged. I bought a coconut and a regular dark chocolate one. ($2.99 each, on sale) So far I tried a couple squares of the coconut one (with real coconut flakes inside) and all I have to say is that I couldn't tell it was Stevia, it was delicious. Might change my mind when I try the unflavored one but we'll see.

Another thing I picked up for this recipe was the Liquid Aminos, which by basically soy-sauce without sugar. I decided to try it for the teriyaki chicken because Hubby has been asking me for it for a while, so why not.

Now as a foodie, do I condone "replacement" products? Yes and No. Pre-packaged food allows us options and flexibility when our crazy lives go crazier, I keep those frozen meals at work and rely on them when I don't have anything to pack for lunch. I wouldn't eat those or the Atkins meal bars everyday but they help in a pinch and they are pretty decent.

Holy shit this stuff is good

Stevia chocolate? Can it be worst than the regular stuff? Talking candy bars, no. Nothing beats a piece of 90% cocoa dark chocolate, bring on the real stuff. It's an indulgence like any others, fake sugar only gives us the impression that we can eat more of it. Choose wisely.

As for cooking wine and aminos, be smart, the real stuff is always better but not always better for you. If there's one thing this diet has taught me is that everything in moderation is alright, but it'll have to do until we reach our goals.

This recipe came out pretty alright for teriyaki flavor, it gave us a taste of the stuff we miss the most, I used aminos instead of soy sauce but I still added a tbsp of brown sugar because nothing can really replace the effect that sugar has in food (caramelization!), even if it works on the taste. 9Gr of carbs in 1 tbsp of brown sugar, diluted in 4 chicken breast and 2 cups of sauce is pretty acceptable for me.

Note the ground ginger, don't be a bonehead like me.

Crock-Pot Chicken Teriyaki

Serves 4

Time total 8hours

4 whole chicken breast, bone-in (or legs. wings if you prefer)

½ C of liquid aminos

¼ C of water

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp of ground fresh ginger

1 tbsp of brown sugar

1/8 C of rice vinegar

Mix all the spices with the liquids and pour over the chicken in the crock pot

Cover and set the pot on low for 8 hours.

Remove the chicken from the pot, remove all bones (be thorough!)

Place the liquid in a saucepan and boil constantly until it has reduced by half.

Use the sauce has a dipping sauce as the chicken is already pretty flavored.

Argh the glare, but nom nom nom the chicken!

Some might find it a bit salty, you might want to inverse the liquid quantity, more water, less aminos, I'll try it next time. It sure was wonderful to munch on the chicken while watching the storm, we got over 3 feet of it!

Enjoy!

Hungry Julie

P.S The author does not receive any money or benefits for reviewing any of these products. The views are only there to rely the author's personal opinion on the matter. -J