Low Carb Snacks

• Protein Balls

• Cheese Straws

• Mel's Biltong

• Pork Rinds - New Zealand Style

• Protein Balls - New Zealand Style

• Nuked Cheese

• Tara's Spiced Seeds

• Tara's Protein Bars

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PROTEIN BALLS (New Zealand Style)

Amounts aren't crucial.
500g of cottage cheese or tofu blend till smooth add....
100g of ground almonds or other nuts
2 tablespoons of coco powder or 200g of berries
100g of coconut
1 cup of protein powder
artificial sweetener to taste ( start with 1/2cup of Splenda)
add enough coconut cream or melted butter or coconut oil or water to make a soft mixture
Mix well. Make into small balls. Roll in extra coconut. They freeze well or will keep 
3 days in fridge I use them for morning and afternoon tea at work
Submitted by Gail  

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PORK RINDS - New Zealand Style

I buy Pork skin from my local small goods producer: 
Dunedin; Jon's pepperoni - Christchurch; Verkers  
both for $1 a kilo.... 
now for the others that don't have a small goods producer, ring an old fashioned 
butcher (not the supermarket) and ask if they would sell you pork skin... 
Now the first few times I made these, I went to my butcher and ended up 
getting near on pork slices there was so much meat left on!!! all for 50 cents a kilo!! 
Chop up the rind into whatever size you like... big for nachos type, small for bite size. 
For oven cooked rinds Please have an extraction fan going or your external 
windows open and internal openings CLOSED... also you may like to warn your neighbours
, so that they don't think your house is on fire!!!! 
Place rinds skin up on a rack over a pan to catch all the fat 
Cook for 1-1½ hours on 180/200C 
For microwave rinds: Place overnight into a dehydrator. Chop excess fat off, 
and pop 10 -15 in a dish and place in the microwave for around 4 minutes on high (I have a 750 Watt oven)
And voila!!
Submitted by Emma

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MEL'S BILTONG

(It is much cheaper than buying it and easy to make as long as you have a food dehydrator.)

5kg rump steak, topside, flank etc - lean but not tough
200gms salt
4 gms bicarb
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon whole coriander, scorched and crushed
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

(you can also add peri-peri (small birdseye chillis, crushed) if you like hot stuff!

Mix all dry ingredients and rub into steak. Sprinkle a little white vinegar over it and leave overnight.

Dip the meat into hot vinegar water - 350mls vinegar to 5l boiling water - 
to remove the surface salt and then lie on drying racks in food dehydrator. 
Make sure they are well apart and don't touch.

Will take between 12-18 hours to dry - depends on how "wet" you like it
 - most South Africans like "wet" biltong - 
in my experience most other nationalities prefer "dry" Afterwards, 
the biltong should weigh about 40% less than the meat started out so you should get about 3kgs of biltong.

Cut down the quantities proportionally for less.

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NUKED CHEESE

Take a slice of cheese sliced thinly (any semi hard cheese will do)

Put it on a plate that has been lightly sprayed with Vegetable spray and put it in the microwave.

Put the timer on for 1 minute and watch it. It will get hot, start to bubble and turn delicious. 
It seems to take various amounts of time to make them with different cheese, but just experiment. 
I like them to be not very dark in color (but again experiment to find the level you like the best.)

Ideas to use nuked cheese:

cut the cheese in small bits and make those cheese bit crackers (everyone loves them this way... 
even my two year old!) BTW, cut the cheese small pieces, don't try to do it after its nuked.

For sandwiches... take two large pieces and nuked them, when they're done fill one 
half with any kind of meat. Spread on some mayo or mustard and you've got
bread!

Taco's- nuked the cheese and as soon as it comes out of the oven bend it over slightly.
I've thought of using parchment paper on the plate instead of the vegetable spray, 
then it would be easies to bend, but haven't tried it yet.... not sure if it can go in the oven!

Pizza- nuked the cheese, then top with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni Yummy!

I love this stuff! I hope you will try it (if you haven't already)

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TARA'S SPICED SEEDS

25g sesame seeds 
30g sliced almonds 
150g sunflower seeds

Mix together, and add one of the spice mixtures below. Drizzle 1 tbs olive oil over the seeds and mix well.
 Spread evenly over an oven tray and bake for 20 minutes at 165 C. Cool, and enjoy :)

Hot Spicy -
3/4 tsp paprika 
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder 
1/2 tsp onion powder
salt & pepper 
3 splenda tablets, crushed

OR
Savoury Spicy -
1 tsp chicken salt 
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp mixed herbs 
1/2 tsp parmesan cheese (dried granules) 
salt & pepper
3 splenda tablets, crushed

100g of mixed spiced seeds works out to approximately 580 calories, 50g fat, |
2.54g protein and 10.52g carbs (after fibre subtracted). For those of you who work in ounces, 
1oz has 164.5 calories, 14.2g fat, 0.72g protein and 2.98g carbs.

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TARA'S PROTEIN BARS

5 T cocoa powder (5.7) 
80g butter
4 T cream (1.68) 
1 t sucryl
2 T peanut butter (3.32) 
1 ½ C coconut (10.95)
6 scoops chocolate protein powder (6.8) 
4 T water

Melt butter in microwave, stir in peanut butter, sweetener and cream. 
Mix in protein powder, cocoa, and coconut. Then mix in the water. 
Press into a greased container and refrigerate until firm, 
I use a tupperware rectangular container that has a "cut-able surface" on it. 
Cut into 18 pieces. It's 28.45 carbs total, 1.58g each. 
The protein powder I use for this is "The Sport Food Company - Protein Diet Food" Chocolate flavour. 
Adjust carb count accordingly depending on the sweetener and protein powder you use.

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PROTEIN BALLS

7 Tablespoons Protein powder (approx)
1 Tablespoon Butter & 1 Tablespoon cream cheese (melted together)
1 cup of ground almonds (approx)
1/3 cup coconut (I like shredded the best)
AS to taste
Flavouring to taste (I like the Spotlight choc flavourings; Banana, apricot, or strawberry, usually about 20 drops of one flavour)

Mix all together, shape into balls, and freeze or refrigerate. Good for a sweet snack, and for take to work lunches.
Makes about 15-18, size dependant :-)
Submitted by Submitted by Gwenda

CHEESE STRAWS

Ingredients :
75 g grated colby cheese
50 g soy flour
1 tsp baking powder
sprinkle of red pepper
50 g butter
1 egg yolk
whey powder to dust surface

Method :
1. Sift soy flour into mixing bowl with baking powder and red pepper.
2. Rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs
3. Grate the cheese in and mix by hand
4. Mix in the yolk with a wooden spoon. It will be very stiff.
5. Separate the dough into two halves
6. Dust work surface with whey powder to stop sticking. Mould and pat the ball of dough into an
 oblong shape about 1 cm thick. Firm compression is needed.
7. Slice into slices ( about 14 slices ) and put onto an UNGREASED baking sheet. Spread out well.
8. Repeat with the other ball of dough
9. Bake at 200 degrees celcius for about 10 minutes - be careful, they burn fast - keep an eye on them.
10. Place on a grid to cool and crisp .

You should get about 28 straws and each one has a carb. count of about 0.5 g carb
Submitted by Fenella

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