Hello Recipe Club,

NOTE: In some of Dana's recipes this week, she asks for polyols as an ingredient. I've had a few emails about this and I'll do my best to clear it up. She has a couple pages on this topic in the beginning of her new book. Polyols are also known as sugar alcohols and are widely used in sugar free candies and cookies. There are a variety of polyols and their names all end with "tol". Look for: sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, xylitol and the like (with one exception...isomalt). Polyols are used instead of sucralose (Splenda) in sugar free sweets because they produce the textures that can be achieved with sugar, like crunchy toffee, hard candies and moist brownies. Polyols are a carbohydrate and some people can have problems digesting them and some people can get a little gas from them, just like eating beans! I hope this brief note helps.

Dana's biweekly newsletter, Lowcarbezine! goes out to over 30,000 subscribers through her popular website, HoldTheToast.com. As a lowcarb diet spokesperson, Dana has appeared on radio, television and in print, including Fox News, NBC's Weekend Today, The Wayne Brady Show and ABC News. She has also become a favorite of viewers on the national shopping channel, QVC. Now she is a favorite of ours!

Today's theme is...Simply Southwest Supper

Orange, Avocado, and Bacon Salad

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

8 cups (160 g) mixed greens
Citrus Dressing (recipe follows)
1/2 navel orange
1/2 California avocado
6 slices bacon, cooked and drained
1/8 red onion

Preparation:

Put your greens in a big mixing bowl, and pour the dressing over them. Toss well.

Peel your half-orange, and separate the sections, halve each one again. Slice the avocado, crumble the bacon and slice the red onion paper-thin. Now strew everything artfully over the greens, and serve.

Each serving with: 189 calories; 15 g fat; 6 g protein; 9 g carbohydrate; 5 g dietary fiber; 4 g usable carb.

Citrus Dressing

Makes 4 to 5 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons (30 ml) lemon juice
2 tablespoons (30 ml) lime juice
1 tablespoon (15 ml) white vinegar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) canola oil
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 tablespoon (1.5 g) Splenda
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar-free imitation honey

Preparation:

Simply combine everything in a bowl and whisk together. Alternately, assemble the ingredients in your blender and run it for a few seconds.

Assuming 4 servings, each will have: 65 calories; 7 g fat; trace protein; 2 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber; 2 g usable carbs.

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Lonestar "Rice"

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 head cauliflower, shredded
1/4 cup (40 g) chopped onion
1 cup (100 g) sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup (40 g) snow pea pods, fresh, cut in 1/2" (1.25 g) pieces
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
1 tablespoon (15 g) butter
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules or concentrate

Preparation:

Put the cauliflower in a microwaveable casserole with a lid. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover, and microwave on high for 6 minutes.

While that's cooking, sauté your onions, mushrooms and snow peas in the olive oil and butter, in your big skillet. I like to use the edge of my spatula to break up the mushrooms into smaller pieces, but leave the slices whole if you like them better that way—up to you. 

When the mushrooms have changed color and the snow peas are tender-crisp, drain your cooked cauli-rice and stir it in. Add the chili powder and beef bouillon and stir to distribute the seasonings well, then serve.

Each serving with: 99 calories; 9 g fat; 2 g protein; 5 g carbohydrate; 1 g dietary fiber; 4 g usable carb.

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Smoky Marinated Steak

This has a subtle but great smoky flavor that really enhances the meat.

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound (455 g) T-bone steak at least 1" (2.5 cm) thick (sirloin or rib eye would do, too)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) liquid smoke flavoring (most big grocery stores carry this)
1 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 dash pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup (60 ml) water

Preparation:

Put your steak in a zipper-lock plastic bag. Mix together everything else, pour into the bag, and seal, pressing out the air as you go. Turn the bag once or twice to coat and throw your steak in the fridge for a few hours at least, and a day won't hurt a bit.

When dinnertime rolls around, pull out the steak and drain off the marinade into a bowl, for basting. Broil very close to a high broiler—for a steak about 1 1/4" (3.125 cm), I like about 6 minutes per side, but do it to your liking. Baste halfway through cooking each side, using the reserved marinade.

Note: If you like, sautéed mushrooms would be great on top of this, but they're hardly necessary, it's great as is.

Per serving (excluding unknown items): 276 calories; 20 g fat (65.5% calories from fat); 23 g protein; 1 g carbohydrate; trace dietary fiber; 82 mg cholesterol; 792 mg sodium.