The Accidental Nutritionist’s Recipe Page

Green Salad with Variations

Base Hands-On Time: 10-15 minutes // Time from start to finish: 10-15 minutes + Variation Time

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian)

Recipe

Lemon Herb Chicken with Broccoli and Celeriac Fries

Hands-on Time: 30-45 minutes // Time from start to finish: 45-60 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet)

Recipe

Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry with Ginger and Coriander and Cauliflower Rice

Hands-on Time: 60-90 minutes // Time from start to finish: 60-90 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet)

Recipe

Herb Braised Chicken with Fennel & Leek

Hands-on Time: 30 minutes // Time from start to finish: 35-40 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo)

Recipe

Not-Honey Honey Baked Chicken with Cauliflower “Rice” & Green Beans

Hands-on time: 30 minutes // Time from start to finish: 30 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo)

Recipe

Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry with Cauliflower Rice

Hands-on time: 30 minutes // Time from start to finish: 35-40 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet)

Recipe

Sesame Orange Chicken with Cauliflower Rice & Veggies

Hands-on Time: 25-30 minutes // Time from start to finish: 30 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet)

Recipe

Herbs de Provence Chicken with Onion & Garlic Pinto Beans & Cauliflower Rice

Hands-on Time: 20 minutes // Time from start to finish: 30 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet)

Recipe

“Buffalo” Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries

Hands-on Time: 20 minutes // Time from start to finish: 25 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo)

Recipe

Lemon Chicken Salad

Time from start to finish: 20 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet)

Slice chicken breasts into strips and add salt, lemon zest, and juice.

Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes, then sear in a hot cast iron pan—just for a few minutes until you get a little caramelization. 

Dice a few stalks of celery and about ⅛ of a red onion (per 2 chicken breasts). 

Chop the chicken finely and fold them together, adding the citrus champagne vinegar, olive oil (use the good stuff here!), Dijon mustard, thyme, parsley, and salt to taste. 

Portuguese Pork with White Beans & Cauliflower Rice

Hands-on time: 30-45 minutes // Time from start to finish: 45-75 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet)

Recipe

Rosemary & Sage Roasted Pork with Cauliflower “Potatoes” & Garlic Green Beans

Hands-on Time: 35 minutes // Time from start to finish: 35 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo)

Recipe

Sage & Mustard Pork Chops with Celeriac Home Fries & Red Cabbage

Hands-on time: 35 minutes // Time from start to finish: 40 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet)

Recipe

Pork Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Turnip Noodles

Hands-on Time: 40 minutes // Time from start to finish: 3.5 – 4.5 hours

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet)

Recipe

Colcannon

Hands-on Time: 45 minutes // Time from start to finish: 6-8 hours

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo)

Recipe

Seared Ginger Chickpeas

Time from start to finish: 10 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian)

I often go for richer flavors when making seared chickpeas, but I wanted to give Charlie something different, so when I went lighter and brighter.

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Drain a can of chickpeas and add to the pan. 

Toss quickly to fully coat the chickpeas in a thin coating of olive oil.

Let brown briefly, tossing frequently, before adding ground ginger, dried ground coriander, garlic powder, and salt. 

Let the chickpeas stay on the heat, tossing frequently until toasted and crispy.

Chopped Cucumbers with Dill Dijon Dressing

Hands-on time: 5 minutes

I keep the dressing on the side so Charlie can add right before eating.

Dressing: Olive oil, garlic, citrus champagne vinegar, dill, Dijon, pinch of salt.

Three Bean Salad

Time from start to finish: 5-10 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian)

The traditional Three Bean Salad uses apple cider vinegar and sugar to create its classic flavor profile.

Sugar not being an option, I took a different route. 

Blanche green beans for a few minutes in boiling water until bright green. I used frozen because that’s what I had, feel free to use fresh, broken into 1-½ in pieces. 

Thinly slice about ⅛ of a red onion (I use this amount or less for Charlie, feel free to use more).

Pull the green beans out of the water and add to a bowl with drained kidney beans and chickpeas, and the sliced red onion.

Season with salt, parsley, and equal amounts of cabernet/red wine vinegar, citrus champagne/white wine vinegar, and real, good balsamic vinegar from Italy with no additives. (This is important because in the US they just add sugar to “save time,” but our bodies process it differently.)

Roasted Veggies

Hands-on time: 10 minutes // Time from start to finish: 30-40 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian)

Recipe

Coleslaw with Oregano & Parsley Dressing

Hands-on time: 5 minutes

Sliced carrots, celery, cabbage, and sweet peppers.

Dressing: Vinegar (or lemon or lime juice) of choice, olive oil, garlic, onion/shallot (in any form), mustard, pinch of salt, Oregano and Parsley/herbs of choice, as like.

Celeriac Fries

Hands-on time: 5 minutes // Time from start to finish: 25 minutes

Peel off the rough, dirty looking root coating—I use a paring knife. 

Chop into fry strips and toss with a little olive oil, garlic and onion powder. 

I air-fried these for about 15 minutes at 400F and 5 minutes at 450F, tossing regularly.

Citrus Cannellini Beans

Hands-On Time: 5 minutes // Time from Start to Finish: 5 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian)

Ingredient List: Cannellini Beans (low sodium), Lemon, Herbs de Provence

Drain, rinse, and toss the cannellini beans with freshly squeezed lemon juice and herbs de Provence.

Cauliflower Rice

Hands-on time: 10 minutes // Time from start to finish: 20 minutes

Chop a head of cauliflower into florets or other similar-sized chunks.

Steam them for about 15 or so minutes over a pot of boiling water. 

Make sure not to let the cauliflower touch the water while it’s steaming. This will introduce too much water and you will end up with mashed potatoes instead of rice. 

Once knife tender (but maybe not yet fork tender), pop ’em in the food processor and run in spurts until you have small rice-sized chunks. 

These don’t need to be cooked again before being eaten, just warmed up. 

I like to make several heads worth of cauliflower rice at a go and pull out a container each week for meal prep—doing this could cut down your hands-on time for this recipe to 15-20 minutes.

Mexican Pinto Beans

Hands-on time: 5 minutes

(Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian, …)

Rinse a can of pinto beans. 

Dice ¼ of a yellow onion and cook with a little olive oil until translucent and fragrant.

Add the cooked onion to the pinto beans, add Mexican oregano, and toss together. Charlie can’t do spice, but if you can, I would add a bit of chili powder or even a dash of cayenne pepper.

Spicy Broccoli Dip

Hands-on time: 25-30 minutes

(Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo)

Chop a head of broccoli into floret size pieces and steam over boiling water until fork tender (a little more than if you were making cauliflower rice).

Dump into a food processor and blitz until getting smooth, then add about ⅛ of a red onion, a clove or two of garlic, cumin, chili con carne, and cilantro, and blitz again. Drizzle in some olive oil and sprinkle in some salt (and pepper, for those of us who like it) to get the flavor just right. 

To use as a dressing, thin it out a bit with water or olive oil. You can also use it as a sauce or a dip. Cold or warm—however you like.

Crispy Green Beans

Hands On Time: 15 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian)

Ingredient List: Green Beans, Olive Oil, Garlic Powder, Salt

Toss in olive oil, salt, and garlic powder, and air fry at 400F for 10 minutes.

Cumin Black Beans

Hands On Time: 5 minutes

(AND Diet, Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian)

Ingredient List: Black beans (low sodium), Cumin, Epazote

Drain, rinse, and toss the black beans with cumin and epazote.

Grilled Lemon, Garlic, & Rosemary Salmon, Sweet Potatoes, Lemon Asparagus, & Parsley, Onion, & Garlic Cannellini Beans

Hands-on Time: 20 minutes // Time from start to finish: 30 minutes

(Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet)

Recipe

Tuna Salad

Hands-on time: 5 minutes

(Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Pescatarian)

Dump a can of high-quality tuna into a bowl and loosen it with a fork. I use the ones packed with water, and I drain them partially first—but not all the way; a little moisture is good.

Finely dice around ⅓ of a cucumber and/or a celery stick, and fold into the tuna. 

Add high-quality olive oil, citrus champagne vinegar, Dijon mustard, and any herbs that are calling to you. I’m partial to dill and parsley here, but basil, oregano, and blends like Herbs de Provence also work beautifully.

Mix well.

Smokey Salmon Salad

Hands-on time: 5 minutes

(Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Pescatarian)

Drain the salmon juice, but make sure it isn’t dried out. Mash into a consistent texture. Add the cabernet/red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and mustard of your choice (I used Dijon for Charlie, but would use black truffle stone-ground mustard for myself), cumin, and smoked paprika. 

Stir to combine, then add olive oil, salt, and more of any of the above ingredients to get the flavor/texture combo just right!

For extra crunch, celery, carrots, fennel, or cucumbers will all play well here.