The 3 Basic Ingredients of Gravy
You can use all kinds of fancy ingredients for gravy, and some of them are delicious, but all you really need are three basic ingredients:

1. Pan drippings (usually with most of the fat removed)
2. Liquid (usually stock or broth; milk gravies include some milk)
3. Thickener

What are “Drippings”?
Drippings are what’s left on the bottom of the pan when you’re done roasting a piece of meat. They include the fat from the meat, juices left from the meat and vegetables cooked along with the meat (if any), any basting liquid used in the process, and, most importantly, the brown stuff stuck on the bottom of the pan.
The Basic Procedure for Making Traditional Gravy

1. Remove the meat and vegetables from the roasting pan.
2. Pour off the drippings, ideally into a fat separator. My favorite one has a strainer on top that sifts out larger pieces.
3. If you can put your roasting pan on the stove, this is ideal. Heat it and deglaze the pan with chicken broth or stock, stirring to dissolve all the brown bits. If you are using flour to thicken the gravy, add it now, with about the same amount of fat from the drippings as flour. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes (this is to remove the “raw” taste of the flour.)
4. Whisk in the rest of the drippings (not the rest of the fat, which would make the gravy too greasy). A whisk helps avoid lumps.
5. Whisk in more broth or stock, if needed. If you want to use alternative thickeners (see below), this is the time to add them.
6. Bring to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes — longer if you want to reduce the gravy more.

The gravy will have some salt and seasonings from the meat, but you may need to adjust amounts.

What About Low-Carb Gravy?

The only potentially problematic part of the gravy for people who are cutting carbohydrates is the thickener. There are a few alternatives here. I have included links to some low-carb gravy recipes around the net using the various thickeners.

Consider just reducing the sauce with no thickener.
This is called “au jus” rather than gravy. The nice thing about gravy is that you don’t need as much thickener as some other sauces, since a certain amount of gelatin-like substances are in the drippings. Just boil the sauce down until it is the thickness you want.

Consider whether you really care about the carbs in flour.
One tablespoon of flour will thicken a cup of gravy, and adds 6 grams of carbohydrate. So ¼ cup of gravy thickened with flour has about 1½ grams of carbohydrate. This just might not make that much of a difference when you come right down to it.

But there are alternatives:

• Cornstarch- Cornstarch has a little over 7 grams of carb per tablespoons, and that tablespoon will thicken about 1½ to 2 cups of gravy. The gravy won’t be as opaque, and will be glossier.

• Arrowroot – Arrowroot has the same carb count as corn starch, and about a teaspoon will thicken a cup of gravy. Again, the sauce will be clearer and glossier.

• Reduced Cream – Recipes such as this one by George Stella use cream to thicken, and then the mixture is reduced. Cream has 6.6 grams of carb per cup.

• Sour Cream – Some low-carb recipes suggest whisking in sour cream to thicken the gravy, such as this one from Low-Carb Luxury. Sour cream has about 10 grams of carbohydrate per cup.

• Vegetable Gums – Xanthan gum, guar gum, and proprietary products made from them, such as ThickenThin not/Starch, are thickeners with no carbs (and they contribute fiber). You have to use the plain xanthan or guar gums with care because you can easily go too far and get a sort of slimy mess. If you sprinkle it slowly and stop at the right time, however, gums can be effective. ThickenThin is less tricky, in my experience. These products can also produce a somewhat “slick” texture that bothers some people more than others.
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pasta dish

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
12 ounces skinless chicken breasts
8 ounces farfalle pasta
12 ounces frozen broccoli
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded italian cheese

Directions

Add olive oil to a large warmed skillet. Add chopped onion and minced garlic. Reduce heat to low and brown slowly. Bring a large pot of water to boil for pasta and small pot of water for chicken. Add chicken, cut up in small strips. Boil for 4 minutes. Check for doneness and set aside. Boil pasta for 5 minutes. Add broccoli to pasta and cook another five minutes. Add chicken to onion and garlic. Drain pasta (pasta should be al dente). Add onion/chicken to pasta/broccoli. Stir in butter and shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with grated cheese.

Ingredients
12 oz fat free sour cream
4 eggs
12 oz chicken breast, cubes
1/2 tbs garlic

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients.

2. Bake at 325 until eggs are set.

3. Cut into 8 pieces and serve.

A healthy meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner

Ingredients
6 egg whites
1/4 cup 2% cottage cheese
1/4 cup shredded colby cheese
1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp garlic, minced
6 medium mushrooms, sliced
1 cup broccoli, chopped
12 ounces turkey, sausage

Directions

1. Cook sausage and crumble.

2. Cut mushrooms and broccoli

3. Mix egg whites, cheeses, milk, flour, and garlic. Add mushrooms, broccoli and sausage.

4. Pour into a greased 9″ pie pan.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Fast to make, easy to eat, high nutritional score

Ingredients

1 chicken burrito
3 oz chicken
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
3 tbs diced onion
1/2 Avacado
1 flour tortilla
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Grill Chicken

2. Dice tomatoes and onions and mix, set aside

3. Heat burrito lightly

4. Smash avacado on tortilla till flat

5. Add chicken and tomato onion salsa

6. Sprinkle w/salt

Ingredients

* 2 Tbsp olive oil
* 1 cup chopped green onions, including green ends
* 3 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed, larger leaves separated from base, base trimmed but still present, holding the smaller leaves together
* 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
* Salt
* 1/2 cup chopped, roasted, salted cashews

Method

1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add onions, then garlic, then bok choy. Sprinkle with sesame oil and salt. Cover, and let the baby bok choy cook down for approximately 3 minutes. (Like spinach, when cooked, the bok choy will wilt a bit.)

2 Remove cover. Lower heat to low. Stir and let cook for a minute or two longer, until the bok choy is just cooked.

3 Gently mix in cashews.

Serves 4.

Preparation time: 10 minutes.
Ingredients

* 1 bunch of medium sized asparagus, about 1 lb
* 2 Tbsp of the most exquisite extra virgin olive oil
* 2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 teaspoon lemon zest – freshly grated lemon rind
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1 Prepare the asparagus by rinsing them thoroughly, break off any tough, white bottoms and discard. Cut into 1 to 2 inch sections, slicing the asparagus at a slight diagonal.

2 Fill a medium sized saucepan half way with water, bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and reduce heat slightly to a simmer. Parboil the asparagus for exactly 2 minutes. Drain the hot water. While the asparagus are still hot, toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, Parmesan, and lemon rind. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or room temperature.

Note that when you are working with so few ingredients, it’s important to make sure they are of the highest quality.

Ingredients:

1 glass Ice
3 oz Mint Syrup
4 oz Soda Water
1/2 tsp Rum Extract
MINT SYRUP JULEP MIX:
4 cup water
1 bunch Mint, about 1.5 ounces
2 cup Splenda

Preparation Method:

1. To prepare mint extract: Take a bunch of mint. Wash and place in a saucepan. Cover with 4 cups of water and Splenda. Allow the leaves to soak for 15 minutes.
2. Put on heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Drain the water through a sieve, removing all the mint. You will end up with between 3-4 cups of green mint sugar water. This is your mint julep solution.
3. To serve the julep, fill each glass 1/2 full with shaved ice, cubed if you do not have shaved. Pour in a shot and a half (3oz) of julep solution. Add a 1/2 tsp of rum (or real reum) extract.
4. Top the glass with soda water. put mint on top. Insert a straw if you have one.
5. Sit back and enjoy this drink !

Carbs:
1 g Carb per serving

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 Bottle of Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1 cup Fresh Sliced Mushrooms
6 Pieces of Bacon
1 bag of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar Cheese (the bag with two different colored cheeses)

1. Pound Chicken Breasts out so they are not so thick. Marinate the chicken Breast in the Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing overnight. Reserve some of the dressing, you will need it later.
2. Grill the Chicken Breast on charcoal or gas grill. I prefer charcoal.
3. Saute mushrooms in remaining dressing.
4. Fry bacon in skillet until crispy.
5. When chicken is done, place it in a casserole dish.

Place sauted mushrooms and crumpled bacon on top of chicken. Cover with cheese and heat in oven until cheese is melted.

Carbs:
Low-Carb

preconditions: Preheat oven to 350.

Ingredients:

3 sm. turnips (tennis-ball size)
3 T butter
2 T sour cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup parmesan
salt, pepper

1. Peel turnips, put in pan, cover with water and boil.
2. Cover with lid, lower heat and simmer 1 hr til tender. Drain and cut into chunks.
3. Put chunks in food processor with butter and sour cream and puree.
4. Add eggs and cheese and process.
5. Pour into casserole and bake 20 min til little brown on top and edges.

Carbs:
6 carb, 2 fiber (4 NET carbs), 172 Calories, 14 fat, 6 protein per serving