A mushroom and sausage "risotto" and a free meal plan
A mushroom and sausage "risotto" and a free meal plan
Plus, what you need to know about lupini rice
Hello and happy September! It’s the first Thursday of the month, the unofficial beginning of fall, and I have a packed newsletter of fall recipes, including a creamy low-carb risotto and a week-long dinner plan, FREE TO ALL.
I am standing at my kitchen island writing this week’s newsletter, after tucking in the kids after a long, Labor Day weekend filled with lots of family time. It’s still in the 100s here and doesn’t feel like fall, so it was easy to soak in the “last hurrah of summer” because it really isn’t over for us just yet.
What did signal the unofficial end of summer, or at least the ushering in of fall and all of the fall foods that come with it? A noticeable spike in the number of you making sugar-free pumpkin spice creamer over the weekend. (Have you made it? I plan on preparing a batch this weekend).
If you’re ready for all of the pumpkin things, I have a few other personal favorites I know you’ll enjoy:
A week of low-carb dinners, all planned out
This week’s recipe is the first featured in a free meal plan + shopping list that I’ve put together for you.
It features five dinners, one “treat” option for pumpkin muffins (which can double as breakfast or dessert!), and many of the dinner ideas include overlapping ingredients to make prep and shopping much more efficient.
The dinners include a good mix of in-between-season meals, with a couple of recipes you can make in the oven or on the grill, and some summer flavors popping up (let’s enjoy them as long as we can!).
All of the recipes are gluten and grain-free, low-carb, and blood sugar friendly.
I hope this is helpful! You can print out the below PDF of the plan and the shopping list, or simply copy/paste the list into the Notes section of an iPhone.
A non-risotto “risotto”
This dish has all of the elements that make a risotto so satisfying, but none of the actual rice itself. Instead, a combination of lupini rice and cauliflower rice create the perfect texture for the base, and before you roll your eyes at cauliflower, I urge you to give this one a chance.
If you’re not familiar (or don’t have) lupini rice on hand, you can easily go all cauliflower. And vice versa. You can make this with all lupini rice, too.
I have to share that my kids LOVE this recipe every time I make it. The earthy mushrooms, flavorful Italian sausage, and rich Parmesan are a winning combination, and I don’t even hear a peep of complaining about the shreds of kale mixed in.
Feeding really little ones? The small texture is easy to eat (perfect for my eight-month-old) and you can easily dice up the sausage rounds, too.
Lupini rice 101
There are very few brands that make a lupini rice and Kaizen is my favorite (you can read more about Kaizen in this Q&A I did with its founder, Arash Hashemi!).
I’ve been eating and experimenting with LOTS of lupini rice lately, developing recipes and shooting dishes for Kaizen. This recipe is the result of excess cooked lupini rice on hand, which I discovered is the perfect ingredient for a low-carb risotto.
The lupini bean (or lupin bean) is an ancient superfood packed with protein and fiber. It’s also naturally low in carbs which makes it ketogenic diet friendly, gluten free, plant-based… it basically checks all of the boxes.
If you’re familiar with lupini beans, you might already know that they’re incredibly filling due to their high protein and fiber content. I love tossing lupini rice onto salads or enjoying it as a base for bowls or other dishes, like pot roast or this crispy scallion chicken.
This rice alternative has a chewy texture that mimics risotto so well. You can make this dish with all lupini rice, but I like the addition of sneaky cauliflower as well. It helps stretch the meal, and adds more vegetables to the amount of protein, which lupini beans are very high in (one serving of rice alone will give you 20g of protein and 15g of fiber!).
Note: lupin beans fall into the legume category so if you have a legume allergy, this ingredient won’t work for you. That doesn’t mean the risotto is off-limits, though! Simply swap out the lupin rice for more riced cauliflower.
The recipe
This dish is an under-30-minute wonder, and delivers big on flavor and nutrition.
Choose a good-quality Italian sausage or chorizo, preferably a sausage that is sturdy enough to slice into rounds so they get nice and browned on the outside. (If you’re cooking the meal plan above, make sure you have enough of the sausage on hand since you’ll then use it later in the week for a hearty cabbage and sausage soup.)
Low-carb Mushroom “Risotto” with Sausage and Kale
Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: ~20 minutes
Ingredients
6 ounces prepared lupini rice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
2-3 links Italian sausage or chorizo sausage, sliced into ¼”inch thick rounds (see notes)
1 tablespoon butter
1 heaping cup sliced crimini mushrooms
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ yellow or white onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 heaping cup chopped Lacinato kale, stems removed
2 cups frozen riced cauliflower
2 tablespoons chicken broth
¼-⅓ cup heavy cream
⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the dry lupini rice. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When it glistens, add the sausage rounds and cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned on each side. Transfer to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter, sliced mushrooms, onion, salt, pepper and dried thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3-4 minutes or until the onions soften and the mushrooms brown.
Stir in the garlic, kale, frozen riced cauliflower and chicken broth. Cook another 3 minutes or so, just to let the cauliflower defrost and cook out some of the liquid.
Stir in the prepared lupini rice and heat another 1-2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the cream and Parmesan cheese.
Taste and add salt if needed. Serve with extra Parmesan (optional).
Notes
Make sure to choose high-quality, sturdy sausage links that you can easily slice pre-cooked. It doesn’t matter if it is chicken, pork or beef as long as it’s not a ground sausage. Some of the best quality sausages will be labeled “paleo” or “Whole30” friendly, like Aidells, Teton, or Applegate Organics.
Add the Parmesan in at the end, and heat just until it melts. If the risotto appears too thick, add a splash of extra cream or chicken broth to thin it out. As the risotto cools, it will thicken a bit.
You can reheat this in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
This recipe is easy to modify with other ingredients, too. If you don’t like mushrooms, you can add in chopped asparagus or more kale.
For a different flavor profile, stir in black truffle salt or top the risotto with a drizzle of truffle oil.
Substitutions
Lupini rice: Lupini rice (or lupin rice) is a low-carb, high-fiber and high-protein product made of lupini beans, which are part of the legume family. You can find it online via Amazon or Thrive Market. Its texture mimics risotto well, but if you don’t have it or would like to substitute it with more riced cauliflower, go ahead!
Riced cauliflower: Not a fan of cauliflower? Substitute it for the same amount of lupini rice. The risotto will be a tad heavier since lupini rice is high in protein. You’ll be surprised how filling it is! The rice alternative is also absorbent so you may need to add an extra splash or two of the chicken broth.
Heavy cream: You can substitute the heavy cream for unsweetened almond milk, macadamia milk, or coconut milk.
Parmesan: The cheese not only adds a rich and nutty flavor to the risotto, but it also helps loosely bind everything together. Feel free to substitute it with Gruyere for an extra melty and rich risotto, or omit it entirely if you need to.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated by MyFitnessPal and is based on an estimate of 4 servings.
Calories: 422
Total fat: 28 g
Cholesterol: 66mg
Sodium: 620mg
Total carbohydrate: 26 g
Dietary fiber: 15 g
Total sugar: 3 g
Protein: 28 g
Total net carbs: 11 g
On Substack
A huge thank you to Kayla Capiello who recently featured my Brown Butter Cod recipe in her newsletter, Cooking with Kayla. Her newsletter features weekly meal plans that consist of five, easy meals that can accommodate gluten-free and dairy-free dietary restrictions. In her podcast, she’ll talk you through one of the easy dinner recipes of the week!
I loved this article by The Crunchy Convert on what real food is, how to teach our kids about real food, and what the plant-based agenda has completely wrong. (Spoiler: meat and animal products are not the villain!)
Thanks so much for reading! If you have any questions about this week’s recipe or the week-long meal plan, shoot me a message.
This week’s recipe and meal plan is public and free to all, so please share this post if you enjoyed it. :)
Have a wonderful week!
Abby