14 Low-Carb, Macros Friendly Dairy Recipes for Shavuot
healthy recipe round up
Introducing: a new newsletter series featuring healthy, low-carb, macro-friendly recipe collections for Jewish holidays. The aim of this series is to inspire us all to create healthier holiday meals, providing physical energy, emotional balance, and support for managing body weight.
For Shavuot, which traditionally includes dairy foods, here is a curated selection of recipes including main dishes, sides, and desserts. Dive into these delicious and health-conscious ideas for a healthier holiday table! Click on the recipe name below to view the recipe.
Main dishes
Spinach and Mushroom Crustless Quiche
Quiche is incredibly versatile: it can be filled with an almost limitless variation of vegetables and cheeses and served hot or cold. The bulk of the filling is egg-based, making quiche protein-rich and inexpensive to make. Crustless quiche skips the high-fat, high-carb pastry base, and retains all the flavor and nutrition. Enjoy this macros-friendly spinach and mushroom option for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Chive Tart
This tangy sheet pan tart is full of protein from creme fraiche, goats cheese and egg. Enjoy the flaky puff pastry base as part of a macros-friendly dish, or swap out for filo to reduce the fat content. USe asparagus in season, or swap out for jarred artichoke hearts.
Individual Salmon en Croutes with Garlic and Leek Sauce
Single serving dishes are a great tool for balanced eating; an “all food fits” approach to eating works easily when you know your portion size. Salmon is an oily fish that is full of protein, served here with aromatic leek and garlic, freshened with lemon and spinach, and wrapped in a puff pastry parcel.
Cottage Cheese Bruschetta Avocado Toast
Cottage cheese is having a well-deserved moment: it is creamy and cooling, while offering a low-fat high-protein kick to any meal. Here @emthenutritionist uses it as a creamy base for avocado and eggs on toast, a filling and high protein breakfast or lunch dish.
Healthy High Protein Vegetable Lasagna
Crowd-pleasing lasagne is a make-ahead dish that can either be a health disaster or dream, depending on a few simple tweaks. The traditionally rich versions are heavy on the cheese and carb, leaving us feeling sluggish. Here, the protein content is upped by the addition of silken tofu and almond milk within the bechamel sauce. Rather than meat, the layers are full of a huge variety of vegetables, bringing fiber and bulk while keeping the calories low.
Sides
Baked Feta Spaghetti Squash
Another make-ahead dish ideal for entertaining over the holidays, this baked spaghetti squash is full of flavor but light and fresh. Contrasting the salty sharp tang of feta with acidic tomato and the sweet softness of squash, this oven-baked dish can be a side or served as a vegetarian main.
Arugula and Farro Salad with Goat Cheese
This vibrant green salad is substantial thanks to the inclusion of farro, a highly nutritious grain, and a protein punch from goats cheese. The honey mustard dressing brings the tough peppery greens together with the creamy cheese. Serve as a side to soup or baked fish, or simply increase the portion size and make it a main dish.
Healthy Mashed Cauliflower
Cauliflower has long been a go-to option for those looking to enjoy the texture of mashed potato in a lower carb form. This recipe blends steamed cauliflower with protein rich Greek yogurt and butter. Try swapping in cottage cheese and parmesan for a cheesy alternative.
Garlic and Herb Whipped Cottage Cheese Dip
Cottage cheese makes another appearance here, this time as a low-fat base for a creamy herby dip. If you are looking for a healthier alternative to sour cream, but you can’t stand the texture of cottage cheese, try this whipped version. Serve with crudites, over fish, or with crunchy crackers.
Desserts
Cottage Cheese Brownies
I made these gluten-free cottage cheese brownies especially for Passover (and there’s no matzo meal in these because too much matzo makes us constipated during Passover). They are very moist, fudgy, and packed with deep chocolate flavor in every bite. They are healthier than your average brownie recipe and high in protein from the cottage cheese, eggs, and almond flour. Make them a day ahead as the texture only gets better as the brownies sit out at room temperature. They will become your favorite brownie recipe!
French Yogurt Cake
The French Yogurt Cake, or "Gâteau au Yaourt," is a classic and simple cake recipe beloved in France. What's special about it is its use of yogurt containers as the measuring unit, making it incredibly easy to remember and adaptable - and perfect for making with kids.
With full-fat plain yogurt, olive oil and spelt flour, this recipe calls for less sugar than normal French yogurt cake recipes making it just sweet enough.
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Pancakes and blintzes are distant cousins, so why not enjoy these for Shavuot? These fluffy cottage cheese pancakes are delicious and satiating. With a few simple recipe hacks, the protein content is boosted: oats instead of flour, protein-rich cottage cheese, and organic eggs make these pancakes a fantastic way to start the day.
No-Bake Pineapple Cheesecake Bites
No Shavuot recipe roundup would be complete without cheesecake. With pineapple blended through the cream cheese filling, these individual cheesecake bites have a freshness as well as built-in portion control.
Renana's One Bowl (EASY) Baked Cheesecake
Our final recipe recommendation is another cheesecake recipe from @renanaskitchen, this time a smooth and delicately flavored baked option. Don’t be put off by complicated recipes, this one is straightforward and quick to throw together!
Do you have a favorite low-carb, macros-friendly holiday dish to share? I would love to hear about it and share your recipe with our community!
Reach out to me hello@jewishfoodhero.com
Am Yisrael Chai
Kenden
P.S. Recipe #15: Eli Sharabi with a Spicy Fish Ball Recipe
Remember this Spicy Fish Balls served with Challah and couscous, a favorite dish of Eli Sharabi. Eli is a well-loved figure in the Kibbutz Be'eri community—a devoted family man and a loving father who always embraced life with wisdom and positivity. He enjoyed taking on various projects and challenging himself, guided by his principle to always move forward.
Eli, 51, has been missing since October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked the kibbutz, killing, burning, and abducting many residents. Tragically, his wife and daughters were killed, and his brother Yossi, who was also abducted, was declared dead on January 16, 2024. Eli remains missing, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family every day.
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