Low Carb for Lovers of Extraordinary Food is a celebration of that most human of activities, gathering around a meal.

As a child of working class parents who struggled with money, I honestly never thought twice about dinner except to know that Mom and Dad and us four kids would all come together at the end of the day and sit down at the table. The food was definitely not the star of the experience.

Mom’s food swung between the abysmal but rib-sticking to something mediocre with an attempt to make it more elevated, depending upon whether or not my dad was “on strike” (he was a machinist and a union organizer, so this happened routinely). But being hungry virtually all the time, I plopped myself down and ate whatever was put in front of me, and fast, because there were never enough leftovers to feed all the kids second helpings.

Growing up, I was aware that there were better things to eat at my grandmother’s house. A child of Welsh and English immigrants, she was an incredibly competent cook. As someone eager to learn how to make the food I loved to eat, I was willing to sit silently for hours on a stool in her kitchen (there was no talking allowed) and watch those sturdy hands work a kind of slow magic with the simplest of ingredients.

But there was just one problem: Grandma was chronically overweight and suffered from Type II diabetes. And she was always on a diet. Like her, I have been on a diet for most of my life, that is to say more than 70 years!

When I was a toddler, my doctor apparently became alarmed by my chubbiness and insisted I be put on a calorie-restricted diet. That was the start of a lifetime on a weight gain/loss roller coaster, prompted by the gluttony-sloth model of medical weight-loss guidance.

I will spare you the details of the intervening decades, except to say I was a late-comer to low carb. Now that I’m elderly (so-called), I’m interested in supporting my health, especially blood sugar which had really crept up over the years, along with my weight. Since adopting a low carb lifestyle, my blood sugar is stable in the normal range, and I’ve lost 30 lb and kept it off.

One thing my mother instilled in me was that food is always our first line of defense when it comes to maintaining good health. “What goes into your body becomes your body,” she would say. She said the egg was the perfect food because it contained everything needed to make a baby chick. As a child, that idea really made an impression on me.

The average American consumes 250g to 300g of carbohydrates per day. Americans get their carbs mainly from processed foods that contain sugar, highly inflammatory fats, and refined carbohydrates that spike blood sugar and stimulate the fat-storing hormone, insulin.

A low carb diet is just that. It limits carbohydrates and prioritizes protein, healthy fats and fiber. Carbs are calculated as “net carbs” which is the total grams of carbs minus the grams of fiber. How many net carbs varies, depending on your carb sensitivity and health goals. For example, my husband has lost 40 lb and is now at his optimal weight, which he maintains with approximately 100g net carbs per day. I would like to lose more, so my daily net-carb intake is about 45g.

The challenge, of course, has been to limit certain foods while making the meal absolutely delicious.

The food on this website is rarely fast, easy or made in one pot (although a few of the recipes are all of these things). It’s food designed to be shared with those you care about and want to have over for a fabulous meal.

These recipes are about approaching food as a labor of love.

Here in Portland, Oregon, we are truly spoiled for choice of local, seasonal ingredients and expert purveyors of every type and kind of food imaginable. I often head to my community garden plot, the local butcher or farmers market with no idea what I’ll be cooking. I have confidence that some wonderful something will inspire me to cook it beautifully, lovingly and with all the respect excellent ingredients deserve.

This site is a family affair. There’s me, of course, the person who develops recipes, photographs the food and writes stuff about it. Phil Marlow, my husband of more than thirty years is the love of my life who handles all things technical.

Then there is my niece, Sarra Foster, a fine art photographer who taught me the ins and outs of food photography and who contributed many of the “lifestyle” images you’ll see in these digital pages.

And my adopted granddaughter, Sahara Sommer, tastes it all and offers reliably honest critiques.

At Low Carb for Lovers, it’s not just about what’s on the plate – it’s about the moments created around the table. Whether you’re gathering with friends or family, my hope is these recipes will encourage you to slow down and savor the process. I want to inspire you to celebrate the pleasure of cooking something wonderful and sharing extraordinary meals as a gift of love.

So, go on then. Get in your kitchen and make your low carb life delicious!