Sunday, September 9, 2012

Easy Low Carb Mozzarella Sticks

The Boy and I are back on the low carb thing.

Actually, we are always watching our carbs to an extent
We cut out the things that really aren't important to us and don't eat loads of sugar or bread everyday

We call it "Operation Don't Get Diabetes"

And we save the things we really crave for our cheat days...which are on my weekends off twice a month.  That's when we treat ourselves out to dinner or cook some of our favorite carby home recipes

It's sort of nice to make it an event you look forward to instead of just shoving your face full of bad food everyday mindlessly.  If we really want it bad enough we wait for it.  And if we have forgotten about it by the time cheat day rolls around we must not have wanted it that bad and it would have been just an "impulse eat"   

Know what I mean?

It really makes you think about how worth it it is

Recently though, our schedules at work have been nuts and we've been pretty stressed out so our eating habits have suffered quite a bit

We both are committed to dropping our extra lubs (pounds) before our one year wedding anniversary

I want to get back to wedding weight, not only just because I like the idea of being just as skinny one year later and I liked the way I looked, 

But also because we are going back to Disneyland to celebrate and on vacation I fully intend on getting my FAT ON!

There is clam chowder, chimichungas, corn dogs, and Dole Whips, waiting for me in Anaheim

When I go on vacation I want to be care free.  I don't care what I eat because this isn't an everyday thing.....it's vacation!  That' the whole point

So I would much rather go on our trip and come back only having to shed 5lb as opposed to 10 or 15 because I porked it up before I ever even left

So needless to say we are cracking down!

The Boy was watching football all day and he got a hard core craving for mozzarella sticks.

It's much better to find a substitute that you can make so he doesn't go off the deep end and eat something else so I headed to the store to whip some up


Here's all you need



Yes.....you use the green shaker parmesan.

I'm no snob =)

Cut your string cheese in half 
And mix the parm with some garlic powder and italian seasoning

Whisk your eggs and then set up your breading station

Dip the cheese in egg and then roll in the cheese

I redipped them in the egg and rolled them again to get a good crust



Place them on a wax paper lined baking sheet



After I breaded them I rolled them in between my hands to really pack the crust and make sure they were evenly coated

The ones on the left are right after the are breaded and the ones on the right are after I rolled them


Place them in the freezer for about an hour

Trust me on this one!  

It will make the crust adhere better and not come apart as you fry and will keep the cheese from melting too fast before the outside cooks

After they freeze fry them up in oil




And for the love of god make sure your oil is good and hot!!

Like HOT HOT

I got impatient (like usual) and put the first few in way too soon

If it's not hot enough they stick to the bottom and break open and create a big cheesy mess in your pan

Like this




As long as it's hot you should golden....and your cheese sticks will be golden too!



63 comments:

  1. Oh ya ! I am going to be making these!

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  2. These look delicious! I just pinned the recipe so I can make it sometime.

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  3. Replies
    1. I haven't done it myself but I don't see why not. I would still be sure to freeze them though. then the cheese won't melt too fast before the outside parmesan crisps and browns. Best of luck! Let me know how it turns out =)

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    2. Baking did not turn out so well. I froze them for almost 3 hours and some of them still oozed out plus the outside just wasn't as crispy. Frying is the way to go for these.

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    3. Sorry they didn't turn out :( Unfortunately nothing ever gets as crispy baked as it does fried. Thank you for stopping back to share with me though so I can tell others who might ask. Thanks!! =)

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    4. I'm not surprised. You want to cook the outside more than the inside to avoid melting the cheese, and you want to cook it fast for the same reason, and baking just doesn't cut it for that.

      If you use the right oil to fry the sticks then you can get it hot enough that the sticks can be in the oil for barely any time at all. Believe it or not, tallow or lard would be excellent here. It's a misconception that they make fried food all fatty. Actually, because these fats can get hotter before reaching their smoke point, they don't have time to soak into the food as much during cooking. The irony: Fast-food fries that really are fried in tallow are less fatty than the ones fried in soybean or canola oil! Who'd'a'thunk.

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    5. I have a bakery shop here in Tampa that bakes fresh low Carb high fiber bread so I food process the bread into crumbs to add to any items requiring bread crumbs. I will be adding those to this recipe and will let you know how it turns out. I have used the crumbs to make a fantastic chicken parmesan.

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    6. I come to TPA all the time and would love to visit your bakery:)

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    7. What is the name of the bakery?

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  4. How deep does the oil need to be?

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  5. what a great & easy recipe. I really like the italian bread crumbs. I use that for breaded chicken. always a great flavor!

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  6. So do you think you could prep these and leave them in the freezer, then make a few for lunch as you wanted?? Looks delicious!!!

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    1. Most definitely! I think that would work well because you want them frozen anyway =)

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  7. I have mine in the freezer now. Frying up some chicken wings 1st. Thanks so much for this recipe! Now I can eat like everyone else during the super bowl. :)

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  8. I want to feature these this week on my Fount it Friday post. Is it okay to use your picture and link back here? Thanks!

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  9. what kind of oil do you recommend? would olive oil work?

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  10. I might try to coat them in pork rinds and pan fry in butter or coconut oil. Thanks for posting this!!

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  11. I baked these and they were great! I coated them twice and froze them for about 6 hours. Baked them on 450 for about 8-12 minutes. I also turned them a couple of times. They were awesome!

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    1. I was wondering how they turned out if you were to bake them instead. Thank you for sharing! I would much rather bake than fry.

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    2. I am wondering if i did a few pork rings in the mix if that would help them hold up baking?

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  12. Would it work with real parmesan (it's much cheaper to buy that here) x

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  13. What are the macros in these?

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  14. I was super sad because I found this recipe the other night, and then couldn't find it again. Then I remembered the words "yes the green" and I added that to the search and voila! lol :D Pinned it now! Won't loose ya again.

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    1. Just made these, they are beautiful and very tasty. The parm is a little salty, so that's kind of a bummer, but I think with some ranch dressing to tone it down, they'll be fine. :) Thanks for the recipe!

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    2. try adding some fine ground blanched almond flour. Came out great and not too salty.

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  15. can you fry these in a skillet with butter?

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  16. It looks as if you are using Horizon cheese sticks. Are you able to find a full fat version or did you have to use "part skim milk" versions. I'm not sure how low carb the part skim milk cheese sticks are.

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    1. Oh I enlarged the photo and it's Heritage brand cheese sticks but I can't see the ingredients or the nutrient break down.

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  17. Use crushed pork rinds to replace some of the parm and it'll get you that nice crunch too. I use pork rinds for tons of things. They absorb the flavor of whatever is added to them.

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  18. can i use white cheddar instead of mozzarella ?

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  19. Congratulations! This post is featured as Pin of the Week over at Diana Rambles dot com. Come take a look at what I liked about it. I'm sharing this via Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, and Facebook! There is a Pin of the Week grab button on the sidebar.

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  20. You are a GENIUS!! I LOVE mozzarella sticks and I have had them a couple of times since starting my low carb diet, but I'm also trying to stay away from wheat so I'm so happy I found this recipe.

    P.S. My husband and I are also going to Disneyland, but it will be our 4 year anniversary. I'm trying to lose a bit of weight for the same reason as you were. I already know what I'm going to have 5 months from now! Can't wait!

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  21. Going to try this Christmas Eve...I am doing low-carb and my kids, will just have to deal.....

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  22. My kids like these better than the 'real' ones

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  23. I'm late to the party but I made these with Chix nuggets tonight for my New Years Eve supper. Now I don't feel like I have to have junk tonight, I'm full and satisfied. Thank you sooooo much!

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  24. I just tried making these by frying them in canola oil and they burnt to a crisp in 10 seconds. Any suggestions on type of oil and how deep it should be?

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  25. what kind of oil and how long do you fry them?

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  26. These look great, perfect for my keto diet! thanks a lot

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  27. I made these and they are great!! I used the breading recipe for chicken nuggets too.

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  28. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  29. These were terrible. Great idea in theory but the finished product was so bad Gordon Ramsey would have died of an aneurysm from berating this recipe belligerently. The author gets a gold star for effort, but seriously, a mozzarella stick dipped in gasoline would have been a better flavor.

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    1. If you're going to be a cooking blog troll, you should change your name. It gives you away.

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  30. Replies
    1. Depends on what YOU use. Check the packages, add 'em up, divide by number of pieces.

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    2. Depends on what YOU use. Check the packages, add 'em up, divide by number of pieces.

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  31. Oh BOY! I was thrilled to find cheese sticks other than mozzarella (not a huge fan)..so I'm gonna try pepper jack cheese, add some pork rinds to the parm (snort), and make up some salsa for dipping! Yay you, thanks!

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  32. I would like to ask you to make a correction. You said you're watching your carbs to prevent getting diabetes. But unless you have a genetic predisposition to the disease, it won't matter. Eating carbs, in and of itself, doesn't give people diabetes. People, even obese people, who don't have the genetic factors, don't get diabetes. There are two exceptions I'm aware of. One is age. As people's bodies age and their systems start to work improperly, they can get diabetes, but not usually until they're in their 70s or 80s. And some medicines, like prednisone, can trigger high blood sugars that require medication.

    I think it's important for people to know this because there's way too many people trying to prevent people from getting their medication because they blame them for getting sick, so they think they don't deserve to have affordable access to their medicines. Check out the cost of insulin these days, just to make it simple.

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    1. Thank you for saying this. I needed to hear it. I'm at a point with my diabetes where I must start low carb in order to stay alive. My copay on my insulin is $110. I use 8 over three months.

      My husband lost his job in downsizing and we had to take a $10/hr pay cut. I really don't have a choice. If I just do it without putting emotion into it, the low carb aspect reduces my need for insulin. It's simple math.

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    2. I started using insulin from Walmart (their brand) $25.00 per vial and you do NOT need a prescription. Works the same, saves me LOTS of money, even with my health insurance. Good luck!

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    3. @Linda: obesity absolutely can and DOES cause diabetes, irrespective of genetic predilection. With increasing body fat mass, insulin sensitivity decreases, causing glucose intolerance and then diabetes. I'm a physician, so I know.

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  33. This makes my heart and stomach happy. Great comfort food for me and they were delicious. I made the oil a little too hot, so they were a little burnt and the cheese wasn't very soft, because of not being able to keep them in long. I just popped them in the microwave for 15 seconds and the cheese was perfect. I can't wait to do them again next time, now that I'll know how to prevent them burning.

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  34. Has anyone tried an air fryer for this recipe? I would think it could work. But at what temperature is the the question.

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    1. I have used my air fryer many times. I generally use low fat cheese sticks. I mix a low carb baking mix as well as a small amount of panko (which I put in the blender/bullet to make them much finer). I get by with using a minimum for the coating. I spray them with either olive oil or coconut oil spray (very briefly) and they turn out fabulous. I've never used oil since I got my airfryer other than making dressing or mayo.

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    2. How long do you cook them in your fryer?

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  35. I dip mine in eggs then roll then in Italian bread crumbs. Then freeze them. They are good also. Very easy

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    1. Which would NOT be low carb and negate the whole point of this "low carb" recipe....LOL. Most regular cheesesticks are dipped in breadcrumbs.

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