crap, sorry. Had a premature send on that one! Have you ever made a coffee rub for beef or pork? I think that's my favorite, and it's a very different taste than standard rubs. Just don't make my mistake and use ground espresso...I was up half the night!

If I am going to someone else's bbq, I'll bring a veggie tray so I know I'll have a side I can eat that isn't carbaholic. Or I'll make an asian-style cole slaw - the kind like you put ramen in, but I skip the ramen. If you want a crunch, I add sunflower seeds to it.

I couldn't find a recipe that was close in a quick google search, but here is what I use:

1 bag cole slaw mix, I add to the dressing after I make it.

Dressing:
sesame oil and/or any other salad oil (I mix the two, so it's not too heavy on the sesame)
rice wine vinegar
garlic, onion, ginger powders
mustard powder
soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos, etc)

I mix to taste. Other recipes call for sugar/splenda, but I like it just fine without. You can also use the ramen seasoning packet or just chicken boullion powder (or crush the cubes, but they do sell it as a powder).

I usually wait and add my sunflower seeds when I serve, in case not everyone wants them. Then I just eat whatever meat and skip the bun!

The tuna spread sounds good - I've done similar with smoked salmon, too. Not for a party, but for a snack.

I've also seen the cauli sub for potato salad, but haven't gotten to try it, yet. Though I did just buy some bags of frozen cauli yesterday!

Another LC treat I had at a party last year - stuffed jalapeno poppers. This one used breakfast sausage and parmesan cheese.

Hopefully that gave people some ideas! Either to make at your own party, or to bring to a gathering.

For labor day, we are doing low carb pork kabobs with fresh mozzerella tomatoes and basil. Appetizer will be buffalo chicken dip with pork rinds and celery sticks for me and crackers for the others. Yum

Cramer: I make a fauxtato salad (its exactly my potato salad recipe, but uses cooled steamed cauliflower that's been cut into potato-sized chunks... ) My non LC friends didn't even know the difference.

I usually try to make sure there are veggies and dip, maybe sausage and cheese and mixed nuts for appetizers.. If I'm going fancy, I have a couple of things I make - a smoked salmon mousse on cucumber slices, cauliflower based "fauxtato" skins, or pizza bites (same cauliflower base). I also have a sausage ball thats not too bad and could be made with nuts and stuff to be 'stuffing' like for Thanksgiving.

I allways serve a big garden salad and some kind of meat that can be eaten free of sauce (although I did finally find an LC bbq sauce - or rather one that I doctored to make it good...) (ham at easter, turkey at thanksgiving, prime rib at christmas, steaks or pork chops at any grilling event.. etc.)

I often do a green been saute (with onions and bacon) if its a sit down thing, ortherwise the fauxtato salad (or a broccoli salad like the one listed up above) - or sometimes veggie skewers if its a BBQ. Also have done squash casseroles (cheese - yum), or just steamed veggies.

I just skip desserts - let someone else bring it - although I've made a low carb custard (think creme brulee without the crunchy topping) that turned out pretty good. I am testing a recipe for a pumpkin cheesecake (made with pecan meal crust) and a chocolate cream pie (same crust) that I may make for Thanksgiving.

I know it's probably early to think about Thanksgiving, but I am totally making this! So excited for a yummy side dish instead of mashed potatoes and stuffing. With some turkey, veggies and this rich casserole I will be in heaven!

I don't think it's very macaroni like (come on!) so for me I just call it Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole.

http://www.fatsecret.com/recipes/mockafoni-and-cheese/Default.aspx

Sweet! Not sure what to do about a low carb dessert option, I wonder if I could make a sugar free pumpkin mousse? hmmm

Sweet! Not sure what to do about a low carb dessert option, I wonder if I could make a sugar free pumpkin mousse? hmmm

The South Beach Diet cookbook has has a recipe for a low-carb pumpkin pie. I haven't made it in awhile, but the gist was that it used phyllo dough for the crust and skipped the sugar. Here's a link:

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/desserts/r/pumpkinpie.htm