The dishes and desserts sitting on a table on Curves for Women could have been part of any contest, except these needed to have low carbohydrates, low calories -- and taste good.

But the seven Curves members who entered the contest Tuesday night were up to the challenge.

Connie Krebsbach, of Austin, entered a quiche with fresh mushrooms and onions.

"It's great to get the recipes," Krebsbach said. "I've been doing low-carb and there's a lot of good food. You're not missing out on anything. It's very healthy."

Asked if she was nervous as judges Carol Houdek and Faye Bollingberg tasted her dish, she responded with a laugh, "No, actually I'm hungry."

This Curves Recipe Roundup is part of an international contest at the 4,000 Curves locations throughout the world. The winning recipes of Tuesday's competition will be submitted to the national level and picked at random for a Curves for Woman cookbook. The cooks also win an apron and all participants receive a pot holder.

But the women said weren't there to win the contest, but to try other recipes and have fun.

"I just wanted to try a low-fat, low-cal recipe and share it and see if I could share someone elses," said Bernice Lund, who entered a vegetable shrimp salad.

Dorothy Stern thought the recipes would help get her diet back on track.

"I came here to try and lose weight and I didn't do it, so I decided to try it," Stern said of low-carb, low-cal cooking.

Owner Carol Cromwell arranged to have a contest in Austin because she thought it would be a good way for them to share nutritious recipes. She asked local chiropractors, Houdek and Bollingberg, to judge because they have advanced training in nutrition.

The judges based their decision on three main criteria: Low-carbohydrates, low-calories and good taste.

After a short deliberation, the women announced the winners.

"We were pretty even on the decision, but everybody's was good," Houdek said.

In the main dish category, Laura Kuehl won for her "Luscious Chicken." Lund won in the side dish category for her "Vegetable Shrimp Salad" and Sue Apold won in the dessert category for her "Bottomless Peach Pie." All recipes were under 405 calories and had fewer than 19 grams of carbohydrates.

Cari Quam can be reached at 434-2235 or by e-mail at :mailto:cari.quam@austindailyherald.com