Sugar-free Coconut Macaroons

Sugar-free Coconut Macaroons

easy

Who says you can't have delicious baked goods on a low carb lifestyle while everyone else is eating cookies during the holidays!?! :)

And here's another simple cookie recipe for the holiday season. So very easy and so very good.

• 3 egg whites, med., slightly beaten
• 1 c. Splenda sweetener, in the large bag
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat the egg whites in a bowl. Put in the sweetener and vanilla and mix. Then start adding the coconut and mixing together. Start with 1 1.2 c. and see if it looks thick enough to make balls out of and if not add more of the coconut. You can use a spoon or a small ice cream scoop to form the balls for the cookies. I think my ice cream scoop may have been on the large side and so you can make yours smaller. 

I smashed mine down slightly on the parchment covered cookie sheet. I baked them for about 10 minutes and they were golden brown on top. Then I put some sugar-free chocolate chips in a ramekin bowl and put it in the microwave for 30-second intervals until the chips are melted. So zap them for 30 seconds, take out and stir, then zap again for 30 seconds, and keep doing it like that until they're a melty consistency. Then I spread a layer of chocolate on the bottoms of about half of the cookies. Yum! 

I think this makes the third or fourth cookie recipe I've listed on the blog. So please look for the pecan meringue and the almond butter cookies and in with the almond butter cookies I include a recipe link to Paula Deen's Magical Peanut Butter Cookies. I have one more shortbread type cookie that I will be listing soon.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Corned Beef and Sauerkraut Casserole - low carb

Corned Beef and Sauerkraut Casserole

easy 

This dish is like a Reuben sandwich and has all the same ingredients except for the carby bread. I got the idea from watching a youtube video by a low carber named Kristy. She's been very successful in her weight loss journey. I'm sorry but I don't remember the name of her channel. I've tweaked the recipe a little to suit my tastes and because there's only myself eating low carb at the house. 

 

• 1 can sauerkraut
• 1 can corned beef
• 1/2 pkg. shredded swiss cheese
• 1/2 pkg. provolone cheese
• 1 1/2 t. minced dried onions
• 1 1/2 T. caraway seeds
• 1/2 c. sugar-free Thousand Island dressing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I used a baking dish that is 8x8 inches. 

I chopped up the corned beef into med. to small pieces and put in a bowl. I put in the sauerkraut, cheeses, and caraway seed, minced onion, thousand island dressing, and stirred. Now I couldn't find any shredded provolone cheese so I just cut up slices into small pieces myself and that can be done with the swiss cheese if you don't have it already shredded. I've also not found thousand island dressing anywhere and so I make my own just like I have to make my own coleslaw dressing because they all have sugar in them which raises the amount of carbs., of course.

Next thing is to stick it in the oven and you let it bake for approximately 30 minutes.

Thousand Island Dressing

• 1/2 c. mayonnaise
• 1/4 c. sugar-free pickle relish
• 1 T. reduced sugar ketchup (Heinz)

And that is a basic thousand island salad dressing. Easy peasy to make.  

And this is what the finished product should look like. I served mine with a small dinner salad on the side. It good when it comes out of the oven but it's also very good as leftovers, too. 

 

I hope you give it a try and enjoy it! 

Almond Butter Cookies

Almond Butter Cookies

easy

I think that everyone who follows a low carb plan has heard of Paula Deen's Magical Peanut Butter Cookie recipe. No flour and very few ingredients. I recently bought a jar of almond butter for the first time and I started thinking that this could be substituted for peanut butter and be an awesome cookie!

So I followed the recipe here and I added about 1 teas. of baking powder. And I used half a cup of Swerve as a sweetener and the other half a cup of Walmart's brand of Stevia in the big bag.

for the ones on the front row, I put some slivered almonds on the top. 

And I baked them at 350 for about 10 minutes. These cookies are SO good. When they're warm and fresh from the oven they're nice and chewy. As they cool they get a little more firm but they're not crunchy or hard.  

I also have another easy cookie recipe Sugarfree Pecan Meringue Cookies on my blog and I will be adding more ideas for low carb and diabetic friendly cookies for the upcoming holiday season. 

Stay tuned! Thanks!

Fathead Pizza Made My Way

Fathead Pizza Made My Way

easy

Fathead pizza dough has been around for a while but I'd only made it a few times because I didn't care to stick my hands in the warm mozzarella cheese and make it into a dough. You had to microwave the cheese and wonder if it was too hot for the eggs, etc. All that seemed like a lot of trouble to me.

I got to wondering if there was an easier way to make some pizza dough. So this is what I did. I didn't warm the cheese. I threw everything in a food processor and let it go until it started forming a dough. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. canned parmesan cheese
• 1 c. Bob's Red Mill almond meal  
• 2 eggs
• 1 bag (4 c.) mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 1/2 cups of the lowest carb spaghetti sauce you can find 

Put the eggs in, the parm cheese, the almond meal, and almost half the bag of mozzarella cheese in the machine. Process until a ball of dough forms. Remove the dough and spread it onto a pizza pan or another pan to bake it in. Spray the pan with cooking spray so it doesn't stick. I put plastic wrap between on top of the dough and used a rolling pin to spread it but you could use a round glass or just use your fingers. 

Put the dough in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 7-10 minutes until the crust starts turning a light brown around the edges. 

And while the crust was baking I prepared my toppings. I sliced some onions very thinly. You can do green peppers the same way. I like using a mandolin vegetable slicer for doing this.

Spread the sauce evenly on the crust. I used an organic Aldi's brand sauce which was the lowest I could find in carbs. I  put sliced black olives on half of it. And I used sliced ham, pepperoni, and bacon bits. 

 

Now cover the pizza with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese and pop back into the oven. Cook for 10 mins. or so, until the cheese is melty and brown. I like mine sort of dark. And the onions were ever so slightly crunchy, which I like. 

This crust is the next best thing to carry out and without all the carbs! I hope you enjoy it. 

Now for the disclaimer;

I am part of the Amazon affiliate program and the links I post will earn me a small commission if you shop through them. However, it does NOT raise the price you are charged in any way. Thank you!

Low Carb Soul Bread

LC Soul Bread

easy

I think that as someone who follows a low carb way of eating we all miss certain things. Bread is one of them. I 've tried several recipes for a good substitute over the years only to be disappointed every time. So I wasn't anxious to spend the money on ingredients that would be wasted. I'd heard of soul bread for a while and it got good reviews so I finally broke down and decided to give it a try. 

I used the recipe from Low Carb Yum, which is a site I'd recommend. I have tried several of her recipes and was only disappointed with one of them. I did add an extra ingredient in my version. I added a packet of yeast simply for flavor. I also want to say that over at Low Carb Yum the recipe calls for olive oil and I used a lightly flavored kind but next time I will probably substitute coconut oil, simply because I like the flavor and I have a lot on hand. And lastly, the recipe talks about how not all protein isolates will work in this recipe and they give a few suggestions on brands to use.  I used Now unflavored Protein Isolate which worked just fine.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. cream cheese softened
• 1/4 c. butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 drops sweetener (optional)
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1 2/3 c. unflavored whey protein isolate
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/3 t. baking soda
• 1 t. xanthan gum
• 2 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. cream of tartar
• 1 pkg. dry yeast

Take two bowls and put the dry ingredients in one and mix together. Put the cream cheese and butter in a microwave safe dish and soften for about a minute. Take out of microwave and mix with a stick mixer or hand mixer. Add the eggs, sweetener, yeast, heavy cream and olive oil and blend well. 

In the next step you'll put away the hand mixer and use a spoon because the mixer will be too much whipping.  Add the dry ingredients and stir it all in well. Pour the batter mixture into a greased or sprayed bread loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for appoximately 45 min. or until golden brown. Cool and store in plastic wrap.

I spread some peanut on the first slice and it was awesome. It also works well in the toaster and the next day I made grilled cheese sandwiches. So, as far as low carb bread goes ...... I give this a 5 star rating! I hope you'll give it a try.

Buttery Low Carb Biscuits

Buttery Low Carb Biscuits

easy

I belong to a low carb group on Facebook and a friend posted this recipe and inquired as to whether it could be altered to be low carb. I thought it was worth the try and I'd like to say thanks to Kathy for sharing the original recipe.

So the original recipe calls for Bisquick but I substituted a low carb equivalent,  Carbquik baking mix. I also used a diet soda instead of the sugary kind. Also, I cut the recipe in half because there's really only me here and I didn't want a bunch of leftovers.

This morning's breakfast. 

I can see myself having sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast tomorrow! 

No Potato Tater Salad - low carb

No Potato Tater Salad

easy

I do love some potato salad and I would buy it already made just about every time I'd go to the grocery store. I particularly got hooked on the Amish kind. Looking back, I have to say that I think the reason was that it was sweet and must have sugar in it. Sugar is such a trigger for me. I feel like it's akin to cocaine for folks like me. 

So, what do I do about my desire for tater salad? Make my own low carb version and stay away from evil sugar. And I have to say that the longer I go without sugar the more my taste buds change and a lot of things will seem too sweet. 

Without further ado, here is my version of No Potato Tater Salad. 

• 1 med. head cauliflower florets cut into pieces, cooked in salted water for 5-7 mins and drained
• 1 c. mayo
• 1 T. yellow mustard
• 1/2 small onion, diced (use purple onion if you want more color)
• 1 -2 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 boiled eggs, chopped
• 3 T. Mt. Olive No Sugar Relish
• salt and pepper to taste
• paprika (optional)

After the cauliflower has cooked and been drained, just take a fork and chop it into smaller pieces in a bowl. Add all the ingredients, except the paprika, and stir well. Now sprinkle paprika on top and put in the fridge for 5-6 hours but preferably overnight. Give it time to cool and for all the lavors to meld together. 

I ate some with my tilapia loin for lunch the next day. Of course, it's not real potato salad but it's a pretty good substitute.

Thanks for following this blog. 

FYI, the fish was cooked in the microwave with butter and Old Bay seasoning. Easy peasy.

Hamburger Cauliflower Casserole

Hamburger Cauliflower Casserole 

moderately easy

This recipe is like a Shepherd's Pie but modified to be low carb. And it is very good.

• 16 oz.frozen green beans, cook and flavor them ahead of time. I put chopped onion and bacon bits and also some J&D's Bacon Salt, Original.
• 1 lb. ground beef or turkey, fry up and drain
• 1 t. or 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1.5 t. dried onion bits
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 head of cauliflower, prepared cooked and mashed or you could use a pkg. of mashed cauliflower that is in the freezer section of some stores
• 1 pkg. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 pkg. cream cheese

My ceramic baking dish measured 9x10.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Put the drained, cooked beef or turkey in the dish and spread it out evenly. Layer the green beans over the top of the meat. Then I put chunks of the cream cheese all over the top.

As it bakes the cream cheese will melt down into the meat and beans. Next, I put the mashed cauliflower on top and spread it out evenly. Stick it in the oven and let it bake for 10 mins. The top of the cauli-mash should be slightly browned. 

Pull it out of the oven and put the shredded cheese over the top. Return to the oven and let it bake until the cheese on top is nicely golden brown. 

That pretty much wraps up this recipe. If you've never made mashed cauliflower it's made just like mashed potatoes but without all the carbs. Thanks and have a good low carb day!

(When you shop through the above link, it helps support this blog but does not add to the cost of what you buy on Amazon. Thank you for your help.)

Low carb Salmon Patties

Low Carb Salmon Patties

easy

Ingredients:

1. 1 can Salmon
2. 2 eggs, beaten
3. juice from half lemon
4. 1 t. Old Bay Seasoning
5. 1/2 c. mayonnaise
6. 1 c. processed pork rinds
7. 1 slice of onion, diced up 
8. salt and pepper to your taste

I ran the pork rinds through my food processor until it was a pretty fine meal. I used almost the whole bag to get a cup's worth. I threw the can of salmon in the bowl with the beaten eggs and stirred it around breaking up the chunks of fish in smaller pieces. Then add the lemon juice, the mayo, the spices and onion and mixed it all together. Then I put in the pork rind meal as a filler to use instead of the typical breadcrumbs thus cutting out those carbs. 

Let the mixture sit for a few minutes and the pork rind meal will absorb the juices and thicken up the mixture. As a side note, I should have diced my onion into smaller pieces. And if you don't care for an onion that much you can use less than a whole thick slice, but I like the onion. 

I made them into hamburger-sized patties and put them in a heated skillet sprayed with some canned cooking spray. You can use canola or olive. And another way to put the mixture in the pan is to use a big spoon and put a hefty spoonful on the hot skillet. Let them cook on a medium heat for about 7 mins. on one side and then gently turn them with a spatula. Then you can take the spatula and smoosh the patties down a little 

Let them cook another 7 mins. and they should be done and golden brown. The picture shows 4 patties but the mixture makes 6 nice sized ones. I could only fit 4 at a time in my cast iron skillet. 

These went well with some cauliflower salad (faux potato salad) which I will post the recipe soon and add the link here.  No Potato Tater Salad  I think they'd be good with just a dinner salad, too. I enjoyed them a lot and I hope you will, too!

Below are some links to some of my favorite products. If you click through them I may earn a few cents but it's at no additional cost to you. It just helps me to keep bringing people these low carb recipes. 

Today I'm featuring the cast iron skillet that you see in the above picture. I love this skillet!

10.5 inch cast iron skillet by Lodge

Lemony Blueberry Muffins

Lemony Blueberry Muffins (low carb)

Fairly Easy

A really go to breakfast for those on a low-carb way of eating is bacon and eggs. I love some bacon and eggs for breakfast! But, even a hardcore bacon and eggs eater can go for some variety, in my humble opinion.

So, this morning I came up with a recipe for some muffins featuring blueberries but also with a lemony flavor to them. I hope you give them a try and tell me how you liked them. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Ingredients:

1.  1 1/2 c. almond flour
2.  1.2 c. coconut flour
3.  1 t. baking powder
4.  1 t. baking soda
5.  1 t. xanthan gum
6.  1/2 t. salt
7.  1/2 c. erythritol sweetener
8.  1/2 c. Splenda (bagged)
9.  1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (or 1 t. pure vanilla; add to wet ingredients)
10.  6 eggs, whisked well (best if room temp.)
11. 1/2 c. coconut oil, liquified  
12. 1 t. lemon zest
13.  juice from half a lemon 
14.  1 c. blueberries (frozen or fresh, I used frozen)

So how I did it is I took 2 bowls, one was larger than the other. I put all the dry ingredients into the larger bowl of the two. I took a fork and stirred and broke up any lumps in the mix. I stirred up all the liquid ingredients in the smaller bowl really well and then poured them into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mixed it well.

The last thing I did was fold in the blueberries. 

I used liners in my muffin pans but if you don't have any just be sure to grease them or use a spray so they don't stick. I had enough mixture to fill all 12 of the muffin holes. 

I then put them in the oven and let them bake for 50 minutes. But my oven may be different than yours so keep an eye on them and don't let them burn on top. My biggest fear is them not being done in the middle. I have followed other's recipes for loaf pans and the final product is not cooked all the way through. But 45-50 minutes should work fine. 

Notice: This post contains affiliate links and I earn money if purchases are made through links (at no additional cost to you) which helps support this site and keep the content free. :)

Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour   I really like this brand of almond meal/flour because it's blanched and finely ground.

Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour

Erythritol by NOW foods 

Creamy Cauliflower Soup (low carb)

Creamy Cauliflower Soup 

Easy

 Lately, I've been wondering, what's happened to September? Because here in the midwest it seems like it's already October. I've come down with a bad cold and that makes me want comfort foods in the form of soups. I got the idea for this low carb "pretend potato soup" from a Dana Carpender recipe book that I read years a go. I forget the exact title of the book though.  

You'll need a large pan and I may have used one that was slightly too big for just a few servings for me. I might wish I had made more though if I find that my son likes it. However, he's a picky eater and doesn't like an onion. 

Here are the ingredients that I used.

1. 1/2 c. chopped onion (I used Vidalia)
2. 2 stalks celery, chopped
3. 1/2 of a 2.5 oz. bag of real bacon bits
4. 2 T. salted butter
5. 1 c. heavy whipping cream
6. 3 c. water 
7. 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut up into bite size pieces
8. salt and pepper to taste (I used Lawry's season salt)

First, melt the butter in the pan and then add the onion, celery, and bacon bits. Stir that around for a minute or two while on medium heat. Add the salt and pepper and stir it in. After a few minutes, I added the cream and the water and let it cook while I chopped up the cauliflower. I added the cauliflower and brought it to a boil on a medium high heat. I let it all cook together for about 7 minutes. At this point, I scooped about 2 cups or more out of the pot and put it in my Nutri-Bullet and let it liquefy. A blender will also work. Just be careful as the mixture is hot. If you don't want to do it while it's that hot you can probably put it aside in the fridge until it cools. But you'll want to add that back into the pot of soup on the stove. Then turn it down to a medium low and let all the lovely flavors simmer together. I'd say maybe 10 minutes or so. 

As for variety, I think some cheese sauce could be added to make it a cheesy cauliflower soup. I even thought that I may try adding half a cup of Ranch salad dressing to it sometime.  

This stuff is seriously good! I hope you give it a try.

Asparagus and Mushrooms Frittata

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Easy

Asparagus, Mushrooms Frittata

This is a really easy and delicious dish to make for any meal and can be made with many different kinds of ingredients added to the egg and cheese mixture. I used sharp cheddar but other kinds can be used such as a Mexican blend, etc. I think one could also use cottage cheese on the inside and a cheddar or other flavor. Your only limit is your imagination. I have also used spinach in them with sausage, just cook up the meat ahead of time and drain the grease. You could also use broccoli and bacon. Frittatas are very versatile. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. 8-10 large eggs
2.  (11 or 12 oz.) package of shredded cheese
3. 3/4 (8 oz) package of sliced mushrooms  
4. (8 oz.) package of frozen asparagus spears
5. salt and pepper to taste
6. T. olive oil

The first step is to scramble up the eggs in a medium size bowl. Add the salt and pepper as you like it. Then you'll need to put in just HALF of the package of shredded cheese. Save the other half for the last step of the process.

I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet but whatever you choose it has to be able to go in the oven. I like to make them in cast iron. I put the olive oil in the skillet and used a paper towel to run it over and coat the bottom and sides of the skillet. 

I put the sliced mushrooms in the bottom of the oiled skillet. So it was pretty much covered with mushrooms across the bottom. I then poured most of the egg and cheese mixture on top of them. I laid the asparagus spears across the top and poured in the remainder of the mixture.

The next step is to put the whole thing into the preheated oven on the middle rack. I think I let it cook for about 15 minutes. I am sorry but I didn't keep an eye on the clock but rather checked on how the frittata looked. When it started looking a light toasty brown on top I took it out.

And this is what it looked like.

Now take the other half of the package of shredded cheese and layer it on the top of the frittata. Put it back in the oven and this time put it on the top rack. Turn your oven to the broiler position and let it work its magic for about 5 minutes. Again, I have a bad habit of not using a timer but just checked it by eyeballing it a few times. When the cheese has melted and is turning a golden brown it's finished.

  Remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Now as it cools it will fall slightly instead of being all high and fluffy when it first comes out. That's alright. I cut mine into four wedges and used a spatula to lift a slice out. That first one is always the hardest, isn't it? 

I give it a thumbs up and my dogs give it two paws up. I hope you like it.