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.