Fathead pizza

I tried making fathead pizza for the first time and man am I glad that I did.  It was pretty simple to make. The taste and texture were nice. I got mine nice and crispy by baking it on both sides before adding toppings.

I found the recipe here:
http://www.ditchthecarbs.com/2015/04/23/fat-head-pizza/

Low Carb Shepherd's Pie

This was so delicious.  Total comfort food without the carbs.  Although this recipe was a little more work, it will definitely be a regular in our rotation.  I served it along side some leftover bacon brussel sprouts.

1 head cauliflower
3/4 stick of butter
garlic salt to taste
1 egg
2 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 zucchini, diced
1/2 c. peas
1/2 c chicken broth (beef or vegetable would be fine too)
2 Tbs Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 Tbs soy sauce
1/8 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/2-1 c. cheese (depending how how cheesy you want the top

-Boil your cauliflower florets in salted water until tender.  Drain.
-in batches blend the cauliflower in a food processor until smooth
-Combine the puree with the butter and add garlic salt to taste.  Once it tastes the way you like it, mix in one raw egg.

-In a deep cast iron pot (you can do this in a skillet and transfer to a baking dish if you don't have one) cook the ground turkey, carrots, onion, and Montreal Steak Seasoning.  After the carrots start to soften add in the zucchini, peas, chicken broth, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.  Continue cooking a few minutes.

-Top the meat mixture with the cauliflower and then put the cheese on top of that.  Stick the whole thing in a pre-heated oven at 400.  Cook for about 30 minutes.

The cheese should be well browned on top making a delicious crust.

Loaded coliflower bake

This was so delicious. It came out like a mix between loaded mashed potatoes and Mac and cheese. Total comfort food without the carbs. I followed this recipe .  It's a great side for BBQ chicken.

Lower carb BBQ sauce

 This is more of a vinegar based BBQ sauce. It is delicious and has a little bit of a kick. It isn't sugar free but it is lower carb. I have seen it at Target, Sprouts, and regular grocery stores.

Avocado smoothie

This is creamy and delicious. It tastes like an avocado milkshake that I used to get at a Vietnamese sandwich shop.

1 1/2 c. ice
1 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/4 c. Sweet cream coffee creamer
1 dropper liquid stevia
1 med. Avocado

Throw everything in a blender until smooth.

Trader Joe's cheese crisps

Trader Joe's now has another low carb snack. They are carrying cheese crisps. The only ingredient is cheese. They taste like the ones I found at Costco but smaller and thicker. A yummy salty/crunchy snack when you are craving chips

Refried white kidney beans

White kidney beans are great if you are watching carbs. They have a property in them that helps block your body from absorbing some of the carbs that you eat. It is actually the main ingredient in many commercial carb blockers. I find canned white kidney beans at Trader Joe's.

1 can white kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 c. Chicken broth
1 jalapeno
Montreal steak seasoning to taste

- Combine the beans, broth, and jalapeno (washed but not cut. It will give off flavor but not spice) in a pan.
- allow to simmer stirring occasionally. As the beans break down you can remove the jalapeno and smash the beans with the back of your spoon. If you like a smoother texture you can use an immersion blender. When it looks almost the consistency you want remove from heat. They will continue to thicken slightly as they cool.

Sweet potato hash

1 sweet potato diced (white or pink, but be sure they are sweet potatoes and not yams as yams have more carbs)
One onion diced
Montreal steak seasoning to taste

I dice everything and cook it in a cast iron skillet with a drizzle of oil. I like getting g a little color on everything since it adds to the flavor. Sprinkle Montreal steak seasoning to taste.

This is delicious under two over easy eggs for breakfast or as a side dish with dinner.

loaded low carb cookies

My grandma has always made "Oatmeal" cookies every Christmas, and they are pretty much the best cookie ever.  She started by taking a traditional oatmeal cookie recipe and adding everything under the sun that was delicious.  They include coconut, toffee bits, M&Ms, and walnuts.  Christmas just isn't Christmas without these cookies.  Since Lan can no longer have them, I tried making my hand at a low carb version.  We took them to Christmas eve with his family and people loved them.

Ingredients:
2 c. Carbquick.  Add up to an additional 1/4 c if it is needed to make a nice dough
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. Splenda
3/4 c packed Splenda brown sugar blend
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 low carb chocolate bars (such as this one) chopped
1 small bag unsweetened coconut
1 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/2 c. chopped macadamia nuts

Directions: 
1) Combine Carbquick, baking soda, and salt.
2) In a separate bowl cream butter and sugars.  Once creamed add the vanilla and eggs one at a time while beating.
3) Combine wet and dry ingredients
4) Add all remaining ingredients and combine.
5)  Shape into logs and wrap in plastic wrap.  Freeze dough over night
6) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Unwrap dough and slice 1-1 1/2 inches thick.  Stand them on end on a baking sheet and immediately put in  the oven.
7) Check after 7 min and keep an eye on them.  You want to take them out before they look completely done.  Watch them closely and take them out when they are no longer shiny.  They will continue to cook on the hot pan while they cool.  Let them sit on the pan a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

I tend to like smaller cookies.... because then I can eat more of them. 😉  The size I make come out to about 2 1/2 carbs per cookie.

Low carb creamy chicken enchiladas

These are so very yummy. The only all thing I had to change in this recipe was to use my favorite Mission Carb Counting Whole Wheat Tortillas.

2 large chicken breasts cooked and shredded or 1 rotisserie chicken shredded
1 can mild green chilies
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I have used kale or spinach instead and its delicious)
1 c chicken broth
1 c sour cream (regular or light sour cream works well)
2 c. shredded Mexican cheese (regular or reduced fat cheese works well)
8 Carb Counting Whole Wheat Mission Tortillas (3 carbs) or a similar low carb tortilla

1) Cook the onion and bell pepper. (I cook them with some seasoning)  Combine the chicken, veggies, and chilies.
2) In a sauce pan heat the chicken broth to a simmer.  Take off the heat and whisk in 1 c. sour cream and 1 c. cheese
3) Add 1 c. of the sauce to the chicken mixture.
4) pour some sauce in the casserole dish so that the enchiladas do not stick.  Fill the tortillas nad lay them in the dish seam side down
5) Pour the rest of the sauce over the tortillas and top with remaining cheese

Cook covered with foil for about 30 min until warm and bubbly.  Remove the foil and brown an additional 10 min.

Sloppy Joes

*I guessed on my measurements since I never measure when I make this*

1 lb. ground turkey
1 bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 T. Montreal Steak seasoning
4 T tomato sauce (should be about half a can)
2 T. soy sauce
2 T Worcestershire
2 T Apple Cider Vinegar

Cook the ground turkey and veggies in a few tablespoons of olive oil until done.  Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and heat through.

We eat this mix on top of a baked sweet potato or scoop it with chicherones.  This can also be served on low carb bread.

chocolate peanut butter fatbombs

These chocolate peanut butter fat bombs are delicious.  They taste like little truffles.  

1/2 c.  smooth all natural peanut butter with no sugar added.  Trader joes has one that is just ground peanuts and salt and really yummy.

1/2 c. coconut oil

2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 T. low carb sweetener.  A liquid one like Swerve would be best, but I use granulated Splenda just fine.  Granulated just isn't as smooth, but it still delicious in the end.

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1) melt the coconut oil and peanut butter.  

2) Combine everything and pour into small molds.(I just use these small ice cube trays that I got from Ikea years ago)

3) put the tray in the freezer until firm.  probably about 10-20 min.

4) pop them out and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

*these need to be kept in the frig until you want to eat them.  They melt fast since coconut oil melts at 75 degrees*

Curry Chicken

I don't measure much anymore so this is an approximation.  Use more or less according to your taste.

2 large chicken breasts cubed

2 carrots chopped 

1 celery stock chopped

1 onion chopped

other veggies of choice (turnips, snow peas, bell pepper, etc)

1 c chicken broth

2 T. curry

2 T. Montreal Steak Seasoning

1/2 c coconut milk (from the can)

serve with cauliflower rice

I start to pan fry the chicken and veggies.  Sprinkle with Steak Seasoning.  Add broth and simmer until cooked through.  Sprinkle the curry and stir.  Add the coconut milk and stir.  Adjust seasoning.  

fish tacos

Fish tacos are a staple in our house.  They are Emmalynn's favorite dinner... and in fact according to her the only dinner she likes.  So I had to find a low carb way for us to continue eating them.

fish
egg for dredging
almond meal to coat the fish
low carb tortillas
shredded cabbage
cilantro dressing from Trader Joes
chopped onions and cilantro
jalapenos

Take fish pieces and dip them in egg then coat them in almond meal.  Then pan fry.
toss the cabbage in the cilantro dressing
assemble tacos

So easy and simple.  I'm so glad that this meal still works for us.  It's quick, easy, and my kids and us adults enjoy it.  Win!

Leftover Pho

We have had several rainy cold days which were just screaming for soup. Yesterday I took our leftover Thanksgiving bones and boiled them down all day.  It made a super flavorful broth. Then I added about 6 anise star and a cinnamon stick and let that go another 30 min. I strained the broth and served with mericle noodles, shrimp, turkey, and smoked brisket. Topped with onion, basil, and cilantro. This was so delicious.

Low carb stuffing.

I used low carb bread I blogged about here to make stuffing. You can use this with any recipe that uses fresh bread. Delicious and perfect for holidays.

Bacon brussle sprouts

I first clean, trim the end and cut my brussle sprouts in half. Then I cook them in the microwave for a few.min since I like my brussle sprouts pretty tender.  Then I toss them on a sheet pan with olive oil, Montreal steak seasoning, and chopped raw bacon. Pop it in the oven at 350 until the bacon renders and the brussle sprouts get some color. Yum!8

Taco Salad

This has been one of our favorite dinners for a long time. I cook up ground turkey with some Montreal steak seasoning and shredded zucchini ( I always do this to add in more veggies and streatch out my meat). I make a salad of romain, carrots, celery, and cucumber. Top with the ground turkey, warmed white kidney beans (white kidney beans help block sugar carb absorbtion and are the main ingredient in carb blocker), cilantro and onion. For the kids we add crushed tortilla chips. Then top with ranch and sugar free Italian. Sometimes instead of Italian I'll drizzle plain apple cider vinegar (which is great for sugar control).

This is one of my kids favorite meals and one of those foods that was easy to convert to low carb.

pumpkin muffins- low carb

I tried these low carb pumpkins, except I left out the cranberries and walnuts and made them in a muffin tin.  They were pretty good and I'll probably make them again.  I think next time I will reduce the Splenda since I thought they were a little too sweet.

Simple Syrup

I used this recipe to make simple syrup.  Many alcohols are low carb so you can still make many mixed drinks by using this simple syrup.  Mojito?  yes please!  FYI- if using tonic water be sure to buy diet tonic.  Who knew.  Read ALL labels.