Making baked goods that have a texture similar to wheat based foods has been a challenge. Most recipes call for a blend of almond and coconut flour that is held together with a rather large number of eggs. To me the baked items, such as muffins, are often quite moist and taste kind of egg-ish. Then I found a bake mix recipe and all that changed. The addition of ground oats really made quite a difference with the texture. While this recipe is much lower than recipes using wheat flour it still contains a moderate amount of carbs for each muffin.

Pumpkin Muffins

2 1/4 cup of Lower Carb Bake Mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup Splenda for baking (3/4 cup if you like sweeter muffins)

1/3 cup canola, olive, butter or coconut oil

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease your muffin tins or use muffin/cupcake liners.

In a large bowl combine the baking mix, splenda, ground cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Make a well in the center of the mix. Add the eggs, oil/butter and the canned pumpkin. Gently whip to blend wet ingredients and then blend with dry ingredients. Once well combined spoon mixture into muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins come out clean.

Makes 12 muffins

Total calories: 133

Fat: 15 grams

Net Carbs: 8.5 grams

Protein: 2.3 grams

If you give this recipe a try let me know how you like the texture. Do you use any other type of low carb mix or blend for baking? What’s your favorite?

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In a previous post I had tried a low carb pancake mix from LC Foods as part of a study to see how blood sugar levels responded to foods that were designed to be low carb. This was the first mix I have ever tried from this company. I occasionally eat low carb pancakes but they are made with ground almonds and coconut flour. I’ve tried making pancakes with things like protein powder or soy flour but hated them. Soy flour made some of the absolute worst tasting ones ever. So, having tasted a variety of LC pancakes before it was going to be interesting to check these out.

Here’s the ingredient list: wheat protein isolates, resistant wheat starch, flax seed meal, vital wheat gluten, Inulin (chicory root) fiber, digestion resistant polydextrose fiber, baking powder, salt, sucralose, organic stevia rebaudiana leaf natural herbal extracts, natural luo han guo monk fruit and natural enzymes.

To make the pancakes you use the mix and add heavy cream, eggs, butter, water and vanilla extract if desired. Since I was testing the pancakes I did not add any additional ingredients but the package suggests that you can also add fruits, nuts or cinnamon to the batter.

The pancake batter was a bit thinner than I’m use to so it took a pancake or two to figure out the best way to cook them. Instead of trying to cook several pancakes at the same time on a griddle I used a small frying pan just big enough for one pancake. This allowed the batter to spread out but not spread so much that I ended up with pancakes that were all stuck to each other. So how did they cook up? Well, pretty much just like a regular pancake would.

See….they they look like regular pancakes. Nicely browned. They had a great texture to them. There were no odd flavors (Ack…soy pancake flash back!). The addition of the vanilla extract was a nice touch and the pancakes were good even without adding syrup. They were a little thinner than regular, high carb pancakes but that really wasn’t a big deal.

I ate the two that I needed for the blood sugar test and saved the remaining three. The batch made for the test only used about 1/4 of the package and I got 5 pancakes about 4 inches in diameter. Looks like the whole package would make about 20 pancakes total. This was a great mix and, if you check out the test, you’ll see it had no impact on my blood sugar levels. So not only did they live up to being a low carb (1 net gram of carbs for each pancake) product they also tasted great too! I will certainly be keeping a package of this mix around for future meals. As for the final 3 pancakes. I ate one later in the day topped with some peanut butter….Mmmmm. The final two were eaten with sugar free pancake syrup the next day. Hmmm…next time I think I’ll try making blueberry pancakes.

Do you make low carb pancakes? Make your own mix or do you use a purchased mix? What’s your favorite recipe?

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I had previously made a really delicious balsamic pot roast with carrots and onions that everyone here loved. But, after the leftovers had been used for lunch a few days later, I was still left with a bunch of the onions. They had soaked up the balsamic flavored broth while the roast cooked in the crockpot so they were mild and sweet. The only problem was no one just eats plain leftover onions. I needed to include them in another dish if I were going to use them. A bunch of kale had been sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be used in soup. So I decided to make kale and eggs again but this time I would added the onions to the dish. It worked well and the meal was sooo good.

Kale, Balsamic Onions with Eggs

2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil

1/2 a bunch of kale, washed, thick stem removed and thinly sliced

balsamic flavored onions from previous pot roast or make your own with 1 medium onion and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

If you already have the leftover onions then add the oil to a skillet, heat until warm, add the kale and stir to coat with oil. Saute the kale for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Place a cover over the skillet and allow the kale to steam until softened. Add in any leftover balsamic onions and heat until warmed through. Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fried eggs and a few slices of bacon.

If you don’t have left over onions then add the oil to the skillet. Add 1 medium onion that has been thinly sliced and saute until softened. Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, stir and saute onions until browned. Remove onions. Add more oil and the kale. Stir to coat with oil. Saute the kale for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Place a cover over the skillet and allow the kale to steam until softened. Add in any leftover balsamic onions and heat until warmed through. Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fried eggs and a few slices of bacon.

This made a great breakfast and lunch. Now I’m all out of kale and onions

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I’ve seen tons of different What I Really Do memes floating around out there. You may have seen them posted to Facebook or on other blogs. I figured that the low carb diet deserved its own. I filled it with all the various comments that have been made when I say I follow a low carb diet. Click on the picture to see it full size. Hope you enjoy it!

Ever tell anyone you eat low carb or paleo and they think you eat something strange? Let me know and I’ll make another one using your suggestions.

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This homemade herb vinaigrette is easy to make and the taste will blow away any store bought dressing. Not only does it taste great on salad but it’s incredible on chicken and hard boiled eggs. Eggs? Yes, eggs! Give it a try and see what you think.

Herb Vinaigrette

2 garlic cloves

1 small shallot

1/2 cup of fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried tarragon or 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon

6 fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons dried rosemary

6 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Splenda or other sugar substitute

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3/4 cup olive oil

Place the garlic and shallot into a food processor and mince them. Add the fresh parsley, tarragon, basil and rosemary. Process until they are well chopped. Add the wine vinegar, Splenda, salt, pepper and Dijon mustard. Pulse several times to incorporate them. Start the food processor and slowly begin to drizzle in the olive oil until well blended.

Serves 8 or more depending upon how much you use. Nutritional info is for 8 servings.

Calories: 187.6

Fat: 20.3 grams

Total carbs: 1.4 grams

Fiber: 0.1 gram

Protein: 0.2 grams

We used this dressing over a salad made of romaine lettuce, baby spinach, thinly sliced red onion, red peppers, tomato, cucumbers, diced chicken and feta cheese. The usual food complainers in the house only complained about the vegetables but never said a word about the “green” dressing.  Here’s a close up of the herbal goodness:

What’s your favorite low carb homemade dressing?

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     I’ve noticed that many students don’t end up eating breakfast at home. Instead they bring  hand held foods such as granola/granola bars, dry cereal,  muffins, meal replacement bars or shakes, yogurt and other high carb foods made with “healthy” whole grains to class to eat. If I were to eat items such as those I’d need a nap from the sugar/crab rush followed by the blood sugar crash that would eventually come. No wonder they drink coffee all through class. Instead I’ll stick with my low carb snack to keep my blood sugar levels stable.

     I decided to try making my own homemade beef jerky since the store bought ones are always so tough and are loaded with salt and preservatives. A quick search online and I discovered that jerky can be made with ground beef as well as thinly sliced beef. The ground beef version is suppose to be much easier to eat so I figured I’d give it a try.

Homemade Beef Jerky

1 1/2 lbs extra lean ground beef

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Additional flavorings: you can use various powdered herbs and spices to flavor your jerky. Use combinations based on what kind of jerky you would like. Italian: go with basil, garlic, onion and oregano. Mexican: try chili powder, ground cumin, garlic and onion. You get the idea. You can also use store bought soy, teriyaki or worcestershire sauce to add flavor. I split the batch and used teriyaki in one half and Penzey’s Sandwich Sprinkle in the other half.

Mix the salt, pepper and additional seasonings into the ground beef. Make sure it is well mixed.

Lay out a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Place your seasoned meat on the paper/plastic and cover with another piece. Using a rolling pin or your hands, roll or press out the meat until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Remove the top piece and carefully score the ground beef into pieces. Make sure you don’t cut through the bottom layer of parchment/plastic.

Gently remove the pieces and lay them on your dehydrator trays. I wiped each tray with a bit of olive oil to keep the meat from sticking. Once all your trays are filled set the dehydrator temperature to 145F. Dry the pieces for 12 to 18 hours or until the centers are no longer pink. Half way through drying flip the pieces over so they dry evenly.

The pieces will be soft when coming out of the dehydrator but will harden up once cooled. Store the finished jerky in the refrigerator and use within two weeks.

TIP: use extra lean beef. I made the mistake of using 85% ground beef and had to dab the excess oil off of each piece with some napkins. Extra lean beef should solve that problem.

I would have taken a picture of the finished product but they look rather unappetizing even though they taste delicious.

Give this recipe a try and let me know how your jerky turned out. What spice blends did you end up using.

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While searching for something new to make with a bag of frozen kale I came across this blog: 365 Days of Kale. Who would have thought there was a blog devoted entirely to kale! Scrolling through the site and it’s recipes I found this one for kale that included eggs. I had just about everything on hand. To reduce the number of carbs I only used 1 large potato that had been peeled, diced and boiled until tender.

Kale and Eggs

8 ounces of frozen chopped kale, thawed

1 large potato, peeled, diced and boiled until tender

1 small onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

roasted red peppers, several pieces diced

4 eggs

chives

1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil, butter or coconut oil

salt and pepper

In a large skillet add the oil of your choice and turn the stove on to medium heat. Add the diced onion and garlic and saute. While these are cooking squeeze the kale gently to remove any excess water. Add the kale to the pan. Cook until the kale has softened a bit then add the red peppers and potatoes. Cook for several minutes until all the vegetables are warm. Make 4 small depressions in the vegetables. Crack an egg into each depression. Cover the pan and allow the steam to cook the eggs. Remove the cover, turn off the heat. Sprinkle some of the chives over the eggs and serve. Add salt and pepper to taste before eating.

If you like kale then you will enjoy this recipe. I’ve already made it a second time and added frozen zucchini that had been thawed when I added the kale to the pan. This would probably taste delicious with some linguica (Portuguese sausage) or even some bacon.

This post is being linked back to Real Food Wednesdays.

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Last year, at this time, we were buried under multiple feet of snow. This year we’ve had flurries that didn’t accumulate but no actual snow fall that amounted to much of anything. Until today. Right now there’s at least 5 inches of snow and the temperature is still dropping. On days like this, when everyone just wants to stay inside all bundled up, it’s a great day for soup! This cream of broccoli soup recipe can be whipped up in a flash. Serve it like it is or top it with shredded cheddar cheese. It’s filling by itself or you can eat it with a grilled chicken sandwich. Make your sandwich low carb by using a low carb bread such as Joseph’s flax, oat bran and whole wheat lavash bread.

The Best Cream of Broccoli Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

8 cups of broccoli florets (I used 2 – 12 oz bags of florets)

2 cups of chicken broth

2 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and celery. Cook until tender. Add the broccoli florets and the chicken broth. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.

If you have a immersion blender then you can puree the broccoli right in the pot. If not, pour some of the soup into a blender (only fill it about half way), cover with the lid and pulse several times to chop the broccoli florets. Once they are chopped a bit you can puree the soup to your desired consistency. I like to leave small bits of broccoli while others like their soup pureed smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a large bowl and continue to puree batches until it is all done.

Pour the soup back into the pot and add the milk. The soup should be fairly thick in consistency. If you would like it thinner you can add more chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat the soup back up to the desired temperature and serve.

Serves 6+

Calories 126

Fat: 5.6 grams

Total Carbs: 11.3 grams

Fiber: 3.1 grams

Protein: 4.7 grams

The nutritional amounts were calculated using whole milk (which is where many of the carbs come from due to the lactose). If you want to lower the carb count you can replace the milk with heavy cream (1 cup cream and 1 cup water). This will drop the carbs to 8 grams but increase the fat to 9.5 grams and the calories to 137 per serving.

Image:mortonfox

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School is now officially back in session and this semester all of my classes start early. Since I don’t like to eat in the car while driving I need to eat breakfast before I leave or pack something to eat between classes. I’ve tried making muffins in the past using coconut flour but I find them to eggy (is that a word?) in consistency. I’ve tried replacing some of the coconut with almond flour but didn’t like that results either. I needed something to bind the mixture together besides several eggs. At first I tried Greek yogurt to moisten the batter up but the texture wasn’t right. Then I tried a mixture of yogurt and cream cheese and that worked out much better.

I’ve made this coffee cake recipe several times now. Instead of baking it in the oven you can microwave it. Talk about fast and easy. If you use a plastic container that has a cover you can eat half once it’s cooked and save the rest for the next day.

Low Carb Coffee Cake

2 tablespoons almond flour

1 tablespoon coconut flour

2 teaspoons Splenda (or sweetener of your choice)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons greek yogurt

1 tablespoon cream cheese

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

1 1/2 tablespoons almond flour

1/2 tablespoon butter, softened

2 teaspoons Splenda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a microwaveable bowl blend the almond flour, coconut flour, Splenda, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. In another bowl add the butter and cream cheese. Microwave it for 10 to 15 seconds to melt the butter and soften the cream cheese. To the butter mixture add the yogurt, egg and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add the butter mixture into the flour mixture and blend. Set this aside while you make the topping so it can absorb some of the liquid.

For the topping blend the almond flour, splenda and ground cinnamon. Add the butter and use a fork to mix until crumbly. Spread over the top of the batter.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Check to see if the center is cooked. If the center is still wet cook for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until the center is set. Remove from the microwave and allow to cool for a few minutes. Cut in half and serve.

Serves 2

Calories: 193.2

Fat: 17.5 grams

Total Carbs: 6.9 grams

Fiber: 3.7 grams

Protein: 7.5 grams

Here is the container I used to make the coffee cake:

Here’s what it looks like when it’s cut in half. The texture is still cake like:

If you try this recipe let me know what you think. Do you prefer recipes that use only coconut flour or a blend of coconut and almond flour. Got a favorite recipe that only uses coconut flour? Leave a comment with a link below. I’d love to try some other cake type recipes out.

This recipe  is being linked back to the following blogs. Stop in to check out all the other great recipes, tips and ideas:

Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

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Once people hear you try to avoid eating things such as potatoes, rice and bread the first thing they ask is “don’t you miss them?” Then they immediately say that they could never give any of those things up. Personally I think the key to not missing certain items is to find another food that works in its place. Sometimes a replacement can be found quickly and other times it takes a while. Mashed potatoes were pretty easy to replace especially when you use this low carb faux cauliflower mashed potato recipe.

Low Carb Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

1 to 1 1/2 lbs of frozen cauliflower or 1 medium to large head of fresh cauliflower

3 ounces of cream cheese, softened

2 to 4 tablespoons of heavy cream

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper to taste

If using fresh cauliflower remove the outer leaves and break the head up into florets and place into a microwave safe bowl and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. If using frozen cauliflower place it into a microwave safe bowl and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. Since every microwave is different start by microwaving the cauliflower for 10 minutes. Check to see if the pieces are soft. If not, microwave in 5 minute increments until all the pieces have become soft and tender. If you do not want to use the microwave then steam the cauliflower for approximately 20 to 25 minutes until soft.

Remove the cauliflower and drain off any water present. In a food processor or blender add the cauliflower, cream cheese, butter and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Process until it is smooth and thickened. If the mixture is too thick add an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of heavy cream and continue to process. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 8

Calories: 75

Fat: 4.7 grams

Total carbs: 6.3 grams

Fiber: 2.6 grams

Net Carbs: 3.7 grams

Protein: 3.3 grams

One of my favorite ways to use cauliflower mashed potatoes is to make shepherds pie. Make your ground beef base, mix it with your favorite gravy, add some low carb vegetables and bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the cauliflower mashed potatoes and return it to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool and serve. Here’s a picture of shepherds pie that I made using string beans in place of the usual starchy veggies such as corn. It’s only partially topped with the faux mashed potatoes so you can see the filling underneath.

So this is one of my favorite high carb food replacements. Have you replaced a favorite high carb food with a low or lower carb version? Leave a comment and let others know what worked for you.

This post is being linked back to the following blogs. Stop in to check out all the other great recipes, tips and ideas:

Real Food Wednesdays at Kelly The Kitchen Kop

Fight Back Fridays at Food Renegade

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