Chia Strawberry Jam

Low Carb Chia Strawberry Jam

This combination of Chia seeds and Strawberries is absolutely delightful. I stumbled across this because my daughter bought us a huge bag of Chia seeds. I didn't really know what to do with them so I tried adding it to strawberry syrup and viola! It became Strawberry Jam! I thought I would share.

I cooked strawberries in a sauce pan until the strawberries were soft then added the Chia seeds. Let that simmer for about five minutes. Then transfer this into a blender so make the syrup. If you want to use this as a syrup at this point, that works very well. You can add the stevia at any time. I didn't because the sweetness from the Strawberries works just fine for me.

1 Cup Strawberries

1/4 Cup Chia seeds

Add Stevia to taste

Carb Count

Strawberries - 10 grams ( 13 carbs subtract 3 grams fiber)

Chia seeds - 2 grams (16 grams carbs subtract 2 grams fiber)

Pepper Jack Crackers w/ Almond Flour and Flax Meal

So... I haven't blogged for a long time. I unwisely took a bit of a break from my low carb lifestyle. Lots of things were going on, weddings, reunions, thanksgiving and Christmas. Anyway, for my new year resolution it is to get back on track with watching my car intake. Trying to stay between 20 to 50 carbs a day. I want to do a mini triathlon in May and then another child is getting married... In France. So Yikes! I need to look good and feel good. 

I tried out a new recipe and I love it. My fifteen year old son thinks they taste like wheat thins. I used a combination of flax meal and almond flour along with the pepper jack cheese. That is a great combination.

Low Carb Pepper Jack Crackers

 1 cup flax meal

1 1/2 cup almond flour

2 eggs

3 T olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 baking soda

4 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded

Warm up the flax and the almond flour in the microwave. Shred the pepper jack cheese and mix these together. Add the salt and baking soda. Mix again. Add the two eggs and the oil. Mix this up with a fork until all incorporated. Knead the dough until it make a big lump.

Roll out half the dough at a time. I cut them up in squares and put them onto a pizza pan that has holes in it and baked them for twenty minutes at 350 degrees. Before baking, sprinkle them with a little extra salt and some Parmesan cheese. Set them onto paper towel after they are done, they might be a bit on the oily side.

Let them cool. They taste better after they are completely cooled. Seriously I love these.

There are very few carbs per cracker. The flax meal is only two carbs per cup and the almond flour is  also 2 carbs per cup. So I say, eat to your hearts delight.

Breakfast!

This breakfast was deliciously low carb. Sometimes, on Saturday, we have a slow, lazy, nothing to do sort of morning. This morning was just one of those. So we did brunch! The boys wanted waffles and scrambled eggs. No problem. 

I made them regular waffles but I made some almond flour waffles for me.

Almond waffle recipe:

2 eggs

1/4 C. Heavy Cream

1/4 almond flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

A pinch of salt

1 T. Olive oil

I don't put sugar substitute in because I really don't like things sweet anymore. (Yippee)

Spray the waffle iron and waffle away!

So, what's on the plate? Eggs and bacon...no problem, no carbs there. Waffles....about three carbs for the whole thing. Half a grapefruit....maybe six carbs. What, you might ask am I drinking? Hot cocoa, low carb style.

Low carb cocoa

2 cups very warm water

1/2 tsp. cocoa powder

1/4 cup heavy cream

That's it. I used to add stevia, but again, I don't need the sweetness anymore.

There you go. A lovely Saturday morning brunch.

Cheesy Almond Crackers!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and these turned out way better than I expected. This was from Kalyn's kitchen. I made them yesterday and put them in plastic bags and popped them in the freezer. Today the boys wanted nachos. Usually I don't have any because.....well they are not good without corn chips. So I tried these. I piped the rackets in the cheese sauce instead of smothering chips in the sauce. Fantastic! These crackers held up nicely under the cheese sauce weight. Can you tell that I am excited about nachos again?!?

Please remember a few things before you get started, use room temperature cheddar cheese that is in a block. Do not use the already shredded variety, those just don't weld everything together. Make sure the almond flour is also at room temperature.

2 1/2 C almond flour

4 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 Tbl oil. (I used olive oil)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients together, add the oil and eggs that have been whisked together, then add the cheese. Mix this up and then when it is all incorporated go ahead and knead it in the bowl with your hands.

Next use two pieces of parchment paper or waxed paper and put half the dough in between. Get out the roller and roll it thin. It should cover the bottom of a large cookie sheet. If you are using parchment paper I think it is okay to bake on the paper. Just take off the top piece. I used waxed paper so I oiled the cookie sheet and put the rolled dough directly on the pan. Sprinkle the dough with salt and cut it into squares. These taste a lot like cheezits so if you would like to make hem the same size, that's a great idea.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Let them cool right there I the pan if you used parchment paper, if you oiled the pan...you need to get them out of the pan or at least loosened right away.

No Carb Cheetos!

If you are like me sometimes the low carb lifestyle leaves me longing for crunchy foods! I got this recipe from 'mariamindbodyhealth'. These golden crunchy puffs are delicious and satisfied my craving for Cheetos. I don't know how long it has been since I have had real Cheetos. There are some things that I would change with this recipe. Maybe adding some cheese flavored popcorn salt would do the trick about halfway through the baking process.

3 egg whites beaten until very stiff

1/8 tsp. cream of tarter (add this to the egg whites before beating)

1/2 cup frozen cheddar cheese that has been pulsed in the food processor or blender until it is in tiny bits.

Add the cheese bits gently to the egg whites. Be sure you don't let all,the air out of the egg whites. Put the cheese and egg white mixture in a plastic bag nd cut a hole in the corner and squeeze out Cheetos size shapes onto a greased cookie sheet. I used olive oil but you could also use parchment paper.

Bake this in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for about 25 minutes. If you want you can sprinkle them wi Parmesan cheese or dust them with cheese flavored popcorn salt.

Low Carb Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

I created this recipe from a 'regular' one. My husband calls it 'low carbing' them. These don't always work out very well but this one turned out fantastic! I figure there are about 4 carbs per muffin when all is said and done. I ate one warm from the oven and they are really good but if you wait until the next day, they are even better! I think it gives the almond flour time to meld with the cream cheese.

Batter:

2 C Almond flour

12 packets of Stevia or the equivalent of 1/2 C sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix these together in a bowl then add:

2 eggs, beaten - less 2 Tbl beaten egg to be used in the cream filling

1/4 C olive oil

1/2 C cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream cheese filling:

6 oz. cream cheese 

8 packets stevia or 1/3 C sugar equivalent

2 Tbl beaten egg

1 tsp. Vanilla

Cinnamon streusel:

1/4 C almond flour - next time I might just used regular flour since I didn't really like the way this part turned out.

6 packets of stevia or 1/4 C sugar equivalent

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbl cold butter

Strawberries cut into small chunks.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Layer the ingredients into the muffins cups. This will make about 12 muffins. First add about a tablespoon dollop of batter. Next put about a teaspoon of cream cheese filling. Then top with a few strawberry chunks and a bit of streusel. Repeat one more time and pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

I think there are about 5 grams of carbohydrates per muffin.

Low Carb Chocolate Kisses

I found this recipe on Pinterest but decided that what they had wasn't chocolatey enough for my taste and not quite sweet enough. I want them to taste like a chocolate kiss and look more like one also. So I added more cocoa powder to the mix and also some stevia. Here is my recipe:

Whip and set aside

 1 C Heavy Whipping Cream

Then cream

6 oz cream cheese

Add

1/8 C Heavy Whipping Cream

1/8 C Water

Combine 

1 tsp. Cocoa Powder

1/2 packet of Stevia (enough to be the equivalent of 1tsp. Sugar)

1 pkg of sugar free chocolate pudding

Add this to the cream cheese mixture and mix well.

Fold the now chocolate mixture into the whipped cream.

After that I put it all in a gallon plastic bag and cut off the corner and squeezed out little chocolate kisses onto parchment paper. Experts can use their pastry bags, I have also seen them made into stars. I'm all about getting this done easy and quick. Pop them into the freezer and wait until they are frozen solid. Transfer them into an airtight container and whenever you are feeling like you need chocolate, pop one of these into your mouth and enjoy!

I was going for the chocolate kiss look but they may look,like something else instead.;)

This probably has .2 carbs per kiss.

Re-post: 'Potato' Salad

This is a perfect day to re-post my favorite salad for the Fourth of July. This afternoon we will be having a huge family BBQ. I am in charge of salads. So I will be. Asking the traditional potato salad for many in my family but also the alternative salad with cauliflower in place of potatoes. I have been using a truvia instead of sugar which really helps. 

So...here it is!

6 boiled eggs
1 package of frozen cauliflower
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
1 tsp. mustard
1 Tbl. Sugar substitute
1/4 cup table cream
1/2 tsp. onion powder or you can put real onions in it.

Pimentos, celery or dill pickles would also be a great low carb addition to this salad.

After the eggs are boiled, peel them and chop them into bite sized pieces. Boil, drain and chop the cauliflower, again into bite sized pieces. Put these in a bowl. In take separate bowl mix the rest of the ingredients together and then pour over the eggs and cauliflower. You can a season it with salt and pepper and maybe a bit of paprika. If you like it sweeter add more sugar substitute. 

Pizza Crust with Almond Flour AKA Low Carb Pizza Crust you Can Eat WithYour Hands!

My son was having a DiGiorno pizza for lunch and I knew I would snitch a piece if I didn't come up with something for myself. So I got out my bag of almond flour and got busy. My pizza crust worked out so well that I just had to share. This made a pizza round of 6 inches in circumference. I ate half for lunch and the other half for an afternoon snack. I am going to try this recipe and see if it will work for an English muffin.

Low-carb pizza crust

1/2 C almond flour

1/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese

1 egg

2 T heavy whipping cream

1 pinch of salt

I mixed this up well and formed it into a pizza crust shape in a greased pie pan and baked it for 10 minutes in a 450 degree oven.

After this I put the toppings on that I wanted and put it back in the oven for twelve minutes or until the cheese was done to my liking.

This crust stayed together and tasted way better than the cauliflower crust I have made before.

Low Carb Brownies

My job has done a number on my hips! I started working full time last fall. I tried to stay true to the diet but I slipped a number of times. I stopped exercising daily and found it difficult to have time to cook the low carb food that I needed. Yikes!

Here is my plan.....

Go back on the low carb diet, exercise daily and relax for a few days. I have so many planned projects that I can only relax for this week, then re-do the wood floors, clean out the basement so we can put away the food storage, clean about five cars so Spike can sell them, go on a family reunion, get the kiddo to basketball camp, oh yes...keep working about ten hours a week for a continuing education summer program.

Jacob thought today would be a great day to make brownies from scratch. Great idea for Father's Day. Not a good idea for my new low carb commitment. So I modified my recipe into a low carb brownie treat.

Here is what you need.

2 eggs

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup truvia baking blend which has 47 carbs per 1/2 cup. Next time use pure stevia in the amount recommended.

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

I cooked this at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. 

I can usually eat a whole pan of brownies by myself but eating two of these made me full. Again, mark this up as a positive for low carb baking!

Berry Cream Cheese Pudding Dessert

Almonds, finely chopped (about 1-1/4 cups)
1/4 cup sugar substitute
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. cream
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Lite Whipped Topping or use your own whipped cream sweetened with sugar substitute, thawed, divided
4 cups fresh strawberries or any other low carb fruit, halved
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Sugar Free Instant Pudding
2 cups cream mixed with 1 1/2 cups water

Make It

Mix chopped almonds, sugar substitute and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees for fifteen minutes and then refrigerate until cool and ready to use.
Beat cream cheese and 2 Tbsp. cream in large bowl with whisk until blended. Stir in half the  Lite COOL WHIP; spread over crust. Top with berries. Beat pudding mixes and 3-1/2 cups cream and water mixture with whisk for 2 min.; pour over berries. 
Refrigerate 4 hours. Spread with remaining Lite COOL WHIP just before serving. 

Creamy Artichoke Chicken Dish

Creamy Artichoke Chicken Lasagna

This low carb dish is pretty much heaven! I haven't had much time to cook lately but I 

finally had a Saturday afternoon to myself so I decided to create something wonderful.

 I found this recipe for artichoke chicken lasagne and then substituted some key ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded chicken

1 14 ounce can of artichoke hearts-drained

12 ounce pkg of cream cheese

1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

3 8 ounce pkg of shredded mozzarella cheese

8 ounces jar of sundries tomatoes, chopped and drained

1/2 cup of cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp.  garlic powder

1/4 cup fresh basil

1 pkg. cauliflower or low carb noodles

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the low carb lasagna noodles or 

boil the cauliflower until tender. If you are using the cauliflower make sure after 

draining the cooked cauliflower, please squeeze the cauliflower with a clean 

kitchen cloth just to get all the excess water out.

Mix the shredded chicken, 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, 

the chopped tomatoes, and the Parmesan cheese together and set aside.

In a mixer, blend the cream cheese, cream, water, garlic powder, 

and half of the basil together.

Then build your lasagne dish alternating with the chicken mixture,

 the cream cheese mixture and either the noodles or chopped cauliflower.

 I had a friend tell me that you could also substitute zucchini strips in 

place of lasagne noodles. I used cauliflower.

Ham Roll-ups

These are great little appetizers. That great thing is that really have no carbs in them or at least very little.

One pound of sliced lunch meat ham.

Small dill pickles or large ones quartered lengthwise.

Cream cheese

So how easy this can be?!?

Peel off the ham slices one at a time and dry them with a paper towel.

Spread the ham with softened cream cheese.

Put a slice of the quartered pickle on one end and roll it up.

Insert toothpicks into the rolled ham and slice between them.

Viola! Ham Roll-ups! Enjoy!

These are a great hours d'ouvre to bring to.a party. At least you won't feel guilty about eating these.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Holiday Salad

• 1 1/2 cups crushed Almonds
• 4 1/2 tablespoons Splenda
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup Splenda
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen lite whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (6 ounce) package sugar free Jello brand raspberry flavored gelatin
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen raspberries
• 8 ounces of cranberries (chopped)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the almonds,1 tsp salt,  4 1/2 tablespoons Splenda and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the Splenda and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Mix in frozen raspberries and chopped cranberries then stir until thawed. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour. 

Baked Mushrooms and Bacon

Low carb never tasted so good! This is an easy recipe for mushrooms. This would be appropriate for an appetizer or a side dish. I am thinking this will be an excellent dish to bring to the Thanksgiving table.

1lb. White mushrooms, sliced

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked until crisp then crumbled

1 cube butter

1 clove garlic

Lay the sliced mushrooms in the bottom of a casserole dish, add the crumbled bacon and the crusted garlic all over then slice up the butter and put that on top.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are golden brown.

Low Carb Bacon Mushroom Autumn Soup

We had this soup for supper tonight and my husband, who doesn't usually do low carb, loved it and wants me to make this again! Happiness!

 This recipe is an interesting one.  I've never made soup quite like it....but seriously, I have never had soup that tastes this good.

1/2 C heavy whipping cream
8 oz. Mushrooms
1 14 oz. can of chicken broth
1 clove garlic
1/2 C crumbled bacon (I use the crumbled bacon from Costco that comes in a bag from the salad section)
1 Cube Butter
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt

 Wash and slice the mushrooms and put them in a casserole dish along with the bacon, the cube of butter cut up into 4 or 5 pieces, the salt and pepper. Bake this in the over at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until everything is bubbly and brown.

Get out the blender! This is the important part. Take two thirds of the baked mushroom mixture, put it in the blender along with the chicken broth.  Blend away! This releases so much more of the mushroom flavor than just cutting the mushrooms into chunks.  After that is all blended, pour it into your sauce pan and add the cream.  Add the rest of the mushrooms and heat it through. I kept out a few of the mushroom and bacon pieces to use as a garnish on top.

Beans With Bacon!

You can't go wrong when the recipe involves Bacon!  As I was growing up...beans were beans. You took them out of the can and warmed them up on the stove and just ate them.  When I got married I found that Spike's family cared a little more about flavors.  They fried up some bacon first maybe with a little onion and then added the beans.  Delicious!

Here is the easy recipe:

Fry four pieces of bacon
Add half an onion and saute it
Once the bacon is crisp and the onion are transparent, add a can of green beans.

I think this will be on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner for sure!

Warm Cocoa

This recipe is pretty simple. I drink a big glass (16 oz.) every morning to help me feel full and satisfied. Drinking this along with two scrambled eggs for breakfast is great for the low carb diet and helps so much with hunger pains.  I honestly don't get hungry until two or three in the afternoon.

16 ounces of warm water ( I use tap water at it's warmest)
1 tsp. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. pure Vanilla
2 Tbs. Heavy Whipping Cream

Since I discovered the dangers of artificial sweeteners I don't add any and don't miss them, some people might like to add a packet or two.

Stir these ingredients together and enjoy!

Chocolate Frosty

I made some modifications to a Wendy's low calorie frosty that is absolutely delicious. This is perfect for an afternoon snack especially in the summertime when everyone else is having a milk shake or ice cream.

2 C crushed ice

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 C whipping cream

3/4 C water

3 Tbl. Dry sugar free chocolate pudding mix

Throw these ingredients together in a blender and let her rip. you may have to adjust the water for your desired thickness. Enjoy! I am right now!

Cucumber Salad

This salad is repeated on the menu several times a month in the summertime. This is super easy to make and has very few if any carbs. Serve this healthy salad to the whole family not just to those who are being careful with carbs.

Peel and slice six cucumbers then let them sit in a bowl of cold water while you put together the dressing.

Mix together in your salad bowl

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp. onion powder

2 Tbl. Dill weed

1tsp. Salt

Some people in the family like more dill weed. Let those favors come together for about 15 minutes then add the drained cucumbers. Mix it together and serve. Enjoy!