yup.

I’ve really wanted to use this can of pumpkin that’s been sitting in the pantry for a low-carb pumpkin treat and last night, inspiration finally struck! The cookie-like part (which I am calling “muffies” because why not) is fantastically low carb at about 1 net carb per serving… but I wanted to dress this batch up. Thus, the brown butter glaze.

I’m not going to lie to you, the glaze is going to add some carbs, but not too many! So if you’re looking for a quick AM treat that isn’t really going to break the bank carb-wise, skip the icing.  But if you are looking for a delicious sweet treat that still comes in at only 5 carbs per muffie, then the icing is a must. Plus, you could cut some sugar by ditching the chocolate chips in the muffies.

I based the recipe off of several low-carb pumpkin bread recipes that I found online, but I decided to add some chocolate (of course) and make single serving muffin-type pieces to cut down on the portion control issues. Now if only I could limit myself to just one!

I love the coconut oil cooking spray so much for recipes like this!

In retrospect, I think I should've gone with smaller chips- these seemed to sink to the bottom of the batter to easily.

The batter will be runny and soupy - not "doughy" like bread.

Just out of the oven and ready for the cooling rack!

I may have over-browned the butter just a tiny bit. 

Here's what your glaze will look like. A brush seemed the best way to apply.

The hardest part... letting the glaze "set" so I could taste my creation.

Low Carb Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffies

INGREDIENTS

½ cup vanilla protein powder

¼ cup flax meal

⅔ cup coconut flour

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ cup 60% cacao baking chips (I would use smaller chips vs the larger chunks)

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon Splenda for baking

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

pinch of ground cloves

pinch of ground ginger

½ cup water

½ cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

¼ cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

4 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin top or whoopee pie pan with coconut oil (I used my handy coconut oil cooking spray from TJ’s)

In a medium bowl combine the protein powder, flax meal, coconut flour, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, baking soda, salt, splenda and spices. In another medium bowl combine the water, oil, vinegar, pumpkin and eggs.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mix until fully combined. Pour the dough into prepared baking pan, be careful not to overfill. A note: I used larger chips and the weight of them made them sink to the bottom of the batter. I had to kind of scoop them out seperately and place in the pan after I'd poured the batter. I'd recommend using a smaller chip if possible or just double-check to make sure there aren't a glob of chips at the bottom.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden on the top and cooked through. Place on racks to cool. Store in sealed container for freshness.

Note: You can use this recipe to make a loaf of bread too! Just pour all of your “dough” into a greased medium sized loaf-pan instead and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Sugar-Free Brown Butter Glaze

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp butter

6 tbsp powdered or granulated erythritol

1 to 2 tbsp heavy cream

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

For the glaze, melt butter in small skillet over medium heat. Cook until butter is browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place erythritol in a medium bowl. I only had granulated on hand, and it worked fine but be aware that will give you bigger granules and almost add a tiny "crunch" to the glaze. If you'd like something smoother, use powdered. Slowly whisk in browned butter until well combined. Mixture will be thick.

Stir in 1 tbsp of cream at a time until a spreadable consistency is achieved.

Stir in vanilla extract.

Spread glaze on cooled muffies (I just brushed it on) and let set, about 15-20 minutes.

As usual, I am posting a screencap of what I get when I plug the ingredients into the MyFitnessPal.com database using the “Recipe Box” function. 

  I am not the biggest Brussels sprouts fan. In fact, I just realized that it’s “Brussels” and not “Brussel”. The boyfriend, however, is a big fan and I decided to try and work on a concoction that would be delicious for the both of us. This dish was amazingly tasty and keto friendly so I will definitely be adding this side into the dinner rotation.

Ingredients

6 strips of bacon

2 Tbsp butter

1 lb. Brussels sprouts, cut in half

¼ cup onion, chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate, then roughly chop.

In same pan with bacon fat, melt butter over high heat. Add onions, garlic and Brussels Sprouts and cook, stirring occasionally, until sprouts are golden brown, approximately 8- 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and toss bacon back into pan. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time:  15 - 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 - 20 minutes

This is less of a recipe post and more of a "tips and tricks" post. I know I am super late on this, but how did I live before salad in a jar? So here's the deal- you layer your salad ingredients in a mason jar, starting with dressing and layering the heavier proteins and work up to adding your greens last. There are several benefits to doing this.  First, adding the meat or other protein directly after the dressing allows it to marinate and remain juicy. Also, putting the greens in last at the top allows them to stay crisp for a few days in the refrigerator, so you can make a few salad jars at the beginning of the week to have on hand for a quick meal. When it is time to eat, you can either dump your creation into a bowl and everything will be layered the way you usually eat your salad (lettuce on the bottom, dressing on top) or you can take your jar with you and simply shake it up to distribute the ingredients and eat it straight out of the jar!

Here's the nutritional breakdown for my standard steak and chicken salad jars: Steak Salad Jar

After losing my way a bit during the holidays, I am re-committed to low-carb eating. I’ve been back to proper keto macros for about a week and already feel so much better. Cutting out wine and beer alone since the beginning of the month has done wonders for my overall well-being.Of course the thing I’ve been missing the most is dessert. If I’m trying to limit my alcohol intake, I definitely need something else to take the edge off… These cheesecake muffins come from a pretty standard low-carb recipe, but I decided to give it an update with some fruit and chocolate. It adds about 1 carb per muffin, but still keeps the total carbs per muffin under 3 net carbs – I’m cool with that. Ingredients: Recipe yields 12 mini cheesecakes Crust: 1/2 stick butter 1/2 cup almond meal ½ tsp cinnamon (optional) Filling: 16 oz. of cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup erythritol  1 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs Topping: 2-3 strawberries, sliced thin (optional) 1-2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (optional) 1-2 tbsp whipped topping (optional) Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepare a standard muffin pan with paper liners. 2. Melt butter.  Stir in almond meal and cinnamon. (You could even use a pinch of the erythritol here if you wanted to- I didn’t and I thought it was fine without.) Place small amount in each cupcake liner, pat to form crusts.  Set aside. 3. Combine cream cheese, eggs, erythritol and vanilla in a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer on med speed till smooth. 4. Fill cupcake liners almost to the top. 5. (Optional Step) Place one strawberry slice on the top of each cupcake. 6. Bake in oven 15-17 minutes.    7. Remove from oven. 8. (Optional Step) Allow minis to cool for at least 15 minutes. Melt 1-2 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for about a minute (until melted all the way). Drizzle melted chocolate across the tops of the cheesecakes. 9. Cool on counter for about 30 minutes, then chill in fridge overnight (at least 3-4 hours).     10. Serve with a dollop of sugar-free whipped topping if desired. 

A bowl of pizza? Why not!

I don’t even know how to describe my process on this one. Today was one of the first true autumn days we have experienced this year- you know- below 50 degrees, kind of rainy and dreary. Add to that the fact that my throat is raw from all of the screaming I did at the haunted house we went to last night and the only thing I was thinking about was soup- delicious, warm, creamy soup.

But there was a problem- I am doing keto now, so no soups with noodles or dumplings or rice. No soups in a bread bowl or with crunchy croutons. No soups with potatoes (sobbing as I type this).  I had some success with my Broccoli, Cheese & Bacon Soup and I eat my Bean-less Chili with Bacon and my now-modified-for-keto (pro-tip:  leave the beans and corn out) Creamy Chicken Chili at least once a week… I just wanted something different.

I don’t know how I arrived at the decision to see if I could essentially make ‘liquid pizza’ in my crock pot, but I am always willing to try and find ways to eat pizza without going over my daily allotment of carbs.

The great thing about this recipe is anything goes. Since I really didn’t have a recipe to base it off of, I just used what I had in the house and what made sense to put on a pizza. For example, you could add green peppers or olives or adjust the spices to suit your taste – you could even use Italian sausage to give it some kick. Get creative with your ingredients!

The labor is a bit intensive for this one in terms of prep. I would say it took me about 30 minutes total to get it all into the crock pot, which isn’t so bad, but I wouldn’t try to do that before work in the morning or anything. As far as the numbers go, this is not going to be a recipe that you make and eat two giant bowls of several times a week. It’s designed to be more of a make a big batch on the weekend and portion out into small containers for the freezer so you have it available in pinch. The bad thing is, the serving size is only a cup and the calories and carbs are a tiny bit high. The good thing is, that cup is super filling and the fat content is high too. So this may not be for everyone on a low-carb diet, but I think it is just fine for an occasional rainy day treat.

This is what I came up with… and, yes it was every bit as delicious as I hoped it would be!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground beef 1 lb  pork sausage (the kind that comes in the roll) 15 slices sandwich pepperoni, cut into  quarters or eighths 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1 Tbsp minced garlic 1 cup beef broth 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.) 2 Tbsp tomato paste 1 block cream cheese (8oz) Spices: 1 tsp sea salt 1 tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp roasted red pepper and garlic seasoning 1 tsp fennel seeds 1 tsp ground thyme 1 Tbsp oregano 1 Tbsp  basil 1 Tbsp parsley flakes

Instructions:

Spray crock pot with cooking spray or line with slow cooker liner for easier clean up.

Brown ground beef and sausage in skillet. You don’t need to cook it completely because it will finish in the crock pot, but make sure most of the pink is gone and the outside is browned.

Drain excess grease from meat and then add the meat to crock pot.

Using the same skillet, sauté mushrooms and garlic on medium heat until browned. Then add to crockpot.

At some point, you’ll need to cut up your pepperoni and add to the crock pot. Some tips: Lay the pepperoni on some paper towels and cook for about 45-60 seconds in the microwave. You’ll want to do this because when pepperoni cooks it gets greasy. You’ll want to try to blot some of that grease away before you add it to the crockpot so you don’t end up with a giant pot of oil. I did this and then used my kitchen scissors to cut each slice into eights. It’s kind of a pain, but I believe it’s worth it.

Add beef broth, tomato paste and diced tomatoes to crock pot. Stir meat, veggies and broth.

Add spices to crock pot and stir again.

Add cream cheese to top of mixture. You can break it up a bit if you’d like, but it should just sit on top of the rest of the ingredients.

Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours stirring occasionally when possible.

When time is up, stir well so that the cream cheese is thoroughly blended with the rest of the ingredients.

Serve with some grated mozzarella cheese if desired. I actually got a little fancy and added a 1/4 cup shredded four cheese Italian blend cheese and then broiled in an oven safe bowl for about 3 minutes until the cheese was brown an bubbly. If you go this route- make sure you add the extra calories, etc. to your meal total. 

Serving Size: 1 cup

Yield:  12 cups (approx.)

Nutritional Information*

This berry cheesecake that I made is too good to even describe! I modified a recipe I had seen elsewhere and it turned out great! It’s truly one of my first baking projects where I almost couldn't remember that it was keto friendly. I actually found myself feeling guilty for “cheating” during a few bites. I realize it’s still on the higher side with 10g net carbs for a decent sized slice, but I think it’s worth it every once in a while for how delicious and decadent it is! And you could always make the serving size smaller to lower those numbers… think bite sized! (In the interest of full disclosure, the raspberry cheesecake pictured is the second time I made this recipe. The first time was with blackberries. Both were incredible! The first one just got eaten too quickly to get any pictures of it.)

Before we get started though, a word about the sweetener. I *highly* recommend starting with a slightly lower amount of sugar substitute than what's listed in my recipe and tasting before adding more. You don’t want this to be too sweet and that’s really easy to do, so experiment to get the right amount. Also, the less sweetener, the less carbs in the final product. If you are using a sweetener other than the ones I listed in the recipe, please Google the proper conversions so you don’t end up putting way too much of something in the mix. For example, a stevia powder is far more concentrated and adding the amounts below would ruin the cheesecake. As far as liquid sweeteners, I don’t know how those would work in terms of changing the consistency of the batter. Unless you are experienced working with liquids as substitutes, I would try and steer clear. 

Ingredients

Macaroon Crust:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar substitute (I used Splenda brown sugar blend, but a regular sugar sub would be fine)

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

¼ cup granulated sugar substitute (I used Truvia baking blend)

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

Fruit Topping:

1 cup raspberries (Any berry would work- strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc)

1 tsp granulated sugar substitute (I used Truvia baking blend)

Instructions

Crust:

Cream together the butter and sugar substitute. Add the coconut, coconut flour and baking powder, mixing until thoroughly combined. Press into a lightly 8 inch round pan and set aside. I used a foil 8 inch cake pan because I had one in the kitchen, this would also work with a 8x8 or 9x9 square pan. You’re baking time may change accordingly.

Filling:

Beat the cream cheese and sugar substitute together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture over the crust.

Fruit Topping: In a small bowl, mash the berries and sugar substitute together with a fork. Drop by spoonfuls over the cheesecake mixture and then swirl it gently with the fork until distributed over the entire top – don’t over mix.

Bake in a 350 degree (F) oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove and chill in refrigerator for at least two hours (overnight is better for the cheesecake to setup) before serving.

Yield: Makes approximately 8 slices (using an 8-inch round pan)

Approximate nutrition info per slice*:

314 calories

24g fat

10g net carbs

4g protein

I love keto. I really do. I feel better, I look better and it’s been pretty easy for me to maintain this lifestyle. With that said, I do miss carbs sometimes. What I miss the most is pizza crust and tortillas (including nacho chips, taco shells, etc). I've been reading up on how to make a good taco shell substitute and it seems like fried cheese is the way to go!

It was really easy. I sprayed a frying pan with some non-stick spray and added about a ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese. I cooked it on high until it got bubbly and the edges started to brown. (You can also do this in the microwave on some parchment paper, but mine is not very powerful and I like the results on the stove much better). I then carefully removed with a spatula and formed around a turkey baster shaft while it was still warm and left it there for about 10 minutes to get the right shape.

My Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken was one of my very favorite pre-keto recipes. I decided that I would try to sub some ingredients to make it low-carb and low-sugar. Here's what I came up with... it was pretty delicious. Not exactly the same (the sauce was a thinner consistency, and the coconut flour didn't get quite as crispy as cornstarch) but I definitely felt like my cravings were satisfied. Next time, I will serve it over steamed broccoli.

Ingredients:

Chicken:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts (About 1.5-2lbs total)

salt + pepper

1 cup coconut flour

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup olive oil

Sweet & Sour Sauce:

1tsp liquid stevia (or 1/2 cup granulated sugar sub, like Truvia/Splenda- be careful, this will change the carb count)

4 TBSP reduced sugar ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 TBSP soy sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

2. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

3. Dip chicken into the egg to coat then the coconut flour to cover.

4. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. 

5. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish 

6. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken (I just used my 4 cup measuring cup to make pouring easier)

7. Bake for 30-45 minutes turning the chicken midway through to make sure both sides get the sauce.  

Needed some cookies that wouldn’t kick me out of ketosis… these fit the bill! Also, they were very easy to make- prepped and baked in under 15 minutes! Ingredients: 1 cup nautral/low carb peanut butter (I used creamy Smart Balance) 1 cup Splenda for baking  1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tsp ground flax seed Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. 2. Combine all ingredients in one bowl. You may want to heat the peanut butter up in the microwave for about 45 seconds to make it easier to mix. 3. Drop cookie dough onto greased baking sheet (or use parchment paper on baking sheet for easy cleanup). Each cookie should be about 1” in circumference and only about 1/4” apart. I used a small cookie scoop to get consistent amounts.  4. Use a fork dipped in an additional tbsp of Splenda to press criss-cross pattern into cookie dough. (Optional) 5. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 6. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool for at least 30 minutes. These cookies are a bit delicate and will crumble easily, but they really satisfy a sweet tooth. Store in airtight container. Recipe makes approx. 16 cookies. Nutritional Information: (per cookie) 95 calories 8g fat 4g protein 3g carbs 1g fiber Notes: 

This recipe would work with any nut butter (almond butter, etc). 

I am working on modifying this recipe to use stevia or something less artifical sweetener tasting- it’s not bad, but I feel like stevia would taste a bit less like “diet” cookies. 

I promise it tastes as delicious at it looks in the photo!

Ok, the cauliflower crust pizza was very good. A little too thick and chewy for me though. I need crispier- something closer to actual bread. Enter this crispy, cheesy godsend. Now THIS is an appropriate substitute for the pizza crust you’re used to. And it is really, really easy and quick to make. I really need to get an actual pizza stone because this will be a weekly meal- and at less than 10 net carbs for THE ENTIRE THING, I don’t even feel guilty about it. Ingredients: (For crust only, I’m sure we all know how to add toppings) 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 3 Tbsp cream cheese 1/2 cup almond meal 1/2 cup flax seed meal 1 large egg basil, garlic, oregano to taste (about 1/4-1/2tsp of each worked for me) Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees.

Crust before baking

2. Place mozzarella, cheddar and cream cheeses in microwave safe bowl and heat until melted. This was about 3 minutes in my microwave. It may help to open up midway and stir once. Note: I used full-fat ingredients with the exception of the mozzarella which was a part-skim blend. I think you need to do this so that everything sticks together properly.  3. Once cheese mixture is melted, quickly add almond and flax seed meal along with one egg and whatever blend of spices you’d like. Mix ingredients thoroughly (I just used my hands for this). 4. Place “dough” on greased pizza pan/stone and work until flat and thin. This filled a 12” pizza pan for me. I suppose if you are looking for even crispier, you could go bigger/thinner than that.  5. Place crust only in oven and bake until brown (about 8-10 minutes).  6. While it cooks, prepare your toppings. I fried up some sausage and mushrooms that I had in the fridge as toppings in addition to a tiny bit of red sauce and shredded mozzarella. 7. After removing crust from oven, add toppings and bake again until cheese is bubbly (about 5-7 minutes).  8. Remove finished pizza from oven and cut with pizza cutter or knife. I ended up with 8 average sized slices of delicious cheesy goodness! This pizza also tastes great the next day heated up in the toaster oven.

Finished crust