Unsure

I am still following a low carb, high fat way of eating, but I am unsure if I should continue this blog. It seems no one is looking at it, so maybe I am wasting my time doing this. Let me know if I should let this go, or continue on. Thank you.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Are these not the cutest little cookies? I can't remember where I got the recipe from. I remember it said that you could push your thumb into it, create a dent and put a dab of sugar-free jam in the middle. I used Smucker's Strawberry Jam with Splenda. They are so tasty, and depending on what peanut butter you use, they are 4 g net carbs. I used Skippy Natural Creamy. They are very good, and they are quite delicate right out of the oven, so make sure they cool down.
So I will go ahead and put the recipe down, and if someone knows where it came from, they can let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Yields: 20 cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 large egg
1 cup Splenda sweetener
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp Baking powder

1.Mix all ingredients together and roll into 20 balls.
2.Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Bake for 9 to 10 minutes - bake to the size of half dollars.
3.Divide the number of cookies by the carbs in the peanut butter to get a count per cookie.
4.Note: you can use creamy or chunky peanut butter.

Roll into balls, press your thumb into it and add a dab of sugar-free jam.

Chicken in Paprika Cream Sauce

I apologize for the bad sauce. Apparently it separated on me. I think it is because I cooked it on too high heat. But the sauce was amazing. It was rich and creamy, and had a nice different flavour with all that paprika. The original recipe came from Taste of Home .  I adapted it to my liking. I served it over shirataki fettucine. Geoff and I didn't like them, and next time, I will serve it over cauliflower "rice". Or use the shirataki thin noodles. We found the fettucine too rubbery and slid down the throat too easily.

Chicken With Paprika Cream

Adapted from Taste of Home recipe

 

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 tsp each garlic powder, thyme, paprika

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 Tbsp butter, divided
1 Tbsp coconut oil
5 green onions, chopped
1 to 2 Tbsps paprika (I used 2)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sour cream

Mix garlic powder, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over both sides of chicken breasts.
In a large skillet, brown chicken in 1 tablespoon butter and oil over
medium heat. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170°. Remove chicken; keep warm. In same skillet, saute onions until tender. Reduce heat to medium.
Add paprika and remaining butter; heat until butter is melted. Stir in cream; cook and stir until sauce is thickened, about 4 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Add in sour cream, and heat gently until heated through. Serve with chicken.
Yield: 2 servings.
8 grams carbs per serving

Flourless Brownies with Chocolate Frosting

These delectable little morsels are just right for the sweet tooth we have. I found the recipe for these at Diabetic Connect. They were really quite good, despite the fact that they had dark chocolate in them. I used 72% dark chocolate bars. I normally do not like dark chocolate because it is so bitter to me, but I guess at this point, I am getting used to it, and coming to appreciate it. The only thing I would change is lowering the cooking time. They are rather thin for a 9x13" pan, so the edges burnt before the time was up. I think I would cook them for only 40 minutes, then check them. To make them even more decadent, I frosted them with a low carb Chocolate Frosting (who knew?).
I can't seem to find where I got this recipe from, so hopefully someone will know. This recipe will cover the brownies sufficiently.
Update  Oh my. These are even better the next day after being in the fridge! I think next time, I will add some walnuts to the brownie mix.

 Low Carb Chocolate Frosting

3 tbsps unsalted butter softened (not melted)
5 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar substitute (recommended: Splenda)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp no sugar added vanilla extract
Few drops hot water

 Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined.
Use to frost brownies, but make sure brownies are completely cooled, or the
butter in the frosting will melt.

Low Carb Clam Soup

I did it! I made my first low carb recipe. :)
This is my Low Carb Clam Soup. I have a recipe I have had around for many years, but it had potatoes in it, so I figured if I use cauliflower for my "potatoes", why not add it to clam soup?
So here is my recipe.

 Low Carb Clam Soup 

Not a chowder, because it isn't really thick, but it is warming and hearty anyway.

5 slices Nitrate free bacon cut into 1" pieces
1 Leek quartered and sliced
1 Onion chopped
3 Stalks celery chopped
3 c Chicken broth
2 8oz Jars of clam juice
6 1/2 oz Can chopped clams drained, reserving juice
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 head Cauliflower cut into a bit larger florets
2 c Heavy whipping cream

 In a Dutch oven, cook bacon until crispy. Add the leeks, onions, and celery. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Add chicken broth, clam juice, reserved clam juice, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the cauliflower and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add the cream and the drained clams, and adjust seasonings to your taste. Simmer on low for 10 minutes.
Serve.
Makes approximately 5-6 1 cup servings.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 387.4
Total Fat 34.7 g
Cholesterol 130.4 mg
Sodium 639.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate 9.7 g
Dietary Fiber 1.6 g
Sugars 1.0 g
Protein 10.9 g

Now this is my first recipe I have actually written, and I forgot to measure out exactly how many servings there were. Geoff and I had a large bowl (2 cups) and there was about 3 cups leftover, so it depends on how much soup you want, I guess? I never did figure out how people know these things. LOL

I served this with a wonderful biscuit recipe found here. Sugar Free Mom I didn't have fresh basil, so I used 1/2 tsp of dried basil, and I didn't have real parsley so I used dried as well. I also used 1/4 cup coconut instead of 1/3 cup because I found it was too runny. Geoff said I could make these everyday.

Beef Stroganoff Meatballs

You can find this recipe at Peace Love and Low Carb . I changed it up a little. I used coconut oil to fry instead of olive oil. I made meatballs and baked them before adding them to the sauce. I used white mushrooms, one garlic clove and the rest garlic powder, and I didn't have sherry, so I used that cherry wine I had from before. I also added about 1 tsp dill weed.
This was really good. I served it over cauliflower and had a side salad. The meatballs were nice and tender, and the sauce was so tasty. I think the dill added a nice touch. There was enough leftover for Geoff for lunch tomorrow. Always a bonus!

My "German" Meal

This was a very good supper, I must say. I say "German" because it has German overtones. It is pork in a mustard oil, turnips and cauliflower puree, and cabbage in a creamy mustard sauce. Geoff and I both loved it. I found the cabbage recipe at To Food With Love. I didn't have bacon, so I just used some leftover bacon fat to fry up the onions instead of olive oil. I also used garlic powder instead of fresh.

For the turnip and cauliflower puree, I cooked half of a large turnip until it was fork tender, steamed half a head of cauliflower until it was fork tender, then pureed it in my food processor with about 3 tbsp. of butter, a bit of nutmeg, and salt and pepper. It was creamy, and full of wonderful flavour. It has a nice combination of both vegetables without overpowering one another.
Kate, you would love this!

The pork was a pork tenderloin cleaned up, then I mixed together some coconut oil, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper, thyme and rosemary. Then I just poured it over the meat, turned it to get it all over, then baked it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I let it sit for 10 minutes then sliced it up. Next time though, I would let it bake for 40 minutes. It wasn't quite cooked enough for me.

This is the dessert we had last night. It is a peach blueberry something....buckle? I am not sure, but it is made with frozen blueberries, frozen peaches, some Splenda, some arrowroot flour, and cinnamon, with a Coconut Flour Biscuit topping. The biscuit topping can be found here: Wellness Mama.  I found that I needed to add 1/4 c of coconut flour, not 1/3, because it was a bit runny.

Ginger Beef

Well, I just had to try this recipe. Lin, it just doesn't look as good as the photo you showed us. I have to admit to being disappointed. I found the beef tough, and despite my claims, I used 3 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar instead of 2, and as I feared, it kind of overwhelmed the overall flavour. I also didn't use the tomatoes cause...that's just weird to me. :)   I changed a few things and added notes for me for next time. There will be a next time, because I feel with some tweaking, this could be a really good recipe. It was missing something...maybe a bit of sweetness, or maybe some soy sauce? Couldn't place my finger on it. If any of you try it and do some tweaking of your own, please let me know!
I served this with shiritaki spaghetti and steamed broccoli with a bit of soy sauce.

 Ginger Beef

Yields: 2 Servings

2 sirloin steaks (4oz each), cut in strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion diced
1 clove garlic crushed
2 diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar *
Salt and pepper

1. Place the oil in a large skillet and brown the steaks in it over medium-high heat.
2. When both sides are well-seared, add the onion, garlic, and tomatoes.
3. In a bowl, stir the ginger, salt and pepper into the vinegar and add that mixture to the skillet, stirring to combine.
4. Cover the skillet, turn the heat to low, and let the whole thing simmer until liquids evaporates completely.

* Use only 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, and more fresh ginger. I used about a 4" piece.
Maybe a 5-6" piece next time. I grated it on the large side of the grater, and put half with the garlic, and the other half with the sauce. I did put the ground ginger into the sauce as well.
I would also use chicken or pork instead of beef. Needs something else....not sure what. The concept is good though!

Nutritional Facts
(Per Serving)
Calories: 208
Protein: 31g
Carbohydrates: 3g
Fat: 8g

Almond Joy Pancakes

 

Now is this a way to start a Saturday morning or what? Who knew you could have chocolate in the morning? This amazing recipe was at The Lemon Bowl.  She doesn't allow me to repost the recipe, but you can go to her site to find it. It was a guest post from All Day I Dream About Food. It is an easy recipe and uses a small amount of coconut flour, and it is so very good. The recipe calls for 85-90% chocolate, but I only had 54%. Does that stop me from making this? I think not. C'mon! It's chocolate! I also made it a little chunkier, because I thought it would be fun to have chunks. :) Some bacon, and a bit of sugar-free syrup....you're golden. Kate, you will love this!

Mar 1, 2014 Update
I made these again this morning, but this time I used 72% dark chocolate (having trouble finding the really dark chocolate) and I wouldn't have believed it, but I think it was even better than the 54%! I used the first time! I am now going on a search to find the 85-90%.

French Onion Burger with Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese Casserole

I am having a bit of trouble with this meal. I think it is because of two things. 1) I overcooked the burger, so it is was kind of dry and 2) I have come to the conclusion that I do not like cream cheese in sauces. The overall concept is really good, so I will try this again with a few changes.

The "Mac" and Cheese recipe came from Food Network - Low Carb and Loving It. I also don't have permission to post their recipes, so you can just go there to see the recipe if you want. I really like the concept of this, but again, I didn't like the cream cheese in it, so I will try to find a different recipe that doesn't use cream cheese.

If I make this again, I will let you know.

I got the burger recipe from Food I Make My Soldier.  I used mozza because I didn't have gruyere. This is a unique and yummy burger. I think I will buy gruyere next time so I can try it the right way. I cooked it in the stovetop first because we don't have a grill, then I finished it in the oven to melt the cheese. Thanks Nicole!

French Onion Burgers

Yields: 5 burgers

3 lbs ground beef
1 cup beef broth
1 Tbsp thyme
dash of cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 onions, sliced thin
5 slices Gruyere cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, or heat your grill.
In a large bowl, mix together your meat, beef broth, thyme, cayenne, salt, pepper and Parmesan. Set aside.
Heat a medium pan with 1 Tbsp butter, and once melted, add the onion slices. Saute your onions until tender. This takes about 10 minutes.
Make one thin hamburger patty, and fill the middle with your sauteed onions, and top with another thin patty. Pinch the sides together so your onions don't fall out.
If you are cooking the burgers in the oven, put the cheese on top and bake on 350 for approximately 20 minutes.
If you are cooking on the grill, cook on both sides until the middle is cooked through...about 12-15 minutes total, and put the cheese on at the very end to melt.

Dinner and Dessert

Okay, get ready to roll your eyes. Chris! This was amazing. It is a low carb donair sans the pita bread.
I found this recipe at Active Low Carber. Geoff thought it was amazing.
The one thing I did a bit different was to add some mayonnaise to the sauce, because I didn't think it was quite tangy enough. I also didn't add the tomatoes, because I don't like tomatoes on my donairs.
I did not regrind the meat as I felt it would be fine the way it was. I also made 1/2 a recipe for the two of us, and it made enough for 6 1/2" slices each with enough left over for lunch tomorrow.
 It is very garlicky...or maybe it was the extra garlic powder I put in it...? At any rate, pair it with a nice salad, and it gets 2 thumbs up! Vampires beware.

Donairs

Yields: 8 servings Meat: 4 lb Ground beef 2 t Onion powder 4 t Garlic powder 2 t Oregano dried 2 t Parsley dried 2 t Ground pepper 2 t Chili powder 2 t Cayenne pepper 2 eggs Sauce: 8 oz Cream Cheese - softened 6 t Splenda (or to taste) 2 cloves Garlic - chopped 3 t Vinegar (or to taste) Toppings: 1/2 Green Pepper - chopped 1/2 Tomato - chopped 1/4 Onion - chopped

1 Regrind ground beef until you have a smooth paste. You don't have to do this but it makes for a better texture. I use my food processor. 2 Add spices and two eggs. Knead until well mixed. 3 Press mixture tightly into meat loaf pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 300° for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, checking it every half hour, and drain the fat off if necessary. 4 In the meantime combine cream cheese, chopped garlic, Splenda & vinegar to taste and mix until smooth. 5 Cut thin slices from meat and quickly fry before topping with chopped vegetables and sauce.

Now, for an amazing dessert!

Kahlua Chocolate Cream

I found this little jewel over at Deliciously Thin. I am so happy, because it is absolutely delicious and so creamy. It has a tangy taste to it, overlaid with a yummy hint of coffee. I added a spoonful of Cool Whip and the sweetness of it added a nice touch. I sprinkled a bit of cocoa over the top as well.
I found the DaVinci Kahlua Syrup at Sam's Club. I do believe that the Coffee Connection has it in Calgary. I made a half recipe for Geoff and I. Now I wish I had made the whole thing so we would have more for tomorrow! Ha ha
 I think it looked so pretty in these little dessert glasses. Geoff though he could have this every 5 hours.

Kahlua Chocolate Cream

Yields: 4 Servings 8 ounces cream cheese 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup DaVinci sugar free Kahlua syrup 2 packets of Truvia sweetener or equivalent Splenda 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
Let cream cheese soften to room temperature. Combine ingredients in large bowl and mix with a hand mixer. Divide into individual servings and chill.

Chicken in Cherry Wine Sauce

I actually don't have a picture for this, as for some reason I didn't think it would be worth it. Boy! Was I wrong! I wish I had now. But I will share the recipe with you anyway, because you simply must try this.

This is the wine I used. I bought for Christmas. Hey!
You gotta use it somewhere, right?

Chicken with Cherry Wine Sauce

3 chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 c Cherry wine
1/4 c chicken broth
1/4 c heavy cream

Clean and trim the chicken breasts. Mix the salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and sage. Sprinkle mix on each breast evenly. Heat the olive oil in an ovenproof pan. Place the chicken in the pan and brown on one side for 5 minutes or until browned. Turn and then place the pan in a 350 degree oven.
Cook for about 20-25 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. If there is too much olive oil in the pan, remove some of it with a spoon. Cook the mushrooms in the drippings, adding some salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and sage to taste (just a couple of dashes of each). When the mushrooms are almost cooked through, add the wine to the an and stir up the browned bits. Reduce the liquid by at least half. When it is reduced to your liking, add the cream and stir. You can either serve that over the chicken, or reduce it further if you want a thicker sauce.
Slice each chicken breast and serve with sauce.

Serves 3

I put the 3rd chicken breast in the fridge to make chicken salad for lunch tomorrow.
I served this with roasted brussel sprouts roasted in bacon fat, salt and pepper, and roasted cauliflower roasted in coconut oil, salt and pepper. This was amazing.



Low Carb Reduced Sugar Blueberry Cobbler

 

 

 This is the dessert we had. I was so happy with it. It is not really sweet at all, so if you like things sweeter, you may want to add a little more sweetener. Geoff and I enjoyed it the way it was, with a bit of Cool Whip. I found this recipe at Steviva Brands. I didn't use stevia, because I am still learning about sweeteners and what I can/can't should/shouldn't use.  I also used arrowroot starch instead of xanthan gum.


 Low Glycemic Carb Reduced Sugar Blueberry Cobbler

Yields: 12 Servings Filling: 4 cups blueberries fresh or frozen 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 cup Fructevia Steviva Blend or a dash of Steviva Brands Pure Stevia Powder 1 tsp xanthan gum Topping: 4 large eggs 1/2 cup coconut oil or butter melted 3 tbsp Fructevia Steviva Blend or a tiny dash of Steviva Brands Pure Stevia Powder 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup coconut flour 1/4 tsp baking powder

Combine all the filling ingredients and pour in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, blend together the eggs, oil or butter, sweetener, vanilla, and salt. Mix in coconut flour and baking powder until batter is smooth. Spread batter evenly over blueberries. Bake for 25-30 min at 400 degrees until top is browned.

Disappointed, Disillusioned and Disheartened

I have been on this low carb way of eating for 4 weeks now. I haven't lost 1 single pound! I am not expecting to lose 10 lbs every week, or even 5 lbs. But to be on it this long and lose nothing? I have to admit to feeling very disillusioned at this moment. Geoff keeps saying that it is because we are not exercising. I know we need to, and I am working on it, but even when you reduce your intake and even calories, there should be some loss! Even water. But it is disheartening when you see no results of your hard (and yes it is hard work for me) work. I know my doctor said to not lose hope and be discouraged, but that was also 2 weeks ago. Here it is another two weeks, and there is nothing.
Again, I am happy that my blood sugars are low and staying there, and that is a very good thing. But I guess I am vain enough to want to see my clothing fit looser and see some other tangible results to know I am doing a good job.

 

 

There. I have ranted once again, so I feel better. I will keep on doing what I am doing, and wait to see my nutritionist again in 4 weeks, so she can tell me what I am doing wrong...or maybe right! :)

Chicken Paprikash

This recipe was found at Simply Recipes. I haven't tried Chicken Paprikash before, and I still haven't. Ha ha I say this because I didn't have the hot paprika, so I put a bit of ground ancho chile instead. I have to find some spices that are used in the recipes I am finding that are not your common spices. It is a challenge and I find it fun to figure out where to find them, as then I get to go to different types of stores here in Knoxville to find them! :)

Chicken Paprikash

       Yield: Serves 4-6

2 to 2 1/2 pounds of chicken pieces, preferably thighs and legs (I used thin-cut chicken breasts)

Salt

2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 pounds yellow onions, (about 2-3 large onions)
Black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp sweet paprika, preferably Hungarian
1 teaspoon (or to taste), hot paprika or cayenne
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream

    Salt the chicken pieces well and let them sit at room temperature while you cut the onions. Slice the onions lengthwise (top to root).

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. When the butter is hot, pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and place them skin-side down in the pan. Let the chicken pieces cook 4-5 minutes on one side, until well browned, then turn them over and let them cook 2-3 minutes on the other side. (Take care when turning so as not to tear the skin if any is sticking to the pan.) Remove the chicken from the pan to a bowl, set aside.

Add the sliced onions to the sauté pan and cook them, stirring occasionally, scraping up the browned bits from the chicken, until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.

Add the paprika and some black pepper to the onions and stir to combine. Add the chicken broth, again scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and then nestle the chicken pieces into the pan, on top of the onions. Cover and cook on a low simmer for 20-25 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken pieces). When the chicken is cooked through (at least 165° if you use a thermometer, or if the juices run clear, not pink when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a knife) remove the pan from the heat. (If you want, you can also keep cooking the chicken until it begins to fall off the bone, which may take another 30 minutes or so.)

When the chicken is done to your taste, remove the chicken from the pan. Allow the pan to cool for a minute and then slowly stir in the sour cream and add salt to taste. If the sour cream cools the sauce too much, turn the heat back on just enough to warm it through. Add the chicken back to the pan and coat with the sauce.

Serve with dumplings, rice, egg noodles or potatoes. (If cooking gluten-free, serve with rice, potatoes or gluten-free noodles or dumplings.)

Okay, obviously I didn't use any of these starches. :) I used mashed cauliflower and peas.