Blackberry Ice Cream

I created a delicious low-carb blackberry ice cream some time ago I think you’ll love!  Our tree trimmer doing a job for us today pointed out my wild blackberries were setting fruit (which I had not yet noticed), so I think I’ll make a batch with the bag of mixed berries in my freezer. 

I would start out with 1 cup berries and taste as you go.  They vary so much in tartness/sweetness it’s difficult to know how many to add to desserts.  The taste-as-you-go approach is safest when it comes to blackberries.  My husband ate two servings with the full 2 cups of berries, but I’ll have to back off next time, most likely.  He just loved this recipe!  He’s a real ice cream connoisseur, so I consider that compliment  🙂  This recipe is naturally not suitable until the berries rung of the Atkins Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) phase of the program.  If you don’t have the blueberry or blackberry syrup, you could sub in DaVinci Vanilla or French Vanilla and just omit the vanilla extract.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. blackberries, frozen, unsweetened (Do Not Defrost!)

1¼ c. heavy cream

1/8 tsp. vanilla

4 T. sugar-free blackberry or syrup

12-16 drops liquid Splenda (or your favorite sweetener to taste)

2 tsp. food grade glycerine (optional, but keeps it a bit softer)

¼ c. powdered erythritol  (or reduce granular to a powder in processor)

DIRECTIONS:  Place erythritol in bowl of food processor.   Add all remaining ingredients and pulse until berries are broken up and mixture is fairly smooth.  Scrape out into dishes for a soft serve gelato.  Freeze for 30 minutes for a firmer ice cream.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

282 calories, 27.7 g  fat, 8.25 g  carbs, 1.9 g  fiber, 6.35 g  NET CARBS, 1.98 g protein

 

Pumpkin Coconut Ice Cream

Well, after 10 years of low-carbing, adding untold oddball ingredients to sugar-free ice cream to try to keep it soft over time to scoop, as I said pretty much in my last ice cream post, I’ve now given up on ever attaining scoopable ice cream after 24 hours in the freezer. Blogger after blogger swears they have found the answer!!  But every time I try their recipes, I’ve always ended up with the same result: a hard brick of ice cream you can’t scoop the next day.  So from now on, I either make a half recipe or we eat our serving of ice cream the day I make it and the rest gets made up as frozen ice cream bars, which are a bit more manageable when they are hard.

Anyway, this pumpkin-coconut ice cream I made up yesterday came out delicious!  I went pretty heavy on the pumpkin and spices because that’s the flavor I wanted to be the strongest.  If you love coconut more than we do, you might want to use more of the coconut cream and less of the heavy cream in yours. My hubby isn’t too fond of coconut and I’m not so crazy about it too often either.   This recipe is not suitable until you reach the Atkins “nuts and seeds” rung of the Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  Ketoers can enjoy this one and so can Primal devotees if they use alternative sweeteners that are plan-suitable.

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INGREDIENTS:

1 can (2 c.) pumpkin puree

8 oz. coconut cream

2 c. heavy cream

1 T. blackstrap molasses (or ¼ tsp. maple extract for lower carbs)

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. each nutmeg and cloves

½ c. sugar equivalent of your preferred sweetener (I used powdered erythritol)

1 pkt. stevia (I use Sweet Leaf)

DIRECTIONS:  Mix all the ingredients but sweetener in a bowl of a food processor until well blended.  Add sweetener slowly.  Taste for sweetness level and adjust as needed until just right.  Transfer the mixture to your ice cream maker and freeze per the machine’s instructions.  Serve immediately (preferably) and with the remainder, make ice cream bars if you have molds.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 10 level ½ cup servings, each contains:

227 cals, 24g fat, 7.84g carbs, 1.86g fiber, 5.98g NET CARBS (lower if you use maple extract), 1.53g  protein, 25 mg sodium

Peach Ice Cream

With just ½ pack of frozen peaches you can make low carb peach ice cream!   Peach is one of my all-time favorite ice cream flavors.  As frozen peaches don’t have the  flavor intensity of fresh peaches, when I made this I had to “punch up the flavor” a bit with almond extract, but the final ice cream came out super yummy!  It was very scoopable after being in the freezer overnight.

Remember, as ice cream freezes it expands and a little extra air is incorporated into it during the spinning/freezing.  So depending on the size of your ice-cream maker, you may have to freeze this large recipe in two batches to avoid overflow during the process, so don’t overfill your machine past the fill level recommended for your particular machine! All the unusual ingredients are used to enhance smoothness and to reduce ice crystals, keeping the ice cream from getting rock hard, often seen in low-carb ice creams, caused by artificial sweeteners being used in lieu of real sugar.  I order these special ingredients from Netrition.com.

If you don’t have an ice-cream maker and freeze in a bowl or lidded container, this recipe will only yield about 10 half-cup servings.  If you use an ice-cream maker, it will fluff up or expand to about 12 half-cup servings.  There’s about 1.5 more net carbs per serving if not done in the ice-cream machine, because of the extra incorporated air and resulting expansion that occurs in the machine.

Because this is made with so much heavy cream, it is not suitable until you are in OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss phase).

NOTE:  It did get a little harder on day 3, so you might want to only make half a recipe so it will likely be consumed in 1-2 days max.

INGREDIENTS:   

1/3 c. powdered erythritol

1/3 c. granular Splenda

3½ c. heavy cream

½ c. water

8 egg yolks

1 c. frozen or fresh peach slices, chopped fine or pureed

2½ tsp. almond extract

Few drops vanilla

1 tsp. food grade glycerine (I order at Netrition.com)

3 pkts. stevia (I use SweetLeaf)

Sprinkle of salt

1 T. polydextrose (or 2 tsp. more glycerine)

Optional, a couple drops red and yellow food coloring to render the peach color.

DIRECTIONS:  Process the erythritol and Splenda in a food processor or blender until very fine, almost powder.  Add stevia, polydextrose and salt.   Pulse a couple times to blend.

Now mix the cream and water in a large saucepan and scald (little bubbles around the edges only) over medium heat but remove before it comes to a full boil.  Set aside.

Now add egg yolks and peaches to the dry ingredients in the processor and pulse to whip it all together.  Add a little of the scalded cream to the processor and pulse.  Do this 2-3 times to raise the temperature of the egg slowly.  Now add remaining cream and process a few seconds to blend the mixture well.  Return the entire mixture to the saucepan and over medium heat, stirring constantly, heat for 3-4 minutes just to fully cook the egg.  DO NOT ALLOW IT TO COME TO RAPID BOIL.  Stir in the glycerine.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator (or freezer if not using an ice-cream maker) until very cold.  Transfer to ice cream maker (may require two batches of freezing in your machine) and follow your regular machine instructions to freeze.   Transfer to your lidded storage container and serve when it has reached desired firmness or serve at once if soft-serve is what you wish.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about twelve ½ c. (2 small scoops) servings if done in ice cream maker.  Each will contain:

301 cals, 29g fat, 8.88g carbs, 1.18g fiber, 7.7g NET CARBS, 3.35g protein, 46 mg sodium

Black Walnut Ice Cream

This was my Dad’s favorite flavor of ice cream.  We lived in Illinois when I was a wee lass and he would, without fail, order this at our nearby ice-cream parlor.  Eventually he began to concoct it at home and the rest was history.   Black walnuts are a bit pricey unless you have a tree in your yard (Daddy did).  But the distinctive flavor for some uses is worth the price in my opinion.  I store them in my freezer so they do not go rancid.  As I rarely use them, a bag will last me a year.  I can’t believe I didn’t care for black walnuts when I was a child, but I have learned to appreciate this black walnut treat.  Now, black walnut ice cream, too, is my favorite flavor!  The hint of maple flavoring is the key.  I plan to try it with Kahlua next time to see how that comes out. 🙂  This recipe is not suitable until you reach the nuts & seeds level of Phase 2 Atkins.  With a plan suitable ice cream, it should be fine for Keto and Primal followers who indulge in the occasional dairy (might want to use real maple syrup over the extract though).  This dessert is not suitable for Paleo as I just don’t think coconut mile would be good in this.

Many delicious low-carb recipes like this can be at your fingertips with your very own cookbooks from LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS, by Jennifer Eloff and low-carb friends (me included).  Chef George Stella also brings you a wealth of delicious recipes you will love!  Order yours TODAY! from Amazon  or our direct order site: amongfriends.us/order.php.

INGREDIENTS: 

1 recipe my Basic Vanilla Ice Cream

1 tsp. maple extract + 1 tsp. tap water (or sugar-free maple syrup)

¼ c. black walnuts, chopped (I order at nuts.com)

DIRECTIONS:  Make a batch of the low-carb vanilla ice cream (link above) by that recipe’s instructions, up to filling the molds.  Instead, scrape the ice cream into a medium bowl or loaf pan and freeze until firm but not rock hard.  Scoop out into your serving dish.  Drizzle the maple extract/water mixture on top and sprinkle the nuts on last.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  This recipe makes 1 serving (2 small scoops).  Note: The ice cream recipe makes 10 servings, so you’ll have more ice cream for other diners or future uses)

One serving:  350 calories, 34.4 g fat, 4.7 g carbs, 2.3 g fiber (deductible only if you use Fiberfit sweetener), 2.4 g NET CARBS, 8.6 g protein.

Pumpkin Coconut Ice Cream

Well, after five years of low-carbing, adding untold oddball ingredients to sugar-free ice cream to try to keep it soft over time to scoop, as I said pretty much in my last ice cream post, I’ve now given up on ever attaining scoopable ice cream after 24 hours in the freezer. Blogger after blogger swears they have found the answer!!  But every time I try their recipes, I’ve always ended up with the same result: a hard brick of ice cream you can’t scoop the next day.  So from now on, I either make a half recipe or we eat our serving of ice cream the day I make it and the rest gets made up as frozen ice cream bars, which are a bit more manageable when they are hard.

Anyway, this pumpkin-coconut ice cream I made up yesterday came out delicious!  I went pretty heavy on the pumpkin and spices because that’s the flavor I wanted to be the strongest.  If you love coconut more than we do, you might want to use more of the coconut cream and less of the heavy cream in yours. My hubby isn’t too fond of coconut and I’m not so crazy about it too often either.   This recipe is not suitable until you reach the Atkins “nuts and seeds” rung of the Phase 2 OWL carb ladder.  Ketoers can enjoy this one and so can Primal devotees if they use alternative sweeteners that are plan-suitable.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection

INGREDIENTS:

1 can (2 c.) pumpkin puree

8 oz. coconut cream

2 c. heavy cream

1 T. blackstrap molasses (or ¼ tsp. maple extract for lower carbs)

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. each nutmeg and cloves

½ c. erythritol

2 pkts. stevia (I used Sweet Additions)

DIRECTIONS:  Mix all the ingredients in a bowl or a food processor until well blended.  Transfer the mixture to your ice cream maker and freeze per the machine’s instructions.  Serve immediately (preferably) and with the remainder, make ice cream bars if you have molds, or freeze all of it in a suitable plastic container.  I like to use flexible plastic or silicone for this so that when it freezes hard, I can twist the pan a little and loosen the “solid brick” and cut it into squares or slices to thaw slightly and serve.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 10 level ½ cup servings, each contains:

227 calories

24.2 g  fat

7.84 g  carbs, 1.86 g fiber, 5.98 g  NET CARBS  (lower if you use maple extract)

1.53 g  protein

25 mg sodium

167 mg potassium

82% RDA Vitamin A, 10% iron

Cheesecake Bites

Click to enlarge

These 2-bite mini cheesecakes treats are to be both stored in as well as eaten directly from the freezer, no thawing, as they melt quickly.  They’re so good, you just pop them into your mouth for a cooling, tasty summer treat.  As you might quickly realize, an equivalent amount of other berries (or peaches, nectarines or pineapple if you can afford the carbs)  can be used in this recipe.  These treats are only suitable for Atkins Induction if you use berries.  Other fruits will require you wait until you are near or at Atkins Maintenance.  It goes without saying that making your vanilla pudding from scratch is clearly the healthier choice.  I can recommend this recipe: (please omit the water in her recipe for this use): http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/vanilla_pudding.html .  However today I wanted to use up a box of sugar-free pudding mix I found buried way at the back of my pantry so I  tossed the pudding powder into my mixture instead.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe pudding made by this recipe: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/vanilla_pudding.html (omit water) or 1 pkg. vanilla sugar-free pudding powder

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. heavy cream

6 oz. fresh strawberries (about 7 large berries)

DIRECTIONS:  Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and pulse until well pureed.  Spoon into silicone candy molds level to the top.  Press down with your spoon to try to prevent air bubbles.  Set pans onto metal sheet pans and place in freezer for at least 1 hour.  Pop them out from the bottom and enjoy right from the freezer.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 27  1″x½” bite-sized cheesecakes.  Each one contains:

43 calories

3.94 g  fat

1.7 g  carbs, .14 g  fiber, .56 g  NET CARBS

.5 g  protein

64 mg sodium

20 mg potassium

<5% RDA all other macro-nutrients

Blueberry Fat Bombs

If you’re looking to up your fat intake on a ketogenic diet, I can’t think of a tastier way to do that than Fat Bomb candies!  I keep my lemon-coconut version and this recipe chocolate version  in the freezer at all times, but do get tired of just the two flavors all the time.  Today I decided to try a blueberry version!  Made them two different ways: with whole berries; and with pureed berries. Not sure which is my fav, but I think the pureed version makes for nicer eye candy.  🙂

I just bought a large carton of blueberries this week and modified my lemon-coconut fat bomb recipe, making the obvious changes for this fruit.   These came out delicious!  I confess the pureed version was a little grainy, but blueberries don’t get all their lovely fiber count from nowhere, ya know.  But the taste was delightful.  As with all fat bombs, you have to eat them straight out of the freezer, as they melt quickly in your hands.  These are suitable for Atkins Phase 2, OWL once you get to the berries level of the carb ladder.  They are OK for Primal, but not Paleo.  Below is a pic of the silicone ice-cube trays I used.  Of course, you can use other silicone molds or even make these in a small, shallow pan and cut into squares, twisting the pan slightly to pop out the frozen squares.  Plastic ice-cube trays work nicely, too.

Note:  Coconut cream is NOT the same thing as the cream of coconut bartenders use, which has a lot of added sugar.  What I use is pure coconut cream.  I used to order by the case on-line, but now I can get it at my local Natural Grocers.  This is what I use: http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A16310101%2Ck%3Acoconut%20cream .  I suspect Wholel Foods and Trader Joes carries it.  Tropical Traditions has it also.  If you chill a can of coconut milk overnight, coconut cream is the thick stuff that rises to the top.  Spoon that off and you have coconut cream.  🙂

Many more delicious low-carb treats can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ latest cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a myriad of delicious recipes you are going to want in your collection.  Order your set of cookbooks (also available individually) TODAY from Amazon or here:  http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER:  I do not get paid for this book promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

Silicone ice cube tray I used (2)

INGREDIENTS: 

1 scant cup blueberries (about 9/10 cup)

1 stick butter (4 oz)

3/4 c. coconut oil

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. coconut cream

Preferred Sweetener to taste

DIRECTIONS:  You can put these together in either of two ways: using whole berries; or pureeing the ingredients.  The latter more uniformly diffuses the blueberries.  I like them both ways equally.

Place silicone candy molds onto a baking pan for support and set them near your work area.  I used honeycomb silicone ice-cube trays to make the ones shown above.  The recipe made 24 fat bombs for me that are about 1″x 1″.  If your molds have smaller, shallower slots, you will undoubtedly get more than I did.

Pureed Version:  Place berries, coconut cream and softened cream cheese in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and coconut oil.  Cool slightly for 5 minutes and add to the food processor.  Puree again until smooth.  Add your sweetener of choice.  Add sweetener slowly, tasting and adjusting to suit your preference level.  I like to transfer the mixture to a spouted measuring cup or pitcher and gently pour the mixture into the molds not quite to the top.  Place pan on level surface in your freezer and freeze about an hour.  Pop them out and enjoy or freeze in plastic bags.

Whole Berry Version:  Place 3-4 blueberries into each mold slot.  In a saucepan, melt the butter and coconut oil over low heat.  Remove from heat and slightly cool for 5 minutes or so.  Add all remaining ingredients and whip well with a whisk or stick blender if you have one.  The cream cheese will separate a bit, but not to worry, as it will taste just fine in the final treats.    Add sweetener slowly, taste and adjust to your sweetness preference. Transfer the mixture to a spouted pitcher or spouted measuring cup for easy pouring into the molds.  Fill each slot not quite full. Place in freezer on level surface for about 1 hour.  Pop them out and enjoy or freeze in plastic  bags.

Whole Berry Version

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Number of servings will vary, depending on size of molds.

1/24 batch:  116 cals., 13g  fat, .44g  protein, 1.02g  carbs, .18g  fiber, .84g NET CARBS

Entire recipe:  2788 calories, 311 g fat, 24.5 g  carbs, 4.3 g  fiber, 20.2 g  NET CARBS

Lemon-Coconut Fat Bombs!

Click to enlarge my over-sized ones)

This recipe was inspired by a Lemon Fat Bomb recipe posted by Widget over on LowCarbFriends forums:  http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/lowcarb-recipe-help-suggestions/795430-lemon-fat-bomb.html. I subbed in coconut cream for the sour cream; subbed in lemon zest for the extract.  I added coconut, and also increased lemon juice quite a bit, as I wanted them pretty tart!  These have a WONDERFUL punch of lemon and a subtle flavor of coconut.  They are a delightful sweet treat for any low-carber!  My thanks to Widget for this idea!  These will make my regular dessert recipe rotations.  Not acceptable however until the nuts and seeds rung of the Atkins OWL carb ladder.  I had to use a larger than usual mold to make these and it only made 12 (my smaller candy mold was in the freezer with a chocolate version not yet set).   I will not make these “candies” this large in future.  I’m cutting the big ones in half actually. So I have worked up the nutritional information for 24 pieces of “candy” as that size makes much more sense to me for candy.  I see a lime-coconut version next time…..or cherry, or rum-raisin, or lime, or……………….! 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter

3/4 c. coconut oil

1 oz. unsweetened, shredded coconut

zest of 2 small lemons

juice of 2 small lemons

4 oz. cream cheese

¼ c. coconut cream (kind with no added sugar)

sweetener of your choice  to taste

DIRECTIONS:   Soften cream cheese however you prefer to do that.  Set aside.  Melt butter and coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add zest and lemon juice and stir.  Add coconut.  Add coconut cream and finally, the soft cream cheese.  Whip all ingredients with a whisk until as smooth as you can get it.  Don’t worry if the cream cheese appears to separate, as that will not be noticed in the final frozen candies.  Slowly add your sweetener tasting as you do so until you get it as sweet as you like such things.  Remember if you use sweeteners with carbs, you must add those to the numbers below.  Using a 2 T. measuring cup or spoon, dip mixture evenly into 24 candy mold slots (if using silicon molds, set them on a metal pan so the liquid will not spill when lifted) or into paper or foil liners designed for making candy.  Transfer to the freezer for 30 or more minutes, seeing that the mold is level in the freezer.    Pop them out when set and ENJOY right from the freezer!  Store the leftover candies in a plastic bag in your freezer until ready to eat.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 24 small candies about 1½” x 1½”, each one will have:

122 calories

13.7 g  fat

.91 g  carbs, .29 g  fiber, .62 g NET CARBS

.5 g  protein

15.3 mg sodium

 

(For those interested, entire recipe contains 2929 calories, 329 g  fat, 21.8 g  carbs, 6.9 g  fiber, 14.9 g  net carbs, 12 g protein)

Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream

Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream

This ice cream is delicious, but sadly, like all low-carb ice cream made with artificial sweeteners, it gets hard in the freezer over time.  I’ve decided that making scoopable ice cream with artificial sweeteners that remains scoopable truly is “rocket science”.  😦  Some say more xanthan gum, or glycerine; some say gelatin, or alcohol.  Some cook an egg custard first, some use condensed milk  (which I detest), and some use polydextrose.  But sadly, I’ve not found any combination of these ingredients that solves the “hardness” issues after 24 hours in the freezer.  So my approach now is to make small batches that 2 can eat the day it is made.  THAT method seems to be the only one that works for me. :).  

For this recipe, I added just the fruit, a wee bit of xanthan gum and some Triple Sec (an orange flavored liqueur used in Margaritas). But it could have been rum, bourbon, amaretto, or any alcohol you like.  Alcohol is known to retard freezing, so I figured it was worth a try, at least.  But sadly, this ice cream got hard after 5 hours in the freezer, too.

This ice cream has a delightful flavor!  I love pineapple and coconut together!!  I could barely taste the Triple Sec though, so I may use more, or rum next time.  This recipe is not suitable for Induction and isn’t appropriate until the higher carb fruits rung of the Owl carb re-introduction ladder.  Folks who have reached the OWL phase can omit the pineapple and just make coconut ice cream.

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz. unsweetened coconut cream (I use Wilderness Family Naturals)

8 oz. (1 c.) heavy cream

½ c. unsweetened coconut

½ c. crushed pineapple, (water pack) drained

½ tsp. pineapple extract (or 1 T. DaVinci sugar-free syrup)

½ tsp. coconut extract (optional)

1 T. vanilla DaVinci or Torani sugar-free syrup (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract)

2 pkts. Sweet Leaf stevia (1 tsp.)

2 T. Triple Sec liqueur (or rum)

1/8 tsp. xanthan gum

DIRECTIONS:  Place coconut, pineapple, stevia and xanthan gum in the bowl of a food processor (or use a bowl and mixer).  Pulse a couple times to blend. Add all other ingredients BUT the heavy cream.  Pulse a few times to mix everything well.  Add the heavy cream and pulse 1-2 times.  Scrape all of the ice cream mixture into a pitcher with a spout.  I find that is the easiest way to pour it into my ice cream maker.    Get your ice cream maker all ready, turn it on and slowly pour your ice cream mixture in the opening and freeze according to your maker’s instructions for fruited ice cream.  Mine took exactly 20  minutes in my Cuisinart machine.  This can either be served immediately for a soft-serve ice cream or scrape the ice cream into a lidded plastic freezer container to freeze a couple hours before scooping it up.  And then ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about ten ½ c. servings, each contains:

203 cals, 23.9g fat, 5.99g carbs, 1.29g fiber, 4.7g NET CARBS, 0.7g protein, 18 mg sodium

Mango Ice Cream Bars

Click to enlarge

Ever since I tasted the mango sorbet at Maggie Moo’s I’ve been wanting to try my hand at a mango frozen dessert.  Mangos were on sale at the store today, so I bought 4 in hopes of trying this out.  Tonight’s experiment came out real tasty, though not quite as good as the sorbet at Maggie Moo’s, I confess.   Not as creamy and smooth, but just as tasty, I think.  🙂  I found some mango extract at my local Indian grocery not long ago and added 1/2 tsp. to the mix as well.  Not sure it’s essential, but it sure was good in these bars.  Mangoes are not suitable until the higher fruits rung of the Atkins foods ladder, during pre-maintenance.  These only have 81 calories apiece, but are fairly high in carbs because of the mangoes themselves, accounting for 2/3 of the calories and carbs in these.  But they are a nice occasional treat when you get to the higher fruit rung of the ladder.  For those focusing on lower calories like me these days, to get my last 20# off, these will work nicely!  Only 81 calories!!

INGREDIENTS:

4 mangoes, peeled, seeded and pureed

1 c. heavy cream

1 c. 2% milk (or almond milk if you prefer)

12 drops EzSweets (small bottle) sucralose (or ½ c. sugar equivalent of your choice)

½ tsp. mango extract (optional)

2 T. glycerine

1/4 tsp. xanthan gum

DIRECTIONS:  Peel mangoes.  Cut flesh away from the large flat seed and place the flesh into a blender or food processor.  Process until fairly smooth.  Scrape into an ice cream maker, add cream, milk and sweetener and turn on ice cream maker and turn just until half frozen.  Using a spoon, scoop the semi-firm ice cream into popsicle molds and freeze for several hours until well set.  You’ll likely have to run warm water over the mold to loosen the bar so you can slide it out.  ENJOY!!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 bars, each contains:

81 calories

2.88 g  fat

13.54 g  carbs, 1.24 g  fiber, 12.30 g  NET CARBS

1.62 g  protein

Peach Ice Cream

Peach Ice Cream

With just ½ pack of frozen peaches in my freezer you can make low carb peach ice cream!   Peach is one of my all-time favorite ice cream flavors.  As frozen peaches don’t have the  flavor intensity of fresh peaches, I had to “punch up the flavor” a bit with almond extract, but the final ice cream came out super yummy!  It was very scoopable after being in the freezer overnight.  I’ll have to report back on how hard it got after another 24 hours in the freezer.   Remember, as ice cream freezes it expands and a little extra air is incorporated into it during the spinning/freezing.  So depending on the size of your ice-cream maker, you may have to freeze this large recipe in two batches to avoid overflow during the process, so don’t overfill your machine past the fill level recommended for your particular machine! All the unusual ingredients are used to enhance smoothness and to reduce ice crystals, keeping the ice cream from getting rock hard, often seen in low-carb ice creams, caused by artificial sweeteners being used in lieu of real sugar.  I order these special ingredients from Netrition.com.

If you don’t have an ice-cream maker and freeze in a bowl or lidded container, this recipe will only yield about 10 half-cup servings.  If you use an ice-cream maker, it will fluff up or expand to about 12 half-cup servings.  There’s about 1.5 more net carbs per serving if not done in the ice-cream machine, because of the extra incorporated air and resulting expansion that occurs in the machine.

Because this is made with so much heavy cream, it is not suitable until you are in OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss phase).

NOTE:  It did get a little harder on day 3, so you might want to only make half a recipe so it will likely be consumed in 1-2 days max.

More delicious low-carb recipes can be at your fingertips with your very own set of Jennifer Eloff and friends’ best-selling cookbooks LOW CARBING AMONG FRIENDS.  She has collaborated with famous low-carb Chef George Stella and several other talented chefs to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Even a few of my recipes are in her cookbooks! Order your 5-volume set TODAY! (available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I do not get paid for this book promotion or for the inclusion of my recipes therein.  I do so merely because they are GREAT cookbooks any low-carb cook would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:   

1/3 c. powdered erythritol

1/3 c. granular Splenda

3½ c. heavy cream

½ c. water

8 egg yolks

1 c. frozen or fresh peach slices, chopped fine or pureed

2½ tsp. almond extract

Few drops vanilla

1 tsp. food grade glycerine (I order at Netrition.com)

3 pkts. stevia (I use SweetLeaf)

Sprinkle of salt

1 T. polydextrose (or 2 tsp. more glycerine)

Optional, a couple drops red and yellow food coloring to render the peach color.

DIRECTIONS:  Process the erythritol and Splenda in a food processor or blender until very fine, almost powder.  Add stevia, polydextrose and salt.   Pulse a couple times to blend.

Now mix the cream and water in a large saucepan and scald (little bubbles around the edges only) over medium heat but remove before it comes to a full boil.  Set aside.

Now add egg yolks and peaches to the dry ingredients in the processor and pulse to whip it all together.  Add a little of the scalded cream to the processor and pulse.  Do this 2-3 times to raise the temperature of the egg slowly.  Now add remaining cream and process a few seconds to blend the mixture well.  Return the entire mixture to the saucepan and over medium heat, stirring constantly, heat for 3-4 minutes just to fully cook the egg.  DO NOT ALLOW IT TO COME TO RAPID BOIL.  Stir in the glycerine.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator (or freezer if not using an ice-cream maker) until very cold.  Transfer to ice cream maker (may require two batches of freezing in your machine) and follow your regular machine instructions to freeze.   Transfer to your lidded storage container and serve when it has reached desired firmness or serve at once if soft-serve is what you wish.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes about twelve ½ c. (2 small scoops) servings if done in ice cream maker.  Each will contain:

301 calories, 29 g  fat, 8.88 g  carbs, 1.18 g  fiber, 7.7 NET CARBS, 3.35 g  protein, 46 mg sodium

 

Pistachio Ice Cream Bar

Click to enlarge

This particular ice cream recipe is not acceptable until OWL because of the milk in the sugar-free pudding.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe Basic Vanilla Ice Cream, but omit sweetener:  https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/vanilla-ice-cream/

1 package pistachio pudding powder (sugar free)

DIRECTIONS:

Using a whisk or hand mixer, blend pudding powder into cream and water.  When well blended, pour into ice cream maker and freeze just until pourable.  Fill popsicle molds and freeze.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 10 ice cream bars.  Each contains:

168 calories

17.6 g  fat

2.5 g  carbs

.5 g  fiber

2.0 g  NET CARBS

1.8 g  protein

44 mg sodium

Basic Vanilla Ice Cream

Strawberry variation shown

A delicious vanilla treat, to which you can add all sorts of goodies:  chopped nuts, a chocolate shell, strawberries (shown).  Strawberries are not suitable for Atkins Induction, so if still in Phase 1, make the basic vanilla version provided below and use extracts only to flavor your ice cream bars.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. heavy cream
1 c. water
3 tsp. Fiberfit sweetener with fiber
2 pkt. Stevia extract
1 capful vanilla sugar-free syrup (or ¼ tsp. vanilla extract)

VARIATIONS:  Freeze in a bowl or ice tray and scoop out with an ice-cream scooper.  Add  your favorite toppings or flavoring extracts.  Possibilities:  chopped nuts, black walnuts+ maple extract, sugar-free syrups, Kahlua, Amaretto, Galliano, Framboise, Creme de Menthe, chopped peanuts and chocolate sauce or “shell”, blueberries, strawberries, chopped peaces and pecans.  The sky is the limit, but stick to whatever is allowed at the phase of your diet plan you are at and that is acceptable for that phase. 🙂

DIRECTIONS:  Mix all ingredients in a bowl or pourable measuring cup. Turn on ice cream maker and slowly pour into the machine. Freeze in an ice cream machine just until no longer liquid and still pourable.  Add any pureed fruits or flavorings the ice cream.  If using fruit, be sure to ADD IT TO NUTRITIONAL INFO shown below. Pour into 10 popsicle molds (or glass loaf pan) and freeze 10-20 minutes longer.  If using loaf pan, when partially frozen, make light score marks on top to denote 10 equal servings and slice with knife to serve exactly that portion.  It’s even better and richer, if you use 1/2 c.  “half and half” +1/2 c. water instead of 1 c. water.  Even better with 1 c. half and half instead of the water.  But adjust numbers below if you make these changes.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Serves 10 (varies with mold size) each bar contains:

165 calories
17.6 g fat
1.83 g carbs
.4 g fiber (Deduct ONLY if using Fiberfit. No fiber in other sweeteners)
.98 g protein
1.43 g Net Carbs