Banana-Peanut Butter “Twinkies®”

One of my Mom’s regular afternoon snacks to offer us when I was growing up was half a banana sandwich with a smear of peanut butter dotted on the bananas.  If there were animal crackers in the house, she’d place a slice of banana on top of one of those with a dot of PB on top.  Well, I took those memories to a new little creation…….a banana-PB  muffin of sorts.   These were tasty beyond words. 

My Twinkies® are a little carb-y, so obviously not for daily consumption, but a tasty treat once in awhile.  🙂  These are not suitable until you have reached the higher-carb fruits level of the Atkins carb reintroduction ladder and are nearer to maintenance.  These are too high carb for most Keto followers, but those at goal weight might indulge occasionally.  Totally not suitable for Primal-Paleo followers.

VARIATION:  If you don’t have a Twinkie® pan, just make as muffins.  They’ll be just as good.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe my Banana Muffin batter

1 ripe banana, mashed

2 T. natural peanut butter (I use Laura Scudder)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly grease a non-stick Twinkie® pan (or use a regular muffin pan if you don’t have a Twinkie® pan).  Make the recipe of banana muffin batter in a medium bowl.  Stir until smooth.  Spoon into the 12 slots of the pan equally (will be quite full as they don’t rise much).  Bake at 350º for about 22-25 minutes.  I’m still learning to use a new oven in a new house so these came out a little browner than I like, but the oven performed pretty well for me.  Remove when firm to the touch and cool off.  Slice in half and set aside.  Stir the mashed whole banana and peanut butter together until well-blended.  Makes 3/4 c. filling or exactly 12 tablespoons.  Fill each “Twinkie”® with 1 T. of the filling, spreading somewhat evenly.  You can, if you prefer, just “frost” the tops of the Twinkies® with the filling, if you find this easier.  🙂  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 Twinkies®, each contains:

244.7 calories, 19.76 g  fat, 13.15 g  carbs, 4.29 g  fiber, 8.86 g  NET CARBS, 6.83 g  protein

“Apple Pie” Pastries

These tasty apple pastries can be put together in around 30 minutes!  Of course, if you use a low-carb homemade pastry dough in lieu of the commercial low-carb tortillas, it will take longer, but the carb count will be pulled lower. If you want dessert fast, the ready-made low-carb tortillas are nice to keep around for such occasions.  And I just recently learned about the small 4″ ZERO net carb tortillas Mission is making.  The fiber zero’s out the carbs and they would be perfect for this little dessert!  I bought some at Netrition recently and can’t wait to try them for this tasty treat!  When I do, I’ll post and recalculate the stats below, posting on this recipe.  You could also make these with fresh sliced peaches or nectarines.  These are very good on day two, so you can make a lot.  I would not recommend freezing this dessert treat.  

This recipe is not suitable until you are closer to Atkins Maintenance or are already to your  goal weight.  the tortillas have real flour and grains are the very last food you are allowed to add back after Induction.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Mission Carb Balance whole-wheat tortillas, cut in halves

6 oz. peeled calaba squash or Mexican zucchini pictured above (or peeled green zucchini)

5 oz. peeled apple, sliced 3/8″

3 T. unsalted butter, melted

½-3/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 T. granular Splenda (or equivalent sweetener of choice)

Optional: 1 T. more melted butter + mixture of 1 tsp. erythritol and a dash of cinnamon to sprinkle on top.

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Slice the zucchini 3/8″ thick.  Melt 3 T. butter and sauté zucchini squash and apple slices until nearly tender.  Stir in sweetener and ground cinnamon and remove from heat.  Cut tortillas in half.  On parchment or a silicone lined baking sheet, form cones with each tortilla half and place seam side down on the pan.  Fill with 1/6 the filling with a small spoon.  Melt remaining 1 T. butter.  Brush each pastry with the butter.  Mix on a paper towel the erythritol and cinnamon.  Spoon 1/6th of it over the top of each pastry.  Pop pan into oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until just lightly browned.  Remove from oven and serve hot.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 apple pastries, each contains:

127 cals, 8.73g fat, 10.98g carbs, 5.06g fiber, 5.92g NET CARBS, 1.83 g protein, 112 mg sodium

Jicama Cinnamon Chips

My husband went to the grocery store today and came home with a jicama.  This is one of my favorite ways to have jicama.  I love these for an easy dessert, for breakfast or for a late night snack.  They are very filling and taste a lot like baked apples!  These things satisfied my sweet tooth during Atkins Induction Phase when I craved something sweet.  This recipe is suitable for Keto, Paleo and Primal diets.

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. jicama, peeled & sliced less than ¼” thick

2 T. melted butter

4-5 drops liquid stevia or liquid Splenda (or your preferred sweetener)

½ tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In sheet pan, melt butter.  Stir in cinnamon and liquid Splenda.  Slice jicama about 1/8″ thick (1/4″ if you like them crunchier) and place each slice into butter/cinnamon mixture.  Turn over so both sides are coated well.  Bake at 350º for about 20 minutes until begin to soften.  Serve warm!

VARIATION:   I have made this in a skillet using peeled chayote squash and a bit more butter.  Then I pop the skillet into the oven to finish off.  But I didn’t invent that wheel.  You can find that recipe over on Linda Genaw’s website:  http://genaw.com/lowcarb/fried_apples.html.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 1 person.  Entire recipe contains:

239 cals, 23.1g fat, 8.4g carbs, 4.8g fiber, 3.6g NET CARBS, 0.9g protein, 6.8 mg. sodium

 

Apricot Trail Mix

I absolutely LOVE trail mix.  And such a healthy snack!  It has the added bonus of being very transportable, for hiking, biking, camping, or taking to the office in a little baggie.  This apricot-coconut mix was a Christmas favorite of a relative.  She always brought some to the holiday gatherings.  The pumpkin seeds are my addition to her recipe.  The stuff is so good I have to dip my ½ cup portion out and put the bag away, or I’ll just keep eating and eating it.  Wrapped prettily with a ribbon, this makes a lovely gift when going to parties or for the holidays.  Just place in a pretty clear glass container and affix a pretty bow on top!  This very nutritious dessert/snack is not suitable until the highest fruit rung of the Atkins OWL carb re-introduction ladder (pre-maintenance or maintenance).  This recipe is suitable for Paleo-Primal eaters.

VARIATION:  Substitute pieces of dried prunes (Delmonte has no added sugar) for the dried apricots. I also have a Cranberry Trail Mix recipe you might like.

INGREDIENTS:

5 oz. pumpkin seeds, hulled, roasted (unsalted)

5 oz. sunflower seeds, hulled, roasted (unsalted)

2 oz. walnuts (about 28 halves), coarsely chopped/broken up

6 oz. fresh coconut meat, slivered thinly

4 oz. sliced almonds

6 oz. dried apricots, no sugar added (I buy them at Sam’s)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 200º and spread thinly sliced coconut onto a sheet pan. Dry for about 1½-2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven before coconut begins to brown and cool.  You don’t really want to toast it for this recipe, just dry it out a bit.  In a large mixing bowl, toss all ingredients together.  Using kitchen shears, cut apricots into small pieces and add to the bowl.  Stir to mix well.  Store in a zipper plastic bag in your pantry.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 6 cups or twelve ½ cup servings.  Each ½ cup serving contains:

301.6 cals, 23.5g fat, 18g carbs, 5.3g fiber, 12.7g NET CARBS, 9.8g protein, 53.6 mg sodium

Cranberry-Orange Ladyfingers

You are going to LOVE these!  They just get better and better each day that goes by.  They’re even gluten-free, if you leave out the oat fiber.  🙂  Hubby really liked these and he’s not really a fruit and nut man.  If you don’t have a Twinkie® baking pan, just make 12 small muffins, or bake in a round cake pan for cutting in wedges.  These are not suitable for Atkins Induction on several levels.  They are suitable for Phase 2 and above and Keto diets as well.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. flax meal (I use 50:50 gold and dark)

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free version)

1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

3 T. softened cream cheese

2 beaten large eggs

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

2 T. fresh squeezed orange juice

1 T. warm tap water

1 tsp. yeast + 1 tsp. sugar dissolved in the warm water above (or 1 tsp. baking powder)

½ c. cranberries (homemade, dried, sugar-free)

½ c. slivered almonds

1 oz. orange peel

VARIATION:   Add a few chopped pecans.

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly oil a non-stick pan of your choice (discussed above) and set aside.

Measure out the first 6 (dry) ingredients into a medium mixing bowl.  In a separate small glass bowl, soften the cream cheese either at room temp or in your microwave on defrost.  Dissolve the yeast in the tablespoon of warm water in a saucer and add to the cream cheese.  Stir. Beat in the eggs well. Add the cider vinegar and cream.  Add the creamy mixture to the dry ingredients bowl and stir.

Trim off 1 oz. of orange peel from an orange.  You want to get as little white, bitter membrane as possible.  Cut into approximately 1″ pieces.  Place in food processor or blender.  Add cranberries and nuts to the bowl and pulse it all together about 10 times or so, to a coarse chop.   Add the fruit/nut mixture to the batter.  Stir. Finally squeeze/measure out the orange juice. Stir well one last time to incorporate all to achieve a uniform distribution of the fruit/nuts.

Dip into/onto your chosen pan, distributing the batter evenly into 12 muffin cups, 12 Twinkie® slots or a greased round cake pan.  Pop into 350º oven and bake for  20 minutes until lightly browned.  Allow to cool a bit before lifting with the assistance of a knife tip.  If making a round or loaf bread, bake around 35 minutes or until the center passes a dry toothpick test.  As with all low-carb baked goods, store in a bag in the refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 ladyfingers (or whatever shape you make), so 1/12 of the batch (1 portion) contains:

160 cals, 12.64g fat, 6.53g carbs, 2.71g fiber, 3.82g NET CARBS, 8.3 g protein, 266 mg sodium

Einkorn Blueberry Crumble

When I don’t feel like the fuss of rolling out pastry but want fruit cobbler, I turn to fruit crumbles/crisps instead.  They just go together so much faster and are just about as good in my opinion.

For this crumble, I decided to open my first package of Swerve® sweetener and I was at a loss there.  It didn’t have any funny aftertaste sampled on my finger, nor in the final crumble dish that I could detect.  It is worthy of further experimenting in my opinion.  Just followed the info on the back of the packaging and it came out pretty close to my taste preference.  But honestly, it wasn’t quite sweet enough with 2 Tbsp. and I have therefore adjusted the recipe below for my future blueberry crumbles.   The final dessert came out quite tasty.

Blueberries are a little higher in carbs, so if you are still in the Induction phase of Atkins, use strawberries or raspberries instead for this recipe. To lower carbs further, omit the Einkorn flour totally and add in 2 more tablespoons of oat fiber or oat flour.  Be sure to recalculate when changing up ingredients however.  This recipe is not suitable until you have reached the nuts and berries level of Phase 2 Atkins.  It’s a little high carb for Keto diets.  This is not suitable for Primal-Paleo plans.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. fresh blueberries

3/4 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix (or other low-carb mix)

2 T. Einkorn flour

3 T. Swerve® sweetener (or equivalent sweetener to equal 3 T. sugar)

2 T. oat fiber

1 large egg

3 T. butter

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Rub butter lightly on a 6″ square baking dish and set dish aside.  Put rest of the butter in a medium bowl.  Add all the dry ingredients on top of the butter.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add the egg on top, beat it with a fork and slowly work it into a dough with the dry ingredients.  Using a fork or your fingers, crumble the dough evenly on top of the fruit.  Pop into preheated 350º oven and bake for about 20-23 minutes or until lightly browned on the top.  Slightly cool and enjoy warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

240 cals, 18 g fat, 20.25 g carbs, 7.12 g fiber, 13.13 g NET CARBS, 13 g protein, 46 mg sodium

Low Carb Blueberry Buckle

With your next purchase of blueberries you can make this delicious Blueberry Buckle to delight your family.  It’s great with coffee, as a snack or a dessert with a dollop of whipped cream on top.  If you’re wondering where it gets its name, when constructed  in frontier days, the fruit was placed on top of the cake.  The weight of the fruit would sink the berries during baking causing the cake around the edges of the buttered cast iron skillet to puff up and then fall inward over the fruit.  Nowadays, people often just stir the berries right into the cake batter, but they still sink, causing dimples in the top of the buckle.  Whichever way you construct yours, they are wonderful desserts.  If you are watching carbs even closer, you can lower the amount of berries, making it more like a traditional coffeecake.  However, traditionally they used a high ratio of fruit to batter in this popular frontier dessert.

This recipe is not suitable until you reach the late stages of Atkins carb re-introduction ladder.  Please note there is no sugar in this recipe as I am off all sweeteners.   It is sweet enough for me as written, but if you like things sweeter you could add 1/8-¼c. more sugar equivalent of your favorite sweetener either to the batter or sprinkled on top just before baking.

INGREDIENTS: 

1 c. Buttoni’s Low Carb Bake Mix (or other low-carb mix of choice)

½ tsp. sea salt

Zest from 1 small lemon

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2 large eggs, beaten

½ c. (1 stick) butter, unsalted, melted in a 9″ cake pan

2 c. fresh blueberries

1/4 c. granular erithritol or equivalent sweetener

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Measure out dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Grate lemon zest and add to bowl.  Add the went ingredients and the berries.  Stir to mix and moisten all ingredients well but do not over mix.  Spoon into the already greased round cake pan.  Pop into 350º oven for 15 minutes or just until batter spots are dry to the touch.  Do not over cook.  Serve warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 srvgs., each contains: (based on my bake mix)

261 cals, 21.23g fat, 13.1g carbs, 3.6g fiber, 9.5g NET CARBS (use fewer berries for lower carbs), 8.6g protein, 256 mg sodium

Strawberry Blossoms

I often bake these for my hubby’s Valentine’s Day treat, but they are really good year-round.  This year I think I’ll resurrect these tasty morsels.  If you don’t have the Nordicware® blossom pan used for these tasty blooms, you can use a mini-muffin pan.  These were so easy to make and so good my husband just couldn’t stop grabbing another and another.  I enjoy mine with my with morning coffee.  Or sprinkle them with powdered sweetener and serve them with a warm cup of tea.   These are suitable once you get to the berries rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb ladder. They are also OK for most Keto diets.

NOTE: If you are gluten free, use all Jennifer Eloff’s mix, as my Einkorn mix clearly is not gluten-free.    

INGREDIENTS:

4 large eggs, beaten

¼ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

¼ c. my Einkorn Bake Mix (or more Jennifer’s mix for gluten-free)

1 c. frozen (or fresh) strawberries, drained, chopped

2 T. erythritol

2 T. Splenda, granulated

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 T. + 1 tsp. coconut oil

VARIATION:   Use chopped raspberries, blackberries or blueberries in place of the strawberries

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. Melt coconut oil in your baking pan and brush 24 slots well with oil.

Beat the eggs in a small mixing bowl.  Add the bake mix.  You can use any low-carb bake mix you prefer.  Add sweeteners, vanilla and chopped berries.  Fold all together until smooth.   Using a 2 T. measuring cup, spoon batter into mini muffin pan slots.  Right is the Nordicware pan I used.

They will be nearly full to the brim.  Don’t worry, Mine didn’t overflow in the pans, although they do temporarily rise above the top like a soufflé…..and then fall a bit when done and cooled.

Pop into oven and bake for 16-18 minutes or until risen and firm in the center.  Remove, cool a couple minutes and with knife tip, lift them out and serve while warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 24 edible blossoms, each contains:

32.3 cals, 2.4g fat, 1.55g carbs, 0.37g fiber, 1.18g NET CARBS, 1.67g protein, 16 mg sodium

Einkorn Blueberry Crumble

I’m having some back issues of late.  Can’t stand up for very long, so my time-consuming baking efforts will likely wane for awhile.  But I have a kitchen island with comfy bar chairs and I can sure sit and cook, have the hubs put the pan in the oven and pull it out when it’s done!  I don’t need any assistance with eating my fair share though.  😉

My husband pointed out today we had a carton of blueberries at the back of the fridge so I decided to make some sort of simple crisp or crumble fruit baked dish.  My husband set the oven, greased my baking dish and rounded up the ingredients from my pantry (bending and stooping is an issue, too). I was able to do most of the rest, with the added help of regular heavy doses of ibuprofen all week long.

This was my first time using Swerve® sweetener and I was at a loss there.  It didn’t have any funny aftertaste sampled on my finger, nor in the final crumble dish that I could detect.  It is worthy of further experimenting in my opinion.  Just followed the info on the back of the packaging and it came out pretty close to my taste preference.  But honestly, it wasn’t quite sweet enough with 2 Tbsp. and I have therefore adjusted the recipe below for what should be better next baking.  The crumble topping was successful and the final dessert came out quite tasty.

Blueberries are a little higher in carbs, so if you are still in the Induction phase of the diet, use strawberries or raspberries instead. To lower carbs further, omit the Einkorn flour totally.  I simply adds a nice flour taste and pastry texture that almond flour alone can’t do.   🙂  This recipe is not suitable until you have reached the nuts and berries level of Phase 2 Atkins.  It’s a little high carb for Keto diets.  This is not suitable for Primal-Paleo plans.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. fresh blueberries

3/4 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix (or other low-carb mix)

2 T. Einkorn flour

3 T. Swerve® sweetener (or equivalent sweetener to equal 3 T. sugar)

2 T. oat fiber

1 large egg

3 T. butter

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Rub butter lightly on a 6″ square baking dish and set dish aside.  Put rest of the butter in a medium bowl.  Add all the dry ingredients on top of the butter.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add the egg on top, beat it with a fork and slowly work it into a dough with the dry ingredients.  Using a fork or your fingers, crumble the dough evenly on top of the fruit.  Pop into preheated 350º oven and bake for about 20-23 minutes or until lightly browned on the top.  Slightly cool and enjoy warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

240 cals, 18 g fat, 20.25 g carbs, 7.12 g fiber, 13.13 g NET CARBS, 13 g protein, 46 mg sodium

Pineapple Bars

I made a delicious cake-like bar that can be eaten at breakfast or enjoyed as an afternoon snack.  Hot, it will need to be eaten with a fork on a plate; cooled you can pick them up and eat with your hands.  These would be a nice treat for a child’s school lunchbox.This recipe is not suitable until the higher-carb fruits rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb reintroduction ladder.

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. warm water

1 tsp. dry yeast

¼ tsp. sugar (consumed by the yeast)

½ c. almond flour

1 T. oat fiber (omit for a 100% gluten-free version)

1/3 c. granular erythritol (or sweetener to equal 1/3 c. sugar)

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1½ c. shredded Monterrey Jack or mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1  20 oz. can of pineapple chunks, drained and chopped coarsely

STREUSEL TOPPING:  2½ T. cold butter, 1 T. cinnamon, 2 T. erythritol or Splenda, ¼ c. chopped walnuts (or other nuts) and ¼ c. flax meal

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease an 8″ square metal baking pan and set aside. Dissolve the yeast with the warm water and sugar in a small saucer.  Set aside for now.

Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl.  Beat in the eggs, cream, vinegar, shredded cheeses and stir well until smooth. Add the proofed yeast mixture and stir again. Finally add the pineapple and stir.  Measure all the dry ingredients on top of the wet and stir with a rubber spatula to blend until you have a uniform mixture.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly.

For the topping, using a fork, blend the cold butter, erythritol, 1 T. flax meal and cinnamon in a small bowl until it is a coarse, crumbly mixture.  Add the nuts, stir well.  Sprinkle evenly over the batter and pop pan into 350º oven.  Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until dry to the touch, firm in the center and lightly browned around the edges.  Cool a few minutes and cut evenly into 9 squares.  Serve warm on a plate with breakfast coffee or tea.   Store leftovers in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 9 servings, each contains:

235 cals, 20g fat, 4.48g carbs, 2.48g fiber, 2g NET CARBS, 11.8g protein, 265 mg sodium

Low Carb Blueberry Buckle

I had some blueberries in the fridge I really needed to use up, as I’m not eating sweets these days.  Hubby was griping I’d not baked anything in ages, so I made this old-fashioned buckle.  If you’re wondering where it got its name, when constructed  in frontier days, the fruit was placed on top of the cake.  The weight of the fruit would sink the berries during baking causing the cake around the edges of the buttered cast iron skillet to puff up and then fall inward over the fruit.  Nowadays, people often just stir the berries right into the cake batter, but they still sink, causing dimples in the top of the buckle.  Whichever way you construct yours, they are wonderful desserts.  If you are watching carbs even tighter, you can lower the amount of berries.  But traditionally they used a high ratio to batter in this popular frontier dessert.  This recipe is not suitable until you reach the late stages of Atkins carb re-introduction ladder.  Please note there is no sugar in this recipe as I am off all sweeteners.   It is sweet enough for me as written, but if you like things sweeter you could add ¼c. sugar equivalent of your favorite sweetener either to the batter or sprinkled on top just before baking.

INGREDIENTS: 

1 c. Buttoni’s Low Carb Bake Mix (or other low-carb mix of choice)

½ tsp. sea salt

Zest from 1 small lemon

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2 large eggs, beaten

½ c. (1 stick) butter, unsalted, melted in a 9″ cake pan

2 c. fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS:   Preheat oven to 350º.  Measure out dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Grate lemon zest and add to bowl.  Add the went ingredients and the berries.  Stir to mix and moisten all ingredients well but do not over mix.  Spoon into the already greased round cake pan.  Pop into 350º oven for 15 minutes or just until batter spots are dry to the touch.  Do not over cook.  Serve warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 6 srvgs., each contains: (based on my bake mix)

261 cals, 21.23g fat, 13.1g carbs, 3.6g fiber, 9.5g NET CARBS (use fewer berries for lower carbs), 8.6g protein, 256 mg sodium

 

 

 

Cranberry-Orange Ladyfingers

WOW!  My readers are going to LOVE these!  They just get better and better each day that goes by.  They’re even gluten-free, if you leave out the oat fiber.  🙂  Hubby really liked these and he’s not really a fruit and nut man.  If you don’t have a twinkie baking pan, just make 12 small muffins, a round flat circle you will cut into 12 scone wedges or a single cake using a loaf pan.  These are not suitable for Atkins Induction on several levels.  They are suitable for Phase 2 and above and Keto diets as well.

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 cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try.  Order your 10-volume set TODAY as there is a special sale right now! (also available individually) from Amazon or special prices at: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. flax meal (I use 50:50 gold and dark)

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free version)

1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

3 T. softened cream cheese

2 beaten large eggs

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

2 T. fresh squeezed orange juice

1 T. warm tap water

1 tsp. yeast dissolved in the warm water above

½ c. cranberries (fresh or homemade sugar-free dried)

½ c. slivered almonds

1 oz. orange peel

VARIATION:   Add a few chopped pecans.

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly oil a non-stick pan of your choice (discussed above) and set aside.

Measure out the first 6 (dry) ingredients into a medium mixing bowl.  In a separate small glass bowl, soften the cream cheese either at room temp or in your microwave on defrost.  Dissolve the yeast in the tablespoon of warm water in a saucer and add to the cream cheese.  Stir. Beat in the eggs well. Add the cider vinegar and cream.  Add the creamy mixture to the dry ingredients bowl and stir.

Trim off 1 oz of orange peel from an orange.  You want to get as little white, bitter membrane as possible.  Cut into approximately 1″ pieces.  Place in food processor or blender.  Add cranberries and nuts to the bowl and pulse it all together about 10 times or so, to a coarse chop.   Add the fruit/nut mixture to the batter.  Stir. Finally squeeze/measure out the orange juice. Stir well one last time to incorporate all to achieve a uniform distribution of the fruit/nuts.

Dip into/onto your chosen pan, distributing the batter evenly into 12 muffin cups, 12 twinkie slots or a round circle about 1/2″ thick for scones.  Pop into 350º oven and bake for  20 minutes until lightly browned.  Allow to cool a bit before lifting with the assistance of a knife tip.  If making a loaf, bake around 35 minutes or until the center passes a dry toothpick test.  As with all low-carb baked goods, store in a bag in the refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 portions (whatever shape you make), each contains:

160 cals, 12.64g fat, 6.53g carbs, 2.71g fiber, 3.82g NET CARBS, 8.3 g protein, 266 mg sodium

Apricot Trail Mix

I absolutely LOVE trail mix.  And such a healthy snack!  It has the added bonus of being very transportable, for hiking, biking, camping, or taking to the office in a little baggie.  This apricot-coconut mix was a Christmas favorite of a relative.  She always brought some to the holiday gatherings.  The pumpkin seeds are my addition to her recipe.  The stuff is so good I have to dip my ½ cup portion out and put the bag away, or I’ll just keep eating and eating it.  Wrapped prettily with a ribbon, this makes a lovely gift when going to parties or for the holidays.  Just place in a pretty clear glass container and affix a pretty bow on top!  This very nutritious dessert/snack is not suitable until the highest fruit rung of the Atkins OWL carb re-introduction ladder (pre-maintenance or maintenance).  This recipe is suitable for Paleo-Primal eaters.

VARIATION:  Substitute pieces of dried prunes (Delmonte has no added sugar) for the dried apricots. I also have a Cranberry Trail Mix recipe you might like.

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

INGREDIENTS:

5 oz. pumpkin seeds, hulled, roasted (unsalted)

5 oz. sunflower seeds, hulled, roasted (unsalted)

2 oz. walnuts (about 28 halves), coarsely chopped/broken up

6 oz. fresh coconut meat, slivered thinly

4 oz. sliced almonds

6 oz. dried apricots, no sugar added (I buy them at Sam’s)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 200º and spread thinly sliced coconut onto a sheet pan. Dry for about 1½-2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven before coconut begins to brown and cool.  You don’t really want to toast it for this recipe, just dry it out a bit.  In a large mixing bowl, toss all ingredients together.  Using kitchen shears, cut apricots into small pieces and add to the bowl.  Stir to mix well.  Store in a zipper plastic bag in your pantry.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes about 6 cups or twelve ½ cup servings.  Each ½ cup serving contains:

301.6 cals, 23.5g fat, 18g carbs, 5.3g fiber, 12.7g NET CARBS, 9.8g protein, 53.6 mg sodium

 

Cherry Mini Bites

Yet another tasty use of my versatile Mozzy Dough recipe and a great way to use up half a can of opened lite cherry pie filling.  The hubs and I have been super strict, ultra low-carbing (under 20 NC a day) since the 1st of September.  We decided to treat ourselves tonight with something sweet.  These  took  a mere 35 minutes to make, start to finish.  I have a 24 slot non-stick mini-muffin pan that turned out to be perfect for this amount of dough and filling.  These come out to be 1.9 net carbs per piece, so an occasional indulgence like this can break the diet monotony without breaking the proverbial “carb bank”.  🙂  These are suitable for Atkins Phase 2 and beyond and most Keto diets.

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INGREDIENTS: 

1 recipe my Mozzy Dough

½ can Lite Cherry Pie Filling

VARIATION:  Use other lite pie filling, like blueberry or what you make up from scratch with other fruit.  Another variation would be to dot each crust with 1/2 tsp. cream cheese before adding the fruit topping.  You will need to calculate numbers again if you do that. 

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Make a batch of the Mozzy Dough.  After kneading the ball of dough until smooth, break off 1″ balls of dough and press one ball into each of the 24 slots of mini-muffin pans.   The “bowls” of dough will be quite shallow in the pan slots.  Spoon just 2 cherries (with dab of filling) into each slot neatly.  Pop into 350º and bake for around 15 minutes or until the “crust” is lightly browned around the edges.  Remove, cool 1-2 minutes and lift out with knife tip onto serving plate.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 24 Cherry Bites, each contains:

67 cals, 5.1g fat, 3.61g carbs, 1.71g fiber, 1.9g NET CARBS, 4.5g protein, 95 mg sodium (in cheese)

Jam Tea Cakes

My British and Canadian readers will LOVE these!!  They were just lovely with a hot cuppa…..not too sweet.   I baked these tea cakes in a whoopie pie pan that I recently purchased (see below), so each tea cake is about 2¼” x ¼”  before slicing.  The recipe makes exactly 12  tea cakes if you carefully spoon in 1 level tablespoon of batter into each pan slot. I used my focaccia bread batter for these, actually, as I didn’t really want them too sweet or crumbly/cake-y.  These are not suitable until Phase 2 OWL of Atkins.    These do not meet Primal-Paleo guidelines at all.

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INGREDIENTS: 

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 T. cold water

1 T. heavy cream

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. dry yeast dissolved in 1 T. lukewarm water

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ c. flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

½ c. almond flour

1½ c. Monterey Jack cheese

2 T. erythritol (or other sweetener to equal around 1½ T. sugar)

1 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free version)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Have a non-stick whoopie pie pan at hand.  You can use a muffin-top pan, a large muffin pan or an ebilskiver pan to make these if you don’t own a whoopie pie pan.

Soften cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl.  Whisk in all the wet ingredients.  Add the cheese and stir well.  Measure in all dry ingredients and stir well to blend.   Using a tablespoon, dip up a LEVEL tablespoon of batter and using your finger to empty out the tablespoon, fill each pan slot with exactly 1 level tablespoon of batter and spread evenly with the back of a spoon.  There will be exactly enough batter to make 12 cakes that will be sliced into 24 pieces when done, to make 12 sandwich-type jam-filled tea cakes.

Pop into oven and bake for around 10-11 minutes or until firm in the center (don’t let them brown too much).  When they are totally cool, remove from pans.  Using a serrated bread knife, carefully slice them laterally.  Using the back of a teaspoon, spread one half with 1 tsp. your favorite sugar-free preserves or jam.   You want the jam to be quite thin, for lower carbs, and so it will not ooze out when these are eaten.  Most of my sugar-free jams have around 1-3 net carb per teaspoon.  Top with the other side of the cake, repeat for all 12 cakes, and serve.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Make 12 two-piece jam-filled tea cakes.  Numbers below do not include the jam filling.  Each tea cake consists of 2 of the sliced thinner pieces of cake with jam layered between. Therefore each jam cake/serving will contain:

129.2 calories, 10.4 g  fat, 2.28 g  carbs, 1.2 g  fiber, 1.18 g  NET CARBS  (plus whatever carbs in your chosen jam), 7.8 g  protein, 179 mg sodium

 

Einkorn Pineapple Sweet Potato Logs

All I can say is YUM!  Although I made these tasty treats using a non-stick Twinkie® pan, you can just as easily make these into muffins, mini-muffins or even a square cake and cut into 12 portions.  You’ll have to do some re-calculating of carbs for different shapes.  The square cake will probably take 30-35 minutes to bake fully.  Test with a toothpick in the center.  The count below is for the Twinkie® shape, each of which which has 3 tablespoons of batter. These are delicious with morning coffee or for a lunch-box or after-school snack!

Mine tried to stick to my non-stick pan a bit, so be sure to oil your pan and cool them off before attempting to loosen and remove from the pan.  This recipe is not suitable until you reach the grains rung of the Atkins OWL carb re-introduction ladder.

To lower carbs, you will want to sub in a lower-carb bake mix and definitely sub in pumpkin for the sweet potato.  I just happened to stumble on 1/2 c. sweet potato in my freezer this week that I wanted to use up.  I figure if I don’t know how long it was in the freezer, best I use it right away.  I will probably use pumpkin next time myself to lower carbs on these.

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INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. my Einkorn Low-Carb Bake Mix

¼ c.+2T. Pineapple Sugar-Free Syrup (I used DaVinci)

1 beaten large egg

½ c. sweet potato, cooked and mashed

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Oil a Twinkie® pan or muffin pan.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, mash the cooked sweet potato with a fork.  Whisk in the egg and pineapple syrup until smooth.  Finally stir in the bake mix with a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until all is well-blended.  Using a tablespoon measure, spoon 3 T. batter into each slot of the pan.  If any leftover, top any off that are under-filled.  Pop into 350º oven for 20 minutes.  Cool slightly before attempting to remove from pan.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 12 logs, each contains:

113 cals., 8.3g fat, 6.66g carbs, 1.49g fiber, 5.17g NET CARBS, 5.38g protein, 66.2 mg sodium

 

 

 

Lemon Curd

                Lemon Curd

Decided to try my hand at one of my pastry favorites: lemon curd.  I grew to love this scone & pastry topping while on an extensive six-weeks trip through Britain in the 80’s.  I have since modified my recipe of the 80’s to be Atkins friendly.  Had it on a Muffin in a Minute for breakfast and man was it ever good!  This also makes a good cream filling between layers of vanilla cake or pound cake or for lemon mini-tarts.  I love it on a hot biscuit as well!  🙂  As lemon and lime juice is limited during Induction to 3 T. per day, this recipe is only suitable for Induction if you don’t over indulge.

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INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs, whisked well

1 T. liquid Splenda (or other sweetener to equal 1 c. sugar)

½ c. fresh lemon juice

1 T. lemon peel, grated

¼ c. unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS:  In a saucepan, whisk eggs, add sweetener, lemon juice and peel.  Turn fire to medium-low and add butter.  Cook, stirring constantly for about 10-15 minutes until thickened.  Pour into jar and chill/store in refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes about 20 T. or ten 2T. servings, each serving contains:

54.53 calories, 4.6 g  fat, 1.56 g  carbs, .41 g  fiber, 1.15 g  NET CARBS, 2.13 g  protein, 23 mg. sodium

Berry Bites

These tasty 2-bite morsels are a slight variation of my Strawberry Egg Puffs recipe.  Make a batch of these for your honey for Valentine’s Day!  If you don’t have the Nordicware pan I used, you can use any mini-muffin pan you have.  These were a cinch to make and so good my husband just couldn’t stop.  They are delightful with morning coffee.  Sprinkle with powdered sweetener and serve them as a dessert with afternoon tea.   These are suitable once you get to the berries rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL ladder. They are also OK for most Keto diets.

NOTE: If you are gluten free, use all gluten-free mix, as my Einkorn mix is not gluten free.

INGREDIENTS:

4 large eggs, beaten

¼ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

¼ c. my Einkorn Bake Mix (or more Jennifer’s mix for gluten-free)

1 c. frozen strawberries, drained and chopped (or other berries if you like)

2 T. erythritol

2 T. Splenda, granulated

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 T. + 1 tsp. coconut oil

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. Melt coconut oil in your mini muffin baking pan and brush 24 slots well with oil.

Beat the eggs in a small mixing bowl.  Add the bake mix.  You can use any low-carb bake mix you prefer.  Add sweeteners, vanilla and chopped berries.  Fold all together until smooth.   Using a 2 T. measuring cup, spoon batter into mini muffin pan slots.  Right is the Nordicware pan I used.

They will be nearly full to the brim.  Don’t worry, Mine didn’t overflow in the pans, although they do temporarily rise above the top like a souffle…..and then fall a bit when done and cooled.

Pop into oven and bake for 16-18 minutes or until risen and firm in the center.  Remove, cool a couple minutes and with knife tip, lift them out and serve while warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 24 Berry Bites or “mini muffins”, each contains:

32.3 cals, 2.4g fat, 1.55g carbs, 0.37g fiber, 1.18g NET CARBS, 1.67g protein, 16 mg sodium

Hungarian “Apple” Pastry

Click to enlarge

This is the dessert I am making for Christmas this year.  It’ll just be the two of us and my husband’s brother visiting from up around Dallas.

When I was in high school in Kansas, my best friend (also named Peggy) often had me over for dinner (we were neighbors).  Her mother was a former stage actress from Budapest who married an American Army officer after WWII.  To say Peggy’s mother was a good cook would be a gross understatement.  Dinner at my friend’s house was quite the culinary experience, and as my parents were also well-versed in gourmet cooking, I felt my ability to judge really good food was well-honed by this age.

This wonderful apple dessert was Peggy’s mom’s signature dessert.  We fell in love at first bite.  It has since become a family favorite holiday dessert offering.  I have now reworked it for a low-carb lifestyle, using an entirely different crust.  I have also low carbed the filling.  The original recipe is made with all apples, a few raisins and the original crust had 1c. sour cream!  To be more authentic, you could go ahead and use sour cream for the cream called for in my pie crust below without much of a hike in carbs.  🙂  I have omitted the raisins entirely as they add so many carbs.  I use mostly chayote squash, with only one apple for flavor impact.  These bars definitely improve in flavor on day 2 as the rum mellows considerably overnight so I like to make them the day before I plan to serve.

Just for the heck of it, I worked up the nutritional numbers for this made with 5 small apples and no chayote squash and provide that info below for anyone interested in making this with all apples.  Doing so ups the carbs approximately 2 carbs per bar, which isn’t that bad a price for all apples, really.  Holidays are supposed to be “special occasions”, non?  🙂  Today I plan to make this with all apples, as it’s Christmas once again.

I hear zucchini makes a wonderful apple sub, but the unpredictability of its moisture content in a pastry worries me greatly, so I haven’t tried that in this recipe.  As it is consumed hand-held a soggy crust can’t be tolerated for hand eating.  I absolutely do not think this recipe would be good with ALL chayote squash, so I will never go down that road for this favorite.

This dish is not suitable until late in Atkins Phase 2 OWL due to the rum and apples.  I store my bars in an airtight container in the bottom of my fridge.  To be honest, they don’t usually last long enough to worry about freezing!  I’ve never frozen any of my low-carb pastries, so I don’t know how they’d freeze.

Chayote Squash (also called mirletons)

INGREDIENTS:

2  recipes Peggy’s “Flour” Pie Crust   (for gluten free, use your favorite gluten-free pie crust recipe)

1/3 c. granular Splenda (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)

2 chayote squash (or zucchini) , peeled and sliced ¼-3/8″ thick

1 small delicious apple (2½” diameter), peeled and sliced ¼” thick

3/4 c. pecans, chopped

2 T. rum

1 T. fresh lemon juice

lemon zest of 1 lemon

3/4 c. granular erythritol (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)

2½ tsp. cinnamon

3 egg whites, beaten to frothy/soft peaks

DIRECTIONS:   You need a 8½” x 11½” baking pan for this recipe.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Make the double recipe of pie crust dough per that recipe’s instructions, adding the 1/3 c. Splenda to the mixture.   When pastry is kneaded into a solid ball of dough, form a log and break apart into 60% and 40% (bottom crust takes a little more dough than the top crust).

BOTTOM CRUST:  Take the larger piece of dough, shape in a rough log and place between two pieces plastic.  Roll out dough into a rectangle the size of the pan’s bottom plus the depth of the sides.  Dough will be fairly thin but still manageable.  The dough must be large enough go up the sides of the pan completely to the top and over the edge in order not to fall when baked.     Peel top plastic off carefully and fold in half/lift pastry into the pan.  Adjust pastry to fit.  Carefully remove second piece of plastic and fit pastry well into the walls and corners of the pan without tearing.  Allow pastry to lay over the top edge of the pan to “hold on” and not fall inward during baking.  Prick pastry with a fork at 2″ intervals to avoid it bubbling up during baking.  Bake for 10-12 minutes in a preheated 350º oven just begins to lightly brown.  Remove and cool while you make the filling.

FILLING:  Peel and slice chayote squash and microwave covered on HI for 8-10 minutes until soft.  Peel apple and place in bowl with chayote. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl with electric hand mixer until thick (thick and frothy/soft peaks).  Add nuts, rum, lemon juice and zest, erythritol and cinnamon to the apple/squash mixture and then fold in the beaten egg whites until the fruit and nuts are well-moistened.  Using a rubber spatula, scrape the filling into the half-baked crust.  Spread as evenly as possible, pushing up into corners of pastry.  Level the apples and squash pieces so no pointy bits are sticking up as they may tear the top pastry.  I’ve had that happen before.

TOP CRUST:  Roll the remaining ball of dough between the two plastic sheets, rolling it into a rectangle just a tiny bit larger than the top of the pan. Peel off top plastic and fold up/lift gently onto the filling, being sure the edges are fitting over the bottom crust.  Crimp the top crust onto the bottom crust with your fingers to seal it well.     Pop into hot 350º oven for about 22-25 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and done in the center.  Dough will be a tiny bit soft but dry to the touch.  It will look like the final product below/right when done.  Cool completely before slicing and refrigerating.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 24 bars, each contains:

     Hot from the oven

74.14 cals, 6.43g fat, 7.1g carbs, 5.33g fiber, 1.77g NET CARBS, 2.68 g  protein, 61.33 mg sodium

FOR THE CURIOUS:  With all apple filling, using 5 small 2½” apples:  93 calories, 7.5g fat, 10.06 g  carbs, 6.36 g  fiber, 3.7 net carbs

Banana-Peanut Butter “Twinkies®”

One of my Mom’s regular afternoon snacks to offer us when I was growing up was half a banana sandwich with a smear of peanut butter dotted on the bananas.  If there were animal crackers in the house, she’d place a slice of banana on top of one of those with a dot of PB on top.  Well, I took those memories to a new little creation…….a banana-PB  muffin of sorts.   These were tasty beyond words. 

My Twinkies® are a little carb-y, so obviously not for daily consumption, but a tasty treat once in awhile.  🙂  These are not suitable until you have reached the higher-carb fruits level of the Atkins carb reintroduction ladder and are nearer to maintenance.  These are too high carb for most Keto followers, but those at goal weight might indulge occasionally.  Totally not suitable for Primal-Paleo followers.

VARIATION:  If you don’t have a Twinkie® pan, just make as muffins.  They’ll be just as good.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe my Banana Muffin batter

1 ripe banana, mashed

2 T. natural peanut butter (I use Laura Scudder)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly grease a non-stick Twinkie® pan (or use a regular muffin pan if you don’t have a Twinkie® pan).  Make the recipe of banana muffin batter in a medium bowl.  Stir until smooth.  Spoon into the 12 slots of the pan equally (will be quite full as they don’t rise much).  Bake at 350º for about 22-25 minutes.  I’m still learning to use a new oven in a new house so these came out a little browner than I like, but the oven performed pretty well for me.  Remove when firm to the touch and cool off.  Slice in half and set aside.  Stir the mashed whole banana and peanut butter together until well-blended.  Makes 3/4 c. filling or exactly 12 tablespoons.  Fill each “Twinkie”® with 1 T. of the filling, spreading somewhat evenly.  You can, if you prefer, just “frost” the tops of the Twinkies® with the filling, if you find this easier.  🙂  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 12 Twinkies®, each contains:

244.7 calories, 19.76 g  fat, 13.15 g  carbs, 4.29 g  fiber, 8.86 g  NET CARBS, 6.83 g  protein

Quick Danish

Blueberry version

This is a wonderful new way to use my Peggy’s Sliced Bread recipe! TIP:  I keep some sort of plain, unflavored low-carb sheet bread cooked and at the ready in a gallon Ziploc bag in my refrigerator at all times, so making this for breakfast takes about 10 minutes total!

I took a piece of my Peggy’s Sliced Bread (linked above), sliced it laterally into two thinner slices and filled it with a delicious thickened pineapple filling with a smear of cream cheese.  Doused with cinnamon.  Nuked it on defrost for 20 seconds and man, oh, man, was it ever good!  A little carby as I had no berries in the house today, but REALLY good if you can afford the pineapple carbs when you get farther along in your weight-loss journey. Net carb counts for other fruits provided below.

If using other fruits, you will want to use some other DaVinci syrup (vanilla or appropriate berry flavor) or use other sweetener of your choice with 2-3 T. water added to compensate for the syrup’s water. This is not suitable until the grains rung of OWL.

You can sure pull the carb count down using other berries.   As you can see, I have explored several varieties of this Quick Danish.  By the way, this reminded me very much of pineapple upside-down cake, just without the cherry.  But that could be remedied on special occasions! 🙂  With a dollop of sweetened whipped cream on top, this would make a lovely, easy dessert for unexpected company!  If serving on black/dark plates, for visual impact, I would dust the plate with powdered sweetener/erythritol along with the cinnamon.  Of course, you can use any plan-suitable bread you prefer over the bread I used, but you wil have to calculate your nutritional info from scratch.

Pineapple Version

PINEAPPLE VERSION (right) :  Slice the bread laterally into 2 thins slices and place 1 on a plate.  Set aside.  Place in a saucepan ¼ c. crushed pineapple, juice pack (I didn’t drain), ½ T. unsalted butter, dash cinnamon, dash xanthan gum, 2 T. Davinci Pineapple sugar-free syrup (or sweetener to taste).  Heat, stirring until slightly thickened.  Remove. Spoon half onto the slice of bread on the plate.  Top with 1 T. softened cream cheese (sweeten if you like).  Place the second thin slice of bread on top and spoon on the rest of the fruit mixture.  Warm a few seconds in the microwave on defrost and serve while hot.

Blackberry Version

BLUEBERRY or BLACKBERRY VERSION:  Mash 2 oz. berries with a fork in a saucepan with 1-2T. water, pinch of stevia + 2 drops liquid Splenda and a sprinkle of xanthan gum to thicken.  Cook on medium heat a couple minutes until thick.  Slice bread laterally and place 1 thin slice on a plate.  Spoon half the berry mix onto it.  Top with about ½ T. cream cheese. Placed second half-slice bread and add remaining berries to top and dot with cream cheese.  Mmmmm.   this recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction.

NUTRITIONAL INFO (for the pineapple version, the first one I made):  Makes a single serving which contains:

256 calories, 21 g  fat, 16.2 g  carbs, 3.7 g  fiber, 12.5 NET CARBS, 8.5 g  protein, 243 mg sodium

Strawberry Version:  Use 3 medium strawberries sliced:  5.3 NET CARBS

Blackberry Version:   Use 1/4 c. frozen blackberries: 7.3 NET CARBS

Cherry Version:  Use 1/4 c. canned tart cherries:  10.9 NET CARBS

Blueberry Version:  Use 1/4 c. fresh blueberries: 7.6 NET CARBS

Einkorn Blueberry Crumble

I’m having some back issues of late.  Can’t stand up for very long, so my time-consuming baking efforts will likely wane for awhile.  But I have a kitchen island with comfy bar chairs and I can sure sit and cook, have the hubs put the pan in the oven and pull it out when it’s done!  I don’t need any assistance with eating my fair share though.  😉

My husband pointed out today we had a carton of blueberries beginning to dry out a bit at the back of the fridge.  So I decided to make some sort of simple crisp or crumble fruit baked dish.  My husband set the oven, greased my baking dish and rounded up the ingredients from my pantry (bending and stooping is an issue, too). I was able to do most of the rest, with the added help of regular heavy doses of ibuprofen all week long.

This was my first time using Swerve® sweetener and I was at a loss there.  It didn’t have any funny aftertaste sampled on my finger, nor in the final crumble dish that I could detect.  It is worthy of further experimenting in my opinion.  Just followed the info on the back of the packaging and it came out pretty close to my taste preference.  But honestly, it wasn’t quite sweet enough with 2 Tbsp. and I have therefore adjusted the recipe below for what should be better next baking.  The crumble topping was successful and the final dessert came out quite tasty.

Blueberries are a little higher in carbs, so if you are still in the Induction phase of the diet, use strawberries instead. To lower carbs further, omit the Einkorn flour totally.  I simply adds a nice flour taste and pastry texture that almond flour alone can’t do.   🙂  This recipe is not suitable until you have reached the nuts and berries level of Phase 2 Atkins.  It’s a little high carb for Keto diets.  This is not suitable for Primal-Paleo plans.

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

DISCLAIMER: I do not accept payment for book promotions. I do so because they are GREAT cookbooks anyone would be proud to add to their cookbook collection.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ c. fresh blueberries

3/4 c. Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix (or other low-carb mix)

2 T. Einkorn flour

3 T. Swerve® sweetener (or equivalent sweetener to equal 3 T. sugar)

2 T. oat fiber

1 large egg

3 T. butter

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Rub butter lightly on a 6″ square baking dish and set dish aside.  Put rest of the butter in a medium bowl.  Add all the dry ingredients on top of the butter.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add the egg on top, beat it with a fork and slowly work it into a dough with the dry ingredients.  Using a fork or your fingers, crumble the dough evenly on top of the fruit.  Pop into preheated 350º oven and bake for about 20-23 minutes or until lightly browned on the top.  Slightly cool and enjoy warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 4 servings, each contains:

240 calories

18 g  fat

20.25 g carbs, 7.12 g fiber, 13.13 g NET CARBS

13 g protein

46 mg sodium

 

 

 

Pineapple-Butternut Hand Pies

Pineapple is way to high in carbs to use much in desserts on a low-carb eating plan.  However, if mixed with something a little lower in carbs, like winter squash, you can end up with a dessert a low-carber can enjoy once in awhile.  The crust here is Jennifer Eloff’s Miracle Dough, slightly modified with the addition of a bit of sweetener for this dessert application and a little oat fiber as well.   I made the dough recipe into 5 7″ empanadas or hand pies, so the carb count, although still lower than a conventionally made hand pie, is still too high unless you are near or at the final Maintenance phase of the program.  A possible solution, would be to make smaller pies, 10 little empanadas, to halve the carb count.  These came out delicious and are easily held in the hand.

CRUST INGREDIENTS:

1 large egg, beaten

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2 T. unsalted butter

1 T. Splenda® or equivalent sweetener of choice

1 c.  Jennifer Eloff’s Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix (or other low-carb bake mix)

1 T. oat fiber

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

Half a 2# butternut squash, cooked (1 c. mashed squash)

1 c. pineapple chunks (water pack), drained and coarsely chopped

Liquid sweetener to equal 5 T. sugar (no carbs in the liquid variety)

2 T. more butter

Few drops vanilla (optional)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:  Make the filling first.  Slice butternut squash in half lengthwise.  Microwave on HI for 12 minutes, cut-side down, in a dish of shallow water.  Scoop out seeds and mash flesh.  Place 1 cup squash pulp in a bowl.  Add chopped pineapple, liquid sweetener, cinnamon and vanilla (if using).  Taste and adjust for sweetness preference.  These are Mexican style empanadas and therefore not be as sweet as you may be used to.

Make dough next. Melt cheese along with butter in a medium glass bowl on medium setting of your microwave.  Takes 3-4 minutes, stir and check couple times as it heats.  You don’t want to over cook, but merely melt it.   Remove bowl carefully as it will be very hot.  Sprinkle bake mix over the cheese.  Sprinkle Splenda® and oat fiber on top next.    Add beaten egg last. Now, using a fork, work dough into a smooth clump of dough until ingredients appear to be uniformly blended.  Switching to a rubber spatula as it begins to bind together works nicely.  When it forms a contiguous ball of dough, turn out onto plastic wrap on your counter.  Top with second sheet of plastic and roll out with rolling pin to about 3/16″ thick or typical piecrust thickness.  Preheat your oven to 350º.

Construction:  If making 5 larger hand pies, I used a 7″ mini pizza pan to cut out my circles of dough.  A small saucer would also work.  If making 10 small pies, I would suggest using a 4″ ramekin, large drinking glass or large cookie cutter to form your circles of dough.  Lay one circle of dough onto the corner of your baking sheet lined with silicone sheet or parchment paper.  Fill circle with 1/5 of the filling (or 1/10 for the littler pies), placing the filling only on half the circle of dough.  Don’t get filling too close to the edges or it will ooze out during baking.  Dot filling with 1 tsp. butter.  Fold other half of dough over filling and crimp edges decoratively with a fork.  Repeat for remaining pies.  Pop into 350º oven and bake for 20 minutes (smaller ones may take less time).  Watch these, as the dough with all that cheese, over browns quickly if you get distracted at the “almost done” designated time.  Just saying, as I did that very thing and way over-browned my first trial working with this dough recipe (and it was only over 3 minutes).

 

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 5 large hand pies, each contains:  (halve numbers for small pies)

389 cals, 27.8g fat, 21.28g carbs, 3.92g fiber, 17.36g NET CARBS   (small pies=8.68 net carbs), 24.64 g protein, 288 mg sodium

 

Raspberry Coulis

This wonderful sauce made from fresh or frozen raspberries can be used in many ways.  Coulis is usually made without the seeds.  But I don’t like to strain those out unless I’m putting on the dog for company, as there is so much healthy fiber in those seeds.  Your call on that one, but leaving the seeds in gives you an added fiber deduction on the carb count! 🙂  This recipe makes about 1 cup of raspberry coulis, or 48 tsp. total  That will top many scones, cookies, biscuits, a cheesecake, or float pretty liqueur-soaked poached pears or simply some sauteed apples!  You can get creative with this sauce. 🙂

This recipe is suitable once you get to Phase 2 Atkins OWL or for Keto diets if you can fit in the carbs.  It is suitable for Paleo-Primal if you use a plan-suitable thickener like chia seed gel.

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 cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try. Several of my own creations appear in each of the 5 volumes! Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or our direct order site: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice, I do not accept payment 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.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries (with juice)

3/4 c. sugar equivalent your favorite sweetener (I used ½ c. erythritol + ¼ c. Splenda)

about ¼ tsp. xanthan gum (or your favorite thickener

DIRECTIONS:   Place the fruit in a medium saucepan.  Add your sweetener.  Bring to a simmer and lower to medium low heat.  You can run it through a sieve to remove seeds, but I don’t bother as I don’t mind getting that added fiber. 😉  Simmer slow, stirring constantly, until it thickens to your liking for the intended purpose.  Use for your application (either warm or chilled).  Refrigerate any unused sauce in a lidded jar.  Should keep about 5-7 days.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 1 cup or 48 tsp.  Each teaspoon contains:

3.25 calories

0.03 g  fat

0.77 g  carbs, 0.39 g  fiber, 0.38 g  NET CARBS

0.06 g  protein

trace sodium

Pineapple Bars

Pineapple Bars

I made a delicious cake-like bar that can be eaten at breakfast or enjoyed as an afternoon snack.  Hot, it will need to be eaten with a fork on a plate; cooled you can pick them up and eat with your hands.  These would be a nice treat for a child’s school lunchbox.

This recipe is not suitable until the higher-carb fruits rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL carb reintroduction ladder.

Many more delicious gluten-free bread recipes for bread and baked goods await you in Jennifer Eloff’s latest cookbook series:  Low Carbing Among Friends.  You can have your very own set (or individual volumes) of this fast-selling 5-volume collection of recipes by some of the most talented low-carb cooks on the internet.  Order at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

INGREDIENTS:

1 T. warm water

1 tsp. dry yeast

¼ tsp. sugar (consumed by the yeast)

½ c. almond flour

1 T. oat fiber (omit for a 100% gluten-free version)

1/3 c. granular erythritol (or sweetener to equal 1/3 c. sugar)

¼ c. golden flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs, beaten

1½ c. shredded Monterrey Jack or mozzarella cheese

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

1  20 oz. can of pineapple chunks, drained and chopped coarsely

STREUSEL TOPPING:  2½ T. cold butter, 1 T. cinnamon, 2 T. erythritol or Splenda, ¼ c. chopped walnuts (or other nuts) and ¼ c. flax meal

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease an 8″ square metal baking pan and set aside. Dissolve the yeast with the warm water and sugar in a small saucer.  Set aside for now.

Soften cream cheese in medium mixing bowl.  Beat in the eggs, cream, vinegar, shredded cheeses and stir well until smooth. Add the proofed yeast mixture and stir again. Finally add the pineapple and stir.  Measure all the dry ingredients on top of the wet and stir with a rubber spatula to blend until you have a uniform mixture.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly.

For the topping, using a fork, blend the cold butter, erythritol, 1 T. flax meal and cinnamon in a small bowl until it is a coarse, crumbly mixture.  Add the nuts, stir well.  Sprinkle evenly over the batter and pop pan into 350º oven.  Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until dry to the touch, firm in the center and lightly browned around the edges.  Cool a few minutes and cut evenly into 9 squares.  Serve warm on a plate with breakfast coffee or tea.   Store leftovers in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:   Makes 9 servings, each contains:

235 calories

20 g fat

4.48 g  carbs, 2.48 g  fiber, 2 g NET CARBS

11.8 g  protein

265 mg sodium

 

Raspberry Banana Jello®

This was my Dad’s favorite way to eat Jello® and certainly one of mine.  Although I don’t think of this as a “recipe” in the creative sense, I thought I’d share it with you as it is indeed very tasty if you’ve never had it before.

I was rummaging around in  my freezer today deciding what to fix for dinner and saw the tail end of a bag of frozen raspberries I had totally forgotten was in there.  You know how that is with a big chest freezer.  I just then remembered I had bought quite a lot of sugar-free Jello® last week at the store and luck would have it, I had 2 packages of raspberry in the batch!  I haven’t made Jello® in ages, and when I realized I also had one banana left on the counter, Dad’s favorite immediately came to mind.

This is so good, the usual whipped cream I have on Jello® just isn’t needed to enjoy this.  Funny how sometimes the simplest of desserts can still be very satisfying.  This recipe is not suitable until you get to the higher fruits level in Phase 2 of Atkins.  You can enjoy this on Keto diets if you can fit the carbs into your daily carb limit.

INGREDIENTS:

2 small 4-serving boxes sugar-free raspberry gelatin

2 c. boiling water

1 cup ice water (2 c. cold water if you need 8 servings or want less intense/tart flavor)

1 cup frozen, unsweetened raspberries (use less for lower carbs)

1   7″ banana sliced (use less for lower carbs)

DIRECTIONS:  Bring a kettle of water to boil.  Place gelatin powder in a serving dish.  Pour 2 cups boiling water over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is totally dissolved.  Add the frozen berries and stir until they have defrosted.  Add the cup of ice water.  Stir again.  Slice the banana into the jello as evenly as you can get the slices.  Be sure each slice is submerged in the gelatin to seal if from air and darkening.  Place dish in refrigerator.  In 30 minutes, go back and push the banana slices down again to be sure they stay submerged (I get mad at myself when I forget to go back and do that, which I have done often).  When dessert is totally gelled, in about 2-3 hours, serve in individual cups or bowls.  although the gelatin boxes say this serves 8, I don’t think those serving sizes are realistic for adults, so I have calculated this recipe at 6 servings.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 6 servings, each contains:

50 cals, 0.33g fat, 9.63g carbs, 3.21g fiber, 6.42g NET CARBS  (4.81 NC if 8 servings), 2.6g protein, 80 mg sodium

Berry Bites

These tasty 2-bite morsels are a slight variation of my Strawberry Egg Puffs recipe.  These were a cinch to make and so good my husband just couldn’t stop.  These would be a tasty Valentine’s Day treat for your family.  🙂  They will be delightful with morning coffee or sprinkle with powdered sweetener and serve them as a dessert with afternoon tea.   These are suitable once you get to the berries rung of the Atkins Phase 2 OWL ladder. They are also OK for Keto diets.  Primal and Paleo followers will want to use only almond flour or coconut flour and change the sweetener, but are do-able I think.

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 cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try. Even a few of my recipes are in each of the 5 volumes! Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

DISCLAIMER: I am not 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.

NOTE: If you are gluten free, use all gluten-free mix, as my Einkorn mix is not gluten free.

INGREDIENTS:

4 large eggs, beaten

¼ c. Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix

¼ c. my Einkorn Bake Mix (or more Jennifer’s mix for gluten-free)

1 c. frozen strawberries, drained and chopped (or other berries)

2 T. erythritol

2 T. Splenda, granulated

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1 T. + 1 tsp. coconut oil

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º. Melt coconut oil in your mini muffin baking pan and brush 24 slots well with oil.

Beat the eggs in a small mixing bowl.  Add the bake mix.  You can use any low-carb bake mix you prefer.  Add sweeteners, vanilla and chopped berries.  Fold all together until smooth.   Using a 2 T. measuring cup, spoon batter into mini pan slots.  They will be nearly full to the brim.  Don’t worry, Mine didn’t overflow in the pans, although they do temporarily rise above the top like a souffle…..and then fall a bit when done and cooled.

Pop into oven and bake for 16-18 minutes or until risen and firm in the center.  Remove, cool a couple minutes and with knife tip, lift them out and serve while warm.

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 24 Berry Bites or “mini muffins”, each contains:

32.3 calores

2.4 g  fat

1.55 g  carbs, .37 g  fiber, 1.18 g  NET CARBS

1.67 g protein

16 mg sodium

Jam Tea Cakes

My British and Canadian readers will LOVE these!!  They were just lovely with a hot cuppa…..not too sweet.   I baked these tea cakes in a whoopie pie pan that I recently purchased (see below), so each tea cake is about 2¼” x ¼”  before slicing.  The recipe makes exactly 12  tea cakes if you carefully spoon in 1 level tablespoon of batter into each pan slot. I used my focaccia bread batter for these, actually, as I didn’t really want them too sweet or crumbly/cakey.  These are not suitable until Phase 2 OWL of Atkins.    These do not meet Primal-Paleo guidelines at all.

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: 

3 T. cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 T. cold water

1 T. heavy cream

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. dry yeast dissolved in 1 T. lukewarm water

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ c. flax meal

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

½ c. almond flour

1½ c. Monterey Jack cheese

2 T. erythritol (or other sweetener to equal around 1½ T. sugar)

1 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free version)

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  Have a non-stick whoopie pie pan at hand.  You can use a muffin-top pan, a large muffin pan or an ebilskiver pan to make these if you don’t own a whoopie pie pan.

Soften cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl.  Whisk in all the wet ingredients.  Add the cheese and stir well.  Measure in all dry ingredients and stir well to blend.   Using a tablespoon, dip up a LEVEL tablespoon of batter and using your finger to empty out the tablespoon, fill each pan slot with exactly 1 level tablespoon of batter and spread evenly with the back of a spoon.  There will be exactly enough batter to make 12 cakes that will be sliced into 24 pieces when done, to make 12 sandwich-type jam-filled tea cakes.

Pop into oven and bake for around 10-11 minutes or until firm in the center (don’t let them brown too much).  When they are totally cool, remove from pans.  Using a serrated bread knife, carefully slice them laterally.  Using the back of a teaspoon, spread one half with 1 tsp. your favorite sugar-free preserves or jam.   You want the jam to be quite thin, for lower carbs, and so it will not ooze out when these are eaten.  Most of my sugar-free jams have around 1-3 net carb per teaspoon.  Top with the other side of the cake, repeat for all 12 cakes, and serve.  ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Make 12 two-piece jam-filled tea cakes.  Numbers below do not include the jam filling.  Each tea cake consists of 2 of the sliced thinner pieces of cake with jam layered between. Therefore each jam cake/serving will contain:

129.2 calories

10.4 g  fat

2.28 g  carbs, 1.2 g  fiber, 1.18 g  NET CARBS  (plus whatever carbs in your chosen jam)

7.8 g  protein

179 mg sodium

 

Hungarian “Apple” Pastry

Click to enlarge

When I was in high school in Kansas, my best friend (also named Peggy) often had me over for dinner (we were neighbors).  Her mother was a former stage actress from Budapest who married an American Army officer during WWII.  To say her mother was a good cook would be a gross understatement.  Dinner at my friend’s house was quite the culinary experience, and as my parents were quite into gourmet cooking, I felt my ability to judge good food was well-honed by high school.

This wonderful apple dessert was like her signature dessert and it has since become a family favorite holiday dessert.  She gave my mother the recipe and I have cherished it ever since.  I have now reworked it for a low-carb lifestyle, using an entirely different crust.  I have also low carbed the filling.   The original recipe is made with all apples, a few raisins and the original crust had 1c. sour cream!  To be more authentic, you could go ahead and use sour cream for the cream called for in my pie crust below without much of a hike in carbs.  🙂  I have omitted the raisins entirely and have made mine with mostly chayote squash, with only one apple for flavor impact.  These bars definitely improve in flavor on day 2 as the rum mellows considerably overnight.

Just so I would know for myself, I worked up the nutritional numbers for making this with 5 small apples and no chayote squash and provide that info below for anyone interested in making this with all apples.  Doing so ups the carbs approximately 2 carbs per bar, which isn’t that bad a price for all apples, really.  🙂  For the holidays, I will definitely make this with all apples.  But the chayote/apple combo wasn’t bad and I would consider doing it this way again.

I hear zucchini makes a wonderful apple sub, but its moisture content in a pastry worries me a little, so I haven’t tried that apple sub yet.  I absolutely do not think this would be good with ALL chayote squash.

This dish should not be enjoyed until late in Atkins Phase 2 OWL due to the rum and apples.  I store my bars in an airtight container in the bottom of my fridge.  To be honest, they don’t usually last long enough to worry about freezing!  I’ve never frozen any of my low-carb pastries, so I don’t know how they’d freeze.

Chayote Squash (also called mirletons)

INGREDIENTS:

2  recipes Peggy’s “Flour” Pie Crust   (for gluten free, use your favorite gluten-free pie crust recipe)

1/3 c. granular Splenda (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)

2 chayote squash, peeled and sliced ¼-3/8″ thick

1 small delicious apple (2½” diameter), peeled and sliced ¼” thick

3/4 c. pecans, chopped

2 T. rum

1 T. fresh lemon juice

lemon zest of 1 lemon

3/4 c. granular erythritol (or equivalent sweetener of your choice)

2½ tsp. cinnamon

3 egg whites, beaten to frothy/soft peaks

DIRECTIONS:   You need a 8½” x 11½” baking pan for this recipe.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Make the double recipe of pie crust dough per that recipe’s instructions, adding the 1/3 c. Splenda to the mixture.   When pastry is kneaded into a solid ball of dough, form a log and break apart into 60% and 40% (bottom crust takes a little more dough than the top crust).

BOTTOM CRUST:  Take the larger piece of dough, shape in a rough log and place between two pieces plastic.  Roll out dough into a rectangle the size of the pan’s bottom plus the depth of the sides.  Dough will be fairly thin but still manageable.  The dough must be large enough go up the sides of the pan completely to the top and over the edge in order not to fall when baked.     Peel top plastic off carefully and fold in half/lift pastry into the pan.  Adjust pastry to fit.  Carefully remove second piece of plastic and fit pastry well into the walls and corners of the pan without tearing.  Allow pastry to lay over the top edge of the pan to “hold on” and not fall inward during baking.  Prick pastry with a fork at 2″ intervals to avoid it bubbling up during baking.  Bake for 10-12 minutes in a preheated 350º oven just begins to lightly brown.  Remove and cool while you make the filling.

FILLING:  Peel and slice chayote squash and microwave covered on HI for 8-10 minutes until soft.  Peel apple and place in bowl with chayote. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl with electric hand mixer until thick (thick and frothy/soft peaks).  Add nuts, rum, lemon juice and zest, erythritol and cinnamon to the apple/squash mixture and then fold in the beaten egg whites until the fruit and nuts are well-moistened.  Using a rubber spatula, scrape the filling into the half-baked crust.  Spread as evenly as possible, pushing up into corners of pastry.  Level the apples and squash pieces so no pointy bits are sticking up as they may tear the top pastry.  I’ve had that happen before.

TOP CRUST:  Roll the remaining ball of dough between the two plastic sheets, rolling it into a rectangle just a tiny bit larger than the top of the pan. Peel off top plastic and fold up/lift gently onto the filling, being sure the edges are fitting over the bottom crust.  Crimp the top crust onto the bottom crust with your fingers to seal it well.     Pop into hot 350º oven for about 22-25 minutes or until golden brown on the edges and done in the center.  Dough will be a tiny bit soft but dry to the touch.  It will look like the final product below/right when done.  Cool completely before slicing and refrigerating.

More delicious low-carb desert 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! (also available individually) from Amazon or here: 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

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 24 bars/servings, each containing:

Click to enlarge

74.14 calories

6.43 g  fat

7.1 g  carbs, 5.33 g fiber, 1.77 NET CARBS

2.68 g  protein

61.33 mg sodium

40% RDA copper, 22% iron, 29% manganese

FOR THE CURIOUS:  With all apple filling, using 5 small 2½” apples:  93 calories, 7.5g fat, 10.06 g  carbs, 6.36 g  fiber, 3.7 net carbs

Strawberry German Pancake

Strawberry German Pancake

When I opened the refrigerator this morning, two things called to me: a cut spaghetti squash half and a few remaining red strawberries in the carton.  It immediately brought to mind a couple of very old recipes of mine, pre-low-carb days.   I wondered how I might low-carb it into something for a late breakfast.  BINGO, I’ll put the pancake and pie recipes I was thinking about together to create something new.  So that’s what I did!

This is my low-carb version of my old German Pancake recipe, although mine has less egg in it than is typical (I’m not too fond of eggs). This came out delicious and my husband, who dislikes all things spaghetti squash, could NOT tell it was in the dessert I served him for brunch!  Don’t ya just love when you fool someone’s taste buds that way?  🙂 Unable to find my old recipe, I just started without one. I first cooked the squash and forked out 1 c. of the threads for this recipe, storing the rest in the freezer for another use.   Then I started throwing things on top of that into the bowl.   Sometimes the ingredients just click!  🙂  This is not suitable until the berries rung of the OWL ladder.  Anyway, I think you’ll like this should you decide to give it a go.

VARIATION:  Use fresh peaches and sugar-free peach jam instead of the strawberry flavor theme. (will be higher carbs)

You can have many more tasty low-carb recipes like this at your fingertips with your very own copy of the Low Carbing Among Friends cookbooks by Jennifer Eloff and a group of very talented low-carb internet cooks.  Check out their Facebook page for a sampling on what awaits you in these books.  Order yours today at Amazon or here: http://amongfriends.us/order.php

I receive no remuneration for this promotion nor for the inclusion of my recipes therein. I promote them simply because they contain amazing recipes you’ll want to try.

INGREDIENTS FOR PANCAKE: 

1 c. cooked spaghetti squash threads

1 oz. cream cheese

2 T. butter, unsalted

2 beaten eggs

1½ pkt. Truvia sweetener, or equivalent sweetener of your choice

2 tsp. DaVinci Vanilla sugar-free syrup (or ¼ tsp. vanilla extract)

2 T. golden flax meal  (or 2 T. almond flour, or 1 T. coconut flour)

1 T. sugar-free strawberry preserves

3 oz. sliced strawberries

WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING:  1/3 c. cream, whipped.  Add 1/8 tsp. vanilla & 3 drops liquid sweetener. Stir.

DIRECTIONS:  Microwave on HI a seeded spaghetti squash half cut-side down in ½” water for 13-15 minutes.  Fork out 1 c. of the threads into a mixing bowl.  Store the rest in your fridge or freezer for another use.  Preheat oven to 350º.  While still hot, mix in the cream cheese and butter to melt.  Stir well.    Add eggs, sweetener, DaVinci, flax meal and sliced strawberries.  Stir well and pour into buttered pie plate or quiche dish.  Bake at 350º for about 20-25 minutes or until center is set.  Remove and cool almost completely (top layer cannot be even warm really, but bottom one will still be) or the whipped cream topping will melt and be a runny mess, spoiling visual appearance greatly.  Cut into quarters and carefully lift 1 quarter out onto each of 2 serving plates.  Spread half the strawberry preserves on each in a thin layer.  Place another quarter of the pancake nicely on top and top with half the whipped cream topping.  Serve at once and ENJOY!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:    Makes 2 servings each containing:  (calculated using flax meal):

356 calories

29 g  fat

12.5 g  carbs, 4.85 g  fiber, 7.65 g  NET CARBS

10.5 g  protein

217 mg sodium

314 mg potassium

Cranberry Trail Mix

 

 

Cranberry Trail Mix

I absolutely love this stuff!  It’s like having fruitcake but without all the cake!  🙂     This makes a lovely gift when going to parties or for the holidays.  Just place in a pretty clear glass container and affix a pretty bow on top!  The batch pictured had both roasted and unroasted pumpkin seeds in it, as I had a few unroasted I wanted to use.   Sorry, this treat is not for Induction.

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 cooks to bring you a wealth of delicious recipes you are going to want to try. Even a few of my recipes are in each of the 5 volumes! Order your set TODAY! (also available individually) from Amazon or their direct order site.

DISCLAIMER: By personal choice, I do not receive money 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.

INGREDIENTS:

5 oz. pumpkin seeds, hulled and roasted (I use salted 😦 as I can’t find unsalted)

5 oz. sunflower seeds, roasted (I prefer unsalted)

2 oz. walnuts (about 28 halves), coarsely chopped/broken up

6 oz. fresh coconut meat, slivered thinly

4 oz. sliced almonds

6 oz. (½ bag) fresh cranberries, oven dried per this recipe   http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/snacks/r/driedcran.htm

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 200º and spread thinly sliced coconut onto a sheet pan. Dry for about 1½-2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven before coconut begins to brown!  You don’t really want to toast it for this recipe.  Remove from oven and cool completely.

Using liquid sweetener for the granular, follow the recipe for making dried cranberries (homemade craisins) as written.  I found this process takes right at 8 hours, so doing this overnight is good.  To save effort in future, you might want to go ahead and dry the entire bag of cranberries while you’re at it.  That way you can bag up and reserve the remaining 6 oz. for future use.  Remove fully dried  cranberries from oven and cool.  Toss all cooled recipe ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes about 6 cups, or twelve ½ c. servings.  Each ½ c. serving has:

273 calories

23.7 g  fat

10.7 g  carbs, 5.1 g  fiber, 5.6 g NET CARBS

9.5 g  protein

71.6 mg sodium

 

Jicama “Apple” Crisp

 

Click to enlarge

This creation really tastes like classic apple crisp to me.  The pork rinds surprised me, as they didn’t taste like pork rinds at all!  But the brand I used “Mac’s”, that I found at my local Dollar Store, was really mild.  The next time I baked this I used Baken-ets brand and the crumb topping that time had a hint of pork rinds.  So you might want to increase the cinnamon a bit if your brand has a strong smell of pork rinds.  The Mac’s brand had almost no odor or strong taste at all.    I noticed that right away when I ate some right out of the bag.  I’m going to try to get some more of those if I can.  Another mild brand good for this is Turkey Creek Snacks.  You could even add some chopped pecans to the topping if you’re on the nuts rung of OWL.

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz. jicama, peeled and grated or sliced thin (I prefer grated)

4 T. butter, unsalted

¼ c. Splenda, granular

1 tsp. cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

2 oz. plain pork rinds, crushed fine in blender or processor

1 capful maple extract + ¼ c. water

Sprinkle of xanthan gum

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in  glass baking dish.  Peel and slice jicama (not too thick or it won’t get tender enough) and toss in butter to coat.  Mix maple extract into ¼ c. water, add nutmeg and xanthan gum, stir and pour mixture over jicama.  Mix well.    In clean bowl, mix crushed pork rinds, Splenda and cinnamon, stirring swell.  Sprinkle topping over jicama.  Bake at 350º for 20 minutes (longer if jicama in thicker slices).

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 5 servings, each containing:

186 calories

12.9 g  fat

10 g  carbs

4.7 g  fiber

5.3 g  NET CARBS

7.8 g  protein

214 mg sodium

Jicama Cinnamon Chips

I love these for an easy dessert, for breakfast or for a late night snack.  They are very filling and taste a lot like baked apples!  These things satisfied my sweet tooth during Atkins Induction Phase 14 when I craved something sweet.  This recipe is suitable for Keto, Paleo and Primal diets.

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. jicama, peeled & sliced less than ¼” thick

2 T. melted butter

4-5 drops liquid stevia or liquid Splenda (or your preferred sweetener)

½ tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 350º.  In sheet pan, melt butter.  Stir in cinnamon and liquid Splenda.  Slice jicama about 1/8″ thick (1/4″ if you like them crunchier) and place each slice into butter/cinnamon mixture.  Turn over so both sides are coated well.  Bake at 350º for about 20 minutes until begin to soften.  Serve warm!

VARIATION:   I have made this in a skillet using peeled chayote squash and a bit more butter.  Then I pop the skillet into the oven to finish off.  But I didn’t invent that wheel.  You can find that recipe over on Linda Genaw’s website:  http://genaw.com/lowcarb/fried_apples.html.  

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Serves 1 person.  Entire recipe contains:

239 cals, 23.1g fat, 8.4g carbs, 4.8g fiber, 3.6g NET CARBS, 0.9g protein, 6.8 mg. sodium

 

Lemon Curd

One of my favorite things with biscuits is lemon curd.  I grew to love this scone & pastry topping while on an extensive trip through Britain in the 80’s.  This is my traditional recipe modified to be Atkins friendly.  Had it on a Muffin-in-a-Minute for breakfast and man was it ever good!  I would think this would also make a good cream filling between layers of vanilla cake or pound cake.  As lemon and lime juice is limited during Induction to 3 T. per day, this recipe is only suitable for Induction if you don’t over indulge.

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs, whisked well

1 T. liquid Splenda (or other sweetener to equal 1 c. sugar)

½ c. fresh lemon juice

1 T. lemon peel, grated

¼ c. unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS:  In a saucepan, whisk eggs, add sweetener, lemon juice and peel.  Turn fire to medium-low and add butter.  Cook, stirring constantly for about 10-15 minutes until thickened.  Pour into jar and chill/store in refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes about 20 T. or ten 2T. servings, each serving contains:

54.53 cals, 4.6g fat, 1.56g carbs, 0.41g fiber, 1.15g NET CARBS, 2.13g protein, 23 mg. sodium

Baked Spaghetti Squash

Click to enlarge

This is one of my favorite ways to eat spaghetti squash.  It’s Induction friendly and counts as veggie carbs!

INGREDIENTS:

½ spaghetti squash cooked (about 3 c. threads)

½ stick unsalted butter, melted (using less will lower calories shown below)

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ c. granular Splenda (or equivalent sweetener)

½ tsp. maple extract (or couple tablespoons sugar free maple syrup)

DIRECTIONS:

Cut squash in half and place face down in ½” water in microwaveable glass dish.  MW on HI for 15 minutes.  Drain off water & set squash aside.  In same glass dish, melt the butter in the microwave.  Stir in cinnamon, Splenda and maple extract.  Now fork squash threads out of the squash skin and into the dish with the melted butter/cinnamon mixture.  Stir well to blend.  Bake in microwave for 3 minutes on HI.  Eat while still hot.  This makes a great dessert and I find I also like it for breakfast!  Kind of reminds me of eating hot cereal with brown sugar & cinnamon!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes 3 large servings each containing:214 calories

19.33 g  fat

10.77 g  carbs

2.47 g  fiber

8.3 g  Net Carbs

1.2 g  protein