Ketofied Cheese Cake

Tomorrow we will be celebrating our neighbour's 71st birthday. His birthday is on Monday but Saturday is a better night for us all.
When you live on a farm, your neighbours are like family. Help is only a whistle or a phone call away. We don't ring a door bell when we go visiting, we knock, open the door and holler "Yoo hoo! Anybody home?" It isn't considered rude or intrusive, it is part of our every day life. If nobody answers, the next stop is the barn. Anyhow, our neighbour Gilles is a neighbour like this. Ever since I moved here, it had been my job to bake his birthday cake. He has a standing order for my famous chocolate mousse cake. I have developed a Ketofied version of this cake but Gilles wants the real deal so Gilles will get the real deal. I now have to bring two cakes on his birthday because his wife and her cousin, who lives with them, are also on the low carb, sugar free way of life. Today I will share my Ketofied Cheese Cake recipe with you and keep the Ketofied Chocolate Mousse Cake for another day. There is only so much dessert a Keto queen can Eat! The original recipe came from my dear friend Donna many years ago. I have modified it for my Keto needs.

Ketofied Cheese Cake
Ketofied Cheese Cake
Recipe

Crust

1 Cup Almond flour

1/4 cup sweetener

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

1/8 cup butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 400. Grease the inside of a 9-10 inch spring form pan. Remove the sides. Blend together the above ingredients until moist but crumbly. Spread about half of the mixture onto the bottom of the pan, cover with parchment and roll with rolling pin until a thin layer covers the entire bottom of the pan. Remove the parchment paper and bake for 4-6 minutes until it begins to brown. Watch closely so it doesn't burn. Remove from oven and let cool.

Spread the other half of the mixture onto the walls of the pan in a thin player. Reassemble the pan.

Filling

5 Packages (250 grams or 8 ounces each) full fat cream cheese softened

1 3/4 Cups sweetener

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 eggs

2 additional egg yolks

1/4 Cup full fat sour cream.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Fill, until half full, a roasting pan, or other pan with high sides, with warm water and place on the middle rack of the oven. You will be placing the cake pan directly into the bath so leave enough room for water level to rise. This will help to ensure that the cake does not crack.

In a stand mixer beat the cream cheese, sweetener and zest together until smooth. Add the vanilla and the eggs and yolks, one at a time, scraping sides to make sure no lumps remain. Add the sour cream and beat until smooth.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Cover seam of pan, where the bottom fits into the sides, with tin foil to ensure the water from the water bath does not seep in.

Place cake in the water bath and bake in 500 oven for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 250 and bake for another hour.

Once cake is firm to the touch, turn off oven, leave cake in oven and leave the door slightly ajar. Once the oven has cooled down you can remove the cake to the counter to finish cooling.

 1/16 of the cake has approximately 4.5 net carbs without the optional glaze and garnish.

Glaze and Garnish (optional)

100 grams  crushed ripe strawberries. (about 3 berries)

1/2 cup hot water

1 tablespoon sweetener (or to taste)

1 envelope Knox gelatine powder (7 grams per pouch)

3 large whole berries for garnish

Mix the crushed berries, hot water and the Knox gelatine until smooth. Leave to cool for a few minutes. It will begin to thicken slightly. Pour mixture over top of cake, letting it drizzle over the sides slightly. Top with the three berries as desire.

Glaze adds about 1 carb per slice.

I hope you enjoy this decadent dessert as much as we do! 

Hugs

Diane

© 2016-2017 Diane rolfe ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Spicy Thai Shrimp

I always keep a bag of raw shrimp in the freezer for emergency back up. Some days I get caught up in my paper work or I stay to chat with my friend Ruth a little longer than anticipated after our morning run, forgetting to take something out of the freezer for supper when I get home. Shrimp can be defrosted in minutes by simply running it under cold water. Sometimes I just defrost and sauté in garlic and butter and serve with a salad on the side. Delicious!
Yesterday I went for my morning run with Ruth and then we chatted over coffee. After she left I knew I had a couple of desserts to prepare for this weekend and I had paper work to catch up on also. Since my kitchen is my happy place I started in the kitchen with the cakes. I tucked my second cake into the oven and suddenly realized it was nearly noon and my billing had not been done yet. I rushed to my office to get my billing done for my real job and then my husband stopped at the house at about 1:30, between deliveries, for a late lunch and all of the leftovers vanished! Ugh, I had been counting on that for supper.
I was already exhausted from standing on my feet all morning so I went to the freezer and got out the bag of raw shrimp. Supper was delicious! Ketofied from Shrimp in Thai Coconut Sauce

Spicy Thai Shrimp

Spicy Thai Shrimp

Recipe

Shrimp

2 pounds raw shrimp peeled and deveined

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 

4 cloves fresh garlic minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Toss cleaned and prepared shrimp with olive oil and toss with the garlic, salt and red pepper flakes.

Vegetables

200 grams of sliced sweet peppers (I used half red, half yellow)

125 grams of onions sliced in slivers

1 tablespoon olive oil.

In a deep wok, sauté the vegetables in the olive oil until soft. 

Remove the vegetables from the pan to a large bowl using a slotted spoon and sauté the shrimp in the same pan until they turn pink and start to curl. Add Shrimp to the bowl of vegetables.

Coconut milk sauce

1 can coconut milk 

6 tablespoons fish sauce

3 tablespoons peanut butter (preferably low sugar)

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 Tablespoon erythritol

1 Tablespoon ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in a wok and bring to a small boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes until reduced.

Add the vegetables and shrimp to the sauce and cook for another few minutes until heated through.

Serve over cauliflower rice and garnish with a few sprigs of cilantro and a some green onion.

Serves 6-8. Approximately 6 net carbs per 1/8 th of recipe without the cauliflower.

Meat Balls

My sister Susan is a wonderful cook. When we were younger I looked up to her so much, still do. She was my idol. She was an awesome cook, the fancy Martha Stewart type cook. When she gives me a recipe, I know it will be great!
One year I was writing a recipe book for my children and one of my God daughters. My sisters, sister-in-law and friends all contributed recipes. One of the recipes Susan gave me was for Gourmet Pork Sliders or Burgers. I have never used the recipe as intended, but instead, we have enjoyed the recipe as meat balls. I had to make a minor modification to ketofy it but they are just as awesome!
Just a little story about my sister Susan before I give you this wonderful recipe. I want you to understand why I hold her so dear to my heart. Susan is a wonderful sister and has always included me, made me feel appreciated and loved. My parents wanted to send me to Private School but I was having none of it! Susan offered to change schools and go with me, even though it was her graduating year. Left all of her friends behind! She wrote my valedictorian speech for me in high school, typed all of my papers in university and was always there for me when I needed her. One day, soon after she had started working and making money she came home from downtown with shopping bags. She pulled a cute little green zip up hoodie out of her bags and showed it off to me. It was so adorable that I blurted out "you should have bought me one too!" To my surprise and enormous glee she quickly whipped a second hoodie out of her bags and handed it to me. One of the best moments of my teenage years! In that moment I felt beautiful and loved. I will never forget what a wonder sister she has been.
Okay, enough about that, wipe away your tears! Time to cook!

Meat Balls
Meat balls
Recipe

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 Cup finely chopped onion

1 clove minced garlic 

1 1/2 pounds ground meat (1/2 pound each of veal/pork/beef is the tastiest blend)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons soya sauce

1 Tablespoon of oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Psyllium husks if needed to hold meatballs together 

1/2 teaspoon or more of guar gum to thicken gravy. 

Sauté the onions and minced garlic in the olive oil until soft. Remove from heat and cool.

Mix the Meats, with the remainder of the ingredients, adding the cooled onion and garlic mixture. You can add a tablespoon or so of psyllium husks to meat mixture to dry the mixture out, if too sticky. You just want the mixture to stick together well. Mix until well blended. 

Use a small scoop to scoop out a small ball of meat and then roll the balls in your hand to make them nice and round.

Fry meatballs in batches in a large nonstick frying pan. Once all of the meat balls are cooked remove from pan and make a gravy with the remnants in the pan.

Gravy

 Do not clean the frying pan, You want to leave all the fat and bits in the pan to add flavour to the gravy.

Add about 2 Cups of water to the frying pan.

Bring to a small boil and scrape the pan drippings and meat pieces off the bottom with a wooden spoon. 

Once all the pieces are scraped loose you can add about 1-1 /2 Tablespoons of Beef liquid Bovril to the liquid.

Add the guar gum to the gravy while whisking a little at a time until you get the thickness desired. Add more if needed.  Continue cooking and wishing until the gravy begins to thicken.

Add meat balls back to sauce, heat and serve over caulirice or noodles.
Makes approximately 6 portions, about 3 net carbs per portion (caulirice or zoodles extra)

Eggplant Zucchini Lasagna

My neighbours own a Cabane à Sucre (sugar shack). My husband and I actually got married there. We got married at Canadian Thanksgiving so the meal was turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, the whole nine yards, and of course, wedding cake. That was many years ago before fibromyalgia had grasped a hold of me, when I could still tolerate all the carbs!
We still go to the Cabane à Sucre but I bring my own food for the most part. This past Christmas we held our company party there and there was also a bigger group in the main dinning room. I knew I would have to bring my own food because I eat Keto and my daughter-in-law eats vegetarian. A few of the guests from the other group were vegetarian and one lady Gluten free so Helen, the owner's wife asked me if there was any way I could make something that would cover all the bases. She was swamped with enough work prepping for all the parties of the season. I make the desserts for my group so I was sure to bake my Low Carb Lemon Ricotta Cake (see my first post on this blog) but I also baked a Gluten Free Carrot Cake to give the GF lady a choice that didn't contain artificial sweeteners (the employee didn't know the difference and helped devour all of it!), I also made a huge platter of various Christmas treats (that I can't eat anymore, but it isn't all about me).
I had made a wonderful Roasted Vegetable Lasagna, pre-Keto, that I was fairly certain I could modify to accommodate the entire "special diet" gang.
It is still quite high in carbs having about 11 net carbs per serving but it was a special occasion so I planned ahead and made sure that I had room for it in my macros. It is also very filling and I am never able to eat an entire piece.

Eggplant Zucchini Lasagna
Eggplant Zucchini Lasagna
Recipe

Roasted Vegetables

2 pounds of eggplant sliced on the long side into thick slices 

600 grams zucchini sliced on the long side into thick slices

1/4 Cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan Béchamel

2 tablespoons butter

1 tsp psyllium husks

5 ounces of heavy cream plus enough water to fill to 1 1/4 cups

1/4 cup grated Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese

1 pinch nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Additional Ingredients

200 grams frozen spinach thawed and drained of excess water.

3 cups passata (strained tomatoes)

200 grams raw zucchini sliced on the long side into thin sliced 

3 cups mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese

Prepare roasted vegetables. Cut into lengths, brush with the oil, salt and pepper and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast at 425 for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

These will be your "noodles".

Prepare Béchamel. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. Add the psyllium husks and cook for 1 minute. Add the cream mixture and bring to a small boil then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 3-5 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese and the nutmeg. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Set aside.

Assemble the Lasagna. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Place a layer of roasted eggplant, 1/2 of the spinach and then 1 cup of the strained tomatoes and 1/2 of the béchamel sauce. Cover with 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese. Place the roasted zucchini to cover, add another cup of the strained tomatoes, the other half of the spinach and the remainder of the béchamel. Cover with another layer of the roasted eggplant, the last cup of strained tomatoes and the rest of the mozzarella cheese. Cover the entire lasagna surface with the raw zucchini ribbons in a woven crisscross pattern. Sprinkle the top with the 1/4 cup of  Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes then brown under broiler for a few minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. This one is going to my mother-in-law. She is almost 86 years old and diabetic so we try to encourage her to eat lower carb. She can be a tad stubborn!

Spicy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Drum Sticks

We eat a lot of chicken! I would say that we eat chicken at least 3 days of the week, more if we have a meal of left overs, well, if Andre doesn't take the left overs for lunch that is. I probably have a dozen or so favourite recipes but I am constantly looking for new ideas. I came across a few posts for garlic Parmesan chicken wings, tweaked them to my liking and came up with this version for drum sticks. No sense in feeding Andre wings, he needs something meatier than that! These are delicious and are good cold the next day for lunch.

Spicy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Deum Sticks

Spicy Garlic Parmesan Chicken Drum Sticks

Recipe

3 to 3 1/2 pounds of chicken drumsticks, skin on, bone in.

!/8 Cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

1 tablespoon kosher salt

3 cloves garlic minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Wash and pat dry the chicken drum sticks and put in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil making sure to cover completely.

In a separate bowl combine the garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, red pepper flakes, Herbes de Provence and kosher salt. toss the spices together to mix. Add the minced garlic and mix well. 

Toss the spice mixture on the chicken drum sticks making sure all pieces are well covered.

Preheat BBQ to about 350 and grill chicken, turning often and moving around to ensure that they are well cooked but not burned. This should take about 30-45 minutes. 

You can also cook the chicken in the oven for about 30-45 minutes if you prefer.

Once chicken is cook through, return to a clean bowl and toss with the grated Parmesan cheese.

Approximately 1.5 net carbs per 2 drum sticks.

Hazelnut Torte

One of the best recipes handed down to me over the years was from my dear friend Miguel Monast, his Hazelnut Torte recipe. I think he would say the same about the Chocolate Mousse Cake that I passed on to him. The only difference being that he is 10 times the cook and baker that I am. He once asked me to come over to his house and read my Chocolate Cake recipe to him while he baked it for a church luncheon. Miguel does not use measuring cups or timers, he scoops with his hand to measure a cup and smells with his nose to know when the cake is ready. Miguel is legally blind. As I read out the ingredients to him I was mortified that he was not really measuring and randomly decided to add an extra scoop here, an egg there and did not set the timer because he claimed he could smell when the cake was done. The cake is so expensive to make that I was panicked that it would not turn out! All of my worries turned to frustration when his version of my cake turned out about 6 inches taller than mine. Bows to you my friend. He bakes my cake often and I bake his often.
The instructions I received for Miguel's Hazelnut Torte had measurements like "heaping cup full and bake until you smell....)
So here is my version of Miguel's Hazelnut Torte ketofied.

Hazelnut Torte

Hazelnut Torte

Recipe

The cake

360 -400 grams raw hazelnuts roasted, cooled and ground into a fine flour.

Divide into two equal portions. You will use half of the hazelnut flour in each cake layer.

Prepare 2,  9" cake pans. I cut a parchment to fit the bottom of each pan and spray with cooking spray. I use Pam olive or coconut oil spray.

Each Layer (make twice)

1/2 of the ground hazelnuts prepared above

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 Cup Truvia (The one in the little pot)

6 eggs

Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and whirl until well combined.

Poor into prepared pan.

Repeat for second layer.

Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes.

Cool cakes completely on wire rack.

Once cooled, cut each cake horizontally to make 4 layers.

On one of the cut sides of each cake, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of Jordan's sugar free Hazelnut Skinny syrup  before adding whipped topping. (Optional)

Whipped Topping

1 litre of Heavy cream (4 cans coconut milk, cream only, can be substituted)

1/8- 1/4 Cup Truvia, to taste (Truvia is granular so I whip it up in my grinder to powder it) 

In a stand mixer with whisk attachment add sweetener a bit at a time.

Assemble cake with whipped topping between each layer, on top and sides of cake.

Cut cake into 16 pieces and enjoy.

Each slice has approximately 4.5 net carbs
Note: to make the creamed topping chocolate just add about 1/2 cup cocoa to the whipped topping.

© 2016-2017 DIANE ROLFE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Fat Head Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza? The thought of never eating pizza again is a little unrealistic really. Fear not my low carb friends, the Fat Head Pizza is a life saver! Although a little high in carbs to eat every day,  pizza is a wonderful treat for a party or a family movie night. The dough is made with cheese, almond flour and an egg. It is fast and simple to throw together and satisfies that Friday night pizza craving. There is a coconut flour version out there for those that have nut allergies. I have not tried it yer but Sugar-Free Mom has one I bet would work well.

Here is my version.

Fat Head Pizza

Fat Head Pizza
Recipe

The crust

1 1/2 Cups shredded Mozzarella cheese

3/4 Cup almond flour

2 Tablespoons cream cheese

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 425 and line a pan with parchment paper.

Make sure to have your almond flour measured and your egg beaten before you start. 

In a microwaveable bowl add the mozzarella and cream cheese. Heat on high for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and stir quickly. Return to microwave for another 30 seconds. Quickly add almond flour and beaten egg and mix until well blended. 

While still warm, spread out on parchment lined pizza pan or cookie sheet. Poke holes with a fork throughout crust to prevent bubbling.

Bake in convection oven 425 for 10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. 

Remove from oven to dress crust

The Topping

1 tsp olive oil or ghee or butter

30 grams red onion

100 grams white mushrooms

1/4 Cup pizza sauce 

20 slices pepperoni

1/2 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese

40 grams shredded parmigiana Regiano 

Heat small frying pan with 1 tsp olive oil, ghee or butter. 

Sauté vegetables until cooked and set aside.

Once crust has been cooked, add the sauce, vegetables, pepperoni and cheeses. 

Set oven to broil. Return pizza to oven and broil for 3-5 minutes or until top is bubbly and golden

I divide into 8 slices. Each slice has about 5 net carbs. 

I hope you enjoy this treat as much as we do. 

Thanks for sharing this recipe. 

Zucchini Fries

In the summer we have an abundance of zucchini so we eat it as a side dish often! 

Sometimes we seed it, cut it into wide wedges, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder and herbs de provinces and throw it on the BBQ with the chicken, steak or pork we are cooking. It's fast, easy and delicious. My personal favourite, however, is to bake it in the oven with Parmesan cheese and herbs. The first time I came across this idea was on Damn delicious. We have since modified the recipe slightly to suit our taste buds so here is our version.

Baked Zucchini Fries

Baked Zucchini Fries
Recipe

1 extra large zucchini, about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 Cup Kraft Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon each of kosher salt, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, basil and Herbes de Provence
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Wash, seed and cut zucchini into wedges. Mine are about 3 inches long. Put wedges in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil making sure to cover each wedge generously with the oil.
In a small bowl combine the Parmesan with the herbs and spices.
Prepare a roasting pan with the insert or wire rack so the wedges don't sit directly on the pan.
Roll wedges in cheese and herb mixture, covering liberally, and place on rack.
Bake in 425 convection oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is golden in colour.
Each serving is Approximately 3.5 net carbs.
Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again.  

Naked Egg Rolls

A few months before I discovered the low carb way of eating I had been dabbling in cooking Chinese food. I had gotten quite good at it and I was very pleased with myself. My son Michael even told me that my egg rolls were better than the ones he eats when he visits the Chinese side of his girlfriend's family. That was a huge complement and it made me want to discover more Chinese dishes. One evening last summer I invited the neighbours for supper and served them a feast of Chinese food. They devoured it! 

Chinese food often has a lot of sugar in it and dumplings and egg rolls have wrappers which were not a part of my new way of eating anymore. I still made Chinese food for others, my friend Karen-Anne loves to come for Chinese, but I cannot eat it so I usually just make myself something else. 

I love egg rolls so much that I finally decided to just eat the filling. It was delicious all on its own, and so, the Naked Egg Rolls became a favourite of mine. Since then I have seen recipes similar to mine called Crack Slaw. Pretty much the same thing but I prefer the name Naked Egg Rolls. 

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do.

Naked Egg Rolls

Naked Egg Rolls

Recipe

3 pounds ground pork

1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger

4 large cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon sweetener of your choice (I use erythritol)

1/2 Cup soya sauce

1 Tablespoon MCT oil or coconut oil

2 bags Coleslaw (14 ounces each/397g)

6 green onions diced, reserve some to sprinkle on top of each plate

3 eggs, scrambled

Cook scrambled eggs and set aside

Sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant and then add the meat. Continue cooking until meat is no longer pink.

In a separate bowl combine the coleslaw with the diced green onions, reserving some green onions for sprinkling on top of plates.

In another bowl whisk the salt, sugar and soya sauce. 

Drain excess fat from meat mixture and then add the coleslaw mixture.

Add the soya sauce mixture and toss until well covered. 

Heat until desired temperature, tossing in the scrambled eggs near the end.

Sprinkle top of each serving with a few pieces of green onion.

Serves 10 unless your name is André! He ate 3 enormous helpings! 

About 7 net carbs per serving 

Best Greek Chicken Ever

Shortly after starting my Keto journey we were invited for supper by my dear friend Karen-Anne. Karen-Anne knew that I had started a new way of eating and wanted to make a tasty meal that we could all enjoy. She confided in her long time friend Elisa Shepherd who is a chef and Elisa gave her this wonderful recipe which Karen-Anne made for us that evening. I have modified it to cut some of the carbs but it is so easy and flexible that I am sure it will become one of your favourites also. 

Best Greek Chicken Ever

Best Greek Chicken Ever

Recipe

4 chicken breasts 

Salt and pepper to taste

2-3 medium tomatoes diced

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons fresh oregano chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup baby spinach

4 tablespoon olive oil, plus enough to grease pan 

Cut chicken breasts length wise to make 8 thinner pieces. Salt and pepper the pieces and place in bottom of well greased 9x13 glass baking dish.

In a separate bowl combine feta, tomatoes, spinach, diced garlic and oregano. Mix together well, spoon this over chicken breasts and drizzle with the olive oil. 

Bake in 350 oven for 45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

You can also add sliced red and yellow peppers and some olives if desired. 

Serve over caulirice or with a side dish of your choice. 

We opted for celery root fries tonight.

Keto Breakfast Pizza

Everybody enjoys my husband Andre's breakfast. My friend Karen Anne loves to come for supper and a sleepover just so she doesn't miss out on his fabulous breakfast. He would have made an awesome short order cook. I know that I am lucky to have a man who can cook and clean up. The cleaning up part usually only happens when we have company but at least it happens! 

So this mornig he made one of my favourite breakfast dishes, Keto Breakfast Pizza. As I pointed out in my last post, there is more than one way to fry an egg. The recipe is always changing depending on what we have in the vegetable drawer but the basics of eggs, sauce, meat, red onion and cheese are always there.

Keto Breakfast Pizza

Keto Breakfast Pizza 

Recipe

1/4 red onion

4 white mushroom

4 eggs beaten 

4 slices bacon 

10 pieces pepperoni

1/4 cup tomato or pizza sauce (if using plain tomato sauce add basil and oregano to taste

1/2 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

1/4 cup sliced or shredded cheddar cheese

Butter for frying

Sauted onions and mushrooms in butter until soft and set aside

Fry bacon, drain and cut into pieces.

Remove excess bacon fat leaving just enough to fry omelette.

Beat the four eggs and fry in pan making sure that entire bottom of pan is covered. Fry on one side until it starts to bubble and top is almost dry. Turn over carefully, it helps to slide it onto a plate and then flip it back over into the pan. At this point turn off heat and turn oven on to broil setting. Allow oven to heat as you dress the "pizza". 

Cover cooked side of omelette with  tomatoe sauce, sauted vegetables, bacon, pepperoni and then top with the two kinds of cheese. 

Place pan with dressed omelette in oven under broiler for about 3-5 minutes or just until cheese starts to turn golden and bubble. 

Divide into 2-3 servings and enjoy!

You can add any toppings you wish but all meat and vegetables should be pre-cooked since the omelette does not cook in the oven for long. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe and thanks for stopping by! 

Hugs

Diane 

Keto Friendly Pancakes

Keto Friendly Pancakes
But what do you eat for breakfast if you can't eat bread or cereal?

The most difficult meal of the day for people who are just starting a low carb diet seems to be breakfast. People just can't fathom a breakfast without carbs. Cereal, pancakes, toast, donuts and muffins.... How can you possibly eat breakfast without carbs? I asked the same question when I first started this woe (way of eating).

It turns out that it isn't really that difficult. You just have to think outside the box. Eat leftovers, a salad, ham and cheese, whatever turns your crank! 

Scrambled eggs and bacon are usually the first choice but who wants to eat scrambled eggs every day  right? Well there is more than one way to fry an egg folks. My husband makes me an egg pizza on Sunday mornings that is awesome! It is basically an omelette with pizza sauce, sautéed vegetables, pepperoni and cheese on top, finished under the broiler to bubble the cheese. It is unbelievably delicious, plus I don't have to make it. Some mornings I will eat a scrambled egg with freshly shredded parmigiana, a whole avocado and two slices of bacon. Other days I have some delicious smoked salmon with a sliced avocado and a celery stick salted or stuffed with Boursin cheese.
When I need a break from eggs Keto friendly pancakes are a special treat for me. I serve them with a pad of butter and sugar free syrup. The syrups I use are Jordan's Skinny Syrup I found them in one of my local stores but you can order them online also. I ketofied this recipe from Bob's Red Mill

Keto Friendly Pancakes

Keto Friendly Pancakes

Recipe

Dry ingredients

1/4 Cup coconut flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tablespoon sweetener (I use Splenda or erythritol)

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

Wet ingredients

4 eggs

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons MCT oil (liquid coconut oil would also work)

Beat together wet ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until well mixed and all lumps are dissolved.

Heat a non stick frying pan or griddle and brush with more MCT oil, liquid coconut oil or butter.

Ladle 1/4 cup batter onto heated and oiled pan and cook until bubbles begin to form. Flip pancake and cook other side. Makes about 8 nice sized pancakes. 

I updated the recipe to 2 tablespoons of oil. I find they are fluffier.
Approximately 2.5 net carbs per 2 pancakes. 

Low Carb Lemon Ricotta Cake

This is by far my favourite low cab dessert. It is quick to make, delicious and elegant looking enough to serve to guests. I ketofied this recipe from a posting I found on cakeletsanddoilies.blogspot.com The original recipe called for caster sugar and a dusting of icing sugar. I modified the recipe to use a sweetener and did away with the dusting. I also reduced the lemon zest and opted for pure vanilla essence rather than the bean.

Low Carb Lemon Ricotta Cake

Low Carb Lemon Ricotta Cake
Recipe

Preheat convection oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8 inch cake pan with coconut oil spray. Line bottom with a circle cut to size from a sheet of parchment paper and spray the top of the paper once in place.

1/2 Cup butter softened

1 1/3 Cups sugar substitute. (Splenda or Erythritol/Stevia mix are my standard choices)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon zest (zest from 2 large lemons should do it)

4 eggs, separated. (Room temperature is preferred to get better air in whites)

2 1/2 Cups almond flour

10 1/2 ounces ricotta cheese

1/4 Cup slivered almonds for top 

Beat together the butter, 1 Cup of the sweetener, vanilla and lemon zest until creamy and smooth being sure to scrape sides of bowl. About 5 minutes.

Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating until all 4 are incorporated.

Add the almond flour and beat again until smooth. Fold in Ricotta. 

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the other 1/3 Cup of sweetener and continue beating until stiff peaks form. 

Fold the egg whites gently into the almond flour mixture until well incorporated. 

Pour the mixture into prepared cake pan smoothing the top.

Sprinkle the slivered almonds over the top of the batter and bake for 45 minutes or until top is firm to touch. 

Note: For my oven I bake at 350, even on convection setting.  

Remove from oven and cool almost completely in cake pan. Once cooled enough to  turn out. Turn onto hand and then on to wire rack right side up. 

There are approximately 3.7 net carbs per 1/12th of the cake. 

About me

I started my Keto journey on September 3, 2015.
I had suffered from the pain, memory loss and depression associated with fibromyalgia for several years. I had put on weight, my brain power was dwindling, I couldn't concentrate (brain fog) and I really just felt like my healthy years were over. Every day was a struggle.
One afternoon my dear friend Pamela, (a nurse) dropped in for a visit and noticed that I was short of breath.  She insisted I call the clinic for an appointment. My family doctor was unavailable but another doctor in the clinic agreed to see me. He sent me for blood work and other tests and encouraged me to get them done immediately which I did. There were several weeks waiting for the electrocardiograph so my friend Pamela encouraged me to go to the emergency department as she felt any doctor seeing an overweight, 58 year old woman with shortness of breath would surely hook me up to the machine right away. The emerg doctor did  just that and also referred me to a cardiologist. When I finally went to see the cardiologist a few weeks later I was given a stress test and an ecogardiogram both which were normal. At this point the doctor told me that I was just overweight and out of shape. When I explained how my pain issues had stopped me from doing any cardio work outs and that I felt like my metabolism was dead, he suggested I go on an extremely low carb, high fat diet to jump start my metabolism
This was a life changing moment For me!
Within two weeks, probably closer to 10 days, I realized that all of my pain was gone! I had forgotten to take my medication that morning. It was mid afternoon when I called my husband excited and in disbelief that I had forgotten my meds but there was no pain! I decided to cut out all meds the next day, the day after, and the day after. I have never needed meds since that day! All the pain was gone, the brain fog, everything!
I got in touch with my friend Ruth, a runner, and asked her if she could teach me how to run. At 58 years old, overweight and short of breath, I started to run. We started slowly but eventually I got to my first goal of 5K. I am now working on 10K. 1 am no longer overweight and I am in better health and physical shape than I have been for 26 years!
I recently celebrated my 59 th birthday but I feel 20 years younger than I did at 58.
The ketogenic diet gave me my life back.
I have been following this way of eating for a year now so I thought I would share some of my favourite recipes with others. They may be low carb but they can be enjoyed by everyone.
I would strongly recommend consulting a medical professional before embarking on any restrictive diet regime.