Keto Friendly Anytime Smoothie

AnytimeSmoothie Deciding how you spend your carb allowance, when you are following a #KetoLifestyle, presents you with many options, depending on what stage of Keto you are at. When you are in your induction and weight loss phase, smoothies are generally not the way to spend your day’s allotted carbohydrates, but this one tops out at 9 Net Carbs so it can be included from day 1. This light and frothy smoothie a great #PickMeUp for that late afternoon slump plus it gives you a big protein, vitamin and fiber boost without piling on the calories.

Once you’ve hit maintenance phase smoothies packed with a higher berry to spinach ratio are a great way to get your fruits and veggies in with relatively little impact on your carb count.

Keto Friendly Anytime Smoothie

1 Cup Cold Water
1 Cup Halved Strawberries
2 Cups (packed) Fresh Baby Spinach
1 Scoop No Carb Protein Powder (I use Isopure Zero Carb Creamy Vanilla)
1 Cup Ice Cubes

Starting with your water, put all of your ingredients, except your ice, into your blender or Vitamix. If you have a smoothie setting, like I do on my Vitamix, include the ice, switch to that mode and hit start. Your Vitamix will stop when it’s ready. Otherwise, start on a low setting until ingredients are combined then turn your machine up to medium high and blend until smooth. Without turning your machine off, Open your ingredient addition port (hole in top of blender lid) and add in the ice until desired consistency.

Nutrition Information (Serves 1)

162 Calories
0 g Fat
8 g Carbohydrates
28 g Protein

Cheesy Keto Cauli-Grits

I like a big breakfast and thought that living a Keto Lifestyle limited my breakfast choices. A little experimentation corrected that notion.

Truth be told, I failed miserably on my first attempt at this recipe. I envisioned a perfectly browned patty that resembled hash browns on the outside but inside had the creamy deliciousness of cheesy grits. Not so much. The ingredients were fine, it was that I thought using a lightly oiled cast iron pan would give me the results I wanted. Instead I ended up with a burned mess that was impossible to turn. Strike One!

The second attempt though nailed it! #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Cheesy Keto Cauli-Grits

2 Cups Shredded Cauliflower
4 oz Cream Cheese
1/4 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Sea Salt

Tip: I used my Vitamix to pulse the cauliflower down to rice sized crumbles.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a food processor, blender, or Vitamix, combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salt & pepper, and cauliflower. Process until combined but not completely smooth.

Scoop the mixture (about 1/4 cup) into mounds about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Lightly press each mound down to about 1/2″ thickness.

Bake in 350° oven for 18-20 minutes, or until tops turn golden brown. Remove from oven and leave on baking sheet to cool for 5 minutes.

Serve alongside scrambled eggs and bacon for a perfect Keto breakfast, or alongside beef, chicken, or fish for a perfect dinner side dish.

Nutrition Information per Patty (8 Servings)

83.25 Calories
7.2 g Fat
1 g Carbs
3.32 g Protein

22 Minute Chicken Schwarma

Earlier today I posted recipes for #KetoFlatbread and Lemon Tahini Sauce. Now, thanks to this #HowToVideo, here’s something to top your Keto flatbread with! #ThisGirlLovesToEat

22 Minute Chicken Schwarma

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
4 Keto Flatbreads
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1/2 large English hothouse cucumber, halved lengthwise, cut into 1/4″-thick half-moons (about 1 cup)
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
3/4 cup small cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (about 5 ounces)
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, cinnamon, 2 Tbsp. oil, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 165°F, 12–15 minutes; wrap pitas in foil and warm in oven during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Toss cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. oil, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper in another medium bowl.
Thinly slice chicken. Place 1 warmed Keto Flatbread on each plate and top evenly with chicken and tomato-cucumber salad. Drizzle each Keto Flatbread with 2 Tbsp. Lemon Tahini Sauce; top with dill and mint. Serve remaining Lemon Tahini Sauce alongside.

Keto Flatbread & Lemon Tahini Sauce

My next post is going to be for Chicken Shawarma, but I was really sad that, in order to really enjoy it I’d need to cheat with a high carb Pita and Tahini sauce.

After doing some research and taking a couple of tries in the kitchen though, I discovered that making an acceptable Keto flatbread to host the deliciousness of the flavorful chicken dish, kebabs, or any other Middle Eastern delicacy isn’t that hard at all!

flatbread

Keto Flatbread

2 Large Eggs
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 Cups (6 oz) Shredded Full Fat Mozzarella Cheese
1+1/2 Cups Finely Ground Almond Flour
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until they are light and frothy then add the salt and baking powder in, making sure to mix well. Mix the mozzarella in with a spatula. Add in the almond flour and mix everything well.

Wearing rubber prep gloves, put some oil on your hands and continue mixing with your hands, then separate the dough in 5 equal balls. Flatten each section of dough into a disc and spread them out on a piece of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the flattened discs.

Use a rolling pin to flatten each disc further until they are about 5-6 inches in diameter.

Transfer the dough and bottom piece of parchment to a sheet tray, sprinkle with dried thyme, and bake for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown. When the flat breads have finished cooking, remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool.

TIP: Flatbread will keep 3-4 days in the refrigerator in a zip bag, or can be frozen for 3 months.

lemontahini

Lemon Tahini Sauce

1/3 Cup Sesame Tahini – I use Kevala Organic Sesame Tahini
2 Cloves Garlic Crushed (2 tsp jarred crushed garlic)
Juice of 1 Medium Lemon
1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Sea Salt
Ice Water
1 tsp Freshly Chopped Parsley

Put garlic in a small bowl and cover with the juice of 1 lemon.

Let sit for 5-15 minutes until the raw flavor of the garlic goes away. Add the tahini to a blender or small food processor, or use a handheld immersion bender in a tall and narrow jar.

Add the garlic/lemon juice blend, the parsley, and the salt, and blend for a few seconds. Add some ice water(about 2-4 tablespoons) while blending and keep going until the texture is smooth and creamy. If you need to add more water, do so. If the tahini gets too loose, add more tahini. Check the seasoning and put in the refrigerator in a sealed container until needed.

The tahini sauce will last for 5 days in the refrigerator but can’t be frozen.

Use the flatbread as your base to build your kebab or Schwarma plate and dress with the tahini sauce. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Thai Street Chicken

Keith Schroeder of Cooking Light Magazine wrote a book, and received a James Beard Foundation Focus on Health Book Award, Mad Delicious – The Science of Making Healthy Food Taste Amazing!, in 2014 that doesn’t just talk about the what and how of cooking great meals, but also the why. This recipe is one that was featured in both his book and the magazine, and perfectly illustrates why guests at his table love every dish this Atlanta chef prepares!

If you replace the brown sugar with Sukrin Gold, this recipe can easily become a flavorful, Keto Friendly meal.

Thai Street Chicken

1/2 Cup Cilantro Stems
1/2 Cup Parsley Stems
1 TBLS Brown Sugar
2 tsp White Pepper
2 TBLS Fish Sauce
1 TBLS Oyster Sauce
4 crushed garlic cloves (I use 4 tsp of jarred, crushed garlic)
1 + 1/2 Pounds Boneless/Skinless Chicken Thighs (About 6)
Olive Oil Cooking SPray
1 Cup Julienned Carrots
2 Peeled/Scored/Sliced Cucumbers
12 Sprigs Fresh Cilantro
2 Limes Cut into Wedges

Put the parsley & cilantro stems into a gallon sized zip bag and, using a rolling pin or can of vegetables, bruise the stems by pushing down and rolling over the stems from outside the bag. Add the brown sugar (or brown sugar alternative), the white pepper, the fish and oyster sauces, and the garlic and combine. Add the chicken, zip the bag closed, and massage the marinade into the thighs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare the dipping sauce.

Thai Dipping Sauce

6 TBLS White Vinegar
6 TBLS Brown Sugar (or Brown Sugar Alternative)
1/4 Cup Shaved Shallots
4 TBLS Fresh Lime Juice
1 tsp Fish Sauce
2 Minced Thai Bird Chiles
1 Clove Garlic, Crushed (1 tsp jarred crushed garlic)
1/2 tsp White Pepper

In small saucepan, over medium heat, bring the vinegar, sugar and shallots to a boil. Simmer for another 10 minutes then remove from heat. Puree with an immersion blender (or in a blender).

Cool and then stir in the lime juice, fish sauce, chiles, garlic and white pepper.

After 30 minutes, removed the marinated chicken from the zip bag and discard the remaining marinade. Put the chicken thighs on metal skewers. Make sure your chicken is long and flat, you don’t want cubes with this style chicken.

Heat an oven safe (if cooking in your oven) grill pan, sprayed with Olive Oil cooking spray, over medium-high heat (or in a 300° oven).

Place the skewers on the hot grill and cook for 15 minutes. Flip the skewers over and cook another 15 minutes. You should be able to easily pull off a cooked piece of the chicken when it’s done. Remove the skewers from the heat, slide the chicken off of the skewers and place on one side of a platter to rest for 10 minutes.

On the other side of the patter, in rows, line up the carrots, cucumber, cilantro springs, and lime wedges. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Amazing Lemon Everything Sauce

There’s no way around it, when you are dieting or following a low carb lifestyle, you will get tired of the same old, go-to, chicken or fish recipes. It’s inevitable. You can avoid this by keeping a stockpile of flavorful sauces to change up your routine. This lemon sauce is one I’ve used forever! It found it in the November 2014 edition of Cooking Light Magazine, and it’s a perfect solution to chicken burn out! This sauce is so versatile that you can spoon it over any style chicken or fish, use it on veggie kebabs, drizzle it over a pile of zoodles, sauteed or steamed asparagus, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, or even dip luscious steamed artichoke leaves in it!

Amazing Lemon Sauce

2 Cups Unsalted Chicken Stock
3 Large Eggs
2 TBLS Grated Lemon Zest
2 + 1/2 TBLS Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 TBLS Olive Oil

Heat the chicken stock over medium-high heat in a heavy, medium saucepan to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around the edge. Do not boil. Once you reach the tiny bubble stage, turn the heat down as low as you can.

Combine the eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment. Beat on medium until the eggs are frothy and lighter in color. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a hand blender or whisk by hand in a medium bowl or use your Vitamix or blender.

Slowly add about a cup of the hot chicken stock into the egg mixture 1/4 cup at a time, while stirring on low speed, or lightly by hand, constantly with a whisk.

Once you’ve mixed the cup of stock in, add the egg, lemon, and stock mixture back to the pot, stirring to combine. Warm the sauce gently, until it thickens enough to a spoon. Turn off the heat.

Whisk in the olive oil to finish and serve warm over your favorite meat, fish or vegetables. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Nutrition Information (per 2 TBLS)

19 Calories
1.4 g Fat
1.5 g Protein
<1 g Carbs
28 mg Cholesterol
84 g Sodium
5 mg Calcium

Salted Lime Sweet Potato Chips

sweetpotatochips I’m a savory snack girl, but don’t want to completely derail my hard earned Keto gains by cheating with a bag of store bought potato chips. What’s a snacker to do? This snacker chooses to spend her carbs on a healthier version of sweet potato chips, without the store bought preservatives and additives. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Salted Lime Sweet Potato Chips

4 Medium Sweet Potatoes (or yams)
1 TBLS Corn Starch
Olive Oil Spray
4 Limes
Freshly Ground Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 425° and place oven safe cooling racks on 2 baking sheets.
Wash sweet potatoes and thinly slice with a very sharp kitchen knife or mandolin.
Place sweet potato slices in a bowl and cover them with warm water and corn starch. Soak for 15-20 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from the water and dry very well with a paper towel.
Lay a single layer of potatoes on each rack and spray each side of the potato slice with olive oil spray.
If you have a small spray bottle, fill it with your lime juice & spritz top side lightly with the lime juice. If you don’t have a spray bottle, drizzle the lime juice lightly over your potatoes.
Lightly salt the tops then bake for 15 – 25 minutes (depending on thickness of slices), flipping the potato slices half way through the baking process. Check the potato chips frequently, it may take less time if your chips are sliced extra thin, to make sure that they don’t burn! Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information (Serving Size 1 oz):

24 Calories
0 g Fat
4 g Carbs
<1 g Protein

Chicken Bacon Ranch Balls

Appetizers and small plates are the easiest way to stay on target when I’m trying to lose a few pounds or clean up my diet. These chicken, bacon, ranch meatballs are perfect with a small salad and a side of cauliflower mash for an easy weeknight dinner and a great way to snack without guilt at tailgate parties! Low carb, nut free, gluten free, grain free, and, best of all for me, #KetoFriendly!

Chicken Bacon Ranch Balls

1 Pound Ground Chicken
12 Slices Thick Cut Bacon
1/4 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 tsp Dried Dill
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Parsley
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper

Preheat oven to 425° F and line baking sheet with foil and baking rack. Lay bacon strips on baking rack in even layer. Bake bacon in oven until crispy, about 15-20 minutes depending on thickness of bacon. Crumble bacon into small pieces. (Dispose of foil from baking sheet or use second baking sheet.) Decrease oven heat to 375 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
To a large mixing bowl, add ground chicken, crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar, egg, and spices. Using hands, mix together until thoroughly combined. Form mixture into equal-sized balls, about 1 1/2 tbsp of mixture per ball, place on prepared baking sheet, and lightly press down to slightly flatten. Bake until golden brown and cooked throughout, 25-30 minutes.
Remove poppers from oven, allow to cool slightly, and serve with low carb ranch dressing drizzled on balls or on the side. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Nutrition Information – Serving 1 Ball (Makes 16 Balls)

116 Calories
9 g Fat
0 g Carbs
9 g Protein

Low Carb Spinach Wraps

spinachwraps Since going Keto, I’ve missed sandwiches and wraps, so I’m always on the lookout for a low carb replacement. Today I tripped across a simple recipe I could adapt for spinach based wraps that I can use for lunches or even burritos! #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Quick & Easy Spinach Wraps

1/2 – of a 16 oz bag of Frozen Spinach (defrosted)
3 Large Eggs
1/2 tsp Psyllium Husk Powder
1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/8 tsp Freshly Ground Sea Salt
1/8 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
Olive Oil Cooking Spray

Defrost spinach, then squeeze out all of the water.
Put the spinach and all other ingredients in your blender or Vitamix.
Process for 1-2 Minutes, gradually increasing your speed, until all ingredients are combined and very smooth.
Add in 1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese. Blend another 15-30 Seconds.
Lightly spray a small skillet with the olive oil spray (I used a 6 1/3″ Le Crueset Skillet) and put on stove with flame set to medium-high heat.
After about 30 seconds, lower heat to medium and pour about 1/2 of the batter in the middle of the pan.
Using a spatula spread the batter out to make a tortilla shape – the mix will be thick but not unspreadable, just keep spreading until you have created an even, thin disc.
Cook for 2-3 minutes, you should see bubbles popping like when cooking a pancake, or until the edges start to shrink away; check if cooked by lifting the edge: if it lifts easily, you can now flip your tortilla over and cook the other side for about another minute.
Remove from pan, cool on a wire rack, and fill with your favorite sandwich or wrap fillings.

Cool completely and make sure wraps are dry before storing in a sealed container, between pieces of parchment or waxed paper, in the refrigerator. Can be frozen in zip bags as well.

Nutrition Information per wrap (makes 3 large wraps):

168 Calories
6 g Fat
3 g Carbs
9 g Protein

Sausage, Spinach & Feta Egg Muffins

MuffinStack1 I eat a lot of portable egg breakfasts on Keto, like: Bacon Wrapped Omelettes, Pizza Egg Cups; Crustless Veggie Quiche; and Pressure Cooker Egg Bites. I add in days of berries and yogurt but getting enough protein at breakfast is hard if I don’t include eggs. Unfortunately I get tired of the same foods, so I need to keep experimenting in the morning.

Sausage, Spinach & Feta Egg Muffins

12 Large Eggs
12 oz Raw Ground Breakfast Sausage
1/2 of a 5 oz Bag Fresh Baby Spinach
1/2 Cup Feta Cheese
1 Cup Half & Half
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (if desired)
Olive Oil Cooking Spray

Spray jumbo muffin tins with olive oil cooking spray & pre-heat oven to 375° F.

Roll spinach leaves and slice thinly. Combine spinach, feta and raw, crumbled sausage in a bowl and combine. Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin tins but do not pack down.

Lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl, beat in the spices, and then the half & half. Divide the egg mixture between the muffin tins and bake for 30 minutes (if using jumbo muffin tins) or 25 minutes for standard sized muffin tins. Egg muffins are done when they brown around the edges, pull away slightly from the sides and are set in the middle.

muffintin

Nutrition Information (1 egg muffin)

108 Calories
4 g Fat
1 g Carbs
8 g Protein

Muffins can be kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a week or the freezer for a month. Heat in the microwave 30-45 seconds. #ThisGirlLovesToEat