Keto Lemon Cheesecake Bars

withberries A light lemony cheesecake dessert on a buttery shortbread-like crust with a sweet-tart lemon layer covered by creamy cheesecake layer. You can enjoy this guilt free because #ItsKeto!

Keto Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Preheat oven to 350° F and lightly butter a 13 x 9 Pyrex baking pan.

Using a pastry blender, forks, or your blender/Vitamix, combine the ingredients for your crust until coarse crumbs form. TIP: I like to use my Vitamix 750 Pro on the 2 setting, after pulsing to start, so that, instead of coarse crumbs, a light, fluffy dough forms.

1+1/2 Cups Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour
1/2 Cup Swerve Confectioners Sugar Substitute
3/4 Cup Cold Unsalted Butter, Cut into Cubes

Press the crumbs into the bottom of the baking dish. Bake until golden brown, 18-21 minutes. Don’t under cook the crust! Remove from the oven and set aside.

Prepare the lemon layer by combining, in your blender:

4 Large Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Granulated Xylitol or Erithritol (Sugar Substitutes)
1+1/2 TBLS Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour
2 TBLS Lemon Zest
1 Cup Lemon Juice

Pour lemon mixture onto the baked crust. Skim off any large bubbles from the surface of the lemon layer.

Prepare the cheesecake layer by combining, in your stand mixer or cleaned blender container:

2 – 8 oz Packages Cream Cheese
1 Cup Granulated Xylitol or Erithritol
2 Large Eggs

BEWARE: If you use Xylitol in this recipe, which I prefer because there’s no aftertaste or cool sensation, Xylitol IS NOT PET SAFE! So, no sharing with your furry babies.

When well combined, pour and spread over the lemon mixture. It’s ok if the lemon layer peeks through, the cheesecake layer rises to the top during baking. Bake until the filling is set about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool pan on a wire rack before putting into the refrigerator to chill. Cut into 24 Bars and top with a couple of fresh berries if desired. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Nutrition Information (24 Servings):

131 Calories (Savings of 125 Calories without real sugars & all purpose flour)
1 g Fat (Savings of 13 g Fat from traditional recipe)
4 g Carbs (Savings of 27 g Carbs from traditional recipe)
3 g Protein

Moscow Mule Popsicles

moscowmulepopsicles Summer is Coming! Can you think of a better way to cool off on a hot summer day than with a boozy adult popsicle? What if it was a Keto treat to boot?

Making them is as easy as combining 3 ingredients, pouring them into an ice pop mold, sliding them into the freezer, and keeping your grubby hands off of them until they have time (overnight is best) to form into decadent boozy refreshment on a stick.

Moscow Mule Popsicles

3 Cups Zevia Ginger Beer (Stevia Sweetened)
9 oz Vodka
3/4 Cup Lime Juice

Combine ingredients in mixing glass or pitcher. Divide among 6 freezer pop molds, close securely, and freeze until solid (ideally overnight).

After pops are removed from freezer, they melt fairly quickly to a consistency like granita or firm slushy; serve with straws and cups, if you like. Makes 6.

Tip: I used the Ozera Reusable Popsicle Molds with Tray & Cleaning Brush. The popsicles released quick & clean, they are dishwasher safe, BPA free, and have a build in drip tray for catching any boozy goodness that tries to melt away. #ThisGirlLovesToEat
View the recipe on Wine Enthusiast Magazine

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

Skip the Take-Out Beef & Broccoli

Clean eating isn’t hard if you put a little thought into it. I love Chinese take-out but hate all of the carb-heavy thickeners and calorie bomb, sugary sauces that are used in restaurant fare. A few tweaks, and a little make-ahead prep, lets me put this weeknight staple on the table in under 15 minutes after work! The substitutions I made are also #KetoFriendly, which is something this busy Keto girl definitely loves. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

BeefAndBroccoli

Keto Beef & Broccoli

3 TBLS Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 TBLS Olive Oil (I used garlic infused)
2 TBLS Toasted Sesame Oil
2 TBLS Clam Juice
1 TBLS Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Freshly Grated Ginger
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients EXCEPT the Xanthan gum and set aside.

1 Pound Lean Beef Sirloin, Boneless Ribeye, Flat Iron, or Flank Steak, sliced very thinly across the grain
2 Cups Broccoli Florets
1 TLS Olive Oil
2 Crushed Garlic Cloves (I use 2 tsp jarred crushed garlic)
1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 TBLS Sliced Green Onions (Scallions)
2 TBLS Sliced Almonds (if desired)
1 TBLS Toasted Sesame Seeds (if desired)

Put the sliced beef and 1/3 of the marinade in a quart sized zip bag, seal and put in the refrigerator to marinate for 4-6 hours (while your’re at work all day) or overnight.

Do ahead tip: Stir fry the broccoli until it’s just crisp-tender (3-4 minutes) in 1 – 2 TBLS olive oil over medium-high heat, then remove from pan to a large zip bag or covered bowl and put in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to assemble your dish, using a large skillet, (I use my 4.5 quart high sided Dutch oven) heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Discard the marinade and place the beef into your pan. If you’ve sliced your beef nice and thin, it should take only 2-3 minutes per side to brown. Remove the beef to the bowl with the broccoli and add the reserved 2/3 marinade, salt & pepper to the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes then stir the Xanthan Gum into the sauce. Cook another minute or two, or until the sauce has thickened to a desired consistency and add the meat & broccoli back to the pan to coat in the sauce and warm through. Add the Green Onions in the last few seconds of cooking.

Serve over cooked cauliflower rice and top with sliced almonds & toasted sesame seeds if desired.

Nutrition Information (Serves 6)

203 Calories
14 g Fat
1.3 g Carbs
15.5 g Protein

Coconut Lime Cauliflower Rice

A new spin on a Keto staple.

This recipe is so versatile that it could be:

A side dish for chicken, seafood, beef, pork, or grilled vegetables
A base layer for a sweet flavored (like Keto Sweet & Sour Chicken) Asian inspired main dish bowl
A bed for kebabs
A layer in a cold chicken salad
A taco or burrito ingredient, or even
Chilled and served as a “rice pudding” type dessert.

Tip: This dish is better a day (or at least a few hours) after it’s been made and refrigerated, then reheated.

Coconut Lime Cauliflower Rice

1 TBLS Butter
1 Clove Garlic, Crushed into a Paste (I use jarred, crushed garlic)
1 Medium-Large Head Cauliflower, Riced (About 6 Cups)
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Cup Lite Coconut Milk
1 TBLS Lime Juice
Zest from 1 Lime

Heat the butter and garlic in a skillet over medium heat.

Steam the riced cauliflower in a microwave steamer for 3 minutes. Add the cauliflower rice to the skillet, sprinkle with salt and cook for 2 minutes before adding in the coconut milk and lime juice. Cook the rice for 8 minutes stirring frequently until the rice has completely softened and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Sprinkle the rice with lime zest before serving. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Nutrition Information per serving – 6 Servings

68 Calories
2.5 g Fat
6 g Carbohydrates
2 g Protein

Crispy Keto Taco Shells

Tomorrow is #CincoDeMayo and, if you’re Keto like me, you can feel left out. This recipe for Keto taco shells changes that in a flash! Most people just make a taco shell from cheese, much like the #FatBomb cheese crisps I love, but Sugar Free Londoner made a shell that’s crispy and more like a hard shell, with 1.1 net grams of carbs per shell, that I’m pretty excited about. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Crispy Keto Taco Shells

2+1/4 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 Cup Coconut Flour (25 g)

2 tsp Ground Psyllium Husk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.
Mix all ingredients in a food processor or with an electric mixer until they resemble small crumbs.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw circles of 6 inch / 15 cm diameter on the parchment. I traced around a small saucepan lid, but you can use any round object that size.
Scoop 1/4 cup of the taco shell mix onto each circle and spread out inside the circle.
Place a second parchment paper on top and press down the dough with your hands or use a rolling pin. Press down well – you want it nice and compacted
Remove the top parchment paper and bake in the oven for 7 minutes or until the edges of each taco have browned.
Remove from the oven and hang each taco shell over the side of a large saucepan until cooled. I like to use something a little bit wider than a pan edge, like a piece of sanded, clean 1/2″ dowling, so that there’s more room inside to stuff with fillings.

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving 1 Taco Shell (23 g)

Calories 103 Calories from Fat 57

Total Fat 6.3g Saturated Fat 4.1g

Total Carbohydrates 3.3g Dietary Fiber 2.2gSugars 1.1g

Protein 8g

Garlic Cauliflower Gnocchi

I’m all-in on my #KetoLifestyle, but there are certain things I enjoy, like bread and pasta, that I miss incredibly. I love zucchini, but I can’t accept zoodles as a legitimate replacement for pasta. Trader Joe’s makes a great cauliflower gnocchi, but it’s not Keto friendly, so I set out to adapt a regular gnocchi recipe to one that fits into my Keto lifestyle. It’s also a great recipe for anyone following a Gluten Free diet.

Garlic Cauliflower Gnocchi

Medium Head Cauliflower
1/2 Cup + 2 TBLS Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Dried Basil
Olive Oil Spray

Combine the flour, salt, garlic powder and basil in a bowl and set aside.

Remove the stem from the cauliflower and cut it into florets. You want 5 cups of florets. Put the cauliflower florets in a food processor (I use my Vitamix) and pulse until it’s riced into crumbles.

SistemaLargeSteamer Using a microwave-safe steamer (I use the Sistema 6 Cup [Large] Microwave Steamer) cook the cauliflower 7+1/2 to 10 minutes on high – you want the cauliflower done but not soggy.

TIP: If you don’t have a microwave steamer: Place all of the cauliflower in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with a paper towel. Microwave for 5 minutes. Remove the cauliflower and spread it on a towel to cool. Once cauliflower is cool enough to work with, wrap in a towel and squeeze the water out.

Place the cauliflower back in the food processor (Vitamix). Blend until creamy.

Put the drained cauliflower into a large bowl (I used my stand mixer with the dough hook attachment) and add the dry ingredients. Mix together until your dough comes together. TIP: Do not add more flour – it’s OK that the dough is sticky at this point.

Transfer the dough to a floured bread board or counter top. To make the dough easier to work with, you’ll want to add an additional tablespoon or two (no more than that) of flour as you roll the dough. Shape it into a ball, then wrap it in a piece of waxed paper and refrigerate the dough for about 15 minutes. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and slice it into 4 equal sections.

Roll each section out until you have a rope about 1-inch thick. Slice the dough into 1/2″ squares with a sharp knife.

I do a two part cooking process. First I boil the gnocchi in rapidly boiling, salted water for 6 minutes. Next you have the choice of how (if at all) you want to brown up your gnocchi. I prefer to brown it to give the gnocchi a nice seal – you can decide on the degree of brownness you like.

To Sauté the gnocchi: Using olive oil cooking spray (for the least added calories and fat), generously spray a skillet and, working in batches, place a single layer of gnocchi in the pan and then give them a light coating of olive oil spray on the exposed side. Cook about 5 minutes per side if you like them crisp and deep brown. You can reduce the time for lighter brown, less crispy, more traditional gnocchi.

To Oven Roast the gnocchi: Line a cookie sheet with foil and lightly spray it with olive oil cooking spray. Place your boiled gnocchi down in rows, spray the tops with olive oil spray and lightly season with salt & pepper. In a preheated 425° F oven, bake for 12 minutes then turn the gnocchi over, return to the oven and continue cooking for an additional 10-12 minutes. This will give you a nice, crispy, medium brown gnocchi.

To Serve: I melt some butter in a skillet and add some freshly chopped basil and garlic to the butter and sauté for about 3 minutes over medium heat until the butter just starts to brown a bit. Drizzle the sauce over the piles of gnocchi and serve immediately. Alternatively, these hold up great in a spicy marinara sauce with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese too. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Nutrition Information per serving (Serves 4)

Calories 100
Net Carbs 6.75 grams
Fat 2.5 grams
Protein 5 grams

Pizza Egg Cups

I love bacon, but this #KetoGirl needs to switch things up once and a while to avoid breakfast boredom. Enter pepperoni and breakfast is a whole new ballgame.

These are easy to prepare and a nice change from routine bacon and egg cups! I only make a few at a time because they are a stronger flavor that I don’t really want to eat for breakfast every day during the week. When I make these I change up breakfast with hard boiled eggs, berries and fat-free Greek yogurt, a 2 egg-veggie scramble, or breakfast pizzas.

Pepperoni Pizza Egg Cups

12 Slices Unsulphured Deli Pepperoni, cut in half (I buy a pound at a time from the butcher at Whole Foods)
2 Large Eggs
2 TBLS Milk or Heavy Cream
1 Slice Provolone Cheese, cut in quarters
1 TBLS Diced Green Onion
2 TBLS Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Line 4 cups in a 12 hole muffin tin with the pieces of pepperoni. Place the muffin tin in the oven and cook for 5 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and move the semi formed pepperoni cups to new holes. Sop up the grease from the holes they cooked in.

Place one 1/4 piece of the cheese within each pepperoni cup and the green onion between the 4 cups. Put the pan back into the oven for 3 minutes.

Lightly beat the eggs with the milk and divide them between the 4 cups. Sprinkle the top of each with the cheddar cheese. Bake for an additional 9 – 10 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked through, and then remove from the oven.

Immediately loosen and remove the egg cups from the pan. Serve immediately or store in a tightly covered container. Reheat in microwave for 30-45 seconds. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole

cheeseburgercasserole

Your family will have no clue this is Keto! Throw a green salad alongside and it will be just like eating a bunless burger at a restaurant! I had barely put this on the plates before my family was scarfing it down and asking for seconds. Next time I will definitely need to double this recipe!

Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole

1/2 pound thick cut bacon cut into 1/2″ chunks
1/2 small red onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic minced
1 pound 90/10 ground sirloin
2 dill pickles chopped
2 Roma tomatoes chopped
2 large eggs
2 TBLS tomato paste
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2+1/2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Cajun seasoning (if desired)
salt & pepper to taste
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

Cook the bacon and onions in a high sided dutch oven or over sized skillet. Drain, put into an 8 x 8 baking dish, and put into a pre-heated 350° F oven. Season the beef with the Cajun seasoning, and brown it with the garlic in the same pan used for the onion & bacon.

Combine the eggs, whipping cream and 1 Cup of the cheese and set aside.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the browned meat from the pan to get as much of the grease/liquid out as possible. Combine the meat with the tomato paste and then layer the meat mixture on on top of the bacon. Next add tomatoes and pickles to the top of the meat layer in the pan. Pour the egg mixture over the top of everything (Do NOT stir). Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 15 – 22 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and browned on top. Let the casserole set 5 – 10 minutes before cutting.

Mine served 6 very generous portions. Serve with Frank’s Red Hot sauce. You could also make it fancy and top with lettuce and some diced tomato & avocado. This recipe is definitely a keeper. #ThisGirlLovesToEat

Air Frying Time Chart

The instruction guides that come with most appliances are brief and don’t give the precise times to cook the wide variety foods that people prepare. I found a pretty handy time guide that covers most everyday cooking situations when I’m using my Dash Air Fryer.

Air-Fryer-Cooking-Chart

When all else fails I head to Google and use the search term: Air frying time for… whatever food I’m trying to cook. #ThisGirlLovesToEat