The Hunt For Low Carb Stuffing

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Keto Primal Stuffing

I can’t wait to try this Keto Primal Thanksgiving Stuffing from the Keto Diet Blog — an awesome site you should visit! Fingers are crossed that this is the year of awesome low carb stuffing for our Turkey Day celebration. Image from Keto Diet Blog.

Typically my husband and I celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and have our own low carb Turkey Day over the weekend. This year is no different. This Thursday I will be eating more carbs than normal. But it is the holiday, so I’m not stressing over it. What I am stressing over is finding a low carb stuffing recipe to make on Saturday.

For the last few years I’ve tried different recipes, and they turned into disasters. The “bread” – made from almond OR hazelnut flours – always turned out too heavy, lumpy, or grainy. Also, it tasted like a mock stuffing. Not really what I was going for.

I’m beginning to think low carb stuffing is just a myth – an urban legend we low carbers spread from forum to forum. It’s as elusive as the sasquatch, or my husband’s clothes actually making it into the hamper… Read More

Reinventing Deviled Eggs

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deviled eggs

These devilish eggs include more than a few drops of Frank’s Hot Sauce between the egg white and the creamy, bacon-infused yolks. Yum!

After a fun grocery expedition with mom yesterday morning, my plan was to spend the afternoon food prepping and cooking a few meals. Well that went up in smoke when I got home. I felt exhausted…that happens when you wake up at 3:00 a.m. because a cat is walking on your head.

The husband suggest I take a little catnap. That little nap turned into 3 hours of solid sleep.

So I spent the evening in the kitchen, fixing dinner, chopping veggies and making snacks for the week.

Deviled eggs are one of my favorite go to snacks. Not only can you whip them up in no time, you can really get creative in your toppings — bacon, olives, fresh herbs, jalapenos, chorizo sausage, horseradish, smoked paprika, crab…

Ugh, I’m drooling all over my keyboard.

Devilish Eggs
Last night I made The Domestic Man’s devilish egg recipe. He adds a few drops of Tabasco sauce between the egg white and the yolk.

Well I love everything hot, so I had to make it. I just added some chives and my new sugar-free bacon. Yum!  Now I have to admit my hand got a little heavy when I was adding the hot sauce. But in my defense, that’s the way I roll.

I’m not expecting these to last the weekend. So that means guacamole deviled eggs are up next!

Fun With Deviled Egg Toppings
Not sure what you can do to add some zip to your deviled eggs? Not to fear, there are lots of great recipes online to inspire you. Here’s a few of my go to recipe sites.

 

 

Low Carb, Slow-Cooked Chili Con Carne

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I recently subscribed to Jamie Oliver's Food Tube. This Chili Con Carne looks amazing. I have to make it.

I recently subscribed to Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube. This Chili Con Carne looks amazing. I have to make it.

A few weeks ago I grudgingly subscribed to chef Jamie Oliver’s YouTube channel, Food Tube. I was familiar with his “food education” campaign as well as his current crusade for a 20% sugar tax in England.  But I had no idea whether this guy was a good chef.  I’ve never seen one episode of The Naked Chef or read any of his cookbooks. Read More

Weekly Weigh In: Up A Couple

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My traveling is taking a bit of a toll. I'm up a couple of pounds. Thankfully my last trip is this week. After that it should be business as usual.

My traveling is taking a bit of a toll. I’m up a couple of pounds. Thankfully my last trip is this week. After that it should be business as usual.

The good news? My weight is no longer stalled. The bad? The scale is moving in the wrong direction. Ugh! I’m up 2 pounds. No doubt my traveling is taking its toll. For the most part I’ve eaten low carb when possible. But when traveling by car for hundreds of miles, we found it difficult to find restaurants that were low carb friendly.

At that point, all I could do was make the best choice and move on.

I have one more trip left. I’m driving to Vermont to pick up my mom. Of course it means 2 back-to-back days of 10 hours driving. Not great, but I’m packing my food for this trip. I’ve got green olives, macadamia nuts, cheese and pork rinds in snack bags.

That should keep me satisfied and keep the carb cravings, which kicked into over-drive after our drive back from Florida, away.

Book Review: The Ketogenic Cookbook

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My new cookbook. The recipes taste amazing. This to this book, I'm even more inspired to get into my kitchen and start experimenting!

My new cookbook. The recipes taste amazing. This to this book, I’m even more inspired to get into my kitchen and start experimenting!

Since going ketogenic, I’ve struggled with getting more healthy fat into my diet. Yes, I love butter. But I’d like to think I’m a little more creative in the kitchen than just adding a tablespoon of butter on top of my steak. That’s why The Ketogenic Cookbook is a godsend!

The recipes are high in fat, easily allowing me to hit my daily goal of consuming 75-80% of my calories in healthy fat. The recipes look amazingly delicious. And like my Julia Child’s cookbook, it inspires me to get into the kitchen and play with ingredients.

I’m working my way through the book, busily making lots of sauces and dressings in the book’s “Condiments, Dressings, Broth and Other Basics” section. The tomato sauce and yellow marinara sauce recipe were more than worth the price. This week I’m testing out the “compound butter” recipe using beef tallow and duck fat! Read More

Cubicle Diet – Lunch Ideas For Eating Healthy At The Office

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Looking for great lunch and snack ideas to spice up your lunches and keep that keeps the vending machine at bay? Check out Nom Nom Paleo for great, healthy lunchbox ideas.

Looking for great lunch and snack ideas to spice up your lunches and keep that keeps the vending machine at bay? Check out Nom Nom Paleo (an awesome food blog you should bookmark!) for great, healthy lunchbox ideas.

My husband regularly comes home from work complaining about the assortment of donuts, bagels, Panera sandwiches, cupcakes, cookies and other carb-loaded, sugary temptations at the office. When he is home, I know he eats healthy because he eats what I give him. But for a man who proclaims “pie” as his favorite food group, that daily 9-5 grind is more problematic.

Sure I send him to work with healthy lunches, but are they appetizing? When I’m scrambling around in the morning to make his lunch, I’m going for convenience (for me). I never really thought my cooking was in competition with this processed junk.

Perhaps my lunches are too boring for the hubby’s taste buds. They certainly are losing out to the junk sitting out across from his lair cube.

Reality hit me the other day when he blogged about a nightmare he had the other night. A dream so hideous that it shook him to his very core — he was at a buffet and they never filled the French toast bin. Oh, the horror!

I think it’s time to rethink my lunches.

Thankfully Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo packed a ton of great lunch ideas in one location on her awesome blog. For both kids and adults, her food combos can more than compete with any of that processed crap.

Besides her 20+ ideas, Michelle includes a mess of lunch related links to give you even more ideas.

We’re headed to Florida this week. While the hubby is attending a writer’s conference I’ll slave away on a game plan for next week’s lunches…all done poolside of course!

Yummy BBQ Beef Short Ribs

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My first time making beef short ribs and it won't be my last. While the sauce came out a tad too sweet for me, this dish it was a crowd-pleaser.

My first time making beef short ribs and thankfully it won’t be my last. While the sauce came out a tad too sweet for me, this dish it was a crowd-pleaser.

I’ve never cooked beef ribs in my life. Heck, I never even tried them until earlier this year. Where I grew up, if you wanted ribs pork was the only source.

Boy was I missing out.

So when I came across the BBQ Short Ribs in The Ketogenic Cookbook, I had to try them. My only problem: the equipment calls for using a slow cooker. I love crock pots. The idea of tossing ingredients into one, turning on the timer and walking away for 6-8 hours is awesome.

Unfortunately, my slow cooker isn’t so slow. In fact its faster than my crappy oven at times. But like my husband’s relationship with TGI Friday’s, I decided to give my slow cooker one last chance.* Read More

Homemade, Low Carb Marinara Sauce

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Last night we used the yellow marinara sauce over meatballs and zoodles. Absolutely delicious!

Last night we used the yellow marinara sauce over meatballs and zoodles. Absolutely delicious!

Powering through my new ketogenic cookbook, I spent a lovely evening making a marinara sauce for two dishes I’m making – Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles and a Pizza Casserole (recipe coming).

I love tomatoes, especially tomato-based sauces. While I’ve tried making my own sauce, it was mostly cooking down diced roma tomatoes in olive oil for a few minutes. Nothing to write home about.

Typically I’d just hunt the grocery store for the lowest carb sauce I can find. Not an easy task as many include added sugar.

Then I discovered the Yellow Marinara Sauce in The Ketogenic Cookbook. Intrigued, I was nervous about trying this recipe. Why? Peeling tomatoes. I’ve never done that before. It always seemed like an impossible task. Read More

Roasted Garlic – Keto Style

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I'm loving The Ketogenic Cookbook. I picked roasted garlic as the first recipe to try. Easy to make, I'll use all of the garlic pictured over the next few days.

I’m loving The Ketogenic Cookbook. I picked roasted garlic as the first recipe to try. Easy to make, I’ll use all of the garlic pictured over the next few days.

While flipping through The Ketogenic Cookbook I was trying to decide which recipes to try first. Turns out nearly every recipe I picked called for roasted garlic, one of the first recipes listed in the book.

As much as I love garlic I never tried roasting a whole bulb. This one calls for an even dozen. Why so much? Apparently you can preserve roasted garlic in the freezer. Who knew?

I don’t know why I never tried roasting garlic before. The recipe is so simple to follow. The garlic tastes amazing. Plus you’ll love the fragrance that fills your kitchen.

Cooking With MCT
The big surprise for me with this recipe was the use of MCT oil. For some reason I viewed MCT oil as something I use when making my morning Bulletproof Coffee. I never thought of using it in cooking. Silly Rabbit! Read More

Recipes: Home-Made Kit Kats & Chocolate-Avocado Pudding

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Packing up a 3-bedroom home is a lot of work, so cooking any thing fun or new is kept to a minimum for now.  But these two recipes came to my inbox, and I couldn’t resist sharing. They look amazingly awesome and healthy. When I’m back home I’ll give these a try, albeit tweaked slightly to reduce the carb/sugar count.

Hazelnut & Coconut Kit Kat Bar
The first recipe — Hazelnut & Coconut Kit Kat Bar — comes from the folks at Thrive Market, a cool online store that offers natural and organic products at wholesale prices. I’ve started shopping there and have picked up some good deals on coconut oil, nut butters, and Red Boat Fish Sauce.

The home-made Kit Kat sounds tasty. While I was never a big candy bar eater, Kit Kats tied with peanut butter cups as my favorite. In fact, those are the two types of candy bars I give out on Halloween each year. Since the idea of hazelnut and coconut flavors sounds amazing to me, I think I’ll make these when we have guests over. Something tells me I don’t want many leftovers around.

Single Serving Chocolate-Avocado Pudding
From the GreenLiteBites recipe blog of weight loss blogger Roni Noone, the Chocolate-Avocado Pudding is high on my “To Make” list. In fact, avocados are so cheap here in Texas I may whip this up before heading home to Virginia. I’ll just need to find some sugar-free maple syrup or perhaps use a maple extract instead.  We’ll see.

If you try either of these let me know in the comments section, and I’ll post a photo of you enjoying it!