Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Seeds

These were so good I could not stop eating them! They taste just like cereal. It was Alex's idea; he looked up the recipe himself. I've altered it to make it sugar free and match the amount of seeds I had. I used 1 (carving) pumpkin's worth of seeds (about 2 cups).

2 cups pumpkin seeds (raw and unshelled)
3 Tbsp. butter
2 1/2 Tbsp. Splenda
2 tsp. cinnamon

Rinse your pumpkin seeds if they're fresh out of the pumpkin. Dry between paper towels. In a  microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Add in sugar and cinnamon and stir. Mix in seeds, coat well. Lay on a foiled baking pan and roast at 350 F for 16 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese "Rice"

Broccoli Cheese Rice

• 2 large heads of broccoli, chopped into small florets
• 10 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 c. chicken broth
• 2/3 c. sour cream (or cream cheese)
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

1. Rinse the cauliflower and broccoli. Chop cauliflower into florets and process in a food processor/ninja. Place into a microwave safe bowl. Add chicken broth and garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Microwave for 10-12 minutes or until soft. 

2. Chop broccoli into florets. Boil until bright green and slightly soft. I place the florets into a metal colander, and submerged that into the boiling water. It's very easy to then take right out and drain.

3. Mix riced cooked cauliflower, broccoli florets,  8 oz. cheese, and sour cream in a casserole dish. Top with remaining 2 oz. cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until cheese melts. 

Drinks!

Sugar free drinks are as important as sugar free food. Sometimes you want something other than water or coffee. I've compiled a few drinks that you can make just for yourself, or for a big group; and the best part is nobody will know they're sugar free!

Peach, Raspberry, and Orange Herbal Iced Tea

Use 3-4 bags of your favorite flavors of herbal tea. I used Celestial Seasoning's Country Peach Passion and Raspberry Zinger, and Tazo Wild Sweet Orange. In a small pot/pyrex measuring cup boil water either on the stove or in the microwave. Remove from heat and let the bags steep. I used a glass container to store/chill my tea in. Never pour hot tea into a cold glass. Warm up the bottle under warm water from the tap, then pour in the hot tea. Let sit out on the counter a few minutes to start cooling, then put into the fridge to cool completely. You can add mint or basil leaves, or citrus slices to your tea for an extra punch. See all Celestial Seasonings flavors here.

Apple Cider

It wouldn't be fall without apple cider! Now as real apple juice/cider is chock full of sugar, I like to do Orchard Apple MiO flavored water with some cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves heated in a mug. You won't even miss real apple cider! Here's the MiO website for more flavors!

More later!

Delicious Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Alex and I were both fans of Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Unfortunately, it has 10g of carbs per 8 oz., which is half our daily allotment of carbs. So I made a version that has no roux. Cream cheese makes a great thickener for cream based soups, and gives it a silky texture. I like sharp cheddar, but you can substitute mild or medium if you like. I did put in some carrots because Panera's has carrots in it, but if you don't want to, you can leave them out. Cover the soup and let it warm back up after adding each batch of ingredients, this helps bring the flavors together and makes sure everything gets incorporated. This is especially important after the cream cheese.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

2 heads broccoli

1 c. shredded carrots

16 oz. shredded cheddar, sharp or mild

16 oz. (2 bars) cream cheese

32 oz. chicken stock/broth

2 small cooking onions

2 tbsp. butter

4 tsp. minced garlic

salt, pepper, onion powder

1 tsp. thyme

1. Chop and saute onions, garlic, and thyme together in the butter until onions are soft and translucent

2. Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a soup pot.

3. Chop up 1 head of broccoli into florets and add to broth, along with the carrots.

4. Chop up other head of broccoli and process in a food processor. Add to broth. Cover the soup and bring it to a low boil (more than a simmer, less than a full on boil). Let the veggies soften up.

5. Microwave the cream cheese until you can stir it. Add to broth. Stir until well incorporated.

6. Add cheddar and stir well until incorporated. 

7. Serve with some fresh cheddar for topping.

Jalapeno Popper Soup

This delicious soup had Alex and I going back for seconds. Even my brother, who turns his nose up to everything I make, got a bowl for himself. This soup is delicious, and the jalapenos are just enough to give you a back-of-the-throat tingle. Alex introduced me to jalapeno poppers years ago, and they were amazing, but unfortunately coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. I came upon this recipe from Pinterest, which lead me to iBreatheI'mHungry, which is where I've adapted a lot of my recipes from. 

Jalapeno Popper Soup

 

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon

1 block (8 oz) cream cheese

1 c. heavy cream

4 c. chicken broth

4 Tbsp. salsa verde (I was able to find a small can in the Mexican section in Wegmans)

1-2 tsp. minced garlic

2-3 c. shredded cheese (I used colby jack, use monterey jack for a whiter soup)

8 jalapeno peppers, fresh

1/2 tsp. guar or xanthan gum, optional

Directions:

1. Keep the bacon together as it is in the pack, and cut 1/4-1/3 in. wide slices. Peel the layers apart and pan fry until almost perfectly crispy. Save the grease. Set aside.

2. Wash the peppers. Place them on a baking sheet and roast at 450 F for about 20 minutes. Char them. When they are done, you can blanch them in cold water so they cool enough to work with them. Using the blunt side of a dinner knife blade (or a butter knife), scrape off the charred skin and discard. Cut off the top. Slit the pepper open lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Chop finely and set aside. 

3. Melt the cream cheese in the microwave. Put the cream cheese into the soup pot on medium and add the chicken broth bit by bit , stirring the whole time. (Note: I made the mistake of putting the cream cheese into the pot with all the broth when the cheese was still cold. I ended up having to puree everything with my stick blender to smooth out the still remaining chunks of cream cheese at the end.) 

4. Add the minced peppers, the garlic, the cheese, the salsa, the bacon grease, the heavy cream, and a dash of pepper. Let simmer until everything is melted and the soup is bubbly. Optionally, you can add xanthan gum to thicken it. You can also use an immersion blender to make it completely smooth, especially if you're having issues with cream cheese chunks. Ladle into a bowl and top with a pinch of the bacon crumbles. Enjoy! 

Asian Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles

Asian food definitely isn't my strong point- it's probably my weakest. But I still love Asian food, and since it's hard to get Asian-American food at a restaurant without it being dunked in sugar sauce, every once in a while I take a crack at it at home. My meatballs were a little dry in this recipe; I think the mushrooms soaked up at lot of moisture from the pork, making them dry. I'd suggest maybe adding eggs to the meatball mixture if you'd like. Since I'm still having issues with eggs I didn't do that.

First, take some baby bella mushrooms, about 3 handfuls, and wash them, dry them, and put them through the food processor/Ninja. You will need about 2 cups of pulverized mushrooms for this recipe.

Meatballs

1 lb. ground pork
1.5 c. pulverized baby bella mushrooms
1/2 c. green onions, washed and chopped
1/2 small red onion, pulverized
1 tsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce (I used Bragg's Liquid Amino's)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (the stuff in the squeeze bottle makes my life so much easier)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix all ingredients. I like to use food grade gloves to mix it all with my hands. Line a baking pan with either oiled foil, parchment paper, or a silpat mat. Roll your meatballs into 1 inch diameter balls and space equally apart on the baking sheet. Bake at 375 F for about 15 minutes, or until no pink remains inside.

Sauce and Veggies

1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 c. pulverized mushrooms
1 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sriracha (chili garlic sauce)
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 packet sweetener
2 zucchini, peeled and julienned
1 c. shredded carrots
2 tsp. guar gum
3/4 c. chicken broth
1 squirt of orange or pineapple water flavoring
2 c. napa cabbage, shredded

Saute mushrooms, onions, carrots, and garlic in some olive oil (No EV) or butter. Add rice vinegar, soy sauce, sriracha, sweetener, chicken broth, and water flavoring. Let simmer until onions are translucent. Add zucchini, cooked meatballs, and cabbage. Stir until cabbage wilts and zucchini is soft. Add guar gum to thicken. Serve with sriracha sauce on the table for those who like it spicy! :)

Low Carb Yogurt, Delicious Chicken Broth, and EPIC bars

Yogurt

Recently I found out that Siggi's brand yogurt makes a plain, full fat yogurt that only has 4g of carbs. It's Icelandic skyr yogurt, which is made using 4x more milk than regular yogurt since the whey is strained out. Thus, the 4.4 oz. size (plain) has a whopping 11g of protein, 4g of carbs, and a yummy 5g of fat. I like to add 2 tbsp. of sugar free Smucker's brand fruit preserves (raspberry is my favorite) and 2 packets of Splenda. You can always leave out the sweetener if the preserves is enough. Siggi's also has 4 other flavors which are low in sugar if you are doing a moderate carb diet, they have about 9g of carbs, 8 of which are sugar. Check out their website. Other ideas for flavors are:

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 2 packets sweetener
• 2 tbsp. any sugar free preserves or jam (jelly might work but it's too gelatinous)
• 1 tsp. cocoa powder and 3 packets sweetener
• MiO water flavoring. I like Apple Orchard + cinnamon for an apple pie flavor, or Vanilla Orange for a creamsicle flavor 

I've missed sweet and creamy yogurt, and this is a good way to get in your fat and protein for breakfast (with some bacon or sausage) or dessert!

Yummy Chicken Broth

When you're in ketosis, it's important to keep your electrolytes balanced. If you feel a headache coming on, make this delicious broth that tastes just like the broth in chicken noodle soup.

3/4 c. chicken broth

1/4 c. bone broth, chicken

dash of poultry seasoning

Heat in a mug in the microwave, stir well and enjoy sipping your headache and fogginess away! 

And now my favorite part of the post:

EPIC meat bars!!

EPIC is a great company that focuses on putting real, high quality meat and poultry in their bars. The bars come in different meats with different flavorings. Some are higher in sugar (some have a bit of fruit in them) than others, so read the packaging. They are sort of expensive, but they make a wonderful, sustainable, occasional treat. As much as I like the taste of Atkins bars, these are much better for you. :) My favorite are the uncured bacon bar (no sugar yay!) and the pork and pineapple (my absolute favorite, at 5g carbs). Other ones that are low carb are the Chicken Sriracha (1g),  Beef Apple Bacon (4g), and Chicken Sesame BBQ (5g). Want to share with friends? They also sell bites. Check out their website and their vision for sustainable nutrition and snacking here.