fbpx

Tag: healthy food

Local Business Review: Lexy’s Low Carb Goodies

Being on a low carb/Keto diet can be hard, especially when there aren’t a lot of ‘ready made’ options and you have to make things from scratch to have Keto-friendly food. I personally love to cook and bake, but I suffer from lack of time. So if you’re like me with zero spare time, or you are a little more challenged when it comes to cooking/baking, I only have one thing to say to you —

Lexy’s Low Carb Goodies

If you are anywhere near Warren, IL and you are a low carb/Keto-er, you need to check her out. In fact, go to her Facebook business page here.

She gets an A+ from me. Or 5 stars. Whatever you want to call it. She’s AWESOME. She is not only knowledgable about low carb/Keto, she is incredibly responsive, friendly, accommodating, affordable, and the best part? Her stuff tastes DELICIOUS.

Look at all these goodies –

Lexy's Low Carb Goodies.jpg

Even my non-Keto family ate and enjoyed them! I’ve ordered from her twice already and plan to order more again. She makes all kinds of stuff and her Keto pizza crust is to die for as well! No one could tell the difference!

So seriously – what are you waiting for? Hit up Lexy to try some of her scrumptious Low Carb Goodies!! (Especially the swiss roll OMG!)

Mom’s Christmas Sugar Cookies

Every Christmas since I was little, my mom made her famous cut out sugar cookies. They are really more of an almond flavored cookie, but boy are they delicious. I associate their taste with the Holidays since that was the only time of year we used to make them and I’ve never had a Christmas without them. So when my husband and I decided to go Keto, I knew I had to find a way to get these Keto-fied.

I’m still working on perfecting the recipe to get a similar texture, but I found a way to make something Keto and get the flavor I wanted, so I just have to share. The flavor is totally on point for these cookies and I’m so happy to be able to enjoy my mom’s cookies, but in my own Keto way.

Get your oven preheated to 325 and spray a 9 x 13-Inch Cake Pan.

I start by whipping the butter, then adding in the powdered sweetener. Mix well, then add the eggs, vanilla, almond, baking powder, and cream of tartar until blended. Then add in the almond flour until well blended. I recommend using a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. Not only can you walk away while it’s mixing, but it does a fantastic job!

Put your dough into the prepared pain and press until it’s even and smooth. Bake approx 30 – 35 minutes or until golden around the edges. Fair warning – it will smell AMAZING!

Cookie bars out of oven

While it’s cooling, you can make the frosting.  Whip a stick of softened butter and then add in 1/4 c heavy whipping cream. Beat until it’s fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Start adding in the powdered sugar. You’ll use about 1 1/2 c total. Alternate between the powdered sugar, almond milk, and almond extract. Continue to mix until you get a good frosting consistency. You’ll use about 1/3 c almond milk and 1 oz of almond extract.

Spread the frosting on the bars when cooled and enjoy!!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Mom’s Sugar Cookie Bars

1 cup butter
1/2 c Lakanto Monkfruit 2:1 Powder Sugar Substitute
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups Almond Flour

Frosting:

1 stick butter
1/4 c heavy cream
1 1/2 c Lakanto Monkfruit 2:1 Powder Sugar Substitute
1/3 c unsweetened almond milk
1 oz almond extract

Get your oven preheated to 325 and spray a 9 x 13-Inch Cake Pan.

Start by whipping the butter, then adding in the powdered sweetener. Mix well, then add the eggs, vanilla, almond, baking powder, and cream of tartar until blended. Then add in the almond flour until well blended.

Put your dough into the prepared pain and press until it’s even and smooth. Bake approx 30 – 35 minutes or until golden around the edges. Cool.

For the frosting, whip a stick of softened butter and then add in 1/4 c heavy whipping cream. Beat until it’s fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Start adding in the powdered sugar. You’ll use about 1 1/2 c total. Alternate between the powdered sugar, almond milk, and almond extract. Continue to mix until you get a good frosting consistency. You’ll use about 1/3 c almond milk and 1 oz of almond extract.

Spread over cookie bars and enjoy! Best part about these? They are only ONE net carb per bar!!

Finished cookie bar

Sugar Cookie Bar Nutrition

*Disclaimer: I am NOT a certified nutritionist and your nutritional information may vary depending on exact ingredients you use. I highly recommend you calculate your own and just use this as a guideline. The links for products are affiliate links so I may earn a very small commission if you purchase through them – but it doesn’t cost you anything additional!

Ham & Egg Keto Breakfast Cups

This one has been on my ‘to try’ list for quite a while and now I’m kicking myself in the butt for not making them sooner. They are incredibly easy and so tasty!

These are a very versatile recipe, you can make them really just about any way you want. For today, I made them with ham, egg, and cheese.

Start by getting a muffin tin and spraying with a non-stick spray.  Put one slice of ham in each cup, folding it over make it fit. Sprinkle a little shredded cheese in each up on top of the ham. Then crack an egg over each of the cups.

Put in a preheated oven at 400 for about 20 minutes.

You can do more or less time depending how you like your eggs. I liked a soft, slightly undercooked yolk and these turned out perfect! I could only eat one of these, I was SO full!

ham cups done

You can easily switch up the meat, add veggies, etc to this. Next time I think I’m going to try making it with some pre-cooked bacon, although why mess with perfection?? These go really good with my Keto English Muffins too!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Keto Ham & Egg Cups

1 lb deli ham
10 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Start by getting a muffin tin and spraying with a non-stick spray.  Put one slice of ham in each cup, folding it over make it fit. Sprinkle a little shredded cheese in each up on top of the ham. Then crack an egg over each of the cups.

Put in a preheated oven at 400 for about 20 minutes.

You can do more or less time depending how you like your eggs. I liked a soft, slightly undercooked yolk and these turned out perfect!

Ham and Eggs nutrition.jpg

*Disclaimer: I am NOT a certified nutritionist and your nutritional information may vary depending on exact ingredients you use. I highly recommend you calculate your own and just use this as a guideline. The links for products are affiliate links so I may earn a very small commission if you purchase through them – but it doesn’t cost you anything additional!

Keto Jicama Fries

Jicama. Hick-a-ma. What the heck is that? DELICIOUS is what it is! Why have I never had this before? Why has no one ever told me how GOOD it is?

So you might be thinking what does this weird looking, odd sounding vegetable taste like? Imagine if a potato and a sweet potato had a baby – that’s what a jicama tastes like to me.

How can you go about making these delicious fries? Easy! Get a jicama, some oil for frying, and whatever spices you want to season your fries with. It’s so simple.

If you aren’t sure what a jicama looks like, it looks like this..
jicama

Kind of like a potato, but smoother and shiny. You just cut the peel off of it and end up with this thing that slightly resembles a potato.
peeled jicama

Once you’ve gotten it peeled, cut into fry sized pieces.

Cut jicama

Get some water with a tsp of salt on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the ‘fries’ and boil for about 10 minutes to get them soft. Then drain.

Jicama draining

Then put the ‘fries’ in a bowl and top with about 1-2 tbsp of oil of your choice (I used olive oil. You can also use avocado or coconut oil.) Sprinkle your seasonings on and toss to coat. I used two of my favorite, garlic powder and smoked paprika, with a little salt and pepper. Then lay out on a cookie sheet.

Jicama fries on sheet

Bake in an oven preheated to 400 for about 10-12 minutes, then I like to finish cooking by frying them to get a crispier coating. Alternatively, you can flip over the fries and cook another 12-15 minutes.

Jicama frying

When you’re done you can serve as a side or make a meal like I did – Taco Fries!! I just topped with some taco meat, cheese, a little sauce and sour cream! And voila! Diner is served and it was DELICIOUS!

Taco fries

Here’s the nutrition information for my entire dinner. If you are only having the fries, calculate accordingly.
Taco Fries nutrition.jpg

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Jicama Fries

1 medium sized jicama
1 tbsp oil of choice
Seasonings of choice

Peel jicama. Once you’ve gotten it peeled, cut into fry sized pieces.

Get some water with a tsp of salt on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the ‘fries’ and boil for about 10 minutes to get them soft. Then drain.

Then put the ‘fries’ in a bowl and top with about 1-2 tbsp of oil of your choice (I used olive oil. You can also use avocado or coconut oil.) Sprinkle your seasonings on and toss to coat. I used two of my favorite, garlic powder and smoked paprika, with a little salt and pepper. Then lay out on a cookie sheet.

Bake in an oven preheated to 400 for about 10-12 minutes, then I like to finish cooking by frying them to get a crispier coating. Alternatively, you can flip over the fries and cook another 12-15 minutes.

*Disclaimer: I am NOT a certified nutritionist and your nutritional information may vary depending on exact ingredients you use. I highly recommend you calculate your own and just use this as a guideline. The links for products are affiliate links so I may earn a very small commission if you purchase through them – but it doesn’t cost you anything additional!

Keto Breakfast: Scotch Eggs

My husband has recently joined the Keto bandwagon and has said he’s getting tired of making scrambled eggs and bacon, so I had to find SOMETHING else for him. In comes a recipe for Scotch Eggs I found on pinterest. The only thing I had to adjust for him was to use Almond Flour instead of Coconut Flour since he ‘doesn’t like coconut’. ::Insert eye roll here:: He always says he doesn’t like something, but if I sneak it into his food, he usually doesn’t know the difference. Men can be like kids sometimes!

So to get started you need to have some soft boiled eggs. I did these the night before I made the scotch eggs for breakfast. Leftovers for these are amazing!! I highly recommend reheating in an air fryer so it doesn’t get soggy. Alternatively, you can use an oven but that takes so much longer. A microwave will do the trick, but give you a soggy coating.

To soft boil the eggs, you can do it several different ways, but here’s what I did.

  1.  Place eggs in cold water.
  2. Put pot on stove over medium high heat.
  3. Once it comes to a rolling boil, cover and remove from heat.
  4. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  5. While waiting, put ice in a bowl with some water.
  6. When time is up, remove eggs from hot water using a slotted spoon and put in ice bath.
  7. Let sit 10-15 minutes, remove, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Super easy! If you want hardboiled eggs, I just let them sit in the water for about 10 minutes, then put in the ice bath.

When you are ready the next morning to make Scotch eggs, peel your soft boiled eggs under running water to ensure there are no shells.
Scotch Eggs Ingredients

Get your flour, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, ground pork sausage, and egg (plus salt and pepper if desired) ready. I have two different bowls since I did Almond Flour for my husband and Coconut Flour for me. Both turned out well, but he unknowingly took one from each batch and ate both. He said there wasn’t a lot of taste difference between them, but the Almond Flour one was more gritty. So either will work, but I recommend Coconut Flour for a smoother finish.

Divide up the sausage to make sure there is enough for each of the 7 eggs. Dry off eggs with paper towel or sausage may not stick.

Wrap each egg with sausage. I just use my hands and ‘smush’ the sausage around each egg. Set on aside until they are all done.
Sausage on eggs

In one small bowl, beat an egg. In another, combine your flour, parmesan cheese, and salt/pepper if desired.

Heat up the oil of your choice in a skillet. Once oil is hot, dip the sausage/egg into the beaten egg, then the flour. Roll to coat. Place in oil, turning frequently to ensure all areas are fried til browned.

And that’s it!! These really are super simple. The most time consuming part was peeling the eggs! I still find it hilarious that my husband unknowingly took a Coconut Flour one and ate it – AND LIKED IT!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Scotch Eggs

7 eggs, soft boiled
1 lb ground pork sausage
1/4 c Coconut Flour or Almond Flour
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
Dash salt and pepper if desired

Divide up the sausage to make sure there is enough for each of the 7 eggs. Dry off eggs with paper towel or sausage may not stick.

Wrap each egg with sausage. I just use my hands and ‘smush’ the sausage around each egg. Set on aside until they are all done.

In one small bowl, beat an egg. In another, combine your flour, parmesan cheese, and salt/pepper if desired.

Heat up the oil of your choice in a skillet. Once oil is hot, dip the sausage/egg into the beaten egg, then the flour. Roll to coat. Place in oil, turning frequently to ensure all areas are fried til browned. Drain on paper towels and enjoy!

These are incredibly filling. One and I was done! Oh, and did I mention, ZERO net carbs?! (For coconut flour – slightly higher for almond flour.)

Scotch Eggs nutrition.jpg

*Disclaimer: I am NOT a certified nutritionist and your nutritional information may vary depending on exact ingredients you use. I highly recommend you calculate your own and just use this as a guideline. The links for products are affiliate links so I may earn a very small commission if you purchase through them – but it doesn’t cost you anything additional!

November Keto Krate

When I see that orange box show up in my mail I get SUPER excited. I’ve found several Keto friendly things on my own in the store, browsing the internet, following someones blog, etc – BUT it is so convenient to have this box delivered to me once a month with all Keto friendly items!!

Check out last months Keto Krate here!

Last months Keto Krate was amazing and this months did not disappoint either! Like last month, we’ll go through each product and I’ll tell you what I think of it and where you can get it.

            1. Small Batch Spicy Dill Pork Rinds – Now, I’m not a real big pork rind fan, BUT I do love pickles and I loved these! Right amount of spice, even my pickle loving daughter gobbled them up! The best place I’ve found to get them is on Amazon: Southern Recipe Gluten Free Pork Rinds Fried in Sunflower Oil 4oz, 2 Pack (Spicy Dill).
            2. Sweet Cheat Hot Chocolate – One of my husbands favorite drinks is a frappe from McDonalds, but most chocolate powder mix isn’t exactly Keto friendly. Now that I’ve got this, we can make frappe’s at home! I brew up some of my Java Momma coffee, fill up a cup with ice, pour over the coffee (preferably when cooled), add in some heavy whipping cream, a little sweet cheat, and if needs a little extra sweetness, a stevia packet. I blend it all together on my Ninja Blender in the single serve cup and voila! Homemade frappe! I haven’t found sweet cheat many places, only on Sweet and Sprouted
            3. Coco Polo Quinoa Crunch Chocolate Bar – This is pretty darn close to a Crunch bar. It’s not exact, but it’ll suffice for a substitute. It’s sweet and crunchy and sugar free!! You can buy these on Amazon, but are unavailable quite often, so I’d recommend just going straight to the Coco Polo website.
            4. Crazy Go Nuts Buffalo Walnuts – I’m not a huge walnut fan, so I personally did not care for these. If they had been buffalo almonds I would have been all over them! If walnuts are your thing and you don’t mind them a little spice, grab them from Amazon! Crazy Go Nuts Buffalo Flavored Walnuts
            5. Nikki’s Coconut Butter: Cake Batter – Ummm, the name says it all! Spread on some Keto bread, add into a bullet proof coffee, or eat it straight out of the pouch! Amazon is my go to for this super food too. Nikki’s Coconut Butter Vanilla Cake Batter
            6. ChocoPerfection European dark Chocolate – WOW. This chocolate can’t possibly be sugar free. But it is! This stuff was so good, we didn’t even finish the bar before we’d ordered more. All the other flavors are just as good! You can guess where I found these, yep, on Amazon! They are pricey, but worth every penny. (Really, what on Keto is cheap?!) I recommend the ChocoPerfection Variety Box.
            7. KNOW Better Double Chocolate Cookie – This was another one that I couldn’t wait to order more. Now if you don’t like coconut, you may not like the KNOW Better brand items because they do have a lot in them. I LOVE coconut so these were perfect for me. They range in 3-6 net carbs per cookie and they are pretty good size, I use as a breakfast replacement or a dessert. I ordered the rest of the flavors from KNOW Foods but I haven’t been able to try them all yet.
            8. Raw Rev Glo Vegan Salted Peanut Butter Bar – This one could have used a tad more sweetener for my tastes, but it was good. It works for a breakfast, snack, or whatever you want! I would recommend getting the Raw Rev Glo Variety Pack on Amazon so you can try all the flavors.
            9.  Last but not least is the Biltong Dried Beef. Very similar to beef jerky in texture and flavor, but a little more tender. The kids stole this from me, so I didn’t get to eat much – but if it’s kid approved, I think that says it all! Get yours on Amazon: Biltong Beef Jerky

 

I definitely found more favorites in the November Keto Krate box and items that will become staples in our diet. My husband is very hard to please when it comes to food (aka – he’s VERY PICKY!) but he’s been helping me work our way through the boxes and loving it! We are both pretty excited for December’s box!!  If you got Novembers, what was your favorite item??

Keto Vanilla Almond Cake with Caramel Frosting

While I think Thanksgiving should have some sort of pumpkin dessert (like my yummy Keto Pumpkin Bars w/ Cream Cheese Frosting, my husband is not a pumpkin fan whatsoever. So once again, I took to Pinterest to find a Keto friendly dessert he would like.

Then – I found it – it was a cake with a homemade caramel frosting. Caramel is one of my FAVORITE things, so this one was a no-brainer for me. Luckily, I already had most of the ingredients, I just needed to get some unflavored whey protein powder to make this cake. From what I had researched, the protein powder helps with the texture, making it more like a gluten cake.

I was so excited and nervous about making this cake. It sounded SO good, but I’ve made things in the past that sounded good but were so gross I had to throw it in the trash. The fact that I was taking this to a relatives Thanksgiving dinner had me feeling tons of pressure to take something that even the non-Keto-ers would enjoy. And they did. Everyone that ate it commented how good it was. THANK GOODNESS!!

You’ll need two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans. I like to use either Air Bake (which are hard to find anymore) or a Wilton round cake pan.

You bake the cakes until their are set and while they are in the oven, you can make the caramel sauce and they’ll both cool together. Once cooled, fill, layer, and frost – that’s it!

Cakes out of oven
Cakes out of the oven and cooling – notice how they started pulling away from the sides? Made it super easy to get them out!
Making Caramel SauceCaramel sauce was just about done here. You couldn’t tell it was sugar free at all!!!
Finished Caramel CakeThis is what it looked like when it was done. I just used a regular plate to put it on and then stored it in a Cake Saver.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

So here’s what you need:

Cake
2 1/2 cups Almond Flour
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
1/4 cup unflavored whey protein powder
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup softened butter
2/3 cup Lakanto Classic Monkfruit sweetener
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Frosting
1/4 cup butter
6 tbsp Lakanto – Golden Sweetener
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/4 salt

* Preheat the oven to 325F. Cut parchment paper to fit inside your round cake pans and spray the top of the paper and the sides with cooking spray.
* In a bowl, put in all dry ingredients and mix.
* In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and monkfruit. It will get fluffy. Then add in eggs, one at a time and mix well after each addition.
* Add in half the dry ingredients, mix. Then add half the almond milk, mix. Repeat.
* Put half the batter in each pan and spread out. The batter is thick. Smooth it out and bake approx 25-30 mins. It will just start getting golden around the edges and may pull away from the sides like mine did.
* Cool in pans about 10-15 minutes, then flip to a wire rack to finish cooling.

* While the cake is in the oven, heat a medium saucepan over medium-medium high heat. Melt butter and add in golden monkfruit. Mix it well. Bring to a boil and boil about 5 minutes. Make sure to stir frequently so it doesn’t scorch on the bottom!
* Take off the heat and stir in the cream, make sure to stir constantly. Sprinkle the xanthan gum over the top and continue to stir until it’s all incorporated or you’ll end up with lumps.
* Put back on the stove and bring back to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Remove and let cool. Once it is cooled, add in two tbsp water and mix well.

Now you’re ready to assemble!

  • Put one cake down and pour about 1/3 of the caramel on top. Spread out.
  • Top with other cake and pour the rest of the caramel on it, smoothing on the top and the sides.

That’s it! It was a super easy cake. Waiting for everything to cool took the longest!

And it was a BIG hit!! Even my 4 year old loved it!
Emma eating cake

Oh, and did I mention it’s only 2 net carbs for a serving??!! You can’t beat that for dessert!! And I found it was very filling!

Caramel cake nutrition.jpg

*Disclaimer: I am NOT a certified nutritionist and your nutritional information may vary depending on exact ingredients you use. I highly recommend you calculate your own and just use this as a guideline. The links for products are affiliate links so I may earn a very small commission if you purchase through them – but it doesn’t cost you anything additional!

Keeping it Keto – An Example of a Low Carb Day

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get burned out on eating the SAME things over and over and over. And I can’t figure out WHAT to eat. So I thought I would share an example of what I might eat on a normal day to show you just how EASY it can be to eat Keto.

When starting my day, I LOVE to have a coffee. My favorite is Java Momma . They have coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and even some Keto friendly chocolate and more! You can sign up for subscription boxes, or just order a bag or two. They’ve got some pretty amazing flavors – check out what they have for the November box:
java mommaI pick the flavor I’m in the mood for (and I have about 10 flavors at any given time) – brew a cup or a even a whole pot in my Ninja Coffee Maker, add in my favorite sugar free syrup, and a splash of heaving whipping cream.

Once I get to work, I might have a little breakfast (unless I’m doing a fast). Today I had a super-yummy-I-can’t-even-tell-it’s-Keto cookie for breakfast. This morning I ate a double chocolate Know Better Cookie which had only 3 net carbs!

I really should have eaten it as a dessert, but a dessert can be breakfast too, can’t it? Sure – why not?! It was REALLY Good! But I will say, if you don’t like the taste/texture of coconut, you may wan to pass on this. I personally love coconut, so I was in heaven with this. Plus it was filling – win/win! I also take my first dose of truVISION right now too. This helps me feel full, curb appetite/cravings, and improves my focus.

For lunch, I usually have something that was leftover. Today, it was some leftover chili along with some shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Go here for my chili recipe. Here’s where I’ll take my second dose of truVISION as well.
chili

I usually don’t eat much between meals anymore, so I don’t eat anything until I have supper. For this particular day, I had a pork roast in the Crock-Pot and ate some steamed broccoli and cauliflower with a little butter and cheese. Using the pork ‘juice’, I made a little Keto friendly gravy to put on top. My husband, who is eating Carnivore Keto, just eats the meat and some local cheese. He is very anti-veggies!
Pork and veggies dinner

And the best part – DESSERT! How about zero carb, sweet dessert?? Ask and you shall receive! If you head over to Smart Baking Co, they have 5 different flavors of cupcakes and they are ZERO carbs each! They have cinnamon, chocolate, tangerine, lemon, and coconut. They are so good, I can’t pick just one for my favorite! The flavor and texture are so good, you wouldn’t know they are Keto. You can even top it with a little whipping cream (or Keto friendly ice cream!). You can get 10% off your order at Smart Baking Co by using promo code CSBOURQUIN during checkout. I suggest stocking up because these aren’t going to last long!!

So let’s see a break down of the days’s carbs:

Java Momma w/ sugar free syrup & splash of HWC: 0 carbs
Know Better Cookie Double Chocolate: 3 net carbs
Bowl of chili w/ sour cream and shredded cheese: 6 net carbs
Pork roast w/ broccoli & cauliflower, butter, and cheese: 3 net carbs
Smart Baking Co cupcake: 0 carbs

Total for the day – 12 net carbs. According to my Keto diet app, I’m actually allowed 24, so I could have double what I did! But I’m quite happy with my 12 carbs for the day. If I can do it, so can you!

 

Week 6 Check In

This week was a very eventful one! Aside from being week 6 of my truVISION journey, it was my daughters 4th birthday party! Birthday parties typically entail cake and ice cream – which are loaded with carbs and sugar! That would definitely NOT be good and potentially halt the progress I’ve been making, if not set me back.

So the best thing you can do when you have an event coming up is PREPARE! I knew we were planning on having pizza, ice, cream, and cake – all of which I was not going to be able to eat. To resist being tempted, I made sure to have plenty of things I COULD eat.

This included:
* Pickle roll ups
* Meat and Cheese tray (skip the crackers)
* Veggie tray (cauliflower and broccoli are the best choices here)
* Pistashios
* And best of all – Pumpkin Bars w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

It goes to show how a little planning can go a long way – instead of splurging on ‘bad’ food and then gaining this week, here’s how it turned out:

Starting Weight: 308.8 lbs
Last Weeks Weight: 291 lbs
This Weeks Weight: 283.8 lbs
Loss this week: 7.2 lbs!!!! WOW!!! I was so amazed!!
That means I’m down 25 lbs since 9/21/18. It’s amazing!

I’m also thrilled with the inches I’ve lost too –

Starting Inches: 489.7 inches
Last Weeks Inches: 466.4 inches
This Weeks Inches: 460.6 inches
Loss This Week: 5.8 inches
Which means…. I’m down 29.1 inches!!!

I lost a few lbs doing Keto before I started truVISION (although it was so much more difficult for me to stay on it AND keep it off), but total I’m down 37.6 lbs from this time last year!! I’ve got a long ways to go, but I know with the help of truVISION I know I’ll get there!

Here are some pictures of her amazing cake, some of her friends, and some family! (And my Keto pumpkin bars!)

Keto Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and you can’t forget about the star of the food – the PUMPKIN! So why not make some super moist, delicious, can’t-even-tell-they’re-Keto pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting!?

Just because you may be adapting to the Keto lifestyle, doesn’t mean you have to give up all your favorite things. You just have to make some adjustments.

For this recipe, you need a couple Mixing Bowls. In one, mix all the dry ingredients. In the other, mix the oil, eggs, pumpkin, and water.

Once mixed, pour into an 11 x 7 in pan. Bake in a preheated oven (350 degrees) for approx 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let it cool, then make the frosting.

Whip the cream cheese. Add in the vanilla, sweetener, and lemon peel. Spread on cooled bars.

At only 3 net carbs per serving, it’s a dessert that is good ANY time of the year, but just in time for Thanksgiving!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Keto Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

1 c Almond Flour
3/4 c Lakanto Monkfruit, Granulated
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3 beaten eggs
15 oz can pumpkin puree
1/4 c melted Coconut Oil
2 tbsp water

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sweetener
pinch of dried lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sweetener, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and cloves.

In a separate Mixing Bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water. Dump dry ingredients in and mix well.

Pour into prepared 11 x 7 in pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool

In a separate Mixing Bowl, whip the cream cheese. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spread over cooled bars. Cut and enjoy! Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bar Nutrition.jpg

*Disclaimer: I am NOT a certified nutritionist and your nutritional information may vary depending on exact ingredients you use. I highly recommend you calculate your own and just use this as a guideline. The links for products are affiliate links so I may earn a very small commission if you purchase through them – but it doesn’t cost you anything additional!