fbpx

Tag: Low Carb

Keto Hamburger Soup

Soup has become one of my favorite foods, especially with the weather turning cold. There is nothing better than a hot bowl of soup to warm you from the inside. Keto soups are some of the best soups I’ve ever had and probably the only time I’ve felt FULL after eating a bowl. This soup is definitely one of the easiest and is only 6 ingredients (7 if you count the oil to cook the peppers and onions in).

Start by heating a pot over medium high heat on the stove. Add in the oil (I used extra virgin olive oil) – about 1-2 tbsp and add in the onion and green pepper. Saute until soft, about 4-5 minutes.

Cooking onion and pepper

Add in the hamburger.

Cooking burger

Continue frying until hamburger is done and no longer pink. Drain fat if desired. I don’t! Then add in the can of rotel and box of beef broth.

Adding broth and rotel

Stir until it’s all incorporated, then add the cream cheese. Continue to stir until it’s melted.

Once the cream cheese is melted, it’s ready to serve!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Keto Hamburger Soup

1 lb hamburger
1 can Rotel
8 oz package cream cheese
1 box (4 cups) beef broth
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced

Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Saute onion and pepper until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add in hamburger and cook until no longer pink. You can drain the fat, but I leave it in. The fat is good for keto! Put in can of rotel and beef broth and stir. Cut cream cheese into chunks and add into soup. Stir until cream cheese is melted and incorporated into soup. Serve and enjoy! Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Hamburger Soup

*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 Snack – Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Fall is the perfect time of year to make your very own roasted pumpkin seeds. Pumpkins are very abundant this time of the year and it’s perfect to carve pumpkins with the kids and save the seeds and roast them for a great low carb snack!

There isn’t really a ‘recipe’ for these and there are so many variations on how to make them, but here’s what I did.

Start by removing as much of the guts from the seeds as you can. Place the seeds in a colander and rinse. Place water in a large saucepan, filling it about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Salt the water with about 1 tsp salt. Boil the seeds for 20 minutes then drain.

Lay out on a cookie tray to dry overnight.

drying seeds

Once dry, you can pick off any bits of guts that remain. Then melt 2-3 tbsp of butter in a bowl, add in seeds, and toss to coat. Once coated, spread back out on a cookie tray, salt, and bake at 300 for approx 30-35 min.

You can season really however you want. I put a little salt and pepper on mine, but you can mix it up and use any seasoning you like! They are a perfectly nutty treat and just over 2 net carbs per ounce!

Screen Shot 2018-11-01 at 4.40.00 PM

*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 Green Bean & Mushroom Casserole

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and in my family, the traditional side dishes are green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. In other words, nothing Keto friendly. I want to be able to have a big Thanksgiving dinner that is Keto friendly, but that others will also enjoy so I browsed through recipe after recipe until I found something that sounded like it would fit the bill – and this green bean and mushroom casserole certainly does.

It’s a pretty simple recipe and I usually have just about everything on hand.

Start by steaming your green beans. Use a Vegetable Steamer Basket set over 1 inch of water in a large saucepan.  Steam about 10 minutes or until tender.

When beans are done, transfer to buttered 8-Inch Casserole Dish.

Start melting butter in a 12 inch frying pan. Once melted, add in mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms begin to brown.

Remove from heat and put on top of green beans. In a Glass Mixing Bowl , beat cream cheese with Hand Mixer. Add in vinegar, garlic, and onion powder, mixing well. Slowly add 1/2 cup stock, mixing as you add. It will get runny, so be cautious or you’ll be covered in it. Once mixed, stir in 1/2 of the parmesan cheese.

Pour mixture over green beans and mushrooms, then top with remainder of cheese.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, until bubbly and browned.
Casserole out of the oven

These cheesy green beans are so filling and so good!!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Keto Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole

1 lb cut green beans, frozen
2 tbsp butter (use more if necessary)
8 – 12 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 cloves crushed garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Start by steaming your green beans. Use a Vegetable Steamer Basket set over 1 inch of water in a large saucepan. Steam about 10 minutes or until tender.

When beans are done, transfer to buttered 8-Inch Casserole Dish.

Start melting butter in a 12 inch frying pan. Once melted, add in mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms begin to brown.

Remove from heat and put on top of green beans. In a Glass Mixing Bowl , beat cream cheese with Hand Mixer. Add in vinegar, garlic, and onion powder, mixing well. Slowly add 1/2 cup stock, mixing as you add. It will get runny, so be cautious or you’ll be covered in it. Once mixed, stir in 1/2 of the parmesan cheese.

Pour mixture over green beans and mushrooms, then top with remainder of cheese.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until bubbly and browned.

 

Nutrition green bean casserole.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 Butter Chicken Dinner

I don’t know about everyone else, but I get tired of eating the same things over and over again. I like to mix it up a little. So putting a spin on an Indian dish fit that bill. AND it’s Keto friendly. If you ask me, that’s a win-win!

This recipe is heavy on the spices, so if you don’t care for a lot, you may want to take it back a little.

For this recipe, you’ll need a Deep Frying Pan to cook in the meal in.

To start, heat up 2 tbsp butter in the frying pan on medium heat. Season your chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then add into the butter. Fry on both sides until browned.  Remove the chicken. Add in the onion and all the spices, garlic, and ginger. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.

Add in tomatoes, butter, chicken stock, and coconut milk. Mix well, then add chicken back to pot. Cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.

Add  in the hearts of palm and continue cooking until noodles are warmed.

Serve and enjoy!

Butter chicken nutrition

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Butter Chicken

2 lbs chicken thighs with bone and skin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
4-5 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, diced
3 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup coconut milk
1 package Natural Heaven Pasta  (hearts of palm)

Heat up 2 tbsp butter in a Deep Frying Panon medium heat. Season your chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then add into the butter. Fry on both sides until browned.  Remove the chicken. Add in the onion and all the spices, garlic, and ginger. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.

Add in tomatoes, butter, chicken stock, and coconut milk. Mix well, then add chicken back to pot. Cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.

Add  in the hearts of palm and continue cooking until noodles are warmed.

Serve and enjoy!

*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!

Quick & Filling 3 Carb Dinner

There are some days when I just don’t know what to eat. Those are the days that I stand in front of the refrigerator with the door open, browsing through what’s in there. Be it cheese that got shoved into the back of the drawer and was now starting to mold, my husbands Hamburger Helper leftovers that I can’t eat anyways, or a multitude of other things that I just don’t know what to do with and have of which I can’t even have.

So what do I do? Find some low carb foods and put them together! When it happened this weekend, this is what I ended up with:
burger.jpg

We will just call it the Breakfast Bacon Avocado Cheeseburger (BBAC for short – because that name is a bigger mouthful than the burger was). Compliments of my fridge and freezer and only 3 net carbs! Plus, it was SO filling, I could only eat 3/4 of it. Sometimes the mish-mash of things you throw together end up being the best and this was no exception.

So here’s what I used for my BBAC –

  • Frozen Ballpark burger
  • Crystal Farms sliced cheddar cheese
  • Hormel Microwave bacon
  • One Fried Egg (Runny yolk of course)
  • Heinz mustard
  • Hellmans Mayo
  • Sliced Avocado
  • Salt and pepper

Not bad considering I stood in front of the fridge for 10 minutes mentally going through every item to see what I can/can’t have and how to make a meal out of it.

Here was my nutrition for this:
burger nutrition

As good as this was, it’s so much easier when I have my meals all planned out! This week I’m hoping to make sausage, peppers, and onion in the crockpot as well as butter chicken and green beans w/ mushrooms, plus avocado brownies for dessert. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

What are you meal plans for this week??

KETO Eggs Benedict Casserole w/ Hollandaise Sauce

When you get tired of making chicken, steak, hamburger, pork, etc etc, for supper, what do you do? My favorite thing is to make breakfast food! Now pre-Keto that would have most likely meant pancakes or hashbrowns; those evil carb loaded foods. But now that I’m doing keto, those items are a no fly zone.

Eggs benedict was (is) one of my favorite foods, but obviously you can’t have the english muffin on Keto. So when I found this recipe for an eggs benedict casserole, I just knew I had to make it.

There aren’t many ingredients to it either. The most difficult part for people will be the hollandaise sauce and even that isn’t that hard. After having made it, I would make a few adjustments on the recipe due to personal preference, but I’ll give you the recipe as I found it and made it and tell you what I personally thought of it and would have done differently.

For the casserole, start by preheating the oven to 350. Set aside enough of the canadian bacon/ham to line the bottom of at 9×13 casserole dish and chop the rest. Heat up 1 tbsp butter or olive oil in a Frying Pan and cook until browned. Place on paper towel so it absorbs any excess liquid. Lay the reserved ham slices in the bottom of the 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Put the eggs (no shells please!) in a large mixing bowl and whisk. Add in the remaining ingredients and whisk until thoroughly mixed. Pour over the ham and sprinkle 3/4 of the cooked ham into the egg mixture. Bake for 20 minutes then add the rest of the ham and bake another 10 minutes until egg is set.

Now, onto the hollandaise sauce. Start by separating the egg yolk from the white and put the egg yolks into either a stainless steel or glass bowl. The easiest way to do that is to use an Egg Separator . Heat about an inch of water in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is simmering. While it is heating, whisk the yolks and lemon juice together until it thickens. Then set the bowl on top of the simmering pan and lower heat. Be sure the bowl does not touch the water or it’s too hot and will scramble your eggs. Continue to whisk the mixture, then slowly put the butter in, whisking continuously. The sauce will thicken. Remove from heat. Add in seasonings, mix well, and serve.

There are six servings in this recipe. Cut a slice of casserole and top it with hollandaise. Voila! Eggs Benedict Casserole

Finished eggs benedict and hollandaise

It was such an easy recipe, but I would leave the mustard and the onion powder out of the eggs and omit the majority of the lemon juice in the hollandaise. It made it way too sour and I love a good hollandaise. Let me know what your thoughts on when you make it!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Keto Eggs Benedict

12 oz Canadian bacon or thinly sliced ham, diced
1 tbsp butter or olive oil
10 large eggs
1/2 c heavy cream
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Set aside enough of the canadian bacon/ham to line the bottom of at 9×13 casserole dish and chop the rest. Heat up 1 tbsp butter or olive oil in a Frying Pan and cook until browned. Place on paper towel so it absorbs any excess liquid. Lay the reserved ham slices in the bottom of the 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Put the eggs (no shells please!) in a large mixing bowl and whisk. Add in the remaining ingredients and whisk until thoroughly mixed. Pour over the ham and sprinkle 3/4 of the cooked ham into the egg mixture. Bake for 20 minutes then add the rest of the ham and bake another 10 minutes until egg is set.

Hollandaise Sauce

4 egg yolks
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 c (1 stick) butter, melted
Dash hot sauce
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt

Start by separating the egg yolk from the white and put the egg yolks into either a stainless steel or glass bowl. The easiest way to do that is to use an Egg Separator . Heat about an inch of water in a small saucepan over medium heat until it is simmering. While it is heating, whisk the yolks and lemon juice together until it thickens. Then set the bowl on top of the simmering pan and lower heat. Be sure the bowl does not touch the water or it’s too hot and will scramble your eggs. Continue to whisk the mixture, then slowly put the butter in, whisking continuously. The sauce will thicken. Remove from heat. Add in seasonings, mix well, and serve.

*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!

No Bake KETO Cheesecake

Cheese. Cake. Two of my favorite things. So when you put those two words together, it’s just magical. There’s a reason those Golden Girls sat around the table eating cheesecake. Cheesecake solves everything. Ok, not really. But it’s so delicious you might forget all your worries for a bit.

Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts and this recipe can’t get much easier. Plus, you only have to bake the crust. Not bake the cheesecake for 50 minutes and let it cool for 2 hours then have to refrigerate a day before you can even think about eating it. Nope, not this one.
Partially eaten cheesecake
This one you can be eating in just a few short hours after you make it. Or you can just spoon the filling out of the bowl after you whip it together. You decide. But if you like the beaters after you mix it, the filling might not make it on top of the crust. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

First thing to do is prepare the crust. Mix all the ingredients, press in a pie plate, and bake.

While that cools, make your filling. I let the crust cool for probably a good hour. Partially because I was doing other things and partially because I didn’t want the filing to sit on a warm crust and trap the heat in. Would have made for a very soggy crust!

Top the filling on the crust and refrigerate. I suggest leaving it for at least 4 hours or overnight. I would like to think that if the Golden Girls were on Keto, this would be the cheesecake they sit around the table and eat. #goldengirlapproved

**UPDATE TO RECIPE!! While the cheesecake is absolutely delicious with the recipe below, my husband found it a little too ‘tangy’ from the sour cream – so the next time I made it, I only put about 1/4 c sour cream in it and I upped the vanilla to 2 tsp. It was PERFECT. I’ve had so many compliments on this cheesecake, it’s definitely a crowd pleaser.**

PRINTABLE RECIPE

No Bake KETO Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups Almond Flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
16 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup heavy cream

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350. Stir all ingredients together until well mixed. Press into bottom of pie plate. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool

For the filling:
With your hand mixer or standing mixer, blend together the cream cheese, swerve, and vanilla until fluffy. Mix in sour cream. Slowly pour in heavy cream and mix until thickened. Pour on crust and smooth top of filling. Chill for minimum 4 hours and enjoy!

I found this recipe on Pinterest but next time I think I will double the vanilla in the filling and cut back on the sour cream. It was a little too tangy for my taste and I like a little more vanilla flavor. But it was definitely good and I’ll make it again.

If you make it, comment below!

*Nutritional values are based on items I used. You should always check your own.

Keto Cheesecake 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!

Chocolate PB Coconut No Bake Cookies Low Carb, KETO, and Kid Approved!

When you change your eating habits from ‘normal’ and have a family, it can be difficult finding things everyone (or at least most of the family) will eat. I’ve basically made it a mission to find things I love, that are Keto/low carb (since I’m a dirty Keto-er), AND that the family will eat.

Pinterest is my go-to for searching for recipes if I don’t come up with something on my own. The majority of the time, I rely on other things I find since I don’t have time for trial and error in the kitchen . I just make my own tweaks/modifications to fit in with what our family likes.

This recipe only has 5 ingredients and it’s basically of dumping and stirring. Can’t get much easier than that!

Start by combining the peanut butter, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and melted butter in a bowl. Stir until well combined.

Once that is all mixed together, toss in the coconut and mix well.

Place scoops on baked sheet lined with parchment paper or Silicone Baking Mat . Gently press out slightly. Freeze and then enjoy! Keep stored in freezer.

Tip: If you like things a little sweeter, add in a little Keto approved sweetener. I like to use Lakanto Monkfruit 2:1 Powder Sugar Substitute :
Sweetener

Nutritional info from the Keto Diet app:

No bake cookie nutrition info.png

**REMEMBER, THIS MAY VARY BASED ON ACTUAL INGREDIENTS USED! ALWAYS CHECK YOUR LABELS AND/OR INPUT INTO THE APP**

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Keto Cookies – No bake and kid friendly!!

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter (Natural)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder Unsweetened
2 cups Unsweetened Flake Coconut
2 tbsp butter, melted
(If you want the extra sweetness, add 1/2 – 1 tsp sweetener)

Instructions:
Get your cookie sheet ready by putting a piece of parchment paper or silicone mat on it. As you can see by my pictures, I like to use the Amazon Silpat mat.

Dump all ingredients except coconut in a bowl and stir until mix. Add in coconut and stir until thoroughly combined. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and gently smooth with  back of spoon or scoop. I like to use cookie scoops, it keeps it more uniform.

Freeze for a minimum 30 minutes, then transfer to ziplock bag or container.

Enjoy!

Comment below if you make them and what you think! They give a nice texture and peanut butter is just delicious!

*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!

Filling 1 Carb Breakfast – Food & Drink Included!

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE breakfast food. I could eat breakfast food any time of the day – morning, afternoon, night, middle of the night – ANYTIME! But if you aren’t careful, you can easily eat well over 100 carbs for this one meal. As much as I love pancakes and waffles, I steer clear as much as I can, even from the Keto versions because they still have plenty of carbs. I use those as a rare treat.

So my go-to breakfast is full of protein and fat to fill me up and keep me full all morning. In fact, this breakfast has 32 grams of protein and 24 grams of fat – which is a good start to the day! You don’t have to eat loads of food to get that either. All I eat is some scrambled eggs w/ bacon and cheese and and iced coffee with HWC (heavy whipping cream). See- simple! But you can have all that for only 1 carb! And if you shred your own cheese (which you really should do if you are doing strict Keto because they may add some sort of flour/corn starch to keep cheese from sticking together) you would be able to eat all this for ZERO carbs. That’s right, ZERO! And there is nothing fancy about this meal either!

For the bacon, here is what I use for my scrambles:

Bacon

I get this at Sam’s Club and it’s so convenient. You can use it on salads, in scrambles, or any recipe that calls for cooked, crumbled bacon. I like my bacon to be on the crispy side, so when I use it for scrambles, I like to start the bacon in the frying pan first and fry it up til it’s crispy. A small pan like this one works great for a single serving – 5 1/2 in frying pan

Once I get the bacon to where I want it, I pour in my eggs. I use 2 scrambled eggs.

Adding eggs in

Cook until almost done, then add in your cheese.

Adding cheese

I finish cooking until eggs are done and cheese is melted. That’s it! Super easy breakfast, and only 1 carb.

It wouldn’t be breakfast without my coffee though. For a ZERO carb coffee, I brew up whatever coffee I want (I use my Java Momma coffee which you can get here: www.javamomma.com/sbourquin). With the fall season, I love to break out my pumpkin spice coffee. I brew mine over ice, add in a tablespoon of HWC and a couple pumps of Jordan’s Skinny Syrups – Sugar-Free Pumpkin Spice (no carbs).

So this ENTIRE breakfast is only 1 carb. It also has 25g protein and 32g fat. A good way to start the day and fuel your body. (If you love all things pumpkin spice, go here —->  https://javamomma.com/order/Coffee?pg=1&items=99999&search=pumpkin ).

When I really don’t have time to cook anything for breakfast and I want more of a ‘grab and go’, I throw a few pieces of microwave bacon in for about 30 seconds to get it nice and crispy and out the door I go. Poptarts used to be my go-to, but those definitely have way too much sugar and too many carbs for me to eat now.

What is your go-to low carb breakfast? Comment below!

Low Carb Lemon Cheesecake Bars – 1 net carb each!

 

When you’re a girl who likes to eat, but you’re trying to eat healthy, it can be hard to give up sweets. But wait — who said you have to??? Did you know you can diet AND still eat delicious food? Well I’m here to tell you that you can!

These sweet treats are only 1 net carb each, so no need to feel guilty for indulging in one. To make these, get the following ingredients.

1 package sugar free lemon jello mix
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 – 8 oz packages full fat cream cheese
1 cup boiling water

Ingredients for Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Mix the jello mix into the boiling water until dissolved.

Lemon Jello

Then add in lemon juice and cream cheese, mixing well until no lumps remain and mixture is smooth.

Jello ingredients mixed

Pour mixture into 8 x 8 dish.

Lemon cheesecake in pan

Put pan into fridge to chill for at least 4 hours. I cut this into 16 squares.

Lemon Cheesecake bars

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Low Carb Lemon Cheesecake Bars

1 package sugar free lemon jello mix

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 – 8 oz packages full fat cream cheese

1 cup boiling water

Mix the jello mix into the boiling water until dissolved.

Then add in lemon juice and cream cheese, mixing well until no lumps remain and mixture is smooth.

Pour mixture into 8 x 8 dish.

Put pan into fridge to chill for at least 4 hours. I cut this into 16 squares.

When you eat it, it’s almost mousse-like. It’s very light and fluffy and perfect for those times when you want something sweet. This is a very versatile recipe too, you can change the flavor jello, add in a little whipping cream, etc. Comment below if you make it and what you think!

*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!