Crustless Quiche Lorraine

8 slices of bacon, cooked

3 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 1/4 c heavy cream

1 c swiss cheese

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven 357* and mix ingredients till well blended. Pour mixture into oven safe dish.

Bake quiche for 30 - 35 minutes, pull out and let stand for 15 minutes. When you pull quiche for it might still giggle... that's ok!! It will firm as it cools. Yum!!

Plant Protein!!

I'm always on the look out for good products that have low carbs, no sugar and lots of nutrients! This one fits the bill!

I received an email last week from The Green Smoothie Girl and she's promoting the kick off of her new Plant-Based Protein powder!! and for the next week she has a sale, BUY 2 Get 1 FREE!! i decided to give it a a try, because i was planning on getting more Atkins shakes last week anyway. The nice think about this plant based protein mix is that it doesn't have ANY sugar in it (and the Atkins one does.) Also, it has a total of 2 Net Carbs!  (score!) It's slightly sweetened by Stevia which doesn't effect your blood sugar!

The powder come in Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate. I've tried all and they are not the most tasty shakes I've ever had, but i really feel satisfied and I have lots of energy. My favorite is the Strawberry! you can mix it with water but i use 8 oz of Unsweetened Almond Milk!

if you'd like to check it out click HERE .

Side note: With the buy 2 get 1 sale each serving comes out to be $0.79! can't beat that!

Taco Shells

This is by far the coolest trick I learned through Pinterest. Lay a slice of Provolone cheese on a piece of parchment and place on a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 1 minute or until the cheese is golden brown, but not burnt. (On my microwave it took about 1 min 18 sec.) Take it out of the microwave and using the parchment paper for help hang the cheese over a butter knife for 30 seconds to create the shape of your taco shell. Then peel off the parchment paper. Viola! Taco Shell! The above photo is a picture of Kevin's second serving of tacos. He thought dinner was so cool he had to try it out for himself.

Almond Mill Crackers

The thing I miss most now that I am eating a keto friendly diet is the crunch! Sometimes I just want to eat something crunchy like a potato chip or cracker. This recipe completely satisfies that need.

3 oz almond flour, 3/4 cup
2 tsp splenda
1 egg white
3/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder

Mix all the ingredients well in a small bowl. Place dough on a parchment covered 15x18 cookie sheet. Spread out the mixture with your hands a bit then cover with wax paper or another parchment paper. Roll out the dough to about 1/8" thick. It will be about a 9x9 in square. Remove the top paper and with a pizza cutter cut into small squares. Makes about 48 crackers.

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 325 degrees or until golden brown. Break them apart on the score line and let cool. They will keep for weeks in an air tight container in your pantry.

Serving 8 crackers: 3 carbs

note: I used the whole egg so my crackers were a little harder to roll out and much thinner than they should be. They still had a super awesome crunch and tasted great. Also, I was kind of lazy with my dough cutting so I have all different sizes of crackers. Opps!

Chocolate Fudge Balls

I found this recipe originally through Pinterest.

6 oz Cream Cheese
4 packets Stevia
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Optional toppings:
chopped nuts or unsweetened coconut
(I used about 1/4 cup of coconut.)

Soften cream cheese slightly; add stevia and cocoa powder. Mix ingredients well. Place back into the fridge for about an hour then using a small cookie scoop drop one leveled scoop into coconut and completely cover with the coconut. This makes 8-9 balls. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

note: I didn't put my mixture in the fridge before making into balls and it still worked.

2 carbs per ball

Strawberry Ice Cream

I found this recipe in my Vitamix cook book (page 224). I modified it to make it Keto Friendly.

1 cup Heavy Cream
1 lb frozen strawberries
1/4 cup splenda
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Place all ingredients into the vitamix in the order listed and secure the lid.
2. Select Variable 1.
3. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.
4. Use tamper to press ingredients into the blades.
5. In about 30-60 seconds, the sound of the motor will change and four mounds should form.
6. Stop machine. Do not over mix or melting will occur. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

Strawberry flavor: 6 carbs

Feta Chicken Patties

My super awesome friend Angie sent me this recipe. I can't wait to try it.

1 lb Ground Chicken
2 T Golden Ground Flax
1 Egg
2 oz Feta Cheese
1/4-1/2 Green Pepper, diced and precooked
1 tsp Dry Ranch Seasoning
Salt and Pepper

Here is what she said about it.
"Mix all ingredients. (with hands) Pile into whoopie pie pan. I made 8. Cook at 350 for 35-40 minutes until chicken reaches 170 degrees with meat thermometer. That was it. I only used the green pepper because I had it left over and I didn't want to waste it. I think this would be yummy if you added mushrooms and any type of cheese. These are super easy to make and they are the perfect size for a flax bun."

Stats:
Calories 104
Carbs 1
Protein 13

Crunchy Ranch Chicken and Alfredo

This meal is one of my favorites! I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it really is. No joke.

For the Chicken:
6 Chicken Breasts
Ground flax seeds (1- 1 1/2 cups. I never really measure.)
1 Ranch Dressing Seasoning Packet

Mix ingredients together and dip your raw chicken in the mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Yes! It's seriously that easy!

Tip: I like to cut my chicken breasts in half then dip them in the mixture. It's easier for portion control and my chicken bakes even.

Alfredo:
1/2 cup Butter
1 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Heavy Cream
Parsley

Cook slowly on medium until all the cheese is melted and mixture has thickened a little bit. Stir often so you don't burn it. Serve over your favorite low carb veggies. My favorites are zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower.

Tip: In the photo I didn't have enough Parmesan so I used 1 cup of each of the ingredients so it's a bit thinner than I prefer. Good news it was still super awesome, plus lowered the carbs.

Makes about 6 servings: 511 calories, Carbs 2.2g!

The UNwhich

Eating out doesn't have to be hard on the Keto Diet. We've discovered a few places that will cater to your food needs while you are on the road or in a hurry!

Our recent favorite place to dine is Jimmy Johns! What you are looking at is called the "Unwich" this one in particular is the LuLu sandwich... Unwiched! (no bread for those low carb lovers!)

OR make it at home: This was my version of the Unwiched LuLu!

Turkey
bacon
provolone
tomato
mayo
lettuce leaves

... not as pretty but very delicious!

Chocolates on Valentines day!!

I recently came across this recipe and decided to give it a whirl. it has some of the same ingredients as my oh-so-favorite homemade granola bars, which of course have rolled oats... not so Keto friendly. However, this recipe it does have honey in it, but if you are really looking for a sweet treat, it's better to grab one of these than a slice of cake...

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

1/2 c. coconut oil
1/2 c. almond/peanut butter (i use peanut butter)
1/4 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. cocoa powder

In a small sauce pan on medium heat, melt coconut oil, nut butter, and honey. Stir so it does not burn. when melted, add vanilla, stir. and pour into a blender. add 1/2 c. cocoa and mix well in blender.

Line mini muffin tins with papers and pour mixture into the cups.

chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
or freeze for 40 minutes.

keep in refrigerator in a sealed container or Ziploc.

makes 24, mini cups
1 mini cup= 3 Net Carbs!

This is the Cocoa I found on Amazon, that only has 1 net carbs per serving.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Fish night

what's for dinner tonight?

Cod -- poached in water with butter sprinkled with Citris Grill seasoning
Purple Cabbage -- steamed or boiled, seasoned with salt and pepper
Simple Salad --  enough said!

this is my favorite fish seasoning!

don't forget the jell-o for dessert!!

Keto Cart Salad

This is one of my favorite-go-to salads.

In September I took an afternoon to go visit my husband, Justin, at work. We decided to grab some lunch. He said he knew JUST the place. There was a darling old lady, with a lunch cart perched on the sidewalk of the busy streets of Denver. This was her Chicken Salad. I was in love! So simple, so fresh... and super easy to make at home! Hope you enjoy!

Mixed spring greens (large box found at Costco in refrigerated area)
Cherry Tomatoes
Grilled/baked chicken
Red onion
Feta Cheese

Dressing-- I prefer Ranch. Justin prefers Balsamic Vinaigrette... minus the Feta, of course!

More Bacon, Please!

On my recent Costco visit I walked past this blue packaged beauty and the light bulb immediately went off.
THIS is a great way to add bacon to any meal with out having to take the time to fry it all up... it's also handy if you don't feel like smelling like bacon all day. (i actually love it, but, to each his own!)

Omelets, Salads, Soups, Cauliflower Pizza...Oh the list is endless!

Burger Night

Here's a fun idea for dinner. Bunless Burgers!

Beef burger,  cheddar cheese, bacon (you could even grill up some onions!)
Serve along side a spinach, avocado, tomato salad with Ranch Dressing!

<3 Delicious and totally satisfying!

Almond Butter Cookies

1 Cup Almond Butter
1 Cup Splenda
1 egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. Form into small balls and press with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes 20 small cookies.

Calories: 76, Carbs 2g