Tag: Keto

Keto Birthday Cake

On By celestelindIn CraftingLeave a comment

I wanted cake for my birthday, but didn’t want to “blow the bank”, so I modified a family favorite. It IS cake, and you COULD put candles in it, but we didn’t want to set the house on fire, so….no. Besides, the surface was kinda firm, but could’ve been potentially wobbly!

Start off with one of those cake pans that has an indentation for a filling. (Example shown above)

5 EB XL eggs
1 cup almond flour & 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 4oz baking chocolate, melted
2/3 cup Monk Fruit
4 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
1-3/8 tsp Xanthen Gum (optional, for more dense brownie texture, omit)
1-3/8 tsp Baking Powder
3/8 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp real vanilla extract

Mix all the dry ingredients together while melting your baking chocolate. Blend in the eggs and oil until smooth, and then add the melted baking chocolate last. Pour into well greased pan, and bake about 25 minutes at 350.

While the cake is baking, prepare the fruit topping. Two packages of fresh raspberries, or about 1-1/2 to 2 cups frozen (bring to room temperature). Place in microwave safe bowl with 1/2 cup Monk Fruit, and cook 2 minutes on high. Stir and repeat. Take about 1/2 package of Knox unflavored gelatin, and sprinkle it over a tsp of lemon juice, stir it in, and add it to the raspberries. Cook one more minute on high in the microwave, and then set it aside to cool. It sets very quickly in the refrigerator, if you would like.

When the cake is cool, prepare a small box of sugar-free cheesecake flavored pudding mix with 2 cups whipping cream, and 1/2 cup milk. Whip until fluffy, and spoon into the well of the cake.

Now spoon on the raspberry pie filling. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Voila! (Let them eat cake!)

***Small disclaimer: remember, baked goods which use Xanthen gum taste best in the first 24-48 hours. They sink and become very dense if left for too long, so don’t be ashamed to share your treat with others!

Keto Blackberry Crumb Cake

On By celestelindIn Crafting, Lifestyle, Recipes2 Comments

It’s Summertime! My favorite time of year. Fruit is plentiful in the spring & summer, and I enjoy eating a lot of anti-oxidant rich berries, like Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. When I first went keto, I didn’t allow myself ANY fruit that summer, except for fruit flavored gelatin, lol! It was a sad, sad summer. The next summer, I just had to have some fruit, and it turns out that most of my favorites are berries, which are much lower in carbohydrates that things like Mangos and Bing Cherries.

Sooo, I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen for the past couple of years, and if I do say so myself, I’ve come up with some really delicious food, that is extremely low in carbohydrates.

In case you are not aware of what to look out for, here is the skinny: no starches. No rice, potatoes, bread or pasta. No corn, and no juice, and even watch some of your fruits, like bananas and mangos – these are seriously high in frucose, which of course means high carbohydrates, or what I call a high glycemic index. Grapes, raisens and craisens too (sorry!). Seriously! It’s pretty hard at first, but after 3-4 days your tastebuds & brain get reprogrammed, and it’s all downhill from there.

Today, I’m going to share with you my modified recipe for “Cream Cheese Blackberry Crumb Cake”. Basically, I’ve just substituted Lakantos Monkfruit for the sugar, and replaced half of the flour with almond flour. NO xanthan gum required. You can also make this with raspberries or blueberries to mix it up.

This recipe is so well loved, and made so often at my house, I almost have it memorized. You will need: 

a 9″ springform pan
Filling:
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp Lakanto Monkfruit
8 oz Philly Cream Cheese
One EB egg white
2 packages of fresh or frozen blackberries – enough to cover all the cream cheese filling
Cake:
3/4 cup King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Almond Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Lakanto Monkfruit
3/4 cup of Sour Cream (I generally use Breakstones, or Publix brand)
6 Tbsp Land O’Lakes butter or margarine (softened)
One EB egg, and the yolk from the egg used in the filling
One tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp Lakanto Monkfruit
1/4 cup King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Almond Flour
3 Tbsp cold butter or margarine

Mix your filling first. In a separate bowl, make the cake batter, starting with the wet ingredients, and blending until smooth, and then adding in the sweeteners, and finally the flours. Pour 1/2 of it into a greased 9″ springform pan. Pour and smooth the filling over the top of the cake. Sprinkle the blackberries over the filling, be generous.

Cut your butter/margarine into the flour and sweeteners for the topping, and then crumble this over the top of your berries.

Bake for about 45 minutes at 350° F. It will appear a big gooey due to the cream cheese, but it will set-up nicely in about 30-40 minutes. You should be able to get at least 8 generous slices. Enjoy!

Taco Tuesday (Keto Style)

On By celestelindIn CraftingLeave a comment

Obviously, anyone who has been eating Keto for any time at all, knows that there are loads of ways to enjoy your favorite food, with just a little twist. My goals, is to add to your ideas, with things that I’ve tried, and continue to enjoy.

Today, we’re all about Tacos!!

The only thing missing here, are the chips! You can add sour cream, shredded cheese and salsa to your hearts content! We have ground beef, seasoned for tacos, avocado halves, and homemade Pico de Gallo. Delicious and filling, and carb count is near zero! Yum, I’m going back for more!

Keto Blueberry Muffins

On By celestelindIn RecipesLeave a comment

Generally I try to keep my posts to twice a week, on Sunday & Wednesday, but I am so pleased with this recipe, I just have to share – right now!

Ok, a little disclaimer here: I definitely am trying to create a Keto version of some of my favorite recipes, BUT I am not going to completely eliminate real flour or sugar, because, personally, I feel like the sacrifice to the texture and flavor is just too great. However, I bring the carb count of many of my favorite foods down to less than 1/4th of their original carb count, and this brings the calorie count down as well.

I think what is so amazing about this recipe is that it actually has the taste and texture of pound cake! Really! We started off using this cake for a 4th of July Red White & Blue Trifle, using strawberries and blueberries for the red and blue, and my mind just got to whiring!

Here is our Recipe:

4 EB XL eggs
3/4 cup almond flour & 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Monk Fruit
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
1-1/2 tsp Xanthen Gum
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups clean & dry Blueberries

Mix the dry ingredients together while the eggs come to room temperature, add in the coconut oil and eggs all at once, and blend in well – the dough will seem gummy or extra sticky, this is normal. Now add in the vanilla & mix again. Finally with a large spoon gently stir in the blueberries, trying to avoid breaking or popping them. Spoon into 12 regular cup cake wells, or 6 extra large ones (my preference, as I plan on eating 2 regular size ones anyway!). Bake 25 -30 minutes at 350.

These beauties only have 9 grams of carbohydrates for each regular size muffin, or 18 grams for the large one I’m going to eat. YUM!

Oh yeah, serve warm, or if you can, save for breakfast tomorrow & reheat for 10-15 seconds (each) in the microwave. Enjoy!

Weight Loss on Atkins

On By celestelindIn ContemplationLeave a comment

Like most women, I have adopted the desire to be thinner. Thinner than what? is not the question, I just want to be thinner. Thinner than I was, thinner than I ever was before, thin enough to fit comfortably in my clothes – thinner.

[I know that many people thought I was already at a healthy weight for my frame, but I didn’t feel healthy. I felt fat. And how you feel about yourself is so important. It really doesn’t matter what other people say, you have to look in the mirror every day and like yourself. So please don’t judge me by where my weight was – in fact, when someone is fairly close to their “ideal body weight” it actually is harder to lose weight.]

It doesn’t really matter where you start. One day you look in the mirror and decide, enough!! This happened to me about 9 months ago, when I was planning a spontaneous weekend getaway with my husband. Lucky for me, he was game to go on my weight loss quest with me, and adhere to whatever ridiculous scheme I had concocted (this time!) to lose weight. Weight loss is a constant struggle you see, and I tend to yo-yo between about 130-135lbs. But I was well over 140lbs at this point (how far over, I didn’t really want to know) and I had decided that drastic measures were required. We decided to try the once popular “Atkins Diet”, and embarked upon our weight loss journey around Memorial Day, by having one last DQ Blizzard the night before.

We decided to go on 30gms of carbohydrates a day. According to the Atkins plans, you can either do 20 or 30gms daily for the first two weeks, and since, at that time, I didn’t want to give up my morning meal of a Greek yogurt on the way to work (15-17gms right there), we chose 30gms daily. The first three days have got to be the worst. I remember coming home from work thinking I just needed a cookie! and my husband tossed me a few baby carrots (bless him!) which helped me make it through the night. When I woke up on day four, a miracle occurred: I suddenly didn’t really need carbs anymore. At two weeks, it was so easy to keep ourselves to just 30gms a day, that we decided to go for three weeks. And when I stepped on the scale: I was down to 135!

Fast forward to today. I’m at a steady 122/123lbs. I’m never hungry, and I’m still energetic enough to swim 3500-4500 yards 3-5 times a week (about 60-75 minutes per day) and work out at the gym 3 times a week (60-90 minutes per day). I love my new body!! I love my new found self confidence! This is definitely going to not be a “diet”, but rather, a way of life.