Monthly Archives: September 2016

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Pumpkin Muffin with a Twist

Pumpkin season is upon us, as if I actually wait for pumpkin season to enjoy one of my favorite flavors.  I usually buy extra canned pumpkin in the fall in case there’s a shortage by the beginning of summer.  Just recently, I read that the pumpkin in the can isn’t pumpkin, but a mixture of winter squashes.  That could be.  I do know that jack-o-lantern pumpkins aren’t like cooking pumpkins and there is a pie pumpkin that is a better flavor and texture for it.  But even if the pumpkin is really a mixture of various squashes, which could include pumpkin, the real flavor comes from the spice combination you add to it.  So butternut squash, acorn squash, kobacha, or pumpkin, you still get a delicious result.

I often miss the muffins that are big, moist, and loaded with carbohydrates. No matter how you cook it, the low carb muffin won’t be the same, but I have come up with a plan to make a big, tasty low carb muffin that is satisfying.  It uses a muffin-in-a-minute approach to get a big fluffy muffin, then you bake it for a short time to finish it off and it magically resembles a baked muffin in flavor and texture.  Try it and you might find it will become a favorite.

While I use a combination of flours to make my muffins, you can use all one type of low carb flour or baking mix.  I don’t recommend all coconut flour.

Pumpkin Pecan Magic Muffin

1 tablespoon Low Carb Flour
1 tablespoon Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1 teaspoon Coconut Flour
1 Egg
2 tablespoon Pumpkin Puree
1 tablespoon Oil
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
Pinch salt
5 Pecan halves, broken into pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.)

In a microwaveable bowl, break the egg and add the oil, then stir vigorously with a whisk or a thin spatula until the egg is well mixed. Add the seasonings, salt and sugar substitute and mix well. Then add the flours and stir in until completely mixed.

Microwave for one minute. Let cool and set a few minutes. Prepare a baking pan by spraying with cooking spray. Turn the partially cooled muffin onto the pan. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly browned.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar substitute or cinnamon and sugar substitute mix and serve warm or cooled.

Makes 1 muffin.

Nutrition information per muffin:
Calories: 346 Fat: 33 g Net Carbs: 4.2 g Protein: 17.6 g

If you give this a try, let me know how you like it.

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Jams

Magic Almond Flour Muffin and Apple Butter

One of the hardest things for a bread lover on a low carb lifestyle is to pass up the delicious artisan breads, the yummy muffins, and San Francisco sour dough.  All right, I make an exception for sour dough… and a few other too tempting breads, but you can’t do it often and it’s hard to limit your indulgence.

But you can whip up some delicious breads that are made with low carb flours and nut flours.  It just means stocking some of these flours in the house.  I especially like to make what I call “Magic Muffins” for breakfast.  They are a variation on the Atkins Muffin in a Minute in that I use low carb flours in them.  I also frequently use Vanilla Whey Protein Powder.  I use a brand that has less than one net carb in a tablespoon, so it’s easy to add without adding much to the carb count.

This recipe for a muffin made with almond flour and coconut flour is delicious and kind of resembles an English muffin.  The ingredients are mixed in a small bowl and cooked for one minute in the microwave, then I loosen it from the bowl, let it cool about 5 minutes and cut it across the middle to put in the toaster.  It’s sturdy enough to stand up to toasting and the flavor is really good.  Add some butter and jam or apple butter on top and it’s a real treat.  It’s also gluten-free.

Almond Flour Magic Muffin

2 tablespoons Almond Flour
1 teaspoon Coconut Flour
1 teaspoon Vanilla Whey Protein Powder (optional)
1 Egg
1 tablespoon Oil
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute

In a straight-sided microwavable bowl, stir the egg, oil, cinnamon and sugar substitute together until they are completely blended and no white strings of egg are visible. I use a rubber spatula with a small head for this. Stir in the almond and coconut flours and protein powder (if using) until they are thoroughly mixed in. Be sure to scrape the sides down.

Cook in the microwave for 1 minute. Take out, loosen the edges, and let cool for about 5 minutes to set up. Use a knife with a serrated edge to cut the muffin in half. Toast in a toaster or in the oven until browned to your liking. The longer you cook it, the crisper it gets.

Spread with butter and apple butter for a delicious breakfast or anytime treat.  Makes 1 muffin.

Nutrition Information (without protein powder)
Calories: 292 Fat: 26.2 g Net Carbs: 3.4 g Protein: 9.7 g

Nutrition Information (with protein powder)
Calories: 319.5 Fat: 26.2 g Net Carbs: 3.6 g Protein: 16 g

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

This is a recipe I found on at detoxinista’s web site for making no sugar added apple butter in a slow cooker. I followed her recipe almost exactly except I substituted in 1/4 cup diet cranberry juice for the water and I used Gala apples instead of Fuji, but the recipe works with almost any apple. It doesn’t use any additional sugar and the scent in the house is absolutely tantalizing while it cooks.

3 pounds Apples, cored and sliced or chopped
2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground Cloves
1/4 cup Oceanspray Diet Cranberry Juice

After you’ve cored and chopped the apples, put the in the slow cooker and add the seasonings and cranberry juice. You don’t need to peel the apples. The peels will cook down and blend in once they are pureed. Stir all the ingredients together, then turn the cooker on to low, cover and cook for five to six hours until the apples are falling apart soft. Use an immersion blender to puree the apples or put them into a food processor or blender to puree. I used a hand held drink blender and it worked beautifully.

Cover the pot loosely and cook another two to three hours until the mixture becomes a thick, spreadable butter. Turn off and let cool, then spoon into jars. I got 4 eight oz. jars from the 3 pounds, but you may get more or less, depending on how thick you want your butter.

Makes 3 to 4 cups of apple butter. A serving is 1 tablespoon

Nutrition Information per serving: (based on 48 servings)
Calories: 15.2 Fat: 0.1 g Net Carbs: 3.3 g Protein: 0.1 g

Desserts, Recipes

Chocolate plus Avocado equals dessert?

Recently, I watched a Food Network Show in which one of the chefs on the show made a Chocolate Avocado Mousse and I was intrigued. For one thing, they talked about the creamy, rich flavor of the dessert. I decided to try to make a low carb version. I found three slightly different recipes, including one from Food Network’s site, and I combined them with my low carb ingredients to make four servings.

To be honest, I’m undecided about this as a flavorful chocolate dessert. It’s not bad, but it isn’t your grandma’s chocolate mousse. The avocado makes it taste richer in fats, but doesn’t really add any flavor to it. What I did notice was the texture, which is creamy, but also has a little grit even though I thoroughly processed it in the food processor until it was smooth. The roomie wasn’t thrilled, agreeing that it didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t the tastiest mousse either.

Where this might be beneficial to people would be if you are lactose intolerant, since you can use almond or coconut milk to make this version, or if you want to get the benefits of avocado, but you don’t actually care for the taste. The chocolate masks it well. Ultimately, it’s up to each person to decide if they think this is a delicious dessert or not.

I have eaten it two or three times and find that a little makes a pretty good topping on a scoop of low carb ice cream. If you layer it in a glass with orange or cherry flavored whipped cream, it might be a better balanced flavor that cuts the extreme chocolate richness. If you give it a try, post a comment before to let me know what you thought and how you served it.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse

1/2 cup Sugar-free Chocolate Chips
1 tablespoon Butter
2 very ripe (8 ounce) Hass Avocados, peeled and pitted
6 tablespoons granulated Sugar Substitute
1/3 cup Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
2 tablespoons Heavy Cream (optional)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/8 teaspoon fine Salt
Melt the chocolate chips with a little butter in a double boiler or put in a microwave safe bowl in a microwavable container with water in it for about 1 minute, then stir. Stir until the chocolater is completely melted. You may have to microwave a couple of time in 30 seconds increments

Here comes the hard part. Put all the ingredient in a food processor or blender and process until it is creamy and smooth. I actually added the cream to it because it was so thick and too chocolaty for my tastes. You can add additional almond milk instead if you want it thinner.

Spoon into four 1/2 cup serving bowls or glasses. Chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving. It keeps a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

Would be great layered with cherry-flavored whipped cream (or orange flavored) and a fresh cherry on top.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 341 Fat: 23.7 g Net Carbs: 4.4 g Protein: 2.5 g

Recipes, Vegetables & Salads, Vegetarian

Summery Squash Side Dish

It’s summer squash season, not that we can’t get a lot of these tasty vegetables year-round these days, but in summer the produce seems especially plentiful. I’ve done zucchini chips, sautes, stir-fries, and other ways to prepare the squash. Recently, I saw a recipe for corn souffle, using fresh corn. Why not squash? I asked myself. And immediately adapted the recipe to a mix of summer squash. This recipe makes four servings, a little over 1/2 cup per serving, but use a 1 cup souffle dish since it will rise and then collapse.

With just the two of us to eat them, I stored 2 cooked ones in the ‘fridge for a couple of days and the herbs seemed to settle into it better making it more flavorful, so don’t be shy about making it one day and eating it a day or two later. You can also prepare it ahead of time and cook it later in the day to save time. This is a great side dish with chicken, steak, pork chops or seafood.

Summer Squash Souffle

3 cups chopped Zucchini, Crookneck, or other Summer Squash
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 large Eggs
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon  freshly ground Black Pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 tablespoons Bacon Pieces (1 slice, optional)
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Chopped Chives or Parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F.). Prepare the ramekins (souffle dishes) by spraying with cooking spray, going all the way up the sides.

Put all the ingredients except the bacon and the chives or parsley into the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse until mixed, then turn on long enough to make a smooth puree.

Divide evenly among the four ramekins and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the bacon bits and chives or parsley over the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until they are puffed and golden. Take a photo immediately because they will fall as soon as they begin to cool. The sooner you serve them, the fluffier they look.

Makes four yummy servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories:166.5 Fat: 13.3 g Net Carbs: 3.7 g Protein: 8.4 g