Monthly Archives: April 2017

Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Recipes

Yummy Crunchy Peanut Butter Bars

Unless you can’t eat peanuts, who doesn’t love peanut butter bars?  They are so tasty and satisfying.  And they can be low carb as well.  Incidentally, if you happen to be one who can’t eat peanuts, but you can eat almonds, you can make this with almond butter also.

I’ve seen several recipes for these bars, but this one is based on the one from Dixie Diner(tm). Of course, they would like you to use their sugar substitute and flour in it, but it works with any of the options available. I used CarbQuick and  Ideal Sugar in mine. If you aren’t concerned about the quantity of carbs in your food, lucky you, then go ahead and make these with regular flour and sugar.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup Skippy Peanut Butter or other 4 nc per 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup Peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup Low Carb Flour
1/4 cup Sugar Free Chocolate Chips (optional)
1/4 cup Sugar Substitute
2 Egg Whites (boxed will work)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare an 8×8 inch pan by spraying with baking spray or putting parchment paper on the bottom and spraying the sides with baking spray.

In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, egg whites, flour, and sugar substitute together until you have a nice, thick dough. Stir in the sugar-free chocolate chips if you are using them.

Spoon the dough into the baking pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. I used a 6×6 inch pan to get thicker bars, but it does make only eight bars, so higher carb’d ones.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the bars are golden brown. Let cool so they set up before cutting them into bars. To cut into twelve, cut across the middle of one side, then cut each section into three equal cuts. Then turn the pan and cut through the middle of the uncut side and you’ll have six long bars on each side of the middle cut.

If you chill them in the refrigerator, they will come out of the pan easier. You can also melt the sugar free chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons butter and use it as an icing on the top, if you wish.

Makes 12 bars.

Nutrition Information per bar:
Calories: 161.3 Fat: 13.3 g Net Carbs: 3.5 g Protein: 6.6 g

If you add in the chocolate chips, it adds about .2 grams of carbs to each bar.

Note: I specified Skippy Peanut Butter because I know that the carb count is 4 net carbs per 2 tablespoons and others are not. Some of the store brands (such as Wal-Mart, Raleys) are the same count. So check the net carbs to see that they are as low.

Breads, Product Review

Product Review: Dixie Carb Counters Buns

Take a good look at that sandwich bun. It’s lovely, it’s fresh, and it’s easy to make as well as low carb!  What more do you need?!

To be specific, this is the Dixie Carb Counters ™ Multigrain Sandwich Bun Mix that I’m talking about. DCC makes excellent bread mixes. So far, when it comes to their breads, I haven’t found one that I didn’t like. The flavor is very good and they are sturdy breads. The same is true of the sandwich buns. Excellent taste and they hold up to a juicy hamburger just fine.

I made a few of these this weekend and tested one out with a hamburger at a friend’s BBQ and was pleased that it didn’t crumble at all under the big burger and the go-withs piled on it. Last night, I made a BLT sandwich with added guacamole and mayonnaise on it and the bun was sturdy enough to last through the sandwich. The best part is the bun is only 3 net carbs.

The mix is under $10 and it makes a dozen buns. The instructions include proportions for making 4 buns at a time or 1 bun, which I really appreciate. There are times you don’t want too many buns in the oven or the freezer although you can certainly make a batch and freeze them if you’d like. They are quick to make, mix together in about 5 minutes and cook about 12 minutes, then cut and use. The only ingredients you need to add to the mix are 1/3 egg whites for four buns, 2 teaspoons oil, and 1/3 cup warm water. They even provide four little aluminum pans in the package to bake the buns. What could be easier?

While I haven’t tried it yet, I’m pretty sure you could add some re-hydrated onion flakes to the mix to make an onion bun. Or you could add about 1/4 cup finely shredded cheese for a cheese bun or sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds if you are so inclined.

Nutrition information for one prepared bun, made following the instructions without any add-ins:
Calories: 126 Fat: 2 g Net Carbs: 3 g Protein: 14 g

On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the top of the flavor profile, I would give this a 5 when prepared as stated on the package.

You can purchase this product from Dixie Diners website or through Netrition.com or any other stores that carry their products.

Disclaimer: I have not received any promotional items to review and no one from any of the companies whose products I review have asked me to do so. I have purchased the product and am giving my honest opinion about it. Should any company send me a product to try, I will state it up front and will still give my honest opinion.

Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Like apples? Baked Apple Pancake

How about something a little special for your Easter Sunday (or any Sunday) breakfast? This baked pancake, a variation of a Dutch Baby Pancake or the German Pancake, takes about 30 minutes to make, with 20 minutes of it being the oven time, giving you time to make bacon and eggs to go with it.

Or, it also makes a yummy, not too heavy dessert after a filling meal. Serve it with a scoop of low carb ice cream, whipped cream, or a low carb yogurt topping. So good. And with less than 5 effective carbs a serving, you don’t have to feel even remotely guilty about indulging. This works pretty well with almond flour, CarbQuick, or any other low carb flour – just watch the carb count – CarqQuick is about 2 net carbs per 1/3 cup. The recipe also works well with regular wheat flour, but those carbs shoot up.

Baked Apple Pancakes

1/2 cup Cream, room temperature,
plus enough water to make 2/3 cup
1/2 cup Low Carb Flour
3 large Egg, room temperature
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons Butter
1/2 Apple, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Sprinkle ground Clove

Topping:
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Confectioners’ Sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (F.)

Chop the apple into small pieces. If you wish, you can peel it first. Set aside. Alternately, you can shred the apple. I’ve done it both ways. The shredded version doesn’t seen to have as much apple taste. Set aside for now.

In a bowl or a blender, add the ingredients except the apple and butter and the topping ingredients and mix together well. Stir in the apple.

Heat a cast iron skillet on a burner over medium heat and add the 3 tablespoons of butter cut into pieces. Stir the butter until it melts completely. Remove from the heat and pour the batter with the apples into the pan. Use a rubber spatula to make sure the apples are evenly distributed.

Put the pan in the hot oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until it is golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush the softened butter over the top, then sprinkle with sugar free confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar).

Serve with a couple of slices of bacon and scrambled eggs for a great breakfast. Serve with a scoop of low carb ice cream or whipped cream for a satisfying dessert.

Image at the top of the page is with shredded apple. The photo above is with chopped apple. The first piece was also harder to get out of the pan.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving -4 servings (pancake only):
Calories: 324.5 Fat: 27.5 g Net Carbs: 4.9 g Protein: 13.2 g

Note: In case you forgot or haven’t tried it, powdered sugar substitute is easy to make. Simply use Splenda or another crystal-type sugar substitute and pulse it in a blender until it is powdered.  It takes about three times as much sugar to make the powdered version.

Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Product Review

Product Review: DCC Carrot Snacking Cake

 

Dixie Carb Counters puts out a big assortment of low carb mixes and meals. Previously, I’ve tried and really like several of their breads. So, I picked up a package of their Carrot Snacking Cake and one of their Cinnamon Swirl Snacking Cake. Last week, I made the carrot one, but instead of making it a cake, I made cupcakes – mainly because I didn’t have the correct size cake pan. It calls for a 9×9 inch pan.

The cake goes together quickly and easily. You need to add water, eggs, melted butter, and oil. Once mixed, pour it into the cake pan and bake. Add their topping flavorings to the cream cheese and once the cake is cooled, spread the icing over it. Simple and it makes nine servings, each about 2 net carbs each. The instructions say that you can add nuts and/or crushed pineapple, water-packed with the liquid drained off, if you wish and it will add about one net carb to the count.

As I mentioned, I made cupcakes and got a dozen normal-sized cupcakes from the mix. Nice surprise for me. They looked great and so delicious. Then PK and I tasted them. They are not sweet, came out somewhat dry, and there is an aftertaste. I went back to look at the instructions thinking that I should have added sugar substitute to them, but it didn’t call for it. The added spices for the cream cheese also didn’t have much sweetener in it, so that didn’t help either. If you don’t like your carrot cake sweet, then you might enjoy this, but to be honest, the dried carrots in it didn’t seem to have much flavor and it didn’t have the moist rich texture that carrot cake usually has.

I took the last six of the cupcakes, broke them into bits and added more sugar substitute, eggs, cream, vanilla, and a little whiskey and made bread pudding out of them. I got six individual cups of bread pudding. It tastes much better, but the after taste still lingers. This uses soy flour, which I don’t care for, but I think the low glycemic mono-sacharide is the culprit producing the after taste and I suspect it is saccharine, from which I’ve always detected a bitter aftertaste.

I think if I was to try these again, I would add more oil, at least 1/2 cup sugar substitute, and pineapple to help increase the moisture. I would also add about 1/2 cup powdered sugar substitute to the cream cheese. Incidentally, I had at least half of the cream cheese left over, so it could be made with 4 ounces of cream cheese instead of the whole 8 ounce block.

On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the top of the flavor profile, I would give this a 2 when prepared as stated on the package.

Disclaimer: I have not received any promotional items to review and no one from any of the companies whose products I review have asked me to do so. I have purchased the product and am giving my honest opinion about it. Should any company send me a product to try, I will state it up front and will still give my honest opinion.

Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Make this delicious one skillet meal

Sometimes it’s nice to have a meal you can prepare in one skillet. No mess, no fuss, but a simply delicious dinner. This recipe that I adapted came from Green Giant and it fits the bill nicely.

Did you know that Green Giant is now making riced cauliflower? I didn’t until recently. You can buy it in a 7 oz. bag in produce or in two varieties of riced cauliflower with other ingredients in the freezer section. So far, I haven’t tried those freezer versions, but when I do, I’ll post a review. You can also buy riced cauliflower from other manufacturers. This is great news since it means that companies are noticing that more people are using cauliflower for rice, cous cous, pizza crust, and mashed potato substitutes, and they are beginning to make it easier for us. Not that popping partially cooked cauliflower in the food processor is a problem. But quick and easy is good, right?

So anyway, the cauliflower wasn’t what I adapted in this recipe, but I added in two ingredients – the kohlrabi or broccoli stems and sweet peppers. Kohlrabi stems are those long tendrils that come out of the top of the vegetable and remain a little crunchy even when cooked, but still bring a touch of broccoli flavor. If you can’t find kohlrabi, and sometimes it isn’t easy, then cut up some broccoli stems. It’s worth it for the added pop in the dish.

Simple Chicken, Vegetables, and Cauli-rice

2 tablespoons Oil
1 pound boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 cups Riced Cauliflower
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
1/4 cup Kohlrabi or Broccoli stems, chopped
1/4 cup Sweet Peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Oregano
Seasoning Salt to preference
Pepper

Put chicken pieces in a bowl and sprinkle seasoning salt, salt and pepper on it, then mix the seasonings into the chicken.

In a large non-stick, deep-sided skillet, heat oil over medium heat, then brown the chicken, stirring to make sure both sides are browned. Remove to a plate and set aside. Add onion, stir, and cook about 3 minutes until it is softened. Add cauliflower and garlic and continue to stir and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the peppers and kohlrabi or broccoli stems, then stir in broth.

Bring the pan to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer and cook about 5 more minutes until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is completely cooked. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and fresh oregano.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 236.4 Fat: 12.4 g Net Carbs: 4.0 g Protein: 25.1 g