All posts by Rene Averett

Desserts, Recipes

October Chills With No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

It’s October and that’s the signal for all things that are great in the Fall. Cooler weather (although September was downright cold last week), multi-colored leaves, the garden finishing the last bits of vegetables it can muster. I have a ton of cherry tomatoes that are making a bid to get fully grown and possibly pink before they have to be picked as well as several crook neck squash and a Japanese eggplant that is trying to mature. Silly plant also has another bloom on it. I think my late summer planting of turnips and kohlrabi will never see fruition. The last of the Farmer’s Markets in town was this past weekend, but the grocery stores have a lovely selection of fruits and vegetables.

I love Fall. It’s actually my favorite time of the year, although I also like early Spring quite a lot. But the light in Fall is so unique and looks so warming and beautiful on the plants and trees, whichever ones still have leaves after the winds this past Sunday and Monday. Most days are that perfect temperature — not too hot and not too cold. Fall is also the season of the pumpkin, which is one of my favorites. There are so many ways to use pumpkin. My Pumpkin Chile recipe is already on here and it is delicious. I also have a couple of pumpkin cheesecake items up, my regular Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars.

This recipe is a little different in that it is one of the No-Bake pies that is made with unflavored gelatin. I admit I got the base idea off a Knox Gelatin box, but then it branched out from a regular cheesecake to a pumpkin cheesecake. And the best part of this recipe is that it can be eaten while you are just starting your new lifestyle! It’s an induction recipe with nothing that will interfere in your Phase I of Atkins or any other program you might be trying. It’s low carb, gluten free and really good!

No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 envelope unflavored Gelatin
1/2 cup Sugar Substitute
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 cup Pumpkin, canned
1/2 cup Almond Milk, Unsweetened Vanilla
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie spice
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
1/2 teaspoon Cloves, ground
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix sugar substitute and gelatin in a small bowl. Add one cup of boiling water and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, placed the softened cream cheese and break it into smaller pieces, then mix with an egg beater on low speed. Add milk, pumpkin, vanilla and spices to the cream cheese and mix well. Add the gelatin mixture and continue to mix well on low.

Spray a pie pan with cooking spray and pour the pie mixture into it. Cover with plastic wrap, pulling it tight to keep it off the top of the pie.

Refrigerate for three to four hours to allow the pie to completely set. Cut into 8 or 12 slices (depending on how large a slice you want) and serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

If you are not on phase 1 of Atkins or can have nuts on your plan, top each slice off with a teaspoon of optional ground almonds.

Nutrition Info:
1/8 of pie: Calories: 115.8 Fat: 10.1 g Net Carbs: 3 g Protein 2.5 g
1/12 of pie: Calories:77.2 Fat: 6.7 g Net Carbs: 2 g Protein 1.7 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 10/1/2013 5:14 PM

Desserts, Recipes

Magnificent Mocha Hazelnut Pie

This is absolutely, deliciously decadent! If you love coffee, hazelnut, chocolate and cheesecake, this is a dessert for you.

Another take on the freezer pie using cocoa, espresso coffee powder, hazelnuts and cream cheese. How could you go wrong?

Filling:
8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar substitute
1/4 cup instant Expresso coffee
1/4 cup Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened
6 oz container *Kroger CARBmaster Cinnamon Bun or Vanilla yogurt
1 cup Cool Whip whipped topping or your own whipped cream

Crust:
1/2 cup Hazelnut Flour
2 tablespoons Butter, softened
1 tablespoon Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened
2 tablespoons brown sugar substitute

Toppings
1/4 cup Hazelnuts, chopped
8 tablespoons sugar free, zero carb chocolate syrup

Mix the crust ingredients in a bowl until the flour and cocoa are completely moistened. Spray a pin plate or 8″ cake pan with butter cooking spray. Spread the crust ingredients into the pan and press into a thin layer. Try to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Put into the freezer to set while you mix the filling.

In a medium bowl, user a mixer to cream the cream cheese and sugar together. Add cocoa and coffee powder and mix on low speed. Then add the yogurt and mix well. Add the Cool Whip (or you can whip heavy cream) and mix together well.

Spoon the filling into the prepared crust pan and spread around to form an even layer. Put in the freezer for at least two hours, prefer 4 hours. Cover with plastic wrap if you leave it longer.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove from the freezer and cut into pieces. Even if you are not serving it all at this time, cutting it will give you pre-sliced pieces that you don’t have to remove the whole pie from the freezer each time to serve. Let pieces sit about 20 minutes before serving to soften. Top each with a tablespoon of chocolate swirls and a few chopped hazelnuts.

** If you don’t have a Kroger Food store near you, then use the lowest carb yogurt that you can find.  Kroger’s is 4 net carbs per container, so look for something around that number.

Makes 8 servings

Calories: 232.4 Fat: 21.5 g Net Carbs: 5.2 g Protein: 5.9 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 8/17/2013 1:02 AM

17/2013 1:02 AM

Desserts, Recipes

Cooling Blackberry Almond Freezer Pie

Boy, I came back from Hawaii last week to a heat wave in Reno. With temperatures over 100 degrees, cooking just isn’t a popular option in the kitchen. But something cool and tasty as well as quick and easy, that is right up my alley. Although it is quick to prepare, it does need to freeze for four hours, so plan accordingly.

I was reminded of freezer pies in a recent post from A Garden For the House where you can find the recipe for the higher calorie, higher carb version (and also much bigger) Frozen Blueberry Yogurt Pie. So I went to work to make low carb substitutions and make it a little simpler to make. The result is a delicious, low calorie, low carb icy cold cream cheese pie. You can make it with blueberries, raspberries or strawberries with equal success.

One other note, I used 2 tablespoons of low carb blackberry preserves from LC Foods. This isn’t necessary, but it adds a little more flavor to the pie. You can also use Smuckers sugar free jams or just add about another 1/4 cup of berries to the mix. The carb count may change slightly, but it won’t be too much.

Blackberry Almond Freezer Pie

Crust:
1/2 cups almond flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar sub
2 tablespoons Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
10 blackberries
1/3 cup sugar substitute
5 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons vanilla whey powder
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar sub, divided
1 6 oz Carbmaster vanilla yogurt
1 cup whipped cream or Cool Whip

Topping
8 tablespoons Cool Whip (or other whipped topping)
8 whole blackberries
mint leaves (if desired)

Coat a pie tin or an 8″ layer cake pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir the almond flour, brown sugar substitute and butter together until well mixed. Spoon into the bottom of the pie tin or cake pan and spread to cover the bottom It will be a thin crust. I usually moisten my fingertips and use them to spread it. Put the pan into the freezer to firm up while you mix the rest of the pie.

In a medium-sized bowl, add the softened cream cheese, sugar substitute and vanilla extract and beat with the mixer until smooth. Add the vanilla yogurt and cool whip and mix until blended. Add berries, reserving 8 for the topping and stir them into the mixture.

Pour the mixture over the crust in the pie tin and smooth it with a spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least four hours to set.

Remove pie, slice into 8 pieces and serve with a dollop of Cool whip topped with a fresh berry.

You can cut only the amount you are serving, cover the pie and put it back in the freezer. It can be frozen for at least a week. Take out pieces to be served and let defrost for about 30 minutes before serving. (If you don’t have four hours, it is still a servable pie after two hours, but isn’t as firm.)

Nutrition Information: (without the topping)
Calories: 131.3 Fat: 11.7 g Net Carbs: 3.2 g Protein: 3.5 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 7/11/2013 1:22 PM

Desserts, Recipes

Delectable Almond Tea Biscuits

Sometimes you just want a couple of little non-fattening cookies to go with a mid-morning or mid-afternoon (not on the same day) cup of tea or coffee. That’s what I had in mind when I came up with these quick-to-make little tea biscuits. They are under 1 carb each.

Almond Tea Biscuits

1/2 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup Carbquick or other low carb flour
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
1 tablespoon Vanilla Why Protein Powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
1/2 teaspoon clove, ground
1 large Egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons Almonds, sliced or flaked
1/2 cup sugar substitute

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and cinnamon. Add egg, almond extract and sugar substitute. Stir together.

If the dough is too dry, add enough water to get a dough that will hold together. Let sit about five minutes for the coconut flour to absorb the liquid. If necessary to make a dough you can roll into balls, add a little more water and mix again.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take about a teaspoon of dough and roll into a ball. It should be about 3/4″ in diameter. Place on cookie sheet and make the next one. You should get about 20 balls from the dough. Moisten your fingers and flatten the dough out into a 1 inch circle. If you wish, you can use a moistened fork to make little ridges in the cookie. Sprinkle almond flakes on each cookie or arrange almond slivers on each cookie to decorate.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until just barely turning brown.

Remove to cookie rack and let cool. Store in a plastic storage bag or other airtight container.

Makes 20 cookies.
Nutrition Info: Calories: 38.4 Fat: 4.7 g Net Carbs: .9 g Protein: 1.6 g

If you use a powdered sugar substitute, such as Splenda or Equal, the carb count will be a little higher since the powder has carbs in it. The companies say less than 1 carb per packet, but exact amount isn’t stated.

If you don’t use the vanilla whey powder, use another tablespoon of the coconut flour.

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 6/24/2013 5:23 PM

Desserts, Recipes

Raspberry Shortbread Cookie Bars

Mmmmm, raspberries are on sale at the grocery store and that is a sure sign of spring! Also a good time for me to make a favorite cookie bar. This is easy to make and it tastes soooo good! If you’re not worried about the carbs, you can use regular flour and sugar in it. If you’re avoiding gluten, use almond flour for the CarbQuick. At 1.3 g of carbs per cookie, the biggest challenge is avoid the “just one more bite” syndrome!

Raspberry Shortbread Cookie Bars

Batter:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup butter flavored shortening
3/4 cup CarbQuick baking mix
1/2 cup Almond flour
1/4 cup Coconut flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar alcohol or other sugar substitute
1/4 cup powdered sugar, from sugar alcohol or other sugar substitute**
12 drops liquid Sucralose or sugar free sweetener
1/2 teaspoon lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon vanilla protein powder (optional- use one more tablespoon of Carbquick)
3/4 cup fresh or unsweetened frozen raspberries, chopped *

Topping:
1/4 cup almond meal
3 tablespoons brown sugar replacement
1/4 cup chopped pecans, almonds, walnuts or macadamia nuts (optional)
1/4 cup of the batter above

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Batter:
Cream together the butter, shortening and sugars. Add lemon or lime juice and mix into the creamed butter.

Mix the flours together and add the protein powder. Add gradually to the butter mixture until it is well blended.

Remove 1/4 cup of the batter for the topping.

Topping:
In a separate small bowl, use a fork to mix 1/4 cup almond meal, brown sugar, pecans and the reserved batter together to make a crumbly mixture.

Spray a 9 x 9 baking pan with baking spray or line with parchment paper. Press the batter into the baking pan. Smooth the mixture to make it as even as possible. Spread raspberries in one layer over the top.

Crumble topping over the raspberries.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the middle looks set. It will get firmer as it cools. Let cool completely then cut into bars.

Makes about 20 cookies.

Nutrition per cookie: Calories: 94.4 Fat: 8.6 g Net Carbs: 1.3 g Protein: 2 g

Tips: Want an even quicker although not quite as showy, way to make these? Simply add the raspberries and nuts to the batter after it is completely mixed and press into the pan. Cook as above. This eliminates the topping mix.

*I put the berries into a small bowl and simply pull a sharp knife through them until they are sliced into little pieces. Be sure to scoop the juice out with the berries when spreading it on the dough.

You can make your own powdered sugar by putting your sugar substitute in a food processor and processing for a few minutes until it is a fine powder. Measure out once it is processed.

You can also make this with strawberries, blueberries, cranberries (although you need to cook them until they pop and add about 1/4 cup of sugar substitute to them). Other fruits will likely work, but will be higher carb’d due to the natural sugars in them. You can also use sugar free jams spread on the cookie dough or mixed into the dough.

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 4/10/2013 1:39 PM