Want a quick and easy bread to make? This is a focaccia-style flat bread that can be made into sandwiches, a soup or stew bread, or just toast and butter to serve with jam and tea. Unlike focaccia, this is a flat bread made without yeast. All the rise in it comes from the eggs and a little bit of baking powder.
I used CarbQuick, a low carb flour that behaves a little like Bisquick, but with lots fewer carbohydrates. You can also make it with almond flour or any other low carb flour. I also used a little coconut flour in it, but I wouldn’t recommend making the whole thing with coconut flour.
Focaccia-style Flat Bread
2 large Eggs
1/4 cup Egg whites
1/4 cup Canola Oil
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings, crushed
1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 cup Carbquick
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare a small baking pan (about 10×6-inches) by cutting a piece of parchment paper to fit. I used a toaster oven-sized pan.
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and seasonings together. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, egg whites, and oil together. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until they are combined. Use your hands if needed. Add the Parmesan cheese and mix it into the dough.
Turn the dough into the baking pan and spread it evenly across the pan.
Back in 2014, I copied down a recipe for a Viking apple cake that was called Mandel Eplekake, which is apparently Norse for it. I filed it away and hadn’t tried it. Last night, I had half an apple left over that needed to be used, so I adjusted the recipe down to make two mini-cakes and made it low carb. The recipe called for almond flour so I used that although mine is the coarse raw almond flour with the skins ground into it, so it has a darker, more whole wheat type appearance, but tastes very good. I also added sugar-free honey, cinnamon, and cloves to the recipe.
Now, the Vikings probably didn’t have cinnamon and clove, but I am pretty sure they used honey. No matter, I put them in to enhance the flavor of the apples. The result is a delicious little cake with slices of apple and a light seasoning that is not too sweet. I added a heaping tablespoon of whipped topping and served it warm. You could top it with more of the sugar-free honey or just a little heavy cream. It’s simple to make and makes a satisfying quick dessert. I suspect it would work equally well with pears and peaches.
Give it a try and let me know how you like it. It would be a nice capper after dinner for your sweetie. I would love to get the feedback on it.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) prepare two 1/2-cup ramekins or custard dishes by greasing them with butter. Alternately, and to remove from the cup easier, put a piece of parchment paper cut to fit the bottom in each of the cups, then butter or spray with cooking spray.
Put apple slices and 2 tablespoons of sugar substitute (liquid or granulated) in a small pan with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and cook about 5 minutes. Drain. You can also do this step in the microwave by covering the slices with water in a microwavable bowl and cooking for 3 minutes.
In a small bowl, add the egg and the remaining two tablespoons of granulated sugar substitute. Whisk until they are well mixed and frothy. Add the honey and whisk again. Add the almond flour and stir it into the egg mix.
Put the apple slices on the bottoms of the cups, dividing them evenly. Sprinkle half the cinnamon and cloves over each one of the ramekins. Stir the batter again and use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture into each cup so that they are even.
Put the ramekins on a baking tray and bake for 25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
Let sit about ten minutes, then serve with whipped cream or just heavy cream.
Recently, a photo with the ingredients for a cream cheese bread loaf was posted, but it lacked mixing instructions, and the carbohydrate information on it was way off since it claimed it had only 6 carbs in the whole loaf. Nonetheless, the recipe is valid, and the slices are pretty low in carbs. So, I decided to give it a try and let everyone know how it works.
First, I cut the recipe in half and made about three-quarters of a small loaf pan. From that, I can deduce that the full recipe below won’t make a large loaf of bread. The one I made is about 2 to 2-1/2 inch tall and about three inches across. It looks great in the photos. I also made it two ways– once with coconut flour and once with almond flour. I added 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar substitute to the recipe.
Both of them work pretty well although the almond flour needs to be adjusted to replace the coconut flour since the latter expands by two to three times in the liquid ingredients. Both of them taste pretty good. The coconut one is a little sweeter, but the coarseness of the flour comes through. The almond flour one is less sweet and lends itself to a more conventional bread. For my own use, I would pair the coconut flour version with fruit or make it into a fruit bread. The almond flour could stand up to adding herbs in it and pairing it with meat and cheese. I will be experimenting more with this recipe and will let you know if I come up with something wonderful.
Both are close to the same carb count per slice and both are fairly sturdy bread that can be thinly sliced if needed. A full loaf would make about 10 slices of 3/8″ thick slices The carb count is based on 10 slices.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to cover the bottom and long sides of a small loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese, butter, and sugar and cream together using a mixer until smooth.
Add the cinnamon, vanilla, and eggs and mix until combined.
Add the flour and baking powder and mix together thoroughly. Wipe the sides with a spatula to get all the mix blended together.
Spray the parchment-lined baking pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter mix into the pan and smooth.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until a toothpick or knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let cool 5 to 10 minutes, then run a knife around any edge touching the pan and lift the loaf out using the overlapped parchment paper, then slide it onto a serving plate.
Makes about ten slices.
For the almond flour version, add 1-1/4 cup Almond Flour to replace the 6 tablespoons of Coconut Flour. I used a less processed almond flour, but the higher quality ones will yield a finer grained bread.
Taste test with both the coconut flour (left) and almond flour (right) slices smeared with butter. The almond flour is a little taller.
I had an apple that needed using so I decided to try this delicious-sounding recipe from AllRecipes.com user NMARIEA, but I adapted it to a low carb version. The result is delectable, especially when heated up before eating. It works well for a quick breakfast and also for a light dessert.
I put a light streusel topping made with almond flour and brown sugar mix on top, just enough to give it a little sweetness. For the flour, I used a combination of different brands, such as Carbolose, Bakesquick, and Carbquick in it. Each one has a different texture and taste so together, you get a nice mixture.
Apple and Pecan Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
1 cup Low Carb Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup white Sugar Substitute
1 Egg
1 Egg White
1 teaspoon Vanilla or Almond Extract
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped Apples
1/3 cup Pecans pieces
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F.) Prepare 10 muffin tins by spraying them with cooking spray or put paper liners and spray those.
In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar substitute and mix together until creamy. Add the egg, egg white, vanilla or almond extract and cinnamon. Mix until combined.
In a smaller bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Mix into the butter and egg in small batches until combined. This will be a fairly stiff dough. Stir in the apples and pecans.
Put about two tablespoons of the dough in each muffin cup. Because of the apples, they will nearly fill the cup.
In a small bowl, put in the brown sugar substitute (I used the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, or you could use Sweet Brown from LC Foods and add a little more butter.) Add butter and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cut together until it is crumbly. Sprinkle a little over the top of each muffin.
Bake 11 to 14 minutes. Use a toothpick to test if they are done. Let sit for about 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.
As a child, I grew up eating beans a lot. My grandmother would make a huge pot of pinto beans. We’d get bolillo (oval long bread rolls) from Mexico, and I loved to hollow the bread out and fill it with beans cooked with hamburger. But since I am trying to stay low carb these days, beans aren’t something I eat very often. Nonetheless, I’ll share this recipe for white beans with ham soup. This isn’t as low as I like most of my recipes to be, but it is still within reason for most people to enjoy on a low carb plan. The real trick is to add more ingredients to the pot to spread out the beans, so you don’t eat as many in one sitting. With that in mind, I added onions, carrots, and turnips to the pot with the ham and bean.
Generally, I use a ham hock to flavor the pot and add seasonings to round out the flavor. I also use a little of Better Than Bullion Chicken in it to add more flavor. If you want a heartier dinner, then cook up a sausage or a chicken breast to eat alongside the soup. These won’t add extra carbs and will help to fill you up with the smaller serving of soup.
White Beans and Ham Soup
1-1/4 cup Small White Beans (dry)
1 cup, diced Ham
1/4 cup Onions, chopped
1/2 cup Carrots, sliced
3/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic Seasoning
3/4 cup Red Ripe Tomatoes, chopped or sliced or peeled and canned tomatoes
1 cup Turnips, cubed
1/2 teaspoon Better Than Bullion Chicken
In a large pot, pre-cook beans as directed on the package. Rinse, then add fresh water, salt, and pepper. Cook the beans from 2-3 hours until they are done. I usually put a ham hock or bacon in them to add flavor as they cook. Once they are done, add about 2 cups of water to the pot, then add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the carrots and turnips are tender. Add water as needed to keep the soup consistency. When done, you should have about 3 to 4 cups of delicious soup.
