Category Archives: Breads

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dish, Pork, Recipes, Vegetarian

A Delicious & Trendy Breakfast

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Guacamole Toast

My gosh, May slipped right past without a post, although I got the Cinco de Mayo one up before the end of April! My life has been super busy, but I want to publish at least one new recipe this month. This one is simple but big on flavor and in demand right now.

Avocado toast is one of those quick breakfast items that people are finding popular in the past couple of years. You can even order it at IHOP and other restaurants. It’s simple to make at home, where you can use low carb bread and other ingredients to create a filling breakfast treat.

I use premade guacamole on my toast to add extra spice, but you can start with avocado slices. Avocados turn brown quickly once they’re cut open or the guac container is unsealed. A little lemon juice and plastic wrap can slow the process in any unused avocado.

Guacamole and cream cheese toast.

Guacamole Breakfast (or Snack) Toast

Ingredients:
1 slice Keto Wheat Bread (or Keto bread of choice)
2 tablespoons Philadelphia Jalapeno Cream Cheese Spread
2 tablespoons Guacamole or Mashed Avocado
1 or 2 slices of cooked Bacon, broken into 2 pieces

Instructions:
Toast the Keto bread. Spread the cream cheese over the top and smooth. Spread the mashed avocado for the next layer and top with the cooked bacon.

Makes one serving.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:
Calories 199 , Total Fat 15 g , Cholesterol 30 mg, Sodium 332 mg, Potassium 210 mg, Carbohydrates 16 g, Fiber 12 g, Sugars 2 g, Protein 10 g, Net Carbs 4 g

Add-ins: You can easily add an egg to your toast and it won’t add another carbohydrate to it, but it will raise the calories to 342. You can also add a little cheese, either white cheddar or mozzarella and it won’t add carbs, but it will increase the calories. For a variation, replace the bacon with thin sliced ham. If you don’t want to put cream cheese on your toast, feel free to substitute mayonnaise. If you don’t like Jalapeno cream cheese, use plain cream cheese.

About Bread: Many tasty Keto breads are now available in your local markets. They are not created equal. Inked Timberwolf Keto bread is 1 net carb per slice, Hero bread is 0 net carbs, Sola bread is 1 net carb, Franz and Oro Wheat are 2 nc, Carbonaut is 2 net carbs, and Alvarado St. Wheat Sourdough is 4 nc, I will be doing a post soon comparing some of the low carb breads I’ve tried. I used Timberwolf for this recipe and also tried the sourdough with it. Both are very good.

If you try this recipe and/or come up with a different variation, please comment on it and tell me what you added or changed.

Note: Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used in this recipe and my measurements. Although they are a close calculation, your results may be slightly higher or lower. Ingredient substitutions may affect the carb count. Different brands may have other carb counts.

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Fall into Applesauce Scones

Applesauce Scones with craisings

Happy September, y’all.  (That’s my Texas roots showing.) We’re entering the last third of the year. Can you believe it? It seems like the time flew by although the summer heat in the northern hemisphere was something I’d rather avoid. But cooler temps are coming in over the next few days and it’s time to think about fall flavors.

I ran across this quick and easy scone recipe on AllRecipes.com and decided to adjust it to a low carb version. With the change in flour and other adjustments, it doesn’t resemble the base recipe much. One big change was using pecan flour in it.

I bought a bag of Fisher Nuts product and was delighted to see it is a zero-carb flour. Now, it isn’t great for everything you want to bake and it does have a nut grittiness to it. But for scones and some bread, it is a nice addition to the recipe. In this recipe, I used it for the larger flour amount and used almond flour for the rest.

The recipe has a variation on it using NuTrail Keto Granola in Cinnamon Pecan. More about that after the recipe. Also, both the craisins and pecans in this scone are optional. If you want to lower the net carb count, leave out the craisins or both. The pecans add very little to the count, but if you don’t like them, leave them out. If you can’t eat nuts, this recipe can be made with any low carb flour, such as Carbquik or DCC All Purpose Flour, that is not nut based.

Applesauce Scones with Pecans and Craisins

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Carbquik or other low carb baking mix
1/2 cup Almond Flour
2/3 cup Pecan Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tablespoon Butter
1/4 cup Sugar Substitute
1 3.5-ounce container Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Egg, beaten
1 tablespoon Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/3 cup Pecans, broken into pieces
1/3 cup Sugar-reduced Craisins

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (F.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix the almond flour, pecan flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Slice butter into pieces and cut it into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly mixture. Add the sugar substitute, applesauce, egg, cinnamon, and cream. Stir to mix the ingredients until all are incorporated. Do not over mix. Fold in craisins and pecans.

Scoop dough into 8 balls, place on prepared baking sheet, and press down gently. Pat the outer edges smooth. If desired, brush tops with additional heavy cream and sprinkle granulated sugar substitute over the top. Let sit on the counter for 30 minutes before baking.

Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes. Serve warm with butter or clotted cream.

Makes 8 scones.

Note: Substituting pumpkin puree is 6.4 net carbs versus 6.6 net carbs for the applesauce.

The variation is almost the same. But in place of pecans, you use 1/4 cup of the Keto Granola Mix. (I purchased this at Sam’s Club. It also makes a very nice cereal for breakfast.) I used fewer craisins in this version, reducing the carbs a little. The Keto mix includes sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut chips, almonds, pecans, butter, cinnamon, and is sweetened with a monk fruit and erythritol blend, so I didn’t add any pecans. Again, you can eliminate the craisins and go with the granola.

The other variation is I used less of the pecan flour and used a low carb baking mix for the bulk of the flour.

Image: Applesauce scones with Keto Granola

Keto Granola Scones with Applesauce & Craisins

1 cup Carbquik or other low carb baking mix
1/2 cup Almond Flour
1/2 cup Pecan Flour
1/4 Keto Granola Mix (Sam’s Club)
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 tablespoon Butter
1/4 cup Sugar Substitute
1 3.5-ounce container Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Egg, beaten
1 tablespoon Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 cup Sugar-reduced Craisins

Heat oven to 425 degrees (F.)  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the low carb flour, almond flour, pecan flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl and add butter, broken into pieces. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly mixture. Add the sugar substitute, applesauce, egg, cinnamon, and cream. Stir to mix the ingredients until all are incorporated. Do not over mix. Fold in craisins and granola.

Inside view of sconeScoop dough into 8 balls, place on prepared baking sheet, and press down gently. Smooth the outer edges with wet fingers. If desired, brush tops with additional heavy cream and sprinkle granulated sugar substitute over the top. Let rest on the counter for 30 minutes to allow the baking soda to work and the dough to relax.

Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes. Serve warm with butter or clotted cream.

Makes 8 scones.

Breads, Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes

Yummy Chicken Sandwich

Hot White Alabama Chicken Sandwich

I found this great-tasting recipe on the Ketonia Bread website and had to try it. I adapted it a little and put it on my low carb yeast roll.  If you want easier options for bread rolls, check out the notes at the bottom. You can order Ketonia bread mix from  Amazon.

Hot White Alabama Chicken Sandwich

Recipe adapted slightly from Ketonia.com

1 large Chicken Breast
2/3 cup Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons White Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
2/3 teaspoon Pepper
2/3 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Horseradish (optional)
2 large Tomato slices
2 to 4 leaves of lettuce
2 Low Carb Bread Rolls or Buns (see options below)

In a large bowl add mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper, salt, and cayenne. Stir until well-mixed. divide half and put in a small bowl to use for dipping.

Cut the chicken breast in half and pound with a meat tenderizer on both sides. Add the two half breasts to the large bowl of white sauce and stir to coat completely. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for 1 hour.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in skillet. use a fork to lift each chicken piece and allow the excess marinade to drip off. Place chicken breasts in the skillet and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until browned. Use a fork or spatula to turn to the other side and cook until browned. Internal temperature should be 165 degrees or higher.

To Assemble
Cut rolls in half and spread the reserved sauce on the each side. Place a chicken piece on the bottom and top with a slice of tomato and lettuce. Dip into the white sauce as needed while you eat. Delicious. Serves two.

The carbs for your bread roll will depend on which one you choose to use. The options below run from 0 carbs to about 3 net carbs. You can also make this a tortilla wrap.

Nutrition Infd

Bread Roll Options

In addition to making to Ketonia Bread Rolls, you can use a few other easy options.

Easy, Delicious Sandwich Buns

Franz H

Franz White Bread and Hamburger Rolls.

Photo: Cheese Bread Rounds

Cheese Bread Rounds

Savory Sandwich Rounds

Big Delicious Cream Cheese  Biscuits

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Try beets in your scones

Photo: Beet scones

I like finding unusual ingredients for baking. Beets are not the first thing to come to mind when you’re making cakes, cookies, or scones, but they work surprisingly well, bringing a slight earthy flavor and moisture to the baked goods. In this case, you have the added bonus of color since nothing escapes the dying prowess of the red beet. Being a natural dye, it’s safe to use in food as well as clothing.

In the case of these scones, it added a nice pink color that makes it perfect for a Valentine’s Day tea. In fact, you could easily shape those triangles into hearts. I didn’t think of it while I was making them, but it’s quite easy to cut the dough apart and press the outside curve in the middle to a V-shape to transform them. The pistachios add an interesting nut flavor to the mix and as a topping. These are not sweet, so if you want a sweeter scone, add more sugar substitute. Otherwise, just slather on butter or clotted cream and jam.

For the record, I used Carbquik for the low carb flour mix and Dixie Carb Counter’s All Purpose Flour for the additional 2 to 4 tablespoons. You can substitute coconut flour for the oat flour and gluten flour, but only use 3 tablespoons to replace both. Add water if the dough is too stiff or won’t absorb all the flour. For the beet puree, I used drained canned beets, not pickled, and put them through a food processor until they were pureed, then measured out 1/2 cup.

Photo One Scone

Beet Scones with Pistachios

1/2 cup Low Carb Flour Mix
1/4 cup Oat Flour
2 tablespoons Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Gluten Flour
2 to 4 tablespoons Low Carb Flour (DCC All-purpose Flour)
1/2 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/8 teaspoon ground Cardamom
1 Egg
1/8 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Beet Puree
2 tablespoons melted Butter
2 tablespoons Sugar-free Maple Syrup
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Pistachios, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon Melted Butter

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, oat flour, almond flour, gluten flour, baking powder, ground cardamom and salt. Whisk to combine.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and pour into a medium mixing bowl. Add the beet puree, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and stir. Add the egg and whisk to combine.

Pour the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir to combine. If the dough is too dry or does not all combine, add a tablespoon of water and mix. You may need to use your hands to get flour mixed in well. Add water as needed to incorporate all of the water. If the mix is too moist, add all purpose flour, one tablespoon at a time. Mix well until everything is combined and you have s sticky ball of dough. Don’t over knead the dough. The consistency should be like biscuit dough.

Measure3 tablespoons of the chopped pistachios and fold into the dough. Mix with your hands to distribute the nuts evenly.

Transfer dough to bread board or clean countertop dusted with two tablespoons of low carb all purpose flour and and shape into a ball. Flatten it into a 1-inch thick disk. Brush the top with melted butter.

Mix the remaining chopped pistachios with sugar substitute. Sprinkle the disk with this mixture and use your fingers to lightly press into the dough.

Use a knife to cut the circle into 6 wedges. Transfer scones to the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least one inch between each. Shape into a heart if you wish.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. Allow scones to cool slightly before serving. Serve warm.

Makes 6 scones.

Photo: Nutrition info

For a delicious – I kid you not!- chocolate cake recipe using beets, click on the picture below.

Photo Chocolate beet cake

 

Breads, Product Review

Bread is the Word

Hey, guys, we all love bread, don’t we?  Especially when it comes to French toast and sandwiches. Low carb bread has been a challenge for years. I actually have a pretty tasty bread roll recipe and it’s great for burgers and other sandwiches. While it makes a nice small loaf, it doesn’t rise as high as I’d like. And it’s not white bread, but more like a wheat one.

With the upswing in Keto as a diet, everyone has gone Keto-happy, which is good news for all low carb eaters and diabetics. Many more products are coming on the market to help us keep our carbs down. Today, I’m going to talk about two of those products.

Scotty's Keto BreadThe first is Scotty’s Zero Carb White Bread mix. At $12.95 for a package to make one loaf, it is a little pricy. I bought it and made it up according to directions. This is a yeast bread and you add your own while mixing, put it in the bread pan, and let it rise for two hours. Then you bake it and get a nicely browned white bread loaf.

I followed the directions, put it in a small loaf pan, and let it rise. It didn’t make a very tall loaf, about three inches high, and not nearly as tall as the one of the package. See for yourself.

Scott's bread backed from mix

The actual dough is weird, sticky and stretchy, but not like regular bread. You put it in the pan and smooth the top as much as you can. The end result is a nicely formed loaf with good texture. It tastes okay, but seems like it’s missing something in the flavor. Now, I admit, it’s been a long time since I last ate white bread, but I think it had more flavor than this did.

French ToastI did make French toast with it, but it didn’t absorb the liquid very well, so it lacked the flavor you expect.

Overall, I rate it about three spoons. It’s passable, but not worth the asking price.

Pre-made White Bread

Franz H

The second bread is also white bread, but this one is already baked for you. You can get hamburger and hot dog buns as well. This is Franz Keto White and it looks, smells, and tastes like white bread, I believe. Like I said, long time since I tasted regular white bread. Not only does this look and taste like bread, but it toasts, makes French toast and other food that requires bread. Good for a grilled cheese sandwich also.

French toast made with Franz Keto Bread
Toad-in-a-Hole (American version) made with Franz Keto Bread,

 

 

 

 

 

The buns are perfect for regular burgers and hot dogs or sausages. I also use them for sandwiches sometimes. The regular bread is standard size and zero net carbs. Hard to beat that!

At $26 for a two-loaf pack, they aren’t inexpensive, but it includes shipping and has about 17 slices of bread per pack. The bread can be frozen and thawed as needed. Let’s face it, anything with Keto on it is going to cost. This is my choice for white bread.

The hamburger and hot dog buns also come in two-packs for about the same price. Each pack has eight buns in it. Each bun has 1 net carb. Hard to beat.

I rank these at five spoons out of five. They’re that good.

One other note. While these products are high priced compared to regular bread, they are specialty breads. I figured out how much it costs me to make six low-carb rolls from scratch from my recipe and it comes out to about $8.50 a batch, and I use several different flour ingredients in it. To make a loaf about the size of the Keto White Bread would use double the amount of ingredients, so about $17.

My reviews reflect my opinion of the product. I am not receiving any rewards, payment, or product for reviewing. I bought the products and am leaving my honest review.