Category Archives: Breakfast & Brunch

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Jams, Recipes

Amazingly Scrumptious Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake

January 27, 2015 Rene Averett

Um umm, morning coffee with a piece of coffee cake… could anything be better? Or missing from a low carb lifestyle? Not anymore! Although this is not recommended for phase 1. It is definitely not on the food list and it’s iffy on phase 2.

I found the base for this recipe on the Tova Foods CarbQuick site and thought it sounded great. Giving credit where it is due, the original recipe was contributed by nawthwoodshuntress at Low Carb Friends. I adapted it a little more and used homemade low carb cranberry sauce in it. It was incredibly good – so good it was hard to believe it was low carb! I do recommend getting a box of CarbQuick for this kind of baking, but any low carb baking mix will work in it.

The low carb Cranberry Jam is easy to make. I’m including the instructions after the recipe for my version of this coffee cake. Obviously, this would be suitable with other low carb jams as well.

If you don’t use the whey powder and/or oat fiber or protein isolate, then substitute in 1/4 cup more CarbQuick or 1/4 cup almond flour. If you don’t like coconut flour, substitute 1/4 cup or either of those two flours also.

Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake

1 cup whole low carb Cranberry Sauce
1cup Carbquik or other low carb baking mix
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
2 tablespoons Vanilla Whey Powder (optional)
2 tablespoons Oat Fiber or Protein Isolate (optional)
1-1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
3/4 cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup Shortening
2 Eggs
1 Egg White (can use packaged liquid egg whites)
1 teaspoon Almond extract
1/2 cup Almond milk or Coconut Milk or 1/4 cup Heavy Cream and 1/4 cup water

TOPPING:
1/2 c. Almond Flour
2 tablespoon Flax Meal Cereal or 2 tablespoons Oats
1/4 c. Brown Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoon Sugar Free Maple Syrup
1/4 cup melted Butter,
1/4 cup chopped or sliced Almonds
1 teaspoon Cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare a 9″ square cake pan by spraying with baking spray or grease with with butter.

For the main cake, combine low carb flours and baking powder in a small bowl; set aside. Cream 3/4 c. sugar substitute, shortening, eggs, egg whites and almond extract in a large bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Mix well, then add almond or coconut milk (or cream combined with water), and continue mixing until it forms a batter.

Spread half the batter on the bottom, top with cranberry jam and then spread the rest of the batter over the top.

Spread half the batter into the square pan. Spread cranberry sauce over batter. Spread the rest of the batter over the cranberry sauce.

In another small bowl, mix the topping ingredients until they are combined into a crumble topping, then use a spoon to distribute it over the top.

Bake for about 45 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes, then cut into 16 squares.

Makes 16 servings

Nutrition Info per square (with oats)
Calories: 288.1 Fat 30.9 g: Net Carbs: 4.3 g Protein: 6.0 g

Nutrition Info per square (with flax cereal)
Calories: 283.5 Fat: 30.8 g Net Carbs: 3.6 g Protein: 5.9 g

Cranberry Jam

I am a big fan of cranberry jam and the low carb version is easy to make. Cranberries don’t really require anything to help them thicken. I’ve added cinnamon and clove to my version, but I know not everyone is a clove fan. You can add orange flavoring or orange zest to it, but it might change the carb count a little bit. Pectin is not really necessary in it, but if you aren’t going to eat the jam within a couple of weeks, you might add it to help extend the life. You can also put part of the batch into a plastic bag, press out as much air as possible and freeze it. I used Ideal Sugar, which is a sugar alcohol substitute sugar. It has 0 carbs. Splenda and other sweeteners that are packaged in a filler material have a small amount of carbs in the filler, so it may increase the carb count.

1 – 10 oz package Fresh Cranberries
1 cup Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves (optional)
1/2 cup Water
1 teaspoon Pectin

This is pretty much the package directions. Rinse cranberries in a colander and sort out any bad ones. You will have about three cups of cranberries. Put in a medium-sized sauce pan and add water. Cook over medium high heat, add sugar substitute and stir until it is dissolved. Cook until cranberries pop. Add cinnamon and clove seasonings if you wish. Continue cooking for about 20 minutes until most of the water is gone and you have a thick consistency with the fruit.

Remove from the heat and let set up. When the jam is cooled, spoon into a clean jar with a tight lid. Store in your refrigerator. Will easily keep about three weeks or more, if it lasts that long.

The main difference from cranberry sauce is that it is cooked longer to make it thicker and more of a jam consistency.

Makes about 2 cups of Cranberry Jam or 32 one tablespoon servings.

Nutrition Info per serving based on 32 servings
Calories: 4.3 Fat: 0.0 g Net Carbs: 0.7 g Protein: 0.0 g

Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Cereal Options for a Low Carb Lifestyle

January 13, 2015 Rene Averett

When winter really hits is when I begin to miss hot cereals like oatmeal and cream of wheat. Actually, the former more than the latter, but you get the point. On a cold morning, hot cereal really hits the spot and warms the body. I had pretty much given up on any cereals when a low carb lifestyle, but it’s not as hopeless as I’d thought it was. Usually anything that I think I might try has been tried by someone else before me and this is the case with hot cereal as well. There are low carb or close to low carb recipes out there and some that I can adapt to low carb. So, I am offering up two of these warming recipes and one that is more like a cold granola cereal just to round it out.

These are adapted and changed a bit from the recipes that inspired them. Enjoy them.

Pumpkin, Oatmeal and Flax Hot Cereal

Swapping out most of the oatmeal for flax means a much lower carb’d recipe. The oatmeal adds a little in the texture department, but not a lot in the taste, since that is overridden by the pumpkin and cinnamon. To make this even a little lower in carbs, omit the oatmeal. It’s still delicious. I used Golden Flax, but you can use the regular flax as well.

1/4 cup Golden Flax Meal
1/2 tablespoon Oat Meal
1/2 tablespoon Vanilla Whey Protein Powder (optional)
3 tablespoons Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
1 tablespoon Hot Water
2 tablespoons Pumpkin Puree
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon chopped Pecans or Walnuts
1/2 teaspoon Sugar-Free Honey or Sugar Free Maple Syrup
1 teaspoon Butter

In a small microwave safe bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Microwave another 30 seconds. Put the butter on top to melt, then stir in. Add a little extra almond or coconut milk, if you like, and a bit of sugar substitute to taste.

Serves 1

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 254.2 Fat: 19.2 g Net Carbs: 3.6 g Protein: 7.5 g

Nutrition Info without oatmeal:
Calories:244.3 Fat: 19.0 g Net Carbs: 2.1 g Protein: 7.2 g

Hot Cereal Basic Mix for Coconut Flax Cereal

Cranberry, Coconut & Oatmeal Flax Cereal

Sometimes, you just want to have the basic cereal mix for two or three delicious cereals ready to go for a quick breakfast before work. You can pre-mix the dry ingredients and pre-chop the fruit, if you wish, but store them separately. This recipe is wonderful with the added chopped cranberries, but you can also use other berries and fruits in it.

Mix
1 cup Ground Flax Seed Meal
1/4 cup Quick Cook Oatmeal, uncooked
1/4 cup Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
1/4 cup Pecans, chopped
2 teaspoons Cinnamon, ground

1/4 cup fresh Cranberries, chopped

When preparing:
1 tablespoon unsweetened Coconut or Almond Milk
1 tablespoon sugar substitute or Sugar Free Honey

To make a four serving quantity that you can store and use during the week for a quick mix, combine all the dry ingredients – flax, oatmeal, coconut, pecans. Cinnamon and sugar substitute — and mix well. Put in a jar and store in the refrigerator to keep fresher.

To prepare the cranberries, chop them in a food processor and put them in a small jar, add a drop of lemon juice and put in the fridge. They won’t keep as long as the dry ingredients and tend to weep juice, so it’s best to keep them separate from the dry ingredients until you’re ready to cook. If you can chop them just before using, it is best.

To make one serving, use 1/4 of the mix, 1/4 of the cranberries. Add 1 tablespoon of unsweetened coconut milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar substitute or sugar free honey, then stir all together. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Microwave another 30 seconds, then stir again. Put a pat of butter on top and a splash of coconut milk or cream, if you like. Add sugar substitute to your preference.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info per serving (with cranberries)
Calories: 259 Fat: 22.2 g Net Carbs: 3.3 g Protein: 7.6 g

Instead of cranberries, you can use raspberries, blueberries, peaches, apples, or blackberries.

Peach, Flax and Pecan Granola Cereal

This is one I came up with although the technique isn’t unique. I was hoping it would have more of a peach taste than it does, but I did use canned peaches and it might work better with a fresh peach puree.

1/4 cup Flax Meal
2 tablespoon Golden Flax Meal
3 tablespoons Almond Flour or Ground Almonds
1 tablespoon Wheat Germ
2 tablespoons Water
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Pinch Clove
1/4 cup pureed sugar free Peach slices
1 tablespoon Sugar Free Peach syrup
1 tablespoons Almond Butter
1 tablespoon Sugar Free Maple Pancake Syrup
2 tablespoons chopped Pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking pan with parchment paper sprayed with baking spray.

Mix all ingredients except water together, then add enough water to make a crumbly dough. Spread in clumps on the baking pan. This will make a granola-like cereal.

Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees, then lower temperature to 250 degrees and bake in 10 minute increments until the cereal is dried out and crunchy.

Store in a plastic container. Serve with unsweetened almond or coconut milk. Makes three 1/2 cup servings.

Nutrition Info per serving:
Calories: 2169.5 Fat: 13.5 g Net Carbs: 3.4 g Protein: 6.1 g

Breakfast & Brunch, Pork, Recipes

Make A Low Carb Breakfast Casserole

December 30, 2014 Rene Averett

About this time of year, I see several recipes for breakfast casseroles to serve for the holidays and with New Year’s Day coming up, you might be looking for one you can make ahead and just put in the oven the morning after. For a low carb lifestyle, the main problem with most egg casseroles is that they include bread. This spicy dish doesn’t have any bread in it, but it is loaded with sausage, cheese and Pico de Gallo for a bit of bite. It goes together quickly. It can be partially cooked so you can put it in the refrigerator then finish cooking it in the morning or just prepare the filling, put it in the ‘fridge in a bowl, then mix up the eggs and finish it the next day. What could be easier?

Spicy Egg Casserole

8 large Eggs
1/2 pound Country Seasoned Pork Sausage
1/2 cup Sweet Bell Peppers , diced
1/2 cup Pico de Gallo
1 cup Cheddar Jack Cheese
1/4 cup Queso Fresco, crumbled
1 teaspoon Dried Mexican Oregano
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
4 tablespoons Sour Cream
2 tablespoons Green Onions, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F.) Prepare a deep dish pie tin or an 8’x8″x2″ cake pan by buttering the bottom and sides or spraying with cooking spray.

In a skillet, add 1 tablespoon butter and saute the bell peppers until just tender, stir in the Pico de Gallo and cook a minute longer. Remove from pan. Add the sausage, crumbling with a spatula until lightly browned. Sausage should be in small pieces. Remove from heat. Spread mixture over the bottom of the prepared pan. Crumble the Queso Fresco on top, then add 1/3 cup of cheddar jack cheese over the top.

In a bowl, mix eggs and seasonings together along with 2 tablespoons of water. Beat by hand until completely mixed together. Add salt and pepper to your preference. Pour over the sausage mixture, then top with 1/3 cup of cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes until the eggs are set and the top is golden brown. Add the remaining cheese and cook until it is just melted.

Cut into pieces and serve with sour cream and chopped green onions.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Nutrition Info: 1/4 of recipe
Calories: 519 Fat: 40.5 g Net Carbs: 5 g Protein: 34.5 g

Nutrition Info: 1/6 of recipe
Calories: 346 Fat: 27g Net Carbs: 3.3 g Protein: 23 g

Tip: To prepare ahead, go right to step two and make the peppers, pico and sausage mixture, then put into a plastic container or bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then put it in the ‘fridge until the next morning. Then simply warm it up in a microwave for a minute, then spread it into your baking dish. Mix the eggs and bake.

Alternately, you can prepare the casserole and bake it for 20 minutes. Then pull out, cover with plastic wrap, put it in the ‘fridge. Pull the casserole out the next morning, put it back into a 350 degree oven and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes to finish cooking, then add the top layer of cheese and bake 5 more minutes to melt it.

Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Drinks, Main Dish, Poultry, Recipes, Vegetables & Salads

A Low Carb Winter Holiday

November 25, 2014 Rene Averett

L to R: Turnips and Cauliflower au Gratin Casserole, Irish Style Kohlrabi, Classic Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Thanksgiving, then all the other winter holidays are coming up quickly. To help find those recipes that I’ve posted over the past few years for holiday meals, I’m putting many of them on this one page. At the beginning of December, I’ll do a similar page with Holiday Sweet Treats that will cover the cookies, candies and cakes for the holiday season.

Main Course:

Turkey – I don’t actually have a recipe for roasting turkey. Almost anyone you might find will likely be low carb. What adds the carbs is the dressing. See below. But here’s a Roast Turkey recipe from AllRecipes.com that is beautifully seasoned and not stuffed. Rosemary Roasted Turkey

Low Carb Stuffing – This is an easy-to-make stuffing bread that will work well with any of your usual vegetables and/or fruits and sausage to make a delicious stuffing you can bake in your turkey or in a side casserole dish. Add some of the turkey juices to the mix to bring in the flavor of the turkey.

Side Dishes:

We need good side dishes that are still low carb. Potatoes just don’t cut it on a low carb lifestyle, no matter how much we want them to be a part of the meal. Here are a few options for potato replacements that are very tasty and may make you forget all about that other root vegetable.

Creamed Cauliflower – delicious and so elegant-looking.
Turnips and Cauliflower Au Gratin – Wonderful flavor and so like scalloped potatoes (see first photo)

Ricotta Cheese Cauliflower Casserole – Absolutely amazing taste and easy to make

Smashed Turnips with Leeks – Pretty close to the taste of mashed potatoes and I like them better!

Other side dishes that are great:

L to R: Green beans with turnips, Brussels sprouts fritters, roaster turnips and kohlrabi

Green Beans with Turnips – Here’s a way to get your potato substitute in with the green beans
Loaded Brussels Sprout Fritters – A little different taste, but fabulous!
Irish Style Baked Celery with Kohlrabi – Don’t overlook celery when making a vegetable dish. It’s great! (See top photo)
Roasted Turnips and Kohlrabi – This goes well with meat, turkey, chicken, and fish.

Desserts:

Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie – just posted today! RIch, creamy and delicious custard-style pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Panna Cotta – Light dessert and so delicious!

L to R: Pumpkin Panna Cotta, Pumpkin PIe Cupcake, and Cinnamon Pecan Tartlets

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes – A quick and easy pumpkin pie taste cupcake that is very moist.

Cinnamon Pecan Tartlets – Just for pecan pie fans, this little tartlet has all the flavor in a controlled portion size.

Rich Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars – An old favorite made the low carb way. (See top photo.)

Rene LC Pumpkin Cheesecake – About as good as it gets when it comes to the holiday cheesecake.

Breakfast Options:

Mah-velous Pumpkin Pancakes – Add some pumpkin and seasonings to the pancakes.

Pumpkin French Toast – Requires low carb bread, but is delicious.

Beverage

Hot Pumpkin Nog – Shun the rich and high carb Egg Nog and try this tasty Pumpkin Nog!

Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Recipes

German Apple Pancake Is Easy and Great

November 4, 2014 Rene Averett

Back before I went to the low carb lifestyle, I used to make this pancake often and with other fruits than apples. It works very well with pears and peaches instead of apples. Technically, none of those fruits are on the okay list for Atkins phase 2 or phase 3, but lately Atkins has been allowing more of these “forbidden” fruits to their list. They put out a recipe using peaches, so I think the best bet is to just be careful of the number of carbs in the total dish and not do it too often.

I use a combination of CarbQuick and almond flour for the pancake part. You can use all almond flour or a combination of almond flour and coconut flour (use 1/2 the amount called for of coconut flour if you use it. It expands with liquid.) I don’t like coconut flour as well for baking because the texture is kind of gritty, but if you use a small amount, it works very well.

To make a great breakfast, serve this with bacon and eggs, or just bacon or ham. Great start for the day. To make a nice dessert out of it, put a dollop of whipped cream on top and/or a bit of sugar free caramel syrup.

German Apple Pancakes

1 tablespoon Butter, unsalted
2 Eggs
2 tablespoons Carbquick
2 tablespoons Almond flour
2 tablespoons Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon Sugar Substitute
1 medium Apple, cored (peeling optional)
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground,
1/4 teaspoon Clove, ground

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put 8 inch pie tin into the oven to heat.

In a bowl, beat together the flours, eggs, coconut milk, 2 teaspoons sugar substitute and salt.

Cut the apple in half, then slice into thin pieces. Put slices in a small bowl, add cinnamon, clove and 2 tablespoons sugar substitute

German Apple Pancake cooked in a cake tin.

Remove the pie tin and put the butter in the hot tin and swirl it around to coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Be sure to use a pot holder when holding the tin. It will be hot enough to melt the butter.

Layer the apples over the bottom of the buttered tin then pour the flour and egg mixture over the apples carefully.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the pancake is golden brown. It will puff up while cooking. Cut into quarters and serve immediately. Add a little whipped cream topping if you wish.

Makes 4 or 6 servings, depending on how many carbs you have to spare.

Nutrition Info – 4 slices – per slice
Calories: 120 Fat: 8.1 g Net Carbs: 6.3 g Protein: 4.8 g

Nutrition Info – 6 slices – per slice

Calories: 80 Fat: 5.4 g Net Carbs: 4.2 g Protein: 3.2 g

Skinny Girl Bistro

Category Archives: Breakfast & Brunch