Tag Archives: Atkins friendly recipes

Breads, Recipes

Low Carb English Muffin


I’ve always loved a good English muffin and it is a “must have” in making Classic Eggs Benedict, but like all regular wheat breads, it isn’t low carb. After three years of doing without, I finally decided to try to adapt Alton Brown’s English Muffin recipe to low carb flours. They cooked up surprisingly easily and the taste is pretty darn good. Maybe not quite the standard English muffin, but very close and very much a yeast bread.

Alton’s English Muffins

Adapted for low carb by Rene
Yields: 8 muffins

Ingredients
1/3 cup Heavy Cream plus hot water to make one cup
1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Shortening
1 envelope Active Dry Yeast
1/8 th teaspoon Sugar or Sugar Substitute
1/3 cup warm Water
1 1/2 cup Carbquick baking mix or your favorite low carb baking mix
1/4 cup LC Foods pizza & bagel flour or other fine low carb flour
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
2 tablespoons Oat Fiber (optional) – use more CarbQuick if you don’t use
Non-stick Vegetable Spray

Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings * See my note

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F.

Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Using #20 ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops (not quite two tablespoons) into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

English muffins rise in their rings on the griddle.

Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork and serve.

Remove to cooling rack and remove rings.

* The electric griddle isn’t required, but it sure makes these easier to make. You can use a cast iron skillet or griddle on the stove, but it isn’t as easy to control the heat. Cook them about medium hot heat, but keep a close eye to make sure they don’t burn or cook too fast. You need at least 5 minutes per side to get them cooked all the way through.
Nutrition Info in one English Muffin
Calories: 130   Fat: 10.7 g   Net Carbs: 2.5 g   Protein: 5 g

With a decent muffin recipe in hand, it’s on to the Classic Eggs Benedict!

Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 4/6/2013 10:00 AM

Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Big Delicious Cream Cheese Biscuits

Recipes are always evolving as a new idea strikes or something that worked well with something else sounds like a good possibility with an existing recipe. That’s the case with this biscuit recipe. The Oopsie Roll or Atkins Roll uses cream cheese and eggs to achieve a bread-like texture. My version added in some Carbquick or almond flour to give it a little more texture and strength. So when I started to make a quick bread for a sandwich, I decided to combine the cream cheese with my standard roll and the result is fantastic. It’s more like a biscuit with a bit of cheese taste. Here is the basic recipe with a couple of variations. You can add cheese, peppers, onions, olives or whatever you might like into the dough for variety.

Just a note: I use about a tablespoon or two of oat fiber in my bread recipes. It adds texture without adding calories or carbohydrates and helps keep the rolls fresh longer. You can purchase it at health food stores or from Netrition.com.

Cream Cheese Biscuit

Delicious, tasty muffin-like biscuits. Use them for sandwiches or as a biscuit.

3 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 large Eggs
1/2 tablespoon Dried Onion Flakes
1/2 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
Pinch salt
1 drop Sucralose or 1 packet of Splenda
3 oz. Cream Cheese
3/4 cup Carbquick
1 tablespoon Oat Fiber

Heat oven to 360 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix dry ingredients together.

In a larger bowl, use a mixer to mix the cream cheese, then add eggs and sucralose or sugar. Add dry ingredients gradually. When mixture gets thick, clean off the egg beaters and stir in the rest with a spoon with enough water to make a sticky dough.

Spray a baking pan or round molds with cooking spray and divide equally into the molds or drop about two tablespoons on the baking pan and shape into rounds.

Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

Makes 3 large rolls or 4 to 5 biscuits

Rolls Nutrition: Calories 352 Net Carbs 4.6 g Protein: 12.3 g

Flax Meal Cream Cheese Biscuit

Lower carb’d version with more grain-like texture.

2 oz. Cream Cheese
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 large Eggs
1 drop Sucralose or 1 packet of Splenda
1/2 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 cup Carbquick, 0.5 cup
1/4 cup Flax Seed Meal (ground flax), 4 tbsp
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon Oat Fiber (optional – use low carb flour)

Follow mixing instructions for regular biscuits above.

Makes 3 sandwich buns or 4 to 5 biscuits
Nutrition Info: Calories 341 Net Carbs 3 g Protein 12 g
Variation: Chile Cheese Biscuit

Chile Cheese Flax Biscuit

2 oz. Cream Cheese
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 jumbo Eggs
1 drop sucralose or 1 packet of Splenda
1/2 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Pepper Garlic powder
1/2 cup Carbquick (or other low carb flour)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons Flax meal
2 tablespoons oat fiber (optional – replace with more low carb flour if needed)
2 tablespoons diced green chiles
1/2 cup cheddar jack cheese

Makes 6 biscuits.
Nutrition Info: Calories 211 Net Carbs 1.7 g Protein 8.7 g

 BLT Sandwich

BLT with Cream Cheese Bun

Ham and egg sandwich

1/2 lb Bacon
3 leaves Romaine Lettuce
2 slices Red Ripe Tomatoes, medium, 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup Mayonnaise, regular
1 Cream Cheese Bun

Simple and satisfying. I’ll warn you that it is high calorie, but actually pretty low carb and it is very filling. Fill the rest of your day with low carb, low calorie choices so you can enjoy this every once in a while. You can also make the cream cheese bun skinnier by not making it quite as thick. But you need thick enough to hold up to the sandwich.

I prefer to bake my bacon. Spread the slices out over a rack set on a jelly roll pan. The rack keeps the bacon out of the drippings and the pan catches the bacon drippings which you can store in a jar for other uses. Cook in 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes until bacon is crisp.

Slice a tomato in 1/4 inch slices. Use two slices per sandwich.

Use cream cheese buns from above and cut each in half through the middle. They can be warmed in a microwave or toasted in a wide slice toaster, toaster oven or under the broiler if you want it warmed and a little crunchier. Toasting does change the taste of breads plus actually adds to the firmness, but it isn’t required.

Spread mayonnaise or whatever sandwich spread you prefer on each inside half of the bun. Place a lettuce leaf on top of one mayo’d bun, then the tomato on top of that and arrange the 1/3 of the bacon over the top of that. Place the other bun half on top and enjoy!

Complete sandwich:

Calories: 715 Net Carbs: 6.3 g Protein: 23.4 g

Also try a ham and egg sandwich by preparing your egg any way you want it, piling it on the roll, topping it with ham slices and spreading on a tablespoon of mayonnaise or whatever dressing you like with it.

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 3/7/2013 5:44 PM

Breads, Recipes

Simple Eggless Flax Flat Bread

This is a quick and simple flax flat bread that goes well with eggs or cheese or just buttered for a snack. You can make this with just flax meal, but I prefer it with another flour as the main ingredient.

1/2 cup Carbquick or other low carb flour ( LC Foods, or almond flour)
1/4 cup Flax Seed Meal
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper, ground
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 cup Water or more as needed to make a smooth batter

Preheat oven to 360 degrees (F). Spray an 8×8 pan with cooking spray. Mix all ingredient in a bowl, adding enough water to make a spreadable batter. Spoon into the pan and spread to smooth and even with the back of the spoon.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Cut into four pieces.

Nutrition Info: Calories 158.9  Net Carbs .9 g  Protein 3.8 g

Tip: Not all ingredients are created equal. Check the Carbohydrates and fiber in the flours. The CarbQuick and almond flour are 2 net carbs (Carbs minus fiber) per 1/3 cup. Bob’s Red Mill flax meal is 0 net carbs as the fiber cancels out the carbs.

Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 2/18/2013 12:01 PM

Breads, Recipes

Easy Low Carb Stuffing Bread

Thanksgiving a year ago, I tried a bread mix from LC Foods for my stuffing. It was good, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for in the flavor. So this year, I decided to try a variation based on one posted by Laura Dolson on About.com. I changed a few things and spread it out to bake and was thrilled with the result. Poultry seasoning in the batter added a great flavor. It would be fantastic as croutons or crumbled on top of a casserole in addition to making a delicious stuffing.

Easy Low-Carb Stuffing Bread

1 cup CarbQuick
1/2 cup Almond Meal
1/2 cup LC Flour (LC Flour or other low carb flour)
1/2 cup Flax Meal
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted Butter
3 Eggs
1/3 cup Water
1/4 cup Buttermilk
2 teaspoons Sugar Substitute

Heat oven to 350 F.

Spray a jelly roll pan or use a silicone mat and spray that or use a rectangular baking stone with a light coating of baking spray.

Mix dry ingredient together. Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well with a spoon or a whisk. The batter will be thick. If it is too thick to spread, add a little water.

Spread over the pan or stone so that you have a flat rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. It may not completely fill the pan. Use the back of a large spoon to smooth and shape the batter. Wet the spoon back to help smooth it.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until top is lightly browned or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. This time may vary with ovens, so add an additional 5 minutes if it is browned how you would like it.

To use in a dressing, cut the bread into 1/2 cubes. When completely cool, spread the cubes out on a baking pan and put them in a 300 degree oven to dry more and toast a little around the edges. Remove and store in a paper bag until ready to use.

Nutrition Info (just bread) makes about 12-1/2 cup servings when used for stuffing:
Calories: 120 Net Carbs: 5.2 g Protein: 6.9 g


Stuffing bread with broth added and sauteed vegetables about to be mixed in. (I used onions, celery, small sweet peppers and baby spinach. This will work with any ingredients you prefer.)

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 11/30/2012 9:12 PM

Breads, Recipes

Peanut Butter & Jam Surprise Muffin

Here’s an adapted to low carb muffin recipe that I probably saw originally some years ago although I don’t recall where. It’s certainly not a new concept, but the approach may be a little different and I didn’t follow any other recipe in creating it.

I used LC Foods strawberry jam in my recipe, but when I figured the nutrition, I used Smucker’s Sugar Free Jam, which you car purchase at almost any grocery store. Of course, you can substitute your favorite flavor sugar free jam in the recipe.

1/4 cup Peanut Flour or Almond Flour
1/4 cup Whey Protein Powder or 2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
1/2 cup Carbquick
2 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
1/4 cup Coconut Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract (omit if using vanilla whey powder)
1/2 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 cup JIF creamy Peanut Butter
3 tbsp LC Strawberry Jam or low carb jam of your choice

Preheat oven to 360 degrees F. Prepare six muffin cups with baking spray.

Mix peanut flour, Carbquick and protein powder together with baking powder, and cinnamon. Beat eggs, whipping cream and vanilla extract together, then stir in coconut (or peanut) oil and mix into flours. Combine until moist, but don’t over mix. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water until it is a droppable consistency.

Using 1/2 of the batter, fill each muffin cup about 1/3 full. Spoon a half teaspoon of peanut butter (see photo) into the middle of each muffin and top with a teaspoon of strawberry jam. Divide the remainder of the batter equally over the top of the filling mixture.


About 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter.
  

Drop peanut butter on top of muffin batter… then add jam and spoon more batter on top.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the muffin is golden brown. Cool and serve. Makes 6 muffins.

Nutrition Information:
Per muffin (made with Smucker’s Jam):
Calories 147, Net Carbs: 5.2 g, Protein: 7 g

Originally POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 11/18/2012 1:21 PM