Tag Archives: low carb recipes

Desserts, Recipes

Light And Cool Raspberry Cream Gelatin

This is an oldie, but goodie recipe that is so easy to adapt to low-calories and low-carbs. Just start with sugar-free jello mix and the rest of it is pretty low carb. I use whipped topping in it, but you can also whip up your own whipping cream if you prefer. If you use whipped topping, check the carb counts as all are not created equally and some are higher. This is not a difficult recipe, but it does require 5 to 6 hours to prepare and chill.

1 package Raspberry flavored Jello brand sugar free
4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
6 tablespoons whipped topping
1 cup Raspberries, fresh or frozen
6 large Strawberries, cut in half for topping (or 12 plump raspberries)
1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Mix 2 cups of boiling water into the gelatin mix in a large bowl. Stir for two minutes until all the gelatin is dissolved. Add 1 3/4 cups cold water and stir into the mix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 2 to 2 1/3 hours until it begins to set up. (The mix will be gooey but not solid.)

Get out the cream cheese to soften while the mix is setting up. About 20 minutes before the gelatin is ready, beat cream cheese in a bowl until it is smooth. Process the raspberries in a food processor or chopped until they are chopped. Add to the cream cheese and use the mixer to blend them in. Stir in the chopped pecans with a spoon and set the bowl aside with plastic wrap over it until the gelatin is ready.

If you are using a special mold, prepare the mold. A thin coat of cooking spray will make it easier to remove from the mold later. I used heart cupcake molds, but this also works with a bigger mold.

Once the gelatin is set up, mix the 6 tablespoons of whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture with a spoon. Spoon the mixture into the gelatin in small batches and stir in before adding the next. Repeat until all the cream cheese mixture is blended into the gelatin. If you are using molds, spoon the mixture into the molds and smooth with the back of the spoon. If you are leaving it in the bowl, cover the bowl with the plastic wrap again and put it back in the fridge to finish setting up, about another 2 hours.

  If you’ve put it in a mold, put the mold in the freezer to chill and firm up. This makes it easier to un-mold. Again, it will be about two hours.

When you are ready to serve, remove the molds from the freezer, remove the plastic wrap carefully, place a plate or baking pan over the top and, holding onto the mold, flip the pan so the mold is facing down. Tap the mold or push against flexible molds. If they do not release, run hot water over the back of the mold until it releases the gelatin.

To serve, place one of the gelatin servings on a plate or scoop out 1/2 cup of gelatin from the bowl into a bowl or plate and put a dollop of whipped cream on top and place half a strawberry or a fresh raspberry in the middle.

Makes 12 servings, about 1/2 cup each.

Nutrition Info: Calories 76.3 Net Carbs 2 g Protein 1.8 g
Without nuts: Calories 53 Net Carbs 1.9 g Protein 1.5 g

This is a great dessert for your Valentine or use it for an engagement party or bridal shower luncheon. It’s the perfect light treat after a heavy meal. I use pecans in it, but you can use walnuts also.

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 2/14/2013 1:20 AM

Desserts, Recipes

Strawberry Cream Torte For Valentine’s Day

Want to make something nice for your sweetie (or yourself) for Valentine’s Day and still stay on your food plan? This lovely cake is reasonably low-carb’d and delicious. It uses the same sponge cake recipe as the Tiramisu and a modified filling as well.

Valentine Torte

Using orange extract adds a light taste of orange to the cake and filling that compliments the strawberries or you can use strawberry extract to enhance it.

Cake:
4 Eggs, large
4 oz. Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour,
1 tablespoon Vanilla whey protein powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Splenda
3 tablespoon sugar alcohol substitute (like Ideal)

Filling:
3 Egg Yolks
1/3 cup Coconut Milk or Almond Milk, unsweetened
1 tablespoon liquid sucralose or Splenda
2/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream, whipped or 2/3 cup whipped topping
1 teaspoon Orange or Strawberry Extract
4 oz. Cream Cheese

Topping :
1 pint of strawberries
1 tablespoon Splenda or other sugar replacement, granulated

Clean and cut up strawberries and put in a container. Sprinkle a tablespoon of Splenda or other sugar replacement on them. Stir to distribute the sugar. Add a tablespoon of sugar free orange syrup or a tablespoon of rum to help make a juice. Cover and put in the refrigerator to chill.

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 300 F. Spray an 8×8 inch baking dish with butter flavored cooking spray. Be sure to go up the sides. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and press into the pan. This will make removing the cake easier.

Separate the eggs and put whites into a grease free glass or metal bowl. Put the yolks in a separate bowl and set aside. Beat the egg whites until they are foamy, then add cream of tartar and continue to beat until they form stiff peaks.

To the egg yolks, add cream cheese and mix together. Add coconut flour, whey powder, sugar substitutes and almond extract. Mix well until smooth.

Fold the egg yolk mixture, one third at a time, into the whites, being careful to not break down the air in the whites. With a soft (rubber or silicone) spatula, fold just until blended, then spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish. Use the back of the spoon to smooth the top of the cake.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a golden brown. Cool, then turn out onto a bread board. Cut the cake in half to form two rectangular layers. Try to cut exactly in the middle so the cake layers are equal. Set aside.

For the pudding:
Separate three eggs. Put the whites away to use for something else. (Meringue cookies are a good option.) Put the egg yolks in a sauce pan. Add the coconut milk (you can also use regular milk or almond milk. Regular milk will raise the carbs a little.) Add a tablespoon sweetener. Mix together and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle boil and cook for one minute. Add orange or strawberry extract. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Get out the cream cheese to soften while the yolk mixture chills. When yolk mixture is chilled, add the cream cheese and mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream and vanilla extract until the cream forms stiff peaks.

Place the bottom sponge cake in an 8x8x2″ inch dish. Spread the pudding mixture over the cake and smooth, then spread one half the whipped cream on top of that and smooth. Place the top cake layer and cover with whipped cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Even though I’ve pictured the cake with strawberries arranged on top, cut the slices first, then put strawberries on top of each slice.

Makes 10 servings.

Nutrition Info: Calories 182.6 Net Carbs 3.8 g Protein: 6.8 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 2/11/2013 3:09 PM

Desserts, Recipes

Festive Cranberry Pecan Cookies

This is my third try to make a cookie with fresh cranberries that looks appetizing. Even with this recipe, the cranberries tend to add a touch of blue to the cookie. When I precooked the cranberries, it turned the whole cookie blue. In an attempt to disguise them, I added 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, which turned the dough a peculiar mocha-blue brown, but they were very good. This batch uses fresh cranberries chopped in the food processor.

Makes a soft, not too sweet cookie filled with tart fresh cranberries and pecans. This version doesn’t use any ingredients that you can’t readily find at your grocery store. The flours are probably in the health food section. To be honest, I haven’t tried this yet with almond flour and coconut flour, but this combo has worked for other cookies just fine. The batch I just made (and photographed) is from the second option, which is the lower carb version.

As with all cookies made with almond flour, they tend to be delicate so be sure to let them cool before moving them as they will crumble easily.

1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1/2 cup Almond flour
1/2 cup Cranberries
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
1 large Egg
1/4 cup Butter, unsalted
1/4 cup Shortening, butter flavored
1 tablespoon Heavy Whipping Cream
1 to 2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
12 packets Splenda or other sugar substitute (2/3 cup equivalent)
1/2 teaspoon Baking soda

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone mat sprayed lightly with baking spray.

In a small bowl, mix together flours and baking soda. Set aside. Pour raw cranberries into a food processor and chop.

In a deep bowl, add shortening, butter, Splenda (or other sugar substitute), and egg. Cream together with a mixer. Add vanilla, cream and mix in. Then add 1 tablespoon of water and add the flour gradually in about three batches, mixing in well with the mixer. If the mixture is too thick to mix easily, add a little more water. Coconut flour tends to absorb liquid. When all the flour is mixed in well, add nuts and cranberries and stir in to evenly distribute through the batter.

Using two spoons, drop a heaping teaspoon of dough on the baking sheet and repeat, making about four cookies across each row. (I got 6 rows on my baking sheet.) You should get about 24 cookies from the cookie dough. Let sit a few minutes before putting them in the oven to bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 24 cookies. Nutrition Info per cookie:
Calories: 80.8 Net Carbs: 1.4 g Protein: 1.3 g

Version #2 – Lower low carb

For those of us who have a variety of flours, this version uses CarbQuick instead of almond flour and adds vanilla whey protein powder, which improves the texture of the cookies and adds a bit more flavor. Since it uses a sugar alcohol crystal (Ideal or other brand) and liquid sucralose, it is lower in carbohydrates.

1/2 cup Carbquick
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 cup Whey Protein Powder, Vanilla
1 Egg, fresh
1/4 cup Butter, unsalted
1/4 cup Shortening
1 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream,
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup Ideal sugar substitute (Sugar alcohol)
12 drops (1 drop = 1 teaspoon) liquid Sucralose
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Cranberries
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped

Follow the baking instruction above. It will make the same amount of cookies.

Nutrition Info per cookies:
Calories: 71.9 Net Carbs: .8 g Protein: 1.5 g
POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 12/24/2012 5:58 PM

Desserts, Recipes

Meringue Magic And Delicious!

Originally posted on my LJ Blog August 9, 2012

I was about 20 when I first discovered the delight of making meringue shells from a Betty Crocker Cookbook, which I still have and use. The first time I was on a low carb diet, I quickly adapted the recipe to sugar-free. Sadly, the sweeteners in those days weren’t as good as they are now and the shells, as well as all the other sugar-free desserts I made back then, tended to have a not-so-pleasant aftertaste. With present day sweeteners tasting and behaving like sugar without the aftertaste, desserts are easier and tastier than ever.  Meringue cookies and shells are easy to make and melt in your mouth like magic and don’t add inches to your hips.

The original recipe I used was called “Cherry Berries On A Cloud” and the meringue was shaped into a bowl with raised sides to hold a wonderful filling of cherries and whipped cream. Since cherries are very high in carbohydrates, I replaced them with fresh strawberries. Yummy! The bonus is the meringue is easy to shape into whatever design you might want for the dessert, be it a circle, a diamond, or a heart, so it’s pretty versatile. I’ve included my updated recipe for this below that now incorporates chocolate chips and nuts as well as low carb yogurt. Please note that it is important, and essential, to let the meringues dry out in the oven. If you don’t give them at least two hours to dry, you’ll have, as my most recent batch attested, a cookie that is more like a meringue on a pie than a crunchy, melt away cookie.

Strawberries on a Cloud

Meringue shell:
2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup sugar substitute of choice (I usually use a combination of Splenda and liquid sucralose)
½ cup sugar free chocolate chips
½ cup chopped pecans, almonds or walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling:
1 pint of fresh strawberries, halved
2 cups of CarbMaster’s flavored yogurt of choice (strawberry white chocolate is delicious!)
½ cup sugar substitute
1 cup of whipped cream or whipped topping

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with a layer of parchment paper, spray with cooking spray or use a silicon mat. Draw an 8 inch circle or other shape about the same size on the paper. Or just make eight 2 inch rounds on the tray.

In a clean small bowl, whip egg whites until they are foamy, add cream of tartar and continue to beat until peaks begin to form. Gradually add the sugar substitute and continue to beat until stiff. Fold vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts into the whipped egg whites carefully.

Spread the meringue over the circle you’ve drawn and build the edges of the shell as you hollow out the center. If you would like, you can make a ¼ inch layer of meringue on the paper, then put the rest of the meringue into a plastic bag, cut the end with a small hole and make the sides of the shell with this. If you’re doing individual shells, then just hollow the centers out and build up the edges for each shell. I’ve pictured an individual serving.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes, then turn the oven off and let shells dry out in the oven for at least two hours.

Beat whipped cream in a bowl until it begins to get stiff, then add in sugar substitute gradually and continue to beat until stiff.

Fill the center of your pie shell with the yogurt, arrange berries on top, then add dollops of whipped cream around the edge. For individual ones, put in about two tablespoons of yogurt, top with several berries, a dollop of whipped cream and a berry or two on the top. I also used blueberries with mine. You can assemble the large shell, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate before serving, but don’t do it more than a couple of hours before serving. For individual ones, assemble just before you serve them.

Makes 8 servings, approximately 110 calories, 4.5 net carbs per serving.

Meringue Cookies

The same recipe for meringue will make about 40 to 48 cookies. Simply drop by a teaspoonful, using another teaspoon to push the meringue onto the baking tray (be sure to spray with cooking spray so they won’t stick to the parchment paper or silicon mat). For variety, fold in chopped craisins or other chopped dried fruit to the mixture. They will add about 1 carb to the net carb count, but they are delicious in the meringue.

You can also make cocoa meringues by adding 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (check for a low carb count on the can) to the egg whites as you are mixing in the sugar. You can omit the chocolate chips and nuts if you wish and just have a plain meringue.

Experiment with other flavorings like orange, almond, banana, etc. for different flavors in the meringue. You can also make a sandwich cookie by putting a tablespoon of whipped cream or a whipped cream and cream cheese combo, flavored with mint, orange, banana, or whatever you’d like to try, between two of the cookies. Have fun! Meringues are a fun, tasty low-carb treat!

Desserts, Italian Inspired Recipes, Recipes

Elegant LC Tiramisu

With an Italian dinner planned for family and friends next week, I wanted to come up with a low carb version of Tiramisu, that delightfully rich, but light tasting, Italian dessert that caps off a heavy pasta dinner. Traditionally made with ladyfingers, I needed to create a sponge cake similar to them. I found several recipes on line and eventually created one that I thought would be fairly simple to make and still be true to the original. This one uses a sponge cake made from a recipe that evolved from the Oopsie Roll from Your Lighter Side. Mine has additional ingredients, including coconut flour and granulated sugar alcohol, as well as almond extract for a light almond flavor. The filling simply uses coconut milk instead of regular milk and a few drops of liquid Sucralose in the whipped cream. My recipe called for rum, but if you want more of a coffee flavor, use a sugar free Amaretto syrup instead.

I think that Sponge Cake recipe will be very useful for other desserts, like a strawberry cake with fresh whipped cream and possibly a Boston creme pie, so I am going to repeat it on its own page to make it easier to find.

Sponge Cake:
4 Eggs, large
4 oz. Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons Coconut Flour
1 tablespoon Vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 teaspoon Cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon Splenda
3 tablespoon sugar alcohol substitute (I use Ideal)

Filling:
3 Egg Yolks
1/3 cup Almond Breeze Coconut Milk, unsweetened
1 tablespoon liquid sucralose or Splenda
8 oz. Mascarpone Cheese

Topping:
2/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream, whipped
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Other:
1 cup strong Coffee
1 1/2 tablespoons rum
1 1/2 tablespoons Cocoa powder, unsweetened

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 300 F. Spray an 8×8 inch baking dish with butter flavored cooking spray. Be sure to go up the sides.

Separate the eggs and put whites into a grease free glass or metal bowl. Put the yolks in a separate bowl and set aside. Beat the egg whites until they are foamy, then add cream of tartar and continue to beat until they form stiff peaks.

To the egg yolks, add cream cheese and mix together. Add coconut flour, whey powder, sugar substitutes and almond extract. Mix well until smooth.

Fold the egg yolk mixture, one third at a time, into the whites, being careful to not break down the air in the whites. With a soft (rubber or silicone) spatula, fold just until blended, then spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish. Use the back of the spoon to smooth the top of the cake.

 

 

 

Before and after cooking.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a golden brown. Cool, then turn out onto a bread board. Cut the cake in half through the middle to form two layers. Use a long serrated knife or a thread the width of the cake that you can just pull carefully through the middle. Try to get these are even as possible so the cake layers are equal. Set aside.

For the zabaglione:
Separate three eggs. Put the whites away to use for something else. (Meringue cookies are a good option.) Put the egg yolks in a sauce pan. Add the coconut milk (you can also use regular milk or almond milk. Regular milk will raise the carbs a little.) Add a tablespoon sweetener. Mix together and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle boil and cook for one minute. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Get out the mascarpone cheese to soften while the yolk mixture chills. Make a strong coffee by using just two cups (or less) of water to your normal grounds or making Espresso. Turn off to come to room temperature.

When yolk mixture is chilled, add the mascarpone and mix until smooth.

Topping and Assembly:
In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream and vanilla extract until the cream forms stiff peaks.

Mix rum with 1 cup of coffee. Place the bottom sponge cake in an 8x8x2″ inch dish and generously sprinkle with half the cookie mixture. It will absorb it. Spread one half the zabaglione mixture over the cake and smooth, then spread one half the whipped cream on top of that and smooth. Place the top sponge cake on top and repeat the procedure using the rest of the coffee mixture, filling and whipped cream. Sprinkle cocoa powder over the top, cover with plastic wrap (keeping it off the whipped cream) and chill for at least two hours before serving.

…as incredibly delicious as it looks.

Makes 8 generous servings.

Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 280  Net Carbs: 2.7g   Protein: 8.6g