Tag Archives: oranges

Breakfast & Brunch

Tastes of the Season: Orange Cranberry Pancakes

Cranberry Orange Pancakes

I love this time of year when Fall gives way to Winter and the holidays roll around. It’s a good time to reflect on everything that’s happened in the past year and beginning planning for the next year. So, I want to celebrate this month with Tastes of the Season recipes; those wonderful dishes with flavors that remind us of the joy of the holidays.

Orange is a flavor that is oddly associated with Christmas for me. I think it must be because we always had apples and oranges in our Christmas stockings, thanks to places like Florida and California who produce them in the winter. Now we can also get them from Mexico. Cranberry is another seasonal favorite, although I enjoy them year round. These two flavors were made for each other. They go well in cakes, cookies, bread, jam, and pancakes!

I found an orange pancake recipe that made me chuckle. It called for 1 teaspoon of orange zest. That was it for the orange. Like it’s going to give much flavor? Actually, I don’t think orange zest brings a lot to the party, and it can be bitter. Not to mention, you now have a naked orange that will shrivel in a short time if you don’t use it.

Wanting to stay low carb, I decided to try to make my own version of Denny’s Cranberry Pancakes with Orange Sauce by taking it a step further and making  Cranberry Orange Pancakes. The sauce is similar to the chain’s, but not as sweet.  I, personally, think they’re better.

Cranberry Orange Pancakes with Orange Cream Sauce

Recipe by Rene Averett

2 tablespoons Ricotta Cheese, whole milk
1 tablespoon Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tablespoons Vanilla Whey Protein Powder (optional)
2 tablespoons Canola Oil
2 Eggs fresh
1/4 cup Low Carb Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Sugar Free Orange Drink Mix
1 tablespoon Sugar substitute
1/4 cup fresh Cranberries, chopped or cut into small pieces

For Topping
1 ounce Cream Cheese, softened
2 tablespoons Butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon Sugar Free Orange Drink
1 tablespoon Heavy Cream
2 to 3 tablespoons Powdered Sugar Substitute

If you don’t use the protein powder, increase the low carb flour by 2 tablespoons. You may use a mix of low carb flours, such as Bakesquick, Carbquick, LC Foods Flour, Almond Flour, or Soy Flour.

Make the topping first. Use a mixer or small food processor to cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add the cream, orange drink, and sugar and mix together completely. Add a drop of yellow and a drop of red food coloring if you want an orange color. Your drink mix might be enough to turn it a light orange. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the eggs, ricotta cheese, drink mix, cream, and oil. Stir until well mixed. Add low carb flour, Protein powder (if using) and baking powder. Mix together until the batter is blended and completely moist. If it is too thick, add a little water to thin. You want a pretty thick batter, but it should be spreadable. Stir in the chopped cranberries.

Heat a non-stick pan or griddle until a drop of water sizzles on it, then spray with cooking spray and add the batter for one or two pancakes, about three tablespoons of batter per pancake, depending on how large your skillet is. Lower the heat to a medium high heat, cover with a lid and cook until the top is only slightly moist, then turn with a spatula. Cook the bottom another couple of minutes.

Butter the pancakes, if you wish, then spoon or spread the topping over them and serve.

Makes 2 servings of 2 pancakes each.

Nutrition Information per serving pancakes only:
Calories: 275 Fat: 23.7 g Net Carbs: 3.8 g Protein: 10.9 g

Nutrition Information per serving orange topping only:
Calories: 159 Fat: 17.3 g Net Carbs: 0.7 g Protein: 1.2 g

Desserts, Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes

Light and easy, Mexican-style flan dessert

Happy 2017, everyone!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and we’re all ready to settle back into a low carb routine. I know I need to do it.  Too many holiday goodies in this girl’s life and I definitely must drop some pounds.  How about you?

I tapered off on posts a little towards the end of the year in 2016, but I’m aiming to get back on a weekly schedule this year. If you have any particular food dish that you’d like to see if I can adapt to an under 10 carb meal, please drop me a line or post a comment. I’m always looking for new recipes.

On New Year’s Eve, I went with my Mexican food tradition and put together turkey enchiladas for dinner. For dessert, I wanted something light that would compliment the main course and not be too heavy. What better than a Mexican flan?

Flan is very much like a panna cotta and is very easy to make.  This one has a light orange flavor from adding grated orange rind, but I took it a step further and put slices of orange dipped in sugar substitute on the top. Give it a try and you might count it among your favorite desserts.  I do.

The only drawback is that this makes a very small serving, but it’s rich enough to satisfy. If you have the carbs to spare, you can make it into two servings instead of four.

Orange Mexican-Style Flan

1 tablespoons Brown Sugar Splenda
1 tablespoon Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoon Butter

2 Eggs
3/4 cup Cream
1/4 cup Water
2 1/2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon Orange Zest

8 segments Orange for garnish (optional)
1 tablespoon Almond slivers (optional)

Heat oven to 325 degrees (F.) Butter four 1/2 cup custard dishes or four cupcake molds. Heat water to boiling in a pot.

In a microwavable bowl, put the brown sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon butter, and cook for 20 seconds. It probably won’t melt much. Add 1/2 teaspoon of hot water and stir. Spoon into the bottom of the custard dishes. You could also use a caramel-flavored sugar-free syrup instead of the brown sugar Splenda.

In a blender, add the eggs, cream, water, sugar substitute, vanilla, cinnamon, and orange zest and blend until smooth. Pour equal amounts of the mixture into each custard dish.

Put the custard dishes In a roasting pan or other large pan and place in the middle of the oven, then pour hot water into the roasting pan to about 1 inch up the sides of the custard dishes. Be careful to not get water in the custard dishes.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack. Spray cooking spray on plastic wrap and   sprayed side down, cover each of the dishes, then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Garnish with slices of oranges dipped in sugar substitute and/or toasted almonds before serving,

Makes four servings.

Nutrition Information per serving: (No topping)
Calories: 188.5 Fat: 17.2 g Net Carbs:4.5 g Protein: 4.0 g

With orange slices:
Calories: 222 Fat: 20.1 g Net Carbs: 6.1 g Protein: 4.0 g

 

Desserts, Recipes

Light and Fruity Ricotta Cookies

What says Spring better than a light, delicious and delicately-flavored cookie?  Drawing on early spring fruit like strawberries or lemon, you can add a special sweet taste to the cookie.  Other stand-bys, like lemon and orange extracts add the flavor without adding carbohydrates or calories.

Ricotta cookies are an Italian style cookie that are light and very tasty. I think the recipe works well with low carb flours, although they are more delicate than the full flour version. You can add a teaspoon of lemon juice to make them lemon cookies or a 1/2 teaspoon of strawberry extract to give them a strawberry flavor. For that matter, you can add a little chopped strawberries to the batter to make them a strawberry cookie. Prefer the taste of orange? Add 1/2 teaspoon orange extract and a little chopped orange to it. With fruits, you need to add the fruit sparingly, no more than 1/4 cup or you will begin to run the carbohydrates up quite a bit.

Ricotta Cheese Cookies

1cup Sugar Substitute
1/2 cup Butter, softened
7.5 ounces Ricotta Cheese
1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
1 1/2 cups Low Carb Flour
1 tablespoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt

3/4 cups Confectioners’ Sugar Substitute
1 tablespoons Cream
1/2 tablespoon Water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone mat.

In a large bowl, add the sugar substitute and butter and use a mixer on low speed to combine them before increasing the speed and beating until light and fluffy. Reduce speed and add in the ricotta, vanilla (or lemon, strawberry or orange) and egg.

Reduce the speed back to low and add the low carb flour, baking powder and salt. Mix on low until the dough forms. If you are adding any chopped fruit, stir it into the dough now.

Using a tablespoon, drop dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookies are just golden brown around the edges. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to allow them to cool before icing.

For the icing, use a small bowl and add the confectioner’s sugar, cream and water.(If you’d like you can add a drop of flavoring extract to the icing. Stir until it makes a smooth glaze. Use a knife blade or a spreader to ice each cookie.

Makes 18 cookies.

Nutrition Information per cookie (vanilla):
Calories: 115 Fat: 9.8 g Net Carbs: 1.4 g Protein: 5.2 g

Using wheat flour and sugar per cookie:
Calories: 189.5 Fat: 7.6 g Net Carbs: 27 g Protein: 3.4 g