Tag: recipes

Keto Macadamia Goat Cheese Pizza

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I stumbled across a version of this keto macros pizza on YouTube – I forget which keto channel I was watching, but I was super curious and started off making a version of my own. It’s a calorie and fat bomb, and man it’s delicious.

High fat low carb F-T-W.

Gluten-free, primal, keto

Keto Macadamia Goat Cheese Pizza 

1/2 head cauliflower (about 1.5 cups riced)
2 eggs
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
3 Tbsp. coconut flour
1 Tbsp. almond flour
Pink salt & pepper
Lactose free cheddar (either lacto free cow or almond milk cheese)
Goat cheese
Pesto (watch your labels!)
Macadamia nuts
Salami or pepperoni slices

Preheat your oven to 200C. Yes, I said C – I live in metric land now. 

First, make your crust by processing the cauliflower into rice and microwaving in a covered bowl with a Tablespoon or two of water 8 minutes. Drain, pile onto a clean tea towel or cheesecloth and squeeze the water out.

Add the now dry cauliflower rice to a large bowl. Add the eggs (beaten), basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, coconut flour, almond flour, salt & pepper. Mix. Add more coconut flour if the mixture is too wet.

Split in half and form into two thin pizza shapes on a baking sheet that has been covered by parchment paper.

Bake 15 – 25 minutes or until browned.

Add the pizza toppings – about 2 Tbsp. lacto cheddar (grated) per pie, 1.5 – 2 ounces goat cheese, 4 macadamias (halved), 2 Tbsp. pesto and 7 or 8 pork chips.

Bake at 200C for 10 – 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

Serves 2

Rough macros per serving: 595 calories, 51.6 grams fat, 6.1 net carbs, 27.4 grams protein

Low Carb Strawberry Parfaits

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This dessert is delicious, low carb and light – aaaand it also tastes fancy because of the fresh fruit and different textures.

It’s also, as it turns out, dead simple to make and quick to set up.

Gluten-free, primal, keto

Low Carb Strawberry Parfaits

1 package sugar free strawberry jello
1 cup boiling water
8 ounces softened cream cheese
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup almond flour, almond meal or ground almonds
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/4 cup almond slivers or shaved almonds
12 fresh strawberries

First, make your jello by whisking the jello powder into the hot water until fully dissolved. Let sit 2 minutes. Full disclosure: I screwed this part up and had lumpy jello, so I slapped the whole mixing cup I was using back into the microwave for another minute or so, whisked the crap out of the mixture and crushed all the lumps I could with the back of a spoon. The result was mostly not-lumpy jello. 

When your jello has rested, add to the cream cheese and beat with electric beaters – or do things the hard way. I was already looking at grating my own cheese and wasn’t trying to exhaust myself by 8:30 am on Thanksgiving morning. #delicateflowerproblems

Spread into a metal or glass pan kinda evenly and let chill for an hour or two.

While the fluff is chilling, toast your almond slivers and make a simple buttery almond crumble by combining the butter and almond flour and baking (I think I baked at roughly 220C which is what I seem to bake everything at because I think it’s like 375F) for 5 – 10 minutes or until the mixture is golden and kinda looks like a cookie.

To serve, put a little crumble into the bottom of a teacup or glass, top with a sliced strawberry, a scoop of fluff, almonds, more fluff and more almonds – garnish with a second strawberry.

Makes 6 teacup sized portions

Personal Pistachio Goat Cheese Balls

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Ok, so an apparent theme of this Thanksgiving has arisen and it’s personal-sized appetizers and desserts. I made these balls, the mini apple tarts I shared last week, and the strawberry parfaits I’m sharing next week. Mini is in?

These little mini balls are just the right size to pop into your mouth, and since they’re covered in pistachio they don’t even need crackers. Whoo. Taking one of my favorite appetizers – a cheese ball – and making it less messy FTW!

Gluten-free, vegetarian, primal, keto

Personal Pistachio Goat Cheese Balls

4 – 6 ounces goat cheese
2 – 3 Tbsp. snipped fresh chives
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. granulated onion powder
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 – 1/3 cup pistachios

First, make your pistachio dust by processing the nuts in a food processor or blender until tiny.

In a medium bowl, combine all the other ingredients and mix with your hands to combine.

Form into small balls – mine were about 1 ounce each – and roll in the pistachio dust to coat.

Chill a few hours to set up.

Serves 8 as an appetizer in a spread of a few appetizers comfortably

Mini Low Sugar Apple Tarts

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These personal sized apple tarts were a big hit this past Thanksgiving. They’re light, just enough for one person, and the combination of spices lends a little mystery.

Vegetarian

Mini Low Sugar Apple Tarts

1 granny smith apple
6 roughly 4 inch x 4 inch squares phylo dough or puff pastry
No added sugar or sugar free apricot preserves
A few Tablespoons melted butter
1 packet stevia
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
Honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Himalayan pink salt

First, thaw your phylo dough for at least 10 minutes or until soft. If you have squares like I did, cool – if not, cut them while the dough is still semi-frozen.

Then, prep your apples by thinly slicing into wedges. I went really thin here – preferring a kind of wafer thin thing going on. Toss your apples in half the lemon juice so they don’t oxidize before they hit the oven.

Next, prep your cinnamon sugar by dumping the “sugar” and spices into a small dish and stirring.

Spread a thin layer of preserves over each dough square, going almost to the edges of each.

Arrange your apples however you like – I went for a pinwheel.

Drizzle with melted butter.

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over top.

Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Pop into the oven for 20 – 25 minutes on whatever temp your package says (I think mine was 200C). Watch after 15 minutes – you’re looking for the dough to rise and brown and the apples to be soft. Mine were really thin, so my apples got a bit caramelized but noone seemed to mind.

While your tarts are baking, take the leftover spices (I think I used about half on the tarts and half in the topper), and add to a small saucepan with a couple Tablespoons apricot preserves, about a teaspoon of honey, and a large squirt of lemon juice. Heat over low to combine.

Drizzle over the tarts when they get out of the oven.

Serves 6 

Brown Butter Zoodles with Walnut Crumb

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This low-carb pasta is rich, velvety and delicious – so good, you won’t miss the meat.

gluten-free, vegetarian, primal, keto

Brown Butter Zoodles with Walnut Crumb

1 zucchini
1-1/2 Tbsp. salted butter
Juice 1/2 lemon
1/4 c. walnut halves
2 handfulls rocket (arugula)
6 – 8 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
Salt & pepper
1 ounce spreadable cheese (like Laughing Cow) or goat cheese (optional)

Whiz your walnuts until they’re dust. Zoodle your zucchini. Set both aside.

In a large pan, heat the butter over medium-high. Slice and add the garlic when it’s ready. Add the thyme sprigs and cook until browned.

When the butter is browned, pull the thyme and add the zoodles, lemon juice and walnut dust. Toss well to combine. Add a hit of salt and pepper.

When the zucchini is cooked through and the mixture is less wet, add the arugula. Toss to combine. Cook until the arugula is wilted.

Plate and top with crumbles of cheese if desired.

Serves 1 for dinner

Turkilada Bake

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This is not the keto enchilada I set out to make – this right here is a teachable expat moment.

I swear I saw enchilada sauce – at least a case worth – in my local grocery last week. It was right there in a whole section of (American) Mexican foods.

Well, serves me right for not grabbing it there and then – it’s no longer in stock and there is zero evidence that it ever existed in the first place. Neither is salsa. Or green chilis. Or Choula. Plenty of queso, though.

So … we improvise.

Instead of Philadelphia cream cheese (which they have, but I don’t trust my stomach to not revolt at), I grabbed a spreadable cheese from Turkey (basically the same thing). Instead of the enchilada sauce I was craving, I grabbed something called Biber Domates (also from Turkey) – a pepper/tomato paste that comes in a variety of spice levels. Instead of the green chiles I was hoping for, I used frozen spinach (mostly because I needed a green vegetable to make this a meal and was in a snit because of the tiny size of all bags of frozen broccoli on offer here).

This meal wasn’t Mexican, but it was good and still goes great with my hoard of Choula. Seriously, I shipped myself two magnums of the stuff knowing DH would go through at least a quarter of one before I arrived.

Gluten-free, primal, keto

Turkilada Bake

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 bag frozen spinach
Onion powder (or granulated onion)
Garlic powder
Cumin powder
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup some form of cream cheese
1/4 cup Biber Domates (tomato/pepper paste)

Preheat your oven to roughly 375 F.

In a baking dish, spread a layer of frozen spinach. Top with the chicken thighs. Note: My spinach was frozen and chicken was mostly frozen). Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle really liberally with garlic and onion. Sprinkle less liberally with cumin.

In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese and paste together.

Spread on the dusty chicken. Top with the rest of the spinach.

Bake 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serves 4 as a light main – you may want to grab a heartier side if you’re not keto

Dairy-free Low Carb Beef Stroganoff

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For those of you that have been reading for awhile, I bet you can take a wild guess who is out of town. 🙂

We are a split household on the subject of mushrooms – they are one of my absolute favorite foods; something I can happily eat a pound or so of by myself on the regular. DH? Not so much. He likes the taste, but the texture weirds his mouth out.

I’m also too lazy to make a good pot of butter garlic mushrooms very often, so mushrooms are a sometimes treat food — mostly the second DH goes out of town. Mushrooms, shrimp (which I had for dinner yesterday) and asparagus (which I have not yet seen in stores here).

This version has been mostly caged from a good Nerd friend (shoutout to Fonzico) on her fourth? fifth? Whole30 who raves about this recipe. I’m starting a second pass at keto, so thought it was the perfect time to try.

gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, keto

Dairy-free Low Carb Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. stew beef
1/2 head green cabbage
1 lb. sliced button mushrooms
8 ounces crimini mushrooms
1 can full-fat coconut milk
2 Tbsp. ghee
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. fish sauce (check labels)
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos or worcestershire sauce (check labels)
2 c. bone broth or stock
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme + a few extra sprigs
Salt & pepper to taste (I used Himalayan pink salt)
Extra butter or ghee if you need more fat for serving

First, get your aromatics going. Mince the onion and garlic, de-stem about 2 Tbsp. thyme and chop. Add to a large pot with 2 Tbsp. ghee. Sautee on medium-low while you prep the rest of the ingredients, stirring occasionally so you don’t burn the mixture.

While your aromatics are going, cut your cabbage into ribbons, wash your mushrooms, and gather the rest of your ingredients.

When your ingredients are ready to go, add the aminos/worcestershire, tomato paste, and fish sauce to the pot. Stir to combine.

Add the whole mushrooms. Stir.

Add the beef, sliced mushrooms, coconut milk, stock or broth, cabbage and a few thyme sprigs. Stir. Kick the heat up to medium-ish, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.

Uncover and simmer 45 minutes or until the liquid is halved.

Serve up, salt as needed, and add more fat if your macros call for it.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch

Beet & Potato Mash with Pistachios

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This side was inspired by some of the new spices I’ve encountered in my new home. Plus, it’s a great shade – so that’s hard to resist.

Gluten-free, vegetarian

Beet & Potato Mash with Pistachios

2 small potatoes
1 small roasted beet
1/2 cup creme fraiche or cream cheese or crema
3 Tbsp. zaatar
1/4 cup pistachio meat
3 – 4 tsp. dry lemon powder or sumac or some preserved lemon
2 Tbsp. butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Peel your potatoes and chop into small pieces. Boil 8 – 10 minutes (or until soft) in a pot of salted water.

While the potatoes are working, chop the beet fairly finely and add to a large bowl with half the creme fraiche, the butter, a hit of salt and pepper, and half the spices.

Drain and mash the potatoes when they’re ready. Add to the bowl and mash – taste – add the other half of the creme fraiche and spices. Taste, salt & pepper and adjust to your taste.

In a dry pan, brown your pistachios. Chop and add to the top of the potato beet mixture.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch

Thai Chicken Burgers

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This burger comes together quickly, and brings a hint of Thai flavors to dress up what can otherwise be a boring weeknight staple meal.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, keto

Thai Chicken Burgers

1 lb. ground chicken or turkey
1 green onion
1 Tbsp. fish sauce (Red Boat is Whole30 compliant)
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos or soy (coconut aminos are Whole30 compliant)
1 tsp. lime juice
1/2 inch fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. sambal olek (spicy garlic sauce – check your labels of Whole30 or keto!)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 an avocado per person
Fat of choice
Salt & pepper to taste

Mince your green onions, garlic and ginger. Add to a large bowl with everything but the avocado and fat of choice. Mix, form into 4 burger patties. Hit with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the fat in a large pan over medium-high heat. Fry your burgers about 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through.

Serve over sliced avocado.

Makes enough for 4 burgers

Spinach Berry Smoothie

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Yay, it’s (hopefully) back to the smoothie life over here – and I made a great one this morning. This smoothie is tart, not too sweet, low-ish in carbs and hit the spot for breakfast. Even with the crappy blender I’ve been saddled with (R.I.P. and get lots of in your new home, Vitamix).

Gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, Whole30-ish

Spinach Berry Smoothie

Big hand full of spinach
1/2 a medium Haas avocado
Big squirt bottled lime juice (or the juice of 1 fresh lime)
1/3 – 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (I used a blend of strawberries, raspberries, currants, and blueberries)
Slack hand full of fresh mint (roughly 2 Tbsp.)
Enough water to make the mixture blend

Blend and enjoy – makes enough for a nice-sized smoothie cup or a small glass + sidecar.

Serves 1