Happy Fourth of July!!! Wave that Red, White, and Blue! Show off your stars and stripes! Enjoy your day, and celebrate with friends and family! We love our Independence Day in the Lutz and Stavros households!
We have been over several recipe ideas to keep your day healthy and low carb! Here are a few ideas from the past and the ones we have posted the last few weeks to help you compile your menu into one concise spot…right here! All of these recipes can be found on this webpage on our blog:
Main Courses:
Brisket (You can even pick up or buy a precooked one to bake to make it easy!)
Ribs – Yum!!!
With our sugar-free sauce…
Bunless Burgers (We love our ABC burger – Avocado, Bacon, and Cheddar)
Bunless Hot Dogs or Sausage Links
Egg Salad
Sides:
Refreshing Cukes
“Potato” Salad”
Cheesy Tater Tots
Broccoli Slaw
Broccoli Salad
Appetizers and Snack Ideas:
Stuffed Mushrooms
Cheese Crisps
Zucchini Chips
Guacamole
Deviled Eggs:
Dessert:
Stars and Stripes Cheesecake with Berries:
Or, if you are a chocolate person, our chocolate pudding.
Drinks:
Refreshing Low-Carb Margarita on the Rocks
Enjoy a wonderful celebratory day filled with healthy food, healthy sun, friends and family.
Well…this was not my intended post for today, but it worked out well!
We have all heard the term, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!”
My theme for today, is “When your eggs won’t peel, make egg salad!”
The intention of the post for today was yummy deviled eggs to finish off the menu for Independence Day! However, I did not plan well enough ahead!
This was a good lesson! Anytime you want pretty peeled eggs, plan ahead! I did not know we were so low on eggs (because I always have several dozen.) When you do boiled eggs, they are much easier to peel when they are not fresh. You want to buy them 5 to 7 days ahead of when you need them. I bought mine yesterday, boiled them, and tried to peel them. This is what happened:
Not so pretty! So…we had a very fast change of plans. Since we have dinner pretty much planned with Bar-B-Que (with sauce), “Potato” Salad, and Refreshing Cukes, I thought why not make egg salad for a Keto lunch! It was simple, and we still got to use those delicious and nutritious eggs.
I did get a few of the eggs to turn out, so I will share how to do both just in case you plan ahead better than I, or if you have some eggs stored in your fridge that you want to use.
First, start by boiling your eggs. I have a gas stove, and have had great success by placing my eggs in a large pot, covering with cold water with a tsp of salt, and bringing it to a rumbling boil. Once it is at a full boil, turn your heat down to a simmer for 1 minute, cover, and turn the heat off completely for 10 to 12 minutes. As soon as the timer goes off, dunk them in a cold water bath. Let them cool, and then place in the refrigerator until you need them.
You can peel your eggs now or later. For deviled eggs you will want to slice your pretty eggs lengthwise, hull out the yolk and place on a flat surface.
I put the yolks in a bowl, and mash with mayo, dijon mustard, a little lemon juice, salt, pepper, and if you have them, some chopped Refreshing Cukes. You can also add some fresh dill or dill pickle if you like savory. If you like sweet, you can add a teeny tiny pinch of Stevia. Mash it all together and stuff your eggs. Refrigerate immediately.
If you get a bunch of eggs that look like they were in a massacre like mine did, just chop them up and no one will be the wiser.
Add to a bowl with:
Egg Salad
12 eggs – boiled, peeled and chopped
1/2 lemon – squeezed
1/2 cup petite diced celery
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup diced “Refreshing Cukes”
2 tsp juice from above
Salt and pepper to taste
Stir everything together until combined and either put in the fridge for later or serve over lettuce. It was quite a delicious mistake!
We hope that everyone has a safe and delicious Fourth of July!
Remember those that sacrificed for the freedoms that we hold so precious today. We are so fortunate to live in a place that allows us to speak and write what we believe and hold true to our hearts, even if not everyone agrees.
Remember on your holiday to plan ahead, drink plenty of water, take your supplements, and stay healthy! Holidays and parties can be difficult, but with planning you can be strong and live Keto! We know you can!
Have a wonderful long weekend, and enjoy those fireworks!!!
It’s real, and it’s Keto! How can you have a July Fourth celebration without potato salad? We have found a way, and it involves one of our favorite Keto veggies.
Have you guessed already? It’s the one that makes rice, mashers, tater tots, and pizza crust. The incredible, invincible, and transformative cauliflower! The chameleon of all veggies! I always have a head of cauliflower in the fridge because it can do just about anything for a meal! I was wondering if I could slide this past my crew, and it worked like a charm. You can pretty much use your favorite potato salad recipe by substituting cauliflower for your potatoes. We prefer a creamy mustard type dressing with a little sweetness. I know some like mayo only, and others like a tart mustard, so take it where you like it. So many options!
I still had a few of the refreshing cukes in the fridge, so I thought I would give them a try for the touch of sweet. Worked like a charm. So if you are planning on making the cucumbers for your July Fourth celebration, save a few extra to throw into your “potatoes”.
So here is the recipe along with a few variations for your upcoming weekend:
Dill Pickles with pickle juice if you don’t have the Cukes, but like the pickle idea.
Lemon juice
Chives
Directions:
Chop your cauliflower into bite size pieces like you would eat your potatoes.
Boil a large pot of water. Once it comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat to medium and simmer your cauliflower for about 5 to 6 minutes. Carefully pierce with a fork to check for tenderness. This is the hardest part…you want it soft enough to mimic the potatoes, but you don’t want it to get mushy once you start mixing your ingredients together. Once you have it to the correct tenderness, strain in a large colander. Let it drain and then return to the pot. If you are worried about the tenderness, (the texture is super important for this recipe) boil them until they are perfect and then immediately submerge in an ice cold water bath to stop the cooking. Then strain in the colander.
Add your chopped celery, onion, and cucumber or pickles (along with any other solids you choose to add.) Toss to combine.
Now add your mayonnaise, mustard and spices, except for the paprika.
Mix everything together. You can taste at this point to see if it needs anything, but remember, the flavors will meld in the refrigerator a little more.
Refrigerate for a few hours. When you place it in a serving bowl, sprinkle with a little paprika for color and enjoy with your firecrackers!
We are posting this one today so you have time to prepare this beauty for the holiday weekend. This is a luscious lemony dessert that you would never guess to be sugar free, and even better, you can make it patriotic as all get out. The entire dessert was devoured and family approved. It also keeps well so you can make it ahead, and then dress it up the day of your event.
I am getting more accustomed and comfortable using Stevia in recipes, and so far so good. A little goes a long way, and it doesn’t seem to leave that sweet aftertaste like Swerve does with some people. Don’t get me wrong, I love Swerve, but Stevia is great too! I am definitely going to stick with the Trader Joe’s Pure Stevia. It is the real deal! If you are looking for it in the store, you can find it with the supplements.
This dessert is similar to the Key Lime Cheesecake I shared a few weeks ago. I changed up the crust a little to try to create a denser, less flakey crust for easier cutting into bars, and it seemed to serve easier with a spatula. I actually had better luck cutting into bars after it cooled, but before I chilled it in the refrigerator. This is a great tip for the future, but if you plan to decorate it like I did on this one, it is best to cut after everyone admires your handiwork.
Patriotic Lemon Berry Cheesecake
This recipe will yield a 9×13 and an 8×8 cheesecake. If you only want one, half the recipe.
Before you start, you will want to bring your cream cheese and eggs to room temperature (a few hours) and preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Combine all your dry ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until you have a sand like mixture.
Add your eggs and butter. Pulse until a ball of dough forms.
Mix well and press into a 9 x 13 and an 8 x 8 pyrex.
Bake at 325 for 12 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare your mixer for the cheesecake.
Cheesecake Filling
4 – 8 oz packages of Cream Cheese
4 Eggs
3 Lemons zested and juiced
1 tsp Pure Stevia
Berries
Place your very soft cream cheese in your mixer.
Turn your mixer onto medium to cream your cream cheese. Add your eggs one at a time, and mix well in between each egg, scraping the sides as you go.
Zest and juice your lemons.
Add all the juice and zest to your cream cheese mixture. Add your Stevia and mix well.
Pour into your pyrex dishes.
Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes.
They actually looked the same, but the lighting was different.
Cool completely to room temperature. Then place in the fridge to cool.
The next day or later in the day, whip up some whipped cream with heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and Swerve Confectioners.
“Ice” your cheesecake with the whipped cream.
I forgot to take a picture of the flag that I made on the 9×13 cake, but you can do an American flag with blueberries for the navy and do stripes with strawberry slices.
On the 8×8, I did a big star with blueberries and raspberries. This is so fun to do with the kiddos!
Let your friends and family ohh and ahh, but don’t tell them it’s sugar-free! They will be amazed. I love the way the lemon and fruit taste together for a special treat!
A great Bar-B-Que Brisket or Ribs is perfectly Keto, and one of our very favorite weekend or holiday treats. The question becomes, how do you finish those beauties off? That wonderful tangy sauce out of a bottle is gone for more reasons than one, but the main problem is all those added sugars in the bottle. Oh, and don’t forget the hidden sugars.
I am putting it lightly when I say, my hubby is a sauce fanatic! He concocts all types of sauces, and combines things I would never think of placing in the same bowl. Some are good, and some not so much.
He left it to me to find a good recipe for a Bar-B-Que sauce though. The best one, meaning lowest in carbs, out of a bottle, we could find was Stubbs Original with 5 Carbs and 4 grams of sugar. The serving size is 2 Tbsp. Let’s be honest – who just eats 2 tablespoons of Bar-B Que sauce? Here are some of the ingredients:
Sugar, Molasses, Tapioca Dextrin, Brown Sugar, Corn Starch, and Corn Syrup! And this was the best we could find!!!! Let’s see…sugar, sugar, carb/sugar, sugar, carb/sugar, and oh, sugar!
There is a reason we always say to read labels, and we don’t just mean nutrition labels. You HAVE to read those ingredients too. It sends my blood sugar soaring just reading them!
So this is the REAL food ingredient list for my new Bar-B-Que sauce:
3/4 cup White Vinegar
2 Cans (30 oz) of Organic Tomato Sauce
5 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
1 Tbsp Tabasco or other hot sauce (I used 2 Tbsp and it was SPICY so do to taste)
Combine your tomato sauce and vinegar. Bring to a simmer.
Add your Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and Liquid Smoke. Combine. Add all remaining ingredients except the yellow mustard.
You need to temper your mustard like you would an egg. Place your mustard in a heat safe bowl. Add a few spoonfuls of your hot tomato mixture and stir well.
Once mixed, add back to your sauce.
Whisk until you have a smooth sauce. Use immediately or store in a mason jar. This will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
Bunless Hot Dogs or Sausage Links
“Potato” Salad”
Broccoli Slaw
Or, if you are a chocolate person, our chocolate pudding.
