That’s right! I said Ice Cream! Chocolate Ice Cream!
I’ve been experimenting all summer, and not only do I have a great recipe for you, but it is an excellent activity to keep the kiddos entertained at the same time (if you choose to do this method.)
The best part, other than the amazing taste, is the simplicity! Just a few simple, pure, ingredients that you probably have on hand, a little waiting time, and dessert is prepared! A creamy, delicious dessert that no one would ever guess is SUGAR FREE!
Whisk together cream, sweetener, and cocoa in a saucepan until it barely starts to simmer. Add vanilla and remove from heat.
Let it cool on the stovetop until the pan is not scalding. Place in the refrigerator to bring down to at least room temperature. (You don’t want to add the mixture to the ice cream maker or plastic bags at a high heat.)
Here are your options:
Kids version:
Pour 1/2 cup of mixture in a quart size Ziplock bag. Seal well! Place that bag in a gallon size ziplock filled with several cups of ice and 1/4 cup ice cream salt. Seal the gallon size bag. Hand it to your child with a dish towel and have them shake it until exhaustion or until the ice cream is the consistency of soft serve. Enjoy!
No mess version:
Pour your saucepan of cream mixture into an ice cream maker, turn on, and walk away. It should be nice and creamy in about 30 to 45 minutes! Enjoy.
I hope your family enjoys this as much as ours! Happy summer!!!
It is hard to believe that Christmas is only a week away. We are all busy preparing for the day, and I have had questions about what to serve for Christmas morning breakfast. Growing up, we always had the same thing. We started with grapefruit that my grandfather bought at the produce market. Then, we moved on to breakfast casserole and either coffee cake or cinnamon roles. I carried on this tradition with my own family, but need to revamp the pastry portion.
You can always make the breakfast casserole which is a favorite around here! Check out that recipe here. You can use any meat…bacon, chorizo, crumbled browned breakfast sausage or grilled links. They are all delicious. You can use many breakfast casserole recipes. Just swap out the milk for cream and do not add any bread. I promise it will cook just as well.
Now for the pastry! I have dabbled around with a few recipes, and we have found a winner for a special occasion. It takes a little time, and is a little different, but it turned out “amazing”, and that quote is coming from the kiddos! I hope you enjoy it!
Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Crust:
2 cups almond flour
2 T coconut flour
3 T Swerve granular
6 T butter softened
6 egg white whipped very stiff (you want those mountain tops)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
Filling:
12 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup Swerve confectioners
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup Swerve granular
2-3 T melted butter
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all your dry crust ingredients:
Cut in your butter:
Meanwhile, beat your egg whites:
They should be very stiff!
Once beaten, fold in your eggs whites. Losing the volume is normal as you fold, but be gentle. You want it even and fluffy.
Place half of your “dough” in a parchment lined 8×8 pyrex or other baking dish.
Bake for 10 minutes, just until it is slightly firm.
To prepare your filling:
Combine your softened cream cheese, vanilla and Swerve. Beat until it is smooth and creamy.
After your crust has baked 10 minutes, remove and let cool for 5 minutes.
Spread your cream cheese filling on top of your crust.
Then add the rest of your “dough” and smooth over the top.
Finally, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar topping over the dough, and drizzle the butter over the top.
Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes until you have a deep golden brown crust. It should get dark and crispy. The “sugar” will caramelize! YUM!!!!
Let cool for 30 minutes before serving or it can sit overnight at room temperature.
Slice and serve!
Just as a note, we will be taking the next two weeks off to spend time with our families. We wish you each a safe, joyous, and blessed Christmas filled with lasting memories, new family traditions, and most of all, love! God bless, and Merry Christmas!
Wow! I don’t know about you, but it really snuck up on me this year.
The Thanksgiving menu is not too tough on Ketoers for the most part. We can have turkey, brussel sprouts, swap the potatoes for cauliflower mashed potatoes, and the list goes on. What to do about dessert though?
I have great news! I have perfected the Keto Pumpkin Pie! It is as simple as following the Libby’s recipe on the back of the pumpkin can. My grandmother (who was a wonderful cook) always said to go with the recipe on the back of the can. Why mess with a good thing that professionals have spent endless hours perfecting?
I stick with my basic almond flour and butter crust, and it is Keto perfection for a Thanksgiving treat! Make it even better with Keto whipped cream! Yum!!!!
Keto Pumpkin Pie
Crust:
1 1/2 cups almond flour
3 TBSP melted butter
3 TBSP Swerve Granular
1/4 tsp salt
Melt the butter in a glass pie pan in the microwave.
Combine all your dry ingredients in a bowl and then add to the butter.
Mix with your hands directly in the pie dish forming a crust up the sides.
Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Now for a Modified Libby’s Pie Filling:
1 Cup Swerve granular
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz) Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl oz) Carnation Evaporated Milk
Mix your Swerve and spices in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat your eggs. Then add your pumpkin and mix well.
Finally add your dry ingredients while whisking and then add your evaporated milk.
Once all your ingredients are combined well, add to your pie shell.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 40 to 50 minutes.
Let cool for a few hours before serving or chilling.
Top with whipped cream, and serve warm or cold.
She gobbled this huge piece down in no time! It was delicious!
The reason we started consulting with individuals, families, and groups is because we absolutely love the positive changes we have been able to make in our lives and those around us. Really, we just had to share.
One of the most common questions we get is, “What is the difference between this (Keto) and Atkins?
Many aspects are similar between Keto and the Phase 1 and 2 of Atkins.
I actually really like the book, The New Atkins for a New You, by Colette Heimowitz. This book was my reference for this post.
Dr. Robert Atkins gained a significant amount of weight after starting his medical practice, and through research, created a diet that was based on the removal of sugar and starch from meals. Atkins believed that starchy carbohydrates were the main culprit of weight gain.
Dr Atkins
Atkins has four phases:
Phase 1 Induction: Dropping the carbs, increasing the healthy fats, and watching the calendar. Keep carb count between 18 and 22–Basically totally Keto!
Phase 2 Balancing: Add carbs back into your diet in 5 gram increments until weight loss levels slow. For some people, this can mean as high as 70 to 80 grams of carbs per day. (Kinda Keto depending on where you fall)
Phase 3 Pre-Maintenance: Add more carbs back into the diet in 5 to 10 gram increments until you are in your weight happy place.
Phase 4 Life time Maintenance: Transition to a way of eating that you can do forever. Adjust carbs as needed, hormonal changes, age, etc.
Dr. Atkins, in my humble opinion, was brilliant and way ahead of his time. He also did not die of a heart attack or stroke, he died from a Traumatic Brain Injury. He died after slipping on ice at the age of 72.
I also believe he is likely doing summersaults in his grave with all these Atkins boxes, bars, and packaged meals (oh my!) These were not his intention at all! Let’s stay away from pre-packaged please!
The Ketogenic Diet, on the other hand, came to be much earlier, around the 1920’s and was established more for therapeutic reasons, initially for Pediatric Epilepsy. The Ketogenic diet being prescribed to seizure prone children has since declined with the rise of anti-convulsion drugs that have been developed.
The Ketogenic Diet is wonderfully effective for weight loss, but has so many more benefits.
I personally started this diet once I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cindy started after struggling with PCOS and being diagnosed as pre-diabetic. The therapeutic benefits of the Ketogenic Diet can help most people, if they chose to do it for a short amount of time or even decide to become “lifers” like we have.
On Keto, you limit your sugar and carb intake to roughly 20 grams or try to keep it at 5% of your food. 70% of what you eat should be fat, and the remaining 25% protein.
The way I have approached Keto was to consume fat and above the ground veggies. I do not worry too much about the actual macro nutrient counts (grams.)
Keto and the beginning phases of Atkins have the same theme. However, Adkins on face value, does not stress the importance of adding high quality fat and keeping people feeling satisfied.
Cindy and I both also feel very strongly about the quality of our food. While neither of us are perfect, we try to consume and serve our families as little processed food as possible.
The benefits of our new way of life have truly been astounding. I believe we have added years to our lives, become so much more efficient, and all around feel a ton better. Having clearer skin and weight loss were just an amazing bonus.
If you would like to learn more about our way of living, the therapeutic benefits of Ketosis, or just how to quit the sugar addiction please contact us.
I have started hearing some sounds of fall, football, leaves crunching,squirrels scurrying all across my roof, way too early Christmas commercials, and those raspy sniffly coworkers.
That’s right.
It’s that time of year!
Dealing with those under-the-weather-friends is similar to most everything else; meaning that the best offense, is a great defense.
Sorry, I had to throw in some football.
One of the absolute best ways to take care of yourself this time of year is to regularly drink grass-fed bone broth. The vitamins, minerals, and overall good health feeling of this wonder drink can really make a difference in your immune system function.
I usually have a solid stock pile of my broth as well bones in my freezer. I have purchased ‘just’ bones before from a grass-fed farmer as well as buffalo bones from Whole Foods. Yes I am that serious about my broth. But more recently, when Cindy and I had our cow butchered, we had them box the bones for us as well. These bones are AMAZING!
Right now, we have enough bones to last us a very long time. Annnddd provide us with ample to share with friends and family that might need help getting over one thing or another. I love sharing this stuff. Plus, here in south Texas, we are predicted to have a nice wet fall this year, so really you can’t have too much in your keeping healthy arsenal!
Making broth/stock is SUPER simple, and not at all, labor intensive. The hardest part is finding storage space once you realize how great this stuff makes you feel.
Sachet of herbs (parsley, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, Bay leaf, etc)-you can also omit here and just add to your mug when you drink.
Method:
Roast Bones at 400 for 30 minutes to 1 hour until fragrant
In a large stock or crock pot, place roasted bones, and pour in cool filtered water to cover. Add your apple cider vinegar. Do not heat yet.
Allow mixture to rest for 30 minutes to an hour. This will allow the vinegar to pull the nutrients from bones.
Bring the pot to a boil, and add more water if needed
Reduce to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 24-72 hours – just leave it going!
With about four hours remaining, add the vegetables
During the last 30 minutes of cooking, toss in the herb sachet-or omit and add as you drink.
Remove bones, veggie, and herb sachet (knock out any remaining marrow back into broth)
Pour broth through a strainer or cheese cloth into a glass container
Drink with generous amounts of quality Himalayan or Celtic salt, or use in any recipe calling for broth, stock, or added water.
The broth can be consumed immediately and stored in the fridge up to 5 to 7 days. You can also store in the freezer up to 6 months. We like to freeze into ice cubes so we can pop them in a mug to reheat when needed.
When reheating, bring broth back up to boiling for one minute.
Happy almost Halloween! I have to admit, this is not my favorite occasion. For obvious reasons, the sugar aspect causes issues in our family, but the doorbell that makes the dog go crazy, kids out in the dark, and then the after effect for the next two days isn’t so much fun either. I LOVE fall, but I am always happy when the 31st of October has come and gone, and there is an official start to the holiday season that awaits around the corner.
The holidays are a whole other ball game, but let’s get through Halloween first. Erin posted earlier in the week about how she handles Halloween for her daughter. We do things slightly differently, mainly because we have older children. The age/s of the child/ren in your household can make a big difference. My children are 10, 8 and 5 if that helps at all. They range from being all about Halloween and the candy, to really just wanting to be with their friends.
We are extremely fortunate to be invited to the same party with the same people every year. This helps me because I don’t have to have my internal struggle about handing out candy at my house. I have a voice in me that screams, “How can you hand out candy when you preach about sugar?” Luckily, I get to turn that recording OFF! The kids (and adults) are fortunate because we are all with friends and the focus turns to playing and visiting instead of tracking down the best candy in the neighborhood. Don’t get me wrong, I let the kids trick-or-treat, but that is not our sole focus of the evening. This helps a TON!
I do have a few ideas for your weekend:
Watch the forbidden food syndrome. Unless sugar is going to have severe health consequences on your child (sort term), let them partake in trick-or-treating. These years fly by, and if they enjoy it, it is one night out of 365.
Give them a time period that candy will be allowed in the house. I tell my kids (you are not going to believe this one), “Eat what you want on Halloween, pick out a few for tomorrow, and on the third day it will magically disappear.”
Find a place to donate the candy. Yes, I know it is bad for everyone, but there ARE people that deserve a treat every once in while like our troops overseas. There are places around that will take donations (Schools, banks, etc.). They collect unwanted Halloween candy and ship it to the troops.
My friend, Mona, recently told me about the Switch Witch. You can give your kids a choice (or not) to leave their pumpkin full of candy on the front porch on Halloween night, and the Switch Witch will take the candy and exchange it for (you fill in the blank – some toy they want, baseball or football cards, dark chocolate, an iTunes gift card just to give examples). Start planning now if you want to use this idea.
Divy out a certain number of pieces for each day – and specify the number of days. Then stick to it!
Use the candy for teaching any number of things. For younger children, it is great for sorting, patterns, and counting. It is always fascinating to people how much sugar is in those little pieces of candy. This is a great time for the older children to understand conversions. Read the labels. Remember, for every 4 grams of sugar or carbs, that equals 1 teaspoon of sugar. This is a great multiplication and division activity for the older ones. You can even make up word problems about the candy. Tina, that one was for you!
No matter what you decide to do with your candy, you, just like I, will get through this day. It is one of my most dreaded, but we always power through. Your kids will be on a sugar high, but then we will be there to catch them on the way down to lift them back up with healthy foods. The best thing you can do is to have a plan in place. Figure out how and when you are going to dispose of that white powdery substance disguised as candy and follow through. Then life returns to normal.
