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Miss Cereal? Try This…

Posted on September 3, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

The school year is off to a start, and Labor Day is here, which means the official end of summer. There are both cheers and boos, pros and cons.

One of the biggest cons is that, all to familiar, morning rush once again. The days of cereal boxes and skim milk are long gone for many of us. If you have heard us speak in a group, you are familiar with our “Trifecta of Sugar” lecture.

A typical morning breakfast cereal topped with fruit has the glucose from the cereal, lactose from the milk and fructose from your fruit. Bad, bad and more bad leading to a day of cravings and carb loading, no doubt. If you start your day with carbs and sugar, you will crave more carbs and sugar as you go through your day, leading to that downward spiral as the day moves on.

What else can you have for breakfast on those busy mornings when you don’t have time to scramble, fry or poach? Try faux “cereal”! We have tried it, the kids have tried it, and it is family approved. The best part – you can make it ahead and seal it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. It is ready to go for a breakfast in a hurry! Top with some heavy cream, and you are set for half the day if you eat it along side your bulletproof coffee to tea.

It is super simple to make, and you can really make it your own just by adding your favorite low-carb ingredients. Try a little, and let us know what you think!

Faux Cereal

Your ingredients and portions can vary. Mix it to your liking.

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut, toasted

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1/2 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup finely chopped almonds

2 Tbsp Kerrygold

1 Tbsp Swerve

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp Celtic salt

Directions:

Toast your coconut flakes, watching carefully so not to brown to deeply.

Chop all your nuts finely and lightly toast.

Melt the Kerrygold in a cast iron skillet.

Toss your nuts in the melted butter, and sauté until fragrant. Add your toasted coconut, Swerve and seasonings. Toss all your ingredients in the butter until everything is mixed and coated.

Allow it to cool and then store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

This can be served as a dessert over whipping cream or for a breakfast cereal with cream.

Enjoy!

Posted in articles, Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Health, Kids, recipe, Side Dish, Snacks, tips tagged with breakfast, brunch, Cereal, coconut, dessert, Faux Cereal, nuts, snack

A Dip to Rival Hidden Valley Ranch

Posted on August 20, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Well, by now, if you have been following us, you know how we feel about artificial sweeteners and those other sneaky names used so you won’t know that sugar is in the ingredient list.

Believe it or not, those sneaky names are in the fine print of many pantry items you never would have imagined. For instance, my family used to love it when I mixed in the little seasoning packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dip and Dressing mix with sour cream for a yummy dip to serve with vegetables. One of the main ingredients I discovered, as soon as I went Keto and started looking at the back of packages, is Maltodextrin.

A little about Maltodextrin: It is a food additive derived from corn, rice, potatoes, or wheat and therefore a carbohydrate. It ranks higher than table sugar on the glycemic index – 106 to 136 depending on the derived source and is in a TON of packaged foods! This means that it will spike your blood sugar levels so beware and read those labels.

It became a mission of mine and that of a few of our followers to find a better way to make ranch dressing and dip. One of the best parts of Keto is freeing yourself from all of those tasteless, chemical ridden low-fat salad dressings! You actually get to eat the real thing as long as it is real food. The Maltodextrin kind of ruined that for us though. Thanks to one of my friends and fellow ketoers, Kelley, we have found the solution! This may be even better than Hidden Valley Ranch, and it is a seasoning blend that can be used in other sauces or dressings as well. I did some minor tweaking, and we all think it is delicious. We hope you enjoy!

Ranch Dressing Seasoning

1 1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 TBSP Onion Powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 TBSP dried parsley

1/4 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp dried dill weed (with a little extra for garnish)

1/2 tsp dried mustard seed

To mix into a dressing or dip, the possibilities are endless.

For a dip, I use the traditional 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup sour cream.

If you want to make it into a dressing, you can put all of the above ingredients into a blender and add some half and half or cream to liquify it slightly.

Modifications you can make are to add some fresh parsley instead of the dry, add some cilantro to the dressing, or even spice it up with some jalapeños or your favorite peppers. This is super easy if you use the blender! The possibilities for making this your own are endless, nutritious, and beautifully Ketogenic! Have fun with it, and enjoy!

These are Cindy’s boys! This dip with mini peppers is one of their favorite after school snacks!

Posted in Appetizer, Dip, Holiday Dish, Kids, Lunch, recipe, Sauces and Dressing, Side Dish, Snacks, Uncategorized, Vegetable tagged with appetizer, Artificial, Dip, Dressing, Hidden Valley, kid friendly, kids, Maltodextrin, Ranch, snack, vegetables

A Tasty Snack for All Occasions

Posted on August 17, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Family gatherings are so fun, and a great way to pick up new recipes. At every family event over at Erin’s house her mother would bring these amazing olives. I finally asked for the recipe and have made them several times now. Her mom gave us permission to use this recipe in our catalog of many. They are a great Keto/Paleo appetizer or snack. Everyone is always looking for snack ideas, and this is a great one you can leave out on the counter after school if you have olive eaters in the house!

Marinated Olives

2 cans medium to large (not jumbo) black, green, or a mixture of olives (Drained)

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried

4 bay leaves

Directions:

Mix together your oil and vinegar.

Mince or chop your garlic and thyme. I really prefer the fresh thyme on these.

Add all your spices to your oil mixture and combine well.

Drain and add your cans of olives.

These are beautiful and yummy to serve. The garlic gives them a nice kick. Bring them to room temperature before serving. You can also invert the jar occasionally to let the spices cover all the olives.

We store these in a mason jar for a couple of weeks in the fridge if they last that long.

Posted in Appetizer, Holiday Dish, Kids, recipe, Side Dish, Snacks, Uncategorized tagged with appetizer, Entertaining, garlic, keto, kids, Marinated, Olives, paleo, Party Food, recipe, snack

When Life Tosses you Eggs….

Posted on July 2, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

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!!!

Posted in Appetizer, Brunch, Dinner, Holiday Dish, Kids, Lunch, recipe, Salad, Side Dish, tips, Uncategorized tagged with appetizer, brunch, Deviled Eggs, Egg Salad, eggs, Fourth of July, Holiday Dish, July Fourth, lunch, snack

Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo, Keto Chocolate Pudding!

Posted on June 24, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

That’s a mouthful! This may be the perfect Keto Chocolate pudding to put in your mouth though!

The kids always want some kind of treat, so I experimented with something different. I wanted to go chocolate based off of a treat the kids picked out at the grocery store on vacation a few weeks ago. I relax a little on the restrictions on vacation, and amazingly the treat they chose was not too far off. It was a store-bought Jello-brand chocolate mousse at the grocery store in Port Aransas, Texas. I expected it to be filled with artificial this and artificial that, but it actually had real cream in it! Surprising, right? It wasn’t perfect, but it did give me the idea of trying to create my own that was perfect! The only ingredient I am still waiting on is my new gelatin, but the Knox worked for today.

This is not really a mousse, but a pudding. With supervision, this is a great one to do with the kiddos this summer.

Start with your ingredients: (I also added vanilla and salt that are not pictured.)

1 can Coconut Cream (I used Trader Joe’s)

1 can Coconut Milk

You can see the difference in consistency between the two:

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup Swerve Confectioners

3 packets of Gelatin or 3 Tbsp of this one

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 tsp Celtic salt

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine your coconut cream, coconut milk, cocoa, Swerve, and salt.

Whisk over medium heat until warm.

In a small bowl, empty your gelatin packets and combine with your 1/2 cup of cold water. Stir until there are no clumps.

Whisk the gelatin mixture into your chocolate mixture, and stir until dissolved. Add your vanilla, and stir until well combined.

Spoon into 8 individual ramekins.

Cover each bowl with saran wrap and place in the fridge for about 2 hours to set.

We topped ours with homemade sugar-free dairy whipped cream, but if you are Paleo or dairy-free, you can whip up some coconut cream with some Swerve and vanilla and use that as well.

We all gobbled it right up. Enjoy!

Posted in Dessert, recipe, Snacks, Sugar Substitute, tips, Uncategorized tagged with chocolate, coconut cream, coconut milk, cream, dairy-free, Desset, easy, gelatin, jello, keto, kid friendly, paleo, pudding, snack, sugar-free

Refreshing Cukes!

Posted on June 23, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Last week, a friend of mine showed up at my door with a trash bag full of homegrown cucumbers. He had grown them at his office, and thought I could use them since he knows I like to cook. I had never seen so many cucumbers, and I honestly didn’t have a clue what to do with them. My husband LOVES cucumbers, so I knew I needed to find something quickly! I couldn’t let these go to waste! The search began…

Look at these things…I had never seen anything like them before! They were the largest Japanese Cucumbers I had ever seen!

As you can see, these are huge!

I searched around through cookbooks and on the web. I didn’t find anything that shouted out at me, but I combined a few recipes, changed out the sugar, and came up with a winner! They haven’t even finished marinating, and my son said, “These are amazing…Dad is going to love them…This is my new favorite snack.”

So those of you looking for snack ideas, I have a new one!

You will need:

5-6 Cucumbers (I used 4 of these huge ones, so thinking this is the equivalent)

2 1/2 cups White Vinegar

1 Red Onion

1 Cup Xylitol or Sugar Substitute of Choice (See note at bottom)

2 tsp Celtic Salt

1 tsp Celery Seed

1 tsp Dried Dill

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine your vinegar, salt, and sweetener. Over medium heat, (it’s gonna stink), heat your vinegar until your “sugar” and salt dissolves.

Remove from heat, and add your celery seed and dill weed. Allow to cool a little and place in the refrigerator to cool completely.

While your marinade is cooling, slice your cucumbers in a mandoline. I love my De Buyer! If you don’t have a mandoline, what are you waiting for? It makes life so much easier! I bought mine at Williams Sonoma, but you can get yours here too.

I did adjust my mandoline for thicker slices. I had it set from the zucchini last week, but these needed to be a bit thicker.

Also, slice your red onion into thin rings. Place your cucumbers and red onion slices in a bowl.

Once you have everything sliced and your marinade is cold, you can pour your marinade over your cucumber and onion.

Toss everything together until lightly coated. Cover with Saran and place in your refrigerator overnight. At this point you can’t even see the liquid, but just wait!

This is what it looks like in the morning:

Everything is soaking in the juices! Yum!

Let it sit and soak up the deliciousness for 24 to 48 hours! Enjoy as a snack, a salad, or a side dish! I am thinking ahead to the July 4th holiday!!!

A note on Xylitol: You don’t see us using this one very often. The reason I did on this dish was because it was a cold marinade that also had to be heated so I thought it would work best. There are many that love Xylitol, and there is nothing wrong with it from a Keto standpoint. I have two cautions on it though:

1. It is extremely toxic for dogs! Keep it away from animals.

2. It can cause stomach discomfort in a few.

For the quantity of liquid in these in relation to the amount of cucumbers, I did not think it would have much effect since we are not consuming the liquid on it’s own.

If you try different sweeteners or have a different variation on this recipe, we would love to hear about it in the comments section!

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Kids, Lunch, recipe, Side Dish, Snacks, Sugar Substitute, tips, Uncategorized, Vegetable tagged with appetizer, Cucumbers, Cukes, kid friendly, kids, lunch, Marinade, Red Onion, Salad, side dish, snack, Xylitol

A Snack to Crunch!

Posted on June 18, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

No, not that kind of crunch!

The type of crunch I am talking about is the loud tortilla chip kind of crunch! On Keto, I think it is safe to say, that one of the things we miss the most is that crunch of a chip or cracker. One of my summer-time favorites was corn chips and salsa. Needless to say, the corn is gone forever, but the salsa is here to stay. So what does one do for that crunch, scoop, or dip?

For a long time, I used a ton of celery, and still do for many things. It can scoop, it’s refreshing, full of fiber, and I can have it for all those wonderful Keto dips out there. It is not good for salsa though. Then I discovered the cheese crisps we posted a few weeks ago. Love those, especially for guacamole. The cheese is the perfect accompaniment with avocado.

But, what about the salsa? Well…zucchini was again on sale at Sprouts last week, so I bought a bunch to experiment. Over the weekend I tried three different recipes for zucchini crisps. I will share two of them with you, and you can choose which you prefer.

The first is a simple chip, and when I say simple, all you need is time and a few ingredients:

Crispy Chips

Ingredients:

2 Zucchini Squash

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil

Pink Himalayan Salt

Mandoline

Parchment Paper

Jelly Roll Pans

Directions:

Wash and dry your zucchini. When I say wash, I mean wash with soap and water!

I used a Mandoline to slice my zucchini very thin. This also makes it a fast process. You want them very thin. Mine were probably less than 1/8 inch thick.

Now, I will tell you what I did, and also how you can do it differently.

The first thing I would change is to either slice my zucchini on the diagonal or lengthwise. The reason being, they shrink tremendously when they dehydrate so if the purpose is for dipping, these left very little surface area to do such.

Line your jellyroll pan with parchment paper. I used a slip mat, and it was a huge chore to clean, so go with parchment on these. Just pretend this slip mat is parchment paper.

Pour your coconut oil into a small pyrex or similar bowl. Just something shallow will do.

Dip each “chip” into the oil and place on your parchment. They can be close together. Variation: You can lay all your zucchini out and then brush them with the oil. You just have to flip them half way through baking.

Once you have dipped or placed all your zucchini on your parchment, sprinkle a very scant amount of salt on top. This was a huge mistake of mine. I used a normal amount of salt, but they shrank so much, they were literally coated in salt. A little goes a long way on these!

Place in a 200 degree oven for 2 hours. Yes, two hours. This will dehydrate and crisp them. I flipped my cookie sheet around about half way through so they cook evenly.

This is how much they will shrink, and why I recommend slicing the opposite direction for dipping chips:

Place on a paper towel to absorb the remaining oil. Once dry, seal them in a ziplock bag or they will get soggy.

Method 2:

Cheesy Chips

These were described as tasting just like a “Cheez It”. In other words, a great snack for the kids looking for that healthy crunch without any grain!!!

These are similar to above, except for the cheese. Follow the same directions until you finish with your oil.

Ingredients:

2 Zucchini Squash

2 Cups Parmesan Cheese

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil

Mini-Cuisinart

Mandoline

Parchment Paper

Directions:

Slice your zucchini as described above using a Mandoline.

Place the Parchment paper on your jelly roll pan (make sure it has sides.)

Grind your parmesan cheese in your Mini-Prep Cuisinart (unless you have already dirtied your big one.) The parmesan adheres to the squash much easier when it is a bit finer, but still melts well, unlike the super fine ground you buy off the shelf.

Pour your finely grated cheese into a bowl.

Take your squash one by one and dip into the oil first, and then into the cheese. Place each on a lined cookie sheet.

These will not need salt because your cheese is already salty. You can add pepper if you like for taste. You can always add extra cheese to the top if you have extra left over.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. They should be a little darker than golden brown to ensure they are crisp. Serve immediately with your favorite dip or eat just as they are.

Store in a sealed container or Ziplock in the refrigerator.

Posted in Appetizer, Kids, recipe, Side Dish, Snacks, tips, Uncategorized, Vegetable tagged with appetizer, cheese, chips, Crackers, dips, kid friendly, parmesan, salsa, snack, vegetable, zucchini

Holy Guacamole!

Posted on May 21, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

Okay, so guacamole may not be holy, but it’s pretty close in my house. Avocados are almost the perfect Keto food, and they are loaded with potassium, folate, and vitamin K!

Avocados are ALWAYS in our kitchen! We eat them on our green salads, and they are excellent in a tomato and mozzarella salad as well. Our favorite way to eat avocados though, is guacamole!

We eat guacamole on almost anything. We use is on our eggs in the morning (any kind), salads at lunch, and burgers and fajitas for dinner. We can’t get enough!

If you missed the post the other day on the cheese crackers, now is the time to scroll down. This is one of my favorite tricks! We love the cheese crackers to dip in the guacamole!

It is a super easy recipe to make too!

Guacomole

3-4 large avocados

1/2 bunch cilantro

1/4 red onion

juice of 1 lemon

garlic salt to taste

It took me many years to discover the best way to scoop an avocado. Now that we eat them daily, I have the perfect tip for you.

Slice the avocado lengthwise.

Once open, chop down on the seed, twist and remove.

Using a serving spoon, scoop the meat out of the skin.

Now you ready to get your ingredients together!

Chop your onion and cilantro finely.

Using a lemon/lime juicer, squeeze all the juice out of your lime.

Mix everything together and sprinkle with garlic salt. Taste, and add more if needed.

YUM!!!!

Posted in Dinner, recipe, Side Dish, Snacks, tips, Uncategorized tagged with avocado, cilantro, guacamole, healthy fats, kids, snack

I Want Crackers!

Posted on May 19, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

That’s what I heard on Friday! My kids wanted crackers, and honestly it sounded pretty good to me too. What to do when you want a high-carb snack on a low-carb diet? Get creative!

We were already planning on having fajitas, minus the tortilla, for dinner which meant guacamole was on the menu. What is better than plain old guacamole? Guacamole with cheese! What a way to Keto up guacamole – cheese, cheese, and more cheese! And, maybe some jalapenos!

This time of year, with the end of school, planning summer vacations, packing for camps, attending recitals, baseball games, graduations, ceremonies, parties, and planning fundraisers, (Whew – makes me tired just typing about it!) we are all exhausted and out of time! I promise this is easy, and look how delicious!!!!

Cheese Crackers

First line a cookie sheet with Parchment Paper – Very Important!

Start with shredded cheese. Any kind will work – whether you buy it shredded or shred it finely yourself. I used a Cheddar and Monterey Jack blend. Use your favorite!

Make little circles of cheese and press down so it forms a “cheese pancake”. Don’t make them too thick or they will not crisp.

If you want a little spice, add a sliced jalapeño to the middle, and press into the cheese.

That’s it! Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Allow the “crackers” to cool so they crisp nicely. Then, enjoy your carb-free snack with your favorite dip or eat them plain! I made two cookie sheets, and they were devoured before dinner!

Posted in Dinner, Kids, recipe, Snacks, tips, Uncategorized tagged with cheese, Crackers, Jalapeno, kid friendly, Low-Carb, snack

An “Almond Joy” Kind of Day

Posted on May 6, 2015 by thesweetlifesugarfree

My most requested recipe at your fingertips!

Just because you go low-carb doesn’t mean you can’t ever have sweets again! You just have to think differently!

These “Fat Bombs” are the bomb! They are so easy to make, you get your intake of healthy fats, and take care of that little need for a sweet treat every once in a while.

You can keep them in the fridge, and pop them as you need them.

Fat Bombs

4 oz 100% Cacao

8 Tbsp Grass-Fed Butter (Kerrygold)

3 TBSP Coconut Oil

1 tsp Vanilla

1/3 cup Swerve Confectioners

2 Tbsp Cream

Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

Almonds, Pistachios, Macadamia Nuts

Gather all of your ingredients along with a double boiler, a whisk, and either mini-muffin pans or candy molds.

Directions:

Melt your chocolate, butter, and coconut oil in a double boiler over simmering water, stirring often so it does not burn. (This is a double batch.)

Add the Swerve and whisk together until well combined.

After it is completely melted and smooth, remove from heat and add vanilla and cream.

Whisk until it looks like you have smooth chocolate sauce.

Set aside.

You can either use a mini-muffin pan with paper cups or a silicon candy mold. I use both. If you want a variety of candies, you can tell them apart by using different colored paper cups. For instance, my husband doesn’t like the texture of coconut in his desserts so I always do his candy without coconut in green paper cups because that is his favorite color, and he knows which ones are his. In short, you can color code your candy!

I love the smooth texture of the candy molds though, so of course, I use those for mine!

Be creative! I love mine with coconut and almonds! Can you say, “Almond Joy!?!”

The kids like theirs with either macadamia nuts and coconut or plain coconut, and my husband loves his with pistachios. Just have fun with your add-ins!

This is what it looks like when you add your fillings:

On the purple molds, I placed a dab of chocolate right in the center bottom of the circle so it would have a smooth chocolate finish when I popped them out. Then, put the coconut and almonds on top.

Next, add your chocolate by the spoonful:

After your molds are full, place them in the refrigerator to set. This does not take long. Give them about 45 minutes to an hour to set before you try to remove them.

Once they are hard to the touch, you can invert the molds to pop out your candies and remove the paper cups from your muffin pans. I throw them in a ziplock bag, and they are ready to grab when you need a bite!

Enjoy!!!

Posted in Dessert, Kids, recipe, Snacks, Uncategorized tagged with almond joy, chocolate, coconut, dessert, fat bomb, nuts, snack, sweet, treat

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