Muffin In A Minute

Muffin In A Minute

Pretty much every Low-Carber has heard of the "Muffin in a Minute" or "MIM" on low-carb internet forum speak...

For those of you who have never heard, basically it is a single serving flaxseed muffin. Mix one up and pop it in the mircowave and you have a great quick breakfast or snack. I have used this recipe to make the "bread" of a breakfast sandwich, and have also made an open faced "french toast" sandwich with them too. Mmm... quite delish! Plus, the fiber in the flax seed keep you quite...ahem...regular.... which is always a plus on a diet like Atkins.

I prefer to use the Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal. It comes in four varieties: regular Flaxseed Meal, both organic and not, and Golden Flaxseed Meal, also organic or notl. I use the regular Organic Flaxseed Meal. The Golden Flaxseed has a milder "grainy" flavor to it and some people prefer to use that instead.

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Muffin in A Minute

Makes 1 muffin

2 Net carb

1/4 cup flaxseed meal

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon xyletol

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 large egg

1 teaspoon sugar free vanilla syrup

1 tablespoon butter (plus more for buttering if wanted)

Mix the dry ingredients in a mug. Add the egg and the vanilla, mix well. Top with butter and microwave for 1 minute. Enjoy!

If you are making multiple muffins, microwave for an additional minute. So, if you are making 2 muffins, microwave 2 minutes, 3 muffins, 3 minutes, etc.

Low-Carb Hawaiian Haystacks

Low-Carb Hawaiian Haystacks

Now, I know that some of you who are reading this are scratching your head and thinking,

"What the heck is a Hawaiian Haystack?"

while the other half is thinking,

"I've had those before!"

While pretty much nobody can find the origination of the "Hawaiian Haystack", we can pretty much assume that it didn't come from Hawaii. It must be the pineapple and coconut on top that makes us housewives all it "Hawaiian".

I have desperately missed the wonderful combination of flavors while on this low-carb adventure of mine, and thought of a way to make it work for my new lifestyle. A "normal" hawaiian recipe a bowl of a hodge podge of ingredients that really shouldn't go together but magically do. Usually a towering bowl of rice, chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce, cheese, veggies and fruit and topped with slivered almonds, it is not- low carb friendly. Well, here is my low-carb version my friends...

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Hawaiian Haystacks

7 Net carbs per serving (if you include all the toppings)

3 from veggies

Serves 6

Base:

4 chicken breasts sliced in bite-size pieces

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup onion

2 garlic cloves

1 package (about 3 cups) mushrooms

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

3 packages shirataki noodles

toppings:

2 celery stalks, sliced.

cheddar cheese

1/2 unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup FRESH pineapple

1 1/2 cups cut green beans (warmed thorough)

1/2 cup slivered, blanched almonds

Tamari soy sauce if wanted

1. Cook chicken in a large nonstick skillet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray until browned and cooked through. Set aside.

2. In the same pan over high heat, add butter and let melt until no longer bubbling. Add onion and garlic cloves and cook until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds-1 minute. Add in 1/2 cup chicken broth and let simmer until reduced by about half (about 8 minutes). Reduce heat to medium and while continuously stirring, add in the 1 cup of cream. Keep stirring until thickened, about 5 minutes, set aside.

3. Drain and heat your shirataki noodles according to package directions. Divide into six bowls.

4. Add a scoop of the chicken and mushroom mixture to each bowl and top with cheese, green beans, celery, coconut, pineapple and almonds. Add Tamari to taste.

Enjoy!

Upside-Down Turkey Shepard's Pie

Upside-Down Turkey Shepard's Pie

I live in Casserole County. I swear it.

Whenever there is a get together there are five different varieties of casseroles, all containing Cream of _____ Soup. Now, I'm not against casseroles, they are great when you are in a pinch and having a busy day. Easy to throw together and bake. Plus, Voilà dinner's done, scoop and serve. mmmm.... This recipe is one of those easy casseroles. Feel free to add or omit veggies as you like if you have the carb allowances for that day. It would be great with some celery or some zucchini cut up into it. Serve with a salad and you have quite the well balanced, carb-friendly meal.

This recipe calls for one of my favorite seasoning blends. The Louisiana Wildly Wicked Wing Seasoning. It is AMAZING and is delicious on anything from baked into casseroles or meatloafs to topping on eggs. It has a 0 carb count on the label, but I always count it as .5.

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Upside-Down Turkey Shepard's Pie

Serves 6

3.8 Net carbs per serving, 2.7 from veg

2 lbs ground turkey

1-2 tablespoons Louisiana Wildly Wicked Wing Seasoning

1 bag frozen cauliflower

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil (or other cooking oil)

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup water

1/4-1/2 cup sour cream

5 strips of cooked, crunchy bacon (click here for a refresher on how to cook perfect bacon)

1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1. In a skillet, add the turkey and sprinkle with the spice seasoning. Mix well and brown the turkey until cooked through over medium-high heat, remove from pan and set aside. In the drippings, add oil and turn up the heat to high. Cook Pepper and Onion until browned. (I like to leave them sitting so they burn just a smidge.)

2. While browning, microwave your frozen cauliflower and 1/2 cup water in a microwave safe bowl for about 6-8 minutes. Use your stick blender (that again!) mix and mash your "faux-tatoes". In a large casserole dish (I like using a round 2-qt casserole dish, but you could easily make this in a 9" x 13" rectangle one, just reduce the cooking time by about 5-10 minutes as it will be thinner.) add the mashed cauliflower and top with 1/2 cup cheese.

3. Add your mushrooms to your onion/pepper mixture and let cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the paprika and mix well. Return the browned ground turkey back to the pan and mix well.

4. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out 1/2 cup water. Add sour cream to the water until the water level rises to 1 full cup. Whisk well and add to your pan mixture of meat and veggies.

5. Add this meat mixture on top of the faux-tatoes and top with crumbled bacon and remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted.

Fast Fixin: Beef Strogonoff Bowls

Fast Fixin: Beef Strogonoff Bowls

Tonight I didn't want to cook dinner. I'll completely admit it. I love cooking, but some days, I just DON'T want to. Sigh. Well, this is a really easy dinner and it's done in less than half an hour. Mega plus, it's comfort food. I remember my mum making Beef Strogonoff over egg noodles when I was younger ("This is a recipe I learned when I was a little girl in Girl Scouts" She'd say every time we ate it. Aaaah memories. I love you mummy!) and the memories always flood back to me with every bite. It's so delicious with the creamy sauce and the Worcestershire Sauce truly makes the dish. Yum.

Note: I don't normally LOVE to use frozen cauliflower for faux-tatoes. It tastes more... well, "cauliflower-y" than fresh cauliflower does. However, in this recipe, it's quite nice. It thickens up the sauce a bit and it's really delicious! I usually make this recipe into three portions: One toddler size and then the rest split between my husband and I. You could add more meat and a side salald and it will feed four nicely. Just remember to adjust the carb count for however many you are feeding. This carb count is for serving two.

Beef Strogonoff Bowls
7 Net Carbs 3 from Veggies

Serves 2

1- 1 1/2 lbs steak (choose a good cut so it's not too chewy. I usually use a sirloin.) cut in bite size pieces about 1" square

aalt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 white onion, 1/2 sliced thinly and the other half diced

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup hot water

1 teaspoon beef bullion

1/4 cup sour cream

1 bag of frozen cauliflower

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons cream

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup of Italian blend cheese

1. Season the steak with salt and pepper and brown in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until translucent and lightly browned. Add Mushrooms. Sauté until soft. Add Paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Add water and bullion and let simmer for another minute or two. Stir in sour cream and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the sauce slightly thickens.

3. While sauce is cooking, put the cauliflower and water in a microwave safe bowl. Put in the microwave for 8 minutes. Once cooked, drain the water from the cauliflower throughly. Using your stick blender (Yep, that again! I hope you went and bought one!) blend your cauliflower together with the cream and the butter. Mix in the cheese.

4. Once your faux-tatoes are finished, add a serving into a bowl. Top with Strogonoff. Be sure to add extra Strogonoff sauce to your bowl-- the cauliflower really thickens it up and is DE-LISH mixed together. Yummy!

Red White and Blue Dessert

Red White and Blue Dessert

In honor of Independence day, I made a Red, White and Blue dessert. It was quite delicious and easy to make assuming you have time for it to chill in the fridge! I know it's a little late (with it being July 5th and all...) but it's still a great dessert!

It is NOT induction friendly. Make sure that you are already eating berries before making this. However, if you omit the blueberries, it IS induction friendly, but only eat a small slice. You will be using up all three of your sweetener allowances in one slice.

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Red White and Blue Dessert

7 Net carbs with blueberries

2.9 Net carbs without blueberries

Serves 6

1 package unflavored gelatin

1 cup water

16 oz full fat cream cheese

3 teaspoons of liquid sucralose (depending on sweetness. I prefer it to be a little less sweet, but you can add an extra 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon if you want it sweeter)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 box Sugar-Free strawberry Jello (or whatever flavor you prefer, if you want it red or whatever color/flavor you would like)

4 cups water (as per flavored Jello instructions: 2 hot and 2 cold)

1/2 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar free vanilla syrup (Such as Torino or DaVinci)

3/4 cup blueberries (a little less than a pint)

1. In a small bowl, pour the unflavored gelatin packet over 1 cup of water, let sit for a few minutes, then warm in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir until dissolved. Meanwhile, in an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add liquid sweetener to taste and vanilla extract. Slowly pour the dissolved gelatin/water mixture into your mixer. Mix well, try to get all the lumpies out. Pour into a spring form pan (I used a 6" in the picture, but you could use a larger one and yield a thinner dessert). Refrigerate until set, about 3-4 hours.

2. Make Jello via package directions using the water and Sugar Free Jello. Pour over the cream cheese mixture and let sit in the refrigerate for another 3-4 hours. (Put this on a plate just in case the spring form pan leaks at this point.)

3. Prepare whipped cream using 1/2 cup whipping cream mixed with a few tablespoons of Sugar-Free Vanilla syrup to taste (i like to use 1-2 tablespoons) in your electric mixture using the whisk attachment.

4. While the cream is whipping in your electric mixture, un-mold your layered dessert by dipping it in a bowl of hot water for a few seconds) Make sure to only go up the sides as far as the layers go. Don't get the hot water in your Jello! Put it on your serving plate

5. Top your Jello with the whipped cream. Top with blueberries and enjoy! Yum!