Tag Archives: keto

Zoodles

September 27, 2016Main Dishes, Pasta, Side Dishes, Tasty Tuesdaygluten-free, ketoLife of Joy

Julienned strips of small zucchini, sautéed in oil or butter.

Today’s recipe is so simple that it isn’t really a recipe.

This is made from zucchini but I think you could use yellow squash too.

I wish I had one of those spiral veggie slicers because it seems like it would be a bit easier than the julienne peeler I have.

Basically, all you need to do is wash the zucchini and then slice.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the next steps. You could steam it or boil it, which I have tried and did not like. What we have found we do like though is to season it with salt and cook it in a skillet with butter or coconut oil, until it is done to your liking.

See? It’s that simple. Serve with your choice of sauce. We’ve had this with Meatballs Parmesan, Pesto Meatballs, and pictured here with Spaghetti sauce.

We have found that we prefer to use the smaller, thinner zucchini rather than the larger, fatter ones. Michael had liked these every time I made them except this last time when I used the larger zucchini; he said it had a stronger taste that he did not like. So be forewarned.

Zoodles

Ingredients

zucchini
tablespoon of oil or butter
salt

Instructions

Julienne the zucchini.
Heat a drizzle of oil into a skillet.
Add zucchini
Salt, as desired, (this helps it cook quicker)
Serve in place of spaghetti.

https://lifeofjoy.me/zoodles/

Enjoy!

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Snickerdoodle Cookies-Keto version

September 20, 2016Desserts, Tasty TuesdayketoLife of Joy

Nice soft, sweet snickerdoodle cookie! Gluten-free and sugar free too!

So on the Ketogenics diet you have very low carbs, high protein, and high fat. This means no sugar. Well, that doesn’t go over very well for this family, so we searched out some sweets. I already shared the avocado pudding/mousse. It is good but I wanted something with a little toothiness to it.

Because these are made with almond flour and no wheat, they are gluten free. Don’t be confused though, they are not low calorie.

Preheat the oven to 350º. Combine the almond flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine coconut oil, sugar free maple syrup, vanilla, and liquid stevia.

Combine the two until a dough is formed.

Combine the erythritol and cinnamon in another small bowl.

Roll the dough into balls and then into the cinnamon “sugar” mixture. Then put them on a silpat.

Spray the bottom of a glass or measuring cup with cooking spray.

Squash the dough balls a bit.

Tiffany said she squished them just a tiny bit too much this time, so squash them a bit less than pictured here. They still turned out really good.

Bake for 9-10 minutes, remove and let cool. Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Cookies-Keto version

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
7 drops liquid stevia
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons erythritol

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350º
Combine almond flour, baking soda, and salt in medium size bowl
Combine coconut oil, sugar free maple syrup, vanilla, and liquid stevia in another bowl.
Mix the two together until a dough is formed
Combine cinnamon and erithitol in another bowl
Roll dough into balls and then into the cinnamon "sugar" mixture and place them on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat
Spray the bottom of a glass or measuring cup with oil and squash the ball a bit.
Bake for 9-10 minutes, remove, cool, and eat!

https://lifeofjoy.me/snickerdoodle-cookies-keto-version/

We got this recipe from ruled.me, which is a wonderful resource for keto (and gluten free) recipes. He has a recipe for the sugar free maple syrup over there too, if you don’t have any store-bought available to you or just want to make it yourself.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Breakfast/Brunch Pizza

September 13, 2016Tasty Tuesdaycheese, gluten-free, keto, pizza, tomto sauceLife of Joy

If I eat this whole pizza, I’m full for several hours. Breakfast sausage is great on it, as is bacon.

This is a good, filling breakfast or lunch; well actually, it could be eaten for any meal of the day. The toppings are completely up to you. On this one, I put pepperoni on all of it and canned mushrooms on half of it. It is a very simple recipe. I recommend that you get your toppings ready before you start to cook the “crust” so that you don’t overcook it.

Let’s get started.

Beat two eggs until frothy. I like to use my immersion blender and it is done extremely quickly.

Add 1 tablespoon almond flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste).

And one tablespoon nutritional yeast or grated Parmesan cheese. I used the nutritional yeast. We cannot tell it is even in there. Supposedly, it adds a cheesy flavor but is very good for you.

And blend away.

Heat a medium size skillet, one that can go under the broiler. I use my cast iron skillet. I actually used my fajita pan today. Heat with your choice of oil, butter, or spray oil (like Pam).

Add egg mixture. Cook until nearly dry on top and flip.

At this point, I turn off the heat and add the toppings. Today I just used a plain canned tomato sauce.

Add about 1/3 cup of shredded cheese of your choosing. I used mild cheddar.

I shredded it very fine, so there seems to be a bit more than 1/3 cup.

I add the toppings on top of the cheese so that they get heated under the broiler before the cheese gets too done. Today I used pepperoni and some canned mushrooms. Use whatever you like. You could use sausage and bacon or ham. Really, use whatever you like. Although if you are considering veggies, I recommend sauteing them first, unless you want them nearly raw.

Put it under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

If you eat the whole thing, it will keep you full for hours. If you share it with someone, you’ll be ready when lunch time rolls around.

Breakfast/Brunch Pizza

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 tablespoon almond flour
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, or grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
spray oil, butter, or other oil of your choosing
2-4 Tablespoons tomato sauce, green taco sauce, pesto, garlic sauce, or alfredo
1/3 cup shredded cheese
toppings (I used pepperoni and canned mushroom)

Instructions

Beat eggs until frothy.
Add almond flour and nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese and salt.
Blend again
Add oil to oven safe skillet over medium high heat.
Pour in egg mixture.
When the top is nearly dry, flip and turn off heat.
Add sauce, cheese, and toppings.
Place under broiler until cheese is melted and toppings are heated through.
Cut and eat. 🙂

https://lifeofjoy.me/breakfastbrunch-pizza/

Oh, I almost forgot! I give credit where credit is due. I got this from GinnysLowCarbKitchen.blogspot.com and adapted it to suit our tastes.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Keto Chocolate Mousse

September 6, 2016Desserts, Tasty Tuesdayavocado, gluten-free, ketoLife of Joy

Avocado, yes avocado, makes this mouse really good for you and you cannot tell it is there.

My family craves sweets. I haven’t for quite some time now; I think it must be the chelated magnesium I have been taking for the last four or five years. I really don’t crave anything but that does not mean that I done desire to have certain foods at times . . . those creamy foods or pizza get me in the end.

Anyway, we have been doing the ketogenic diet for the past several weeks and I have loved it. I get to eat protein and fat and cheese! However, my family has not been cravings free. Tiffany’s sweet tooth has pushed her to try things she wouldn’t normally try. I’ve already shared the picture of the cupcakes she made, but I’ll share it here again.

They were pretty good. I especially like them because they are not too sweet.

The recipe I’m sharing today is one way outside of Tiffany’s comfort zone. It is chocolate mousse but the main ingredient is avocados and she does not like avocados . . . until now.

She has made this a couple of times now, once with overly ripe avocados and once with near perfectly ripened ones. She did not feel that they were quite ripe enough but I think they were great. At any rate, here’s the procedure.

We are currently without a good food processor. I’ve begun saving my money to get a good one. I love my Kitchenaid mixer, so I’m saving to get a food processor I’ll enjoy as much.

We make the whole thing in the mixer. Consequently, the cream needs to be whipped first. So pour a cup of heavy whipping cream in the bowl, add some sweetener (we use 1 teaspoon Swerve) and whisk away.

Remove it to another bowl until we are ready to add it back in.

If you have a food processor or immersion blender, you can use that. Tiffany mashes the avocados up a bit and then adds the other ingredients. She just may use the immersion blender we have next time she makes this, now that I’ve mentioned it to her. We use a Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa, so it’s probably a bit stronger than the original recipe.

We also use coconut oil and find we need to melt it first so that it combines better.

After it is thoroughly blended, then fold in the whipped cream.

We have found that a few dashes of salt enhance the flavor.

It is rich and not real sweet. I tried adding a few drops of chocolate stevia but it didn’t do too good. I’ll try adding some of my stevia glycerite next time. It is filling and good for you, so enjoy.

This recipe was adapted from I Breathe I’m Hungry.

Keto Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients

2 avocados
2 tablespoons of coconut oil (melting optional)
1/2 cup Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
couple of dashes of sea salt
4 tablespoons sugar free chocolate syrup (I'm still looking for a different one)
1 teaspoon Swerve
4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Whip the cream with the swerve, until stiff peaks form; set aside.
Either put the rest of the ingredients in a blender or use an immersion blender
OR
Mash the avocado with a fork and combine the rest of the ingredients (except the whipped cream) and blend away, until thoroughly combined.
Fold in the whipped cream.
Enjoy!

https://lifeofjoy.me/keto-chocolate-mousse/

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Spinach Omelet

August 30, 2016Breakfasts, Tasty Tuesdaycheese, egg, gluten-free, keto, veggiesLife of Joy

Cheesy scrambled eggs with spinach , simple but yummy. Easily customized to what you like or have on hand.

This week’s is a recipe that I’ve been making for Mike and Sean for the past week or so. They are really enjoying it. You can pretty much change this to suit what you like. It is extremely versatile. Of course, since this is a spinach omelet, we are using spinach. I know, shocking, right? My guys like some green onion in theirs as well. We have also added some cooked chicken breast and cheese at times.

Start by cracking three eggs into a medium-size bowl. I use my 4-cup measuring cup.

Next add about one tablespoon of heavy whipping cream (or evaporated milk or just regular milk or even half and half).

I use a fork and combine these a bit. Next, cut the green onion or use scissors to snip it right into the measuring cup or bowl of beaten eggs.

I really shouldn’t have used the green cutting board! It really gave these pictures an odd look!

Next grab a handful of spinach and chop it into thin pieces.

Add both of these to the eggs and combine. You can add a bit of shredded cheese if you like. I have found that I really don’t taste the cheese mixed into the eggs and opt to just melt it on top for mine.

Meanwhile, if you are watching your fat intake, spray your pan, very well, with oil. If not, heat half a tablespoon each of butter and coconut oil (or simply one whole tablespoon of one of them).

(I’d already used this pan to make this twice today and didn’t realize I was going to need pictures, thus the egg bits still in the pan.)

I like to stir together the two oils as they melt, before I pour in my omelet mixture. When the oil is hot, add the egg mixture and if your add-ins get all lumped together, spread them out a bit.

As it starts to solidify, mix it up a bit, so all the egg gets thoroughly cooked.

My family likes theirs a little bit crispy. (I know real omelets are thinner and rolled but I don’t know what else to call these delicious eggs.) When one side is done to your liking and is nearly cooked through, flip to finish cooking the other side. This is when I add my cheese. We are using a mild cheddar here but use what you like.

Serve as soon as the cheese is melted.

I hope you like this ‘recipe’. Use whatever veggies or meats you like.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Dressing and The Key to a Good Salad

August 23, 2016Salad, Tasty Tuesdaygluten-free, ketoLife of Joy

Ramp up the flavor of your regular salad with this secret ingredient.

Until recently, I have not been a fan of salads. You know, the normal kind with mostly vegetables. I thought the reason I really liked salad wraps was because of the bread but then one day I realized that I add salt and pepper to the veggies on my wraps. So I tried an experiment: on my next salad I added salt and pepper. I was amazed at the difference it made! Honestly.

I have rarely seen anyone add salt and pepper to their salads before. It really ramps up the flavor, making it taste so much better. If you don’t already do this, you really must give it a try. That is my BIG key to a good salad.

The other key to a good salad is lots of veggies, as in variety. It doesn’t matter if you really care for that veggie by itself, a little bit of it in amongst all that greenery and other varied veggies and such will hardly be noticed.

For this salad I had about 2 cups of green leaf lettuce and spinach combined. Then I added a small tomato diced, about an inch of a cucumber sliced, about an eighth of a cup of diced green pepper, half of an avocado diced, about an ounce of cheddar cheese cubed, some bits of zucchini I had left over from the other night’s dinner, a few sprinkles of feta cheese, and some sunflower seeds.

I seasoned it with some sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and some homemade dressing. Several years ago I got this dressing bottle that has several dressing recipes on it. We chose the one made with balsamic vinegar, but we changed it from what it said because it called for 6 ounces of balsamic vinegar! Yep! Six ounces. We are not that big of fans of any vinegar. It only called for three tablespoons of olive oil. Well, that will never do.

It also called for ground thyme which is not a flavor we like, so we simply omitted it. It also required ground oregano but we did not have that, so we used the dried instead.

The funny thing about this dressing is that even though I shake it a lot, there still ends up being a lot of herbs and vinegar at the bottom. So I just add more olive oil and shake, shake, shake.

I’ll include the recipe in the ziplist form for future easy reference.

Balsamic Vinegar/Italian Herb Dressing

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 teaspoons basil
3 teaspoons ground oregano (we used dried instead)
salt and pepper
about 6 ounces olive oil

Instructions

Put it all in a bottle or jar and shake, shake, shake.
Do NOT store this in the refrigerator or it will solidify.

https://lifeofjoy.me/the-key-to-a-good-salad/

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Coleslaw

August 16, 2016Salad, Side Dishes, Tasty Tuesdaycabbage, gluten-free, keto, veggiesLife of Joy

Creamy coleslaw with just the right amount of liquid and tang but won’t make you pucker.

Coleslaw is one of those things that I didn’t make much of in the past. In the last few months, I have learned that this is one of Mike’s favorite side dishes, especially when paired with hamburgers or hot dogs and baked beans.

I have bought more cabbage in the last few years, since learning to make egg rolls than I had in many of the previous years added together. But that means that I frequently have cabbage in my refrigerator. Making egg rolls takes a bit of time, so I procrastinate making them. One day I needed a quick side dish and decided to make coleslaw. I didn’t use any measurements, just did like I saw my mom do.

The other day when made this, I measured ingredients before adding them to the bowl so I could share it here.

I started by weighing the piece of cabbage that I had left from other uses. I shredded the 1-pound cabbage on the large grater. I used to slice it on my mandolin but found I preferred a more chopped texture. (Don’t grate the core.)

Grate a medium carrot.

Add 1/2 cup mayo. (I’d prefer to use Miracle Whip because then I probably wouldn’t need the vinegar and sugar but Michael prefers mayonnaise, so that is what I used.)

Next include 4 teaspoons – 2 tablespoons white vinegar (not apple cider vinegar), 1 -2 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute), and 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or evaporated canned milk and combine. I almost forgot to take a picture of the finished dish. We ate half of it.

This is the first time I have made this and it didn’t turn out soupy.

Coleslaw

Ingredients

1 pound cabbage
1 medium carrot
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons - 2 Tablespoons vinegar
1-2 Tablespoons sugar
2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream or evaporated canned milk

Instructions

Shred cabbage and carrot on large holes of box grater.
Add remaining ingredients and combine well.

https://lifeofjoy.me/coleslaw/

Enjoy!

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Egg Muffins

July 19, 2016Breakfasts, Tasty Tuesdaycheese, eggs, gluten-free, ketoLife of Joy

Low-carb breakfast that can help use up bits of leftovers and make a tasty meal.

Last year at the young adult conference at our church, we had muffins, donuts, yogurt, apples, and bananas. By the last day, I couldn’t take any more sweet foods, so I brought two dozen eggs and made some baked eggs. They loved them.

So, this year, we planned to have some egg dishes each day. I made those wonderful baked eggs on two days. For two dozen of them I scrambled the egg before pouring it in the ham lined muffin cups. One day I made a delicious crescent egg ring, which I will share with you one day soon. The other two days I made these egg muffins, which can be made with any ingredients you want or have on hand. It is a great recipe to take advantage of the bits of veggies or leftovers that need to be used.

I chose to use sausage and cheese in a dozen, sauted onions, mushrooms, peppers (red, green, orange, and yellow) and cheese in a dozen, and all of the above in two dozen.

Dice onion, mushroom, and bell pepper. Sauté in a bit of olive oil. (Today I sautéed it in bacon grease.)

Make sure your meat is cooked. During the conference one day, I used bagged bacon bits with the sausage and it turned out pretty good.

I sprayed my ramekins, since I was only making two this morning, otherwise I would have used a muffin tin, like I did for the conference. Spray them well!!!

Crack one egg for each muffin and scramble.

Add salt and pepper.

Add about one tablespoon of sautéed veggies, and one tablespoon of meat for each muffin. It really doesn’t matter much, it’s a forgiving recipe.

Divide it evenly between your cups, filling about 2/3 full. My ramekins are larger than the muffin tin, so they are only about half full.

Sprinkle a little cheese on each and bake on 350º for 20 minutes or so. (Or 450º for about 12-15 minutes.)

You can add whatever ingredients you want. I’ve seen avocado, spinach, tomato, and broccoli. Really, anything you can think of will probably work.

Egg Muffins

Ingredients

1 egg
1 tablespoon sauted veggies
1 tablespoon cooked, crumbled/chopped meat
1 tablespoon cheese
salt and pepper

Instructions

Crack egg into a bowl and break it up with a fork or small whisk.
Spray ramekin or muffin cup with oil, coating the cup well.
Add salt, pepper, meat and veggies to the egg and stir.
Pour into ramekin.
Top with cheese.
Bake ate 350º for 15-20 minutes or 450º 12-15 minutes.

https://lifeofjoy.me/egg-muffins/

Enjoy!

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad

July 12, 2016Salad, Side Dishes, Tasty Tuesdaycheese, corn, gluten-free, keto, summer, tomatoLife of Joy

A different kind of salad, good in the summer when corn and tomatoes are fresh. Nice not to have lettuce for a change.

I tried this one a few weeks ago for the first time. I love fresh corn! Thus this salad looked pretty good to me. It is super simple to make as well.

The key here is fresh corn. The first two times I made it with really good sweet corn. This time, unfortunately, it wasn’t as good because the corn wasn’t as good. Oh well.

It only takes a few simple ingredients: corn, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I only made one-fourth of the original recipe today but I’ll give the measurements for the entire batch in the recipe.

First shuck the corn and cut the kernels off the cob. You can cook it first if you like. I recommend you cut a bit off and taste it to see how sweet it is. If it is bland, boil it in some water with some sweetener. I learned this the hard way!

I cut the kernels directly into the bowl I’m going to use to serve the salad.

Next cut the tomatoes. I like small bite-size pieces, so I do more than cut them in half, which is what the original recipe directed.

Cut up the mozzarella cheese and then add the rest of the ingredients. I usually cheat and just use a sprinkling of garlic powder instead of the minced garlic. I sometimes use lemon juice from the bottle I keep in the refrigerator for emergencies. (I have yet to make this with fresh basil though.)

Stir and serve!

This really is a nice refreshing salad and a nice change from the regular lettuce salads.

Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad

Ingredients

4 ears of corn, shucked, cleaned, and washed
1 10.5 oz package of grape tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
8 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into small bite-size pieces
10 leaves of fresh basil, sliced thinly or use a sprinkling of dried
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Remove the corn kernels from the cob with a nice sharp knife.
Place corn, cut tomatoes, and mozzarella pieces into serving bowl.
Add the basil.
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. (or if you are lazy like me, simply add them to the bowl but it would probably taste better combined in the jar first 😉 )
Pour over ingredients in the bowl, toss and serve.

https://lifeofjoy.me/corn-tomato-and-mozzarella-salad/

I hope you enjoy this one as much as Mike and I have. (Sean and Tiffany won’t even try it. )

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

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Life Of Joy

A Place of Encouragement

Tag Archives: keto

Zoodles

Julienned strips of small zucchini, sautéed in oil or butter.

Snickerdoodle Cookies-Keto version

Nice soft, sweet snickerdoodle cookie! Gluten-free and sugar free too!

Breakfast/Brunch Pizza

If I eat this whole pizza, I’m full for several hours. Breakfast sausage is great on it, as is bacon.

Keto Chocolate Mousse

Avocado, yes avocado, makes this mouse really good for you and you cannot tell it is there.

Spinach Omelet

Cheesy scrambled eggs with spinach , simple but yummy. Easily customized to what you like or have on hand.

Dressing and The Key to a Good Salad

Ramp up the flavor of your regular salad with this secret ingredient.

Coleslaw

Creamy coleslaw with just the right amount of liquid and tang but won’t make you pucker.

Egg Muffins

Low-carb breakfast that can help use up bits of leftovers and make a tasty meal.

Corn, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad

A different kind of salad, good in the summer when corn and tomatoes are fresh. Nice not to have lettuce for a change.