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No bake sugar-free cheesecake

April 19, 2021RecipesWrite a comment

I wanted a quick dessert for Sunday meal and this recipe seemed a good one. The recipe is accurate but I used the weights rather than cup measures. I made it quickly and used the hand mixer. It came together as outlined in the recipe. If you like more of a tang to your cheese cake then put some lemon zest in as it’s very creamy and sweet. The crumb base is good. I had a little bit of the cheesecake mix as it would have been above the tin, it served one person who didn’t want the crumb. Next time I will crush the raspberries and stir them quickly through the cheesecake filling. Mine was only chilled for 5 hours and although it was firm it could have done with a little longer to be fully set. This is a useful recipe to have. I would suggest playing round with the flavours. My version was lactose-free. Try it and enjoy!

Prep time: 15 mins | Chilling time: 7 hours | Servings: 12

Ingredients:

Base:

3/4 cup / 75g almond flour
1/4 cup / 30g coconut flour
1 tbsp powdered sweetener
1/4 cup / 57g butter, melted (I used a lactose-free butter)
pinch of salt

Filling:

1.5 cup / 360g cream cheese or mascarpone (I used a lactose-free cream cheese)
2/3 cup / 130g powdered erythritol
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup / 240ml double cream (I used a plant-based double cream)
5-10 drops liquid stevia, optional (I didn’t use this)

Topping (optional)

3/4 cup / 180g double cream (I didn’t put double cream on top as it tasted rich enough)
1/2 cup / 75g strawberries, halved or quartered (I didn’t use these)
1/3 cup / 40g raspberries (I dotted fresh raspberries on the top)

Method:

Base:

In a bowl, stir in all the dry base ingredients, until combined. Add the melted butter, and mix to form a flaky crumb.

Grease a 7-inch non stick loose bottom baking tin, with a little melted butter.
Press the base mix into the bottom and smooth with the back of a spoon, so the edges are neat.

Filling:

In a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, powdered erythritol, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Mix with an electric mixer, until all ingredients are combined. Taste and adjust the sweetness if needed with the optional liquid stevia.
In a separate bowl, whip the cream until thick, be careful to not over mix.
Fold the cream through the cream cheese with a spatula, until fully incorporated.
Spoon the filling on top of the base and smooth of the top with a spatula.

Place in the fridge to fully set, around 6-8 hours, or overnight. Alternatively, place in the freezer until set.

Topping:

Add 3/4 cup double cream to a mixing bowl, and whisk until thick, but still soft.
Remove the cheesecake from the tin and top with whipped cream, smoothing with a spatula for pillowy ripples. Top with sliced strawberries and raspberries. Optional: dust with a little powdered erythritol.
Serve & enjoy!!

Keto Chicken Curry Casserole

April 16, 2021RecipesWrite a comment

We were going to roast a free range chicken but then I saw this recipe. What attracted me was the paste and it was delicious. The use of cauliflower was good. However, I followed all the instructions but found some of it browned a bit much. It didn’t affect the taste and the whole dish was delicious. The curry is nice on its own with some fresh spinach leaves or with steamed cauliflower rice. I will be making this again but with chicken fillets as it was a bit messy taking the chicken off the bone, shredding it and mixing it into the curry. It is worth making but I like keeping it simple. Try it and enjoy!

Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 1 hr 20 mins | Servings: 6

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs, skin on & bone in (I used a whole chicken cut into pieces)
1 large cauliflower, florets only
2.5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
100g spinach
120g fine green beans
1/4 cup pumpkin puree, optional (I chose not to include this)

Curry Paste:

2 tbsp grated ginger
1 small yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garam masala
1-2 tbsp fresh red chilli

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400F/ 200C/ 180 fan-assisted.
Place the cauliflower and chicken, skin side up, in a deep roasting tray and toss with 1.5 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook for around 30 minutes.
As the chicken is cooking, make the curry paste. Place all the ingredients in a small blender, or a pestle and mortar, and blend until the ingredients come together. Fry the paste over a medium-low heat in 1 tbsp olive oil for a minute, until fragrant.

To the paste, add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, 1/4 tsp salt, and pumpkin puree if using (I chose not to include pumpkin puree). Mix until all ingredients are incorporated and simmer for 5 minutes.

Once cooked, remove the chicken and cauliflower from the tray. Add to the tomato curry paste mix to the tray, then place the chicken back in, still skin side up. Cook for a further 30 minutes.
Next, add back in the cauliflower, spooning the sauce over, and cook for another 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked to your liking and skin crisp. Add the spinach for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

To a pan of boiling water, add the green beans, simmer for around 2-3 minutes, until al-dente. Then place into cold water, this keeps the beans crunchy.
Serve the curry with green beans and rice. Optional: you can top the curry with a spoonful of greek yoghurt & fresh coriander.
Enjoy!!

Note: store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freezer for 2 months.

gluten-free keto lactose-free low carb

Keto Beef Stew

March 23, 2021RecipesWrite a comment

It’s very cold here, so I hankered after a Keto beef stew. Occasional beef meals are ok especially if it’s grass-fed or organic meat. I changed the order of cooking from the original recipe as it appeared too complex; so my method is written below. The recipe made enough for 8 portions. This is a fantastic stew. It’s rich and the meat is very tender. I served it with a side of braised cabbage with chillies. I have had the stew twice now and there’s still enough to make and freeze a Keto pie. Try it and enjoy!

Original recipe Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 2 hrs 10 mins | Servings: 6 (I had more meat so it made 8 portions)

Ingredients

1 1/4 beef, cubed (1 inch) (I used 880g grass-fed beef, i.e.1.94lbs)
8 ounces whole mushrooms, quartered
6 ounces celery root, peeled and cubed into 3/4 inch pieces (I used turnip…no celeriac available)
4 ounce onions, diced
2-3 celery stalks, sliced
3 ounces carrot, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced (I used garlic puree)
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil, avocado oil, or bacon grease (I used olive oil)
5 cups beef stock
1 large bay leaf (I didn’t use this)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Remove the beef from the fridge/freezer, and allow to come to room temperature.
Quarter the mushrooms, then wash and chop the rest of the veg, and set aside.
Trim the excess fat off the beef, and cut into 1 inch cubes. Add two teaspoons of oil to the beef, and mix in a bowl.

Method:

Fry the beef in oil in a hot pan. Do this in batches so that it seals the meat rather than steams it. Then place the meat in a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot. (I used a cast iron skillet to fry and then transferred to the dutch oven.)

In the heavy pan, fry the mushrooms and onions together for about 3-4 minutes. Once cooked, add to the Dutch oven.
Add the rest of the vegetables, stock, bay leaf (I didn’t use this), thyme, garlic and tomato paste to the Dutch oven. Stir to ensure that the beef is covered by stock.
At this point, I put the lid on and placed it in the oven to slow cook at 170C/150C fan-assisted for approx. 2 hours while I went out for a walk.
You can also cover the heavy pan/Dutch oven and reduce the heat to a low simmer on the hob, and cook for 2 hours. I find stove top cooking has to be watched carefully.

Insert a fork into a piece of meat to check for tenderness before serving. You might want to cook for the last 20 minutes with the lid off to allow some reduction of the stock. The tomato puree helps to thicken the sauce.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve & enjoy!

Gluten Free keto low carb

Chewy ginger cookies

March 22, 2021RecipesWrite a comment

The original recipe serves 40 cookies, however I decided to make mine bigger and made 30 cookies instead. I’ve updated the nutrition for 1 larger cookie serving.

Who doesn’t love a cookie with a cup of coffee? These are excellent with a deep spicy flavour and chewy. They won’t last long that’s for sure. They are easy to make but I found the mix a little too damp to roll into balls so I used a medium-sized icecream scoop. I do like quicker approaches. Next time (and there will be a next time), I am going to weigh the ingredients as I’m not keen on using measuring cups…there is too much margin for error.

Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 12 mins | Servings: 30

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour
2 tbsp gelatin
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup butter, softened (I used lactose-free butter)
1/2 cup almond butter
1 cup granulated sweetener (I used erythritol)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp Yacon syrup, optional (I used this)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat the oven to 163C/ 143C fan-assisted/ 325 F.
Line a baking tray with grease-proof paper or a silicone liner.
In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: almond flour, gelatin, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and cloves.
Next, in another bowl combine, butter, almond butter, and sweetener until smooth.

Add the eggs, Yacon syrup, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture, beat until well combined.
Next, add the dry ingredients to the bowl, mix until well combined and a dough forms.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, and place a few inches apart on the prepared baking tray.
Bake 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and gently press down a bit (to encourage them to spread).
Return the cookies to the oven and bake another 7 minutes, or until just barely golden brown.
They cookies will still be very soft. Remove from the oven, and allow them to cool completely.
Once cooled, serve & enjoy!!

Gluten Free keto lactose-free low carb

Keto apple cinnamon muffins

March 18, 2021Recipes2 Comments

The original recipe serves 36 mini muffins, however I chose to make normal sized muffins instead, the batter made 12 muffins. I didn’t see the point of mini muffins and buying mini cake cases. They are a good texture and flavour especially the next day. When I make them again, I will add less cinnamon and not remove the apple peel as it helps the structure. They are worth making if you miss apple and cinnamon muffins. Each one of the larger muffins has 3g net carbs. Enjoy!

Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Servings: 36

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour
4 eggs
1 apple, peeled & diced
1/4 double cream, (I used a plant-based double cream)
2 tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon (In future I wouldn’t put as much in)
1 tsp baking powder (I used a gluten-free baking powder)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method:

Preheat the one to 325 degrees F / 160 degrees C/140C fan-assisted.
Line a tin with muffin cases.
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together until everything is combined.
Next, fill the muffin cases about 3/4 of the way with the batter. I used a medium ice-cream scoop, this ensured each muffin case had an even amount.
Bake the muffins for around 20 minutes, or until a toothpick/knife inserted comes out clean.