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Keto Thai Curry with Coconut Cauliflower Rice

November 9, 2022RecipesWrite a comment

I had a yearning for a different curry and found this Thai curry recipe. I didn’t want to make the curry paste as I had an authentic one in the fridge. This is very easy to make and the flavour sublimely fragrant. I didn’t see the need for bean sprouts or adding a wedge of lime. Instead, I added baby spinach to enhance the nutritional value plus it needed to be used. The finished flavour met my needs after tasting, so check its to your taste if you make it. I would recommend the authenticity of this recipe.

Although I eat cauliflower rice with curries or stir fries, I’m not a great fan of the taste. I got very enthusiastic when I saw this cauliflower rice recipe. I used frozen cauliflower rice for convenience. I found that toasting the coconut improved the flavour, as well as the coconut oil and coconut milk. It took cauli rice to a new level.

The two elements of the meal worked very well together, finished off with spring onion. I recommend this recipe to you, its simple to make and flavourful. I would suggest a good quality Thai green curry paste. If you try it let me know what you think.

Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Servings: 4

Ingredients:

½ cup Green Curry Paste
2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
1.5 pounds Chicken Thighs, diced (I used chicken breasts)
1 cup Coconut Milk
1 tablespoon Fish Sauce (I didn’t add this as we had run out)
Salt to taste
5 ounces Green Beans, sliced
3 ounces Broccoli, halved
½ cup Bean Sprouts (I didn’t have any fresh beansprouts so added baby spinach instead)
Lime Wedges (I tasted the curry and didn’t think it would enhance the flavour)

Ingredients for Coconut Cauliflower Rice:

1 head of cauliflower, riced (I used two bags of frozen cauliflower rice)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup canned full fat coconut milk
¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I toasted this a little to bring out the flavour)
4 spring onions, whites to light green parts sliced

Method

Place a pan over high heat and add the green curry paste.
Saute for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and most of the liquid has evaporated.
Add the coconut oil and saute for another 2 minutes, until fragrant.
Next, add the chicken, mix well and brown for 3-5 minutes.

Once the chicken is browned, add the coconut milk and fish sauce (if using).
Mix well, taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking.
Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the green beans and broccoli and simmer for 2 minutes, until tender.

Whilst the curry is simmering, start your cauliflower rice.
Cut cauliflower into florets, and add to a food processor, and blend until consistency is that of rice. (or use frozen cauliflower rice)
Next heat some coconut oil in a pan.
Add the cauliflower rice, and cook for around 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the coconut milk, and dessicated coconut, cook for another 5 minutes Or toast some of the dessicated coconut separately

Taste the rice for doneness, if it’s still hard continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. (I found the frozen cauliflower rice needed longer to be tender)
Remove the rice from heat, then top with some chopped spring onions.
Once the curry is cooked, serve topped with bean sprouts (if wanted), and a side of cauliflower rice.
Enjoy!

Apple Pie Overnight Oats

November 9, 2022RecipesWrite a comment

We have Victorian apple trees in our garden. I wanted to find recipes which would use up the apples, so they would not go to waste. With the weather getting colder here in the UK, I really wanted something which could be versatile and be either a comforting snack, or a filling breakfast. I’ve always enjoyed an apple pie, so this recipe seemed like a real winner.

It was simple to make and the taste was wonderful, the oats had tons of flavour and a rich creamy texture. They were truly ‘apple pie infused’! Given the amount of apples we had, I already had a batch of homemade stewed apples sweetened with erythropoietin, so I skipped the step in the recipe for cooking down the apples.

My family and I enjoyed the oats for breakfast, they where described as ‘the best ever’! We enjoyed them so much that the next time we make them we will have to double if not triple the ingredients. Yes, they were really that good! Sometimes we need some carbs especially when it’s cold.

I highly recommend you try them for yourselves, not only are they a healthy and nourishing meal or snack, but they’re also relatively cheap to make using up ingredients you already have in your cupboards. You can eat them cold or heat them for a minute in the microwave.

Prep time: 6 hours 15 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Apples:

3/4 cup crisp, sweet apple, cut into small bite-size pieces (I used chunky stewed apple made from home grown apples)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon maple syrup (I used Keto maple syrup)
1 pinch sea salt

Overnight oats:

3/4 cup unsweetened plain almond milk, or milk of your choice (I used KoKo unsweetened coconut milk)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 – 1 tablespoon maple syrup (I used Keto maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoon creamy unsalted cashew or almond butter (I used sugar free, smooth peanut butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats (I used gluten-free oats)

Method:

Apples (I didnt need to do these steps)

To a small saucepan, add the chopped apples, cinnamon, maple syrup, and salt and mix to evenly distribute the cinnamon.
Turn heat on low and cover.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the apples are soft and tender.
Remove the lid, turn the heat up to medium, and cook for 2-3 more minutes, stirring constantly, to evaporate some of the juices and create a nice syrup around the apples.
Once most of the liquid is gone, turn off the heat and set aside.

Oats:

In a small bowl, mix the milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, cinnamon, nut butter, and vanilla.
Add the oats and stir until well-combined.
Get two small mason jars or small bowls with lids.
Place about a quarter of the cooked apple mixture into the bottom of each container.
Next, add half the oat mixture to each as your middle layer, divide and place the rest of the cooked apples on top of the oats.
Place in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least 6 hours.
Enjoy chilled or at room temperature.

Dairy Free Gluten Free keto lactose-free low carb

Update

November 4, 2022About Me, Life Updates, UpdatesWrite a comment

Hey, I know it’s been a while since my last blog post, sorry about that! Admittedly I’ve been quite busy!!

I’ve been away quite a few times in the Summer, first York which was lovely, then Scarborough. It was also my birthday in October, the joys of getting older, but we did have a long weekend in York with both dogs. Lots of walks, shopping and meals out. Since then Ive started a degree in Creative Writing. I’m enjoying it so far but I am still getting into the swing of it all, it’s a lot to take in.

On top of all that we also got a new puppy a Cavapoochon called Lola, she’s currently 4 months old and is your typical puppy! If she’s not pooping or weeing somewhere, she’s off destroying something she shouldn’t, but more often than not she can be found playing with our other dog Fae. Fae gives speaking looks for us to remove Lola. At 4 months old Lola is 3 times Fae’s size. The vet laughs as Lola is meant to be a toy dog.

She is delightful though very mischievous and affectionate, she’s already brought so much joy to our lives. Though that being said she does have this ungodly habit of somehow managing to smell like a cesspit whenever she’s been out for a walk. Let’s just say she’s nothing like ‘perfect’ Fae, if Fae were a ‘Lady’ Lola’s definitely the opposite, maybe ‘Ladette’ is the correct term. I’m not sure. Either way you get the picture ones refined and dignified, and the other a right scruffiian!

The last picture below, Lola is 2 months old. We were at a sports centre set in a quarry. Lola is in the water and Fae is looking at her in bafflement. At the next visit Lola jumped in still attached to her extendable lead, swam with the many fish, and ended up needing treatment for giardia. The dog is impulsive. The concerning thing is we saw people swimming in the quarry lake.

If you can’t already tell, it’s been a whirlwind few months!

Now, I’m looking forward to Bonfire Night, we usually have family round and set off a load of fireworks in the garden, though I’m not actually sure if we’ve ought any? I’ll get someone onto that!

However, I will be posting new recipes including the first one which trials air fryer pizza rolls.

Life Updates

Keto Lemon Bars

June 7, 2022RecipesWrite a comment

I wanted a light lemon cake and 1.7 net carbs per large slight is light enough for me! This recipe certainly met my needs. It was very easy to make as you just add ingredients into a food processor as outlined in the recipe and I found it very accurate. It has to be whisked up strongly to make sure it’s light. I wanted it to be ultra lemon flavour so I decided to make some lemon syrup and drizzle over the cooked cake. I put the juice of two lemons in a pan with two tablespoons of erythritol, bring it to the boil and watch until it thickens slightly. I then used a skewer to make small holes in the cake, spooned the syrup over the top of the cake and left it to cool. Cut into eight pieces or 16 if you want smaller slices. It was easy to get out of the dish. This is a truly delicious cake and not too sweet. I’m going to make it again with less lemon but with raspberries added and unsweetened desiccated coconut sprinkled on top. Try it and enjoy!

Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 35 mins | Servings: 8

Ingredients:

4 large eggs
½ cup / 120g sour cream (I used lactose-free single cream)
½ cup / 120g butter, softened (I used lactose-free butter)
¼ cup / 4 tbsp lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
2 cup / 200g almond flour or ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder (I used gluten-free baking powder)
⅓ cup / 40g powdered erythritol (I didn’t have any powdered erythritol so I decided to make an erythritol/lemon juice syrup).

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit. Grease a oven-proof dish or baking tray with butter / grease-proof paper.
Beat the eggs until frothy.
Next, add the sour cream and softened butter and blend using a food processor or electric mixer until combined.
To the mixture, add the lemon juice, grated lemon zest and powdered erythritol. Blend until well combined.
Lastly, add the almond flour and baking powder and mix until the batter is smooth.
Pour the mixture into the prepared dish / baking tray.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Once baked allow to cool completely before cutting or removing from the pan. Almond flour cakes are fragile when hot, but they firm up as they cool down.
Once cooled, dust the cake with powdered erythritol.

Slice, serve, and enjoy!!

Note: The cake can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container, for up to 1 week.

gluten-free keto lactose-free low carb

Keto sausage and mushroom lasagne

May 26, 2022RecipesWrite a comment

This is a ‘clear the freezer and fridge’ recipe. It’s Keto-friendly as I put the ingredients into the ‘verywellfit’ site to get the nutritional analysis. The lasagne was delicious; far better than I expected! It wasn’t the standard wet texture when you use courgettes instead of lasagne sheets (zucchini in US). Salting the courgette slices to remove water and then washing off the salt and drying them out on a rack at a low temperature helped it remain firm. I’m trying to be more inventive in using up ordinary ingredients and converting them into something delicious. The cost of living is rocketing here so we don’t want to waste food. Everyone said the lasagne was a success. A member of my family who would never (ever) eat a sausage loved it. The recipe made six portions. Try it and enjoy!

Nutrition: (one-sixth of the lasagne): 336 Calories/ Total carbs 10.1g/ Fibre 3.2g/ Net carbs 6.9g/Total fat 23.4g/saturated fat 12.5g/ Protein 24.2g/Vitamin D 170mcg/ Calcium 116mg/Iron 4mg/Potassium 919mg.

Ingredients

10 oz lean sausage meat (I removed the sausage meat from 2 packs of good quality sausages)
10oz mushrooms
6oz chicken in low carb tomato sauce
30 g tomato puree (2 Tbspn)
300g cream cheese (I used lactose-free)
8oz frozen spinach
1 cup of cheddar cheese (or any cheese I use lactose-free cheese)
3 large courgettes

Method

Remove the sausage meat from the skins. Break it up and mix it together.
Slice the mushrooms and fry slightly in a little oil in a hot skillet. Take out and put in a bowl.
Add the sausage meat to the skillet and break it up as you fry so that it’s in small pieces of sausage meat. You don’t want big chunks.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and mix with the sausage meat. Add a little water/stock and stir in the tomato puree. You want quite a thick sauce. Continue cooking gently. Taste the sauce and add salt, pepper, Italian herbs and garlic salt to taste.

As this is a use up the leftovers recipe, I added a small container of chicken in a Keto tomato sauce that was in the freezer. (it was about 6oz chicken) I broke up the chicken into small pieces to mix in.
Turn the oven on low temperature about 160C/140C fan assisted.
Prepare the slices of courgette. You want it to be thin but holding its shape. I used a mandolin to make the slices. To make it easier I cut off the top and the bottom of the courgettes.
Put the slices on a tray and sprinkle with salt and leave for 5-10 minutes. You will see the bubbles of water appearing. Wash the salt off and pat dry.
Put the slices of courgette on a tray in the oven and let it dry out. You can see the change in consistency. It takes about 10-15 minutes. I used a rack on a tray as then the courgettes don’t stick. A silicone mat or greaseproof paper would be good too. Keep checking them and remove when the slices seem dry.

Make up the cream cheese and spinach layer by mixing it together. I added a little unsweetened coconut milk to help the mixture and then half a cup of the grated cheddar. Check flavour and add seasoning to taste. It could be a little nutmeg, garlic salt or Italian herbs. I used basil.

Prepare the baking dish with a little olive oil. start to layer ups the lasagne. First layer was half of the sausage meat mixture, then half of the courgettes, then cheese and spinach topped by the sausage mix. Layer the rest of the courgettes topped by the cheese and spinach layer. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over.