First Time Mom and Losing It

When I first began my keto journey I was eating lots of eggs, cheese and bacon for breakfast. I was getting tired of eating the same thing so I started researching recipes for something bready I could have as a breakfast sandwich. I found these yummy almond flour mug cakes that I was eating for a while. It was kind of dry so then I started using my oopsie rolls for the "bread" of my sandwich. I wanted something denser so I looked for a biscuit type recipe.


I am a huge fan of the Cooking Keto with Kristie YouTube channel so I had to try her Low Carb Biscuits. The first time I made them they were a hit with my husband and I. I love how easy they are to make and that I could make a batch of twelve at one time.

The recipe is so simple and if you have read my Keto Pantry post you should already be familiar with the ingredients. First you have to take 10 egg whites and froth them up in a big bowl with a hand mixer. I was using a whole container of egg whites to make it easier on myself. Then my local Aldi's never had the carton so I was just separating 10 egg and saving the yolks for a later time.


To make my batter extra smooth I take all of the dry ingredients and put them through a sifter. What ever stays in the sifter I put in my ninja and pulverize it until it is fine. I add that to the rest of the dry ingredients and then mix it into the eggs with the hand mixer. Next to go in is the melted butter and then I fold in the mozzarella cheese.

Evenly divide the batter into a silicone muffin pan and bake for 12 minutes. The biscuits come out golden, dense and crumbly like a biscuit. I love to slice them in half spread on some butter and use them to dip into my sunny side up eggs.

I bought this big bag of chicken tenderloins from Costco and enjoy making my Keto Chicken Tenders with them. I wanted to try something different with them so I looked at what I had in the refrigerator and decided to use what I had on hand. I came up with this delicious Creamy Chicken and Mushroom sauce that I could put on top of zoodles. It was so creamy and delicious and the richness of the dish satisfies you with a small portion. This dish is super easy to make and really quick too.



Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms Zoodles

• 1 pound chicken tenderloins
• 1 tblsp of oil (I used avocado oil)
• 7 ounce package baby bella mushrooms, sliced 
• 4 tblsp heavy cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 large zucchini, peeled and made into zoodles
• salt and pepper to taste

It's been really cold these couple of weeks with a few snow days in between. When it's cold outside I like to have a nice comfy casserole type dish for dinner. I rather eat something hearty and warm in place of your typical hot and steamy soup. I have been craving chicken pot pie for a while now so I decided to go into the kitchen to experiment with some keto ingredients.




Keto Chicken Pot Pie 

Crust:

• 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 1 tblsp cream cheese
• 6 tblsp almond flour
• 1/2 egg
• 1/2 tsp thyme 

• 1 tblsp butter
• 4 medium radishes, diced
• 4 medium baby bella mushrooms
• 3 cups roasted chicken, diced
• 2 cups spinach (or 1 cup frozen, thawed and liquid squeezed out)
• 1 cup bone broth (or chicken stock)
• 4 ounces cream cheese 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp Better than Boullion chicken base
• 2 tsp onion flakes
• 3/4 tsp Himilayan pink sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

So I am loving the "breading" I created for my Keto Chicken Tenders and decided to experiment. I added some bay seasoning, lemon zest and parsley flakes to make the perfect coating for some fish sticks. I also served them with a homemade tartar sauce and some Parmesan Crisps to make the chip part of "Fish n Chips"


Keto Fish and Chips 

One of the perks of being a New Yorker is having some amazing Deli's right in my neighborhood. I used to love to go early in the morning for some fresh sesame seed covered bread and cold cuts. I would slather the bread with mayo and pile on the meats and cheese.

Now that I am doing a ketogenic diet bread is a no-go so I started rolling the meat and cheese together and eating it that way. I got kind of tired of eating it this way and craved some bread. The oopsie rolls came to the rescue again when I decided to make some sandwiches with them. First I make the coleslaw and let it sit in the refrigerator. Then I make the oopsie rolls and let them cool. Spread some mayo onto two of the oopsie rolls and assemble my sandwich. This time I used hard salami and lacey swiss cheese.


Coleslaw (Serves 2)

• 1 1/2 cups chopped cabbage 
• 1 tblsp mayonnaise
• 1 tblsp avocado oil (you can substitute any oil you like) 
• 1 tblsp apple cider vinegar (I love the Organic Braggs brand)
• 2 drops liquid stevia
• salt and pepper to taste

Oopsie Rolls (Makes 12 halves or 6 sandwich rolls)

• 4 eggs, separated
• 4 ounces of cream cheese 
• 1 tsp cream of tartar 
• sesame seeds

When I started eating keto I looked at alot of YouTube videos to get ideas on what to eat. Before the videos I thought I would get tired of eating bacon and eggs so I sought out different foods and recipes that I could eat. I get to eat pizza, bbq chicken wings, chocolate mug cake, keto puppy chow and so much more. Since I can find an alternative to anything I feel like eating, there has been no reason for me to cheat. Twenty weeks into my journey and I am proud to say I have not had one cheat day or even a cheat piece of food.

I am going to start doing a "What I Ate Wednesday" series at least twice a month to give other keto'ers some ideas on what to eat and what to snack on. I will also try to do a video to go along with the blog post.


Breakfast: I had cream cheese pancakes with pork sausage and sugar-free syrup. I love making these cream cheese pancakes because they are super easy to make and satisfies that craving for real pancakes. They are flat and don't have the texture of real pancakes but they are delicious. I also had some coffee with heavy whipping cream, stevia drops, and sugar-free amaretto syrup.


Lunch: I wasn't really hungry during lunch time so I didn't have the tuna salad lettuce wraps I planned to have. A couple of hours before dinner time I was a little hungry so I had some Boar's Head Hard Salami and Lacy Swiss Cheese. I also had half a serving of pecans.


Dinner: Barbecue chicken thighs with creamy cauliflower mash. I like to brown the chicken thighs in some avocado oil and then I put it in the oven until it is almost cooked through. The last 10 minutes I brush on some barbecue sauce and then bake for 10 minutes.


Snacks: Keto Hot Cocoa and an ounce of my favorite cheese in the whole world, Kerrygold Dubliner!



What did you eat today? 

I found this delicious Brussels Sprouts recipe on a Thanksgiving special on the food network years ago. It was the first time I tried brussels sprouts and the recipe was so good that I feel in love with the vegetable. I have been making it every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas ever since. It tastes so good and is so rich but I only really make it twice a year. Since the original version uses flour to thicken up the creamy sauce I decided to try to make a low carb version with guar guar gum instead. The other ingredients are pretty low carb so I didn't have too much trouble converting it.



Keto / Low Carb Creamy Pancetta Brussels Sprouts

• 1/2 pound fresh Brussels sprouts
• 1 ounce pancetta, diced
• 1/2 tblsp butter
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tblsp sherry
• 1/4 cup + 1 tblsp grated Parmesan cheese (save for topping)
• nutmeg
• sea salt
• black pepper
• guar guar gum

After making my delicious Chipotle Crispy Skinned Pernil I had a lot of leftovers. It is so good just reheated but I wanted to try it a different way. Whenever I think of pork I think about this yummy pulled pork sandwich I have at a place in the city called Dinosaur BBQ. I decided to take my pork and create my take on the sandwich while making it low carb.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• sesame seeds
• 4-6 ounces cooked and cubed pork shoulder
• 1 tblsp Low Carb Barbecue Sauce
• 1 1/2 cups coleslaw mix 
• 1 tblsp mayo
• 1 tblsp vinegar
• 1 tblsp avocado oil (you can substitute any other oil)
• 1 tsp sweetener of choice (I used Swerve) 
• salt and pepper

Twelve weeks into my journey and I have no desire to cheat or have a cheat day. Thanksgiving is a huge eating holiday where you get together and get stuffed. The old me would have a cheat day because it's the holidays. Then the cheat day would continue because I had to eat the leftovers. Then with the thoughts of Christmas dinner coming I would always talk myself into starting again on January 1. That's not going to happen to me this year.

This way of eating has really been easy for me because of the foods we can eat. There are so many alternative recipes to carby foods so I never feel like I am missing out. To keep my Thanksgiving low carb & keto I am going to be eating the following recipes.

Chipotle Crispy Skinned Pernil: Being Puerto Rican we usually have a pernil with every big family get together. With the pork being fattier than turkey it is a perfect substitute for the main protein. I love how I spiced it up with chipotle and the crispy skin really gives it decadence.


Low Carb Sour Cream and Chive Mash: Mashed potatoes has always been my husband and I's favorite side dish. I am so glad that by steaming cauliflower and adding some cream, sour cream, butter and cream cheese to it, it tastes just like mashed potatoes. My secret is to squeeze out all of the water using a ricer and putting it into my Ninja blender. This makes my mash super smooth and creamy.


Low Carb Baked "Mac" n Cheese: A Puerto Rican Thanksgiving would always be arroz con gandules (rice) and potato salad. Since rice is a no-go in a low carb way of eating I decided to substitute it with my "mac" and cheese. It has all of the taste of a mac and cheese without the carbs and heaviness of pasta.


Screaming Heads: Brussels Sprouts Gratin: I saw this recipe on the Food Network years ago and have been making it for Thanksgiving ever since. I will be making this recipe without the flour and substituting a little bit of xanthan gum as the thickener.

Low Carb Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake: I love cheesecake and I love pumpkin pie so what a perfect way to have them both. This pie looks so rich and decadent that I know I will only need a little sliver of it.


Do you stay on plan when you are celebrating the Holidays? 

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #VivaLaMorena #CollectiveBias


Growing up in a Puerto Rican household we always had Pernil (roasted pork) as one of the main dishes on Thanksgiving. Thinking back, pernil was always a staple in any of our family get together's. There is something about all of that garlic, oregano and crispy pernil skin that always takes me back to my childhood.


My grandma was the cook of the family so I loved helping her in the kitchen while I memorized all of her famous recipes. Now that my grandma is in her 80's and retired from the kitchen I get to follow in her steps and take over the kitchen. While I have all of her recipes in memory I like to add my own spin on things and make them spicier! One of my favorite ways to spice up my meals is by my favorite Mexican food brand, La Morena. All I have to do is head to my local bodega right in the corner and pick up some La Morena Chipotles.


Chipotle Crispy Skinned Pernil

8 pound pernil (pork shoulder)
2 heads of garlic (you want at least 20 cloves of garlic)
1 1/2 tblsp olive oil
1 tblsp vinegar
1 tblsp dried oregano
1 tblsp black peppercorns
2 tblsp La Morena chipotle (more or less depending on how much spice you like)

**We usually marinate the pernil for two or more days in the refrigerator before cooking it. For the best flavor you should marinate the pernil at least overnight.

1. Take all of the spice ingredients and place into a mini food processor (I used my Ninja). You want to make a paste with the ingredients that is well combined.


2. Cut slits into the pernil at least 1 1/2 inches apart and carefully add some of the spice paste into each slit. Rub the outside of the pernil with the remaining paste.

3. Place in a baking pan, cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 days for best results.

4. Take out of the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to get the chill out of the pernil. Cover with aluminum foil and place in a 325 degree oven for 5-6 hours, depending on the size. Remove foil and cook on 375 degrees until the skin is crisp, about 45 minutes.


How would you use the La Morena chipotles to spice up your traditional Thanksgiving recipes?