Lemon pistachio pound cake with orange blossom water

This is an easy keto recipe in that I did use all purpose flour (carbs), but keto approved sweeteners. Whenever I do eat something carby that is going to effect blood sugar, I always try to counteract by taking a berberine supplement like Perfect Keto's Blood Sugar Support. 

Pound Cake

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 cup monk fruit sweetener
• 1 T liquid stevia
• ¾ cup full fat sour cream room temperature
• 5 Large eggs
• 3/4 cup ground roasted pistachios
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 medium Lemon Squeezed (about 3 Tablespoons Juice)
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 2 teaspoons orange blossom water (optional)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10 inch tube pan generously with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Cream together the butter and sweeteners at high speed in a stand mixture until it’s fluffy and starting to look white, about 5 minutes, add sour cream and mix for another minute.

3. Stir in the eggs, a little at a time, beating the mixture well between each addition. Sift in the flour, pistachio flour, and baking powder into the batter, and then add Lemon Zest & juice, vanilla, orange blossom water.

4. Stir well until everything is fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.

5. Pour batter into a greased cake pan. Tap pans on work surface to eliminate any large air bubbles.

6. Bake at 350 until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55–60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack. Let it cool before glazing.

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Jacques Pepin's cheese soufflé done keto

I make a damn good quiche and so I had to wonder how much different is a cheese soufflé really? From what I could see on the internet, the only major differences is a soufflé has no crust and uses egg whites. Yet it turns out that famed chef Jacques Pepin has had a recipe for cheese soufflé that uses whole eggs and is super easy. You can read it here at 'Why Jacques Pepin's Cheese Soufflé is Genius'.

I had never made a cheese soufflé  before and so thought this would be perfect to try, but I need to downsize the recipe (which serves 4) to something for single me. Also, it needed to be keto. So here is my adaptation of the recipe.

Jacques Pepin's cheese soufflé 

2 T unsalted butter, plus some to butter the baking dish
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 T almond flour
6 oz whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste
3 large eggs
1 cup grated Gruyere, although you can try other cheeses
1 T minced chives

Heat the oven to 400F degrees. Butter a small baking/gratin dish. The above amount will be too much for a ramekin. Sprinkle the bottom and sides with half the Parmesan.

In a small saucepan, melt the 2 T of butter and then add the almond flour and whisk together. Cook for under a minute and then pour in the whipping cream and thoroughly whisk it all together. Cook for about 2 minutes and then add your salt and pepper and set it aside to cool to room temperature.

Break the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat well. When the cream mix is room temperature, add it, the eggs, the Gruyere, and the chives all together and mix to combine. Pour into the buttered baking dish, sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan on top, and immediately put in the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes. The top should be puffed up and well browned. Serve immediately. 

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Using cabbage leaves as noodles and wraps

Last week I made my first keto lasagna using cabbage leaves as the noodles. (You can also use lengthwise sliced zucchini as a noodle substitute.) I wanted to try the technique because not only can you sub the cabbage for flat lasagna noodles, but you can also use them to be the wrap for Asian spring rolls. During the summer, that's one of my favorite, healthy dishes.

Everyone asked me to post the lasagna recipe, but the fact is that I really just made a basic lasagna and cheated by using jarred sauce. So this post is really to give you the tips for the cabbage and then the basics for lasagna.

Cabbage leaf preparation

There's no need to buy any special type of cabbage. Just a good size head of it. You don't want it too small because the leaves will be harder to pull off as whole. If you buy a large head, you'll get down about half way and then save the rest for cole slaw or some other use.

Carefully cut the core out of the bottom so that you can peel the leaves off. 

 Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a tablespoon or two of salt to the water and then drop in your cabbage leaves. Because they are so big, you will probably have to stir the pot a couple of times as they cook. You will need to cook them for 15-20 minutes.

On your counter, lay out a clean towel and carefully lay out the cabbage leaves in a single layer to drain and dry out a bit. I'd let them sit for at least 30 minutes.

Once they have dried out, you can start assembling your lasagna: cabbage, sauce, cheese mixture. I found that some of the larger leaves had that thick stem core and so I carefully cut just that bit out. It makes the cabbage lie flatter and you wouldn't have a chunk in the middle. Repeat these layers until you have run out of components or hit the top of your baking dish.

Now as I said, I didn't do anything special for the components. It's up to you if you wish to make it vegetarian or use some other meat/sauce.

Meat sauce - I browned a pound of good quality ground beef and then threw in a jar of low carb marinara sauce. 

Cheese mixture - 2 cups of ricotta cheese, 1 cup of parmesan cheese, 1 beaten egg, salt, pepper.

I took some fresh basil from my garden, chopped it up, and sprinkled it throughout, as seen in the picture above.

The top layer is a package of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Now to try the leaves as spring roll wrappers...

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Keto Coconut Cream Panna Cotta

I've made this as non-keto and so I decided to just tweak it into a keto version. See the video for a perfectly jiggly panna cotta. 

Coconut Cream Panna Cotta 

1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon unflavored powdered gelatin

1 cup  whipping cream

1 can coconut cream
1/3 cup Lakanto monk fruit
pinch of salt

1. Pour the coconut milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
2. Pour the milk into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. (I whisk it a few times at this stage).
3. Next, add the creams, Lakanto, and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn't boil, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the Lakanto has dissolved, 5-7 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin.
5. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Serve from ramekins or turn out on plates, To turn out, run a knife around the edge of the panna cotta. Place a hot rag around the ramekin for a few seconds and then flip the ramekin onto a plate to release the panna cotta. Add garnishes and serve.

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The importance of electrolytes on keto

Keto flu is a real thing for people coming from a very carby/sugary diet to keto. When your body is transitioning from sugar burning to fat burning, it is going through some changes on how to get its energy. You are going through carb withdrawals and will get symptoms such as headaches and muscle cramps. 

When a body transitions to keto there is often a noticeable increase in dehydration. That's because the body releases more water and electrolytes due to the reduction of carbs and salts. You'll notice more peeing, which means you need to increase your water intake. More peeing means you are washing out electrolytes.

Replacing these electrolytes is important to mitigating keto flu symptoms. The three most important to replace are: sodium, magnesium, and potassium.

Sodium should be replaced by taking in Himalayan pink salts. Himalayan salts are not just sodium, but include many other minerals as well. Pink Himalayan salt contains over 84 minerals and trace elements, including calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and iron. You can definitely add it to food, but I find that in order to get enough, it's easier for me to down it like pills. I grab a pinch full of the rocky crystals and swallow it down both first thing in the morning, then again before bed. 

Many people complain of muscle cramps when they transition to keto. This is often due to a depletion in magnesium. While it is possible to take magnesium pills, it also happens to be an element that can be absorbed through the skin.  It's often more efficient and easier for people to absorb through skin than through their stomachs. You can buy magnesium oil sprays such as shown above. 

My favorite way is through epsom salt soaks. You can take an epsom salt bath, or you can soak your feet. Who doesn't enjoy a foot soak after being on their feet all day?

Potassium is pretty easy to get enough of if you eat the recommended keto foods of avocados, salmon, and spinach. You shouldn't take potassium supplements too often because you can actually overdose on potassium. Hyperkalemia is when you have too much potassium in your blood and that can lead to heart issue such as irregular heartbeats. I will take a potassium supplement every few days if I have not been eating potassium rich foods. But if you follow the avocado a day keto rule, you should be fine. 

I also like to drink electrolyte water so I can get both water and electrolytes in at the same time. I recommend Ultima powders. They have different flavors and even single serving packs to add to a bottle of water.  

You may find a need to add additional nutrients depending on your needs. I found out that adding a Vitamin B Complex supplement really helped me out as far as energy.

If you drink a lot of water and take your electrolytes regularly, you'll find your keto journey easier. 

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Bulletproof Cacao - Cuz I don't drink coffee!

One of the mainstays of the keto diet is Bulletproof Coffee. For those unfamiliar with this trendy breakfast beverage, it's coffee that has grass-fed butter and coconut oil blended into it. That's the basics, but people will also add some cream, spices,  or sweetener as well. It's the fats that are important.

Why add all that fat? The idea is that the fat will do two things: it will keep you feeling satiated/full so that you won't crave food, and it will help prolong the effects of the caffeine. In regard to the caffeine, it just means that instead of having a fast caffeine peak and then crash, the effects will be more constant and even over a longer period of time. 

I have never drunk coffee. I never acquired a taste for it and I didn't really feel a need for the caffeine. My hot drink of preference has always been hot chocolate. That's why, when I discovered brewed cacao, I became hooked on that. 

I discovered brewing cacao at the Fancy Food Show where a new company, Crio Bru, was introducing their new product. Thankfully, they sent me some samples and thus won a new customer. I won't get into depth on the health benefits of it because I already wrote about it on my other blog. Please read about the antioxidants and the benefits of theobromine in my Munchie Musings post on Loving Crio Bru. 

You brew Crio Bru EXACTLY like you do coffee. At the time I was not keto and so I was loving that I could have hot chocolate, so to speak, with a quarter of the calories of traditional hot chocolate. Instead of a 380 calorie traditional, I could have a 50 calorie Crio Bru version. 

On keto calories are not the focus - fat is. So by putting 1 tablespoon of butter and another of coconut oil (minimum) into your drink, you have a good fat start to your day. 

This is MY concoction. Everyone has their own.

Brewed Crio Bru with a pinch of salt
1 T butter
1 scoop of Perfect Keto MCT oil powder OR 2 T coconut oil
1 scoop of Perfect Keto collagen
some stevia or monk fruit drops for sweetener
1/4 cinnamon or chai spice
a quick pour (2 T?) of heavy whipping cream

It's important to use a blender! People who try to do bulletproof without blending will be confronted with a hot grease slick on the top of their beverage. Good luck downing that! By blending everything, it becomes nice and frothy like a latte.

Why the pinch of salt? Salt will cut bitterness. It's a good addition to coffee as well.

And the Perfect Keto products? Just a preference. I like to use the chocolate MCT oil because it adds the refined oil from the coconuts with an added boost of chocolate flavor. And the vanilla collagen adds some vanilla flavoring.

If you are a non-coffee drinker and want to get your bulletproof game going on, then dry Bulletproof Cacao instead!

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Keto Cauliflower Mac n Cheese

Holiday weekends often mean barbecues and so was the case this past weekend when I went to my best friend's house. They supplied the meats and everyone else brought the sides, etc. I don't know about you, but mac n cheese always goes well with barbecue, but on a keto diet, the macaroni is out. That's why we turn to cauliflower.

Thing is, if you just add boiled cauliflower, it has a lot of water it has absorbed. So a good idea is to dry it out a bit, thus the oven step.  It's not necessary, but will mean a less runny cheese sauce. Also, I cut the cauliflower down to small pieces as a way to make the cauliflower less obvious to picky eaters. 

The sodium citrate mentioned is for those true food geeks that are into the science of cooking and modernist cuisine. Sodium citrate, added to cheesy sauces, makes the sauce so smooth and silky. It's a type of salt and natural. So don't freak out about this additive. It's what makes Velveeta melt so nicely. It is not a necessary ingredient and can be left out.
Keto Cauliflower Mac n Cheese

1 head of cauliflower
1 c heavy whipping cream
2 T butter
1 t sodium citrate
2 c cheddar cheese, shredded
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 c parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 T tumeric
1 T dijon mustard

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Prepare the cauliflower by cutting into small florets and bite size pieces about the size of a nickel. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add cauliflower. Simmer for about 5 minutes til the cauliflower is slightly cooked, but not soft. Transfer to a colander and rinse with cold water. Drain well and pat with a clean kitchen towel to get out as much water as possible. Evenly spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet and place in the oven to dry for 20 minutes while you prepare cheese sauce.

Put a large saucepan on low medium heat. Melt the butter and add the heavy whipping cream to heat. Mix in the sodium citrate. Once hot, add in cheeses and melt them into the cream. Add spices and mustard. 

Take the cauliflower and add to the pan of cheese sauce. Toss/mix to thoroughly coat the pieces. You can eat directly or transfer to a baking dish to save for later.

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