Halloween is over BUT... Pumpkin Seed recipes are completely necessary!

And so...I still must tell you about the feast we had before we carved pumpkins on Halloween Eve!
We carved up some pumpkins too! You might ask yourself, what did we do with the leftover pumpkin seeds?! Why bake them of course!! :D We had a total of 4 large pumpkins that yielded two full pans of pumpkin seeds to roast! They were delicious! Why is there only one time of year you can get these seeds? I hope this changes :). I have a mind to go out next grocery run and grab pumpkins to make my own pumpkin puree and stock up (if even a little) on the pumpkin seeds. I make no promises though, as sometimes my ambitions outweigh the hours in a day ;).

I had made Low Carb Chili, (which I neglected to take a photo of :(  ) and Keto Chocolate Roll earlier in the day...(with coffee!!! ^-^)

...so it was all ready to go and add to the festivities! The chili was a recipe I've used for years now, the spices always make my nose run and kick me in the throat causing me to cough, but I will still vouch for it being a recipe worth making! With 5 adults in the house, the chili was gone. Lol No leftovers here! However, this was the first time I had made the chocolate roll, I didn't really know what to expect... it turned out to be quite magical! Tasty and fluffy and yummy!

Baked Pumpkin Seeds

Pin it for later HERE.

What you will Need:

- 2 Large Pumpkins with Seeds

- Olive Oil

- Sea Salt

- Colander

- Cookie Baking Sheet

What you will Do:

1) Hollow out the pumpkin carefully with a large Tablespoon.

2) Separate the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin pulp. 

3) In a colander, place the the pumpkin seeds and rinse. 

4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

5) Place the seeds in a medium bowl. 

6) Add 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil for every  3/4 cup of seeds, and 1 Teaspoon of salt. 

7) Mix it all up and place on a cookie sheet, spread them in a single layer. 

8) Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, pull out the pan, stir them and place back in the oven for about 15 - 20 more minutes. 

Enjoy these! They only seem to happen about once a year! Serve them hot or cold. The smell reminds me of popcorn! How delightful! ^-^ 

Meatloaf - Keto & Low Carb Friendly

Temps are dropping here in Texas.. which means its time to break out the casserole dish! 

Who doesn't like meatloaf?! I confess... I didn't used to. The kind I tried growing up was too tart for my taste. My guess is because ketchup was used, I love ketchup but the store bought kind was too sweet (I since have taken to making my own ketchup ;)). I like my meat salty. 

Even when it comes to ham. I'm not for a honey baked ham, add veggies to it for me please! :) 

In any case, this meatloaf is my kind of meaty goodness made with spiced homemade ketchup, which for this recipe, we'll call red sauce. 

Using a 9 x 13 pan there wasn't much to speak of as far as leftovers go! Which is fine, to me that means everyone got fed and got enough. :) Though I'll admit sometimes I try making a huge batch of something hoping for leftovers later! ^-^ I like cooking/baking but sometimes I'd like to just grab something from the fridge and 5 minutes later have a warm meal in front of me. :)

Meatloaf

Serves 4 - 6
Pin it for later here.

What You'll Need:

Base of Meat Loaf:
2 lbs of ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 Tablespoons Coconut Flour
1 Cup Diced White Onion
8 Cloves Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup Zucchini Diced or Shredded ( I dice it, every time )
3/4 Cup Red Sauce (see below)
1 Egg Beaten
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

Red Sauce:
6 oz Tomato Paste
3 Tablespoons Vinegar
1/4 Teaspoon Dried Mustard
1/3 Cup Water
1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Powder
1/2 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
Splash of Lemon Juice

To Grease Pan: Bacon Grease

What You'll Do: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1) Combine all ingredients (less the red sauce) in a bowl. Mix well.
2) In a separate smaller bowl, combine all ingredients for red sauce. After mixing the red sauce, take about 1/2 of it and add it to the meatloaf mixture.
3) Use the bacon grease to grease a 9 x 13 pan. Add The Meatloaf mix to the pan, smoothing top of it until mostly flat.
4) Top with remaining Red sauce.
5) Bake at 350 for 1 hr 30 minutes.

SIDE NOTE: Your meatloaf may "shrink". This is normal. 

The leaner your meat, the less it will shrink. Just FYI. :) 

Serve warm and enjoy!

Chocolate Flaxseed Bread - Low Carb

Can I just say I love that cocoa is low carb? Per Tablespoon, this chocolate unsweetened powder has 3 g of carbs, and 2 grams of fiber = net carb per Tablespoon of 1. This recipe calls for 6 Tablespoons for the whole kitten caboodle.

And flaxseed meal!? Well, that powerhouse food is 49 grams of carbs and 46 grams of fiber = net carb of 3grams per cup! True story... :)

I find the experience of eating a slice of this bread versus a mini donut of it far more satisfying.
 I hope you like it too!

My husband has been giving me other ideas, to take this recipe to yet another level :). I think it's a recipe for Christmas but if I get antsy I'll get into it to perfect it before then hopefully. LOL Can you wait till Christmas to find out? Maybe I'll move the deadline up to Thanksgiving ;). Maybe...

Chocolate Flaxseed Bread
Pin it for later HERE.

1 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup unflavored whey protein
1/4 cup Swerve (or 1/4 c Erythritol and 1 tsp stevia glycerite)
6 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Options: 
- Add 2 Tablespoons chopped pecans
- Add 2 Tablespoons chopped dark chocolate

What You Do:

1) Mix all dry ingredients.

2) Melt butter in microwave.

3) Add almond milk and vanilla, stir till mixed. 

4) Add melted butter and lightly beaten eggs. Mix well.

5) Let sit for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

6) Spray bread pan liberally with coconut oil.

7) After you've let the batter sit for 10 minutes, pour into bread pan.

8) Bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes. Once the top of your loaf if firm, it's done.  

Serve warm or cool. 

I've found after slicing the bread, putting butter or peanut butter on top makes them taste pretty awesome! As always, tailor to your diet needs. I do not add nutrition facts to my recipes because looking at the ingredients, etc. is always up to the consumer. :) 

Peanut Butter Cookies - For Low Carbers

Does this happen to you? You're in the kitchen, you decide it's time to make something, one things leads to another and you get this snowball affect of making one recipe after another after another?

That was me, that was me last night. In the end, totally worth it of course! :D I'm finding with the Texas summer heat, during the day is not a good time to bake. Everyone will be feeling the ill affects of a 350 - 400 degree oven and add insult to injury of the heat! But that's okay, where there's a will there's a way... and if you're in the flow you might as well keep on keeping on until you've decided you're done. Amiright?

I made a total of 4 recipes last night. All of which needed to be baked so it was a good thing I started at 8pm. I was done with dishes cleaned and put away well before 11pm. The line up was as follows (and yes, they are linked recipes!! ^-^ You're welcome! :D ;))

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Parmesan

Low Carb Sausage Pinwheels

Chocolate Flaxseed Mini Donuts

I then decided to play around with a peanut butter cookie recipe. This time I think I struck the right balance (before I wasn't so sure about the salt, I couldn't taste it, I think this was due in part because of the peanut butter I used).

My husband said he thinks these are even better the next day, which is great! :D I will say I'm seeing a trend with him... he tends to like the recipes I make with swerve better when they are cooled off. Food for thought.  ;)

Peanut Butter Cookies

For Low Carbers

Yields about 20 - 24 cookies

What You'll Need:
1 Cup Swerve ( or 1 cup erythritol and 1 tsp stevia)
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup Peanut Flour
2 Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Optional: 1/2 Cup Sugar Free Chocolate Chips

What You'll Do:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a medium bowl beat together the swerve and peanut butter, mix well. Add the remaining ingredients one at a time mixing after each addition.
3) Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a fork make criss-cross marks on top of each ball to flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness.
4) Bake 8-10 minutes. Pull cookies out of the oven and let them sit on the pan for a few minutes before moving. They will continue to cook and harden up a bit.

Serve warm or cold. These make a good dessert but could also pass for breakfast - I'm serious! :)

Any and all feed back is welcome! I hope you like these! :D

I couldn't wait to get these out of the oven! 

Taking a photo of them as they cooked felt like the right thing to do. ;)

And as they cooled off... 

Worth noting: Peanut butter flour has 32 grams of carbs per cup, these cookies go down easier than the standard low carb cookies out there that have 1 cup peanut butter,
1 cup substituted sweetener, a few eggs and vanilla. However, the cookies in this recipe, if you ate them all in one sitting, (don't do it! XD) the cup of peanut flour packs 32 grams of carbs - so be careful if you have a strict carb count you are trying to keep :). Granted 32 grams of carbohydrates versus
127 grams that regular flour has, this recipe makes a nice treat in comparison. 

Chocolate Flaxseed Mini Donuts - Low Carb Recipe

No really, you make this with the right ingredients and you're money. 

The cocoa and the flax seed and the whey and the butter.. you're set. It's all low carb. That's right :). 

 My father in law has Type II diabetes and  is staying with us now, so I'm trying to make some "regular" food for him and the family to have low carb options. The first week he's been with us he said his blood sugar has come down since staying with us... and he said he thinks it's because of these muffins. ;0)

 This recipe was adapted from MariaMindBody's recipe. 

Chocolate Flax Seed Mini Donuts

What You'll Need:

1 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup unflavored whey protein
1/4 cup Swerve (or 1/4 c Erythritol and 1 tsp stevia glycerite)
6 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Options: 
- Add 2 Tablespoons chopped pecans
- Add 2 Tablespoons chopped dark chocolate

What You Do:

1) Mix all dry ingredients.

2) Melt butter in microwave

3) Add almond milk and vanilla, stir till mixed. 

4) Add melted butter and lightly beaten eggs. Mix well

5) Let sit for 5 minutes. 

6) Spray each donut mold with coconut oil.

7) Spoon batter carefully into mini donut tin, bake 20 - 23 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Serve warm or cool. 

I've found topping these with peanut butter makes them taste pretty awesome! I also found unsalted butter is tasty as a topping as well. Just throwing those options out there. :) As always, tailor to your diet needs. I do not add nutrition facts to my recipes because looking at the ingredients, etc. is always up to the consumer. :) 

Cinnamon Crisp Cookies - Gluten Free & Low Carb

It occurred to me as I shared my first post on Honest to Goodness Eats that I have seriously been lacking in the desserts area. So in an effort to add to the list of desserts that are gluten, sugar and flour free I present to you, for your eating pleasure...

Cinnamon Crisp Cookies
Pin it for later HERE.

What you'll need:
- 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup Swerve (or 1/3 cup Erythitol & 1/4 tsp liquid stevia glycerite)
- 1/4 teaspoon celtic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup melted butter (or coconut oil)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

What to do:

1) In a medium bowl add all dry ingredients - almond flour, swerve, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Whisk all ingredients together.

2) In a small bowl mix together melted butter (or coconut oil) and vanilla.

3) Mix wet and dry ingredients, then chill in fridge for about 30 minutes.

4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5) Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick, cut out cookies with a cookie cutter about  an inch and half width.

6) Using a metal spatula, transfer cut out cookie to cookie sheet.

7) Bake at 350 for 10 - 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.

I recommend serving these once they are completely cooles to get a truely crispy cookie! 

My apologies to Santa, he'll have to wait till next year to have these on Christmas! ;) 

I hope you and yours enjoy these!