Keto Blackberry and Sour Cream Muffins

If you're on a low carb diet and missing your standard blueberry muffins for breakfast everyday, these keto-friendly blackberry sour cream muffins will fix any craving! For 118 calories and 1 net carb per muffin, these can't be beat!

Keto Blackberry and Sour Cream Muffins

1 c. Almond Meal (I used the Trader Joe's brand)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 c. sour cream

1/3 c. blackberries, chopped

1/3 c. splenda

2 eggs

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1/3 c. water

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of salt

coconut oil for greasing the pans

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a muffin pan using coconut oil, dab a little bit in each muffin cup and rub it around the sides. Combine all of the ingredients until well mixed. Portion batter into muffin pan, you should have enough for 10-12 muffins. Bake until lightly browned on top, 15-20 minutes. Poke with a toothpick to check doneness. 

Serve with butter! (duh!)

Keto Bacon BBQ Sauce

Let's face it...every bbq sauce on the market is loaded with sugar. I was craving ribs smothered in bbq sauce recently, so I decided to develop the best possible keto bbq sauce I could.

Guess what? This is probably the best bbq sauce I've ever had! (Thanks to bacon!) You can  put this stuff on ANYTHING and it will taste great. Wings, ribs, burgers, chicken, whatever. Try it!

Keto Bacon BBQ Sauce

6  strips of thick smoked bacon, chopped fine (I used neuske's applewood smoked, so good!)
1 medium onion, minced
3 clove garlic, minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 small can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 can (12 oz) diet (sugar-free) cola, you can also use diet dr. pepper!
1 cup heinz reduced sugar ketchup
6 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste

Fry the bacon in a saucepan until crispy. Add the onion and cook over medium until soft. Add garlic and stir until combined Add the rest of the ingredients, plus about half a cup of water. Stir well. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. It will cook down a bit and flavors will combine.  Adjust the seasonings so you have the balance you want - you can add vinegar or hot sauce. In a blender, puree the sauce until smooth.

The recipe makes approximately 20 servings of 1/4 cup each. Each serving has about 3 grams of net carbs.

Keto Sausage Crust Pizza

I love pizza. Pizza is a comfort food to me. When I discovered that Lou Malnati's (a famous pizza institution in Chicago) served a "crustless pizza," I was thrilled! While this pizza is a great treat every once in a while, it is quite expensive if you start eating it 3 times a week, like my s/o and I did when we first discovered it.

Then I remembered, "I"m a chef! I can do this at home for a quarter of the price!" So, I did. 

Here's the recipe! Enjoy.

Keto Sausage Crust Pizza

For Crust:

1 # Bulk Italian Sausage, hot or mild, up to you. 

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. italian herb seasoning

2 tbsp. parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Pre-Heat oven to 350. Using a round pizza pan, press out the italian sausage on to the pan, make sure the sausage is pushed out all the way to the edge. DO NOT GREASE THE PAN! (cause fires! but really, the sausage has enough grease, it won't stick. If you're worried you can use a non-stick pizza pan). Season the sausage with the remaining ingredients. Bake the crust until the sausage is almost done cooking, it should look sort of grey, not browned. Take pizza out, drain off excess grease if necessary. 

For Sauce:

1 28 oz can of tomato sauce (try to find one lower in carbs! I found one at dollartree that has 4g per serving!)

1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. italian herb seasoning

Heat olive oil in a sauce pot. Add garlic and seasonings and cook until golden brown. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat. 

For toppings:

2 C. Provolone/Mozzarella Cheese, shreds - most grocery stores carry a blend of the two.

Sliced pepperoni, for topping

Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning to taste

Time to assemble the pizza! On the par cooked crust, sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded provolone/mozzarella. Place the pizza back in the oven to melt the first layer of cheese. Take the pizza out and spread the tomato sauce on top, use as much or as little as you want. Lay out your pepperoni and then top with the rest of the provolone/mozzarella. Place the pizza back in the oven and bake until golden brown. Let it cool before cutting and top with parmesan and herb seasoning to taste.

My Keto Sausage Crust Pizza

Lou Malnati's Original Crustless pizza

I made it through two nights of Halloween festivities without cheating on Keto! (and some recipes)

Let's be honest, the holidays are tough on any diet, and Halloween, especially for me, is tough because I love candy and all of the other carb-loaded fall inspired foods. (Pumpkin spice lattes, I miss you.) I tend to completely blow off my diet around this time of year and end up totally falling off the bandwagon by the time New Years hits. Guess what? NOT THIS YEAR. On Saturday,  I made it through a Halloween party where I didn't even contemplate cheating on my diet. By Sunday, I had actually lost another 3 lbs!  Here are a couple of recipes that helped me make it through the Halloween festivities I went to last weekend.  Happy Halloween, Ketophiles! :D

Spicy Low-Carb Trail Mix

2 c. unsalted peanuts

2 c. unsalted almonds

2 c. pepitas (or pumpkin seeds)

2 c. sunflower kernals

1 c. unsalted butter, melted

1/4 c. Chili powder

1 Tbsp. Cumin

2 Tbsp. Kosher Salt

2 Tbsp. Garlic powder

1 Tbsp. Black Pepper

1 Tbsp. Paprika

1 tsp. Cayenne

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly toast all of the seeds and nuts, you can skip this step if you purchased the nuts pre-roasted. After the nuts are toasted, transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients and thoroughly mix them together. Transfer mixture to a couple of baking sheets. Put them back in the oven and toast for an additional 5-10 minutes, just so the seasonings get baked on. Do not over bake! These will burn very easily. For the party, I served my trail mix out of a plastic jack-o-lantern bucket that I picked up at the dollar store. 

Nutritional Info:  25 servings, roughly 1/3 c. per serving

Calories: 291

Fat: 26 g

Net Carbs: 3
Protein: 7

Low-Carb Spiked Apple Cider

*Just a reminder* When you're on the ketogenic diet, your alcohol tolerance is DRAMATICALLY lowered. This stuff is strong, but it's hard to tell! My friends loved it, and would never have guessed that it was low-carb, it tasted so good!

1 64 Oz. bottle of  Healthy Balance Apple Juice

4 Cinnamon sticks

1 tsp. All Spice

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg

1 tsp. whole cloves

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. Sugar free caramel syrup

2 c. warm water

3 c. Vodka 

Whipped cream, I used reddi-whip (it's surprisingly low-carb!)

ground cinnamon, for garnish

In a crock pot, add all ingredients up to the whole cloves. Simmer on the lowest setting for 2 hours. Strain apple cider mixture through a strainer lined with a coffee filter. Transfer apple cider to a pitcher or whatever serving container you plan on using. I used an air pot, which kept the apple cider warm all night. Add vanilla, caramel syrup, water, and vodka, mix well. Serve as a shot or in a low-ball glass with whipped cream and cinnamon. 

Nutritional Info: 28 servings, 4 oz. per serving (not including whipped cream garnish)

Calories: 65

Fat: 0

Net Carbs: 1

Protein: 0

Keto for Keeps' first recipe! Double Meat Chili.

Hey Everyone!

Fall is in full swing and I couldn't be more excited!  This means hoodies, football, and of course delicious and hearty food! What's better than eating an awesome bowl of chili on a cold day? Pretty much nothing, unless you add a bunch of cheddar cheese and sour cream! It's Keto for Keeps' first recipe! Double meat chili, here we go....!

Double Meat Chili:

1 lb Ground Pork
1 lb 80/20 Ground Beef
1 can Hunts diced and seasoned for chili tomatoes
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium bell peppers, diced
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 can black soy beans, rinsed
1/4 c. chile powder
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. back pepper
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1 qt. beef stock
water as needed
Garnishes: Sour Cream, Cheddar Cheese, Green Onions

Directions:
 In a large pot, cook the ground pork, ground beef, and seasonings until browned. Add diced onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook until soft. Add canned tomatoes, tomato paste, and black soy beans. Stir to combine. Add beef stock, cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Adjust consistency with water, and season to your taste. Garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese and green onions. 

Nutritional Info: *Makes 8 Servings*
342 calories
5 carbs 
22 g. fat
25 g. protein