You won’t believe the main ingredient in this crazy pizza crust recipe…it’s CHICKEN!!

This recipe is based on the KetoConnect recipe which uses canned chicken (their recipe is inspired by the Real Good Food Chicken Pizza Crust).  I have made this crust both with canned chicken and fresh, cooked chicken. I prefer the latter because it is less salty and moister.

The crust doesn’t taste like chicken, and once it cools a bit, you can pick up a slice just like regular pizza. It’s crazy! Who would have thought to use chicken as a pizza crust…

It also makes delicious cheesy garlic bread 🙂

Print

Crazy Keto Pizza Crust

You won't believe the main ingredient in this pizza crust!

Course Main Course

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 519kcal

Ingredients

• 3 Chicken thighs boneless, skinless -need to total 1.25 cups of minced chicken. Alternatively use 2 cans of chicken (about 10 oz total)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Tomato-Basil pasta sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cook chicken thighs in frying pan or oven. Allow to cool. Put through food processor or chop as finely as possible. You should have about 1.25 cups of minced chicken. Alternatively, use 2 cans of chicken (about 10oz total).
• Place in a mixing bowl.
• Add olive oil, cheese and egg to the bowl with chicken and mix.
• Put mixture onto baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment and spread thin. Placing parchment paper on top and using a rolling pin makes this easier.
• Optional: Pinch the edges of the crust to form a ridge for the crust.
• Bake the crust for 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Remove crust from oven. Add desired toppings and bake for another 6-10 minutes. Toppings will dictate the final cook time.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Notes

The nutrition values here are for the crust with tomato sauce and cheese only.

Additional toppings will change the final nutrition values.

Net Carbs per serving (1/2 the pizza): less than 5 grams

You might also like: My Favourite Low Carb Pasta and Rice Alternatives or Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole

It doesn’t get any simpler than this…Parmesan Crisps made with cheese. That’s it. I like a blend of parmesan and asiago because the asiago makes the final product a nice combination of crispy and chewy. Parmesan on its own makes a more delicate, brittle crisp.

These are great as a snack, on top of caesar salad, or in place of bread on French Onion Soup!

Print

Quick Parmesan Crisps

Eat as a snack or put on top of caesar salad in place of croutons.

Course Snack

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
• 1/4 cup Asiago cheese grated, or use 1/4 cup more parmesan

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Place small mounds of cheese on parchment-lined baking sheets OR place cheese in mini muffin pans, about 1/2 full.
• Bake in oven until melted and slightly browned.

You might also like: Low Carb Caesar Salad Dressing

Noodles are such comfort food. Easy to prepare, so versatile and delicious. When I first started eating low carb, noodles were among the foods I missed the most. It took a while to find an alternative that I truly enjoyed. These Simple Low Carb Noodles fit the bill.

Shirataki or Konjac noodles are made from a root vegetable but have so much fibre in them, that they’re virtually carb-free. They have a distinct smell that you’ll notice when you open the package but they don’t taste like that so don’t worry!! Just rinse them well. They will take on the flavour of whatever sauce you choose.

There’s a secret to the preparation of these noodles that not everyone knows. It makes a difference in the texture if you dry pan-fry these noodles after rinsing! Just heat a pan with NO OIL and add the rinsed/drained noodles. Let them cook for a few minutes until they stop steaming. This improves the texture and makes them less chewy.

Print

Simple Low Carb Noodles

Simple dish with shirataki pasta, butter, garlic and parmesan.

Course Main Course

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 package Shirataki spaghetti noodles or use Konjac noodles
• 1 tbsp butter salted
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
• 2 tbsp chives

Instructions

• Drain and rinse noodles. Pat dry with paper towel.
• Heat a frying pan without any oil. Add noodles and stir. Heat for about 5 minutes.
• Add butter and garlic. Heat and stir until butter is melted.
• Add parmesan cheese and cheese. Cook for another minute.
• Serve.

Notes

Net Carbs per Serving: 1.25 grams

You might also like: My Favourite Low Carb Pasta and Rice Alternatives and It’s National Fettuccini Day!

I was craving apple ‘something’ the other day so I decided to try this out…an apple cinnamon chaffle. It definitely satisfied that craving, and with only a 1/4 of an apple, it’s still low carb!

A chaffle is a simple recipe of 1/2 cup cheese (I like mozzarella), 1 tbsp almond flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 egg…with whatever additions you want. Sounds crazy but it’s delicious!

Make a bunch ahead of time and freeze so that you have some for a quick breakfast or snack. However, it only takes a few minutes from start to finish so as long as you have the ingredients on hand you could easily whip up a chaffle in the morning.

Print

Apple Cinnamon Chaffle

So simple and so delicious. Similar to an apple fritter but much healthier!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Equipment

• Waffle iron

Ingredients

• 1 large egg Egg
• 1 tbsp Almond flour/meal
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 small Apple chopped
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract pure
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Swerve Sweetener (erythritol) confectioners

Instructions

• Heat your waffle iron.
• Add a bit of oil if necessary so it doesn't stick.
• Spread the chopped apple on the hot waffle iron and cook until softened.
• Mix all other ingredients and pour over softened apple.
• Cook for 3-5 minutes in waffle iron or until it stops steaming.
• Top with ICING if desired: 2 tbsp powdered Swerve, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp vanilla. Add just enough cream to make this pourable. Drizzle over the chaffle!

Notes

Net carbs per serving: 6 grams (without icing)

You might also like: Low Carb Apple Crisp

When I was kid, I would start salivating when I knew my mom was cooking Hamburger Helper for dinner. Did you grow up eating this too?? It’s delicious but like most boxed foods, not necessarily the healthiest thing to feed your family.

Here’s a list of the ingredients:
Enriched Pasta (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Corn Starch, Salt, Wheat Flour, Modified Whey, Onion*, Color (caramel color, annatto extract), Yeast Extract, Potassium Chloride, Natural Flavor, Vegetable Oil (canola, soybean and/or sunflower oil), Spice, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Monoglycerides, Sugar, Beef Stock, Beef Fat, Silicon Dioxide (anticaking agent).*Dried

This Mushroom and Swiss Burger Casserole somehow tastes just like Hamburger Helper but made with better ingredients, as long as you’re ok to eat dairy, and it’s low carb too.

Print

Mushroom and Swiss Burger Casserole Recipe

This reminds me of the taste of Hamburger Helper, but much healthier of course!

Course Main Course

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 tbsp Butter salted
• 1 package sliced (8 oz) White mushrooms sliced (8 oz) White mushrooms
• 1 medium Yellow onion diced
• 3 clove Garlic- minced
• 454 gm Ground Beef (or other ground meat)
• 1/2 cup Heavy whipping cream 38% M.F.
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp Oregano dried
• 1/4 tsp Parsley dried
• 1/4 tsp Salt and pepper or to taste
• 2 cup diced or shredded Swiss cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place a pan over medium/high heat and add a little butter and oil.
• When the pan is hot, add the mushrooms and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.
• Add the ground beef and cook until browned.
• Add the heavy cream and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and let simmer a couple of minutes.
• Add the beef mixture to a greased, 9x13, baking dish. Stir everything together. Top with shredded Swiss cheese and bake for 30 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Notes

Net Carbs per Serving: 9.5 grams

You might also like Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole

YOUR BRAIN IS YOU.

Think about that. Your brain is what makes you the person you are. It allows you to make choices, enjoy life, learn, do things, feel… If you have a brain, you’re at risk.

It’s common to hear people joking about getting older and ‘losing their marbles’. Losing their memory. It’s not a normal part of aging. It’s common, yes, but NOT NORMAL. It doesn’t have to happen.

If you could do something to prevent dementia and be the person who ages well with memory intact, instead of suffering the devastating effects of memory loss, wouldn’t you want to do that?

Now, why did I come in here again??

Have you ever had trouble recalling someone’s name, or experienced brain fog to the point that you couldn’t remember why you walked into the other room? Or had difficulty remembering all the details of something that you never thought you’d ever forget? Have you ever worried that perhaps this is the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) or dementia?

Maybe you think you’re too young to be worried about that…you’re not. NOBODY IS. The things you eat and the things you do in even in your 20’s and 30’s hugely impacts the likelihood of you developing dementia later in life.

There’s something simple that you can do NOW to improve your memory and thinking abilities and reduce your chances of developing dementia. Even people who carry the Alzheimer’s gene can reduce the chance of the gene being ‘turned on’ if they take certain dietary and lifestyle measures.

You may be experiencing memory and thinking difficulties because of your diet, lifestyle or lack of sleep. There are various reasons. But for many people, it’s a symptom of insulin resistance and other precursors to dementia.

Dementia is not a normal result of aging

Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are not a normal result of aging and current research seems to indicate that it can be reduced or in some cases reversed.  Dementia is a terrible disease for both the person going through it and for those watching their loved one decline. It’s also difficult for caregivers either at home or in long term care facilities to know how to deal with the behaviour difficulties that arise.

Imagine not being able to remember the names of your family members, or forgetting how to perform simple tasks of daily living like getting dressed, or walking around a familiar location and suddenly realizing that you don’t remember how to get back home. Slowly losing your ability to function independently. Often feeling confused, frustrated and tearful but no one around you seems to understand or is able to help you. Increasingly feeling like you need to leave, to go home, to be somewhere else but not quite remembering where you’re supposed to go or how to get there.

It’s terrifying. It can go on for many years, getting progressively worse. It’s a terrible way to spend your remaining years. It’s an awful way to watch your loved one die.

It can be prevented or at least minimized.

There are over 500,000 Canadians living with dementia with 25000 new cases each year (Alzheimer’s Society Canada, 2018).

Will this be you someday?

I have worked with hundreds of people over the years who have some sort of dementia and see how difficult it is for everyone involved.

Meet Jim and Sheila. I see Jim come in to visit his wife Sheila at the LTC, and she knows he’s a familiar person but can’t quite place who he is… sometimes she calls him ‘dad’. They had exciting retirement plans, that is until she started to get more and more forgetful. It got to the point that he couldn’t take care of her physical needs and wandering behaviours anymore. It breaks his heart every time he has to leave her. He has given up all of his retirement plans- THEIR retirement plans. Instead of traveling the world with Sheila, he now goes to the long term care facility to visit Sheila every day, hoping she will remember him. Somedays she is lucid and knows he is her beloved husband. But most of the time, she doesn’t quite know who he is.

Do something NOW

Keeping your mind functioning optimally is so important at any age. Think about how much more you can enjoy your life NOW when you’re able to think clearly and focus. You can improve your brain function now AND reduce your chances of Alzheimer’s or dementia later, by make small changes today.

Taking dietary and lifestyle steps NOW can be the difference between you having the retirement of your dreams or living in a seniors’ home or visiting your loved one there. It can be the difference between being able to dress yourself every day, or relying on a ‘stranger’ to do it for you.

Think this doesn’t apply to you?
Think you are years away from experiencing this?
NOPE. The groundwork for this brain decay starts at least 30 years before symptoms start.

30 years.

What can you do?

Exercise, sleep and food are key elements of a healthy brain.

Get moving. Even if it’s just a 10-minute walk. Do it every day. Be consistent.

Figure out how to get a better night’s sleep. Regular exercise will help. Reducing screen time before bed, taking a magnesium glycinate or melatonin supplement at bedtime, yoga or meditation before sleep, avoiding alcohol 3 hours before bedtime or getting treatment for sleep apnea can all help.

What you eat is critically important. A high carb diet (typical North American Diet) is very harmful to the brain. It promotes inflammation which damages the brain. A high carb diet also leads to insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes. People with Type 2 Diabetes have a significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.

I’ll say that again…people with Type 2 Diabetes have a SIGNIFICANTLY higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. I bet you didn’t even know they were related! Many researchers now refer to Alzheimer’s Disease as Type 3 Diabetes, because of the link to insulin resistance and blood sugar.

What should I eat?

Switching to a low carb diet is a powerful tool to balance blood sugar and reduce your chances of developing diabetes. People who are already showing signs of pre-diabetes can get their blood sugar back into the normal range by eating low carb.

Start with eating a low carb breakfast. See this POST for more information about why your breakfast choice is so important. Click HERE to get my Better Breakfast Recipe Book.

Check out my BLOG for low carb recipes or contact me to see if my CHANGE Method will work for you.

References
https://alzheimer.ca/en/Home/Get-involved/Advocacy/Latest-info-stats, June 29, 2018

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325195.php

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/in-depth/diabetes-and-alzheimers/art-20046987

These low carb brownies are SOOOO delicious. Not too sweet but very chocolatey. Your low carb skeptics won’t know the difference.

Print

Low Carb Brownies

Course Dessert

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Almond Flour
• 1/4 cup Sunflower seed flour
• 3 large egg Egg at room temperature
• 3/4 cup Butter unsalted (softened)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract pure
• 1/4 cup Cocoa powder unsweetened (dark)
• 1/3 cup Lily’s Dark Chocolate Baking Chips
• 1/2 cup Erythritol (Swerve) powdered - add another 1/4 cup if you like it sweeter
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line with parchment paper an 8×8-inch baking pan covering the bottom and the sides.
• Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler or in the microwave.
• Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients: almond flour, sunflower seed flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, baking powder.
• In a large bowl beat the eggs with the mixer.
• Add the butter and chocolate mixture, and vanilla and continue mixing.
• Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, until you get brownies batter consistency.
• Transfer the batter to the baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. Check at 15 minutes. Brownies are done when the surface is firm but the centre is still a bit moist. Do not overbake.
• Allow to cool before slicing.

Notes

Net carbs per serving: 2.75 grams

You might also like: Low Carb Cinnamon Chocolate Lava Cake

Delicious cookie dough fat bombs with only 1 gram of net carbs per bomb. These take just a few minutes to prepare. You’ll be satisfying your sweet tooth with these tasty morsels in no time at all, without sugar.

Print

Cookie Dough Fat Bombs

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword keto, low carb

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Ingredients

• 1 block Cream cheese softened
• 3 tbsp Butter unsalted
• 6 tbsp Peanut butter natural (no sugar added)
• 1 tbsp Vanilla extract pure
• 1/3 cup Swerve Sweetener (erythritol) confectioners
• 1/3 cup Lily’s Dark Chocolate Baking Chips

Instructions

• With a mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and peanut butter in a bowl.
• Add vanilla and sweetener, mixing slowly until well combined.
• Stir in chocolate chips.
• Portion with small ice cream scoop or press into molds or ice cube tray.
• Refrigerate until firm.
• Store in fridge or freezer.

Notes

Net carbs per fat bomb: 1 gram

You might also like: Dairy-Free Sunbutter Fat Bombs

This Low Carb Citrus Carnitas recipe is one of my favourite ways to cook pork.  It’s super flavourful and versatile. It can be eaten as a taco, on top of salad or alongside your favourite vegetables. It would also be great in an omelet.

I am providing the instructions for the traditional stovetop method which is great, but it takes some time. You need to be around the kitchen for a couple of hours.

You’ll also find the instructions for the Instant Pot Version which takes less time. The result is just as delicious!

In both cases, the flavour improves after the pork has sat in the fridge until the next day!

You might also like: My Favourite Low Carb Pasta and Rice Alternatives or Keto Scalloped ‘Potatoes’ to go along with this Low Carb Citrus Carnitas.