LC Creamsicle Cheesecake

Got a sweet tooth? Try this no-bake creamsicle cheesecake.

Whole portion is 824 calories, 26g net carbs, 72g fat, 16g protein.

Each serving is 206 calories, 6.5g net carbs, 18g fat, 4g protein.

Ingredients

14 oz Boiled water

8 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature

1 pk Simply delish orange Jel dessert

Instructions

Add all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk or mix in blender until all ingredients are smooth. 

Pour into 4 serving cups. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

LC Hot Cocoa

A tasty cup of low-carb hot cocoa to warm up after coming in from the cold.

Whole portion is 65 calories, 1.5g net carbs, 6g fat, 1g protein.

Ingredients

8 oz Hot water

1 tbsp Cocoa powder *unsweetened

1 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream (can add another tbsp for creamier taste)

1/4 tsp Vanilla extract (if you use vanilla stevia, then no need for vanilla extract)

5 drops of liquid sweetener (Stevia), to taste

Option 1: add 1 tsp of Coconut oil for more flavor 

(extra 40 calories, 0g carbs, 5g fat, 0g protein)

Option 2: add 1 tbsp of Coconut oil and 1 tbsp unsalted butter for a Bulletproof Hot Cocoa 

(extra 222 calories, 0g carbs, 26g fat, 0g protein)

Instructions

Add all ingredients in a large mug. Whisk with an electric frother or mix in blender until all ingredients are mixed well.

Enjoy!

Salmon Burgers

Salmon Burgers, just like Tuna Cakes but made with salmon and different ingredients.

Ingredients

15 oz (2-3 cans) salmon

1 lg egg

4 tbsp olive oil, divided 

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup chopped parsley (or 1 tbsp dried)

2 tbsp dried onions

1 tbsp flour (optional, or substitute with coconut, soybean, or almond flour for low-carb)

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk the egg, half of the olive oil, Worcestershire sauce until smooth. 

In a medium bowl lightly toss the salmon with the flour, parsley, onions, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Gently fold in the wet mixture in with the salmon mixture. 

Scoop the salmon mixture and form into four patties; lightly pack them.

In a large pan, heat remaining olive oil until shimmering. Add the salmon burgers and cook over moderately high heat until deeply golden and heated through, about 3 minutes per side. 

Serve the salmon with lemon wedges. 

Low Carb Pizza

Sometimes you want something other than cauliflower dough pizza. Sometimes you don't want to experiment with making your own crust using low-carb concoctions. Here is an easy thin crust pizza recipe.

Whole portion is 405 calories, 21g net carbs, 25.5g fat, 30.5g protein.
Each piece is 101 calories, 5.2g net carbs, 6.4g fat, 7.6g protein.

Ingredients

1 wrap Damascus All Natural Roll Ups - Whole Wheat Bake Sense or any low-carb wrap

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup  marinara sauce or pasta sauce

1 tbsp Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 F.

Place wrap on a baking sheet lined with foil. Spray/brush olive oil on the wrap. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes, *then turn over the wrap and spray/brush remaining olive oil. Bake for 8 minutes. 

Take the wrap out of the oven and add sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan, and Italian seasoning. Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Wait for 1 minute before slicing the pizza.

*Note: The additional baking will give the crust a crispy crunch. You can skip this step if you want to add the ingredients straight on the wrap. Bake for 10-12 minutes instead.

Hot Wings

0-1 carbs

Ingredients12 chicken wings, separated
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup Cholula hot sauce, or any hot sauce
1 tbsp olive oil, or any oil

DirectionsHeat oven to 400 F.

Place wings in a baking pan lined with foil. Spray/brush oil on the wings.
Bake for 20 minutes, turn over the wings and bake for another 20 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, melt the butter in a medium pan and add the hot sauce. Cook for 1 minute. When the wings are done, transfer to the pan of and toss until all wings are covered with hot sauce.

Calculating Net Carbs

Counting Net Carbs is pretty straight forward except when sugar alcohol is involved. Most low-carb protein bars contain sugar alcohol in sweeteners. Examples of sugar alcohols include:

• Sorbitol
• Xylitol
• Mannitol
• Isomalt
• Maltitol
• Lactitol
• Erythritol
• Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysates

Typically, you take the total carbs minus the fiber to get Net Carbs. This nutritional label tells us that this bar contains 20g Net Carbs (24 g total carb - 4 fiber).

20g Net Carb = 24 g Total Carb - 4g Dietary Fiber

Carb counting becomes more complex when sugar alcohol is involved. Take this label for example, just looking at the total carbs and fiber, the Net Carbs is 22g... but with the sugar alcohol ingredient, this bar contains 10g Net Carbs. Or does it? 

10g Net Carb = 24 g Total Carb - 2g Dietary Fiber - 12g Sugar Alcohol

The Atkins website specifically states "to calculate Net Carb count with sugar alcohols, simply subtract grams of sugar alcohols (including glycerin), as well as fiber, from total grams of carbs." Their formula is Net Carbs = Total Carb - Dietary Fiber - Sugar Alcohol. So according to Atkins, they claim that, their Caramel Nut Chew Bar is 2g Net Carbs. 

2g Net Carb = 17 g Total Carb - 6g Dietary Fiber - 9g Sugar Alcohol

However American Diabetes Association, NIH, and UCSF disagrees that the entire carb content in sugar alcohol is subtracted from total carbs. 

American Diabetes Association points out in their How do sugar alcohols affect blood levels? article that "if a food has more than 5 grams of sugar alcohols: Subtract ½ the grams of sugar alcohol from the amount of total carbohydrate in a serving of that food."

NIH stated in their Carbohydrate Issues: Type and Amount article that "only about half of the carbohydrate grams from sugar alcohols and half or less from dietary fiber are metabolized to glucose whereas almost all "other carbohydrate" (mainly starch such as amylose and amylopectin) becomes blood glucose.

USCF illustrated in their Counting Sugar Alcohols article that "sugar alcohol is INCOMPLETELY absorbed. Estimate that only half of the sugar in sugar alcohol will be absorbed and impact your blood sugar."

Thus the formula should be: 
If food has more than 5 grams of Sugar Alcohol, 
then Net Carb = Total Carb - Dietary Fiber - 1/2 Sugar Alcohol. 

Therefore the correct amount for the Caramel Nut Chew Bar is 6.5g Net Carbs, not 2g as marketed on their packaging.

6.5g Net Carb = 17 g Total Carb - 6g Dietary Fiber - 4.5g Sugar Alcohol

So what? What's the difference between a mere 2g and 6.5g Net Carbs? The difference is 4.5g Net Carbs per bar. If you eat two bars a day, that is an extra 9g Net Carbs consumed. And if there are other meals that contain sugar alcohol, the wrong amount will be logged in your diet journal - which could impact weight loss. Bottom line is being informed when reading nutrition labels will keep your carb count accurate and not go over your daily budget... especially in the Atkins Induction Phase, where you can only consume 20g Net Carbs a day.

Additional source:

http://livehealthy.chron.com/figure-sugar-alcohol-carbs-6694.html

LC Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Low carbers' main source of energy come from fat. This easy recipe will quell your chocolate cravings and provide you the fat intake that you need.

Whole portion is 3271 calories, 13g net carbs, 369g fat, 16g protein. 

Each piece is 272 calories, 1g net carbs, 31g fat, 1.3g protein.

Ingredients 
3/4 cup coconut oil (may sub with unsalted butter or olive oil)
1/2 cup cocoa powder, divided
1/4 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
liquid sweetener to taste, about 18 tsp equivalent, divided

Instructions
Heat coconut oil in a measuring cup until it is melted.

Bottom Layer:
Pour 1/4 cup of melted oil into a bowl, stir in 1/2 of the cocoa powder until completely dissolved. Add 6 drops of sweetener, or to taste. Pour the mixture into a mini muffin (12) lined with crimped paper cups. Place the muffin pan in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

Middle Layer:
In another bowl, pour 1/4 cup of melted oil and stir in peanut butter until smooth. Add 6 drops of sweetener, or to taste. Check to see if the bottom layer is firm. If it is, pour in the peanut butter mixture. Place the pan back in the freezer for another 10 minutes.

Top Layer:
Add the remaining 1/2 of the cocoa powder into the measuring cup, until completely dissolved. Add 6 drops of sweetener, or to taste. Check to see if the middle layer is firm. If it is, pour in the chocolate mixture. Place the pan back in the freezer for another 10 minutes.

Keep the candies refrigerated until ready to serve.

Cheese Chips

Cheese Chips are way better than other snacks like potato chips, tortilla chips, or pretzels. Try one. Tell me what you think.

Whole portion is 50 calories, 1g net carbs, 4g fat, 4g protein. 

Ingredients 

These are made with American, Lite Havarti, and Lite Cheddar.

1 slice American cheese

*Lite cheese puffs up more than regular cheeses.

Instructions
Cut the slice of cheese into 16 squares as shown in picture (or 4 squares if you want bigger chips) and place them at least half inch apart on a microwavable plate lined with parchment paper. Microwave for 1 minute. Let them cool for another minute before taking them off the parchment paper.

*Havarti and Cheddar both takes about 1 1/2 minutes. You would need to experiment on the timing based on the cheese and the altitude in your area.
*If only slicing into 4 squares, microwave for a few seconds longer.

ENJOY!

 

 

 

LC No-Bake Cheesecake

This no-bake cheesecake tastes very good with the strawberry topping (optional). It's also very easy to make.

Whole portion is 520 calories, 4g net carbs, 52g fat, 14g protein.

Ingredients

For the cheesecake: 
1 env.  KNOX Unflavored Gelatine
1/2 cup sweetener (8 drops of stevia)
1 cup  boiling water
2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp.  vanilla

For the crust: 
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tbsp butter

For the strawberry topping:
1 env. Simply Delish Strawberry
14 oz Boiling water

Instructions
 

Cheesecake: 

Put gelatin and add boiling water; stir 5 minutes or until gelatin is completely dissolved.

Beat cream cheese and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. You can also mix it by hand with a fork. Gradually add gelatine mixture, beating until well blended after each addition. Refrigerate 45 minutes or until thickened, stirring every 15 minutes. 

Crust:

While the cheesecake mixture has set for 15 minutes (1) - get it out of the fridge and mix it and refrigerate again. Then melt butter in microwave (about 20-30 seconds) and add in almond meal. Mix and pour into an 8x8 pan or individual bowls (8 servings). Even the mixture with a fork. Set aside.

When the cheesecake mixture has set for another 15 minutes (2) -

get it out of the fridge and mix it and refrigerate again. Then make the topping.

Topping:

Empty envelop into boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Set aside to allow it to somewhat cool but not completely.

When the cheesecake mixture has set for another 15 minutes (3) - get it out of the fridge and pour the mixture on top of the crust. Put them back in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes (4), until the topping is cool enough to pour over top.

When topping is cool enough, pour it over top of the cheesecake mixture and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.

ENJOY!