Eating Keto

Toward the end of 2016, first of 2017 we began a low carb diet generally known as the Keto Diet.  It was Ross who introduced us to it and we've been doing it ever since.  Fortunately with his help we got started with some delicious recipes and learned a lot about how it works.  Not to mention why it's good for you.

We all lost weight, but we also changed our complete perspective on food in general.  I will say it was a challenge initially because of that.  Fast food, processed food, sweets - we were definitely addicted to all of those.  Learning that fat is good for you is still not easy when coming from a generation that has been told exactly the opposite.

Foods high in fat like butter and nuts aren't as bad as we've been led to believe. A sugar substitute called erythritol is our new best friend in the kitchen.  And there's still room in this diet for a decadent dessert and a glass of wine so that helps! 

Counting carbs is one way to get started, but there are numerous websites out there dedicated solely to great low carb recipes.  Also, once we got the hang of "low carb", we adapted many of our own favorite recipes.

Here are just a couple of our many new favorites:

Chicken Pizza Crust

1 lb ground chicken

⅓ c shredded mozzarella cheese

⅓ c grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg (beat before adding) 

2 tsp garlic salt

½ tsp pepper

olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and cover in olive oil. With hands covered in olive oil, press chicken mixture onto cookie sheet until it is evenly distributed and less than ¼ in thick (or as thick as you like your pizza crust). Prick with a fork. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until it begins to brown on top (and not just the edges). 

Take out of oven, put on your desired toppings, and place back in 400 degree oven until cheese is melted and begins to brown - this should take 5 minutes or so. 

Crust freezes well!

Ideas for toppings:

Ranch dressing as base Butter as base

Grated cheese Small mozzarella balls

Turkey pepperoni Sauteed (or raw) onions

Cooked ground beef Fajita chicken

Sauteed (or raw) green bell pepper Leaf spinach

Olives Mushrooms

Peppers (jalapenos, banana peppers) Crispy bacon

Rotel tomatoes

Play around with mixtures of different cheeses to get great variation in your pizzas! As written above, this recipe makes one large pizza; however, it is easily doubled to make two.

Jim’s Perfect Cheesecake

Crust*:

1 stick butter, melted

1 ¼ c almond flour

¼ c coconut flour

¼ c erythritol

Pinch of salt

Cake:

2 lbs (4 pkgs) cream cheese, room temp

1 ⅓ c erythritol (granular)

1 T vanilla

4 large eggs

8 oz sour cream

⅔ c heavy whipping cream

Note: Let all ingredients reach room temperature before beginning.

Crust:

Preheat oven to 325F. Wrap heavy duty foil around bottom of a 10” springform pan to make it watertight.  Set aside. Melt butter in a pan over low heat or in microwave. Remove from heat, add other ingredients and mix thoroughly. Press crust evenly into the bottom of the prepared springform pan (the bottom of a glass or a measuring cup can help with this). Prick with a fork. Bake for ~15 minutes or until it starts to brown. 

Cake:

Whisk (or use stand mixer) all the ingredients together until smooth. DO NOT OVERBEAT, even if some very small cream cheese pieces remain, it’s better than overbeating it. Overbeating it will not lead to a traditionally dense and smooth cheesecake. 

Pour cheesecake batter over prepared crust.  Place springform pan in sauce pan with straight sides, slightly bigger than the springform pan. Using a pitcher, add about 1” of water to the pan for a water bath.  Bake at 325F for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Do NOT overcook or the cake will be dry. Let cool and remove from water bath, cover tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight. 

To remove from springform pan, carefully run a thin knife around the inside of the pan, then release the form.  Replace springform ring, cover with foil and refrigerate. Freezes well too!

*Half the recipe for a THINNER CRUST and bake about 10 minutes:

½ stick butter, melted

¾ c almond flour

4 T coconut flour

5 T erythritol

Pinch of salt