BAKED "FRIED" GREEN BEANS

BAKED "FRIED" GREEN BEANS
You may have noticed Olivia has come up with an amazing number of low carb recipes recently.  She has been watching her carb intake faithfully as part of a weight loss journey she has been on for a while.  She has been enormously successful and has found many great recipes as a result.  This one came from www.lowcarbyum.com  It is a variation of fried green beans.  Unlike the usual fried green beans you may have gotten as an appetizer in a restaurant, this recipe is loaded with more flavor and Olivia says she likes it better than restaurant green beans.  I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I'm pretty sure I will.  Olivia has definitely found the right approach to weight loss.  She keeps her menu varied, healthy, and delicious.
-Nanette

BAKED "FRIED" GREEN BEANS

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus 1 tablespoon for drizzling pan
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• dash pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line two baking pans (about 15.5x10.5-inches each) with aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil.
2. Wash and trim green beans
3. Beat together egg and olive oil in large bowl. Coat green beans in mixture.
4. Mix remaining ingredients in separate bowl.Toss beans in dry mix to coat well.
5. Pour green beans onto prepared pans and bake about 15 minutes or until crisp. If needed, place under broiler for a few minutes to crisp.

LOW CARB BROCCOLI CHEDDAR MUFFINS

LOW CARB BROCCOLI CHEDDAR MUFFINS
This low carb recipe is a keeper that Olivia found on a web site called WWW.MYPCOSKITCHEN.COM.  The neat thing about this recipe is if you want to you can use frozen broccoli that is thawed and drained well.  If you are tired of the same old breakfast muffin, this would work well as a breakfast item.  If you are looking for a different bread item for your Thanksgiving table, this would be excellent as well.  You can even treat it as a side dish for any weekday meal too.  This muffin is full of flavor and very versatile!
-Nanette

LOW CARB BROCCOLI CHEDDAR MUFFINS

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 90 ml unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
• 130 g cheddar
• 100 g broccoli about 1/3 a head
• 1 3/4 cup blanched almond flour 200g
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp sage powder
• 1/2 tsp celery seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
2. Mix the almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and melted butter and mix.
3. Grate the cheddar cheese and thinly slice the broccoli.
4. In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. Add the broccoli and mix again. Add the cheddar cheese and mix until all of the cheese is evenly mixed in the batter.
6. Spoon the batter into 6 jumbo muffin moulds. I used silicone muffin moulds so that they wouldn't stick.
7. Bake for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool before serving. You can eat them hot or cold, just be careful when taking them out of the oven as the inside of the muffin is piping hot!!

LOW CARB PIZZA

LOW CARB PIZZA
Olivia made this beautiful and delicious pizza with what is called "fathead dough."  She really likes this recipe and says the dough is one of the most versatile low carb doughs out there.  She found this version at a site called www.lowcarbmaven.com. 

When making this delightful creation she used turkey pepperoni to cut down on the fat.  One tip Olivia also recommends is checking your marinara sauce if it is store bought to be sure it has no sugar added if you are really trying to make a pizza with both low carbs and low calories.  Many of the store marinara sauces are loaded with sugar which kind of defeats the purpose of making a low carb pizza!  If you are a pizza lover but watching your calories and carbs, load up this amazing pizza with your favorite veggies and meats and enjoy!
-Nanette

LOW CARB PIZZA DOUGH

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• 1½ cups part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 oz full fat cream cheese, cut into chunks
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 tbsp oat fiber (or 2 tbsp whey protein powder or 1/4 cup more almond flour)

Toppings

• 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (5 oz /150 g)
• 1/2 cup store bought marinara sauce (4 oz/113 g)
• 20 slices pepperoni slices (or as much as you'd like) (1.5 oz/43 g)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and position one rack to the bottom position and the other to the upper third. 
2. Low Carb Pizza Crust: Microwave the cheeses in a microwave safe bowl for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, stirring half-way through. Scrape melted cheese into the bowl o a food processor with the egg and process until combined. Add the dry ingredients and process again until thoroughly combined.
3.  If the dough is very warm and sticky, scrape it onto a piece of plastic wrap and place into the freezer until the oven is ready. The dough is very sticky by nature, but oiling your hands makes it manageable. (If the dough is cool to the touch, skip the freezer.)
4. Hand Method: Place a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan and with oiled hands, pat the dough evenly into place. I prefer to oil my hands. the dough will cover most of the sheet pan. Dock (poke holes all over) with a fork.
5. Rolling Pin: Alternately, roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper. This is my preferred way. Remove the top piece of parchment and transfer the dough and parchment to the baking sheet. Dock (poke holes all over) with a fork.
6. Bake: Bake on the bottom rack for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and rub the crust with a piece of garlic. Spread the tomato sauce onto the pizza and top evenly with cheese. Add the pepperoni. Bake on the upper rack until the cheese has melted.
7. Cut into 6 pieces and serve. Makes 1 very thin sheet-pan pizza, 1 12-13 inch pizza or two very thin 10 inch pizzas. The serving size is 1/6 of the recipe. 

Recipe Notes

Makes 2 - thin 10 inch pizzas, 1 - thicker 12 inch pizza, or 1 thin sheet pan pizza (13 x 16 1/2).
*** Pictures is a 12 1/2 inch pizza.

Nutrition Facts

Low Carb Pepperoni Pizza Recipe with Fathead Crust

Amount Per Serving

Calories 321 Calories from Fat 234

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 26g 40%

Total Carbohydrates 6g 2%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Protein 17g 34%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.