Jalapeno Popper Dip - S

    I love Jalapeno Poppers. Those really good Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers ones are on plan. BUT..

I had a bad experience de-seeding jalapenos once. Correction, I did not have the bad experience, my aunt and small cousins did.

    My (very pregnant) aunt was visiting our house with her small children and I set about to make these. Her twin 7 year old girls wanted to help. I let them. This was in my less brilliant days (I was 18).One of the girls actually squirted jalapeno juice into her eye. The other one rubbed her eye with the juice on her hands. They screamed bloody murder for about an hour straight. No kidding. It wasn't pretty. I still feel very, very bad about this. At least we laugh about it now (very softly and nervously. kidding)    

Therefore, to this day I try not to de-seed jalapenos too often. I will brave it occasionally, but only when there's no little kids with in 50 miles of our house. 

Now, I just make a dip and use the sliced jalapenos from a jar. Much safer, although it could still be dangerous to small children.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

4 oz of Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp of Sour Cream (or Greek Yogurt)
1/2 - 1 Tbsp of Jalapenos, chopped (from jar)
6 strips Cooked Bacon, or to taste
Small Splash of Liquid Aminos
Sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast
Sprinkle of Garlic Powder

Craisins and Trail Mix -S

    I love trail mix...if it has chocolate! No chocolate, no trail mix, I always say. I also love craisins. They now sell a reduced sugar variety, it only has 2 carbs less than the full sugar variety??? Have you ever read the nutritional info on one of those bags?! Enough to give you a heart attack! There's like 32 carbs in a single serving! NOT a health food! But... they are good.

    I found a very helpful link that taught me how to make my own. We thought they turned out great. I decided to try another method because it was easier. That batch was okay, but the first method was tastier. From now on I'm doing the first method.

    Here is the link for the dried cranberries.

A Few Tips from My Experience

I used xylitol for my sweetener.

After mine had cooked for amount specified, I drained the rest of the juice off the berries with a very fine colander.

I started to make mine in the oven but ran into logistical problems, so I just threw them into our dehydrator.
Worked like a charm

If you're planning to have your craisins last awhile, I recommend storing them in the freezer as it's apparently very difficult to fully dry cranberries.

Trail Mix - S

2 cups of Almonds

1 cup of Pecans

1 cup of Walnuts

1 1/2 cups of Craisins (see above)

1/2 cup of 85% Dark Chocolate, chopped

Dump all ingredients into a bowl. Stir. Eat.

(Not in one sitting)

Trail Mix is a very personal food. Everybody has their favorite way of making it.

I was just recently told by my cousin "Trail mix is nothing more than an M&M obstacle course"

I agree (except I don't really eat m&ms anymore)!

Feel free to change/omit any of the above measurements/ingredients.

I don't recommend this for high temperature excursions. 

If you're going on a road trip and are able to keep it in a cooler, go for it. 

Otherwise, big chocolate mess!

FYI - Reportedly, there is some form of low carb off brand m&ms. They're not purist and I've never bothered to look for them, but if you're interested, you could look around.

Drop me a comment and let me know what you think!

Stuffed French Toast Omelettes - S

This interesting little recipe started from one I came across on lowcarbfriends.com. I THMified it and followed the rest of the instructions. They were surprisingly good! Then I had an idea...Success!

Remember... this recipe is not just for breakfast. It would also make a nice quick snack or dessert!

Stuffed French Toast Omelettes -S

2 large eggs
1 Tbsp of Truvia
2 Tbsp of heavy cream
2 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 tsp maple extract 

(I used Frontier Brand) 
Butter, for frying

Whisk all ingredients (except butter) in a bowl. 

Pour into a hot pan as if you were making an omelette
(which you are).

Instead of filling with savory ingredients, 

spread some Cream Cheese or Whipped Cream and Strawberry Topping on half and flip the other side of the egg on top (omelette style).

My Skinny Chocolate - S

I just made this the other day and wanted to share it with you.  

I think it's the best I've ever made! This is the recipe I will use for now on!

My Skinny Chocolate - S

1/2 cup of  Cocoa Powder

3/4 cup of Coconut Oil, softened

2 Tbsp of Butter, softened

2 Tbsp of Xylitol

Dry Roasted Almonds, optional

Small sprinkle of Salt on top, optional

Mix first 5 ingredients well.  Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet (or whatever works for you).

Sprinkle the salt (if you choose).

 Freeze. Eat. Lick your fingers.

Cranberry Cheesecake in a Cup - S

  This recipe was inspired from the Cheesecake Berry Crunch recipe in the  Trim Healthy Mama Book. I am a recent cranberry convert and had never previously thought to use them for this recipe.  It was actually pretty good and I was glad to be able to get more of the health benefits from the cranberries.

   

    I didn't want a whole recipe. I just wanted a little something so I worked the recipe to 'sweet tooth fixer' size. Worked like a charm ;)

                                                  Doesn't look very appetizing, I know. But it is ;)

Cranberry Cheesecake in a Cup - S

1/4 cup of Cranberries

1/4 cup of Almonds

1/8 tsp of Stevia, or to taste

a few drops of Vanilla and Almond Extract

2 Tbsp of Cream Cheese

pinch of sea salt

Put all ingredients into a blender or single serve blender cup. (I used a blender cup)

Process only a little to get it 'chunky'. 

I pulsed a few times, scraped the sides of the cup and pulsed a few more times.

Enjoy!

Pizza in A Bowl - S

  

 My brother (who is sort of a Trim Healthy Man) was going to bro gathering (a party with his brothers), and we knew in advance they were going to be eating pizza. I told him I would make him a pizza he could take with him so he didn't have to sit there all night and drool a big puddle all over the floor  wish he could have some.

    It was a busy day and I was running out of time. I decided instead of doing a crust, I would just do a mushroom crust, then I thought about the chicken crust, and then I realized the only cooked chicken we had, I had already cubed. Then I thought why not mix the chicken with sliced mushrooms. Then I thought why not just mix all the ingredients in a bowl he could microwave when he got there? (Weird how my brain works, I know. I just thought I'd give you a small scary glimpse)

This recipe is very hard to nail down to hard numbers. It depends on what you like on your pizza and how many people you're making it for. Below is just a general guideline. We each know how much sauce and cheese we like, make it to your taste! I will say however, you should include something such as chicken to make it a little more filling without having to eat a pound of cheese.

Pizza in a Bowl - S

Something for a 'crust' if possible 

( I used chicken and mushrooms to mock

both kinds of crusts from the THM book)

Pizza Sauce

Cheese

Any Other Topping You Like

(Pepperoni, Veggies, Etc)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

If you're making a lot for a whole family type snack you 

put it in a glass baking pan and bake until cheese is melted.

If you're making a single serving to hide in a closet and eat,

use a small microwavable bowl. Microwave until cheese is 

melted. Remember your fork before heading to the closet.

Bacon Cheese Quesadilla - S

    I made these  quesadillas the other day and they were great (If I do say so myself, and I do)! They were so quick and easy, I'm going to put this in my lunch/snack arsenal. 

    I used precooked bacon, but you can use whatever kind you'd like. You can also use whatever low carb fillings you'd like. You could also simply use cheese and have a cheese quesadilla. Options are great!

   The Joseph's Pitas work well for this because you can stuff them better. Our local store was out of the normal sized Joseph's pitas, so we had to get the smaller ones. Perfect size for a snack quesadilla. If you want this as a meal use the normal sized pitas.

    I love onions and mushrooms. I sauteed them in a pan first and scooped them into the pita. So Good! But you might not like them. If that is the sad case, don't add them.

Bacon Cheese Quesadilla - S

1 Joseph's Pita

2-3 slices of Cheese of choice

2 slices of Bacon

Optional fillings such as onions, mushrooms,etc, sauteed

Butter for frying

Trim off about 1/4 of the top of a pita to create an opening to stuff.

Carefully hold the pita open and stuff it with the cheese, bacon, and optional fillings.

In a pan of hot butter, fry until golden brown, about one minute,

 then flip and fry until golden on other side.

Flip onto a plate and enjoy while it's still hot!