Recipes

Pulled pork is one of my favorite things ever! So easy, too. I put a frozen pork butt (shoulder) in my Instant Pot with a cup of water, sea salt and smoky chili lime seasoning for 30 minutes per pound. Then I take out the meat, trim any fat I don’t want, shred it with 2 forks, and put it back in the pot with the juices and some added BBQ sauce so it stays juicy hanging out in the fridge (dried out pulled pork is no bueno). That’s all there is to it!

Starting my day as I always do – with an iced coffee that contains 32 g protein (a mix of whey, casein and collagen). I put some ice in my shaker cup, pour in 10 oz freshly brewed coffee, add a scoop of BSN Syntha-6 Chocolate Cake Batter (or any flavor you want, any brand you like) and a scoop of Primal Kitchen Grass-fed Collagen Peptides, shake, and top it off with more ice. So much better than Starbucks!!!

I use a combination of whey and casein proteins to get the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) I need to feed my muscles over the course of several hours. The collagen doesn’t help build or maintain muscle, but it is essential for healthy hair, skin, nails, joints, etc. We need more of both types of proteins as we get older, so I start the day supplementing both. I’ve never been a breakfast eater but love a big iced mocha in the morning, so this is a great way to start each and every day.

For someone who always hated cauliflower, it’s amazing how I eat these pancakes almost every day! I make them a couple of different ways: sweet and savory. They’re both delicious.

I start with ricing a whole head of cauliflower (or you can use riced cauliflower in a bag) and mixing it with 2 eggs and some sea salt. Then I divide the mixture into 4 equal servings and refrigerate 3 of them. I fry up one slice of bacon extra crispy, remove the bacon from the pan and add the cauliflower mixture to the bacon grease, patting it into a round pancake shape. I let it cook until the edges are brown and it slides easily in the pan, then flip it over and let it cook on the other side for a bit.

Half of the time it falls apart spectacularly, but it doesn’t matter – it still works out great! I put it on a plate and top with the bacon.

If I want sweet, I’ll add some more bacon, pulled pork or breakfast sausage and some sugar-free maple syrup (I like Lakanto).

If I want savory, I love to add a scrambled egg, guacamole and sprouts for a sort of avocado toast dish (pictured above).

Get creative and add whatever you want. It’s a really versatile thing. Want more protein? I sometimes add unflavored whey or collagen peptides to the “batter” and it works out great. Enjoy!

Here’s another “kitchen sink” dish that I love to make with whatever I have on hand!

• Pulse florets from 1 med head cauliflower in food processor until rice-sized or use a bag of cauliflower or broccoli pearls. Cook in 2 tbs butter, a little garlic powder, ginger, any other Asian spices that you like, salt & pepper to taste for 5 min.
• Add any meats (8 oz)/veggies that need cooking and cook until about done.
• Add any cooked meats/veggies and coconut aminos or soy sauce to taste. You can also add Thai peanut sauce, hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, or anything else you find tasty.
• Scramble 2 eggs and add to skillet area where food has been pushed aside. Continuously scrape cooked eggs from bottom. When almost all cooked, mix in with everything else and cook another minute or two.
• Serve and enjoy!

Fathead dough is a wonderful thing. You can make anything with it – pizza crust, bagels, cinnamon rolls – all of the great comfort foods that carbaholics miss after going keto!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine in a large, microwave-safe bowl:

• 1-3/4 cups shredded mozzarella
• 3/4 cup almond flour or 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 tbsp cream cheese

Microwave for 1 minute, stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir until mixed well, then add:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• any herbs or spices you’d like (e.g., a dash of onion or garlic powder)

Turn out onto a baking sheet with a nonstick surface and pat into a thin, round pizza shape. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly brown. Add pizza sauce, mozzarella and any toppings you’d like. Sprinkle lightly with dried oregano and sea salt. Put back into the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

***Watch the video HERE!***

I love making grilled cheese sandwiches. My grandmother taught me how to make them many years ago in her old cast iron skillet. Now I have her skillet and I make my sandwiches just how she taught me, only I make them with low-carb bread I make from scratch in 90 seconds! It hits just the right spot when I want comfort food, and it makes me feel even better because it reminds me of good times with Grammie. 🙂

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 large egg
• 3 tbsp almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• additional 1 tbsp of butter for grilling
• cheese and any other fillings of choice

Instructions:

1. In a medium size bowl whisk the egg with melted butter.
2. Add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt and mix well.
3. Pour the batter into a microwave safe square dish.
4. Microwave for 1.5 min, plus an extra 30 sec if needed. The top should be firm.  Then flip the dish over to get the bread out and slice it in half.
5. Heat up a frying pan over medium heat and melt the additional tbsp of butter.
6. Place the cheese and any other fillings you want between the two pieces of bread and grill the sandwich on each side until golden brown and the cheese melts. Serve.

I love chili more than any other dish, ever. I’ve been making different variations of chili for decades. I just can’t do without it. So when I found a great recipe online for white chicken chili, I had to try it. As usual, I messed with the recipe so it was more to my liking and was easier to make, as I am the quintessential lazy cook! Here is what I came up with:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb bacon
• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• paprika
• cumin
• chili powder
• cayenne pepper
• onion powder
• salt
• pepper
• 4 cups chicken bone broth
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 12 oz softened cream cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups spinach

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fry half of the bacon in a dutch oven or other large soup pot until extra crispy. Remove and chop up to add back in later.
2. Fry chicken halves in bacon grease over medium high heat to sear both sides – 2 to 3 minutes per side. Sprinkle each side with seasonings to taste.
3. Once browned, add 2 cups of chicken broth to cover and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until cooked through (About 15 minutes).
5. Remove chicken and shred. Save broth for later.
6. Fry up the rest of the bacon until extra crispy. Remove and chop up to add back in later.
7. Add garlic and onions. Cook until soft.
8. Add shredded chicken and reserved broth, plus 2 additional cups of broth. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer. Add bacon and onions.
9. Add cream cheese, heavy whipping cream and mozzarella. Stir often and cook over medium heat until well blended and thickened.
10. Add spinach and stir.
11. Adjust seasonings if necessary.
12. Remove from heat and serve!

As far as I’m concerned, nothing beats a good muffin recipe that I can change up according to how I’m feeling and it’s always going to be delicious. This is that recipe. The original is actually Kasey Trenum’s Keto Pumpkin Bread recipe, but I’ve changed it up a little!

If you haven’t been to Kasey’s website, yet – go now (click here)! She has so many wonderful recipes. Her blueberry bread is great, too!

Here is my version, which I use to make 6 regular-size spice muffins. The pumpkin can be replaced with other squash like butternut, or even apple sauce as long as you adjust for any extra liquid. The spices can be bumped up with extra ginger or cardamom or lemon or orange zest. If you come up with other ideas, please let me know in the comments section below! 🙂

I’ve never been good about eating leafy green vegetables, which are such an important part of a healthy diet. Even when I was a strict vegan I didn’t eat enough of them. I’m just not a big fan of salads. Eating salad is like punishing myself for something. Cold, fibrous punishment. I pretty much have to find ways to sneak greens into my food, like I’m five. To this day my father doesn’t believe that I was ever a vegan, because he claims that as a kid the only green thing I would eat was an M&M.

Well, Dad, you probably won’t believe this, either, but I have a leafy green salad almost every day for lunch. Happily. This is because I found a way to make salad that doesn’t taste like salad. I make it with my all-time favorite food group: casserole! I don’t think I would have happened upon this idea had it not been for the influence of my college roommate who ate nothing but salad. She loved it so much she just piled even cooked veggies on top and ditched the dressing. I remember following her lead in the dining hall one day (and quite a few days after, because I liked it) by dumping stewed tomatoes on top of a green salad. I liked the fact that it wasn’t all cold, fibrous punishment. It tasted more like real food to me.

Every weekend now I make some new casserole, like the nacho chicken one in the picture here. It’s cauliflower based, actually, with onions and tomatoes and green chiles, as well as chicken, cheeses, sour cream and spices. I started with a recipe, but now I have a quick and easy way of making whatever casserole I feel like on the fly. I take a bag of cauliflower or broccoli pearls (or rice a head of cauliflower) and cook it in a large pan with some meat and my cooking fat of choice (when I use ground beef or bacon I just use the fat from the meat; otherwise, it’s usually olive oil or good-quality butter) and any other veggies I want that need to be cooked. When that’s all done, I add any seasonings, cheese, other veggies or meats that don’t need cooking – whatever I feel like adding – and make sure it’s all melted and mixed up completely. Then I put it in a casserole dish and bake it until it’s light brown and bubbly on top (usually about 15-20 minutes).

To make my idea of salad, I put a big handful (about 2 cups) of leafy greens in a bowl and top it with a serving of warmed-up casserole (I usually get about 6 servings per casserole). Then I add some healthy fat to it, like guacamole or parmesan cheese – or even salad dressing! It looks like a mess, but it tastes delicious and more like comfort food than salad, even though it’s more veg than anything else.

I hear so many people say they don’t cook much of their own food because they don’t know what to make or don’t have time to check out recipes or don’t want to go to the store for the one ingredient they’re missing. Well, now you folks have no excuse. This is the easiest kitchen-sink dish I know. Use whatever ingredients you have. Cook until veggies are soft and meat is not raw and cheese is melted. That’s the only cooking skill you need. Any greens will work and you can top it with whatever healthy, yummy fat tickles your fancy. Change it up every time, if you want to, so you never get bored. And because I’ll eat it and love it, you can bet your kids will, too. Enjoy, and if you come up with any epic ingredient combinations, let me know!

Just one serving of this delicious salad (and I’m not much of a salad person) has 3.4 grams of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) and 42.8 grams of protein!

Serves 2.

Ingredients

• 8 oz flank or other steak
• 1 cup mushrooms chopped
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• salt & pepper
• 2 big handfuls of fresh arugula
• 1 more tbsp olive oil
• 1 chili pepper seeded and thinly sliced or chili powder to taste
• 2 oz brie

Instructions

1. Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper and heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat
2. Cook the meat in a skillet (or however you’d like to cook it) for 3-5 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer on a plate and let it sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Slice it into bite-sized pieces.
3. Use the same skillet to cook the mushrooms. Add the tbsp of olive oil and add the chopped mushroom and chili pepper into the pan and cook over medium heat for about 5-6 minutes until brown.
4. Add the balsamic, salt and pepper and then take it off the heat. Add the heavy cream.
5. Add the meat into the pan with the cream and mushrooms and mix until coated, then transfer a serving on top of a big handful or two of arugula and garnish with brie.