Veggie snack bars (Carrots, zucchini, and parsnips)

• I was inspired by a recipe on Pinterest with this one. I made it into my own version though. I thought this would be a great idea for breakfast for Alyssa in the mornings that she goes to daycare. I don't have a bunch of control over what she eats when she is there (everything is loaded with carbs and sugar, I'm sure) but when she's with me...I can feed her as healthy as possible to compensate. What a better way to start her day than with a tasty protein and veggie packed breakfast. Watch out teachers...she's going to be full of energy after a couple of these. Plus, I can make a pan of these on Sunday...and it will feed her for the entire week. Score!
  Ingredients:
  ·         2 tsp light olive oil

  ·         1 cup,  zucchini

  ·         1 cup, carrot

  ·         1 cup, parsnip

  ·         6 eggs

  ·         2/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

  ·         2Tbs Almond Flour

  ·         2tsp salt

  ·         1tsp garlic

  ·         1tsp onion powder

  ·         Fresh Parmesan cheese
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using your food processor, or hand grater shred vegetablesAdd oil to hot sautee panCook veggies for 4-5 minutes until softenRemove from heat and let coolCombine eggs, cheese, and flour in a large bowlStir in veggies into egg mixturePour mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dishGrate fresh parmesan cheese to the top of the dishBake for 20 minutes or until golden brownLet coolCut into fingers for serving - Makes 12 servings
  Before:

   After:

And another after they are cut.

Taco Salad...

So it seems simple enough right? Taco salad is a quick middle of the week kind of meal. Here is how I do mine but to each his own...

Brown ground beef
When its cooked, add salsa
Let simmer for a few minutes
Add to your favorite salad ingredients

Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, black olives, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, sometimes some chipolte ranch to spice it up.

So there you have it. Truth be told I've been know to add any kind of meat preparation to the top of a salad...meatballs, BBQ, tuna, you name it. Throw it on a salad for a quick, delicious, and satisfying low carb meal.

Smothered chicken tenders

Super quick and super good dinner...

Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken tenders (you could cut your own out of breasts but that takes too much time for me and cutting chicken freaks me out.)
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I use a brand called Stubbs)
1 cup of shredded cheese (I use cheddar)
Real bacon bits (or strips of actual bacon...either is fine)
Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder

Directions:
Season your meat
In a sautée pan brown your chicken tenders.
Once brown on both sides add BBQ sauce
Cook tenders throughout and then Add bacon bits and cheese
Turn your burner off and cover your pan to let the cheese melt
Serve with your favorite steamed veggies or salad

Donezo...dinner in less than 30 minutes.

Here's what it looks like:

Low Carb Almond Joys

So this is really like a chocolate truffle, but it reminds me of my favorite candy bar...so that's what I'm going to call them.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips  2 tbsp sugar substitute 2 cups almonds 6 oz dark chocolate (70-85% cacoa is best)  1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 3/4 cup flaked coconut

Directions: Add 1 cup water to bottom of double boiler. Replace top pan. Bring water to boil over high and reduce heat to medium.  Combine chocolate and heavy cream in top pan of double boiler. Heat 5 minutes, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and cream mixed in. Add sugar substitute, 1 cup of almonds, and 1 cup of coconut. Stir until well mixed. Remove from heat and lift top pan out of water. Allow mixture to come to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until chocolate mixture is solid, but pliable. Using small scooper or melon baller, scoop chocolate balls (about 1" diameter) onto baking sheets. Roll into smooth balls with hands. In small shallow bowl, combine remaining coconut and hazelnuts. Roll each truffle to coat completely, and replace on baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in freezer for 3 to 4 hours.  Store truffles in the refrigerator This isn't a great picture...but here you go:

Almond Butter Cookies

So we have a tradition at our house, Etheridge Baking Day, every Christmas Eve. Yesterday was our first low carb Christmas Eve, so I had to get creative. 

I was skeptical about these cookies, but wow...they are delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup of sliced almonds, I actually used hazelnuts this time so any nut would probably work.
• 1/2 cup sugar substitute, I use Stevia
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Combine all ingredients. 
Form dough in small balls (I used a 1/2 tsp measuring spoon for each cookie, a little bigger would have been better probably. The finished cookies were about silver dollar sized.)
Place onto greased cookie sheet 
Bake for 5 minutes
Press cookie balls down lightly with fork, like you would do normally with peanut butter cookies 
Continue to bake for another 15 minutes - until light golden brown 
Let cool & then try not to eat all of them at once

The finished product...

Low Carb Pizza - Take 2...this one is better.

• 1 head of cauliflower 
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 TBS. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper

• Preheat oven to 450F. 
• Shred cauliflower in food processor. Add cauliflower to sautee pan and cook on high for about 3-5 minutes. Get the cauliflower as dry as possible so that there won’t be extra moisture in the crust which will prevent it from crisping up properly.
• In a  bowl combine the cauliflower, egg, 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella, seasoning, salt & pepper and mix to combine well.  
• Press the cauliflower mixture into an even thickness on to a round pizza pan
• Keep the crust pretty thin, about 1/4-inch thick.  
• Grate fresh parmesan cheese over the top of the crust.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is firm and golden brown.  
• Remove the pan from the oven and turn off the oven 
• Add sauce, toppings, and cheese to the top of the crust.
• Return to the oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is brown on top. 

Crust cooking:

Finished product:

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
For the chicken:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic
• 16 oz chicken broth
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Texas Pete)

What the chicken looks like when it's done:

For the wraps:

• 6 large lettuce leaves Iceberg
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 2 large celery stalks, cut into matchsticks

Directions:
In a crock pot, combine chicken, onions, celery stalk, garlic and broth (enough to cover your chicken, use water if the can of broth isn't enough). Cover and cook on high 4 hours.

Remove the chicken from pot, reserve 1/2 cup broth and discard the rest. Shred the chicken with two forks, return to the slow cooker with the 1/2 cup broth and the hot sauce and set to on high for an additional 30 minutes. 

To prepare lettuce cups, place 1/2 cup buffalo chicken in each leaf, top with 1/4 cup shredded carrots, celery, ranch dressing, and blue cheese crumbles