Chocolate Cake

The Vanilla extract is not included in the Nutritional Value because the value of my home made extract is very different then store bought extract. Please make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. I use Tagatesse as sweetener but because that is not easily available in the US I use Splenda in my recipes. I usualy use tartaric acid backing powder.

Servings: 12

4 ½   oz Butter ( 125 gram) at room temperature ½ cup Splenda 4 egg (medium) 1 tbsp vanilla extract ½ cup cocoa powder 1 cup Almond Flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp butter

1   Beat the butter until it is soft and creamy. 2 Add the sweetener and mix. 3 Add the eggs one by one and beat until it is fully mixed with the butter. Do not add the next until the previous is fully mixed in. 4 Add the Vanilla extract. 5 Add the cocoa powder trough a sieve to get the lumps out and mix again. 6 Add ½ a cup of Almond flour and mix it well. 7 Add the other ½ cup Almond flour and the baking powder and mix well again. 8 Use the left over tsp of butter to grease a cake tin (about 9 inch, 24 cm) and poor the batter in. 9 Place in a pre heated oven on 320F ( 160°C) for 40 - 45 minutes. Check if the cake is ready by putting in a skewer, if it comes out clean it is done. If not give it another 5 minutes.

Tips Great with whipped cream and strawberries. If you think the carb count is a bit high then you can lower it by using less cocoa powder.

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 162 calories, 134 calories from fat, 15,5g total fat, 78,3mg cholesterol, 63,4mg sodium, 77,6mg potassium, 4,3g carbohydrates, 2,2g fiber, <1g sugar, 4,6g protein, 2,1g net carbohydrates.

Oven Temperature: 320°F

Vanilla Extract

Real vanilla extract is very expensive. All other kinds are usually sugar based and don't even have real vanilla in it. Vanilla extract is alcohol based therefore this recipe is as close as it gets (or the same) as the very expensive kind. It should be placed in a cool, dark place but if you are like me jut put it where you can see it. After 8 weeks it will be really dark and ready to use. As soon as the pods start sticking out of the vodka buy some more and just add to the extract. I have been using the dame bottle for close to a year now. When I found it wasn't getting as dark as I wanted anymore I just added a few more beans. It is important you buy real good quality vanilla beans and not the dried out supermarket beans.

Yield: 1 Liter

12   vanilla bean 33   ounces   vodka (1 liter bottle) 40%

1   Take a little bit of Vodka out of the bottle. 2 Cut the beans lengthwise and scrape out the seeds 3 Put both the seeds and pods in the bottle of vodka. 4 Poor the rest of the Vodka back in until the bottle is full and save the rest of the vodka to add again later. 5 Place the bottle in a cool, dark place for 6-8 weeks. Shake the bottle a few times a week.

Tips great to use in cakes, pancakes and other baked things but I also love it in my coffee.

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (entire recipe): 2161 calories, 0 calories from fat, 0g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 9,4mg sodium, 9,4mg potassium, 0g carbohydrates, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, 0g protein, 0g net carbohydrates.

Swedish Tuna Salad

This salad brings back memories for me. I call this a Swedish Tuna Salad because the first time I ate it was at my Swedish neighbor across the street when I was a kid. I never really got the recipe but I always remembered what was in it. I hope. This salad can be made with canned green beans too but I prefer fresh. Originally it also had potatoes in it and you can always serve those on the side for non low-carbing family members or friends. Pasta would be an option too. This is great to prepare up front and is perfect to take to work. Also great for those hot summer days when you do not want the stove to warm up the kitchen. Then you need to use canned beans or steam them in the microwave.

Servings: 3

7     oz   green beans (200 gram) 3 oz onion sliced ( 90 gram) 3.5 oz cucumber (100 gram) 5 oz tomato, diced (140 gram) 9 oz Tuna, canned in oil (2 small cans) Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1   Cook the beans, but don't overcook they are best when still a bit crunchy. Let them cool down while moving on to step 2. 2 Slice all the other vegetables and mix in a bowl. 3 Add the beans and tuna. 4 Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Tips If you like you could add a bit of mayo, lemon juice or Olive Oil to the salad. ( not added to the nutritional value)

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 194 calories, 64 calories from fat, 7,2g total fat, 15,3mg cholesterol, 305,5mg sodium, 383,1mg potassium, 5,5g carbohydrates, 1,4g fiber, 3g sugar, 25,8g protein, 4,1g net carbohydrates.

Recipe Type: Fish and Shellfish, Main Dish, Salad, Seafood

Source Author: Saskia van der Zanden Web Page: sizzling-lowcarb.blogspot.nl

Summer holiday is almost over.

I know I have been slacking with new recipes.
I don't have any good excuse really. I can tell you I have been having trouble with my recipe program, which is true. But  I could have been working harder on what I am doing wrong.
Trying to get back to writing soon.

Cinnamon Flax Muffins

This recipe is not mine. This is one off the Atkins MiM (Muffin in a Minute) recipes. You either like them or you don't they say. And that is partially true. there will always be things we just don't like. But sometimes a change in how something is prepared makes a huge difference too. By resting the dough before baking the flax becomes a lot softer already but by baking them in the oven they get even better. the serving size of one MiM is the same as 2 oven backed muffins if you use a regular muffin baking form. I use a silicone form. I always use Tagatesse as sweetener but because that is harder to get for those of you in the U.S.A. and Canada I calculate the nutritional info as if I would use Splenda.

Servings: 3 Yield: 6

2 oz Butter (60 gram) 2 tbsp    Splenda 4   Egg (medium) 1 tsp Cream of tartar 3 tsp Cinnamon ¾ cup Flax meal 1 pinch Salt (optional)

1  Make sure your butter is at room temperature before you start. 2  Beat the butter with an electrical mixer until it is creamy, add the sweetener and mix until it is fully incorporated. 3  Add the eggs one by one. making sure the egg is completely mixed before adding the next. 4  Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl and slowly add it to the butter/egg mixture. 5  Scoop the batter in the muffin forms, use paper liners if you want, and let it rest for about 5 minutes while you preheat the oven on 320°F (160°C) 6  Bake the muffins 15 minutes and check if they are fully baked by inserting a skewer. If it comes out clean they are done.

Tips They are also very good with a bit of cream cheese frosting. (just mix a bit of mascarpone with sweetener)

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 435 calories, 322 calories from fat, 37,3g total fat, 258,9mg cholesterol, 194,7mg sodium, 576,8mg potassium, 14,3g carbohydrates, 12g fiber, <1g sugar, 14,7g protein, 2,4g net carbohydrates.

Oven Temperature: 320°F

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I made grilled cheese sandwiches using the Mediteranean Flax Bread.
Served it with lc bbq sauce.

Mediterranean Flax Bread

I used the Atkins Muffin in a Minute (MiM) recipe as a base for this "bread". Because of the grainy texture of the mim's I prefer baking them in the oven. I use this 'bread' to make grilled cheese sandwiches or as toast. I got 28 slices out of the entire loaf. If you plan on making grilled cheese sandwiches with them you will probably use 4 slices per person. That is why I gave the nutritional info per serving of 4 slices.

Servings: 7 Yield: 28 slices

4.4 oz Butter ( 125 gram) at room temperature 8 egg (medium) 1½ cup  ground flax 2 tsp cream of tartar ½ tsp garlic powder ½ tsp parsley ½ tsp thyme ½ tsp oregano ½ tsp salt ½ tsp Splenda (optional) ¼ tsp pepper butter or oil to grease the baking form

1    Use an electrical mixer to beat the butter until it is creamy. 2 Add the eggs one by one. Do not add another until the previous one is completely mixed 3 mix the dry ingredients in another bowl 4 Add the dry mix ¼ cup at a time through the eggs and butter mix. 5 Preheat your oven at 320°F (160°C) 6 Put the batter into a greased loaf tin or cake form 9.5 inch (24 cm) 7 Let it rest for 5 minutes 8 Bake the "bread" for about 35-45 minutes. Let it cool down and slice into very thin slices. 9 Use them to make grilled cheese sandwiches or just eat as 'bread' or toast.

Tips You can freeze this as individual slices or completely

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 381 calories, 288 calories from fat, 33,3g total fat, 225,4mg cholesterol, 250,3mg sodium, 491,9mg potassium, 10,9g carbohydrates, 9,2g fiber, <1g sugar, 12,6g protein, 1,7g net carbohydrates.

Oven Temperature: 320°F