Lemon WEEK STARTS NOW !

Spring is just around the corner and with that Easter. I look back at the 150 recipes in this blog and realize it isnt just springtime that evokes the need for all things lemon, but it is really a year round theme for me.

I will be re-posting some of the great lemon recipes I have here this week, and throwing a couple new ones at you.
I did go on a bit of a lemon binge this weekend as I have been brainstorming for months on how to make my once sugary lemon square recipe. I love those lemon squares; liquid sunshine in a pan. I was hesitant to make them as the bulk of the recipe is sugar.. and well, sugar is the dead to me these days.

I will add that this recipe is delicious, and Ken thinks it is pretty much identical to my old recipe other than the crust. I haven’t perfected the shortbread crust I once made with these squares, and am going to just use the basic almond meal crust I use for the bottom layer of sf cheesecakes.
This recipe is a once and awhile recipe as the fat is a bit high as the protein and carbs are not in big enough proportions to cut the fat down. It IS substantially better for you than my old tried and true lemon square recipe.

Kat’s Squares of Lemon Sunshine

* 3/4 cup Just Almond Meal
* 1/4 cup Oat Flour
* 1/2 cup Granular Splenda
* 1/4 cup Butter, softened
* 1 tsp Xanthan Gum (optional)

* 3 Eggs
* 1/2 cup Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
* 1 cup Sweetener
* 3 tbsp Low-carb Baking Mix OR flour
* 1 tbsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 and prep a square 9 x 9 pan with some spray. Mix together the flours, sweetener, butter and xanthan gum until you form a dry dough. Push the dough evenly into the 9 x 9 pan and pop into the oven for 15 minutes. You’ll know when it is ready as the edges will start to brown.

While the crust is baking, throw the rest of the ingredients together and blend. You are going to pour this over the hot crust when it is done and pop it back into the oven for 25 minutes. You want the middle to not jiggle, so check it after 25 minutes, and it may need a couple more minutes.

Note my shame spiral as there are chunks… I think it was the carb free flour. It coated some of my lemon zest and made clumps.

OMG…. close up food porn shot…be warned !

PERFECT consistency ! No runny lemon goo everywhere. Note that the crust will brown up a bit more, and i think that is due to the sugar alcohols, which behave differently than regular devil sugar.

Nuts are based on 1/9th of the pan.. a nice sized square !
Calories 147, Fat 11.8g, Carbs 6.7g (4.7 g net carbs), Protein 5.5g

Things that make you go AHH – ver 2.0

There are cute furry pets in this house.
Kelvin is pegged out in his bed, with all his friends. He has it pretty hard. He sometimes fights with DOMO and we find him ousted outside of the bed.

And to be fair to Winnie, we need to include her in this post. Equality is key.

Babes & Casseroles:Things that make you go AHH

I was on tap for babysitting this Friday. I haven’t seen my adorable niece and nephew since just after Christmas, and with kids, things change so fast. Henry is a full on adult masked in a 3 year old body, and Claire is in this wonderful round chubby baby phase, almost crawling.
Henry is watching the Smurf and by his expression isnt so sure whether this is for him. I liked that whenever Smurfette came on, he rolled his eyes.

And baby Claire.. all rosy cheeked, fuzzy hair and cute. I could just eat her. I really like that she is totally in love with Henry, and spends a lot of time checking around to see where he is. She is laughs at all his jokes.

After a stellar night of babysitting, we had a proper wake-funeral to attend the next afternoon. As I wasnt sure of the food situation, I had originally planned on making some chicken rellenos with some chicken breasts, but I didn’t have time for assembly, so I just took ALL the components of this dish and casserole-d it, so whenever we got home, I could pop it into the oven to heat up.
I just gotta say, this is frickin’ delicious. I feel the window for casseroles is coming to a close, as spring weather will soon be here. Casseroles are warm comfort “ahhhhh” food, where spring and summer are fresh salad season. I can’t wait !!

Chili and Chicken Rellenos
from me !

# 1 tbsp olive oil
# 1 3/4 lb Chicken Breast (boneless,skinless)
# 1 cup grated cheese (whatever you have going
# 1 pepper Chiles Poblanos, chopped (or whatever you have)
# 1 medium Onion, Sweet
# 1/3 cup Chicken Stock
# 1 can Diced Green Chilies
# 2 cloves Garlic Clove
# 1/4 cup Cilantro, fresh
# 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt 0% Mf
# 3 tbsp Lime Juice Raw
# 4 oz Cream Cheese, Light

So grab a 9 x 13 pan, and prep it with a bit of non-stick spray. Get out a nice deep saute pan and saute up a bit of onion, garlic, and the chopped up pepper until soft. Add chicken, cut up in bits, and cook until firm and no signs of pink. There should be some nice juices from the chicken, which will make your dish taste yum. Add fresh-from frozen cilantro and let that limp up. I then add the lime juice, and deglaze the plan, making sure to scrap the bottom of the pan. You want all that yummy browned material from the bottom as it adds flavour.

Dump in chilis from the can, chicken stock, cream cheese, and yogurt and it let that all melt and come together. If the mixture is too dry, or not saucy enough, add a bit more chicken stock. Throw in shredded cheese, and stir to incorporate. Have a big taste at this point. It may need some heat, if you so choose. I sprinkled smoked chili flakes on the top of my casserole once it was in the pan. The flavour is delicious with the two types of peppers.

You can pop this into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or I saraned ours and popped it into the fridge until I was ready to bake it. Essentially all the components of this are already cooked, so it is a heat and eat deal.

This makes 5 cups of casserole, so 10 WLS servings. I warn you that this is extremely delicious..and you may want to lick your plate.
Calories 213, Fat 10.92g, Carbs 4.78g (3.5g net carbs), Protein 24.1 g
45% protein, 50% fat, 8% carbs
Not an everyday meal, but definitely one you will enjoy.

When did Food become EMO ?

I am craving crunch… how and why do you crave a texture ? More and more I zone into temperature and texture in food. I tend to think it is an age thing, where as your taste buds decline as you get older, texture may become more important. Those baby-boomers are continually paving the way in the food industry for those of us, like me, to reap all the benefits.

I had no idea until I came across a rash of snack food with “Ultra BOLD flavour”.. even the cute, child friendly Goldfish went GOTH and added BOLD edgy flavours. I thought this marketing was to tweens and the skateboarding set, but little did I know it was for the aging taste buds of baby-boomers.

Extreme Food !

So I was craving texture, so I bought some crunchy protein cereal on the weekend and made a hybrid of the peanut butter marshmallow squares and mock rice krispie squares. They aren’t horribly low carb, nor low in fat, but they certainly are crunchy.

Hybrid Peanut Butter Crunch Snack Squares

100g of sf chocolate
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1 package of Nouba sf marshmallows
1 1/2 cups Protein Cereal (i used Better Balance French Vanilla)

Nuke the peanut butter and chocolate together, stirring every 45 seconds until it is completely melted. Pour in 1.5 cups of the protein cereal and stir, and then throw in the marshmallows, and stir to coat.

Press the gooey mess into a 9 x 3 loaf pan, pre-sprayed or you’ll never get it out. This stuff is GOO.

I didnt have high hopes for this, as it looked tres gooey , and i didnt think it would set. I didn’t much care, I would have eaten it with a spoon if it hadn’t.

St. Lawrence Market & Delish Fish !

Monday fish day !! We bought some very large sea scallops this weekend at St Lawrence Market. Mike’s fish is delish !

I love St Lawrence market, I love our coffee roaster, Chris the Cheesemonger, Domino for all those foodie things, and Rube for all my alt flours !!
HMMMMM cheese !!

I will plug St Lawrence’s new service where you can shop online and they deliver !! YES, THEY DELIVER !
The website was launched a couple of weeks ago.. if you have a million excuses why you can’t go to the market but you really want to support and buy local, here is your chance.
click here for St Lawrence Market

Today we just had something simple but oh so good and low in carbs.

Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops

6 ounces of sea scallops (4 massive sea scallops)
4 strips of bacon
4 toothpicks

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray tray with some non-stick spray. Wrap each scallop with one strip of bacon and tack the bacon to the scallop with a toothpick. Repeat until all four scallops are ready to roll.

Pop into the oven for 20 minutes. Push on scallops and if it is firm, then they are done.

Nuts on this are based on what you want to eat. This can be challenging for some, and I find that I can only eat one of these as after baking, they are a very meaty 2 ounces each…but so dense !
Calories per massive scallop is 70 calories, 3g fat, 1.5g carbs, 10g protein

Vincent Price, Gourmand ?

This guy is a true renaissance man… to his credit, he has traveled the world with Oscar Wilde, written what is considered by most a series of classic must have cookbooks, an established actor who has done both ends of the spectrum in movies and tv, from the ridiculous to the big budget (Edward Sissorhands as an example) and to round things out, done a rap in the smash hit song “Thriller”, by Michael Jackson.

He was always around when I was a kid, growing up to his black and white horror movies on Sunday TV at home, but it wasnt until recently did I know he was a chef ! I was tickled to find a recipe labeled, “Vincent Price Poblano Chile soup”… I immediately downloaded the recipe just because he had done it. It wasnt until I was ready to make it that I did some internet research to find that after he stopped making movies in the late 60s, that he and his wife Mary wrote a cookbook called “Treasury of Great Recipes” and it is considered a classic !

One reviewer on Amazon says it is ‘the Madman of cookbooks’, a time capsule of what was considered exotic and different in the late 60s-early 70s. It is out of print and RIGHT NOW I have a bid on one on eBay. I must have one !
From the New York Public Library Archives “A Treasury of Great Recipes is not simply a recipe book, but a celebration of fine dining around the world, something the Price’s – no doubt – were very familiar with. Restaurants throughout Europe, Mexico, and the United States are all represented, from Restaurant de la Pyramide in Vienne, France to Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles. The menus of these establishments are printed inside, along with lush color photographs of the dining rooms.”

UPDATE : SCORE on eBAY
Here it is.. and it is on it’s way from Maine.. look for some more Vincent Price recipes in the near future !!

SCORE !!

Vincent Price Poblano Chile Soup
Adapted to a stew from the Treasury of Great Recipes

* 16 oz Lean Pork
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 medium Onion, Sweet
* 2 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 cup Corn, Sweet
* 2 Poblanos peppers, green, chopped
* 3 tbsp Tomato Paste
* 3 cups Cooking Stock Chicken
* 1/4 cup Cilantro, fresh
* 4 oz grated hard cheese (cheddar etc.)(optional if you are primal-paleo
* 2 oz Cured Chorizo (mild)

Choose a nice deep pot as this is going to simmer a bit ! Picture yourself as one of the witches at the beginning of MacBeth. You are indeed making a Vincent Price recipe.. you need to get into the mindset. Heat up oil and saute onions, garlic, and chopped poblanos until they become soft.

Add cilantro, and pork and cook pork until done. (no pink) Stir and cackle at this point, because you are in the moment. Once the pork has cooked up, add the chopped chorizo and let all the yummy flavour cook out of it, maybe 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir and let the rawness of that cook off. Now you are ready to add the corn, and chicken stock. At this point, set the burner on simmer, pop on a lid, and neglect it for a couple of hours. The flavours will all meld together.
Scoop into a bowl, add some cut up avocado and some shredded cheese (cheese included in nuts quoted) and serve. It is a whole bowl of wonderful !! I cut back on the stock and upped the meat to make this more like a stew. You can swap out the pork for chicken if you so choose. This recipe makes 8 1/2-cup servings.

Nuts:
Calories 206
Total Fat 9.23g
Carbohydrate 9.82g (net carbs 7.82g)
Dietary Fiber 2g
Protein 19.76g

All Day I Dream About Food

I feel like this cat by the end of this week…. March Break is over for another year ! Hurray !

This has been a challenging week. March Break at the museum means large crowds, and extra programming. We had a great program this year, polishing rocks, but at the end of the week I was BURNT out.
After coming down to the department I sat at my desk, slightly in shell shock, got my coat on and headed over to Whole Foods to poke around the aisles before I treated myself to a well earned cab ride home.

I grabbed a couple of things, some pre-made edamame hummus, a large bottle of water, sf cookies and almond meal (flour).
I had in my head I wanted chocolate, peanut butter and almond muffins. They are a good treat without too much damage.
Ken loves muffins and who doesn’t love ones that are high in protein, lower in carbs and taste like a Reese peanut butter cup? This is from a blog called All Day I Dream About Food. Her pictures are gorgeous and more importantly she is a low carb, gluten free baker. A kindred spirit for sure.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
from All Day I Dream About Food

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup peanut flour *(I ran out so I added more almond meal)
1/4 cup vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 cup granulated erythritol
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp almond milk
2 large eggs
16 drops stevia extract
1/2 or 1 sf chocolate bar, dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 300F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together nut flours, whey powder, erythritol, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add peanut butter and almond milk and beat until combined. Add eggs and stevia extract and beat until combined, but do not overbeat.

Add dry ingredients in two batches, beating until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake for 30 minutes or until tops are set and golden brown.

It makes 12 sacred muffins. Hoard these muffins because your sig other or kids will eat them.

Nuts on this are as follows:
Calories 160, Fat 10.78g, Carb 10.44g, Fiber 0.67g, Protein 10.25g

Bring on the WEEKEND !

I have a weekend of coffee, market, relaxing, making protein ice cream with coconut milk powder and yoga planned. March Break is INSANE and it also marks the end of my crazy busy time that starts from the beginning of the new year until now. I can look forward to a couple of weeks of catch up at work and then begin, once again, to feel on top of work, and my life.

Me and the thought of coconut ice cream !

I also had the MOST amazing experience at the gym last night. Hard to believe that I typed that sentence. I have felt slightly lament about my weight, and I am constantly push-push-push to be the “right” size, to not back slide, to have health. I guess all of that was swirling in my head and I finally realized I really dont have a good sense of where I need to go, because I dont know where I am. I know my weight, and my BMI, both can give you a sense of where you are, but not the clearest picture.

I was worried… worried that I was one of those people who LOOK healthy, but have like 35% fat and in 3 years will have gained all the weight back. I needed some assurances that isnt going to happen… in steps Greg, the personnal assessment coach.
90 minutes with him and I was a-okay.. and riding on a high.

Greg had me do fitness tests, like back in high school.. so many chin ups, so many push ups, how long can I hold a plank position etc. I think I don’t feel like I push myself ENOUGH at the gym… this eased that negative elevator music. I am in great shape, and scored at the top end of the physical strength tests as well as the heart rate test. I have low blood pressure, my standing heart rate is less than 70 beats per minutes, which is an indication of a healthy heart.

The BIGGEST thing was my percent body fat. I was hoping that I was going to be average, which is 25%. I got onto that scale, and heard Greg gasp, so I panicked for a moment. I have worked incredibly hard, I was willing the number be GOOD. It was VERY good, SO good that I am considered be in an “Athlete” status and was told “not to lose anymore weight because I would be cutting into essential fat for daily life.
WHAT !!!!!

I need to repeat that because in my entire LIFE, I have NEVER heard ANYONE tell me NOT to lose weight. Call Guinness ’cause this needs to go into the record books.

So my question is answered, I am where I am because this is where I am suppose to be. I need to accept a couple of pounds weight gain if I continue to do weight and strength training, which will only serve to drive the fat percent down, and the lean muscle up. I told Greg I could have hugged him. He said to me I am one of the most fit people he has had with this fit test, as he is usually delivering gloom and doom to people to motivate them.

Everyone say a little “amen” to Greg !

Kat’s Korma-licious Chicken

Ken says this recipe is a “Massive Do-Over” !! A traditional korma is pretty high in fat, given the coconut milk and the rich almond meal and ghee. Moreover, you are suppose to marinate the chicken in a garlic-ginger-yogurt mixture for 24 hours. I am a planner, but I didn’t get it together to do it.
I wanted a korma that tasted complex but could be made in one pan when you get home from work. I love Indian food but I also don’t want to get ‘ghee butt’ from all that wonderful clarified butter. I feel this is a really good compromise and it was just SO DARN delicious. Move over West African peanut stew, you’ve been replaced !

OH.. i will mention this product !! Coconut milk powder, which I bought in Little India, but can be found at any bulk store is going to be a GO TO ingredient for awhile. Add some powder with some warm water and get instant coconut milk without a lot of the fat. Some of my custards will benefit from this exotic twist and the ICE CREAM.. hello coconut ice cream. *claps hands* i cant wait !
GO GET SOME ! and use it anywhere canned coconut milk is asked for. The powder to water ratio is on the back of the box !

Kat’s Chicken Korma

* 14 oz Chicken Breast, chopped in chunks
* 1 tbsp Fresh Ginger Root
* 3 garlic cloves, chopped
* 1 tsp turmeric
* 1 healthy squirt of hot cock sauce
* 1/2 cup Yogourt, greek or not
* 2 small Onions, Chopped
* 1/4 fresh cilantro
* 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
* 1 tsp Garam Masala
* 2 tbsp Almond Meal
* 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
* 1/4 cup Coconut Milk Powder
* 1/4 cup Water
* 1/4 cup Tomatoe Paste
* 1 stalk Fresh GREEN ONIONS

Pull out a deep saute pan and heat oil. Add onions and saute until limp, add garlic, chopped fresh ginger, and fresh cilantro and stir occasionally. Before you add the raw chicken, lean over pot and have a huge sniff.. it should smell delicious.
Add chicken and saute. The smell is delish. This is when I ignore the chicken and make our lunches for the next day.

Add spices once the chicken is finished and let the spices cook and warm for 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and let the raw-ness of it cook off as well. Dump in the yogurt, coconut milk, water, almond meal and lemon juice. Stir and let the flavours simmer for 10 minutes on low.
Looking GOOD !

Ready to eat ! Ken’s plate in the foreground, mine in the background. I served this with a dollop of yogurt, and some raw crunchy spinach on the side. I love mixing spinach into something hot, and the korma sauce sort of wilted the spinach. SO delicious !

Nuts on this dish are FABULOUS compared to regular korma, which can average 18 to 30 grams of fat per serving. OUCH ! This makes 5 – 1/2 cup servings or 2.5 cups of chicken korma. Nuts quoted are without yogurt topping.
Calories 263
Total Fat 11.52g
Total Carbohydrate 15.4g
Dietary Fiber 1.68g
Protein 22.78g

Low Carb Spicy Biscotti

So I am finished with my 5 day cleanse and realized that I am not in too bad of shape. I guess this couple of extra pounds are from all my Body Pump and Spinning classes. To be sure, I have booked a “fitness assessment” with the trainers at the gym to see where my stats are.
Ken has come to expect biscotti every weekend when we sip our protein coffees. I made this biscotti this weekend as it doesnt use flour, is ultra low in carbs, and has a significant protein component in it.
I like the slightly grainy texture of this biscotti. This recipe is from a book by Ursula Solom. This book is the BEST book out there on alt flours and how to use them. It is true alchemy.

Spicy Biscotti
thanks to Ursula Solom

6 tbsp Butter
3 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese
2 egg
5 tbsp Granular
3 tbsp Xylitol Sweetner
1 tsp Stevia
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

2 cups Just Almond Meal
3/4 cup Soy Protein Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Lemon Peel, Raw
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Cloves, Ground
1 tbsp Chili Chipotle, Ground

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and silpat/parchment paper a baking sheet. This makes a gooey biscotti, so you’ll need something to cover your baking sheet or you’ll ruin your loaf as you try and pry it off the baking sheet.

Blend butter and cream cheese until mixed, add sugar substitutes and blend. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and set aside.

In a LARGE bowl mix all the dry ingredients AND the chopped chocolate and spices. Add wet to dry and combine. If the mixture seems TOO wet, add a bit more almond meal, so the dough is coming off the sides of the bowl.

Shape into two loaves and press down. These biscotti do not rise, so whatever shape you bake them, you are going to get when you pull them out. Pop into the oven for 30 minutes.

Once 30 minutes is done, let them cool for 20 minutes, and turn down oven to the lowest setting ~ 200 F. Slice biscotti and turn on one side. I usually get at least 40 biscotti out of this recipe, so adjust nuts accordingly if you make less or more. Pop back into the oven for 60 minutes, flipping them once.

Tada !

Nuts on these are:
Calories 89, Fat 6.66g, Carbs 4.32g, Fiber 1g, Protein 4.2 g