Two Of My Favorite Things

Now don't get me wrong my favorite thing in the world is chocolate, well chocolate and bacon. As much as I would like to only eat those two things for the rest of my life, I'd also like to live past 30 so I don't. The hardest part of low carb for me is the desserts being gone from my life. I can pass up pasta, or bread but not dessert. Skeptically I tried a new recipe tonight and with a few tweaks, it was amazing! Even my non low carb eating best friend loved them.

My inspiration was the Low Carb Raspberry Cream Cheese Bars from I Breath, I'm Hungry's blog. (http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2012/10/low-carb-raspberry-cheesecake-bars.html) But eating low carb is expensive so I try and do without speciality items and purchase in bulk. This led me to make some changes to the recipe and so Low Carb Red Zinger Bars were born.

Low Carb Red Zinger Bars

Coconut Cookie Crust
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. splenda
1/4 c. almond flour
1/2 c. coconut flour
1/2 tsp. coconut extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. splenda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup unsweet frozen raspberries, defrosted
2 tsp splenda

Cream together the butter and sugar substitute. 

Add the almond flour, coconut flour and baking powder, mixing until thoroughly combined.

Press into a lightly greased 9 x 9 pan and set aside.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar substitute together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture over the crust. 

In a small bowl, mash the raspberries and sugar substitute together with a fork. 

Drop by spoonfuls over the cheesecake mixture and then swirl it gently with the fork until distributed over the entire top – don’t over mix. This is key because I definitely over mixed. 

Bake in a 350 degrees (F) oven for 20 minutes. Remove and chill before serving.

Sassily yours, 

Evan 

Comfort Food Revisited

Kansas has been slammed with about 2. 5 feet of snow in the last five days. That has left me with a lot of time to cook, and huge comfort food cravings. I've really wanted mac and cheese but knew I needed a protein to go with it. So I created a healthy version of Tuna Noodle Casserole, a favorite of mine but one I don't often think to make. Maybe its because every time I mention making it, my grandma talks about how thats all her family ate it for every meal during the war. Either way it ended up being delicious and about 6 carbs a serving ( a very large serving mind you, I only got 8 servings out of the 9 x13 pan).

Low Carb Tuna Noodle Casserole 

1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, minced
1/4 white onion, minced
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 c. cheddar cheese
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 can Progresso Recipe Starters Cheese Soup
2 12oz cans of Tuna
1 box Dreamfields Low Carb Penne Noodles

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients together and mix well.
3. Top with 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese and 1/2 cup cheddar.

Don't skimp on that cheese!

I added a little butter to help the cheese get crunchy. 

4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the casserole is bubbling and the noodles are done.

It's good to be back, 

Evan 

We're Back!

When Aubrey and I started this blog, we did it because we love to cook and we wanted to share our low carb life. As you can tell we fell off the blogging bandwagon for a bit. I'd love to make excuses for us, but really life just happens. Luckily we haven't fallen off the low carb or foodie bandwagon. Thanks for sticking with us.  We promise to be better!

Fun Blog and Delish Lent Recipe

I love how I felt on Atkins; the low carb really works for me because I have no self control when you mix flour and sugar together in things like cupcakes or brownies, so it's best for me to avoid them.  Inevitably, I got bored and missed fruit, plus substituting Atkins bars and shakes for meals wasn't really great since it wasn't real food and has a lot of sugar alcohols.  Ew.  So, I decided to stick with the low carb and try a Paleo diet.  It definitely allows more freedom in some areas, but less in others.  

In researching Paleo recipes, I found this blog: paleomg.com.  This lady is funny and has good food...win-win.  The other day, she posted this recipe for Artichoke Lemon Pesto Chicken Pasta.  This recipe has changed my life-it was so easy and versatile.  It was amazing.  If I didn't know better, I would have thought it had cream or cheese or both in it.  I made this recipe on a Friday in Lent, so I substituted shrimp for the chicken.  Also, I don't remember putting lemon in this, so I think it's safe to say that I forgot that part.  But I bet it would be even more delicious.  Go, make it!  Let me know what you think!

Sassily Yours,

A