Baked Jicama Fries

In college, I ate a salad at Chilis. There was an ingredient in my salad that I haven't had or even heard of before. That's when I was first introduced to Jicama. Yummy, rooted Jicama. A hybrid in between a potato and an apple, but with looks of a turnip. Who'd of thought it would be so delicious! Because it surely is!! Mmmmmmmm mmmm good! 

So tonight, I am baking Experiment #3: Baked Jicama Fries. 

Ingredients:

1 whole jicama

2 tbsp coconut oil

Old Bay seasoning 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Peel jicama. Jicama is a rooted fruit (?) with thick skin. You're gonna have to peel this baby twice to get a normal texture. 

3. Slice longways. I recommend slicing into thick slices; they taste better when cooked. 

4. In a bowl, add coconut oil and Old Bay seasoning. You'll have to melt the oil for a min first. 

5. Add jicama to bowl. Toss all ingredients around, coating the jicama in flavored oil. 

6. Arrange jicama slices on a cookie sheet. 

7. Bake for 15 mins, flip, and bake for another 10 mins. 

8. You'll know your jicama fries are ready to eat when the edges have browned and they smell like coconut! 

Jicama isn't a really sweet fruit. It tastes like a dry Apple to me. The coconut oil gives it a slightly sweeter taste and the Old Bay seasoning just balances the flavor. It's a pretty perfect combination. 

Another experiment down, with success! 

Cooking instead of Cleaning!

Gigi

Baked Roma Tomatoes

Tonight I made my own Fried Green Tomatoes. OMG! These came out so delicious! I didn't use green tomatoes and I didn't fry them but boy were they one of my best experiments yet!! And of course, they're low carb!! In fact, they're almost no carb! So here it is, Experiment 2: Baked Roma Tomatoes 

Ingredients:

2 Roma tomatoes. I wouldn't buy super duper ripe ones, but you can buy ripe tomatoes or choose to buy under ripened tomatoes. 

1 2.5 oz bag of Salt & Vinegar Pork Rinds (or any flavor of your choice)

1 egg

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Slice the tomatoes. They don't have to be really thin, but definitely can be if you want more of a crunch. 

3. Crush the bag of pork rinds. I put the entire bag in a ziploc bag and used a rolling pin to crush them as finely as I could. 

4. Now you're going to prepare the tomatoes like you were making French Toast! Crack an egg in a bowl, beat, and individually dip each tomatoe slice into the egg and then into the crushed pork rinds and then place on the cookie sheet. 

5. Repeat until all the tomatoe slices are on the cookie sheet.

6. Now pop them in the oven for 20 mins. 

7. When the timer rings, take the cookie sheet out and flip the tomatoe slices. Now put them back in for another 15 mins. 

8. When they're done, and look like a crispy chip, it's time to enjoy! You can enjoy them plain or with your favorite dipping sauce. I liked ranch with mine! Yummy!!!

These Baked Roma Tomatoes were super easy to make and only cost like $2!  They are nice for an appetizer, snack, or as part of your meal. Add these to your MUST TRY list!

What's your favorite veggie? Have you tried it baked?? 

Gigi

Baked Radish Chips

My new food experiment is on fresh veggies! Instead of eating them raw, dipping them in some ranch dressing, I've decided to bake them! So here's experiment #1: Radishes! 

Baked Radish Chips

I bought some radishes at my local produce market. I absolutely love the produce markets around my home; there are two! How lucky am I?!? I used the radishes for a salad last week and this week, I'm spicing things up! Literally! 

Ingredients:

Radishes- as many or as little as you want to make

Seasonings- choose your favorite and experiment! 

Cooking oil 

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

2. Thinly slice the radishes. I just used a knife and didn't get the radishes nearly thin enough! I recommend a mandolin, or whatever you use to thinly slice anything! 

3. Lay them on a cookie sheet, that you sprayed with cooking oil first. 

4. After they're laid out, spray them with cooking oil. 

5. Then spice them up. I suggest using the spices lightly or the radishes will taste salty. 

6. Bake them for 10 mins, flip, and bake for another 5 mins (or until crispy). 

7. Lastly, eat them up and enjoy! Try them with a dipping sauce of your choice if you want, or just eat them plain. Either way, you're sure to enjoy these radishes! 

Stay tuned for my next baked veggie! 

Gigi 

Low-Carb Peanut Butter Cheesecake

I'm not a fan of peanut butter, but you don't have to be to fall in love with this Peanut Butter Cheesecake recipe! The peanut butter isn't overpowering and the dessert bar tastes just right to satisfy your sweet tooth! At least I know it satisfies mine! 

Ingredients:

(for the peanut butter cheesecake bar)

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese

8 tbsp of low carb peanut butter (I use the grocery store brand, no added sugar, which is 6 carbs per serving)

1 cup of Splenda

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

(for the drizzle topping)

28 grams (40 individual) peanuts crushed. You can place them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. 

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp coconut oil 

You can add a piece of sugar free chocolate to the mix if you want, those I chose not to. 

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

2. Soften the cream cheese in the microwave. I put the two packages in for two minutes and they were perfectly softened. 

3. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and use a hand mixer to mix all together. 

4. Pour mix into a 9x13 baking pan and spread evenly. 

5. Bake for 25 mins

6. While baking, make the drizzle in a small bowl. Add the peanut butter and coconut oil together and melt in the microwave for 30 seconds. 

7. Add in the crushed peanuts and stir thoroughly. The consistency should make a thick, but pourable drizzle. 

8. When the cheesecake is done, pour the drizzle over the whole pan. 

9. Now is the hardest part, you have to wait for about four hours for the cheesecake to hardened and then you can cut into bars, about 3x2.6 in size. 

10. Finally, it's time to enjoy! 

Carb Breakdown:

Without drizzle= 4.8 carbs per bar

With drizzle= 5.3 carbs per bar 

Yay for Low-Carb desserts that are Delicious! Hope you enjoy as much as I do!!

Gigi

Low-Carb Pizza

So... A coworker of mine shared this recipe with me, and I decided to change it up a tad to make it my own. I am SO incredibly happy with the turn out! It tastes like a delicious pizza that you'd buy at your local pizza joint! This is one that you HAVE to try. 

*Note: This recipe is not low fat or low cholesterol.*

Ingredients 

(for the personal pan pizza crust): 

2 cups of mozzarella cheese

2 eggs

A few sprinkles of Italian Seasoning 

(for the pizza toppings):

1/4 cup of tomato sauce

Green olives

Pepperoni slices 

(Or any toppings of your choice) 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450. 

2. Line a round cake pan with parchment paper. This helps so the pizza doesn't stick to the pan. 

3. Mix the eggs, cheese, and seasoning in a bowl (like you're making an omelette). 

4. Pour the mix into the cake pan and spread evenly. 

5. Bake for 15 mins. 

I just HAD to peak! Doesn't it look great?! It smells great too!! 

6. While you're baking your pizza, get the toppings ready. I cut green olives in half and cut up large pieces of pepperoni into fourths. Prepare 1/4 cup of tomato sauce for the pizza. 

7. When the pizza is done cooking, add the tomato sauce, green olives, and pepperoni (or toppings of your choice) to the top of the pizza. 

This is what the pizza should look like after the first 15 mins. 

8. Now stick the pizza back in the oven for another 10 mins to continue baking

9. When the timer rings, take the pizza out, let cool for a minute or two, cut into fourths and ENJOY! I promise that you will!! 

This recipe is a MUST try, like I keep saying! Even my daughter who doesn't ever ever eat pizza ate a whole slice of this!! I can't wait to make more! 

Carb Breakdown:

Personal Pan Pizza crust= 8 carbs

Tomato Sauce= 4 carbs

Toppings= 0 carbs!

Total carb content for this entire pizza= 12 carbs!!! Wow!!! 

🍕 Eat Up!!

Gigi 

One Box, Two Low-Carb Desserts

One Box = Many Low-Carb Desserts

Craving a dessert? How about a frozen dessert? Trying to stick to your low carb lifestyle? Look no further, I have several simple recipes for you!!

Recipe #1: Low-Carb Ice Cream

Ingredients:

-Heavy Cream

-Sugar Free, Fat Free Pudding mix 

Instructions:

1. Follow the instructions on the back of the pudding box, but replace the milk with heavy cream. 

2. Freeze for full frozen effect! 

3. Voila! Easiest low-carb ice cream ever! And there's an assortment of flavors- cheesecake, vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, etc.

Carb Breakdown:

4 servings at 9.5 carbs for each serving. Perfect amount for an after dinner dessert! 

Recipe #2: Low-Carb Pudding 

Here's a second low-carb way to use a box of pudding. This one came from the genius within me ;)

Just follow the actual recipe on the back of the pudding box! You can make your pudding wholesome with whole milk or make it low fat with skim milk. 1 cup of any milk has only 12 carbs making this recipe a whopping 7.5 carbs per serving!

 

Recipe #3: The Lowest-Carb Pudding

 

Follow the box, again, but use unsweetened almond milk instead of skim or whole milk. I personally use unsweetened vanilla flavored almond milk from Giant food (Great Value brand), but either will work. Or use unsweetened coconut milk! (though I can't speak to coconut milk personally) Unsweetened (and make sure it's unsweetened) vanilla flavored almond milk is only 1 carb per cup. This pudding will be extra low-carb with almond milk!! It might need a dash of sweetener, but you'll have to try it out for yourself and see.

 

Any of these recipes are awesome for a dessert, snack, or even addition to any meal! And, as you see, one box of pudding can be altered to all carb counters!

🍨 Gigi 

Low-Carb Pasta

I haven't had pasta for at least 9 months. While I'm not a big pasta eater, I do like it every now and then. And I've had this butternut squash pasta sauce for a while now and haven't found a use for it since I don't eat pasta. So... I finally found a pasta that I can eat! A pasta that is both low carb AND gluten free (for all your celiac/gluten free folks!) 

Shiratake Noodles, known in Japan as Miracle Noodles, are found in the refrigerated aisle by the tofu in your local grocery store. I'm not going to pretend like I know anything more about this pasta since I just heard of it for the first time this week! But after a lot of research, I made it tonight and I was quite please! 

1. Open the package with scissors. Beware, there is a strong aroma that comes from the bag. 

2. Dump the noodles into a strainer and rinse off for a good minute or two under running water. 

3. Dry off thoroughly with a paper towel. 

4. Put into a frying pan and "dry fry" the noodles, using a fork to move them around and prevent clumping. This should take about three minutes. 

5. Heat some pasta sauce, add some garlic and S&P, or stir fry in some of your favorite veggies to complete this dish! I added some butternut squash pasta sauce to mine and it turned out delicious! 

Carb breakdown:

Shiratake Noodles 

2 servings per bag= 4 carbs per serving

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

1/2 cup= 17 carbs 

Total= 25 carbs 

Now you go and try something new! You'll be sure to enjoy! 

Gigi

Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

It's snack time! So I found myself a super low carb snack! And the only ingredient is a block of cheese! Here are the instructions for my $3 cheese crackers.

1. Buy a block of cheese. Like Cabot or Cracker Barrel or whatever brand you want. Don't buy sharp; buy Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, Parmesan, etc. 

2. Heat oven to 400. 

3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

4. Cut the cheese into slices and place the slices on the parchment paper. 

5. Cook for 10 mins. 

6. When the timer rings, take the cheese out of the oven and let cool. Then break apart into crackers! 

7. Serve plain or with your favorite dip! I personally love guacamole, and I made a homemade one here! Enjoy!!

**Update: Serve the crackers with some tuna fish for a low carb lunch! 

Low Carbin' along... 

Gigi 

Low-Carb Brownies

Low-Carb Brownies

These brownies are flourless and cook like an egg soufflé. But best of all, there's only 3 carbs per serving! That's enough to soothe my sweet tooth!

Disclaimer: This post was started while the brownies were cooking. It's now being finished after eating the final product. These brownies are light and dry. I've decided that they are better than no sweet snack at all, so I am sharing the recipe with you. I'm also hoping that someone will do something different that will make them taste better and TELL ME! Good luck! 

Ingredients

-2 oz unsweetened chocolate. I bought a bar of 45% chocolate, with almonds, and no added sugar from Trader Joes. 

-1 c butter

-1 1/2 c baking Splenda

-4 eggs

-4 egg yolks 

-1 tbsp vanilla. I used 9 grams (.32 oz) of vanilla sugar, which is equivalent to 2 tsps of vanilla. 

-6 tbsp cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Melt chocolate and butter over VERY low heat

3. Let cool for 10 mins

4. Beat eggs until light and fluffy

5. Gradually beat in Splenda

6. SLOWLY drizzle chocolate mixture into egg mixture, beating constantly

7. Beat in cocoa powder until smooth 

8. Spread batter into a greased 12x16 jelly roll pan. I used a 12x17 since that's what I had. 

9. Bake for 40 mins, or until the top of puffed and cracked and the tester comes out with moist crumbs

10. Cool for 1 hr

11. Cut into 2 inch squares and ENJOY!

Serving size is 2 inch square. 

Carb content is 3 grams per serving. 

Seasoned Carrots

Low- Carb Seasoned Carrots

Tired of bland veggies? I am! So I decided to mix it up! These yummy seasoned carrots are totally low carb and tasty. 

1. Slice carrots thinly

2. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper (for an extra kick, throw in some of your fav seasonings- curry powder, cayenne pepper, creole seasoning) 

3. Baked for 15 mins at 350 degrees

4. Enjoy! 

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did! Let me know what spicy seasoning you used! 

Half Baked! 🍴

Gigi 

It's a Camp Out!

Owen's Camp: a DIY camping party

Since we love camping as a family, I decided that this year was the year to host a camping party for my sons 2nd birthday! Since his birthday is on New Years Eve and his party is in the winter, I had to adapt a lot of outdoor fun to the indoors. But we did! Check it out!! 

Invitation

I created an invitation using Vistaprint. I use Vistaprint for all my invitations. I think they have a large variety to pick out anything and the addition of a picture(s) doesn't cost you. 

Camping Signs

I used cardboard, fallen twigs, construction paper, and a thick Sharpie marker to make these signs. They were simple, and free. And I think they came out super cute!

I used a cable tie to secure the signs to the sticks, but you can also use masking or packing tape. 

Table Centerpieces

I thought marshmallows should be a focal point of the lunch table. So I used a flower vase, more twigs, rocks, and several marshmallows to make a cute centerpiece. I used what we had at home for this item also, making it another free project! 

I then made a fire pit candy dish. I used a square vase, twigs, yellow and red tissue paper, a (luau) lei that my daughter just happened to rip earlier in the day and a small candy dish. I stuck the twigs in the square vase and balled up some tissue paper and cut up pieces from the lei to stick inside too. I then sat the circular small candy dish on the twigs and put more tissue paper and lei pieces around it. It gives the effect that the candy dish is sitting over the fire. I was going to use this as a candy dish, but last minute, I covered the top with cardboard and put condiments on it. It served a better purpose for the party this way! 

I also wrote, in twigs, "Owen's Camp" on a piece of construction paper that I taped onto the vase. 

Goody Bags

Kids expect treats when they leave parties so of course I put together some goody bags with camping "stuff" in it! Check out my finds, thanks to Oriental Trading. 

Are those rubber duckies not the most adorable things?! Oriental Trading has ducks for ALL occasions! I tend to buy a different duck for every party! And the compass is also a flashlight and whistle. I threw in some candy too- lollipops, individual candies, and candy bracelets. 

So now that the party is planned, let's check out the menu!! I wanted the table to be like a huge grill, so I bought metal disposable baking pans to put all the food in. I also made labels for the food. I recycled soup cans to hold the eating utensils and bought camping plates from Oriental Trading. 

Serving Up... 

✔️Chargrilled (hot) dogs

✔️Campfire beans 

✔️Make your own Happy Trails Mix, which consisted of: mini marshmallows, flames (aka Cheetos), M&M's, peanuts, matches (aka pretzel sticks), craisins, and Teddy Grahams. I put out individual baggies so the kids (and adults) could make their own mixes to snack on during the party or for their "hike" home. 

✔️Creamed corn

✔️Hearty greens

✔️Grilled veg

✔️Fruit kabobs 

And for dessert...

✔️Homemade camping cake by my incredibly talented, and patient husband!! 

✔️S'more pops

Now let's check out how the party pulled together! 

"The Campsite"

Story time occurred inside the tent. Here are our fav camping books!

The inflatable fire was a nice faux touch from Oriental Trading. Next to the tent is a "bush" with a parrot in it and a snail in the "dirt." The table is dressed with a red table cloth and set up for a bunch of kids. This table gets its own centerpiece- a fire pit made of 3 paper towel rolls and red, orange, and yellow tissue paper! 

"The Grill"

And table decor

And the S'more pops! 

Check out my hubby's amazing cake! He worked really hard on this and made homemade marshmallow fondant and homemade buttercream icing! A+ for my man!!

Now that the party's over, don't forget the Goody Bags! 

Everything was a hit! House is a mess and that means the kids had fun! The birthday boy and his sis were exhausted after the long day and went right to bed! Parties are fun, even if it's a mommys job to clean it all up!! 

🎉 Always up for a party!!

Gigi