Tag: easy

PB & J in a Bowl

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It is hard to come up with keto breakfast ideas that do not include eggs. Traditional breakfasts are always chalked full of carbs. French toast, pancakes and cereals are on every breakfast buffet in North America.

I am always about simplicity when it comes to keto. No crazy ingredients, no fancy products. Just natural foods that taste good together! I was getting sick of eggs every morning and was on the search for a sweeter alternative that I could pack up and take to work.

One day I was craving peanut butter and didn’t feel like eating it off a spoon (I could eat a whole tub that way). I had some strawberries in the fridge and got the brilliant idea to have peanut butter and jelly in a bowl! This super simple recipe is now a staple in my breakfast routine and is frequently found in my lunch bag at work. I also have it if I am craving a dessert after dinner.

Keep in mind that strawberry carbs will add up (approx 1 carb per berry) so do not over do it. Make sure to use all natural no sugar added peanut butter.

INGREDIENTS

  • Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination of all three
    All natural peanut butter
    Stevia to sweeten if desired

There is no trick or complexity here. Put berries on bowl, top with PB and microwave for 1 minute (45 seconds for raspberries. They cook faster and will bubble out of the bowl, so keep a close eye on them)

Great with or without stevia. It depends on the sweetness of the berries or the intensity of your sweet tooth!

Sausage and Feta Stuffed Peppers

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The perfect recipes for me include meat, a green veggie and cheese. You can almost always put anything from these threes categories together and get magic! I often experiment with this theory and sometimes come up with a true winner!

Meet the sausage and feta stuffed pepper!

There are a couple of things to watch out for in this recipe. First, use unsalted diced tomatoes (there is enough salt in the feta cheese) and make sure there is no sugar added. Tomato sauce is full of sugar so just steer clear of that all together. Even better, make your own!

If using green peppers, a mild Italian sausage is awesome, but if you use sweet peppers, go hot Italian all the way! The hot and sweet combo is amazing!

I find there is enough spice in this dish without having to add anything at all. Tang of the peppers and tomatoes with the spice of the sausage and creaminess and saltiness of the feta is a perfect combo!

INGREDIENTS

  • 28oz can of unsalted no sugar diced tomatoes
  • 4 green or sweet peppers
  • Feta cheese
  • 6 Hot or mild Italian sausage
  • Sour cream (optional as topper)

Cover the bottom of 9×13 pan with half of the diced tomatoes. If you aren’t using a glass pan (even if you are) you can line it with tin foil to make clean up a breeze. Slice peppers in half, removing all seeds and bitter white parts. Place peppers in pan on top of tomatoes and add 1 tbsp of crumbled feta cheese to each pepper.

I use small sausages and go through 6 for 8 peppers. This of course will depend on the size of your peppers and your sausage. Slice the sausage down the middle and remove casing. Stuff peppers with sausage meat almost all the way to the top.

Top with more feta cheese and spoon the remaining tomatoes on top!

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until peppers are soft and sausage is cooked all the way through. Top with a dollop of sour cream if you would like!

Please let me know if you try out this recipe and tell me what you think!

Keto Grilled Cheese

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There isn’t many things that I miss since going keto. I can live without pasta, cake and that terrible tasting commercial bread. I don’t crave carbs anymore and am grateful for that.

The only thing that gets me is I love, love, love soup! On a chilly evening, nothing beats a steaming bowl of homemade soup. The only thing better is a hot bowl of soup paired with a grilled cheese! After months of wishing I could just whip up some delicious bread, butter and cheese, I decided to get creative.

I don’t use almond flour or coconut flour to try and recreate things I shouldn’t be eating, so that wasn’t an option. But one recipe that is a staple in the keto world is cloud bread. I had to see if it would hold up to a hot grill. Let me tell you, it’s buttery, crumbly and yummy!

If you haven’t made cloud bread, go here and check it out! The recipe may seem a little tricky the first time, but once you get used to it, you will add it into your regular rotation. It is only eggs, cream of tartar and cream cheese!

Once you have a batch of cloud bread ready, just use the same process to make a grilled cheese being careful that it does get a little more crumbly then regular bread.

Butter the flat part of the bread and drop in a hot pan. Fill it with cheese and anything else you love. I like onions, tomato, ham and in this case, Genoa salami.

Give it a try and let me know what you think! It has been a life saver for me when I get that intense cheesy craving every time I make homemade soup!

Nontraditional Banana Cheesecake

Published on by friendlyfoodforus5 Comments

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First of all, before I start getting angry hate mail from the worlds biggest cheesecake lovers, this is definitely not a traditional cheesecake (it is better, but that is only my opinion!) Instead of graham crackers as the base, it has banana cake. Instead of a thick and heavy cream cheese filling, it is a light and airy whip cream/cream cheese topping.

Ok, now that we have got that out of the way, let me tell you how amazing this cake is! It is one of my go to’s for pot lucks, baby showers and holidays. I just made it last weekend for Easter and it was gone within minutes! What I love about this recipe is how easy it is. Usually desserts this good are hard to make, but this is the exception. Unfortunately, it isn’t very healthy (which would make it the world’s best cake ever) but it has fruit, so that makes me feel less guilty about having two pieces…..or three! To be honest, I am actually eating it as I write this!

Nontraditional Banana Cheesecake Recipe

Makes 9×13 cake pan. If you are looking for an amazing non stick option for your cakes and don’t want to spend a lot of money (what can I say, I am thrifty), check out these amazing non stick pans on Amazon. You get 2 pans for only $14.99. I have never had anything stick on these bad boys!

Banana Cake Base

Cheesecake topping

Pre-heat over to 325 and grease 9×13 cake pan. Mix sugar, oil, eggs and banana in one bowl and flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another. Mix wet and dry ingredients enough to combine, but be careful of over stirring as this will make a heavier cake. Keeping the mixing to a minimum will give you a much fluffier and lighter base. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, checking with a toothpick in the middle. Once done, put in fridge to cool while making the topping.

Top make the delicious and fluffy topping, use a stand mixer to make whip cream by combining the packages, milk and vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form. In separate bowl, mix cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla until completely incorporated. Mix the cream cheese and whip cream together. Now try now to eat it by the spoonful….I dare you!

When the cake is completely cool, top with cream topping and sprinkle with walnuts.

I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do 🙂

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Easy Pineapple Salsa

Published on by friendlyfoodforus1 Comment

So yesterday I was feeling like Autumn was just around the corner and today it is hot as hell here in the sunny south of Niagara! You just never know what the weather will hold this summer! This is the strangest season ever!

So I have been craving pineapple lately and bought a nice juicy one on sale (yay for saving money!). After eating to my hearts desire, I had some left over. My brain immediately started searching the recipe index I keep stored in my head and pulled out a recipe for Pineapple salsa!


I haven’t made it in several years and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why! It isn’t even much of a recipe it is that easy and it is so delicious with so many things!

Use pineapple salsa for chicken, fish, pork chops, sausage, with tortilla chips, fish tacos, etc, etc! Again I start wondering why I haven’t made it in so long!


You won’t even need to write the recipe down (unless you have a bad memory, then I would suggest saving this post!)

EASY PINEAPPLE SALSA

  1. Pineapple
  2. Green pepper
  3. Jalapeño
  4. Onion
  5. Tomato
  6. Salt and pepper

I’m not even going to suggest ingredient amounts because I have never used measurements and have never made a bad salsa! You can even throw in some cilantro (which I hate more than anything in this world, so I never use it.)


Please try this recipe and let me know how it turned out and what you used it with. I have even been known to eat with with a spoon, so no judgement if that is the choice you decide to make 😁

Oatmeal Bars (Gluten/Dairy Free)

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I know it is not even mid August yet but it is already starting to feel like fall around here. The winds have changed and the need to bake begins!

I have been torn however since I have not done much baking since going gluten free. Baking without flour (I refuse to buy anything labeled “gluten free”) seems tricky!

So I started playing around with oats! Let me tell you, these oatmeal bars are delicious and just as satisfying as anything else laced with wheat! I made them for a pot luck party and they went over so well that I had to make another whole batch for myself!


OATMEAL BARS

  • 2 medium bananas
  • 1 3/4 cups oats
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350c and grease a 9×9 pan. Mix all ingredients together (try microwaving the peanut butter first to make it easier) and bake for 20 minutes.


It really couldn’t be easier and I love this recipe since I always have the ingredients on hand. Perfect for a fast dessert, healthy enough for breakfast and delicious enough for a party!