I love all the things about Yule, and Christmas. I love the lights, the trees, the songs, even the snow. But the thing I love the most is the feasting!
However, a big part of the fest for me is the stuffing. I make my grandfather’s recipe every year, but it’s filled with bread and potatoes so what’s a girl to do?
Re-vamp her grandfather’s recipe into a keto one of course! 😉 Below is exactly that:
Ingredients:
1 loaf of hearts of palm bread
2 heads of cauliflower
2 Tbsp of Poultry seasoning
1 whole garlic minced 1 cooked sausage of your choice
1/2 of an onion finely chopped
1 egg
1lb of bacon chopped
2 Tbsp of butter
2 Tbsp of heavy cream
1 Tsp of pepper
1 dash of salt
Instructions: 1) Roughly chop and then cook cauliflower in a pan on medium heat. 2) Remove from heat, add butter and cream and mash. 3) Dice onion, garlic, sausage and bacon and then add to the cauliflower mash. 4) Rip (or cut) up hearts of palm bread into small pieces and add to mash. 5) Add whisked egg and poultry seasoning. 6) Stuff Turkey and cook as usual.
As of this week’s measurements, I’ve lost a total of 13.4lbs, 1.5in off each area: waist, hips, & thighs, and 3/4in off my upper arms 😁 So I’m going to toast my success with toasted coconut 😉 So I headed over to Twosleevers.com and found this lovely keto coconut macaroons recipe. Each macaroon has 2net carbs.
Ingredients
1/4 cup Almond Flour
2 cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coconut oil
4 egg whites
1/4 cup Swerve
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 400F. Line a 9 x 13 cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, coconut, coconut oil or butter, and vanilla extract and set aside.
Using the whisk attachment on your stand mixer, beat together the egg whites and Swerve until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the almond flour mixture.
Spoon the mixture onto the cookie sheet to get 10-12 scoops.
Bake for 15-16 minutes until the coconut tops start to brown lightly.
Remove from oven and let cool before removing from the cookie sheet.
Sometime when I wasn’t looking he became too big for bed time cuddles. I missed noticing the last time his older brother asked for bedtime cuddles, and I swore I wouldn’t miss it with him. Yet, life, my own inability to stay in the present made me forget to pay attention as carefully as I swore I would. I was always thinking of what needs to be done before I go to bed, tomorrow, next week, next month, next, next, next. Never focusing on the now, always on the next. So I missed noticing when the last time he asked for cuddles happened. He slipped out of that stage without a whisper, or a warning.
He still asks for his heart song…most nights. I’ve taken to holding his hand while I sing, a part of me can’t bear to let him go just yet, but I know I must, so I compromise by just holding his hand instead. Normally as soon as I’ve finished his heart song he lets go and repositions himself, his hand firmly tucked beneath his head. Only tonight, tonight he didn’t let go. It was such a small gesture, the gentle extra pressure he used to squeeze so delicately that if I’d not been focused on the present I wouldn’t have noticed…I would have missed his fingers stroking my hand, searching…reaching…connecting with me. So I stayed, my arm outstretched to his big boy loft bed, holding his hand for just a little bit longer. He held my hand tonight not just for his heart song, but until he fell asleep, and my heart overflowed with so much love for my sweet not so little boy. One day he’ll stop asking for his heart song…his brother has, and I’ll stop singing it…but for at least tonight I got to hold on just a little longer…
For my weekly weigh in and measurements this week, I’d lost a total of 9.6lbs since I started 3 weeks ago, and 1.5inches off my waist!
Then I had a rough day, I’ve gone back to university, so I have papers due because it’s nearing the end of the term, I was struggling to write one of them. Add in being scared about going for a CT Scan for the lump on my sternum and I made the bad decision to eat my feelings.
For the last 2 days I have enhaled carb filled, processed crap. I’ve also gained back 2lb cause when I go overboard, I’m damn good at it! So, I’m back up 2lb but I say it was a bad choice not a terrible one because I’m learning. I’m learning how deeply I really connect food with comfort. I am reminded of how many times that special time with my mom who passed away almost 3 years ago included “special foods”. I’m learning how vital it is for me to have at least a couple of pre-made comfort style keto foods frozen for myself.
To that end, I’ve found a delicious keto friendly chicken pot pie recipe, that at 3g net carbs means I can have 2 servings if I feel the need to do so without sabatoging my hard work!
The delicious recipe below is the creation of Kasey Trenum who you can find cooking up all kinds of fantastic recipes on her blog: Kasey Trenum
Ingredients For the Chicken Pot Pie Filling: 2 tablespoons of butter 1/2 cup mixed veggies could also substitute green beans or broccoli 1/4 small onion diced 1/4 tsp pink salt 1/4 tsp pepper 2 garlic cloves minced 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 1 cup chicken broth 1 tsp poultry seasoning 1/4 tsp rosemary pinch thyme 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken diced 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum For the crust: 4 1/2 tablespoons of butter melted and cooled 1/3 cup coconut flour 2 tablespoons full fat sour cream 4 eggs 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup mild cheddar cheese, grated 1/3 cup Mozzarella Cheese, grated 1 1/2 tsp parsley (to sprinkle on top)
Instructions
Cook 1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken in the slow cooker for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Sautee onion, mixed veggies, garlic cloves, salt, and pepper in 2 tablespoons butter in an oven safe skillet for approx 5 min or until onions are translucent.
Add heavy whipping cream, chicken broth, poultry seasoning, thyme, and rosemary.
Sprinkle Xanthan Gum on top and simmer for 5 minutes so that the sauce thickens. Make sure to simmer covered as the liquid will evaporate otherwise. You need a lot of liquid for this recipe, otherwise, it will be dry.
Add diced chicken.
Make the breading by combining melted butter (I cool mine by popping the bowl in the fridge for 5 min), eggs, salt, and sour cream in a bowl then whisk together.
Add coconut flour and baking powder to the mixture and stir until combined.
Stir in cheese.
Drop batter by dollops on top of the chicken pot pie. Do not spread it out, as the coconut flour will absorb too much of the liquid.
Bake in a 400-degree oven for 15-20 min.
Set oven to broil and move chicken pot pie to top shelf. Broil for 1-2 minutes until bread topping is nicely browned. Sprinkle dried parsley on top.
Nutrition
For 1/8 of the pie: Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 5.3g | Protein: 11.6g | Fat: 17g | Fiber: 2g
Behind starburst eyes 