Adventures In The Ketoverse

I've been been on a new way of eating since the end of April and I'm loving it. The Ketogenic way of eating has transformed my thinking about food and weight loss in a way I never expected. My main goals with this new way of eating are losing the weight I need to, and getting off ALL my diabetic and high blood pressure meds. I am happy to say that I am seeing the light at the end of this tunnel!

In the Ketogenic way of eating we use healthy fats and proteins as our source of fuel as apposed to using carbs and sugars. It is amazing how much better I feel since kicking the carbs and sugars to the curb! Surprisingly I didn't have too much trouble giving up my breads and sweet treats. This going to be a sustainable woe (way of eating).

Going Keto doesn't mean giving up the all the things you love to eat. You simply find healthier options to enjoy them or a tasty substitute for the things that are not allowed. It is doable friends. You gotta trust me on this one.

Stay tuned as I share recipes, tips and what has worked for me. I'll also review different products I've tried along my Keto Journey.

Once Upon A Saturday Morning

It’s 6 o’clock on a Saturday morning and all through the house not a person was up and about except mom. She was busy in the kitchen mixing up a tasty treat for her tribe. She gathered flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar; some butter, eggs, and whipping cream too. Then for a magical taste she reached for some egg nog. Yes, egg nog. These will be tasty waffles indeed. And with some cinnamon whipped cream to dollup on top these would surely be waffles supreme!

Gathering the essentials.

1-1/2 cups of this magical liquid to take 

these waffles to The. Next. Level.

Don't overmix. Lumps are a good thing 

in waffle land.

Fill your waffle maker with amount it 

requires and...

Voila!!! Yummy happens.

 I used the leftover whipping 

cream from last nights supper. 

I just added some cinnamon.

Look how pretty it is. And its going to 

be the perfect compliment for the Egg 

Nog waffles.

Serve warm sprinkled with powdered sugar and a big 

dollop of the cinnamon whipped cream. Extra whipped 

cream is strongly encouraged. 

Guaranteed good to the last crumb!

**I didn't have butter and substituted 1/3 cup 

cooking oil as a substitute.**

This is my modified version of the recipe from:

cooknourishbliss.com

Oh Meyer! Lemon Loaf

I'm so excited friends and I just couldn't wait to post. The last time I made a lemon loaf it stuck to the pan, and  I was not sure if it was the goop's fault or mine. I was hoping it was mine because I really love my goop (homemade pam spray) I think it is the best thing since anything as far as baking goes. 

Anyways, I made another lemon loaf today, and was praying that it wouldn't stick to the pan because I was making it to take to a friend. So thinking back on my disastrous last loaf of lemon bread; I said a prayer, baked the bread, and when it was done I let it cool in the pan just a bit longer. this time.  Last time I tried to take it out of the pan at about 10 minutes, and this time I waited patiently for 15 minutes. Santo remedio, as we say in Spanish. It truly was the holy remedy because the bread came out perfectly. So glad it worked out. My patience paid off. 

Gorgeousness!

The finished Lemon Loaf.

Success! 

Lemon drizzle/glaze. Guess it really depends on how much 

you put on the loaf. I'd say I glazed today. 

Yep, its glazed.

😊

Spaghetti Sauce

Hey y'all, here's a quick and easy spaghetti sauce recipe I think you'll like. I got this recipe from a friend years ago and I have been using it ever since.

1 Jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 pound of  sweet Italian sausage
Cabernet Sauvignon
1/4 granulated sugar

Cook the Italian sausage until it is completely browned. Drain and add to the spaghetti sauce. Add 1 cup or more as desired of the Cabernet Sauvignon. Add the sugar and simmer on low for about 20 minutes or so to give the flavors a chance to mingle. If you're like me and you like the sauce I bit thicker then you can blend/pulae about a cup of the cooked sausage with a little of the sauce before you simmer it all. This sauce is even tastier if you prepare it a day or so in advance. The flavors mellow quite nicely.

Peach Kuchen

This month's Improv Cooking Challenge ingredients are peaches and cream. Since I am a baker at heart  I decided to try baking a Peach Kuchen; a German peach cream cake. Now, I have never tried baking one before so I was excited to try it.  I gotta say that it was so much fun to make and the nutmeg made the house smell absolutely divine as it was cooking. Honestly the hardest part was waiting to eat it. Here's the recipe I used. It is a modified version from Beyond Kimchee

.

Peach Kuchen

Ingredients~

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small chunks

1/2 cup whole milk

1 egg

1 large can of sliced peaches, drained  

Custard Cream~

1 cup heavy cream

2 tsp flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat  oven to 400˚F

Grease a 9" spring form pan.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Using a pastry blender, or two forks cut in the cold butter pieces until it becomes fine crumbs. In a small mixing bowl, whisk milk and egg well. Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture, and mix with a fork just until it becomes wet. Now spread the batter on the bottom of the pan. Arrange the peach slices on top. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. While this is baking make the custard cream. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the cream with the flour until there are no big lumps. Add the reminder of the cream, sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt. Whisk well. After 15 minutes take the cake out of the oven and pour the cream mixture over the top. Return the cake to the oven and reduce the heat to 350˚F. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake top is puffed, and the edges are deep golden and are beginning to separate from the pan. On a wire rack cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, and then remove it from the pan and let it cool completely. Enjoy plain or with a scoop of ice cream.

*Notes*

I used canned peaches for this recipe, but you can certainly use fresh peaches if you desire.

While you're here check out some of the other tasty creations from this months blog.

An InLinkz Link-up

Mom's Banana Bread

I have the perfect thing for those lazy Saturday mornings y'all. You know the ones I'm talkin 'bout. The ones where breakfast and the day is calling out to you, but it just feels perfect to sleep in just a wee bit more. Oh yeah, you know what I mean. Those kinds of Saturday mornings are perfect for some warm, fresh banana bread all buttered up. Oh, and you mustn't  forget the coffee.

My mom always made the best banana bread. She always made it with buttermilk and threw in some walnuts. I always loved the twang from the buttermilk.  Thankfully, I have made her recipe so many times I have the recipe in my head. 

Mom kept many of her recipes on index cards in a little hinged box. Somehow in our recent move I have misplaced that little box of recipes. 😞 I am still hopeful that it will be found.

Mom's Banana Bread

1 1⁄3 cups  sugar

1⁄2 cup  butter, softened

2 eggs

1⁄2 cup  buttermilk

1 teaspoon  baking soda

1 teaspoon  baking powder

2 cups  flour

1 teaspoon  pure vanilla

1 1⁄4 cups mashed ripe bananas

3⁄4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions~

Cream together the sugar and butter.

Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition. Stir the baking soda into the buttermilk and add to the eggs, butter and sugar mixture. Sift baking powder with flour and blend into creamed mixture.   Add the vanilla and mashed banana. Mix. Stir in the walnuts. Pour into a greased and floured 9"x5" loaf pan. 

Bake at 300 degrees F for about 1 1/2 hours or until loaf tests done with a toothpick. 

Cool for about 20-30 minutes before removing from pan.

Enjoy!

*please note*

I used two smaller disposable pans this time, so I adjusted the cooking time to about 60 minutes.

Horchata

I interrupt your regularly scheduled Saturday evening to bring you Horchata.

This wonderful rice drink is super easy to make, sooooooo tasty and refreshing on our super scorching Arizona days. It's a favorite at our house. 

Try it for yourself and let me know what you think. 

Here's the super easy directions. The hardest part is waiting for it to be ready to drink!

Horchata

1 cup uncooked white long-grain rice


5 cups water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract


1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon


2/3 cup white sugar


Directions~

Pour the rice and water into the bowl of a blender. Blend just until the rice begins to break up, about 1 minute or so. Let rice and water stand at room temperature for a minimum of 3 hours. With a cheesecloth strain the rice water into a pitcher and discarding the rice. Stir the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar into the rice water. Chill and stir before serving over ice.