Crabby Housewife

Salted Caramel Chip Cookie Low Carb & Gluten Free

February 16, 2018 July 24, 2016 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

Have you seen the new Arby’s salted caramel chocolate chip cookies? Oh my goodness. Every time I see the ad or drive through and see it on their menu, my mouth waters. I love the taste of salted caramel almost more than anything in the world. Needless to say, one of their cookies would send my blood pressure soaring way beyond normal ranges.

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Since I am the only one in my house eating strictly low carb, I often get a craving and want just one or two cookies. This recipe makes one. You can easily double or triple it without changing the taste. Just watch the consistency of the dough. It should be like very pliable cookie dough.

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I have made this recipe before, but I wanted to add a salted caramel taste, so I used some things I had on hand. Specifically DaVinci’s Caramel Syrup (Sugar Free, of course) and some sea salt.

I hope you enjoy this treat as much as I did. Also, I always make my baked goods on parchment paper, so be sure you have some of that on hand. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and let’s get baking!

Let’s Bake Cookies!

Salted Caramel Chip Cookie Low Carb & Gluten Free

Author: Crabby Housewife

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar free Davinci caramel syrup
1 Tablespoon of beaten egg
2 1/2 teaspoons Splenda
1 teaspoon Splenda brown sugar blend
1/3 cup almond flour more or less to get right consistency
1 Tablespoon sugar free chocolate chips
Pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Melt butter (I prefer grass fed)
Add caramel syrup
Stir in beaten egg
Add sugar, brown sugar, and almond flour and stir until mixed
Stir in chocolate chips
Place mixture on parchment paper using spoon to smooth it out a bit. Should be about 1/4 inch thick.
Bake for 18 minutes or until golden brown. Don't overcook or cookie will get dry and crumbly.
Best enjoyed while still warm.

Lori Soard’s Dinner Plans: Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Caribbean Rice, Grilled Corn and Veggie Kabobs

February 16, 2018 July 18, 2016 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

Do you ever have a hard time figuring out what you’ll cook for dinner? If you haven’t already signed up for my weekly mailing list, you can get a free copy of What’s For Dinner? which includes a 14-day menu rotation plan. However, I’m also thrilled to announce some new dinner plans I’ll be sharing here that feature a shopping list, recipes, and include the main dish and sides. I’ll even throw in dessert ideas occasionally.

If you don’t want to eat out but have no idea what to make, you can pull up one of my Dinner Plans, print out the shopping list, top on your way home from work and put something truly delicious on the table. Most of these recipes will be fairly healthy, too, but I may throw in an occasional one that is just plain yummy without worrying about calories, carbs, or fat.

These will always be dishes that I’ve cooked, tweaked and created something fabulous. If it isn’t fabulous, don’t worry, I won’t share it. Sometimes when you experiment as a cook, it is not great. Sometimes it is brilliant. My goal is to share only brilliance with you.

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On the Menu

Today’s meal consists of:

Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Pineapple and Cilantro Rice (Caribbean Rice)
Veggie Kabobs
Grilled Sweet Corn with Grass-Fed Butter

Shopping List

Highlight just this portion and print to take to the store or pull up on your cell phone. Don’t worry, Crabby Housewife is mobile friendly and responsive, so you can pull this page up right on your smart phone or tablet. Cross off the items you already have in your pantry or freezer/fridge.

You’ll need:

8 chicken breasts (you can also buy bag-o-chicken tenderloins for smaller pieces – 3 lbs. worth)
Box of Minute whole grain brown rice
Splenda brand brown sugar (less carbs, but you can use regular light brown sugar if you aren’t watching carbs)
Canola Oil (can sub peanut oil or grapeseed if you have Monsanto concerns)
Soy sauce
Red wine vinegar
1 bunch green onions
Pineapple (1)
4 Limes
4-8 ears of corn
2 jalapeno peppers
2 o
Pre-made veggie kabobs (or if you want to save money, buy the veggies you love and just grill them up in a grill pan or put on metal skewers)
Garlic (2 heads but always good to have extra on hand)
Caribbean jerk seasoning
Sea Salt
Grass fed butter (it just tastes better, but can use regular butter if you must)
Aluminum foil

Prep the Meal

One of the hardest parts of putting a meal on the table can be all the prep work. I suggest things like pre-made veggie kabobs because you take them out of the package, throw them on the grill and you’re done. However, you can certainly do a little more prep work and make your own, plus it will save you money. It depends on your budget and how much time you want to put into cooking.

Step # 1: Make the Jerk Marinade

The first thing you should do is make your marinate so that your chicken breasts can be soaking up that flavor while you prep the other food.

Jerk Marinade

Author: Crabby Housewife

Ingredients

1/2 cup canola oil or substitute
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
Juice from 2 limes
Juice from 2 oranges
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup green onions
2 jalepeno peppers diced
1/4 cup fresh minced garlic a garlic press does wonders
2 1/2 tablespoons Caribbean jerk seasoning
2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

Mix oil, vinegar and soy sauce together in small bowl
Squeeze juice from limes and oranges into mixture
Add 1/4 cup brown sugar, salt, and jerk seasoning and stir until dissolved
Add onions, garlic, and jalepeno and stir again
Place chicken in bowl and pour marinade over. Refrigerate while you prep other food.

Step # 2: Prep the Kabobs and Corn

While your chicken is marinating, prep your veggie kabobs and corn on the cob.

If you bought ready made veggie kabobs, then you can add some seasonings or drizzle some Italian dressing on them. If you bought veggies, chop and place on the skewers.

To prep the corn, I do the following:

Remove husks and silks and soak for five minutes in water (I sometimes buy them prehusked to save more time)
Measure out sheets of aluminum foil to place the corn in. You’re going to make pockets, so they need to be good sized. Heavy duty foil does best on the grill.
Place an ear of corn on a piece of foil. Add two pats of grass-fed butter (trust me that the taste is worth the cost), salt and pepper. Now, make a little pocket but pull the edges straight up, folding in right, then left, and then rolling the top down. Repeat for each ear of corn.

Step # 3: Preheat Your Grill

Don’t just start your grill and plop your food on it. It will cook so much better if you allow it to preheat and then turn the heat down as low as possible.

Cook the Meal

I got lucky on this one. My husband grilled the food for me. Basically, you should start the corn first as it takes a while to cook. Place it on the upper rack. About ten minutes later, pull your chicken from the marinade and add your chicken to the lower rack. Finally, place the veggie kabobs on the upper rack (or lower for a few minutes if you have space).

Cook until the chicken is heated through or about 8 minutes on each side.

This should be enough chicken to easily serve 6-8 people. However, we typically have two, three, or four eating, depending on if our grown daughters are around, working, or eating elsewhere. So, tonight, he and I ate and I made lunches for him and oldest daughter for tomorrow. There is still enough left for another dinner or lunch.

I like to cook enough to do this because it means less occasions I have to cook and is a much thriftier way to prepare meals. You can buy chicken when it’s on sale for dishes like this and save a bundle, or purchase larger quantities from wholesale clubs.

I hope you enjoy this meal that was inspired from my trip last summer to Jamaica. While there, we met Mama Carrie, our tour guide, and got to enjoy a meal overlooking the ocean. At that meal, they served us this amazing rice and Jamaican jerk pork along with some delicious fresh veggies. The skewers and corn were a bit different than what we ate there, but still went well and were in season locally for us.

Let me know if you make an adaptation or what you think. Follow my page on Facebook or Twitter to get updates about future posts.

Low Carb Reuben “Sandwich” Recipe

February 16, 2018 July 13, 2016 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

Recently a good friend of mine told me she’d bought some corned beef at the deli and made her own Reuben sandwiches for dinner and how delicious they were. Ever since she told me that, I have been craving a good Reuben sandwich. There is just something about the varying textures and tastes of corned beef, sauerkraut, and creamy Thousand Island dressing that calls my name.

Skip right to the recipe

Now, if you are not low carbing or it is your cheat day, you can certainly use some marbled rye bread, coat the outside in grass fed butter, and fry these up for a carb-laden, decadent treat. However, today I really wanted this sandwich and can’t have the bread, so I came up with this recipe for my lunch.

It was completely delicious and I just had to share it with you as something unique you can eat to break up the monotony of dieting a bit.

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Low Carb Reuben Sandwich

Low Carb Reuben “Sandwich” Recipe

Author: Crabby Housewife

Ingredients

1/4 pound corned beef from the deli per "sandwich"
3-6 slices Mesquite turkey lunch meat I prefer Oscar Mayer brand
2 Tablespoons Sauerkraut (I used a canned German variety. You can also make your own with a recipe such as this one at Keto Diet App
2 slices of baby Swiss cheese I got deli sliced for this, too, because I wanted it fresh and yummy
1 teaspoon Mayonnaise
1-2 Tablespoons Walden Farms Thousand Island Dressing regular Thousand Island has 4-5 grams of carbs per serving, so you could conceivably use that, but it is your choice how low carb you want to go

Instructions

Get a glass or microwave safe plate and place one slice of Swiss cheese on the bottom
Spread the mayo over the top of the cheese
Add sauerkraut
Top with corned beef
Place turkey slices on next layer
Add Thousand Island dressing to taste
Top with the other slice of Swiss cheese
Microwave for 30 seconds on high for a 1000-watt oven and check. You want the cheese to just soften and not melt all the way. You are basically warming the concoction. If you cook too long, it will be really messy to eat but still taste delicious.
Eat with a fork

Recipe Notes

The key to a truly delicious Reuben is to buy deli corned beef (or make yourself from scratch) and deli cheese. It costs a bit more but makes a huge difference in the taste because it is fresher and you can have the corned beef shaved very thin.

That’s my recipe for a low carb corned beef. You could also place these ingredients on Nature’s Own sugar free bread if you must have bread. Cook with the best butter you can afford (preferably grass fed) just like you would a grilled cheese. Enjoy!

Super Fast Basil Pizza Hack

November 17, 2016 July 13, 2016 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

As many of you know, I absolutely adore pizza. It is probably my favorite food. Although I am low carbing these days to keep my blood sugar normal, I do allow myself one cheat meal a week and it is almost always pizza. I try to avoid processed sugar most of the time and white bread is typically a no-no, but pizza is balanced, right? Okay, I know it isn’t but I have it rarely.

Tonight was one of those nights I just wanted pizza, so when my daughter asked if we could pick up a Chef Boyardee cheese pizza kit, I figured why not.

If you’ve never tried one of these kits, you are missing out. And no, they aren’t paying me or compensating me in any way to state that. I just find that these little kits are super simple and that they are tasty enough to satisfy the whole family.

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What’s in the Kit

You can certainly just use the kit for a simple cheese pizza (they have pepperoni kits, too, but I prefer larger pepperonis than they come with). The kit includes:

Pizza dough (you’ll need to add warm water)
Pizza sauce
Powdered cheese

Some Tips to Get a Great Crust for Your Pizza

So, the dough in this kit is a bit sticky. You’ll mix in some warm water and let it sit about five minutes while the yeast activates and it begins to rise. The directions will tell you to grease a pan, but I find it works much better to line your pizza pan with parchment paper.

Next, use some canola oil to lightly coat your hands and then shape the dough as thin or thick as you’d like. I also like to create a little edge to hold in the sauce and toppings.

Hacking the Chef Boy Ardee Pizza

If you want to take this pizza kit from good to extraordinary, then you need to tweak it a bit. This will take a couple more minutes of your time, but is well worth the effort. For us, we added some fresh basil from the amazing raised bed herb garden my husband built me this year. Some other things you can add:

Pepperoni, sausage, bacon, hamburger, ham
Fresh veggies
Fresh oregano
Crushed garlic

I also like to add a bit of shredded to cheese to round out the taste. I use a five-cheese blend, but you can also just use mozzarella.

Make sure your oven is preheated to the recommended 425 degrees Fahrenheit. A hot oven cooks the crust evenly. The parchment paper will allow it to brown even on the bottom. Cook until bubbly and starting to brown. Allow to cool five to ten minutes. Cut and serve. Yum!

You can have this on the table faster than ordering delivery.

My Favorite Low Carb Snack Ideas

November 17, 2016 July 9, 2016 By Crabby Housewife Leave a Comment

Following a low carb diet can be a real challenge some days. For example, I love to go to the movies, but the popcorn is so tempting because I love that as well. Since I only allow myself one cheat meal a week, the idea of using that cheat on popcorn usually isn’t at the top of my list. Having some low carb snacks with me can help.

Skip right to the low carb snack ideas

It is also hard to be out on the road. The world is not set up friendly for someone with high blood sugar trying to keep it under control. Everything is breaded, has bread, has sauces with sugar, etc. You can find a few quick things at the gas station, such as a beef stick or possibly some things in the refrigerator section. Some truck stops have fresh strawberries you can buy along with boiled eggs.

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And what about going to anyone’s house ever? I find that even those who love me and want to support my way of eating just don’t get it. I have heard things like, “I made sure to have low carb food for you. You can eat oatmeal, right?” and “If you just have a small piece of cake, it won’t throw off your diet too bad.”

Here’s the thing. I don’t want to be rude. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but no. I can’t have those things. They make my blood sugar shoot up to damaging levels (anything above 140 by most studies). And, I simply won’t do it, even if it hurts your feelings. My best course of action in situations such as family gatherings and being out and about is to make sure I have plenty of snacks with me.

My snacks aren’t always induction friendly, if you are following Atkins, although some are. My low carb diet is basically “The Things that Don’t Raise Lori’s Blood Sugar Noticably”. I have tested, tracked, tested again to figure out the things I can safely eat. You should do the same. While strawberries are a great snack for me, they may not be a great snack for you. While grapes send my numbers soaring, they may not impact you in that way. Still, I think you can gain some ideas from those listed below.

I also bought a little insulated lunch tote from my friend Cindy O’Lone, who sells Thirty-One, a few years back. I will pack things like cheese or anything that doesn’t stand up well to heat inside that tote and take it with me. Because it is small and cute, if I’m going into a store, I can tuck it into my purse so it isn’t sitting outside in the hot car. If you don’t have an insulated tote, I highly recommend you invest in one.

So, here are my go-tos. They may not always be the very healthiest thing you can eat, but they are the lowest in carbs. Remember that my goal in a pinch is simply not to raise my blood sugar. When at home, or at a restaurant, I try to get in more veggies, fruits and healthier meats.

Ideas for Low Carb Snacks

Snacks for the Road

Slim Jims (I also have some grass fed beef sticks I ordered on Amazon that are amazing. They are expensive, but surely a bit healthier. All the ingredients are natural. However, if you are at a drug store or gas station, you can always find Slim Jims).
Macadamia nuts. Macadamia nuts have barely any carbs and ton of healthy fats. Yes, they are expensive, but you also can’t eat many at once because the fat in them fills you up. So, a small bag will last me all week on a road trip.
Cheese individually wrapped (such as string cheese). I usually put this in a little cooler or insulated tote.
Pre-cut strawberries. You can almost always buy these at a small grocery, such as Meijer or Kroger or take them with you. I’d put these in the tote as well.
Hard boiled eggs. These are such a great go-to snack. You will need to keep them somewhat cool (don’t leave them in a hot car), but you can grab some Mayo packets the next time you’re eating out and squeeze a little mayo on them and some salt and pepper. Yum.
Chicken slices. You can make a chicken breast at home, slice it up and take along the low carb dressing of your choice. You can buy dressing in packets (Hello Waldon Farms). Even better, Hillshire has some new chicken bites in the refrigerator section of the grocery (next to the Lunchables). My only gripe with these is that the dipping sauces are full of sugar. However, you certainly don’t have to use the dipping sauce. If you have a packet of something healthier, take that in your purse at all times anyway.
Pepperoni Chips – Place slices of pepperoni on a paper towel and cover with another. Nuke in your microwave until crispy. These help satisfy that need to crunch (movies?) and are pretty tasty and salty. They also won’t go bad quickly, so you can throw a baggie of them in your purse.
Cherry tomatoes

Snacks to Take to Parties

Have you ever been invited to a family gathering or event and worried because you had no idea what there might be to eat? There truly is a very simple solution to this dilemma. Take a dish for everyone to enjoy that you can snack on if there is nothing else. Also, if you don’t already carry a low carb bar or nuts with you, then you should start. They can save you until you can get away and get something low carb to eat.

Keep in mind that at cookouts, you can eat the hamburgers and hot dogs without a bun. The main issue is when you go somewhere and they only have a pasta. This is a low carber’s nightmare. Here are some things to take to parties:

Meet and cheese tray
Veggie tray
Cheese and crackers (you don’t eat the crackers)
Paleo crackers (I have an amazing recipe that uses one beaten egg, 1 cup of almond flour, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, black pepper and salt to taste). Lay the blog on parchment paper, put another piece on top and roll very thin. Cook at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes and break apart. You can also sprinkle some powdered ranch dressing mix, add cheese to the top or simply eat plain. Carry a baggy to the party with you and enjoy cheese with your own crackers or simply munch on the crackers by themselves.
Bring a big salad
Bring some chicken or shrimp to throw on the grill
Low carb dessert (sugar free cheesecake anyone?)

You get the idea. Take along something you can eat and introduce others to your delicious low carb way of eating at the same time.

Snacks for Everyday

When you are low carbing, there will be times you aren’t even hungry. For me, my girls are both grown now and not always home and my husband might be working. I really don’t want to cook a full meal, but I also don’t want to eat out all the time. On top of that, there are limited dining choices in my small town and I’m trying to limit fast food, even carb friendly fast food.

With that in mind, I often fall back on these favorites.

Cheese and Paleo crackers (see recipe above)
Bacon and eggs
Skillet pizza (good nonstick skillet, add a layer of shredded moz cheese to the bottom. Cook on medium heat until it starts to bubble. Add cheese or tomato sauce (watch the carbs in these). Toppings and another light layer of shredded cheese. Allow to cool a couple of minutes.
Pizza crackers. 1/4 slice cheddar cheese, tomato slice, pepperoni. Bake on parchment in oven on 350 degrees F until cheese is browned.
Joseph’s Bakery pita bread sandwich. I love to stuff half of one of these with turkey, avocado, Swiss, tomatoes, lettuce and drizzle with olive oil. Half of one has just a few carbs.
Low Carb cookie. I love this recipe: http://pin.it/ZtQ-XqN. It has just a few ingredients. I use Splenda and almond flour. You can buy sugar free chocolate chips at Walmart. This recipe does have a few carbs, but if you are craving something sweet it is a great alternative.
SF Jello with whipped cream
Breakfast casserole. Occasionally, I will bake one in the oven without the hashbrown or bread base, let cool, cut into squares. Grab one when hungry.
Fat bombs, such as my Bacon Ranch Fat Bombs or my Low Carb Raspberry Cheesecake Fat Bombs
Tyson frozen cooked chicken breasts. You can nuke these, top with cheese and a tomato and nuke to melt cheese and have a pretty fast meal.
Tyson refrigerated grilled chicken is great to warm and put in a salad.
Fry some chickpeas in a skillet and season to taste (these are crunchy and yummy and satisfy that crunchy/salty craving)

As you can see, there are a ton of quick and simple things you can do to stay on track. I also love eggs at any time of day. Scrambled are my favorite way and add in cheese, ham, green peppers or whatever else makes sense. Eating low carb isn’t always easy, but with some planning and forethought you can stick to your diet plan and stay healthy and get trim.