Summer time LCHF ice-cream

It is that time of year and if you are like me and have a soft spot for ice-cream then these can fill the void.

I ADORE ice-cream

I would crawl over hot coals for the stuff and have been known to lie to my children about the existence of ice-cream in the freezer!

Sooooo, I have two recipes for you.

They are simple and don't use too many ingredients, which I really like.

I made the custard for this one in the bellini but it can be done stove top just as easy.  For the puritan banters this would be totally unacceptable but hey, you gotta live a little in summer. and. ice-cream!

Salted Caramel Ice-cream

Ingredients:

6 pitted fresh dates

400ml coconut cream

2 whole eggs

1tsp himalayan salt

1tsp vanilla essence

125ml pouring cream

1tbs yacon syrup

1tsp xantham gum powder

1tsp lucuma

Method:

Blend dates, vanilla, lucuma, xantham gum and eggs together.  

In a pan heat coconut cream to a simmer, stir in date mix and add yacon syrup (you can go without this or add a sweetener of your choice.  I use this as it is reasonably low in carbs and adds a nice flavour)

Bring to simmer and stir until mix starts to become thicker.  

Once it resembles a custard, add your salt and remove from heat and chill in fridge.

Once cool, whisk through the pouring cream and then place in sealed container in freezer.  

This is where you can use your ice-cream maker and follow usual method.

If you don't have an ice-cream maker then just remove every hour or so and give a whisk.  

You only need do this 2-3 times.

You will need to remove from freezer at least 30min before using, like most home made ice-cream it will go really hard.  Alternatively you can use ice-cream moulds that make it much easier to handle.

You can also eat it much sooner!

makes 15 serves.  2.3gr carbs per serve

My kids love this one, for me it is too much cream, however using cream makes it a great source of fat and really low carb

Traditional Vanilla Ice-cream

Incredients:

600ml pouring cream

2tbs vanilla essence

2 vanilla beans split and scraped (use it all)

pinch salt

1.5tbs great lakes gelatin

1/4c water

Method:

Dissolve the gelatin in the water and set aside.

In a saucepan heat cream with vanilla, beans and paste until you have a simmer.  let simmer for about 20 min until it has reduced and developed a really lovely vanilla flavour.

Remove beans and let cool slightly.

Whisk through gelatin, then transfer to a container and chill in fridge.

Once cool whisk again then follow same procedure as above for whisking/freezing or use your ice-cream maker or moulds.
makes 15serves, 1.1gr carb per serve

Food tips for the holiday season

How did you go with christmas?  Did you eat all the food!  What did you eat?

We pretty much stuck to our LCHF lifestyle and shared it with my parents who came for the day.

It is the second christmas we have done this way and it is much easier than people think.

I have found over the past two years that the best thing when it comes to food is to keep it simple.  A hard less to learn as I waste heaps of money on recipe books I flip though, ooh and aah then never use.  If I were one for new year resolutions I think I would have to make one pledging never to buy another recipe book LOL

The holiday season is renown for entertaining and it doesn't have to be difficult or high carb.

I have shared some of my tips for the season below and hope you find them helpful

1. The thing with most foods is that they are unnecessarily sweetened.  Seriously, you can go without many sweeteners in things.

Make a custard from scratch and use high fat ingredients it really doesn't need sugar,  I use Quirky Jo's custard recipe and never put in the sugar and it is awesome!  As with most grain free cake recipes too.  This is my current fave from Traditional Cooking School but OMG!  3/4 of honey!  They've gotta be kidding right!  What I do is instead of using the honey I use stevia sweetened (avalanche) hot choc mix as the cocoa portion of the recipe and stevia sweetened choc chips.  This keeps the cake sweet enough without being totally over the top.

2. Go for savoury over sweet.  This is especially good if you are entertaining people who aren't into eating how you do.  Assuming they aren't vegan then go to town with the cheese platter.   Make some dips (don't buy expensive full of crappy seed oil dips), mash a couple of avocados with some chilli, garlic, lemon juice and seasoning, or whisk some herbs into cream cheese.  Seed crackers are awesome or make some seed bread for cheese and dips. Both tasty and LCHF/paleo.  Remember filling up on high fat will leave you satisfied for a lot longer than filling up on carbs.

3. Planning ahead is the third tip.  If you are caught short you will be able to stick to what you believe in and stay healthy.  I find if I am short of time then I am more likely to bad poorer choices food wise so I like to know that I have stuff I want to eat available. I have a well stocked pantry with nuts, seeds etc, I stock my freezer with good quality meats. And look for mark downs at the supermarket, cheese lasts quite a while, cream and butter can both be frozen too.  If you are in Launceston I recommend Casalinga or Conmurra Meats.  The latter deliver weekly to your door, grow and butcher their own grassfed meat and is really well priced.  At Davies Grand Central you can find a great range of LCHF products too.  Last year I wrote the Launceston Shopping Guide for LCHF 

4. Go seasonal.  Berries. Need I say more really LOL  Tis the season and all that.  I love summer berries.  We don't do much in the way of fruit (read:don't eat it really) for 10 months of the year but come summer we love berries.  The kids will occasionally have mango, watermelon and cherries too but I tend to stick to berries and occasional cherries.  We are blessed with some great local PYO (pick your own) farms or you can pop down to Laun Harvest Market and grab some.  We were very lucky to win a berry box from Paleo Providore that was delivered two days before christmas so we chowed on berries for christmas.  I also freeze berries for smoothies, cool treats and cakes.

At the end of the day it is about enough the company of others. 

 It doesn't have to be a banquet, a few good foods that are filling is the way to go rather than masses of rubbish.  And, don't beat yourself up if you have something not on a list.  

This is a way of life, it isn't a competition or a test so you can't fail or cheat.

Easy LCHF Christmas Food

This is our second Christmas doing LCHF.  Last year was a great hit so we are continuing on that success. I know it isn't actually christmas yet but today was my daughter's girl's group christmas party and we played host.  Everyone bought something to share but we also provided some savoury and sweet foods for the group.

Pretty much everything today will be seen again for the big day with family so a good practice run!

Last year I did some individual ginger cakes but this year I am going to have a go at a ginger style biscuit that is grain free and LCHF so will keep you posted on that one.

On the menu today we had the following:

Starters

Herbed Kefir dip

spinach and cheese dip

camembert

crackers

carrot sticks

Main meal

LCHF sausages from Casalinga

Home made Sauerkraut

green salad with feta cheese and olives

Desserts

LCHF trifle

Kombucha jellies

GAPS chocolate cake

Strawberry santas

Herbed kefir dip

1c kefir cheese

1/2 cream cheese

2 garlic cloves crushed

S&P to taste

2 tbs fresh cut chives

1tbs fresh cut parsley

2tbs fresh cut basil

If you don't have kefir cheese you can just use cream cheese however if you ferment milk, kefir cheese is super easy to make.  Simply remove your milk grains then let your fermented milk strain through a cloth and colander overnight.  The whey will strain away and leave a thick cheese in the cloth.  Use your way as a starter for veg ferments.

To make the dip, simply combine all ingredients. This is much better made the day before you actually want it as the herb flavours will intensify over time.

You can pretty much add any herbs you like to the mix.

Kombucha Jelly

1c water

1c berry puree

2c kombucha or kefir

1tbs vanilla

4tbs great lakes gelatin

Combine gelatin and water in a saucepan and let sit for 10min.  Gently bring up to simmer and add berry puree and vanilla, let simmer for a few minutes then remove from heat.

When mix is tepid stir in the kombucha or kefir then pour into moulds or tray and refrigerate until firm.

LCHF Trifle

1 sm cake, I used this recipe  

kombucha jelly

1c mixed berries

1c coconut custard from Quirky Jo (I skip the sugar though)

Double Cream

Cut cake and jelly into cubes.  Simply layer, cake, jelly, berries & custard then top with cream and decorate as you wish. 

Too easy huh!

Tasmanian guide to buying LCHF friendly produce

One of the hardest things I have found with changing our lifestyle has been finding user friendly cafes and shops.  

There is a lot of footwork and internet stalking initially, to find what you want.  

The latter made even more difficult because, lets face it Tasmanian businesses just don't seem to get the internet thing.  They either don't have a website or the website they sent up in 2006 hasn't been touched since then.

So, to help other folk out I have come up with a document.  And, well, being a virgo this is what I do LOL

Because this WOE (way of eating) is relatively new to us Tasmanians the demand on businesses hasn't be high for the products we want.

However, I am not one to shy away from asking.  I figure the worst they can do is say no, and really that doesn't do them any favours does it!

I have been pleasantly surprised with most responses and am pleased to say that most places that I ask for a specific request either agree straight up or at the very least agree to consider my request. 

Only this week I put the challenge out to Conmurra Farm where I buy my meat to see if they would do some paleo sausages.  I asked that they be just meat, fat and seasoning with no filler at all.  They gladly took this on board and sent me a kilo of pork and a kilo of beef with my order to try out!  

And a great price of under $10 per kilo!

You can't get better service than that!

Also, if you are a first time buyer thru the link above you get a discount!

Obviously I can't buy all my food through Conmurra.  

Below is a run down of where I get most of my bits and bobs for the week:

Wholesome House - Mowbray

David and Lee are awesome!  They stock most of what I need and if they don't then they will do their utmost to source it and get it in for you.   

They stock all Ashgrove products, organic seasonal fruit/veg, MCT oil, coconut oil, ACV in bulk, bulk nuts/nutmeal/nut butter, herbs/spices loose, ghee, eggs, sauerkraut plus much more!  

They also have a great range of water filters, which is really important to keeping healthy.  I have a reverse osmosis filter that I bought from them and truly it is the best thing I have spent money on and has paid for itself in no time! 

If you don't filter your water I highly recommend researching the benefits and consider doing it. 

I also try and do my veg shopping at Harvest Market most Saturdays. There are two great stalls there that sell chemical free veg.  They are really reasonably priced and you are supporting local independent businesses at the same time.

I also buy my coffee at Harvest from Ritual Coffee.  Another local small business.  His coffee is great tasting and good quality so well worth the $$$

Steve & Grace's greengrocer out at Youngtown have avocados super cheap most of the time. I got some for 65c each this week!  And, the greengrocer in Mowbray often has cauliflower cheap too.

But to do the leg work for you

I have created a guide to buying LCHF/paleo.  

This is downloadable and printable for you to use.

Obviously it doesn't list every business in Tasmania.  It has many Launceston businesses who were contacted and a few in other areas around the state.

It also doesn't list every item.  I think most people know where to buy eggs or almond meal from.  The products included are the ones I see most people asking about on websites, forums and FB groups.  

If you have a product you find tricky to buy or you know of a business that stocks loads of good stuff then please leave a comment and I can add it to the list.  

I would love to be able to include more businesses out side of Launceston.

Launceston LCHF Buyers Guide

head down and bum up and back to work!

I am heading in for that last 15kg.  

I am hoping to stick with LCHF way of eating rather than doing another HCG round.  

I want to join a local gym that supports LCHF and build some lean muscle and increase by strength so I can't really do that if I am doing HCG.

I have come so far and I know there is never a finish as such, as this is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix diet that has an end date.  

But I know that I really only need to lose another 10-15kg to be within a healthy weight range and not obese.  

Did you know I have lost almost half my starting body weight.  

Not far off and that blows me away.  

I forget how big I was and it is funny because I feel like I am so teensy now, and compared to what I was I kind of am LOL

So, while I am feeling proud and bold I am going to share my current before and after.

I am nervous and a bit cringy doing this 

but 

I want all those people out there who think it is 

impossible, 

are overwhelmed, 

depressed 

and 

not confident 

that it can be done.

Pulled Mexican Chicken

OMG!

I promised I would blog this recipe ages ago and haven't been near the joint!

Apologies all round.

No excuses, well mostly because none required.  Real life has been hectic and finding the time to sit and blog has been difficult.

Anyway, one of our fave meals here is pulled beef from the Handle the Heat website.  It is a no fail totally amazeballs recipe and you really should do yourself a favour and try it sometime.

I usually get the biggest and cheapest piece of beef I can fit in my slow cooker and freeze meal portions of it to keep us going for a bit.

But I digress and really want to show you a winner winner chicken dinner I created.

This really was very simple and delicious.

All you need is:

6 large chicken thigh drumsticks

2 large onions sliced

3 cloves garlic

1/4c tomato paste

1tsp smoky paprika

2tsp chilli flakes

1tsp oregano

1/2c chicken stock or water

2tbs apple cider vinegar

In a fry pan fry your onions in the fat of your choice.  I use coconut oil but olive oil, ghee or butter will do.  Sweat them right down then add in all the other spices and tomato paste and fry well. 

  

Lastly add the stock and apple cider vinegr and stir until simmering.  

Pour this mixture over the chicken thighs in your slow cooker, cover and cook for at least 4hrs on high.  

This helps the chicken breakdown and brings the goodness out of the chicken bones.

When you see the chicken falling away from the bone you can pull the bones and gristly bits out of the pot with some tongs.  Then shred your meat.  I do this with two forks and just pull the meat apart.  I let it simmer for another hour or so with the lid half off to help the liquid reduce.

We serve with lettuce, baby spinach, tomato, cheese and big dollops of sour cream.   

Kids love theirs in wraps but I prefer to wrap mine up in big lettuce leaves.

This amount gives the three of us two main meals and I did have some of the chicken with eggs for breakfast the following day, so it is an economical meal too

ENJOY

old style salmon pate

Are you after something that has ALL THE FAT!

Look no further!

This stuff is the best.

My first ever job was in a cafe run by an old Polish man.  

He was ancient even back then (and a bit touchy feely if you get my drift!).

We are talking early 1980s and the cafe was pretty with it!!  

Toasties, tin soup, packet cheesecakes LOL

Having said that, I remember he used to make bone broth and drink it every single day.  Back then as a 13 year old I thought that was pretty weird.  Could explain why he was so active and still running a business in his late 70s

One of the things we served was salmon pate.

Now I know there are some flash smoked salmon recipes out there but this one covers the high fat quota beautifully!

What you will need:

2 x 130gr tins of salmon in springwater

250gr block of good quality butter, diced into small pieces

juice of half a lemon or about 1-2 tbs juice

1/2tsp dried dill

S&P to taste

Put all ingredients into a food processor/TMX/Bellini (oooh using those two in the same sentence, how cheeky)

Blitz until smooth and creamy.

So very simple and tastes divine.

This will keep in the fridge for about 4-5 days but I doubt it will last that long!

If you do refrigerate just remember to take it out and let it sit for a while to soften as it will have a dry crumbly texture due to the butter hardening. 

Serve on veg such as celery, mushrooms or cucumber or on raw crackers.  If you aren't watching your carb intake then go the crusty sourdough!!

My hips measure what!!!

Okay, seriously slack in the update department and I do apologise. 

When I finished round 3 in November 

I was 68.3kg.   

Today I am 65.4kg  

Not a huge loss but I figure throw christmas and raw cheesecake cheesecakes in there, I haven't done too badly.  

I have been following Low Carb High Fat principals but not to the point of macro counts or anything. Just clean eating, good amount of fat and trying to cut the carbs as much as possible.  

There is a fantastic guideline on Tim Noakes' website Real Meal Revolution that lists foods you should and shouldn't eat.

The interesting thing has been my measurements.

People have been commenting on how much weight I am still losing and my clothes are getting looser, despite not actually losing much on the scales.  Yet I was totally surprised at my last measurements that I have lost so much on hips and waist.  When I look in the mirror I can start to see some waist line curves too. 

I guess my skin is pulling into shape, which is good as having loads of saggy skin is my biggest fear. I expect at my age to have some and that I will have to live with that but I do hope I lose some of the arm bat-wings and inner thigh sag.

So, how are things looking to date??

From 111kg to 65.4kg ?

I have to say I am pretty pleased so far.  I hope to lose another 10-15kg in all and then reassess the situation.
I trust that my body will stop when all excess abnormal fat has been used up.

I still am not overly active.  I try to walk a few times a week but did get a bit slack for a few weeks.  

Have started again this week as I want to motivate my kids and the best way is to lead by example.

So how do I look after 11mths and almost 

46kg gone??

 

How do I feel?

I still have no real pain.  I do see a chiro regularly but suspect I inherited my dad's skeletal fuck ups and have a back that goes out all too readily.

My mobility is fantastic, I really notice the difference and love that I can move with ease.  Simple things like cutting toenails don't require contortionist tricks any more and I can actually paint my nails!

I can walk distances without pain and can even jog!!

Any Issues?

I have had some abdominal discomfort, this came on during the phase 4 period on HCG Protocol   I really had no idea what it was other than a fist like feeling that gave out referred pain to my ribs.  It would come and go but I couldn't pin it down to one thing causing it.  I figured it was part of detox and left it at that.  The last few weeks I found it was worsening to the point of being quite uncomfortable and the rib pain getting stronger.  I also had some constipation that seemed to go with it.  I am on various LCHF/banting groups on facebook so started to ask around and do some reading up on liver/gallblander.  I also asked Jo from Primal Living about the fat consumption and side effects.  

Anyway, to cut a long story short it seems the sudden jump to high fat may have aggravated my gallbladder.  Not sure about stones but I think it is unhappy.  

Unfortunately I suspect it is dairy that is causing the issue.  Which pisses me off no end as I love cheese and butter!   On reading up I have found that coconut oil doesn't require the gallbladder to digest so I have been using that more than butter and cutting back on cheese.  I have also been upping the water kefir, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar and taking a chinese herbal  liver tonic and my symptoms have disappeared.

I intend on going to see someone at Gary Fettke's clinic the Diabete's Health Centre.  It is funny as I either hear people say they haven't heard of it or think it is just for diabetics.  I will report back with a review once I have been.

What am I eating then?

I tend to have my main meal at breakfast.  Usually eggs, sauerkraut, bacon or a paleo sausage  and avocado.  Occasionally I will do a smoothie and use  Grass Fed Whey Protein isolate as the protein.  I received a sample of this at a conference and thought I might buy some more as it is a good way to get your protein.

This usually does me until dinner time.  I will occasionally have a snack of some nuts, pate  or cheese (insert sad face) but a mid morning coffee with cream generally does me.

For dinner, I make sure I have a really good helping of green salad or veg with some meat, sauerkraut and more avocado.

I have days where I stick to under 20gr of carbs and sometimes I go over.  I don't stress too much as I figure in the bigger scheme of things I am doing pretty well.  Today I bought an icecream for the kids and I had one too.  Full of sugar, crap and carbs but it is the first one in 11mths and I don't care.

Tomorrow I will be back on track again :)

Have I missed anything in my update.  Probably.  I'll blame having a newborn in the house, even though she isn't here tonight LOL

If I hav missed something or you would like to know something please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you :)

LCHF almond crumbed chicken with blue cheese dressing

My big two kidlets are away with their dad at the moment so I am cooking just for me.  

(if you don't count the bazillion bottles I seem to make)

This is a wondrous thing for a few reasons.

I get to eat what I want!

I can eat when I want.

I never hear negative feedback prior/during or after the meal

Very little washing up.

More for me :)

Don't get me wrong, I do miss them but this is a treat!

This meal was worthy of it's own post it was so amazing

I have been wanting to have a go at crumbing chicken but wasn't sure how it would go without the regular flour/breadcrumb combo. 

I was kinda making it up as I went and hit the jackpot..

If you make it let me know what you think.

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

Chicken

6 chicken drumsticks (or any pieces you like really)

1/4c buckwheat flour

1 egg whisked with 2 tbs milk

3/4c of almond meal.  (I ground my own almonds but not too fine as I like texture)

Blue Cheese Sauce

1/4c blue cheese

3tbs sour cream

1tbs mayonaisse

1tbs lemon juice

pinch of salt

Coat chicken in flour then the egg mix.  Roll in almond meal and refrigerate for at least 30 min.  

I find this firms it all up and stops the crumb falling off when cooking. 

I oven baked mine but you could fry in coconut oil just as easily.

Pop on lined oven dish and bake at 200c for around 30min or until completely cooked through.

These released just enough juices/fat to help the almonds roast up and become crispy golden and totally delicious.

You could serve with anything you like.  I chose a salad with freshly pod peas, avocado, olives, fetta and greens.

Topped with the blue cheese sauce.

For the sauce pop all ingredients into a blender and blitz until combined, it is that easy.  

Trust me this sauce is amazeballs!

I also had enough for steak the following night.

Please let me know what you think :)

What did Christmas look like at your house??

Everyone talks about how hard it is at christmas time to stay on track with food.  Not to over indulge, eat crap, drink too much etc

I must admit I was in a bit of a quandary of what to do as I was host and knew that not everyone was on board with my food choices.  

I got the children to write a list of what they wanted.  I was surprised as their choices were pretty good:

potato bake (with white potatoes please mum!)

bean and avocado salad

mushrooms

chicken

ham

and cheese in our stockings!

So, I went to work.  The meat and salad side of things were the same as every year pretty much and simple.  All made with good fresh produce (other than tinned 4 bean mix), olive oil and fresh herbs.

I did a cheese plate with cheeses from Ashgrove (and yes the kids did get cheese in their stockings!) along with some naturally leavened sourdough from Apiece Bakery for the bread eaters.

I also got some smoked salmon and whipped up these beauties from Ditch the Carbs!

Salmon and cream cheese egg bites.  They are divine, although next time I will put more salmon in them.

I usually make up small platters for friends and family at christmas time but this year with a newborn in the house I was a little challenged for time and spare hands. 

I did manage to make this pale green christmas that was delicious 

                                                    along with some strawberry truffles.

My boy wanted real trifle (meaning processed cake, sugary jelly and packet custard).   

Um, no.

LOL

He wasn't actually home when I made this and on boxing day I asked him what he thought.  He told me it was amazing and he was so glad I made a 'real' one.  

Imagine his surprise when I told him how I made it!

This 'real trifle' was broken up paleo ginger cake, jelly made with juice, agar agar and passionfruit pulp, fresh berries, fresh mango, quirky's coconut caramel custard and ashgrove cream.

 No added sugars or grains and tasted divine!

Lastly was the request for a raw cheesecake, fast becoming a fave in this household but a treat due to the expense of nuts!

I use the I Quit Sugar recipe for this.  

The texture was quite stiff when making this and I was concerned about it but needn't have been. 

 I made it four days in advance and popped it in the freezer.  

Pulled it out christmas eve and left it in the fridge.  

I swear to god this is heaven in a baking dish!

So, christmas was sugar free, grain free (for me) and successfully low carb high fat.  I didn't feel like I missed out on anything or was deprived and I don't think my kids did either. 

What was your christmas like?