Keto Magic Bars

When I was growing up, my mom used to make these delicious 7 layer magic bars. It was one of the only things she could bake well.


The original recipe used chocolate chips, caramel chips, coconut, nuts and condensed milk.

Obviously, following a keto diet condensed milk is a no-no, as well as the chocolate and caramel chips.  Unless you use no sugar added chocolate chips, that is.  I don't think there is a such thing as no sugar added caramel chips, but if you know anything, please let me know!

Instead of the condensed milk, I decided to switch it up for some full fat coconut milk, which is more keto-approved.  It is important that you use the full fat coconut milk, as it needs to be able to solidify in refrigerated temperatures.  When making this, you will notice that when you take it out of the oven, it will still be quite liquid-y.  This is normal; when you refrigerate the bars, the coconut milk with solidify and you will be able to cut the bars.  Refrigeration is definitely the key step in this recipe.

A few changes you may want to make to this recipe:

• If you like things more sweet, you may want to add a few tbsp of truvia or swerve (or another sugar alternative) to the almond flour/butter mixture.
• You can also add some liquid stevia drops into the coconut milk before pouring it into the pan
• Nuts - you can use any nut you desire.  I chose walnuts because that's what I had on hand.  But you can also use almonds, pecans, macadamia, pistachios, or any combination you desire.

These bars should be kept in the fridge or freezer.  If stored in the freezer, you can either eat them frozen, as is, or you can microwave for 20-30 seconds to get a melty cake type bar.  Note though, that if you do this, the coconut milk will liquidify - so you will need to eat with a fork or spoon.

Last note is going to be on nutrition.  I cut this recipe into 12 bars - which gave it a calorie count of 272 and a carb count of 6.9 (3.4 net).  Remember, you can always cut more bars to lower these numbers.  I find that some days only half the bar is enough.

Alright, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup butter, melted2/3 cup walnuts, chopped (or other nut/s of choice)
1/2 coconut, shredded, unsweetened
1/2 cup no sugar added chocolate chips
1 can coconut milk, full fat

Directions:

1. Combine almond flour and melted butter, mix well until dough type mixture forms.  

2. Press almond flour/butter mixture into bottom of lined 8x8 pan

3. Evenly distribute walnuts, coconut and chocolate chips onto almond flour crust

4. Pour the can of coconut milk into pan, making sure to cover everything

5. Bake for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Please note, coconut milk layer may still be liquid-y when taking out of oven - this is normal

6. Refrigerate overnight

7. Cut into bars & enjoy.  Keep bars stored in fridge or freezer.

Nutrition:
per serving
based on 12 servings

Mint Chocolate Chip Fat Bombs

Mint Chocolate Chip has always been one of my favourite flavours and Fat Bombs are one of my favourite keto treats, so it's only natural that I combined the two to make this awesome treat.

I love how easy fat bombs are - you dont have to turn on an oven and there's no crazy baking technique that you need to learn.  Just mix everything together and freeze! The only downside would be having to wait for them to harden before eating!

I personally store these, along with most of my treats, in the freezer.  This is simply so they will last a long time and I don't have to worry about shelf life.  They are definitely good frozen, but if you like, or need, something softer, I suggest leaving these in the fridge.  Or at least taking some out of the freezer and letting them defrost before eating.  I don't have the patience for this, so I just eat them frozen!

I used mint extract for flavouring and stevia for sweetness.  These can be adjusted based on your personal preferences, depending on how minty and how sweet you like things.  Alternatively, if you have a mint flavoured sweetener, that would probably work just as well (maybe better!).

With only one carb and less than 100 calories, these are a great snack and a great way to get you through until your next meal.

Ingredients:


 

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tsp mint extract
3 tbsp sugar free chocolate chips
stevia, to taste



Directions:
1. Mix together all ingredients except for chocolate chips

2. Once mixed, stir in chocolate chips

3. Roll into balls or place in molds

4. Freeze for 1 hour

5. Enjoy!

Nutrition:
per serving; makes 14 servings

Keto Cinnamon Cookies

I have taken some time off from the world of blogging and baking for the last bit; mainly to really focus on my weight loss.

I was stalled for about 2 months with no weight loss and during that time I was trying to cut so many things out of my diet in order to finally break the stall.  This meant no keto treats and no new recipes to try out.

Fortunately, I was finally able to break my stall and I finally got into the 140's!  That's right, the 150's are now a thing of the past (hopefully!)

These cookies are pretty basic, but delicious nonetheless.  They are similar to shortbread cookies, but with a hint of cinnamon that gives it a nice pop.  If you enjoyed my Cinnamon Muffin recipe, you are sure to enjoy this one as well!

The only helpful tip for this recipe would be to make sure you let them cool before taking them off the pan.  When hot, they are soft and will crumble easily, but give it ten minutes and they will firm up and you'll be able to lift them easily.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut flour1/4 cup cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp Truvia (or equivalent sweetener)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder









Directions:
1. Mix together butter, cream cheese & Truvia

2. Add in vanilla and egg, mix well

3. Add coconut flour, baking powder and cinnamon; mix well

4. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes to firm

5. Roll into balls and press down onto lined pan

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

7. Let cool on pan

8. Enjoy!

Nutrition:
per 1 cookie
recipe makes 15 small cookies

Simple Keto Meals

One thing that I've learned while doing keto is that you don't have to go crazy with meals.  You do not need to have some over-the-top crazy meal that takes hours to prepare.

A lot of my go to meals are super simple and fast.  I tend to eat a lot of the same things over and over; but when you've found something you like, it makes things so much easier.

When I first started my low carb diet, I never knew what to eat for lunches or dinner and I'd spend hours on sites like Pinterest trying to plan meals.  However, everything seemed so complex and unnecessary.  Do I really need to make a elaborate zucchini lasagna every night or steak and egg muffins for breakfast every morning? Absolutely not.

So here are some of my go-to low carb and keto friendly meals, that will not take hours to prepare and are so simple that anyone can make it.

Breakfast

Keto Coffee - You can literally put any fats you like in this.  My current keto coffee is: coffee, 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp whipping cream, 1 tbsp MCT oil and 1/2 tbsp coconut oil and I have this every weekday morning. This can also be done with tea!

Eggs - Make them anyway you want! Scrambled, boiled, omelette!

Bacon - you really can't go wrong with bacon.  This is a usual weekend breakfast for me.

Sausages - just make sure you check the nutrition label for added carbs!

Lunch

Lettuce wraps - fill with meat, pickles, mayo and anything else you may want!

Meatballs - this used to be a go to lunch for me.  Frozen meatballs with a bit of cheese and butter thrown in the microwave for 1 minute. Great for work, if you have access to a microwave

Sausage & Cabbage - another go to for me.  Cut up some sausage and fry it up with some cabbage.  Add some butter or Alfredo sauce for flavour!

Meat & Cheese - don't have access to a microwave?  Cut up some meat and cheese and have a snack plate.

Dinner

Bunless Burgers - get the frozen ones, cook them up and add topping of your choice! My favourite is sour cream, bacon and cheese!

Salads - Taco salads, Ceaser Salads,  Cobb salad.  All easy and filling!  I have a ceaser salad as a side dish most nights.

Meat and veggies - Chicken, steak, pork chops, ribs, whatever you like! Cook some meat up and eat with a side of broccoli, cauliflower or brussel sprouts.

Loaded Broccoli - This is more of a side dish, and great to add to the meat above.  Broccoli topped with sour cream, cheese and bacon bits. You can do this with mashed cauliflower as well!

Ground Meat & Cheese - Add some cauliflower rice and alfredo sauce and fry it all up in a pan for a quick meal.

Snacks

Whipping cream & Cream Cheese - Whip up some whipping cream with equal parts cream cheese for a delicious snack.  Add any sugar substitute of choice (or sugar free drink mix) to make it into a sweet dessert 

Fat Bombs - pretty much, just a mix of butter, cream, coconut oil and whatever other fats/flavours you can come up with!  Separate into balls and freeze for easy snacking! (Check out my Raspberry ones)

Cheese - cheese slices - what more can I say?

Dark Chocolate -  90% dark chocolate or low carb chocolate bars sweetened with Stevia are great for a sweet tooth


Finding low carb meal ideas really isn't that hard.  If you just stick with the basics, you will do fine! As you get more into the hang of the low carb lifestyle, it will become easier to come up with your own, more creative concoctions!  Just find what you like and stick with it

And of course, remember to check out my recipes and my Instagram for more meal inspirations!

My Zero Carb Meal Plan

Please note, this is what I ate for my zero carb challenge.  I am not a nutritionist nor a doctor, so I cannot determine if this meal plan would work for you.

My macro goals for this week were:

1,200 Calories

0% Carbs (0g)

75% Fat (100g)

25% Protein (75g)

Now, before I start, I do realize that products such as cheese and heavy whipping cream and probably the sausage and pepperoni sticks, do have trace carbs.  The tracker on MyFitnessPal does say I ate 0g of carbs, but I'm sure when all the trace carbs were added up, it was probably averaged to around 3g per day.

I did follow a mainly carnivorous diet, with the exception of 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil that I used in my coffee.

You may also notice that I did this entire week without the addition of eggs.  I do not like eggs so I did not eat them.  This meal plan just goes to show that you can do a zero carb challenge without eggs, but of course, if you do like eggs, add them in!  Just remember, like the cheese and cream, eggs also have trace carbs.

If you want to see my thoughts, experiences and results from following this meal plan, I will link that post here.

Day 1 - Sunday

Breakfast: None

Lunch: Chicken Breast from Nando's with 2 tbsp butter

Dinner: Pork loin strips with 1 tbsp butter and 60g of cheese of the side

**Notes: This day we do go out for lunch, I made sure to prepare ahead of time to make sure there was something I could eat (we went to the mall food court) and I packed my own side of butter to add extra fat.

Day 2 - Monday

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Lunch: 30g cheese, 50g garlic sausage, 1 mini pepperoni stick

Dinner: 8oz Steak with 1 tbsp butter

**Notes: I cooked a huge steak for dinner and save just under half for lunch the next day.  Weight was uncooked.

Day 3 - Tuesday

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Lunch: 5oz Steak with 1 tbsp butter

Dinner: 5 Cheese & Bacon Meatballs

**Notes: Lunch was leftover steak from night before. Weight was uncooked.

Day 4 - Wednesday

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Lunch: 50g garlic sausage, 30g cheese and 2 mini pepperoni sticks

Dinner: 140g chicken breast, 2 turkey lunch meat slices, and 1 serving cheese sauce (equivalent to 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream & 15g cheese)

**Notes: Weight of chicken was uncooked.  I made 4 servings of sauce; 2 for my husband's dinner, 1 for my dinner and 1 for my lunch the next day.

Full sauce recipe is 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream and 60g cheese.  Melt everything in sauce pan on medium heat until smooth.

Day 5 - Thursday

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Lunch:  140g chicken breast, 2 turkey lunch meat slices, and 1 serving cheese sauce (1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream & 15g cheese)

Snack: 30g cheese

Dinner: 2 chicken thighs with 1 tbsp of butter and 4 slices bacon

**Notes: Lunch was my leftover dinner from the night before.  Weight of chicken was uncooked.  This was also the only day that I had a snack. 

Day 6 - Friday

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Lunch:  2 chicken thighs with 1 tbsp butter and 15g cheese

Dinner: 200g ground beef with 1 tbsp butter and 30g cheese

**Notes: Lunch was leftover dinner from the night before.  Weight of ground beef was uncooked.

Day 7 - Saturday

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Lunch: 60g cheese, 50g suasage, 2 mini pepperoni sticks

Dinner: 140g pork ribs, 4 slices bacon, tea with 1/2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream.

**Notes: Weight of meat was cooked.