Keto Bagels

Love bagels but not the carbs? Here’s a great recipe that’s easy, satisfies and is keto friendly with only 1 carb!

Ingredients:

Makes 6 Bagels

• 3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I recommend the firm variety rather than the fresh, soft kind)

• 2 Tbsp cream cheese

• 1 egg

• large pinch of salt

• 3/4 cup almond flour

• 1 Tbsp everything bagel seasoning (or large flake salt is good too!)

• Donut pan (makes it super easy, but optional)

• Extra Cream Cheese for serving (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. To make the dough, add shredded cheese and cream cheese to a microwavable bowl and microwave on high for one minute. Stir the mixture and microwave again for 30 more seconds.

3. Add the egg, salt and almond flour to the cheese mixture and mix everything together gently.

4. If dough is sticky, sprinkle with extra almond flour. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up.

5. Once dough is firm, divide into six balls and roll our into logs.

6. Spray donut pan with nonstick spray and wrap dough around the tin. (If you don’t have a donut pan yo can place round “wreaths” of dough onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking pad.)

7. Top with seasoning or salt (or seasoning of choice). Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Remember, these are a ‘healthy swap”, so if you’re expecting the chewy, NYC type bagel…head to NYC because this will disappoint. These definitely are a treat on keto though! TASTY!

Serving size: 1 bagel / Per serving: Calories: 88; Protein: 5g; Fat 7g; Carbs: 1g; Fiber: 0g

Recipe from Keto for Women magazine

Keto Chicken Divan

When you’re craving a warm, creamy, cheesy “comfort-food” type dish on Keto this Chicken Divan does the trick and keeps you on track…it’s extremely flavorful and satisfying.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp butter (I use Kerrygold Grass Fed Butter)

• 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

• 1 (8-ounce container) cremini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced

• 2 tsp Paleo all-purpose flour (this is the one I use)

• 1 1/4 cups unsalted chicken stock (I used Pacific Foods brand)

• 3/4 cup organic heavy cream

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 1 cup freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

• 1/4 cup homemade Mayo (or your keto mayo of choice)

• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 4 cups broccoli florets (about 2 large crowns), steamed until cooked but not mushy

• 3 1/2 cups shredded, skinless rotisserie chicken, light and dark meat (this saves time)

• Cooking spray (a healthy version like olive or avocado oil)

• 1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheated oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. I use a large cast iron skillet. Add onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in stock, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let stand for 3 minutes.

3. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese, mayo, and lemon juice. Stir in the broccoli and chicken. Spoon the mixture into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese; sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly and browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Optional: serve over 3/4 cup Cauliflower Rice (2 net carbs) to soak up some of the mushroom sauce. Otherwise the broccoli florets soak up the sauce nicely so dip to coat with each bite - yum!

Makes 6 servings. 6 net carbs per serving. 25% PROTEIN, 7% CARBS, 68% FAT

To make this ahead of time: Cover the casserole tightly with foil at the end of Step 3 and freeze for up to 2 months. The day before you’re ready to serve it, refrigerate overnight to thaw. Cook the casserole at 350 degrees F until heated through.

This recipe is from a Keto Diet Magazine I found at Sprouts in April, 2019.

Additional reading you may enjoy: “My First 30 Days on Keto”

Stacked Enchiladas

Chances are, you’ve made enchiladas before so I’ll start by saying that this recipe is less about the ingredients and more about the variation to “stack” enchiladas instead of “rolling” them. It can be used with your favorite enchilada recipe with any of your favorite ingredients. Beef, chicken, carnitas, leftover short ribs…green sauce, red sauce…they sky’s the limit! You can’t go wrong. It’s really hard to mess these up. Here’s how I make mine…

Ingredients:

• Siete Almond Flour Tortillas - 1 package of 8, thawed (or your favorite tortillas)

• Avocado Oil Cooking Spray (I use Primal Kitchen) - or oil of choice for crisping tortillas

• 1 medium can of Enchilada Sauce (for these I used Hatch Medium Red Sauce from Sprouts, but I’m not married to any particular brand, so just choose your fave.)

• Shredded Chicken (I often buy the fresh “Just Chicken” in the deli at Sprouts because 1 package is perfect for this, or you can buy a rotisserie chicken and shred that for ease.)

• 1 large block of cheese - shredded (I like a good, high quality cheddar for my enchiladas, and I’m very generous with it.)

• 1 small can of diced green chilis (I buy the hot, but they come in mild too. The hot isn’t too hot and adds great flavor.)

• 1 small can of sliced black olives (optional)

• Cilantro for garnish (optional)

• Sour Cream for topping (optional)

Method: (photos of steps to follow)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine shredded chicken, shredded cheese (set aside a handful of cheese to sprinkle on top), green chilis, and olives in a large bowl (leaving about 1/3 of the olives for the top if you want to make it look pretty;)

3. Prep your tortillas. Heat skillet (I use a small, thin cast iron) on med-high heat. Spray with cooking oil and crisp the tortillas one at a time, spraying with each flip. Flip it over when it JUST starts to get golden in color, this goes quick. You want them just slightly crisped and still pliable, not too crisp like a cracker. As they are done, I just stack them on a paper towel as I finish all 8.

4. Once the tortillas are slightly crisped, cut them in half.

5. Pour half the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the baking dish, just enough to coat the bottom as a base.

6. Layer the tortilla halves with the straight edges out and create an even layer with 8 halves.

7. Spread half the chicken and cheese mixture carefully on top of the tortillas.

8. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly on top of the chicken mixture.

9. REPEAT layers: tortillas (remaining 8 halves), then chicken and cheese mixture.

10. Top with remaining cheese and place a few olives evenly on top.

11. Cover with foil and bake for 20 mins. Remove foil and cook additional 10 mins or until golden brown and looks delicious.

12. Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 mins. This is an important step for stacked enchiladas so they hold shape when cut and served.

13. Cut into squares, and garnish with chopped cilantro and sour cream. Great alongside a green salad.

Repeat layers…and this is how it’ll look before putting it into the oven…

Ta-Da! Delicioso! Is your mouth watering yet?

These stacked enchiladas are so easy to throw together and is the perfect weeknight dish for the whole family…and great for guests because you can make a couple dishes ahead of time and feed a lot of people.

Stacked is easier than rolling….and no one has to settle for the “ugly enchilada” - that first one that’s always so hard to get out! of the pan. Ha ha.

Like I said, try this method your favorite enchilada recipe and tag me on Instagram @happywifestyle to share your stacked-style enchilada pics with me! Enjoy!

Pin this recipe to save it for later! Click the Pin It button on this pic…

Chimichurri Sauce

Chimichurri sauce is a fresh, green condiment from Argentina that is great on everything from steak, eggs, veggies...even french fries.

The first few times I made this awesome sauce, I tried recipes that were prepared in a food processor. What this did was emulsify the oil and made a more creamy sauce. While this tasted great, I was after the more traditional, chunky sauce that showcased all the fresh ingredients...a more olive oil looking sauce.

After a few attempts that tasted too vinegar-y, this was the winner. My family LOVED it. It's really simple and I hope you love it too.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 whole shallot, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher or large flake salt
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Get the first 4 ingredients ready first and combine the red wine vinegar, garlic, shallot, and salt and allow this to sit  and marinate while you get your other ingredients ready, about 10 minutes.

Add the parsley and cilantro to the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and then whisk in the olive oil last with fork. Salt to taste and add the red pepper flakes if you want a little kick. If you happen to have a large mortar and pestle, crush and grind all the ingredients a bit to really combine...if not, no biggie, just mix well.

I store this in a mason jar in the fridge and spoon it onto anything and everything! Just shake it up before using as it will separate. I usually try to use it up within a week. It makes about a cup and a half of sauce.

Enjoy and let me know if your family loves this fresh sauce as much as mine does!

Note:  People either like cilantro or they don't. If you don't you can use all parsley and visa versa...all cilantro. If you like both, try it the way I've written it as it's the perfect mix in my opinion. And yes....fresh herbs are a must with this one.

How do I use Chimichurri?

The day I make it I usually put it on tri-tip...because that is usually what inspires me to make it!

The next day I'll usually make a big romaine salad and dress it with ranch or caesar dressing. I then chop up some leftover tri-tip and put it on top and drizzle Chimichurri on top of the steak. This makes an easy and DELICIOUS salad. My husband loves it too!

The third day we had a burger + fry night and I made these Chimichurri + Gorgonzona Sweet Potato Fries which were to die for... and that finished off the Chimichurri Sauce in 3 days for 2 or 3 people.

This sauce is excellent on everything though! Tell me how you use it in the comments. Great on eggs, veggies, shrimp, steak, fries and more!

Lemon Olive Oil Immunity Drink

I heard about this drink a long time ago but thought it wouldn't taste good, so I didn't try it until recently...

With the flu making it's rounds right now, it's more important than ever to make sure we are keeping our immune systems STRONG, so I blended up this immune-boosting concoction and was so pleasantly surprised by the refreshing taste and creamy texture, that I couldn't wait to share it with you.

Here's how to make it...

Ingredients:

• 4 cups filtered water

• 1 whole lemon, washed and quartered

• 2 Tbsp organic, unfiltered, cold-pressed Olive Oil

• handful of ice

• 1 tsp pure Vanilla Extract (optional)

• 1 inch piece of raw ginger (optional)

Add all of the ingredients to a high powered blender or Vitamix and blend for 45 seconds to 1 minute.  I used a Vitamix and it worked beautifully.  I didn't even have anything to strain afterwards....nothing.  It just pulverized it completely which I loved.  If you don't have a blender that is that high powered, just mix and then use a fine-mesh strainer to remove large chunks of pulp or seeds.

Drink 1 or 2 cups a day.  I like to drink it first thing in the morning because I think it will have the best detox effects on an empty stomach.  It also has an energizing effect so it starts your day off strong.  Store the rest in a glass container, like a couple of mason jars and it will keep for a couple of days, but of course it's best fresh.

Here's why to drink it:

The lemon/olive oil drink helps to improve immunity by:

• Detoxifying the liver

• Detoxifying the lymphatic system

• Decreasing viral load (lemon essential oil from the lemon rind is anti-viral)

• Improving absorption of nutrients

Reported benefits of consuming the lemon/olive oil drink include: reduction or abolishment of swollen lymph nodes, increased energy, improved appetite, decreased or complete cessation of neuropathy, normalizing of body temperature and improved immunity. - from The Paleo Secret

Brenda from The Paleo Secret started drinking this daily after suffering from swollen lymph nodes ...and the swelling went away!  I'm always looking for healthy ways to stimulate the healthy drainage of our lymphatic system like dry brushing, so I'm so intrigued by this.  I really love the concept of using the entire lemon rather than just the juice like I usually do.

This drink can also help keep you regular and help with constipation.

When I made it, I added the Vanilla Extract and it was great, I like it with that.  The next time I make it I'm going to try adding ginger too.  Normally oil and water will separate, but with this drink, it emulsifies and gives it a wonderful creamy texture!  I thought it tasted light, refreshing and creamy.

This is NOT a cleanse.  Just ADD this to your normal routine!

Give this a try and tell me how you like it below! Here's to staying healthy + keeping your immune system strong.  Other immune-boosters:  Eat nutritious foods, stay hydrated, reduce stress, and get restful sleep.

Here’s what people are saying….

“I have taken this regularly in the past and loved what it did for myself and my husband. The energy boost alone was fantastic which I believe is due to all the other benefits! We are 65 now and had dropped this routine as we tend to do for no reason we can recall. However we just started back and I must say it is one of the best gifts we've given to ourselves. We feel so much better again and I thank you for this wonderful boost!” - Debbie

- Original recipe from The Paleo Secret