Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Adapted from JM Thomas at All Recipes

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 to 1 1/2 cups almond flour
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup xylitol

Filling:  
12 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cup xylitol
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice OR 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons nutmeg, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, and 2 teaspoons all spice.
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Preparation:

Crust:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 F
2.  Pour almond meal in an 8x8 Pyrex.  Use more almond meal for a thicker crust and less for a thinner one.  Spread evenly so you can see how thick the crust will be before you add the butter and xylitol.
3.  Once you have the desired amount of almond meal, add butter and xylitol.
4.  Mix ingredients together and spread evenly with your fingers.
5.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.  Keep a close eye on it towards the end because once it starts to brown it goes fast.
6.  Let cool completely, preferably overnight, before adding filling.

Filling:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 F
2.  Beat together cream cheese and xylitol with an electric mixer.
3.  Add pumpkin, spices, and salt.  Mix again.
4.  Beat in eggs one at a time, until mixture is homogeneous.
5.  Bake for 65-75 minutes, or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
6.  Cool completely and serve

Note: This was SO good you guys!  Perfect for Thanksgiving!  Also, I was messing around in the kitchen and ended up making this topping that tastes like cool whip! Enjoy!

Cool Whip:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup half and half
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
6 packets Truvia
1 oz cream cheese

Preparation:
1.  Combine all ingredients with an electric mixer, mix until homogeneous.

Oreos

Adapted from Maria's Food and Nutrition

Ingredients:


Cookies:
1/2 cup vanilla whey protein (Jay Robb or About Time)
3/4 cup almond flour
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons xylitol
2 tablespoons water

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese
2 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk
3/4 cup xylitol

Preparation:


Cookies:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 F
2.  In a medium bowl, combine protein, almond flour, baking soda, and cocoa powder.
3.  Cut in the cold butter using your fingers until the lumps are smaller than peas.
4.  Add in water and xylitol
5.  On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, place 1 inch diameter balls of dough, and then flatten them into circles.  Make sure the balls are tiny!  You don't want to end up with 5 giant oreos.  You should end up with about 32 individual cookies.
6.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool in the oven so they will become crispy.

Filling:
1.  Don't soften the cream cheese.
2.  Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth.

Chocolate Pudding

Adapted from Maria's Food and Nutrition

Ingredients:


3 ripe avocados
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, chocolate or vanilla
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup xylitol

Preparation:

1.  In a small bowl, combine xylitol and and almond milk.  Microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, or until xylitol is melted.
2.  Combine avocados and cocoa powder in a blender.  Blend to combine the two.
3.  Add almond milk mixture to avocado mixture in blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add more almond milk if needed.
4.  Heat in the microwave and serve, or put in the freezer for a delicious frozen treat!

Cauliflower Kettle Corn

Adapted from Maria's Food and Nutrition

Ingredients:


1 head if cauliflower
2 tablespoons butter
dash of garlic powder
dash of onion powder
1 - 2 packets Truvia

Preparation:


1.  Preheat oven to 400 F
2.  Chop cauliflower into bite size pieces.
3.  Place cauliflower in a zip lock bag with butter and shake around until evenly coated.
4.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with foil.
5.  Sprinkle with onion and garlic powder.
6.  Bake for 45 - 60 minutes, turning cauliflower over every 15 minutes.
7.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with Truvia, serve, and enjoy!

Chicken Stir Fry

Adapted from Maria's Food and Nutrition

Ingredients:

Teriyaki Sauce

1 and 2/3 cups wheat free Tamari/Soy sauce

1/3 cup safflower oil

3/4 cup xylitol

12 drops liquid stevia

1 clove garlic, minced

3 green onions, chopped

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

Stir Fry

2 - 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 and 1/2 cups broccoli, chopped

1 and 1/2 cups bean sprouts

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 head cauliflower, riced in a food processor

Preparation:

Teriyaki Sauce

1.  Combine all ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil.

2.  Simmer for 30 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.

3.  Strain through a sieve or cheese cloth and set aside

Stir Fry

1.  In a large saute pan, brown diced chicken in a little sesame or safflower oil.

2.  Turn the heat to high and add all vegetables except for the cauliflower, stirring constantly until all vegetables are cooked through.  Add a few spoonfuls of the teriyaki sauce.

3.  Serve over riced cauliflower and enjoy!  (You can also top with more teriyaki sauce if desired)

Note: For my Teriyaki Sauce, I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos instead of the wheat free soy sauce and I used sesame oil instead of safflower oil.  It tasted good, but the oil separated from the sauce and it was extremely salty, so in this recipe I wrote it the way Maria had it.

Brownies

Adapted from The Spunky Coconut

Ingredients:

1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup almond butter
3 tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup xylitol
13 drops liquid stevia
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Preparation:


1.  Preheat oven to 325 F
2.  Combine water and xanthan gum and beat with an elecrtic mixer.
3.  Add all other ingredients and mix until the batter is well combined.
4.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5.  Cool and Enjoy!

Note: So just now I made a Cream Cheese Frosting to go on top of these brownies and it was DIVINE.

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup xylitol

1.  Melt xylitol in a sauce pan over medium high heat.
2.  Soften cream cheese in the microwave.
3.  Combine xylitol and cream cheese in a small bowl.
4.  Pour over brownies just before serving.

Bagels

Adapted from Maria's Food and Nutrition

Ingredients:


3 tablespoons golden flaxseed meal
2.5 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons xylitol
3 eggs, separated

Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 325 F
2.  Combine flaxseed, coconut flour, baking powder, and xylitol in a bowl and mix.
3.  In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with an electric mixer until fluffy

4.  Slowly add in yolks, and then dry mixture.
5.  Allow batter to sit for 5 minutes so it can firm up

6.  Form dough into bagel shapes on a greased cookie sheet or pour into a donut mold.

7.  Bake for 30 minutes, until bagels have turned golden brown.
8.  Top with cream cheese and enjoy!

Super Healthy Chocolate Sorbet

Adapted from The Spunky Coconut

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened Hemp milk (or heavy cream)
2 cups unsweetened Almond milk
2.5 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup melted xylitol
12 drops liquid stevia
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Preparation:


1.  Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree.
2.  Add mixture to ice cream maker and follow instructions

Note: Made with Hemp milk, this whole recipe is only about 200 calories!  If you want to make it a little less healthy and a little more delicious, add crumbled brownie pieces.  I'll be posting a successful brownie recipe in a few days hopefully!

Mustard Lime Chicken

Adapted from Elana's Pantry

Ingredients:

3 or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup lime juice

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped basil

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon chili powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Liquid Stevia

Preparation:

1.  Combine all ingredients except the chicken and stevia in a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.

2.  Place chicken breasts in a Pyrex baking dish and pour lime-mustard mixture on top.

3.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to 6 hours

4.  Place chicken and sauce in a sauté pan, cover, and cook over medium heat for 30 - 40 minutes, flipping chicken occasionally.  The liquid should reduce to about 1/4 it's original volume.

5.  After plating, top each breast with about 15 drops of liquid stevia.  It adds a great dimension to the flavor.

Note: The flavor of this sauce is INTENSE.  It was originally intended as a marinade, so be prepared for that.  Also, you can use it as a marinade and grill the chicken, which I'm sure would be super tasty, I just don't have a grill in my new apartment!  And if you like cilantro, you can use that instead of the parsley and basil.  Enjoy!

Coconut Almond Poppers

Ingredients:

1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon xylitol
Dash of cinnamon
3 teaspoons baking powder
13 drops liquid stevia
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preparation:

1.  Pre heat oven to 350 F
2.  In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  Then add stevia, half and half, olive oil, water, and melted butter.
3.  Form dough into balls.  (If this is not easily done, add an extra tablespoon of coconut flour until you can).
3.  Bake at 350 F for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the poppers are golden brown.

Note:  I have no idea what these are!  It started out as an attempt at eggless pancakes which failed, so I decided to see if this would work.  They're moist in the center and crispy on the outside, and I'm sure they would be great with added fruits or nuts like blueberries, pecans, strawberries or almonds.

Almond Herb Crackers

Adapted from Elana's Pantry

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour

2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons water

Preparation: 

Pre heat oven to 350 F

1.  In a mixing bowl, combine almond flour, Herbes de Provence, and Parmesan cheese.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil and water.

3.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix.

4.  Form dough into a ball and place on a sheet of parchment paper

5.  Place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll with a rolling pin until 1/4 inch thick.

6.  Remove top sheet of parchment paper and transfer the bottom piece with rolled out dough onto baking sheet

7.  Cut into 2 inch squares with a knife or pizza cutter

8.  Bake at 350 F for 11 - 15 minutes, or until lightly golden.

9.  Remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes on baking sheet, then serve.

Note: I did not make the recipe this way, I didn't use the Parmesan cheese, and had 3/4 tsp of sea salt.  After tasting them, I think this recipe would be tastier!  Let me know how it is!