Living low carb – low carb pizza

When I am eating low carb, one of the foods I tend to say goodbye to is pizza.  I tried making a pizza with a cauliflower crust, but it didn’t taste like I wanted it to and the texture was wrong.  Then one day on Pinterest I found a recipe for low-carb Everything Bagel Dogs at The Primitive Palate and they mentioned that the crust was basically like Fat Head Pizza dough. Huh?  So back to Pinterest I went.

I found a recipe at Ditch the Carbs called  Fat Head Pizza – The Holy Grail

This was what I was looking for.  The crust is very easy to make.  The directions say to mix gently but I found that it took a bit more mixing to get the melted cheese mixed in evenly with the other ingredients.  I did knead it by hand lightly (wet hands very slightly with water to keep it from sticking.)  Once mixed, transfer to parchment paper, top with another sheet and roll into your desired shape.  Peel off top sheet and it is ready to bake. I baked mine on a perforated pizza pan.

My dough made a very thin 12 inch pizza crust.   The recipe says to bake it 12-15 minutes.  Mine needed a little longer.  The recipe has a tip for making it crispier by flipping it after the top is golden brown.  Check it to make sure it doesn’t burn though. I did this and the crust was nice and crispy.  Unfortunately, I did not take photos of it after it came out of the oven.

 

Nutrition Information from Ditch the Carbs website for the crust only (They indicate it serves six)  Serving size: 1 slice (base only) Calories: 203 Fat: 16.8g Carbohydrates: 4g Sugar: 1g Fibre: 1.6g Protein: 11g  (for full recipe and instructions click link in red above)

I chose veggies I has on hand for the toppings.

While the crust was baking I cooked the vegetables I planned on using for toppings.  The original recipe states any meat needs to be pre-cooked because once you have the toppings and cheese, it only needs five minutes in the oven to melt the cheese and warm the toppings.

I will caramelize the onions next time and maybe only slightly sautee the peppers.  The vegetable need to be fairly dry since it is a thin crust and the cooking time is limited.

After the crust had baked, I used 1/2 cup lower carb pasta sauce on the crust, then applied the cooked vegetable, then some pepperoni slices, sliced pickled jalapenos and black olives.

Added some shredded Italian blend cheese and it is ready to bake.

I baked my pizza for longer than the recipes five minutes.  I kept checking the pizza every few minutes until the toppings were melted.

It was hard waiting for it to cool enough to slice. 🙂

It was amazingly good and is definitely a recipe I will make again.

 

 

 

Enjoy and let me know if you try it.

Melyna

Albert Phineas Drache

 

 

 

 

Back on track. Low carb living redux.

Last year I started working on my health after I had some issues that made me reevaluate my lifestyle choices.  I was faced with possible surgery on my foot and told I was prediabetic.  I went to see a chiropractor and had a nutritional consult.   I blogged about it in four parts.  Here is part one: Taking a Different Approach Part One

I lost 14.8 pounds during the cleanse, avoided surgery and decided to go low carb after the cleanse.  I lost 7.5 more pounds, then the holidays hit and birthdays and I gained five pounds.  I admit that I am a carbohydrate addict.  Once I eat sweets or breads, it is all downhill and the cravings start.

Now that the holidays and majority of birthdays are out of the way, I have decided to get back on track.  I still have 14 pounds to lose to reach my goal.   It was time to get serious and creative in my menu planning and bring the family on board with food that they also enjoy.

Pinterest has been a huge help in finding low carb recipes.  I have been able to satisfy my sweet tooth and find new recipes that both my family and I enjoy.   I have started a low carb board simply titles as Low Carb .  I have not tried all of the recipes that I have pinned, but I have tried quite a few.  In an attempt to help me stay focused, I plan on posting some of the recipes that I have tried and enjoyed.

This morning I decided to make a breakfast frittata with ingredients I had in the fridge.   (No recipe – just threw it together) It included, ham, spinach, Swiss cheese, eggs and cream with some seasoning.  It was low carb and filling.  A great way to start the day.

I found a recipe on Simply Recipes for a spinach frittata that sounds good and would be fairly low carb here: Spinach Frittata 

Breakfast Fritatta

Next time – Low carb pizza (yes – there is such a thing and no – there is no cauliflower involved)

Albert Phineas Drache

 

 

Melyna

Coffee Monday

Good morning!

I have ran posts in the past about my visits to Blanco, Texas. It is the half way point for my sister/best friend and I to meet for coffee, lunch, dessert and more coffee.  We usually stop at the Redbud Cafe (which we did), but we also found a new to us coffee house called The Bean & Biscuit.

The Bean & Biscuit Blanco, Texas

The Bean & Biscuit Blanco, Texas

 

We were immediately drawn to the colorful and welcoming exterior.  The interior is bright, clean and filled with art .   It has the feel of an internet cafe, with patrons sitting at  the tables by the windows drinking coffee and working on their laptops.

The room that I call the reading nook at The Bean & Biscuit. You can see another small room and table to the back.

The room that I call the reading nook at The Bean & Biscuit. You can see another small room and table to the back.

 

The room that I designated the reading nook has an atmosphere that invites one to sit, relax, read or visit in a more intimate space.

The menu includes sweets, quiche, sandwiches and various specialty coffee drinks. The lunch special of the day when we were there was chili.

The front counter. The special this day was chili.

The front counter. The special this day was chili.

We had planned on eating at the Redbud Cafe so we decided to come back for coffee and dessert.   When we returned I chose a cinnamon roll.

Cinnamon roll

Cinnamon roll

I love the hearty sweet dough and the sweet cinnamon filling .  I also chose a plain coffee.  The coffee is self serve as are the pastries, which you can see in the photos.

The self serve pastry area near the counter. We enjoyed the art displayed throughout the cafe. We especially liked the one with the peaches, which you can see in this photo.

The self serve pastry area near the counter. We enjoyed the art displayed throughout the cafe. We especially liked the one with the peaches, which you can see in this photo.

The self serve coffee area is to the right as you come in the door near the reading nook.

The self serve coffee area is to the right as you come in the door near the reading nook.

Overall, we enjoyed our experience and will be trying it again on one of our future visits to Blanco.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We cannot come to Blanco without stopping at the Redbud Cafe and Brieger Pottery. Today we enjoyed their portabella burger for my vegetarian friend and my nod to a low carb diet was satisfied with the Angus blue cheese burger sans the bun.  I have not been strict about my diet throughout the holidays and decided to enjoy myself and have a chocolate chip  pecan cookie with my coffee.  Definitely not low carb, but oh so yummy.   In the photo you can see a box of coconut macaroons. My family says that these are the best they have ever had and request that I bring them whenever we visit.

Chocolate chip pecan cookie with coffee and coconut macaroons to go.

Brieger Pottery

Brieger Pottery

We went to browse at Brieger Pottery and they had some fun items. they always have fun items. It is a wonderful place to shop. Here are a few I found.  If you happen to be in Blanco, be sure to stop by and check them out.

Lovely beaded ornaments

Lovely beaded ornaments

Cool pottery balls

Cool pottery balls

An unusual pottery piece

An unusual pottery piece

Dragon Thursday

Good morning!

Today is a combination of Dragon Thursday with a definite nod to Coffee Monday.

This Dark Roast Blue Dragon mug is available at ThinkGeek and is on sale now!  (Click the ThinkGeek logo below)  Aside from being a very cool design, it holds 20 ounces of coffee.  Perfect way to start the day.  The blue on the dragon is actually a bit darker than the photo.  I couldn’t seem to get the lighting right.  The coffee was great and I felt fierce drinking it. 😉

Think Geek logo

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Dark Roast Blue Dragon