Faux Brown Rice - Low Carb and DELICIOUS!

Baked "Brown Rice" Cauliflower

This is an amazing low carb side dish. You will love it. It's a great basic that you can serve with almost anything. It can even be made into fried rice, Spanish rice, curried rice, etc... We are currently working on a sweet rice pudding featuring cauliflower rice!

This is wonderful for those who are wanting to slim down, yet still enjoy eating fabulous food.

Cauliflower is naturally low carb, isn't that great? Now in this dish, it tastes great too!

Best of all, this is really easy to make...



Baked Cauliflower "Brown Rice" Style:

Wash and core a large cauliflower. Break off the flower clusters and cut off the stems. Do not use the stems, they ruin the rice-like texture we are after.

Break the flower clusters into small pieces, or roughly chop them.

Place cauliflower pieces into a food processor and pulse until you achieve a rice-like texture. Don't over do it.

Toss the processed cauliflower with about 1 T. onion powder (not onion salt!), to taste. This flavors and sweetens the cauliflower and also helps with browning.

Next, toss the cauliflower with melted salt-free fat or oil of choice: we used organic butter with a little bacon fat added. You could also use fat from a roast chicken - the leftover fat and bits (fond). Be generous with the fat or oil. You could also add about 1 T. almond, hazelnut, or pecan butter for a nuttier taste.

Spread the cauliflower inside a GREASED wide cake pan/dripper pan/pizza pan.

Bake in a 350 degree oven, on the top shelf, stirring every 20 minutes, until it is as tender and browned as you like. It took 1 hour in my oven.

Serve warm as you would rice, or use as a base for fried rice with egg, or as Spanish rice, even as a curried rice. Be creative with this faux brown rice.

Salt to taste when served.



Pictures for your viewing pleasure:

The raw cauliflower processed to a rice-like texture.

 This the texture you are after.

Finished Cauliflower brown "rice"

One of my dad's favorite low-carb  meals (Stick Meat recipe on this blog)


Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy.

Low-Carb Mashed "Potatoes" made with cauliflower - and they taste like potatoes!

REALLY GOOD Low Carb Mashed "Potatoes"

 (O.K., it's really cauliflower)

Delicious and guilt-free "Mashed Potatoes", at least that is what this tastes like... Cauliflower is the secret low-carb ingredient here!

Kitchen cheetahs has some secrets to share with you on how to prepare this dish. There may be some variations of mashed cauliflower out there, but our version is actually crave-worthy, good enough to serve to company and great for low-carb eating. You will not feel deprived eating this.


Low Carb Faux Mashed Potatoes:

2 pounds Cauliflower
1/2 c. Organic milk (or 1/2 c. organic half & half)
1 t. Onion powder (not onion salt)
1/4 t. garlic powder (not garlic salt)
2 ounces Neufchatel cheese (or light cream cheese, or vegan cream cheese)
2 T. Bamboo fiber (omit if you can't find)
1/8 t. to 1/4 t. gum blend  (ie. 50% Konjac + 50% Xanthan) (Don't over do it , or it will be gummy)
BioSalt or sea salt (recipe on this blog), to taste
White pepper, to taste


Method:

Wash the cauliflower and break off the flower clusters and cut off the stems.
Break the flower clusters into small pieces. Only use the flower clusters in this dish, not the stems.
Put cauliflower into microwave-safe dish with 1/2 c. milk or half & half.
Sprinkle with 1 t. onion powder and 1/4 t. garlic powder.
Microwave uncovered for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
If  you don't use the bamboo fiber, drain the liquid out of the cauliflower and reserve for another use.
Put the cauliflower and dairy mixture into a food processor and puree until smooth.
Add the 2 ounces Neufchatel cheese and puree until smooth.
Add the bamboo fiber, if using, and gum blend (starting with the smaller amount).
Puree the mixture until fluffy. Add salt and white pepper to taste.
Serve hot, with butter, if desired.


Notes:

You may add a pinch of psyllium fiber if you want to thicken the mashed cauliflower further.

Neufchatel cheese has 1/3rd the fat, and light cream cheese has 1/2 the fat of regular cream cheese.

A favorite brand

See photos of the process:

Core the cauliflower. Do not use the core in the mashed "potatoes"

Cut off the stems too, they don't give the texture we want

Processing the cauliflower until smooth

The finished "mashed potatoes"


YUMMY!


Enjoy<

Leila & Nancy.

Successful momming for a sick child - and a recipe for a delicious hot cereal

What I do when Sickness strikes our house (and a recipe for delicious comforting porridge)

My teenage daughter woke up at 5:30 this morning to throw up. Nice alarm clock for a Saturday morning - NOT. By 10 A.M., she had thrown up so many times, she lost count. Poor thing. The first thing I had her do was to take some Wild Mediterranean Oregano essential oil. I make an oil blend that is gentle enough to swallow by mouth, but so potent, that we use it as a natural antibiotic at our house. In fact, our daughter has never had to take prescription antibiotics - ever. It has kept me antibiotic-free for 20 to 25 years at least (I've lost track). It has saved us probably thousands of dollars in doctors visits alone. CAUTION: Don't take oregano oil strait or you may wish you were dead - it burns the mouth and throat so bad.

Tip: Whenever anyone in our home has gotten sick, I remind the rest of us to take a little oregano oil blend as a preventative measure. It works.

My daughter soon tells me that she can't even keep any water down. I know she is absorbing some of the wild oregano anyway, and I also know it is annihilating this bug she has, it will just take a short time to see the effects.

I have her rub a combination of virgin coconut oil and a mixture of sickness fighting essential oils on the soles of her feet. I instruct her to do this at least every hour. The oils make their way into the body to help fight off the sickness. Cool, right?

I proceed to make her a strong ginger tea. Ginger is one of the best things you can take for an upset stomach and nausea. Ginger is even effective for motion sickness and morning sickness. I sweeten it with about 4 drops of sugar-free stevia glycerite. See our recipe for stevia glycerite on this blog.

I let the ginger tea steep 10 minutes and then take it to my daughter. I tell her about ginger being a perfect remedy for her stomach. She asked me, will it help? I told her, "It certainly will." She's feeling pretty miserable, I want to give her some hope. Honestly, she has been sick so infrequently, that it is a shock to her. She hasn't had all the sickness that most kids have. I have to let her know that she will live. Don't laugh.

Next, I make a pot of hot rice porridge. Rice is very easy on the stomach. I have a special recipe I use, which I will share here. I use basmati rice (brown or white) and I add a little psyllium husk to it. Psyllium is a fiber that is also soothing and detoxifying to the digestive tract. It also gives a nice creamy texture to the hot cereal. We love it for it's blood sugar regulating effects. Psyllium slows the absorption of sugars and carbohydrates, which helps to even out your blood sugar levels. That's a good thing for maintaining health.

Another important tip is to salt all of your hot cereals as you are cooking them. It takes hot cereal from flat and boring to actually tasting good. It brings out the flavors nicely. Even salting to the point of the cereal being on the savory side is delicious, and is our family's favorite way to prepare mush. We have used BioSalt for this purpose for years. It is a balanced salt, that negates water retention in the body. See our BioSalt recipe on this blog.

For my daughter's situation, I sweeten the hot porridge with wild flower honey (preferably raw), as it is healing too. I sprinkled her cereal with ground ginger and cinnamon and topped it off with a little pad of butter. I then added a little organic whole milk.

Let's cross our fingers. Will the cereal stay down?

I made cereal fort the rest of the family too. This cereal is a delicious comfort food, plus it's cold outside and this is nice and warming. The basmati rice makes this cereal special. Try it!

We nicknamed this particular recipe "Fiji Rice Mush." Mom created it while living in Fiji. It gives a nice exotic twist to mush's name, don't you think?

Fiji Rice Mush Recipe:

2 c. uncooked Basmati rice (brown or white)
2 t. finely ground psyllium husk powder


Method:

Grind the rice kernels and psyllium in a high powered blender until it becomes a fine powder.

You may find it easier to grind in 3 batches.

Store what you won't be cooking in the freezer.


To Cook the Fiji Rice Mush:

In a large saucepan, mix 1/3 c. ground rice mixture and 2 cups water. Add 1/2 t. BioSalt or sea salt.
Stir and cook until thick on medium-high heat.
Reduce heat and cook on the lowest heat for at least 10 minutes. Add more water as needed.
Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 20 to 30 minutes.
To keep hot, cover with a folded terry cloth towel.
Check for salt, and adjust is desired.
Serve with coconut milk, organic milk, or nut milk.


Note:

The psyllium husk slows the absorption of the starch in the rice. Psyllium also extends the amount of porridge made because it absorbs a lot of water. It helps your blood sugar levels not to spike and then crash, helping with weight loss. Psyllium is also good for the digestive system and helps you feel full longer.

Enjoy,

Leila

EASY & Delicious Low Carb Pancake Syrup - Sugar-Free

Make your own TASTY Sugar Free Maple Syrup


Why ruin perfectly good low-carb pancakes with sugar bomb syrup, when you can easily make this healthy version yourself? 

I will not use commercial syrups that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners, and I hope you don't either. The healthier versions are expensive and hard to find, BUT, once you stock your healthy pantry, you will never need or want go back to buying pancake syrup. Party!

Low Carb Pancake Syrup Recipe:

Ingredients

1/2 c. xylitol 

1/2 c. erythritol (or Lakanto Golden Zero-Calorie Sweetener)

1/4 t. glucomannan (Konjac) powder (up to 1/2 t. for a thick syrup)

1/4 t. xanthan gum or guar gum

1/4 t. BioSalt or sea salt (recipe on blog), to taste

2 c. purified water

2 t. maple flavoring

1 t. real vanilla extract

1 t. butter flavoring, optional

1 t. stevia glycerite , to taste (recipe on blog)

Instructions 

   1.Premix the xylitol, erythritol, glucomannan, xanthan or guar gum, and salt. Sift or whisk   together well. This prevents the glucomannan and xanthan or guar gum from clumping. 

  2.Place the sweetener/gum mixture in a small saucepan, on the stovetop. Add the water with stirring. Heat on medium heat until sweeteners are completely dissolved, stirring frequently. Do not boil.

   3. Remove from heat. Add the flavorings to taste.

   4. Add the stevia glycerite, starting with 1/2 t. and adjust to taste (note that a little stevia goes a long way).

   5. Serve immediately or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Notes 

1. You may use just xylitol or erythritol if that is all you have. The sweetening profile is improved by combining the 2 sweeteners however.
2. You may use just the glucomannan to thicken the syrup. Start with only 1/2 t., adding up to 1 t. for a thick syrup.
3. If the syrup isn't as smooth as you would like, pour the syrup into a blender and gently blend together a few seconds.
4. I would start with 1/4 teaspoon glucomannan. If you want a thicker syrup, add up to 1/4 t. more and blend it in a blender, it will thicken nicely.
5. Note that erythritol is tolerated much better by most people's digestive systems, compared to other sugar alcohols.  Erythritol is also lower in carbs than xylitol, but xylitol is sweeter. Mixing the 2 is synergistic.
6. You can omit the butter flavoring and just stir in 1 T. organic butter at the end. 

Enjoy, Leila

Our Favorite Reduced Fat Sour Cream Blend - Plus a recipe for Strawberries Romanoff, a La Madeleine Restaurant Copy-Cat

Favorite Reduced Fat Sour Cream Blend

We love sour cream. We like yogurt. We love them mixed together. Using Greek yogurt results in a thicker "sour cream". You won't have to skimp anymore when dolloping your dishes with sour cream. You can use a low-carb Greek yogurt to make it even better for you. Greek yogurt alone is Not a replacement for sour cream, I don't care what anybody says. But this works!

We recommend this in a classic dessert called Strawberries Romanoff:  Our easy version of this recipe is to simply dollop our sour cream blend over fresh ripe strawberries and then sprinkle with Golden Lakanto powder (a healthy brown sugar substitute). O.K., I'll post a more complex recipe below...



FAVORITE REDUCED FAT SOUR CREAM BLEND Recipe:

2 pound container Greek yogurt
8 to 12 ounces organic sour cream (our favorite is "Green Valley Organics" Lactose Free sour cream)


Method:

Stir sour cream to make it a softer texture.
Add 1/2 cup of the Greek yogurt, and blend in well.
Add 1 more cup of the Greek yogurt, and blend in until smooth.
Add the rest of the Greek yogurt and blend until smooth and uniform in texture.
Scrape out into an air-tight storage container and chill to thicken.


Use as you would regular sour cream.



STRAWBERRIES ROMANOFF Recipe:

Total prep Time:  5 minutes

4 c. fresh strawberries, washed and de-stemmed, cut into bite-sized pieces if needed
1/2 c. Kitchen Cheetahs Reduced Fat Sour Cream Blend
3 T finely powdered brown Lakanto (natural brown sugar substitute)
1 T. real vanilla extract (or brandy flavoring, to taste)
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream (cold!)
1 T. finely powdered white Lakanto (natural white sugar substitute)
Stevia glycerite, a few drops to taste (stevia glycerite recipe on this blog, or use NOW brand's)


Method:

Put the prepared strawberries into a serving bowl or individual serving dishes.
In a bowl, mix together the "sour cream", brown Lakanto powder, and flavoring.
In a separate bowl, whip the cold whipping cream until about half-way thickened.
Add the 1 T. finely powdered white Lakanto sweetener and finish whipping until soft peaks form.
Sweeten to taste with a tiny amount of stevia glycerite, if desired.
Fold the whipped cream into the sour cream mixture until uniform.
Top the berries with the finished sour cream mixture and serve.


This more complex recipe is based on a recipe from La Madeleine Restaurant. I removed all the sugar and real brandy. The original recipe calls for 1 T. brandy, 3 T. brown sugar, and 3 T. white sugar.

Enjoy,

Leila

The BEST Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe - Which so happens to be SUGAR-FREE!

Light & Fluffy Classic Cream Cheese Frosting

 (Sugar-Free, Low Carb, Gluten-Free)

This truly delicious cream cheese frosting will add a bit of decadence to any sugar-free cake, cookie, or muffin recipe you feel like smothering it with. You will smile as you reach your finger into the bowl for a taste. I bet you can't dip it in just once! I won't tell...

Just make sure that you sugar blend is very finely ground. Erythritol has harder crystals than regular sugar, so you have to tell it who's boss! The more finely it is ground, the smoother your frosting will be. If you know you are going to make the extended frosting version, re-grind the erythritol or erythritol/xylitol blend with the Frosting Thickener (recipes below).

You will love adding this classic frosting recipe to your sugar-free, low-carb collection!

BASIC SUGAR-FREE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING Recipe:

8 ounces organic Neufchatel cheese (or cream cheese or vegan cream cheese)
2 T. organic palm shortening (Spectrum Naturals brand)
2 T. organic butter or soft coconut oil
1 - 1 1/2 c. finely ground 4 times, erythritol, or Lakanto sweetener (or 50% erythritol + 50% xylitol)
1/8 t. gum blend (preferably 50% Konjac gum + 50% xanthan gum), optional (makes smoother)


Method:

Whip the softened cream cheese of choice.
Add the oils and whip together.
Whisk the gum blend and powdered sugar substitute together.
Sift the powdered sweetener blend into the cheese mixture and whip until fluffy.
If you want a bit sweeter, add a touch of homemade stevia glycerite (recipe on blog).
Chill frosting.
Use to frost sugar-free cakes, muffins, etc...



EXTENDED VERSION of the above FROSTING:

To the above frosting add:

6 T. "Frosting Thickener" (recipe below)
4 - 6 T. vegetable glycerin
1/16 t. gum blend
1 T. Cal/Mag powder, optional (gives a whiter color and makes frosting less tart)


Method:

Whip the Frosting Thickener, glycerine, gum blend, and Cal/Mag into the finished frosting above, until fluffy.
Let frosting then sit for 30 minutes.
Re-whip on high with an electric hand mixer, the frosting until very smooth and fluffy.


Flavor options:

Add real vanilla extract, or almond extract... Orange zest, or lemon zest, etc...



FROSTING THICKENER Formula:

75% (by weight) Arrowroot starch or Tapioca starch
25% (by weight) Coconut flour


Method:

Mix the starch and coconut flour together.
Grind as finely as possible (for as long as you have the time and patience for) in a Krups seed mill.
Store unused Frosting Thickener in an air-tight container.



Note: 

The Cal/Mag powder is a mixture of food grade calcium and magnesium powders, found in the supplement section of your local health food stores.

Cream Cheese frosting made in the Cheetah Test Kitchen.

Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy



































Author, Leila Wood.

Grain-Free, Low-Carb, CRUNCHY Chips (A Raw Food)

Light as Air Chips

This is one of my mother's raw food recipes. She loves light and crunchy chips - and these fit the bill.

These are full of beneficial fiber, and are low carb, grain free, gluten free, sugar free, paleo, vegan, and have great flavor too!

Freeze your carrot pulp from making carrot juice, until you are ready to make these chips. They are easy to make and you can eat them with out guilt, because they are so good for you!


Light As Air Chips Recipe:

4 c. Carrot pulp (run through a champion juicer one time), from making carrot juice
3/4 c. finely ground blond flax meal (or brown flax)
2 T. Cal/Mag powder, optional
1/2 t. Vitamin C powder (to keep bright colored and fresh)
1 t. BioSalt (recipe on this blog)
1 t. onion powder
1 t. cumin powder (or other seasoning, to taste)
1/4 t. tumeric powder


Method:

Mix the carrot pulp with the ground flax meal together in a food processor.
Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse to mix well.
Taste for seasoning.
Spread thinly onto teflex sheets (non-stick sheets) that are placed onto food dehydrator racks.
Place in a food dehydrator and dry at 110 degrees until dry and crispy.
Let cool completely before breaking up and storing in air-tight containers.


Notes:

Cal/Mag powder is a mixture of food grade calcium and magnesium. You can find it at your local health food stores.

Vitamin C powder is also known as Ascorbic Acid and can also be found at health food stores.

Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy

Better Than Lasagna Soup - Featuring Buffalo (Gluten-Free & Low-Carb option)

Better than Lasagna Soup

Who doesn't like lasagna? But who likes to take the time to make the lasagna? Not I (usually). Lasagna soup is a good idea. It's fast and yummy if you season it right. It is a leaner dish than calorie-laden lasagna and you can easily make it gluten-free and low carb.

There are a few key ingredients that make the difference in this delicious soup. Balsamic vinegar adds some brightness and depth. The Brown sugar substitute curbs the acidity of the tomatoes, balancing out the flavors. A touch of hot pepper flakes adds a little warmth, and the whole fennel seeds give a nice exotic sweetness.

A trick is to salt the soup after it has cooked. The ingredients absorb a lot of the salt if it's added at the beginning of cooking time, leading to increased salt usage. Add the sweetener at the end too.

This hearty soup makes a nice family friendly meal and the leftovers taste great. You can serve this lasagna soup with a nice salad for a low-carb meal.


BETTER THAN LASAGNA SOUP Recipe:

1 pound ground buffalo meat (and/or organic ground beef chuck, or Italian sausage, or ground turkey)
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, smashed in a mortar & pestle (or more garlic, to taste)
1 large yellow sweet bell pepper, diced
2 t. Italian herb seasoning
1 t. dried basil
1 t. fennel seeds (omit if using Italian sausage)
1/8 to 1/4 t. hot red pepper flakes, optional
50 grinds freshly ground black pepper
1 large bay leaf
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 (14.5-ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 (32-ounce) box organic chicken stock or broth
1 c. purified water
2 c. (6 ounces) broken lasagna noodles (gluten-free), about 8 noodles
2 t. balsamic vinegar
1 T. Brown Just Like Sugar (brown sugar replacement), up to 2 T., to taste (or Golden Lakanto)
1 T. BioSalt or sea salt (recipe on this blog), to taste
6 ounces organic raw spinach leaves, roughly chopped

Garnish: mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese, and possibly a drizzle of high quality olive oil.


Method:

In a large soup pot, brown the meat of choice with the onions, garlic, and yellow bell pepper, over medium-high heat, until the meat is browned and crumbly.

Drain the fat if needed. Buffalo is so lean that you won't need to. I use lean organic beef, so I don't drain that either.Turkey is extra lean too. The only meat that may need to be drained is high-fat sausage. B-T-W, turkey Italian sausage is good too!

Add the spices and saute with the meat for a minute (to bloom the flavors of the spices).

Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth, and the 1 cup water. I use the water to first rinse out all the cans, which easily removes all the stuck-in-the-can tomato sauce.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn down the heat and let simmer, covered for 15 minutes.

Add the pasta of choice, and cook until the pasta is tender, but not mushy.

Add  2 t. balsamic vinegar.

Season with salt and sugar substitute, to taste.

Right before serving, add the chopped spinach. Stir in to wilt the spinach and serve.

Garnish with cheeses if desired.



Tips: 

You may substitute the broken lasagna noodles for campanelle, bow tie pasta, or medium shells.

To make paleo or low-carb: Omit pasta and serve over barely steamed zucchini "noodles" (thinly sliced zucchini).


 

Note: 

Just Like Sugar is a sugar-free substitute for brown sugar. It is all-natural, gluten-free, 0 carbs, 0 calories, no aftertaste, diabetic and celiac safe.

It's ingredient list:

Chicory root dietary fiber
Calcium
Vitamin C
Natural flavors from the peel of an orange
Natural molasses type flavor

Looks pretty good right?


Photos of the lasagna soup in progress:

Saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper with the buffalo meat.

Broken lasagna noodles in bite-sized pieces.

The chicken broth and fire roasted tomatoes have been added to the soup pot.

The soup has simmered 15 minutes.

The pasta has finished simmering in the soup and the seasonings have been adjusted.

The raw chopped spinach has been stirred into the finished soup.

A garnished bowl of Better Than Lasagna Soup!

Dig in!

Leila

Zesty Artichoke Pasta Salad (Gluten-Free) - This salad tastes great left over too!

Leila's Zesty Artichoke Pasta Salad

I get tired of blah-tasting pasta salads. Most of them are boring, have you noticed that too? I wanted a pasta salad that tasted good leftover, not just on the day it is made. I do not want an over abundance of pasta either - too many empty carbs for my taste. If I want empty carbs, let's make it worth it - give me a fudgey, chewy brownie!

A secret to great pasta salad is to marinate the hot pasta in the zesty, well-seasoned, homemade dressing first. Let the flavors infuse for a while. Then add all the other ingredients. Adjust the seasonings and serve.

I do not add cheese to pasta salad unless it will all be eaten immediately - or the cheese gets slimy :(

You can use gluten free pasta or an ancient grain-style pasta, do what works for you.

Add cheese if desired at serving time, as a garnish.

This is a versatile recipe, vary your veggies to to taste, and have fun with it.

P.S. this salad IS good left over.



Zesty Artichoke Pasta Salad Recipe:

1 lb Gluten-free bow tie pasta (or other desired shape)

Dressing:

1 1/2 Lemons, juiced (or 1 large lemon)
Zest of 1 lemon
2 to 3 Large garlic cloves
1 t. BioSalt or sea salt (recipe on blog), to taste
1 t. Fine Herbs or Herbs de Provence
1 t. Dried rosemary
1/2 t. Onion salt
1/2 t. Garlic powder, to taste
1 t. Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 c. Olive oil, or more to taste (use a high quality oil)

Salad Ingredients:

1/4 c. Finely minced onion (sweet onion or red onion)
4 Scallions, minced
1/4 c. Fresh minced parsley, optional
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 Red bell pepper, diced
2 c. Minced raw broccoli
2 Cans black olives, drained and halved
1 Can garbanzo beans, drained
1 to 1 1/2 c. Marinated artichoke hearts
1/4 c. Marinated sweet peppers and olives blend (from an olive bar), optional
1 c. fresh chopped basil leaves, optional

Garnish:

1/4 c. Shredded Parmesan cheese
1 c. Cubed mozzarella cheese


Method:

Cook the pasta al dente. While pasta is cooking, mix up the dressing.

Mash the garlic cloves with the BioSalt in a mortar & pestle and scrape into a large mixing bowl.

Add the rest of the salad dressing ingredients to the bowl and mix. Taste and adjust as desired.

Add the freshly cooked and drained hot pasta. Mix with the dressing and let marinate 30-60 minutes.

Mix in the rest of the salad ingredients. taste and adjust seasoning.

Chill.

Garnish with cheese if desired at serving time.


Enjoy,

Leila

Sugar-Free Clean-Eating Rich Chocolate Frosting Recipe

Easy Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (SUGAR-FREE)

Use this yummy and original frosting recipe on our low-carb mug cakes or anywhere else you choose. This is a healthy, sugar-free option that is much lower in carbs than regular frosting.

This easy to make frosting is a great choice for low-sugar, low-carb desserts. You can even make this dairy-free if you use a vegan cream cheese.You get healthy fats from the coconut oil too.

We hope you enjoy adding this rich frosting recipe to your go-to healthy recipe collection.

Easy Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Chocolate Frosting

EASY CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING Recipe:

2 c. FINELY powdered erythritol or white Lakanto zero-cal sweetener (can use part xylitol)

1/2 c. room temperature coconut oil (not melted)

Cream together several minutes. then cream in:

1 package chilled LIGHT cream cheese (or vegan cream cheese)

Cream in. Then add:

6 to 8 T. Dutch cocoa powder (sifted and free of lumps) (Natural cocoa doe not taste as good)

Cream in. Then add alternately:

4 to 6 T. "FROSTING THICKENER" (see recipe below)

1/4 c. vegetable glycerine (or raw honey, or agave, or maple syrup - NOT SUGAR-FREE)

Cream together well. then add:

Real vanilla extract, to taste

Homemade stevia glycerite, to taste (recipe on this blog)

Cream together to blend in very well. Taste for flavor and sweetness. 

Use immediately or chill.

FROSTING THICKENER FORMULA:

1/4 c. arrowroot or tapioca starch

2 T. coconut flour

METHOD:

Grind the starch and coconut flour together 2 to 3 times (letting it cool down between grindings) in a Krups seed mill until it is as fine as possible. 

Store in an air-tight container in your pantry. Use to thicken healthy frostings.

Enjoy, 

Leila & Nancy

BEST NEW HEALTHY CHOCOLATE in the World - Now being sold!

This is THE CHOCOLATE BAR we all have been waiting for!!!

My mom did it!!!

My mother, +Nancy Glazier, is the creator of this new healthy chocolate bar.

She LOVES chocolate and has been frustrated by the lack of tasty AND healthy chocolate choices in the market. Chocolate should not make you sick. My mom wanted to create a chocolate that everyone could enjoy, even those who have blood sugar issues or other health issues.  Chocolate by itself is healthy, it's all the other stuff that is typically added (sugar) that makes chocolate problematic.

Check out the CLEAN ingredient label at the bottom of this post. It's amazing.

She has been perfecting this amazing chocolate formula for a few years now, and it is FINALLY available for you, thanks to a company called Lakanto.

We are so excited to introduce this amazing chocolate to you here at Kitchen Cheetahs.

In many taste tests, this has been voted as the best tasting chocolate, hands down. People do not believe it is sugar free when they eat it. This chocolate is also easy on the digestive system, unlike other sugar free chocolates.

Try this gourmet healthy chocolate and We think you will agree that this is the best tasting chocolate ever, even better than the Belgian sugar-bomb chocolates. This chocolate is definitely worlds above the rest when comparing to all of the other sugar-free chocolates found on the market.

This gourmet bean-to-bar chocolate is sugar-free, chemical-free, low-carb, dairy-free, vegan, paleo... And GUILT-FREE! 

You can enjoy eating chocolate again! 

P-A-R-T-Y 

I just received this picture of the newly packaged gourmet chocolate last night. I hear it has sold out already.

More is being made of course and I have to find out where it is being sold in the market. I would like to have a link here on the Kitchen Cheetahs blog, to be able to directly purchase this chocolate. I'm working on it, so stay tuned. I just had to tell you the good news as soon as I received it! I can't wait to start posting recipes using this new chocolate!

We are working on healthy sugar-free caramels in the Cheetah Test Kitchens too. Can you imagine how much fun we are going to have together with all this chocolate and caramel action going on?

The back of the +LAKANTO - Zero Calorie Natural Sweetener chocolate bar

Do you see that this chocolate has about half the calories compared to regular chocolate?

Have a great day!

Leila

A healthy raw chocolate milk recipe - you can even make this sugar-free!

Quick & Raw Chocolate milk 


This delicious & healthy milk can easily be made dairy free, nut-free, sugar-free, low-carb, vegan, paleo, whatever you want. Nice, right?

This is one of my mother's healthy raw food recipes. It is very versatile, and quick to make. Prepare it ahead of time and store it in a quart jar in the fridge, just shake a bit before serving.

You can make this in larger batches once you know how much cocoa and sweetener you like to add.

This is easy to make sugar free, just use erythritol and/or xylitol, then enhance the sweetness with a coupe drops of stevia glycerite. A recipe to make your own stevia glycerite may be found on this blog. It will save you a lot of money to make your own, or use Now brand stevia glycerite.

Our chocolate milk is a much better post-workout option than sugar-laden, commercial chocolate milk! Maybe you heard that the Dairy council made a recommendation last year about chocolate milk as being the ultimate post workout beverage. It was then put on the worst nutritional advice for the year list. Well, fortunately, you get to decide for yourself. I say, have the best of both worlds, and drink this chocolate milk instead...

"Chocolate Milk As A Sports Drink Has To Be The Worst Health (But Admittedly Delicious) Suggestion Of The Year" http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/

http://www.dairyreporter.com/

Kitchen Cheetahs Quick & Raw Chocolate Milk Recipe:

2 c. raw milk or a 50/50 blend of coconut milk & almond milk (or Brazil nut or cashew milk)
2 to 4 T. raw cacao powder (2 T. of this can be raw carob powder), to taste
2 T. (1-oz) baby Thai coconut puree or 1/8th to 1/4th t. guar gum, if more thickness is desired
Golden Lakanto, raw agave or sweetener of choice, to taste
1/2 t. real vanilla extract (or a small piece of vanilla bean)
Raw rice protein powder, to taste (like Sun Warrior brand)


Method:

Blend together in a blender (like a Vitamix). If using a piece of vanilla bean, make sure it is pureed well. Taste for flavor and sweetness and adjust as desired. Serve cold.


Tips:


We like to add protein powder to enhance the nutrition of this beverage.

Recipes for nut milks may be found on this blog. Any combination of nut milks may be used.

You can make up a large batch of nut milk and and freeze part of the batch for later use.

For convenience, you can prepare a large batch of baby coconut puree and freeze it in 1-ounce portions in ice cube trays. Store frozen cubes in freezer-safe containers or freezer storage bags.





Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Copy-Cat Bragg's Ginger Spice Apple Cider Vinegar Drink Recipe (Sugar-Free)

My Copy-Cat version of Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar All Natural Drink 

- Ginger Spice flavor

This drink is for those of you who are health conscious. Because this drink is not like a diet Coke...I'm just sayin'.

A dear friend of mine came over to my house drinking this bottled beverage. Of course I was curious. She likes it and says it is a definite pick-me-up. I  tasted it, and when I heard how much a bottle of it cost, I looked at the ingredient list and then I told her I thought I could duplicate it. It costs pennies to make yourself. She left me the bottle with a bit of the drink left in it. I figured out how to make the drink at home the next day and sent her the recipe.

This drink is not for everyone, but it is strangely good. You may have already heard about the health benefits of drinking a little apple cider vinegar daily. We know that ginger is amazingly good for us too. The 2 together are an improvement for the vinegar, I must say. I like not having any sugar added and the stevia does a nice job of sweetening this beverage without calories.

When I set out to duplicate a recipe, I always look at the product's ingredient list. I write down the ingredients like you see below. I leave space for me to write in the recipe amounts. I do a sensory test of the product and take notes. I source my ingredients and then get to formulating. Just in case you were curious. Personally, I think it's fun to formulate.

This is the ingredient list on the Bragg Ginger Spice bottle:

Pure distilled water
Bragg organic apple cider vinegar
organic ginger
organic stevia extract

Here is my formula...

Ginger Spice Apple Cider Vinegar Drink Recipe:

Yield: 1 quart
Difficulty level: Easy Peasy

Ginger Water Concentrate:

2-inch piece of raw ginger root
2 c. distilled or purified water

Ginger Drink:

Ginger concentrate, to taste
1/4 c. raw apple cider vinegar (like Bragg's) (plus 1 T. more for a tarter version)
1/4 t. stevia glycerite (recipe on this blog, or use Now brand)
Water to make up a total of 1 quart


Method:

Grate or finely mince the ginger into a medium-sized pot.
Add 2 cups water and place on the stove.
Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.
Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
Take off heat and allow to steep. Let cool to room temperature.
Strain, pressing the pulp dry.
I like to add a bit more water to the spent ginger pulp and puree a bit in the blender and strain again.
Pour the desired amount of ginger concentrate into a 1-quart glass jar. (I pour in all of it!)
Add the vinegar and stevia glycerite. swirl to mix well.
Top off with water.
Taste and add more ginger or vinegar as desired.
Chill or serve over ice.


Variations:

Add 2 T. chia seeds
Add a pinch of tumeric powder
Add some real maple syrup, to taste (not sugar-free)


Some benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar: 

Contains antioxidants
Improves blood sugar levels
Antibacterial, so helpful for a sore throat

http://www.doctoroz.com/ says,
"Drinking apple cider vinegar before a high-carbohydrate meal improves insulin sensitivity—slowing the rate of blood sugar levels rising—in people who are insulin resistant (a prediabetes condition) or have type 2 diabetes, according to a 2004 study. The researchers note that vinegar may possess physiological effects similar to the anti-diabetes medications acarbose and metformin."
http://www.doctoroz.com/article/people-are-drinking-vinegar-should-you 

Enjoy,

Leila

Photos of the process (making a double batch):

I freeze my ginger and then grate the amount I want for my recipes.

Grate the ginger while it's still frozen. Here I have about 4 inches worth for a double batch.

Put the pot on the stove with 2 cups of water. Simmer covered, and then let steep.

The ginger has brewed and cooled somewhat and is ready for straining.

I use a fine mesh bag draped over a mason jar strainer to easily strain and then squeeze the ginger dry.

Pour ginger brew into fine mesh bag to strain.

Tightly squeeze the ginger dry.

Put the ginger root in a blender with 2 c. more water (for a double batch) and blend.

Yield: 4 cups ginger concentrate.

Now I am making my Ginger Spice Apple Cider Vinegar Drink. For my double batch I used the full 4 cups ginger concentrate.

Best served cold, over ice! Are you fighting off a cold? Add a pinch of cayenne and drink hot or cold. I like to add a little bit more ACV to make it more therapeutic. A touch more stevia added is fine too.

Author, Leila Wood.