The Best Bacon Salt Recipe - And It's Healthier Too!

If you like bacon, you will love this bacon salt! 

Have you ever tried a good bacon salt? A potent bacon salt packs quite a smoky punch and livens up almost any dish you can dream up.

Bacon Salt

We love to sprinkle a bit of this amazing seasoning on grilled burgers, our Roast Chicken, eggs, hash browns, Our Copy-Cat Costco Rotisserie Chicken Salad, breakfast casseroles, mac & cheese, potato salad, pop corn, grilled cheese sandwiches, B-B-Q chicken pizza, baked potatoes, scalloped potatoes, oven fries, savory nut mixes, vegetable casseroles, grilled corn on the cob, tuna topped garden tomatoes, steamed or roasted asparagus, and any other place you'd want bacon in.

We have perfected the art of bacon salt making here at the Kitchen Cheetahs test kitchen. Most homemade bacon salts are oily, clumpy, and weak on the smoky bacon flavor. We set out to solve these problems. This recipe is the result of these efforts.

This bacon Salt is very fragrant and flavorful. A little goes a long way. We love it!

Bacon alone does not give the flavor punch we were looking for, so we added a high quality smoke salt and a nutritional yeast product called "Bakon Yeast". It is a natural hickory smoked Torula yeast product that is used as a smoky bacon flavored seasoning for snack foods, sauces, meats, and vegetarian foods.

We also use our in house BioSalt recipe in pace for regular salt. We like our salt because it is balanced for the body and does not promote water retention. BioSalt is a staple in our kitchens.

Feel free to make this recipe to suit your tastes. You may add more or less bacon, vary the type of smoke salts used, and add however much salt you want here. Have fun with it.


My research shows that you can find this Bakon Yeast here:


Bakon Yeast Products are available from Ohly Americas located in Hutchinson, MN.  Their website is :http://www.ohly.com .  
MN telephone: 800-321-2689



Some online retail sites carrying it are:


http://abchealthfoods.com/index.php/brands/bakon-yeast.html


http://stores.wholesome-essential.com/bakon-yeast-hickory-smoke-seasoning-2-oz/



Best Bacon Salt Recipe:

1 c. well rendered bacon (1 to 2 pounds raw smoked bacon)
1/2 to 1 c. BioSalt or sea salt, to taste
1/4 to 1/2 t. of your favorite smoke salt, to taste
2 T. Bacon-Yeast
1 t. fresh ground black pepper, optional, to taste


Method: 

Use the healthiest, most flavorful smoked bacon you can find.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Spread the strips of raw bacon onto a cooling rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.

Place the bacon in the oven and bake for at least 30 minutes, or until very crispy and quite dark in color. Render the bacon long and slow to remove as much fat as possible (or the bacon salt will really clump together - not good).

Remove bacon from the oven and let cool completely. Dab with paper towels to remove fat.

Process the rendered bacon in a food processor until it looks like grainy bits.

Add the salt, to taste.

Add your chosen smoke salt to taste.

Emphasize the bacon salt flavor by adding the "Bakon-Yeast" seasoning.  The Bakon-Yeast also helps to absorb some of the oil from the bacon.

Add the pepper if using. Taste and adjust flavors as desired.

Store air-tight.


Tip: Alderwood smoke salt is good. Mesquite smoke salt is good for mexican foods.


Enjoy, 

Leila & Nancy.

Sugar-Free Cinnamon Frosted Paleo Granola

Cinnamon Frosted Paleo Granola

Would you like a delicious, lighter, crunchier, grain-free, low-carb granola? Well, here it is!

Here is our unique and delicious recipe for a sweet cinnamon-frosted grain-free granola. Our recipe calls for an unusual ingredient: YAMS. That's right, soft baked yams or sweet potato. It is a great binder for our granola, making cute crunchy clusters of goodness. 

We will be posting many other unique yammy recipes under the Kitchen Cheetahs category called, "I Yam That I Yam". 

This granola stays crunchy in milk for a long time and the dried fruit stays nice and chewy too. We like that.

There are no almonds (give the poor bees a break!), no grain, and no sugar added to this recipe. It is sweetened only by the erythritol, dried fruit, and sweet potato.

This is a very versatile recipe. There are 4.5 cups of mixed nuts and seeds in this recipe (in addition to the coconut). Feel free to make your own substitutions with any kind of nuts or seeds you wish. For example, you could swap almonds for the walnuts. You may also use other dried fruits like dried diced California apricots, organic raisins, chopped dates, dried cranberries, dried cherries, etc. There could be almost limitless variations...


We can think of many uses for our granola:

You could make a granola "crumb crust" very easily out of it.
You could use it as a base for killer granola bars.
You can sprinkle it on top of ice cream sundaes.
You can make yogurt parfaits with it.
You can create awesome trail mixes with it as the base, adding more dried fruit, chocolate chips...
You can sprinkle it on top of our chocolate or butterscotch protein pudding recipes.

Yes, we really like this granola. It is crunchy and chewy at the same time, and has a real nutty- cinnamon-y flavor. PLUS, it's "CINNAMON FROSTED" 

Cinnamon Frosted Paleo Granola

Cinnamon Frosted Paleo Granola Recipe:

Dry Ingredients:
2 c. chopped walnuts (or pecans or almonds)
1 c.  coarsely ground raw sunflower seeds
1 c. dried coconut chips (wide thin ribbons)
1 c. flaked dried coconut (macaroon-style)
1 c. organic raisins (or chopped dates or chopped dried figs)
1/2 c. freshly ground flax seed meal
1/2 c. sesame seeds
1/2 c. Brazil nut flour (or other nut flour)

Wet Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. powdered Lakanto
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 t. sea salt
1 c. warm mashed sweet potato (baked until soft)
1/3 c. coconut oil
1/3 c. hot water

Cinnamon Frosting:
1/2 c. powdered Lakanto
1 T ground cinnamon


Method:

Mix together the listed dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

In a food processor puree the listed wet ingredients together until smooth.

Scrape the pureed wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and combine well.

Crumble the combined mixture into small clusters onto 2 large rimmed cookie sheets.

Bake in a preheated 300 degree F. oven for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

Lower the heat to 200 degrees F. and bake for another hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes on the cookie sheets.

Toss thoroughly with the Cinnamon Frosting mixture and let cool completely.

Store in an air-tight container.

Enjoy with your favorite vegan milk.

Enjoy with your favorite milk.
This is almond coconut milk and I was surprised how delicious this combination is!

Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Copy Cat Restaurant Teriyaki Sauce & Marinade plus a Delicious Teriyaki Rice bowl - Gluten-Free, Sugar-Alternative, Paleo, Clean-Eating

Restaurant Teriyaki Sauce

Do you like that nice, thick, sweet teriyaki sauce you get 

at your favorite Asian restaurant or takeout joint?

With this new recipe you can now have it at home. 

I have tried a few home made Teriyaki recipes through the years, but they are very runny and usually too heavy on the soy sauce. I want to taste the ginger and garlic, not just sugar and soy sauce. I created this recipe to be used over Teriyaki bowls, or for glazing and dipping grilled chicken or salmon in, or even drizzle over a sushi roll! I wanted the sauce to cling nicely to the meat, not run off in a salty puddle at the bottom of my dish. I'm even going to try it in a dish called Yaki Udon (Grilled chicken, stir-fried vegetables, drained, cooked udon noodles + this sauce).

I have made this Teriyaki sauce with a healthier sweetener called organic coconut palm sugar. It looks like a more granular, dry brown sugar and it has a brown sugar type taste. It is high in minerals and is lower on the glycemic scale than regular sugar. It is not zero calorie like erythritol, but it tastes better in this sauce. If I were to make this sauce completely sugar free, I would use a combination of erythritol, xylitol, stevia glycerite and a touch of black-strap molasses. Just sayin'.

I also use a gluten free soy sauce called Tamari. It is a high quality soy sauce and is easy to find at oriental markets or your better grocery stores. Alternately you may use Bragg's Aminos, but this is not my first choice. 

I prefer to use fresh garlic and ginger for the best flavor. I like to store whole ginger root in a small freezer bag in my freezer (in a place where I can find it!). Whenever I need fresh ginger, I just pull it out of the freezer and grate the amount I need with a small Microplane grater. You can grate fresh garlic with a small Microplane too, but I prefer to smash it to death in my mortar & pestle.

I thicken this sauce with xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is easy to use and is a healthy soluble fiber. I much prefer it over using corn starch or other starches for thickening. Starches must be cooked unless they are modified starches. Starches also have carbs unless they are resistant starches. Xanthan gum thickens regardless of it being heated or not. I love using it in my home made salad dressings too. The easiest way to mix xanthan gum into your liquid ingredients is to first blend it with some of the dry ingredients, like sugar, salt, flour, etc...

This sauce recipe is easily halved. You can also start out making it less sweet by adding 3/4 cup of the sweetener, bringing it to a simmer, taste for sweetness and then add more sweetener as desired.

Restaurant Teriyaki Sauce

Restaurant Teriyaki Sauce Recipe:

1 c. Tamari soy sauce (or Bragg's Aminos, are both gluten free)
1/4 c. Mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 1/4 c. purified water
1 T. minced fresh garlic (about 6 large cloves)
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 1/4 c. organic coconut palm sugar
3/4 to 1 t. xanthan gum


Garnishes (optional):

sesame seeds
scallions sliced on the diagonal
toasted sesame oil


Method:

In a small sauce pan mix the soy sauce, mirin, water, garlic, and ginger.

Turn the stove on to medium heat.

In a separate small bowl mix together the palm sugar and the xanthan gum.

Whisk the sugar mixture into the soy sauce mixture.

Bring up to a gentle simmer with stirring to dissolve the palm sugar. 

Once it starts to simmer, time it for one minute and then remove from heat. 

Set aside to cool and use to glaze your favorite meat or use as a dipping sauce.

Add garnishes as desired at serving time.

Store unused Teriyaki Sauce in the refrigerator. Gently reheat to use.


To Make as a Marinade:

Make the sauce in the same way, except omit the xanthan gum.The result will be a thin marinade.

Note: I also use the thickened sauce recipe as a marinade.


Tips:

For a less sweet sauce, cut the coconut palm sugar down to 1 cup, or to taste.

For a slightly thinner sauce use only 3/4 t. xanthan gum.

Mixing the xanthan gum into the dry sugar first makes the xanthan gum easy to disperse into your sauce without clumping issues. If you forget to do this, use a stick blender to blend the xanthan gum into your sauce thoroughly.

 Photos of making Teriyaki Sauce and Teriyaki Rice Bowl:

Putting the sauce ingredients together.

The xanthan gum is blended into the coconut palm sugar.

The sauce before cooking.

The thickened Teriyaki Sauce after simmering 1 minute.

Skinless boneless chicken breasts ready for marinating in Teriyaki Sauce.

Teriyaki Sauce rubbed onto the chicken and marinated 30 minutes.

Broccoli, Carrots, Cabbage, Onion, and celery chopped and ready for steaming.

The prepared vegetables in the steamer.

Steam vegetables only until tender-crisp and bright in color.

Sushi rice , steamed vegetables & grilled chicken topped with our Teriyaki Sauce. YUM.

Enjoy,

Leila.

Amazing Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce - Sugar-Free, Low-Carb, High-Fiber, Paleo

Amazing Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce

Enjoy this rich, smooth, and chocolaty hot fudge sauce over your favorite ice cream or use as a chocolate fondue. 

The secret ingredient here is soft baked sweet potato. It adds body to the sauce as well as healthy fiber. The quality of this yummy chocolate sauce surprised even us. We are having a lot of fun playing with soft baked yam/sweet potato in our test kitchens. More recipes using these lovely tubers are coming. I created a special section for our recipes containing yams and sweet potatoes called, "I Yam That I Yam". Don't tell me that's corny, I already know.

We love that this is a guilt-free hot fudge sauce. It's sugar-free, dairy-free, high-fiber, vegan, paleo, and contains healthy coconut oil.

Try it,we think you will like it!


Amazing Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe:

2/3 c. of your favorite milk (vegan, coconut, almond, cashew, lactose-free, low-carb...)
1 c. powdered white or golden Lakanto brand sweetener (or erythritol)
2/3 c. dutch cocoa powder
1/3 c. white sweet potato flesh (baked until soft)
3 T. coconut oil (deodorized)
1 pinch sea salt or BioSalt
1 t. real vanilla extract
1 to 2 T. of your favorite sweet syrup (IMO syrup, agave, maple...), optional
A few drops stevia glycerite, if you want it sweeter


Method:

Puree all of the ingredients together until smooth with a stick blender.

Heat and stir the mixture until it reaches 180 degrees F. to fully dissolve the Lakanto crystals.

Cool the mixture 5 minutes.

Taste the mixture to check for sweetness and adjust as desired.

Puree the mixture again on high speed with the stick blender until it is smooth and thickened.

Serve the sauce warm over your favorite dessert.

Store the unused fudge sauce in the refrigerator and gently reheat to serve. Any crystals from the erythritol that form will easily dissolve when the sauce is reheated.

Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Kitchen Cheetah Strikes Again!

My mother is a Kitchen Cheetah, I tell you! 

I can't keep up with her. 

She is coming out with so many recipes so fast, it's like rapid machine gun fire. A machine gun that shoots marshmallows, that is. This is why this blog is called Kitchen Cheetahs. She cooks faster than I can type. That may not be saying much, if you have seen me type. I'm an Artist - Not a Typist!

My grandpa was one of the fastest typists in the land and I did not inherit his gift. He has since passed on to the next life. I think he should come back and be my ghost writer!

Mom emails me recipes she is working on. We get all chatty about them. We perfect the recipes. I put them on the blog. That's how it goes. However, my email is filling up faster than I can blog. Plus, I cook too (and do other stuff)!

I guess what I'm saying is, we have A LOT to share with you. My mom and I are excited about that.

Some of the recipes piling up on my email are:

How to make browned butter GHEE
Key lime pie
Banana cream pie
Chocolate cream pie
Artichoke preparation and garlic dipping sauce
Sugar-free coconut bars
To die for sugar-free, grain-free PALEO granola
Cinnamon frosted granola
Gluten free jiffy bread,
Healthy sugar-free caramel sauce
Creamy dreamy healthy vanilla ice cream
Healthy chocolate ice cream
A bunch of delicious recipes using Kamote tops (sweet potato leaves)
How to caramelize yams
Sugar-free honey
Chocolate sauce (sugar-free)
Fudge sauces (her recipe and then my recipe)
Gluten free naan bread
Various snack recipes
Various smoothies
Delicious green drinks
Fat bomb brownie bites
Cre'me Anglaise
Homemade healthy nutella
Vegan lemon jello - Super cool!
Fat bomb fudge
Chocolate hazelnut sauce
Pecan Brazil nut pie crust
Homemade Lox (salmon)
Caraamel nut chews
Honey caramel with peanuts
Gluten free, sugar-free waffles
Corn bread (grain free, sugar free)
Bran muffins (gluten free, sugar free)
Mini carrot cakes (gluten free, sugar free)
Mini chocolate cakes (gluten free, sugar free)

But wait, there's more...

Then there are the recipes that I am working on... Because I'm a Kitchen Cheetah too.

We move this fast!

Love, 

Leila & Nancy

The Kitchen Cheetahs!

Zippy Slimming Cabbage Soup - A yummy clean-eating lunch or dinner

Try this robust, delicious and easy to make metabolism-boosting soup. 

This yummy soup is a great clean-eating meal that is also kind to the pocket book. Even though this is "just a cabbage soup," I feel it is of restaurant quality. It is full-bodied with a nice zippy warmth that makes things interesting. I really like it and can eat it frequently without tiring of it.

It's nice to have a large batch of this in your fridge for quick meals. You can feel good in knowing that this is a great weight loss menu item too. I'ts full of fiber and flavor.

I like to make my own chicken stock when ever we buy a rotisserie chicken from Costco, or when I roast my own chicken. Stock made from our Easy Juicy Roast Chicken recipe is the best! Of course you can use boxed chicken stock if you want to, it just isn't as rich and flavorful.

I make the stock ahead of time by putting the picked over chicken bones and skin into a big stock pot. I add all the left over chicken drippings too! I roughly chop up some onion, celery and carrot and throw that in the stock pot, and cover the whole mess with purified water. I bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, put on the lid and let it simmer on medium for at least 3 hours, or on low heat over night. Make sure you check your water level before going to bed!

Then I strain the stock, pick out any usable meat, transfer it to 1/2-gallon mason jars and store it in the fridge to use for a meal later that week.

In the winter, if it is really cold, I will set the pot outside on the cold cement over night to chill. The fat floats to the top and solidifies and you can easily skim it off. If I have room in my fridge, I'll chill it in there (Ha, that's funny, I never have that much spare room in my fridge). Anyway, I'm not too worried about having some organic chicken fat in my soup. It makes for a rich soup, and eating fat doesn't make you fat. Eating a bucket-load of white flour, white sugar donuts, fried in hydrogenated oil - now that can plump you up a bit.

I use a can of tomato sauce and a can of stewed tomatoes in this recipe. The stewed tomatoes have more ingredients and flavor than just regular canned tomatoes. I used a can of organic stewed tomatoes, Italian-Style from Costco and it has the following vegetables: Onion, green bell pepper, celery, garlic, basil, and oregano. If you only have plain canned tomatoes, toss in some minced celery and bell pepper into the onions as you are caramelizing them. Add a pinch of basil and oregano to the soup as it's cooking. When seasoning at the end, you will need to add up to 1 T. erythritol too.

Another substitute idea is to use 8 cups of canned spicy tomato juice instead of the tomato sauce, canned stewed tomatoes, and the 4 cups water. That tastes good too, I just prefer my recipe the way I listed it below. I like to have options, and thought you might as well.



Zippy Slimming Cabbage Soup Recipe:

1 large to jumbo sized yellow or white onion, chopped
1 T. organic butter or deodorized coconut oil
1 pinch sea salt
1 pinch baking soda
4 large cloves garlic, smashed or minced fine
1/2 c. white wine
2 quarts homemade chicken stock (or boxed organic chicken broth)
1 15-ounce can organic stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can organic tomato sauce
4 c. purified water
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 large head cabbage, cored and chopped
60 grinds fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 to 1 1/2 t. Louisiana Hot Sauce (If Tabasco Sauce is used, use at least half this amount), to taste
1 T. sea salt or BioSalt


Method:

Heat the butter or coconut oil over medium heat in a large heavy stock pot.

Add the chopped onion and sprinkle with the pinch of salt and the pinch of baking soda.

Stir and cook until the onion starts to caramelize, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and saute 1 minute. do not let the garlic brown (it gets bitter if too browned).

Pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan.

Pour in the chicken stock, canned tomatoes, water, and lemon juice, Bring to a simmer.

Once simmering, add the chopped cabbage, cover and let simmer 20 to 30 minutes.

After simmering up to 30 minutes, check to see if the cabbage is cooked down and submerged in the cooking liquid. If the cabbage isn't fully submerged, add a little more chicken broth or water.

Let the soup simmer uncovered for at least 30 more minutes, until the cabbage is completely soft. You may also let the soup very gently simmer for a few hours, until dinner time. Add more water as needed.

Season with Louisiana Hot Sauce, salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste. Serve hot.


Tip: My mom likes to garnish of a dollop of sour cream flavored with caraway seeds.

Deglazing the pot with white wine.

The soup has simmered and is ready to serve.

Delicious!

Enjoy,

Leila.

Raspberry Cream Protein Shake Recipe using our Vanilla Sun Warrior "Warrior Blend" Protein BASE

Raspberry Cream Protein Shake

This is a fabulous protein smoothie recipe. It's thick and creamy with a big raspberry punch.

It's a favorite refreshing smoothie around these parts. We love - love - love that this is sugar-free and high in protein. You will feel like you are drinking a dessert but you are really doing your body a favor.

For this smoothie, we use our VANILLA Protein BASE recipe (pictured below in the mason jar). This convenient BASE only takes a couple minutes to whip together and then you are prepared in advance for several smoothies. We love that too.

Oh, did I mention that all of our Sun Warrior smoothie recipes are great for athletes, and those who want to slim down? They are also for the lactose intolerant and those of us who are watching our sugar and carb consumption. It's all good!

Mom's Favorite Raspberry Cream Protein Shake Recipe:

1 c. prepared Vanilla Warrior Blend Protein BASE (made with coconut + almond milk is best)
1 c. frozen raspberries (a generous cupful)
1 c. cold water
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. almond extract
6 ice cubes


Method:

Put 1 cup prepared Sun Warrior "Warrior Blend" Vanilla Protein Base into a VitaMix container (a high powered blender).

Top with the frozen raspberries, lemon juice, almond extract, and ice.

Blend on high speed until creamy. Taste for sweetness and add a little of your desired sweetener to taste (we like our stevia glycerite).

Blend well to fully incorporate the sweetener into the smoothie.


Tip: Sweeteners that can be used:

Stevia glycerite, vegetable glycerine, agave nectar, raw honey...

Vanilla Protein BASE at the ready to add to smoothies any time!

1 cup of the Vanilla Protein BASE is added to a blender.

A generous cup of frozen raspberries is added to the blender.

Add the rest of the raspberry smoothie ingredients and blend. YUM

Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.