Keto Bagels

Switching to keto was probably most difficult for me because I love to bake.  I make the majority of our food from scratch because it is something that I enjoy doing.  The hardest thing for my husband is that he loves chips and bagels.  I ran across a recipe for "fat head" bagels.  The first time I tried them they had good flavor but they didn't look or feel anything like a regular bagel, so it was my goal to fix that.

Keto Bagels

These bagels taste delicious toasted or not.  They also work great for breakfast sandwiches or for sopping up a runny yolk.

We make our own mozzarella, so I used fresh mozzarella in this recipe.  It is difficult to shred, so I cubed it.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the mozzarella and cream cheese together.  Heat in 30 second - 1 minute increments and stir to melt evenly.

I used my stand mixer the second time I made this recipe and it was so much easier.  Combine your dry ingredients in the stand mixer.  Then add your eggs and mix.

Mix together the melted cheese and the dry mixture.  You may have to stop the mixer a couple of times to wipe around the bowl and remove the cheese from the hook.  Keep mixing until all of the cheese is incorporated.

Make sure that every bit of cheese is mixed in or it will not cook correctly.  Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.

Form the dough into a log and cut the dough into 8 equal portions.

Roll the dough out into ropes and then bring the rope together to form the bagel shape.

Transfer each bagel to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.  Brush with egg yolk wash.

Add any toppings you would like.  We added a spicy Italian seasoning mix and sesame seeds.  Traders Joe's everything but the bagel mix would be great on these too.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until browned on the outside.  Allow the bagels to cool on the cookie sheet and then store in an airtight container.

Keto Bagels

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

2 tablespoons coconut flour

2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella (about 13 ounces of fresh mozzarella)

2 ounces cream cheese

2 eggs

1 egg yolk, beaten (+ 1tsp water)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.  To a large mixing bowl or stand mixer combine the almond flour, coconut flour, sea salt, and baking powder.  Add the eggs and mix well.  In a separate microwave safe bowl combine the mozzarella cheese and the cream cheese.  Microwave until melted and stir until combined.  Add the cheese mixture to the almond mixture and stir until completely combined.  Be sure that all of the cheese is mixed in.  Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.  This will help the dough firm and not be so sticky.  Roll the dough into a log and cut the log into 8 equal pieces (if you would like large bagels only make 6).  Roll each portion into a rope and attach the ends to make a bagel shape.  Transfer the bagels to the prepared baking pan.  Brush each bagel with the egg yolk and water mixture and top if desired.  Bake the bagels in the preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet and then transfer to an airtight container.

I can't be sure how long they will last because we eat them too fast.  If you aren't going to eat the entire batch within a couple of days I would suggest cutting them and freezing them.

Nutritional Information:

Calculated from sparkpeople.com

Calories: 275     Fat: 22.2g    Net Carbs: 3.9g.    Protein: 14.6g

Chocolate Hazelnut Keto Ice Cream + My take on the Keto Diet

My take on the Ketogenic Diet

Hello everyone!  I know every time I post I promise to post more often and never do.....  Well, I have decided to give the Keto diet a try.  In case you are not familiar with the keto diet, the idea is to eat very few net carbs a day (carbs - fiber) in order to put your body in ketosis.  When your body is ketosis it uses stored fat to burn energy rather than carbs.  To obtain ketosis your diet will consist of 70% fat, 25% protein, and %5 carbs.   There are many health benefits to a ketogenic diet but my reasons for giving it a try are to help lose weight, help with my anxiety (which has been worse than ever since the start of the new year), and clear my adult acne.  I am only 4 days in, so by no means an expert but I know a lot of of my friends are curious so I wanted to share what I've learned.  For a better description of the ketogenic diet visit this website.  One of the most important things I have learned is to stay hydrated and take extra magnesium.  You will lose electrolytes and need to replenish them.  This is my favorite way to get magnesium.  Listen to your body too.  It will tell you if you need to eat, drink, or have a couple of berries for a little natural sugar (but not too much!). 

The hardest thing I have found is that so many veggies are high on the glycemic index.  Here is a list of low glycemic vegetables.  Download a good keto app that will calculate out your macros for you (how much fat, protein and carbs you should be eating) and track what you eat.  Before you even start, stock up on quick keto foods (sugar free meats such as bacon or cold cuts, hard boiled eggs, nuts, cheeses) and make at least one fat bomb recipe (these are a God send when you are having a chocolate craving).  Also, if you are looking for a good sweetener, but don't like the bitter aftertaste that can come with stevia, monkfruit is a great option.  Here are some that I like: This one measures 1:1 as regular sugar.   This one is highly concentrated and travels easily.  And probably most importantly have a support system.  It can be a friend, a family member, a group on social media...someone to cheer you on.

Okay okay, without further ado; here is the ice cream recipe you are really here for.

Chocolate Hazelnut Keto Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups Cashew Milk*
4 egg yolks (save the whites for a different recipe!)**
1/2 cup hazelnut butter***
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 scoop powdered stevia (I like this brand) 
1/4 - 1/3 munkfruit to taste -  or other 1:1 sugar substitute (I like this one) 
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:
Beat the egg yolks and mix with the cashew milk in a bowl.  Strain the cashew milk and egg mixture through a fine mesh strainer to get out any clumps of egg.  Transfer the mixture to a pan and add the rest of the ingredients except for the hazelnut butter.  Heat the mixture on high, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Add the hazelnut butter and stir until incorporated.  Transfer the mixture to an air tight container and refrigerate until cool.


Churn your ice cream mixture in an ice cream maker (according to the manufacturers instructions) until it reaches a scoopable consistency.  I use this one for small batches and one similar to this one for large batches or when I am making several batches in a row.  If you don't have an ice cream maker, here is an article to help you.

You can eat the ice cream straight from the ice cream maker, or freeze it so that it is firmer.

*You can use any type of milk you'd like.  This would work with cow's milk but as I am making a keto ice cream I didn't want the added sugar.  
**If you want to make this vegan you could probably blend some silken tofu though I have not tried it, if you do please let me know.
**if you can't have nuts or don't like hazelnut feel free to substitute any nut or seed butter.

Nutritional Breakdown 
This was configured using the TOTAL keto DIET app.  
Recipe is (4) 1/2 Cup Servings
Calories - 254   Fat - 22.75.  Protein - 7.5.  Net Carbs -   4.2