Saturday, September 28, 2013

Friday, September 27, 2013

GRAND FINAL DAY


Kick off is in 2 hours.
Don't let me down boys.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Friday, September 20, 2013

A Close One

My football team nearly sent me into and anxiety fueled tailspin tonight, losing for most of the preliminary final match, only to win by just 5 points in the last 5 minutes of the game.  I really thought it was over when the score was down by 20 points, and I think many fans thought there was no way we could win at that point.


The tension in my house whilst we were watching the game was a little bit high. But all that aside, we will now play in the grand final next Saturday. For those of you who aren't familiar with Australian sports culture, the Australian Football League grand final is a significant day, when virtually all of Australia tunes in to watch the game. The week leading up to the day is filled with excitement and festivities.


Last year, Hawthorn played in the grand final, but sadly lost. And after the very crappy year I have had, I would be so happy if we could win this year. Don't let me down boys.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

LOW CARB BENTOS

 Here are a few examples of the bento boxes I prepare for our lunches each day. So much nicer than soggy sandwiches.
1. Chicken, egg, coleslaw, salad, green beans with feta cheese.
 
 2. Blueberry cheesecake, white chocolate, choc chip cookie. (all low carb, I promise)
 3. Chicken with various vegetables.
 4. White chocolate blondie, choc chip cookie.
 5. Lamb steak and vegetables.
6. Chicken schnitzel (coated with almond meal) and coleslaw.
It's a good thing I love cooking. Now to think of some new combinations for lunch.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

STRAWBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE - LOW CARB

I think I died and went to heaven, where strawberry cheesecake is served everyday. I came up with a recipe which will not raise the blood glucose levels by much at all.

BASE INGREDIENTS
100 g finely chopped pecans
100g almond meal
2 tablespoons butter
3 teaspoons xylitol
1 tablespoon sugar free maple syrup

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then throw in the other ingredients and cook over low heat for about 1 minute, until warmed through.
Line the base of a springform cake tin with baking paper and press the nut mixture in firmly. Allow base to set in fridge for 1 hour


STRAWBERRY SAUCE INGREDIENTS
250G  chopped strawberries
2 teaspoons xylitol
1/2 packet diet strawberry jelly (jello)

Heat the strawberries in the microwave for 2 minutes or until liquified. Mush the strawberries with a fork and add xylitol and jelly crystals. Set aside to cool.
 CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS
500 g full fat cream cheese at room temperature
300ml full fat cream
2 tablespoons xylitol
2 teaspoons vanilla bean extract
3 teaspoons gelatine
1/4 cup lemon juice

Beat cream. xylitol and vanilla to soft peak stage.
Beat cream cheese until soft.
Heat lemon juice in microwave until hot, then add the gelatine. You may need to zap again for another 15 seconds if it starts to set.
Fold the cream into the cheese until well combined, then stir in the lemon mixture.

Alternate spoonfuls of cheese mixture with the sauce over the set base. Swirl the two mixes to achieve the above pattern. Allow to set in fridge - at least 3 hours.
 If the cheesecake is divided by 12 slices, each slice contains only 5.86 carbs
Now you can enjoy cheesecake everyday!

Friday, September 6, 2013

LOW CARB RASPBERRY MOUSSE

Raspberries are one of my favourite fruits. Although berries contain sugar, they also contain antioxidants, so if you eat them in small quantities, you shouldn't result in high blood glucose levels.
1st layer jelly- make up 1 sachet of diet raspberry jelly, and divide amongst 12 small glasses. I use 130ml glasses. Allow to set in fridge.
2nd layer mousse - beat 500 mls full fat cream with 2 teaspoons of xylitol and 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, until stiff peak stage. Heat 300 g frozen raspberries with 1 teaspoon xylitol in the microwave until soft and liquefied. I do this in 60 second bursts. Mix together 1/2 a sachet of diet raspberry jelly with 1 tablespoon of boiling water until dissolved. Set aside 1/3 of the cream and 1/3 of the raspberries. Fold together the remaining 2/3 of cream and raspberries with the jelly. Pour over the set jelly.
3rd layer cream- when the mousse is set, place a dollup of whipped cream on the top, followed by a drizzle of the raspberries.

Each serve (if whole recipe is divided by 12 ) contains 5.42 carbs
 

Monday, September 2, 2013

LOW CARB BLONDIES

These turned out very well. Nice and moist.
 
INGREDIENTS
 
100 g sugar free white chocolate
1 50g sachet coconut milk powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons xylitol
1 1/2 cups almond meal
 
ICING
100 g sugar free white chocolate
1 tablespoon full fat cream
 
 
 
 

Melt the chocolate in microwave for about 60 seconds. If it hasn't melted after this time, just do short 15 second bursts until it has (it can burn easily)
Mix in coconut oil until melted.
Add other ingredients.
Cook at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes, until slightly golden. I used a standard size square cake tin.
ICING: melt the chocolate as above, then mix in the cream. Spread over the blondies whilst still warm.

I cut mine into 16 pieces. Each piece contains 3.8 g carbohydrate.
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