When i started keto i never knew how much i would crave what im used to eating. Making keto versions of the foods i would normally enjoy has been hard, but I've tried a few different recipes for pastry and I've come up with this one below. I'm not a massive fan of coconut, but it works well in this recipe.

Ingredients:
100g Almond flour
40g Coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon Xanthan gum
Pinch of salt
100g Butter, cold
60g Cream cheese, cold
1 Egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar

Method:
To a bowl add almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum,and salt; mix well until all ingredients are combined (i do this in my thermomix)
Add butter and cream cheese and pulse until you have a crumbly mixture. Add egg and vinegar and pulse till mixture comes together. Turn out mixture onto clingfilm and form into a ball, wrap it up and put in the fridge for an hour.
Roll out dough between 2 pieces of baking paper, line pie dish/quiche dish with dough. Pop back into the fridge for 10mins this will ensure it keeps its shape when baking.
Bake in a preheated 180'c oven for around 15mins or until the crust is nice and golden. Fill with filling and bake for a further 35/40mins.

If your anything like me on Keto then you will know those sweet craving feels. I needed something that felt naughty but actually wasn't. This custard has all the flavor profiles of a naughty custard but without all the naughtiness. 3 net carbs per serve.
Add lemon juice for a flavoured custard.

Ingredients:
40g xylitol (sweetner)
400g thickened cream
1t vanilla essence 
3 eggs
1t xanthan gum (optional)

Method:
Put all the ingredients into the @froothie thermocook cook at 70'c 8mins speed 4. Otherwise im sure in a saucepan would get the same results.

Tip- It does look very thin when you don't use the xanthan gum, but cool it in the fridge and it will thicken. Super delish!!!

These keto choc chip cookies are perfect for when you have a sweet craving. At 2.3 net carbs per cookie, whats not to love! I used Xylitol in this recipe but you could use stevia or erythritol (any 1 to 1 ratio sweetener).

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
1/2 cup Butter
3/4 cup Xylitol (or sweetener of choice)
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Xanthan gum
1/2 cup Choc bits (sugar free if possible)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180'c and line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Melt the butter in the microwave. Place the butter into a bowl and beat with the xylitol (or sweetener of choice). Add in the vanilla and egg and mix until just combined.
Add the almond flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt, stir until well combined. Add choc chips and mix until evenly distributed. 
Using a cookie scoop (or your hands) make 15 balls and place them on the lined baking tray (leave a 2cm gap between as they do spread slightly). Bake for 15mins. Remove from the oven and let cool before eating.

Tips-
Store in the freezer once cooled, they taste amazing ice cold.
The smaller the balls, the more you will get out of the recipe.

This bread is actually super tasty..... but note to self use a smaller bread tin to get some height lol. This bread only has 1.25g Net Carbs so perfect for breakfast with your bacon and eggs or as i have used it, for bruschetta. Either way it will make you feel like you are eating bread without the added sugar or carbs BONUS!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 Cup Almond Flour
6 Large eggs Separated
4 tbsp Butter melted
3 tsp Baking powder
Pinch salt

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 180'c
Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat egg whites until soft peaks have formed.
In a food processor (i used my thermo-cook) combine the egg yolks, 1/3 of the beaten egg whites, melted butter, almond flour, baking powder and salt until combined. This will be a lumpy thick dough until the whites are added.
Add the remaining 2/3 of the egg whites and gently process until fully incorporated. Be careful not to over mix as this is what gives the bread it's volume!
Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes. 

​Tips - Keep in a ziplock bag in the fridge.

This dish is so addictive! Creamy (yet without cream) and full of flavor. I use brown brothers moscato in my dish because that's what wine i had on hand. Always use a wine you would drink when cooking then you know it will taste great!

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons Olive Oil
3/4 Chicken Breasts
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 Brown Onion, diced
1 Cup White Wine
1 Tin Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Cup Chicken Stock
1/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
2 teaspoons White Sugar
1 Carrot, sliced thinly
500g Baby Potatoes, halved
1/2 Cup Frozen Peas
1/2 Cup Green Beans

Method:

Heat oil in an large deep frying pan. Add chicken, cook until browned on both sides. Transfer to a plate. Add onion and garlic to the frying pan, cook stirring for 2mins. Add wine, simmer stirring for 3mins. Add soup, 1/2 cup water, stock, mustard, and sugar. Stir to dissolve mustard. Add carrot, potato, peas and beans. Add back in the chicken cover and simmer for an hour. Season and serve.

A warm and comforting stew. A great dish to set and forget. Can be made in the slow cooker as well.

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
500g Gravy Beef, large dice
1 Brown Onion, diced
1 Carrot, diced
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 Tin Tomatoes
500ml Beef Stock
1/2 Cup Pearl Barley
2 Rosemary Sprigs

Method;

Heat oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat. Cook the beef in batches, turning occasionally until browned. Transfer to a bowl. Add onion and carrot to a bowl and cook, stirring for 5mins or until onion softens. Add garlic and cook for 1min. Return the beef to the pan with the tomatoes, beef stock, barley and rosemary. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2hrs, covered. Season well and serve.

This ragu is utterly divine. Full of bold flavors as well as rich and filling. This ragu was inspired by a meal i had at Jamie Oliver's a few years ago.
The recipe uses Chianti, which is a type of red wine, its the only red wine i cook with now because of the flavor it gives, also the milk added at the end creates such a creamy taste which id never experienced before.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Carrot, finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
80g Bacon, diced
250g Beef mince
250g Pork Mince
1 Tablespoons Dried Oregano
3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
250ml Chianti (type of red wine, its delicious)
500ml Beef Stock
125ml Milk
500g Spaghetti, cooked
Parmesan Cheese to Serve

Method:
Heat oil and butter in a large, deep saucepan over a medium heat. Add Onion, carrot and garlic, stirring until its a nice golden colour. Add bacon and cook for 5mins, then add mince and oregano. Break up mince with a wooden spoon ,season with salt and pepper and cook for 8mins or until everything is browned. 
Add wine and let it simmer until it looks like its mostly evaporated. Pour in stock and add tomato paste, mix well. Bring to the boil and then simmer half covered for 45mins, stirring regularly. Add milk and let simmer for another 15mins. Season to taste. Add mixture to cooked pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

A super tasty dinner. Using chicken on the bone creates a deeper flavor, in which this dish benefits from.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup plain flour
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
8 small chicken thigh cutlets or 2 Maryland's
2 tablespoons  olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 bunch spinach, trimmed
1 can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed

Method:

Place flour and paprika in a large ziplock bag. Add chicken. Seal bag. Shake to coat chicken all over in flour.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook chicken in batches until browned all over. Transfer to a plate.
Add onion and garlic to pan. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add stock, thyme, bay leaves and lemon juice. Return chicken to pan. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves.
Add spinach and beans. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

A quick and tasty lunch. This mustard steak baguette is filled with and amazingly stick onion jam/sauce. Perfect for those days when you want maximum flavor/minimum time.

Ingredients: 

1 Baguette
Mixed Lettuce Leaves
Handful of Cheese
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Onions, thinly sliced
1 Rump Steak 
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoon Wholegrain Mustard
2 Tablespoon Water

Method:

Cut the bread into 4 equal lengths, then cut each piece horizontally in half. Spread butter on each side and add some lettuce and cheese. 
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15mins until softened and golden. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Increase the heat to high and add the remaining oil to the pan, when hot, add the steak, season with salt and pepper. Cook til your liking. Transfer steak to same plate as onions.
Add the Worcestershire sauce,mustard and water to the pan and stir to deglaze by scraping any sediment from the base of the pan. Return the onions to the pan, season and mix well. 
Thinly slice the steak and divide between the bread. Cover with the onions and Serve.

The lovely people over at Froothie kindly sent me one of their Nutri Force Extractor machine's to have a play and create some recipes with.
I've heard all the rage with nutri bullets so it quick intrigued me.
I've created a tomato pasta sauce recipe that is so simple. With just a few ingredients, you will feel like an Italian mama cooked it for you.

Ingredients:

1 Punnet (box) Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1/2 Small Onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon Mixed Herbs
1/4 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1/4 teaspoon Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Water

Method:

Place all the ingredients into your Nutri Force Extractor (or blender) and blitz on high for 15/20 secs. Pour mixture into a saucepan and simmer for 30mins. 

To check out the Nutri Force Extractor Click Here