Category: C R E A T I V I T Y

Low Carb (Chip-less) Nachos

March 21, 2019 3:00 AM March 21, 2019

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Since switching to a low carb lifestyle I have missed nothing more than tortilla chips! The salt, the crunch, the salsa….the gauc! How’s a girl supposed to survive! 🙈 I…

Since switching to a low carb lifestyle I have missed nothing more than tortilla chips! The salt, the crunch, the salsa….the gauc! How’s a girl supposed to survive! 🙈 I found this recipe while perusing one of my favorite blogs HelloAdamsFamily.com. It was love at first sight; low carb dreams in real life! 😍 We tried them for the first time this past week and they were everything I hoped them to be – I knew I had to share!

Ingrediants

Tri-Colored Mini Bell Peppers
Ground Beef
Taco Seasoning
Toppings of your choice
- Cilantro, or no Cilantro?? (Answer below!)

Prepare

To begin, brown your meat in a skillet on medium-high heat. While the meat is cooking, seed and half your mini-peppers.

Arrange the half peppers on a large sheet pan lined and greased before using.

Once meat is browned add taco seasoning and water as instructed.

Scoop taco meat into half peppers and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Place sheet pan in a 400-degree oven of 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Remove from the oven and top these low carb nachos with your favorites. I am all about the sour cream and cilantro, while the hubs is all about the jalapenos and salsa🌶.

What are your favorites?

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Interested in other low carb/keto recipes?

Click here for Parmesan Cheese Crisps

Click here for KETO Bread

Click here for Dark Chocolate Toffee Pecan Bites

Low Carb, Chip-less Nachos

These low-carb nachos are loaded with taco meat, cheese and all your favorite nacho toppings! the perfect way to satisfy those carb cravings!

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Pot Luck

Keyword KETO, Low Carb

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Carolyn of Handrafted

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Beef (could sub ground turkey, chicken or steak)
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 tsp kosher salt
1 bag Tri-Colored Sweet Mini-Peppers halved and seeded
1 cup Shredded Cheese
2 tbsp Sour Cream
Chopped Cilantro for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F and line large baking try with parchment or aluminum foil and lightly spray with oil.
Brown meat over medium-high heat. Once meat is cooked add Taco Seasoning and water per packet's instructions.
While meat is browning, seed and cut peppers in half. Arrange on the tray so that they are close together.
Next, fill each pepper with cooked taco meat and top with shredded cheese.
Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Remove from oven and top with your favorite toppings; sour cream, jalapenos, salsa, onion, cilantro or hot sauce.

3,956 Comments

C R E A T I V I T Y

Loaf of Bread – KETO Friendly

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March 14, 2019 3:00 AM March 14, 2019

18469 views

4,364 Comments

Since going KETO after the new year I have missed nothing as much as a fresh slice of bread with butter. If you know anything about KETO you know that…

Since going KETO after the new year I have missed nothing as much as a fresh slice of bread with butter. If you know anything about KETO you know that the butter is not the issue in the equation, there is always room for more butter. 😉 Bread, on the other hand, is far too high in carbohydrates to be KETO compliant. Until now, this KETO friendly bread is easy to make and even easier to enjoy!

Ingredients

Eggs
Cream of Tarter
Butter
Almond Flour
Baking Powder
Salt

Prepare

Begin by separating the egg whites into one bowl and the egg yolks into another bowl.

To the egg whites add the cream of tartar and whip to stiff peaks. Next add the butter, almond flour, baking powder and salt to the egg yolks and combine.

Finally, mix the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Begin by adding 1/3 of the whites, mix thoroughly and then add the remaining whites.

Pour mixture into a lined loaf pan and place in a 375-degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Rest

Once baking is complete remove from the oven. Allow the loaf to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container between servings.

Interested in other tasty KETO treats? Check out these EBTB Parm Crisps and these Dark Chocolate Toffee Pecan Bites!

xo,

5 from 2 votes

Loaf of Bread

This loaf of bread is savory in flavor and flaky in texture. It is KETO friendly and low carb.

Course bread

Keyword KETO, Low Carb

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Resting Time 30 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Author Carolyn of Handrafted

Ingredients

6 Eggs large
1/2 tsp Cream of Tarter
1/2 stick Butter melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375
Line your loaf pan with parchment paper.
Separate the eggs into two bowls. One for egg whites and the other for egg yolks.
Add cream of tartar to the egg whites. Whip with a mixer to stiff peaks.
Next add the butter, almond flour, baking powder and salt to the yolks. Mix together well.
Then fold in 1/3 of the egg whites.
Once incorporated, fold in the remaining whites.
Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan.
Bake on the center rack for 30-40 minutes, checking for a clean knife pull.
Once done allow resting on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

Cut into six slices.

Macros per slice:

307.7 Calories, 3.7g Net Carbs, 27.1g Fat, 12.2g Protein

4,364 Comments

C R E A T I V I T Y

Dollar Store Hack – DIY Makeup Brush Organizer

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February 21, 2019 3:00 AM February 21, 2019

15927 views

4,459 Comments

If you are anything like my daughter and I you have a never-ending need for the newest makeup brushes. In addition to that, there seems to be some irrational emotion…

If you are anything like my daughter and I you have a never-ending need for the newest makeup brushes. In addition to that, there seems to be some irrational emotion bond toward brushes you’ve had “since the beginning” but no longer use. We can’t be the only ones?! 🤔😆 As the collection grows keeping them organized gets harder and harder – that where is quick and easy DIY comes into play!

Supplies

To make this DIY Makeup Brush Organizer you will need:

Plastic/Glass Bowl – I used the plastic one
Rocks/Glass Pebbles – I used the rocks, but think the glass pebbles might be more user-friendly
Fake Greenery/Succulents
Blue Tape
Paint – I used some leftover Rust-Oleum spray paint, but you could also use Nail Polish (that would make the project even faster!)

Step 1

Begin by thoroughly washing the stones off – I used my kitchen strainer. Stones are very dusty, by rinsing them off and drying them completely you can remove this white residue for the most part.

To dry the stones I spread them thinly on a bath towel. I began by patting them dry and then allowed them to air dry.

Step 2

Next, you need to tape off the top rim of the bowl by carefully applying blue tape just under the lip.

Do the same on the inside edge.

Next, you need to protect the bowl from over-spray. I cut up the plastic bag and taped it in place.

Repeating the same step on the inside of the bowl.

Step 3

Next, it is time to paint the edge of the bowl. As I said, I utilized some leftover spray paint but this would definitely work with some metallic fingernail polish. Carefully apply a thin coat of paint on the top edge of the bowl.

Allow the bowl to dry completely.

Step 4

Carefully remove the blue tape/plastic and then fill with the clean rocks. Insert your fake greenery/succulent and then press your make up brushes in handle down.

Voila! A beautiful way to display/organize your makeup brushes!

How do you keep your brushes organized? I’d love to hear more!

Interested in another fun Dollar Store Hack? Read more here!

xo,

4,459 Comments

C R E A T I V I T Y

Dark Chocolate Toffee Pecan Bites – KETO Friendly

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February 14, 2019 3:00 AM February 14, 2019

68674 views

11,532 Comments

With Valentine’s Day upon us, the sugary sweet temptations are in full swing everywhere you go. Being on a KETO diet during such a time can be the ultimate test!…

With Valentine’s Day upon us, the sugary sweet temptations are in full swing everywhere you go. Being on a KETO diet during such a time can be the ultimate test! These tasty dark chocolate bites are keto friendly and ultra tasty! The perfect treat to add a little “normal” into your Love Day festivities.

Ingredients

Unsweetened Dark Chocolate
Pecans (or nut of your choice)
Butter
Monkfruit Sweetener (I got mine at Whole Foods)

Melt

Begin by melting your chocolate in a double boiler (or a makeshift double broiler, seen above ☺). Melt slowly and mix often. Chocolate will take some time to melt.

While the chocolate is melting prep a muffin pan with 10 cupcake liners. Lightly grease each liner before filling. In addition, be sure there is room in your freezer for the muffin tray to lie flat.

Once chocolate is melted completely, carefully add chocolate to the bottom of each liner. Use about 2/3 of the chocolate on the first layer. After chocolate is added place the muffin pan in the freezer and let set.

Toffee

While the first layer is setting in the freezer begin the toffee layer. Add the butter and monkfruit sweetener to a saucepan. Allow the butter to melt and the sweetener to dissolve completely once the butter is melted completely add the nuts and begin to stir constantly as the mixture turns to toffee. Be careful not to rush this process – the toffee will burn.

Remove the muffin pan from the freezer and pour the hot toffee into each cup. Once done return the muffin tray to the freezer.

While the toffee is setting in the freezer pull the double broiler back on the burner and heat the chocolate once again.

When melted pull the muffin tray out of the freezer and top each cup with a final layer of chocolate. Lastly, sprinkle with a course Sea Salt while the chocolate is still melted. Return to the freezer for a final set. Store in an airtight container.

Prefer savory over sweet? Check out this blog post for my favorite KETO Friendly Snack!

Happy Love Day!

xo,

5 from 1 vote

KETO Dark Chocolate Toffee Pecan Bites

Ultra-rich, sweet treat. Perfect for the low carb sweet tooth.

Course Dessert

Keyword KETO, Low Carb

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 10

Author Carolyn of Handrafted

Ingredients

8 ounces Unsweetened Dark Chocolate
7 tbsp Monkfruit Sweetener
6 tbsp Butter
1 cup Raw Pecans (or nut of choice) chopped
15 drops Liquid Stevia
Sea Salt to taste

Instructions

Melt chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.
Prepare a muffin pan with 10 liners (lightly greased).
Add melted chocolate to each liner. Spread evenly in each liner. (Use about 2/3 of the total chocolate)
Place muffin pan in the freezer and allow chocolate to set.
Combine butter and monk fruit sweetener in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until sweetener is completely dissolved.
As the mixture begins to thicken add the liquid stevia and chopped nuts.
Remove the muffin pan from the freezer and spoon toffee mixture into each cup - spreading evenly between each liner.
Return muffin pan to the freezer.
Reheat remaining chocolate.
Once melted remove muffin pan from the freezer and cover toffee with remaining chocolate.
Place back in the freezer for the final set.

Recipe Notes

Store in an airtight container.

Calories: 191g

Total Fat: 17g

Net Carbs: 18g

Protein: 2g

11,532 Comments

C R E A T I V I T Y

Modern Wood Wreath – Valentine’s Day/Spring

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January 17, 2019 3:00 AM January 17, 2019

7033 views

3,450 Comments

This past Christmas my family went the day after Thanksgiving to cut down our Christmas tree. It was a wonderful experience, playing in the snow in Colorado. Throughout the holiday…

This past Christmas my family went the day after Thanksgiving to cut down our Christmas tree. It was a wonderful experience, playing in the snow in Colorado. Throughout the holiday season, the tree was beautiful, it fit perfectly in our home and we cherished it! Fast forward to the second weekend of 2019 and the tree was still up – it was too beautiful to take down! After much consideration, I decided to repurpose the tree into a Modern Wood Wreath! Such a great way to remember our 2018 tree and the adventure it added to the season.

Already got rid of your Christmas tree??? No worries, Amazon has wood rounds available for sale!

Materials

16″ MDF wreath form (or size of your choosing)

Wood rounds (20-30 for a 16″ wreath)

How To

To begin, take a moment to sort the wood rounds, largest to smallest. It’s important that the sizing is evenly distributed throughout the wreath so I began by laying out my larger pieces. Slowly I filled in all the space on the wreath form. After playing with the layout a few times I finalized my layout.

Next, I moved each round directly outside of the form and placed in on the table surface. I added a quick loop with wire so the wreath would hang easily.

Then I ran a heavy bead of glue around the wreath form. When working with wood glue I prefer to let the glue set for 3-5 minutes to allow the glue to get tacky. After the waiting time, I carefully placed each round back on the form.

I only had three extra rounds after the first layer, so I chose to add some dimension under my floral addition. Glue additional pieces on the second layer, in the same manner, using wood glue.

Once the wood was in place it was time to play with the greenery layout. After choosing a layout for my greenery, I cut the pieces to size and started working with the floral. The hot glue I had on hand was all temp – I found that this glue was not strong enough to bond to the wood. A hot temp glue might work better. Instead, I just continued with the wood glue. The glue worked great, it was just more interesting keeping everything into position while the glue set. LOL After waiting for the 24hours for the wood glue to dry the wreath felt sturdy and ready to hang.

During the first night of this project, I just used a single rose but after letting it dry I opted for the additional roses.

This project was fun and easy to do! I especially like the sentimental factor of it being made from our Christmas tree! The perfect addition to my Valentine’s Day/Spring decor!

Let me know if you give this a try, I’d love to see yours!

xo,

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a small commission.

3,450 Comments

C R E A T I V I T Y

Everything But The Bagel Parm Cheese Crisps – KETO Friendly

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January 10, 2019 3:00 AM January 10, 2019

16620 views

3,507 Comments

With the start of 2019, we are honing in our self-discipline in our work, our finances and our health. The first step for us on the health front was tackling the KETO…

With the start of 2019, we are honing in our self-discipline in our work, our finances and our health. The first step for us on the health front was tackling the KETO lifestyle. We had heard a lot about KETO from friends that have found success with the plan and were ready to see our own success. After days of research and reading, we decided to purchase a 30-day meal plan to get us immersed in the lifestyle and on the right track. For our meal plan, we chose Ruled.me, with our $ 15.00 payment we were able to download a complete 30-day meal plan. The meal plan was complete with recipes and detailed breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day. The creator of Ruled.me Craig Clark takes the guesswork out by creating daily meal plans that will get you close to your desired macros.

So far on the meal plan, we have really enjoyed the different recipes; we find ourselves satisfied, with increased energy and mental clarity. On occasion, our daily meals do not get us to our macro goals, for that reason we have been looking into recipes we can make to supplement our diets (and satisfy cravings 😋). In doing so I came across this recipe from Have Butter Will Travel for cheese crips and I was in LOVE! Salty-crunch is my number one food craving so this was right up my alley! Paired with Lantana’s Edamame Hummus and I am in pure bliss 🤤!

For this recipe, I did decide to purchase a Whoopie Pie Pan, which I overnighted through Amazon Prime – because who can wait?!? 🙃

I will continue to keep you updated as we progress through the program!

Reciepe

Begin by mixing the cheese and seasoning together in a small bowl.

Then measure each portion into two tablespoons and press into the pie pan (if using a standard muffin pan measure into one tablespoon portions). Work to make sure each crisp is evenly spread in the pan so they cook evenly (and your nutritional value is easier to calculate).

Bake in a 390* oven for 16-19 minutes. Then remove and allow to set on a cooling rack. Once cooled I broke them into pieces and enjoyed! Now let’s say there were extra😂 ….. those I would have placed in an airtight container for storage. 😆

That’s it, so simple! 🙌🏼

KETO Parm Chips with Trader Joe's Everything But The Bagel Seasoning

Everything But The Bagel Parm Cheese Crisps

These easy cheese crisps are the perfect crunch to add to a low carb lifestyle!

KETO Friendly

Course Appetizer, Snack

Keyword KETO, Low Carb

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 23 minutes

Author Carolyn of Handrafted

Ingredients

1 Cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
1.5 tbsp Everything But The Bagel Seasoning from Trader Joe's

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 390*F
Combine ingredients in a bowl.
Measure out in 2 tablespoon portions in each whoopie pie pan round. If using a standard muffin pan, measure out in 1 tablespoon portions.
Press ingredients firmly into the pan making sure each crisp is even in thickness.
Bake for 16-18 minutes. (If using a silicone mold, place on cookie sheet for easy transport).
Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling rack.
Serve as is or break into pieces as you prefer.
Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

Serve with low carb, KETO friendly dip options such as Lantana Edamame Hummus, KETO ranch, KETO salsa or KETO guacamole. Also works great for KETO nachos!

NUTRITIONAL FACTS: for crisps made in a whoopie pie pan

Calories: 68g/crisp

Fat: 4g/crisp

Carbs: 0g/crisp

Protein: 5g/crisp

Enjoy!

xo,

3,507 Comments