Meal Planning Monday

So half term is over and it's back to working from home around the boys. Such an odd situation. However, after a week of them playing way too many computer games and not much routine, I am pleased that our days will now have a little more structure. I am also pleased that I have packed the tent away and wont be suggesting any backyard camping anytime soon! It took two attempts to sleep through but we did find out we have a very noisey hedgehog that visits.

So as for meals this week, I will just write down what we are planning to have and the day we have it depends on what I fancy eating and when the food goes out of date. Tuesday is my Birthday and I am going off plan with a Burger King. I have already gone off plan with cocktails delivered on Saturday. Wednesday it will be back to Keto properly.

So what is on this weeks meal plan?

Salmon and avocado with chilli and lime. Still a firm favourite and so easy to make.

Filled pasta and sauce. I will probably have swoodles with bolognase.

Cod and cheese sauce. I will serve mine with celeriac fries.

Chicken and chorizo skewers with salad

Sausage pasta with a creamy mustard sauce. I will probably serve mine with courgetti.

I also need to make some more keto crackers for lunch.

What have you got planned?

Luscious Low Carb Meals And CookBlogShare Week 20

Welcome to Cookblogshare Week 20. This week I have a selection of luscious low carb meals to share with you. I started a low carb (dirty keto) diet this year and have so far said goodbye to 8kg. At first I was rather dubious and thought it was really restrictive, but after lots of research combined with trial and error, I am really enjoying it. Whilst I will be enjoying the odd carb here and there when I have reached my target weight, I really do believe that this way of eating is better for me.

If you love cooking then #cookblogshare is a great place to share recipes and ideas as well as commenting on each others tasty posts.

Last weeks link up was over at Lost in Food. There were lots of lovely recipes shared, and a fantastic asparagus roundup.

Lush Low Carb Meals

Whether you are on a low carb diet or not, these recipes look delicious and I am certainly looking forward to making some of the soon.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

I have been meaning to try a cauliflower soup for a while now. This one from Jacqui at Recipes Made Easy looks delicious and is going on next weeks meal plan! I love the idea of the spicy chorizo against the creamy cauliflower.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup - Recipes made easy

Low Carb Bacon And Thyme BBQ Sauce

Amber at The Hungry Mountaineer has a BBQ that I love the sound of. With some warm weather on the way, I am looking forward to some BBQ's this summer and it would be great to have a sauce that we can all enjoy. The downside of keto is that I do a lot more cooking for me, so where possible I try and feed my husband and the boys the same thing. Now I know they love BBQ sauce so this should be a winner.

Low Carb Bacon And Thyme BBQ Sauce From The Hungry Mountaineer

Chicken Tikka Masala Traybake

Now this chicken tikka masala traybake from Eb at Easy Peasy Foodie would be really easy for me to adapt on keto. The family would be happy with the potatoes in the traybake and I could add in some celeriac for me.

Chicken Tikka Masala Traybake From Recipes Made Easy

#Cookblogshare 2020 Week 7

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Meal Planning Monday

Another week, another meal plan. I am trying think of some different ideas to shake things up a bit.  After all the baking last week, there will be less sweet treats this week. My youngest made a lovely afternoon tea for us all on VE Day.

So what will be on this weeks menu?

Cheats sweet and sour chicken. A firm favourite of my youngest.

Courgette and feta fritters. I need to go into work on Tuesday so I will make this in advance to take in for lunch.

Fajitas

Chicken in a peppercorn sauce - this will probably be chicken in a cheese sauce for the boys.

Salmon 

What have you got planned?

Low Carb Crackers For Cheese And Biscuits

Thes low carb crackers are easy to make and perfect for a snack or light lunch.

So after a few months on a dirty keto/low carb diet, I have decided to do more baking. I guess that being in lockdown also helps with that.  After a mug cake with coconut flour I have realised that not everything can be made in the same way as "normal"food.

One of the hardest things with this diet is not having pre made alternatives. Many "bread style" recipes can end up tasting eggy or cheesy. Sometimes you are just sick of using almonds for everything. As such I have played around with the amount of flaxseed versus ground almonds in the recipe. Less flaxseed (15g) gives you more of a digestive style biscuit.

However, up the amount of flaxseed and the cracker tastes more like an oatcake. I prefer the latter so here is the recipe I used.

Low Carb "Oatcake" Crackers

• 35g butter 
• 25g flaxseed
• 70g ground almonds
• 1tsp seasoning. I used a mesquite seasoning
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp chia seeds
• 1 small egg

1. Melt the butter in the microwave. 
2. Mix all the ingredients together except the egg. Taste to check the seasoning.
3. Mix in the egg
4. Leave to harden in the fridge for half an hour as this will help you flatten the cracker the harder it is.
5. Place spoonfuls of the mix on some baking parchment and flatten as much as possible with your hand.
6. Bake at 180C for around 10 minutes until they are golden brown.

Meal Planning Monday

Now that lockdown is in full swing, and food is back in the shops, I am finding that meal planning is more important than ever. Not from a money saving viewpoint. I have given up on that at the moment. But to ensure that we leave the house as little as possible. Finding inspiration on what to eat can be hard when you can't just pop out and get a few bits and bobs.

I am also getting the boys involved in cooking as much as possible. Of course they are mainly interested in the baking side of things. My eldest was very pleased we got some plain flour this week so he could make these chocolate brownies.

This week we have decided that we will have a takeaway towards the end of the week when our food is running low. Any excuse for a curry! However, other things we have planned are:

Sausage pasta - I am hoping that there will be some left over sausages from our BBQ tonight and these will be perfect. Creme fraiche will be substituted with the double cream we have in.

sausage pasta

Smoked salmon and avocado. One of my favourite lunches and made easier that Tesco had frozen avocado in stock this week.

Smoked salmon and avocado.

The boys love a roast, and I think we will have roast beef at some point this week. probably with Yorkshire puddings

Garlic. "lime" and chilli prawns -  probably with pasta rather than ciabatta - although I think I have a garlic bread it would work with too.



What have you got planned? Is meal planning helping you in the lockdown?

These Keto sausage rolls taste great and you wont even miss the pastry. Infact, my non keto household like them too!

Keto Sausage Rolls

One of my favourite comfort meals before I started keto, was a sausage plait. Sausage, cheese, onion and tomato puree mixed together and encased in puff pastry, When my husband asked for it the other day, I thought I would have to give a keto version a go. As the fathead dough is full of mozzarella, I decided to leave the cheese out of the filling. I also suggest adding some chilli flakes if you like a bit of a kick.

Keto Sausage Rolls

• One batch of fathead dough from Diet Doctor
• 4 gluten free sausages
• 1/2 an onion diced
• 1 tbsp tomato puree

1. Make up the fathead dough and roll between two sheets of oiled grease proof paper.
2. Remove the sausages from their cases and mix well with the onion and tomato puree.
3. Place the meat mixture into the middle of the fathead dough.
4. Use the grease proof paper to fold the dough around the sausagemeat.
5. Bake for around 20 minutes until olden brown.

[AD] Easter Cupcakes With Haribo

When it comes to the school holidays, I often try to do some baking with the boys. Now that we are in social distancing I am trying to do it most days. The only trouble is that we have to make do with what is in the cupboards and are no longer making big batches. I mean you can't waste eggs on  cupcakes when you don't know when you will next get eggs. Strange times isn't it.

Anyway, the boys were beyond excited with our delivery that we were gifted from Haribo. Lots of Easter themed sweets, perfect for a hunt, or to add as some cupcake toppings.

For these cupcakes we added some defrosted raspberries and little man loved that they looked a different colour, We used some of the juice from the raspberries to colour the butter icing too.

Easter Cupcakes With Haribo

• 2 oz butter
• 2 oz caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 oz self raising flour
• 1 tbsp frozen raspberries - defrosted

For the topping

• 2oz butter
• 4oz icing sugar
• Haribo Eggs Galore

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and place 6 cupcake cases in a muffin tray
2. Mix all the cake ingredients together and bake until a skewer come out clean. (Around 10 minutes.)
3. When cool, make up the butter icing. We added some juice from the raspberries to make it pink.
4. Decorate with Haribo Eggs Galore.

What have you been baking with your little ones to keep them busy?