Keto Protein Cloud Loaf

I love the cloud bread recipes floating around (excuse the pun), but I find them to be a bit frustrating and a bit hit-and-miss sometimes.

Also, my oven isn’t huge so making a few light pieces of cloud bread isn’t convenient or satisfying, and I can’t wait around to make them in batches as the whipped egg whites are too sensitive so they really need to go in the oven as soon as they’re prepared.

I personally find making a good old loaf of bread to be the simplest thing. This recipe was inspired by the cloud bread recipe and a chiffon cake recipe using whey protein.

I’ve replaced the cream cheese with Greek Yogurt (it’s cheaper and we buy it in bulk), and the texture works PERFECTLY as a bread (it works both savoury or sweet depending on your preference).

FAQ’s

Does the bread taste like cake?

I don’t think it’s cakey as it has no (nut) flour. It’s almost like a super light Keto version of a loaf of brioche.

It’s so good that in my books it beats almond bread, coconut bread, and flax bread. I’m a sucker for light and fluffy bread!

How do you eat it?

Like bread!

Slice, smother in butter/ghee/garlic olive oil, pan fry, (I’ll be honest, I haven’t tried toasting it because it’s quite light and I have a feeling it might get stuck in the toaster), use it in a sandwich, and so on.

(This morning I toasted a slice in ghee and made an open sandwich with creamy scrambled eggs – because I’m addicted to scrambled eggs at the moment – with a side of bacon and greens).

INGREDIENTS

6 eggs separated
1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
170g Greek Yogurt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
50g Whey Protein Isolate (Unflavoured for savoury bread, *Vanilla flavoured for Sweet bread)

OPTION 1 Spicy Savoury Bread: Spices: 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt of choice, 1/2 – 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Dried Chilli Flakes (or other savoury spices of choice).

*OPTION 2 Sweet Bread: 2-3 tablespoons sweetener of choice if using unflavoured whey protein OR use a vanilla flavoured whey isolate protein powder.

METHOD

1. Preperation: Pre-heat the oven to 150C and grease a loaf tin.

2. Add the cream of tartar to the egg white and whisk until stiff peaks form.

3. To the egg yolks add the remaining ingredients (greek yogurt, whey protein, baking powder, salt and spices).

4. Mix the yolk mixture well.

5. Add the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture in parts:

Add 1/3 of the white and mix to loosen the batter.
Add 2/3 and FOLD very gently. You want it to be well combined but don’t want to lose any “fluffiness”.

6. Pour it into your greased loaf tin and bake at 150C for approximately 60minutes. (You may have to adjust the temperature and time depending on your oven.)

(NOTE: If you really want buns it might work but I haven’t tried!)

Macros

1 whole loaf (= approximately 10 servings):

Calories: 835.2 kcal
Protein: 85.6g
Net carbs: 17.6g
Fat: 45.6g

1 slice:

Calories: 83.5 kcal
Protein: 8.6g
Net carbs: 1.8g
Fat: 4.6g

Death by Keto Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free|Low Carb)

I had a very shit end to last week. Anti-epileptic medication changes led to a seizure on Sunday. Epileptics know how the story goes, and now I’m just just waiting for my body (or brain) to adapt to the changes. (I might do a separate post on that later.)

Anyway, I fasted that day out of sheer exhaustion and because the medicine (Zonegran) causes me to lose my appetite. However, after a few days of resting up, I finally got my ass into gear again.

As a result I needed some major comfort food that was Keto friendly. THIS my friends is how I made damn sure that the rest of the week stayed AMAZING!

KETO CHOCOLATE CAKE!!! With EXTRA chocolate!

I’ve made a few keto chocolate cakes in the past, but I think this one hits the spot. Especially if you’ve been keto for a while and your sweet tooth isn’t what it used to be.

This is the most indulgent, because I’ve used almost twice the amount of dark chocolate of other similar recipes. Initially I set out to make a “flourless” cake, but I decided to add almond flour in the end, so although it isn’t exactly flourless. It’s still very much gluten-free.

Now, before I get the Keto police on me for this post – yes IF you eat the whole cake you’ll probably be thrown out of ketosis. BUT if you use good quality DARK chocolate (Over 75%), then a slice a day won’t hurt if you’re fat adapted and watching your macros.

And dark chocolate is high in potassium, something that a lot of us on this lifestyle struggle with! So why not treat yourself once in a while!

Ingredients

10 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature*
300g dark chocolate (75% and above. I used 3x100g bars of 90% Lindt Dark Chocolate for convenience but recommend 100% cocoa to reduce sugar and carbs.)
5 medium eggs (or 4 large): yolks separated from whites
1/3 cup almond flour (or other flour of choice OR cocoa)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Sweetener: 3 tablespoons of a powdered sweetener of choice (I used Natvia which is a blend of Erythritol and Stevia)
Optional: 2-3 drops of Liquid sweetener for additional sweetness if required
Optional: 1 teaspoon sugar-free vanilla extract or essence
Optional: 1/4 teaspoon coffee

NOTES:
*Apologies my weighing scale wasn’t behaving so I will update butter measurements in grams the next time I make this!

Method

Pre-heat & prep:
– Pre-heat your oven to 175C and prepare your cake tin of choice (grease and sprinkle some cocoa powder, or line the tin with a grease-proof baking sheet. I used a round 9 inch tin).
– Measure out 300g of DARK chocolate**

– Measure out 10 tablespoons of butter

– Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites into two bowls, ensuring the whites are in a large clean cold bowl for whipping.

Melt the chocolate & Butter until silky smooth:

– Option 1: Double Boil the chopped up chocolate and butter on the stove. (Here’s a how-to melt chocolate using a double boiler).
– Option 2: Melt the chopped up chocolate and butter in 30 second bursts in the microwave. Stirring the mixture in between until the chocolate has completely melted.
Useful Tip: Make sure your utensils are completely dry when melting chocolate to prevent the chocolate from seizing up.
Beat the egg whites:

In a cold clean bowl, beat the separated egg whites on a medium speed until they start to get foamy, then add the cream of tartar and increase the speed until they start to form stiff peaks.

Add sweetener:
Add your sweetener of choice to taste and keep beating the egg whites until the stiff peaks are able to stand by themselves. They shouldn’t move even if the bowl is turned upside down.
Add egg yolks, 1/3 cup almond flour, vanilla essence and salt to chocolate:

Once the chocolate has cooled down, whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate along with the salt. Mix in the almond flour (or other flour or additional cocoa well).
Optional: Add 1/2 tsp espresso powder into the mixture.
Fold the whipped egg whites into the chocolate:

– Whisk 1/4 of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
– Carefully fold the remaining 3/4 whipped egg whites into the chocolate with a spatula.
Useful Tip: A silicone spatula is easiest for folding egg whites.
Taste and add more sweetener if required:
I added additional stevia drops into mine.

Bake:

Keto Chocolate Cake batter pre-baking

Pour the batter into your prepared cake tin and bake for 30-35 minutes. It will only rise very slightly, and might form a thin crust.

EAT!

This cake is great warm or cold but I it gets quite hard once it has been in the fridge. Personally, my favourite way to eat it is a slice straight out of the oven, or after ten seconds in the microwave with some berries and cream.

Macros

(Based on Lindt 90% Dark Chocolate)

1 cake = 12 servings

1 serving:

Energy 280.3 kcal
Protein: 5.5g
Net Carbs: 6.3g**
Fat: 26.8g

**If you would like to reduce the carb count even further, you could:

Reduce the amount of chocolate used to 200g, but I wouldn’t go lower than that as it would seriously compromise the chocolateyness and it taste too ‘eggy’.
Use a chocolate with a lower carb count e.g. 100% cocoa (I recommend Montezuma’s Black 100% Cocoa which I used for these chocolate covered nuts), and increasing the amount of sweetener used.

‘Cheese’ & Onion Bittergourd and Kale Crisps (Gluten-Free|Vegan|Low-Carb)

I love kale but bittergourd / bittermelon / bittersquash / Balsam-pear / Karela / Goya – call it what you will, my reaction to it would have been the same until very recently. EURGH!!! It’s just so erm, intensely bitter? HOW could anyone with normal tastebuds enjoy it?

This is a recipe to start initiating yourself into the world of bittergourd! It’s actually yummy and moreish.

I don’t know how else to start this post but to say that until I started preparing bittergourd this way, it has been nearly (but not quite at) the top of my hate list of vegetables (or is it a fruit?) . Either way it’s something that until very recently my tastebuds detested.

Being Bengali this is shameful as it’s a staple vegetable in many dishes including my boyfriends beloved “Shukto” or Bengali style mixed vegetable. Bengali’s love exciting the tastebuds, and this mighty vegetable definitely does. I unfortunately cannot make a “Shukto” yet (but I shall soon!).

Amongst other nutritious elements, bittergourd is a high potassium vegetable, which is something that on the keto diet, I’ve been struggling with and have been searching for ways to incorporate it into my every day diet. If it wasn’t already obvious enough, I’m a bittergourd hater, but this simple recipe my friends, I simply cannot get enough of!

Although it’s commonly seen in Asian households, it’s highly underrated in the western world but it’s increasingly available in supermarkets (and readily available in the Asian / Indian markets).

Bittergourd: Reasons why I can’t get enough of it now

I’m older and wiser! I know that it’s good for me. Like kale, bittergourd is a nutritious powerhouse.
The green colour! And how it changes into a brighter green when you season raw bittergourd with salt. It’s magic :-).
It looks weird and dangerous, like a massive green club.
It can be delicious and moorish, when done right (like this recipe)!
These crisps keep well for a few days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

I’m not listing any quantities for the dressing below because I believe it’s entirely up to your tastebuds and personal preferences as to how flavoursome you’d like your crisps to be! Quantities for the vegetables are also up to you, the 1-2 cups are just a guideline.

1-2 cups sliced bittergourd: Washed, dried and sliced thin.
1-2 cups Kale: Washed, dried and torn into larger than bite-sized pieces (they will shrink when baked).
Olive oil (or any other oil of choice). I personally like to use a garlic olive oil.
Nutritional Yeast (This is where the ‘cheese-ey’ flavour comes from. There isn’t any actual cheese in this recipe.)
Onion Powder.
Himalayan Salt / Sea Salt.
Cayenne Pepper.
Turmeric: Optional

Method

Bittergourd chips:

Heat the oil in a suitable pan. You will you need enough oil to fry the bittergourd until they’re crispy.
Slice the bittergourd into thin round slices and wash thoroughly.
Sprinkle salt onto the bittergourd and massage into it well. Leave for 10 minutes.
Shallow fry the bittergourd in the oil until they’re darker and crispy but watch closely to make sure they don’t burn. The seeds should be crispy. (You could also try baking them, but we haven’t attempted this before).
Once fried, dress the bittergourd with nutritional yeast, onion powder, himalayan salt and cayenne pepper according to your macros and taste.Tip: The bittergourd crisps keeps well in the fridge for a few days so you can make a large batch of this and snack on it (if it lasts)! It’s good cold, room temperature, or can be reheated in the oven or dry-toasted in a pan on the stove top.

Kale chips:

Wash and dry the kale well.
Pre-heat an oven to 150-160C (it depends on your oven but I find that a lower temperature works better).
Massage the kale with olive oil, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt and cayenne pepper according to your macros and taste. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Bake your kale chips in the oven for about 12-15 mins, and then give them a toss, then bake them again for another 10-12 mins (or until crispy but not burnt).

I don’t think kale crisps keep as well as bittergourd crisps, so eat the same day if possible.

Eat separately or mix BOTH the bittergourd and kale crisps up for the best of both worlds and enjoy getting your greens and nutrition in!

Crumbly Coconut Granola (Low Carb | Keto | Gluten Free)

Mornings are not an epileptic’s friend!

It’s when many of us are vulnerable to seizures. Mine normally occur when I’m incredibly tired and sleepy, so first thing in the morning is primetime for the seizure gremlins to attack.

It’s therefore vital that my mornings are peaceful and stress-free. Most people don’t like being disturbed in the AM, but I should probably come with a DND warning sign before 8 am and a matcha latte.

I’ve really missed grabbing a quick cereal, yogurt and fruit-to-go

It does seem like Keto breakfasts are ‘mostly’ soft and/or warm and generally take a lot of time and effort to prepare. There seems to be a lot of ‘cooking’ involved to get those macros in. Precious time which most people don’t have.

This Low-Carb Crumbly Coconut Granola recipe came about on my quest for a cold, crunchy ‘Keto Cereal’! I just couldn’t deal with the cravings anymore, and there was nothing in the shops that catered to my needs.

Granola in the shops tend to have sugar or honey, or gluten. This is a homemade solution to my dilemma, bearing in mind that I also needed a high fat intake in addition to low-carb – hence the coconut oil.

Granted, it kind of looks like sand, but it TASTES like a Keto breakfast from heaven! Especially if you’ve been eating bacon and eggs everyday!

A great meal-prep recipe for the working week

It might take some time the first time round, but once you get the hang of making granola, and if you have the ingredients lying around, it shouldn’t take too long the next few times.

The best thing about making any type of granola is you could make a large batch and keep it in an air-tight container for a few weeks (if it lasts that long! I’d give it a few days).

Other benefits of this Granola

The texture of this granola also means that it’s great as a crumbly topping on other desserts (I had it on top of my panna cotta yesterday!).
An average portion (5 tbsp) has just 3.1g net carbs and 27.5g fat.
An average serving also has 114.3 mg Magnesium and 299.7 mg Potassium – two minerals that Keto-ers often find challenging incorporating into our lifestyle.

So without further ado, here we go:

Ingredients

Makes 45 tablespoons (average serving = 5 tablespoon)

You will need:

Flax Meal: 1 cup
Coconut Flour: 0.5 cup
Almond Flour: 0.5 cup
Coconut Oil: 0.5 cup
Vanilla stevia liquid: 3-5 drops (OR other sweetener of choice and vanilla essence or vanilla bean powder).
Pumpkin seeds: 0.25 cup
Sunflower seeds: 0.25 cup
Dried coconut flakes/chips: 0.25 cup
Walnuts: 8
Cinnamon powder: 0.5 tsp (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160C (320F) and prepare a baking tray by lining it with parchment paper for your granola.
In a large mixing bowl, add the flax meal, coconut flour and almond flour.

3. Measure out 0.5 cup of Coconut oil.

4. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave or over a low heat.

5. Add the melted coconut oil into the flax-coconut-almond mixture.

6. Add Vanilla stevia drops to taste (approximately 3-5 drops). Alternatively, add vanilla essence or powder and sweetener or choice.

7. Stir the mixture well until it starts the come to together – it should start to look like slightly damp sand.

8. Measure out nuts and seeds of choice. I used pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chopped walnuts and dried coconut.

9 (optional). Add cinnamon.

10. Mix the nuts, seeds and cinnamon into the granola mixture well.

11. Grab the baking tray you prepared in the beginning. Add a tiny bit of coconut oil to it (you can never be too careful!) and pour the granola mixture onto the parchment paper, spreading it out and flattening it down.

12. Bake in the oven at 160C (320F) for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture has toasted and is golden-brown in colour. Take it out of the oven every 5-10 minutes to give it a good stir. (Note: You could increase the temperature up to 176C / 350F but keep a close eye on the granola mixture as it is finer than usual, so I like to keep the temperature lower and just increase it at the end for a final toast!).

13. Remove from the oven, cool and store in an air-tight container!

Granola. Yogurt. Berries – Enough said!

Macros:

1 serving = 1 tablespoon

Energy: 61.03 kcal
Protein: 1.34 g
Total Carbs: 2.1g
Fiber: 1.48g
Net Carbs: 0.62 g
Fat: 5.5 g
Magnesium: 22.86mg
Potassium: 59.94mg
Selenium: 1.81ug
Zinc: 0.32mg

An average portion = 5 tablespoon

Energy: 305.15 kcal
Protein: 6.7g
Total Carbs: 10.5g
Fiber: 7.4g
Net Carbs: 3.1 g
Fat: 27.5 g
Magnesium: 114.3 mg
Potassium: 299.7mg
Selenium: 9.05ug

Zinc: 1.6mg

MatchaMonday – Keto Bullet Matcha Milk / Latte!

This recipe came about as I was looking for an alternative to the Bulletproof Coffee and my version of the Bulletproof Chai Latte. I’m sensitive to caffeine and should avoid (high doses of) it, but I needed something which had a bit more of a kick to start the day, without the jitteriness from coffee.

Tea, caffeine & epilepsy

Before I start, note that caffeine and epilepsy aren’t exactly the best of friends, and all teas do contain some amount of caffeine so epileptics do need to drink it with caution.

However, tea is my weakness and I’m from a part of India where we love our tea but I try and limit myself to 1-2 cups a day.

Depending on the serving, a serving of Matcha contains approximately 35mg caffeine. This normally isn’t enough to make you feel “wired” like coffee does. Bearing in mind that an average cup of filter coffee has 145mg of caffeine, and a cup of instant coffee can have up to 170mg per cup.

The caffeine in Matcha is also absorbed differently due to ‘catechins’ which are antioxidants and known to have many beneficial health properties. Caffeine molecules in Matcha bind to catechins and are absorbed slowly over time. Whereas caffeine molecules in coffee go straight to the bloodstream leading to a high followed by a crash within a few hours. With Matcha however, the caffeine is absorbed over the course of up to six hours.

This is a literature review of the beneficial effects of green tea – many of which are related to catechins, particularly epigallocatechin-3-gallat content. Recently it has been suggested that Matcha has greater benefits than other green teas as indicated in this study. This is due to the concentration of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) available from drinking matcha which is seen to be 137 times greater than the amount of EGCG available from China Green Tips green tea, and at least 3 times higher than the largest literature value for other green teas.

So overall, I think the nutritional health benefits are worth it!