Low Carb New York Style Cheesecake

Cheesecake makes a wonderful low-carb dessert. You can top it with some low-carb berries, you can make it with or without crust and it's loaded with fat, some protein, and just a few carbs.

I've developed a cheesecake recipe that I and my family love. I'm not a big advocate of eating tons of sweetener, artificial or otherwise, so I go pretty light on it in this recipe. Also, I do mine without crust because it's just easier that way. At times, I've made it with an almond flour/meal crust, which I've enjoyed, but I can go either way.

Equipment you'll need:

• 10" springform or cake pan - I use a cake pan because my springform pan is so leaky
  
• Electric mixer - makes life easier, but not required
  
• Microwave safe bowl
• Mixing bowl
• Food processor (optional)
• Large rectangular cake pan or the bottom part of a broiler pan
  

Ingredients:

• 32 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup ricotta chese
  
• 5 egg yolks (or 3 yolks, 2 eggs) - all depends how much/little protein you want in your cake
  
• 1 cup Splenda
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• cooking spray
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease your pan with cooking spray.
3. Put an inch or two of water in a pan deep enough to put your springform or cake pan in and place in the oven.
   
4. Process the ricotta cheese in the food processor for about a minute to smooth it out.
5. Unwrap the cream cheese and place it in the microwave safe bowl.
6. Heat the cream cheese in the microwave for between 30 seconds and 2 minutes rotating the bowl every 30 seconds. The cream cheese should get soft and a little melty, but shouldn't start to cook.
7. Combine all the ingredients except the cream cheese and Splenda and mix until thoroughly blended.
8. Combine the Splenda and cream cheese and blend until smooth.
9. Combine both mixtures and mix just until blended.
10. Pour the combined mixture into you're greased pan and place the pan in the water bath in the oven.
11. Bake for one hour.
12. Turn off the oven.
13. Leave cake in the oven for another half hour.
14. Remove the cake from the oven and place in the refrigerator. The cake should be ready to eat in about three hours.
15. Enjoy!

Just thinking about making this cheesecake makes me want to make one tonight. Maybe I'll whip one up tomorrow. Everyone in my house loves this and it's very amply, but mildly sweet. I think I might experiment with reducing the sweetener a little bit more.

Whether you're just trying to cut out some of the carbs in your diet, or you're going really low-carb, I hope you enjoy this cheesecake.

No matter what you're doing, let me offer a word of caution. Desserts are important for some, but sweets can be addicting for some. Indulge in dessert only as much as you need to to keep on track. Low-carb isn't a license to chronically overeat. It's about learning how to nourish your body and mind so you can be healthier.

I didn't mean to put a downer on a delicious recipe, but I know that sweets can be a slippery slope for some. I know they are for me. I tread very cautiously when eating sweets.

Hopefully I'll have another recipe or two to post soon. I've made some good stuff lately.

Later Alligator.

Cauliflower "Rice" - Plain

One of the things to do when you adopt a healthy low-carb lifestyle is to make sure that you can still eat some of your old favorites without sacrificing your health and to try to find some healthy substitutes for food that may otherwise thwart your attempts to lose weight and be healthy.

You may not have loved cauliflower before you started low-carb, I didn't, but trust me when I tell you that you will learn that it is a wonderful substitute for all kinds of things from rice to rice pilaf to mashed potatoes, you can even use it to make pizza.

This is hardly a recipe, it's really just some directions for how to turn a head of cauliflower or a bag of frozen cauliflower into a substitute for a bowl of plain white rice. Once you've got your rice, you can top it with whatever you want.

Whether you've got frozen cauliflower florets or fresh cauliflower you should get equally good results. As you experiment, see if you have a preference. Frozen tends to be cheaper and, of course, has a longer shelf life. The quality of fresh seems to be better sometimes, so I get that when it's a good deal.

Enough with the chit chat, it's time for some directions.

Fresh Cauliflower:

1. Cut off the stalk and the green stuff that's attached.
2. Cut the head of cauliflower into 1.5" chunks. Don't worry about being exact, I'm just trying to give you some idea of how to cut it. If you've seen the size of frozen florets, that's about what you're looking for.
3. Rinse the chunks of cauliflower with cold water.
4. Put a steamer basket in a pan of water. The water should come up just to the bottom of the steamer basket.
5. Put the cauliflower chunks in the steamer basket and put the pot over high heat, covered.
6. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower begins to separate easily when a fork is inserted. When making cauliflower rice, it's better to under-cook than over-cook.
7. Turn off the burner and remove the the pot from the heat.
   
8. Drain the cauliflower and put it back in the pot.
   
9. Put the pot back on the burner (but the burner better be off).
10. Mash the cauliflower with a potato masher until it resembles the consistency of rice. Don't over-mash.

Frozen Cauliflower Florets:

1. Put a steamer basket in a pan of water. The water should come up just to the bottom of the steamer basket.
2. Heat the water boiling.
   
3. Put the cauliflower florets in the steamer basket and cover.
4. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower begins to separate easily when a fork is inserted. When making cauliflower rice, it's better to under-cook than over-cook.
5. Turn off the burner and remove the the pot from the heat.
   
6. Drain the cauliflower and put it back in the pot.
   
7. Put the pot back on the burner (but the burner better be off).
8. Mash the cauliflower with a potato masher until it resembles the consistency of rice. Don't over-mash.

So there's your basic cauliflower rice recipe.

I'll post some other cauliflower recipes at some point, but this will be enough to get you started.

My next recipe will use this, so I wanted to put it up first.

Cheers,
Alex

PS. Don't fear the fat! (but you won't find any in this recipe, so you'll need to add some)

Spicy dry hot wings

This one's a simple recipe, but I absolutely love these and when I brought them to my company holiday party last year, they were a big hit!

The secret to making these great is long cooking time, plenty of seasoning, and turning the wings halfway through cooking.

I like to buy chicken wings when they get marked down at the store, but every once in a while I splurge and pick up a pack at full price. It's still cheaper than going out for wings!

First I make a double batch of the Delicious spicy spice rub recipe.

Next I start with a big tray of chicken wings from the supermarket. I think it's around 3 to 4 pounds of chicken wings. If you buy whole wings, as I do, trim off the little inedible part of the wing first, then cut through the joint between the drumstick and the wing piece, if you want.

Lay out the wings on a broiler pan or some other pan where the juices and fat can drain off.

Sprinkle the wings generously with the spicy spice rub and bake at 400 F for about 30 minutes.

Remove the wings from the oven, turn each wing over and sprinkle the unseasoned side with the spicy spice rub.

Return to the oven and bake for at least another 30 minutes, more if you like the skin really crispy. I usually bake for another 45 minutes to an hour after returning them to the oven because I love the skin really crispy.

Serve them with some ranch or blue cheese dressing, or do like I do and just eat 'em plain.

Have you tried this recipe? What did you think?

Cheers,
Alex

PS. Don't fear the fat!

Delicious spicy spice rub recipe

I have a delicious spice rub that I use for steak, wings, pork ribs, pulled pork, and any other meat you can think of. I bet it would be awesome on salmon as well. It's pretty spicy, but you can tone it down with less cayenne pepper if you like.

Can't you just buy a good spice rub? Sure you can, but it'll cost you and you need to watch out for sugar in all its form in store bought rubs. Save yourself some dough and some searching and give this one a try. It's an Alex original.

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

Combine all spices in an empty spice container, cover tightly, and shake vigorously to combine.

Like I said, this has some kick to it, so if you're a little timid when it comes to spicy, you might want to lighten up on the cayenne pepper. If you're interested in mixing things up a little, you can substitute ground chipotle pepper for the cayenne pepper.

Let me know what you think of this recipe and how you used it.

Cheers,
Alex

PS. Don't fear the fat! (Not that there's any in this recipe, but don't fear the fat from whatever you smother with it)

Meatballs with Marinara Sauce

The meatball recipe was adapted from one a friend of mine gave me and the marinara sauce is adapted from a couple of different recipes I've come across over the years. This recipe is full of healthy protein, good for you fats from the flax and the meat, and vitamins from the tomatoes and meat.

Ingredients:

Meatball ingredients

• 3-4 lbs of ground beef anywhere from 75-85% lean is fine (don't fear the fat)
• 1/2 large yellow onion chopped
  
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons minced/chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 tablespoon basil

Marinara ingredients

• 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (no sugar added)
• 2 - 6 oz cans of tomato paste (no sugar added)
• 8 oz can tomato sauce (no sugar added)
  
• 2 tablespoons minced/chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil (at least)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 packet sucralose (or 1/2 teaspoon of granular sucralose) (Splenda)
  
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicier)

Directions:

Meatballs

1. Combine the onions, garlic, egg from the meatball ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until the mixture is fairly smooth.
2. In a large bowl, combine ground flax seed, meatball spices, onion/egg mixture, and ground beef. Mix by hand until the spices, flax, and spices are mixed throughout the beef.
3. I make about 50 meatballs out of this each a little more than an inch in diameter. I think they are about 1/8 cup per meatball, but I don't worry too much about it.
   
4. Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes then turn the meatballs so that they cook evenly and cook another 25 minutes. While the meatballs bake, make your sauce.
   
5. Add the meatballs to the pot of sauce and cook on low for 30 minutes. Meatballs should reach an internal temperature of 165 F before you eat them.

Marinara

1. Heat olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat briefly.
2. With the saucepan over medium eat, add onion and garlic from the marinara ingredients.
3. Once the onion begins to soften, add the two cans of tomato paste and stir to combine with oil, onion, and garlic.
4. Add can of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine.
5. Add marinara spices and sucralose. Stir to combine.
6. Reduce heat to low-medium heat and cover.
7. Once the meatballs are done baking, add them to the saucepan and cook for about 30 more minutes. (same instructions as the end of the meatball directions)
   

Notes:

1. Canned tomato products are easy to find without added sugar. Avoid cans that say that they have basil and other things added to them. I usually buy the store brand, it's cheapest and it usually doesn't have added sugar.
2. As long as you keep the sauce on low, you can simmer the meatballs as long as you'd like and the flavor of the sauce and the meatballs will just get better.
3. You can find ground flax seed in the natural foods section of your local grocer or health food store. If you can't find it just ask. I purchase Spectrum brand at Hannaford. Flax is a good source of Omega 3 fatty acid and fiber. In this recipe it takes the place of breadcrumbs for a little filler, but you won't even notice it.
4. Feel free to experiment and if you come up with some other ideas for how to improve this recipe, or you have some questions, feel free to post a comment or drop me an email lowcarbnewengland@gmail.com.
5. My family loves these rolled up in low-carb wraps with provolone cheese. The low-carb wraps I like are Mission whole wheat tortillas found in the refrigerated section of your grocer. I find them at Hannaford and Shaw's supermarkets. La Tortilla makes a decent low-carb tortilla and so does Joseph's. They're also great without the wraps and covered with melted cheese.
   

Cheers,
Alex

PS. Don't fear the fat!

Low-Carb Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

This recipe is one that I adapted from a mediocre low-carb brownie recipe and a really good low-carb muffin recipe. These cupcakes are so good that they don't need any frosting, but for the occasional extra-special treat our family loves these with a scoop of chocolate low-carb ice cream, Carb Smart and Edy's No Sugar Added are decent choices, but don't overdo it.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 4 large eggs
• 4 ounces baking chocolate (unsweetened)
  
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sucralose (Splenda)
• 1/2 cups erythritol
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1 1/4 baking powder
• 1 1/4 baking soda

Directions:

1. Put the butter and chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute.
2. Remove and stir.
3. Continue to heat until chocolate is completely melted, stir every thirty seconds.
4. Add sucralose and erythritol to the chocolate and stir to combine.
5. Add cream, eggs, and pumpkin to the chocolate mixture and stir until blended.
6. In a separate bowl, combine almond flour, baking powder, baking soda. Stir until blended.
7. Combine the chocolate mixture and the almond flour mixture and stir until completely blended.
8. Spray a 12-cup muffin with cooking spray.
9. Coat muffin cups with almond flour.
10. Fill all the muffin cups evenly.
11. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Notes:

1. You can substitute some or all of the sucralose for erythritol, but I wouldn't subsitute any of the sucralose with erythritol.
2. Look for erythritol in th natural foods section of your grocery store or look for it at a natural foods store near you. For you locals, Shaw's in Dover, NH has it in the Natural Foods section and The Herbal Path Natural Pharmacy in Dover, has it as well.
3. Good almond flour is a bit harder to find. Bob's Red Mill makes some, but I find it too coarse. Making your own is easy, I'll post that recipe as well, or you can buy it at Trader Joe's. I find the brand they sell to be as good as the stuff I make a home with no waste. For you locals, there's I think the closest Trader Joe's is in Peabody, MA.
4. If you don't want to use almond flour to coat your pan, I recommend, in order, coconut flour, soy flour, whole grain pastry flour, white flour. If you use some kind of wheat flour, be aware that you'll add a few carbs and the recipe will no longer be gluten-free.
   

Cheers,
Alex


PS. Don't fear the fat!

UPDATE 10/29/2008: I have decided that the only way to go with this recipe is to increase the chocolate to 6 ounces of baking chocolate, increase the cream to 1/3 cup, and increase the sucralose to 2 cups. I experimented with this enhancement to the recipe and my wife liked it a lot. She liked them so much that the next time we had a batch, she said "oh...you didn't add the extra chocolate this time...?" I realized she was right and promised to make only the super chocolatey recipe from now on.