Pumpkin Spice Muffins, Low Carb, Gluten Free

These Pumpkin Muffins are Low Carb and Gluten Free.  I am so excited by the way they turned out.  They are moist and delicious.  The secret is psyllium husks!

After losing 40 lbs on Medifast, I have migrated to a Low Carb Diet in the last month. I am committed to this life style change and to making yummy recipes to keep me on track.

These two books have been a big influence on my change to low carb.  Please read them.  They will change your life and the lives of your family and friends.
Grain Brain by David Perlmutter
Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism by Maria Emmerich

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Preheat oven to 350  Makes 12 muffins.
1/3 Cup Plus 2 TBL. Coconut Flour
1/4 Cup Whey Protein Powder or Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
5 TBL. Softened Butter
3 TBL. Powdered Organic Psyllium Husk (do not substitute, this gives the muffin a chewy texture) You can grind the husk yourself if you can't find the powdered kind.
2/3 Cup Ricotta Cheese (full fat)
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup of Coconut Milk or Almond Milk
1/3 Cup of Heavy Cream
1 Cup of Swerve Sweetener
1 Cup of Canned Pumpkin (drain on a paper towel before measuring)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. of salt
1 TBL. Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Cup of Walnut Oil (or melted coconut oil or macadamia nut oil)

Using a mixer, cream Butter and Swerve together, add eggs, ricotta cheese, coconut milk, cream, vanilla and pumpkin, mix well.

In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients, coconut flour, whey protein powder, psyllium husk, baking powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice.

Add dry ingredients to wet keeping the mixer on med. Mix well.  Add Walnut oil a little at a time.  Mix till the walnut oil is incorporated. Batter will be thick.

Divide evenly into 12 muffin cups (they will be full)  Bake at 350 for approx. 30 to 40 minutes.  Top will be slightly springy and slightly brown.  Let cool and enjoy! 
For an extra treat top with Cream cheese frosting below.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8oz Block of Cream Cheese
2 TBL Swerve
1 tsp Vanilla

Beat softened cream cheese till smooth add Swerve and vanilla and beat till incorporated.

Low Carb Cheesecake

 

 

One of my favorite desserts, Cheesecake is pretty easy to make as a low carb treat.  I took my favorite Cheesecake recipe and replaced the crust and the sugar and the result turned out to be wonderful.  Smooth, creamy and tastes so great!

 

Here is a picture of my masterpiece.

 

Here is the recipe

 

Preheat oven to 350

 

Crust:

2 Cups Pecans (chopped fine)

1/3 Cup Melted Butter

1/4 Cup Swerve or any sweetener that can be baked and measures like sugar.

1/4 tsp. Salt

 

Mix Pecans, butter, swerve and salt till well combined.  Press mixture into the bottom of a Spring-form pan.

 

Filling:

3 8oz packages of Cream Cheese  - Softened - (I prefer Philadelphia brand but you can use anything you wish)

1 Cup Swerve Sweetener or any sweetener that can be baked and measures like sugar.

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 Tb. Vanilla

4 Eggs

 

Mix Cream Cheese, Salt and Vanilla till smooth.  (a mixer works best for this) Add Swerve and then add eggs one at a time.  Beat till smooth, 3 minutes. Pour mixture into pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until center only jiggles slightly when moved.  Remove from oven and let stand 10 min. Make the Sour Cream Topping (below) while your cheesecake is standing. 

 

Turn up oven to 400 and  spoon Sour Cream topping onto top of the cheesecake.  Bake for 5 minutes at 400 and remove from oven.  Let cool and refrigerate overnight.

 

Sour Cream Topping:

2 Cups Sour Cream

2 Tb. Swerve Sweetener or any sweetener that can be baked and measures like sugar.

1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix sour cream with sweetener and vanilla. 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Low Carb Chile Rellano Casserole

Down 38 Pounds!   I have blended my Medifast diet with a low carb diet with good success.  I am still eating 5 Medifast meals a day, but for my daily meal I eat what ever I want as long as it is low in carbs.  I recently decided to make my favorite Chile Rellano but tweaked it to make it low carb.  Here is the recipe.

Preheat oven to 400

Ingredients:
1 Large Can of Whole Ortega Chiles
2 Small 5oz. Cans of Tomato Sauce
2 Lbs. Shredded Jack Cheese
2 Lbs. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
4 Eggs
10 oz. Heavy Cream
1 Tablespoon of Flour
Cayenne Pepper or diced canned Jalapenos (optional to add heat)

Open Ortega chilies and rinse and lay flat on a paper towel
Grease a 9" x 13" pan
Place a layer of chilies on the bottom of the pan. Top with 1/2 of the Cheddar Cheese
Place another layer of chilies and top with the remaining Cheddar Cheese. Sprinkle Cayenne Pepper or diced Jalapenos over the top to get desired heat.

In a blender add Heavy Cream, 4 Eggs and Flour.  Blend till well mixed.  Pour over the chilies and cheese.  Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and add all the jack cheese.  Pour tomato sauce over the cheese. Bank an additional 15 minutes till cheese is bubbly.  Remove from oven and let sit about 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

Enjoy

Review of the Medifast Triple Berry Smoothie

Medifast has two new products out.  Medifast Triple Berry Smoothie and Medifast Pineapple Mango Smoothie.  I am so excited!  Summer is here and I am happy to see these new smoothies! They are made with whey protein, which I find superior to the soy protein that is used in most of the Medifast products. I have a Thyroid autoimmune disease so I try to limit my soy.

I received my Triple Berry Smoothie meals today and was so very excited to try one. I opened the packet and looked.  I see little pieces of fruit, and the smell is nice.   I followed the recipe on the package, adding 3/4 cup of cold water, the smoothie mix and ice to my little blender.  I blended for approximately 1 minute  and took the first sip.  Yum! It was delicious!  It has a nice fruity, creamy taste, with a little tartness from the berries.  The perfect summer treat! I highly recommend this new smoothie!  I will post a review of the Medifast Pineapple Mango Smoothie tomorrow.

Medifast and Low Carb

Down a total of 31.5 pounds.

After doing some research and experimentation I have found that if I eat a low carb, no sugar diet, I still lose a lot of weight.  I'm still eating the Medifast food, but for my "lean green" meal or if I want to take a day off, I can eat anything that is low carb, no sugar and still lose weight.  I also have a low carb, no sugar snack every once in a while.
Today is Sunday and I decided to eat a nice low carb breakfast.  Here is what I ate.

Two eggs with a little cheese, 4 slices of center cut bacon and 1 low carb sugar free coconut raspberry muffin.  You can find the muffin recipe here Coconut Raspberry Muffin .  I love this muffin, it's made with almond flour and swerve, no gluten or sugar and is low in carbs.  It is great for snack time.

I have been on many types of diets over the years.  Low fat was my favorite for many years, and while I can lose weight on a low fat diet, it is a very slow, 1-2 pounds a month, kind of weight loss. I was always hungry and tired.

There is a lot of new research coming out about sugar and its effect on your body.  After reading a lot of the anti-sugar information I am totally committed to removing most sugar from my diet.  That includes sugar in the form of carbs that come from bread, fruit, pasta etc.

With the low carb/no sugar diet I find that I consistently lose 2-3 pounds a week and I am losing weight from my waist much faster.  I love Swerve to replace sugar in my diet.  It has a good taste, is natural, and can be used for baking. The company also makes a powdered sugar form that is great for icing, frosting etc.

The Coconut Raspberry Muffin recipe above came from a blog that I found that is wonderful!  It has lots of low carb, low sugar recipes.  Here is a link All Day I Dream About Food.  I think I could be happy using just the recipes from this one blog for the rest of my days!

The Weight Really Does Fall Off With Medifast

Total Weight Loss 24.5 pounds!

So I actually looked carefully at the scale today and discovered that I had lost another 10 pounds and not just the 5 that I originally thought.  I have a slight case of near-sightedness and realized that my scale is in 20 pound increments not 10 duh!  But also, Yay! 
I had been mystified at the baggy clothes hanging on my body but not sure as to how they could be baggy at just a small 5 pound loss.  So now I'm feeling really dumb!

I have discovered that I can still lose weight and eat a few extras on this diet.  As long as anything extra that I eat is very low carb or no carb.  I don't go crazy, but it really helps to be able to eat a few more things at meal time. By "things" I mean.  A slice or two of bacon with my eggs.  Or a slice of cheese on my burger (no bun on the burger). 

I bought two new flavors to mix with my Medifast Shakes,  Monin - Sugar Free Strawberry and Pomegranate.  This afternoon I tried the Strawberry mixed with the Mango Soft Serve, turned into a shake with some extra ice and water. Why soft serve?  because I have Hashimotos Thyroid Disease and am supposed to limit my soy intake.  The soft serve is made with Whey protein instead of soy.
It was pretty good!  Here is the recipe.

Medifast Mango Strawberry Soft Serve Shake

8oz Water
2 Tablespoons Monin Sugar Free Strawberry Syrup
1 Pkge Medifast Mango Soft Serve
1/2 C Ice

Blend in a small 16 - 20oz blender till smooth.

Medifast Friendly Meatloaf Recipe

Total Weight Loss 14.5 pounds.

Yum Meatloaf!  I wanted to make meatloaf for dinner a few nights ago, but I needed to make a recipe that my Husband would also be willing to eat.  He is not on the Medifast diet with me.  I usually make my meatloaf with saltine crackers, but crackers are not on my approved list of Medifast foods.
I pondered different binding ingredients.  I did some web surfing but didn't see any recipes that sounded good to me.  I kept seeing cauliflower used in making dough and rolls.
Then suddenly it came to me.  Cauliflower!  I subbed cauliflower for the saltine crackers in my recipe and Yay! Great tasting, moist meatloaf!  I am guessing that the serving size would be 5oz after cooking, and you are using up some of your condiments and vegetable servings. My husband said he couldn't tell the difference between the regular recipe and this one.

Medifast Friendly Meatloaf

1 Lb. Ground beef , I used 90% lean
1 C. Riced/Ground Cauliflower (I pulsed my cauliflower in the food processor till was finely ground)  Measure out the cauliflower after you ground it.
1 Egg - Beaten or use Egg Beaters
1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 TBL. Parmesan Cheese
1 TBL. Worcestershire Sauce
1 TBL. Onion (chopped)
3 TBL. Low Sugar or Sugar Free Catsup

Mix all ingredients till just incorporated.  Bake in a loaf pan at 375 degrees for 60 minutes.

Medifast Root Beer Float

As of Monday 5/10/13 I am down a total of 13.5 pounds.  Pretty good for 3 weeks! 

Today I tried making a Medifast Root Beer Float.  It was so good.  The best recipe yet.

Medifast Root Beer Float

1 Pkg. Medifast Vanilla Pudding
1 Cup Diet Root Beer (I used Hansens)
1/2 to 3/4 cups of Crushed Ice.

Put all ingredients into a 16oz blender.  Blend well. 

Medifast and Soy and Quest Bars

Most of the Medifast products contain soy protein as opposed to whey protein.  Whey protein is supposed to be much better for you and for people like myself who have Thyroid problems, soy is a no no.  So in an effort to stay on the Medifast and limit my soy intake, I have ordered most of the Medifast products that contain no soy.

 Of course with the exception of the Tomato Soups and the Mac and Cheese, I didn't have much to choose from in the way of actual things that you can chew, so I decided to look for an alternative to the Medifast bars.  I finally found a bar that has no soy and is comparable in protein, carbs, fat and calories.  Its called the Quest bar.  There are a lot of flavors, I ordered a sample box so I could decide which ones I like best.  So far I like them all.  If I cut the bar in half the protein, calories, fat and carbs come close to the Medifast bar.  They are dense and filling so cutting them in half is no problem. 

I plan to continue eating the Medifast products that are soy free along with the Quest bars.

Here is a list of the soy free Medifast products: http://www.medifastmedia.com/shared/docs/allergen_dietary_information.pdf

Medifast Peanut Butter Chocolate Shake

Life is easier on the other side of day 10.  My cravings are less, my stomach isn't making so much noise.  I feel thinner, haven't weighed myself in the last few days, but my clothes are getting a little baggy! 

I got some Medifast Peanut Butter Soft Serve.  I don't really like the taste by itself.  Here is the way I like to make it.

Medifast Peanut Butter, Chocolate Shake

1 pkge. Medifast Peanut Butter Soft Serve (this is soy free)
1 tsp Unsweetened Coco Powder
8 oz Water
1/2 Cup of Crushed Ice.

Put all ingredients into a small blender.  Blend about 30 seconds or until ice is well incorporated.

I made these Yesterday.  They take a long time to bake but they were pretty good, nice and crunchy!  Be careful how much salt you use, they shrink up a lot and can get really salty!

 

Crispy Zucchini Chips

ChrisTomMeg from the Medifast Forums

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups before cooked - confirmed by Nutrition Support (3 Greens)

1 teaspoon olive oil (1 Healthy Fat)

1/8 tsp sea salt (1/4 Condiment)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a large baking sheet or two small baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Place zucchini slices in a single layer on parchment paper. Bake for 3 1/2 to 4 hours until desired crispness, turning zucchini slices occasionally.

Servings: 1 1/2 cups or 3 greens, 1 healthy fat and 1/4 Condiment

Medifast Cookies

I'm feeling much better today.  I think its because I cut down on the Medifast products with soy.  I really like the Chocolate Soft Serve, so I eat that a couple of times a day as a shake.  I also managed to eat the Mac and Cheese last night (its soy free too) although I really don't like the taste of the mac and cheese.

I accidently ordered so Chocolate Mint soft serve.  So disappointed!  I don't like it at all.  Lucky for me they agreed to exchange it for regular Chocolate. 

I tried the Dark Chocolate Antioxidant, its kind of bitter.  I added so Splenda and instant coffee, that helps a little.  Not sure if I'll order this one again.

I found this recipe for Medifast Chocolate Crunch Cookies and made them last night.  They were really good.  Finally!  Something to use the brownie mix on.  I made a regular Medifast brownie a few night ago and had to throw it away, yuck!

Chocolate Crunch Cookies
Recipe By: Katie Mueller

Ingredients:

1 Brownie Mix (1 Meal)

1 Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch Bar (1 Meal)

3 tbsp water

Directions:

Combine brownie mix with 3 tbsp water and set aside. Place the crunch bar in the microwave for 20 seconds on high until it is slightly melted. Add the crunch bar into the brownie mixture until blended. Place the mixture into two separate ramekins or on a plate sprayed with cooking spray. Microwave for 2 minutes.

2 Meals

 

 

Medifast Day 8

I think I might be having a bad reaction to eating so much soy.  I have been getting really sick to my stomach several times during the day after eating my Medifast meal.  Almost all of the meals are made with soy protein, but I have found a few that aren't.  This morning I am having the coffee soft serve .  It contains whey protein which I have heard is better for you than soy. All of the soft serves contain whey protein.  I will definitely be putting in an order for more.

Instead of making into a soft serve I made it into a shake.  Its delish!  Here is the recipe.

1 Medifast Coffee Soft Serve
3/4 Cup of Water
1 Pkg. of Starbucks Via Instant Coffee or 1 tsp of any instant coffee
1/2 Cup of Crushed Ice

Blend well in a small blender.  Yum! 

I also found some more information on cooking the Medifast meals. One person suggested mixing the meal with water at least 3 hours or preferably the night before you want to eat it, then store it in the frig.  It gives the dehydrated ingredients a chance to absorb the water and supposedly it will taste better.  I put some chicken soup in the frig this morning..... hum  we will see what happens.  Just for fun I am trying the same thing with the mac and cheese.

I tried to make some blueberry muffins with the blueberry oatmeal mix last night.  It didn't go well. 

Day 7 on Medifast

Down 6 pounds as of Day 5, Yay! 
I made the mac and cheese again today in an effort to use up the meals that I don't really like.  I cooked it on the stove, instead of the Microwave.  See the recipe below.
It actually tasted pretty good that way. 

Spicy Mac and Cheese
1 Medifast Mac and Cheese
4oz water
2 tsp milk
1 tsp salsa
pinch of Cajun seasoning

Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for about 10 minutes till the sauce is thick and the macaroni is tender.

I noticed that I am getting really sick to my stomach once or twice a day.  Not sure of the cause but I usually go to the frig and eat a pickle spear and maybe a few almonds.  That really seams to help.

Medifast Notes and Recipes

Third day on Medifast and I am in learning mode.

The food isn't too bad.  Some of it has a funny taste to it, that I'm not sure about.  It might be the sweeteners that they use?  Hum.... These are the things that I like so far.
I find it really easy to stay on this diet, because there isn't much to think about.  You get 5 Medifast meals per day and 1"lean and green" meal that you actually have to prepare yourself. 
I feel like I am eating quite a lot.  Since I have to get in 6 meals per day I am eating every 2 or 3 hours, that helps to take the edge of the hunger pains.  The plan requires drinking a lot of water so I am running to the bathroom quite a bit.

My first day on the diet I made the Mac and Cheese and had to throw it away.  I'm not sure that the problems with it are fixable but I plan to try making it on the stove top to see if it turns out better.
I also made the Oatmeal with Blueberries and found it barely edible.  Today I made the Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal and had to throw it away, yuck!  I think the problem is the directions.
All the Medifast meals that require cooking are made in the microwave and they just taste good that way.

Yesterday (day 2) I made Chicken Noodle Soup in the microwave.  The noodles were crunchy and the meat and carrots were hard.  Today I made the Chicken Noodle Soup on the stove.  I mixed it with the water and brought it to a boil.  I boiled it about 10 minutes, then let it sit another 5.  I mixed in some salt and 1 tsp of Salsa (that really helped).   It was so much better that way!

I do like the Peanut Butter Crunch Bar, but the Oatmeal Raison and the Lemon will not be re-ordered.

Of the shakes, I have only had Chocolate so far. I have a small (16oz) blender, and it worked really well on the recipe below.
1 package of Medifast Chocolate Shake Mix
1 Cup of water
1/2 Cup of Ice. 
1 tsp. of Instant Coffee or 1 package of Starbucks Via Instant Coffee
Blend well and enjoy!