Low Carb Double Chocolate Brownie Smoothie

If you have yet to try the Holy Cow, LC/GF Brownies recipe from this blog then you are missing out, because today’s recipe is centered around those brownies. 

Yesterday on Instagram I shared this image shortly after making the smoothie. I feel compelled to apologize that the cup isn’t filled up all the way. It’s mostly because I’m not a major chocolate fan. But I hope you can over look a half full glass and be tempted to try this amazing recipe!

I know chocolate smoothies tend to be a hit with most folks, personally I think you need a high quality cocoa in order to achieve that decadent, rich, chocolatey goodness that tricks your brain into thinking that you’re being bad only you’re not. Now, my recipe uses vanilla but chocolate can easily be used instead. I prefer to use True Whey Protein Powder, it’s sweetened with Stevia, has 1g net carb per scoop, is soy free(which is important for us PCOS Cysters), and the vanilla flavor works with every flavor of smoothie I have made thus far! 

What you’ll need:

1 1/2 c heavy cream

1 c ice cubes

Almond milk, optional to thin out

2 tblsp unsweetened Ghirardelli Cocoa Powder

2 tblsp Stevia in the Raw

2 scoops True Whey Protein Powder

2  Holy Cow, LC/GF brownies

Other add ins:

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Low carb chocolate sauce, drizzled

Whipped cream, on top

Dark chocolate nibs, garnish

Directions

In a blender, add all the ingredients minus the brownies, and use the ice crush setting. If it gets too thick, add a splash of almon milk to thin out. Add brownies and other optional add ins; pulse a few times to incorporate completely. Portion out into your favorite glass(es) and enjoy! 

My nephew wanted a mint flavor, so in his glass I added a few drops of peppermint extract into his cup. My mom tried a spoonful and was blown away by how much it tasted just like the brownies(she’s my blueberry smoothie fan). Even G-Man was impressed and I can barely get him to have anything but a strawberry smoothie. 

So what are the carbs for this glass of sinful goodness? Are you sitting down?! 

3g net carbs

Now, I use MyFitnessPal to calculate and this could change depending on the brand of ingredients you use. 

So far I have made several different flavors, in future I may get a wild hair and blog about them. 

Strawberry Pomegranate 

Strawberry Banana 

Blueberry

Snickerdoodle

Mint Chocolate Chip

Double Mint Chocolate Chip

Mocha

Tropical Fruit with Pomegranate

Also check out my Pinterest board of low carb smoothie recipes, I have found oodles of delicious recipes on there. I like to look through even the high carb smoothie recipes for inspiration and figure out how to make them low carb. 

Y’all have a blessed weekend and take care! 

Low Carb Cream Cheese Pizza Sauce

I am a pizza junkie! No joke, if there were an option of foods in front of me, I would always choose pizza! And a few weeks ago I discovered a wonderful low carb dough recipe that is allowing us to enjoy pizza again. And Saturday night I made my all time favorite, sausage jalapeño! 

The dough recipe I like to use is found over at Ditch the Carbs. Super easy recipe, I like doubling it to make sheet pan pizzas. Each sheet pan will yield 15 slices, and you can add any toppings you like. So far, I have made the traditional pepperoni cheese pizza, Hawai’ian pizza, a meat-za, supreme, and sausage jalapeño. 

The cream cheese white sauce that I made is a lower carb version of one that I’ve already shared on here (<—click). The low carb version can be made without jalapeños if you prefer, substitute with banana peppers which are mild, or use thin slices of sweet bell peppers. You can also use this sauce over zoodles and chicken for a chicken alfredo night. Just make sure to thin it out a little more. Next on my list is philly cheese steak pizza and I plan to use this sauce for that. 

What you’ll need:

8 oz brick cream cheese

2 tblsp butter

Heavy cream, to thin out

Grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp each: granulated garlic, onion powder, dried basil

Black pepper, to taste

1/4-1/3 c chopped jalapeños, optional

Directions:

In a medium bowl add cream cheese, butter, and seasonings(granulated garlic, onion powder, dried basil, and black pepper). Microwave on high for one minute, or until butter is mostly melted. Use a whisk to incorporate the butter into the cream cheese. Add parmesan cheese and enough heavy cream to thin out the mixture just enough so you can spread it. Again, using old time southern measuring here, if you want it thick then use very little to no heavy cream. Finally, stir in the chopped jalapeños, if using, and you’re set! 

Prebaking the fathead crust is key, I find that I don’t have to flip mine and bake again if I just bake it for 13 minutes. The bottom gets nicely browned but not burnt. Once you’ve prebaked the crust, that’s when the fun really begins! Add the cream cheese sauce, some mozzarella cheese, sausage that’s been cooked, drained, and crumbled. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly browned. 

Now what I like to do is let the pizza rest for 5-10 minutes. This will help the crust to cool down enough to where you can actually pick it up and it’s not flopsy at all! The best part….leftovers are even better the next day! Taste more like a high carb pizza even though it’s not! I love mine cold, I know that childish. 😉

What are the carb counts? When I entered in the ingredients on MyFitnessPal it came out really low, less that 1g net. No. Joke. Now, depending on the brands of ingredients you use it will determine the carb count, so please keep that in mind. I use full fat EVERYTHING. Ooo and I’ve made calzones out of the fathead dough! Those were bomb diggity! I highly recommend seasoning the dough before baking it. I like to mix in our homemade Italian seasoning, but take care the dough will be hot and you’ll need to work quickly. I usually have to wear two sets of nitrile gloves on my hands. It helps but I still managae to cook my fingers anyway. Eventually it’s going to get to the point where I’ll lose all feeling in my fingers lol! 😜 Hopefully not, but I did notice that when I accidentally gave myself a mega steam burn on my right thumb last week, it took a few seconds longer for me to notice what had happened. Oh well, all part of being a cook! 😁 

Let me know what you think about this low carb cream cheese sauce and if you tweak it please share, I love hearing from you all! Have a blessed week and happy low carbing! 

Low Carb Pizza Chicken Breasts

A super easy low carb dinner that will even please the non low carbers in your family! Serve it up your favorite salad, pasta for those who can handle the carbs, low carb keto garlic bread(using fathead bread), and you have a complete meal! 

G suffered a fainting spell over the last weekend due to dehydration. It is suspected that he might be suffering from NMH(Neurally Mediated Hypotension). We learned his blood pressure is below what it ought to be for someone his age, height, and weight. Now, I’m not one to run to the doctor for every little thing, especially when the go to treatment includes drugs with side effects that include constipation, abdominal cramps, shaky hands, depression, hair loss, etc. instead I chose to go a more natural route for treatment. I know, I know, that’s not a popular way of thinking and most might assume that I’m not taking this seriously or I would have my child in a doctor’s office having every test known to man run on him. Sorry, if you think that way I hate to burst your bubble because I do care very much, almost to the point of worrying too much, and my trust in doctors is next to nil. The medical community has failed my family too many times and I have had to learn things on my own in order to take care of not just myself but my entire family. 

Natural medicine hasn’t failed me yet. Prevention is key, living a life to prevent diseases, injuries, and illnesses has become our way of life. Very rarely will we seek out a doctor unless it is an emergency. So for my son I chose the familiar route I had always taken before and it’s working! 

I’ve started to include him, to a degree, in our low carb way of life. He’s a growing lad so I can’t cut the carbs out of his life completely, but I am being extremely choosy about he does get. Once a day he can have a regular carb item, be that rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, etc. The rest of the day must be lower in carbs packed with healthy fats, fiber, and dark green veggies. While also making sure he stays well hydrated, poking into him with a few vitamins and supplements, and making sure he exercises. All these changes of course have been met with opposition each day this week, what child wants to go from chicken nuggets and fries to low carb pizzas and spinach salads?! 

Well, you think G would have protested too much against spinach, but he discovered that he actually likes it! Plain of course with a few bits of shredded carrot and some romaine lettuce for variation. Plus when I offered to make him pizza chicken breasts he was completely on board! Simply because it has all the ingredients he likes: chicken, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! And here’s how it goes….

For the chicken:

1-2 pounds raw chicken breasts, filleted into thirds 

Salt, Pepper, Granulated Garlic Powder

Coconut oil for cooking

LC Pizza Sauce:

15 oz organic tomato sauce, no sugar added

14 oz organic diced tomatoes, no sugar added, drained

A sprinkle across the top of the following: dried basil, dried oregano, onion powder, and sweet summer savory(old school southern measuring for ya) 

1 tsp granulated natural sweetener, I use Stevia

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

Toppings:

Parmesan cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Pepperoni slices

Black olives

Diced peppers

Diced onions

….you get the idea.

For the chicken, filet each breast into thirds, season each side with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. Cook in a pan with melted raw organic coconut oil(preferably the kind without the coconut flavor) until lightly browned on both sides. Set oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with non-stick foil. 

Mix all the pizza sauce ingredients in a bowl. 

Now assemble the pizza chicken breasts. Place each piece on the sheet pan, spoon enough sauce on each piece to cover completely. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and add your favorite toppings. For the family I kept it simple by using only mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices. For mine I added some chopped black olives on top. Just remember whatever toppings you use it will alter your carb count. For my recipe each serving came out to being 4.8g net. 

Bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and enjoy!

Simple. Easy. And G loved it! Next day leftovers were great on low carb tortilla wraps. Dad and I split a chicken breast and had a quick meal before heading off to church. Flavors had blended and mellowed, this is also a great meal to prep ahead and freeze before baking. Just be sure to thaw out completely and then bake as directed. 

Thankfully G is on the mend, no more lightheadedness, dizzy spells, and his blood pressure is getting back to normal. 

Hope you all have a blessed day!!

July 1st: Happiness Is…

Hey everyone!

This month I want to get your input about what makes YOU happy! It’s easy, send me an email with what happiness is to you! 

For instance:

Happiness is…

…snuggling with my boy while watching a movie he has picked out. It’s not often that we get to do this anymore now that he is officially a teenager, so when he makes a suggestion you betcha I make a big deal about it(in a cool way of course). I grab some yummy snacks for us, a cozy blanket, and enjoy the time we have together. It brings back memories of when he was a little guy and would curl up on my lap to watch his favorite shows. Oh how I miss those days and cherish the ones like in the picture. ❤️

-Amanda Gayle(Alabama, USA)

Simple! Now, of course you can write as little or as much as I did. The point is, with all the ugly and bad things going on in this world it would do us some good to see some happy things for a change. Send me an email at nightowlkitchen@yahoo.com with the following: 

*Please include your name, State/Provence and country. 

*Include the heading: “Happiness Is…” in your email, along with a short blurb about why it makes you happy.

*You may include one photo. 

*Any recipes need to include a link back to the original site, if possible(unless the recipe has been passed down through your family, which is adored here at Night Owl Kitchen!) Kids are welcomed to get in on this, I know several like to get in the kitchen these days, don’t be shy. Share with us your favorite summer treats! 

*You can share anything that has inspired you: a quote, a song, a book, a movie…keeping it family friendly of course! 😉

Each week I will choose a selection to share. Let’s spread some happiness this month! 

Have a blessed 4th of July weekend!!!