Keto Pound Cake

Finally getting around to writing this recipe up. Been working on other projects for the Wednesday night class that I teach. We’re doing an ice cream theme this year and trying plan out and organize minute to win it age appropriate games is a lot harder than you think.

So let’s escape for a bit and talk about something yummy! Ready?!

Picture it, we’re lounging on a mild summer day, no mosquitoes exist, the humidity is low, and it’s not possible to get sunburned. Hey, you’re in my world so this is possible! 😉 And then a tall hunky man with gorgeous hair comes out with a large tray of strawberry lemonade, sugar free of course, and slices of keto pound cake ready for us to enjoy! Can ya dig it?? 😃

Oh right, the recipe…we’ll come back to the tall hunky waiter later!

What you’ll need:

(Yields 12 slices)

1 stick butter, room temp preferred

8oz cream cheese, room temp preferred

1 1/2 c keto sweetener(Swerve, Erythritol, Stevia, whichever you prefer)

8 large eggs

2 tsp lemon zest +1 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 c super fine almond flour, I use Blue Diamond brand

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Set oven temp to 350*F. Prep a regular loaf pan with either non-stick foil, parchment paper, or coconut oil cooking spray. Set it aside.

In a large bowl add softened butter, cream cheese, and sweetener. If by chance your butter and cream cheese aren’t room temp just pop them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Cream the three together until it’s light and fluffy. Begin adding the eggs, two at a time and mix thoroughly. To this, add your lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. (I was half tempted to use orange extract instead of vanilla, you can if you want to for a citrus pound cake). Finally add almond flour and baking powder, mix to combine.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, scraping contents out with silicone spatula. Bake for 60 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let it cool completely before adding the whipped cream cheese topping.

Whipped Cream Cheese Topping

8oz cream cheese, softened

1 tblsp lemon zest

2 tblsp lemon juice

1/4 c keto sweetener

2 tblsp heavy cream, optional

Directions:

Add all ingredients into a small bowl and combine thoroughly. Spread on top of the cooled pound cake and enjoy! Any leftover cream cheese topping can be used with toasted keto bagels.

And there you have it! You would think with it having 8 eggs it would be super eggy and spongy in texture. Thankfully it’s not, at least to me. The lemon zest helps to brighten up the pound cake, making it the perfect summer treat! You can serve this with some fresh strawberries and blueberries. You’ll get roughly 12 slices and if you’re serving this at a cookout or get together you can slice those 12 into 24 half slices.

For storing, cover with foil or plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. You can store this in the freezer as individual slices and leave out to thaw for a couple of hours. No need to microwave.

The carbs are high because I’m still trying to use up the granulated stevia I have. If you use erythritol/Swerve that will save you on carbs. Highly recommend using something other than the Great Value brand of stevia.

Macros:

Carbs: 11.3g(net)

Fat: 36.7g

Protein: 11.4

Hope you all enjoy and have a great week!

Single During Valentine’s Day, It Could Be Worse!

It’s that time of the year when couples are finalizing their plans for the next evening. Making sure the dinner reservations are in place, flowers are purchased, candy and card is set to receive…maybe some jewelry for those who are lucky. 💍👍🏼

It’s fine and all, I’m not anti-Valentine’s Day at all. Just because I’m as single as a Pringle doesn’t mean that I hate everything that this particular holiday stands for. And I know I don’t go crazy posting all kinds of ideas for gifts, desserts, decorations, etc. I guess I’m just not that kind of person. I’ve been blessed with witnessing what real love is like. It goes beyond flowers, candy, cards, and jewelry. It’s been see what 46 yrs of trying not to kill each other looks like! 😏 That’s a joke, seriously…my folks will most likely see this so I’m joking! Love you both! 💘

I could pretend to be all wrapped up in this holiday like every other blogger out there, that just isn’t my style. Don’t get me wrong I love planning out all kinds of stuff for kids, in fact I’ve been busy for a few weeks now doing just that. Had to push the party back by another week since so many have been out sick lately, which gives me some extra time to get my ducks in a row. But when it comes to adults, I can’t help but withdraw.

Again, nothing against this holiday at all. I’m just a practical romantic when it comes to down to it. No need to get all glitzy, frilly, or expensive.

Honestly, I am all for that kind of date night! 👆🏼True, it’s been 16 yrs since I’ve dated…and believe me that was as painful to admit as it was to read, but like the title says “it could be worse.” Which it honestly it could be. There are worse things than being single on Valentine’s Day. How about…

1. Being in a bad relationship with someone who doesn’t truly love you.
2. Getting beat up all the time.
3. Not knowing if you’re going to wake up the next day or not.
4. Dying of injuries from blunt force trauma.

See where I’m going? Grim, extreme, but not all too far from what I’ve experienced in my past. Except number four, obviously escaped that one. 👍🏼

All right, so I won’t get to dress up and go out with a handsome fella on a special night out to our favorite restaurant. I won’t get flowers, candy, or a card like everyone else.

Nope. I get something way better. I get to stay home, sans makeup, wearing my comfy pj’s, eating yummy “good for me” food, and watching hilarious tv shows with my family. I also get to snuggle up with my precious fur-baby, Spot, and not have to worry about if my spanx are cutting off the circulation to my girly bits. 😬 (Ok, forget that last part…)

I guess if the Lord ever blessed me with another relationship I’d like to think that He’d pair me up with someone who was thoughtful, sweet, and showed me everyday just how much he loved me! Valentine’s Day is nice, but there are 364 other days in the year to show that special someone just how much you love them. Am I right?!

NOK Bone Toss: all right, I’m gonna toss ya bone. Below are links to my go-to recipes for my family. We have:

1) Holy Cow! LC/GF Brownies these are a huge hit and I’m making them for Thursday. They are the most requested by all and I have even been able to fool non-low carbers with them! Yes, these brownies are that awesome!!

2) LC New York Style Cheesecake plus here’s my original post reviewing this recipe.

3) LC/GF Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting it’s as good as it sounds, very rich! Can also be made in a 9×13 if you’d rather not make it in layers.

I sincerely do hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, stay safe, and have fun!

(Seriously, the only box of chocolates I truly care about! I’m a big ol’ softy when it comes to labs! Even the dark chocolate variety.)

Low Carb Sheet Pan Quesadilla

Don’t think I’ll make quesadillas the same way ever again.

One of the easiest ways to make a quesadilla for the entire family. True, you can’t customize the filling this way, but my crew can be easy to please at times. Any filling you can think of will work with this recipe. I chose sausage, peppers, and onions.

No other seasonings needed, spicy sausage can be used as well. Chicken, beef, turkey, steak, shrimp, turkey pastrami and pepperoni…whatever your preference. Prep everything accordingly, for me the sausage was cooked through in about five minutes.

The following step was super easy. Lined a sheet pan with either non-stick foil or parchment paper. The size of your tortillas will determine how many you’ll have to use. Our low carb tortillas are 8 inches(🤷🏻‍♀️), so I wound up using ten for the bottom and sides. You’ll want to make sure to allow about half the tortillas to hang over the side. To make sure that the bottom edges would fuse together, I added a light layer of shredded cheese and topped it off with the cooked sausage mixture.

We’re a cheesy bunch 😉 I had some leftover sliced provolone that I added, plus the rest of the shredded cheese. Ohhhh yeah!!!

The next part might seem a tad tricky, but trust me it wasn’t as difficult as it may seem.

~The folding of the edges over the top~ 😱

For me, I had to use an additional 6 tortillas over the top before I could flap the edges over shut. See below…

See? All right, so it’s not “pretty”, but let me tell you this meal was spot on! To help hold the shape as it bakes, place another sheet pan on top. This joker crisped up perfectly!

You’ll Need:

16 low carb Mission Tortillas

1 pound mild sausage(or any meat you prefer)

1 large onion, chopped

1 each green and red bell pepper, chopped

2 c shredded cheese

6 slices provolone cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425*F. Line pan with non-stick foil or parchment paper. Drape eight of the tortillas halfway over the pan’s edge and place two down the center. Sprinkle with a light layer of shredded cheese. Set aside.

Cook sausage with peppers and onions; add on top of the shredded cheese layer. Place six more on top and fold the edges up and over. Place another sheet pan on top and bake for 20 minutes. Remove top sheet pan and bake for another 5 minutes till browned. Let cool and cut into 10-20 servings.

Per 1/10th serving the net carbs, minus nacho cheese sauce, comes out to 9.6g. Granted that may seem like a lot, works out for me since this was the only thing I’ve eaten today. As for the nacho cheese sauce, this is entirely optional. I used the recipe from Officially Gluten Free. Easy and tasty, I added 1/4 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp paprika, and 1/4 tsp granulated garlic for that “nacho” flavor.

This entire recipe is an absolute keeper! A huge hit with me and the boys, the cheese sauce was on point too! Imagine making a massive pizza quesadilla with a low carb homemade marinara sauce! ☺️

Need I say more? Nah, the pictures speak for themselves, with endless possibilities! Philly Cheese Steak, chicken or steak fajita, tex-mex, spicy shrimp, cheesy ground turkey, pizza, sloppy joes, vegetarian…

Happy Eating!!

LC/Keto Friendly Jalapeño Popper Chicken Casserole

If you love jalapeño poppers and a good creamy chicken casserole, then I hope you will love this combination! It’s the result of reading through several other recipes and picking favorite parts from each one.

Y’all know I like to keep things simple, easy ingredients and simplified instructions. Whatever makes the cooking experience more enjoyable! That’s why I think this is going to be a hit with a lot of low carb families.

I think the key to this dish is the fresh mozzarella and rotisserie chicken. If all you have is shredded mozzarella or if that’s all you can find then go with it. Use what you can. I chose to use rotisserie chicken. I tend to get two meals from one chicken but this time I used the whole chicken. (TIP: Be sure to save the bones to make stock.) If you can’t find a whole rotisserie chicken at the store or don’t have time to make one yourself, you can use cubed cooked chicken instead. Just make sure the amount you use equals two pounds.

I also opted for pickled jalapeños instead of fresh. I like the ease that the pickled offer, strained half the jar and chopped them into smaller pieces. Simple. If you prefer to use fresh, I would think one to two large peppers would be more than enough.

What you’ll need:

2 pounds rotisserie chicken, deboned and chopped

2-3 small onions, chopped and sautéed in avocado oil*

2 pounds bacon, chopped and fried

1 1/2 bricks cream cheese, softened

1/2 c full fat mayonnaise, homemade stuff works too

1/4 c chopped pickled jalapenos

8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced

1 c shredded cheddar

Directions:

Set oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick foil or use your favorite nonstick cooking spray.

Chop and fry bacon in a large skillet to desired doneness, remove from pan and place on a paper towel lined plate. Remove most of the grease to a heat resistant bowl and add onions to the skillet. Cook till transparent and lightly browned.

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, and chopped jalapeños. Set aside and slice up fresh mozzarella.

Add deboned chopped chicken to the cream cheese mixture, along with cooked onions and bacon. Pour into prepared baking pan and smooth out into an even layer. Top with shredded cheese and mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until everything is melted.

This can be served with a side salad, roasted veggies, or alone.

*You can leave out or reduce the onions, especially if you are just starting to live a low carb lifestyle.

(The nutritional info below reflects the ingredients and amounts I used. Everything was full fat.)

Nutritional Information for 1/10 serving(according to MyFitnessPal)

Calories: 779

Fat: 58.9g

Carbs: 6.6g

Fiber: 0.4g

Net Carbs: 6.2g

This was a hit for the family, they loved the creaminess, thick chunks of bacon, and the cheesy goodness from the fresh mozzarella. I doubt I will have to freeze any leftovers, and dairy tends to not reheat well after being frozen. Any leftovers can be stores in the fridge and reheated slowly on the stove top or in the oven.

Save the Date:

Don’t forget, next month is PCOS Awareness Month. Mark your calendars, I have a lot planned for next month: low carb recipes both savory and sweet, giveaways, live FB videos showing how to make some tasty low carb treats, and more!

Low Carb Cheeseburger Salad with LC Burger Sauce

What You’ll Need:

1 whole romaine heart, thoroughly rinsed and dried

1/3 red onion, diced or thinly sliced

1 pound ground beef, cooked and seasoned with favorite burger seasoning

1 small onion, chopped

1 rounded tblsp of fresh minced garlic

1 tblsp coconut oil

For the Burger Sauce:

1 cup full fat mayonnaise, homemade is preferred

1/2 cup full fat sour cream

Dash of hot sauce or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar(ACV)

1/4 c ketchup, homemade is preferred

1 tblsp Wickles Relish, or your favorite

1 tblsp dried minced onion, more if you want it stronger

2 tsp granulated garlic, mor or less according to your preference

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

Shredded cheese

Jalapeños

Chopped bacon

Tomatoes

Pickle slices

Drizzle of mustard

Directions

Clean and dry romaine leaves. Set aside.

In a medium pot brown the ground beef with onions and add coconut oil to keep from sticking. Season with your favorite burger seasoning. I just used salt, pepper, a little cajun seasoning, and some of my dad’s favorite grill seasoning for some extra kick. Add garlic once onions are transparent and cook for another minute before removing from heat. Set aside.

Mix all the ingredients for the burger sauce in a medium size mixing bowl. (You can make this up a day ahead to allow the flavors to blend together.) Adjust the spices according to your preference.

Assembling Salad

Tear the lettuce to your desired amount, usually I use about 4-5 leaves and I like big chunks. Now from here you can “dress” the salad as you wish. Add a spoonful of meat and garnish with the diced red onion, cheese, burger sauce, etc. How you finish this off is up to you! Use your favorite cheeses too. This is why the carb count will vary.

Hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think about this recipe. If you’d like to see more salad recipes like this one, please comment below.

Have a great week!

LC/GF/DF Chocolate Chip Cookies w/Pecans

Pinterest came through with a scrumptious cookie recipe that I have twice since last night! Definitely a keeper 👍🏼👍🏼 Click here to see the original recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tblsp raw organic coconut oil, solid not melted

3 tblsp raw organic honey

1 organic egg

1 tsp organic vanilla extract

2 c blanched super fine almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

Pinch of kosher salt

8 tblsp semi-sweet chocolate chips

5 tblsp chopped pecans

Directions:

In a medium bowl add coconut oil and honey. Combine completely working out any lumps. Add egg and vanilla extract, mix again. Add remaining ingredients and use a silicone spatula to combine. Using a melon baller, dole out the cookie dough onto parchment or non-stick foil lined sheet pans. Flatten slightly with palm of hand and bake in a 350-375 degree oven for 8 minutes. (I used a toaster oven to bake my batches and found that 350 degrees worked better than 375. Adjust the temp and time according to your oven(s).) Let cool completely on sheet pans and move to cooling wrack or serving plate.

I was able to get 37 cookies.

Nutritional Info for 1/37 of a serving(according to MyFitnessPal:

Calories: 102

Fat: 7.9g

Carbs: 6g

Fiber: 1.5g

Net Carbs: 4.5g

Definitely a keeper and a must try for anyone needing to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Happy Eating!

Roasted Pepper and Acorn Squash Soup

What you’ll need:

3 red bell peppers, chopped

1 acorn squash, peeled, chopped

2 pounds organic ground beef(or bulk sausage if not doing GAPS)

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled, chopped

1 parsnip, peeled, chopped

3 celery, washed, chopped

2 tblsp minced garlic

6 c Homemade chicken stock

2 c filtered water

1 tblsp smoked paprika

1 tsp Celtic sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pinch crushed red pepper

Avocado oil, optional garnish

Directions

Set oven to 400*F. Line sheet pan with baking mat or parchment paper. Add chopped peppers and acorn squash. Toss with avocado oil and sea salt. Bake for 35 minutes. 

In dutch oven soup pot, add beef(or sausage), onions, carrot, parsnip, celery, and garlic. Cook till vegetables are tender. Add homemade stock, water, sea salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper(if using). Simmer for 15minutes and add roasted veggies and simmer for another 10 minutes. 

Serve with a drizzle with avocado oil for some extra healthy fat and enjoy! 

I made this for the family and it is such a major hit! The acorn squash sorta disintegrated into the soup, not that anyone minded really. It flavorful and satisfying! Now, you can make this without meat and use an immersion blender to make it a creamy soup. Serve with some toasted pecans and a little coconut milk on top. Or just eat it as is, it’s a yummy soup no matter how you fix it and definitely a keeper. 

Maple Turkey Sausage Patties(LC/DF/GF/SF)

Afternoon all, trust everyone has recouped from the after effects of watching the solar eclipse yesterday. I know a lot of folks were complaining of having headaches, eyes were burning, and feeling tired. If you’re still not feeling well I pray for speedy recovery soon, I know how draining those types of headaches can be. 

Yesterday I spent some time, post solar eclipse, making some breakfast meat for myself. I love maple flavored sausage, especially with extra maple syrup drizzled on top…mmmmm, the best! But carb wise it’s like the plague attacking my body, which is why I haven’t had that in quite awhile. I do miss regular sausage though…and bacon, deli ham, spam, kielbasa…😑I’ll stop. (Le sigh)

Most of what’s available in stores I can’t even trust. There are hidden sugars, preservatives, and msg in almost everything. I’m not being as strict with my anti-candida lifestyle as some folks have suggested. I still eat meat whereas others tend to become vegetarian. Nothing wrong with that at all, I personally cannot go without meat, which is why I think such things ought to be tailored for each person. There is no clear cut and dry protocol that will work for everyone. I’ve learned a lot in the last few weeks about the various candida protocols and have taken from each one customizing what I think will work best for me. So far, everything that I’ve been doing is helping and most of the die off on my chest has cleared up. PTL!! Since I have to resort to making my own breakfast meats, desserts, and meals, it does take a little extra time and effort, but the end results are worth it! 

I do want to mention that the maple flavoring is optional, I only added it because I personally LOVE it. 😍😉 However, you can use maple syrup if the carbs are not an issue for you. Ground chicken can also be used in lieu of ground turkey. Or you can mix ground turkey with ground hamburger, which I’ve done in the past when making meatballs. It’s just as good and the ground beef lends some fat to the mixture since ground turkey tends to be lean. 

What you’ll need: 

1 pound ground turkey

2 tsp poultry seasoning

2 tsp maple extract(optional)

1 tblsp granulated stevia(optional)

1/8 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp Cassia cinnamon(purchased from The Spice House)

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp Himalyan pink salt

Coconut oil, for cooking

Heat oven to 375*F, line sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium size bowl mix all the ingredients by hand thoroughly. There are a few methods with which you can make sausage patties. METHOD 1: on a clean work surface place a piece of wax paper down and add half of the meat mixture on it. Cover with another sheet of wax paper, then use a rolling pin to flatten out to desired thickness. Cut into 8 rectangular pieces and repeat with second half of mixture. METHOD 2: skip the wax paper all together and free form patties by hand. METHOD 3: on clean work surface lay down wax paper, place half of the meat mixture down and flatten out with hands to desired thickness. Use a biscuit cutter cut to shape the patties. Repeat with second half of the meat mixture. Cook in coconut oil over medium heat until browned on both sides. 

You can freeze these raw or cooked, I went ahead and cooked all of mine up to help cut down on my time in the kitchen each morning. I used wax paper to keep the patties separated and put them into a quart size freezer bag. 

Depending on the size and how thick or thin you make the patties will determine how many it yields. I was able to get 16 rectangular patties. The carb count for these is basically non existent. Using maple syrup would change that, so keep that in mind. If you decide to make these with maple syrup just remember to omit the granulated stevia. 

I had three this morning with a couple of egg muffins that I made, such a nice carb free meal! 

(Pictured above: Half of the egg muffins are dairy and meat free for me. The other half have ham, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese which are G-Man’s fave!) A simple and easy low carb breakfast that you can customize with any flavor and add ins. These were really fluffy, the almod milk added a nice light texture to these. I used cajun seasoning, turmeric powder, kosher salt, dried oregano, and dried parsley. Gave a good whisking and portioned it out to all the silicone muffin cups. Baked @375*F for 20 minutes, plan to make more to freeze. I love breakfasts that I can grab and warm up. Makes for a hassel free morning. 

Hope you give these sausage patties a try, play around with the seasonings and let me know what you think. I love getting feedback from you all! If you have any questions please email me at nightowlkitchen@yahoo.com. You can also follow me on Instagram: @nok_amandagayle, for more recipe ideas/inspirations. 

Have a blessed week! 

My Life with Candida Albicans(Here I Go Again)

Afternoon everyone, hope your Wednesday has been a blessed one so far. Today I want to share an update on my candida detox, plus an article I just found that explains what foods to eliminate when you suspect you have a candida overgrowth, and a recipe that I made a couple of nights ago that was absolutely delicious and dairy free! So this will be a jam packed post, but bear with me! ☺️ Below is a picture that is NOT the most flattering, but it shows just how bad this mess has gotten. 

Picture from Sunday night. It spans from shoulder to shoulder, the worst of it in the center. It’s still creeping slowly up my neck, but for now it’s not as bad as it was last Wednesday. As of today, it only itches around the edges of the rash site. There is a soap I found that I plan to try, it’s designed for these areas so I’ll share more after I give it a go. 

For a while now I have been dealing with this candida overgrowth and die off. Ever since my first die off from a few years ago I have done just enough to get over the worst of the symptoms and once the die off would clear up I would slowly begin to add certain foods back into my low carb diet. I can already hear the clucking of tongues from certain folks 😉, trust me I have been kicking myself since last week for not having realized sooner how detrimental that decision was to my health. Just like low carb/keto is more than a diet, it’s a lifestyle, so is eat to keep your candida in check. And yes, EVERYONE has candida in their bodies. It’s a nasty bacteria in your digestive system and when we aren’t eating right, when we are pumping our bodies full of antibiotics(including the animal meats we eat) we are feeding the candida. That’s when things get out of balance and we start having issues with our sinuses, allergies, skin related problems(ie rashes, eczema), flatulence, brain fog, IBS, fibromyalgia, yeast infections, and so on. It just seems to snowball and we can’t figure out why all of the sudden we are having all these issues. 
That’s been my life now since 2011 and quite possibly longer if I think about it. This could explain my most recent issue with the top of my left foot. It was hurting to the point where I could barely walk. Which that has actually started to improve over the last few days! I’m not hobbling around as much and I can stand for short periods of time with minimal issues. This is great news since this means I will be able to get back to my workouts! 

So what is it EXACTLY am I doing to improve my health? What protocol am I following to eliminate the candida overgrowth? It’s not any one thing or method. I spent last weekend reading anything and everything online, refreshing my memory of what needs to be done. The first thing I did was change my diet. Since I am already living a lower carb life, I knew I was going to have to give up more even MORE foods that may have been contributing to the overgrowth. And Saturday night proved to be a near breaking point for me. I was emotionally drained and frustrated by the realization that I would have to give up a lot of my favorite low carb foods for a while(possibly forever) and it all hit me that night. I was hungry and wanting stuffed green olives. My go to snack food when I have the munchies. High in fat, zero carbs, and I can easily eat half a jar! No judging. 😒My 13 yr old comes in and asks me what I’m doing. Trying to keep the shreds of emotions in check I tell him I’m hungry and can’t have the things that I would normally go to. At this point I could feels the tears welling up and I absolutely hate crying in front of people. When I cry it’s messy and ugly, so I took a few breaths to calm myself and without skipping a beat G-Man told me “so fix yourself some eggs.” 

I won’t lie, I scoffed at that idea. For one eggs don’t like me. Honestly, they make me sulfur gassy(and there goes any hope for finding a future husband). Before I could stop him, G-Man was already grabbing the container of eggs and asking me what meats and veggies I can have. He was shocked when I told him I can’t have sausage patties, deli ham or turkey, and no more bacon. Pitiful, I know. 😔 So he grabbed tomatoes(which aren’t EXACTLY a safe thing but it added color to my dish), frozen green beans, and a green onion. He stood there watching me fry a couple of eggs in coconut oil with a handful of green beans, added in a few tomatoes for color, seasoned it all with Himalayan seas salt, black pepper, and turmeric. Garnishing the top with thin slices of green onion. And that was dinner! It was so satisfying, delicious, and simple! 

I know not too many folks like to give God credit these days, but I have to take a moment to. If my son hadn’t come into the kitchen when he did I wouldn’t have eaten such an amazing meal. I would have eaten half a jar of stuffed green olives, maybe some cheese slices, and hated myself later. God intervened by using my son to ground me (meaning forcing me to focus) and get me thinking what I should do instead and kept me from eating the very things that have led to this overgrowth and further the issue more. 

Sunday was even better! I had to make the decision to stay home from church since I was experiencing some IBS issues(again I’m just killing my prospects here lol) and didn’t want to chance anything. I rarely eat breakfast y’all, I take after my Memaw, leave me alone for an hour after I get up and let me enjoy my morning coffee(only for her it was hot tea). Coffee fills me up but I made half a cup instead and fried up two eggs just so I could get something into my system. Lunch came and I was starving! That’s when I made this…

All right, it’s not the prettiest bowl of food, but it was tasy! Stir fry veggies and garlic ginger chicken, it made four servings so I had enough for dinner and some to freeze! Sunday afternoon my detox pills arrived and I was actually excited! Me, I hate swallowing pills, but I was actually excited about having THOSE! I know, crazy. 😏 With my biggest meal I take my pills every day and haven’t had too many issues with them(mild burping…I’m batting a thousand already who cares anymore?!). And this is what is helping me to combat the candida overgrowth. I still pine for the foods that I used to eat, but I know in the end it’s better that I go without and finally get well after years of neglect. 

So…

Goodbye to : dairy(heavy cream, butter, cheeses, cream cheese), processed meats(kielbasa, spam, hot dogs, bacon, pepperoni, deli meats), mushrooms, peanut oil, mini sweet peppers, fathead pizza dough and bagels, creamy/cheesy casseroles, homemade ranch dressing, ketchup, mayonnaise, low carb brownies(because of the chocolate and butter), pork rinds, low carb protein smoothies(because the protein powder I love has whey in it), mashed cauliflower(I tend to make it with cream cheese, parm cheese, and heavy cream), pickled foods(sliced jalapenos, dill pickles, stuffed green olives), naturally sweet veggies and fruit, and the list goes on. 

Say hello to: dark green veggies(kale, broccoli, chard, romaine), cruciferous veggies(cauliflower, cabbage), organic meats(beef, chicken, and pork…not a fish fan), peppers, fermented foods(soy sauce, sauerkrauts, kimchi), squash, zucchini, green beans, onions, garlic, coconut oil, evoo, safflower oil, avocado oil(and avocados), hemp seeds, chia seeds, almonds, eggplant, blueberries, unsweetened cranberries, stevia, xylitol, vitamins and supplements, and candida detox pills(two pills once a day). 

Here’s a link to a site I found today that gives a basic outline of what foods to avoid and what foods are safe when killing off the candida. CLICK HERE. 

A friend recently asked me how my ice cube diet is going. 😏 I love her cheekiness! If it were anyone else I wouldn’t have laughed. For the most part I am able to maintain my low carb lifestyle while incorporating more of the anti-candida regimen. I don’t feel as bloated, the gas is slowly going away, mental clarity is emerging, I’m not as tired during the afternoon, but I am still battling with cold extremities, that might take a bit longer to get over since I’ve dealt with it for years. Plus I actually dropped a pound over the weekend which I haven’t been able to do for a while! 

Now, what yummy recipe do I have for you?! 

It’s baked chicken legs(you can use breasts, thighs, wings, or the whole chicken, go nuts!!) with oven roasted broccoli and cauliflower, served over a very basic romain salad topped with spicy brown mustard. 

What you’ll need:

12 chicken legs, skin on

No salt added seasoning of your choice(the one I used is pictured below)

Evoo

2 pounds frozen broccoli

1 pound frozen cauliflower

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two sheet pans with non stick foil. Coat the chicken legs evenly with salt free seasoning and place on sheet pan. Bake for 40 minutes uncovered. Crank the heat up to 425 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes. 

In a large mixing add frozen broccoli and cauliflower. Drizzle on evoo and season with pink Himalayan sea salt. Spread out on remaining sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes or until it reaches a desired doneness. 

Serve with chopped organic romaine lettuce and use your favorite dressing. It’s simple, it’s easy, and leftovers are great the next day for breakfast with a couple of fried eggs. Leftovers can be frozen or used for those Bento boxes. Just make sure to debone the chicken first before storing. Makes it easier to enjoy later on! 

Below is the no salt added seasoning recipe I used. 

I store mine in a regular mouth glass jar and washed off a screw on lid from a Kraft Parmesan cheese container. This way I can shake on the seasoning on one side or measure it out from the other. I can’t remember if I doubled or tripled the recipe at the time I made this, but it is worth it! I use it on my eggs, veggies, beef, pork, and of course chicken. 

You can make a non-spicy version by leaving out the cayenne pepper. I think the next batch I make I’ll add turmeric and ginger powder since both of those are amazing anti-candida seasonings. 

If you have any questions please feel free to ask me below or email me at nightowlkitchen@yahoo.com, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram(@nok_amandagayle). I tend to post a little more frequently on IG these days since it’s quicker. But I hope this post has helped to shed some light on this growing issue. If you suspect you are suffering from a candida overgrowth, here is a link with a list of symptoms. CLICK HERE. This is definitely something you DO NOT want to leave untreated. I will be honest with you, there is a lot of controversial information out there, please be careful with your research and take a majority of it with a massive grain of salt. What works for one person won’t always work for another, there is no one size fits all protocol. There’s a basic outline that we all have to follow, but how I am approaching treatment is not necessarily going to work for the next person. 

In the meantime, take care, happy healthy eating, and hope you all have a blessed week! 

Rosemary Chicken and Veggies

Yesterday I tried to get this post up and my computer crashed on me and I lost the entire post. In this post there are two recipes, one for the chicken and another for the veggies. So here goes…

Rosemary Chicken and Kale

Serves 2 (can be doubles or tripled)
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 1 hour

4 chicken thighs, with skin and bone**
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp dried rosemary or you may use fresh
1/2 dried basil
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Kale, chopped
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced and divided
Turmeric

Heat oven to 375*F. I purposely didn’t measure the chopped kale when I placed it in my 8×8 baking dish. I just filled it up to the top, don’t worry it cooks down 🙂

Top the kale with half of the sliced onion. Sprinkle with turmeric if desired or other seasoning. I didn’t use any salt or pepper on the kale and onions. But if you choose to then it would be best to not salt or pepper the underside of your chicken. Set this aside.

   

In a small prep bowl combine rosemary, basil, red pepper flakes, onion and garlic powder. You could also add thyme, sweet summer savory, and oregano. Set it aside and prep chicken with salt and pepper. Be sure to get under the skin as well. Place the chicken thighs on top of the onions and kale, sprinkle with rosemary blend and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until chicken is done all the way down to the bone. You can use boneless thighs, just lower your baking time accordingly(20-30 minutes works good for me). Let it rest for a few minutes before serving!

Italian Seasoned Vegetables

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Bake Time: 25–30 minutes

1 16 oz bag frozen green beans
1 16 oz bag frozen cauliflower
Remaining onion slices from chicken recipe above
1/2 pack Good Seasons Italian Seasoning
Pinch of salt
Olive Oil

Prep a 9×13 baking dish with a drizzle or spray of olive oil. Bake in the oven along with chicken.

Dump the green beans and cauliflower into the pan. Add onion slices and toss together. Add a pinch of salt and sprinkle Italian seasoning over the veggies. Bake for 25-30 minutes until fork tender.

Nutritional Info for 1 serving of Chicken(2 thighs) and kale:

Calories: 269
Fat: 20g
Carbohydrates: 4g
Fiber: 1g
Net Carbs: 3g

Nutritional Info for 1 serving of veggies:

Calories: 42
Fat: 4g
Carbohydrates: 2g
Fiber: 1g
Net Carbs: 1g

Enjoy!!