Butter Pecan No-Bake Cheesecake with Shortbread Crust- Low Carb and THM !

I ate the last piece, all by myself, hiding in my office, it was that good. There was only one piece left, really. I see it as a sacrifice, I saved the family from an evening of discord.

I used a default almond crust to be low carb, gluten free, and THM compliant. Not as tender as a regular flour shortbread but very tasty and still a gentle crunch. 

Crust Ingredients: 
1 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon erythritol plus a dash stevia
4 tablespoons melted butter
Combine with a fork, press into the bottom of a 8x8 baking dish or four of these cute little tart pans. 

 Best grass fed butter I have ever had!

 Bake at 350F for 10 minutes or until the edges just begin to show brown.

Toasted Pecans: 
The number of pecans you use here is up to you, I used 5 on each of the tart pans. So whatever pan or design you desire toast that many, plus a few more for nibbling.
Put pecan on a small pan with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of salt. I lined my pan with parchment paper for easy clean up. Toast at 325F for 12 minutes. Watch them, they burn quickly. 

 Cool completely before topping the cheesecake.

Filling Ingredients: 
6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup cream 
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1 1/2 teaspoons butter flavor, begin with 1 then taste before adding more
pinch salt
3 tablespoons erythritol plus dash stevia
1 teaspoon beef gelatin 
In a small sauce pan, warm the cream then wisk in the gelatin. Set aside to cool. When completely cool, beat until fluffy. 

 In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, butter flavoring, salt, and sweeteners until fluffy. 

Fold the cream into the cream cheese mixture. 
Spoon into the cooled crust, top with the toasted pecans.

 Chill for a couple hours before serving. 

I get my beef gelatin from Azure Standard Co op, if you don't have one near you then I linked Amazon for you because it is hard to find. The Rumiano butter also came from Azure, you really have to find a co op near you. http://www.azurestandard.com/  Also the best yogurt, vanilla, great prices on so much. And no, I get no compensation for saying that, it is just true and worth sharing! 

My recipe is also featured on Stacy Makes Cents  and Gwen's Nest Trim Healthy Mama Tuesdays. 
Thank you to Pearl and Serene the Trim Healthy Mamas!

A Healthy Ice Cream Float?! And Delicious Too!

I was perusing the drink aisle at Whole Foods Market looking for something without sugar yet no artificial sweeteners. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, a black cherry soda sweetened with stevia!

Quick look at the label...no carbs...zero! I just wanted one, I don't usually spend money on drinks, my daughter talked me into the carton of 4, a bit pricey at $4.99 but they sure were good on some hot summer days!

Before the last one was gone, it occurred to me that it would make a wonderful float.

 Next step, make the Trim Healthy Mama Tummy Tucking Ice Cream, found on page 368 of the Trim Healthy Mama book by Serene Allison and Pearl Barrett.
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 teaspoon stevia (or to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon glucomannan
pinch good salt (my addition)
Mix all in a blender for 3-4 minutes, the glucomannan will make it thick and creamy but takes a few minutes of blending.

Pour into ice cube trays.

 Freeze.
In a food processor, cream the frozen cubes (I used 1/2 the tray for the pictured amount).

Add a teaspoon of cream, tahini, or peanut butter.
Process again for a minute until creamy.

This is delicious alone, covered in melted Skinny Chocolate, or with chunks of Skinny Chocolate added to the last processing step. However, I had something else in mind...

 Oh, my jar is getting frosty!

 Once it settled I added the rest of both soda and ice cream. It was all I had anticipated!
Since Whole Food Market is an hour away from me I went right to the Azure Standard website to see if I could get this tasty soda from their co op. They don't have the black cherry but root beer will be in my next delivery and the price was a little better too!

Lemon Cream Smoothie--Super Healthy

This super healthy smoothie reminds me of my Grammy's lemon sherbet, a treat for which everyone clamored. The mingling of sweet and tart, creamy, cold, and refreshing, (sigh) I may need another soon.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup plain, Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract or 4-6 drops Young Living Essential Lemon Oil
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lemon (the same one)
pinch of good salt, optional
1/2 tray of ice
1/4 teaspoon glucomannan powder, optional
Stevia or honey to taste
1 scoop vanilla protein powder if it's a meal, 1/2 scoop if it's a snack, or omit it if it is dessert after a protein rich meal
Add everything to the blender container and whirl for 2 minutes.

 This fine young man is my handy, dandy, button pushing assistant. Just be sure to keep the lid on anytime he is close by and it will all go well. Incidentally, he prefers fresh red raspberries in his smoothie to the lemon, same recipe.

 Breakfast, snack, or dessert, can't go wrong!

Creamy, Spinach, Mushroom Ravioli

The last post was on April 3rd, it is now the end of May, my camera cable would no longer load the photos no matter how many different things I tried it was continuing to be more stubborn than I.  Sad, I love to take photos, flowers, events, children, grandchildren, and yes, food. I tried, everything that came to mind, including, but not limited to, moping, to no avail.  I asked two photographers, and someone who is married to a photographer, they couldn't help me.  Then, of course, mentioning it in conversation to my older son (computer geek), he just opened a tab while we were talking, looked it up, sent link, said "here you go, Momma, it's in your email".  I opened, clicked, ordered, and thanked him, that fast! For those of you, if there are any left, who use older DSLRs which have a compact flash card, I now load all my photos faster and easier than ever with a pixelflash USB adapter. At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, if you need one, get one, you won't be sorry!

Now, back to the foodie stuff!

Made this incredible spinach and mushroom sauce and put it over cheese ravioli, makes me hungry just looking at the photos!

Ingredients:
1 large package cheese (or meat) ravioli from the frozen food or refrigerated section of supermarket, or low carb pasta for the "Trim Healthy Mamas" (I like DreamField's pasta)
8 oz package white button mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour (THM, omit this)
salt and pepper
4-6 oz smoked mozzarella cheese, shredded
10 oz fresh spinach, washed and dried
6-8 oz cream
Directions:
In a large sauce pan, melt butter and saute the mushrooms until golden brown.

 While these are cooking, start the water in a pasta pot.  When water comes to a boil, add the ravioli, stir.  When they float they are done.

 Add flour, stir.

Add the spinach, stir, it will begin to wilt, stir some more to incorporate all.

 Add the cream. Stir some more...

 Allow to simmer for a few minutes to thicken.

 Add the shredded cheese.

 Yum!  Salt and pepper to taste. Drain ravioli, if you haven't already. Serve sauce over ravioli, enjoy!

For the "Trim Healthy Mamas", remember that this is a side dish, use the low carb pasta, and maybe a lighter cheese, don't neglect ample protein and veggies!