Candice's Low Carb Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I was searching for a low carb holiday treat and ran across these muffins at "Your Lighter Side" (http://www.yourlighterside.com).  Made a half batch and they turned out delicious.  Thanks for posting the original recipe and sharing.

I did not get a photo but I made a small batch of cream cheese icing and drizzled it over the top as well which made it very rich and tasty.








Candice’s Low-Carb Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Ingredients:

For 12 muffins:
1 3/4 cup Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 cup granulated Splenda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 SMALL apple


For 6 muffins:
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
2 Tablespoons ground almonds
1/2 cup granulated Splenda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 SMALL apple

Preheat oven 350F.

Line muffin tin with paper liners. Wash apple, then peel and chop or grate on a cheese grater. Set aside.
In large bowl mix vanilla whey protein powder, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then set aside. In a smaller bowl mix eggs, heavy cream, water, oil, and vanilla only enough to break up the eggs a little. Add in Splenda. Using the spatula to mix, add the cut up apple to the dry ingredients until the apples are coated. Make a well in the middle of the bowl and add your wet ingredients, mixing only until everything is wet. DO NOT OVER MIX or you will end up with a tough bread( this is true for all quick breads). Spoon in to prepared muffin pan. Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes.

Makes 6-12 muffins.

Nutritional information per muffin: Calories: 146, Carbohydrates: 4.92 g, Sugars: 1.15 g, Fiber: 0.63 g, Net Carbohydrates: 4.29 g, Protein: 10.04 g, Fat: 10.88 g

Baconnaise

Ingredients
Makes: 2 cups

5 egg yolks
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
7 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1¼ cups rendered bacon fat
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation method
Prep: 15 mins
1.
Chill all the ingredients and utensils (including your mixing bowl) down to about 40°F. Don’t skip this step or the mayonnaise may break.
2.
Put the egg yolks, mustard, and 1½ teaspoons of the lemon juice into a blender or mixing bowl. Beat on high for 2 minutes, until well blended.
3.
Add in the bacon fat (no need to add gradually if everything’s properly chilled), continuing to beat until the mixture is thick. Depending on how thick and rich you like your mayonnaise you may or may not need the entire amount of fat.
4.
Slowly blend in the remaining lemon juice, sea salt and pepper, whipping it pretty much continuously throughout. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Tip

The mayonnaise keeps for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

Low Carb Southwestern Chicken Soup

So as promised I made a batch of this a week or so ago and wanted to document the recipe for myself as much as sharing.  This is a variation of another recipe I found online that uses ground beef but I prefer chicken in this type of stew.  So here it goes.

4 Chicken Breast
1 8oz Pack Cream Cheese
2 Cans Rotel
1/2 Cup Diced Onion
2 Cups Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup unsweetened Almond Milk
1 tbsp Chili Powder
2 Garlic Cloves (Minced)

Roast the chicken salt & pepper to taste.  While the chicken is cooking combine the other ingredients in a crock or stock pot and bring to a slow boil then reduce heat.  When the chicken is done let it cool and "pull" it into small chunks.  Throw that in the pot and let it all simmer for an hour or so.

The stew does not take long to cook but similar to Chili the taste will improve the longer it sits in the crock pot.  It makes a creamy soup similar in consistency to chowder.  I ate it with a small dab of sour cream on top and a little hot sauce.

I am going to add some Jicama and Cactus to it next time and see how that taste.  You could also carb it up if you wanted with some white beans or corn.  Either one or both would probably be really good in this.

Will also remember to take photo's of the finished product with the next batch.  However, low-carb chili is next on the list so it will have to wait a few weeks.

Reboot!

Time to reboot!  Shortly after starting Insanity I aggravated my left shoulder again.  Perhaps to much to quick and so I hung it up for a couple of weeks to heal.  Two idle weeks and nothing to do but sit around and get fat has means my weight is up 5 pounds.  Ugh, still managed a few Mountain bike rides which probably did not help but I can't just sit still for 2 weeks.

So yesterday the weather was crap, clocks have been set back and for the first time in a long time I opted to head to the gym instead of the streets.  First thing, I am really out of practice from gym visits.  Forgot to bring my socks for running and goggles to swim.  Wore my dress socks to run and just decided to abuse my core since I could not swim.  Obliques are a little tender today but I must admit it was fun to do something a bit different.

Regarding my weight and keeping a long story short it is once again clear to me that I am just not capable of eating carbs beyond the minimum requirements needed to fuel a workout.  So last Monday I reluctantly moved back to low-carb diet.  At the time I was bummed about my lack of control with carbs and sweets but now that I am clean again I remember why I had so much success doing this before.  I feel incredible!

My diet has been pretty simple so far but for those of you who wonder what a typical day for a low-carb dieter looks like here is my menu for today.

Breakfast - 2 Whole Eggs (Microwave Scrambled), 3 thin slices of smoked ham (2 oz)
Lunch - Baked Salmon w/Butter, Steamed Peppers/Squash, Broccoli w/Cheese
Dinner - Southwestern Chicken Soup (Recipe to Come)
Snack - Dunno yet?

So now that I have rebooted I am feeling more stable and mentally prepared to get things going the right way.  Excellent timing as well with the Holiday's coming and keeping me on my toes and on plan.  Would hate for that 5 pounds to turn into 10 or more.