So, without further adieu and without doing that thing that we all hate, where the bloggers go into a long drawn out life story about how their Mama used to fix them biscuits when they were a kid blah blah blah... let's get to the good stuff! Friends, Romans, and countrymen, I give to you southern-style dirty keto biscuits with sausage gravy.

One of the best tips I give friends when they ask me about how to stick with the keto way of eating is: Always have something prepared for when you don't feel like cooking. It's no secret that keto involves a lot of cooking. Most everything I eat is  "real food", nothing boxed or prepackaged, so it can get a bit tedious, that's why meal prepping is such a great idea.

I have seen several iterations of this recipe online but never tried it until now... why did I wait so long. These meatballs were amazeballs, but don't take my word for it, try them yourself. They're super easy to whip up and store well in the fridge.

All you need for this recipe is a pack of chicken thighs, an egg, a meat grinder, some seasonings and an oven. I used Montreal chicken seasoning and a little sriracha sauce, but you could use whatever you want.
DIRECTIONS: After grinding your chicken (or buy pre-ground), mix up the chicken, egg, and seasonings and scoop out rounded balls with a tablespoon onto a silpat lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes or until done (160 degrees) . The 2lb pack of chicken thighs I used made 18 tablespoon sized meatballs and you can find the nutrition info below.

Every time I talk about eating low carb or doing the keto diet, I feel like one of those TV preachers. Even after falling off the proverbial wagon, keto takes me right back; keto never gives up on me, even when I gave up on keto. Keto knows me better than I know myself. 

I will spare you all the "rules" of eating low carb or keto, since you probably found this post from a Google search, I'm going to assume you are already familiar with the ins and outs of low carb dieting, but for those who aren't, here's a very brief synopsis... Your body typicially uses carbs for fuel, but when it doesn't have them, it starts to burn fat when you reach a state of metabolic ketosis; not to be confused with diabetic ketoacidosis.  When you burn fat, you lose weight, it's a very simple concept. 

I started keto over a year ago and had lost about 40-50ish pounds, then I fell off bad around the holidays (yes, the holidays that were five months ago) and gained about 20 lbs back, but I'm re-dedicating my life and body to keto in a major way, starting with meal planning.

For me, half of the success of eating keto is having a plan. (The other half is not cheating, which is the really hard part.) In an effort to stay on track, at the start of the week I sit down and Google yummy recipes I want to try and add them to my weekly menu. Some are hits and some are misses, but this  recipe is already back in rotation this week. It's super easy and so delicious, even my super-picky-husband-who-hates-when-I-try-to-turn-cauliflower-into-potatoes, raved about this dish. 

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 Cup diced onion
Minced fresh garlic (to taste, or 1 Tbsp) 
1 head cauliflower (rough chop)
2 Tbsp Better Than Bullion (chicken flavor) 
4 cups water
1 Cup heavy cream
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste) 
1/2 tsp Onion powder
4 Strips of bacon, fried and crumbled
Fresh green onions (sprinkle)
1/2 Cup Shredded cheddar (or Monterey jack, whatever)

Here's a very basic weekly menu planner I made a while back. It's simple and cute and you're welcome to download and use it.  ; ) 

In the low carb community there are two types of people, those who count "net carbs" and those who don't. I personally could go either way.  Some low carbers say grains stall them or even make them gain, but for me, fiber is verrry important, so I look for ways to add it to my system a couple of times a week and what better way than pizza?!

I almost feel bad calling this a "recipe", it's more like a "friendly suggestion", as there are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to making your perfect pizza. Grab your favorite ingredients and a huge handful of cheese and go to town. 

The key to this recipe is to start with a good flatbread. I use this flatbread from Aldi. They are very affordable and taste really good, unlike some other flatbreads I've tried in the past. 

You will also need a very small amount of pizza sauce. They have sugar free if you need it, but I personally just use regular or make my own. The amount of carbs vs serving size make it almost negligible. From here you need only a good imagination and a few fresh ingredients.

I used pepperoni, mushrooms and garden fresh banana peppers, but you could also use chicken or even seasoned ground beef, onions and jalapenos for a taco inspired pizza or you could use ranch instead of tomato sauce for a chicken ranch bacon pizza. I've made this particular combination on a fathead crust before and it was over the top amazing!  

I like to put the cheese directly on the sauce, then pile the toppings on that and add another sprinkling of cheese, just for good measure. Then I sprinkle with "sticks and stems" aka Italian seasonings (parsley, basil and oregano), pop it into a 425 degree oven for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

If you want a super crispy pizza, place this (carefully) directly on the rack, but don't call me to help you clean your oven, when it bubbles over, 'cause it ain't happening. For you non-daredevils, bake on a cookie sheet or pizza stone, if you're fancy schmancy.  The total (net) carbs for this is about 9ish, maybe 10, depending on what toppings you add and how much sauce you use, but I'm not judging.
Enjoy!

When people find out I am on a low carb diet, they instantly say,  "Oh, I could never do that.", when in actuality, low carb is not that big of a deal. There are substitutes for every thing you think you won't be able to eat again. Subs for cake, subs for pizza and even subs for pancakes. Yes! I said you can eat pancakes on a low carb diet!

This recipe is super easy. All you need is...
2 eggs
2 oz cream cheese
2 tsp Splenda
3/4 Tbsp Baking powder
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cinnamon
Blend all ingredients well. (I use an immersion blender and it works perfectly)
Let the blended mixture set for a few minutes until some of the bubbles are gone.
Fry in a med-hi skillet for 2 minutes while covered, then flip and cook for another minute or so. You will know when it's ready to flip by the bubbles in the center, like a regular pancake.
Serve with sugar free syrup or as is.
Or you could make your own syrup with some butter and a little Torani syrup, the brown sugar/ cinnamon would be really good with this recipe. Just boil the two ingredients down until they are a syrupy consistency. 
You could also use this recipe for crepes, just use a crepe pan instead of a skillet. Also, you could increase the recipe to make enough to feed more people, because if your kids are moochers like mine, you will need it. To increase, just add 1 egg and 1 oz of cream cheese in equal ratios. Ex: If you have 3 hungry kids and 2 hungry adults, I would suggest using 7 eggs and 7 oz of cream cheese.

When people hear that I have "gone low carb", they always ask me how I do it, how do I go without eating all those yummy, delicious carbs, especially bread and pizza. The answer, I don't. I don't go without anything. I eat the same yummy foods as before, I just make them differently.

This recipe is my take on the Fat Head pizza everyone in the low carb community raves about, only I subbed some flax seeds for the almond flour and it worked amazingly well.

This recipe is super easy, as long as you have the magic ingredient... parchment paper. Seriously, it is key in making the crust work. For the crust, you will need...

• 2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)
• 1 Block of Cream Cheese (8 oz)
• 3 Tbsp Ground Flax Seeds
• Herbs and Spices (I used basil, dill and garlic powder)

Microwave all ingredients for 1 minute, then check and stir.
Microwave about another minute or so, until all the cheese is melted and gooey.
Turn the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and have another piece of parchment paper handy to cover it with.
Roll the dough out, with a rolling pin, between the two pieces of parchment paper.
Alternately, you could use your hands (or a can of peas) to spread the dough, if you don't have a rolling pin.

Bake the crust for about 7 minutes or so on 425, then remove from the oven and invert the crust, making the bottom the top. This will ensure you have a crispy crust on both sides.

Now for the good part... You could use a sugar free tomato pizza sauce, but I chose to use a Tbsp of Ranch dressing (1 carb). Then I sprinkled on all the toppings... (precooked) chicken, baby bella mushrooms, red onions and more Mozzarella. (I totally would've put bacon on it, if I had it, but alas, I didn't)

Pop this little piece of heaven in the oven for about 6 minutes or so, just long enough to heat the ingredients and melt the cheese.

This recipe is a huge hit at our house, even the kids like it, the little one even prefers it and honestly, so do I and at only 4 carbs per piece vs the 25 you will get in a "regular" piece of pizza, there's no guilt at all; none.