Sugar-Free Key Lime Pie and a GIVEAWAY!

School's out for the summer, and I'm back in the kitchen. So happy to have a break from coursework, and time to create low carb recipes again! Here in Florida, the summer heat has me craving cool, creamy desserts and icy treats to enjoy. Enter a healthy version of the official dessert of the state of Florida: Key Lime Pie!

This is not your momma's key lime pie...

...or at least if my mother made key lime pie (she grew up in North Dakota), it wouldn't be like this! There are no egg yolks or sweetened condensed milk to be found in this version. With all of the tart, sweet flavor and none of the sugar, this low carb key lime pie will remind you of the slices you've enjoyed in Florida seafood restaurants. The pie has a slightly different texture than the original, though, with its airy, almost mousse-like filling. I can promise you that you won't miss the sweetened condensed milk after tasting this pie. Feel free to serve it liberally with whipped cream. We can indulge in that healthy saturated fat on a low carb eating plan!

I think you'll really like this super easy crust. Removing the eggs and using xanthan gum as the binder helps keep the texture nice and crisp. You should already have xanthan gum if you have been doing a lot low carb baking (or following this blog!).

The flavor from the blend of pecan meal and almond meal is phenomenal, but if you prefer, you can use 100% almond meal in this crust. The pecan meal might only be widely available in southern states. Our local Publix has a whole section devoted to products from the George Pecan Co. Their pecan meal is really finely milled and fresh tasting. I use it more often than almond meal sometimes, since I have to grind almond meal myself. Pecans do have higher fat percentage than almond meal, so a one-for-one substitution of pecan meal for almond meal might not work well in all of your recipes.



Healthy Key Lime Pie

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

For Crust:

1 cup blanched almond meal, packed
1/2 cup pecan meal, packed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. NuNaturals pure stevia extract
2 tsbp. granular erythritol, powdered
½ tsp. xanthan gum
3 tbsp. butter, melted
½ tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt

For Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
7 tbsp. granular erythritol (or other sugar substitute), powdered
1/4 plus 1/8 tsp. NuNaturals pure stevia extract
1/2 cup key lime juice (the bottled kind works well)
1/4 tsp. finely minced lime zest (1/8 tsp. for less tartness)
1 packet (2 tsp.) unflavored gelatin
1 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

For Crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together almond meal, pecan meal, cinnamon, stevia, and xanthan gum together in a bowl. Grind erythritol in a coffee grinder to powder it. Whisk into the above mixture. Stir vanilla and salt into melted butter. Add to dry mixture, and knead together dough with hands until everything is distributed evenly throughout the dough. The color of the dough will look even when its ready. Lightly grease a large glass pie dish with butter. Press dough into dish in the shape of a crust, trying to make sure that the thickness is the same all over the pie dish. Poke holes with a fork all over the crust so to ensure that air pockets don't form while it's baking. Bake crust for 14-15 minutes. Make sure to remove crust from the oven once edges are slightly browned. Check the crust a couple of times while it bakes to see if bubbles form. Should you see air pockets rising under the crust, open the oven door, and gently prick those areas with your fork. Place dish on a cooling rack to cool, and wait at least 2 hours for crust to dry out and reach room temperature. You can cover the crust with plastic wrap, and store it in the refrigerator overnight if you'd like to prepare the filling the next day.

For Filling:

Set cream cheese out on the counter for 2 hours to reach room temperature.

Beat cream cheese with a mixer until smooth and free of lumps. Powder erythritol in coffee grinder. Stir erythritol and 1/4 tsp. stevia into cream cheese, then beat with mixer for 2-3 minutes on high speed to ensure erythritol has dissolved and texture is smooth. Refrigerate mixture while you perform the next step.

Heat key lime juice, covered, in microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes. Add lime zest to hot key lime juice. Whisk gelatin into key lime juice until it has completely dissolved. Let mixture cool for 5-10 minutes, or until no longer hot to the touch. Stir key lime juice mixture into cream cheese mixture. You want the gelatin to start thickening as it cools down. Look for a pudding-like texture as you are stirring the cream cheese mixture around the bowl. If it is not thickening, make an ice bath with another bowl filled with ice and water. Set bowl with cream cheese mixture over the ice bath (making sure water doesn't get into cream cheese mixture!) and stir the cream cheese mixture around bottom of bowl with a spatula. Do this for a couple of minutes until the mixture thickens to a pudding-like consistency and is cool to the touch. Remove bowl with cream cheese mixture from ice bath, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat heavy cream and 1/8 tsp. stevia until stiff peaks form. Use spatula to fold a dollop of whipped cream mixture into cream cheese mixture, and stir it around a bit. Fold the rest of the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until texture is fairly even. Scrape filling into pie crust. Refrigerate pie, uncovered, for 3-4 hours, or until texture is firm enough to cut. Serve topped with whipped cream if desired. Pie will keep at least 3 days refrigerated.

Use the same process to whip cream for garnish as you did above for the filling. Add erythritol, stevia, and vanilla extract to taste. If you don't mind a few extra carbs, you can use a little bit of the canned whipped cream.



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But wait, there's more! :) To celebrate the first new recipe of the summer at Healthy Indulgences Blog, I have a surprise for you readers. Leave a comment stating your favorite pie, and email address, and you could win one of the following prizes:

1) A bottle of NuNaturals Liquid Stevia (perfect for your morning coffee!)



2) A bag of xanthan gum (shipped to you from iherb.com)



Feel free to specify whether you'd like to be entered into the drawing for only ONE of the above prizes (if you already have either stevia or xanthan gum).

I wanted to do a giveaway to say "thank you!" for keeping up with this blog, and sending me your emails, even though I've been too busy with school to contribute much to the low carb community and blogosphere for the past year or so. The bottle of Alcohol Free Stevia was part of the generous package full of products I received from Nunaturals (thank you, Ron Redding!) to keep me stocked up and baking with their stevia products. Since I've loved the taste of their NuNaturals stevia since 2008, it's really cool to get that kind of gift from the company! I wanted to disclose this to you, in the interest of making sure you know why I'm going to be using NuNaturals stevia exclusively from now on. The 1 lb container of Nunaturals pure stevia extract is enough to last a lifetime!

I'm halfway through the blog inbox, and will get to your message eventually, even if you sent it a month ago! Just finished my summer class last week, so this week I am catching up on answering your emails, readers. Your ideas for what dessert to "make over" next are great. Keep 'em coming, please!

Again, don't forget to leave your email address in your comment for this post. It's perfectly fine to leave it in the form "healthyindulgencesblog (space) @ (space) gmail . com" to avoid spam. Last time I couldn't get in touch with the winners after drawing their names.

Hope you are having a sweet summer!

Love,
Lauren

New contact information + updates about recipes

Hi readers! I wanted to keep you updated, since I have been receiving your emails and comments daily, even in the absence of new recipes. THANK YOU for this, by the way! I do love hearing from individuals who share the passion for living and cooking sugar-free.

I have created a new email account that's just for Healthy Indulgences questions and comments. That way, I won't miss any of your emails, which has been happening quite frequently in the past months. You have my sincerest apologies if you have contacted me for a question, and I have not responded to you. I tend to hold off on responding to blog-related queries till I have addressed emails related to academic and personal matters. I just want to provide sufficient explanations and detailed responses regarding your recipe questions, which causes me to put off responding. Hopefully with a separate account for Healthy Indulgences, there will be no more emails buried and forgotten about in my personal inbox!

My summer coursework has taken me out of the kitchen and kept me in the classroom, in case you have noticed the absence of new recipes. When I can "find my groove" and feel confident juggling class, cooking, and blogging, I will start posting again. No predictions regarding a time frame, though! I will not make that mistake again. :)

To those of you who have donated--I am far behind with writing thank you notes, and some of you may not have received any thanks at all since Paypal deletes old transactions. I am thanking you right here, now, from the bottom of my heart! I appreciate the financial support, since I am still finishing my undergraduate education.

To summarize:
A) New email account for Healthy Indulgences (healthyindulgencesblog@gmail.com, which is posted on the sidebar <---)
B) My apologies for missed emails
C) Thank you for your support!

Hope you are enjoying your summer! Feel free to let me know in the comments if there are any summer dessert recipes you'd like to see recreated as low carb, gluten-free treats. I am looking for inspiration regarding what you'd like for me to tackle, for when I can get back in the kitchen! Hearing stories of your recent cooking successes would be lovely as well!

Best,
Lauren

The wait is over! Healthy Chocolate Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes...

At last, I am posting the recipe that goes with the photo you see below! Apologies for the delay. Am enjoying the last days of Spring Break, and working on a recipe in addition to this one that I think y'all will appreciate, especially with the warmer weather coming. The Floridian in me is pretty excited about it (hint: it's a well-loved pie!), too.

Regarding comments... unforunately, I can longer keep up with them since I am merely a student, with my top priorities being school work and other activities on campus. It is exciting, but saddening as well since I enjoy corresponding with the lovely folks writing in with questions and comments. Please do not hesitate to email me. Go ahead and shoot me another one if I miss your first email! I will be creating a separate email account shortly just to respond to blog comments and questions, since they are currently mixed in with my school/work/personal emails. Thank you for your understanding.

At any rate, I hope you will give these easy, tasty cheesecakes a try. You can add what ever berry you like, or perhaps get creative and drop other goodies into the unbaked filling (low carb chocolate chips? sugar-free cookie chunks?!). The gluten-free nut crust could be tweaked with finely ground dried coconut flakes and perhaps a bit of buckwheat flour to make it nut-free for those allergic, but I will leave the experimentation up to you this time!

By the way, these cheesecakes were an entry for a contest sponsored by a sugar-free retailer that occurred ages ago. I have since tested the recipe multiple times, and the results have been met with "winning" ratings by my testers, although these tasty bites did not garner accolades in the official contest. The official contest winners were, incidentally, not low carb dishes in any capacity. Doesn't the low-glycemic crowd need love too?




Mini Cheesecakes with Fresh Berries (gluten-free, low carb)

Serves 8

Chocolate Cookie Crust

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon xylitol or erythritol, powdered
1/4 teaspoon pure NuNaturals powdered stevia extract (if using erythritol and not xylitol)
2 tablespoons beaten egg
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a muffin tin with the metal liners containing paper muffin cups. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray. Powder erythritol or xylitol in a coffee grinder or blender. Melt chocolate and butter together in a microwave safe mixing bowl for 35 seconds. Stir well. Heat for another 10 seconds, and stir until chocolate butter is smooth. In another bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Whisk beaten egg and sweeteners into chocolate mixture. Stir in dry ingredients until a ball of dough forms. Mix dough with clean hands if it becomes too stiff to stir. Grease a pie tin, and line the bottom with a circle of greased parchment paper. Divide dough into eight pieces and press into bottom of greased muffin papers. Poke holes in the crusts with the tines of a fork. Bake for 15 minutes. Freeze crusts for 10-20 minutes, until no longer warm to the touch.

Cheesecake Filling

Ingredients:
1 package cream cheese (8 ounces)
1/2 cup xylitol or erythritol, powdered
1/8 teaspoon pure NuNaturals powdered stevia extract (if using erythritol)
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 large egg
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup (heaped) fresh raspberries

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill a cake pan with an inch of hot water, and place in oven on lowest shelf while you prepare filling. Mix cream cheese with erythritol or xylitol until smooth. Blend in cream, and then beat in extracts and egg. Do not over mix. Drop 4 to 6 (depending on size) raspberries into each muffin cup. Press down gently on berries that stick up. Pour filling into muffin cups all the way up to the top. Bake in the oven on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Cool out on the kitchen counter until room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled and about, about four hours. Best served within two days, as these do not keep well.

Ganache Topping (optional)

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons xylitol or erythritol, powdered
1/8 teaspoon NuNaturals pure powdered stevia extract (if using erythritol)
2 ounces good quality unsweetened chocolate, chopped
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter, cut into four pieces

Preparation:
Place chopped chocolate, butter, and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on HIGH for 40 seconds, then stir until smooth. Mix in xylitol or erythritol and stevia with a spatula, until uniform in consistency with no clumps. Spread over cheesecakes with the back of a spoon or a clean fingertip. Press a raspberry in the center. Let the ganache set for about 10 minutes, then serve. Prepare ganache immediately before the portions that you are serving. It does not keep well.

Good things come to those who wait...

To all of my amazing, supportive readers: The wait is over! You'll be seeing a new recipe posted every week or so. I can't make hard and fast promises, but I WILL attempt to designate a few hours each weekend to post, so as to use up some of this stevia (and erythritol! oh my) I received from the wonderful Ron Redding over at NuNaturals. Furthermore, I'd like to show my appreciation those of you who have used my iherb.com rewards code (see sidebar) and who have made Paypal donations. I am able to restock baking supplies once again! Since I'm a full time college student, every little bit really helps.

Stay tuned! I should have a new post up, featuring a brand new tasty sugar-free dessert, by **March, as I have my first major round of exams to prepare for up until then! Spring break is coming up in early March, which will give me a breather. Sorry for the delay, folks. The recipes are ready to go, but writing up a thoughtful post takes time. If I don't respond to your first email, please try me again, as I have been on the computer less and less as of late, and sometimes my inbox gets backed up. Thank you for your patience!

**Edited

Again, I can't thank y'all enough for your supportive emails, comments, and for spreading the word about sugar-free living! Feel free to contact me via email instead of in the comments please. Have fun with your healthy baking, all!

All the best,
Lauren

Blogging Break

Am back at school now with a tough courseload, so I will not be posting (or cooking!) for awhile. In the mean time, check out these tasty links:

Flax "Rye" Bread @ Elana's Pantry
Grain-Free Zucchini Bake @ Whole Life Nutrition
Grain-Free Coconut Flour Biscuits @ Diet, Dessert, And Dogs
Cultured Coconut Milk Kefir @ The Healthy Cooking Coach

Be back when I have more time to play in the kitchen!

~Lauren

Healthy Grain-Free Chocolate Zucchini (or Apple) Bread

Just returned, completely rejuvenated, from a trip to a see friends and relatives up north. Minnesota and North Dakota are some of my favorite places on Earth. I feel revitalized from being immersed in this uplifting, highly social culture for two weeks. Let me explain: In Fargo, North Dakota, it seemed as if everyone wanted to strike up a conversation with you, a perfect stranger, soon to be new friend. The human connection, the sense of community, is strong in these smallish Midwestern towns. How refreshing!



How does that observation relate to low carb cooking? You might be suprised to find out that North Dakota has fabulous health food stores! The selection is much more extensive, and the food more competitively priced compared to what you can find in my Florida hometown. Of course I stocked up, and will be sharing some of these food finds with you.

Have you tried buckwheat flour before? I've used it in a couple of recipes (my Molten Lava Cake and Gluten-free Wraps), but never in large amounts. It's not a grain, but a seed, highly nourishing with its low starch content and antioxidants. As you probably know I'm not big on typical gluten-free flour because of their highly processed nature and carb counts (20+ grams net carbs per 1/4 cup for most!). Fortunately, a little bit of buckwheat flour goes a long way. You can't achieve the same "crust" on quick breads using almond flour or coconut flour alone. The buckwheat flour also helps to bind the nut meal into a smooth dough. Finally, it makes quick breads less mushy, which can be a common problem in low carb baking. Almond meal baked goods can be too moist, especially since we're not using any sugar with it. I bought a bag of fresh buckwheat flour at a tiny health food store in Park Rapids, Minnesota. This flour ended up being much more mild tasting than the Bob's Red Mill brand buckwheat I had been using, which has a strong earthy flavor to it. Look for no label, light colored buckwheat flour at your own local health food store. It's reasonably priced, so you have no excuse not to try it out!

Put that buckwheat flour to good use in this ultra moist gluten-free Chocolate Zucchini Bread. It's really sweet enough to be a rich chocolate cake, with a pleasant subtle spiciness from the cinnnamon and apple. Sugar-free, low carb, and dairy-free, as usual. I guessed on the measurement for Splenda, since I don't care for the flavor. Just taste the batter, and add more Splenda to adjust the sweetness. Less is more with that stuff. The loaf you see here is made with apple in place of zucchini. Your house will smell so good when this is baking. Yum!



Healthy Chocolate Zucchini (Or Apple) Bread

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons coconut oil OR unsalted organic butter
2-1 oz squares unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup erythritol OR xylitol OR 1 1/4 cup Splenda
1/2 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals pure stevia extract (if using erythritol or xylitol)
2 cups (5 ounces) grated peeled apple or zucchini
3 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour (buckwheat, millet, etc.)
2 cups nut meal (I used 1/2 almond meal, 1/4 ground sunflower seeds, 1/4 ground pecans)
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease an 8" by 5" loaf pan well with coconut oil, and sift cocoa powder over the bottom and up the sides. Cut a rectangle of parchment or wax paper to fit the bottom, and line the pan with it.
Grate zuchini or apple and press between a dishcloth or paper towels to blot out moisture. Melt coconut oil gently in the microwave, or scoop out and heat in a double boiler until liquified. Measure out the tablespoons of liquid oil into a bowl. If using butter, melt until liquified. Whisk in eggs, whites, vanilla, stevia, and erythritol or xylitol, and beat for a couple minutes until sweetener is dissolved. If the brand of xylitol or erythritol you buy isn't finely milled, then run it through your coffee grinder to powder it before adding to the batter. Chop chocolate and melt in 30 second intervals in the microwave until liquified; scrape into batter and beat well. Measure out nut meal by packing it into your measuring cup firmly, and scraping the top level. Whisk together dry ingredients, and stir into batter. Fold in grated zucchini or apple. Beat well for 2-3 minutes. Scrape into pan and tap the bottom forcefully on the counter to pop the air bubbles in the batter. Bake for 1 hour, until the top springs back to the touch. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert gently on to a plate and stand upright. Let cool for an hour, slice, and serve. It freezes well, with slices individually wrapped in plastic and foil.

~3.2g net carbs per 1/10th of a loaf, made with zucchini
~4.5g net carbs per 1/10th of a loaf, made with apple

Related content from other blogs:
Gluten-Free Pecan and Apple Bread @ Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried
Grain-Free Banana Bread @ Feel Good Food
Grain-Free Sweet Potato Almond Butter Bread @ Deliciously Gluten Free Cooking

Have you tried buckwheat flour? What's your favorite gluten-free flour? Share it with us in the comments section!

Sugar-Free Premium Chocolate Ice Cream

Sugar-free chocolate ice cream.

This is the real deal.

I busted out my little Cuisinart and produced an ice cream worthy to share with you guys. With a little bit of inspiration from All Recipes (love this site!), we now have a viable alternative to storebought low carb ice cream that's gluten-free and made with fresh ingredients. No sorbitol or maltitol, yuck.

The best part about this ice cream is that it's scoopable right from the freezer. The secret ingredients that make this possible are the heavy cream (as opposed to using part milk or half and half) and the tiny bit of brandy that lowers the freezing point. Now you won't have to wait around to dig into your healthy indulgence on a hot summer day!

Furthermore, this creamy custard ice cream doesn't require any cooking time. Because the ice cream contains raw egg yolks, use only fresh organic eggs. I honestly use conventional storebought eggs every time I make desserts, and have never gotten sick, but you might want to take this precaution if you have a compromised immune system. Additionally, you can find pasteurized eggs in some supermarkets that have already been heat treated for safe culinary use.

If you haven't tried using fresh vanilla beans in your cooking, you might want to give them a try. I ordered them off of ebay for a very reasonable price, and have been using them in low carb custards and pastries ever since. The aromatic floral nature of the tahitian beans and bean pods adds a layer of complexity and richness you can't get from a bottle. Plus, the pod scrapings add those pretty dark flecks to the ice cream base. Order some today, and you won't be disappointed.

Still working on a dairy-free ice cream. Stay tuned.

These photos reflect the heat in my sunny Florida kitchen. Hopefully my frustration with the shoot doesn't come through... :)



Premium Low Carb Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2/3 cup erythritol or xylitol
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 fresh egg yolks, beaten
2 2/3 cups organic heavy cream
1/8-1/4 teaspoon NuNaturals pure stevia extract
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract OR 2 vanilla beans, split
1 tablespoon brandy, or other hard alcohol (to keep it soft and scoopable)

Preparation:
Melt xylitol in a saucepan over medium-low heat, and add vanilla bean scrapings and bean pods (if using). Let the xylitol melt completely, and steep for a couple of minutes with the bean. Whisk in cocoa powder and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Stir until sweetener dissolves, with no grainy chunks visible. Remove saucepan from heat. In a large bowl, beat yolks with electric mixer until light in color. Add the rest of the heavy cream a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add cocoa mixture into yolk mixture, and beat well. Whisk in stevia, xanthan gum and vanilla extract, if using. Taste, and add more stevia, if necessary. Chill ice cream base in refrigerator for a minimum of four hours, covered in plastic wrap.

Turn on your ice cream maker and strain the base through a fine mesh sieve into your machine to remove the vanilla bean pieces. While the ice cream is freezing, make up the sugar-free chocolate chips. Freeze ice cream for a few hours to make it firm and scoopable.

Use these chocolate chips only for ice cream, since they will melt quickly at room temperature. For chocolate chips that can be used in baking, see this recipe.

Sugar-Free Chocolate Ice Cream Chips

Makes enough chips for one batch of ice cream

Ingredients:
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I like Ghirardelli)
1/4 cup xylitol OR 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon erythritol, powdered
1/8 teaspoon NuNaturals pure stevia extract
2 tablespoons coconut oil OR nonhydrogenated shortening

Preparation:
Powder sweetener finely in a coffee grinder. Melt chocolate and coconut oil in microwave for 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds. Stir again until smooth, and add xylitol and stevia. Fold mixture together with a spatula until a silky smooth consistency is reached. It may take you a minute to work the chocolate mixture around the bowl and smooth out all the chunks of xylitol. Scrape melted chocolate bit by bit into ice cream maker a few minutes before the ice cream stiffens completely. Alternatively, pour on to a sheet pan lined with foil. Freeze for 10 minutes, then peel chocolate slab off of foil. Chop into tiny chunks, working quickly before it melts. Fold chips into finished ice cream.

~13g net carbs for the whole batch of chips
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What is your favorite kind of ice cream? Any good storebought sugar-free or dairy-free brands? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!