Keto/Low Carb Éclair

I had a really bad craving for eclairs and so I thought I would give making them a shot. Here is my first attempt at the recipe. I experimented with a few different ways to make them, the following is the recipe for my best of the batch. 

Overall,  I really liked them. I used home made low-carb vanilla pudding and used it for the inner cream, next time I am going to use low-carb pre made  pudding. You don't need too much pudding, maybe half a pack made from a mix. My homemade pudding (found in a separate blog post) was not think enough and leaked through the bottom. I froze them to avoid leakage. This recipe should make 12, mine are a little bigger than they should be. 

Ingredients 
1/2 Cup Butter (I used salted, if you do not use salted add 1/4 teaspoon of salt)
1 Cup Water
1 1/2 Cup Almond Flour
1/2 Tablespoon Of Cornstarch
4 Eggs
2 Cups Of Vanilla Pudding
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1/4 Cup Granulated Sweetener
3 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
5 Squared Of 90% Cocoa Chocolate
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/3 Cup Sweetener
3 Tablespoons Of Hot Water

Prep Work
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
-Grease a cookie sheet.

Procedure
-Combine 1/2 cup of butter and 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, melt butter completely.
-Reduce to medium heat. Stir in almond flour, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and cornstarch. After a few minutes of brisk stirring reduce heat to low and let thicken. Remove from heat.
-Add eggs, one at a time. Mix completely.
-Put batter on cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips. 
-Bake 10 minutes.
-Add more batter on the semi-firm top of each strip. Attempt to double it in size. 
-Reduce heat to 325 and bake for 15 to 20 more minutes. 
-Check on them, you want them to puff up and balloon. They will not end up being completely hollow on the inside.
-Cool on a wire rack.

For the filling:
-Beat the whip cream until soft peaks form. 
-Beat in 1/4 cup of sweetener and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
-Fold whip cream into pudding. 

-Cut the tops off of the pastries once they have cooled.
-Spoon in filling and cover. Chill or freeze.

For icing:
-Melt chocolate and 2 tablespoons of butter in saucepan in low heat.
-Stir in 1/3 cup of sweetener and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. 
-Add water, one tablespoon at a time. 

-Drizzle or smooth icing over chilled pastries. I liked to seal the top back on with the chocolate icing. I then put mine in the freezer to make sure they stuck together. 

Nutrition (per eclair)
Calories: 315
Total Fat: 30g
Carbs: 6.6g
Fiber: 1.9g
Sugars: 1.1g
Protein: 6.2g

Low Carb Vanilla Pudding

I worked this out to be part of my eclair recipe and had to try the pudding on its own. Not the lowest in carbs, but it is a satisfying treat.

Ingredients 

1/3 Cup of Granulated Sweetener

1 Tablespoon Liquid Sweetener 

1 Tablespoon Cornstarch 

1 Tablespoon Almond Meal

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk

2 Eggs

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla

Prep Work

-Beat eggs in a small bowl.

Procedure

1. Mix together in saucepan on: almond milk, cream, liquid sweetener, sweetener, cornstarch and almond meal. 

2. Stir occasionally. The mixture should thicken. Once it begins to thicken cook and stir for 3-5 minutes.  

3. Pour one cup of the hot mixture into the eggs.

4. Pour egg mixture into the saucepan and cook for 2-4 minutes. 

5. Remove from heat and melt butter into the mixture.

6. When the butter is fully melted add in the vanilla.

7. Chill in fridge for 2-3 hours.

Nutritional Information (for 1 of 4 servings)

Calories: 302

Fat: 27.1g

Carbs: 5.2g

Fiber: 0.4g

Sugar: 0.6g

Protein: 4.0g

How To Start A Keto Lifestyle

I thought my boyfriend was crazy when he cut the carbs. My university roommate was a nutrition major and she also did not recommend eliminating carbs. After watching him drop weight quickly I changed my mind. 

1. I cut carbs completely. When I changed my eating habits I did not ease into it as some people do. The main reason I made the clean cut was because I know some people go through withdraw and have cravings if they continue to eat carby foods (even if they eat smaller portions). 

2. Throw out (or give away) all sugary, gluten packed foods. The basic (and I mean very basic) conversion I started to live by was subtracting fibre from carbs. I lived by on the notion that fibre carbs are good carbs, stay away from sugar and other avoid sweeteners. I aimed to stick under 20 grams of carb everyday, without any exercise. 





3. Check out the nutrition info on everything you buy. Some things vary in carb content. Chicken wings are a good example of a food that change depending on the brand. Honey ham may also surprise you, depending on the brand. Fresh meat is always better than processed meats. Go to the grocery store with a list of theses key items:
-Eggs
-Unsweetened Almond Milk
-Nuts, I prefer almonds (they are perfect to grab by the handful for a snack.
-Heavy cream
-Cheese
-Boston lettuce (you can use this instead a bun)
-Your favourite fresh meats: chicken, pork, beef, turkey
 -Favourite specialty meats: bacon, sausage, certain chicken wings
-Salad Dressings
-Mustard (a core part of my first few weeks of keto)

4. Treat yourself. Find recipes online for things that match your cravings. Jump in, learn new keto recipes and keto treats you can eat from Day 1. Don't deprive yourself. Set your carb limit per day and then stick within it, eat as much as you want of foods with little to no carbs. If you want ice cream, make it. If you want cake, figure it out. There are a tonne of great resources online to help you make something that will satisfy your dessert cravings.

5. Pack your lunch everyday. Have one special lunch a week. This will save you money. Pack leftovers in your lunch from the supper you make the night before. This way you control what you have to eat, the temptation to grab a slice of pizza won't be there.  

Another thing I did when I started keto was drop breakfast. I make a protein shake in its place and have two big meals. I eat "breakfast foods" (eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, omelettes) as main courses now. I make meals now, not just food. I don't scramble to eat the quickest, easiest foods now and put love into the meals I make. 

I think it would be interesting to see how other people got started and what they recommend for newcomers, please comment below and let me know what you did to get started and any tips for newcomers. Let me know what your thoughts are! 

My New Years Resolutions

2012 was an amazing year for me.

You caught me, I love Toy Story. 
And, interesting hats.

I got my start working in the radio industry. I started my final year of post-secandary education (for a long time). I celebrated 2 years of dating my wonderful boyfriend. I traveled across Canada (well, Calgary - Halifax) twice. And, I lost 40lbs.

If you have not read any of my other blog posts you can find out more about my keto lifestyle change in earlier posts. I now have more energy, I feel well and I am more productive than ever. No more naps, no more sugar dependancy. 

When December 31 rolled around I was not really ready to set my New Years resolutions. I usually never really follow through with all them but last year I managed to cross one of my list. The weight loss the one I had been trying to tackle for years. At 200 lbs, I really couldn't let it go another year. 

It took me a while, I really wanted to put thought and effort into making my list this year. Its a big year. 2013 I will be starting my career and leaving school hopefully forever. My boyfriend and I have some big trips we are about to tackle and finding a permanent home somewhere in this country will also come to play. 

That is why I staggered my goals this year, most have unique timeframes (for the first time I am free from the dreaded weight loss/gym routine):

-Refresh my Spanish for our trip to San Diego
-Finish my radio major project before my 24th birthday
-Be the best student possible (go to all remaining classes)

I usually refresh my goals after a couple months to see what is working and what isn't. This is also important for celebrating completed goals. For me, short term goal making works better than the full year. 

Over my Christmas Vacation from school I read Wheat Belly by William Davis. It really made me re-afirm how important it is (for me) to live a low-carb lifestyle. Though I miss sour candies, being able to pop a pizza in the oven and donuts; I am so happy in my own skin now. I did not include this in my resolutions because for me this change in diet is a lifestyle change. 

After Christmas, I was shocked. I weighed in my lightest weight yet. I hadn't checked in a few months but I expected to put on a few pounds while living at home with carb-lovers, instead I weighed in at my lowest point yet: 159lbs. 

Good luck with your New Years goals!

Thanks For The Support!

I would just like to thank everyone who has been following my online cookbook and sending feedback on my experiments in the kitchen. I am currently 40 lbs lighter than I was at this time last year and I am loving every minute of it! In the following weeks I will be posting more great content including my all-time favourite keto/low carb pizza crust! 

Thanks for the great year, if you are interested in helping with my pursuit of keto/low carb foods please click a featured ad link on this page! 

Kate