Food & Dining Best low carb recipes

Made a batch of mousse 2 weeks ago using 2 blocks of 90% Lindt ... it was way too bitter for my liking - ended up eating less than half of the bowl between us and then I threw the rest out last week.

Made another batch today using 3 blocks of 78% Lindt. It is really really nice - great rich chocolate flavour without the bitterness. I calculate 94.4g of carbs in the whole bowl, approximately 8.6g per 100g of mousse, so not super low - but not too bad for a dessert.

 

I tried the Fat Head Pizza base yesterday. First batch was far too moist and I rolled it out too thinly - but managed to get a half decent pizza out of it. Second batch I added more almond meal and rolled it out thicker and it worked a lot better.

Didn't have any pure mozzarella (only pizza cheese blend), so decided to try the usual Bega Tasty cheese we use - but I think in hindsight that's a bit too strong flavoured. Ended up being a bit too cheesy.

Will buy some plain mozzarella for next time and try that.

The result was okay - I didn't mind it, texture was okay (I prefer my pizza base a bit more bread-like - which is why I typically use a bread mix for it), but this works quite well too. Kids weren't that impressed - but then, they love my bread-mix pizza bases, so aren't likely to accept substitutes.

Big test was leftovers for lunch today - I ended up eating it cold straight out of the fridge and it was quite nice. If a pizza tastes as good or better the next day, it gets a tick from me.

I'm keen to try making Fat Head Crackers some time - I think the cheesiness will work well and the texture would suit it.

Might have to try the Fat Head Sausage Rolls sometime too.

I like how easy the dough is to make. Four base ingredients and very little preparation time.

 

I made these FatHead Crackers last weekend - worked surprisingly well!



I followed the recipe more closely this time - used pure mozzarella cheese rather than tasty cheese and that made all the difference. It's a lot less oily and so I didn't need to use a heap more almond meal to stop it being so sticky. Final texture was just about ideal to work with and I was able to roll it out nice and thinly.

The taste was quite mild - definitely needs salt to add a bit of flavour. I preferred the crackers that were really well cooked (almost over cooked) - tends to bring out a bit more bite to the flavour.

Tested them with a heap of different sauces, mayo, etc - to me they were best either with just salt, or with tomato relish. I might try making my own tomato salsa and see how well that works. Would probably go okay with guacamole if you're into that kind of thing.

I can see it working well as a base for nachos and I'm keen to try it for sausage rolls too.

Now that I've got the recipe working properly (the cheese matters!), I'm looking forward to trying it on a pizza base again. It doesn't have a strong cheese flavour, so won't dominate the taste of the pizza like tasty cheese did. Aiming for a thin and crispy base (which is not what I usually do - I prefer a doughy base which is why I've traditionally used bread mix).

 

Finally got around to trying the Fat Head Pizza base again tonight - this time using pure mozzarella for the base like I did for the crackers a few weeks back.

I rolled the base out quite thinly and cooked it in the oven before topping with my pizza sauce (tinned tomatoes with some garlic and Italian herbs added, blended in mu Nutri Ninja), some pizza cheese (mozzarella / parmesan blend), pepperoni, cabanossi and finally some capsicum (which I pre-cooked).



Turned out really well. First slice the base was a bit soggy - had to use a knife and fork to eat it. But by the time I got to the second slice, the thin crust had firmed up a bit and I was able to eat it by hand. Really enjoyed the flavour - base was just there to hold the toppings and didn't dominate like my first attempt (using tasty cheese).

Will definitely make this again!

My wife wasn't as keen on the base - she says she preferred the cauliflower base I first tried. This Fat Head base is a lot easier to make though, so I'm not sure I want to bother with the cauli again - but perhaps I will try it some time.

Real test will be tomorrow - the test of a good pizza that it should always taste better the next day!

 

This looks good.

Rather than cocoa + sweetener, I might just use chocolate instead (Lindt 78%) and see if I can find a ratio that works.

 

I was going to try making some of these - Brigadeiro

Brigadeiro - apparently it's a Brazilian recipe and it made with sweetened condensed milk, butter and chocolate. Probably a bit too high in carbs overall - would need to do the sums and try some variations to see if I could increase the butter and/or chocolate content to increase the fat and lower the carbs overall.

I might try substituting something else in place of the condensed milk. My mum and sister came up with an alternative lemon cheesecake recipe which uses a mixture of cream cheese and cottage cheese in place of condensed milk and I think it works really well - although there's still a fair amount of sugar in that recipe. I might try something similar here - need to do some experimentation some time.