Recipe frist. Story Later!!!

What’s in a Chaffle?

1 egg

1 cup shredded mild cheddar

⅛ teaspoon baking powder

That’s it.

Plug in the waffle maker. When the light goes off it's ready. I put a little olive oil on the heating element.
1/4 cup of the mixture goes into the waffle maker. Close it and the light will come back on. Once the light is off again you're ready to move your waffle. It will be steaming hot!! Be careful!! I put them on a cooling rack and once they are cool and crispy I carefully slice them in half for sandwiches, burgers, chicken thighs, you name it. 

You can store them in the fridge but I recommend popping them back into the waffle maker to warm them up. Cool on the bakers rack again and slice them when they’re crispy. The resistance is helpful to get a good clean slice. Here are a pic of my very first chaffle. 

Beautiful Grain Free Cheesy Waffle!!!

Can I possibly still be learning new things about the keto lifestyle more than 2 years in? YUP!

Can I still be learning about my BODY after almost 44 YEARS? You Bet!!

Do you know people who follow this way of eating for a few weeks and think they’ve mastered it?  I’m here to tell you no way! 

I came down with a fever on July 27th. Hit me like a ton of bricks. No symptoms, just achy. I was in full-blown nutritional ketosis yet gained a pound a day for several days. Yes! I gained 6 pounds in 5 days WHILE IN KETOSIS. My body did NOT care. I was in a health crisis and my body was focused on that. 

Lesson: If you're eating on plan, drinking your water, following your macros and not losing? Your body is handling more important stuff. Stay the course and be patient. 

I ended up in a full-body rash which landed me in the ER to ultimately be admitted for testing. Testing that has so far led to no conclusion.

After being discharged from the hospital and continuing to stay keto despite the carb-laden hospital food I proceeded to lose 9 pounds in 5 days. How is that even possible? I stayed the course. I trusted my nutrition and allowed my body to heal itself and not fight against food and ingredients that I was not used to eating (even though I truly thought I earned those hostess cupcakes). 

After a few days of being home some of you know, I had a delivery that included an item I put in the Amazon cart during the middle of the night hospital stay. The MINI Waffle Maker!! 

 Last week I told you how I made my zucchini bread into mini waffles!. What I learned in the last week is my sensitivity to coconut flour. YUP! That’s what I learned. Brand new to me. I’ve eaten the coconut zucchini bread in the past and never noticed anything. Keeping my diet so clean as I continue to heal is what made the difference here.

I ate one waffle. The only new thing in my diet. Up a half a pound the next day. Didn’t think much of it as our weight fluctuates based on our water consumption, what’s literally in our stomachs at the time, how much salt we had in the days prior.

Ate another waffle. Gained another ½ pound. OK time to test it out...No waffle, next day down ½ pound. And the same the following day. If I wasn’t being so careful about what I was eating I would never have noticed!! I was like AREYOUKIDDINGME? 

Lesson: Just because it’s Keto doesn’t mean it’s Keto for ME! (Or you. We’re all mystical creatures who are different in so many lovely ways)

This brings me to the BASIC CHAFFLE! You guys! This is the item that once I tried it I texted my husband and told him “You’re gonna fall in love with me all over again!!” I was right!!! 

Bay-Gull!!! #dadjoke

This is by popular demand!

My husband has been making us keto everything bagels fro a while now. He took a recipe he found online and it has slowly but surely evolved to it’s own delicious self. No big story. No fanfare. Now go ahead and make yourselves some bagels!!
Recipe:
1 cup of water
1 packet of Hodgson Mill Active Dry Yeast - Follow the directions on the packet for blooming the yeast.

1 tsp of real honey (this doesn't get added to carb count, as it is eaten by the yeast)
4 Tbsp. of Swerve Confectioner-style sweetner
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 Cup Oat Fiber
2/3 Cup Ground Golden Flax Meal
1 1/4 Cup Vital Wheat Gluten
1/2 tsp of Xanthum Gum
1 tsp of salt
2 Tbsp. of softened butter.


Instructions for Bread Mixer:

Microwave water for 10 seconds at a time. It should be between 105* and 110*
Add honey and mix to dissolve.
Add yeast and mix to dissolve

Cover with a towel and place somewhere warm for 10 minutes to bloom. I just throw mine in the microwave. (Don’t turn it on)
Add mixture to bread machine.
Mix all the ingredients in the order listed above
Turn on bread maker to bagel dough setting. This will be a 1:30 hr cycle. After it's done, let sit for another hour.

BAGELS

Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces (I used a scale to be extra precise, but it’s not necessary). Shape each piece into a round. Now, take a dough ball, and press it gently against the countertop (or whatever work surface you’re using) moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms (as pictured below). Repeat with 7 other dough rounds.

Press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about ⅓ the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.

After shaping the dough rounds and placing them on the cookie sheet, cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425ºF

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat. Use a slotted spoon or ‘spider’ to lower the bagels into the water. Boil as many as you are comfortable with boiling. Once the bagels are in, it shouldn’t take too long for them to float to the top. Let them boil for two minutes then flip them and let them boil for one minute another. Total boil time 3 minutes.

I like them topped with Trader Joe’s Everything but the bagel seasoning. If you want to top your bagels with stuff, you will need to use an egg wash to get the toppings to stick before putting the bagels into the oven.

Once all the bagels have boiled (and have been topped with your choice of toppings), transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (NOT wax paper)

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool on the baking sheet. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before storing.  We sometimes set an alarm for 5 minutes to keep from tearing into them right away.

If you choose to freeze these I would suggest cutting them, freeze them, and then wrap them very carefully, with a few layers of cling wrap.

There aren’t any preservatives in these so they only last a few days before they start to mold over. You can also keep them in the fridge. They’re amazing toasted with butter!!

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a a small compensation at no cost to you.

I wanted zucchini bread so I made zucchini bread.

Ingredients

0.5 cups coconut flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 TBS granulated Swerve

2 TBS Brown ‘sugar’ Swerve

0.5 tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp cinnamon

Tiny sprinkle of Ginger

5 eggs - medium

1 cups grated/shredded zucchini (measure after squeezing out the water)

0.3 cup walnuts (optional)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract - I didn’t have this on hand and it still came out AMAZING!! Don’t let not having it stop you from making this amazing baked good!

Instructions

Place all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir gently.

Add the vanilla, eggs, grated/shredded zucchini and walnuts (optional). Stir gently.

Place into a greased loaf pan. I used refined coconut oil to grease the pan) 350F for 30-40 minutes. My oven is a little wonky so I turned it at 20 minutes and kept an eye on it. Total time was about 45 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick into the middle. You will know when it is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Servings 10.0

Calories: 71 Total Fat: 3g Total Carbohydrate: 6g Dietary Fiber 4g Protein 4g

This post contains affiliate links.

This zucchini bread is what was missing in my life!

Do you love pancakes? My son LOVES pancakes! He also loves yogurt! This week they didn't have the yogurt he likes in the individual serving containers so I bought the big container. Wouldn't you know "the big container doesn't taste as good as the small ones." Kids will be kids right? I had to find a way to start using it little by little. I can't stand waste! Here is how I incorporated it into these yummy pancakes! To offset the extra wet ingredients I added the flax meal. Little did I know how much it would add to the body, and flavor of these pancakes!!  I love these served with some nut butter or bacon. Yumm Yumm! 

How do you like your pancakes?!?! 

Delicious Keto Pancakes!

1/4 cup butter melted
1/4 cup  heavy cream (Add 1 tbs cream if the batter is too thick)
2 TBS Oikos Triple Zero Vanilla Yogurt
1 TBS Erythritol (I use Swerve)
Pinch of pink himalayan sea salt to taste
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 TBS Flax Meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions:
Whisk together butter, cream, stevia, salt, eggs, yogurt and vanilla extract.
Add coconut flour, flax meal  and baking powder. Mix. Do not over mix. Batter will thicken as it sits. You can thin out batter by adding more liquid (water or heavy cream).
Using unflavored coconut oil lightly oil skillet. Cook pancakes on medium heat
I use a tablespoon scoop and scoop 2 tbs per pancake making silver dollar sized pancakes.
TIPS: Substitute HWC for Sour Cream for a more “Buttermilk” style pancake. A dash of cinnamon is GREAT in these pancakes. It makes them taste like french toast!! 
Makes 14 Pancakes
Calories: 149  Fat:13g  Total Carbs: 6g  Fiber: 4g  Net Carbs: 2g  Protein: 4g
 

When your little girl has been on an all blueberry muffin kick and you’re just plain ol’ jealous! Keto blueberry muffins hit the spot! Need a little work but they’ll do for now! 

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup Coconut Flour

½ tsp Baking Soda

¼ tsp Baking Powder

1 sprinkle of Cinnamon

¼ tsp Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

2 TBS Swerve Sweetener

2 ½ TBS Melted butter

2 TBS Coconut Oil Melted

6 Eggs

4 TBS Water

1 tsp Vanilla

½ tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

½ Cup Frozen Blueberries (Plus a few to dot the top to be cute!)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375*

Line the muffin tin with liners

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients

Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Fold in the blueberries.

Using a cookie scoop (1 TBS) put 2 scoops into each cup and tamp down.

Dot the tops of the muffins with extra blueberries if you’re being cute.

Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the muffin pan bid way through. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

I used frozen blueberries. If you’re using fresh you may have to back the cooking time down.

Makes 12

xoxo

Cat