300 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (55 page)

You can top this with fruit if you like, but it's mighty good just as it is.

“Graham” Crust
(see recipe on the next page)

1 pound (455 g) light cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese, softened

1/2 cup (115 g) light sour cream

2 eggs

1/2 cup (12 g) Splenda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

Prepare the
“Graham” Crust
and let it cool.

Using your electric mixer, beat the cheese, sour cream, and eggs until they're very smooth. (You'll need to scrape down the sides of the bowl at least a few times.) Now
beat in the Splenda, vanilla extract, and salt. Pour into the waiting crust. Cover the pan tightly with foil, squeezing it in around the rim.

Take a big sheet of foil, at least 18 inches (45 cm) long, and roll it into a loose cylinder. Bend it into a circle and place it in the bottom of your slow cooker. (You're making a rack to put the pan on.) Pour 1/4 inch of water into your slow cooker and then put the pan on the donut of foil. Cover the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 3 to 4 hours.

Turn off the slow cooker, uncover, and let cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before you try to remove the pan from the slow cooker. Chill well before serving.

Yield:
12 servings, each with: 241 calories, 21 g fat, 8 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 4 g usable carbs. (You could cut this into eight, more generous servings if you'd like.)

“Graham” Crust

Wheat germ and wheat bran give this a “graham” flavor.

1 1/4 cups (181 g) almonds

2 tablespoons (14 g) wheat germ

2 tablespoons (14 g) wheat bran

3 tablespoons (4.5 g) Splenda

1 pinch salt

6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C, or gas mark 3).

Put the almonds in your food processor with the
S
-blade in place. Run it until they're ground to about the texture of corn meal. Add the wheat germ, wheat bran, Splenda, and salt and pulse to combine. Now turn on the processor and pour in the butter, running the processor until everything's well combined. (You may need to stop the processor and run a knife around the bottom edge to make sure all the dry ingredients come in contact with the butter.)

Turn this mixture out into an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan you've sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Press firmly into place. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until just turning gold around the edges. Cool before filling.

Yield:
12 servings, each with: 144 calories, 14 g fat, 3 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 2 g usable carbs.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

You can certainly eat this plain, but I'd likely top it with some sugar-free chocolate sauce. Hershey's makes one that's available in my grocery store, or you could order some from a low-carb e-tailer. Or you could make some from the recipe on
page 341
. Or for that matter, you could melt 6 to 8 ounces (170 to 225 grams) of your favorite sugar-free chocolate bars and swirl them into the peanut butter batter before baking. The possibilities are endless!

Crisp Chocolate Crust
(see recipe
page 322
) or
“Graham” Crust
(see recipe
page 323
)

16 ounces (455 g) light cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese, softened

1/2 cup (115 g) light sour cream

1 egg

3/4 cup (195 g) natural peanut butter (salted is better than no-salt-added, here)

2/3 cup (16 g) Splenda

1/2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses

Have your crust made and standing by.

Using your electric mixer, beat the cream cheese or Neufchâtel, sour cream, and egg until they're very smooth. (You'll want to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times.) Now beat in the peanut butter, Splenda, and molasses.

When the mixture is very smooth and well blended, pour it into the crust. Cover the pan tightly with foil, squeezing it in around the rim.

Take a big sheet of foil, at least 18 inches (45 cm) long, and roll it into a loose cylinder. Bend it into a circle and place it in the bottom of your slow cooker. (You're making a rack to put the pan on.) Pour 1/4 inch of water into the slow cooker and then put the pan on the donut of foil. Cover the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 3 to 4 hours.

Turn off the slow cooker, uncover, and let cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before you try to remove the pan from the slow cooker. Chill well before serving.

Yield:
12 servings, each with: 364 calories, 32 g fat, 13 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 4 g dietary fiber, 6 g usable carbs. (Analysis includes Crisp Chocolate Crust. Analysis does not include any chocolate sauce or melted chocolate you might add! You could cut this into eight, more generous servings if you'd like.)

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Pudding Cake

YUM! It's so gooey, chocolatey, and good! This is high enough in carbs that you'll want to save it for special occasions, but wow! Whipped cream or no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream would be good with this, but they're hardly essential. Serve hot or cold.

1/2 cup (56 g) almond meal

1/2 cup (80 g) vanilla whey protein powder

1 teaspoon guar or xanthan, divided

1/4 cup (23 g) plus 3 tablespoons (18 g) unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup (180 g) erythritol or xylitol, divided

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (120 ml) half and half

3 tablespoons (45 g) butter—melted

1/2 cup (88 g) no-sugar chocolate chips

1/2 cup (12 g) Splenda, divided

2 tablespoons (3 g) Splenda

1 cup (235 ml) hot water

Coat your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine the almond meal, vanilla whey protein, 1/2 teaspoon of guar or xanthan, 3 tablespoons (18 g) of cocoa powder, 1/4 cup (60 g) plus 2 tablespoons (30 g) of erythritol, 1/4 cup (6 g) plus 2 tablespoons (3 g) of Splenda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together.

Add the half and half and melted butter and whisk together well. Stir in the chocolate chips and scrape the batter into the slow cooker.

In another bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup (60 g) plus 2 tablespoons (30 g) erythritol, 1/4 cup (6 g) Splenda, 1/2 teaspoon guar or xanthan, and 1/4 cup (23 g) cocoa powder. Sprinkle this mixture over the batter in the slow cooker. Now pour the hot water evenly over that. Do not mix.

Cover and cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and then serve.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 328 calories, 19 g fat, 22 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 12 g dietary fiber, 11 g usable carbs.

It was a great day for me when I figured out that my Bundt pan just exactly fit in my big slow cooker, hanging from the rim, and allowing the lid to fit on tightly. I really like baking in my slow cooker. Not only are the results excellent, but it uses less energy than my oven. In the summer, it will heat up the kitchen less. And on holidays, it frees up the oven for other things, like a turkey or a ham. But you will need a slow cooker that fits a Bundt pan.

About dried egg white powder: You can find this in cans in the baking aisle, but I recommend buying it through Amazon.com; you'll get it cheaper. It's pricey, but it improves the texture of nut meal-based baked goods quite a lot.

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Zucchini Snack Cake

This is a moist and sturdy cake, perfect for snacking on right out of your hand.

2 1/4 cups (252 g) almond meal, divided

1/2 cup (115 g) dried egg white powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons guar or xanthan

1 cup (160 g) vanilla whey protein powder

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup (120 g) erythritol or xylitol

1/2 cup (12 g) Splenda

3 eggs

2/3 cup (150 g) coconut oil, melted

2/3 cup (154 g) plain yogurt

1 1/2 cups (180 g) shredded zucchini—about 1 small zucchini

1 cup (175 g) sugar-free chocolate chips

Heavily grease a Bundt pan and use 1/4 cup (28 g) of the almond meal to flour it.

In a mixing bowl, combine all the other dry ingredients and stir until they're evenly distributed.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted coconut oil, and yogurt. If you haven't shredded your zucchini, take care of that little matter now, before you combine the wet ingredients with the dry ones.

Okay, dump the egg/oil/yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk them together, making sure you leave no pockets of dry stuff at the bottom. Now whisk in the zucchini and finally the chocolate chips.

Scrape the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and place the pan in your slow cooker. Set it for high and let it cook for 3 hours or until it's pulling away from the sides of the pan and a wooden skewer inserted halfway between the walls of the pan comes out clean. Turn off the slow cooker and leave it uncovered until the pan cools enough for you to handle it. Then turn out on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Yield:
16 servings, each with: 328 calories, 20 g fat, 24 g protein, 17 g carbohydrate, 8 g dietary fiber, 9 g usable carbs.

Pumpkin Bread