Low Carb Recipes | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

#LEAN14: easy almond flour pancakes.

25 February, 2014 by Gracie 6 Comments

Last week it was coconut flour, and now it’s all about the almond flour.

Almond flour is a great flour alternative as it’s grain free, low in carbs, and full of healthy fats.

I’ve experimented with almond flour in the past (which is basically finely ground almonds), but I’ve yet to try making pancakes with it. So I did a little Pinterest search and found these Coconut Almond Flour Pancakes from Clean Eating Chelsey, and I knew they were the ones I wanted to make.

The recipe looked simple enough, but the real deciding factor was how thick and cake-like they looked.

Chelsey was right when she said that these babies are filling. I followed her recipe to the T, minus the coconut because I didn’t have any. I topped mine with some butter and maple syrup.

I also love that this is a single serving recipe. It made two perfect medium-sized pancakes.

Definitely a new go-to breakfast for me!

Have you ever cooked/baked with almond flour? What’s your favorite (healthy) pancake recipe?

#LEAN14: 2 ingredient low carb/grain free “pancrepes.”

14 February, 2014 by Gracie 10 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day!!! For those of you really looking to get in the romantic spirit today, you should listen to the Valentine’s Day Playlist I posted a few days ago. Whipping up some Red Velvet Cake Batter Brownies isn’t a terrible idea either 😉

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If there’s anything I’ve learned from reading blogs and browsing Pinterest, it’s that:

1) we love our pancakes
2) the less ingredients, the better
3) lower carb and grain free are like, really in right now

And honestly, I’m on board with all of those! I’ll always be partial to portion control as the best way (for me) when it comes to getting Lean in 2014, but I also fall into the camp that tries to cut back on grains/carbs when I can, but most importantly when it still tastes good.

I’ve tried other 2 ingredient pancake concoctions out there, and this is one of my favorites. Combining fruit or veggies with eggs always kind of weirded me out, but this combination is very reminiscent of crepes, which I just love.

(original recipe found here)

ingredients:

2 eggs
2 ounces cream cheese

Optional add-ins: cinnamon, sweetener of choice (I use Stevia)

directions:

Combine eggs and cream cheese in a blender (I use my NutriBullet, and it works great). Cook on a greased nonstick pan on medium heat for 1-2 minutes per side. The batter is very thin, so it doesn’t take long to cook.

Yields 3 large panCREPES. These are great for filling with your favorite fruit, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.

I’ve been eating them like regular pancakes with butter and peanut butter.

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Do you have a favorite healthy pancake recipe?
Which blog/Pinterest “trendy” recipe(s) do you like/dislike?

#LEAN14: cheesy buffalo chicken dip.

12 February, 2014 by Gracie 11 Comments

Something I wanted to make really clear when I introduced LEAN in 2014 is that it’s not a specific plan – it’s open to every dietary preference, level of fitness, walk of life, etc.

So this one…this is for my low-carbers.

When I try to cut back on carbs, it’s really important to make recipes/meals that don’t make me feel at all deprived. That’s why this is recipe is not Paleo/primal – if I’m going to decrease carbs I at least need cheese!

And oh, is there cheese.

recipe from Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip

ingredients:

2 cups of shredded chicken (I followed this guide to poach/shred chicken)
8 ounces of regular cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup of ranch dressing
1/2 cup hot sauce
6 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese *

* you could use bleu cheese instead if you prefer it, or even 1/2 cheddar 1/2 bleu.

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix together the cream cheese, ranch dressing, hot sauce, and cheese. Then add the chicken and combine well. Transfer to a (8 inch) baking dish, and bake for 20 minutes.

If you’re low-carbing it, serve with steamed broccoli, celery, or over a salad. If not, use your favorite chips or crackers for dipping.

…or you could be really classy like me and just eat it straight out of a bowl.

(Once you taste this, you’ll probably do the same.)

Whether I’m watching my carbs or not, I’m personally always a fan of using real, full fats. But if you’re watching your calorie/fat intake, here’s a lower fat version of this recipe.

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Do you ever watch your carb intake? What are your thoughts on eating low carb?