Faux-tato (Cauliflower) Salad - Low Carb, Keto Approved!

There are a few staple items at every summer cookout and potato salad always seems to be one of them, and for good reason. It’s friggen delicious, but those damn potatoes just have so many carbs! Not to worry though because in typical Fatbody fashion we’re switching things up, ditching the carbs and Keto-fying this recipe.

So, I called up my mom and a few of my cousins to get the family potato salad recipe, which turns out we don’t have. I’m still very confused about that by the way. I think they’re holding out on me! Just kidding… love you Mom xoxo

The great thing about making keto recipes is that you have a billion non-keto recipe websites to generate ideas from and with a few ingredients subbed in and out you can totally change the macronutrient profile of the food without altering the taste very much.

If you’ve read any of my other recipe posts I often talk about ingredient quality and this recipe is no different. I’m talking about you mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise, traditionally speaking, is mainly just eggs and olive oil, which would in fact be pretty healthy. As we know, eggs are basically nature's multivitamin and olive oil is a great source of quality healthy fats. Unfortunately, the store bought brands have subbed out the quality for the crap (soybean oil, canola oil, sugars, etc.). This is no good and we really want to avoid this stuff in order to avoid inflammation.

Inflammation is brought on by a number of things, mainly carbs and sugars but also trans fats and processed vegetable oils like canola and soy. As the science progresses we are learning more and more about inflammation and the damaging effects it can have and how it is the precursor to elevated cholesterol.

So, once again be cognizant of the quality of foods that you are buying. Personally, I made this recipe using Chosen Foods brand, which used Avocado Oil and had a very short ingredient list. I have no affiliation with this product, but I just want to tip my cap because they are making foods the right way! Let’s get down to the ingredients…

The Ingredients…

• 1 head Cauliflower
• 1 pound (precooked) Bacon
• ½ large Red Pepper
• 4 stalks Green Onion (Scallion)
• ¼ cup Sour Cream
• ¼ cup Mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Mustard
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Dill
• 1 teaspoon Rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• Garnish with a few sprinkes of Paprika

FYI Yes, there is shredded cheese in this picture but I didn't end up using it but if you love cheese go for it! 

The Steps…

1. Roast your cauliflower. I used a dry pan on medium heat. You’re going to want to salt the cauliflower as this will help draw the water out. You can do this in the oven as well but the pan is quicker
2. Cook you bacon and dice into bite sized pieces
3. Dice red pepper and green onion
4. Mix everything in a big bowl, garnish with paprikaand chill for at least an hour or two (this will allow the flavors to really come together and solidify)

The Macros...

1 Net Carb Breakfast Cups - LCHF & Meal Prep Friendly!

Up until last week I worked from home most days, which was nice because I never really had to meal prep. Meal prepping saves a lot of time, but when you don’t have to commute across Los Angeles you have more free time than most. Unfortunately, that all changed. New client, new rules. All of a sudden your boy has to wear a suit and sit in traffic just like everyone else. I’m assuming you guys aren’t feeling any sympathy for me so I’ll move on...

Point is, now I DO have to commute and that means I need to save time when I can, especially in the morning! If you find yourself rushing out the door with your keys in your mouth and your shoes half on, well you might want to consider these breakfast cups.

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They are pretty easy to make, taste great reheated and they are VERY easy to store and transport. Plus, it’s a full balanced breakfast with good healthy fats and only 1 net carb per cup!

Eggs are one of nature's healthiest foods. They are high in vitamins, minerals and essential fats and proteins. Plus you’ve got cauliflower, mushroom and spinach which provide tons of nutrients. And of course bacon, oh sweet, sweet bacon.

The Ingredients…

• 1 ½ cup of Cauliflower
• 6 Whole Eggs
• 6 Slices of Bacon (cooked)
• 2  cups Spinach (loosely packed)
• 1 cup Crimini Mushroom
• 2 tablespoons of Butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste

*for creamier eggs and added fat - add a tablespoon of heavy cream to the eggs

The Steps…

1. Cook your bacon following the standard cooking instructions. Be sure took bacon lightly, as you will need to wrap it around the base of the cup. I'd suggest cooking in the oven for two reasons: First, you're already using the oven. Second, the bacon will cook evenly and you're less likely to over crisp it, making you unable to wrap the slice around the cup  
2. Preheat oven to 375F
3. Prepare your cauliflower hash
   1. Microwave 1.5 cups of cauliflower rice (half of a Trader Joes frozen bag) to dryt out the water
   2. In a pan on medium heat add 1 tablespoon of butter, cauliflower, garlic, salt and pepper to taste
   3. Cook for about 10-12 minutes. Until the cauliflower begins to brown and crisp up. Remove from pan when finished.
4. Prepare your Egg Cups
   1. In a muffin pan, use a light amount of butter or oil to grease the pan.
   2. Wrap bacon slice around the inside edges of the cup.
   3. Next, divide the cauliflower hash into each cup packing it down tightly and making a solid and even base at the bottom of the cup.
   4. In a separate bowl mix eggs, spinach salt and pepper. Note for extra fat and creaminess add a tablespoon of heavy cream
   5. Top the cup with mushroom, salt and pepper and any other seasonings of choice.
   6. Bake for about 20 minutes until center is no longer runny.

The Macros... 

One Pan Keto Meal Prep: Cheesy Chicken Bacon Bake

As some of you may know my cooking style is a bit mad scientist-ish. I like to pull all my produce, meats and cheeses out of the fridge and stare at them until something hits me square in the face. Let me tell you boys and girls I got hit hard in the face today… This came out perfect and so tasty, hell it was even the perfect amount for my meal prepping macros! 

I took two portions with mozzarella and basil and baked for about 10 minutes. 

This recipe has a hefty mix of vegetables, protein and healthy animal fats perfect for a ketogenic diet. You can sub in and out the vegetables of your choice, for example on another occasion I used mushrooms and tomatoes, it was quite tasty! 

Trader Joe's really has my back with this recipe too! The frozen organic riced cauliflower is delicious and convenient, they seem to sell out of the stuff a lot, so when I start getting low on supply I make sure to stock up with 7 or 8 bags and stack it up in my freezer. The asparagus comes courtesy of TJ's as well and is also from the frozen section. I generally stick to fresh vegetables, but the convenience and longevity of the frozen version is pretty hard to pass up. 

The spinach I used was fresh, but TJ's has a pretty good frozen brand. I personally just think the frozen spinach is too soggy. Spinach is also extremely light so it's hard to tell what 5 oz. of spinach actually looks like. Here is a comparison next to my regular sized coffee mug... 

5 oz of spinach

If you don't have a Trader Joe's or a source of riced cauliflower you can easily make your own with a grater. Two bags of the frozen stuff is about the equivalent of one medium head of cauliflower. 

The first step of this recipe is to microwave the cauliflower. If you don't have/use a microwave you can do this in a pan as well. The point of this step is to get rid of the moisture, which can ruin a lot of recipes if you are not careful. Like most vegetables cauliflower has a lot of water and will sweat out of it once it's heated. So be sure to do this before adding the cauliflower in with all the other ingredients. 

I divided it into 6 servings. Each serving with about 640 calories and only 5 net carbs (without the topped mozzarella bake) But the best part is, is that it's a one pan dish so clean up is a breeze! 

Ingredients 

• 2 pounds Chicken Breast
• 12 ounces Bacon
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 3 tablespoons Butter
• 6 cups Cauliflower
• 12 ounces Asparagus
• 5 ounces Spinach
• 1 tablespoon Garlic
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• Fresh Basil for garnish 
• Mozzarella Cheese

Cooking instructions

1. Rice your cauliflower. Microwave for 4 minutes, stir, and microwave for 4 more minutes. 

2. Mix a tablespoon of butter into the cauliflower. 

3. Using an extra-large pan (oven safe if you want this to truly be one pan) cook the bacon on a medium heat (6 out of 10). Remove and set to the side. 

4. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and add to to pan, still cooking at a medium heat and using the bacon drippings as a cooking fat. Cook until no visible pink and then remove. Set the chicken aside with the bacon. 

5. Add garlic, asparagus, spinach and the 2 remaining tablespoons of butter. Let the spinach cook down for about 2 minutes constantly stirring and mixing. You really want to evenly distribute the fats and juices!

6. Reduce pan heat down to a medium-low (3 out of 10) 

7. Dice chicken and bacon into desired size. This should be done roughly 10 minutes after cooking the chicken as you want to give the chicken time to rest (it's still cooking a bit in the middle).

8. Add chicken, bacon, butter and garlic. Stir until evenly mixed. 

9. Add the cauliflower rice and and parmesan cheese and continue stirring until evenly mixed. 

10. Stir until evenly mixed and serve.

Now here’s where you can go one of two ways:

The Meal Prep route - This makes 6 perfect dinner portions, or 3 lunch and 3 dinner. It’s your world! 

The Cheesy Bake route - In the picture above I took two servings and dumped them into an oven safe dish. Then, I broiled for about 10 minutes, until the cheese was lightly browned. I used about ¼ cup per serving. 

*Remember that the broiler is HIGH heat from the top of the oven, so the higher up you put the dish the faster it will cook, and the broiler will cook the top of the bake fast. 10 minutes is all you need, maybe less depending on how strong your oven is, so watch closely! 

The Macros...