Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Put Biscuits Back On The Menu

That’s right, I said Biscuits! And they’re low carb too!

I split these with a fork to get all the yummy craggy bits!
Yearning for a BIB (Breakfast in a Bun), but think it's impossible with a low carb, gluten free lifestyle? Fluffy Chix Cook is going to make your dreams come true. Enjoy a big, fluffy low carb, keto and gluten-free biscuit without guilt or cheating on your diet!

Diet? Diet? Who does that anymore?

What if I told you that I diet (Shhhhh! Yes I said the D-word, that dreaded four letter curse!), lose weight and chow down on a Sausage, Egg and Cheese Biscuit almost every morning? Would you believe me or would you squeal like a little girl, again?
I don’t know about you, but at first I’d look at you cock-eyed and say, "Whoa there!Whaddareyoutawlkinbout SusieT?” And then I would jump up and down and squeal like a little girl.

 
It’s true! The McRib is back! (Ok, just kidding there…) but seriously, the McSusieT Breakfast Biscuit is BAAAAYUUUUUCK and the crahps ahr sayuved. Say that three times fast in your best Texas drawl whydoncha? You see, a breakfast biscuit sandwich is the thang I crave in the mornings and a low carb biscuit makes it possible for me to enjoy it without guilt and without looking over my shoulder in fear of the food police.

Haha, it figures my first food post back here after fighting breast cancer would be about bread-like substances. I am not lying about being from the South! We Southerners love our bread and breading. One of the main reasons I made this blog is to tell my story – that there is a way to literally have your cake and eat it too without experiencing many of the consequences of eating a high carb, bread-rich diet.

I realize that in order to stay NED (no evidence of disease) after the breast cancer, I have to continue to lose weight, control my blood sugar, and continue to eat my nutritious, veggie-dense low carb diet. But hey a girl can do all that and still have fun! Here’s how I am doing that.


Thanks and acknowledgements to my friend Dottie, at LCF, who created an incredible microwave low carb biscuit recipe. Her original low carb biscuit recipe featured coconut flour as the main ingredient, but I have an almost insatiable need to alter perfectly gorgeous and delicious recipes. *blushes*
Forgive me, Dottie? I tweaked your recipe here and there, in order to confusle myself. (Did I mention my need to tweak is insatiable?) I did it because I generally like to mix coconut flour with other flours for a lighter textured product. I also added yogurt for moistness and vinegar for brightness. A few spices later and ta ta ta da...I ate one of the most delicious low carb biscuits ever!

Ever. The end. Now go buy life insurance, cuz you’ll be able to die happy.

Opey grab the row boat, cuz there’s gonna be a flood!

Of people that is! Making these low carb biscuits. And once you master making the low carb biscuit, breakfast (and the world) is your oyster.

Especially once you realize how simple they are to make.

Now repeat after me:

I (state your name),
Do solemnly swear,
To NEVER EVER EVER buy another calorie-laden, carbacious, trans-fat soaked, blood sugar bomb biscuit from any (fill in the name) store again.
Not in a box. Not in a can, Sam I am.
So help me God.
Amen.

Seriously folks! This low carb biscuit is delicious and the recipe is flexible to tweaks and substitutions. Make it savory with spices or omit the spices and make it sweet. Make it low fat if you belong to that persuasion.

Each recipe makes at least 2 biscuits and one is a meal! The other freezes well or stores great for up to a week in the fridge. Depending on how thick you want or need the biscuit, you can even stretch the recipe to make three thinner biscuits. When I’m making breakfast biscuit sandwiches, I will often use the recipe to make three biscuits instead of two because it lowers the overall calories and really, the sandwich is not as tall – making it easier to shove into my gob.

Low Carb Biscuit ingredients ready in a flash!
From start to finish it took about five minutes to make these glorious pucks of puckishness! And it uses readily accessible ingredients: coconut flour and oat fiber (or if you don’t have oat fiber, use oat bran or almond meal  or a mixture of nut meals or use wheat bran, if you’re still eating wheat gluten) and simply adjust your nutritional information accordingly. The result will still be low carb by anyone’s definition.

These biscuits would also be heller-good, if you omit the savory spices and replace them with a drop or two of low carb maple syrup or a pinch of erythritol with stevia (Truvia by any other name) and serve them with oven fried low carb chicken tenders and a drizzle of xylitol honey! MMMMM mmmmm  Opey! Aunt Bea would be proud.

But don’t limit yourself to simple breakfast biscuit sandwiches. I sometimes go hog wild, child! I make a heapin’ plate of sausage or bacon gravy and eggs – that is, if I’m feeling daring. (I’ll show how to do that later.) Or splurge on a teaspoon of sugar free jam as a biscuit topper? I have a great sugar free strawberry freezer jam recipe coming your way, soon. These guys are great when split and topped with a tiny bit of butter and toasted. I love that they aren’t dry as old bones, don’t have an oily texture, and aren’t packed with cheese or protein powders.

Oh, who the heck am I foolin’? Low carb biscuits ARE bread! B-R-E-A-D! Bread! Forget the “sub” part! Can you believe it? Can you really believe you can have bread again in your low carb lifestyle? I’m not talking Revolution Rolls here. I am talking bready biscuits for Pete’s sake! Ok, now quickly, go google Bob’s Redmill Coconut Flour and Honeyville Grains Oat Fiber. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

Oh, by the way, meet my tablespoon for this recipe. It’s an ordinary soup-type spoon that I inherited with Mom & Dad’s kitchen utensil set.











This is what a heaping tablespoon
looks like in my kitchen.
I just scoop a heaping tablespoon full as noted in the recipe. It actually measures about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 level tablespoons of the measuring spoon persuasion. I'm going for speed here, not an award for level measurements. You can see this recipe isn’t exactly science. You adjust wet and dry ingredients in order to reach a cornbready thickness.












Low Carb Biscuits make you feel like you're cheating on
your diet - but you're not!
Low Carb Biscuits
Recipe Yield – 6 Biscuits
Serving Size – 1 Biscuit
Prep Time – 5 Minutes
Cook Time – Microwave - 1 Minute 20 Seconds (Your microwave time may vary.)
Cook Time – Conventional  or Toaster Oven – 10-12 Minutes      
Difficulty – Easy as an Easy Bake Oven Recipe


Updated - October 8, 2012


Ingredients
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
   (Bob’s Red Mill)
1/4 cup Almond Flour (Bob's Red Mill)--or Oat Fiber(Honeyville Grains Brand)
1/4 cup Pork Skin Crumbs
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
1/8 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Parsley Flakes
1/4 cup Plain or Greek Yogurt
2 Tbsp Water
2 Lg Egg
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar, unfiltered (Bragg’s Brand)
2 tsp Olive Oil


Directions
Divide olive oil into 6 ramekins (3-4oz size ramekin). Spread olive oil around with a brush or heck, just do as I do. Use your finger – that’s why God gave ‘em to us! You can also use 3 ramekins and reuse them if you prefer. Make sure to use olive oil or olive oil spray for each batch.

Heaping teaspoon of
coconut flour.
This is a heaping tablespoon for this recipe. But I recently updated the recipe so that it could be standardized. Use a real tablespoon from your measuring spoon set and scoop and level it for 1 level tablespoon.










Mix dry ingredients until well incorporated. You can sift if you want to remove the lumps from the coconut flour, but it isn't strictly necessary.


A pinch of salt.
Seasoning in most of my recipes is to taste. This takes a bit of time to determine your taste, but once you do seasoning becomes easy and second nature to you. I call this intuitive cooking and it frees us from the slavery to recipes and encourages us to get creative.










Uh oh? Nah, keep stirring!
Add remaining wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula. Mix well. At first it will look like you’ve made a big shaggy mess. Just keep stirring. It’ll be fine.











Finished batter looks
like cornbread batter.
I ended up adding a tablespoon of water to the thoroughly mixed batter. The finished product was thick - like cornbread.












Each recipe makes enough for 2 to 3 low carb biscuits.

Divide batter and place filled ramekins in microwave. Microwave on high for 1 minute 30 seconds, or until biscuits are set, but still moist and glistening in the very center.

Remove from microwave and turn biscuits out of ramekins onto cooling rack.

Yummy low carb biscuits split with a
fork and ready to toast!
Split biscuits horizontally into 2 equal parts. Use a knife to split them or use a fork in order to get a more English muffin style craggy texture on the split surface. Place split side down on toaster oven pan and toast outsides of biscuit until golden brown.  Flip biscuits and top with your choice of topping, or simply butter split sides and toast to perfection.





Nutritional Information:

Nutritional Label – Full Recipe

Full Recipe (6 portions): 509 Calories; 35g Fat (52.6% calories from fat); 24g Protein; 46g Carbohydrate; 33g Dietary Fiber; 460mg Cholesterol; 13g Net Carbohydrate


Nutrition Label – Single Serving

Per Biscuit (Yield 6 per Recipe): 85 Calories; 6g Fat (52.6% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 77mg Cholesterol; 2g Net Carbohydrate


SusieT on Microwaving:
Many talk about the dangers of using the microwave. There’s a ton of stuff about this subject on the net. You should research it for yourself and make an informed decision. I believe if you have the time and energy to use a conventional oven or even a toaster oven, that’s probably better. The recipe works beautifully either way. Some days when my energy is lagging – I take the shortcut and use the microwave. Probably not the best thing to do, but miles better for me than using a pre-made, frozen biscuit or something carbacious from a can or a box.

SusieT's Notes:

Low carb biscuits are easily one of the best bread substitutions I’ve eaten in a long time. Gluten free, soy free, packed with soluble fiber, bready in nature (not spongy), toasts well with a nice, open crumb, and they’re filling - what’s not to love? (Oh and don’t forget – I drink LOTS of liquids when I’m eating soluble fiber like oat fiber and coconut flour - before, during and after!)

I could easily forget myself and eat these yummy low carb biscuits at every meal! But that would be too much. I don’t use them to replace carbs from my leafy green veggies and the variety of colorful veggies and low-glycemic, low-fructose fruits in my diet. I try to get in 25-30g of fiber a day, especially since there are studies associating the intake of fiber with a reduction in breast cancer recurrence and low carb biscuits help accomplish that. I figure even if it is only "associated" with a reduction in recurrence, it doesn't hurt to keep my diet fiber-rich.

I do tend to eat low carb biscuits or a derivation of them – the low carb blueberry or blackberry muffin (coming soon to a Fluffy Chix blog near you), most mornings for breakfast. They haven’t stalled my weight loss, nor caused a carb-laden, feeding frenzy. In fact, my blood sugar remains very level, which is how I know I can safely consume these low carb biscuits in a meal. But before making this recipe, please read the note below about fiber, cuz it’s important!

One thing is for sure, the low carb biscuit does break some of the monotony that can plague a low carb lifestyle. As an added bonus, the soluble oat and coconut fiber in the low carb biscuit helps keep things movin’ by making for one “smooth move”; if you know what I mean and I think you do!

Another plus about soluble fiber? In many studies, oat fiber was seen to lower the “bad” cholesterol. LDL or low density lipoprotein is a sub-particle of cholesterol. It can be further split into an A & B particle type. The LDL-b fraction likes to lurk and form plaque in between the inner walls of your arteries where it hides and waits, ready to explode and cause heart attacks and strokes.

SusieT on Soluble Fiber

Soluble Oat Fiber & Coconut Flour are easily found online.
Hey, I’m not a nutritionist! I just cook and talk about what I love!

Please be sure to check with your doctor before increasing your fiber consumption – soluble or insoluble. Also, run out to the net and do a search for soluble and insoluble fiber. There is quite a lot of information about its reported health benefits. Some studies show direct relation, others not so much. The information varies greatly.

If you take medications – especially heart medicines, anti-hormone drugs such as aromatase inhibitors, hormone drugs and anti-depressants, PLEASE talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nutritionist before making this low carb biscuit recipe and eating it! You sure need to know how long to wait before taking these drugs and eating your fiber.

I take Femara, an oral chemotherapy drug classified as an aromatase inhibitor. To be on the safe side, since some types of fiber can mess up the absorption and concentration of drugs, I take my Femara on an empty stomach early in the morning, all by itself.

The instructions on the bottle don’t tell me to do that, I just take precautions because I want to give it as big of a chance as possible to do its job. I make sure to wait a minimum of two hours after my Femara dose before taking other medicines or eating, especially a high-fiber item like one of the low carb breakfast biscuits.

10 comments:

  1. Hey, the ramekins shape is a great idea for your biscuits. Have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jen! It's always such a pleasure to see you here hon. :hugs: Thanks! I love using different size ramekins for all kinds of "minute" baked goods. Not only do they work in the microwave, but you can also easily take a recipe and convert it over to the conventional oven! They work great for everything from cakes and cupcakes to biscuits, muffins and even round sandwich bread!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've made biscuits with coconut flour. I've never thought of adding oat fiber. Looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Carol! Welcome to FluffyChix Cook! I think adding the oat fiber helps the texture quite a bit. It's definitely edible when you factor in the easiness of the recipe! :) These days, I'm all about easy.

    Hey, love your blog! I'm going back to become a follower!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Is there something else I could use other than the oat fiber? Would ground oats work, or ground almonds?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Stephanie,

      You could try ground oats and they would work, but they would be carby. I would try the almond flour first if you can eat almonds. My life would be so much simpler if I wasn't allergic to them!

      Let me know how they taste. I love these biscuits and laugh every morning I eat one as a McD's knockoff sammy! I'm low carb!

      Delete
  6. I made these for brunch in a conventional oven, very dry and crumbly. Put some sausage gravy on them they soaked up all the liquid and still were wrong and the whole meal was dry. Tweaked it with more liquid (buttermilk), just as crumbly. I think maybe the oven is not the way to go. I don't like microwaves, but maybe I'll try it before I give up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rainsong, sorry you experienced problems! I haven't found a solution to the microwave thing. I think due to the density of the batter and fiber, that the microwave just gives a lift not found with the oven for this formulation. As long as you don't over-cook them in the micro, they taste great and are not dry. We also don't spare the liquid. You can try adding extra egg or egg whites if they look too dry instead of buttermilk. But the problem is actually the oven.

      Delete
  7. I hate asking this question, but, are the pork rinds absolutely necessary or is there a substitution? I'm vegetarian and really do want to make these, and want to make sure they turn out like yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can sub almond flour, chia meal, flax meal or nut meal for the pork rinds! Let me know how you like them!

      Delete

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