Air Fryer Tips and Croutons (Low Carb Too!)
Air Fried croutons are crispy yet tender! Perfect Caesar salad!
My air fryer sat in its box for quite a while….Okay, it sat in its box for a few months. I just didn’t think I could handle learning anything else! And I wasn’t sure I wanted another appliance. And I was afraid I wouldn’t use it often enough to justify buying it. And…and…and….
When I finally got it out of the box, I realize that all of my fears were unfounded. It is truly amazing!
My husband and I eat at home most evenings–and we eat fairly healthfully. However, I have four grown sons and two sons-in-laws, and when they stop in, I often make them an “appetizer platter” from store bought frozen appetizers (mozarella sticks, taquitos, fish sticks…nothing healthy! lol). Seriously, they pick what they want out of my freezer bag of “appetizers for kids” and in fifteen minutes, they have a platter! (I’ve used it four times this week alone for them!)
Cheapest, “Normal-Tasting” Low Carb Flour Mix
Low carbers, gluten-free folks, Paleo peeps, and real foodies all have their favorite flour and flour combinations when it comes to baking healthier (or lower carb, or gluten-free, or real, etc). Most people who use alternative flours focus on their specific need or preference–whether they want fewer carbs, no grains at all, nothing processed, etc. Two things that are sometimes overlooked in this quest are how “normal tasting” the flour substitute is and the cost of the substitute. I know there are die hard healthy bakers who would never use a grain or never use a flour with over a dozen carbs….but there are others who are trying to navigate these new baking waters (especially those of us seeking lower carb who are not used to the unusual flavors or those who have sticker shock when they start purchasing low carb flour substitutes).
Hot Hamaramas/Hawaiian Sliders (With Low Carb Options!)
One of the beauties of creating something low carb that is as versatile as Low Carb Sprouted Crescent Dough (and the recent recipe post, Low Carb Sprouted Dinner Rolls) is being able to make so many formerly-high-carb foods into low carb foods. Once I got onto low carb bread making, dough, biscuits, crackers, Cream Cheese Dessert Base, candy, and so much more, I could look at a recipe that was previously off limits in low carb eating–and transform it into something low to moderate in carbs! Such was the case with our family’s long time favorite, Hot Hamaramas. (I have since found that they are called Hawaiian Sliders, ham and cheese sliders, baked ham sandwiches, and more. I have made these two two decades and always called them Hamaramas from a restaurant in my childhood hometown.)
Low Carb Sprouted Wheat Dinner Rolls
I explained all about my quest for low carb yeast dough–and how it resulted in a low carb sprouted flour mix that actually works to create yeast dough products at five to seven net carbs per serving–a few months ago. I have had many people write to tell me that they are trying it, and I am excited to have low carbers enjoying yeast baking along with me. That recipe (Low Carb Sprouted “Crescent Roll Dough”) has a lot of options for using the dough. However, people are still asking for specifics about this or that–how to make the exact dinner rolls in the picture or how to make a thin pizza crust or how to create full sized loaves of bread. So I am going to be breaking down the recipe for individual items, starting with the exact dinner rolls in the pictures! (Watch the blog for recipes using these rolls, such as Low Carb Hamaramas (or Hawaiian Ham and Cheese Sliders) and more!)
Two Low Carb Flour Mixes and Their Uses
Since I published my two low carb flour mixes, I have gotten questions concerning when to use each one, etc. So until I get the dozens of recipes up that go with each mix, I thought I would write a general post about the mixes, direct you to some recipes using them, etc. So this post will detail more about my Very Low Carb Flour Mix and my Sprouted Low Carb Flour Mix!
First of all, check out the handy chart that shows carb counts in each of my flour mixes as well as other low carb (and non low carb) flours.
9 Low Carb Flours and Their Nutritional Info (Infograph for Easy Reference!)
In my four years of low carb baking and cooking, I have tried them all. Some have turned out great. And some not so great. Baking with low carb “flours” can be challenging. They just don’t act like the flours we are used to baking with. They don’t taste like them either! So what do you do with almond flour, coconut flour, flax, oat fiber, and more? Which low carb flours are truly low and which are not? What about incorporating other flours together to make a more acceptable-to-family flour mix or flour blends?
Low Carb Sprouted “Crescent Roll” Dough (aka Low Carb “Pilsbury Crescent Dough”) { Low Carb, Sugar-Free, THM Crossover or S}
INTRODUCING MY DOUGH BABY
I make many low carb “doughs” and “batters.” I don’t mind a cream cheese and mozzarella biscuit. I actually love breakfast sandwich fillings or jam on my “Not So Oopsie” rolls. (And they’re also good made into “cream cheese danishes”!) I like my crepe recipe—both savory and sweet. But oh for yeast dough! And even more oh for low carb yeast dough…and low carb rolls, low carb pizza dough, low carb cinnamon rolls and more—made out of more “real tasting” flours!
I’m not a fan of some of the doughs available for low carb or healthy bakers. I don’t like trying to pass off a “quick bread” (i.e. in a mug) or with flax and oat fiber as a bread. I don’t like the feel on my teeth (okay, they make me cringe a little) of doughs that are primarily made of cheese (or the flavor or the fat and calorie content!). And I really don’t like the taste of psyllium husk in a batter.
Yes, those doughs and batters are extremely low carb (often low carb/high fat/super calorie dense), which makes them ideal for keto situations. But I haven’t enjoyed them too much.
Low Carb Sprouted Flour Mix
I have been a mad scientist for the last couple of years! Well, my grown kids and hubby who teach biology, anatomy, chemistry, and physics in our homeschool Cottage Classes would beg to differ. They would say that I don’t have a scientific bone in my body.
