Now that I am done homeschooling, I have been expanding my home business offerings. My husband and I are still writing and teaching parenting through Character Ink/Raising Kids With Character. I continue to write curriculum (including new downloadable products and finishing my Meaningful Composition series). I still teach Cottage Classes to homeschoolers one day a week. I added private students last year—and I love it! So much like my homeschooling days with my kids. This year I also added my Plexus supplement business.

But, when you’ve homeschooled for thirty-two years and filled nearly every minute of every week day with work you love (teaching my kids and being with them!), you just need even more work when you are in your mid-fifties! 🙂 So I have started a healthy living blog to share my sugar-free baking, healthy mixes, time management, and work-at-home secrets.

I would love to teach you there in addition to Character Ink! And to get you started, I have written a one-hundred page e-book that teaches readers how to cut sugar out of their family’s life—what to substitute when, where to purchase substitutions, how to use them, and more. It includes incremental recipes to get you started while you purchase few ingredients in the beginning (something crucial for new sugar-free/healthier cooks).

You can get the free e-book here! Check out the blog while you are there—I already have some great info up to help you.

Question: What are your greatest frustrations in trying to cook and bake more healthfully for your family? How can I help you?

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For people who are trying to cut their carbohydrate intake, switch to a low-carb lifestyle, or follow the Trim Healthy Mama (THM) diet (or other lower carb/no sugar diets), cutting out sugar and either completely cutting most grains or greatly reducing them (and eating healthful ones such as brown rice, quinoa, oatmeal, and oat flour) are mandatory first steps.

However, when a person sets out on one of these healthful ways of eating (woe for short), she is often overwhelmed by the options/cooking methods, craving the sweets and carbs that she used to enjoy, and disappointed in many attempts to buy and use lower carb alternatives to flour and sugar (almond flour, coconut flour, stevia, erythritol, and more).

After working on reducing the carbohydrate in our family , dabbling in the THM diet, and trying to lessen my pre-diabetes symptoms, I have found some things that work really well—and some things that I wish someone had told me before I spent the time and money trying so many recipes.

I’ve put together a page here on the blog called “Low Carb Fam” of all of the things I wish someone had told me when I first started on this journey!  Click over to find out out to:

  1. Find the best bulk sugar-free sweeteners

  2. Make low-carb croutons

  3. Make yummy low-carb treats and desserts

  4. Combinations of flours to use in your baking

   5. and more!

 Donna

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My pasta, lasagna, wrap problems have been solved! DJ Foodie from Low Carb and Loving It recommended using crepes for lasagna and wrap substitutes, and I took his advice–now I always have a container full of savory and a container full of sweet crepes in my freezer, ready to make wraps, lasagna, noodle soup, noodles with sauce (red or white), tuna noodle casserole….you name it, I can make it–VERY LOW CARB!

Unlike zucchini noodles, chicken noodles, almond flour dumplings, cheese noodles (!), etc., these actually DO taste like pasta. You can see in the bowl above how they really do look like a noodle (and taste like one!). Amazing!

Some tips for using the crepes:

1. Store them in the freezer separated by parchment, wax paper, etc. (or they might stick together and fall apart when you try to remove them). This also allows you to get one out at a time–quick chicken noodle soup for one? Broth, a little shredded chicken from your freezer, seasonings, slice a crepe into it–voila–chicken noodle soup at four or five carbs total instead of thirty from a can!

Savory Crepes – Cold meat, cheese stick, and spicy mustard!

2. They are great as wraps. If you are tired of rolled up meat and string cheese snacks–make a wrap! You can afford it carb-wise with these crepes!

3. To use in recipes like spaghetti, casserole, etc., I just slice them the size I want and fold them in. For recipes like soups or broth-based uses, I prefer to fold them in when serving, so they don’t dissolve by sitting in broth too long.

4. For lasagna, enchilada casserole, baked burrito casserole, or any Mexican layered casserole, I just slice them to the right size (like lasagna noodles) and place them directly in my casserole.

5. They do not crisp well (because of the egg and cream cheese), so I do not recommend trying to crisp them like you would Joseph’s pitas or Missions low carb tortillas.

6. These are SUPER low carb (depending on the flour you use–I use a combination of those flours listed in the recipe and sometimes I even use unflavored protein powder for part!). So even those on induction type low carb diets, Trim Healthy Mama (S meals), etc., can probably use these!

Crepes sliced and made into chicken noodle soup!

Basic Low Carb Crepes—SAVORY

5 egg

½-plus cup Basic Flour Mix (any combination of the following–heaviest on the almond flour: almond flour, coconut flour, oat fiber, golden flax, vital wheat gluten)

3 oz. cream cheese

1 tsp Swerve or Splenda*

½ tsp salt

¼ cup-plus half and half or cream as needed

*You can increase this a lot to create sweet crepes rather than savory ones!

1. In food processor, pulse eggs and cream cheese until smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. (Do not add half and half or cream until all ingredients are pulsed—and add a little at a time.)
3. Heat a small 6 “ non-stick pan, spray with cooking spray.
4. Using ¼ cup of batter, pour first crepe into skillet.
5. Tilt pan to spread out batter evenly and cook over medium heat.
6. When one side is done, flip crepe and cook five to ten seconds on second side.
7. Set aside in a plate and cook remaining crepes.

Ten Crepes; each one has approximately 40 calories; 3 grams protein; 3 grams fat; 1 net carb

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