Low Carb Crispy Tomato Chips

Tomato season is upon us where I live and if you happen to have a garden then you know an enormous amount of tomatoes will be upon your counter waiting for you to do something with them.

My hubby is the gardener in the family and I reap the benefits. 

I don’t have a green thumb whatsoever. In fact plants come into my house to die. I’ve just no luck in watering enough or sometimes too much. It’s not my thing and my hubby is perfectly happy to get his hands dirty in the soil.

Win for me and him I guess you could say. What I do love though is to harvest his hard work.

Then I get to create recipes using our fresh organic produce and it is a beautiful thing for sure.

Carbs in Potato Chips versus Tomato Chips

Potato chips have way to many carbs if you’re following a low carb or keto diet. 1 serving of Lays potato chips is just 1 ounce and it has 15 total grams of carbs according to the Cronometer app.

Our tomato chips serving is 1 large tomato. If you use large tomatoes and slice into 6 slices per tomato, your serving is 6 slices for 6 grams of total carbs. With 2 grams dietary fiber, there are 4 g net carbs per serving. 

Veggie Chips

If you’ve followed me long enough you know I’m quite the chip girl. I like crunchy and salty and enjoy getting my fix weekly on healthier options than potato chips for a healthy snack.

My usual choice is zucchini or cucumber chips, but once I held in my hands these giant juicy beef steak tomatoes I KNEW I HAD to make them into tasty, cheesy tomato chips, even if no one else would eat them, I certainly would.

My kids aren’t tomato fans, but hubby and I are.

The full recipe and all the rest of the nutritional info is at the bottom of this page on the printable recipe card. 

Parmesan Tomato Chips

​These are not like parmesan crisps you can purchase at the store which contain just cheese and seasonings.

These tomato chips are kind of like sun-dried tomatoes in flavor, bold delicious flavors, but crispier!

I wanted pizza-flavored chips so I used a Perfect amount of Parmesan and Italian seasonings on every.single.chip.

I think the bigger tomato the better for this perfect snack. But just note if you use smaller ordinary tomatoes they will shrink quite a bit. It’s not a problem, they will still have great flavor no matter the size of these bad boys. I don’t recommend using cherry tomatoes though as they will shrink to the size of a dime!

Super easy steps to make them and top with pre-grated cheese, like Parmesan or grate it yourself. You can also use a combo of types of cheeses, like Romano Reggiano. 

I chose NOT to use a mandolin because i think having your tomatoes on the thinner side won’t be as good.

The thinness of your tomatoes, the more holes they will have therefore losing a lot of the seasonings and I don’t think they look as pretty.

Plus I just like thicker crisp tomato chips. Hope you Enjoy as much as we did!

More Healthy Chip Recipes

​Nacho Cucumber Chips

White Cheddar Cucumber Chips

Cabbage Chips

Eggplant Chips

Ranch Zucchini Chips

Salt and Vinegar Zucchini Chips

Crispy Parmesan Tomato Chips

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Crispy Parmesan Tomato Chips

Servings 6 servings

Calories 77kcal

Author Brenda Bennett | Sugar Free Mom

Ingredients

• 6 cups tomatoes thinly sliced beefsteak (about 6 slices per tomato)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped, or dried Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
• black pepper and red pepper is optional

Instructions

Dehydrator

• Gently drizzle and toss the sliced tomatoes in the olive oil to coat slices.
• Place tomato slices without overlapping in a single layer onto dehydrator tray.
• In a small bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients.
• Sprinkle mixture over each slice.
• Depending on how thick the slices of tomato are, dehydrating could take anywhere from 12-24 hours.

Oven

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F and grease a cooling rack with cooking spray, then place on top of a large baking sheet.
• On a large paper towel-lined plate, arrange tomatoes and cover with another paper towel, then press to release juice. Place tomatoes on cooling rack and lightly drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt, and garlic powder. 
• Bake, checking every 30 minutes, until tomatoes are completely dried out and beginning to crisp up, about 3-5 hours.
• Remove from oven and heat broiler. Sprinkle tomatoes with Parmesan, then broil on low until cheese is melty, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Let cool, then remove from cooling rack. Garnish with additional salt, pepper and fresh parsley, an other fresh herbs you like or Italian seasoning, if desired, and serve.
• Store parmesan chips in an airtight container. 

Notes

If you use 6 large tomatoes and slice into 6 slices per tomato, your serving is 1 tomato @ 6 slices. With 2 grams dietary fiber, there are 4 g net carbs per serving. 

This recipe was first published in June 2015.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving @ 6 slices | Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 810mg | Potassium: 368mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1367IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Crispy Parmesan Tomato Chips (Baked or Dehydrated) appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

French fries and I have had a long term relationship which has been anything but smooth and happy. It’s been more of a love-hate relationship and one I have needed to break free from for a long time.

I’m not sure if it’s the crispy outside or the salty bite or that it’s just the comfort of a potato, but I’ve just always loved a good french fry! Now that’s I’ve been low carb for 2 years, I have had to cut out the fries. Can’t say I’ve been 100% perfect in this area, but I don’t eat them on a regular basis.

I’ve learned how to still get my French Fry Fix without all the carbs and it’s with veggies like zucchini! But until now, I was always dissatisfied with the outcome. That was, until I added some crushed pork rinds, my world has changed!

I’ve seen a ton of recipes where low carb bloggers use pork rinds to replace breadcrumbs and to be honest I was always pretty skeptical! I don’t know why I ever waited so long, crushed pork rinds are the perfect outer coating for a crispy zucchini fry!

They could be fried in oil I’m sure but I didn’t feel like the work of that, so I just baked them and they held up perfect!

Crispy, a little salty, soft in the center, the absolute perfect zucchini fry you will ever have!

Brenda’s Notes:

• Even if you’re not a fan of coconut flour you won’t notice the flavor of it in these at all, the pork rinds override it.
• You could sub the coconut flour with almond flour if desired. I can’t use almond flour because my youngest has a tree nut allergy.

Enjoy!

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Crispy Oven Fried Low Carb Zucchini Fries

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 222kcal

Author Brenda Bennett | Sugar-Free Mom

Ingredients

• 4 cups sliced zucchini
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1 cup crushed pork rinds
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 cup coconut flour

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Arrange 3 shallow bowls. One for the eggs, one for he coconut flour and one for the pork rinds.
• Stir in the parmesan with the crushed pork rinds, set aside.
• Stir in the garlic powder and parsley wth the coconut flour and set aside.
• Toss 3-4 sliced zucchini into the coconut flour mixture then dip in eggs and finally toss into pork rind mixture until coated well. Set aside onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Bake 25 minutes or until nicely browned.

Notes

Net Carbs: 2.5g

Nutrition

Serving: 4g | Calories: 222kcal | Carbohydrates: 4.7g | Protein: 20.4g | Fat: 12.6g | Saturated Fat: 4.3g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 541mg | Fiber: 2.2g | Sugar: 1.1g

The post Crispy Oven Fried Low Carb Zucchini Fries appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

Calzone. Stromboli. Whichever you call it, it’s basically the same thing.

A stuffed rolled bread. Usually. But not in this case.

It certainly looks like dough but it’s not. It’s low carb using my Grain Free Pizza Dough recipe. The first calzone I ever made for the blog used Whole Wheat flour and you can check that out here. The second calzone I made for the blog used this low carb pizza crust dough, called Bacon Cheeseburger Calzone and it’s been a huge hit with everyone who’s tried it.

I grew up eating homemade pizza or calzone once a week in my Italian family. If you know about my Italian dad as I’ve written about him a few times,  (if you don’t you can read about him in this post for my Spaghetti Squash All Carbonara), then you know you shouldn’t mess with his Italian bread or calzone. I messed with something near and dear to his heart and HE.LOVED.IT. ANYWAY.

‘Course I didn’t tell him when he came over with my mom one weekend while their kitchen was being renovated.

With everything in me I COULD not tell him this wasn’t made with regular dough. I COULD NOT. I needed to see if I could pull this one off without an issue.

While it looked kind of flatter in my mind than what I had hoped it to look like, my mom tells me this is the way homemade calzone should look when you make the dough from scratch. So I don’t care anymore if it doesn’t look fluffy like traditional calzone.

It’s spot on tasty and that’s all that matters in my mind. And the fact it’s a low carb copycat make it even better!

This recipe is using my low carb pizza dough within the nutrition info, so if you have something else to use you’ll need to figure out the filling separate from the dough I used.

My dad remarked how he couldn’t even tell it wasn’t made with typical dough. And he ate 2 pieces, SCORE!

Even my picky carb loving hubby commented it was delicious. Another win in my house. Hopefully in yours too!

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Low Carb Chicken Parmesan Calzone

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12 slices

Calories 363kcal

Author Brenda Bennett | Sugar Free Mom

Ingredients

• low carb pizza crust recipe
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup sugar free marinara sauce
• 8 ounces provolone cheese

Instructions

• Slice chicken in half, lengthwise, pound thin, set aside.
• Whisk the eggs in a shallow bowl.
• In another shallow bowl whisk together the Parmesan with the dry seasonings.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Dip the breasts into the eggs then into the dry mixture.
• Lay breasts on a baking sheet and bake 30 minutes.
• Prepare pizza dough and place on a parchment lined baking sheet while chicken is cooking.
• Once chicken is done, chop into bite size pieces, place in a bowl and mix in the marinara sauce.
• Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.
• Place 1/2 the provolone cheese down the middle of the dough.
• Place all the chicken on top of the cheese and lay the remaining provolone over the chicken.
• Use the parchment to lift one side of the dough over middle of the filling.
• Do the same with the other side and press dough together with wet fingers.
• Bake calzone 20 minutes. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Net Carbs: 6.3g

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 161mg | Sodium: 911mg | Potassium: 183mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 201mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Low Carb Grain Free Chicken Parmesan Calzone appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

With summer season comes an abundance of zucchini! Yeah if you like it! Not so true for the kiddies in the family who really don’t like it. Place cooked zucchini on their plate and envision the reactions and complaints. Finding a way to disguise the zucchini is a better option for my picky kids. Mixing it up with the things they love to eat is the best approach that I’ve found works every time.

I’ve made my Oven Fried Parmesan Zucchini Rounds for my kiddies and called them “chips” and they liked them and ate them but weren’t overjoyed about eating them.

BUT THIS RECIPE HAS WON THEM OVER! Why? Because they had NO idea zucchini was even in these little mini cheesy bites!

If your kids love cheese, they too will love these! The zucchini is grated so only some of the green skin is noticeable. You can opt to leave out the cilantro I used if your family has an aversion to green specks in their food. These are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. My oldest picky 12 year old child said they smelled great while in the oven. I told him they were cheesy egg bites and he tried one………..said, “OMG these are SO good mom!” I told him  after he ate 3 they were made with zucchini and he replied, “I can’t believe I ate zucchini and liked it.” Happy mom dance right then. 🙂

Super quick and easy to make. Using a food processor to grate the zucchini, then squeeze out the excess water in a paper towel or clean cloth. Add the rest of the ingredients and pack them into a little mini quiche tin. I only used one zucchini but you can certainly double the recipe if you have more or even make them larger then mini. My picky kids prefer little bites because I think it represents a more of a snack type food. Hey, whatever gets them to eat the zucchini right?

More Zucchini Recipes:

• Zucchini Frittata
• Oven Fried Zucchini Rounds
• Zucchini Ricotta Whole Wheat Pie

The post Mini Zucchini Cheese Bites appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

An easy meal for any night of the week, especially wonderful if you have an abundance of zucchini you need to do something with.

I grew up eating this every Friday and it was often called in Italian slang, “coo-kud-zil”.

Now don’t ask me why! No idea where that name came from, but that is the word we called it!

And.I.Loved.it.

Not too many kids grow up loving zucchini, but because of this frittata I always did.

Maybe if you make this your own kiddies will fall in love with zucchini too! It is worth a shot, but even if not, more for you!

I like my frittata thin so I use a large 12 inch saute pan, but you can use a smaller one and get a thicker frittata. I enjoy it thin because I sometimes put it between a sandwich thin whole wheat bread for an easy lunch.

Zucchini Frittata

[sc:Ziplist]

Ingredients

• 2 cups sliced zucchini
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup sliced onion
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup Parmesan
• 1/4 cup milk ( I used 1 %)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Saute onion and garlic in oil until onion is softened and turns yellow.
2. Add zucchini and saute until soft about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. In a bowl mix together egg, whites, Parmesan and milk.
4. Pour egg mixture over the zucchini and lower heat. Cook until egg mixture is semi set. The edges will be browned and you should be able to lift them a bit with a spatula.
5. Place the pan in the broiler to cook the center about 5 minutes.
6. Top with some feta cheese and chopped parsley if desired.

 Nutrition Info (excluding topping)

Servings: 6* Calories per serving: 130* Fat: 9g* Fiber: 1g* Carbs: 4g* Protien: 9g* Points+: 3*

Want more ideas for zucchini? How about my Zucchini Ricotta Pie? Or Oven Fried Parmesan Zucchini Rounds to go with any main dish! Or if zucchini isn’t your thing you could try a Kale Frittata that is delish!

The post Meatless Monday: Zucchini Frittata appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

Do you have a family favorite recipe you’ve been making for years served at a particular holiday that just wouldn’t seem the same without it?

Well this is mine! I’ve been making this asparagus wrapped in prosciutto for years, every Easter. My family just always asks for it and we would totally miss it if it didn’t appear on the table.

I rarely buy prosciutto, but it makes this dish so special because of it. Italians are big on prosciutto and love it wrapped around cantaloupe melon as well. It’s a simple, but much loved tradition. Prosciutto is basically a dry- cured spiced Italian ham.

I think you will love this recipe, but if prosciutto is not your favorite you can leave it off and simple follow the directions for some delicious roasted asparagus!

Nutrition Info

Servings: 8 Prosciutto wrapped bundles*

Calories per serving: 56* Fat: 3g* Fiber: 2g* Carbs: 5g* Protein: 5g* Points+: 2* Old Points: 1*

Nutrition Info without Prosciutto

Servings: 8* Calories per serving: 52* Fat: 3g* Fiber: 2g* Carbs: 5g* Protein: 4g* Points+: 2* Old Points: 1*

Need some ideas to go with this yummy side dish?

How about Baked Parmesan Tilapia, Low Fat Chicken Piccata or Healthy Baked Chicken Fingers!

Roasted Asparagus Wrapped with Prosciutto

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds asparagus [tough ends of stems cut off,discarded]
• 8 paper thin slices of prosciutto
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a 9 by 13 baking dish add the oil and lay the asparagus stems. Use your hands to toss the oil over all the asparagus.
3. Separate the asparagus into 8 equal bundles and wrap one slice of prsociutto around each bundle.
4. Sprinkle garlic salt and pepper over the asparagus.
5. Roast for 15-20 minutes until tender and you can insert a fork  with ease through the thick end of the asparagus.
6. Immediately out of the oven, sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and enjoy!

The post Roasted Asparagus Wrapped with Prosciutto appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

Simple meals are a mom’s best friend. Quick, healthy and economical are even better!

This may not be my kids favorite meal, but it’s certainly the hubby and my favorite! The veggies used here can easily just be changed to whatever you like. My kids would just prefer spinach and cheese. But I had some left over kale from another recipe and wanted to use it up and boy was this DELISH!

You have the basic recipe here and now you can experiment! Let me know if you do. 🙂

Nutrition Info

Servings: 6* Calories per serving: 117* Fat: 7g* Fiber: 1g* Carbs: 5g* Protein: 9g* Points+: 3* Old Points: 3*

Do you have a crust in the freezer you want to use up instead? Then make this Broccoli Cheddar Quiche…..so good!

It’s an easy meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Spinach can be substituted for the kale as well. What kind of frittata’s do you make?

Do you have any recipe requests or something you’d love to see get a healthy makeover?

Healthy Kale Mushroom Frittata

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped kale, stems removed
• 1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 4 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup milk ( I used 1 %)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a saute pan then add the garlic. Cook a few minutes, careful not to burn it.
2. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook until the onion is yellow in color.
3. Add the kale to the pan and cook until wilted.
4. In a bowl, mix the egg, whites, milk, cheese and salt/pepper.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and reduce heat to low. Cook on stove until outer edges of egg are set and middle is not runny.
6. Broil in the oven for 4-5 minutes to completely cook the top of the frittata.
7. Top with some grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy warm.

The post Healthy Kale Mushroom Frittata appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.

Do you like to eat a meatless meal once in awhile? This is a perfect healthy meal that won’t leave you feeling unsatisfied or hungry in the least. Add a nice salad and its a perfect choice for Fridays during Lent or any night for that matter.

All you need is a really good pie crust and I have just the one for you! I was going to make it with the whole wheat crust recipe from Whole Foods Market which is very good, but I wanted something a bit more healthy that made two so I could freeze one for another day.  It held up fabulously and didn’t get soggy at the bottom, just right for this kind of pie. See this recipe for my new favorite healthier whole wheat pie crust!

The nutrition info includes this healthy crust I made specifically for this dish.

Nutrition Info

Servings: 8* Calories per serving: 308* Fat: 21g* Fiber: 3g* Carbs: 20g* Protein: 12g* Points+: 8* Old Points: 7*

This recipe is being shared at Feasting in Fellowship.

Ingredients

• 1 pie shell
• 3 cups zucchini, sliced
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup fresh dill
• 1 egg
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup ricotta cheese, part skim
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the zucchini and cook until golden about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the dill, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a bowl, whisk together egg, whites, ricotta and Parmesan.
5. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
6. Stir the zucchini into the egg and cheese mixture.
7. Pour into the crust and sprinkle with a little Parmesan if you desire.
8. Bake until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 60-75 minutes.

A simple Cucumber Feta Relish  or Citrus Fennel Salad would be my choice with this luscious pie!

The post Zucchini Ricotta Whole Wheat Pie appeared first on Sugar-Free Mom.