I hope you all have a few special festive things planned over the next few weeks. Last weekend we hosted a Low Carb Christmas gathering with several of our friends who each brought a low carb dish with them. It was a really lovely evening and of course the food was delicious too! You can see a few photos below of the spread that we had and I hope it inspires you that festive food can be good for you and still be very tasty! We had everything from pigs in blankets to stewed red cabbage, low carb mince pies and chocolate Christmas cake, slices of ham, a low carb trifle and lots more!

Top Blog Reads of 2023!

This time of year I like to do a little review of the past year and look back at and see which of my blogs have had the most read! So here is the countdown of the top 5 most read blogs by the end of 2023.

1. Unpacking Insulin Resistance: Fatigue & Sugar Crashes to Chronic Diseases - this was the winner this year!

2. Brain Fog, What Causes It & How To Clear It Quickly

3. Why Saturated Fat Was Vilified For What Sugar Really Did – Part 1

4. Fatigue: The Miracle of Making Energy

5. How Eating Keto Can Fix Your Fatigue

If you haven't read any of them then perhaps you may get a few minutes over the festive period when you can check them out.

If you are looking for a little bit of winter wellness support then these two blogs may also be helpful for you.

1. 5 Ways to Tackle Tiredness this Winter and How You Can Support Your Immune System

2. Vitamin D, Covid-19 & Winter, What You Need to Know to Support Your Immune Health

If you would like to celebrate with a low carb Christmas mince pie then here is my favourite recipe!

Low Carb Mince Pie Recipe

I thought you might like a low carb mince pie recipe this month so here is my current favourite!

Note it is low carb and not keto. If you want to make a keto version you can try swapping the apple for blueberries and just use a little water instead of juice to soften the pear.

Serve up with whipped cream or coconut cream with a little vanilla.

Ingredients

Pastry

• 100g almond flour

• 30g coconut flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

• pinch of salt

• 70g cold butter

• 30g full fat cream cheese

• 2 large egg yolks

Filling

• 1 small apple, cored and chopped into small pieces

• 1 small pear, cored and chopped into small pieces

• 20g flake almonds

• zest of 1 lemon

• zest of 1 orange

• 20g sugar free dried cranberries

• 20g sugar free dried sour cherries

• 1/2 tsp ginger

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

• 2 tbsp golden erythritol (you may not need this - up to you for sweetness)

• 30g butter

• Juice of 1/2 lemon

• Juice of 1 orange

• 1 tbsp brandy (optional)

Method

Blitz all the dry pastry ingredients in a food processors briefly then add the butter (chopped into small pies) and blitz again, then add the egg yolk and cream cheese and blitz again. Scrape out and form into a ball and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the filling. Put everything except the almonds and brandy in a pan and put on a medium heat so it bubbles gently for 10 minutes or until the fruit has soften. User a masher to break it up. Let it cool a little and stir in the brandy and flake almonds. Set aside.

Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll it out to around 25mm thickness and cut out bases for the pies with a pastry cutter that will fit into a cupcake tin (around 7.5cm diameter). Butter the tin to stop it sticking and press the mince pie pastry bases gently into the moulds. Also cut sufficient tops using a star or heart shaped cutter. Once the bases are in the tin top with the filling and place a star or heart on top.

Cook in the oven at 160C for around 15 - 17 minutes or until the top has browned a little and the base has cooked through too. You can use a little powdered erythritol to decorate if you wish. Enjoy!

Wishing you all a lovely relaxing enjoyable holiday period.