Keto | LCHF Made in Sweden

My First Guest Blog Post in the US

Keto, LCHF 19 August, 2015 Comments: 2

Oldfashioned Picnic at Storsjön, Jämtland, Sweden
Photo; Mikael Eriksson

Guest Post

Last week, I guest blogged on the tasty Low – Carb / Keto / LCHF blog Fluffy Chix Cook, one of America’s
biggest food blogs in this category.

Sooze Gibbs is a very talented cook and like me she also writes cookbooks.

They are published as very inexpensive e-books – you can find them here. We’ve become really good blog friends, it feels great to be able to make a guest appearance on her blog. Sooze also has a big Facebook group “My Low – carb Keto Cooking”.

A very friendly group where you can find a lot of great Low-Carb recipes. Here’s my own Facebook page.

Birgitta Höglund
Photo Gunno Rask

Waffles from Low Carb High Fat Cooking for Healthy Aging
Photo; Mikael Eriksson

Oven-Roasted Pork Belly with Orange and Chili

Keto, LCHF, Paleo 13 August, 2015 Comments: 2

Oven-Roasted Pork Belly with Orange and Chili… Photo: Mikael Eriksson

Oven-Roasted Pork Belly with Orange and Chili

Fresh pork belly is great food for those of us who want to keep our food low in carbohydrates, and free from all the additives typically found in brined pork and bacon.

This meat becomes very tender from slow cooking; its flavor stems from a tangy marinade with orange, and its spiciness from the chili.

1 lb. 5 oz. (600 g) fresh pork belly, with rind
1 organic orange
1 red chili pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
2 tablespoons gluten-free tamari soy sauce
about 1 tablespoon salt, for the meat rub prior to roasting

Rinse the meat in cold water and dry it well. Slit the rind with a sharp knife at even intervals; only make surface slits in the rind—do not cut into the meat itself.

Wash the orange and cut off thin strips of peel with a zester. Or, peel off the outer layer with a potato peeler and cut it into fine strips with a knife.

Seed and finely chop the chili pepper. Caution: use food service latex gloves to do this and make sure not to rub your eyes! Do not remove the seeds if you prefer more heat in the dish.

Strip the rosemary branch of its needles, and chop the needles finely. Juice the orange and mix it with the tamari, chili, rosemary, and orange peel.

Place the prepared meat in doubled plastic freezer bags. Pour the marinade over the meat and seal the bags shut. Work the marinade around the meat a little to make sureit’s evenly distributed. Leave the plastic bags with the meat on a platter in refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours. Turn the meat a few times during this time.

Preheat the oven to 430ºF (225ºC).

Pour the marinade into a smaller ovenproof dish. Distribute the salt evenly on both sides of the pork collar, and rub it thoroughly into the cuts in the rind.

Place a baking rack inside the dish, and set the meat on the rack with the rind side up. Place the dish in the oven and let the meat brown for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200ºF (100ºC) and let the meat roast for 2 hours. Baste it several times with the marinade.

Once it’s cooked, let the meat rest for a while on the cutting board before cutting it into slices. Sautéed mushrooms and a Brussels sprout gratin covered in blue cheese (see recipe on p. 147 in Low Carb High Fat and Paleo Slow Cooking) make excellent side dishes to this meat.

You can now find all my cookbooks at Amazon, both in hardcover and on Kindle.

Here are some pictures from last week’s vacation in Dalecarlia. We spent an unforgettable night in the Royal Suite at Åkerblad’s Hotel in Tällberg, celebrating my cookbook release.

After that we went to my small cabin in the mountains for a week, where there’s no electricity or tap water, just water from the creek that passes by just outside my house.

Åkerblad’s Hotel, Tällberg, Sweden…

Picture of the Royal Suite from Christina Åkerblad’s book about the hotels historical background..

View over Siljan from our suite at Åkerblad’s Hotel, Tällberg…

My mountain cabin…

Outdoor Cooking…

LCHF Cookbook Release

Keto, LCHF, Paleo 1 August, 2015 Comments: 6

A great day for me

All my 3 cookbooks are now available in English. It’s so exciting to hear that some of you already have got your books from Amazon, the official releasedate is Aug 4.

I would like to extend my warm thanks to my editor Lindsey Breuer at Skyhorse Publishing who believed in my books and Gun Penhoat who translated the books and adjusted the recipes to fit the American market.

Gun has done a fantastic job of finding substitutes for those Swedish products that can be difficult to find in the US, so that everyone should be able to cook and enjoy my food.

Low Carb High Fat Barbecue at Amazon

Low Carb High Fat Barbecue was released in June and now it’s time for the other two to hit the market.

Low Carb High Fat Cooking for Healthy Aging was written together with Dr. Annika Dahlqvist, MD. She is the founder of the LCHF movement in Sweden.

Low Carb High Fat and Paleo Slow Cooking has a very interesting foreword about healthy fats, written by science journalist and author Dr. Ann Fernholm, PhD.

Dr. Fernholm’s first book, “My Sweet Heart: The health effects of a century-long love affair” will be available as an e-book in September.

I hope you’ll enjoy my books as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Here’s some words about LCHF Barbecue:

“I met the author on Jimmy Moore’s 2015 Low Carb Cruise. She is dedicated to creating and eating good, healthy food. The book has gorgeous pictures of the prepared recipes and the instructions are easy and concise-this book has been translated into english-all the temperatures and measurements are american too. I highly recommend this book. I have pre-ordered her other two books that are being translated into english.”

“I learned so much from this book. Birgitta Höglund is one of the original founders of LCHF and has dedicated her life to reinvent modern cooking. The barbecue book is not only about putting a piece of meat on the grill. Here we learn to serve whole healthy dinners without any harmful carbs. I have made half of her recipes and all have been a delight to make and eat.”

“Birgitta Höglund; I was afraid to order your book because I figured it had a lot of ingredients we have never heard of here in Southern Louisiana and/or climate differences would make it hard to follow. Then I noticed that all of the recipes posted were easy to follow and duplicate so I took the plunge. I ordered “Low Carb Barbecue” and preordered the other two. My Barbecue book came today and I’m so excited. I skimmed it I know with a wrinkled brow looking for thing negative AND FOUND NONE! You have done a fantastic job. I would never have thought of the zucchini in potato salad and it’s so refreshing I want to try new things. I just wanted you and the whole group to know how great I find this book and how I’m looking forward to the other two arriving. I’m telling everyone I know that it was written by my new Swedish friend. Thank you very much.”

Here about Low Carb High Fat and Paleo Slow Cooking:

“Birgitta is a delightful chef who lives what she shows in her books. These recipes are a new fresh outlook on dishes we have not experienced like this. All ingredients are available or explained by translation to apply ingredients we can easily locate. She has made my ketogenic lifestyle new and exciting again. Thanks Birgitta.”

About Low Carb High Fat Cooking for Healthy Aging:

“Wow! Fantastic recipes and photographs for new food choices for our healthy ketogenic lifestyle. Ingredients listed so anyone can reconstruct these beautiful dishes in our very own kitchens. The articles make you feel like we have sat with her in her own kitchen and cooked together. I love it and can’t wait for my imaginary visits into Swedish Keto homes with Birgitta again.”

Low Carb Recipes at DietDoctor

Keto, LCHF 29 July, 2015 Leave a comment

Healthy recipes at new DietDoctor

Now you can find a lot of delicious LCHF recipes at DietDoctor.

You can also read the fascinating story about my friend Lindha Vikström, who lost half her weight with LCHF.

Here’s a link to Lindha’s blog, translated via The Google Translate.

Low Carb Ketchup

Keto, LCHF, Paleo 24 July, 2015 Leave a comment

Low Carb Ketchup

8.8 oz. (250 g) tomatoes

2 inches (5 cm) of a leek, the white part

1.8 oz. (50 g) butter or olive oil

6 3/4 fl. oz. (200 ml) water

3 1/3 fl. oz. (100 ml) tomato puree

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons chili flakes

1 teaspoon Worcestershiresauce

1 teaspoon honey or your choice of sweetener

1 sliced clove of garlic

1/4 organic vegetable stock cube

1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground caraway seeds

1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground cloves

Sea salt

Dice the tomatoes and slice the leek thinly. Fry the diced tomato and sliced leek with the tomato puree in a pan.

Add all other ingredients, bring to boil and let simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Use a handheld mixer and mix the ketchup in the pan. Let simmer for another 15 minutes.

Taste the ketchup and decide if you need to increase the sourness, sweetness or saltiness.

Pour the finished ketchup into cleaned jars, put on the lid and let cool.

Store the ketchup in the fridge. It will stay fresh for a week. You can also store it in small jars in the freezer.

Organic grown vegetables from Ås Trädgård, Jämtland, Sweden

Guest blog on Strictly Paleoish

Keto, LCHF, Paleo 10 July, 2015 Leave a comment

Blog post about LCHF and Paleo

I’ve been asked to make a guest blog post at the interesting website Strictly Paleoish.

The past six years I have been living with a grain/gluten-free LCHF diet, the last few of them I have also removed most of the dairy products (except for butter) from my daily meals.

I’ve added some more root vegetables and fruit/berries, but I still keep the carbohydrates very low and the fat content high.

This lifestyle works well for me. It has further improved my fibromyalgia, I feel better than I did in my first years on LCHF and I have become both stronger and leaner.

Here’s a link to my blog post at Strictly Paleoish.

The blog post includes a couple of recipes from my newly released cookbook, Low Carb High Fat Barbecue.

Here’s a comment about my book:

“Birgitta Höglund. I was afraid to order your book because I figured it had a lot of ingredients we have never heard of here in Southern Louisiana and/or climate differences would make it hard to follow.

Then I noticed that all of the recipes posted were easy to follow and duplicate so I took the plunge. I ordered “Low Carb Barbecue” and preordered the other two.

My Barbecue book came today and I’m so excited. I skimmed it I know with a wrinkled brow looking for thing negative AND FOUND NONE! You have done a fantastic job. I would never have thought of the zucchini in potato salad and it’s so refreshing I want to try new things.

I just wanted you and the whole group to know how great I find this book and how I’m looking forward to the other two arriving. I’m telling everyone I know that it was written by my new Swedish friend. Thank you very much.”

Low Carb High Fat Barbecue at Amazon

Chocolate Drizzled Nut Cookies

LCHF 4 July, 2015 Leave a comment

Nut Cookies from Low Carb High Fat Cooking for Healthy Aging Photo: Mikael Eriksson

Coffee and cookies

A cookie can be delicious and nutritious at the same time.

Here you’ll find a happy mix of nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate alongside cinnamon and cardamom.

Nut Cookies Makes 20 cookies

2 large eggs
sweetener equivalent to 2 tablespoons of honey
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (200 ml) hazelnuts, finely chopped
1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons (100 ml) sunflower seeds, roasted
1 tablespoon whole unflavored psyllium husk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon real vanilla powder
a pinch of salt
1 3/4 oz. (50 g) butter, melted
4 squares of dark chocolate, melted
10 hazelnuts, halved

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Place cookie molds on a baking sheet.

With a handheld electric mixer, beat eggs and sweetener until light and airy. Mix all dry ingredients in another bowl; add to the egg batter.

Finally, stir in the melted butter. Using two spoons, fill the small cookie molds with batter.

Bake at 400ºF (200ºC) for 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.

Garnish each cookie with some drizzled chocolate and top with half a hazelnut.

The recipe is taken from my cookbook Low Carb High Fat Cooking for Healthy Aging.

This book I wrote along with Annika Dahlqvist, MD, founder of the LCHF-movement in Sweden.

Summer Night in Stockholm, Sweden…

The City Hall of Stockholm…

The Royal Palace…

Stockholm by Night in July…

Grilled Bacon and Mozzarella Salad

Keto, LCHF 1 July, 2015 Comments: 2

Mozzarella Salad with hot smoked Pork Belly 1 serving

3 slices of hot smoked pork belly, bacon or pancetta

6 3/4 fl. oz. (200 ml) Swiss chard and lamb’s lettuce (Maché)

A small bunch of wood sorrel

1 3/4 oz. (50 g) Buffalo Mozzarella

2 radishes

2 cherry tomatoes

Cold pressed olive oil

Vhite balsamic vinegar or lemon juice

Salt flakes and grounded white pepper

Cover a plate with sallad and wood sorrel. If you don’t find these kinds of grean leafs, take the ones you prefer.

Quarter radiches and tomatoes, sprinkle over the sallad. Break the mozzarella into smaller pieces.

Grill or fry the pork very briefly over high heat and serve on top of the salad with the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

My aioli with herbs is also a very good companion for this salad.

Wood sorrel…

Bumble Bee…

My mountain hut in Dalecarlia, Sweden…

Mayonnaise

Keto, LCHF 18 June, 2015 Comments: 5

Mayonnaise
Photo Mikael Eriksson

Mayonnaise is one of the most basic yet versatile condiments for anyone who eats food low in carbohydrates, as it can be incorporated into many different sauces and mixes.

If you make your own mayonnaise using free-range eggs, it will be both better tasting and more nutritious than anything sold in stores.

I use mild-tasting olive oil, and not cold-pressed, as its flavor is too assertive for mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise

2 large egg yolks, from free-range eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened mustard
1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
a small pinch of salt
6 3/4 fl. oz. (200 ml) mild-flavored olive oil
some freshly ground white pepper
a few drops of Worcestershire sauce

Mix the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar and salt with an immersion blender in a narrow, tall vessel. Add the oil in carefully, first drop by drop and then in a thin stream. Blend continuously.

You can add the oil in larger amounts once the mayonnaise has started to emulsify. Work the blender up and down the vessel to ensure everything mixes thoroughly.

Season with white pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Taste and adjust for vinegar or salt. Put the mayonnaise in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and keep in the fridge. It will stay fresh up to a week.

If you prefer mayonnaise with more zing, double the amount of mustard.