Let's address the elephants in the room. Wine isn't necessarily Keto but I count it in my overall carb count for the day and make room for it. I can't give up EVERYTHING. And yes I put ice in my wine. Go ahead and judge. It was 98 degrees here today.
You'll also notice the lip smudges on the glass because I kept forgetting it was a prop and would take sips between photo shots.
I have a few "tricks" that I employ to keep me on the Keto way of eating. My morning muffin is my number one thing that makes it so much easier. And canapes (or appetizers/snacks). Remember the Cher character in Mermaids? For her, a meal of canapes was the way to go and I can totally get on board with that. But from a Keto point of view it's a struggle. I mean there is only so much cheese you can eat.
I mostly miss the crunch of things. Like a potato chip. Or…a potato chip. I saw a couple of recipes for zucchini chips so I thought I would give it a go.
This is a recipe that lends itself to those obscenely big zucchinis your neighbors try to foist on you during the Summer. But any size zucchini will do. I just think the bigger diameter works better. I had to work with medium sized zucchinis. I slice them as thin as I can with a mandolin. I like to leach out some of the moisture by placing them on a paper towel and then sprinkling with a bit of salt.
I let them sweat for about 20 minutes then dry them off with a paper towel. In the meantime preheat the oven to 425° F and place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Or jelly roll pan. I think technically this is a jelly roll pan. And by the looks of it the thing is perfectly seasoned. I think I have had that pan for about 40 years.
Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. I used about 1/4 cup for one medium sized zucchini. You can add a sprinkle of garlic salt if you like. I find the salt in the Parmesan is plenty though.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your slices. With the mandolin they are about 1/8" thick. You want the Parmesan to be a dark golden brown. The zucchini themselves never entirely crisp up. They retain a kind of creamy consistency but the parmesan does get crispy. You will need to serve and eat these pretty quickly. They still taste good if left to sit for a while but they lose the crispiness pretty quickly.
To recap:
- 1 zucchini, sliced to about 1/8"
- Salt
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Slice the zucchini and place on paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and let sit (and sweat) for about 20 minutes. Blot with additional paper towel. Put a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place zucchini slices on parchment. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, checking after 10 minutes – if it looks like the Parmesan is getting too brown remove from oven. Serve immediately.
I have a couple of other go to Keto snacks – I try to keep them at a minimum because they tend to be high in sodium. I like to take turkey pepperoni and cook it in the microwave until it is crisp. About 20-30 seconds. I also LOVE Trader Joe's Hot & Spicy dill pickle chips. They are sooo good. Celery with cream cheese is good too. I also realized I could have the occasional spoonful of peanut butter. Perfect energy boost in the afternoon when energy is lagging. As always – anything in moderation.
