Sides for your calculation: Zucchini Fritters and Cheesy Tater Bites!

Well, I got super tired of asking Eamon what veggie he wanted cooked in butter or oil, so I knew I had to make some old favorites keto. Especially when the "normies" feasted on a buffet of Trader Joe's appetizers for New Year's Eve. Have I mentioned my obsession for Trader Joe's? Seriously, I'm obsessed with Trader Joe's.

Zucchini Fritters 

We've made zucchini fritters before we started the ketogenic diet. We had joined a CSA and I was looking for some new ways to use our squash stores before the next week's bounty and found a recipe online for the fritters. Man, I love veggies. They were SO GOOD and I didn't even need to get too fancy! I like them super salty and dipped in a good ketchup (um, do I need to mention Trader Joe's has amazing ketchup?). Eamon really enjoys the saltiness of the fritters and the other boys enjoy them as well! You could add a spiced sour cream/mayo dip and calculate a meat for a meal.

Ingredients:

25g shredded zucchini with skin, raw

8g egg

4g almond flour

10g coconut oil

Optional: garlic powder, cayenne pepper, etc

Directions:

Shred zucchini and place in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 15 minutes. Squeeze zucchini in a dishcloth or paper towel and measure. Add egg and almond flour and either a sprinkle of garlic powder, cayenne pepper, or some paprika and mix well. Add measured oil to non-stick skillet and heat until shimmering. Drop spoonfuls of zucchini mixture in hot oil. Cook until brown and flip until both sides are nice and brown. At this point, I let the fritters sit in the oil to absorb any remaining oil in the pan off of the heat. I sprinkle with salt and serve it up! 

Cheesy Tater Bites or Mac & Cheese Bites

I was cruising around on my favorite keto blog, Ruled.me, and knew right away that Eamon would love the mac & cheese bites. Of course, there would be less cheese and more oil, but we would give them a try anyway. What a hit! He said they reminded him of tater tots, which is why I've named my version, Cheesy Tater Bites. Eamon ate them as they were, but I suppose you could also add a dip. We had an appetizer fest on New Year's Eve, but next time we'll use them as a side item and add a meat and cream.

Ingredients:

36g cauliflower raw, riced (or pulsed in a food processor)

1g paprika

8g mild cheddar cheese

10g egg, mixed well

10g sunflower oil

Directions: 

I bought the Organic Riced Cauliflower from the frozen section at Trader Joe's, let it thaw and squeezed out excess water...you know, cause it's easy and less messy. Thanks, Trader Joe's! I love you. You could, however, use fresh cauliflower florets and pulse them a few times in the food processor to get "riced" cauliflower. Measure remaining ingredients, except for oil, and add to the cauliflower, mixing well. Heat measured oil in the skillet until shimmering. Drop spoonfuls of the cauliflower into hot oil, cooking until brown on both sides. Sprinkle with salt and serve it up! 

Sorry I didn't have a better pic...