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Sometimes you just get tired of eggs and bacon for breakfast. Sometimes you just don’t have time to make any of the quick and easy breakfast recipes I share on this blog. Sometimes you miss your I-can-have-cereal-for-breakfast days. On those days, you thank your lucky stars for a bag of Julian Bakery ProGranola® Vanilla Cinnamon Cluster in your pantry.

I discovered Julian Bakery’s granola at Natural Products Expo West 2018 while on a treasure hunt for healthy, tasty, low-carb products. Up to this point, I haven’t found a low-carb, Keto-friendly cereal or granola product, and I haven’t developed my own granola recipe yet. Needless to say, I was excited to sample this grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, low-carb, Keto, and Paleo granola.

Once I tasted this crunchy and delicious granola, I knew I had to buy it for my husband to taste. I just knew he would love it, especially because he misses morning cereal more than I do. I grew up in the Soviet Union — we didn’t eat cereal for breakfast. Joel is all-American, so he likes his Julian Bakery’s granola with heavy whipping cream diluted with water to create a milk-like consistency. I like it with coconut milk, or we eat it straight out of the bag (it’s addictive!)

Julian Bakery Low-Carb Granola

What I love about this granola is that it only has 2g of net carbs per 1/2 cup serving, yet 12g of protein and 12g of fiber. In the past, when I made my own dairy-free “cereal” at home, I used nuts with coconut milk, which is high in fat, but too low in protein and fiber. Afterwards, I would feel hungry pretty quickly. With Julian Bakery’s granola, however, I feel satisfied until lunch time.

Julian Bakery ProGranola® Vanilla Cinnamon Cluster has pumpkin seeds, so it’s not quite lectin-free, but I like to indulge in it from time to time. It is available on Amazon.com and the Julian Bakery website. Try this low-carb, Keto-friendly granola and let me know if you like it as much as we do.

VARIATION:
If you like chocolate for breakfast, add some dark chocolate chips to your granola (I use Lily’s no-sugar-added Dark Chocolate Chips). When in season, add a few sliced strawberries for a slightly tangy flavor, or a few blueberries for that classic flavor, or another berry of your choice.

Joel loves savory snacks such as chips. He’s been known to eat a whole bag of tortilla chips in one sitting (in his pre-low-carb days, of course!) So, to find a savory, crunchy snack that is low-carb and isn’t fried in an industrial vegetable oil is a real win. The newly-launched 4505 Meats Pork Cracklins was one of my top low-carb finds at Natural Products Expo West 2018.

These crunchy, salty pork curls are Paleo-certified, grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, lectin-free, sugar-free, zero-carb, Keto, made with humanely-raised pork that is free of hormones and antibiotics, fried in rendered pork fat (yum!), and are quite addictive.

We once thought of buying pork rinds (chicharrones) at a Mexican grocery store, but they were fried in soybean oil and had MSG. Yuck! Instead, we whipped up homemade guacamole and served it with these delicious, fried pork curly Qs. I personally like the sea salt flavor, which is lectin-free. If you like pork rinds, you must give these healthier pork curls a try!

4505 Meats Pork Cracklins Zero Carb Snack

Besides loving 4505 Meats products, something else that I love is the fact that the company was founded by a chef and butcher who is committed to whole animal utilization and sustainability. The popular nose-to-tail trend is a good thing, in my opinion. I respect chefs and butchers who find creative ways to utilize all parts of the animal. Why waste pork skins?

These new Cracklins are available on Amazon.com, the 4505 Meats website, and will be available in grocery stores this summer. 4505 Meats also offers a line of pork rinds (chicharrones), but these new pork curls are heartier, crunchier, more flavor-forward porkalicious rinds.

Try this zero-carb snack and let me know if you like it as much as we do. I plan to serve these pork cracklins with guacamole when I host Mexican-inspired dinner parties. Way better than chips 🙂