Eating in a new way (keto!)

-

 Hi friends!!

One of the things that I have loved about having this forum is that it can change with me.  This week I was reminded how people do still reference my website and I want to make sure it's a good representation of me.  So I'm here to tell you and share ideas, products and recipes from our new way of eating!

I say we, because it is very much an endeavor that both Ray and I are on.  He has been eating this way for over 18 months and has successfully lost over 80 pounds!! He looks and feels amazing! I'll let him do a post with his own tips and tricks because he does do a lot of things different than I do, but what I share is what is working for me and how I cook for both of us.  Ray does more intermittent fasting and has different goals than I do.  I have been eating this way for about 2 months and have lost 20 pounds!  I will preface this with the fact that I did have weight loss surgery 8 years ago and since then I automatically eat higher protein amounts.  Therefore, the only real change for me was eliminating sugar and drastically lowering my carbs.  I have honestly not found this to be too difficult.  I have enjoyed the different kind of recipes and cooking and as always I love working with tweaking recipes.

Tools we have found super helpful:

  • Air fryer - any kind of air fryer will be a game changer, but we recently invested in a new godfather of all air fryers and we are in love.  Life changing! Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven
  • Built Bars - This product has been a game changer for me as well.  I have eaten a lot of protein bars over the years, but these are my ultimate favorite!  Low calorie, low net carbs, high protein and GREAT taste! They have many flavors and I honestly haven't found one I don't like.  However, I do have some favorites: peanut butter brownie, German chocolate cake, salted caramel and coconut!  If you would like to try them, click on the linked "built bars" above and you'll get 15% off your first order!
  • Mini waffle maker - like this Dash one from Target - to make chaffles which I'll talk about soon!
  • Ray and I use the Ketodiet app on our iphones and it really helps to keep track of our protein, calories, fat and carbs.
  • Here are the grocery items that we find useful to have on hand for recipes:
    • heavy whipping cream
    • monk fruit sweetener 
      • Lakanto Classic Monkfruit sweetener - this is a granular sugar and it's a spoon for spoon replacement to sugar
      • Swerve - I like this trio that has granular, powdered and brown sugar replacement (I have yet to use the brown sugar, but the powdered has been very useful)
    • Berries! - blackberries, raspberries and strawberries
    • Cheese - shredded cheddar, shredded mozzarella, grated parmesan, laughing cow cheese wedges, cheese sticks, sliced cheese, grilling cheese
    • Eggs - I love fresh eggs so I buy from a local neighbor (we use about 2 dozen every week)
    • Almond flour, coconut flour
    • Nuts and nut butters -make sure nothing is added, just nuts and oil
    • Meat - ground beef, chicken, bacon, sausage, steak, canned chicken and tuna, fresh fish (if you like eating it)
    • Oils - coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, avocado oil
    • butter - real
  • The last item for this post (because it's gotten to be a lot) is electrolytes.  I had DAILY headaches before I started using these and now hardly any headaches at all!  The one we use is Quicklytes and it has no taste so you can put it in any drink and you won't even know.  Just a few drops once or twice a day in my water and I'm good to go!
Ok my friends, I spent a couple days trying to find time to put this together, but I really wanted to get this information out there because it has been such helpful stuff.  I really owe a lot to Ray because he did most of the grunt work on the products.  However, I have been mastering a few awesome recipes recently, so be watching for those to be posted soon.  And, be sure to comment and ask Ray to chime in because he has a lot to share I know, but he probably won't do it unless y'all ask! 

Signing off for now! - Allison

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sourdough!

-
 Hello friends!  If you are here because I gifted you some of my "love" sourdough starter, below you will find (hopefully) most of the information you are looking for to get started on your sourdough journey!  If you have just happened upon my page, welcome!  Hopefully you will also find useful information here. "Love" (my sourdough starter) is about 6 months old.  I started her at a really weird time in my life, because I currently don't have an oven to bake bread in.  However, that's for another post.  I bake at my daughter's house, my mother's apartment, and lately I have been making my loaves in my crockpot!  I also have made many other things with "love" and she has truly been amazing.  I'm so happy to share her! In your jar, is fed and active starter.  Here are your options: Feed it and use it for bread in 8-12 hours Get a larger clean jar, place it on your kitchen scale and then set it to zero grams. Pour the starter I gave you i
Read more

Two of my favorite things to make

-
 Today I am leaving my second child at college.  Cambria loves to cook and is adventurous with what she likes to eat.  I'm getting ready to take her shopping for her first groceries and I wanted to add a few of my favorite things to cook and bake on my blog so she can find them easy. Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients: 1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons) - melted 1/2 cup of white sugar 1/4 cup of brown sugar 1 teaspoon of vanilla 1 egg 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cups total of chocolate chips (do a combination of milk, semi sweet, peanut butter) Instructions: heat oven to 350 degrees mix the sugars and melted butter until creamy stir in the egg and vanilla just until combined add in the flour, baking soda, salt - mix until dough consistency - you might need to add more flour (sometimes the mixer will make this too creamy so I mix by hand) add in the chocolate chips and mix/stir until combined drop by spoonfulls onto a baking sheet an
Read more

Bulk Seasoning Mixes - Recipes

-
Here is another great way to save money and never run out of what you need. The commercial packets are expensive and can really add up. Save money and make your own at home! Ranch Dressing Mix 1 ½ cups dry buttermilk 1 ½ Tbsp parsley flakes 1 ½ tsp each, dill weed, onion powder, dried onion flakes and salt 1 ½ Tbsp ascorbic acid (Vitamin C powder) ½ tsp garlic powder 1 ½ tsp ground black pepper Whisk together until well blended. Place in an air-tight, labeled container. Note: One tablespoon is equal to one packet of commercial Ranch Dressing Mix To Make Ranch Dressing: Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the Ranch Dressing Mix to 1 cup mayonnaise and enough water for desired consistency (about 6 tablespoons). This is an excellent dressing to use in salads (egg, tuna, potato, cabbage, tossed greens, a topping for steamed vegetables, etc). Dry Onion Soup Mix Similar to Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix Combine the following: 7 oz beef bouillon powder ½ teaspoon pepper 1 cup dried minced onion ½ cup onion po
Read more