Tag: Health

Going to the Devil with Keto…
Cooking · Keto

Going to the Devil with Keto…

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…with delicious Devilled Eggs

I love devilled eggs for many reasons: 1) they’re delicious 2) I’m a Southern lady and I’ve grown up on these and 3) they’re Keto-friendly! Staying with the ketogenic diet after the first flush of enthusiasm is hard. In my search for snacks I could eat without fear (oh, how I miss popcorn and chips) I found that devilled eggs were a good bet. (And pork rinds, but that’s another story.)

Everyone loves it when you bring devilled eggs to a party. They’re one of the first things to disappear, and you never have to worry about carrying home any leftovers. At one of the Christmas parties last season, I took “Secret Ingredient Stuffed Eggs” from the Taste of Home website. They were delicious, if not exactly keto-friendly; the secret ingredient was mango chutney, along with pecans and goat cheese.

I had to get a picture before they were all gone at the party. The eggs went fast.

Eggs everywhere

When I was looking for more devilled egg recipes (you can never have enough) I found entire blog posts related to the history of devilled eggs. Turns out scholars trace them all the way back to the Romans. While I was out looking, I found other bloggers who were coming up with their own wonderful recipes. I can’t wait to try Bandriachuk’s Devilled Eggs (Harissa Option) from the site “A Runny Egg on Top.” Love that name!

One of my favorite cookbooks, packed full of fun anecdotes, is “Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral. In that book they use the term “Stuffed Eggs” also – and point out that this snack lets you know a funeral is on the way.

Stuffed eggs are associated so closely with death that any time you see the lady of the house getting down the egg plate, you might well ask, “Who died?”

-Being Dead is No Excuse, page 77.

I tried the author’s Sweet Stuffed Eggs (page 81) with the secret ingredient of Durkee’s Famous Sauce. Yum! Another time I was making just ye old standard stuffed eggs with mayo and Dijion mustard. I found out at the last minute I was completely out of paprika for that time-honored topping. But – I had a bottle of Tajin in the cupboard – and soon I had wonderful spicy eggs!

I went light on the Tajin the first time – next time I’ll add a little more.
January Keto Update
Keto · me

January Keto Update

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Good news

I lost some weight this month! My total lost so far is a little over 12 pounds. I was telling a friend one of the biggest joys since I started this new way of eating was the feeling of putting on jeans straight from the dryer – and they just slid right on, without that “too-tight-just-out-of-the-dryer” feeling!

My friends have been the most supportive of any of my efforts. One volunteered keto coaching; another sent me a gift of a Keto cookbook. You probably guessed from all my previous posts it is Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan. I hope I drive a few sales to her! Her marvelous cookbooks and her website and YouTube channel have been inspirational. I’m shooting for the same success!

It was hard getting back after Christmas

To be honest, getting back to eating the Keto way was TOUGH after a Christmas when I let myself go. I told myself: I’m only going to feast on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – after all, those are traditional Feast Days. But I decided to end early at at Christmas part Dec. 22 (oh, that eggnog!) and then just couldn’t quite go back to Keto eating until all the leftovers were gone. It was a tough thing – I didn’t really get back to eating Keto until nearly the third week of January.

New month, new recipes

I’ve been tracking my daily intake with the Atkins app. I like because it calculates the net carbs for me automatically. Plus, it allows me to track my weight. (And when I was first investigating Keto, I went to the Atkins website.) Recently I found two recipes on their website I want to try in February: Strawberry Shortcake Trifle (for Valentine’s Day) and Keto Cauliflower Risotto. I love risotto, so I’m interested to see if a Keto version can delivery on flavor. I’ll let you know!

Day 5 of a Keto Week
Keto

Day 5 of a Keto Week

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Leftovers everywhere!

The dishes I made this week gave me a LOT of leftovers. I’ve still got Keto Chili, Egg, Bacon, Broccoli and Cheese Muffins, Baked Chicken, homemade Caesar Dressing, and even Roast Beef. The Keto Chili is even better two days later. So today – I didn’t make anything new; I just enjoyed leftover Keto Chili. So, no new pictures today: look for a new dish review tomorrow!

Day 2 of a Keto Week
Keto · Uncategorized

Day 2 of a Keto Week

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A little bit harder

I should know better than to even look at the snacks at a work event. But when I saw the huge spread for our division’s annual meeting, I immediately started filling my plate with pita chips, spinach dip, and a couple of pigs in blankets. BUT: I did not drink any full-calorie soda (and oh, was I tempted.) Small victories!

Some victories too

Like yesterday, I made my Bullet-Proof Coffee last all morning, until noon. It’s so filling I don’t even feel hungry until noon. And the best victory today was taking a new recipe to work: Broccoli, Bacon, Cheese, and Egg Muffins. Sorry, no link – you’ll have to go to the Simply Keto cookbook to get this recipe. (The book is SO worth it!)

The recipe makes six muffins, and they are filling and delicious! Two muffins make a serving, so you have plenty. I just put the leftovers in a ziplock bag in the frig so I can enjoy them later. 9 out of 10; definitely recommend! And you can find many other ideas for keto breakfasts on Suzanne’s Simply Keto website, including this list of five Keto Breakfast ideas and especially this one, which I’m going to try: BLT Breakfast Salad.

Hope you’re all having a wonderful Keto week! Tomorrow, I think I’ll be enjoying some Keto chili leftovers for lunch (yes, just checked the menu plan) and a lovely Creamy Pesto Chicken.

Day 1 of a Keto Week: Delicious
Cooking · Keto

Day 1 of a Keto Week: Delicious

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It wasn’t hard at all to get back to eating the Keto way when the dishes I made today were so good. Prep yesterday on Sunday afternoon made all the difference. But first I kept my fast going by enjoying only my special coffee.

Bullet-proof coffee

At 5:30 a.m. I’m not thinking about taking pictures of my BPC. Because I forgot, I’ll just post a picture below from the lowcarbyum website, with its own BPC recipe. Unlike that one, all I add is MCT oil and butter. I finish it by frothing with a milk frother (so much fun!) Then I enjoy.

Lunch – Light for a workday break

Today I took some of the chicken I cooked yesterday and made a terrific Chicken Caesar Salad from the Simply Keto cookbook. I even made the dressing from scratch. The addition of avocado adds needed fats as well as creaminess, and the homemade dressing was a creamy pleasure. I will follow the optional recommendation of adding 1 tsp of MCT oil to thin the dressing a bit the next time I make it. Score: 9.5 out of 10 – would recommend!

Dinner: warm and perfect

The Keto Chili recipe from Simply Keto was full of yummy pork sausage and ground beef. I loved the mix of cumin and chili powder and didn’t miss beans at all. The recipe makes six portions, and I think I helped myself to two portions tonight in one very large bowl – it was so good! Adding some sour cream and grated cheddar made it even better. This is a home run. Definitely recommend – 9 out of 10.

Snacks

Nothing special today; I didn’t have time! Instead, Atkins peanut butter cups (1 net carb each) to the rescue.

Keto Prep is tiring…
Cooking · Keto

Keto Prep is tiring…

AuntGem2 Comments

…Or maybe I’m just not fully recovered from my cold last week. But I’ve been cooking all afternoon to get at least some of my recipes ready. I also cooked a grass-fed eye of round roast for lunch today. Now I have extra food for the week!

Besides the roast, I prepped Keto Chili, which is full of beef AND pork, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and garlic. It’s now simmering away in the crock pot. Can’t wait to try this. Click the link above to go to the recipe on the creator Suzanne Ryan’s site “Keto Karma.” I also did prep work for the Creamy Pesto Chicken and Chicken Caesar Salad. Actually, I’ll just be having Creamy Alfredo Chicken – as I was making my shopping list I realized: it is February; I’m not getting fresh basil unless I want to pay an arm and a leg. I’ll save the pesto sauce for this summer when I can just walk outside into my herb garden and pick my own.

Pictures to come of my lovely meals this week!

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels.com
Restarting Keto
Introspection · Keto · me

Restarting Keto

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Isn’t life just one step forward, two steps back?

Stopping Keto for even the two feast days of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day blew up my keto success. I was doing so well! But the carbs of Christmas came calling… and didn’t stop calling through Epiphany. And then I got sick, sick, sick for over a week – and all I could stand to swallow was cool refreshing orange juice, ginger ale, and moose tracks ice cream. None of which are on any Keto plan.

Today, though – I finished the last of the ginger ale. The last of the orange juice disappeared yesterday. I threw away so much bad stuff getting the trash ready for pickup this week. And tomorrow morning – I set out again on this Keto journey of 22 grams of carbs a day. My poor chubby body will go into shock.

Fortunately, a friend recently sent me a new cookbook full of keto recipes – Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan. I have an accountability partner – I can do this! Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t realize what I’ve already accomplished. It’s not over – I’m just beginning again.

Keto Adventure continues
Cooking · Introspection · Keto

Keto Adventure continues

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It’s been hard this season

Last night the fourth Christmas party of the season got to me. I had hot cocoa with whipped cream, marshmallows, AND chocolate syrup. Then it was on to sample the spiked eggnog. I had to fix a plate of homemade cheese crackers, pigs in blankets, and haystacks. Needless to say, NONE of that was good for ketosis. I didn’t even bother to enter it in my Atkins tracker.

Most of the time, though, the Keto has been going so well! Working from home I can control everything I make for lunch, and the dishes I’m coming up with are fantastic. Nice fatty Bulletproof coffee is keeping me going in the mornings, and the shrimp, hamburger, steak, and chicken dishes I’m cooking up are wonderful.

I even made a Keto Taco Soup which was heavy on the cheese and cream.

The benefits are adding up beyond the weight loss

  • I’ve had SO MUCH more energy. I used to sleep at least 8 hours a night. Now I go to bed and 10 and wake up before 5 – sometimes even 4:30 – without an alarm clock.
  • When I stick to the Keto plan I’m on (Atkins 20) I’m not hungry. Really! I couldn’t quite believe it either.
  • I swear this is true: my knees don’t hurt as much when I kneel at church.

I’m saving $$$ on restaurants

Who needs to spend $15 on a Philly cheesesteak at my favorite diner, when I can make the same at home with Steak-ummm?

The cheese, the onions, the Steak-ummm – Bliss!
Cooking · Hobbies · Keto

Going Keto

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Yes, I have dived into Keto Living

About two months ago I met with my new personal physician. New doc ran an A1C due to the history of diabetes on one side of the family. Yep, I’m pre-diabetic. Since my birthday was coming up, and then a long-awaited vacation, and then Thanksgiving, I proceeded to forget about it.

But I ate myself into a stupor over Thanksgiving weekend, hosting not only Thanksgiving on Thursday but also Friendsgiving on Friday. After I polished off the last of the custard cornbread I realized, I need something entirely new. Enter keto. Lots of my friends do this – I can do it!

Did you know that the keto diet was originally created in the ’20s for epileptics? And it has since been used successfully to treat diabetes. Thus encouraged, I downloaded the Atkins app and dove into keto-friendly recipes. And last week, after I paid $14 at my favorite brunch spot for a Philly cheesesteak omelet, with no toast or grits, I decided to recreate this at home this week.

First up: the cast of characters in this production

From the top to bottom, eggs, All ‘Round Good Grinder Seasoning Blend, avocado, Steak-umm, butter, grated Muenster cheese, diced onions and garlic. The broccoli became a side dish.

Always first: the onions and garlic

I threw them in a big hunk of butter and let them get a little brown, while I chopped up the avocado. Then I realized why chefs always have ALL chopping done first – the garlic got a little too brown.

Next, I whisked the three eggs with a skoosh of heavy cream and a sprinkle of the Good Grinder Blend.

About a tablespoon and a half of cream, I’d say.

Then it was time to move the eggs to the pan. I’d removed the onions and garlic to another dish – I wanted to put them in the middle of the omelet, not as part of it.

Gotta have that cheese….

Near Disaster Looms

While I was admiring my work, I realized – I hadn’t cooked up the still-frozen beef sheet for my Philly omelet. Yikes. I whisked the egg pan to a cool burner to slow the cooking (eggs keep cooking on their own!) and fired up the Steak-Umm.

How’d that little bit of toasted garlic get in there?

After transferring the Steak-Umm to the omelet and folding it, I turned my attention to the broccoli. Half of the shredded Muenster went on top and the bowl went into the microwave for 30 seconds.

Raw materials
Yummy!

Then, it was time to plate everything and enjoy!

Accentuate the Positive! · chiropractor · me

Aunt Jim Can’t Bend … again

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It’s another go-round of serious back pain for ol’ Aunt Jim. Since March 8 I’ve been seeing my chiropractor for back pain. This is a 10 or 12-year-old injury which flares up from time to time. Usually a few visits to Dr. Jones-McCaw take care of things. But it’s been three weeks, and after making seven chiro visits in seven days, and sleeping in 45-minute stretches last night, both she and I knew it was time for my second MRI.

Today I called in sick and got the works done. First, the appointment with my family practitioner, a great doc who’s seen me through this before. He immediately sent me for x-rays. (Technology has progressed since my last set. Then I had to carry the X-rays from the lab to his office. Today they were digital. He just logged on and checked them.) After he saw them I got the news I expected – degenerated interveterbral disc – and we scheduled an MRI for 2 p.m. It’s still the same sensation of being in a washer during all the cycles … agitation, rinse and spin. I should get some results in about 48 hours.

Being unable to bend means certain lifestyle adjustments. I turned a long box sideways and put the cat’s bowl on the inner bottom side and grasp the top side to lower it to the floor. Getting into my clothes is a form of aerobic exercise and requires extra time. And my house is a mess. If I drop it, I literally can’t bend over to pick it up unless I grab a countertop and execute an Arabesque penchée. Surprisingly, that ballet move adjusts the weight on my lower back (especially my sacrum) so I can bend over. Otherwise, not a chance.

But whenever God shuts a door, he always opens a window. Now I have a great excuse for hiring someone to clean out my gutters!