Ed is back on Keto!

I mentioned the other day that Ed was back to eating Keto again. 

What happened is we were looking through some old photos and came upon some that were taken back when he was Keto.  He seen what he looked like back when he was eating Keto and apparently, he decided he wanted to be there again.

Ed, on Keto.  He got down in the 160's

He had lost quite a bit, but when he went back to eating his old way, he gained most of it back.  He started back then at 190 and this time his starting weight was 185.  

He decided on his own to get back on track and in fact, he ate Keto an entire day before he even told me he was back on track.  I am at work for 12 hours a day so I clearly have no idea what he is eating or drinking during the day when I'm not around.

Ed's version of Keto is a bit different than mine.  He does not track his food.  He does not watch his macros.  He just simply eats foods that are Keto Friendly and stays clear of the avoids.  That's it!  That's how simple it can be.  And it works.  For him. 

Granted, he probably is also doing 2MAD. (2 Meals A Day).   When we have them, he drinks the Premier Protein Milk Chocolate shakes for breakfast.  But when we don't have them, he fasts from dinner tonight until sometime in the afternoon tomorrow. He may grab a couple of cheese sticks or some 0 carb summer sausage when he gets hungry.    But he doesn't eat much until our evening meal.  

Anyway, he has been "Keto" again for almost 2 weeks now (it will be 2 weeks on Saturday) and he is already down 6.2 pounds. (This, is by simply not eating the foods on the DO NOT EAT LIST!)  I have that list posted on an earlier post.  It can be that simple, for some. 

He started on March 7th  at 185 and today he weighed in at 178.8  So he's lost 6.2 pounds already.  He wants to get back to 165, so he has about another 14 pounds to go.    We will keep you updated on his progress.

I have added him as a contributor to this Blog since he is our Keto Chef.  I have also added my daughter, Rachel.  She has also been Keto and has lost almost 25 pounds already!  I am so proud of them both.  So maybe, eventually, you will hear from them, too!  

Tonight, I also want to mention that my 90 year old father-in-law currently lives was us  He has been living here for a good while (I believe it will be 3 years, come September).  Anyway, when we brought him home, they didn't give him long to live.  He's been eating Keto with us and guess what!  He is still here!  He has long passed their date of  survival. 

In closing, I wore my new t-shirt to work today. (And got grease on it, of course.  Oh well,  it is now a  Work Shirt!:)

Can we Keto during a Quarantine?

Like many of you, we went shopping the other day.

I am not going to lie.  Things were very picked over.  But we did score us some meats, cheese, eggs,  frozen veggies, butter, etc. We ended up buying off-brand on most of the frozen veggies though, as that was the only thing left in stock.  

Did we get enough food to last us for a 2 week quarantine? Probably not. Am I worried? Not at all! For one thing, I fully expect to continue working throughout this ordeal.   With any luck, I will be able to pop into Walmart after work to grab more meat and veggies, as needed.     

If the selection continues to run low, we do have a deep freezer full that we need to clean out anyway. I figure we can just use this time to work on that.  And if we run out of food in the freezer, we could do the same with the cabinets. Trouble is, most of the food in the cabinets is not Keto Friendly.

So yes, there is plenty to eat in this house. My only concern is that I will run out of Keto Friendly options. But, I think, before I go back to eating all those carbs I will just go strictly Carnivore.  As I said, the freezer could keep me going a good while.  I might also go back to OMAD.  In fact, this would really be an ideal time to be OMAD.  (One Meal A Day)

Anyway, since I plan to be doing our shopping after work, to keep the shopping trip as short and sweet as possible, I am thinking we should resort to Easy Keto until things get back to normal.  Instead of making those fancy dishes with multiple ingredients just pick a meat, pick a veggie and add a fat.  Shopping would be quick and simple! 

An added bonus is that when this whole thing blows over and we get to go back to eating our favorite dishes again, it will feel like a double celebration.

On a closing note, our health officials are encouraging people to avoid public gatherings and to stay home as much as possible.  Social Distancing.  If people are less mobile and interact with each other less, the virus has fewer opportunities to spread.

I realize some people will still go out  Some (like me) have to because of work.  Some just refuse to heed to the public health warnings. Those people are not only more likely to get sick themselves, but they are also more likely to spread the virus. A single person’s behavior can cause ripple effects that touch many others. Covid-19 can kill. Though the fatality rate is not known at this time, it is clear that the elderly members of our community are most at risk of dying from this virus.   As well as those with a compromised immune or a sensitive respiratory system. So please, if you do not have to get out, stay home.

Keep safe everyone and Keto on!

Meal Planning

But first, Coffee!

Coffee frothed with Butter and Stevia

I must admit, when I first heard about adding butter to my coffee I thought, No Freaking Way!  It just sounded gross.  I did not try it for a long time.  Then one day my sister, Cindy mentioned it.  She actually liked it.  So, against my better judgement, I decided to give it a try.  Another game changer;  it really is good!   (Although, I do not add butter to every cup because it does add calories and fat.)

Before you try it, I suggest you get a frother.  You can get them on Amazon for about 10 bucks.  They also have self-stirring coffee cups with built in frothers!  I am not that fancy though.  I just have the $10 version.  (Actually, I just looked and my $10 frother is now about $13.)   We use it in my coffee for frothing butter, heavy whipping cream and even the protein shake.

Anyway, back to meal planning.  When Ed first took over in the kitchen his biggest complaint was that  he didn't know what to fix.  So I started making a list for him to pick from.  I actually like to plan for more than we need, just to give him more options.   I'm off work today and tomorrow, work on Thursday and Friday and I expect to get hit with overtime on either Saturday or Sunday.   So today I'll plan meals to get us through Sunday.  

  

This dry erase board lives on our refrigerator
 and he erases the meals as he fixes them.  

    

Planning meals out like this helps to keep us on track.  We don't end up ordering pizza because we don't know what to fix or we don't have anything to fix. We will have everything we need to make these items for this week.  Of course, it's not carved in stone.  Sometimes he'll make an executive decision and pick up some steaks or the fixings to make something other than what's on this list while he's out and about.  That's one of the perks of being the chef!

I think I have probably already shared most of these recipes with you, but if you see something you want the recipe for, let me know.  I will say the 3 meat combo Mexican Dish is actually a no-name dish at the moment.  This is one of my favorite things to order when we eat Mexican.  Ed and Rachel have been working on re-creating the dish.   We have been having it about once a week here lately, while he's tweaking it.  Once he's 100% satisfied with his creation we will be sure to share that recipe!  Hopefully he gives it a better name than 3 Meat Combo Mexican Dish. 😉

a work in progress; Chicken, Steak and Chorizo over riced cauliflower.

Closing thoughts.  I am thrilled to say Ed has climbed back on the Keto Wagon with me.  It is so much easier for me to stay on track when he is staying on track, too.  (I can't steal a fry or 2 if he doesn't have them on his plate) 

And also, this morning I am actually able to say that I have finally gotten the rest of that 10 pounds back off that I gained while on vacation in January.   I even pulled my parachute pants on again this morning just to make sure I could.   

Baked Pepperoni

     I had a rough day at work the other day and I came home feeling defeated.  Ed had dinner on the table and needless to say, I sat down and cleaned my plate.  Unfortunately, I didn't even take the time to snap a photo, but it really was a pretty picture.  He made a  Keto Cheesy Taco Skillet.  Very tasty.

     This is a dish that he used to make about once a week.  Leo and I kinda got burned out on it.  It hadn't made the list of menus for several months, so it was almost like a new dish again.  Maybe that's why it went over so well.  He topped mine with lettuce, sour cream and guacamole.  He had his with sour cream only and his dad had his plain.  I am sure all 3 versions were good!

Keto Cheesy Taco Skillet

1 pound hamburger

15 oz of frozen peppers and onion

2 to 3 Tablespoons of Keto Taco Seasoning, to taste

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 cups of finely Shredded Cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, whatever!)

sour cream

guacamole

lettuce

Brown Hamburger. If needed, drain. (he uses 96% lean so there is nothing to drain.)

Add the frozen Peppers and Onions.  Sprinkle on the Keto Taco Seasoning, to taste. Cover and let simmer until the veggies are all cooked.

Add the cut-up Cherry Tomatoes, cover & let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Cover with Cheese. Replace lid and let sit until the cheese melts.

If needed (or desired) add more cheese.

Serve topped with lettuce, Sour Cream, salsa and guacamole, if desired. but don't forget to add the carbs in whatever you top it with.

Servings; 6

285 Calories

18 Fat

9 Carbs

23 protein

Keto Taco Seasoning

3 Tablespoons chili powder

6 teaspoons onion powder

3 teaspoons cumin

3 teaspoons garlic powder

3 teaspoons smoked paprika

3 teaspoons dried oregano

1 ½ tsp pink salt

Mix all together and store in a clean, empty spice jar or any air tight container.

Serving size = 1 tablespoon

22 Calories

1 Fat

4 Carbs

1 Protein

    As I said, I had a rough day and I was feeling defeated.  I was not hungry, but I wanted something to munch on.  Normally, this is when I would get into the Doritos.  Since we had no Doritos in the house, I asked Ed to bake some pepperoni.  (Another recipe tip from my daughter Rachel!)  What we had in the fridge was a package of the big pepperoni slices (intending to make some Panino's)  So he baked me some.  6 to start with. 

      OMG they were even better than Doritos!   They are crispy like chips and oh so tasty.  They were so good I asked him to bake some more.  Unfortunately, he cooked the rest of the package and there were none left by the end of the evening.  If you make these, I highly suggest you only bake the amount you want to consume.  Unless, of course, you have better will-power than I did.

Baked Pepperoni.

     Line a cookie sheet with either foil or parchment paper and place a wire cooling rack on it.   Lay the pepperoni on the cooling rack  and bake at 400 until crispy.  We had the Large pepperoni ; 3 = 100 calories and 1 carb.  If you are baking the large pepperoni, they bake for 15 minutes.  If you have the smaller ones, Rachel says she bakes hers for about 5 minutes.

     If you are wanting or needing or craving a crispy snack - this should do the trick.  But, like I said, only cook what you want because I could not stop until they were all gone.  This could be so dangerous.  

*edited to add.  my sister, Cindy, told me today that her husband, Rick (both of which are eating Keto)  tried the pepperoni in the microwave.  I am not sure this is a good thing!  Place them between two paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds.  Flip them over and go another 10 seconds.  FORTY seconds and you have a crispy, crunchy, tasty, dang near carb free snack!