Peanut Butter Cookies

If I'm feeling the need for a cookie this recipe is one of my go-to recipes.  A handful of ingredients that quickly come together for a delicious sweet treat.

Keto Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sweetener of choice (I use a Stevia/erythritol blend)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar free chocolate chips (optional)

In a large mixing bowl use a mixer to combine peanut butter, sugar or sweetener and baking soda.  Add egg and continue mixing until it comes together to form a soft dough.  Mix in the chocolate chips.  Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet.  Flatten each ball with a fork to form a crosshatch pattern.  Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.  Let rest 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool.  Makes 24 cookies.  

Approximately = 2.5g carbs, 6g fat, 3g protein per cookie.

I like to use all natural chunky or creamy peanut butter.  Chunky peanut butter is my favorite.  These cookies taste so good, with or without the chocolate chips, it's hard to believe they're good for you!

Naked Weigh In Day

Yep, you read that right.  I have a naked weigh in day.  Every Sunday morning right after I tinkle I strip down to the buff and hop on that dreaded scale.  How's that for TMI?  Then I record my weight in my Keto journal so I can track my progress.

While initially I did not start keto for weight loss I'll admit the "side effect" of this lifestyle is very much appreciated.  I had some extra pounds that I didn't need and I'm not all that sorry to see them go away.  The nice thing is that with keto you'll lose what you don't need and once you hit your ideal weight you'll stop.

Once a week is more than enough for weighing myself.  More than that, frankly, would just drive me crazy.  I also check my blood pressure and log that next to my weight.  If you don't have issues with blood pressure you probably wouldn't need to do that.  If I had glucose concerns I'd probably track and log that too, but fortunately I don't.  I also don't track my ketones.  Personally, I don't feel the need.

Why naked?  Well, first thing in the morning, after you use the restroom and before you eat or drink anything is the best time to weigh and of course without your clothes gives you the most accuracy.  If you're not that worried about it, leave your clothes on.

Do you weigh in the buff?

Meal Prep #1

This meal prep was a short one as I had a short work week that time and only needed to prepare for 5 days instead of seven.  It only took me an hour, including clean up which makes for a great investment of both time and effort.

Chopped roast beef, pan drippings, julienned carrot and broccoli florets

I started out the day before by putting a three pound pot roast in my slow cooker and steaming some asparagus which I had for dinner.  Then I put the leftovers, including the drippings, away in the refrigerator to use in my meal prep.  

The next day I cut up a large piece of the roast, about three cups, and put the remainder in the freezer to use later on.  I removed the fat layer from the drippings and placed them into a pot with the roast, a handful of baby carrots I'd julienned and three cups of broccoli florets cut into bit sized pieces.  

The whole thing was cooked just until the vegetables were crisp tender and then I divided it into three of my 2 cup Pyrex storage bowls with lids.

Ground turkey, onion and taco seasoning

Next I browned up a pound of ground turkey with half of a small onion I'd chopped and seasoned it with a half a packet of taco seasoning.  While it cooked I cut up a head of romaine lettuces and placed it into two of my 2 cup rectangular Pyrex storage containers with lids.  I added some leftover black olives and sharp cheddar cheese.  

The finished taco meat went into two 1 cup Pyrex bowls with lids.

Next I browned up a package of hot Italian sausages.  I added a can of diced Italian style tomatoes and half a can of water to the pot and allowed it to simmer for twenty minutes.  

While that finished I put two tablespoons of sour cream and two tablespoons of salsa into two small plastic containers to go with my taco meat and lettuce.  

When the sausages were finished I laid one into two more of my 2 cup rectangular Pyrex storage containers with lids along with some asparagus from the night before.

I allowed everything to cool down while I finished cleaning up the kitchen.  Then I put the lids onto everything and stacked it all neatly into the refrigerator.  I had some leftover taco meat and pot roast with I packaged up for the freezer to be used later. The rest of the sausages and sauce ended up being used to make another meal for my family to enjoy.

That was it this time.  Simple, quick and easy prep for several super convenient meals to enjoy throughout the week.  Not to mention pretty darn tasty.

Meal Planning

I think the most challenging aspect of my ketogenic life is figuring out what to eat.  A person can only eat a steak with a salad so many times before they start to get tired of steak and salad.  I'm one of those people who needs a lot of variety in my diet or else I get extremely bored.

Meal planning helps a lot to make sure I'm eating a variety of foods.  Variety not only curbs monotony, but it also ensures that I get the proper amount of nutrients to maintain my health.  Different types of meats, fats and vegetables have a variety of essential nutrients.

To help me plan my meals I sit with a sheet of paper and brainstorm, jotting down all the ideas that pop into my head.  I even keep a running list in my dayplanner so if I think of something I can add it before I forget about it later.

When I get ready to create my meal plan I try to include something each week from different categories:

American Cooking

Italian Cuisine

Asian Inspired

Mexican Style

And then I choose a meat for each one:

Pork

Beef

Chicken

Fish or Seafood

Ground Meat

I usually try to come up with three or four meals each week and then make enough of each one for at least two meals, lunches and dinners.  If I make more I'll freeze that to use later with another meal plan.  Often I meal prep for an hour or two and prepare all of my meals at once so all I have to do later in the week is heat them up and enjoy.

Meal planning is an essential part of my keto lifestyle.

Egg Roll In A Bowl

This recipe is hands down my go-to meal when I need something quick and satisfying.  My family really likes it too.

Egg Roll In A Bowl

1 lb ground pork, beef, chicken, turkey, or sausage

1 pkg. shredded coleslaw mix

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 Tbs. minced garlic

1 tsp. ground ginger

3 Tbs. soy sauce (gluten free)

Toasted sesame oil

In a wok or large skillet cook the ground meat and onion, add remaining ingredients, stir and cook until cabbage just begins to soften.  Remove from heat and serve with a little bit of toasted sesame oil drizzled over the top.

Approximately = 6g carbs, 23g fat, 10g protein

A bag of shredded cabbage makes this one quick and easy to prepare meal

I also like a little bit of Thai chili paste on top.  This meal hits our menu plan on a fairly regular basis.  For me it's a great comfort food.

Creating A Keto Journal

There is no doubt about it, a ketogenic lifestyle is different.  For me it was a complete departure from everything I thought I knew about health and nutrition.  Everything I had been taught to believe was literally tossed out the window and I had to learn things all over again.  It was a lot to wrap my head around.

I don't know about you, but I like to make my journals pretty! 😄

I decided to create a journal to help me keep it all organized and so I don't have to carry it all around inside my head.  Face it, my head is probably not the best storage space for all this information anyway, you know what I mean? 

How darling are these half size mini binders?!

Love this kit!  Each tab divider is a different design and it includes loose leaf notebook paper.

At first I used my dayplanner to jot stuff down and found myself tucking loads and loads of pieces of note paper in it with lists and ideas.  So I moved onto a spiral bound steno pad I kept in my purse and that seemed to be working out much better.  But I decided this journey is more important to me than I originally thought so I decided to upgrade to an actual journal.

I have oodles of stickers, embellishments and papers to make it special

I like journals.  I like having a designated book that I can put things in.  Something I can see, touch, hold and work in.  Something that inspires me to keep on going.  A place to file the thoughts in my head so it doesn't end up so cluttered up there.  Make sense?

Love these tab dividers!

So I headed to Walmart and purchased these really cute mini binders that hold half size sheets of paper.  Nice size, don't take up a lot of space and I can put them in my purse if I want to.  While I was there I found these darling tab divider and notebook paper sets.  You have to know that made me do a little happy dance.  I got super excited.  I also picked up a package of sheet protectors.  Once home I scrounged around the house for papers, stickers, photos, etc. and started to make my very own keto life journal.

Fun notebook paper

I plan to keep all kinds of things in my journal such as:

Meal planning

Recipes

Food records and macros

Weight records

Health records

Thoughts and ideas

Photos and pictures of things that inspire me

Accomplishments

Pretty much anything I want to put in there I will.  This is my journey, my new lifestyle, and I want to record it.  I like this idea!

I like it a lot!

How I Start My Morning - Keto Inspired Coffee

I've been starting my day every morning since my early twenties with a hot cup of black coffee.  Having never really been one to put anything in it.  No cream or sugar, occasionally a little flavored creamer, but was not ever a big fan of the stuff.

I still start my day out with a hot cup of black coffee each morning.  It's my second cup of coffee however, that has changed since going keto.  And I love it!  In fact I eagerly look forward to it every day, it is such a treat!  Are you ready?

Into the bottom of my cup I place one of the following:

Two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, a dash of cinnamon

Two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, 1/4 tsp cocoa powder

Two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, few drops vanilla extract

Then I fill it with coffee and stir in a packet of stevia or erythritol sweetener and enjoy.  Essentially I'm making my own homemade healthy creamer here.  Pretty simple and absolutely delicious!

Each tablespoon of cream and the sweetener packet is just under 1 gram of carbohydrate so for a cup of keto coffee I'm right at about 2 1/2 grams.

I don't do the butter coffee or Bulletproof Coffee (butter, MCT oil, sweetener) yet.  For someone who has been a card carrying member of the black coffee club I have to work my way in that direction.  And to be perfectly honest I am too lazy to break out the blender in the morning and then have to clean it.  This, however, is the perfect way for me to get my day started and I'm already adding in those much needed healthy fats.  That's right, cream is actually good for you!

Think you might give this a try?

What Is A Ketogenic Diet And Why Do It?

Simply put, a ketogenic diet is a low carbohydrate, high fat, moderate protein, moderate plant based way of eating.  Which pretty much goes against everything I've ever known and been taught about healthy eating, my entire life.  When I first heard of ketogenic diets, about ten years ago or so, my first thought was its just another fad diet.  Little did I know then that this dietary lifestyle had been around for a long time.  Centuries, in fact.

If you look back in time man has always been an omniivore subsisting on primarily a meat and plant based diet based solely on what they hunted and gathered.  There were no bakeries with loaves of bread and sugary desserts.  No grocery stores with aisles of potato chips or processed starchy foods.  No fast food hamburgers and french fries either.  These "foods" are more recent introductions into our diet and they haven't done us much in the way of favors.  We're all sick.

Most of our society is overweight and extremely unhealthy.  In fact, according to the CDC, over 70% of the adult population in America is overweight or obese and that number continues to rise.  Cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer of adults in the U.S. resulting in over 600,000 deaths annually.  One out of every four deaths is attributed to heart disease.  Cancer is second.

We are more dependent on pharmaceuticals then we have ever been before and for a nation with as much knowledge and technology as we have today why is that?  Shouldn't we be healthier?  The truth is we really do know better, but we don't act on it.  Why is that?

Our bodies are designed to run off of plants and animals, not highly processed, refined carbohydrates. And the fats that occur naturally in those foods promote longer sustainability and improved satiation.  Carbohydrates have to be broken down into sugars and then are stored as fat in our bodies.  When we are not properly satiated we always feel hungry, so we eat more which leads to overeating.  Because we inundate ourselves with these carbohydrates our bodies are constantly storing fats instead of burning them as fuel.  Thus, we become overweight and our health deteriorates as a result.

Healthy foods and fats allow us to properly nourish and provide fuel for our bodies which also allows them to function properly and ward off illness and disease.  A low carb or ketogenic diet puts you right back to the basics of proper eating and as a result our bodies begin to behave and function normally.  Our health is improved to the point that most people no longer require medication to maintain proper body function.  Mainly because the issues they were medicating no longer exist.  How cool is that?!

In a nutshell the reason I do it is because I want to live out the remainder of my life in a healthy state, both physically and emotionally.  That is a good enough reason, don't you think?

Welcome!

Welcome to my brand new blog designed specifically around my new ketogenic lifestyle.  For me it is more than just a diet, it is a way of life and I want to share my journey with you.  As of right now I've been doing keto for four months and it has literally transformed my life in ways I had never imagined.  The entire reason for my venture into keto was to improve my health, in particular, the migraines that where disrupting my life two to three times a month, lasting anywhere from the typical three day run up to two entire weeks.  Due to the nature of my health history and the type of migraines I experience most medications are not an option and the ones that I could take didn't seem to have any effect.

Along with the migraines I also have auto immune issues, in the form of Lupus, as well has difficulty with extreme anxiety.  A lifelong issue that I'd pretty much kept hidden, to the best of my ability, from my friends and family, mostly out of fear and confusion about what was exactly going on with me.  Was I crazy?  Why can't I seem to keep it together and quit all this nonsense?  What is my problem?  If you suffer from anxiety you know exactly what I am talking about.

My new ketogenic lifestyle has been amazing in more ways than I ever could have imagined.  In a short amount of time I've seen some really dramatic results.  I feel so good!  For the first time in forever, I feel good!  My mind is clearer, my body functions, the ringing in my ears (tinnitus) subsides for periods of time giving me some much needed relief, I sleep.  And I've had some significant improvement with the migraines, only one in the past four months. For me that is amazing!

I know it is only going to get better from here on out and for the first time, since I don't know when, I'm really excited about my future.  I actually feel like I have a future!  So, if you are at all interested, I want to share my ketogenic journey with you.  I think it is going to be magnificent!