Cheese Ball Bites

Similar to the appetizer cheese ball I made at the holidays these are quick and easy to put together, use only a handful of ingredients and make an excellent snack. Plus, each one is only 1 carb each.

Cheese Ball Bites

1 8 oz. package cream cheese

1 cup grated cheese

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Everything But The Bagel Seasoning or finely chopped nuts

Allow cream cheese to sit out and soften to room temperature.  Add cheese, Worcestershire and garlic powder and mix until thoroughly combined.  Form into one inch balls and roll in bagel seasoning.  Place on a cookie sheet, chill in refrigerator until firm.  Makes 15 cheese bites.

I used my cookie scoop to measure out the mixture and it was perfect for making the right size bites.  I was planning to roll them in chopped nuts but saw on Mind Over Munch that they used the bagel seasoning for their cream cheese fat bombs and figured, hey!  That would be a great option for these too.

Do I Eat Fruit?

The short answer.  Yes.

I'm selective about the fruit I eat and I don't eat a ton of it.  The first six months I was on Keto I primarily kept my fruit consumption to small amounts of strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.  Fortunately for me I am not insulin resistant so eating fruit in small amounts does not seem to adversely affect me.  So, I eat it.

Usually in the late morning I'll have a piece of fruit and it is usually a banana.  I know, I know, a banana?!  I like bananas, they provide me with some much needed potassium and while it may take up the bulk of my daily carb allowance I personally feel it is worth it. For me.   Now, if I was on Keto for weight loss, I'd definitely recommend not eating a banana every day as this could slow your progress.

Most of my fruit consumption is berries, however.  In the past year I've enjoyed a couple fresh nectarines, a peach, oranges, some pineapple, grapes and just recently some apple slices with peanut butter.  Fresh or frozen fruit is my preference over canned as they usually pack canned fruit in some type of sugary syrup.  Dried fruits I steer clear of too as that is just too much sweet for me.

Avocados are a great fat and fiber source not to mention all the wonderful nutrients they provide.  Blueberries are loaded with antioxidants.  Strawberries are loaded with vitamin C.  So I think it is important, if you like fruit, to include it as part of your diet.  Enjoy your food and more importantly enjoy what it can do for your body.

Cheesy Cauliflower Bake

I used to make a similar dish, but with potatoes.  This one uses cauliflower in place of the potatoes and is super easy to make.

Cheesy Cauliflower Bake

1 lb. frozen cauliflower florets, partially thawed

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

4-6 green onions, sliced

Salt & pepper to taste

Finely chop cauliflower.  In a large bowl thoroughly combine all ingredients.  Place into a well oiled one quart casserole dish.  Bake at 400° for about 30 minutes until bubbly and edges start to brown.

It is really just that easy!  And delicious?  Holy cow!  You seriously won't miss the potatoes.  This makes an excellent side dish to any meat entree.  You could even add bacon bits to make it more like a loaded baked potato.  Or some diced ham.

Make this recipe soon.  You will not be disappointed.

The Standard American Diet - S.A.D.

The standard American Diet is more than just S.A.D., as the acronym suggests, but it is literally killing us.  I remember in Health class learning about the four basic food groups and the government sanctioned food pyramid depicting a "healthy diet".  I colored those pictures, I looked at those posters up on the walls and I ate that stuff.  For years and years.

Like most Americans I've battled my weight and as time has gone on I've watched my health steadily decline.  No matter what I did, no matter what I tried to do, nothing seemed to make a difference.  I got worse.  I felt horrible.  I was getting sicker and sicker each day.

It took a nutritionist at a local gym telling me to "park everything I knew about good nutrition" outside her door and "come inside with an open mind" to get me on the right track and I am so incredibly grateful I did.

There is a big difference between a dietician and a nutritionist as far as I can tell.  And in my opinion, most of our doctors haven't got a clue either.  If you ask them how much time they spent in medical school learning about nutrition and a truly proper diet it is a miniscule amount of time compared to the other things they had to learn about.  That in itself is S.A.D.

Modern medicine has lost sight of what is truly important.  The body has an amazing ability to function efficiently and incredibly, it can heal itself, but only when it is properly fueled.  Unfortunately the human body has de-evolved into a fatter, slower, sicker and much less efficient form and sadly the issue is getting worse.  Every day.

Diseases and health issues are running rampant and the pharmaceutical companies and the big "food" corporations are raking in the dough as a result.  I say "food" because if you look at the ingredient lists on most of their products there is hardly any actual food in their product and loads of chemical preservatives and additives.  No one actually knows what is actually in their "food", but we are more than willing to put it in our bodies!  Why do we think that is okay?  And why do we continue to do it?

But all is not lost.  We have an amazing super power!  We can take back our health and improve our lives and it is so simple.  Just fuel your body properly.  Real plants, real animals.  That's it.  That is all we need to not only survive, but thrive.  Plants.  Animals.  Easy!

If you are struggling.  Your health isn't good, you lack energy, don't sleep well at night, you're overweight.  Have diabetes?  Cancer?  High blood pressure?  Whatever it is, take back control of your life.  Improve yourself, make your life better.  Feel better!

Let's do this!

I Keep It Simple

You can make pretty much anything as simple or as complicated as you wish.  I prefer to keep things simple and my Ketogenic lifestyle is a perfect example of that.  From the very beginning I did my homework, learned what I needed to know, did some research and got ready to get started.  For me, the key to being successful was simplicity.

I know what I should eat and what I shouldn't.  I stick to the basics and eat foods as close to their original form as possible.  Whole foods, lots of fresh vegetables and fruits (yes, I eat fruit), meats, some fish and seafood, healthy fats like coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, butter and cream.  Low carb desserts and high quality chocolate keep me from feeling deprived or craving things I shouldn't eat.

I eat a lot of variety to stave off boredom.  I plan my meals and I do a lot of meal prepping so my busy schedule doesn't get in the way of good eating habits.  No excuses not to stay the course.

I don't track my macros.  I track a lot of things in my life, but macros just isn't one of them.  For me it was too easy to get mired down in the minutia and it created a lot of stress and anxiety.  So I decided not to do it anymore and it hasn't adversely affected me.  One less thing to worry about.

When I first got started I used to weigh myself once a week, naked, first thing in the morning.  I do recommend that and no more often than that.  Now, after a year, I only weigh in once or twice a month.  My focus isn't on weight loss, but rather health so I made the decision to weigh in less often.

When people ask me what I eat on Keto I simply tell them plants and animals with some healthy fats.  It is something they can easily wrap their heads around and it pretty much sums it up in a nutshell.  I drink water, teas and coffee and steer clear of sodas and "healthy waters" as they tend to have a lot of sweeteners and weird stuff in them I can't even pronounce.  A glass of filtered water and a slice of lime or lemon suits me just fine.  And I love, love, love my Keto Coffee.

So that is pretty much how I roll with my Ketogenic lifestyle.  Keep it simple, keep it easy and keep on being successful.

Keto Chocolates

Simple little chocolates are a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth.  I like to make these every once in a while and keep them in my refrigerator.  They are less than a gram of carbs too, so no guilt and they taste wonderful.

Take an ounce of Baker's 100% Cocoa unsweetened baking chocolate, a tsp of coconut oil and put it in a dish.  I like to use my one cup glass Pyrex measuring cup.  Melt it in the  microwave in two 30 second bursts and stir to melt and combine.  Stir in a packet of sweetener of choice and that is it.

You can use this chocolate base as is or add nuts or unsweetened coconut and pour into molds.  A little peppermint extract is also nice.  Once the molds are filled place in the refrigerator until completely set.  Then pop them out and place in a container and keep them in the refrigerator.

You can also use this chocolate base to make peanut or almond clusters.  Stir in the almonds or peanuts, place by spoonfuls onto waxed paper and chill until set.  Easy peasy!

Enjoying chocolates on Keto is completely doable.  And these are actually good for you too!

Pesto Shrimp

Super simple and super delicious this dish makes a spectacular appetizer, side dish with steak,topping for a salad or all on their own.

I shelled and cleaned raw shrimp.  Then heated avocado oil in a skillet and cooked the shrimp on each side for a few minutes until they were cooked through and turned pink.  I then placed a little bit of pesto on each shrimp and sprinkled fresh grated parmesan on top.

Oh my goodness gracious these are good.  Low carb and keto friendly.  If you enjoy shrimp give this a try, you won't regret it.

Sabotage

This is a hard thing for me to write about.  For one thing I didn't want to believe it was happening.  And for another, I really didn't want to believe it was happening.  When I began my keto journey the last thing I ever thought would happen was to have some of my friends and coworkers not be supportive.  Some have actually made comments that could thwart my efforts, if I had listened to them.

The most common things that are said to me are, even still:

"That diet is really bad for you."

"You could eat bread if you wanted to."

"We have donuts.  One won't kill you."

"It's okay to do Keto for a little while, but it isn't good long term."

"Try this.  Oh wait, you can't have this?  Well a little won't hurt."

"Keto isn't sustainable."

"How long are you going to keep doing this?"

I'd like to think it was unintentional and simply a product of being grossly uninformed.  Their comments weren't unkind but if I were to have taken them seriously and actually listened to them, it could've been detrimental to my success.

Keto isn't a diet.  It isn't a fad.  It isn't bad for me or "unsustainable."  This is my life, therefore it is now my lifestyle.  I've been doing this for over a year now and I am so happy!  I feel good, I look good, I'm healthy and doing fantastic!

Say what you will, do what you want, but stay out of my way.  You cannot sabotage my health and wellbeing.  I won't let you.