Summertime Chopped Salads For the Win!

In the recent weeks I have changed the food plan I was following. As the weather gets warmer it affects my Lymphedema a lot. It is worse in hot weather. I do have an air conditioner but have been trying to cut down using it nonstop due to the electric bill. The electric company here in New York State, NYSEG, is one of the most expensive ones. So trying to keep that cost down as much as I can. Yes, I still eat keto or low carbs, whatever you want to call it. I call it kat's food plan. It is what I want to eat and feel good eating. Standing for long periods in the kitchen cooking or cleaning up is not something I can do easily. So I am trying to do "fast food" or my version of faster foods. 

My Chopped Salad

One of the foods I had eliminated trying to stay "ketovore" or meat based was giving up most vegetables. Specifically salads. I have no problem bypassing grains, starches or sugar. The vegetables was difficult. I never gave up seasonings and they are vegetables. So for a couple of months now, I have been having chopped salads. I am really enjoying them and looking forward to my meals now. I am not counting the carbs. And I am not going to. Having Lymphedema means I am not going to lose much weight. My doctor said that is the reason I can go to zero carbs and still not lose. So the best thing is to concentrate on managing the Lymphedema and eat food that I like. I am not a person who necessarily follows what a doctor or other medical person tells me. I have always had to figure out things for myself. 

Bacon, Fried Eggs & Chaffles

This is what I do now. I eat eggs for breakfast daily. Three eggs and bacon. If I am not having bacon I might have four eggs. Sometimes with sour cream for the added fat. Sometimes with guacamole. Sometimes midday I will have a keto protein shake. I use Keto Chow and freeze it so I can make it into ice cream with the Ninja Creami. Keto Chow is a meal replacement shake with one third of the vitamins and nutrients you need for one meal. Plus, it is delicious! So it is something I look forward to but not every day. My last meal of the day is the chopped salad. I have been making it with mini bell peppers, mini cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and a slice of red onion. Put a handful of shredded cheese and a couple of teaspoons of blue cheese crumbles in it. I use cold cuts for the meat. The ones I am using presently is hard salami and roasted turkey breast. Then top it off with a salad dressing. I use Chosen salad dressings. My favorites are the Caesar or ranch dressings.  

Keto Chow made into ice cream! 

I watched to see if eating this salad with vegetables would affect me in some way. It did not. When I eat a very high carb food or anything with sugar I know right away that I should not have eaten it. I will get horrible stomach pains that last about three days or so. It is never worth it to me to eat those foods. I used to buy chopped salads from Subway and I loved those. Then they stopped making them so I quit going there. Now I don't eat restaurant food at all. It is too expensive for a mundane meal. I would rather make it myself. I do not put any lettuce or greens in my salads because the quality of them bought in the grocery stores is very poor. If I was growing my own I would use it in my salad. I miss the greens I picked from my own garden and nothing else can compare. Even without any greens my chopped salads are so tasty! 

Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

Which Diet? This Diet or That Diet? No Diet?

Everywhere you look you see this diet or that diet. Whatever diet someone else is following, is the one you need or so they will tell you. Do you though? I have been following many different people who promote a zillion types of diets. Or food plans, as I call them. I am following one particular plan, keto or ketovore, and I might do everything they say or do. Next time I turn their next video on it is all different. At times I can tell they are going to change before they actually say they are or did. I learned over time that the reasons they may have changed has nothing to do with their followers. You see what you eat, like to eat or hate to eat, is all very personal. That is why some people will never give up sugar or grains. They have been eating them their whole life and not all of them are sick. Another thing that happens within the YouTube channels is after they have achieved their goals they want to move on to other topics. Not food so much. Maybe not even health. Actually they should just start a new channel but they don't want to have to monetize a new one when they already have one that is making money. I can see that.

For someone like me who has a difficult challenge to make any progress at all, be it my health or weight, it is easy to give up. I am always thinking nothing ever works for me. That is the story of my life not just my diet life. Some doctors don't know anything outside of what they were taught years ago in medical school. I ask them questions and they cannot answer. Especially about Lymphedema! I was fortunate to have a doctor write an order for me to go the Lymphedema clinic (about 35 miles away) and work with the therapist there. The therapist told me the doctors don't know much about it. I had changed doctors since then which was back in 2022, I think. Since that time the Lymphedema clinic had added a couple of therapists to the physical therapy clinic near my home. I have started going there and I will write a post about my experience soon. 

Compression Sleeves

My new doctor mentioned that I am not retaining fluid, but lymphatic fluid and I probably will not be able to lose weight. I am not letting that set me back because I find doctors to be wrong about me most of the time. I am trying my hardest to stay prescription free and sticking to my food plan which is based on a meaty 20 carbs or less meals. One of the things I had stopped doing was wearing my compression stockings. They cause my knees to hurt so bad which has nothing to do with the Lymphedema. After I came to the realization that my knees hurt whether I wear the stockings or not I decided to try them again. Wasn't able to wear them. I think I need the wraps. 

Half of my hall

The next thing that I have to start doing again is activate myself. I have been sitting at my computer for most of the day. I need to get back into walking. I used to walk laps on my hall but had stopped doing that. So I am starting to do it again. Right now I am limiting myself to do one thing at a time. I plan on walking outside in the parks and on the streets after I get up to that speed. I did walk a few blocks the other afternoon and did pretty good. Often I have to push myself to do something and then find it to be a good thing. 

Bacon, Eggs & Chaffles

Back to the diet or food plan. One reason I have so much trouble with this is everyone tells you to do something different. I finally found a YouTube channel that says to do what works for you. To try different things till you find your answers. My plan may not look like your plan. That is okay. My plan used to be only two meals a day and the first meal was after eleven. Now it is an earlier meal at whatever time I get to it or am hungry for it. Usually eggs with bacon. Sometimes a chaffle that I make without cheese or almond flour. I felt like changing it because I think I was not eating enough food. I like to be done with all eating by five. So I needed to start earlier to get that breakfast in. Often I still end up with only two meals for the day. Still having difficulties getting enough protein in unless I have the Keto Chow. 

Keto Chow Ice Cream

Normally my second meal is around one and I have a Keto Chow replacement shake as ice cream. Yes, even if it is below zero I am making ice cream! Keto Chow is one thing I will not give up. It has kept me on track. Since eating it as ice cream is like a treat it is always something to look forward to. Which I do. I worked it into my budget as I think of it as food since it has the nutrition of one third of your daily food requirements. Oh yeah, did I mention how good it is? Better than store bought regular ice cream! Then for supper I usually have some kind of meat. Cooked simply in the oven. I might have a can of Zevia soda (sweetened with stevia) after supper then I am all done for the night. 

Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2026 Kathleen G. Lupole

My Own Ketovore Lifestyle

 

Over the years, too many to be exact, I have started and restarted my ketogenic lifestyle. Now I know I was addicted to carbs. Mainly ice cream and the bagged popcorn. I have written about that on this blog before. Many times. Once I was living here in my apartment I had the means to buy as much as I wanted whenever I wanted. Finally I had enough. It was not worth it to never make any progress on my health journey. I knew I badly needed to or I would regret it. In the past, I saw my mother and my mother-in-law suffer horribly. I had to overcome my need for these foods. You would think reading the ingredient labels on the ice cream would be enough. It wasn't. I would spend a day of eating only ice cream and popcorn and nothing else. 

Ice Cream is my downfall!

Sometimes I would see that I wasn't making any progress or that I had gained weight instead of losing it. So I would say, "what the heck? I may as well eat what I want." Finally, Dr. Berry got through to me. I watched all his videos over and over. Did I think the keto food plan would heal my bad knees? Or my Lymphedema? No, I didn't think that at all. I wanted to lose pounds and inches. Somewhere along the way this year, I leaned more toward "ketovore". Mainly being meat, dairy, seasonings and some low carb condiments. I had to overcome the ice cream addiction first. I did so using Keto Chow, a keto meal replacement shake. I made it into ice cream and had it every day as my 2nd meal of the day. Right after I cleaned my bunny's cage. 

Keto Chow Replacement Meal as raspberry cheesecake Ice cream!

I am doing intermittent fasting by eating only between the hours of 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM again. I had stopped doing it awhile ago but have gone back to it. I do not like to eat early in the morning. Three meals but the middle one is Keto Chow ice cream. So it is healthy and keto and good for me. It was strange for me to be told that I was not eating enough food! How could that be? I increased my two eggs in the morning to four. And yes, I could eat four! I was always a small eater until I started eating more ice cream when I lived without a freezer. We had to finish the whole container or it wouldn't last. Though the foods I filled up on back then were mostly high carbs. 

Restaurants and stores are within walking distance

Moving here six years ago I could walk to the restaurants if I wanted to. I would get Chinese take out often. As much as I loved it, I knew I had to stop indulging in it. May 31st of this year is the last time I had it. About three months ago. Since then I have eliminated all fruit and most vegetables. Even most dairy right now with the exception of butter and cream. If you do not see results then you have to tweak your food intake. It helps that when I did eat those foods I would feel horrible afterwards. I don't want to feel like that anymore. 

Cooking burgers

So after all the years of trying to stay on the keto food plan I am finally seeing some changes. Small ones but changes are happening. That is what keeps me motivated to stick with it no matter what. Everyone wants instant results and that is what keeps them from eating low carbs. Then they are on several prescriptions and going to the doctors more often. Giving up foods I loved for my health is worth it. Nothing will take the memory of my mother-in-law suffering from diabetes and kidney failure from me. She ate all those foods, the breads, the desserts, starchy vegetables, high carbs. Where did they lead her? To a life of misery and pain. To losing both of her legs, having a pacemaker, giving herself shots of insulin daily, etc. In the end, kidney dialysis which actually is what took her life. She got a disease from the dialysis which resulted in her flesh rotting away. It was heartbreaking. She stopped the dialysis herself and died in three days. No, I will never forget her or what she went through. It is what keeps me on the ketovore lifestyle. 

Copyright © 2024 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2024  Kathleen G. Lupole

Carnivore Crisps Grass Fed Beef Flour in Chaffles

 

I have been using the Cornbread Flavored Chaffles recipe that 2 Krazy Ketos used for their Stuffler recipe for corn dogs. I use the same recipe but make chaffles in the Mini Dash waffle maker instead. That was great and I loved it. I wanted to try it with the Carnivore Crisps Grass Fed Beef Flour in place of the almond and coconut flours. Less carbs! This is a test batch. I normally make a double batch and freeze them so I can have them with my fried eggs for breakfast. I will be making more. One thing about these is they really fill you up. More so than the others did. Must be the beef.

I posted these pictures on my fakebook page and the comments I received were the typical ones from people who follow the sad (standard american diet) lifestyle. The price.........yes, it is expensive but when I purchased bulk foods from prepper sites it was about the same. Food that is dehydrated or freeze dried or ground into flour or crumbs is going to cost more if you compare it by ounce or pound. You do not use that much of it and believe me it does last a long time. I just finished a large can of dehydrated red pepppers that I bought from Emergency Essentials before I moved here. 

The texture inside the chaffles

These chaffles came out a much darker brown than the ones made with coconut and almond flour. They are savory but you can add sweetners, Swerve brown sugar or one of the sugar free syrups to change it to a sweet chaffle. Does it really matter is made with beef flour? Not really except it does lower the carb count and that is why I wanted to try it. They do taste good too but I don't think I actually tasted beef. I add cornbread flavoring to it and that gives it a distinct taste. 

One thing I see about my grocery budget is that it is consistently less now that I eat  "clean" ketovore or keto foods. None of those so called "Keto" snacks, cereals, crackers, etc. Just buy food that is very low carbs with no sugar, no other forms of sugar, no grains at all and no starchy vegetables. Whatever you choose, do not use the bad seed oils such as canola, soybean, corn, sunflower, etc.  Then you can buy eggs, dairy, meat or products that I consider ingredients, like the Carnivore Crisps. These chaffles can be used like you used to use bread. Which is what I do with the fried eggs. You can make grilled cheese sandwiches with them too. That is very good! 

These are the cornbread flavored chaffles made with coconut and almond flour. See the difference? Much lighter in appearance and light. They are still good and I am not going to stop making them. These too are made with pork rind crumbs. You cannot taste them. I love these chaffles not made with cheese but I make some with cheese depending on what I am using them for. A big bag of these in your freezer makes meals easy! 

Copyright © 2023 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2023  Kathleen G. Lupole

A Presto Stuffler for Easy and Quick Keto Meals

 

Presto Stuffler

Recently I bought another new appliance. Yes, I know I told myself I was not buying any new appliances anymore but this one is different. I promise it is! If you are following the keto lifestyle you cook a lot. Cooking most of your food from scratch just like I did as a modern homesteader. I think I found my niche in the cooking world! I do not care to go out to eat anymore because my own meals are usually much better. Most important though is that I know what is in them! If I use a questionable ingredient at least I know how much is in it and where I bought it. 

Open to add batter

The Presto Stuffler is not cheap! I think I paid $50.00 for it on Amazon. I thought about it for a long time before purchasing it. Now I am happy that I did. Using various batter recipes that I find on YouTube and in the keto groups I have been able to come up with some good meals. I didn't really miss bread but I wanted to make some old favorites that needed something to go on or in it. Like a tuna melt or a grilled cheese sandwich. So what I am planning on doing is to change the many varieties of grilled cheese sandwiches from the bread to the stufflers. Actually it opens up so many possibilities of new keto meals that are quick and easy! Can you tell I am excited about this?

Bottom layer of batter

The first thing you do is to prepare whatever stuffing you plan to use. Then heat the Stuffler up while you mix up your batter. If you want a dessert type of Stuffler you will want a sweet batter recipe. This post is slanted toward the keto foods but the Stuffler can be used for whatever food plan you follow. Once it is hot pour one third cup of the batter onto the hot stuffler. I let it set for a second or two. Next I add the toppings. I make sure to get it all over the bottom layer. All the way to the edge. You want to bite into that topping with every bite you take. 

Stuffing of taco meat in the center

In the photo above I made a taco type of ground beef with some Rotel tomatoes and dehydrated peppers and onion. I forgot to add cheese which I think would have made it even better. I tried it as a sweet stuffler using a different batter and cream cheese with sugar-free strawberry jam and syrup. It was good but I don't eat sweets like that very often. I reserve my sweets for Keto Chow ice cream now. Yesterday I made 2 Krazy Ketos' corn dog recipe which has a sliced hot dog and cheese inside. It was very good!

Top layer of batter covers the stuffing

Then I added the top layer of batter. Using about one third cup and spread with a spoon to make sure it covers all the stuffing. Be careful not to overfill it because it will ooze out when it is cooking and make a mess for you to clean up. Once you close the lid quickly grab the handle and flip it over to the other direction. Let it cook for about 11 minutes or whatever your recipe tells you. It will be steaming but that is because it is cooking. As soon as it is done, holding onto the handle flip it over again to the original direction. I usually wait a minute before opening it.

All done after 11 minutes

Mine came out a bit lopsided but I am new to the Stuffler world right now. You should be able to lift it right out with the red handle holder but I haven't been able to do that yet. My batter is softer but that is fine with me. Next time I will either add more stuffing or cheese slices on top of the stuffing. Adding some cheese on the top of the top layer may add some crunch to it. I will have to try that.

Corn Dog with cheese!

Besides being easy to use and clean I like this new appliance for the variety of new meals I can make for myself. I only have to prepare meals for myself so it was a worthwhile purchase for me. If you are making meals for a family or a number of other people it may not be a good thing for you. By the way, this is not a paid review since I do not do those on my site any longer. This is my true opinion of this appliance. I bought it and I use it and I like it very much. 

Bon Appetit!

Copyright © 2022 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2022  Kathleen G. Lupole