The Keto Lifestyle Is the Good Health Diet

Keto products I use regularly

How did I transition from the standard American diet (SAD) to a Keto lifestyle? It was not overnight and it was definitely not easy. I started eating low carbs many years ago but would stop and start again and again. I did not feel good when off it and I knew this. Yet something kept me eating those foods I knew I should not be eating.......pizza, ice cream, potato chips, chocolate candy and Whoppers with the bun and french fries (oh, how I loved those french fries!). What was it about those foods that made me not able to pass them by? I would blame it on whoever I was with. Especially when eating in restaurants. I knew what to order when I walked in the door. Yet when the waitress came to take the order I would hear myself ordering a completely different meal! I'd hate myself later that night. 

Fast food is not an option for me!

It is true though that your family and friends really do not want you to eat differently from them. I find that is true about many other things in life besides what foods you choose to eat. Everyone tries to get their family and friends to do what they do whether you like it or not. Somehow you have to get yourself beyond that. Even now, I am 99% living my keto lifestyle, but that 1%? Sometimes I slip off. Do I hate myself later? Not anymore. Because I am not perfect nor will I ever be perfect. I just go on as if it never happened. Living by myself makes it easier for me to eat the way I want. No influences or temptations from someone else. It is the rare person who will give up their favorite foods for someone else. Yet they expect you to give up your health and well being for them. 

My keto kitchen!

I don't call myself by any specific diet other than the keto lifestyle. There are many names for it....low carb, Atkins, Ketogenic, keto, ketovore, carnivore, lion diet, etc. It all boils down to protein, fat and low carbs. The Proper Human Diet. I no longer count calories. I don't care what they are. Some days I don't eat as much as other days. It all evens out over time. I do use a tracker. Cronometer. Just to have a record of what I ate each day. I don't care anymore about keeping track of protein or fat since usually I eat over 100 grams of each. So the days I don't get the 100 grams I am okay with that too. Another thing I don't do is to weight myself. I threw my scale out in the dumpster. A scale is really a useless tool that many people have an obsession with. A better measurement is your clothing. Save some clothing in smaller sizes and try them on at different intervals. Not daily! 

My go to dessert is Keto Chow Ice Cream!

When people say to me that keto didn't work for them. I know what they aren't saying. That is that they did not want to give it a chance to work. They wanted it to be easy and magically heal them and take their weight off in an instant. It does not work that way. Maybe it didn't work because every night they made a dessert......a keto dessert is still a dessert. Maybe they took those cheat days everyone is always talking about. Perhaps their friend took cheat days and still lost weight but they did not. Their body is not the same as their friend's body. We are all unique human beings.

Pizza Bowl Keto Style

For me, over time I have been tweaking the keto lifestyle for myself. I don't follow what anyone says. I might try something that I hear about and test it on myself. I don't take challenges anymore either. I just keep finding new recipes and working on them to fit my taste. Keto meals can and do taste good. But you have to cook! Luckily it is something I love to do. So I will continue to live the keto lifestyle. One thing I want to remind others of is that this way of eating is not meant for weight loss. It is meant for health and weight loss is just a by product of that. 

Copyright © 2023 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2023  Kathleen G. Lupole

Keto Friendly Food is Worth Every Penny You Spend

 

People are always saying to me, "how can you afford to follow the keto lifestyle with the prices of meat and dairy so high now?" I say back, "how can I NOT afford meat and dairy now?" Times like this call for making the most nutritious meals you can with what you buy. Look at the prices of those snack foods you buy. A family size bag of potato chips is as much as a two pound package of ground beef. How much nutrition is actually in that bag of chips? Since doing keto I no longer have the need to snack. Basically I eat two meals a day. Sometimes three. If I feel hungry I eat. If I am not hungry at supper time, I do not eat. Sometimes I will eat a Keto Chow ice cream that I make in my ice cream maker for a meal. Usually fills me up just fine. 

I used to buy a large package of ground beef and then divide it up into smaller packages. Then I would vacuum pack them for the freezer. Not lately. I have found the small one pound packages are the same price per pound as the larger ones at this time. So instead of wasting the vacuum pack bags I just buy the one pound packages and freeze them immediately. I like to make a pan of ground beef with various seasonings and dehydrated vegetables and then put a couple of fried or poached eggs on top. Mmmm! One of my favorite meals!

Bacon and Eggs

One thing I do splurge on and always will is bacon and eggs. Regardless of how much they drive the price up, I will buy them. Even if I have to go without other things that I normally buy. The best aspect of a keto lifestyle is that you can eat bacon and eggs as much as you want. It has always been the meal that satisfies me. If I have bacon and eggs for breakfast I am not hungry most of the day. If I ate cereal, oatmeal, waffles, pancakes, etc. I would be starving by lunch time. I see people asking for margarine or low-fat options and I think to myself, that is why you can't lose weight or stick to a diet. Low fat keeps you hungry for more money. I know this. I used to do it myself. Fat is what satisfies you and keeps you from eating more between meals. 

Fast Food

If you take "cheat days" or say you are dieting to lose so many pounds and go back to eating the standard American diet you will gain it all back and more. The reason you cheat on your low-fat diet is because your body wants and needs the fat you are not giving it. Fat does not make you fat! Sugar does! No, salt does not make you retain water either. Sugar and preservatives in your processed store bought foods does (go to Amazon and search for the Salt Fix book). 

Homemade Bone Broth

A good way to save money when following a keto lifestyle is to make as much of your own food as possible. Things like keto friendly condiments, broths and ingredients will be much more expensive than what you are used to use. Read the ingredients labels. Does it mention soybean or canola oil? Put it back on the shelf! I lived on store brand ranch dressings and Hellman's Mayonnaise for years. No wonder I could not lose weight or improve my health. Now I  buy Primal Kitchen condiments or make my own. Making my own is such a budget changer! Makes it so I can afford meat, eggs and dairy easily. I am doing that more now.

It is too bad that we have been taught from young ages the wrong information about our foods. Not only from the government who favors the food manufacturers so they can share in those profits. From the medical industry (yes, it is an industry) as well. I see it in so many of my friends who say they want to lose weight or deal with a particular health issue. Yet they continue doing what they have always done even though it has never improved their health. I never say a word to them now about it. It is their choice. 

Copyright © 2022 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2022  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

A Good Bread Replacement for the Keto Lifestyle

Yesterday, I made a chaffle recipe that was not eggy tasting nor cheesy either. Sometimes I want to use a substitute for bread or buns and do not want it to taste like eggs or cheese. Most chaffle recipes are mainly eggs and cheese. In my search for one that I could make ahead and store for a few days, I was back at one of my favorite keto channels on YouTube. Steve, from Serious Keto has made many different chaffle recipes. The recipe I tried is one he made when he was testing six different recipes sent in by his subscribers. It is the Best Bread Chaffle recipe on his website. 

Instead of using fresh egg whites called for in the recipe, I used powdered egg whites and it came out just fine. I think they were the best chaffles I have ever made. A change from the cheese ones, though I like those too. Otherwise I followed his recipe exactly. Dipping one into my eggs yesterday was like a luxury! I had not had anything to dip into an egg in a long time. The other types were good but not replacing the toast I liked to go with my eggs. 

One chaffle is 4 total carbs which is pretty good. I plan for two chaffle with breakfast so it is 8 total carbs which is good for me. Most days I do not get anywhere near my goal of 20 total carbs for the day. If you plan your daily menu ahead, you can plan on the 8 carbs for two chaffles in whatever meal you want to use them in. A sandwich or toast. Or just have one and cut it in half. Since these are quite small made on the Dash mini-waffle maker I like to have two.

Copyright © 2022 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2022  Kathleen G. Lupole