Saturday, June 30, 2012

Breakfasts and Lunches

Hi all! I was asked why don't I post breakfast and lunches. Well usually everyone has their own things they do for breakfast and lunch on keto, but if you're starting out, it may be a big head scratcher, it was for me at first. My main concern -  as I eat both breakfast and lunch at the office- is what can I eat that's easy, portable, and of course, delicious (NEVER kickstart your day of with something gross, why suffer through the drudges of terrible meals?! We're on keto, not a gruel diet!)

Here are a few of my portable suggestions (portable meaning carriable in a lunch box or thermos):

For Breakfast:

  • Protein shakes made with almond milk and a spoonfull of peanut butter    my favorite powder
  • Eggs, bacon, and cheese always work! (throw em in a tupperware, or work somewhere with a cafeteria....just sayin'!)
  • 1/4c of almonds always keep me satiated in a bind. (or peanuts- especially blister peanuts!)
  • When I'm feeling super hungry, i get up early and make myself an omlete, but if you work near a diner, pick one up!
  • If I'm feeling hungry and I'm in a bind, I'll bring my 1/4c almonds, a quick protein shake, and some string cheese, that usually holds me until 2 or 3 pm, which is great since I'm often eating lunch late.
  • There's also Ants on a Log which only works, if you like celery in the morning....It was a shot!
For Lunch:
  •  Meat roll-ups - Coldcuts (usually meat and cheese) rolled together, and place in tupperware - to make it fancy and less weird to co workers, spiff it up with some fancy toothpicks and olives! (My co workers have lovingly nicknamed this my bucket o' meat)
  • Salads with cut up cold cuts, almond slices, cheese, and some great creamy dressing!
  • Reheats from the night before? It worked in college for breakfast, this is just slightly more mature saving it for lunch. 
  • When I forget lunch, I always find it easy to go to a burger joint, and get a bacon cheese burger and just not eat the bun (or tell 'em you have a gluten allergy and ask them to wrap it in lettuce!)
  • If you have to go out with clients, it's best to take them to places that have a steak option, where you can get broccoli instead of potatoes and a side salad, no one will ask questions when they think you're making general healthy choices. 
  • I always, ALWAYS bring a stick or 'medallion' of cheese with me for lunch as a snack, not only is it pack full of the fat and protein you need, but it's always satisfying to have a little extra after your 'main dish'. 
  • I have found (as shown in the last post) these wonderful low carb (4g) wraps from Trader Joes, which allows me to easily create fancier wraps with cheese, meats, lettuce, dressing, etc. Just don't rely on these too much, as they are still 4gs out of your day just for the wrap. 

Well, hopefully this helped and from here you can start making your own weekday breakfast and lunch routines. If you would still like more ideas, don't hesitate to ask! 

Also look out tomorrow for the next weekly meal plan!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

So as I promised I would keep everyone updated with delightful goodies and the like.
I recently made my way to my local Trader Joe's as I usually do, and found these little miracles:
Not my image, since I ate all of mine.

These are amazing! So, they aren't delicious eaten alone, but they work wonders with cold cuts, dressing, cheeses, meats, and the like. When you add it with other foods, it tastes great, and the consistency is spot on - something that is oft a problem with low carb foods.
All in all, I figured these were worth sharing since they've become my lunchtime savior when I'm in a crunch!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Week 1: Meal Plan

Okay, now that we've gotten introductions out of the way, I will begin this with:
I will not normally post this late. I'm currently sick at home hacking up a storm. This has nothing to do with keto, but I just wanted to assure everyone that you will usually get a week schedule on sunday nights, if not earlier. 
Okay, here's the round up!
(Links to recipes are in blue)


Monday: Gargantuan Keto Burgers! with some salad
Tuesday: Cheesy Chicken Casserole
Wednesday: Buffalo Balls with some broccoli to dip!
Thursday: Easy and cheap steak with side of spinach
Friday: Keto pizza!
Saturday: Breakfast: Cream cheese pancakes! Dinner: Grilled sausage! And mashed cauliflower!
Sunday: Breakfast: Eggs Benedict! Dinner: Spinach Mexican Casserole!


So your shopping list:
Produce:
  • Salad bag(s) (always check carbs and fiber if it's one of those "kit" types- avoid the carrots and 'matos)
  • Green Onions(optional)
  • Green Chiles (optional)
  • head of lettuce (this can be used on the burger, for dipping, and snacking)
  • mushrooms (for your pizza if you like)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 green pepper (optional)
  • jalapenos (optional)
  • celery
  • 1 lemon
  • Broccoli (for dippin'!)
Meat:
  • Bacon! (get plenty, you use it, and it's finally ok to eat!)
  • 2.5 lbs ground pork
  • 8 chicken breasts
  • 1lb ground chicken or turkey
  • 42 oz ground beef 80/20 (or less for less people)
  • Sausage links
  • pepperoni (for your pizza of course!)
  • some sort of steak- we usually get the round cuts with pepper on the sides
Freezer:
  • spinach (20oz for the bake, and more for a side dish)
  • cauliflower (big bags are best, as the mashed cauliflower is great!)
Dairy:
  • lots of eggs (i'd say two dozen between meals and just eating eggs)
  • 8oz block of cheddar cheese (more if you like to snack on it)
  • butter
  • 16 oz sour cream (not fat free or light)
  • 3 pkg cream cheese (believe me you use it)
  • crumbled blue cheese
  • heavy cream (get a medium one- it's a Godsend)
  • 16oz mozzarella cheese (for bake and pizza)
  • 2oz of sharp cheese (if you don't like sharp cheddar)
  • 8 oz grated parmesan cheese
  • 8 oz monterey jack cheese
Baking/ Spices Aisle:
  • Vinegar
  • Cayenne Pepper (optional)
  • Almond Flour (or almond meal -its the same-can be bought cheapest at Trader Joes)
  • Baking Powder
  • 2 pkts Taco Seasoning
  • Stevia Sweetener (can be aspartame, Stevia, TruVia, etc)
  • Flax meal (can be found anywhere in the baking aisle or nuts it's usually Bob's Red Mill Brand)
Sauces/ Specialty Aisle:
  • Worcester Sauce (it's your best friend buy it once, you probably wont have to buy it again for awhile)
  • Onion Powder
  • Garlic Salt
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • sea salt
  • 2 cans Rotel
  • 1 bottle Franks Red Hot Sauce (for the buffalo sauce- believe me it's good mixed with melted butter- not too hot)
  • 16oz green salsa
  • Salad dressing (it' best if it's a creamy type- no more than 2g of carbs per serving as a serving is only 2tbs
  • Blue cheese dressing ( for buffalo balls)

"What's this all about?" you may ask.

Hello everyone!
Im new to this kind of blog set up so I hope you'll bear with me as I learn along the way.
I've been doing keto for about 2 and a half months now, and my s/o has been doing it for about 4.
We've both lost significant weight, and would like to make it simpler for others. I mean, having it all mapped out simple, cause I know just deciding what to eat for dinner is hard enough without throwing keto in the mix. I'm not going to explain keto here, because you're probably here already ready to go.
So I'll explain my breakdown:
I scan through my trusted keto sites (and my own recipes) , I will then post a meal plan here for the week, every week, which lists not only what's for dinner, but also the recipes, and your shopping list. Simple enough right? I'll also give you little posts on new foods I've tried, and our progress, as well as tips for staying in keto and debugging any questions you have.
Ready? Let's go!