Oscraps

Keto - what's for dinner?

I've been watching/listening to a fascinating series on why we are obese. It is unbelievable! Lots to say about diabetes. It gets pretty technical and is very long (6 sessions at least an hour long each), but I'm sort of laid up at the moment with a strained knee, so I'm watching them on my iPad. I'm sure your husband would be VERY interested. (Link below)

I made a Keto-friendly "KeyLime" cheesecake for dessert tonight. Sure hope it turns out as good as it looks. But first, left-over pizza. And I'm hungry!
The Aetiology of Obesity by Dr. Jason Fung (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpllomiDMX0
 
Remember Sharron to eat only when you are hungry, not because it is time to eat LOL. My DH has tried to make me eat breakfast, but I have told him if I eat when I am not hungry then I feel yucky!! So he can eat whenever he feels like it, just don't expect me to eat with you! :becky:
 
YEP! We've been very good about that. The signs are easy to read. I was on Gwen Shamblin's Weigh Down Workshop diet for quite some time, and it relied solely on listening to your stomach, but eating anything you want as long as you stopped when gently full. Problem was, then, I could never tell when I got to that point. With Keto, it's really obvious. If I'm not hungry, food sounds nauseating! Tonight we had our left-over pizza (about 1/3 the recipe divided between us), then a slice of the Key Lime Cheesecake (only half the portion the recipe called for), and were satisfied. Neither of us has craved evening snacks like we ALWAYS have in the past.

Tomorrow night I'm going to make Thai chicken using Miracle Noodles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvUF649l1KQ). I found a Keto-friendly bagged sauce at our Natural Foods store. We've missed Thai and Indian food, but with the Miracle Noodles and Spiralizer, I think they're back.

For lunch today I made awesome chicken, tomato, pepperjack cheese and MAYO sandwiches, the "bread" being lettuce leaves. I put avocado on mine too (Dave doesn't love them, so why waste them on him?? LOL). Next time I will also add bacon bits.

My knee is still very sore tonight, so tomorrow will be another day of binge-watching YouTube and listening to podcasts.

HAGN!
 
Sharron you will have to let me know how you like the miracle noodles, I have seen them in the store, but a bit afraid to try them LOL. I hear that they smell bad.
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I also am on the look out for a spiralizer so I can add zucchini to our menu. Neither of us really like zucchini, other than using it make chocolate cake ( that's not happening) so it might be a great way to introduce another veg. Sorry that your knee is still too sore to get out golfing, hopefully soon, looks to be another gorgeous day out there on our West Coast a great day for golf!!
 
I'm interested in the noodles too! What recipe are you using for the chicken part?

I'd love to hear how to use the spiral zucchini noodles as I just bought some already ready to go at target.
 
I've made spiralized zucchini noodes by sauteing in a pan with garlic, onion, olive oil, butter, salt & pepper and finishing up with shredded parmesan cheese. I've made these with pork chops (cooked in a steel skillet so I had pan drippings to add balsalmic vinegar, beef stock and dijon mustard with a splash of cream) and drizzled the sauce over the veggies and meat.
 
For what it's worth, I could not find a way to make the Miracle Noodles, palatable - and I tried and tried. They have a distinctive unpleasant odor that many claim disappears after a thorough rinsing. Not only did the odor remain, the noodles turned to mush - and had a most unappealing texture. I tried every trick I could find with no luck. For me, they were a waste of money.

I don't care for zucchini, so I haven't invested in a spiralizer yet.
 
Go to the link I provided and Kristie will show you how to deal with the noodles. I'll give you a report on how we like them after dinner tonight. I just plan to saute some boneless chicken thighs, then pour in the sauce I found at PCC (our sort of health food grocery store) yesterday. It's all the way in the kitchen, and it is painful to hobble there right now (knee), but I'll try to remember to save the pkg. It is a very low carb Thai sauce. Then I'll pour the chicken/sauce over the noodles, and probably serve some buttered broccoli with it.

I really hope we love the noodles. If we do, I will probably start ordering it from Amazon. I'm especially hoping to add the RICE. So many things we love over rice. I haven't tried the cauliflower rice yet. I like cauliflower, but don't know if I'd like it as a substitute for rice or potatoes.

I have used the spiralized zucchini both raw and sauteed in butter, as a substitute for spaghetti noodles. We too have never liked zucchini for anything but cake, but we're converts. We both loved it with a sauced meat over it. My next experiment with the spiralizer is to "Spicy Jicama Strings." A friend gave me the recipe, and the photo makes them look like skinny french fries. Since jicama doesn't really have much flavor, this sounds like a real possibility. I'll let you know how that turns out.

My knee is better this morning, but still delicate. My day will be spent mostly in the recliner with my leg raised. I'm bored and feeling like a total idiot. Glad I have so many Youtube and podcasts to entertain me. Problem is, that sort of thing makes me sleepy, and I don't want to sleep the day away. What a waste. We've had SUCH horrible weather for 7 months, and today is GORGEOUS. It would have been perfect for our first bike ride of the season. Boohoo.
 
Rae, your zucchini "recipes" sound awesome. I see I have a ways to go before exhausting the possibilities. I don't have the Cooking Gene, and never think outside the box. Thanks for the ideas. My son gave me a steel skillet for Mother's Day, and I just LOVE it. I'd never heard of them before he got one, and he loves his so much he wanted me to have one too. It's a small one, and now, of course, I want a big one too!

Vicki, I'm desolated to hear your Miracle Noodle report. But I have them, so have nothing to lose by trying Kristie's method. I'll let you know how it goes.
 
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I don't have the cooking gene either but I'm willing to give it a go this time.

Definitely trying Rae'a recipe.

I'm super interested in the jicama strings too!

Glad your knee is somewhat better today, Shar.
 
I never cared for the noodles. I think our brand was by Shirataki and I couldn't get past the texture, it bugged me. But I'm fine with spiralized veggie noodles. I don't eat many veggies now so don't spiralize much, I use a small bed of greens, spinach or mushrooms to put sauce/cheese over and occasionally will use a little bit of spaghetti squash.
 
You gals have me nervous about tonight's dinner! Interested that you've cut back on veggies. I was leaning that direction already, but am not mentally to the point of not needing three different things on the plate. LOL

Rae, I hope your hubby is doing better this afternoon.
 
I tried the spiralized zucchini tonight and it was delicious, but frankly, I used too much red pepper chili flakes (wasn't paying attention to the recipe lol) and all I could taste was the pepper. But, I still loved it. :)

Shar, I hope your dinner went well!
 
Glad you loved your zucchini, Vicki. Funny thing for us tonight. Neither of us were feeling hungry when it was "time to start fixing dinner." So we just skipped it. Then an hour or so later, we each had a mug of broth and some cheese. THEN we had a piece of the left-over lime cheesecake! I LOVE this way of eating! Maybe we'll have the Thai chicken tomorrow night. :)
 
Dinner was wonderful! Baked bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs. While they were baking, I fixed the Miracle Noodles. Never even smelled the fishy aroma I was warned about. Drained them, then returned them to the saucepan and added the Thai sauce plus a tablespoon of peanut butter. Veggies: sauteed cauliflower and mushrooms in butter. Poured the sauce and noodles over the chicken and LOVED every bite. Planning to go to Amazon and order all three versions.
 
Yay Shar!!!! That's awesome!

I made chicken salad tonight to have for a quick snack and bleeeeh. I miss the toast way too much to want to eat any more of it.
 
Knee is still giving me fits. DH is out playing golf on this gorgeous day, and I would have been with him except for the knee. But I've used the time well. Have been reading "Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It" by Gary Taubes. What an awesome book. It has vindicated me in SO MANY WAYS. I've also been binge watching Dr. Stephen Phinney's YouTube videos. AGAIN!!! So much explanation and vindication.

This afternoon I'm making chicken broth IN MY ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER. SO easy. Can't wait to try it. I used the carcass from the Costco chicken Dave got yesterday. All the meat is waiting in the refrigerator to be used in ever so many ways.

Today's main meal is going to be burgers from Red Robin!!!!! Yes! There's a BOGO (or maybe the 2nd is just half off), but we're going to do the Cooking Keto With Kristie method...no bun...no fries...lots of cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. Dave will also have pickles (I don't like them). We'll go as soon as he get home from golf, so it will be a very early dinner.

I'm also going in for my annual non-fasting blood work. That should be interesting. We are Kaiser members, and wish I knew if there was a doctor in my area that subscribes to the Keto way of life. I don't know how to even begin the search. Any ideas?
 
Vicki, I haven't tried making this to be used just as bread, but it was Dave's idea that I try to do so. It is the crust for Keto pizza, and it is AWESOME. Just leave the Italian herbs out:

The Crust:

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
¾ cup almond flour
2 tbs cream cheese
1 egg
Garlic salt
Parchment paper and cookie sheet
Instructions:

-put mozzarella & cream cheese in a medium size microwaveable bowl
cheese.JPG

After making some keto recipes, I found it best to cube up the cream cheese before melting with other cheeses
-Microwave for 1 min, stir and then another 30 sec, stir (very hot!)
-Stir in egg & almond flour
-Wet hands and spread “dough” thin on parchment paper. It should spread evenly with dough-like consistency (if “stringy” then your cheese has hardened too much—just put it back in the microwave for maybe another 20 seconds)
-Dock (poke rows of holes) with a fork to avoid bubbling
-Sprinkle with garlic salt
-Put in 425 degree oven
-After about 8 minutes, check it and poke holes where any large bubbles may be.
-continue cooking for a total 12-14 min, or until slightly brown on top.
It should look like this:
crust.jpg


If you don't have cream cheese, you can use a tablespoon or two of olive oil...maybe add a touch of cream.
 
Sharron you are the Keto Queen!! Love your recipe and will defintly have to try it out! I am looking for a low carb recipe for coleslaw dressing, not much luck but I think if I just stick to a simple one with mayo and some mustard and a bit of sweetener I will be ok. No carbs there or very few. Hubby is having pulled pork on a bun tonight, I really need to check the carbs on the pulled pork, but I can always have the left over chicken in the fridge instead. Not very hungry today, so far only had a light brunch, scrambled eggs with cheese and 1/2 an avocado. Sorry that you knee is still giving you trouble! :hug:
 
Trudy, this is so typical of me...find a new interest and become immersed (obsessed?) in it. I just found out that most commercial mayo is made with soy oil...one of the worst for us. So my next project is to make my own. I used to do that years ago, but got passed my "let's do everything healthy" stage. I'm baaaaaack! LOL

hage
 
Shar can I come live with you? You are blowing me away. :)

Good luck with the blood tests. I don't really know how to go about finding a doctor who knows this stuff. But, I would think your numbers will be better. Maybe you can educate your doctor :)
 
Well, LIVE with me...not so sure THAT would work out, but we've nearly got our new guest room put together! So a visit would be great! LOL

BTW, the chicken broth turned out AWESOME...WAY better than boxed store-bought. Tasted just like a Costco chicken and was super easy. I kept enough out for the next day or two, and froze the rest in 1 C. amounts in little ziplock bags.

Blood tests came back in the normal range (potassium and creatnin). They were normal before. I'm looking forward to the cholesterol test next time....even more, the blood sugar test. I was getting VERY close to diabetes range last time. =:O
 
Well that does it. We were so full from our SALAD LUNCH that we're not interested in our afternoon mochas! Something's gotta change!
 
Last night we had a delicious Bacon, cheeseburger casserole, it was so good! But I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible indigestion WTH I haven't had that for a long time. Perhaps I ate too much? :noidea: Off to find out what it could have been that upset my stomach.
 
Trudy, did it have pre-shredded cheese in it? I have discovered that most pre-shredded cheese is coated with some kind of carbohydrate powder, such as flour, to make it so it does not stick together. That made me sick. We are about to toss all of our Costco shredded cheese. From now on we will shred our own .
 
My husband has told me that this way of eating is definitely helping his blood sugar - he can actually feel the difference, so I'm interested in hearing your results with your blood sugar levels, too Shar. I know I'm really beginning to feel better again too!!!! That's very exciting! Well, except for the crazy sinus congestion I gave myself from switching from non-dairy creamer to heavy cream. Which is a bummer because that heavy cream is so nice lol

I'm also interested in hearing about these afternoon mochas!?!?!

Trudy, could it have just been a stomach bug or was it spicy? Shar might be right on the cheese though. I keep reading about additives to pre-grated cheese. I might have to break out the old food processor.
 
Afternoon mochas:
Dave does it all. When he is gone, I don't have one because it's too much bother for me. He uses a press to make the "espresso," then adds a bit of unsweetened cocoa with Splenda (we will switch to Stevea when the Splenda is gone). He tried adding whipped cream, but didn't like how thick it seemed, so is back to a splash of 1/2 n 1/2. Then he microwaves it briefly to bring it up to temp after the cream cooled it off. We're not into the froth. We started doing these long ago...long before Keto. I'm wanting to try again with heavy cream with a little water to thin it down. But since he is the one doing the ritual, I'm reluctant to make any suggestions. It has been a dedicated effort with lots of experimenting to come up with something we love.

I've also thought about putting them in the BlendTec with ice cubes to see if we can come up with a summer version. oooooo....just thought....adding some no-cal Torani caramel syrup might be awesome. :)

If you are interested in the actual recipe with proportions of each thing, I'll ask Dave, and post later.
 
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Jumping in here on a few of the posts -

The pizza dough referenced by Shar is known as Fathead pizza crust and is amazing - you can make lots of varieties - "stuffed" ham and cheese; calzones, etc. Just vary the dried herbs/spices as you like.

I'm wondering how you'd feel about a separate thread just for recipes? Reading on, you'll see I have a ton of references for recipes.

The reason I started low carb (two years ago) - not specifically Keto - was that my blood sugar hit 300. My doc said fix it immediately and within 3 months I was back within normal range. I started with Atkins and have gradually moved to my own version. Like some others have posted, I'm not a "keep track" of everything kinda gal. I know myself well enough to know that I just won't do that. However, I've lost 40 lbs - with occasional set backs because I've learned that I'm an emotional eater: when times get tough I seem to open the fridge. One of the things I noticed, and you will too, is that once I took out the carbs and my body adjusted, I started being satisfied with much smaller portions - due somewhat to the increased fat intake. By the way, my cholesterol level also improved eating low carb, which is counter intuitive.

One of the things I learned is to re-define what a meal is. For breakfast, which I used to skip, I might have a few slices of deli ham, a slice of cheese and a couple of tomatoes. In fact, I could eat that combination all day long. Premier Protein drinks have only 2 net carbs and when I feel I need a sweet snack, their chocolate is my go to flavor. Local Costco's have them by the case in several flavors and once I taste tested them, I put them on my regular shopping list.

My other "go to" are one-minute mug microwave recipes - basically single serving cake-ISH delights.

I buy my almond flour at Costco, although I'm moving closer to a big city this summer and may be able to find other brands then. I don't care for the taste of coconut flour, but I'm finding some recipes that work really well with a combination of almond flour and coconut flour. I also use recipes that include whey protein powder and ground flax. They all combine to make a decent texture in baked goods. Coconut flour absorbs a TON of liquid and cannot be substituted measure for measure for either white or almond flour.

I always suggest that new low carbers find a few low carb/keto bloggers that they like and try their recipes. I'm happy to share mine if you're interested. Some have wonderful photos but the resulting concoctions are appalling. I do have some recipes - a pound cake for instance - that use way more eggs and butter than I ever would have used before. But that kind of recipe is really good when I need to bring a dessert for a party or something. I can have a slice without cheating and no one is the wiser.

I use Swerve brand sweetener made from fruits and veg, no artificial ingredients, preservatives or flavors and no bitter aftertaste associated with other natural sweeteners like stevia (although I do use liquid stevia for some recipes). And unlike other sugar alcohols such as xylitol, sorbitol and maltitol there is no digestive intolerance (no laxative effect). Swerve comes in both granular and powdered form. They both measure the same, but I have found that the granular form turns a bit grainy when you use it in baked goods that end up in the fridge. So for those items, I use the powdered.
 
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Oh Vicki! What a treasure-trove you are. I'm anxious to try the Premier Protiein drinks and the Swerve sweeteners. I would love to try some of your recipes...REALLY? POUND CAKE???? WOW. The only one-minute mug microwave "cake" I tried was a big disappointment. If you have a delicious version, I'd like to try it. I will check out your blog. I am overwhelmed at all the low carb recipes out there, and would love to trust someone who has done some testing!

I too, am finding that I need way less food than I ever did. We've virtually cut out lunch...moved Mocha Time to early afternoon, and added a little snack if anything, then still ready to eat dinner early evening. DH still can't get his head around having the main meal at noon, which is where I'd eventually like us to be.

Okay. Dave gave me the details about the mochas he makes for us. I'll put them in a separate posting.
 
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