Keto - maybe?

First, we cut the cable (successfully, even though there are still grumblings). Then we start talking about cutting the carbs and going Keto. I read up on it on Pinterest, the web, and it’s interesting. Under 20 carbs a day (for me), with a healthy (really healthy) amount of fat and protein.

What I didn’t realize was that carbs aren’t just bread, pasta and potatoes. Beans – lots of carbs. Fruit – oh, no, lots of carbs (berries are OK). Veggies, depending on the kinda. Peas, carrots – bad – spinach – good. I realized that fruit would be my biggest hang up on Keto (and ice cream). Dairy is great, but NOT milk. Eggs, lots of eggs. And BACON. Sure, I like pasta and potatoes and rice and bread – but I don’t really crave them.

Last time Tony and I did a “diet” it was a soup diet. I didn’t have much problem with it except bananas and milk day (I don’t really like bananas or milk). But Tony went into “fit mode” at day 3.

He said he was serious about Keto. OK, we can give it a try. I keep warning him about his milk carbs (he drinks a gallon a week), his sugar in the coffee carbs, Dr. Pepper (42 g of carbs in a can!), and his late night Whataburger, Jack in the Box carbs.

The first thing we did was “clean out the cupboards/pantry/fridge. No sense in tossing everything – and dangerous to have the carbs sitting around calling our names. I also donated a bag of canned goods to the North Texas Food Bank. It took about a week and a half to ditch a lot of stuff. And also buy Tony sugar free cough drops to try (the regular ones have to be really high in carbs since they are “candy.”).

And then we eased our way into it. Didn’t think I just wanted to circle a date and say – there it is. We also had a football party and used up some BBQ sauce for pulled pork and chicken -- and baked beans. I actually managed not to eat anything but meat at the party.

Been about three weeks. How’s it going:

• ·         Breakfast – I’m not a big breakfast fan and a handful of almonds and a couple pieces of beef jerkey. Occasional hard boiled egg. Tony is having no problem with breakfast (but he misses his breakfast tacos) – bacon and eggs. Maybe bacon and omelet. Miss the toast to sop up the yolks, but.
• ·         Lunch for me is no problem. Salad, with protein. Soup, with protein. Looking for variations so I don’t get bored. Will be interesting when I have business lunch meetings – so far, I’ve brought in to the office.
• ·         Snacks: I’m not a big snacker, but a handful of almonds or pistachios. Tony likes to roll some meat up in cheese with Miracle Whip (Mayo is allowed on Keto and I looked at the label and Miracle Whip isn’t bad – I personally hate Miracle Whip).
• ·         Drinks: I drink black coffee all day, so no problem for me. Tony is getting used to putting Almond Milk in his coffee. My night drink choice is Jim Beam on the rocks, so no problem for me. And, my golf course beer is Coors Light (don’t judge) and is one of the lower carb beers. Craft beers are not so good.
• ·         Dinner. We’re getting into a routine and trying to mix things up. So far:

o   Grilled chicken with avocado – good, but worried it could be our go to meal and we’ll get burned out on it

o   Keto chili (no beans) – OK, but more like soup than chili. Recipe could call for a little more heat, but went with a recipe on Pinterest.

o   Tuscan chicken with a cream sauce with mashed cauliflower – If you think mashed cauliflower tastes like mashed potatoes – nope, nope, nope. I thought the chicken was pretty good.

o   Sausage – can’t go wrong with a plate of sausage

o   Hamburger with mushrooms and cheese – you can get over not having the bun

o   Tonight: trying a chicken with cheese stuffing wrapped in prosciutto

Not sure that we’ll be 100% keto. But it is good to start looking at all of the junk in processed (e.g. boxed) foods and to eat healthier foods. I think I feel a little slimmer. Tony doesn’t.

Notes:

• ·         Pinterest can be great and really bad. It’s hard to tell if a recipe is going to be good or not. And a lot of the links to the recipes have so many paid ads that you bail before reading. I have to be careful and will probably have a Keto – Good board and a Keto – Bad board (see above on mashed cauliflower). I learned that early on in Pinterest when seeing a great picture and recipe for vegan sloppy joes, making a double batch – and tossing it. There’s a difference from someone who is a true vegan and their tastes, and someone willing to try vegan – but who really likes bacon.
• ·         Embarking on Keto stuff. Bought the urine strips – haven’t tried. Bough Almond Flour, Erythritol Sweetner, Xanthum Gum and Psyllium Husks (going to “try” some Keto baking and these are needed). It’s expensive, but willing to try. I’m not sure how this is going to work out.
• ·         Thanksgiving: based on our mashed cauliflower test, I think Thanksgiving may be a big Keto bust. I can’t do without cranberry sauce. And stuffing? I’ve pinned a couple of stuffing recipes on Pinterest, but unwilling to have Thanksgiving suffer with Keto. And don’t know if there is enough time to test some of these recipes.
• ·         Christmas: I think this may be just fine. A couple of years ago, we did a prime rib. Meat!
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• Fruit: I am discovering that I can take three days to eat a pint of raspberries or blackberries, instead of having them all in one sitting.

We will see how this journey goes.