diet

Loving Lately

Well it’s that time- for another weekly addition of my favorite things… I don’t really think I can call it love this week. (I’ll let you know in a month). However, I have once again gone Keto; Ketogenic; placing myself in a state of Ketosis. “What is Keto?” you ask. Well according to dietdoctor.com, “A keto or ketogenic diet is a very low-carb diet, which turns the body into a fat-burning machine.” (Yeah baby!) Wikipedia tends to be a little wordier, “The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that… forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates…” If you haven’t heard of the trendy Ketogenic Diet, think of it like a variation of Atkins, that concentrates on more fats (healthy fats), than protein.

I do this to myself. Many of us do. It’s a let it go and reel it in. More poetically, it’s my ebb and flow. I stored up for winter, and now I need to burn some (stored) energy before summer gets here! Crunch time. So, for the next month or thereabouts (small attainable goals for a girl who loves her pastries), no carbs shall pass my lips. Ok, that’s an exaggeration. No net carbs exceeding 30g daily shall pass my lips. What are net carbs you ask? (I feel so academic!) Net carbs are basically the amount of carbohydrates in a specific food less the grams of fiber. Because fiber is our friend, we get to deduct those grams from our total! (I’m selling it to myself, not you.) So, for example, one avocado (according to verywellfit.com) has 17g of carbohydrates, but 13g of fiber so the net carbs are only 4g; and with a whopping total of 29g of fat… it is a perfect Keto food. Now that I am a fat burning machine I need no longer worry about grams of fat (as long as I don’t eat a piece of bread).

Enough diet talk. Let’s get to inspiring recipes! Pictured above is baked Halloumi (possibly my new favorite thing) with roasted garlic, zucchini, and summer squash. I also added a little crispy pancetta- because I could- but it really didn’t need it.

Generally speaking all vegetables that grow above ground (avoiding mostly tubers) are fair game on a low carb diet. They are the gravy boat, so to speak; the vessels on which to carry our delicious toppings (in lieu of mashed potatoes, rice or pasta). My cousin-in-law, Lisa, has had a lot of success with this lifestyle and has passed on a few of her favorite things to make. It’s actually a great plan for those of us who need to avoid sugar too. Diabetes runs in my family, thankfully most of my family members have been able to control it with their diet; which is awesome- and another reason this plan works for me.

These are Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats from Kim’s Healthy Eats.

 

Thankfully I like veggies, so I have no problem snacking on things like Brussels Sprout Chips from Delish.com. I’ve even seen recipes using them for nachos. Don’t be afraid to get crazy with your veg and dip.

 

To be honest, this Best Buffalo Chicken Casserole Recipe from Delish.com looks like something I’d eat when I’m not “dieting.” So that’s win-win. (And btw the picture does not do it justice… all that buffalo sauce-y, cheese-y chicken over roasted cauliflower.) I’m salivating.

For me the flavors have to be varied, otherwise I’d feel like I’m eating the same thing all of the time. And I need to incorporate the majority of my meals into whatever it is that I am feeding my family, or it gets too complicated. But something as simple as foregoing the taco shells on a “Taco Tuesday,” is an easy way for me to enjoy my salad.

Something I haven’t done in the past is venture into sweeteners. However there are “keto-approved” options like Swerve (erythritol and oligosaccharides), a unique blend of all natural (non-GMO) fruit and vegetable ingredients, that has 0 calories and very little carbohydrates. Mix that with a little almond flour and voilà! You can eat Donuts! (From wholesomeyum.com  -which Lisa has made several times, so they are verified.)

 

Last, but not least, I have read a lot of positive things from my Low Carb forum peeps about “fat bombs,” which apparently are a nice treat or midday snack. So, I am actually excited about trying Cookie Dough Keto Fat Bombs from Delish.com, after my Swerve arrives.

Some people like to start on New Year’s Day… I usually wait until spring, and roll my eyes and drag my feet, and spit and kick (not really on the outside, just in my head)… But it’s nice when I don’t feel too deprived.

If you have had success with the Keto diet, and have any recipes or ideas to share, I’d love to hear about it!

Hope you’re having a great day and you are inspired to do something good for yourself!

Love, Sadie

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Diet Life

My diet life could be compared to Oprah’s, except not as public. It’s more of a let go, then reel it in approach rather than a lifestyle- which kind of is a lifestyle. It’s all about perspective.

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But I’m working on it, because I want to be overall healthier. So my friends and I have started a Diet Club. Ironically, the club consists of the same members as the Dinner Club. (Which reminds me I need to set a date for our long overdo Israeli cuisine night.) Basically, we have all set individual goals. They vary in range from counting calories to training for a marathon to cutting processed foods to learning to dance the waltz, etc. We communicate through a group text and encourage each other to keep it up.

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In the mean time, I couldn’t show you a picture of my breakfast banana. I am sure to start getting creative, you know, and swap all of the oil in my quick breads for applesauce; replace the cream in my sauces with skim milk (Eeek)… But for now I will share a few photos from this weekend.

I actually made a commitment to one of my dearest blogging friends, Lynn of Lynz Real Cooking, to take pictures of some barns (which I treasure and romanticize about the stories they hold… dilapidated just gives character). And thankfully I have more time to do it… Because I got only one in this trip.

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But I did find inspiration else where…

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I also told Lynn that I would challenge Owen to come up with a sandwich. Until then, I will share an Owen hot dog (not on the diet).

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It is so nice that the weather here is getting milder and easier for strolls. Did I mention I tried a youtube Zumba class? Hilarious. Like Steve Martin finding his rhythm in The Jerk. But it’s something I can rope my kids into doing with me right in the living room. So yes! And I am actually very excited about getting a little more healthy… And maybe I can spread my enthusiasm; encourage a few people to make a good choice or two. Because little choices add up. (See, that’s like something I could text to the group.)

I love the little sign -signifying the foot path…

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Just a little reminder to stay on course.

 

 

Loving Lately ❤

Loving Lately: The Treadmill

So, my first Thursday “Loving Lately” rendition of the year is not as much “loving” as it is “lately”. However, I’m trying to make some better choices. It really has nothing to do with the new year or any resolutions. Inadvertently, it has plenty to do with the holidays. I know the math is very simple, if you take in (eat) more calories than you burn you hang on to the excess. Thankfully the opposite is also true… So that’s what I’m going for. Actually, I saw this little quote recently on Facebook that said “I ran my first 10K this morning! I’m just kidding. I’m on my third donut.” That’s my kind of funny. My instinct says do not let that be my kind of reality. TBD…

Diets

I like to start diets at the most inopportune times, like two days before Thanksgiving or on Christmas eve. I don’t know what my problem is. If I had to psychoanalyze myself, I’d probably say I was setting myself up for failure. But that is not how it feels at commencement; it feels very earnest as in “I don’t care what tomorrow is, I’m starting today!” But you can imagine how it ends.
So the past couple days, I’ve been contemplating, let’s just call it, healthy eating. The list of reasons why is boring, and redundant, so I’ll spare you and me. Then I’m reading this article from Food Network magazine about how much activity you need to do to burn off certain popular summer treats. And some of it is not relatable; I don’t row or play tennis. I don’t play basketball or jump rope (that’s actually a hilarious thought), and on a plus side I don’t eat lobster rolls… which means I just spared myself an hour of swimming, awesome! I do have the yard work thing under lock down which means I burned off two pieces of fried chicken last night (that’s like the same as a reuben sandwich right?) Anyway I put down my bag of honey mustard pretzels and said ok. Let’s do it. There’s not even a holiday scheduled for weeks so there’s that, momentum.