A Day on the Diet

A Day on the Diet...

What do YOU eat?  Well, I'm a very picky eater and I am an awful example of how to eat healthy, but I do my best.  For me, here's a typical daily intake.


I start my mornings with what we lovingly call "Super Coffee".  I have a Keurig machine so I use K-cups for my coffee.  And I have a Ninja Bullet.  Any blender or even a shaker will do.  I love the froth of the bullet so I use that.  Sometimes I also eat food for breakfast, sometimes no.  Mostly, I rely on the density of the coffee to hold me over till lunch time, but if I'm feeling peckish, or know that lunch might be a ways off, I will add a little bit to eat.  It is important to note at this point that:

CALORIES DON'T MATTER

So, forget what you think you know about calories and concentrate on your macros.  You'll  notice that my coffee concoction is purely fat.  That's good!  The fat macro is the biggest and sometimes most difficult to achieve when you are starting out.  It is hugely important as your adaptation from glucose to ketones is dependent on you getting low carbs and high fat in your diet.

Breakfast

For breakfast (which, by the way, is NOT the most important meal of the day and it's fine to skip it if you aren't hungry

Coffee:
Unless I'm fasting (which we'll talk about later), this is my morning ritual.  In the blender cup, I add:

1 tablespoon of coconut oil (solid or liquid does not matter)
1 tablespoon of butter (NOT margarine.  Never margarine. Always pure butter)
1/2 tablespoon of Pyure Sweetener (which equals about the sweetness of a tbsp of sugar)
2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream

I put the cup in the Keurig and brew my coffee.  Then I put the mixture on the Ninja and froth it up.  The main goal is to stir until the butter and coconut oil are fully melted and incorporated.

Total: 332 calories; 35g fat; 0g protein; 0g carbs)

Food:
During the week, I keep breakfast light and portable.  If I eat, it is usually one of two things; a peanut butter roll-up, or a bagel with cream cheese.  Yep, I said a bagel...but not just any bagel, of course.

First the peanut butter roll-up:  I take a 1/4 piece of Joseph's Lavash, and smear it with 1 tablespoon Creamy Peanut Butter.  The Lavash is a low-carb flat bread that I can sometimes find it at my local Walmart.  This product is a staple in my house.  I buy 5-6 packages at a time and toss them in the freezer till ready to use.  A typical serving is 1/2 a piece of Lavash, but I only need half of that for my roll-up.  Just spread the peanut butter on the flatbread, roll it up, and enjoy.

Now the bagel.  I buy ZERO CARB bagels made by ThinSlim.  They are not exactly the same as full carb bagels, but they are good with cream cheese or peanut butter, or even to hold that burger together for you.  I halve the bagel, lightly toast it, and add a tablespoon of cream cheese to each half.  Sometimes I substitute peanut butter for the cream cheese.  Also very tasty!

Lunch

For most of the week, I am away from home during lunch and that means there are three options:  Skip lunch and don't eat (which I sometimes do), plan ahead and pack a lunch (which I rarely do because I suck at it), or eat out.  Eating out can be a challenge on Keto, but it is doable.  Here are some tips for Keto fast food:

Bunless Burgers - order your favorite triple cheeseburger or bacon deluxe without the bun (for even lower carbs, leave off the ketchup too).  Order your burger without the bun and most fast food places will put it in a nice plastic container with a lid for you.  You'll typically get a knife and fork to go with it and your burger might even be sitting on a pretty piece of lettuce.  You can then either dive into your meat salad, or (and this is what I like to do), move the burger et al to a half slice of Lavash -- which I typically keep in my purse in a ziplock bag), fold it over and enjoy.

Chicken Wings - Chicken wings in and of themselves have zero carbs.  The carbs come in the sauce so if you choose carefully, you can go really low carb for lunch.  Stay away from barbecue, teriyaki, and honey based sauces.  Choose instead to go with buffalo, garlic and butter, salt and vinegar, etc.

Salad - Yeah, that's always an option.  Anybody who knows me, though, knows that I don't eat salad (or any leafy greens).  As I said at the beginning of the blog, I'm picky and I'm not a great example.  For salads, stay away from sweet dressings, beans, croutons, fruits (raisins, cranberries, apples, etc.) and chose your dressing carefully.

Burrito Bowls - Did you know that a simple burrito wrap can have 30-50 carbs!?  That alone could wreck your day.  Instead, ask for your ingredients in a bowl rather than the wrap.  Bulk up on the greens. Go heavy on the meat and cheese and light on the beans.  Skip the rice all together and you can keep a burrito bowl relatively low carb.

Egg-Based Breakfast - Many diners and some fast food places offer breakfast all day.  You can order a la carte if necessary and just ask for your eggs (fast food places call them egg rounds or folded eggs), some bacon or sausage -- or both and enjoy.  Skip the toast, hash browns, and pancakes, naturally.

"Unwiches" - Sandwich shops and fast food places are notorious for "unwiches".  This is basically your typical sub, wrap, sandwich, etc wrapped up in a nice lettuce wrap, burrito style.  Go for the mayo, cheese, and other high-fat add-ons and you can build a sandwich that won't leave you missing your bread.

Dinner

This is the meal where I experiment and make new things.  Cooking is almost a necessity to do Keto well, although if you aren't gifted in the kitchen, it's okay.  Many Keto recipes are simple and made with only a few ingredients.  I try to plan a protein option and a veggie option for each meal and I use fats as liberally as possible.  Sometimes simple food is best.  My most common menu items are below.  I will add some recipes as I can.  All of my recipes are tested in my kitchen and tweaked to my satisfaction.  We typically enjoy simple dinners such as:

Baked chicken, Steak, Pot Roast, or Stuffed mushrooms with:
Creamy garlic green beans, Yellow squash, Roasted brussel sprouts, or Steamed asparagus

Dessert

To get you started, here's one of my favorite dessert recipes:
Cream Cheese Delight.  This one is yummy, quick, easy, and everybody loves it!

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Have a blessed day!