Keto – Live Crazed

Keto: Quick and Simple Snacks

Good Morning! Here we are starting yet another Monday.

I don’t know about you, but over the weekend all I wanted was snacks. To just go through my days munching on things. This actually happens to me ALL the time. I just love snacking. I feel like I’m always on the move, so having something I can munch on over a period of time just sounds amazing. This was definitely a HUGE problem for me before I started Keto, and I’m sure it was part of the reason I had such a hard time losing weight. One of the many pieces of a puzzle.
After starting Keto its definitely been a lot better, there are still days though where the snack attack is real. It did take me a while to find some keto snacks that were quick enough for my level of busy/ laziness. There are some times where I’m willing to take more than a few minutes but not usually.

So lets get started.

We will start with my favorite no prep. Peanut Butter!! Specifically Smuckers Chunky Peanut Butter, or Creamy is really tasty too. This is almost always my go to snack. It may not be the best choice but its probably my favorite. It is a higher calorie choice so it’s not always good that it is my go to snack. It never disappoints and is filling. I do have it a few different ways. Measured out With celery is probably the healthiest option, so it is the one I try to go for. I actually find it pretty filling which is good because of the high calories in the Peanut Butter. IMG_20180607_190813_770
I also like to have a quick spoonful here and there. This is pretty dangerous because it will not be accurate with tracking amounts but in a pinch it’s a great quick snack. If I’m craving a sweeter snack my peanut butter fix is to take a serving ( 2tbs) of PB and add a sprinkle of Lily’s chocolate chips to it. If I had to guess I’d say about 20 chips (60 is a serving.)

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I used to scoop a bite of PB with a square of a 85% chocolate bar. This was is dangerous in the same way as using a spoon. Its not easily track able and also it seems like such a little harmless treat that you could just not track it. This is not a good practice. PB and chocolate both have calories and carbs so if you don’t track these treats you can easily go over. This can cause weight loss stalls and bump you out of ketosis.
The other no prep snack that I really like are pork rinds. BBQ is definitely my favorite. I have tried to stop having these as much however because I seem to always have too many. They are just so crunchy and salty that its very hard to stop eating them. Even though they are a zero carb snack they can still cause you to get your protein up to high, quickly.
This also goes with Nuts. They are a wonderful quick, filling and tasty snack. But they can quickly get your calories, protein and carbs up. When traveling though nuts are a readily available snack. I actually had a good find over this weekend. I went to my in-laws without any snacks. Very unlike me because I usually like to be prepared. On a quick trip to the dollar general I found a nut mix with pistachios!! I probably over did it snacking on those, but it was super delicious.

The next quick snack I like is crisps. There are three different kinds of crisps that I like to make. The fastest would be either pepperoni or salami crisps. I prefer to use the bigger slices over like the pizza topping sized slices. To make them into crisps I just put them between paper towels and stick them in the microwave for 40-60 seconds. After 30-40 seconds I usually check them and flip them, sometimes switching out the paper towels. Then adding more time to reach my desired level of crispiness.

Before

After 50 seconds

The third type of crisp is cheese crisps. These do take 15-20 minutes but you can make larger batches. they could be prepped for the week or just make some extras when you decide you want some. My personal go-to way to make them is using pre-sliced cheddar cheese. You can break one slice into 4 pieces, making 4 crisps. Also this way, vs using shredded cheese, they tend to cook more evenly.

When making the crisp you can simply break up the slices lay them on parchment paper on a pan and pop it into the oven. I usually go with a oven temp of 350, because that’s what it is auto on. Lately though I’ve been adding just a little seasoning to mine, and I’ve got to tell you its amazing. I have been going for a little sprinkle of Lawry salt and/or garlic. Super simple but it makes a big difference. Soon I might try some taco seasoning or ranch mix. If you tend to like spice crushed red peppers or cayenne pepper would be very tasty. And best of all Toddler Approved!

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There it is. My group of little to no effort snacks. Have you tried any of these? What is your go-to when you’re having a snack attack? I would love to hear from you! Follow this blog to stay up to date on all the craziness! You can also find links to my social media accounts in the sidebar! I hope to see you around and don’t forget to Live Crazed!

Keto: On the Journey

Good morning all!

So I wasn’t planning on sharing any transformation related things until I reached my goal weight. However I have decided that the journey is very important. And that for those who are thinking about going a weight loss/ keto path as well should get an idea as to what to expect. Or if you are currently struggling while on your journey.

True that not everyone will have the same experience but you’re never alone. There is probably someone out there that has gone through the struggles or fears you face. I have definitely been through many ups and downs. I know I still don’t have it all figured out, but no body does.

I’m going to give you some back story. All through middle/ high school I struggled with weight. My mom is a phenomenal cook and I am an emotional eater. Not a good combo. Still there’s no ones cooking I love as much as my moms. After high school I went to collage and walked a whole lot. My school was a mile away and I didn’t have a car. This definitely helped but I still never got to where I thought I should be. I was around 150-155 lbs and nothing seemed to help.

While I was at collage I met my husband. We were together for almost five years before getting married. (We got married 5-5-13, just to give you a little bit of a timeline.) Funny story a month after announcing to my family that we had set a wedding date, we had to change it. I was pregnant and my due date was 3 days before our planned wedding date.

Good times… So I ended up being 5 months pregnant when we got married. Not something I would recommend it was very uncomfortable. The wedding photos of me are not my favorite either. Hindsight is generally 20/20, but life moves on. I was up to 190 lbs before I gave birth to my first amazing little man.

During the first year after he was born I was able to lose a bunch of weight and get down to the lowest weight I can remember 147. Well Unfortunately that didn’t last long, as I become pregnant again. And once again I got up to 190 lbs before I gave birth to my second amazing little man.

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This time however the weight wouldn’t come off.

I exercised I tried changing my birth control, I thought I was eating healthy. All while chasing after two little boys. No matter what I did my weight stayed in the 167 to 175 range. For two years I struggled with this. Until one day while I was at the doctor I saw someone, who was different than who I normally saw. This Doctor told me about his lifestyle choice; Keto. At first I was skeptical. I had already considered myself low carb, and with a pretty healthy lifestyle.

What could be so different about keto?

That’s when he explained to me the difference between a sugar burner and a fat burner. That was enough for me to look into it and give it a try. The thought of burning fat (yes please), not getting hangry all the time, and having a clear alert mind, what could be bad? I’d say the bad is fighting my emotional eating habits. It has been a lot easier since being a bit into my keto journey, but I still have bad days.

There are also days where I feel overwhelmed and whatever the kids are eating looks so tasty. I’m fairly ashamed to admit how much I’ve actually given in to those fleeting thoughts the last week or so. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I realized how bad I had gotten.

For the entire first month and a half to two months of keto I did great I nailed my macros more days than not, I for a stevia I liked and got away from sugar. Thought I was in the clear. However once I stopped tracking my macros and holding myself accountable, a French toast stick here couldn’t be bad, and a handful of Chex mix there, what’s the harm? Chocolate chips, overeating peanut butter, having a few pretzels.

All these little things I’d tell myself would be no harm done, were actually causing harm.

I noticed I was feeling a bit hangry more often, my face started to break out and I couldn’t get through the afternoon without a snack. My stomach hurt and I often was feeling sick. These were the signs of my body telling me what I was doing was not good for me.

So I came up with a plan.

I would come clean on my sneaky grazing habits and move forward. Its been a rough couple days feel like I’m detoxing all over again, but I know I’ll be better for it. Though I do have to remind myself “I will not cheat today” over and over, it’ll be worth it. I know that being keto is what I want and I will not left myself be the only thing standing in my way of a better me. In the two and a half months I’ve been Keto I have lost about 18 lbs. After two years of struggling and trying and being told I must not be trying hard enough, I finally saw results. I am currently about 152lbs.

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It was a pretty intense experience for me. I feel like I have a new look on life. For a long time all I could think about was having the perfect body and getting my weight down. Now I just want to feel better, more fit, more in control. I still have a goal weight; of 140lbs but its not hanging over my head anymore. It truly is freeing when you like go of a specific you that you want and just focus on being a better you than you are today.

There’s my summed up journey so far, still have a ways to go but I am actually looking forward to it. Has anyone else struggled with the nibble problem? How did you overcome it? I’d love to hear from you with your thoughts/ struggles. I also hope that you will follow my blog and stay up to date on the crazy show that is my life. Thanks all! Don’t forget Live Crazed!!

Keto: Meal Prep

Hello Monday!

I don’t know about you but I was dragging myself to coffee this morning I did not want to get out of bed. That’s the fun of kids though they really don’t give you a stay in bed option. I would say that’s a good and bad thing about kids, they keep you busy and moving, even when you don’t want too. While I’ve grown used to being very busy, I’ve noticed that if I’m not prepared I find it almost impossible to stick to my keto lifestyle.

Those pesky carbs are in everything, so if you’re not prepared with low carb options your macros will go awry. Today I’m sharing my basic keto meal prep for the week. Actually most of what I show will last almost two weeks because we try to only biweekly grocery shop.

Lets get started!

As we go through I’m going to list everything in the order I make it. The first thing I do is turn the oven to 350 and get the chicken ready. This week I decided to do a butter, lemon, pepper chicken. To get this ready I portion out the chicken. I always buy a big package of chicken and use it for lunches and s couple dinners. We like to have burrito night every Wednesday and some for bbq chicken during the week. After it’s all portioned I add about half a stick of melted butter and seasonings to the bag I had put chicken for my lunches. I then I let that sit while I do some other prep.

Once the chicken is marinating I get the bacon cooking. I always bake mine. I really like how it comes out and I don’t have to stand over it. It bakes for 10 to 12 minutes. During that time I work on my vegetables. I steam my main vegetable for the week. This week was broccoli, other times its asparagus. While I’m waiting for the water to boil I chop the broccoli. Easy enough, pretty straight forward. Once the water is boiling it only takes maybe five minutes for it to cook. Once the bacon and broccoli are done I get the chicken in the oven.

As the chicken bakes I cut up celery and cheese for snacks. For the celery it says 2 stalks is a serving so when I cut it I keep it portioned that way. I started wrapping the portions in foil because I read that, that will keep it fresh longer. We shall see if that’s true. Sometimes I will portion out some peanut butter to go with the celery if I know we’re going somewhere and I could need a snack. As for the cheese I’ve done prepped it enough times that I’m pretty good at splitting a block into eight one ounce chunks.

Also while the chicken cooks I get my breakfasts prepped. To start this I cook the breakfast sausage. After it’s done cooking I make sure its in small pieces. I then mix up some eggs this week I was making 6 egg muffins for a quick breakfast option. It’s one egg per muffin so I used 6 eggs and a tablespoon of heavy cream, whisked together. This week I went simple sausage and cheese muffins.

I prefer to put the sausage and cheese into the baking cups before adding the egg. Then I’m sure its not going to overflow. By now the chicken is ready to come out or has already come out of the oven, so the breakfast cups go right in. The egg muffins take about 20 minutes. IMG_20180603_134321723

While those cook I cut and portion my chicken and broccoli. I do 3oz of chicken and 1.5oz broccoli. At this point I don’t add any extras to this so that I can customize to the day. Such as bacon and butter on my broccoli or cheese sauce or buffalo sauce. Just depends on the day, but they are ready to go for the most part.

There is also usually some extra chicken that I just cube and have ready for snack plates or salads. Once the egg muffins are done they just need to cool before going into a container. And there it is that’s a basic prep for a keto week for me. I do usually prep a butter/ coconut oil bomb for my morning coffee, but very sadly I didn’t realize I was almost out of coconut oil, so that will have to wait. IMG_20180603_140625989

I find it important to note that there are some things I keep on hand that I don’t prep. Such as a bag of spinach, and sliced turkey. Does this sounds simple enough to you? If you have any questions please ask! Do any of you meal prep? What are the kinds of thing you like to have on hand? Please Follow my blog and as always Live Crazed!

Keto Crackers and Artichoke Dip

Here we are at Wednesday,

Half way there but still a couple days to go. I’ve got a tasty recipe to share with you today. Hopefully it will help enjoy the rest of the week or give you something to look forward to for the weekend. I made this artichoke dip and cracker combo for Memorial Day and it was extremely tasty. Also quite filling.

Importantly, to me, it’s also Keto friendly!

Which made it extra wonderful as there was something I could really enjoy at the cookout. I definitely plan on making this again for future cookouts and in smaller batches when I need a tasty treat.

As far as the crackers I was so happily surprised! I used almond flour and the slight nutty tasty was a great addition, to the overall flavor. The dip is quicker so lets do that first. There are only three main ingredients. I love simple recipes I find they are usually delicious and very easily customizable.

In the dip there is mayo, a can of artichokes and cheese. Super simple right?! As for the cheese I used a mix of Colby and shredded parmesan and the flavor was absolute spot on. Though I definitely think if you like a little bit spice you could use pepper jack and Parmesan and maybe add a few chopped jalapenos to the mix. To be honest I’m a bit of a baby when it comes to spicy food, but that way sounds good to me.

It’s super simple to throw this dip together you simply mix all the ingredients, then pour it into a baking dish and bake at 350, for 30- 45 mins. The top should be light brown when done. It will look a little greasy when it’s done and that’s completely normal. 2018-05-30_11.55.54

Alright so what you need is: 8oz Mayonnaise, 8oz can of artichokes, 8oz of Cheese, 1 tsp Garlic powder ½ tsp Onion Powder. For mine I did a combo of 5oz shredded Colby and 3oz shredded Parmesan. There’s no need to add salt because the cheese is salty enough. If you like black pepper that would be a good addition. Now for the crackers. This was my first attempt at crackers, so I may do another post with another cracker recipe but I still found this one to be rather tasty.

For the crackers you need: 1 ¾ cups of Almond flour, 2 tbs Milled flax seed, 1tsp garlic powder, ½ tbs salt, and 1 large egg, also extra salt to sprinkle on the top before baking. The oven should be at 350. First mix together everything but the flour. Once fully combined you can add the flour and stir until a cohesive dough forms. Once it’s a dough it’s easiest to put it between two sheets of parchment to roll it out. You want to get it really thin, about 1/8th of an inch thick. When its fully rolled out the dough should measure approximately 10” x 12” or larger. After removing the top parchment use a knife or pizza cutter make 1” squares. Then they’re ready for the oven. Just move them parchment and all to a baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with salt then stick them in the oven.

The crackers take 10-20 minutes to bake. The outside edge will cook faster so after 10 mins be sure to check and if the edge has started to brown remove the browned rows, and return the rest to the oven. Then check every 5 minutes or so to remove browned crackers. Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container, or baggie. These crackers hold up very well to dip and keep about a week (if they last that long!) IMG_20180527_161912133

There it is! I hope you get a chance to try this and please let me know what you think! Are there more recipes you’d like to see? Different crackers perhaps? I’m always open to suggestions! I hope you have a great day full of sunshine and smiles. Don’t forget to follow and as always Live Crazed!

Keep it Keto: Cookout Edition

Happy Memorial Day!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Filled with family friends and great food. For those of us who are Keto starting out or otherwise, cookouts can cause somewhat of a problem. There’s so many classic tasty carb loaded treats around how do you keep it keto? Well I’m here to help, and while I don’t claim to be perfect or go to a family cook out and still nail all my macros. There are ways that we can minimize the damage, and hopefully not run too far down the spiral of carbs and sugar. I won’t promise it’ll be easy but it can be done with the right mindset

The most important piece of advice I can give is have a plan.

Try and ask around to find out what kind of food that will be served. Then you can be prepared for knowing what you’re going to have and what you’re going to run away from. This way you also know you’re not going to be stuck with nothing to eat that isn’t going to ruin your carb count. Of course there’s going to be all sorts of carb laden things that you’ll want to sample, nibble, chomp, and taste but don’t forget that those small bites do count too. So try not to get carried away.

If you’re new to keto have a plan for your relatives. They are going to ask you lots of questions and of course give their own opinion. Remember that not everyone is ready to be friendly with fat. Just be aware that you will probably get a lot of questions and they’ll probably watch what you eat. People can’t help but be curious. You can choose not to share too that is your choice. You chose to be Keto and your reasons are your own, no one can take that away. Or you’re like me you’re willing to bend anyone’s ear that’ll listen how much you love keto. No matter what don’t forget why you started keto in the first place. Then others can say whatever they want, it doesn’t mean you have to agree.

Another solid idea is to bring something you know you can have. I went to a cook out over the weekend and I made some keto approved crackers and artichoke dip. It was absolutely amazing and surprisingly filling. This ensures that you have a fall back and it gives others the chance to try things your way. I also found it was a good opportunity to try a new recipe. I think it would have been a good idea to also bring a sweet treat to have one sweet and one savory indulge-able treat.

This next one may seem kind of obvious but I think its important to make the note of saying, to drink water. A lot of water. This will help a lot with being surrounded by cravings. If your thinking about snaking have some water and wait a few minutes. If you still want a snack keep it keto. Nuts, cheese, pepperoni all good simple choices. Water will also help your body come back from the day.

A big thing I want to touch on is while I’m saying keep it keto, at the same time don’t be too hard on yourself. Give yourself at least some calorie wiggle room, even if you’re going to aim to keep your carbs where they should be. It is supposed to be an enjoyable event after all. And if you are going to carb cheat try and pick one thing not just a free for all. For me it was a s’more. I could not resist. I resisted every other temptation, but I couldn’t say no to a S’more.

If I’m being honest it was totally worth it. I will not guilt myself for it.

I did really well the whole day. It wasn’t easy, pretzels and things just sitting there. We’re only human and if we deny ourselves everything all the time we’d be miserable. Just don’t let one thing open up the door to a day of bad eating. Have you’re indulgence and move forward.

For some trying to track your macros throughout the day will help keep yourself in check. This way you could watch closely where you are remind yourself of your goals. I had entered the day thinking I was going to track my macros, but between being surrounded by people and chasing my crazy boys around I didn’t think it was going to be worth it for me. I did decide to put it together this morning for you guys.

I kept it simple for the meal a burger with mustard and a thin slice of tomato, and some spinach with raspberry dressing. The raspberry dressing was absolutely delicious and I plan on looking for it to have from time to time. 1 net carb per serving, and a nice fresh slightly tart taste.

If you do want to track your macros but don’t have the time to sit and track everything right after you eat it you could snap a picture of what you’re having before you eat. Then when you get a chance you can go back through and log your food. This would be a really good way of holding yourself accountable. You could keep a memo on your phone of what you’ve had or actually write it down. I do wish I had kept better track of what I had eaten so I could have logged it. It’s also difficult to log because I’d have to add two recipes to my tracker app. Not a terrible thing but not something I wanted to do after the long day.

And there we are. Keeping it Keto at a cookout. It can be tough and even I don’t have it down to a science, but it can be done. Be aware, drink your water, and hold yourself accountable but don’t beat yourself up. One day isn’t going to throw off all your progress. On that same note though be sure its only one day and even better one treat. Not the whole day. It will be much better to just accept and move on. Not throw the macros away for the day. Then it will be that much harder to start back up. Did any of you attend a cookout over the weekend? Did you keep it Keto? What sort of things did you have? Please comment below, and don’t forget to follow. Most of all Live Crazed!!