Keto: Coffee

Welcome to Wednesday!

I know Wednesdays are not always easy so I thought I would talk about something very midweek appropriate topic. Coffee!! Yay!!

More specifically bulletproof coffee or Keto coffee.

six white ceramic mugs — Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

I prefer to call it Keto coffee, for…well reasons. Anyway Keto coffee is a great way to start your day. Not only does it taste delicious, and help you hit your macros but it also gives you a nice energy boost. I’ll explain why in just a minute.

Let’s dive in!

When I first started Keto I had some trouble getting my fat count up there. Of course when doing something new it does take a little time to figure things out. So I started looking around and after doing some research I decided I would try out Keto coffee.

There are about a million different versions of keto coffee so really the possibilities are endless, though you should not get too crazy. It’s easy to go over your fat goals. Especially once you get into the swing of things. When I first started I was putting coconut oil, butter, 5 drops stevia and a sprinkle of pink sea salt into a blender with 12 oz of brewed coffee. My blender is kind of weak so it takes about a minute to blend this together.

While this was a delicious combo, it simply became too much because I like to have a second cup, either in the morning or in the afternoon. It would drive my fat, and calorie count way up. Also this is extremely filling, and I wouldn’t want to eat breakfast. Which would be ok except i prefer to take my medicine and vitamins in the morning. Without eating something before taking them I would feel very nauseous.

art beverage blur caffeine — Photo by Chevanon Photography on Pexels.com

Then I switched to coconut oil and a little heavy cream. This helped some I wasn’t quite as full but I was still able to have my fancy frothy coffee. After a little while of having this coffee I decided that having such a heavy coffee in the morning just wasn’t working out for me. I’d much rather be able to have a little bit bigger breakfast then a heavy coffee.

Which brings us to my current go-to. Super simple two tablespoons heavy whipping cream, one tablespoon Torell sugar-free vanilla syrup, 6 drops of stevia and a sprinkle of himalayan pink sea salt. I am definitely considering getting a milk frother because I’ve heard a lot of people use those to blend their coffee and for something as simple as heavy cream I’m sure it’d be perfect.

Alright so let’s talk about the benefits, beyond getting your fat count up. The big one is energy. We all need it especially in the morning. The main goal of following the Keto way of eating or Keto lifestyle is to become a fat burner. This means that your body will use fat as the main source of fuel.

From the research I’ve read for a lot of people this is the ideal energy source for their body. I definitely feel that that is true for me as well. Then it stands to reason if you give your body a large helping of fat it’s going to result in a boost of energy. The best way to do this is to actually aim for MCT in your coffee.

MCT stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides. A very common way to get MCT is coconut oil. Some people like to add straight MCT oil to their coffee. This is not possible for everyone straight MCT oil can do a number on some people’s stomachs. So it’s definitely recommended to take it slow. I myself haven’t tried it yet but it is something I plan on doing in the future. Perhaps after I get a frother or a more powerful blender

The reason why these are the best is because your body can use these as instant energy, it doesn’t have to be broken down first. Also it is said that MCTs can help keep you full longer, this is a big help for those of us trying to lose weight. When we actually feel full we’re a lot less likely to mindless snack.

It’s not just MCTs that can help you feel full longer. Having a high fat diet helps you to overall feel full for a longer time. That’s one of the reasons why the Keto diet is effective at helping people to lose weight. Starting your day with a fatty coffee will help you get to lunch and sometimes beyond.

Do any of you guys drink Keto coffee? What’s your favorite way to have it? I would love to hear from you!! Good luck with your week and as always Live Crazed!!

Keto: Cinnamon Toast Crunch

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Happy Monday all!

I hope you had a fun and safe weekend full of laughter and good food. This weekend I found myself craving a bowl of cereal. Before I started Keto I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast just about every morning. It was always the perfect combo of sweet and crunchy.

So I decided that I would try and make a Keto friendly Cinnamon Toast crunch!!

Well my first attempt actually came out pretty great. There may be a time that I take another look at this recipe and revise it but for now it was good enough for me.

Lets get started!!

Here’s what you’ll need. (With links to the products I use.)

For the Cereal:
-1 egg
-1 TBSP Cinnamon
-2 TBSP Erythritol
-1 ¾ cups Almond Flour

For the topping:

-1 TBSP butter (melted)
-1 Tbsp cinnamon
-2 TBSP Erythritol

Now to put it together:

Step one: Turn oven to 350 to preheat. Mix the erythritol and cinnamon together for the topping.

Step two: Whisk egg, cinnamon, and erythritol together
Step three: Mix in Almond flour, I use a baking spatula. Stir until a dough ball forms.
Step four: Place dough ball onto parchment paper and flatten it out some with your hands. I put a baking mat on the counter before parchment to keep it from sliding around.

Step five: Put another piece of parchment over the dough and roll it out. Be patient! Go slowly. I’d recommend flipping the dough and parchment sandwich from time to time. The bottom parchment will bunch up under the dough, this will cause the dough to crack. Be sure to roll it out very thin. About a cm thick if you can manage it. My first attempt I made them much too thick. It was a not hard to chew but just not the right texture.
Step six: Once the dough is rolled out cut it into small inch by inch squares or smaller. I went a little smaller but not consistently >_<.

Step seven: Bake the squares for about 20 mins. Be sure to check on them after ten minutes. The Edges are likely to cook faster and should be taken off the tray to cool then put the rest back in.
Step eight: While the squares are still warm brush them with butter and sprinkle with the topping mixture. Flip and repeat on the other side. I found that sprinkling the cereal puts a better amount of topping on there rather than putting the butter brushed pieces directly into the mix. To me that was just too much.

Step nine: Enjoy! Start small though this gets very filling very fast. I recommend a cup or less of cereal with some unsweetened almond milk.

And there it is!! It was just what I needed to fight that very serious cereal craving! Have you guys tried any keto cereals? What did you try? Please let me know what you think and follow blog to stay up to date on all things crazy! Feel free to share this post everywhere! And Have a great day! Live Crazed all!

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: Getting Started

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Hey All!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I am very quick to talk about Keto and how much I love it. While I’ve only been Keto for a bit over a month but I’m sure that it’s for life. My body is definitely on board for this lifestyle. And I can’t help but want to share it with everyone, in the hopes that it can help them the way it helped me.

It’s important to throw out there that while Keto has worked for me it doesn’t mean that its perfect for everybody, every person is different and everyone’s body works in their own ways. There are many reasons to at least try keto, help with weight-loss, a clearer mind, more energy, and delicious food. In case you believe that keto could be for you I am here to help!

Lets get started!

Okay so the first very important thing is research. You shouldn’t jump into anything without first knowing what you’re getting yourself into. The main thing you should be looking for are a recommended food list, with the foods that you should not be having. A big goal with keto is to go with minimally processed food, and to stay far far away from sugar in any form that will mess with your blood sugar levels. Screenshot_20180521-133359

The overall goal is to become a fat burner not a sugar burner. This is when you start to lose weight and begin to reap the other benefits of Keto. Also you should take the time to sit down and write why you want to do this, and really think about it. Yes a lot of us want to lose weight but try to dig deeper than that. I have mine written in my fitness journal.

Another very important research tool is going to be a macro calculator. This will help you determine macros specific for you. Many macro tracking apps have one built in or you can find a ton online. That is another highly recommended piece of research to do. Find a tracking app that you like.

Personally I use CarbManager. I like how its set up its really easy to use. It has the option to save favorite foods, copy meals to a new day, and also input a recipe and it will give you the nutritional info per serving. The premium version has a ton more bells and whistles but I’ve been quite happy with the free version.

When you do start to track be brutally honest.

You’re only hurting yourself when you sneak things past your tracker. When you’re being honest you will be more likely to make better progress and get into ketosis faster. It’s true that the numbers may seem discouraging at first but when you fully commit and you can get passed cravings and sugar/ carb addiction and start nailing those macros, you will feel a big sense of accomplishment. After that everything will get easier.

I would also highly recommend keeping track of your end of day macros. For me its part of my fitness journal. You can read more about my journal here, in another post. I find it really useful to be able to look at my daily macros all together instead of flipping through the app.

Alright so after you’ve done that research and you have a pretty general idea of the kinds of things you’ll be eating, I HIGHLY recommend that you do some meal planning. It can be extremely overwhelming to start a new diet especially when its important that you hit your macros.

A word of caution: take it slow.

You will no doubt see a million recipes for tasty Keto deserts and breads and whatnot. If you are new to Keto and you start trying some of these recipes before your adapted to the keto way of eating, they most likely taste off, and you could get discouraged.

Adjusting to different sweeteners can take time and if you are still sugar addicted then making keto sweets is not recommended. Trying a fat bomb or two, however, would be highly recommended and for me keeping a good PB and 75% or higher chocolate on hand was extremely important.

I really love Smuckers natural chunky pb. You can check it out here. The only ingredients are peanuts and less than 1% salt. One serving is 2 tbs; with 2 net carbs, 16g fat, 8g protein and 180 calories. Yes the calories are a little high and I definitely had to start restricting my pb after a little while but it helped a lot at first. It was slightly sweet, felt like a treat and was filling. Confession when I started and cravings were bad I would dip my chocolate into my pb more often then not, but I have since switched to celery.

I do feel like I should add that sugar is a very real addiction. So once you stop in taking carbs and sugar you body will go through withdrawal. I believe this is what some people will call keto flu. The symptoms can be very much like the flu but it will pass.

It does not last forever.

For some, the best option is to wean off slowly. Start with 150 carbs and go down until you reach 20 or less. Some people will not get into Ketosis until they are under 20 carbs a day for anywhere from 3 days to a week.

For me I had already cut most carbs out of my diet so I went through my main withdrawl problem before starting keto. The biggest thing for me was finding a sugar replacement for my coffee. When I first started keto I cut back the sugar in my coffee to about 1 teaspoon per cup, until I found a stevia I liked. The one I use is an alcohol free liquid stevia you and find it here.

As for coffee, I started drinking Keto coffee, or butter coffee or bulletproof coffee whatever you’d like to call it. My morning cup has 12oz brewed coffee, 1tbs butter, 1 tbs coconut oil a little cinnamon and 6 drops of stevia. All tossed in the blender for 30+ seconds. So tasty, and it helps a whole lot for getting the fat grams up there.

For those crazy people out there that don’t like coffee a good replacement for this would be a bulletproof bone broth, or I’ve see a few recipes for bulletproof teas. I haven’t tried the tea but the broth is quite tasty.

Let’s talk about carbs.

It’s really processed sugars/carbs are the things to avoid while keto. Don’t be afraid of veggies even though they do have carbs. Vegetables should be your main source of carbs. Dark green veggies to be specific. Potatoes have a lot or carbs that will get broken down to sugar. If you are at a stage where you are just maintaining your weight then you can have a higher carb limit, then potatoes could become a sometimes thing. If you’re really craving potatoes the mashed cauliflower, made up like a loaded baked potato with cheese sour cream and bacon, is amazing.

The biggest piece of advice I can give is to have a plan, have someone you can talk to (preferably that also does keto) and cut yourself some slack. Its ok to make mistakes. Just don’t let it be a whole day. Accept the mistake and move forward. We’re only human after all, we all make mistakes. Just do your best to try and be aware. And drink a ton of water, I mean it.

Ready to get started? Do you have more questions? I am always here to ask questions or to bounce ideas off from. If you haven’t already I would highly recommend checking out some of my other posts for some keto other ideas that could help, and of course following my blog to keep up-to- date on all the fun craziness here. Don’t forget life is short Live Crazed!