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!!

Organization: My Planner

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Hey all to another fine Wednesday!!

I am excited to share something with you guys today. I am super into being organized and though I haven’t always kept up with I’m very glad I’ve been doing more with it lately. It started with binders so I could work out all the details.

This worked great for a while, but then I start to slip.

It was becoming a hassle to have several different binders all with different information. Having to look through several binders to find the things I need for the week. That is when I started looking for a planner. I needed a place to keep all my nicely organized information in an easily accessible place.

So the hunt began.

It was super hard to decide on one. There was so many different styles and sizes out there. I couldn’t decide how big of a planner I needed. I didn’t want too much space, but I was also afraid to have too little. Honestly it took me probably almost two weeks to decide. I kept going back and forth between a larger one and the one I picked.

I really put a lot of pressure on myself to pick the right one. I tend to think that a lot of decisions are going to make or break my efforts. This may seem silly to some, but its very real for me. I really feel like it’s the tools you use that really decide whether or not the job gets done.

Then I found it!!

I love the layout, its not very big but its not tiny either. To check it out you can find it Here. It’s been working out really well. Though next time I may go for the bigger planner. I sometimes run out of room, for everything I want to put in there. I like to plan out my day a bit. This way if I follow it I have some tiny victories to celebrate throughout the day.

Also in my planner I have my upcoming blog posts for the days I want to post them. I add the bills we have on the days they are to be paid. I put in the dinners we have planned in for each day as well. These are all the things that I add to my planner before the beginning of the month. I don’t like to start the month not knowing what’s going on. With two small boys and trying to get my blog off the ground, I don’t have the time to go blindly into the weeks ahead.
I am a HUGE fan of stamps and stickers, they are a really easy way to add some color and textures to the weekly view. I also love adding motivational quotes through out my planner including my Logo! Woot! One of my favorite parts of setting up my planner is looking for new motivation. It really gets me excited for the upcoming month.

Check out these fun Stamps and Stickers!

-Essential Planner Stamps

-Awesome Stickers!

Not everything goes according to plan.

Which really is fine, I more am interested in having some sort of plan in place. This way I at least have something to follow along with on days that I am struggling. Also with dinners planned we’ve been able to cut back on our grocery bill. It’s also been nice to sit down with my husband and figure out our month.
I also plan things to do for myself. This way I know what to expect and I know when I need to make time for myself, otherwise I just get kind of caught up in life. Taking the time of myself is very important. I spend so much time taking care of everyone else and keeping the house together I forget to spend time on myself. When I do I always feel better and more like I’m a present and important part of my life.

And there it is! The glue that holds my months and days together. Without my planner I’d be lost. Do any of you guys keep a planner? What do you think is essential for your planning needs? Please let me know and follow so you can keep up to date. And don’t forget to always Live Crazed!

Getting Organized: Meal Planning

Welcome to Friday!

It is a beautiful day outside, can’t wait to take the boys outside so they can play while I sit in a the sun and plan for June. One of my main things to plan is our meals for the month. I find it a lot easier to just plan for the whole month even though I grocery shop every two weeks. Today I’m going to go over my Meal Planning Binder. It was one of the first binders that I started using. There’s definitely some improvements that can be made but so far I’m very happy with the help it gives.
Meal planning is definitely very important, not only for budget reasons but also for sanity reasons. Having two small, very busy boys I definitely don’t have time to decide what I want to make on a day to day basis. Also complicated meals are out. But I also want to make sure that they are eating good homemade food not just super processed sugar filled junk. It is tempting to just eat out and get a quick bite that I don’t have to cook but then my family is eating a ton of fillers that don’t keep you full for long.

Currently my boys are kind of picky so that makes meal planning a little tricky too. I want to have enough variety that they will come out of their pickiness but I want to make sure they are eating enough. I also have not tried to convert my family over to Keto with me. They are all about their carbs, but maybe one day.
The way I have my binder set up dinners for the month have their own page. This to me is the complicated meal so its got to be planned. The way we like it we have three days a week that are the same week to week. We have Meatball Mondays, Burrito Wednesdays, and Pizza Fridays. This is a huge help with planning the consistency makes everyone happy. After those days I have eight options for the other days. This may not seem like a lot but for my family it works. There’s enough options that we aren’t having exactly the same things every week but it’s simple enough that I’m not going extra crazy trying to make and prepare for all these different meals.

A lot of my go-to meals to make for my family are made up of similar things. For example 2 of the 8 options are made up of ground beef as well as meatball Monday. Then 2 use pizza fixings. We also have ham, chicken and sausage. The chicken and sausage are also used for lunches, and on burrito night we usually have chicken burritos. Having similar things also helps to keep the budget down, and also helps to speed up meal- prep but I’ll cover that next Wednesday. On the dinner worksheet I have a place for a few sides.

When I first started meal planning I didn’t include the side but I found that left me frazzled and scrambling at meal times. The main thing is that none of these meals takes a lot of time, and having it set up for the month saves a lot of time and money.

Moving on

Breakfast, lunch and snacks have a page together. I do this because all of those are more-so options then set meals. I don’t always give my boys an option for those meals but it’s all quick and simple items to keep us moving through out the day. I make a point to make sure there aren’t a surplus of options. Around four to five options for each seems to be what works for us.
As it stands now I only meal plan for my family. Then, for myself I kind of wing it or pick one main meal option that I prep for the week and have mainly snack plates for lunch and eggs for breakfast. In the very near future I will whip up a template to start meal planning for myself. This will ensure that I’m never left wondering what I will have, which will cut down on possibilities of slipping.

It will also keep me from ending up with too many options and over spending on groceries for myself. Too many options can be just as bad as not having enough. With too many options it can be hard to decide what to have, and its more likely that items will go bad before you have a chance to use them all.
Another thing that I want to add to my meal planning binder is a pantry/ freezer inventory list. That way I can keep track of what we have on hand, quickly and easily. This will help with getting the budget under control as well. By tracking what we have vs what we use I’ll be able to really see what we use in a two week time period. I believe it will help a lot not only cut down on waste but help be more organized and prepared. Especially with summer coming up and summer = no time for anything, because the boys want to be outside all the time. This is a great thing but it also means I can’t spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen.
Well there it is my Meal Planning Binder! It is still a work in progress but it is still a huge help. Do any of you keep a meal planning binder? If you do what’s the system that works for you? Please follow my blog and don’t forget to Live draze

Keto: Quick Meal Solutions

Good Morning!!

We all get busy, we lose track of time, we take on too much, it happens. That’s why its important to have a plan. If you don’t then that’s when you go looking for something quick and easy. And probably loaded with carbs, which for those of us trying to keep it keto is really bad. Also tends to be hard to resist.

Its true we don’t always have the time to cook up something super tasty and healthy that hits all the right macros. There are options, you just have to be prepared with a few groceries. The best way is meal prep but let’s be honest none of us are on our game all the time. Have no fear I’m here to help. As a mother of two that are under five years old, I run out of time…All the time. And while meal prep is a life saver, or a body saver I should say, there are still days that I don’t have something ready or I’m sick of what I have.

I suppose the place to start is breakfast.

While any of the options I’m giving today could be used and for any meal, I’m still going to break it up. For organization purposes. Alright the obvious one for breakfast is eggs. It’s almost never that I don’t have eggs on hand. Scrambled in butter is probably the most straight forward. This is easily enhanced by throwing in some cheese or veggies or both!

Another favorite of mine is a egg roll-up. Its like making an omelet only you roll it up and you can eat it with your hands. What goes into the roll entirely depends on what I have on hand. Sometimes it’s just cheese sometimes its cheese bacon and spinach. But the possibilities are endless. Most importantly its quick simple and always tasty.

Moving on to lunch.

One of my favorite lunches even when I have meal prepped is a snack plate. One of my go-to plates consist of a sweet Italian sausage link, 2 oz. of cheese, 1oz mixed nuts or almonds. If I don’t have sausage sometimes I’ll go for some salami, or ham or whatever I have on hand. Sometime I will sub out the nuts for some veggies, broccoli or asparagus are usually what I have. Other times I’ll have 2tbs Peanut Butter and 2 stalks of celery, with any combo of other things.

If I have some kind of left overs from the night before I will sometimes have that. Or if I have chicken made I’ll sometimes have a salad, with blue cheese dressing and bacon if I have any made. Of course you could add more if you like other things like tomatoes or onions just make sure to check on carb amounts. That’s why I tend to keep it super simple, less carbs to worry about.

That leaves us with dinner.

Dinner is tricky because a lot of people think of dinner as a bigger more complicated meal. It can be depending on what you have on hand but if you’re not prepped your options can be kind of limited. And if you are pressed for time dressing up one of the lunch or breakfast options would definitely be best. Those are the days I usually go for a salad. If I have a little more time then I will make a turkey burger, I usually keep some in the freezer just in case. With a turkey burger I keep it really simple, most of the time I just put a serving of mayo on top and find a veggie for the side. Super simple, also great for meal prep, just saying.

IMG_20180413_175508563_LL — Spinach salad with chicken, pastrami and blue cheese dressing.

Well there you have it my quick list of quick and easy meals. All very easy to make and to me at least super tasty. Just be aware that you need to make sure you are tracking so you can find the right combo to hit your macros. Also I HIGHLY recommend a kitchen scale it makes everything much more accurate, so the food your logging will give you your actual macros not just what you think you’re eating.

Simple enough? What are some of your favorite quick keto meals? Please let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to follow my blog. Fridays post will be about my meal planning binder! Live Crazed all and See you later!

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!