Keto Meals

So I've been doing keto for a long time. My husband has lost 65 lbs in about 10 months and I am down 30lbs since I had my third baby 11 weeks ago. It works! I love that I don't track a thing. Yep, I don't count macros or calories or points (first time loosing weight and not doing that). All I ask myself before it goes in my mouth is does this have sugar or carbs? After a while of label reading you get the hang of what you should eat and what you shouldn't eat. But people ask me all the time what I cook, what I don't eat, how I handle the restrictions. First of all, I don't feel restricted, because I don't feel hungry. You are eating fat, fat is very filling and satisfying. If you can get over the sweets (lots of ways to still get a sweet fix), you can handle this new way of eating and your body will thank you for it. So below is my broad overview of keto eating.

NOT THESE FRUIT/VEGGIES-EVER!

• potatoes/sweet potatoes
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Squash
• Parsnips
• Bananas
• Pineapples
• Apples
• Grapes
• Peas
• Beans

NO GRAINS-EVER!

• Rice
• Quinoa
• Oats
• ECT.

SPARINGLY FRUIT/VEG

• Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Summer Squash
• Berries
• Nuts

EAT ALL THE TIME VEG

• Lettuce
• Avocados
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Okra
• Cucumbers
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Cabbage
• Brussels Sprouts
• Asparagus
• Kale
• Spinach
• Zucchini
• Peppers

GOOD DAIRY

• Butter
• Heavy Cream!!!
• Hard cheeses
• Cream cheese (watch labels some brands put carbs in there)
• Unsweetened Nut Milks (I know technically not dairy.)

EAT ALL THE TIME PROTIENS

• Chicken (canned, thighs, breast)
• Pork (pork chops, pork butt, pork loin, suasage, bacon, prosciutto, ham (make sure it isn't honey cured), ribs)
• Beef (steak, roast, hamburger)
• Fish
• EGGS

BE CAREFUL PROTIEN

If you eat too much protein your body starts to treat it like a sugar. So eating an abundance of protein will throw you out of ketosis. This is a high fat diet not a high protein diet. Unless you are working out a ton or body building don't go protein nuts.

• Package protein bars- usually has a ton of carbs and/or sugar
• Protien shakes and drinks- also carbs and sugar heavy.

ELECTROLYTES

You may start getting headaches long after you've gotten over keto-flu. Your diet is lacking in electrolytes, sodium, magnesium, and potassium. You should supplement these into your diet either by electrolyte powders, drinks or natural souces (i.e. pickle juice).

TREATS

You can look up lots of low carb/sugar free baking, but don't get your expectations too crazy. You'll be using a nut flour which has a grainy texture, and an alternative sugar which can have funny after tastes. Also, many sugar alternative can mess with your digestion so don't indulge too much. 

My favorite treats are:

• Sugar Free Pudding (made with cream or unsweetened nut milk)
• Atkins Candy/Bars
• Sugar Free Jello
• Berries with Cream
• Fat Bombs (lots of recipe online)

MY GO TO MEALS

Breakfasts:

• Eggs
• Bacon
• Suasage
• Atkins Bar
• Berries w/Cream

Lunch:

• Egg Salad
• Chicken Salad
• Deviled Eggs
• Cobb Salad
• Lunch meat and cheese
• Ham salad
• Avocados
• Cucumbers
• Lettuce Wrapped Burgers

Dinner:

• Grilled Chicken Thighs and Cauliflower Mash
• Roast w/mushrooms and broccoli
• Pulled pork on a salad with Ranch
• Pork chops with brussels sprouts and bacon
• Roasted Aspargus and Grilled Salmon with hollandaise sauce
• Spice rubbed ribs with roasted caulflower and broccoli
• Lettuce wrapped Burgers with zucchini fries
• Taco Salad

There are lots more. This way of eating is simple and leads to whole food. I have felt so many positive benefits from this life style change. I hope it brings simplicity, health, and a better life to you as well. 

Instant Pot Meals

I proclaimed my love of instant pots on social media the other day, so this post is a follow up. I have only had it a month and I've cooked almost every night in it. It is pretty much a game changer. Not just because of the time and ease of cooking now, but for the first time in our almost 9 year marriage, my husband cooks dinner. Yeah, I know. So buy one, maybe your husband will start cooking too! :)

So I cook keto for my hubby,  I'm preggo and nauseated 90% of the time and the keto life just isn't the life for me (right now). BUT it is for my hubby, and I love him (like a lot), so I make keto dinners. That usually means I pick a meat and have some non-starchy vegetables around. Meat can be a high maintenance character. It either needs lots of cook time or minimal cook time. I shop two weeks at a time, so I freeze my meat. The defrosting thing can really cramp my nap schedule. So that is one great thing about instant pots, cuts all that nonsense down to minutes of effort, but Instagram worthy meals. Who doesn't want that?

So below are recipes that I've tried and have worked out, or that I've tweaked somewhat and they've still worked out (from pinterest). :) You can find anything on Pinterest. Seriously, I haven't had a clever or original idea in years. Follow me on Pinterest and you'll see what I'm trying and what I like (I actually do the things I pin...What?!)  Have fun Instant Potting (probably not a verb...)!

Cilantro Lime Chicken Drumsticks
https://mycrazygoodlife.com/instant-pot-cilantro-lime-chicken-drumsticks-instant-pot-drumsticks/

Chili Lime Steak Bowls
https://foodnservice.com/instant-pot-chili-lime-steak-bowl/

I made a creamy cilantro lime dressing for this. Cilantro, sour cream, lime, green onion, a little garlic, and salt and pepper. Blend in a blender dump on anything from a shoe to this steak bowl and enjoy!

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
http://rasamalaysia.com/creamy-thai-coconut-chicken-soup/2/

This one I did a lot of substitutions for. I didn't put in galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and sugar. I added a little soy sauce, sesame oil, and regular limes. 

Below are things I've just done myself. You can google cook times for anything in the instant pot. 

Sunday Roast:
Set the pot to saute (wait for it to say hot). Brown the roast, that you've covered in salt and pepper, in the pot with onions and garlic. Then add bay leaves, oregano, thyme, and basil with beef stock (enough to come half way up the roast). Then I put my vegetables on top of the roast. We don't do potatoes or carrots (not keto friendly) so I did cauliflower, mushrooms, and broccoli. Salt and pepper them and dot with butter. Turn the pot to pressure cook, normal, and (depending on the size of your roast) cook for 35-45 minutes. 

Pulled Chicken:
We are chicken thigh lovers, instead of breasts, so that's what we use, you could do a blend or go exclusive. Fill the pot with chicken of your choice, spiced to your liking (we used a packet of taco seasoning on it). Add a 1 or 2 cups of chicken stock and pressure cook on normal for 20-25 minutes (depending on how much chicken you have). Shred and eat on buns, tacos, salad ect.

That's all I have time for, but you get the idea, anything you cooked in your slow cooker you can cook in here in minutes. Pick a meat and some veg and press a button, dinner is served! I have some kids I have to go love on, blog ya later (again, probably not a verb...).

KETO: Next best thing or trendy nonsense?

By now, you have probably heard of—or know someone who is doing—"the keto thing." I feel like the National Keto Association (not a thing) should be sending me monthly checks for my husband's exuberant endorsement. So, what is it, and should you care about it?

Keto diets aren't some cure-all, magic new way of eating. Eating this way has been around for years, and it is actually one of the most prescribed diets by doctors for patients who have or are developing Type 2 diabetes. (It is also prescribed for infertility issues—research how sugar affects hormone production!) The goal of this diet is to prevent your blood sugar from spiking or dipping. In other words, you keep your blood sugar level by eating consistent meals that don't include carbohydrates or sugar. This brings the body into ketosis, where it burns fat instead of storing it.

When you eat a low-fat diet, the body takes the sugar and carbs it gets and burns them (yay, energy!), then takes the fat it gets and stores it. This is a hard way to lose weight and maintain weight loss (it's slow). That's all well and good, but the reality of a keto diet is no carbs, no sugar, and NO CHEATING! That's right—one bite of something loaded with sugar or laced with carbs, and your body is no longer in ketosis. Your blood sugar spikes, and it will take 24 to 48 hours to get back into ketosis.

The good news? Let's say you go on a 7-day cruise tasting every European baked good you can find. You aren't going to see the huge weight gain you would see if you went off a low-fat diet. Most of that initial gain will be water weight, and you'll easily shed it once you start "ketoing" again. But is keto a way of life, or should it just be used as a temporary diet?

All this being said, I'm no doctor—just a fat lady who has read a lot and tried a bunch of diets. If you're still interested in my opinion on keto as a diet versus keto as a lifestyle, read on.

Keto diets are very restrictive and hard to adhere to if you've been a lifelong food abuser (right here, guilty!). I would only recommend keto as a long-term lifestyle to someone who has severe health struggles with blood sugar and weight control. So, if you don't have diabetes but just need to lose extra weight, what do you do? I'd say use keto as a tool to get to your healthy weight. It is going to teach you how to make good food choices, eliminate processed foods, and curb addictive food cravings.

Once you've reached a healthy weight and are able to maintain it through exercise and your eating habits, I would start moving toward a Paleo or Mediterranean diet. These diets are, at their core, ketonic-adjacent, but they allow for natural sugars found in beets, fruits, and starchy vegetables. They also let you have grains and, sparingly, pasta. These are lifestyle diets, meaning you can live the rest of your life on them without restricting yourself to the extreme levels of a low-fat or strict keto diet. The goal is to be healthy and maintain that health. So, use a keto diet as the tool to get to health, then alter that diet to make it a lifestyle of healthy, satisfying living.

What to expect while ketoing:

• Invest in some sugar-free gum. While your body is in ketosis, it can give you some gnarly breath. Plus, the sugar-free gum seems like a total treat now that you don't actually get real treats!

• Fiber is your friend! I think my biggest complaint on this diet is the "number two" situation. I had a hard time balancing my fiber intake, and I would yo-yo between not enough and way too much (you know what I mean). Once you get into your groove, that mellows out.

• Keto Flu: Yeah, it's a thing. The first week (or two), you may experience headaches. Your body is not used to having stable blood sugar, and there is a definite detox phase. It's really not that bad, though—especially when you are losing 3 to 4 pounds a week!

• Eating is very counter-intuitive. We've been programmed to think fat is bad. During the 1980s, the government ran a massive campaign against fat, flooding the market with low-fat versions of everything and scaring everyone with promises of heart failure if they didn't comply. The only kicker? They took out the fat and added sugar. Fast forward 40 years, and we have sugar addicts, an obesity epidemic, an increase in infertility... and the list goes on. Real fat (avocados, nuts, eggs, etc.) is good for your body. Sugar is the enemy. That is your new mantra.

• Sugar substitutes: If you're like me, this diet will be absolute torture for your sweet tooth. I tried to get behind sugar substitutes, but I just can't. I can always taste them in whatever I put them in (they taste bitter to me), and they have a notoriously negative impact on your "number two" situation if you eat too much of them.

So there ya go—my unlicensed, unsupported, non-credentialed opinion on keto dieting. You're welcome!

Freezer Meals

Freezer Meal Links

Ok, so here are the links to the latest freezer meals I did. I use them as guidelines for the most part. Generally, you can tweak and do anything to a freezer meal and it turns out pretty good.

 Also, my rule of thumb for cook time is: if it is thawed 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees, if it is frozen 1-2 hours at 350 degrees. Always take the foil off for the last 10 minutes to brown everything up.

Enchilada Casserole

http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/enchilada-casserole/

Taco Pasta

I didn't follow this one exactly. I mixed the noodles with the meat and sauce and covered it in cheese and cilantro. 

http://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/cheesy-taco-lasagna/

Chicken Parmesan

I just did this one from scratch. Chicken breasts dipped in egg and milk mixture, then rolled in Italian bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Cover them with your favorite red pasta sauce top with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake and serve over spaghetti.

Lasagna
My variations on this is is I add eggs to my ricotta mixture, because it sets better. I also don't use as much beef, mine is a 1 lb. to 1 lb. ratio of pork and beef. Lastly, I spread my cheese mixture smooth instead of dollop it. I haven't ever done the no boil noodles so we'll see how this one turns out.

http://www.aboutamom.com/lasagna-freezer-meal-recipe/

Manicotti

I did boil the manicotti it just felt too wrong not to boil them, because this recipe doesn't have a ton of sauce and I just saw crunchy pasta. If you do this one and don't boil the pasta let me know how it turns out. You can save a lot of time using the same meat sauce you made for the lasagna just make enough for both recipes. 

http://www.5dollardinners.com/no-boil-freezer-manicotti-guest-post/

Chili

This one is just my own chili recipe that I freeze and then put in the crock pot and serve will rhodes dinner rolls or some cornbread. I don't measure anything and I'm too lazy to write down an actual recipe. So you can use your own favorite chili recipe. :) 

Pregnancy #3

The Beginning

It's all so fresh right now, perhaps my perspectives will change with time. I just need a space to put my words. I needed to see my reality in a physical way. I guess I'll start at the beginning, the only logical place to start, which would be this summer.
I was getting the "when is the next baby" hints a lot more and I was beginning to get quite defensive. I literally would have moments in my day where something would happen and I was say, "See God, this is why I can't have another baby right now." I was thorough in my list of reasons and I went over it almost daily. Now I can see this nagging inside me that something was compelling me to start the process of another pregnancy. However, I fought it with every ounce of stubborn will power I could muster. I'd gotten so defensive my husband didn't bring the subject up and cringed if it did come up in a social setting. However, we'd just been on a trip together and the subject finally did come up between us. It was a beautiful experience we both had, in a car, driving home from Denver. We knew without any doubt our selfish reasonings were hollow and that it was time for another baby. The one word we both were left with was faith. Begin in faith and everything else will be taken care of. With that we didn't hesitate anymore and actually became quite excited about it.
Fast forward one month and...

Pregnant!

I was tracking my cycle and new right when I was ovulating. I had never done that before, but I was set on having a June baby and knew my window for that was short. I was only a day late when I took the first test and tried not to get my hopes up. The second line was so faint I decided it needed another go. The next day I took another test and there was no question, WE WERE PREGNANT! I was only 4 weeks and had never found out that early before. I knew it was going to be hard to have to wait a while to tell people and even go to my first doctors appointment. However, there was something kind of fun and special just sharing this secret with Jordan. It was fun day dreaming about all the things that happen with pregnancy and a new baby. June was already too far away!

October 13th - 5 Weeks 5 Days

It was such a normal day. We all had dentist appointments in the morning. I was getting my teeth cleaned and the hygienists asked if I was on birth control. I thought that's a funny questions, and told her that I was actually pregnant. She said she could tell I was pregnant because of how my gums were reacting. It was the first of what I thought would be many moments of getting to share my exciting news with someone.

Miscarriage

It started with an intense cramp and a rush of blood. I ran to the bathroom and was horrified by the amount and bright red color. I knew this wasn't good. The cramping and bleeding got worse with every minute. I called my midwife and explained everything.   She didn't sugar coat things and let me know that she was fairly certain I was experiencing a miscarriage. We talked everything through and I was right on the verge of loosing it as we hung up.

I ran to my closet away from my kids and curled up on the floor and cried.

I really didn't know anything about having a miscarriage. I had been to prenatal classes, read books on pregnancy, had already had 2 healthy children and never had I received detailed information about miscarriages. It was always something that happened to someones else. It wasn't going to happen to me and so I never gave it much thought.

It isn't an event that is quickly handled. It's a drawn out process both physically and mentally. I'm only on day 3 and still cramping and bleeding. It's like going through the process of a healthy pregnancy, but accelerated. The joy of conceiving, the excitement of pregnancy only no physical representation of your baby. Then you endure something close to labor and delivery and postpartum without any baby to love and nurture.

The world didn't even know I was pregnant they certainly didn't know I've lost something. I feel stuck in this in-between area. To the outside everything is normal, but inside nothing feels normal. It's hard to know what to feel or how to respond.

Sometimes I feel like a phony. Like my grief should be less and no big deal compared to other mother's losses. Like because it was an early miscarriage it shouldn't hurt too bad or take too long to get over. However, my grief is real. I've never experienced this feeling before. I really can't put it into words. That's what makes me know that I'm not a phony, because any mother that has experienced any loss of a child in anyway already knows that grief. It's something that doesn't just go away with time. I think it is something that stays. Like I said, I'm far from an expert and I am still in the middle of this process, but I'll always remember October 13th and always think of June 17, 2017 and the baby that will never celebrate that birthday.

My Baby

You were mine for 10 days. I loved you and your Dad loved you. You were prayed for and wanted. I've had several people try and reassure me that there was nothing I did wrong or that there was something abnormal with the embryo to cause this. I know they all mean well, but honestly the why hasn't entered my mind at all. That reminder of Faith has been there the whole time and I trust that Heavenly Father is handling my little angels spirit until it is ready to come down here. I also know that this experience was for my benefit and although there is grief involved it is lined with joy and relief through the Savior.
I can't wait until I can meet this next spirit that is meant for our family. I already know that the lessons and growth waiting for me are going to mold me into a better person. I know through my faith that I will overcome any obstacle and be able to find the joy and growth in the journey.

What I Now Know About Miscarriage

This experience is still unfolding for me, but I feel like I've learned so much about it already. Part of what has made this so hard was the unkown. No one talks about miscarriages, no explains the pain, the physical experience, the emotional journey. No one talks about the chances. That 1 in 4 pregnancies end in a miscarriage. No one tells you it is ok to mourn a 5 week pregnancy. No one tells you that you're grief for that early loss isn't a comparison to the loss of another mothers. I want to talk about it. It happened. It was real and it will happen to other mothers who don't know anything about it. I want to break this taboo subject so that someone else isn't isolated by this experience. 20% of all pregnancies end with a loss and we should rally together not suffer in silence. If you know of someone who has had a miscarriage or infant loss don't offer empty words or give sympathetic looks. Reach out and hold their hand, tell them you are so sorry for their loss and pray for their comfort through the process.

*I know that what was taken from me may not have been a fully formed baby, but the promise, excitement, and joy of that baby is gone. It leaves a hole.

*I know that any loss is significant to a mother, and that no loss should be treated the same or rationalized.

*I know the physical experience of a miscarriage was an eye opener. I thought it was a couple hour event that started quickly and ended quickly. I had no idea it would be days and days of cramping and bleeding. Constant reminders that you are no longer pregnant. Constant physical proof that you will not give birth to a baby.

*I know that I can hardly wait until I get the chance to be pregnant again and that no matter what that experience will bring, through my faith, I will get through it and be better for it.

I send my most heartfelt love and comfort to any woman who has experienced pregnancy or infant loss. It is a life changing thing. I apologize for my past disregard and indifference to it. It is a hard thing to relate to if you've never experienced something like it. I admire so much those who have lost so much more than I have. You are not alone in your grief. You are amazing.
October is pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. Give a hug and encouraging word to those women in your life who still carry the loss of a sweet baby or pregnancy.

Weight Loss Update! (aka Progress Pictures)

So I hit my first milestone in any weight loss journey, my first 10 pounds gone! It took me 6 weeks. Which is great, but compared to my first weight loss journey it feels slow. I've been learning a lot of things through this second journey of weight loss, but the biggest is comparison will defeat you. It seems as natural as breathing for me to compare myself. It doesn't matter what it is or who I'm comparing, but it seems nothing is safe from my double vision. 

HOWEVER, I have found that comparing my success to past success has been a motivating tool. To see where I've been, and where I am, is important in recognizing what I'm capable of and that I should keep pushing myself. Every time I focus my comparison energy inwardly I am able to find areas to improve or be inspired to challenge myself. 

So woohoo 10 pounds gone (actually I've lost 11). 
Celebrate your successes.
Focus on comparing yourself with only yourself. 

Check It Out!

Can you exercise and loose weight without spending any money on gadgets, equipment, and supplements...YEP! Is it more fun to have some of those things...YEP!

So here are a few of my favorite gadgets for tracking exercise and personal stats.

Microsoft Band- I wanted something to help track calories burned, running stats, biking stats, and heart rate. There are a lot of options out there and it can be overwhelming. I've had a fitbit before, and folks if you are fitbit freaks, please don't hate me, but they are HUGELY inaccurate. There is actually an open lawsuit right now, because of their inflated step tracking and other inaccurate tracking. I also didn't want something that required a separate heart monitor to be worn in order to track heart rate. So that leaves you a few options and of those the best, in my opinion, is the Microsoft Band. It's capabilities are really amazing. It has all the functions of a smart watch (think Apple Watches) text messaging, phone call, weather, facebook, clocks, calendars ect. In addition, it has amazing exercise tracking capabilities. It has a heart rate monitor built in, pedometer, UV sensor, GPS, sleep tracking that enters sleep mode automatically. It has lots of sport tracking, running, biking, golfing, and a workout routine that you can select a program and the watch will alert you through different sets of exercises. (ie sets of jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups ect.) It has a weight loss tile that tracks BMI and displays rate of loss or gain in a very helpful manner. I could really go on and on about the Microsoft Band. I've had it now for almost 3 months and love it! It ranges between $200-$250 and has a battery life (depending on usage) of about 36 hours.

Biking- If you are doing a lot of miles or getting ready to do a race there are a couple things I would recommend getting for your bike. I really felt intimidated by the clip in pedals and the cleat shoes. My husband has had some pretty bad wrecks when he was first getting used to them and my biking skills are already pretty lacking. So I had some reservations, but finally got talked into getting some. The shoes are pretty comfortable and actually clipping in is just a matter of pressure and sliding your foot into the peddle. The hard part is stopping. You have to remember to clip out, by flicking your heel away from the bike and lifting up. It takes a little practice to get it down. You will see an immediate change in your pace and stamina after using clip in pedals. It uses more muscle groups which helps not fatigue your legs as quickly. You are also apply power on the up stroke instead of just on the down stroke. This really makes a difference in triathlon training. Conserving as much energy on the bike so that you can get through the run is vital and the clip in pedals really help with that.
The other thing that I feel really helps you improve your time and cadence on the bike is a pedal tracker. If you are only riding outside you can get away with a GPS tracker like on the Microsoft Band. However, living in Utah only gives me a few months of outside riding and the rest of the time I'm on a stationary. So I really wanted something that would track my mileage. The tracker is magnetic and just clips to the pedal and the bike fork. Every time the pedal passes by it triggers it and does lots of math really quick to give you stats of mileage, cadence, and speed. Really helpful when you are focusing on training for a race and they can range anywhere from $30 for a basic version to hundreds of dollars for very fancy ones. I have a $30 my husband has an expensive one. I'd say you are fine to go cheap on this. Below on the red bike is my husband's fancy tracker and on the right are my clip in shoes (not a very good pic sorry).

Running- You may be asking yourself how many gadgets could be involved with running. Well, I have a few must haves when it comes to running. When I was training for my half marathon I was running about 25 miles a week. You figure out all the dos and don'ts when you are running that much. Number one on my list isn't a huge surprise... SHOES! Seriously, don't mess around with the shoes. If you didn't spend at least $65 on the shoes they are going to wear out and cause you feet and shin problems. I'm not super brand loyal, although my favorite are Nike, but I have tried to go cheap and always regretted it. I started the $65 rule years ago and haven't ever had a bad pair of shoes since. My Nike's usually last me around 1000+ miles. After that you start to loose support, the side walls start to get thin, and you may even begin to feel pain in your feet or shins after long runs. I don't throw the shoes away, I just don't use them for running anymore. I've had 2 pairs in the last 4 years and I'm getting new ones for my birthday in a couple weeks. Aside from the shoes I recommend a GPS tracker like the Microsoft Band. Most treadmills are calibrated inaccurately and if you are on gym equipment you are going to get really inconsistent stats. When I got my Microsoft Band and started to compare it to my treadmill's stats I was shocked at the differences. The treadmill's distance tracker is really slow and the calorie burn is way too high. I wasn't running a lot further than I thought I was and burning less calories than I thought I was. So don't trust the treadmill stats. Lastly I always run in a tight clothing, tank top, really great sports bra, and high ankle socks. Most of the clothing is preference thing, but I will say buy some running specific socks. You'll be glad you did!