Category Archives: Alcohol on keto
Day 9: More success: eggs, kabobs, chili, and almonds
Off to a good start Monday and more of the same on Tuesday.
Breakfast was an omelet and bacon at home. I had a nice relaxing breakfast and some leftover time to blog (I have 4 of them, so it’s tough to keep up.)
Lunch: more leftover chicken/veggie kabobs.
Snack at work: Salt and vinegar almonds. I wrote about buying them in another blog. Well, my dozen cans arrived, and I was a bit disappointed. The brand I ate the other day (Gold Emblem from CVS) tasted exactly like salt and vinegar potato chips. The Blue Diamond brand only has a slight vinegar taste, plus some type of tangy chili-like flavor. They’re okay, and I like them enough to eat as a daily snack, but I much preferred the Gold Emblem brand almonds. I’ll have to see if I can find them in bulk.
After work, Rick and I went outside on the deck. It still isn’t very warm in Michigan, and I’ll bet it was in the high 30’s. I lasted about a half hour. I HATE the cold.
I drank a Michelob Ultra 2.5 grams of carb beer and 3 small pieces of andouille sausage dipped in mustard. For dinner, I reheated the Cincinnati chili from Sunday.
For dessert, I made keto-friendly chocolate mousse.
Day 5: The birthday party
It was Friday, and I had a good start with a keto-friendly breakfast (eggs/bacon, of course).
I was only working until 1:30, then my son/wife, niece/husband/kids and I were getting together at 3 to celebrate my dad’s birthday. My dad died last May, and his great-grandson Owen decided we should get together as usual and have a party for him. We ordered his favorite pizza, I made the cake he always baked, we watched some videos of him, and had some pictures out.
It was nice, and I decided to go for a cheat meal and just enjoy it. I had 4 pieces of pizza (with crust) and some lemon/lime refrigerator cake.
Breakfast and the party food was all I ate for the day. At home that evening, I was pretty hungry, and made the unwise decision to have a glass of wine. Maybe it was thinking about and missing my dad, but I ended up eating no more, but drinking a bottle of wine. Sigh. Bad decisions all around.
I’m pretty sure the carb count was astronomical. Let’s start over tomorrow.
Day 4: Macaroni Grill on keto and movie night success
Thursday is date night. We keep our dates economical, and we discovered that Thursday night is a great night to go to Macaroni Grill.
First of all, they have good happy hour deals between 4 and 7 pm nightly. Wine is $3 a glass, and appetizers are 2 for $9. On Thursdays, they also have a deal where you can buy a bottle of wine half off.
Here’s how to handle this while working the keto plan:
- Order bottle of Chianti ($30, half price = $15)
- Order two appetizers that are (hopefully) keto-friendly – peppadew peppers with goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette
- Order husband a $5 sausage pizza
- Ignore bread and oil
- Drink one glass of wine and follow up with multiple glasses of water
Note that BOTH plates of peppers became mine. It was like a $9 gourmet meal.
The total bill is about $30. This is not exactly the cheapest meal one could hope for, but it’s very good for Macaroni Grill, plus half a bottle of wine goes home with us for another night. In our hey dey, we had lots of money to throw around and we would rack up a $100 check at M.Grill, so this seems like a good deal.
As for the movie night success part, see my blog about salt and vinegar almonds here.
Here’s a peppadew pepper recipe. It’s basically the peppers stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. YUM.
Day 3: Successfully dodging the temptations at work
Yesterday was hump day. I started the day with breakfast at home: scrambled eggs with cheese and a side of bacon.
I decided to start acknowledging the successes in each day:
- There was a workshop going on at work. I circumnavigated the donut and juice table and went to my cubicle.
- On the way to the printer, I passed the Doritos, grabbed my paper and returned to my cubicle.
- After a skype meeting with the boss, I ignored the candybar bowl and grabbed a handful of almonds from the can in my drawer.
WHEW. I made it! I may “fail” quite a bit at staying on plan, but I also succeed several times a day/week/month.
I heated up my Indian butter chicken over cauliflower for lunch.
Once home, around 7pm, I relaxed with my man and a Michelob Ultra 2.5 carb beer. For a snack, I had barbecued pork rinds. I can’t believe it myself. The thought of pork rinds used to make me gag. They weren’t so bad, especially since they are zero carb. I can see this is one of those items I need to buy in bulk from Amazon. In fact, I’m a little disappointed that Amazon no longer offers 3 packs of chili lime almonds. I can only order one pack as an add-on to any $25 order. Bring back the cheap 3-packs, Amazon! I need my daily almonds.
For dinner, I heated a Costco pot roast and made 2 or 3 days’ worth of cauliflower mashed potatoes. It’s good to be prepared!
Rick and I have started watching old episodes of the Twilight Zone on Hulu. We each had an Adkins coconut bar.
Day 322: Unplanned Buffalo chicken salad
Total weight loss: 39 1/2 pounds
I cooked 3 scrambled eggs for breakfast and nukes some pre-made bacon. It was quick and I had time to relax before work, although I missed the waitress pampering me.
I ate 2 beddar cheddars and some almonds for lunch in the late afternoon.
After work, we were planning to have Cincinnati chili, but Rick didn’t start cooking the sauce early enough. He was out working on cleaning out the garage and forgot. Oh well. It was almost six, and we made the executive decision to grab something quick. We pass Big Boy on our route, so we went there. I do love that buffalo chicken salad. I have to admit, the time I goofed and ordered it with the regular chicken tenders, it was tastier. However, the grilled chicken is much lower carb and it is good as well.
I ate an Adkins chocolate coconut bar for dessert. Oh, and I drank a glass of red wine. Still on track.
We eat out a lot. It’s just a necessary part of our lifestyle – and something we enjoy. Combining a full-time job and with owning a small business means we are working almost around the clock. After eating at Big Boy, I spent about 3 hours on the computer working on client projects and bookkeeping for our business. Having dinner out is a nice treat between the day job and the evening work.
That said, it really is fantastic that there are so many delicious low carb options in so many restaurants. And if it’there aren’t readily apparent options, there are always choices that come with bun, potato, or tortilla that can be substituted for something better. If that fails, remove and toss the offending carby product.
A coney dog with no bun, a burrito with no tortilla, a burger with no bun, spaghetti squash instead of pasta, cauliflower instead of potatoes – all these options have become second nature to me by day 322. I can do this. Once the weight is off, I can also maintain. Carbs are not a necessary part of my diet. I just need to remind myself of this every now and then. Here’s to “re-losing” that 2 pounds I gained over the past month.
Day 306: 8 hours at a restaurant and stayed on track
Total weight loss: 41 pounds (yes, I gained a 1/2 pound back!)
It’s difficult to believe but I spent more than 7 hours at a restaurant yesterday. It was the day of my league’s trivial finals, which took place at a restaurant/bar called Sneaky’s and lasted a full day.
I skipped breakfast, because I was running around in the morning, trying to get the house cleaned. I like to start off the weekend with a clean house, since there isn’t much time to clean during the week.
My friend/trivia partner Jo and I both ordered grilled chicken salads when we arrived at the league bar at 11. My salad was HUGE and kept me full until about 5 pm. At that point, we were in the midst of WINNING the league finals, so I didn’t want to distract myself by ordering more food. Unfortunately, we came in second, but the four of us won the 2nd place award of $700! I’m having a red-letter week!
I was hungry after the game, but I wanted to relax and chill on the deck (literally, since this is Michigan in November). I had a vodka and diet drink (Sparkling ICE Black Raspberry – which is quite tasty mixed with vodka). When we went in the house around 9ish, I heated up 2 bowls of taco soup. That was convenient! I’ll definitely be making some every weekend to have on hand as a quick and filling low carb meal.
I’ve learned that keeping delicious quick meals and leftovers on hand is really important for a lazy, non-cooking Ketokate!
Day 296: Yummy pot roast from Costco
Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds
You may notice that I skipped Tuesday’s blog post (day 295). It was election day, and I knew I was going to attend a party at my friend Jo’s and would probably succumb to the temptation of her moist and chew brownies. I declared a cheat day in advance, and ate a Mexican pizza from Taco Bell for dinner, plus the aforementioned brownies and some chips and dip.
I had actually planned to have a cheat meal yesterday, since we were supposed to close on the home sale and celebrate at Macaroni Grill. Unfortunately, the closing was postponed until next week. This is the most difficult home sale we’ve ever had – and we’ve been through a few in the past 15 years. Since the cheat meal on Weds. was cancelled, I just moved it to the election party on Tuesday.
Yesterday morning began with a cheese and onion omelet at the diner. I added a side of crispy bacon and it was a very good meal.
Lunch was at my desk. I ate 2 Beddar Cheddars.
I had chili lime almonds for a late afternoon snack.
I worked late and didn’t get home from work until 7 pm. I popped a Costco pot roast from Costco into the microwave. I’ve had it before and I thought it was pretty tasty. It only takes 10 minutes to cook. I ran off to do some cleaning and sorting in the basement. When the 10 minutes were up, I tossed a bag of frozen cauliflower in the micro for 6 minutes and went outside for a quick vodka and diet drink on the deck.
It was a REALLY quick drink, because it was 40 degrees outside. Rick may enjoy the great white north, but not I. I cut my drink short and went back inside to whip up the cauliflower into mashed potatoes.
We had a quick and hearty meal in fewer than 25 minutes.
For dessert, Rick wanted me to whip up the keto-friendly chocolate mousse from heavy cream that I used to make. I did, and we had a lovely dessert.
Day 291: Italian restaurant – chicken piccata
This week’s weight “loss”: +.5 pounds
Total weight loss: 40.5 pounds
Today was weigh-in day. I gained .5 pounds since last week. I’m not thrilled, but I’m used to the ups and downs. In order to keep my spirits up, after weighing I put on the smallest jeans I own…and they fit. That made me feel a little better.
Yesterday was Friday. Again, I had no time for breakfast. My son, Brandon, and his new bride, Lindsey, found a house they may bid on, so I called Rick and asked him to take me by on lunch. We wouldn’t be going until 1 pm, so I ate some almonds and 1/2 slice of lasagna around 11 am.
After checking out the house – which we both like very much – we went to the Senate Coney Island. I ordered 2 coney dogs and didn’t eat the buns. Rick didn’t order fries, so no temptations there.
Since I had a few long lunches this week, I needed to work until 6:30 to achieve 40 hours. When Rick picked me up after work, I was really tired and wanted to splurge and indulge in something to fill the emotional void. We debated the restaurant choices, and ended up at Angelo Brothers Italian restaurant. I had been there years ago for a Christmas party with my former coworkers at the school system. Rick had never been. I was really hoping I would find something satisfying AND low carb. I was thinking chicken marsala or some such item.
I actually did find a possibility: chicken piccata. I’d never had it before. When I visit an Italian restaurant (pre-keto), I usually go for something with lots of cheesy pasta. The ingredients listed for the chicken piccata: thin-sliced chicken breasts, garlic, butter, white wine, and mushrooms. Sounded good, so I tried it. I skipped the carb-laden sides and asked for extra mushrooms. The side salad was just a lot of iceberg lettuce, but it helped assuage the hunger while I waited for my meal. So did the glass of red wine.
I ignored the bread basket and dug into the chicken. It was so so so delicious. I checked the carb count afterward, and it ran from 5 to 20 grams per serving, so I’m not sure how well I did. I’m sure there was flour or cornstarch involved; however, I do know that I will be trying a low carb version at home, and I’ll just leave out those items. Rick took about 5 tastes of mine dinner. He loved it….even better than his pizza. The two of us will experiment with the new recipe soon. In the mean time, I’m proud of myself for picking something as low carb as possible, and not pigging out on pasta, pizza, and bread.
Once home, I had an Adkins bar for dessert.
I think I’ll go without the Adkins treats this week and see if that did impact my 1/2 pound weight gain. It’s not a real scientific experiment, but it may give me some indication if I lose a bit more next week after not eating them.
Good info – 6 snacks that are good for you – all keto friendly
I was cleaning out my google chrome bookmarks tonight and found a lot of interesting sites that I had forgotten about. One bookmark was a link to an article about healthy snacks. It explained away a lot of misconceptions about foods like full-fat sour cream (a staple of my diet!) and other snacks. The interesting thing is that ALL of these items are keto-friendly.
Genius Junk Food: 6 Snacks That Are Actually Good For You – lists the following snacks. Read the article from Men’s Health to read the facts about each:
- Pork rinds
- Alcohol
- Beef jerkey
- Sour cream
- Coconut
- Chocolate Bars
I don’t really like pork rinds, but I have eaten the barbecue flavored kind. I also found a comment in a discussion board where one guy said he ate pork rinds dipped in sour cream or guacamole. I may try that.
Day 285: Yummy steak with onion blue cheese sauce
Total weight loss: 41 pounds [I like typing that]
Saturday morning breakfast at the diner – cheese/onion omelet with a side of bacon
We worked on emptying and readying the house we [finally] sold. We packed and cleaned for a few hours. This stuff seems to multiply. Afterwards, we went to Del Taco. I had the usual macho beef burrito and opened up and ditched the tortilla.
My 2 pounds weight loss yesterday morning buoyed my spirits. I’m sometimes tempted to “reward myself” with some kind of cheat meal, but realized it would be better to save that for when I’m not losing, to perhaps shock my body into responding to the diet. So, I didn’t have a cheat meal, but my compromise was eating 1 1/2 cinnamon churros. I have to admit they were good. Now I will look at the carb count…..egad – 21 carbs per churro. So much for being in ketosis. Sigh. So, I had approximately 32 extra grams of carbs yesterday. Not good.
Oh, another tip: carry a “real” fork with you. I carry one in my purse and it comes in handy when I order things like this burrito, or a burger with no bun. I HATE using a plastic fork, and some of those burgers actually break them.
Dinner was legal and delish. Rick grilled steaks. I made the accompanying blue cheese onion cream sauce and some cauliflower mashed potatoes. Before dinner, I cleaned the house, put the tv/pc back in order (the old hard drive had failed), and generally spruced up the place. While cleaning out the sold house earlier in the day, I had grabbed Brandon and Lindsey’s lamp set, which they aren’t currently using, and I put one on each side of our Ansel Adams print next to the table. It looked warm and elegant, so we ate our gourmet dinner using cloth napkins and each had a glass of cabernet. I had one more glass out on the deck [oh, what the heck? I already ate 30+ carbs of churro earlier – bad attitude, I know].
Dessert was the usual choco/peanut butter low carb treat.