Category Archives: Bacon on keto
Keto renewal – the great escape from carbs and their consequences
I haven’t posted in a long time. During the communication gap, my dedication to the keto eating plan has been sorely lacking. I have also felt lethargic, gained back all the weight I lost on the plan, and am probably in the worst shape of my life.
I started this blog a long time ago with great hope that the ketogenic diet was finally the answer to my weight loss problems. I still believe that notion was correct.
I am the only person who can make the decision to pick myself up, dust myself off, and start once again. The keto plan was the last great hope after trying and failing on several other diets. I am throwing myself back into the plan wholeheartedly. The food was delicious, reducing carbs gave me energy, and I saw a significant weight loss in a short amount of time. I have the knowledge, the recipes, and the ingredients. All I need is the will to begin again.
Today –
BREAKFAST…
was 2 eggs over easy with bacon. I had not made up my mind about going back on keto this morning, so I had one piece of whole wheat toast and 1/4 cup of hash browns.
Then came the decision to break out the recipes and get back to it.
LUNCH
Tacos: 2 pieces of provolone cheese, nuked and curved into taco shell shapes. I used Chichi’s taco flavored meat (about 4 tablespoons) and topped with 1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, and some chopped jalapenos. The Chi-chi’s is 3 grams of carbs per 4 tablespoon serving.
The entire process took fewer than 5 minutes and the tacos were as good as any fast food joint’s carb-laden version. The Chichi’s meat is definitely an expensive cheat. I could easily make myself the same mixture with some ground beef, but I think time and convenience will be of the essence as I reintegrate the keto plan.
DINNER
Rick grilled steaks and Portobello mushrooms. I made a salad with grated cheddar and blue cheese dressing.
VOILA! Drank lots of water until bedtime. Day one was a breeze.
BLT in a pita goes southwest with some chipotle dressing
I was craving a BLT. I decided to recreate the sandwich without bread by eating it from a bowl, with mayo drizzled on top. However, the recipe changed as I started to experiment.
First, I microwaved some of that ready-in-a-minute bacon. I like it crisp, so I overcooked it a bit.
Then I tossed some mixed greens in a medium-sized bowl, chopped up one slice of tomato (go lightly; there are a few carbs), and threw in the bacon.
Hmmmm. What if I put it in 1/2 a low-carb pita bread?
I use Sophia’s whole wheat pocket pita. One pita is 7g, and I usually only use half.
I stuffed the mix inside the pita, and went to the fridge for some mayo…where I discovered a new dressing we love: Hidden Valley Farmhouse Southwest Chipotle.
The entire “simple BLT” idea because a southwest salad in a pita. Carb total – The pita is 3.5g, the dressing is 2g and the tomato is <1g. Total = <6.5g
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 8: Finally, a perfect day
And by perfect day, I mean I stayed on plan all day.
We were going to go to the diner, but we were running late, so I opted to throw together a quick omelet and microwaved bacon.
My lunch was a luxury: Rick made me some chicken kabobs (minus skewers) for me to take during the week. He is the most supportive husband a woman could ask for, especially since he actually likes bbw’s (big beautiful women). He knows I want to lose weight, and he does all he can to support me, even going out of his way to think up the plan to make chicken/veggies for my weekday lunch.
So, I reheated the chicken, didn’t have a tortilla as I had planned (too stale), and that was that for lunch.
Snack was almonds.
Dinner was at Albert’s for trivia night. I had the chicken club salad (grilled chicken), and Jim gave me one of his french fries.
Dessert was at home later: an Adkins bar.
Whew. It felt good to be back on track.
Day 7: Cincinnati Chili over spaghetti squash
It feels odd seeing “day 7” again. I started the plan more than a year ago. I actually forgot to weigh myself this morning (Freudian issues?).
I rose relatively early for a Sunday and made myself some eggs and bacon. I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at home with the NYT puzzle.
We attempted to visit our daughter Cindy at the Ram’s Horn where she works. I was already trying to plan what keto offerings I could choose from, but, unfortunately, the restaurant was packed and her station was full.
On to a new Mexican restaurant we’ve never tried. In keeping with my new “no all or nothing,” non-perfectionistic attitude, I ordered a cheese/onion enchilada and a bean enchilada. Not keto. Okay.
Back to the plan: dinner was Cincinnati Chili over spaghetti squash. We haven’t had it in awhile and it sure was good!
I have no idea if this middle of the road kind of low carb idea will work. I guess I’ll find out soon.
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 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 2: Chicken Marsala in a foil pack
So far so good.
I was running late yesterday morning. I would have gotten to work about 1/2 hour early if I skipped breakfast or stopped for a drive thru McDonald’s breakfast. Hmm. Hardly the way to get back on track. I had really been looking forward to hitting the diner with Rick, but we both hate rushing through breakfast in fewer than 25 minutes.
I hit on the remedy – carryout breakfast from the diner. It’s just a little out of the way from work, so I called ahead and ordered an omelet and bacon. We swooped by to pick it up, and I arrived at work 1/2 hour early, where I relaxed, did a crossword and ate breakfast at my desk.
It was more expensive than a breakfast at home, and a couple of dollars more than a Micky D’s breakfast, but I’ve spent money on worse things. It was a good start to a fresh keto diet day, and I’m glad I thought of it.
Lunch was late – around 2 pm, after an afternoon meeting. I ate 2 Beddar Cheddars and some almonds.
Dinner was a recipe I haven’t posted before: Rick’s chicken Marsala. He makes a quick and convenient dinner in individual foil packets that we can both easily eat as leftovers the next day – or for lunch. He usually sacrifices and leaves the leftovers for my eating pleasure, because he can eat anything, after all.
Here’s his recipe.
And the final product, with some cauliflower mashed “potatoes.”
Dessert was an Adkins coconut bar.
Day 1: Starting fresh
You know what they say about falling off a horse…get right back on.
In total honesty (which is what this blog is about), I have screwed up my plan, gained weight back, and feel like a slug. I guess I could hit myself over the head a few times, get mired in despair at my failures, give it all up and gain it all back.
OR, I can get back on the horse.
I imagine anyone reading a blog about the ketogenic diet may understand what I’m feeling. Unless you’re a weightlifter, you’re probably overweight and looking for the diet that will fulfill all your hopes and dreams of a slender new you. In that case, you’ve probably experienced the same temptations and failures that I have.
So, here we go. I’m renumbering the blogs because I’m starting over. Fortunately, I haven’t regained all of the weight I lost, and next Sunday, I will weigh in and find out what the damage is. For right now, I’m doing what I feel is best for me: forget the pounds and the angst and the self-flagellation, because none of that is going to help me remain positive and move forward.
I’m getting back on the keto horse and going for a ride.
Day One:
Yesterday was Monday. I started the day with a cheese omelet with grilled onions and bacon on the side.
For lunch, I ate 2 Beddar Cheddars and a side of almonds.
I worked until 6 and had an hour until trivia. I drank some water and waited to eat until I arrived at Albert’s on the Alley, where I ordered their delicious grilled chicken club salad with blue cheese.
Okay, here’s where I had a bit of a rough ride…the birthday cake team On a Mission offered to the league teams. I ate a piece.
That’s it. Time to get back on the horse, AGAIN.