Category Archives: Keto quick meals
Day 4: A really simple 2-minute low-carb / keto pizza snack
Breakfast – egg/cheese/sausage patty in a bowl
Lunch – leftover cream cheese and spicy sausage mixture in a low carb tortilla
Dinner – here’s where got creative…
I was pretty hungry about 4 pm, but we weren’t ready for dinner. I had some work to do for our web design company, and I wanted to finish it up before I started cooking.
I came up with this delish snack (probably not an original – but it was to me. LOL)
Take some pieces of pepperoni, mound about a tbsp of mozarella in the center of each, put the plate in the microwave for about 30 seconds – and VOILA! tasty hot pepperoni pizza treats. They were quick and delicious and assuaged my hunger until dinner could be prepared.
For dinner, I cooked a pound of ground beef, added taco seasoning and put the mixture on a plate. I topped it with grated cheddar cheese, chopped onions, one half an avocado, and a tablespoon of sour cream. I’ll admit, I do love a taco shell, deep fried flour tortillas and all those other crunchy Mexican carbs, but this meal still tastes good and is a great substitute for carby Mexican meals.
Day 3: Chicken and stuffed jalapeno pepper leftovers
I AM FEELING THE ENERGY!
I even had a coworker notice. She said I wasn’t as groggy in the morning as I usually am. I am reaping the keto bennies already! Why oh why do I ever go off this plan?
I had the usual breakfast at my desk at work: 2 scrambled eggs with cheese and 2 sausage patties
For lunch, I had a small salad and about 6 of the leftover stuffed peppers from last night. I made the rounds at the office, offering my coworkers some hors d’ouevres and the peppers were a hit!
For dinner, Rick cooked chicken and green peppers in a delicious spicy green Mexican sauce. I forgot to take a picture, but I have pictures of the jar. It’s low carb (3 g. per serving) He used the whole jar with 9 chicken tenders, cut into bite sized pieces. I ate about half the jar, or 9 grams of carbs.
It was just the right amount of heat and spice, and tasted really good.
Later, I was still a bit hungry, so I took some of the leftover cream cheese/spicy sausage mixture that I used to fill the peppers and stuffed it into a low carb tortilla. It was quick and delicious. Gotta love leftovers!
I’ve been trying to cut down on the diet pop consumption. Zero carb Sparkling Ice helps a lot. I especially love the black raspberry and lemon lime flavors.
Low carb and keto jalapeno popper quiche – cream cheese and jalapenos never tasted so good!
I adapted this recipe from the Closet Cooking website to reduce the amount of carbs.
Who needs crust? It was a flavorful and delicious start to the day – and I have leftovers so I don’t have to make breakfast tomorrow.
The first time I made this, I didn’t have a glass pie plate
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature (3 g. carbs)
- 3 jalapenos (one sliced, two diced) [if you’re using sliced jalapenos
from a jar – approx. 20-25] (approx. 1.5g carbs)
- 1 cup heavy cream (6.6 g carbs)
- 5 large eggs, lightly beaten (3g carbs)
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated (optional) (<1 g carbs) (save for top of quiche)
- Put the cream cheese in a microwave-safe dish and heat for 20-30 seconds
- Beat the eggs, mix in the cream, and add the softened cream cheese (I use a whisk and the cream cheese mostly mixes in)
- Add the chopped jalapenos
- Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 25-30 minutes, perhaps a bit more depending on oven and pan size (I place the glass pie plate on top of a cookie sheet for easier handling)
- Remove from oven, sprinkle on grated cheese, reheat for a minute or two until it’s melted on top
- Optional – arrange a few jalapeno slices on top for presentation
I don’t miss the crust.
Total carbs for whole pan = approximately 14 grams. There are only 1.7 grams of carbs per serving! Believe me, you’ll have at least 2 plates.
In the oblong pan
Quiche in a round pie pan
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 315: Back to work after the long holiday weekend
Total weight loss: 41 pounds? (I haven’t weighed in weeks – Saturday is D-Day)
I still felt a bit under the weather, but it was time to get back to work. I only have a week of vacation left, and I don’t want to waste it lolling about the house in the winter. I foresee a beach in my future.
Since I had to make the sacrifice of getting out of bed and all, we treated ourselves to breakfast at the diner. I had the onion and cheese omelet. I keep reading that eating the same foods as a habit for each meal is good for you. I hope so, because I do that alot.
Lunch at work was a tortilla with some shredded cheese and a dab of cream cheese. Low-carb tortillas are a pretty good way to stay on keto yet still feel like I’m having my traditional Mexican food. Quick, easy, comfort food, all rolled up in one gooey cheesy tortilla. YUM.
I had some almonds for a late afternoon snack.
Dinner was the chicken with artichoke that I bought from Costco. (I love Costco!) It takes 6 minutes and tastes great with some quick caulitatoes. I know processed food isn’t good for you, but I worked all day, I was tired, and it took less than 10 minutes to have a nice warm meal. So sue me.
Dessert was 2 squares of 70% chocolate (topped with 2 squirts of Reddiwhip! – 1 gram of carbs per 2 tbsp).
Day 305: Delicious keto-friendly taco soup
Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds
Yesterday was Friday and the last day of diner eating. Rick and I decided it’s a bit much to go to breakfast every day – it’s a bit too much on his waistline and our pocketbook. I plan to make a quiche Sunday. I’m hoping that will motivate me to eat at home before work next M-W (Thursday is Thanksgiving, so no work).
However, we did eat at the diner, and I had the usual breakfast of cheese and onion omelet. Lunch at work was my quick and easy cheesy tortilla recipe (not much of a recipe. lol)
After work, of course I did not feel like cooking, because I NEVER do. However, I’ve been wanting to try a taco soup recipe my son Brandon has been making. He let me taste it at work this week, and it was really yummy.
Rick did the shopping while I was at work, of course. He makes keto easy!
I must give credit where credit is due, the recipe is from LINDA’S LOW CARB MENUS & RECIPES. She has a lot of really good keto-friendly recipes on her site. I had forgotten about this site, and I’ll have to reinvestigate it soon.
http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/creamy_sw_taco_soup.html
I adapted the recipe a bit. I only used one can of rotel tomatoes. I assumed correctly that these made up the bulk of the admittedly small amount of carbs in the recipe, but I’m not that fond of tomatoes and I thought I’d save carbs where I can. One can equals 10 grams of carbs, so that’s a significant savings.
As I started laying out the ingredients, I sadly discovered that the cumin bottle was nearly empty. Sigh. Rick and I searched the cupboards for another jar, but there was none to be found. I did have a jar of taco seasoning mix, so I subbed that for the cumin and chili powder. It was still tasty, but not as good as the spoonful I tried of Brandon’s “original” recipe.
I think mine ended up about 2 3/4 grams of carbs per servings, which is very very good. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the soup, but it looked just like the one on Linda’s page. It only took about 15 minutes, so I’m sure I’ll be making this again.
Day 304: Movie night, no cheating
Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds
I ate the usual breakfast and had two cheese tortillas for lunch.
It was Thursday, so we did our new usual habit: Thursday night at the movies. We go to the 5 pm showing and get in for $5 each. Usually, we don’t order food at the concession stand, because 1) it’s too pricey and negates the cheap admission fee and 2) there are not a lot of great choices. I guess I could eat a hot dog with no bun, but I’d rather just pass. Last week I failed and ate the nachos. This week, I drank a bit of Rick’s diet cola and had about 6 kernels of popcorn.
Oh, and the movie was pretty good. We saw “Flight” with Denzel Washington.
I was pretty hungry after the movie, but I made it home without any restaurant or fast food temptations. I knew I still had some leftover chicken from Tuesday’s meal, so I heated up a little and had that for a small meal. I didn’t eat any sides with it. It was late evening, and I just wanted something to take care of the hunger, yet not a lot before bed. I know eating alot of processed pre-made foods isn’t great, but it sure hits the spot after working all day.
I know habits are difficult to break, but I’m pretty proud of myself for making it through movie night with no concession treats! I’ll have to think of the movie date as the treat, and ignore the overpriced “overcarbed” junk food that usually accompanies the occasion.
Day 298: Hidden carbs sabotage my meal
Total weight loss: 41 1/2 pounds
Yesterday was Friday. We started the morning at the diner, where I had my usual: cheese and onion omelet with a side of bacon. I was very happy it was Friday, but I knew I had a long day at work ahead of me. Breakfast out was my “pre-treat” to myself.
For lunch, I ate 2 Beddar Cheddars. I had almonds later for a snack.
While I was working, Rick was also working on websites and newsletters. In the afternoon, he cooked up some chicken fajitas and stopped by the grocery store for some low carb tortillas, so I could eat right after getting off work.
I don’t know what I would do without his support. He is supposedly “retired,” but each day is spent working on our web and print design business. He also took care of a million details when closing the house we sold, does the banking, grocery shopping, and most of the cooking. I might cook something twice a week. Anyway, he has been behind me 100% and goes out of his way to buy low carb foods and find me low carb dinner ideas. My husband is one in a million!
So, back to the food diary. I ate 2 servings of the fajitas, and topped them both with avocado slices and sour cream. They were delicious and low carb. The tortillas are just sliced up frozen chicken tenders with a spicy marinade from a bottle. He uses all different kinds, like Lawry’s. Oh my. I just looked at the carb count on the marinade. It says one serving is 4 grams of carbs. Well, that sounds dandy, until I read the details: the bottle contains 24 servings!!! Rick says he uses about a half a bottle, which makes 4 servings when combined with chicken and cut up peppers and onions. That means 12 servings x 4 grams of carbs = 48 total, or 24 grams of carbs if I eat 2 servings, as I did last night. That one meal puts me over carb count for the whole day. Sigh. I guess I’ll have to find some other seasoning for this meal.
There have been a few other incidents like this, where I think I’m eating something just fine, but discover later that the meal was overflowing with carbs. The Taco Bell hot sauce in a packet that Rick adds to my morning egg dish is fine. The Taco Bell verde sauce is not. Guess it pays to be more conscious of those hidden carbs!
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.