Yummy new keto snack to add to my arsenal: salt & vinegar almonds
Rick and I went to the movies last night, and I knew enough to prepare by snacking on something before going in. Those concession stands are nothing but a big, expensive, and carb-filled enemy to the keto plan.
I love chili lime almonds and eat them daily as a snack at work. They have often saved me from pigging out on one of the fatty treats that my workplace always has on the snack table. I am a BIG lover of salt & vinegar potato chips, so when I discovered S&V almonds on Amazon a couple of months ago, I started looking for them on the local shelves. I always order in bulk from Amazon, and I didn’t want to take a chance by ordering a whole lot of something that I didn’t like very much. I needed a small taste test first.
Well, Rick found a 1.5 ounce pack at CVS, and they are as good as a handful of salt & vinegar chips. I loved them! I felt like I was indulging in some forbidden treat. Needless to say, I ordered a dozen cans from Amazon this morning. That amount should last me quite awhile, and I’ll always have a nice back-up treat when temptation calls.
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.
Good info about ketogenic diet with food list, menus, and advice
Found an inspiring blog with some solid keto diet advice. I especially agree with this:
One of the most effective tricks during a diet is routine. Eat the same meals over and over or plan your meals ahead for the whole week. I’ve found it effective to pre-make dishes on Sunday and have them ready for the week. That makes it incredibly easy to stick to the diet because I avoid thinking which means I avoid creativity and creativity requires decision making which leads to hard choices. Just avoid the hard choices and have it all planned and some of it ready to grab and go.
The Basic Keto Diet, a page on Mike Maunder’s blog, has about everything you need to understand the ketogenic diet principle, plus a list of foods and menu plans. It’s thorough and inspiring.
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.
Carbs linked to cognitive impairment in the elderly
Interesting. I know carbs aren’t good for me, but I found this article on Huffington Post:
Researchers tracking the eating habits of 1,230 older people found that those reporting the highest carbohydrate intake at the beginning of the study were 1.9 times likelier to develop mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest intake. Participants with the highest sugar intake were 1.5 times likelier to experience mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest levels.
Updating by email
You may have noticed that I haven’t been keeping up on the blog lately.
I’m back on track and eating on the keto plan, but I haven’t had much time to blog. The day job, the web business, and a few weeks of travel (to Florida!) have slowed down my blogging progress.
I found this plugin that allows me to blog from email. Let’s hope that makes it easier for me to log in on the road.
I wonder how well I can show pictures of my latest recipes and meal discoveries here. Let’s try it…Here’s a bad meal that I ate at the ubiquitous Waffle House. That was part of several continued BAD vacation decisions.
Here’s to a more successful week now that I’m back in town. More to report later.
Day 328: An effort to stay on track
Total weight loss: 38 pounds
After a day of weight gain, and looking ahead to a couple of holiday celebrations at the end of the week makes me realize I need to take advantage of the next few days and eat under carb count as diligently as possible.
Monday morning, and we decided to make that diner breakfast day. I had the cheese omelet and bacon.
Lunch was leftover keto-friendly Cincinnati chili warmed up at work.
I ordered the delicious grilled chicken club sandwich with blue cheese at trivia. I have to say again, Albert’s on the Alley makes good quality and delicious food. I ate 2 steak fries.
Day 326: Keto-friendly pumpkin tarts
Total weight loss: 39 1/2 pounds
I didn’t feel like eggs, so I made a tortilla filled with shredded cheese and a chopped up pappadew pepper. YUM
Lunch never happened. I got busy cleaning and sorting things, and working on sites. I had a late afternoon snack of Michelob Ultra (low carb) beer and almonds.
For dinner, I made Cincinnati chili over spaghetti squash. I can never quite get over how good that tastes and how little I miss spaghetti. The chili, cheese and onions simply need a pasta-like base and spaghetti squash does the trick.
I finally made the dessert I planned to make on Thanksgiving. Pumpkin cream cheese dessert. I used this recipe as a base, but changed it up a bit. Who needs crust? I mixed cream cheese, spices, sweetener, and pumpkin and portioned it out into a muffin panned lined with foil cupcake liners. The entire recipe was about 40 carbs and it garnered 12 cupcakes, so they were just under 4 g. a piece. I baked them at 350 for about 25 mins and topped with about a tbsp of Reddiwhip after they were chilled.