Category Archives: Cincinnati chili

Day 27: The Superbowl snacks that never were

Lost: 0   Total weight loss: 13.5 pounds

The scale seems stuck; however, my clothes are looser, so I try not to let that bother me.

Yesterday, I planned to make some cool keto snacks for Superbowl Sunday, but the day got away from me. I ended up noshing all day after a thrown-together “leftovers” breakfast.

I was up by 9, but got busy doing things before breakfast. By noon, I was very hungry, but we only had one egg! I reheated the turkey Cincinnati chili from a couple nights ago, and spent more than 20 minutes trying to get a leftover piece of spaghetti squash to cook. While waiting, I peeled the eggs I made yesterday and created another dozen deviled eggs. I also slow cooked a pound of bacon that Brandon and Lindsey picked up for me at the Eastern Market Saturday.

The chili/spaghetti squash was to be the only meal of the day. Lunch was on the run, so to speak. I had work to do for clients, plus it was house cleaning day. In the midst of vacuuming, I was famished, so I had some almonds, 2 deviled eggs, and 2 pieces of the bacon.

Once the house was clean, my stepson George, wife Beccy, and granddaughter Danielle showed up for the big game. Rick made them little pizzas.

I did take some time to makes some FAILED mozzarella cheese sticks (string cheese, halved, battered in pork rinds and fried in olive oil). The original recipe called for a parmesan cheese crust, but I thought the pork rinds would make them more authentic. Turned out not to be true: they were gooey and clumped together when I pulled them out of the pan. To me, they tasted like melted cheese mixed with pork rinds, or, in other words, GAK. Rick and the others said they liked them. Not sure if they were just being polite.

I ate 2 more eggs, more almonds, and whipped us up some chocolate “mousse” from heavy cream and added strawberries. It was a hit! I had to make up a second batch.

Still well under my protein, and with some carbs to go, my last snack of the day was 2 pieces of bacon and a glass of almond milk. I need to set aside some time to plan this week’s meals, because grabbing food willy nilly isn’t fun. I’d also still like to try the snacks I planned to make, including some crispy cheese puffs and lime cheesecake.

I learned about a new vegetable while searching out Superbowl snacks: marrow. I plan to try frying up some low-carb marrow chips this week.

vegetable marrow
Cultivated in England, this green, oval summer squash can grow to the size of a watermelon. It’s closely related to the ZUCCHINI and can be cooked in any manner suitable for that vegetable. Because of its bland flavor, vegetable marrow (also called marrow squash ) is often stuffed with a meat mixture. It’s available in limited supplies in some specialty produce markets during the summer months. See also  SQUASH.

Day 21: Ups and downs

Today’s loss:  +1   Total weight loss: 11

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day and it started with a one-pound weight loss. Today, I woke up to find that pound has returned!

I see no reason why I would gain today, so I’m just going to put it down to the vagaries of life, and keep on truckin’.

Last night, I was reflecting upon how this lifestyle change is progressing. It’s really a “livable” plan. I doubt that I will be able to forgo carbs completely for the rest of my life, but I was going over some of my favorite keto recipes in my head, and I’ve enjoyed them all quite a bit. I really liked the Cincinnati chili, tacos in cheese shells, spaghetti squash alfredo… and the fried eggplant was pretty good, too. Most of these recipes taste as good as any of the carb-rich foods I used to enjoy. Some taste even better.

I had Rick’s bacon and sausage special for breakfast. Lunch was leftovers again: Cincinnati chili. After work, I wanted to take a couple of hours to finish assembling my new desk. I hadn’t had any time over the past few days. Before I got started, Rick invited me out to the gazebo in our yard for some “wine time,” but I was reluctant to use up my valuable carbs.

Instead, we looked up vodka – zero carbs. I combine it with Diet Coke, and had a no-carb drink. I only drank one, because some of the sites I found online said your body will burn the drink calories before it will burn the fat. I don’t want anything to delay the fat-burning process.

For an appetizer with the drink, I had some BBQ pork rinds with spinach and artichoke dip. Since I had staved off the hunger pangs for a bit, I went in and finished the desk.

Late dinner (after 9) was two tacos made from leftover taco beef and freshly micro’d provolone shells. Somehow my carbs were all used up by that point (I thought), so I just drank water the rest of the evening. Later, I went over the list again and found that I inadvertently put in a glass of wine. I guess while playing with the alcohol choices to see which were bad choices, I left that glass in my daily count. I ended up going to bed with 4 carbs to spare. I’m sure I’ll make them up another day.

Day 20: A hungry day

Lost: 1 pound    Total weight loss: 13 pounds

The weight is steadily dropping, and I must remember to measure myself tomorrow. I’ve been reading that the weight loss may slow down, but that the inches could still keep dropping. If I don’t have a baseline, I won’t know how much I’ve lost. Of course, my clothes feel a bit looser, but it’d still be nice to see some actual numbers.

Monday was a long and hungry day. I was in meetings all morning at work and didn’t get a chance to warm up my breakfast. By 11 I was quite hungry, but I was fortunate to have taken 6 deviled eggs to work with me and I scarfed them down (3 eggs total).

Around 1 pm, I had time to warm up the leftover Cincinnati chili on spaghetti squash. I planned to eat a salad around 4, but didn’t get a chance, and ended up leaving work at 6:30 ravenously hungry.

It was trivia night, and I went straight from work to the bar. Once there, I ordered a big salad with grilled chicken, cheese and onions. I gave away my croutons and cherry tomatoes.

By 10 pm, I was home and hungry again. I had another small bowl of leftover Cincinnati chili and 2 squares of dark chocolate.

It was actually the first day that I was really hungry since I began the keto plan. I guess I need to start the day right with my egg and sausage breakfast and be sure to eat my entire lunch. Snacking on bits of food all day left me dissatisfied and wanting more.

Day 19: Cincinnati chili – another favorite adapts well to the keto plan

Lost: .5   Total weight loss: 12 pounds

Since our truck is back in the transmission shop, Rick and I were stranded at home today, and I think we both enjoyed it very much!

It was a snowy cold Michigan day, and our NY Times was delivered on time, so we each whipped up a breakfast of choice and hung out with the paper over our meals. I chose to make a 2-egg omelet of cheese and a bit of onion. I topped it with sour cream my son and his fiance picked up for us from Calder’s Dairy. Two breakfast sausage patties completed the meal.

I wasn’t hungry for lunch, so I have nothing to report.

Dinner was Cincinnati chili experimentation time. As I reported yesterday, I already made the chili part with a pound of ground turkey. All I needed to do today was cook the spaghetti squash. My son Brandon reported that he had a lot of difficulty cutting and cooking his a couple of weeks ago. The last time I made it (for spaghetti alfredo), I had no difficulty with it at all.

Well, I guess I was just lucky that time. I used the same process (micro’d one minute before cutting) but I could NOT get my knife to easily divide this squash. Perhaps it has to do with the ripeness?

Anyway, after finally severing the squash into about 5 pieces, I put them face down in a dish with 1/2 cup of water. I cooked the squash in the microwave for 6 minutes, then 6 MORE minutes, then 6 MORE minutes. Finally, it was ready to scoop out. I repeated the process with another squash, because I wanted to be sure to have enough to match the huge pot of chili, which would serve us both a few portions in the next couple of days.

While waiting for the second squash to cook, I made deviled eggs out of some eggs I had boiled while breakfast was cooking. I’m starting to get the hang of cooking ahead and making more than one meal item at a time. Rick and I each had an egg while waiting for the second squash.

When the squash was all finished, I made us each a traditional plate of Cincinnati chili: 1st layer – spaghetti (squash); 2nd layer – grated cheese; 3rd layer – chopped onions (just a few for me, carbs you know); and….no 4th layer because beans have too many carbs. I am planning to try black soy beans, but haven’t ordered any yet.

Okay, so it doesn’t look as appetizing on squash as with traditional spaghetti; however, it WAS DELICIOUS! I liked it BETTER than the traditional dish. I think the flavor of the squash blended very well with the rest of the components. This was a hit. And it was very very filling. I couldn’t eat the entire dish, and I can usually plow through one plate and even another small serving. Rick was very full as well. Must be all that great fiber in the squash.

Looking forward to leftovers for lunch and for dinner one day this week, as well.