I have been doing Slimming World for two days, and I know it's too early to be anywhere near comfortable with it. Why am I not comfortable yet? Because of my brain which is never quiet, always overthinking and worrying too much. After being on Keto/Low Carb for several months, now not only am I allowed to eat foods that I wasn't allowed before. I also eat what feels to me like a gazillion of calories. I am not though. I tracked my calories for the last two days and I stayed below 1700 kcal which is actually less than I used to eat while doing Low Carb. But I used to eat a lot more fat which at 7 kcal per gram means a lot less food on the plate. Now my diet focusses on protein and carbs which at 3 kcal per gram leave me with lots of food. I am not complaining though. I looove food!! But it is a bit alien to me, being allowed to eat more and different. So I got on the scales this morning, expecting a gain. However, quite to my surprise, I lost! I lost 1.1kg (2.5lbs) in my first two days of following Slimming World ! All I have to do now is get my head around the newly found freedom. And maybe add a HEb to my daily food intake.. and maybe make friends with Syns such as carbs. Carbs and I are still on the warpath, and I don't think we will ever be friends. On a more negative note: lots of people on Instagram left but that was to be expected. It's just Instagram, right? I will post more updates soon! x
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Dear all,
As some of you might have already seen, I have moved away from Keto a while ago and have found myself focussing more on calories counting and low carb. This has been fairly successful, but I am now going a step further, or maybe a step back or sideways.. I have no idea. Let me explain: My husband and I are on this weightloss journey together and he has been struggling with the whole low carb idea. He has not followed it at all which made my life a bit more complicated. I now came to the point where I have to rethink and restructure what we are doing, simply because he is eating an unhealthy combination of high carb and high fat. Inspired by my sister's weightloss with Slimming World - she has lost as much as I have but with a lot less effort and worry - I have now decided to join her with Slimming World. I have started a 3-months-trial and in January I will evaluate the progress and whether Slimming World is the right choice for me.. or us rather. Please understand, my husband's health is very important to me, as heart disease runs in his family and he is almost 40 years old. He needs to lose weight and I would and will do anything to make this easier for him. I will try to incorporate Low Carb with Slimming World - so let's see how this goes as I am sure it is a possible thing to do. If you are one of my Keto or Low Carb followers, and you do not agree, with my change of diet, then I'd fully understand if you leave my blog and/or Instagram. Thank you for following me until today and I wish you all the very best! I mean it! If you are doing Keto/Low Carb and stick with me, then thank you! At the end of the day, we are all trying to become healthy and lose weight, and how we do it should be our decision. And this decision hasn't been an easy one! But not only do I have to keep my health in mind but my husband's too. Thank you all for reading, and for your understanding. I do appreciate it. Love to you all and good luck with whatever your journey is x .. keeping this blog going, am I ??
Seriously, I should really add some more posts, not only recipes. I tend to cook the same all the time, so some reports of everyday life might be useful to keep you in the loop. I gained some weight during September, however considering that I went to Berlin and ate nothing but unhealthy stuff for a week, I am not too bothered by the gain. October will be better. I have a new goal: 3 stone until June 2018.. you know why? Because we are going to Mexico!!! So finger crossed ;) .. We actually planned to have pollock today, but the supermarket didn't have any. Instead we found this beautiful seabass! So we decided to have this instead :) . Ingredients: 1 whole seabass (around 240g) 8g butter salt, pepper fresh parsley Method: Add the butter, salt and pepper into the fish cavity. You can add some salt onto the skin, too. Oil some foil, add the fish and build a parcel. Bake at 200 C for about 20 mins. I made home-made chicken kievs yesterday, and was quiet please as they worked out brilliantly :) . Ingredients (for 1 person): 1 chicken breast (around 250g) 10g salted butter 5g fresh finely chopped garlic (or frozen) 1 tsp of fresh chives, chopped or alternatively dry spices you like 1 slice of Warburtons Protein bread 1 free range egg Method: Mix the butter, the garlic, the chives (or spice). Toast the bread at a low level until it is completely dry. Or if you want, just take it out on the morning and let it go stale. Use a blender to make fine breadcrumbs. Cut a pocket on the top side of the chicken breast and add the garlic butter. Whisk the eggs, and coat the chicken breast before rolling it in the breadcrumbs. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 C for about 25-30 mins. While I have not been struggling with Keto, I have now decided to change my macros and move from strict Keto to moderate low carb. This means I have increased my daily carb intake from 20 to 50.
Not only will this benefit the variety of food I can eat and cook, it will hopefully also benefit my husband who has been struggling with the strictness of Keto. At the end of the day, my aim is to lose weight and I think low carb is a good starting point to do so. Be it Keto or Low Carb. I have faced some grief over this change, mainly from people in hardcore Keto groups on Facebook. Tell you what: I don't care. I am not willing to deal with people like that in any way shape or form. Be happy, let me be happy. I suppose that's an acceptable arrangement? These protein rolls are so easy to make and at only 5 carbs per roll they are a real treat.
This recipe makes four medium sized rolls. And as always, please make sure you calculate the nutritional value depending on the brands and products you are using 😊. Ingredients: 35 g coconut flour 35 g ground almonds 45 g psyllium husk powder 4 eggs 7 g baking powder 2 tbsp apple or cider vinegar 1 tbsp salt + spices (whatever you fancy) 200 ml lukewarm water Method: Mix the coconut flour, the ground almonds, the psyllium husk powder, salt and spices. Whisk the eggs. Add the vinegar to the baking powder - this will foam but that is what you are aiming for. Add the baking powder-vinegar mix to the flour mix. Add the water and mix well. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 175 ° C (fan) and bake for about 50-60 minutes. Leave to cool before eating. Enjoy! 🤗 Tonight I made Greek salad with Gyros spiced chicken, and it was lush :) . I have been asked about the gyros spice mix, so I thought I'd share it with you. This amount is enough for 1 - 1,5 kg of chicken, so just put it into a jar where it should keep for about 6 months. Ingredients: 2 tbsp coriander powder 2 tbsp black pepper 2 tbsp dried thyme 1 tbsp Pul Biber (Aleppo Pepper) or chili flakes 1 tbsp cumin 2 tbsp dried majoram 2 tbsp dried oregano 2 tbsp paprika powder (I used smoked) 2 tbsp onion powder 2 tbsp garlic powder 1 tbsp salt Mix all ingredients and keep in a jar in a dry place. Easy :)
Who doesn't love a chicken dinner?
Ingredients: 1 large fresh chicken (please use free range if you can afford it, thanks!) Spice mix: 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp smoked paprika powder 1 tbsp garlic granules 1 tbsp onion granules S & P Method: Salt the chicken inside. Mix the spices with the oil and cover the chicken generously. Preheat the oven to 175 C. Cooking instructions do vary, so please check the information on the chicken. A good rule of thumb is: 40 mins per kilo plus 30 mins. I think McDonald's in the UK have to get used to more and more people asking for disassembled foods. I like MaccyD's breakfast but since they have discontinued their scrambled eggs and sausage breakfast, I will order disassembled egg McMuffins in future :-) . Honest to God, I have no recipe for this... I have been making lasagna and bolognese for such a long time, I don't even know what I put into it.... let me try and have a think.... Ingredients: 400g beef mince 400ml can chopped tomatoes 1 tbsp tomatoe puree 1 garlic glove, finely chopped or crushed 1-2 small shalotts 150g grated cheese 1 Oxo stock cube Herbs: - all to taste Thyme Rosmary Oregano Majoram Salt and pepper to taste Methode: Fry off the beef until well browned. Add the garlic and onion and fry off until golden brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree, the Oxo stock cube and your herbs. Let everything simmer until well reduced. Alternatively you could add more tomato puree but be carefull as the carbs creep up quickly using it. Transfer the sauce into small casserole dishes and cover with cheese. Broil until the cheese has melted. You can use some freshly chopped parsley to garnish. I am afraid I don't have a recipe for this. I didn't cook it. My husband did. I can however tell you how to make the parsnips :) Peel the parsnips, cut them into even sized chips. Toss them in a mix of olive oil, salt and pepper and bake them at 200 C for 40-45 minutes, turning halfway to ensure an even cooking. They're really nice, and a good alternative for chips :) . Sometimes you have to cook with whatever is left in the fridge. Today was one of those days! This dish might not look particularly nice, but it was! Ingredients: 4 pork chops (or alternatively use some pork filet) 200ml heavy cream 1 broccoli, washed and cut into pieces 200g mushrooms, sliced - your choice, I used white ones Grated cheese to your liking, I know some people like loads :) 1 tsp mild curry powder Salt Pepper Method: Pepper the pork chops and fry off in a rather hot pan. Make sure they're nicely browned off, but not yet cooked through. Boil the broccoli until al dente, don't overcook it though or you might end up with broccoli mash. Drain and set aside. Season the heavy cream with salt, pepper, and curry powder. Here there are no limits to your imagination. Any seasoning that you like and that you think might go with the dish will do :) . Add the mushrooms and let the sauce simmer for a while (don't boil it though). Transfer the pork into a baking dish, add the broccoli and the creamy mushrooms. Top with cheese. Bake at 200 C for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pork chops. I am fairly Rain Man-y when it comes to lunch. I eat Romaine salad, chicken breast, cheese and mayonnaise in the office every working day. This might sound boring, but I like the different spices we use for the chicken, and the chicken is made on the BBQ which makes it very tasty. Also, this repeated lunch has the advantage that I don't have to worry about being creative for lunch.
I have stalled a bit and I know this is down to me eating too many carbs. So I will give NP (no plants) for tea a try for a week or two. Let's hope this acts as a bit of a kickstart back into ketosis. I will keep you updated on the success front, and of course I will post any new recipe that I make. Have you missed me? Honestly, I am not ignoring you, but I keep eating the same stuff over and over, so I have no new recipes to share. I have to come up with some new ideas. Any suggestions? I am afraid today, I have to whinge.. just a bit and real quick. Oh c'mon, please don't look at me like this, I will be quick! I spend a lot of time on diet communities and it's nice to see that more and more people know about Keto and LCHF, however it is sad that both still has a bad reputation. I somehow understand, because I - like most of you - grew up with the attitude that fat is evil, and fat makes you fat. So hearing people condemn Keto or LCHF is nothing new to me - and probably nothing new to you fellow Ketojans either. What does upset me though are people who are preaching their WOE as the only right one. Let me be honest with you, guys: if you feel the urge to walk the earth preaching that your WOE is the only one, then you have a lot to learn. At the end of the day, it is the result that matters, and nobody likes people who preach, be is ex-fatties or ex-smokers. So just don't, ok? All other people I have met, who are not preaching: thanks for being kind and supportive. Keep on losing weight, people! Good luck! Yesterday I made my very own version of chicken fricassee which I hope you will enjoy, too! Ingredients: 400g chicken, diced 300ml extra thick double cream, or alternatively 300ml heavy cream 1 jar white asparagus (Green Giant @ 190g) or alternatively fresh asparagus 150g mushrooms (fresh or from the can) 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp vegetable stock (optional) Salt Pepper Parsley (optional) Xanthan gum (optional) Method: Brown off the chicken and pepper it to your liking. Lower the heat and add the cream, the asparagus, mushrooms and parsley. Season with the curry powder, the vegetable stock and salt. Simmer until the chicken is done, and add the parsley. If you find the sauce too thin, use some Xanthan gum to thicken the sauce. I admit it.. I did spend £2.- each for two pieces of Lo-Dough. Why? Because it seems to be the latest graze, and I like everything new and shiny. As you can see from the image above, I have decided to use it as a pizza base, as recommended on the product package. Lo-Dough comes as round pizza bases/wraps and the product as such smells nicely of .. yeast? The product states that it's ready to eat however I decided to give it the pizza test. The uncooked texture reminds me of foam, very soft and quite nice. We added a thin layer of tomato sauce to the dough, added pre-grilled chicken, onion, mushrooms and cheese and baked it at 180 C for 15 mins. The crust was crisp.. very crisp. As a matter of fact it was completely dry. The centre of the pizza was soggy to the point of being inedible. I would not use Lo-Dough again, not for pizza anyway, and in all honesty, I would use it for anything else. The product tastes of absolutely nothing, and at £2.- per piece it is far too expensive for what it is. I will stick with fathead and quark as an alternative for pizza bases, but at least I can say that I tried Lo-Dough. Everybody who considered getting a Ketonix, which sells at over £100.- in the UK, I would personally not bother. After watching a video by the amazing GingerlyGinger on Youtube, I considered getting a breathalzyer and she was right - these things work! So if you have considered getting a Ketonix, let me be honest: don't waste your money. GingerlyGinger has made two videos, one of them (the older one) is a bit hard to understand so she made a new one only a week ago. Give them a watch, they're very informative: Finally, almost three months after we bought it, we finally managed to set up our new gas BBQ, get a gas bottle and make our first batch of chicken breast - which was a delight I have you know ;-) !
When we visited my family this year, my broher-in-law Christian cooked a BBQ on a massive gas BBQ that he had gotten for his birthday. Needless to say my husband was smitten and wanted his own. And in all fairness, a gas BBQ is a lot easier and quicker, especially in weather conditions that change as quickly as they can here. So we got one, and the weather turned sour. Yesterday.. 22 degrees, sun and not too much wind ! Never have I seen my husband build any DIY project that quickly :D . I don't think I will ever make chicken breast in the frying pan or oven ever again. Chicken breast will go on the BBQ from now on, yes even if it is snowing! Prepare to see a lot more BBQ'ed meat on this blog. Our next plan is beef fajitas on the BBQ, so watch this space! After what felt like endless discussions about whether BPC is a drink or in fact food, we have not come to a conclusion yet. I think it matters only if you are actively fasting, and what kind of fast you do. If you do a water fast, then BPC is maybe not an ideal breakfast. Anyway... I have decided to give BPC another try. I don't think I am getting enough fat in my current diet, so I will incorporate BPC for a week to see if drinking it in the morning makes a difference. This morning I did not notice a difference. The BPC did not keep me fuller for longer as the holy internet promises, and I felt hungry by around half nine. Not a great start but maybe I have to get used to it first. Talking about getting used to it. I think I might add some flavour to the coffee tomorrow as I find it rather bland. Maybe some cinammon or nutmeg. The world is my oyster so to speak. On another note, I have bought chocolate spread... yes, you read this correctly. Jim Jam's 83% less sugar chocolate spread with maltitol. Maltitol being a sugar alcohol should (!!) not affect my insulin level. However the internet gives a range of different opinions, so like with everything in Keto, experimenting is the only way of finding out if it is for me. So wish me luck :) . I have not posted a lot of recipes yet, however I decided to keep a list of all recipes in a separate tab. This is more for myself to be honest, as I easily lose track of recipes. On top of that a list is easier to go through and get inspiration from when I need it.
This week I am struggling with food ideas, so if you would like to share your ideas with me, please do! My husband is making slow cooked beef tonight, and I am planning on making springrolls in a bowl (recipe to follow). Apart from that... ? Honestly, it is Monday almost 11:00 am and my brain has clearly not set in yet. I was asked about the feta cream recipe on my Instagram page, so I thought I'd share it here, as well. Ingredients: 200g of feta cheese 1-2 tbsp of creme fraiche or Greek yoghurt 2 garlic gloves 25g pickled roasted peppers Pepper (no salt necessary as the feta is rather salty) Method: Add all ingredients to a blender and blitz them until they're smooth(ish). Really simple :-) Sausages, fried egg and low carb bread (less than 4 carbs per slice) - I'm in heaven! Seriously, I could eat sausages all the time on this woe. I normally get the 97% sausage by Harrogate, or chipolatas. The ones on the picture are chipolatas and I could east a full pack to myself! Also on this picture is the Schneider protein bread, and it is absolutely delicious! At 3.9g carbs per slice it is a nice treat. Mind you, please check the ingredients before you go an buy it, as this is not keto friendly and contains ingredients that some Keto followers would not touch.
Not every dish looks appetising but this one wasn't half bad. It is beef mince wrapped in savoy cabbage, simmered in a gravy made from stock, creme fraiche, capers and mustard.
Ingredients: 1 savoy cabbage 500 g beef mince 2 tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped up 1 onion, chopped 4 tbsp oil 1 tbsp mustard 3 tbsp crème fraîche 3-4 tbsp capers 300 ml beef stock salt & pepper thyme to taste Method: Wash the savoy cabbage and blanch 12 leaves in boiling water for 2 minutes. Refresh in cold water and drain well. Chop 50g of the leftover savoy cabbage and mix with the tomatoes and onions. Salt and pepper, and season with thyme. Add 2 tbsp of oil to a frying pan and swet the mixture until soft. Set aside and allow to cool. Season the beef mince (and rather use more than not enough). I used salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and smoked paprika. Add the vegetable mixture to the beef mince and mix thoroughly. Add some of the meat mixture to each savoy leave, roll up and wrap them using some string. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in the frying pan and briskly fry off your roulades from all sides. Add the stock und leave the roulades to cook for 15-20 minutes turning them occasionally. Remove the roulades from the frying pan and add the crème fraîche, mustard, and capers. Salt and pepper to taste.
I love Raclette! Don't you?
Normally we do Raclette on New Year's Eve as it is a nice way of sitting together and eating together. But the other day I started to think.. I do that sometimes! Raclette is basically meat and cheese, and some vegetables. It is really good for following a ketogenic WOE and our Raclette grill spends its time packed away, only ever waiting for New Years Eve. So I decided to have Raclette with mu husband. In fact used the Raclette grill on Saturday, Sunday and even Monday! On Monday we made Fajitas and they were delivious. So anyone who likes making a delicious mess of meat, cheese and whatever else you like, you should maybe consider getting a raclette grill yourself? Ours is huge, but there are smaller ones out there. Here is ours which we got from Amazon: |
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