First Time Mom and Losing It

I remember when I first started the Ketogenic diet a few years ago. The diet wasn't well known so it was hard to find a snack on-the-go. I would always have to take nuts or cheese sticks with me. As the years went by, keto became mainstream and "low carb" snack options began popping up in stores. Sometimes they would have good macros but a lot of times they would not. I would spend a long time in the supermarket looking at nutritional labels and ingredients.


Then a few months ago I got the opportunity to be a Keto Krate ambassador. I got to sample the boxes each month for free. Subscriptions boxes are pretty fun because it's like getting a gift in the mail every month. My favorite thing about Keto Krate is that you get to try products from different companies that you may have never heard of before. A lot of these companies are small and really put care and thought into their products.


Every month my husband and I open the Keto Krate together and choose one snack to try right away. Most of the times we enjoy the snacks and sometimes we don't. This is a great way to figure out what kinds of snacks we like.


With Keto Krate you get 8+ snacks a month that are 5g of net carbs or less. Keto Krate does the calculation for you so that you can dig into the box as soon as you get it without having to worry if it will fit into your macros. You also get $20+ in savings with coupon codes and discounts to the products in the box. I also love how they give a recipe to use on their featured product. Check out Keto Krate if you want to try out a Keto Krate for yourself!

Thank you DietToGo for sending me a 3 day sample of the Carb30 plan for an honest review. 



The key to staying on track when you are on a weight loss journey is to be prepared! Even though I know that I still find myself unprepared at times. These times are the ones where I have to make choices outside of my home. Although you can go to a restaurant and order something you think is low carb, there can be lots of hidden carbs.

This summer has been busy for my little family as we enjoy the last time my daughter will be home all day. She will be starting kindergarten in late August so we are spending as much quality time as possible. I honestly would rather be at the pool with my daughter than in the kitchen meal prepping for hours. This is when DietToGo came to me at the perfect time.


DietToGo is a meal delivery company that offers three different plans of healthy and clean foods. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is all planned for you within the macros that is right for you. You don't have to think about what to eat, count calories, or cook. All you have to do is look at the menu of the day, pull out the meal, and heat it up.



Since I am following a ketogenic diet I picked the Carb30 plan. DietToGo has perfectly calculated 3 meals every day that equal up to 30 carbs a day. It's that easy and that tasty too. Everything I had was super delicious and fresh tasting. All of the meals tasted like a personal chef came to cook at my place and not like a frozen TV dinner. The ingredient list of each meal was very minimal and full of whole foods. Unlike the frozen diet meals I have purchased at the supermarket, the DietToGo meals kept me satisfied until the next meal.




DietToGo also offers a Balanced menu plan where you get a little bit of everything that is calorie controlled. The Balance-Diabetes plan is perfect for Diabetics and Pre-diabetics to help keep blood sugar under control. There is even a Vegetarian option.

Have you ever tried a meal delivery company? 

When you are on a ketogenic (low carb, high fat) diet it is super easy to plan the protein side of your meal. Since meat doesn't have carbs we have a huge variety to choose from. The tricky part comes with the sides. Every side I used to make before starting a ketogenic diet was full of starches and sugar. It was always mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, breads and macaroni and cheese.  To get around all of the carbs you have to be creative in the kitchen and substitute all of the starches and sugars with keto-friendly ingredients.

One of the most typical side dish at a Thanksgiving meal would be a bowl of mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes can easily be substituted for my Low Carb Sour Cream and Chive Mash. Instead of potatoes I use cauliflower. Click on the link to find out the secret to my smooth and fluffy mash that tastes better than mashed potatoes!


Macaroni and cheese is another staple side at Thanksgiving. Since pasta is not allowed on a low carb diet I substituted cauliflower again. With all of the butter, cream and cheese in my Low Carb Baked "Mac" n Cheese you will never miss out on the pasta.


Years ago I saw this deliciously creamy brussels sprouts recipe on a Food Network Thanksgiving special. Full of butter, cream and pancetta I knew it would be easy to modify. I "ketofied" the recipe with my Keto / Low Carb Creamy Pancetta Brussels Sprouts.


You have to have some kind of bready side to complete the meal. One of my favorite breads comes from my favorite Keto YouTuber Cooking Keto with Kristie. It has quickly became my go-to "bread" recipe because I always have the ingredients on hand and they are super easy to make. Keto Test Recipe: Low Carb Biscuits.


What Low Carb Sides do you like to make on Thanksgiving?

When I first began my keto journey I was eating lots of eggs, cheese and bacon for breakfast. I was getting tired of eating the same thing so I started researching recipes for something bready I could have as a breakfast sandwich. I found these yummy almond flour mug cakes that I was eating for a while. It was kind of dry so then I started using my oopsie rolls for the "bread" of my sandwich. I wanted something denser so I looked for a biscuit type recipe.


I am a huge fan of the Cooking Keto with Kristie YouTube channel so I had to try her Low Carb Biscuits. The first time I made them they were a hit with my husband and I. I love how easy they are to make and that I could make a batch of twelve at one time.

The recipe is so simple and if you have read my Keto Pantry post you should already be familiar with the ingredients. First you have to take 10 egg whites and froth them up in a big bowl with a hand mixer. I was using a whole container of egg whites to make it easier on myself. Then my local Aldi's never had the carton so I was just separating 10 egg and saving the yolks for a later time.


To make my batter extra smooth I take all of the dry ingredients and put them through a sifter. What ever stays in the sifter I put in my ninja and pulverize it until it is fine. I add that to the rest of the dry ingredients and then mix it into the eggs with the hand mixer. Next to go in is the melted butter and then I fold in the mozzarella cheese.

Evenly divide the batter into a silicone muffin pan and bake for 12 minutes. The biscuits come out golden, dense and crumbly like a biscuit. I love to slice them in half spread on some butter and use them to dip into my sunny side up eggs.

*I received the products below free for my review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be a good fit for my readers. All opinions are 100% my own.


Being a part of the low carb community Sukrin Products kept coming up in all of the talks. I had never heard of the brand before so I went to their site to see what they had. I was so pleased to see all of the low carb and natural sweeteners they had in stock.


I love that they have different sweeteners for different tastes. The Sukrin: 1 is erythritol mixed with a little bit of stevia. It measures one to one with regular sugar so it's easy to replace it in any recipe or even in your morning coffee. I loved using the Sukrin: 1 in my chocolate mug cake for a sweet treat at the end of the day. I also used some of the Sukrin Melis (like powdered sugar) to make my mug cake look pretty and for an extra dusting of sweetness.

Everytime I see one of those viral recipes on Facebook I start thinking about ways to keto-ize it. When I saw the Sesame Wings from Tastemade I knew the Fiber Syrup Gold would be the perfect substitute for the honey in the recipe.



Keto Sesame Wings

• 10 chicken wings cut into wingettes and drumettes
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tblsp. baking powder
• 2 tblsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. chopped garlic (1 clove garlic)
• 1 tblsp. Braggs Liquid Aminos (you can substitute soy sauce or coconut aminos)
• 3 tblsp. Sukrin Fiber Gold
• 1 tblsp Sukrin Gold
• 1 tblsp. sesame seeds

Step 1: Sprinkle the salt, pepper and baking powder on top of the chicken wings. Mix well. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake in the oven on 400 for 20 minutes. Turn the wings and bake for another 20 minutes.

Step 2: While the wings are baking mix the remaining ingredients (except for the sesame seeds) in a saucepan. Cook until it starts to boil and then lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes. Make sure to constantly stir so the bottom doesn't burn.

Step 3: Place sauce in a large bowl and top with the cooked wings. Carefully toss to fully coat the wings. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and toss to coat again.


I am having so much fun with the Sukrin products and have lots of ideas coming up with them. I will post them to social media when they are up. Surkin also offers Sugar Free chocolate, low carb bake mixes and nut flours. Right now Sukrin is offering free shipping on $75+ orders – and low flat-rate shipping on orders less than $75!

I bought this big bag of chicken tenderloins from Costco and enjoy making my Keto Chicken Tenders with them. I wanted to try something different with them so I looked at what I had in the refrigerator and decided to use what I had on hand. I came up with this delicious Creamy Chicken and Mushroom sauce that I could put on top of zoodles. It was so creamy and delicious and the richness of the dish satisfies you with a small portion. This dish is super easy to make and really quick too.



Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms Zoodles

• 1 pound chicken tenderloins
• 1 tblsp of oil (I used avocado oil)
• 7 ounce package baby bella mushrooms, sliced 
• 4 tblsp heavy cream
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 large zucchini, peeled and made into zoodles
• salt and pepper to taste

It's been really cold these couple of weeks with a few snow days in between. When it's cold outside I like to have a nice comfy casserole type dish for dinner. I rather eat something hearty and warm in place of your typical hot and steamy soup. I have been craving chicken pot pie for a while now so I decided to go into the kitchen to experiment with some keto ingredients.




Keto Chicken Pot Pie 

Crust:

• 3/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese 
• 1 tblsp cream cheese
• 6 tblsp almond flour
• 1/2 egg
• 1/2 tsp thyme 

• 1 tblsp butter
• 4 medium radishes, diced
• 4 medium baby bella mushrooms
• 3 cups roasted chicken, diced
• 2 cups spinach (or 1 cup frozen, thawed and liquid squeezed out)
• 1 cup bone broth (or chicken stock)
• 4 ounces cream cheese 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp Better than Boullion chicken base
• 2 tsp onion flakes
• 3/4 tsp Himilayan pink sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

So I am loving the "breading" I created for my Keto Chicken Tenders and decided to experiment. I added some bay seasoning, lemon zest and parsley flakes to make the perfect coating for some fish sticks. I also served them with a homemade tartar sauce and some Parmesan Crisps to make the chip part of "Fish n Chips"


Keto Fish and Chips 

One of the perks of being a New Yorker is having some amazing Deli's right in my neighborhood. I used to love to go early in the morning for some fresh sesame seed covered bread and cold cuts. I would slather the bread with mayo and pile on the meats and cheese.

Now that I am doing a ketogenic diet bread is a no-go so I started rolling the meat and cheese together and eating it that way. I got kind of tired of eating it this way and craved some bread. The oopsie rolls came to the rescue again when I decided to make some sandwiches with them. First I make the coleslaw and let it sit in the refrigerator. Then I make the oopsie rolls and let them cool. Spread some mayo onto two of the oopsie rolls and assemble my sandwich. This time I used hard salami and lacey swiss cheese.


Coleslaw (Serves 2)

• 1 1/2 cups chopped cabbage 
• 1 tblsp mayonnaise
• 1 tblsp avocado oil (you can substitute any oil you like) 
• 1 tblsp apple cider vinegar (I love the Organic Braggs brand)
• 2 drops liquid stevia
• salt and pepper to taste

Oopsie Rolls (Makes 12 halves or 6 sandwich rolls)

• 4 eggs, separated
• 4 ounces of cream cheese 
• 1 tsp cream of tartar 
• sesame seeds

My husband and I have been on a Keto Weight Loss journey since August 31. We have lost a combined 132 pounds. I lost 50 and he lost 82. I think that this way of eating has been successful for us because we are never hungry and get to enjoy delicious foods. A ketogenic (keto) diet is where you eat 20g or less of carbs, a low/moderate amount of protein and a high amount of fat. Your percentages of food should be 5% Carbs, 20% Protein and 75% Fat.

Since I have been making so many different recipes I have acquired a great keto pantry (and fridge).

Alternative Sweetener:

• Erythritol - I use this whenever I am baking or when a recipe calls for a granulated sweetener. 
• Liquid Stevia - I use about 5 drops in my coffee every morning. 
• Ez-Sweetz - Liquid Sucralose. I use this in all of my recipes that don't call for a granular sweetener. This is what my husband uses in his coffee. It takes a couple of drops to sweeten without an aftertaste. 

Pork Rinds: They are really good to snack on and to eat with dips. They can also be pulverized into dust to substitute for any kind of breading. I have also used them to make keto puppy chow.


Coconut Oil: It's the holy grail in a keto kitchen. I put it in my coffee to make bulletproof coffee. I also use it to make fat bombs. It's the perfect way to get your fat in on a keto diet.


Avocado Oil: I use this oil to fry, for cooking and in my keto coleslaw recipe. It's great to use in cooking because of it's high heat point.


** Please note that I am not a doctor or nutritionist. I just wanted to share what has been working for my husband and I. Please seek advice from your doctor first before starting any diet or exercise program.