Chopped salads = easiest weeknight dinners!

My body has been craving salads, which is unusual for late December. I think that it is telling me to get some nutrients after my holiday indulgences, and I agree. I haven't been doing very well with the ketogenic lifestyle lately, and it is time to get back on track.

Whenever I crave salad, I want something interesting and somewhat gourmet, but I don't always have a lot of time to wash and prep my veggies. I am also somewhat picky about salad greens, because I can not tolerate the chunky white parts of lettuce, so I take a lot of time to go through and remove all of them whenever I make a salad. I discovered these new(ish) Dole chopped salad kits, and they are good! They are easy to eat, since everything is chopped into little pieces, and there isn't much of the chunky white parts to pick out.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home from work tonight, and I got a Sunflower Crunch chopped salad kit, which has cabbage, kale, carrots, sunflower seeds, bacon bits and a sweet onion citrus dressing. It was $3.49. I also got a rotisserie chicken for $6. Rotisserie chicken is the best thing ever for low carbers. I don't have time to roast chickens! Nor do I really care to touch raw chickens. $6 is such a low price to pay for the convenience of getting one ready to eat. And they are always so juicy and delicious. We took our ingredients home, chopped up the chicken, dumped the salad and chicken into a bowl, tossed with dressing, and devoured. You can't get much easier and healthier than that! And, compared to our usual habit of going out to eat all the time, it was very economical at just under $10 for two people. I've made it my New Year's resolution to eat way more of this meal in different variations- I am thinking around three times a week. Besides Sunflower Crunch, these chopped salads also come in the following flavors: Sesame Asian, Bacon & Bleu, BBQ Ranch, Chipotle Cheddar, and Summer Garden Blend. (Dole should be paying me for this free advertising, but they're not!) That will ensure I am getting all kinds of good vitamins and protein, and it will be so fast and easy. That is a resolution that I think I can stick to!

No compromise cheesecake!

I've gotten used to adjusting my expectations when it comes to diet desserts. I love the keto fat bombs that we've been making, but as delicious as they are, they are not the same as good old sugary candy. It's not a flavor issue, it's more of a texture thing. I wasn't sure what to expect when Kent told me about this cheesecake recipe. I was worried that it would seem fluffy and fake. I am very pleased to say that it seems like normal New York cheesecake- nice and dense and decadent! Not only is this cheesecake sugar free and low carb, it also happens to be gluten free! I have a feeling this will be a holiday standby for here on out.

Right on the money!

Individual Keto Cheesecakes

1/2 stick of unsalted butter (410 cals, 0 carbs)
1 cup almond meal (720 cals, 8 net carbs)
2- 8 oz packages of softened cream cheese (1600 cals, 16 carbs)
1/2 cup of Splenda, plus 1 Tablespoon (0 cals, 0 carbs)
1/4 cup of granulated stevia (0 cals, 0 carbs)
2 tsp vanilla (0 cals, 0 carbs)
2 eggs (148 cals, 1 carb)

(239 calories, 2.08 carbs per cheesecake)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper muffin liners in a 12 cup muffin tin. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the almond meal and the tablespoon of Splenda, and stir to combine. Divide this mixture into 12 spoonfuls and place one spoonful in each muffin cup. Using an oiled shot glass, press it down to cover the bottom of each liner. In a stand or hand mixer, combine eggs, Splenda and stevia, vanilla, and cream cheese. Mix on low to combine, then increase speed to remove lumps and make smooth. Spoon filling into each muffin cup, and smooth tops with a spoon. Bake for 17 minutes. The tops will not brown, but they will slightly puff up and crack. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before eating.

We topped ours with diced strawberries and whipped cream, which will add a couple more carbs. Other stir in ideas or toppings could be blueberries, raspberries, shaved Choco Perfection chocolate bars, or citrus zest. I saw on Pinterest that someone suggested making your own almond meal using almonds dusted with cocoa powder. You could also just add cocoa powder to the regular almond meal mixture. This is a great base recipe that will work with a lot of variations. Now, the hardest part will be controling ourselves, so that we can each eat one of these every night for the rest of the week!

Quick meal ideas for breakfast or snacks

Here are some really fast ideas for grazing breakfast foods or snacks that are ready made or super fast to prepare. I think that one of the challenges to this low carb way of eating is to be prepared at all times to avoid succumbing to carb temptation. If you are ready with things that are delicious alternatives to the stuff you're trying to avoid, you won't feel deprived, and your will power doesn't even feel tested!

I am very happy to report that I only had two temptations this week, on the same day. Girl Scout cookies and the offer of free donuts. I managed to resist them both. Probably because my own snacks were awesome too! I've also lost five pounds in my first week. This is very encouraging. As Kent told me, the addiction to seeing results will be much more fun than the addiction to eating the carbs. I can't wait to see more of it! Here's what helped me this week:

English cucumber sticks with Hummus Quartet (original, roasted garlic, rosted red pepper, and jalepeno cilantro flavors) from Aldi.

I have been eating a one ounce cup of mixed nuts every morning with my cup of iced coffee. It is interesting that since I haven't been eating sugar, I can detect the natural sweetness in foods more easily. I could really tell how sweet a pecan is compared to a cashew.

Dill pickle, turkey meat stick, and string cheese. Grazing breakfast of champions! I've been putting a week's worth of these in a bag that I keep in the fridge at work, so I don't have to think about taking something with me every day. I'm notorious for running late in the morning. I also bought a huge pack of string cheese and separated them all before putting the fridge. Now we have a string cheese and jello cup drawer. How luxurious!

Sugar free gelatin cups are awesome! Before we started this diet, we were addicted to Cozy Shack tapioca pudding cups topped with spray whipped cream. Turns out, the whipped cream is perfect for low carbers. Only one carb for 2 tablespoons. Pictured is orange gelatin with vanilla whipped cream. I also REALLY like chocolate flavored whipped cream on a black cherry gelatin.

In an effort to add fat to our diet, and replace desserts, I put heavy whipping cream into a glass of diet root beer. It is just like my favorite part of a root beer float- when the ice cream melts into the soda. So good! Also delicious in orange soda for a creamsicle experience.

That's it for now, but I will post more ideas as inspiration strikes!

Recipe: Keto pizza crust is a reality!

Kent found this recipe for gluten free, ketogenic low carb pizza crust, thanks to the Reddit low carb forum. We were excited to test it out. Here's the original source of the recipe-  I haven't looked through the rest of that blog yet, but if this recipe is any indication, she is a genius! We are looking forward to modifying this original recipe and trying different cheese combinations, as well as adding herbs and other seasonings to make it custom to whatever kind of pizza we make. We started with my favorite this time- sausage and mushroom. I am hoping to make barbeque pork pizza and Thai chicken pizza in the future. One thing to keep in mind is to go light on the pizza sauce, as tomatoes can be sugary. Alfredo? That's a whole 'nother story!

Dreamy ovals of melty perfection.

Low Carb Pizza Crust
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup whipped cream cheese
1 1/2 cup plus or minus 1-2 Tbsp almond meal
2 eggs

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Place the cheese in a medium bowl; microwave till melted. (2 minutes for us.)
LET IT COOL enough to handle with your hands, this is crucial or you could burn your hands. (This took maybe 5-7 minutes.)

Once you can handle it safely, add the cream cheese, egg and almond meal; mix with your hands until it forms a ball.  This will be very sticky at first; add the almond meal in gradually until you get the right consistency. It seems like it won't come together, then suddenly it does- have faith. Also, be sure to remove your rings before this step.

Divide the dough into two equal pieces and set it aside.  Put a sheet of parchment paper on the counter, approximately the same size as your cookie sheet.  Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough as thin as you like, we went pretty thin, and I think that helps with the final texture. Pick up the parchment paper and put it on the cookie sheet.  Place in oven and bake till edges start to turn golden brown.

Remove the cookie sheet from the oven; add sauce and toppings.

Return to the oven on the top rack till cheese is melty and the edges of the crust are browned.We like to kick on the convection in the oven to encourage more crispiness.

This recipe made two oval pizzas, approximately 10 inches long by 8 inches wide. It was enough that we each got stuffed on half of our pizzas, and were able to save the other halves for lunch the next day! Almond meal sticks with a person.

One time saving tip: my local HyVee store used to put out ready made pizza toppings in a display case, but I didn't see any the other day. I went over to the pizza kitchen area and asked, and they packaged up what I wanted, so I got 28 ounces of pre-cooked Italian sausage meatballs for $2.09. That is cheaper than if I bought the raw sausage and saved us tons of prep time. Win!

Much golden. Such chewy. Wow.