Convenience
Keep it Simple
I've mentioned before that I like to keep things pretty simple. Way back as a young adult, I really enjoyed cooking, and often hosted dinner parties. But life got in the way and over the years I ended up hardly ever cooking at all! Keto got me interested in cooking and finding new recipes again, but I do still like convenience foods from time to time!
Meal Delivery: Factor75
Before Keto, I tried lots of food kit delivery services and Hello Fresh was my favorite. With Keto, I ended up trying Factor75. It has it's pros and cons, but overall I was happy with the meals I got. Having ready-to-heat meals sure made staying keto easy!
So on the downside, Factor is pretty expensive, and not something I can sustain over time. Six meals per week is $87. I started up on a new-subscriber promotion, and kept it going for a few more deliveries, but ultimately I can cook for much less than that, so it didn't make sense for me. I do still sometimes order a box as a treat - like for my birthday, which just happened to be yesterday!
If you have the budget, and prefer the convenience, though, this is a great option! Sign up through my LINK, and you'll get $120 off over your first few boxes.
Their keto section does have quite a few recipes, but if you're ordering for several weeks, you're going to run out of new things to try. I rotated through the ones that I liked, and didn't get bored - but I could see that becoming an issue with an ongoing subscription.
The meals are also fairly high carb depending on your macros. While I was using Factor, I was having a protein shake for breakfast and lunch, so I had plenty of carbs available for dinner. Another option I used was to split the Factor meal into two servings and add low-carb veggies on the side to make a bigger meal. That helped stretch both the cost, and the carbs!
Protein Shakes
Speaking of meal replacement shakes, another way I keep my meal planning simple is by replacing one or two meals a day with a protein shake. If I'm doing intermittent fasting, I may skip breakfast altogether, but typically I do have an Atkins protein shake with my morning coffee. It may sound strange, but a protein shake (chocolate, mocha, vanilla) makes a great coffee creamer. I drink decaf coffee, and I like a lot of it. So I make a pot, which is enough to refill my mug 3 times, and I use up a full protein shake between those 3 mugs of coffee. It may not be quite as delicious as a Starbuck's Mocha, but it's pretty good... and it is an easy way to cover breakfast!
The Atkins shake works fine for breakfast, but it wouldn't be quite enough to get me through for lunch. I tried quite a few protein powders, and finally settled on KetoChow. It's designed to be a full meal replacement (they've done a study where participants only had KetoChow for 100 days), so I feel comfortable that I'm getting the nutrients I need. KetoChow is also ultra low-carb, which gives me more flexibility for my dinner meal. The flavors vary slightly in carbs, but typically it's 1 carb per serving. You shake it up in a blender bottle with heavy cream and let it sit in the fridge overnight to thicken up a bit. I love the chocolate flavor and have kept that on a subscription order. I just tried their Apple Pie flavor this week, and I'd say it's quite a mild flavor, but I do get a hint of apple pie. I'll probably try doctoring it up with a shake of cinnamon next time.
KetoChow is also fairly expensive at around $80 per bag with delivery. That's 21 servings, so it lasts me a month. But I do enjoy the shakes, and it definitely simplifies my meal planning so I stick with it!
Meal Planning
Another way to keep things simple is to plan ahead! Since I enjoy looking at recipes, this part is fun :) Once I choose a few recipes, I put together a shopping list - my favorite way is building it on Walmart.com for pickup. That way I get to avoid dealing with the crowded isles! So I'll add everything to my list, and as long as it's over $35, pickup is free. I can schedule for pickup either the same day or next day, and they'll load it right in my trunk for me. Beautiful!
Then once I start cooking, I'll usually make two recipes in a day - I'm sure I could do more, but that just seems reasonable for me... I'll save out one serving for that night's dinner, and everything else I portion up into Tupperware and stick them in the freezer. With just 4 or 5 recipes I have enough frozen meals to last me two weeks or more.
Budget
In addition to helping keep the meal planning simple, and not having to worry about "What's for dinner?" every night, meal planning also helps me stay aware of my budget. While I don't really need to worry too much about my food budget, I always like to spend my money wisely, and consider it a bit of a fun challenge to get good deals (seriously, take a look at my Rebates group)!
So a few months ago when I started looking at what I was spending on food, my structured meal planning really helped. I could quickly calculate that my Atkin's shakes for breakfast cost me $45, and my KetoChow shakes for lunch cost me $80. On average I'm spending another $200 for dinners, which puts me at $325 per month. That includes some eating out, but I definitely have months where I'm traveling and restaurant spending pushes me higher. I'll have to watch over the next few months and see whether the rising food prices will have a significant impact.
And don't forget to check out my latest book: My First Fast. It's FREE on Kindle Unlimited, or just $3.99 to buy.
My First 3-Day Fast chronicles the struggles and joys I experienced with my try at extended fasting. Join me as I work through my first 3-day fast! You'll also learn about the many health benefits of fasting. This guide book lays out a weekly plan to work up to a full 72-hour fast with meal planning tips.
While fasting can be done in conjunction with any type of diet, this plan includes starting out with a ketogenic diet and gradually working toward a smaller eating window with sample meal plans included. Join me on a 24-hour fast, then 48-hours, and finally a full 72-hour fast. I'll provide tips and strategies to get through the days, as well as discussing how fasting affects the body in positive ways!
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