Keto Ramblings

Check out this fascinating video with visual educator, Orit Kruglanski.  If you'd like to improve your eyesight, and maybe even ditch your glasses, she offers a few freebies and exercises on her website:  https://oritojos.com/eng/

Another meatloaf creation!  This time I went Southwest style.  My mom gave me an Anaheim Pepper, and I had to put it to good use 😁 Combine the following ingredients in a bowl: 1/2 onion, diced 1 Anaheim Pepper, diced 1/2 can diced tomatoes  1/2 cup zucchini, grated 1/2 cup Crimini mushrooms, finely chopped  2 t. minced garlic 2 t. chili powder 1/2 t. pepper 1 t. salt 2 t. liquid aminos (or Worcestershire sauce) 1 egg 1/2 c. pork rinds (smashed to crumbs), or breadcrumbs Next, add ground beef and combine gently to incorporate. 1 lb. ground beef Spoon the meat mixture into muffin tins.  Fill each cup, but do not pack down.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees.  I added some grated cheese about 5 minutes before it was done so the cheese could brown a bit on top. Let stand for 5 minutes before removing meatloaves from the pan.  I served my meatloaves with salad, extra grated cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and...

I've gotten on a kick lately for making meatballs and meatloaf, but trying to do something a little creative with it.  Today on the menu is mini pesto meatloaf baked in muffin tins.  I'm cooking for one, and I like being able to freeze leftovers for later.  These little meatloaves are perfectly portioned for meal planning and freezing.  Two meatloaf muffins are a serving size, although for me that was probably more meat than I needed for one meal.   Here are the ingredients: 1.5 llbs ground beef 2 eggs 1 t. salt 2 T. Italian Seasoning 1 T. minced, dried onion  1 t. minced garlic 1 C. pork rinds, smashed 1 C. zucchini, grated I'm a big fan of using what you have on hand.  So if you don't have the Italian Seasoning blend, throw in some parsley, rosemary, basil, oregano, and/or thyme.  If you have fresh onion, use that - if not, use the dried like I did.  You can use fresh or bottled garlic, or use powdered.  If you don't have pork rin...

One of the things I've been looking at lately is my food budget!  As you've probably noticed, the United States (and the world) is experiencing a lot of rising costs this year.  The consumer price index went up 7.5% in 2021, and is up 9.8% so far in 2022.  This means that many of us are dealing with the difficulties of getting less for our money, both at the grocery store and at the gas pump! So I've started taking a closer look at what I'm spending on food.  A few years ago I could easily spend $300 or less per month on groceries.  Last month I had spent that much halfway through the month.  I've been replacing breakfast and lunch with protein shakes for convenience but I've started wondering whether this is costing me more than they're worth.  Since I've also reached my weight loss goal, I'm considering how I can add more calories back into my diet and having real meals might just do the trick. I typically have my morning coffee with a pre-made box...

Frank's Red Hot sauce is amazing!  I've never been a 'hot wings' kind of person, so maybe that's how I've gotten this far in life without realizing how much I love this stuff.  I'm officially obsessed!   I've been trying out new recipes lately for meatloaf and meatballs... goes along well with my keto diet, and they're easy to portion and freeze for meal planning.  I've done the Southwest Mini-Meatloaves, and Pesto Meatloaves.  Yesterday I made Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (pictured above), and today I had to make more sauce so I could put it over some leftover meatloaf (pictured on the right).  I may have ended up just eating a few spoonfuls of sauce after dinner 👀. And now I'm looking up what else I can make with the hot sauce!   I'm still planning to make some changes to the recipe for next time, but here's what I did... Chicken Meatballs 1 lb ground chicken 2 slices of (keto friendly) bread, pulsed in food processor into crumbs 1 T....

I've been craving a grilled cheese the past week, so today I decided to go for it!   1 Head of Cauliflower 1/4th of a yellow onion Preheat oven to 425 F.  Grate these first two ingredients in a food processor or box grater, and put into a microwave-safe bowl.   Microwave a total of 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure it cooks evenly.  It should be soft and tender, but drying out by the end of the 15 minutes. 1 Egg 2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese 1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning Combine these ingredients into the cooked cauliflower to form the dough.   On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, use a 1/2 cup measure to scoop the cauliflower dough out.  Pat each scoop into 1/2 inch thick pieces of "bread".   Bake at 425 until golden brown - about 15-17 minutes then let cool for 5 minutes.   Loosen the bread from the parchment paper using a spatula.  Top a slice of bread with ham and cheese, then set a second piece of ...

Fear gets to the best of us, whether it is fear of failure, fear of success or even fear of fear. All of us have experienced fear at some point in our lives and it can be a real stumbling block that holds us back from being truly successful. Fear can’t hold you back forever, if you don’t let it. There are several ways to overcome fear, here are my top 9: 1. SEPARATE REALITY FROM PERCEPTION Ask yourself what is really going on, locate the facts and place them over your feelings. 2. IDENTIFY THE TRIGGER Figure out what it is in a situation that triggers you. Learning to identify it will help you learn to combat it. 3. KNOW WHERE FEAR LIVES IN YOUR BODY A lot of times, fear takes over physically. It affects different people different ways. Identify if/how it affects your physical body and do the work to take care of your body. Ex: if you hold stress in your back, you can learn stretches, foam rolling, etc. to avoid the pain. 4. PRACTICE GRATITUDE Everyday, list out 1-3 things you are than...