Keto thread

Oh, I'm definitely going to try it. I have that and some mashed potato flavor on order. I located a recipe for keto french fries that uses the flavor for a near mimic of the real deal supposedly. I miss hash browns with my eggs. I'm hoping potato flavor in the bread will help to make up for the lack of potato.

Win or lose I will definitely report back, with recipes if it works. If we don't know what doesn't work other folks don't know what not to try, right? I'm hoping others will report their successes and failures as well.

The problem that drives all of this is the availability of sugar and starch year round. Our ancestors thousands of years ago didn't have this problem since as hunter gatherers they ate what was in season and for only a short time each year sugar and starch was available. Then we moved to farming and discovered ways to store foodstuffs. Our intellect was our undoing. If we had grown up expecting to not have potatoes thrown into the fire yea round, for example, we might not have the health problems we do today. Maybe I'm chasing the wrong thing. Maybe instead of trying to recapture the flavors I miss, since I've kicked the starch/sugar addiction maybe I should just try to live without them totally. IDK.

Your comments on dietary fat are interesting. You should have a listen to season 2, episode 9 of Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast-Macdonalds Broke my Heart. It’s well done and on the theme of misinformation on saturated/animal fats.  Spoiler alert, the fat isn’t the problem. 

I enjoy following your journey and wish you success in your battle with heart disease. We all have our battles and it’s helpful to share experiences if for no other reason than the support we get from the knowledge that we’re not alone. My battle is with osteoarthritis. Moving hurts but not moving hurts more. My wife and I have been doing weight watchers for a couple of months and I’m down 25 lbs. the weight loss helps with the arthritis a little and the program dies cast a spotlight in one’s weaknesses. I have two major dietary weaknesses. Snacking and portion control. Knowledge is power. Growing up with parents raised in the depression era and being constantly admonished to clean your plate and waste is a sin I find myself sometimes eating too much as a result, especially now we’re cooking for two with the kids grown and gone. 

The journey continues.

I think lots of Americans have problems with portion control. I certainly did, but no more, except maybe when it comes to salad. I think in another life I was a rabbit.

Fat... that's one of my issues. Now that I no longer shy away from it it's difficult to figure out just how much of it I'm consuming. Being in keto and losing weight is still calories in vs calories out and fats are high calorie. I just do the best I can.

It took me awhile to enact the suggestion to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and supper like a pauper. But now it just comes naturally to me if I eat supper at all. I lost 40# and am still losing slowly even though the nurses claim I don't need to lose anymore. But I see what they can't, and I know what I weighed 50 years ago. I don't want to get down to that, but I wouldn't mind getting to within 20# of it. Given enough time I'll get there. But I'm gauging things by reality and not some poundage as a goal.

I still have 3 slices of the last loaf to finish, but today was a rainy day and that just always said "Bread" to me in my other life. Now I can make bread, so bread it was.

Both of my new extracts came in (wheat bread and mashed potato). I haven't tasted potato in a very long time and can't have hash browns so potato was added at the rate of 3 drops per cup of KAF wheat flour blend. The end result was promising. It actually smelled like bread while it was baking and the loaf had flavor. I couldn't tell what the flavor was, but it was good. If I do nothing more this is a good loaf. But I want more flavor since fake flavor is as close to potato as I can get. So far I've only been using it under my over easy eggs to allow the yolk to make the fried toast richer. I suppose I could eat my over easy eggs w/o toast, but that just seems to be such a sacrilege. The recipe says to get 18 slices per loaf. I slice it pretty thin and got 16. Maybe I'm not using the right loaf pan. I have one that's longer and thinner. I use that next time.

Next loaf I'll also increase the flavor to 5 drops per cup of flour.

I must be on a potato kick. I ordered these some time ago. They are delicious! They are the first "potato chips" I've eaten in 1 3/4 years that I can eat a few of and not be concerned about the carbs. I did have 2 potato chips spread over the last 6 months. After eating them I wondered why I ever liked them. I was underwhelmed. Maybe I'm breaking the carb addiction?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PML...UTF8&psc=1

This works for folks in ketosis or not. If you're not just use the first original recipe.

I search for recipes I can eat and make ahead. I also like recipes that have everything in one dish if possible. That means soup, but not just soup, chowduh (I live in Maine). But not New England chowder that is high in cow products. I wanted something with veggies. That meant Manhattan style chowder. I make the basic soup then add some sort of fish as I warm it before serving. To do that just leave out the clams.

Manhattan style clam chowder I

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
1 1/2 celery stalks, chopped
7 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch crushed red pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 sprigs parsley
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 large waxy-style potato (about 3/4 pound), diced
5 cups clam juice (five 8-ounce bottles clam juice)
One 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes (with liquid), roughly chopped
1-1/2 cups minced clams, drained (about four 6-1/2 ounce cans)
1 tablespoon kosher salt or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley for garnish

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute more. Tie the parsley sprigs, fresh thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot with the potatoes. Pour in the clam juice and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and clams. Cover and bring to a low simmer. Season with pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.

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OK, so I’m in ketosis and can’t eat the potato, so what did I do?

I also loathe cooked stalk celery, but cooked celeriac aka celery root, is entirely different. I love celeriac. So I omitted the celery stalks and potato and used a 4-5" diameter celeriac to take the place of both. Anyone who knows me knows that after the first time I make a recipe I make it mine. The garlic was upped and so were the herbs. The red pepper was definitely upped.

I’ve made this before with the clam broth and added a piece of fish to the bowl. That works fine. But this time I had 2 pounds of extra large shrimp with the shell on, and the shell is important for flavor. Tip: NEVER buy pre-shelled shrimp unless you want them to be flavorless.

So for this recipe today I put the 2# of frozen shrimp, again, shell on, into a saucepan and covered them with water but just covered, no excess. Brought them to a boil and simmered for just a few mnutes (3ish). Then strained the cooking liquid, aka shrimp stock, into a measuring bowl to get my 5 cups of stock. I had 6 cups so the dogs will have shrimp stock in their dishes tonight.

I didn’t saute the vegetables, everything went into the soup pot. I also use dry herbs. I always have them but don’t always have fresh. Did I mention I cook to taste? So I don’t have measured amounts but I can guess. Maybe 2 TBLs parsley, 1 tsp whole thyme, and 3 bay leaves. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup tom’ paste. Well a can is 6 ounces, and what do I do with the other 2 ounces? The entire can went in. It was brought to a boil while the shrimp cooled off in the saucepan. Once the veg’ were tender and the celeriac is the one to test, it’s done. When the shrimp are cool peel them and put them in the refrigerator.

To serve I put some shrimp in a bowl, ladle a serving over it and gently warm it in the microwave. But this time I’ll also add some mussel meat to the bowl. Delicious, keto, and a meal, including veg’ in a bowl. Cook once, and it’s easy cooking, and eat for awhile. I measured it out tonight. I get 7 servings and a serving of broth. I could have divvied up the broth into the other servings, but I didn’t. It’ll make a fine light lunch on it’s own.

There are plenty of leftovers and I’ll freeze some in individual serving containers. When I want some I’ll just pull it out, warm it and add some sort of fish or shellfish to it. A can of clams or oysters would also work.

Could you add a little green pepper? I think that would be a nice addition. I just haven’t tried it yet.

There is a dry ranch dressing flavor sprinkle that goes on cooked veggies that helps to give flavor to cooked veggies. I don’t know all of the uses yet. It’s expensive but it goes a long way. It’s low carbs and relatively low sodium. Read labels.

There exist vac’ packed marinated pork tenderloins for years and we’ve made use of them. Easy and quick to cook in the toaster/broiler/airfryer and tender and tasty. Low carbs, but always read labels.

I’ve always liked rhubarb. It’s considered a fruit but it’s definitely a vegetable. 1 cup of it has 5.5g of carbs and half of those are fiber, so we can eat it. To cook it as a “sauce” just sweeten with a keto friendly sweetener. Ssssss, Booo, strawberry/rhubarb items are no longer on the list of edibles. But rhubatb itself is one more thing that I can eat. I’ve never tried it raw and maybe I need to; it's said to taste like a sour apple. I can’t eat apples, maybe this will substitute? Will rhubarb sauce substitute for apple sauce? I never considered it before since I always ate it as a sweet after a meal, but the sweetness can be controlled.

ShadowsDad, I have thought about making a keto thread before, so thank you for doing it! I started doing keto for the first time in March of 2018.

I always feel better when I'm on keto. And I mean EVERYTHING feels better... body, mind and spirit.......

I think clearer.
My mood is better.
My body/joints/muscles don't ache (When I cheat, my joints hurt, sooo noticeable in the knuckles, ankles and knees).
I have endless energy and stamina.
My skin looks better.
No acid reflux.
No sugar cravings.
Much easier to control portions.
Just generally, feel much more in control of everything.

Another thing, you'll think I'm exaggerating but I'm not... I don't even have to wear deodorant when I'm in deep ketosis. The body is so clean and immune system is so strong that I kill all the unwanted microbes.

If I cheat (aka, when I eat carbs), reverse everything I just said. Sometimes I do cheat, but I am never glad that I did. Always feels great to go back on keto.

And today is day 1 back on the program, so I'm glad I'm writing this out.

The problem that drives all of this is the availability of sugar and starch year round. Our ancestors thousands of years ago didn't have this problem since as hunter gatherers they ate what was in season and for only a short time each year sugar and starch was available. Then we moved to farming and discovered ways to store foodstuffs.

I thought I was the only person alive saying this.
Well done, my friend of reason!
No one wants to admit it because they're addicted to carbs, but carbs NOT natural to us (except for a couple weeks at harvest). We evolved without carbs, that should tell you everything we need to know. Look at all the crazy health issues that have gotten worse in the past 50 years, there's your evidence that we shouldn't be eating it. Nonbelievers will have their spin as they always do. Doesn't change reality of what ACTUALLY happens when you eat carbs vs. not.

Ah, another person who has seen the light (of IMO the proper diet)! There aren't a whole lot of us who have seen the light I guess. But lots of people use it as a diet to a goal then go back onto carbs. That's an assumption on my part. But when I mention being in ketosis the first thing I'm asked is how much weight have I lost? But it's difficult to get on it and stay on it. For me know I still have cravings, but some of the carbs I enjoyed just don't even taste as good as they did 2 years ago. I had a potato chip a few months ago, and that was it for chips. I wondered what the attraction to them was for all those years. Bread I missed, but the keto bread I'm making now is pretty good. If it gets no better what I have now is fine. It's expensive but actually tastes like bread. I don't go crazy with it, I currently get 16 slices per loaf and only eat 1/2 slice per day so a loaf lasts me approx' a month and is a hair over 1 net carb.

I'm not super strict on carbs. I can go up to 40, but I like to stay under 20. It varies from day to day depending on what I cook of course.

I did it for health reasons and today my Drs look at the numbers and results and tell me to keep doing what I'm doing. Hah! I'm a person with heart disease eating fats. But I'm sure by now you know how that goes with dietary fats (dietary fat is not the cause of high serum choloesterol). Too, I was pre-diabetic. My A1C immediately came down and after it stayed down my Dr removed it from my record as a cause for concern.

I look around at bodies and I could get on a soap box preaching, but I don't want to be that person. I've been there and I know how difficult it is to break the carb addiction. Plus we're all told that carbs are OK, and they seem to be just that for some people. Some people. Not all people.

Nero I have a story for you regarding mental clarity. But I don't want to dwell on it for long since it's a verboten topic here but I do need to give some background. I shoot USPSA Action Pistol competitively, if you don't know what it is youtube is your friend. It's done in an enclosed bay surrounded by berms and each course of fire (called a stage) can be by regs no more than 32 rounds, but in a local match can be as many as the stage designer wishes. It's timed to add stress so one has to move quickly while engaging the targets. Running and fast thinking is required while doing it safely and get a good score. To do it "right" one must allow the subconscious and conscious brain to act independently but work together. The subconscious coordinates the shooting and safety and carries it out so that it doesn't even need to be thought about. The conscious mind does all the required thinking, following the written instructions and minutia that can change from stage to stage since no 2 stages are alike in a given match. Done right it's like the firearm is an extension of ones own body. Just as one doesn't think about walking, so it is when this sport is done correctly. Bullets are just placed in the A zone without thinking about the actual movements required.

Before I went into ketosis I would always get procedural errors that would cost me points because my conscious brain just wasn't doing what it needed to be doing, it just couldn't keep up. Maybe it was in a fog. The subconscious was doing just fine. I went into ketosis and now both minds work fine and I haven't had even one procedural error in almost 2 years. Yes, ketosis even makes the mind work better and the change was almost like flipping a switch. I noticed it immediately from errors that cost me points (no errors in safety, one gets DQed for those) to no errors at all. I don't know if anyone else noticed my change, but I sure did!

I'd like to lose another 20 pounds but for some reason I'm plateaued where I am. It's still calories in vs calories out so I know how to do it in theory. In practice I like what I'm eating (and drinking).