Keto resources from the library

Since I returned from hols I have been back on a strict Keto diet. It was definitely needed as I think I would have turned in to a Key Lime Pie if I ate any more!!

As well as eating keto, I am drinking LOADS water. The minute I get up I drink 2 huge big glasses of water and this really sets me off on good drinking habits for the day.

Here's a selection of books that I got from the library. They have a huge selection on the online catalogue and this lot that I selected are really good with loads of excellent recipes.

If you are on the ketogenic diet, have a look in your library to see what you can borrow rather than buy!

 

 

"Keto Living Day by Day" has a foreward by Dr Andreas Eenfeldt of Diet Doctor.

Since starting back eating Keto, I've been having the most amazing sleeps. I am sleeping for 8 hrs solid and waking so refreshed for the day ahead.

If you are on keto, what benefits do you experience?!

Keto Coconut Flour Bread

I found a recipe for Keto Coconut Flour Bread online last night and as I had some coconut flour in my cupboard I decided to make it this morning.

There are not too many ingredients in the bread and you would probably have most of them in your house.

The recipe can be found here on Diet Doctor. As you can see I substituted butter for coconut oil. I made the substitution because I always have more butter than coconut oil in my house. The bread tasted very coconutty when cooked so I was glad I did this. I love the flavour of butter so I was glad I added it to the mix.

This is how the bread turned out.  I left it to cool for about an hour before I cut it.

It cut well.

I toasted a few slices.

Then I smoothered it in butter.  I think cream cheese would be a good option on this bread - or even clotted cream.

It is more cake like than bread but if you miss bread I think it is a good substitute and would work perfectly with smashed avocado and a fried egg. How filling does that sound?!

It is quite dry so you certainly need to put a creamy filling on top - but that is great to get additional fat in to your daily intake.

My Le Creuset Butter Bell came in to it's own as I slathered the bread in butter. It keeps the butter fresh room temperature at and perfectly spreadable. Delish!

I was impressed with this bread. I thought it was easy to make (mix the wet ingredients together and then add the dry) and it was a tasty loaf when made.

Let me know in the comments if you have ever made Keto Bread and what you think of this one.

Banting "Kung Pao Chicken on Coconut Cauli-Rice" from Real Meal Revolution Book

I borrowed The Real Meal Revolution from the library yesterday.  It is a Banting or LCHF (low carb high fat) cookbook and the recipes are amazing!!

I decided that I would try to cook the Kung Pao with Coconut Cauliflower Rice.  It looks so good in the cookbook and from the video you can see that it seems fairly easy to cook.

 I'm intrigued to see what the Coconut Cauli-Rice tastes like.  Cauliflower Rice is a low carb alternative to rice - have you ever tasted it? 

 I had to buy every single ingredient as I had nothing in my pantry. 

And voila - here is the finished dish!

It was very tasty but next time I will add less water to the cauli-rice as it was a little watery.  But definitely a success and was given the thumbs up by my husband......even though he spotted straight away that there was not real rice on the plate.

The Real Meal Revolution is available from Amazon - if you are looking for a Low Carb High Fat cookbook I would think this is a good buy.  As well as including lots of great recipes with super pics, all the science behind Banting or LCHF and why fat doesn't cause obesity but Carbohydrate does is explained thoroughly at the back by Professor Tim Noakes.  It's a whopper of a book and I think it is the LCHF bible!

We need to talk about butter....

"Eat less saturated fat: that has been the take-home message from the U.S. government for the past 30 years. But while Americans have dutifully reduced the percentage of daily calories from saturated fat since 1970, the obesity rate during that time has more than doubled, diabetes has tripled, and heart disease is still the country’s biggest killer. Now a spate of new research, including a meta-analysis of nearly two dozen studies, suggests a reason why: investigators may have picked the wrong culprit. Processed carbohydrates, which many Americans eat today in place of fat, may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease more than fat does."  (From Scientific America)

 

After watching an hour long movie called  Cereal Killers my thinking on low fat diets has dramatically changed. 

 

Here in Ireland we grew up learning that the food pyramid was the recommended way to eat.  The food pyramid advises that the base of your diet should be carbohydrate.

 

The pyramid stems from research carried out in the States in the 1960's that said a low fat high carb diet was the healthiest. 

 

However at the same time research in England was showing that a high fat low carb diet was best for reducing diabetes risk, a healthy heart and less of a cancer risk.

 

The US research won out.

 

There is a change starting.  Sweden has become the first country to recommend the high fat low carb diet.  Have a look at this extremely thought provoking video.

 

Ciaran and I have decided to change our diet to a Low Carb, High Fat diet.  I will keep you updated with how it goes but in the meanwhile have a look at how we have started out, what we bought and what we ate for brunch.

 

Here is what we bought: lots of eggs, meat, cheese, nuts and fish.

 

For brunch I cooked scrambled eggs (with butter) and rashers (bacon)

Tasted great!

I plan to eat a lot of eggs.....

.....and butter! 

 

How cool is my Le Creuset Butter Bell - it keeps butter fresh at room temperature by using a seal of water at the base of the bell

Mmmmm.....lots of Kerrygold Irish Butter

This was dinner.  Steak with garlic butter and broccoli along with salad with blue cheese dressing (I crumbled blue cheese on the lettuce also).

Do you eat a low carb diet?  Do you have any thoughts or helpful hints on the above?