Blog posts of '2019' 'March'

Fat! Fat and more Fat! .. but which to choose? Just because KETO is predominantly a fat-driven diet, doesn't mean all fats are created equal. Find out more in today's blog.

The keto diet is - despite what its trendy sounding name may make you think - not a recent discovery. Doctors have been prescribing a high fat, low carb diet since the 1930, when it was primarily used as a treatment option for epilepsy.

However, because 80 to 90 percent of your calories are going to come from fat (and the rest of it ideally from healthy protein), you have to be very mindful of which fats and which proteins to use and consume.

Let’s have a look as some yummy and healthy options for your fatty acids that you may not immediately think of.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a healthy and yummy alternative that will give your dishes a certain flavor that will make you feel like you’re on a beach in the caribbean somewhere. Coconut oil is not only great for cooking savoury meals, it can also give your pancakes a lovely flavor (though you shouldn’t over-indulge on pancakes, if you’re going keto, of course…).

Other than for meal prep, a pantry is never complete without a vat of coconut oil. It’s easy to store and can be used as a face mask to make your skin supple, as lip balm, or even on your hair to give it extra shine and a gorgeous smell.

Coconut oil really is a miracle.

Lard

It doesn’t sound very trendy. And it really does not look like it belongs in a healthy diet, but lard is actually a quite good source of fatty acids and calories when you’re on a keto diet. Use it to accentuate your food and combine it with our seasoning blends to really make it pop. Because lard is a fat that burns at a higher temperature, it will help your meal preparation that much easier.

When it comes to protein sources that also incorporate fat, we can also make some bold choices to broaden our horizons and get creative.

Eggs

Eggs truly are miracle workers. Fried, boiled, in combination with other foods… there’s nothing the humble egg can’t do. It’s not for nothing Gaston from Beauty and the Beast used to have “four dozen eggs every morning to help him get large”. Or just think of Rocky Balboa’s famous morning smoothie (though we don’t recommend eating eggs raw, unless you’re Silvester Stallone, of course).

Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is a lovely way of quenching cravings (as it can work for both sweet and savoury cravings). When you’re watching TV and just cannot help but want to rip into a bag of chips… get yourself a lovely tub of cottage cheese instead. It’s perfect for a keto diet and it can be flavoured to anyone’s taste. Why not go crazy and mix a bit of tabasco sauce in there!

Just make sure you pick up the full fat varieties and ditch the 0% or skim

Shrimp

Shrimp is so easy to get right and can be added to every single dish to give it a fancy overhaul. It’s so easy to season as well: a cut up lemon and some cloves of garlic will be enough to get the most out of this versatile sea food. Shrimp has super healthy-you benefits including a ton of protein per each individual medium sized shrimp.

Following a KETO diet doesnt have to be hard, complicated or time consuming! Try these 5 five-minute KETO lovin' recipes that will definitely shave off time and keep your tastebuds going MM good!

#1 TAVO Sandwich

Tuna and avocado are two wonderful sources of healthy fatty acids (omega three among them!). Mix up a lovely can of tuna with some ripe avocado, add a dollop of mayonnaise and layer it between two crunchy iceberg lettuce leaves. It’s as easy to eat as a sandwich without the hassle of high carb bread. Or, as an alternative, roll up smaller lettuce leaves and serve it as a lovely finger food or snack at the next dinner party or as an alternative to popcorn on movie night!

We love to season our sandwich with a variety of Do You Bake? spices (especially for the LOVE of garlic) that can be found in our seasoning collection HERE

#2 - PB and C

Peanut Butter and Jam might be your go to comfort food, but scratch the J and replace it with some fluffy cream (sugar free) and a sprinkle of your favorite sugar free KETO approved sweet spice blend from your pantry.

Melt the peanut butter in the microwave, and slowly add the whipped cream until it forms a creamy, light consistency. It will feel like cake batter as you tuck into this gorgeous treat. Try to avoid artificially sweetened peanut butter, though. PB is a healthy source of protein and the right kind of fat, but it goes out the window if a ton of sugar has been added to it in the manufacturing process, so be mindful of that.

PB and C is an ultimate topper to a cup of full fat greek yogurt or even a delicious smoothie. Or delish on its own as a perfectly created fat bomb of a snack!

#3 - Spinach and Shrimp

Chop some onions and garlic, fry it golden brown in a pan. Then, add some shrimp until cooked to perfection. Then, stir in some fresh spinach leaves. For flavour add our kick in your THAI seasoning blend! and let the spinach get just slightly mushy (to taste). You’ve got yourself a keto meal that will delight everyone and is beyond healthy. For a vegan option, replace the shrimp with tofu.

#4 - Oven Baked Salmon

Love the taste of salmon, but hate the smell of fried fish in your kitchen? The perfect solution comes with the help of one of the most useful household items: aluminum foil. Get a nice cut of salmon, which is filled to the brim with the healthiest kind of fatty acids found in nature, season it to taste with curry powder, bay leaves, sea salt and coriander leaves. Wrap it up in some foil, put it on a baking tray and bake it for about 20 minutes (depending on the size of the cut and if it was frozen). You can add some green beans or asparagus right into the foil, that way the fish will absorb the subtle flavours of these veggies and give you a tasting experience that is complete and very rounded.

#5 - Cabbage and Bacon

Any Irish person (or any grandmother) will tell you, there is nothing quite like cabbage and bacon as a comfort food. And surprisingly, this staple of western society is completely in line with a keto diet. And it could not be simpler to make. Get the best streaky bacon you can find and fry it up until it’s nice and crisp. Then, simply cut up some white cabbage and sear it in a pan. Gradually add some beef stock to give it flavor. Serve with some butter or ghee dollopped on top.

I've lost A LOT of weight and I know all the struggles you can go through when you are trying to change your lifestyle and habits.  I have also worked with two different groups of people on their weight loss goals through KETO diet based practices. 

Keto is the latest in hot diet trends. It works by fundamentally changing how your body processes food and turns your fat reserves into energy. Once your body reaches a ketogenic state, it no longer burns carbs (or sugars), but instead gets all its energy needs form fat.

If you are looking to get into KETO or if you are looking to achieve a better balance or just a better experience, here are a few of my tips to consider!

Here are 5 tips on how to get the best out of a keto diet

#1 - Is this for you?

The first thing you need to think about when starting a new diet, is whether it is the right diet for you.

For example, a keto diet might not work if you are breastfeeding or pregnant. In these instances you need to have a conversation with your doctor which kind of nutrition is needed. Especially during pregnancy, weight loss is not usually advisable.

This is also the case if you are on medication for high blood pressure or diabetes, as these can interfere with how you process foods.

#2 No More Carbs

The main area of focus in a keto diet is the switch form a carb based intake to a fat based one. This means that you will need to eliminate as many carbs as possible. This means no more white bread, no more pasta, no more rice. What you gain, though, is a healthy lifestyle, so it’s not a difficult switch when you really think about it.

One you limit your carb intake, your body does not receive enough glucose (sugar). This will push your cells to use fat reserves to gain energy instead. This process is called ketosis.

How you get to the point where ketosis sets in, however, varies greatly and depends completely on your body type, genetic make-up, and even personal medical history.

Stop thinking of KETO as a quick fix to weight loss and start thinking about KETO as a way to achieve a healthier you. A way to kick sugar cravings. A way to reduce your dependency on all that extra glucose we are feeding our bodies.  A way to improve the type of food we eat on a daily basis.

#3 Think of the Fat

Ketosis will set in when your body is depleted of carbs and sugar to use for energy production. The next best thing for our cells is fat. Fat is high in energy and is normally used to store it for a later date. Sugar is the “quick” source of energy, whereas fat is our long term investment. But switching your body to that source takes work. It also takes a basic understanding of what kind of fat is good for us.

When we switch to a keto diet, we need to consume more fat and fewer carbs. But not just any kind of fat!

“Good” fatty acids can be found in oily fish such as salmon, coconut oil, lard, or ghee.

This does not mean, however, that we can just eat as much fat as we like.

As with any diet, we still need to keep an eye on our overall calorie intake. KETO isn't just a miracle diet that helps you melt the fat away.  Energy balance matters. How much you put in versus how much you use up.

Equally important is protein and while protein is limited on a KETO diet it should not be forgotten. Protein is the building blocks for our muscular structure and should not be ignored.

#4 Hydrate!

The biggest problem that crops up again and again with people who switch to the keto diet is hydration. Side effects of dehydration include very dark urine, feeling dizzy, dry skin or lips, or lack of energy. Your body is going through a major change, it needs a lot of water to keep up and you need to fill your cellular structure back up with the water that is depleted. 

#5 Real Food Matters!

Stop reaching for miracle supplements to get you into KETO.  KETO is a process by which your body switches from using carbs to fat stores. This takes time. Trying to trick your body into KETOSIS by using some fancy supplement is useless. Our body is pretty smart and it is efficient and constantly adapts to stimuli.  Adding supplements may work initially but will distort your results long term. Real food matters. Eating a proper KETO balanced diet filled with nutrient rich foods, foods that will help promote Ketosis matters.  As your body adapts to the FOOD you eat, it will become a habit. Your body's habit changes and it will use your fat stores as fuel. Let it LEARN how to use food rather than depend on supplementation. You will thank yourself in the long run.

Delicious Meals to feed your soul and offer the ultimate comfort

Sometimes, we all just need food that gives us not only a full belly, but a warm one. On a cold winter’s evening, when the sun sets way too early, when there’s nothing on Netflix that you haven’t seen and nothing in the cinema but award-grabby-artsy movies, on a rainy summer’s day… then it’s time to go into your kitchen, grab a few ingredients and make your soul feel good.

Stews

Stews are the ultimate food for the soul. They are easy to create, easy to pre-make and really hard to get wrong. After all, if something didn’t work out just perfectly right, just add a little something to get it right. There’s no limit to what can go into a stew: it can be vegetarian, it can combine meaty flavours.

Not only do they warm you up, they allow you to eat throughout the day, snacking while it simmers. A good stew will fill your whole home with delicious smells of wholesomeness.

Roast Chicken

There is (almost) no dish as easy to get right than a roast chicken. Sure, you can go and make it complicated and fancy, but at the heart of it all lies a sturdy meal that pleases almost everyone. Whether you try to make stuffing by yourself or get some handy help for some out there fancy stuffing, a chicken never disappoints. Just pop it in the oven, go about your day, and come home to a smell and tasting experience that will leave you feeling like you’ve just been cuddled by Mary Poppins herself.

Potatoes

Where would we be without this staple in our lives? Of course, there’s the low carb alternative of sweet potatoes or cauliflowers, but… if you want the real deal, you’ve got to go for this earthy, golden treasure. It’s not for nothing that the potato was deemed the most important import from the Americas in the 16th century (well… maybe they fancied tobacco more, but that’s another story).

Their secret lies in how versatile they are: fancy a roasted potato with cream cheese and a sprinkle of spring onion? Or mashed up with a scrumptious dollop of melty butter? Or fries that are perfectly fluffy on the inside? There is nothing the potato can’t do to make you happy.

Meatloaf

The traditional meat loaf is an all round genius. It’s hearty, it’s filling, it’s easy to make and easy to store. It can feed families and singles. Recipes are often handed down through generations, while it remains so versatile that practically everyone who has ever attempted to make it has put their own twist on it. No two meatloafs are the same, just like no two cooks are the same. Some prefer it with cloves of garlic surrounding it while it marinates in it’s own juices. Some put it in a dish with potatoes and cook all of the sides in there at the same time.

Some prefer it tightly packed and dry, while others keep it loose to make it fall apart in big chunks.

However you make it, it is sure to evoke memories of good times.

Lasagne/Shepherd’s Pie

Lasagne and Shepherd’s Pie might be two entirely different dishes, but the same blood flows through their veins: They are bankers. Not one family gathering, not one evening with friends, not one relaxing sunday lunch can’t be improved by serving up a good, old-fashioned shepherd’s pie or a lasagna.

Want to visit a friend you haven’t seen in a long time? Bring a lasagna!

Want to say congrats on the new house/baby/dog/car/promotion? Bring a shepherd’s pie!

The other advantage with these two dishes is, that they can be made vegetarian or even vegan quite easily. Just substitute the meat for egg plant or seasoned cauliflower and you’ll have yourself a wonderful healthy alternative.