I am going to be using polls more on my Instagram because it really does help me to know what people are interested in. I did a poll yesterday asking if anyone is interested in some of the recipes I am using while on my Protein (More specifically Low Carb diet). Now I chose this diet because anytime I have done it I have seen great results. For me it is something I do short term to get down to a desired weight. And the best long term results I have seen with it was when at the end I added more of the “good carbs” into my diet instead of just going back to normal. Also when I am able to be consistent with working out that always helps.
But as a quick and serious reminder - I am not a dietitian so please don’t try a diet like this just based off of my advice. I am just sharing my experience and what has worked for me. This diet is not always effective with everyone. Your body is different than mine, remember that.
But I do know that I have had success in the past and I am seeing some good results as I am currently on this diet.
This diet does have a lot of restrictions. A lot of the things people consider to be healthy that would surely be a part of any diet just aren’t with this one. The whole point is to put your body into ketosis so that your body begins to eat away at its fat. And to do so you have to give your body as little carbs as possible. I like to stay at 20 grams of carbohydrates a day. This is 100% why this diet is not for everyone. Having that little carbs in your body can have it's side effects and although I may not be able to Go hard at the gym while on this diet I do feel better in a lot of other ways. My main trick to get me through is to focus less on what I can't have and more on what I can.
One plus for me is the fact that I can have all of the cheese!!!!! And I know this is something that a lot of people like about it but then they begin to think about all the things they cant have that they usually put cheese on. How about one of the worst, potatoes. I found this recipe for a loaded Cauliflower Casserole and it looked delicious but let me tell you I made it and its even better than I thought it would be. I honestly will opt for this from now on over a potato casserole even when I am not on the diet. This recipe is super easy and you will absolutely fall in love. (<<Click here for the recipe and keep an eye out for more recipe links throughout this post!<<)
I have tons of other things I have tried but let me just list out some thing that you can adapt for yourself like I do that will keep things interesting for you while trying this diet.
Lettuce Wraps are awesome alternative for anything that you would use a tortilla or bread for. Here is a list of things to try: Egg Salad, Chicken Salad, Beef with taco seasoning, beef with asian seasoning, Buffalo chicken. Honestly the list could go on but those are my personal favorites.
Don’t forget that you can have Buffalo Chicken Dip on this diet, Just don’t slip with the chips!!
My husband and I have also gotten creative with the chicken and the burger that we have been throwing on the grill lately. With Chicken breast cut it into tenderloins and put it in Tupperware overnight drizzled in a low carb dressing. When you grill it not only will it have excellent flavor but it will retain more of its moisture this way. With preparing burgers mix it up a bit and add some flavor! I have been putting bacon bits and shredded cheddar cheese into my hamburger with some no salt seasonings and WOW. It really adds that extra kick of flavor that you need and you will completely forget about the fact that you aren’t using a bun. Actually you’ll ditch the fork and want to pick that sucker up with your hands.
Even though all of those things above are amazing, the hardest thing for me when I am on this diet is the first week and staying away from my beloved sweets! So now let me give you a couple of my favorite recipes and ideas for curbing your sweet tooth that not only help me survive this diet but they honestly help me to completely distract myself from the things that I have eliminated.
It’s not until you try a diet like this when you realize how much we use BREAD with our meals. This is often a hard hurdle for people to get past. You can have a juicy burger but you just can’t have the bun. There are two types of breads that I have tried and if used for the right things have turned out great and helped me past the struggle.
Cloud Bread was the first! Here is the link to the cloud bread recipe that I used.
(this recipe calls for cottage cheese or cream cheese and I used cream cheese)
No I am a bread lover and I am not going to give you unrealistic expectations and tell you it tastes, or for the weirdos like me, smells the same because it doesn’t. But it is an excellent alternative and goes great when you pair it with other items. I paired this with a piece of Canadian bacon, an egg (over easy) and a drizzle of Hollandaise (made from a mix). There I was eating a perfect eggs Benedict and only using ¼ of my carbs for the day!
Almond Bread is the other bread recipe that I have tried. This one was more like baking an actual loaf of bread.
This for me was used more like I would use sandwich bread and maybe not as often but once a day I would have a piece to offset some craving I am having. Maybe toast it and have it with my eggs. Or my favorite thing to do is focus on what I can have and for me that is when I get creative. Spread butter over it and lightly sprinkle splenda and a little bit of cinnamon and there is a traditional cinnamon and sugar toast.
After having purchased the Almond flour then I just began to play around with all kinds of recipes. Especially on the days where I am just desperate for something different and I am the point where I have had enough watching my husband demolish cereal and ice cream without me. I have tried almond flour pancakes with butter and very lightly drizzled in sugar free syrup (Measured out).
I have tried Almond Flour snickerdoodles and knowing I can have 1-2 of those a day is awesome.
There are a ton of things that you can explore when you keep in mind what You Can Have!!!
I like to search different recipes with one ingredient in mind and see what I can find that I can have. But here are some very simple hacks that help with my sweet tooth:
Try different flavors of Sugar Free Jello topped with some Whipped cream it truly feels more like a dessert and less like a kids snack. I have even made a quick and small helping of “ice cream”. I used heavy Whipping cream, splenda, cinnamon and sugar free vanilla extract, put it in a baggie and sealed it. I place that baggie in a bigger one filled with ice, shake that for 5-10 minutes depending on the serving size and there you go!!!
And to all of you Coffee Lovers out there this is my #1 way to treat myself and really enjoy something sweet. Make yourself a cup of coffee, add some heavy whipping cream as your cream, add a little splenda & some sugar free syrup and then top that off with Whipped Cream. You will be feeling fancy and satisfied without breaking your diet. And if that sounds good to you but you get most of your cravings at night then break the true coffee lovers rule just this once and buy decaf. That way you can enjoy the coffee but not lay awake for hours thinking about doughnuts!!!
There is no way I can go through all of the things I have tried and truly enjoyed in just one blog post. The true point that I am trying to make is that with anything, discipline becomes more difficult when you focus on all of the negatives. Realize if you just get creative you really can enjoy what your eating while you are on a diet like this.
If you have any questions on other recipes I have used or things that I have tried feel free to email me and I would love to share more with you. Although I want people to focus on loving the skin that they are in, I am 100% in support of someone who also would like to make some changes. There is no shame either way but if your going to do it, ENJOY THE PROCESS!