Low Carb Tips

This is my go-to dessert whenever I’m craving something decadent and sweet. Tastes so much like a chocolate fudge cake I still can’t believe it’s flourless!

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Approximately 270kcals and 3.7g net carbs for the whole recipe.

Ingredients 2 tbps cocoa powder 1 tbsp erythritol (I used swerve) 1 egg 1 tbsp heavy cream 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp baking powder 1 pinch salt 1 square 99% Lindt chocolate (optional)

1. Spray cooking spray inside mug
2. Mix cocoa powder and erythritol in mug
3. Beat egg in separate bowl until fluffy
4. Add mixed egg and the rest of the ingredients inside the mug and mix well
5. (optional) Break up one square of 99% Lindt chocolate and mix it in
6. Microwave on high for 45 seconds then at 10 second increments. Mine look best at 1min5sec. It should look gooey and jiggly but not watery.
7. If there’s some gooey bits left at the bottom of the mug (if you flip it onto a plate like me), pour those bits onto the cake like a chocolate sauce!

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This is my first attempt at a BBQ pizza. I tend to make my pizzas smaller as it’s just me and my wife eating them. And I’m not one for leftovers. Feel free to use your normal fathead recipe.

Fathead Dough

I use Headbanger’s Kitchen’s recipe as it’s generally smaller, more of a personal size pizza, though my best effort has been me finishing 3/4 of one by myself. So for this one:

Microwave Mozzarella (100 grams) and Cream Cheese (1 oz [28g]) for 1 min in microwave then mix

Add almond flower (50 grams) and any seasoning (I out in about a teaspoon of BBQ seasoning) then mix 30

Add one egg and mix until a dough

Oil or wet hands and press into a circle on parchment paper.

Bake for 12 mins at 400

BBQ Sauce

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I have posted this before, but all I do for BBQ sauce is mix Heinz Reduced Sugar (now No Sugar Added) ketchup and Simple Girls BBQ seasoning. In this case, 80g of Ketchup and a tablespoon of the seasoning. You can also use your favorite BBQ Sauce.

Toppings

I cooked 8 pieces of bacon. I chopped them up first, then cooked them and set the bacon aside. I then chopped up 50g if yellow onion. Use any onion you like, but I think white onions have more carbs (and probably a better flavor :-)). for the cheese I did use mozzarella, but not the shredded kind. I used 3oz of Belgioso mozzarella and just carefully grated. I honestly think this made a huge difference over standard, skim mozzarella. I assembled by first layering the sauce, then onion, then bacon (saving some), then cheese. I then sprinkled a few more bacon pieces on top and baked at 409 for about 10 mins.

Macros

This is for half the pizza. I have tried to eat all of one of these before, it the crust is too dense to finish. Plus my wife ate with me so I cut it into 6 equal slices and ate half.

Calories: 735 Protein: 44 Fat: 56 Carbs: 13 Net Carbs: 10

70% Fat, 25% Protein, 5% Carbs

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Bleu cheese, sherry, cream sauce w/NY strip and shaved brussel sprouts My favourite sauce of all time, can be used with crispy chicken thighs as well. You can add more or less of anything, the recipe is more of a suggestion and can be tweaked to your liking.

2.3 ounces of bleu cheese 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/6 cup of dry sherry or to taste Black pepper to taste or 1/8 teaspoon

Simmer in a small pan until it thickens and the sauce turns a light brown colour. Trust the process, it will turn and thicken. Don’t over boil, it might burn. You can run the macros, it’s high in calories and low in carbs, but the idea is you don’t eat it all of it.

Picture is NY strip, shaved brussel sprouts cooked for 15 minutes @400 degrees tossed in a bit of avocado oil, salt, pepper and a wee pinch of equal parts cumin, coriander, and cayenne.

I couldn’t eat my whole steak. Lunch for tomorrow!

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1) HIGH FAT KETO COFFEE

This has been a popular staple for people not even on the ketogenic diet for a few years now for the benefits of satiety and mental boost. Adding high levels of fat to your morning brew can help you get into a state of ketosis while getting the benefits of some intermittent fasting as well. You can elevate ketone levels from MCT oil and other easy to digest fat in your drink.

Keto coffee is not that bad of an idea. I frequently run with this option because I get up so damn early (5-5:30a) and am just never really hungry enough at that point to choke down any food, but do feel much better if I eat something. I also know that I want to get some calories in me to be able to get enough throughout the day and keep me satiated. Otherwise I tend to not eat until lunch and don’t eat enough throughout the day.

This general idea was popularized with Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof version, but you don’t have to buy any special beans or oils for this to be effective.

My recipe is as follows:

2 shots espresso
12 oz water off boil
2 egg yolks
10g collagen peptides
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon MCT oil
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of vanilla

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I like the egg yolks for the nutrient density, fat, as well as high levels of choline which help my mental production in the morning.

I also like the higher amount of coconut oil as MCT oil can be great and all for quick fats and energy, but there’s a lot of beneficial components and nutrients in raw coconut oil that you just don’t get in MCT oil. Also, a huge draw of MCT oil is that you’re getting a source of fat that can turn into ketones readily. For me, if I’m in a deep state of nutritional ketosis, I don’t really need to be getting ketones from my food. My body will be making ketones regardless.

The collagen is added because I like to supply my tissues with complimentary amino acids, and I will get plenty of muscle meat later in the day. I also like to keep joint surfaces, skin, ligaments, and tendons healthy which is tough to do without a decent amount of collagen.

Cinnamon is added for taste and to keep any insulin sensitivity where I want it, especially with the powdered collagen that is going into the drink which can sometimes spike insulin levels.

I usually don’t care about eating until about 6-8 hours after this fat + caffeine bomb. This is perfect for me as it usually coincides to after my workout.

2) SARDINES, OYSTERS, EGGS AND BROCCOLI

This is the breakfast popularized by expert ketosis researcher Dominic D’Agostino. The sardines and oysters are canned and in oil which definitely helps up the fat content. The nutrient density compliment of all of these foods is actually quite impressive and admittedly much better than you would get with a high-fat coffee.

Dom’s breakfast:

1 can of sardines with oil
1/2 can of smoked oysters with oil
2 eggs
Broccoli or asparagus

Note that this breakfast is actually fairly high in protein relative to other macronutrients, but given that Dom is a beast of a man and is able to deadlift many times more than you for reps, this probably makes more sense for him. You can always sub out one of the protein sources for a little more fat, or just remove them entirely if you note that this kicks you out of ketosis. Remember to test your levels of protein.

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3) EGGS, BACON, AVOCADO AND SAUERKRAUT

Welcome to the Keto Grand Slam. The new American breakfast. This is an amazing combo that used to be a staple for me in grad school to get a high-fat meal to power me through the next 8 hours or so of non-stop class before we had a break.

Keto Grand Slam recipe:

4 eggs
2 slices bacon
1/2 avocado
1-2 cups of sauerkraut

I would eat this more now, but like I said in #1, I just am not that hungry when I wake up. That and I’m not super motivated to cook and make a messy kitchen at 5:00 am.

Important notes:

Make sure the bacon is high quality. I can’t stand this low-quality keto popularity. Source of food matters. Get heritage/pastured pork sources so that it is nutritious and you’re not feeding into the non-sustainable, CAFO problem.

Make sure the eggs are high quality and cooked correctly. See my post here on how to find the best eggs. And then see my post here on how to cook eggs for the highest amount of nutrition.

Just like Dom’s breakfast above, this is a pretty high amount of protein and would be important to check to see if this amount of protein is enough to kick you out of ketosis, if that’s your aim. For some people it is, for some people it isn’t.

If you’re sourcing your bacon properly, you can also try keeping some of the fat in the pan and cook the eggs in it to up the fat:protein ratio.

The sauerkraut is added for a few reasons. First, fermented foods are critical for gut function and micro biome diversity. Second, you get tons of fiber with sauerkraut, which people severely miss in their diets, especially on a ketogenic diet.

4) EXOGENOUS KETONES AND BCAAS

This is sort of between a complete fast (#5) and the fat bomb coffee mentioned in #1.

Since your body doesn’t have to process a lot of calorically dense food, you retain a lot of the same fasting benefits if you were to not eat anything at all, but you also get the help from exogenous ketones as readily usable energy and BCAAs to supply your muscle tissues with some reserves. This combination helps preserve lean tissue mass and ensure that your body is burning ketones and not muscle tissue > glucose for energy.

I’ve been toying around a little bit with this, but a lot of times I get too hungry and have to eat sooner than if I have my fat bomb coffee because I usually work 6-8 hours after that first drink. I do notice that I have higher peaks of mental output with this option, which is nice.

I will use these ketones if I know I will be working out in the morning within a few hours. I do this because I know that after I workout I will usually have a large meal (huge salad with a decent amount of a protein source) and don’t need the giant fat bomb with the coffee to keep me full.

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source

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In addition to keeping carbs low, there are some specific foods that may help boost fat loss and/or help reduce menopausal symptoms.

Flaxseed

Flaxseed may help relieve certain menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes. However, the effects seem to vary from woman to woman, based on anecdotal reports and high-quality studies

To learn more about flax’s health benefits, safety profile, and ways to include it in your diet

Green Tea

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Green tea is rich in catechins, which are potent antioxidants. It’s also the best source of a specific catechin known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which has been credited with beneficial health effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health.

Studies in menopausal women have found that caffeinated green tea helps lower insulin in those with elevated levels, whereas decaffeinated green tea doesn’t seem provide the same benefit (

Fatty Fish

Fatty fish has been shown to reduce inflammation, lower triglycerides, improve artery function, and protect brain health. These effects are largely due to its high content of EPA and DHA, the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, sardines, mackerel and herring.

In an RCT of 87 postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome, the women whose diets were supplemented with omega-3 fats had significant reductions in insulin resistance, blood pressure and inflammatory markers compared to those who followed the same diet without omega-3 supplementation ().

To get the benefits of these omega-3 fatty acids, aim for a minimum of two 100-gram (3.5-ounce) servings of fatty fish per week.

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Ingredients

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/8” slices

1.5 C favorite tomato sauce

1 C mozzerella cheese

2 oz cream cheese

2 sausage links/ground beef

parmesan to taste

spices

Directions

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Preheat oven to 350 F.

Remove sausage from casing and brown in sauce pan (or brown ground beef if that’s what you’re using). Once cooked, add 1 1/4 C sauce to the sauce pan, season to taste (salt, pepper, oregano, chili flakes)

Ladle a bit of sauce into the bottom of a 9×9 oven-proof pan. Place a layer of zuke slices in the bottom. Top with half of meat-sauce mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 of mozz on top, and then dot with pea-grape size pieces of the cream cheese (this was our ricotta replacement because we didn’t have any on hand). Repeat the whole process (zuke, sauce, mozz, cream cheese), and then sprinkle some parm on top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 min. Remove foil and bake for another 10. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before eating.

NOTE: This will be more watery than a normal lasagna because of the zucchini. Next time we’re going to try salting before hand.

Macros (3 servings):

200 Cal / 7 net carbs / 12 protein

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“These fluffy, tasty pancakes are super easy. Serve with plenty of butter and your favorite sugar-free syrup.” Most of us who have gone keto are challenged with finding great recipes to replace wheat based products. It is easier to just not have pancakes for breakfast than to try a keto version.  I created this version as an adaptation of the low fat version I serve to Lord D which gets its volume from beaten egg whites.  They are easy to whip up so now we both enjoy our own version of fluffy filling pancakes.