I’ve been bopping around, trying out a variety of general habits that might work for me. I try something for a few days, deciding if it’s sustainable for me and what makes sense for me. Vegan has been the best thing for my body, but just really not sustainable because I’m not willing to put in the work. I seriously need to go to a farm and fall in love with cows and pigs, so I stop eating them. But, until then… I shall continue my search.
I’ve blown off the idea of keto for awhile, since it’s higher in fat content and I’m missing my gallbladder… a key-ish organ in helping to process fat.
For some reason, I decided to look more into it and, while I’m still struggling with the idea of more fat than not, I’m a fan of lessening the amount of extra carbs I need. I’ve been BLOWN AWAY by how many carbs are present in whole foods, without the need for breads or rices. So, to be clear, my goal is not to go low-carb per se, but rather to re-think how I’m eating carbs and where I’m finding them in food.
Before I hit the review part of this blog, I will say that I might flip the fat and the protein numbers at some point. I’m not 100% convinced my missing-gallbladder self needs the fat numbers. But, to be clear, when we talk about fat, we are not talking about your favorite chocolate bar, but good fats like avocados, nuts, and REAL butter (or other cooking fat that isn’t a thousand percent processed.)
I, per my usual, grabbed a book that seemed good to kick things off in the keto exploration world. Did I do a ton of research into WHICH book I should choose? Eh. I liked this chick’s insta. Good enough, right?
The book…
This is meant to be a 30 day cleanse. Not doing that. Not yet anyways. There was a vague intention early, but then life happened, missing ingredients happened, and most importantly, really enjoying recipes and repeating them five billion times happened. I have not finished all 30 days of trying recipes, but here is what I will say about the book itself, not the nutritional aspects already discussed above.
The recipes we’ve tried, which are a good chunk, are FANTASTIC. I thought I HATED sauerkraut… it turns out I like in a recipe from this book. I thought I really disliked chimichurri… same point. Onions? Yuck! Yet… my favorite breakfast has green onion. I’ve been truly challenging myself to get over my ish with food (except celery and cilantro, that ish is just plain nasty) and it’s paying off.
I will say some of the recipes are really not super simple. It’s a little more involved than something I’d want to be testing out during the school year. OR have prepped the food the evening before and have it ready to actually dive in and start cooking the night of eating it. I will also say that I actually like some of these leftovers. If you know me, then you know this is a SHOCKER. I will generally walk the opposite direction from a leftover, taking fast food before that. Yet… again… in my work to get over my food self… I’ve been making a concentrated effort to not blow it off.
So. A sort-of review of the book?
If you’re looking for a good intro to keto and don’t mind a little extra work, YUM. If you just need some new tasty recipes to add to your line-up and are willing to cut some of the fat content (which I do anyways and I’m loosely following the keto model for now) and add some other carbs, this is also a super tasty book to add to your repertoire. The veggies and meats are really tasty and I really don’t find myself missing the carbs. Yes, I know, I’m shocked as well. Who would have thought it?!