My weight is still dropping. ๐ Yay! I tried a few new things this week, and I cooked โ for a change! lol ๐ Some of the new things I tried were โmehโ ๐ and some were GREAT.
Hereโs a photo tour of my low carb life this weekโฆ
Iโll just start right in the middle, because Wednesdayโs meals were GREAT โ thatโs the one day that I cooked. ๐ I actually made two meals at once while I was up and in the kitchen. One was inspired by a Facebook Ad ๐ ha!, and I did NOT expect it to turn out as great as it did.
First โก๏ธ BBQ Burger Stack with sautรฉed onions, sugar free bbq sauce & colby jack cheese. ๐
I usually add spinach, but was going for quick & easy โ and already had the onion sautรฉed and ready to use. ๐ง ๐ I like to keep onions prepped in advance to add to omelets, sausage balls, chicken salad, my ham & egg scramble, etc.
Speaking of Sausage Balls (thatโs my original recipe), see this AMAZING version: Spinach & Onion Sausage Balls ๐ those are SO good!
The burgers were FABULOUS. I didnโt make a side this time, but a bag of frozen steamable broccoli is my go-to most of the time ๐ฅฆ (you just microwave it right in the bag: steam & serve!) or you could throw together a side salad for a quick dinner too, as another option. ๐ฅ
I made 1/3 pound patties, seasoned them a bit with a dash of this & that, added a bit of Guyโs Sugar Free BBQ Sauce to each side plus the sautรฉed onions โ then topped them with cheese at the end. Easy!
๐ฉโ๐ณ This is my original Low Carb Spinach Burger Recipe
๐คฉ BBQ Spinach Burgers Recipe
I used Guyโs Sugar Free BBQ Sauce โ itโs keto friendly and delicious! The perfect combination of sweet & tangy. ๐
Perfect Keto is running a sale/promo on their Keto Mac & Cheese this week ๐ง๐ฅฃ so while I had the meat outโฆ I decided to make a low carb version of Hamburger Helper with that.
It turned out way better than I expected! ๐๐
Mock Hamburger Helper (Keto Style)
The Perfect Keto Mac & Cheese gets mixed reviews, and a lot of people here in our group said they didnโt love it. But it did make a REALLY GOOD mock Hamburger Helper.
I added a little extra cream, the optional butter (always!) and ๐ช pimento cheese. That plus ground beef & onions. ๐ฅฐ About half pound of browned ground beef is perfect for this recipe.
I had company. He DEVOURED it โ plus a double BBQ burger. I had one burger patty and a small helping of the burger-mac. There were NO leftovers lol โ always a high compliment, right? โ
I used ground beef & onion browned together + pimento cheese, butter & creamโฆ ๐ง ๐ง ๐ฅฃ
I used the Perfect Keto Yellow Cheddar Mac & Cheese (one box). 1/3 or half pound of ground beef is about perfect, crumbled & browned. Optional: toss in diced onion to brown with the meat.
I used 2 tbsp of butter, started with about 1/4 cup of pimento cheese, and โeyeballed itโ with the cream & pimento cheese to get the perfect amount of creaminess โ then finished it off with a sprinkle of black pepper.
That was SO good! Iโll be making this again. ๐ฏโฃ๏ธ
๐ฒ Perfect Keto Mac & Cheese
20% off Discount Code: LYNN20
I also have the White Cheddar Mac, and think Iโll add grilled chicken, sautรฉed onions + Queso Blanco Dip โ and maybe a mix of diced red & green pepper ๐ง๐ถ๐ง then top with cheddar and bakeโฆ and serve it with avocado or guacamole, plus salsa & sour cream. ๐ฅ ๐คฉ
If you still have a box of the PK mac & cheese in your pantry (too), try one of those ideas!
I love it way better as a meal than as a side by itself. ๐
Iโve been craving onion and enjoying it in pretty much everything lately! ๐ง You can dice or chop fresh onions and freeze them, then just grab what you need for any recipe anytime.
For convenience, I use frozen diced onion and saute the whole bag in butter โ then keep it in the refrigerator to easily add to meals all week as I go. * see this video
Other than those two meals I made at the same time on Wednesday, Iโve been having my usual โmeals on repeatโ lately โ still. I ate this one FOUR days in a row. ๐
Itโs chicken, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower โ and I added a little cheese. ๐ฅฆ ๐ง
Itโs the Atkins crustless chicken pot pie bowl, just a heat & eat meal. ๐ฅฃ๐
Hereโs my recipe for making it at home ๐ฉโ๐ณ very versatile & great for meal prep!
EASY Low Carb โOven Stewโ Recipe: Chicken & Veggies in Alfredo Broth
Iโve been keeping my meals really simple lately, so when I do โcookโ I usually just have my ham & egg scramble. I use 3 eggs, 2 ounces of diced ham, the pimento cheese & sauteed onions, and scramble it all in half tbsp of butter:
I start every day with my collagen coffee first thing in the morning โ๏ธ then usually a protein bar for lunch ๐ซ then one of those two meals for dinner (the eggs, or chicken & veggie bowl) โ on repeat.
I donโt mind eating the same thing most days, if itโs good. Iโm pretty happy to be eating daily again! It also makes shopping easy โ lol. I feel good today ๐ and I felt great on Wednesday, but otherwise Iโve been resting a lot (still) and catching up on work when I am up, so I donโt have a lot of extra time & energy to spend on shopping & cooking.
Besides, itโs just me here and Iโm easy to please. ๐
Iโm also eating simple as part of my recovery, so Iโm sticking to foods that donโt cause me to have flare-ups โ so I can get back to work more hours, and feel up for getting out a little more too!
Iโm still having the Electrolyte / SuperReds drink most days, and that really seems to be helping with focus & energy. ๐ฅโฃ๏ธ Plus itโs super tasty and perfectly refreshing on a warm afternoon. ๐ซ๐น
(note: it would be GREAT with a dash of rum, too!!) ๐
Best Keto Meal Replacement Bars
Itโs been a LONG time since Iโve switched it up and used any other protein bars, or found ANY other bars that I loved as much as the Almond Butter Brownie PK bars โ that also hold me over like a true meal replacement. But I was really impressed with the CanDo Keto Krisp Bars I tried last week, so I ordered more โ to try a variety of their flavors. Then I wrote to them and requested a special 20% off discount code for us, in case you want to try them too. ๐ * That code is: LOWCARBTRAVELER
Iโve tried A LOT of keto bars over the years, but these are my two TOP favorites!
The Almond Butter Brownie bars are 30% off on this page when you get 3+ or code LYNN20 will always get you 20% off at Perfect Keto.
If you order 4 boxes at 30% off, you also get a free gift. ๐ Thatโs the BEST deal on Perfect Keto bars. If you use them daily or often like I do, it just makes sense to stock up โ because they have a GREAT shelf life.
In my last post I mentioned REALLY wanting to try the Blackberry Almond Butter flavor of Keto Krisp bars. A friend found some of the smaller boxes at a store for me, and I ordered several other flavors to try from their website too โ and just got those this week! ๐ฆ
๐ฒ CAN DO Keto Krisp Bars
20% off code: LOWCARBTRAVELER ๐ฅ
Youโll also find them in stores like Publix, Wal-Mart, Kroger, Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc:
๐ CanDo Keto Krisp Store Locator
The Salted Peanut Butter Keto Krisp Bars are amazing!!!
Those are my favorite so far. ๐
Iโve been taking it easy for the past couple of weeks because I crashed pretty hard after going to that HUGE concert up on the mountain a week ago Sunday. It was worth it though, I had a great time. ๐ฅฐ Iโm feeling better overall, and the crashes are less severe and donโt last as long, so thatโs GREAT news and exciting progress!! (finally)
Iโm still figuring out my new limits, and still have to pace things out and rest a lot โ and stick to simple eating because my digestion is super finicky. But Iโm SO happy my recovery is going better lately, and my baseline has been bumped up a few notches. ๐
We have a GREAT outdoor pool here, and that will reopen in a few weeks (yay!!) so I look forward to getting back to my water workouts. That helped me SO much last summer!
In the meantime, Iโm still doing โbed yogaโ ๐งโโ๏ธ and looking into Wall Pilates on YouTube to see if thatโs something I can manage too.
Iโm going to make the egg wraps I mentioned in my last post โ and stuff those with chicken or tuna salad, or maybe grilled chicken & queso. Iโm craving something different lately!
Iโm going try making single-serve keto cheesecake bars this weekend too. ๐
I also have some chicken in the freezer, so I may do the Oven Stew recipe or a simple baked chicken or crockpot chicken. All 3 are super easy! But parmesan chicken has been on my mind the last couple of daysโฆ
๐ฉโ๐ณ Chicken Parm is SO good and SO easy! ๐
This post has some fun twists for mixing it up โ plus simple low carb sides you can throw together super fast for easy keto dinners:
Low Carb Chicken Parmesan Recipes + Simple Sides
What are you eating today, and how did your week go?
I started watching The Mentalist which is pretty great, and avoided watching the new Whitney Houston movie on Netflix (so far). ๐ซฃ Iโm not sure Iโm up for thatโฆ ๐
It was really nice to have company one day this week, and someone to eat with. Being so sick for so long (30 months now โ geez!) has been insanely isolating, especially when I canโt drive. When I can get out, itโs SO nice to go grab a meal or hear a band or see a concert โ and just be around people!!
Thatโs one of the things I love about doing my physical therapy & workouts at the public pool. Itโs always so full of children playing, people laughing, teens goofing off, and just lots of real people doing real life with ZERO filtersโฆ I love that. ๐
Iโve been putting a lot of thought into what Iโm going to do next. Iโm turning 50 soon, so it feels like a great opportunity to brainstorm exactly how I want to spend that decade. The only thing I know so far is that I want it to be HAPPY and FUN โ everything else is just details Iโm still working outโฆ
What about you?
If you could do ANYTHING or CHANGE anything in your life, what would that be? If you imagine that happiest healthiest version of yourself living the life of your dreamsโฆ how does that look?
Food for thought! ๐ xo
Best,
Lynn Terry
aka @LowCarbTraveler
p.s. I reviewed the Perfect Keto Mac & Cheese when it first came out, and I like it okay as a side dish. I included a video in this post so you can see how easy it is to make. But like I said, it does have very mixed reviews โ and I definitely like it WAY better turned into a meal. ๐
Itโs not something I personally stock up on when they have sales. I love their collagen, protein bars & the newer Super Reds supplement. But I had some in the pantry from when I ordered it to try before โ so it was nice to find a way to REALLY ENJOY it. The whole โHamburger Helperโ vibe made me very nostalgic and brought up some great memories, lol. โ๏ธ




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Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER


Lynn โฆ be sure to let us know how the cheesecake bars come out!
Iโm pretty excited about those ๐ so I definitely will! I ended up resting most of the weekend, but Iโm back on my feet today and look forward to doing a little something creative in the kitchen this week! Stay tuned. ๐ xo