Iโve had a lot of chats around the web lately about โgetting back on trackโ or โstarting low carbโ with friends who are ready for some serious positive change in their life & health.
It inspired me to start sharing my daily keto food diaries with you again, and reviving our low carb challenge group. ๐ I think that would be great for ME too, because I really miss the community and connection โ and honestly: need to find my spark again! โจ๏ธ
My daughter is back home to stay with me for awhile and she made some GREAT quick & simple low carb dinners this week. Weโre also trying out another keto meal delivery service and got low carb take-out over the weekend.
For exercise, Iโm walking in the swim lanes and doing water resistance workouts (physical therapy). Sheโs hitting the gym again, and swimming on the days I go โ until the pool closes for the season.
I still have my same morning routine as always: I start my day with a collagen coffee. I donโt have much appetite in the mornings but my daughter does, so she usually starts her day with sausage and eggs and a hot tea with cream. I have a protein bar around mid morning or lunch.
Low Carb Meals This Week
My daughter found this Keto Broccoli Casserole recipe online, and it turned out fabulous! ๐ฅฆ ๐๐
It was pretty easy too, and she just paired it with some pre-made low carb meatballs:
Here are the meatballs she used, she found these at Wal-Mart:
It made for a quick, easy and super-tasty dinner!
Plus there were leftovers, which is always a plus. ๐
Last night we had fried pork tenderloin, breaded with egg & almond flour, more of the broccoli casserole, plus cabbage sauteed with onion & garlic.
The cabbage was GREAT. She chopped up about 1/3 of a large head of fresh cabbage, then I added onion & garlic and salt and just cooked it down and browned it in a little butter. It was perfectly tender & tasty!
My dinner tonight was leftover meatballs, broccoli casserole and cooked cabbage โ all mixed up together. ๐ Itโs so nice having my daughter home, and enjoying some home cooked meals and variety again!
The company has been nice too. ๐ฅฐ We went to a show together last week and had a GREAT time. My children are adults now, but theyโre still my favorite people to hang out with!
Also, my daughter is great about helping me to and through outings. I still canโt get out on my own. ๐
I mentioned weโre testing a new keto meal delivery company. This time Iโm trying Factor. So far the meals are SO GOOD, and theyโre super easy to make (just heat & eat). That really helps on the nights she isnโt home, or has to work late.
Here are a couple of examples of meals Iโve had lately:
They have a refer-a friend program if you want to try them out. It gives you up to $150 off your Factor order when you get referred by another customer.
The first one ^ is their Pesto Salmon which is one of my favorites.
This one was pulled chicken with spinach & mushrooms and some kind of fancy (and really yummy) sauce:
The meals are really well done, and theyโre very filling. My daughter tried a few and she loves them too. Iโm torn on whether to keep getting them. I *love* the convenience and variety, but Iโm not really sure about the costโฆ
With my daughter home and cooking more, that will help A LOT since Iโm still not able to shop or cook, except maybe fry a few eggs on a good day. And sheโs working a lot so she doesnโt always feel like cooking, and loves the convenience too.
We did get take-out from a favorite local restaurant this week as well. You probably remember seeing this one before: Philadelphia Chicken with roasted broccoli and cauliflower.
Itโs two chicken breasts smothered in mozzarella, mushrooms & onions โ like a Philly cheese steak, but with chicken. ๐
Itโs SO good, and something you can easily recreate at home if you love to cook!
Take-out isnโt cheap either. That meal makes two dinners for me, but I have less appetite than most people (right now). But itโs still over $30 for 2, and closer to $40 I think after tax & tip.
The quality of food with both the take-out and the Factor meals is GREAT, and of course thereโs the convenience. Shopping, prepping, cooking and kitchen clean-up all takes a lot of extra time โ so Iโm still trying to weigh out if itโs worth it. Especially considering thereโs often waste or leftovers with groceries and fresh produceโฆ
For now weโre trying to shop smart, prep in batches, cook things that pair well together as leftovers, etc. And I did get another order from Factor this week with easy dinners for nights nobody feels like cooking. Nobody being her (lol) โ she has a full work week, and weโre both sick right now.
I really liked the meatballs. Those were easy and convenient! But itโs not hard to make your own meatballs at home, with beef or with beef & sausage combined. See my Low Carb Spinach Parmesan Meatballs Recipe from a few years ago if you want to whip up your own. ๐
Iโd love to hear how youโre making it all work!
I found it so much easier to โcook on a budgetโ when I had a family at home. Cooking for one seems a lot more challenging for some reason ๐ unless you donโt mind doing A LOT of meal prep and/or eating a lot of the same things over and overโฆ
This week I got some deli chicken slices and low carb wraps to make easy quick meals myself, and spring greens โ because I love those on the side with ranch, or stuffed in my wrap. I have eggs of course, Iโm happy to eat those pretty much any way and any time of day. Tuna salad and chicken salad are great options for a quick mealโฆ just some ideas, while Iโm adding to our next grocery list.
Itโs really nice to have my daughter home for awhile again. ๐ She actually ENJOYS cooking, so I look forward to sharing more recipes she tries and more easy meals she throws together, and getting back to sharing my low carb food diaries with you!
I hope things are going good on your endโฆ
Iโd love to hear from you and catch up! ๐
Are you still eating low carb, planning to start back, or whatโs new in your life?
Best,
Lynn Terry
aka @LowCarbTraveler
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Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
So glad youโre doing well lynn! Iโve often wondered how youโve been. I find it funny coming across this tonight. My husband and I just restarted yesterday. So far so good. But itโs just the beginning. We have also tried the factor meals in the past. My husband loved them. I thought they were okay. I hope to see you posting in the page again. I miss the page. It really helped me stay on track.
Much love,
Amber S.
Thank you, Amber! What perfect timing. ๐ Which page did you mean? Iโve been posting on my Facebook Page and also in our private Low Carb Challenge Facebook Group almost daily. I wonder if maybe youโre not seeing the posts now with the latest updates? Iโm having to update my notification preferences and customize my content feed lately to see more of the groups, people & pages Iโm missing. Here are the links if that helps find them quicker:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lowcarbchallenge/
https://www.facebook.com/lowcarbtraveler/
Itโs great you two are restarting together. ๐ Do you both cook, or what do you find works best for staying on track on busy days? I look forward to keeping up with your journey!
So sorry to hear you are still having so much trouble since Covidโฆโฆlife sometimes can throw some tough pitches! Iโve had problems too but seem to do better when I follow more carnivore with less veggies. donโt know why, I always loved veggies, but they now seem to give my gut many more problems. I found that when I eat more beef and chicken I feel the best. sometimes itโs so hard and I do try to eat more keto, but I usually suffer more the next day or so. Iโm glad you have some help and companyโฆmy prayers are with you! Good luck!!โฆ..Candyce
Thank you Candyce! Iโm struggling with some vegetables too so I get itโฆ gut health issues are the worst. I was surprised the cooked cabbage didnโt bother me, and Iโve found I can eat spinach with no issues so thatโs been my go-to lately. It takes a lot of patience and discipline to do an elimination and reintroduction diet to get your guts straightened out, but itโs SO worth it. I feel best when I eat super simple. Thatโs always been the case, but like you โ right now meat, salt & water are my base foods I can count on not causing flare-ups. Thatโs always a good place to start, then test one new food or ingredient per week to see how things affect you, and slowly build up a wider variety of foods to enjoy.
So glad you are back again, I have always enjoyed your posts, and they helped me a lot to know that you were on the same program as I was, I enjoyed your field trips threw the the water, rocks and beautiful places you would hike. It sure has kept me on track threw the time you have been doing this, as I started with Jorge Cruise โThe 100โณโฆcount only sugar calories book published 2013โฆI have been maintaining my ideal weight for several years because of you and Jorge Cruise.
Thank you for your emails as I have a dear friend living in Knoxville TN, and I live in Portland Oregon, so nice to keep in touch and see what you are doingโฆkeep the faith!
Thank you, Bonnie! Itโs great to hear from you as well. ๐ I miss my solo hikes and BIG adventures, and look forward to getting back to those. Yesterday my daughter took me to the Cascades above Cane Creek Falls, which is one of two places I can get to easily in my condition (with help), and it was SO nice to sit in the cascades and in the river on a warm sunny late summer day! ๐ ๐
Way to go maintaining your ideal weight! I look forward to getting back to mine as I make my way through recovery. Even eating very low carb, and really: not eating enough, or much at all, I have a lot of water retention and inflammation and mysterious weight gain the last couple of years โ and it feels incredibly awkward and uncomfortable after being โlean & strongโ for so long. ๐ Right now Iโm focusing on my health, and trusting my body will follow suit and slim back down as I get well. ๐
Thank you for sharing your meals and โdealsโ with us. I definitely want to try to Philly Chicken now.
I will be traveling to TN in November and hope to detour just a tad to try the authentic version. Until then, I have plans to make my own version next week.
The Factor meals have been a life saver for us while life was crazy and there was no time to cook but once the discounts were removed, Iโm finding I need to add in some of my own meals to stay within my personal budget. Iโm looking forward to your posts and hope you are feeling well enough to have great adventures with your daughter during her visit.
Thank you, Kellie! So far we have been to two great shows (live music) and then this week we went to the Cascades at Cane Creek Falls which was really nice. I love having her home and getting to do things with her, and really appreciate her help. ๐
That Philadelphia Chicken is consistently GREAT, and they have a fabulous Delmonico Ribeye too. Itโs the Gondola Pizza & Steakhouse in McMinnville TN. Itโs not very fancy, but they do have a great patio, which is perfect during the time of year youโll be in the area!
I feel the same way about Factor. Itโs definitely a good value with the sign-up discount, and comes out much cheaper AND healthier than getting take-out (with a lot more variety). Itโs ideal if you canโt cook and donโt have many other options, but with my daughter home and able to cook, weโll be doing more homemade meals for sure.
I do love that you can change your plan down to 4 meals, skip weeks, etc all so easily. Itโs nice to for me to have something on hand when she isnโt here since Iโm rarely able to drive or cook again right now.
Itโs a great gift option too, for someone who is sick or recovering from surgery, a housewarming gift or for new moms. I do love that as a practical gift option. I know when I had a big surgery a few years ago, meals was one of the most challenging parts of recovery!
Anyway, great to hear from you. ๐ I hope you have a great trip when you head this way in November! Tennessee is such a beautiful placeโฆ I absolutely love it here.