Convenience foods are a way of life for many people. How many times are you utterly exhausted after a long day of work, and you just want to grab something quick at the drive through, or order in pizza, or if you’re on a budget, buy the frozen pizza? Yeah. Me too!!!! But those convenience foods are 1) getting more and more expensive, and 2) so full of fillers, they barely qualify as real food anymore. We’ve talked about protein, fat, and sugars so far. I have yet to find a convenience food that’s high in protein, healthy fat, and DOESN’T have a ton of fillers & sugars in it. Look at what you eat, and see how much packaged, prepared foods you eat, and if you can really hit your goals with those ingredients!
One of the keys I try to live by is to make sure that my food IS ingredients, but doesn’t HAVE ingredients. I’m good eating chicken parmesan, if I make it from home. But I’m not going to BUY pre-made chicken parm at the store because I can guarantee the ingredients are more than chicken, pork rind breading, cheese (milk, salt, cultures), and tomato sauce consisting of …. Tomatoes & salt! If you find one that’s just those ingredients, OMG tell me where! So pay attention to the ingredients in what you’re eating, and try to eat whole foods, in as close to their natural form as possible.
It’s not always that easy, but it’s also not really that hard, either! Once a week I try to meal prep a big casserole. Last week it was pizza casserole. This week it’s a big pan of chicken enchiladas. Do a quick google search for your favorite foods, and add “keto” or “low carb” to the search. A ton of good recipes will pop up, and you can choose one to plan for next week!
How about weeknight dinners. I’m learning just how HARD it is to cook a meal when you get home from working an 9-5, let alone working the 24 hours shifts I usually do! So what’s a girl to do? Always have some protein thawed in the fridge, and some fresh veggies. On your drive home, think which protein & veg you want for dinner. When you walk in the door, go pre-heat your oven. Go change, then come back and your oven will be close to temp. You can throw veggies on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper and toss in the oven while you figure out how you want to prep your protein. Sometimes you can even throw it on the sheet pan (this is another thing you can google; keto sheet pan dinners), or you can pan-fry it in some tallow or leftover bacon grease. Or if you’re super lazy, like me, toss it in the air fryer. Pour yourself a drink, pull out some plates, and dinner is almost done!
Who else has a MAJOR sweet tooth? How do you handle sweet cravings? Most of the time, this means you didn’t eat enough of your meal. But other times (me) it’s because of my mood. Sometimes ALL I want is a sweet treat! So here’s what I’m training myself to do, and I want you to try it too. Take a serving of plain, greek yogurt (~20g protein). Add some frozen berries (strawberries are good), or fresh if you want. Drizzle a LITTLE and I mean LITTLE local, unfiltered honey over the top. If you want chocolate, go for some dark, sugar-free chocolate chips (I like Lily’s), but be mindful these have sugar alcohols which can mess with your tummy. Congrats! You’ve now made yourself a froyo! Alternatively, you can use some homemade whipped cream with plain cream cheese (more fat, much less protein) and you have a mock cheesecake.
If you’re curious about one on one or group coaching, send an email to essentially.lyd@gmail.com and I’ll connect with you right away!
Essentially Health & Wellness 