Tasha Hammondketo, , ,

Last few years, I’ve done a New Year’s post. With the revamping of yearly wellness and fitness, I thought I’d share what has really worked for me being four years into a low carb/keto lifestyle. When transitioning to keto, finding new food replacements takes some trial and error to say the least. Everything changes in your daily eating habits. How you bake really changes. Maybe I shouldn’t give away all of my secrets in one post, but what the heck?

Coffee

Up your coffee game to Bulletproof Coffee aka “keto” or “fat coffee” which is simply: coffee with fat in it. I like to run in the morning if possible and I like to do so fasted, with the exception of my fat coffee. Coffee is warm and comforting in general, but add a little fat and you will not be hungry for hours. I like to use MCT oil or a mixture of ghee and coconut oil. Use whatever you like and works for you! When I use ghee and coconut oil, I usually just throw in some spices like cinnamon and turmeric. My husband calls this my witches brew. When I use MCT oil, I’ll also use some heavy whipping cream and a Jordan’s Skinny Syrup. Add a little pumpkin spice flavoring and you can have a fall latte as good as Starbucks at home and without the carbs. I also use the skinny syrups in unsweet tea for a delicious treat.

Flour

I should productize my own flour blend. Maybe I’ll ask Kiss My Keto for a collaboration? You can substitute regular flour with a mixture of almond and coconut flour with pysillium huskand/or oat fiber. For example, if I needed 2 cups of flour then I’d do 1 3/4 almond flour, 1/8 cup coconut flour, 1/4 cup fiber (pysillium and/or oat). The fiber really gives more bounce like you get from traditional flour.

Sugar

There are a lot of options for sugar substitutes but my favorite is monk fruit. My favorite brand is Lakanto. There is nothing on their website that isn’t delicious. I get their low cab pancake mix and maple syrup as well. Next favorite is stevia and erithytol, followed by allulose. I do try to stay away from aspartame and splenda but Coke Zero begs to be added to bourbon. Monk fruit is pretty much a one to one for baking while everything else I use more sparingly. Most packaging gives you the substitution equivalent to cane sugar.   

Gravy

You can do a beef, chicken or turkey gravy really quick and easy with stock, butter, salt & pepper and xanthan gum, which is sticky like corn starch. I sprinkle in a smidgen at a time because a little goes a very long way whisking so no lumps. More traditional breakfast or fried chicken gravy can be done as well using canned cream (evaporated milk) or heavy whipping cream.

On the go or quick

Some quick options are a must to keep you from grabbing a high carb snack. You gotta have the adult lunchable ready to go aka charcuterie tray of meats, cheeses and pickles. Low carb protein shakes. I like Alaninu and IsoPure. Slim fast makes some good already prepared keto shakes. Eggs and bacon. There are all kinds of already cooked bacon you can just heat in microwave a minute. The Just Crack An Egg are nice and fast. I also really like a La Terra dips (especially jalapeno artichoke) with sliced radishes.

Noodles

Of all the noodle substitutes, I like heart of palm the best. Palmini pasta is awesome. The konjac noodles with most keto brands are not my favorite. I find them squeaky on my teeth (not aldente). I’m a texture person. I don’t love mushrooms either so if you do, don’t trust my opinion on this. I like to use konjac root to make puddings. Impastables are great but do have gluten. I buy them anyway to make macaroni and cheese, especially around the holidays. Otherwise, I prefer vegetable noodles (squash or zucchini zoodles).

Bread Crumbs

Meet your new favorite bread crumbs – pork rinds. Grind them up and use them in any casserole. I use them for toppings. I put them in meatloaf. They are an excellent no carb substitute that comes in many flavors – original, bbq, spicy, etc.

Bread

Bread is the hardest for me because I do have a gluten sensitivity. I’ll try and like things I don’t continuously eat because it hurts my stomach. Thin slim foods are good. All of the keto breads need immediate refrigeration. We buy keto bread at Costco and Aldi that are all tasty but do have gluten. Because of my gluten sensitivity, I usually just make a minute bread instead or cheesy muffins.

Chips, Crackers & Tortillas

Radishes are my favorite chip replacement for dips. I like other vegetables as well such as celery and carrots. I mostly use the Parmesan wisps for cracker replacement. We also buy low carb tortillas. Our favorite is cheese folios from costco which are gluten free too!

Milk

For cooking and baking, use canned cream (evaporated milk) or heavy whipping cream. For protein shakes, use unsweetened coconut or almond milk (or a combination of both). For eating cereal, Kroger Carb Master milk. We buy the regular, vanilla and chocolate. The kids love the chocolate milk and the vanilla tastes like snow cream.

Eating like the kids

Here is a list of processed foods that I typically go to, but aren’t necessarily great for you. These are all low carb alternatives for when I just want to eat like a kid.

Drinks

My typical “go to” drinks are water, coffee and unsweetened tea. Give me all of the tea, both hot and cold. Add in the Skinny Syrups. Carbonated waters can be sweetened with liquid stevia. Sparkling ice are great with some heavy whipping cream for a mock root beer float.

For adult beverages, I mostly do carbonated waters (la croix, bubly, etc.) with vodka. I do also enjoy bourbon and will mix with Zevia (cola or ginger-ale) or Coke Zero.

For energy drinks- I like Bang the best. Next is Celcius followed Alanin and then Monster Zero Ultra.

Affiliations

There are only a few products in this post that I am affiliated with. If asked, I’d do them all, as these are my favorites. Here are links and coupon codes if you’d like to try any:

I have pictures of most things I like on my instagram so follow me there if you like good food finds! I am not the keto police and I love to eat! I do try to target higher carb foods for dinner for I have found that I will naturally go into cyclic ketosis anyway. It takes some trial and error to find what works for you. Everyone is different but I hope this helps serve as an introduction to what can seem intimidating and or overwhelming at first when going low carb or keto. Take your time, do some research and if you are looking to calculate macros check out this calculator.

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