Two years of keto

The 26th of March 2018 marked two years of keto and the two best years of my life. It hasn't all been sunshine and bacon, this wasn't an easy journey. But it was definitely the best decision I ever made. I'm not a magical willpower unicorn, it was a decision that I had to (and still have to) make each morning, each time I went out, each time someone offered me sugary goodness. You do stop thinking about it as "a diet" and it just becomes how you live/eat. People become more accepting, for the most part, and while it is still inconvenient at social gatherings, it just becomes a habit. The last two years have taught me so much about myself, my body, my life and what I want. 

I have successfully lost 32kgs and I have been maintaining that loss for the last 6 months. Have a look here if you are interested in trying keto. 

Low Carb Hot Chocolate

I wish I could take credit for this amazing invention. My friend Kallah Ohr from Kallah Ohr Photography created this amazing hot chocolate (posted with permission of course). The first time we had this it was at her house in Paarl and I was completely blown away by how amazing this tasted. I was sceptical at first because I LOATHE almond milk. It tastes like bitter sadness to me, so when she told me that I wouldn't taste it in here I didn't believe her of course. I ate my words. And I drank a whole lot of this stuff.

This recipe is super easy to tweak. If you want a vegan version, just leave out the cream. If you are into chocolate coffee - add a shot of espresso to this. If you want something spicier, add cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or chilli powder. The possibilities are endless.

At 5g carbs per serving, it's a little high but not bad for the occasional treat. We are about to have a cold front this weekend so all I am thinking about is hot chocolate and my book.

Beef Stew

It's still winter here and before keto, stew was always one of my favourite comfort foods. Admittedly, removing potatoes from stew, makes it much less "stewy" so we've just renamed it to "Stewp". Because, even if you have to eat it with a spoon, stew is still an easy and comforting meal.

I usually make mine in my crock pot (slow cooker), so by the end of the cook, the meat has pretty much melted into the rest of the dish. My standard vegetables in stews are: mushrooms, green beans, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, pattypan squash, baby gem squash, cabbage,  and sometimes even bok choy. Usually not all at once, but if you experiment with a mix of these you might find something you like and that fits your macros. If you don't add too much liquid to the dish at the start and cook it for long enough, you can sometimes get a thick "real stew" consistency. Especially if you add vegetables that dissolve when cooked for long enough, like tomatoes. I usually replace the rice with gem squash, fried cabbage or fried cauliflower.

Death by Chocolate Cheesecake

The first time Waide tried this he immediately said "this is the crust recipe you use from now on!".

This was a random invention based on what I had in my fridge and honestly, the best cheesecake I've ever eaten! But I'm biased, so try it for yourself! When you see the ingredients you are probably going to think "holy calories!" But this recipe divided easily into ten servings, it works out to 4.8g of carbs per serving and 380 calories. Easy to fit into your macros for a special occasion, or you know, a Monday. 

Short Rib

Until recently I had never used short rib, so I started experimenting with different cooking methods; this is a recipe I developed using my magic spice. It tastes really nice in a stew, but this is my favourite way to use it. This is a very low effort dish to make, using just the meat with a few extra ingredients in the pot, then into the oven for a few hours. Short Rib works great served with cauliflower rice, fried cabbage, or veggie side of your choice.

Magic Spice

Most spice mixes that you buy contain starch fillers or brown sugar (including, unfortunately, curry powders - but that's for another spice experiment). Braais (BBQ) are a big deal in South Africa and "Braai spice" is totally a thing every South African has in their spice rack. Except when it's full of carbs. So I created my own variation of a meat spice - a combination of paprika, garlic, beef stock and other spices that I love. This stuff is great as a meat rub, in stews or on roast chicken. There are a million different ways to use it.