Okay, I don't mean super easy, but easyish. For one, my body has been craving more fats and proteins, and bread and pasta just haven't been doing it for me. I've been kind of been pushing away from those things anyway. So, it should be easy to not eat what you don't want, right?
Wrong.
The no bread and no pasta part is actually pretty easy. But going keto is so much more than that. I'm learning how to count my macros (up until a few days ago I had no idea what that even meant). So, I started logging everything into MyFitnessPal, and realized I still had to make some adjustments.
Mind you, these adjustments have not been major for me because I've been weaning myself off of sugar and bread products over the last month or so. Making dietary adjustments has to be done in small steps, or you will go crazy. But enough about that.
The moment I realized I might have a hard time with this lifestyle was when I had to sit and watch my husband eat macaroni and cheese. You guys, mac 'n cheese is my comfort food. I pride myself in making the most bomb mac 'n cheese ever. And now I've realized I can't eat it!! My whole world has turned upside down!
I resisted the urge to eat off his plate. It was hard, but I did it. Whew! Crisis averted.
Until later that evening.
When I wanted a bowl of cereal. Comfort food #2.
At this point, I was losing my mind. I cannot condone a lifestyle that does not allow mac 'n cheese or cereal! I love those things! I scoured the internet for low carb pasta and cereals. I didn't have much luck.
Then, I struck gold.
I found a recipe for grain-free cereal. Then I made my own. Net carbs: 7.1g per serving. Granted, that's not super low, but it sure as hell beats 39g. I didn't make it to eat every day, just for when that cereal craving strikes. And instead of milk (because carbs), I use 1/4 cup of half and half mixed with 1/4 cup of water, which is only 2g of carbs instead of the 8g that I'd get from using milk.
And even if you're not counting carbs, this is great for anyone who is just trying to cut out grains.
A little bit about the ingredients: you're supposed to use raw unsalted nuts/seeds, but I accidentally bought salted and roasted sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. I don't think it really affected the flavor too terribly much, but the flavor was definitely noticeable. I would have used more had they been raw. (My husband suggested I just rinse them off. But I had already made the cereal.)
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| Totally forgot to include the flax seeds in this photo. |
What you need:
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup brazil nuts, chopped
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup flax seeds
- 2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
- egg whites from 4 eggs
- 1 tsp stevia
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup organic cacao nibs (optional)
What to do:
Preheat oven to 220°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whip TF out of the egg whites (I whipped them for about 5 minutes before I remembered I had a hand blender thingamajig.)
You want to whip them into a nice, thick cream.
Stir in the stevia and vanilla extract.
Evenly spread the mixture over the cookie sheet.
Bake for 80 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. After the last stir, turn off the oven. Return the mixture to the oven and let cool for about another hour to make sure it's nice and dry.
Optional: once it's cool, stir in cacao nibs. You can also choose to sprinkle them on top when you sit down to eat.
Store in an airtight container.
Yields about 6 cups. Assume a serving size is one cup.
Per serving you end up with 515 calories, 46.4g of fat, 7.1g of net carbs, and 14.7g of protein.
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| Beaten egg whites |
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| All mixed up |
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| Done baking |
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| Does not include the cacao nibs |
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