Category: Keto Recipes

Keto Recipes, Recipes

Keto Chicken Salad

Jamie

Happy New Year’s Eve!

After the holidays many folks look to refocus their nutrition and clean up their diet. The Keto diet is booming right now, everywhere I turn I see another ad in my feed about Keto. If you are looking to try Keto, my biggest advice is to do your research and listen to your body. Keto doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s my belief that if done properly it can help many folks. I’ve certainly experienced many improvements personally. If you choose to embark on Keto, I’ll be posting a number of recipes in the coming weeks along with a 3 day free meal plan! This will be rolled out when me and my friend Andie over at  Our Radiant Life embark on a new podcast! On the podcast we will be discussing a number of health topics, but initially we will focus on women and Keto! SO excited! More details to come…

I’m always looking for a quick and easy lunch meal that I don’t have to spend a lot of time prepping. This one is just that!

Here is meal planning at its easiest: Get yourself a rotisserie chicken for dinner, serve it up with some low carb veggies – my go-to is sauteed kale or Swiss chard with garlic and a large dollop of tahini at the very end to create a “creamy” green with lots of good fats. The greens pair great with the roasted chicken.

THEN, this is where the quick lunch comes in – take some of the extra chicken meat (I usually eat one of the thighs/leg for dinner and grab the other for this meal) and turn it into chicken salad. One thigh/leg combo usually amounts to 4oz of skin and chicken meat. Throw this chicken salad together, divide up the portion and you have 2 lunches for the week! You could of course use the breast meat as well; you will just have a little lower fat quotient in that case. But you could compensate by adding more mayo and making it extra creamy!

I usually serve this up on romaine lettuce leaves, but you could definitely use a low carb wrap of any kind – butter lettuce, collard green leaf, coconut wraps or my personal favorite, if not doing lettuce, is the almond flour wraps by Siete.

Serve the wraps with a side of cucumbers and/or carrots – maybe even a side of some guacamole for dipping?! Yes please!

Keto Chicken Salad

Print Recipe Card:  KETO CHICKEN SALAD_recipe card

Keto Recipes, Recipes

Almond Flour Keto Pancakes

Jamie

So I’m 3 months in and still loving the Keto lifestyle. My energy is still great, cravings at bay, digestion on par and hormonal imbalances seems to be trending in the right direction (planning to get some testing done soon to confirm). Win-win-win. I feel really in tune with my body and I’m happy that things seems to be jiving!

Saturday mornings in my house are for pancakes! My former go-to pancake recipe uses oats as the base. They are super yummy and I still make them for my family. However, I was on the hunt for a lower carb option that I could enjoy while Keto. I first tried a packaged product: Lakanto Low Carb-High Protein Pancake & Waffle Mix. Its a great mix, and the pancakes cooked up well, but I’ve been trying to stay grain free (these are gluten free but not grain free) and so I went on a quest to create my own “keto pancake”. This one is super simple and very quick to throw together (just as quick as a mix actually). I usually top with some coconut butter, almond butter and/or a drizzle of the Lakanto Maple Flavored Syrup. I dont make any money promoting Lakanto products, but I do enjoy them and they are very Keto friendly. I hope you enjoy these pancakes as much as I do. I usually serve them up with a side of sugar free, preservative free bacon! Yumm! The perks of being Keto!

Good Morning!

Print recipe card: Almond Flour Keto Pancakes

Keto Recipes, Recipes

Thai Peanut Chicken – Keto Friendly

Jamie

My last post discussed my current experimentation with the ketogenic diet and trying to stay on it while backpacking. I’m 6 weeks in now and this way of eating feels so good to me that I’m not sure Ill ever got back to all of the carbs I ate previously! I feel like I have to put the disclaimer in here that points out that this might not work for everyone. Since every body is different, its clear that not one diet will work for everyone, but are some of the changes that I’ve experienced on the Keto diet:

  • Improved energy (big time!)
  • Improved digestion
  • Thinking more clearly – No more foggy brain
  • Clear skin
  • Improved mood
  • No more hunger roller coaster (I used to need to eat every 2-3 hours, now I barely snack between meals)

Also, I want to point out that I don’t follow a “strict” keto diet. I have days where I eat MANY more carbs than the traditional keto macros recommend and probably do this 2-3 times a week; However, when I test my ketone levels the next day (via a blood monitor) I’m still ketogenic. And most importantly, I still feel good! I basically just try to keep the fat up, the carbs down and eat food that tastes good. I hate tracking macros, so I only do it occasionally to see where I’m at.

So, I’ve been experimenting with my go-to recipes to make them keto friendly. I like a good peanut sauce and so here is one that turned out great and the macros ended up falling in line with a keto approach: Fat – 62%, 25g  Protein – 28%, 25g  Carbs – 10%, 9g

Meal prep tip: I recommend either buying 1-2 rotisserie chickens for the week, making a Crock Pot Chicken, or cooking a large batch of chicken thighs on a Sunday to have on hand for easy dinners and lunches. The recipe below calls for spaghetti squash. I also typically roast 1-2 squash varieties on a Sunday night and keep it in the fridge for easy sides for me and the family.

THE WHAT:
STIR-FRY INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1/2 Medium white or yellow onion - chopped
4-5 stocks bok choy - chopped
1-1/2 - 2 cups chopped green beans
1 cup cauliflower
1 Tablespoon finely diced ginger
1-1/2 cloves finely diced garlic
2 cooked de-boned chicken thigh/legs (skin on is best for keto)

SERVE OVER
Roasted Spaghetti Squash (for a higher carb day)
OR: Kelp Noodles (I like Sea Tangle brand)

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS
Fresh cilantro
Sesame seeds 

SIMPLE PEANUT SAUCE
In small bowl, whisk together the following
1 Tablespoon peanut butter (almond butter could work well too)
1 Tablespoon Tahini
1 tsp coconut aminos
1 tsp chili garlic sauce (found in Asian section, or just some red pepper flakes) - optional
1/4 tsp finely diced ginger 
1/2 clove finely diced garlic 
1 Tablespoon MCT oil (or sesame oil)
3 Tablespoons water (add water as you whisk to desired thickness)

THE HOW:

    1. Add coconut oil to a hot large pan or wok and allow to melt.
    2. Add onion and saute until translucent.
    3. Except for the cooked chicken, add the remaining “Stir-Fry Ingredients” to the pan, stirring or tossing every 2-3 minutes until crisp but cooked.Thai Chicken (8)
    4. Add the chicken and allow to warm (1-2 minutes).
    5. Top either the kelp noodles (lower carb option) or the spaghetti squash (slightly higher carb option) with the stir-fry, the peanut sauce, and desired toppings.Thai Chicken (13)

SERVES 3
(great for a family of 2-3: either serve it all, or have a serving left for a weekday lunch)

ENJOY!