Happy Thursday all of you fabulously fit people! Yesterday I told you all about how I was using the ketogenic diet to try to fix my gut while losing weight and building muscle.
Well I wanted to tell you a few reasons why I like keto and share a delicious recipe with you!
I am rarely hungry or hangry! This is because I am satiated from all the fat and protein I’m eating! For most of my life I have been a hangry little monster in between meals. My mom told me that I would get so grouchy and act naughty for no reason at all. It took her a while to figure out what the heck was wrong with me but eventually realized that I was a hangry kid when it was eating time! Well that still applies to my adult life. I have eaten every 2-3 hours for the last three and half years, and the hunger pangs would start creeping about 2 hours after eating. It felt like my day was centered around food. If you saw my post yesterday, you would see that at certain times of the day I still eat about every 3 hours. You will also see that from bedtime until about noon that the only thing I consume during that window of time is my bulletproof almond milk latte with MCT oil. It really is awesome not having to feel like I have to stop at a Starbucks to stuff my face in fear of feeling like those pesky hunger pangs.
I get to eat lots of delicious foods {aka fats} and don’t feel like I’m missing out! If you’ve been on Instagram lately, you may have seen some of my food creations already! Well let me tell you a secret…being able to eat about 120g of fat per day is amazing!! It’s like a dream actually! I eat yummy avocados, coconut, sesame, olive and MTC oils, nuts, BACON, grassfed beef, chicken legs and thighs, coconut, almond and cashew flours, shredded coconut, and dark chocolate just to name a few.
I create delicious foods all of the time and don’t have to worry about going over on fat consumption. I don’t have food cravings for carbs or sweets in between my refeed days and that’s the best feeling of all!
My energy is through the roof! Most people think that going low carb means they will be cranky with no energy. That can be the case for some people when they transition into a low carb diet, it’s usually referred to as the “low carb flu”, but thankfully I did not experience that. I normally eat about 25-30g of carbs per day, the rest comes from fat and protein which is what gives me my energy. My body is no longer using carbs as an energy source and has switched over to using fat for energy, and I am definitely not lacking in the fat department (not saying I am fat, because I am not, but I do have quite a bit of fat on my body to lose!). I also get a ton of energy from the MCT oil in my coffee and I also pour a tablespoon on my food here and there. MCT oil does not get digested in the lymphatic system like most fats, it goes straight to the liver to get metabolized and immediately releases energy. The first time I took it, my heart was racing like crazy and I felt super focused! Now I don’t get the racing heart, but I still do have tons of energy and focus!
Recipe time!!
I’ve been experimenting in the kitchen lately and have been teasing all of you on Instagram with pictures of all of my yummies the past couple weeks. So now it’s time to start rolling out some of my creations! This is one of my absolute favorite treats to make any time of the day! I eat them all in one sitting as a meal, but you can get about 3-6 servings out of them depending on how you want to split them up! You can store them in the fridge or freezer and then let them sit out on the counter for a few minutes before eating. I hope you all enjoy!
Coconut Snowballs
1-6 servings – see below for nutritional info
- 2 tbsp almond meal
- 2 tbsp cashew flour from Trader Joe’s
- 4 tbsp unsweetened, reduced fat shredded coconut
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 3 tbsp unsweetened vanilla or plain almond or coconut milk
- 2 scoops or 8 drops stevia (more or less depending on desired sweetness)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- a dash of sea salt
Warm coconut oil in a bowl until it becomes liquid. In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients together. Once mixed, pour in the coconut oil. Gradually pour and stir in the almond or coconut milk into the mix. Taste as you go to make sure you have the desired sweetness. Once mixed, scoop out about a tbsp or more size portion of the mix and work into small ball shapes. I normally work into a ball first with my fingertips and then roll between my palms to finish the shape. Place the coconut snowballs into the refrigerator to set for about 10-15 minutes and enjoy!
Est. nutritional info for the entire recipe:
Fat: 40g
Carb: 19g (net carbs 10)
Protein: 9g
I normally make 5-6 small balls. To find out the nutritional value per ball, take the above numbers and divide by how many balls you made.
*These are nutritional estimates based on the specific ingredients that I used in my recipes. Your nutritional outcome may be different depending on the ingredients you use. Check MyFitnessPal for specifics or you can analyze your recipe here.
If you want to learn more about what the keto diet is all about, check out this awesome ebook Kick the Weight with Keto by Kim Knoch!
Do you have any recipe requests that you would like to see here? If so, leave me a comment below and let me know!
What are some of your favorite treats to make?
Coconut or chocolate? GO!
