Camping and the Keto Diet

4:14 PM AirplaneFoodCritic 2 Comments

I love camping!

I went camping for four glorious days in Northern California. I had a wonderful, relaxing time and I also managed to stay true to the Ketogenic Diet. I went out to eat two times and I also went wine tasting! Here I will share how I did it.

Breakfast foods:
A great breakfast, minus the bread there. I forgot to take a photo of mine.

Sausage-
I grilled up some sausage in advance so I was not carrying raw pork around in a cooler in the dead of summer. I like the Johnsonville hot Italian usually but to make sure I was not giving  my stomach any reasons to be a jerk to me while living in the woods for the better half of a week, I went with some double IPA sausages. I just opened the liner, pressed them into large patties and cooked them. I kept them in the cooler in a ziplock bag.

Eggs-
Eggs are a fantastic thing to bring camping. You can boil them for a snack or fry and scramble them for breakfast. I chose to bring raw, unbroken eggs because it was easy but if you want to scramble them for breakfast, you can crack a few into a container of your choice in advance. That way you have nothing to break in your cooler and you can just dole out the amount of pre-scrambled egg mixture you desire.
Nothing better than coffee and bacon in the morning while camping.

Bacon-
I don't eat much bacon irl but for camping it is a must for me and my family. It is a tradition. You can cook your bacon on the camp stove then crack your eggs or egg mixture right into the remaining oil leaving only one pan to clean. You can make a bunch then snack on a strip or two all day or add to your lunch as well.

Creamy, buttery coffee-
I brought loads of salt-free butter. I added a tablespoon or two of butter to my camp coffee. When the butter is melted, I add as much whipping cream as I like to my desired color. This is a very filling morning drink but it has only minimal nutrients so don't forget to eat something along with it to fuel you through to lunch.

Lunch foods:

Chicken salad-
I used some chunked and shredded chicken and tossed it with mayonnaise, black olives, chopped pickles and mustard. Add salt and pepper and if you want you can add full fat Greek yogurt. This can be stored in tupperware in the cooler and takes up very little space. I just pulled it out and ate with a fork right out of the container. I didn't have any dishes to deal with and could eat it safely in awkward, often sandy or dirty areas like at the beach.
Chicken Salad, photo and recipe are here from Lisa at Low Carb Yum. I love pickles in mine! She has very good advice on how to make it with the best Keto friendly ingredients.

Snacks and drinks:

Ice tea-
I filled a plastic milk jug with water and 4 bags of my favorite tea. There is no need to boil the water first. It seeps just fine in room temperature tap water and in cold water. I placed the mostly filled jug in the freezer over night. Once frozen, I added a bit more water and put the cap on. This is a clean way to keep your food and drinks cold in the cooler as well. As the frozen tea melts I would have a very cold drink. If you do not have the room to put a whole jug, you can do the same in smaller water bottles. Just drink the first inch or so, cram a tea bag inside and stand up in the freezer. Once frozen you can fill the rest of the way with water and place in strategic places in your cooler
We always have a great selection of fine cheeses when camping. Everything here (save for the bread) is totally Keto.

Cheese-
I chose 6 different gourmet cheeses. I ate them on little rounds of sliced salami or just with my hands. I had mostly soft brie like cheese but varied it with goat, cow, sheep and bison milks. I ate a couple harder cheeses too like my all time fave, Nicasio Square cheese. Mmm I want some to eat right now!

Cold cuts/charcuteries-
I brought along some sliceable salami as well as pre-sliced salami. I brought some coppa and prosciutto as well. I ate these as snacks or as the "chips" for my cheese.
More snacks, I loved those marinated mozzy balls.

Pork rinds-
These are the best for mindless snacking. They are super satisfying but have no carbs at all in them. Be careful of your protein intake though!

Macadamia nuts-
These are so yummy that they taste almost sweet to me. Another great snack to have while others might be eating chips.
A small taste of the many types of olives that are out there. I like to choose many varieties from the deli.

Olives-
I went to the market and selected several varieties of olives. They are filling, salty and good for you!

Dinner, eating out:

First night, Mexican-
I was so very disappointed to find out that my favorite Mexican restaurant had closed. The owners retired but sold the recipes to the new owners who opened a new place with a slightly changed name. The food was not quite as good and the menu was about one quarter as big so I was thrown for a loop when I arrived. I had planned on having fajitas without the tortillas but had to make new decisions. I chose the Al Pastor pork plate but instead of rice and beans as a side, I had a big ol' pile of guacamole. It turned out super delicious. There is a little orange and orange juice in it but not enough to throw me out of Ketosis. The cool, tangy guac went well with the pile of meat I had on the other side of  my plate. It balanced out the heavier flavors on the pork. I had enough to eat as leftovers the last night of the trip. I ordered an ice tea to go with dinner. I considered having a beer but I wanted to spend my daily dose of carbs on wine back at the campsite. I never get tired of tea. I have a pretty hefty selection at home and drink it every day so it was a good choice for this night.
You can have this at camp. Make the meat ahead of time and heat, make the quac in camp.

Second night, American brewhouse-
Another blow hit us when we learned that our second favorite restaurant in the Anderson Valley had changed owners. We heard that the original owners of the Buckhorn decided to up and leave but the bartender's girlfriend's parents promptly bought it. The menu needs a lot of sorting out still but I think they will be back to their old quality by next year. I could have gotten the burger with no bun but I was craving a grilled chicken breast so I got the wedge salad with chicken. The salad came with THE BIGGEST wedge of iceberg lettuce I have ever seen. It was a half a head of lettuce. That was smothered in bleu cheese, bacon and walnuts. The walnuts were candied but there were so few that it didn't throw me out of ketosis. They still added a great deal of flavor. I also opted for a diet coke because I was wanting some sort of sugar fix. It was gross (I'm not the sort who likes diet anything) but satisfying nonetheless.
I admit, it wasn't the prettiest looking meal but it was satisfying and tasty.
In camp dinners:

The best in-camp dinners are the ones you can do the most prep or even all the cooking at home. Pre-season and form hamburger patties, make meatballs, have hot dogs with sauerkraut, bring marinated steaks.
A hot dog while camping from previous years, just remove the ketchup and bun and you are set.

Night time desserts and boozy drinks:

Wine-
I went wine tasting at a couple of the wineries in order to pick some up for my brother as well as bring some chilled bottles back to camp for the evening. A little wine here and there is not too terrible for you in terms of keeping in ketosis. I tasted about 10 wines (and of course I did not spit!). I brought a nice Sauvignon Blanc back and had two small glasses of that. The other night I had only a half a glass because it was relatively sweet. Other wines that would be ok to drink are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, dry Rose, Merlot and Pinot Noir. The wines you want to avoid are the sweet ones like Muscat or Icewine.
We camp in the beautiful Anderson Valley which has beautiful wines.

Vodka-
This is the best choice if you are wanting to drink alcohol. It has low carbs and is clear which means it has less in it to make you feel crappy later. Vodka is just a nice and clean alcoholic option. I did not want to sit around the campfire taking shots of warm vodka so I created a cocktail that I quite like. I will put the recipe below. If you do not like vodka, you can drink almost any unsweetened hard alcohol like rum, tequila and gin. Stay away from anything sweet and you are good to go.
Lindt is easily the best tasting and best textured 90% dark chocolate out there. One square is 3 grams of Carbs.

Chocolate-
I did not want to just sit and watch the others make smores so I brought along some Lindt 90% chocolate. It is a little bitter if you are not used to dark chocolate but I found that the Lindt brand is a particularly good brand to try out the 90%. It is creamy and satisfying while at the same time, low on carbs. I ate two squares per night and stayed in ketosis.
Normally, I have s'mores paired with port or a late harvest wine. This year it was chocolate and vodka.

Cookies-
I did not bring cookies but I did intend to make some at home to bring. I got lazy. There are plenty of great recipes to find on the trusty interwebs for cookies you like.
So refreshing and tasty too! Photo is from Polar Seltzer, I drank mine out of a camp mug with a fish on it.cherry 

Keto Happiness Drink

2 oz Vanilla Absolut
Flavored soda water like Orange or Cherry
Garnish, orange slice if using orange soda water, cherry (natural, not sweetened like maraschino) if using cherry soda water

Fill highball glass with ice.
Pour vodka over ice.
Top with soda water
Garnish with orange slice on side or cherry inside as desired.

I'm telling you, this is so yummy, it's like a 50-50 bar or cherries and cream. If you are daring you can add a little whipping cream to the top!
Many flavors, many options.

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The Ketogenic Diet - First Week Lessons Learned

7:31 PM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments

I started the Keto Diet one week ago and in that time I have learned a lot. Despite having researched online, I found some things I missed and had to learn "the hard way". I will share those with you now.
I don't think bodies even look like this anymore. Are those abs between his boobs?

1. Your body needs time to adjust

First thing (and I think quite important) is that because of the high fat consumption, your body will need a little time to adjust. And I am talking about bathroom time here. I was on my second day in and I messaged my friend who is my inspiration for trying this whole diet out. When she heard I was going to give this a try to help fight my pain too, she came through like a champ with recommendations, links, books and recipes. She mentioned in passing, "Oh, and of course you can't just do the full diet right out of the gate or your stomach won't be able to handle all that fat." And I tell you, practically the moment she told me that, my stomach turned on me. I spent the rest of the day nursing my poor confused stomach. It took me three tries to walk my dog that afternoon because I kept having to drag my poor corgi back home so I could be near a bathroom. Perhaps having the butter-coconut oil-heavy cream-coffee every day was a bad choice to start?

So my advice here is to be aware of that. If you have the ability to be very close to a bathroom, and you don't mind the upset stomach emergencies, by all means, start with the butter coffees and heavy creams. But if you, oh, I don't know...have a job....you should do a little ramping up by slowly introducing more fat into your diet. You can do that by adding more and more to your lean protein and veggies. This way you are still carb-free but the fats won't crash your stomach's party. Also, if you were to add fats to just a regular diet, you are just eating a ton of fat but your body is still burning the carbs as fuel.
That is too much chicken. Chicken breasts give me too high a protein to fat ratio.

2. Proportions are still important.

I actually read this on most of the websites already but, like #4 below, I did not believe it. There is a reason that the Atkins diet sort of fizzled out. That reason is because people were allowed to eat any amount of the "acceptable" food without limits. That behavior can start with weight loss (and perhaps corresponding lowering of pain) but you will plateau or even gain weight after a period of time. Also, it is important to stick to the amounts of protein, fat and carbs that you calculated are best for you. I(I put a good calculator link on my last entry) Eating too much protein can cause weight gain even if you are totally eliminating carbohydrates from your diet. Of course, eating too many carbs is an obvious issue too.

About the fifth day in I went to a summer bbq at my brother's house. I did not eat any carb-rich foods but I did eat a lot. I also had a lot of wine which is normally alright in small doses but I don't think I can physically do small doses when it comes to wine! I looked at the scale the next day and it was the first time that my weight didn't go down. It took my body a couple days to recover. I don't know if I kicked myself out of ketosis or not but it was a noticeable set back.

3. It is hard keeping proportions accurate!

This should be more of a sub-section of #2 but so far I am having a difficult time keeping my protein numbers down. Or should I say I have a difficult time keeping my fat levels up. Despite adding in the occasional butter coffees which I drink solely to raise my fat intake since it does not have much nutritional value as a meal. This is the reason you might see a lot of recipes for "Fat Bombs". I will start to incorporate those in another week or so. I am a little weary of starting to add the sugar substitutes to my diet right away. I want to keep as true and clean as I can for about the first three weeks when I will add those in. It is just a personal preference. I created a calculator so I can add my meals and get a percentage calculation of fat, carbs and protein. I see that I am way to low in carbs and way way way too high in protein. I had to skip the chicken because I do not like the skin or the thighs, which are the parts you really want. Who would ever think that I am trying to stay away from lean meats?
This Swiss cow eats a lot of grass. She would make great butter.

4. Grass fed butter is not just butter

Everything I read while researching this diet used the term grass-fed butter rather than just saying butter. I dismissed this as just buzz word woo like "GMO's" and "Organic". I bought the regular unsalted butter (because who wants salt in their coffee?) and it has been fine but as you will see in #5 below, the grass fed butter actually has a purpose. It has nutrients in it that you don't get many other places in the diet. So Kerrygold is in my fridge now. It took a little searching on the label but I found where it says it is grass fed. I will explain a but more about nutrients below. Ghee is also a good sub for regular butter for the same reasons.

via GIPHY I gets the crazy legs when I don't have enough potassium!
5. Supplement right away

If you are like me and have little quirks about your body like the crazy legs at night (RLS) or you need melatonin to fall asleep or if you know (or your doctor tells you) that your body doesn't function properly without certain vitamins, minerals or other such supplements, you should start taking them right away. This diet does lack in providing all that your body is used to or requires in some areas. For me, it was Potassium and Magnesium. I, once again, didn't really believe what others were saying and also I was lazy in going to the vitamin store and I paid for it with no sleep. When my body does not get enough K and Mg it keeps me up all night either twisting, turning and kicking my husband or, if I am feeling generous, I will get up and walk the halls all night in order to keep my body from twitching and itching on me. If you do buy supplements, you have to remember to make sure to check the nutrition or additive label to make sure you are not adding un-calculated carbs to your diet. I found that there are many means to get potassium into the body and they all seem to have the same effect so I bought the Potassium Citrate. Whatever potassium you choose, you will see that they only come in 99mg doses which is only 3% of your suggested daily intake. I have chosen to take three of these spread out over the course of the day because I really need my potassium. If you choose to do the same know that it is not recommended to do so on the labels. My understanding is that it can't be processed quickly in the body and as a result creates an acid that can irritate our worse.








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The Keto Diet - Getting Started

5:06 PM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments



I thought I was doing better with my health and then I had a setback again. No reason why that my doctors and I can figure out, but it hurts. It hurts my body and it hurts my psyche. It is a let down. Then my very good friend came to visit from Canada. He told me about his girlfriend who suffers from Lupus. She has been in pain for several years now but it had gotten to the point where she had to stop working. But my friend came with good news, his girlfriend found a diet that helps decrease her pain. That diet is called the Ketogenic Diet,  Ketosis Diet or just Keto. It is also known as the Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) Diet. I called her and she said it has been a godsend for her, both for her inflammation and her weight. She lost 50 pounds in one year! I was not looking for a way to lose weight but the idea of being in less pain is music to my ears. So why not try it? (And come on, very few of us are not game for losing a few pounds). I will answer a few questions that I had myself briefly here because it is pretty easy to google what you need but maybe you didn't think of some of the questions. In the next blog I will start sharing my experience and I will include some things that will really help you if you are planning on going down this path.

You can eat at dinner parties, just stay away from the fruit and bread, the rest is a-ok.


What is the Keto Diet and why do I want it?

The short answer is that it changes your body from being a carb-burner into a fat burning machine. It is also a gluten free diet which is known to bring down inflammation.

These little guys are ok to eat. I found them in Chamonix.

How does this diet work?

Normally the body will take carbohydrates and convert them into insulin and glucose. The glucose is used for energy and it is moved through the body by the insulin. If carbs are being put into the body, the body will continue to produce glucose because it is the simplest conversion it can make. If you deprive your body of the carbohydrates then the body is forced to start using the stored fat cells as it's source of energy. When the liver burns fats it produces Ketones. When the body is producing Ketones, it is in Ketosis, a metabolic state that the body usually goes into when it is being deprived of food. In this case, the body is deprived of carbs and not calories and nutrients.
Proteins and dairy with high fats are encouraged.

I tried Atkins years ago, how is this different?

Pretty much the only difference is that on the Atkins, you were given free range to eat as much fat and protein your heart desired with no limits. That can not only make a dieter trying to lose weight plateau or even gain weight, but it can be dangerous as well. I recall doing the Atkins for a few summers and some of those recipes were pretty outrageous when you think of an unlimited amount! The Keto Diet keeps the perfect balance of protein, carbohydrates and fats to maintain Ketosis. We already know too many carbs can throw your body out of Ketosis but what can surprise some people, including me, is that too much protein can take you out of Ketosis as well.
Raclette? Fondue? No problem! Just leave out the bread and potatoes.

How do I know how much Protein, Carbs and Fat to eat daily?

I found a nice web site that helped me learn a lot about this diet. There is a handy calculator to help you find the perfect levels you need for your body. I can tell you now, it is important to do your best to stick to those numbers. I created a spreadsheet in Google Docs that calculates these for you daily based on what you eat. I will share it in my next blog as it needs fine tuning to make it usable for everyone. Right now I have it set to only my parameters. So, coming soon! Until then you can rely on various websites that share the levels of the three important factors right on the recipe which is great.
Carpaccio? Yes, have as much as you like! No bread though.

How do I know I am in Ketosis?

When the body is in Ketosis, it will have specific changes besides weight loss and lower inflammation. You will have some telltale signs like bad breath, weird taste in your mouth, dry mouth, less hunger, and the body will have ketones in the blood stream and urine. For the mouth, you can feel the dryness usually, unless you are like me and are already on medication that gives you a dry mouth. This is ok though, because you are encouraged to drink lots of water which helps. I, having been the manager of a chemistry lab for the last 20 years, am most familiar with the taste in my mouth, but not everyone will know what that is. When you breathe out ketones, you also breathe out Acetone. It does go away, or so I hear, I am only one week in, but at first you will have a sort of fruity, metallic taste in your mouth. That is the acetone telling you that, good news! you are in Ketosis! As for in the blood, there are machines you can purchase that read your ketone levels in your blood but they are expensive and unless you are on this diet expressly for serious medical purposes you will not need to spend that much money, just go by your instincts or check your urine. The urine test is just using little strips you can get almost anywhere. This test will be least accurate as it is only measuring the ketones that the body has an overload of and getting rid of for waste. If you would like to get the strips, I suggest do it for the first month or so, then you will be used to reading your body to know when you are in the right metabolic state.
When you get hungry looking at the pictures of food that is ON your diet, that's winning.


Will my body get all the nutrients it needs on this diet?

I was concerned that with the restriction of many fruits and vegetables I would be losing some nutrients that I might need. Turns out that is what happens. I found this out the hard way by waking up at night with what I call "crazy legs". Also known as RLS or Restless Leg Syndrome, this is a symptom that affects many chronic pain sufferers and those of us who have to take a lot of medication. This was due to a lack of Potassium and Magnesium. I normally do not suggest anyone take supplements, but in this case, it is essential. This diet does not, in my experience, fulfill a body's need for K and Mg. I stopped having the RLS as soon as I began the supplements.
A personal fave of mine, heavy cream and strawberries. Just leave out the added sugar in the cream.

More questions? 

Here is a great website that I read through before I started.

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Fresh Summer Blackberry Passion Fruit Tart

9:01 PM AirplaneFoodCritic 0 Comments


Wild Blackberry and Passion Fruit Tart

It's summer. Bike riding and berry picking season is open!
Hey, it's my new bike! I just love it. Totally worth the wait.

The bf has been trying to get me to get a bike for ages but I have never come across the "perfect" bike. To me, bikes are like a wedding dress...you just know when you have found the perfect one. That happened to me, finally after years of searching and stopping at bike shop after bike shop, at the end of this Spring. Just in time for some summer rides! Over the Independence Day weekend a friend came to stay with us and we went on a 20 mile ride along the San Francisco Bay. It was glorious. With my illness I had to take some medication but not too much so I felt even better knowing that I must be getting better.
Secret blackberry spot. Shhhh

I brought along a backpack with some empty plastic containers in the hopes that we came across some blackberries. It is just the start of the blackberry season so there are a few but not many out there for the picking. As luck would have it, there were some bushes along the trail that had not been picked clean! We had to do a little hiking through pokey weeds to get there but it was worth it. I got about 2 pounds of berries which is very good since it is only the start of the blackberry season.

To get the sweetest, most ripe fruit, only pick the ones that come off the stem easily. Leave any that have red on them. Look for the fattest, blackest and plumpest (is that a word?) berries.

I decided to make a tart so I could show off the fresh blackberry sweetness and flavor without weighing it down with too many other ingredients. We are also trying to keep healthy and fit so that might help a little to have a lighter crust.
The berries after being rinsed and dried. 

As far as the crust goes, I had almond flour sitting around so I thought I could use that up but I didn't have enough to make a whole tart crust consequently, I added some ground graham crackers to help bolster it.
A little almond flour and a little graham cracker.

After mixing the crust ingredients I dumped them into a tart pan and began spreading it with my fingers.
Pressing the crust up the sides of the pan.

When doing this, make sure you are keeping the crust relatively even in thickness. I usually end up with thick corners which is fine so long as you get it evenly up the sides as well. I love a big bite of crust here and there anyways.

Any passion fruit juice will do. This was a blend.

While the crust is baking you can start the filling. The juice can be any kind, really. The bf happens to be a big passion fruit fan so I used that but I bet a cherry juice would be awesome too.
The color of these while they cook is ahhmazing.
Once you have the berries cooking with the honey, lemon and juice you should start to smell that toasty crust. That means it is time to take the crust out! The corn starch and juice mixture, once added to the pot, will do a nice job of thickening the berry slurry so it coatsspoon.
The sauce is thickened and the crust is toasted perfectly. It smells so good in here!
Once you have the crust and filling ready, place the remaining berries berries spread evenly in the crust. Pour the warm berries over the crust, filling it completely.
Ready to be chilled. 
Once the tart is chilled, remove the tart ring and place on your favorite serving dish.
Chilled and ready to eat!!

You can serve this alone, with a sprig of mint, or with some vanilla ice cream!
Yum! I can't wait to do it again next year!




RECIPE:

For the crust:

1.5 cups almond flour
.5 cups graham crackers ground to a flour (about 4 whole crackers)
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp butter, melted

For the filling:

1 cup passion fruit juice (I use welch's that is actually mostly grape juice) You can substitute the passion fruit juice with grape juice, blackberry juice or blueberry juice.
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 cups fresh, ripe blackberries
1/3 cup honey
1 lemon, juiced

Directions:

Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 350F. Have a tart pan with removable bottom ready

In a medium bowl combine the crust ingredients until fully blended and crumbly. Then dump into the tart pan. Spread it evenly, pressing it firmly to the sides and base. To push it up the sides, use your thumb and finger and pinch it to make about a 1/4 inch thick side.

Bake crust for about 15 minutes until it is toasted and smell fragrant. Check after 10 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and set aside to let cool.

Put 1/2 of the juice in a small bowl and blend with the corn starch. Set aside.

In a small sauce pot, combine the rest of the juice, half of the berries, the honey, and the lemon juice. Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the cornstarch-juice mixture and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. It should be the consistency of thin jam at this point.

Spread the remaining whole blackberries evenly in the cooled tart shell. Pour the heated mixture over the berries and spread evenly in the tart shell.

Chill for three hours or overnight. Slice and serve!





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