I know I’ve shared a few times now that Ryan and I embarked on a 30-day ketogenic challenge at the beginning of January. Truthfully, it’s been a hard one. We’re so addicted to sugar and carbs in our daily diet that the transition was rough. Once we got into it though, we started feeling the benefits, and we don’t really want to stop! We’ve had our “cheat” days where we indulge a little bit too much, but we’ve felt the effects the next few days, and we both individually said we’re not sure that cheating is worth it. So, we’re continuing, and I’m super excited to keep going. After one month, Ryan lost 14 lbs, and I lost 11. It’s less about the weight though – and more about the fact that we both feel less dependent on sugary treats to get us through the day. That’s a win, right?
A few of you asked me to share some of our favorite keto recipes, and I’m going to caveat this by saying I’m not a food photographer. In fact, I’m pretty much awful at it. That said, I wanted to try and share some of our easiest, simplest, and most transitional little foods for those just dipping their toes in the keto waters. Now, if you’re wondering what exactly the ketogenic diet is, it’s a diet that embraces high fat, low carb (HFLC) eating. That means we eliminated the pastas, sugary drinks, crackers, chips, etc. In their place, we have whole fat cheeses, olives, plain nuts, lots of eggs, and so on.
It’s been a transition, for sure, but certain foods have made it easier – like this “snickers” shake. This shake is designed to be a meal replacement, which I was initially opposed to. I don’t really like drinking my meals, per se, but this was just enough of a treat to keep me full and less hangry, too. Plus, with a few tweaks here and there, we absolutely love it, and we’re keeping it as a staple in our home!
Here’s what you’ll need:
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 scoops of vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp natural peanut butter
1 tsp truvia or stevia
1 cup of ice
Add all your ingredients to a good blender (we have this one here), and blend until nice and creamy. We usually blend a full 45 seconds for a thick, frothy, shake-like texture.
Nutritional information:
calories: 510, fat: 39 grams, protein: 31 grams, carbs: 12 grams
letter board (here) // protein (here)
A couple notes about the protein we use…We recently switched to Sports Research Bone Broth Protein with Collagen, and we use the vanilla flavor. You can use any protein you like in this shake, but remember that the goal is to minimize how much sugar is in your diet. We like this one because it’s both keto and paleo-friendly, and we like the rich vanilla flavor. It does take some getting used to, and you’ll need to grow accustomed to the bone-brothy color, but I promise it doesn’t taste like soup 😉
The beautiful thing about this diet is that you can mix and match until you find the right products that work for you. We don’t really think of it as a diet. It’s just transforming how we eat and pick the right foods. For those who’ve asked – no, we are not putting our kiddos on a keto diet. We are, however, cutting out most of the processed goodies they’re used to, and we’re replacing them with healthier alternatives.
Have you ever tried any keto recipes?
