KICK THE CARBS AND EAT LIKE A HOMESTEADER!
Do you love a good juicy steak or roast, savory vegetables, and earthy spices? Do you wish you could stop the urge to eat high processed carbs and sugar? I’ve found the key to sticking to your guns while “dieting” is focusing on what you can have instead of what you can’t. I don’t like the term dieting first of all, but it helps point some people in the right direction. I see this as a lifestyle choice. Not a “have to” but a “want to”. Bringing positivity in is going to be key to success. If you are enjoying what you get to eat and how it makes you feel, it is not going to be chore to eat well but a choice you embrace. Hence why I am sharing my favorite keto recipes. These top 5 picks are a must try.
1. Kitzza
A couple of my favorite how-to homesteader You Tubers, Sarah and Kevin from Living Traditions, took on a Keto lifestyle a year ago (as of the writing of this post). They shared a pizza alternative aptly named Kitzza (pronounced keet-za). I was skeptical at first. Usually, imitation foods can’t hold a candle to the real thing, and it usually leaves you longing for that forbidden food more that you were before. This, however, hit the nail on the head. The egg and cheese “crust” held together to provide the perfect conduit for sauce and pizza toppings. We were full after two slices but each had a third because it was soooo yummy. We like toppings like ground beef and bell peppers but plain cheese is amazing as well.
2. Beef Fajitas
My Freezeasy is a website for batching weekly cooking. I tried it out as it had a great system for recipes, serving sizes, printable shopping lists, and prepping directions. Unfortunately, the recipes are part of a membership and I suggest you try it out for a month or so to learn to batch cook. The Keto recipes were mostly altered regular recipes with a main dish of meat with a suggestion of cauliflower rice and side salad. It’s not the best resource specifically for keto but really handy for organized batch cooking. I’ve altered the recipe to our liking, and we plan on putting this one on repeat…Taco Tuesday anyone? I share my version below.
Beef Fajitas Recipe
- Skirt Steak
- 3 limes (juiced)
- 3 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- butter
- 3 bell peppers sliced
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 head of romaine lettuce washed and leaves separated
- shredded cheese
- avocado chopped
- sour cream
Squeeze lime juice over skirt steak. Sprinkle on all sides with chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Let marinate in refrigerator overnight. Butter top and bottom of the skirt steak and then pan fry over medium heat with marinade. Remove the steak (let rest before slicing) and add bell pepper and onion to the pan to cook until onions are translucent. Slice the steak against the grain and serve over a bed of lettuce with peppers, onions, avocado, cheese, and sour cream.
*While the original recipe serves them as lettuce wraps, which is a great idea, we preferred using a fork. But enjoy them any way you want. They are delish!
3. Everything Celery Snack Sticks
This one is all me. One day I was feeling quite snacky, I spotted the Everything Bagel Spice (EBS) in my cupboard. Since bagels are an inflammatory nightmare, I opted to spread my beloved cream cheese on celery instead. Then I sprinkled a generous amount of EBS over the top. The celery has crunch, the cream cheese is, well, creamy and the spice is garlicy and salty. I advise not adding too much spice as it can easily overpower the rest of this snack. Next time you feel the hankering, crunch on some Everything Celery Snack Sticks.
4. Slow cooker Mississippi Beef Roast
This simple recipe over delivers! Now I’ve had a million roasts the same old way…with potatoes, carrots, garlic and some other herbs. And they all tasted exactly the same. Honestly, I have never been a big fan of beef roast until I started experimenting with keto. With the simplest ingredients, you can have dinner ready in the crock pot in less than 5 minutes! We served this with cauliflower rice and salad, but it would go well with any vegetable side. I like to call this a unicorn recipe. Quick, healthy, and tasty…rare indeed. If you want to jazz it up a bit, try adding dill, basil, parsley, garlic powder and onion powder.
Get the recipe from LemonyThyme.com HERE
5. Hot Chocolate
I am a chocolate lover to the end and no “lifestyle choice” is going to keep us apart. Another favorite snack is Keto Hot Chocolate. I prefer to keep the ingredients organic and use cacao instead of cocoa. Cacao is less processed and retains more of its flavonoids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. It even contains fiber that feeds the good bacteria of the gut. Benefits of chocolate (without sugar) include lowered blood pressure, reduced diabetes risk, lowering risk of heart disease just to name a few. And now it just sounds like I’m trying to convince myself of my right to consume chocolate. After all, I can’t exactly grow my own cocoa plants here on the homestead. Either way, order that chocolate, milk that cow, and get to makin’ this amazing hot cocoa.
Get the recipe from Delish HERE
I hope this list of favorites has inspired you to create your own kitchen staples. Remember, eating should be enjoyable. Nourish your body and soul!
Kelley