Switching to the Keto Side: Part 1

So this past fall Brandon and I had been listening to a podcast on our way home from Tennessee. Since we love health, food, and exercise, we had been listening to "Fat Burning Man". In one of the podcasts, the host, Abel James' guest speaker, Dr. David Perlmutter, is a board certified neurologist who practices in Naples, Florida. During this podcast, we became introduced to the Ketogenic Diet. Some of you may know it similarly as the modified Atkins Diet or Low Carb, High Fat diet. Dr. Perlmutter has an interesting view of how grains that we eat affect our brain. He's even written a book and cookbook on it! His book is called Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs and Sugar – Your Brain’s Silent Killers, and the cookbook is The Grain Brain Cookbook. Before you dismiss this notion of the Ketogenic Diet just because of negative things you may have heard about Atkins, keep in mind that it is not the exact same thing, just very similar.

The basics of this diet is that you eat low carbs, less than 100 grams a day, high fat, and moderate protein. It similar to paleo, because it eliminates some things like sugar and flour. But no worries! Even without things like that in your diet your food will be delicious! Trust me. In the coming weeks I'll explain more specifically about this type of diet, it's application involving exercise, and several other topics that answer questions I have had regarding this diet, but discovered through a lot of research (from peer-reviewed journals, of course ;).

The premise is that your body gets its preferred energy source from carbohydrates, which turn into glucose in the bloodstream; more on that later. Since your body is getting all of its energy from carbs then there's no reason for it to use fat to burn as fuel as well. But when we subtract the majority of the carbs from our diet (our body still needs some carbs/glucose, because our brains requires glucose to run. Again, more on that later) then our body has to turn towards fat to burn.

From the research that Brandon and I have done on it, we decided we'd give it a try. We have body fat percentages we want to get down to, and this is an option to try. Not to mention, through the research we have done, we've come to discover that a lot of research is pointing towards grains being a cause of migraines. Since I have the unfortunate privilege of getting them, it added to our motivation.

So I, of course, have recipe to share with y'all! It is "ketofied" (as I like to call it), but it's just a regular recipe that my mother-in-law makes during holidays and we love it! And you're going to love  how simple it is to make!



7 Layer Salad
Serves:12

1 head of romaine lettuce, clean and shredded
10 oz frozen peas, thawed 2 T. minced onion



4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced. If you're OCD I wouldn't look too intently at the rows of the eggs, it might drive you a little crazy! I was one short of making it all equal. I just try not to think about it.



1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled. I just cooked these in my cast iron pan, but you can also bake them. It goes a lot quicker for sure. If you choose the baking route, preheat your oven to 400 degrees (F) and cook your bacon about 15 to 18 minutes.



Layer in that order in a 9x13 pan. Then make the dressing

Dressing
2 c mayo
2 T. sugar

Make sure to mix well and dissolve the sugar. Layer the dressing on top of bacon layer.



8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
Chill 4-8 hours before serving.



I promise you this recipe won't fail you! It's certainly a favorite of my husband and me. If you look at the nutrition at the bottom you'll see it has tons more fat than carbs, so i'ts a great keto meal. You might could make it a lower fat dish, but I have tried -- I have no need to! Oh and you might have realized that this recipe has sugar and I said that we didn't do sugar. Well, the amount in this recipe wasn't going to make a difference, but next time I'll probably try it with Splenda. Feast and enjoy!

 7 Layer Salad
Serves:12

1 head of romaine lettuce, clean and shredded
10 oz frozen peas, thawed 2 T. minced onion
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

Layer in that order in a 9x13 pan. Then make the dressing

Dressing
2 c mayo
2 T. sugar

Make sure to mix well and dissolve the sugar. Layer the dressing on top of bacon layer.

8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Chill 4-8 hours before serving.

Nutrition (1 serving): 549 calories, 50 g fat, 7 g carbohydrates, 19 g protein