Fasting Update: 7 Pounds Down

The Bumps & Blocks

This is Day 6 of the intermittent fasting routine life and so far, so good. There have been a bump or two, but I love the IF way of eating.

This morning, the time change threw me off a bit. When I woke up, my wall clock told me it was eight o'clock. Of course, I'm thinking I will be able to have my tea or coffee in about four hours. That's how it is every morning now. I get up and start counting the hours until I can suck down some sweet, creamy caffeine!

Then I check my phone (which is smarter than I am) and remember that it that time of year.

First, I'm happy because, well, only three hours til caffeine time - and also Spring! Then I'm confused because of the way my brain works. I mean, is it four hours or three hours til I can break out the Sweet Italian Creamer jug?

I'm going to be honest and tell you that it took maybe 20 minutes of hard thinking for me to realize that nothing has changed. Nada. I still have to wait four hours from waking to break my fast.  I have to remember that I'm just counting hours and 16 hours fasting is 16 hours, no matter where those fall on the clock.

Man.

So, yeah. Daylight Savings messed with my personal schedule, but I've decided to just stay on track and, as Steve Wynwood sings, just "roll with it, baby".

The Good Part

What I'm happy to report is that as of this Day 6, I am having some success. Actually, I think I'm having great success.

I'm using a free app called Simple Weight Tracker. I looked at a couple other apps but they were too complicated. I just needed something nice and, well, simple. Of course, I am checking my weight using the cheap bathroom scale I picked up at Walmart or somewhere. (All those great scales I got for free to review? They are somewhere in Alaska being put to good use by the fam.)

The good news (maybe) is that I might be able to have one of the nurses check my weight tomorrow before infusion. I can't remember if this is something they do anyway or not. Still, though, even if my bathroom scale is a little off, it's probably consistently off. I should be down about 7 pounds either way, right? Maybe if I hadn't eaten 2 helpings of Texas Toast yesterday, I'd be down 8 pounds!


The Struggle

I still forget sometimes to keep up with my water intake. I had been so good recently about drinking 64o ounces of water each day. I fell off but I'm getting back on track this day. I'm drinking water as I type this. I have to say that the water drinking this morning is helping keep my taste buds from thinking of tea or coffee. A bit.

The thing I need to work on is alternating keto with non-keto days. I haven't been great about that. I'm not guzzling down pasta every day, but I am on a bread kick. I suppose, though, if the goal is to lose weight and eat better than I have been, I'm doing okay. Other than the bread, I'm not doing too many carbs. A potato here and an extra bit of creamer there...

Looking Forward

Now that Spring is almost here (in weather, not per the calendar), I should be able to get more fresh veggies and fruit. I picked up a watermelon on sale this past week and, boy, it was yummy. I still have a lot left so I will nibble on that today.

Hopefully, I will be able to keep the carbs in check, even if I don't get around to alternating keto days.

Keto vs IF & Pros and Cons

Keto or IF? I don't think it has to be an either or thing - choosing one over the other. Lots of people are doing the routines together. I think I told you all about the Ketogenic Intermittent Fasting Facebook group.

In my personal opinion, the best thing about IF is that, with or without keto, I'm losing weight. I think that keto is just good for me because, well, fewer carbs is always good.

So, for keto, the Pros are that you're cutting out a lot of junk. However, on the Con side, you have to cut out a lot of fruit and vegetables.

There are more carbs in a lot of fruits and veggies than the keto diet likes. I remember having to watch the list for a while and it was surprised at the carbs in, say, a banana (27g/medium). I love bananas! And mangoes (28g/cup). I love mangoes.

The biggest Pro to IF is that I eat a bigger variety of foods. The only downside is a small one: I have to practice portion control of the high calorie/high carb stuff.

Maybe I lied because there is another huge Pro to IF: your restricted hours of eating helps with portion control - unless you are scarfing down food for the entire 8-hour eating window. I find that I get in one decent sized meal in the middle of my window and a snack near the end,  or three small meals throughout. When I had watermelon yesterday, I gorged on it, but then I was full for most of my 8 hours. I did have 2 tuna sandwiches later for my actual meal.

So, for me, if I had to choose one or the other, IF is the winner sure. Here's someone else's take on it.

The Freedom

I like knowing that, as long as I am in my 8-hour eating window, I don't have to deny myself any particular food. As long as I don't go hog wild (heh heh), I can indulge any craving. Usually, after my infusion appointment, my family and I pick up a burger or some chicken - something fast food-ish - and I have been thinking about a butter burger and some cheese curds from Culver's. After that, I will be content to start m fast right then and go on into the next day!

That's a meal and a half!

I couldn't even think about a caloric splurge like that when I was doing just keto. Of course, if you eat enough butter burgers, there's no plan in the world that will help you lose weight and get healthy. Moderation is everything.

So, yeah, I'm still loving this intermittent fasting and I think this is now my life. Now, excuse me while I go have my tea.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW & DISCOUNT** Keto Fast™ - Exogenous Ketone Supplement

Some people are having a lot of success with the keto diet. I lost about 10 pounds the first 2 months I was on it. Then I hit a donut and fell off the wagon. I'm kidding. I fell off because I didn't have any support and my cooking space was limited. I have no excuse now because I joined a Facebook group that is super supportive and I have a full kitchen all to myself.

I am re-committed to my cleaning up my eating habit and taking in fewer carbs than usual, but that means cutting my coffee and tea habit in half. At least. All that flavored cream is what does me in. Less coffee and tea equals energy drop. I am already battling fatigue so... I needed a plan.

This is what I am going to be trying out to boost my energy and help my metabolism:

 

It's Keto Fast from Healthy Wiser. As soon as I got a chance to get some to review, I jumped on it. Before I even start telling you more about it, let me say now that I can score you a discount. I'll give you the details in a minute. First, let me share my initial impressions:

Product Claims

• Boost or "supercharge" your blood ketones
• Promote better mood, and
• sustained energy, and
• mental acuity, and
• decreased appetite

The most important claim is what I'm interested in:

Or can't have carbs

I love when a brand guarantees their product like this. I can check my ketones with my testing strips and I will be taking photos every week to track my progress. (If you all are nice, I will share the weight photos.)  Now, I got my first product for free but if you guys want to try it, there's a 100% money-back guarantee to go along with the discount. But let's run through my impressions as of Day 2.

Label & Info

I was surprised at how powder-fine the Keto Fast is. You can see from the video that it's almost like talc. Almost.

Keto Fast (I like the name) is, most important of all, not low-carb but carb-free. This is good because on the diet I use, I allow myself up to 40 grams of daily carbs and I want to save those for any creamer I use in my hot beverages!

Less important to me but really important to some folks, this is also gluten-free. Also, it's non-GMO. I think we can all appreciate that. Oh, and it's made in the good old USA.

Taste, taste, taste

Okay, so the one thing I thought I wasn't going to like about this is the "Lemon Lime" flavor. No matter how good a product is, it won't work if you can't stand to use it and  I seriously almost didn't accept the chance to try the supplement just because of that. Then I thought that as long as the product helped, I could probably just slam the drink really fast.

I only put this is water and I didn't blend or shake it; I just used a fork and stirred it really well. I should have put it in my water bottle so that I could shake it because just stirring left a bit of residue on the surface. I was anxious to try this though so I just took a teeny-tiny sip. Not bad! This is something I could enjoy doing a few times a day. By the way, 3 scoops per day is the maximum dose.

There is none of the saccharine-fake-sweet taste that I associate with lemon-lime drinks. This reminded me of a tart Kool-Aid type beverage. I personally would not add this to any of the smoothies I've fixed because the flavor wouldn't compliment them. I prefer drinking this just with cold water.  There is no way that I would ever add this to... MILK.

Results?

As I said, this is only Day 2 so I can only tell you about the initial effects. I will have to update about further results at a later time - maybe with the promised photos.

So.

Did I feel an energy boost? Yes. I got busy and forgot to pay attention, but I think it was within an hour that I noticed I felt as alert as if I'd had my usual caffeine boost. Sure enough, there were none of the jitters we get so used to from caffeine that we think it's normal. My energy didn't last long, but that's probably because of my other health issues - which is also why I am only going to be using the supplement once a day.  It was a very nice  flush of energy for the 3 or 4 hours that it did last.

I don't think that it really suppressed my appetite. I don't eat breakfast or big lunches, so maybe the effects wore off by the time dinner time rolled around. I did kill dinner though! I had two servings of something a keto gal ain't supposed to have in the first place! ~my bad, my bad~

Since I will probably cheat too much to keep up with a dedicated keto-er, I guess I will be better at seeing if this does work for regular eaters. If this boosts the metabolism, I should see some results unless I start eating more than usual.

For truly committed Keto-ers - especially those just starting out - carbs are the most familiar energy source so the first few weeks on a ketogenic meal plan can make you feel so sluggish. Or, at least, that's how it was for me.

I'm looking forward to cutting back on my carbs and seeing if this can replace some of my caffeinated drinks.

The Discount

As promised, here is the discount information...

You get a 25% OFF coupon using the code IMHEALTHY7 redeem it at  www.HealthyWiser.com

If you do try this, I would be interested to know what you think about the flavor and what your overall results were.

Peace
--Free



DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned in this post for free in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

**RECIPE** Heavenly Cloud Bread

In the past 5 weeks, I have lost just a little over 9 pounds. I wasn't really trying. I just didn't feel good, but when I went to see the fam in Arizona, I got more exercise than normal. I'm paying for that now, but I want to keep up the weight loss. My plan? Lots of water and a lot less carbs.

Bread is probably the hardest thing to give up - or even slow down on! Also, snacks. I remembered hearing about cloud bread when I first learned about the Keto diet. What I didn't know is how easy it is to make and how freaking delicious it can be. I say can be because you have to play with the recipe a bit.

Here's the basic recipe I gathered from several different sources (including this one):

2 Eggs - yolks and whites separated
2 Tbl (or 1oz) Cream cheese - softened (and cooled) so it's blendable
1/4 tsp Baking powder

I made my first batch and it was good. Instead of individual clouds, I did a cake-style batch and sliced it afterward. I used it to sandwich my burger patty. This is it turned out:

Like I said, it was just okay. That's because it was before I had a better batch. The bread came out a little eggy tasting and soft. I should have baked it longer than the 12 minutes. I was too worried I would burn it.

So. Time to give it another try, right?

This is how I have modified the recipe (and tripled it) so that it is slap-yo-mama delicious:

Eggs
Cream cheese
Baking powder
Vanilla Extract (just a 1/4 tsp)
Sweetener (I used a full Tbls of table sugar this time)

The extract and sweetener made all the difference between "This is good and I can use it every now and then" to "This is amazing and I can give up bread and cookies ".

Beautiful. Notice how clean the pan is. That's because the batter didn't stick to it. I use a Wilton Perfect Results pan because it's cheap and sturdy. This bread was firmer and had a much better taste. I'm sure that the sugar helped with the browning and texture.

Now, there are a couple of things I learned that I'll pass on:

• If you don't have parchment paper, use a metal baking sheet (lightly oiled)
• Make sure to whip the egg whites to very stiff peaks (use metal or glass bowl for this)
• For bread, bake about 15 minutes on 300. For cookie/snack, bake an additional 10 minutes on 200. Check often so the batter doesn't burn. 
• You may need to rotate the pan once during baking so that batter cooks evenly. 
• Let the bread cool completely before removing from the pan. I waited 20 minutes.

This is why I said to use a metal pan if you don't have parchment paper:

Yeah. Look at that. Just a  hot funky mess. ~sigh~

Notice how the batter didn't even cook the same. The bread came out so thin and fragile that all I could use it for was snacking. Also, you can see that it didn't brown as well as the bread that was done in the metal pan.

Left = Metal pan perfection
Right = Whatever the hell...

Anyway...

The biggest thing I love about the modified recipe is that I can make smaller pieces, brown the bread darker, then broil for a moment to get something that will make substitutes for cookies. If I need to, I can always check out these other recipes for cookies and treats:

• Chocolate chip cookies
• Cheese Danish
• Mini vanilla cakes
• Chocolate Cloud cookies (that look amazingly like actual CC cookies!)

Obviously, you can get creative and do a lot with the basic cloud bread recipe. For now, I am happy enough with the batch I made.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Organic Paleo Cultured Brown Butter Ghee

This post is mainly for anyone eating a Keto or Paleo diet - or anyone that likes organic foods.

I've talked about using butter and ghee as part of my keto eating regimen. You can read here about some of the brands and types I've previously tried. This is the most recent brand of ghee I am trying and I think it's my favorite so far:

                                           

It would be my absolute favorite, hands down, except I can't find it anywhere locally. I'm going to have to check and see if my town's health food stores can order some. It's not a Prime product on Amazon and the shipping charge was almost same as for the product. Where I do find it labeled as a Prime item, the price is higher. Go figure....

Ghee (in general) is an acquired taste, in my opinion. I do think that if more people knew about it, they would prefer using ghee in place of their ordinary butter. Go back and check that previous post to see what I mean. Ghee is about as basic in flavor as any butter. Adding it to foods can alter the texture or amp the flavor, but it's not strong on it's own. When I add it to my coffee, for instance, it adds a creaminess but it doesn't make the coffee taste like butter.

The reason I like this brown butter ghee is because of the flavor. It's so faint that I almost don't notice it but, once I do, I realize it adds to the richness of my coffee. It's less noticeable on food, though.

As soon as you open the jar, you can smell a caramel-like fragrance. It's really, really nice. It reminds me exactly of something else I've smelled - a candy or baked good, I'm thinking - but I haven't been able to place which one yet. I even had my niece take a sniff and she knows what I'm talking about but can't think of what it is either.

As the name reveals, this particular ghee is a much deeper shade than the others I've tried. The color is obtained by a longer cooking process, according to the label.

 I wouldn't say that it's exactly brown though. To me, it looks more like a blend of these two different shades of brown:

Here is how my phone camera picks it up. It's actually a touch darker in reality.

Speaking of the label, this one lets you know about the sourcing and batching of the product:

The label info includes: that this is sourced from grass-fed cows (raised in Northern California); and is made in small batches. Here is the product page I ordered mine from: Organic Paleo Cultured Brown Butter Ghee, Grass Fed, Casein and Lactose Free (8 oz). It is not Prime eligible and costs $8.95+ shipping. I thought the shipping was too high but I got mine using a gift credit I had.

Anyway, this is not one that I plan to use on the skin (although the nice scent might make it worth it!). If I have one complaint, it's that I didn't get this is a larger jar size. Like I mentioned, I can only order it online but the shipping is too much for me. I'm looking for a comparable product so I'm reading a ton of reviews right now!

Since I am on the keto diet, I don't eat much bread. I did try this out on a little piece of toast and it was very nice. Not much different from the other clarified butters when using it on the bread. I can tell more of a difference in its richness when I use it in my coffee.

If anyone has suggestions for a good ghee that they have tried (and that I might be able to find on Amazon),please let me know.

Peace
--Free

**Info Probe** Oh,Ghee, Butter and Grass-fed Things for Food and for.. Hair???

Ghee, let's talk

If you have ever tried to clean up your nutritional habits, you've had to start reading food labels more carefully than you might have before.

Prior to going "Keto", I've never tried very hard to change my eating habits. I did try eating more vegetables (via juicing) and getting more water into my daily diet, and I have done the low-calorie thing. The most involved I've been with food labels is reading the calorie counts. 

Since I have begun eating "ketogenically", I have become really interested in food labels. Bigger than that, I am interested in the truth  of those labels. The basic idea behind a keto diet is eating low-carb. high-fat, and clean. The low-carb/high-fat part doesn't faze me, but that "clean" part? That's going to be kind of tricky.

One of the first habits I gained when I started the Keto diet was to drink "Bullet Proof Coffee" (or BPC). My BPC is coffee blended with butter and coconut oil and whole/heavy cream. It has replaced my coffee with flavored creamers. It has replaced sodas and juices. Just about the only thing I drink these days is tea with cream, BPC or Pellegrino sparkling water or flat water. No more Almond Joy Creamer or apple-orange juice blends for me. 

When I learned about BPC, I was kind of grossed out. I tried it (using sweet cream butter and coconut oil and some half and half) and was really grossed out. I had forgotten to blend the concoction - which makes ALL the difference. Then I learned that I should be using butter from grass-fed cows. I'd never before paid attention to the type of butter I was using, other than whether or not it was salted or unsalted. Who knew?

Once I got the hang of drinking butter in my coffee (and started seeing results with my weight and energy levels), I started paying more attention to the butter I was using. This is the brand of butter that I started out using in my coffee- and still use for some of my food needs. It's the one that is most readily available at our local stores (including Walmart and Costco):

I've found one other brand that is labeled as being from grass-fed cows.

As far as using butter in coffee, I guess I should point out a couple of "Why's":

• Q - Why use butter at all (in coffee)? A - It's a great substitute for the morning "breaking of the night fast" (breakfast), and it satisfies hunger.
• Q - Why use grass-fed butter? A - In theory, it's healthier to eat butter made from the milk of grass-fed cows. In theory. I'll be getting to more in that in a moment.
•  Also, adding butter and coconut oil gives Keto eaters some of their desired daily fat macronutrients.

In theory, butter from the milk of grass-fed cows is supposed to be higher in antioxidants that are heart healthy. I say "in theory" because this is only true if you are getting actual grass-fed butter. Labeling is a problem with any products here in the U.S. and as a consumer, I'm learning that I have to look at food labels very closely. The information I see may not always be as straightforward as it should be. This is what the term "grass-fed" generally means (according to USDA standards):

meat obtained from cows that were raised, after weaning, on a diet of grass (and other forage, like clover) situated in pasture and, when fresh grass is unavailable, hay.

The standards were established in 2007 but wasn't used by all beef producers anyway. In January 2016, the USDA stopped using the definition since they can't do the all the on-site inspections needed to verify the standard is being met. There are other options for how the grass fed standards will be determined. (Believe it or not, I first heard of the whole issue via a Cracked Magazine article. This is why I file Cracked in my "News You Can Use" file...)

It's not enough that I have to worry about the truth and lies in labeling, but also about whether or not a food is GMO- and pesticide-free, right? The USDA has standards for that also, by the way. It's almost as if we as consumers need to take a crash course in standards and practices of the food industry before we head to the grocery store!

Now that I am a few months into the ketogenic diet, I am adjusting foods and ingredients to suit my budget and preferences. One major change I've made is to start using ghee instead of my other butter. Purity Farms is the first brand I found locally. (You can see a photo further below.)

I had multiple reasons for even trying ghee. One was that Kerry Gold has "improved" their butter and the improvements possibly involve changes that I would find unhealthy. I'm still checking that claim out and I have a small reserve of the "old" Kerry Gold butter on hand for now. The other reason I wanted to at least try using ghee was that I'd heard it was a bit denser in certain nutrients. Here's how ghee compares to butter:

Source: Dr Axe

I'm looking at the higher nutrient contents in particular. It's a bonus that the smoke point is higher for ghee, which means it's easier to cook with.

As with any other food product, consumers will want the best quality item. I found a list of things to look for in ghee. I bolded the things that matter most to me personally. The list and notes are from the same source I just linked:

• Grass Fed (Buying ghee that is made from cows that were fed on grass rather than fed on grain (as most North American dairy producers do) is more in line with how cows in India are raised. The consensus is that cows that are fed grass produce milk that has more flavors and is more nutrient rich than cows that are fed grain. Some ghee producers don’t even don’t collect milk from the cows during the summer months when the grass is dry and isn’t as nutritious for the cows.)
• Organic (If you are eating ghee for its health benefits it is well worth considering buying organic. Many of the most popular brands are organic.)
• Cultured Ghee (Regular ghee does not use cultured cream and thus retains some of the casein:  Tin star is cultured and Pure Indian also offers cultured ghee. Cultured ghee has a more buttery taste. Many people prefer the taste and aroma of cultured foods. It is also made in such a way that has absolutely no casein or lactose (lab tested).)
• Certified Casein- and Lactose-Free (Many ghee products claim to be casein and lactose free, although this does mean that there can still be trace amounts of casein and lactose. If you think that may be problematic to you Pure Indian Food Ghee does do lab tests to ensure that their ghee can be certified free of lactose and casein.)
• Made in Small Batches (Another big selling point for many of the most popular ghee brands is that they are made in small batches. This helps with quality control, as well as keeping connected to traditional way of making ghee and to the Ayurveda way.)
• Traditional or Ayurveda techniques being used (Many people believe that in order to make the most healthful and healing ghee, there are many things that need to go into the setting that it is made. It need to be made in a peaceful and positive environment, It is best to make Ghee on the waxing fortnights of the moon as the milk and butter are energized at this time.)
• Price (If you want ghee that is grass fed and organic, be prepared to pay quite a lot per ounce. Since many of the most popular ghee products aren’t mass produced the cost does end up in the price tag.)
• Shelf Life (Generally the shelf life of an opened jar is 3 months without refrigeration, and one year in the fridge.)
• Jar Size (You can buy ghee in a number of different jar sizes. Remember when you are ordering just buy what you will finish in about three months. Ghee can be stored longer, but three months is when it tastes the freshest.)

Ghee is a traditional item in certain Asian cultures and, as you can see, it ties into the heritage and religions of the peoples. Since I am using the product strictly for health benefits, I am less concerned with some of the above-mentioned aspects. I listed all the things mentioned out of respect for the culture and heritage of the peoples who have given us the product.

Without ordering online, my access to ghee here in Alaska is pretty limited. I did find two brands to compare. Actually, I found three brands, but the third was out of my price range.

I will give the Pros and Cons of the two brands I did try.

First up, is Purity Farms. I found it for $8.09 at a local specialty market.





















PROs:

• The label was very informative!
• Smells great 
• Has a great flavor right off the spoon and in my coffee
• It meets a lot of the criteria I listed as preferable
• The price was affordable for my budget ($8.09 for 7.5oz so apprx $1.08 per ounce)

CONs:

• The outer plastic wrapper obscures the product.
• The product itself is of a hard consistency. Very hard.

This is the Deep brand

PROs:

• The consistency is what I expected & wanted
• The product was visible around the label
• The flavor was great in my coffee
• The price was better than the Purity Farms brand ($9.99 for 16oz bottle or apprx $0.62 per ounce)

CONs:

• The label is not informative past basic nutrition info
• I had to find info online and it was still incomplete
• Also, not lactose-free...

The Deep brand is my favorite as far as the texture but, oddly, I like the flavor of the Purity Farms brand best. It's a close call between the two as far as flavor, but I could swear that the P.F. brand is more pronounced and slightly sweeter. I do have another cold, though, so I will hold judgment until I can tell for sure.

The issue of texture reminds me of my preference in coconut oils where there is a big difference between the refined and unrefined versions - regardless of any brand I've tried. I prefer the unrefined coconut oils because of the texture. It's softer and melts easily with natural body heat. With the ghee, I'm using it (mostly) in hot coffee so that isn't too big of a deal. Just personal whims.

Lactose-intolerant people would probably feel more comfortable using the Purity Farms ghee.The label is very clear about the exclusion of casein and lactose. The Deep brand's website wasn't much help because it kept rejecting the UPC code for the product. What a pain in the butt that I need to input that code just to get more product info! Lame, lame, lame. So, I emailed the company.

So, no, the Deep brand wouldn't work well for someone trying to avoid the lactose. The GMO issue is iffy. (I still like it and since it's a brand I can find locally, I will use it until I finish it and order another brand online. Dangit.)

Neither brand gives enough information on their labels, by the way. I think that, for some people, their choice will come down to flavors and textures.

Now, let's talk hair...?

I'm not sure how anyone else might feel about using ghee and/or butter and coconut oil in their cofee. I do know that lots of people use coconut oil for their hair and skin. Guess what? Ghee and butter are used by some people for that same thing.

Here in my town, ghee is considered "ethnic" and is usually located with the Indian foods in stores. I find it a bit delightful that the Indian and Ethiopian cultures met up to create food and beauty uses for something as common as butter.

I was actually just searching for information about ghee when I first saw articles talking about how Ethiopians use butter to style and treat their hair. When I looked further into the subject, I learned Niter kibbeh - a seasoned clarified butter that Ethiopians cook with. (You guys know that I will be looking for some of that to use in my cooking!) What I wanted to know about though was using butter for the hair.

The first piece of info I found was by an Ethiopian hair stylist talking about the Kibeh (or Kibae) treatment for hair. This apparently entails applying an "Ethiopian hair butter cream" whip to the hair then doing a 20-30 steam treatment. 

Since I really couldn't find any type of "hair butter cream" anywhere else, I'm not sure if all of them are made the same way. Here is a purchasing link for the one just mentioned. (Please note that I am not being compensated in any way for sharing that link. I had not even heard of the salon until writing this post.)  There are recipes all over for making your own homemade ghee and clarifed butter. I'm lazy and will continue buying mine for now! Here is one recipe.

There are also other ways to use ghee for hair and skin beauty:

• This article lists several uses & mentions mixtures that can be made by adding milks and other products. (I did try this on my skin. It's does seem richer and more moisturizing than the thinner coconut oil.I used mine after a warm showerd. The smell was stronger and a bit off-putting while I had my torso, neck and face slathered. Instead of rinsing, I used a warm towel dotted with a couple of drops of food grade orange oil to wipe away the excess. Have to say that my skin felt marvelous! The orange oil took away the butter smell.
• More uses listed here. That ghee can be used for eczema is interesting to me. With my poor immune system, I've been dealing with small patches of eczema on my feet. I'm going to check with my dermatologist about using the ghee & I will let you guys know the results.)
• One of the most interesting links I found was one discussing using an Ayurvedic remedy called Shata dhauta ghrita used for soothing burns, scars and other bothersome skin irritations. The recipe is simple: ghee and water, but it requires some mixing procedures. (I also noticed that there is a suggestion for a particular brand of ghee.)
• Since I mentioned using ghee for the hair, I thought it would be nice to see how that worked for others. One blogger likes the results she got. Another user listed the pros and cons of her experience.

Since I was already using ghee and coconut oil in my coffee, I decided to make things easier for myself. I took an empty jar and mixed some ghee with coconut oil and turmeric powder. You guys might remember my talking a long while back about adding a touch of turmeric to my coffee. It's a habit I have kept up while drinking BPC. Now that I am using the butter on my skin and hair, I will need another empty jar to mix coconut oil and ghee.

If any of you are using ghee for your skin and hair, please share your recipes.

Peace

--Free


DISCLAIMER: I assume you all know that I am not a doctor or any other type of medical professional. You should use your common sense and your doctor's advice when it comes to your health.

**ALERT** Keto Summit 2016 (Hurry!)

You've heard me raving about the keto diet. It's low carb/high fat eating to lose weight. If you want to learn more about it, go over and sign up for the Keto Summit. 

You can sign up for free but if you want extra access features, there are paid options. I'm doing the freebie! Here is the link to sign up for a ticket to be sent to your email:

The Keto Summit

The 2016 summit runs from September 25 - October 5th and it's an online event. I see that folks can sign up as affiliates so you might want to check that out.

In case you are wondering, I am not getting paid or compensated for this shout out. I just want to share the word about the keto diet. I'm happy with the way I am not eating. I am losing the weight slower than some people but I don't care. The way I am now eating is so satisfying (and cheap), filling (and cheap), and easy to live by (and cheap) that I can't even think of it as being on a diet.

Some people I know have been asking about how to get started on this keto regimen.  I'm still learning the basics myself. I just know that I feel better and look better since I've started lowering the carbs and adding healthy fats to my nutrition. So this summit might be the best way to start accumulating information. Also, I will be adding links to more information in upcoming posts.

Someone in a Facebook group told me about the summit and I was glad. I'd never heard of such a thing before. For a diet? Wow. Okay. So I am just was curious as anyone else about the event. I will recap afterwards, depending on how things go.

Peace
--Free

**RECIPE** Lemon Cream Cheese Fat Bombs

I made some of these the other night from a couple of recipes that I modified so I can tell you that they taste wonderful. I had to modify the recipe because one of the recipes I saw sounded complicated (mentioning to heat, simmer, etc....) and the other didn't have lemon juice (which is something I wanted).

The reason I wanted these fat bombs instead of the chocolate ones I did before is because I'd heard that you could flavor cream cheese fat bombs to taste like little bites of cheesecake (and even red velvet cupcakes). Yum.

OK, here's a pic of one I dug out of the tin with a fork...

... I mean, since I'm sitting here stuffing my face with one!

It's important to really, really like whatever fat bombs you are going to eat if you have trouble (like I do) with getting enough calories and fat. Like I've mentioned before, there are days when I just really am not hungry at all.(NOTE: To get around 120 grams of fat with these bombs, I need to eat about 17 of them, That's going to add up to about 1080 calories and 17 carbs. Both within my daily range. Great for if I'm in one of those no-meal moods. Not something for every day, of course, but it's a get-by for every now and then.)

This is what I eventually came up with, using what I had on hand. I can just about promise that you cannot screw these up. I didn't! Just taste-test your batter before freezing the bombs. That way, you can add more lemon or cream cheese, or whatever.

Lemon Cream Cheese Fat Bombs

Blend all the following:

• 8 oz cream cheese (softened enough for your blender)
• 2.5 oz unsalted butter (softened) 
• 1.5 Tbs coconut oil
• 3 Tbl lemon juice (room temp)
• 1 Tbl Swerve sweetener (or your preferred sweetener to taste)
• about a teaspoon of Vanilla Extract (I didn't measure!)

Prep/Freeze:

Lightly grease a sheet of tin foil with a little bit of oil or butter & place the foil on a cookie sheet (or something that will fit in your freezer later.)

(recipe nutrition info is for 24 servings)

Once the mixture is completely smooth, drop balls of mixture onto the foil and put into the freezer for at least 20 minutes. When the balls are fully firm (frozen), you can store them in a plastic baggie in the freezer.

Nutrition Info per serving (24 servings):

• Calories = 63
• Carbs =1gram
• Fat = 7grams
• Protein = 1gram
• Fiber = 0
• Sugar = 0

By the way, I used MyFitnessPal to calculate these numbers.

I was going to show you a photo but my first batch was done in un-oiled metal muffin tins. Rookie mistake. The drops stuck so badly that I have just been digging them out and eating them one by one. The only reason I screwed this up is because my chocolate fat bombs were fine in the metal tins. The cream cheese in this recipe threw me off!

Here are photos of the second batch (done right):

Now, what I did was to spoon these onto the foil, let them freeze, then I spooned a bit more on top of the frozen pieces and put them back in the freezer. That gave them an interesting, UFO-ey kind of shape!

How do mine taste? So freaking good that I think I should feel guilty every time I eat one. With my first batch, there was the very slightest aftertaste coming from the Swerve. For the second batch, I cut back to about a half tablespoon of the sweetener. Much better.

In hindsight, if I were to tweak this recipe any kind of way, it would be to add a touch more lemon and maybe some lime juice. The sour citrus was such a good tangy addition to the flavors.

Finally, a light warning: If you intend using these to occasionally meet your calories, make sure to watch any other food you eat that day. 1080 calories is under my 1600 daily calorie limit, but I can kill a lot of calories with my buttered and creamed coffee... Just watch yourself, is all I'm saying. These things are addictively yummy.

Peace
--Free

Ketogenics. It's a Balancing Act

Trying not to be this person

So, it's Day Whatever-I've-Stopped-Counting of my commitment to a keto lifestyle. I've lost and gained and lost. Good news is that I've lost more than I've gained. Also, someone pointed out that the bathroom scale is not a friend.

To look at what I have learned and am appreciating about this eating regimen (I love that word), I have to admit that I am more pleased than I expected to be. For one thing, whether or not I lose weight as fast as I want, I am still doing my body (and health) a lot of good.

Pros:

• I don't feel as tired as I did when I was eating so many starches and processed foods.
• My hair loves the keto diet. I think because I'm getting so many good oils in my diet, my hair is staying healthier and more hydrated - even on the days when I don't get enough water.
• My blood pressure is down.
• I am losing inches faster than I am losing weight. (I really do need to come back and do an update on my measurements, now that I am thinking about it.)
• I'm saving money on groceries. Lots and lots of money.
• I'm losing my taste for sugar/sweets. (More on this in a moment.)
• I'm breaking the connection with "bored eating".

Cons:

• It's tough finding the right combination of macronutrients for my personal needs and goals.
• I'm having to get used to grocery shopping in a new way. There's a lot of time spent reading and comparing labels for everything I buy to eat. This goes even for the things that keto allows.
• No one else in my family practices the keto lifestyle. That makes it tough to store and prepare food because of sharing storage space (for foods) and finding time in the kitchen.
• I'm experiencing a sharp decrease in appetite and sometimes have to make myself eat.
• The first couple of weeks was tough because I was quite physically exhausted and felt sluggish.

The positives are definitely stronger than the negatives. All the Cons are things that I can work around or count on improving as time goes by.

You notice that I mentioned I am losing my taste and cravings for sugars and sweets. Do you remember how when I started low-carb eating I spent so much time crying about my Almond Joy coffee creamer? Well,  I broke down yesterday and picked up a bottle. My intention was to just have some as an every-now-and-then treat. 

Guess what? The first time I treated myself, I used the usual amount (about four tablespoons, which is a lot I know) and... Ugh! Too, too, too sweet. I had to dump some of the sweetened coffee and add some fresh black brew. Still, the taste wasn't the same. I almost couldn't bear the smell of it eiher.

What this tells me is that it's true that every change takes time. It's been not quite three weeks of limiting and then cutting out the flavored creamer. In the meantime, I've been using heaving cream, butter and, in rare instances, a little bit of sugar substitute. I must have gotten used to that because it now is preferable to coffee with flavored creamer. Instead of the Almond Joy, I think I will try "treating" myself by adding a little bit of brown sugar in with the cream and butter.

When I tell you that my hair loves keto, I'm serious. I'm going to find a photo from at least a month ago to compare with one I'm going to take today just for this post:

August 15th 2016

September 15th 2016

By the way, I am using the timestamps form my camera. Just lucky that I found the "Before" photo that was from this date last month. I literally paused in the typing of this post to go and take a bathroom mirror shot for you! (My face has slimmed down quite a bit, but I covered it up because I'm not doing makeup-free photos today. LOL)

When I say that keto is a balancing act, I'm talking about getting the ratios of protein/fat/carbs regulated. Not only is this tricky (because it varies from person to person), but it's also ever-changing.

One of my Instagram buddies was doing keto long before I started (and that's one reason I started following him on Instagram) and he is always tweaking his ratios. Everybody I know of (all only online for now) doing keto mentions hitting plateaus, intermittent fasting, egg fasting, and fat fasting. That's because the way the diet works (basically burning body fat for energy rather than storing it) depends on your energy output and calorie input. I guess this is true for any kind of eating plan, but because keto is based on burning fat, the balancing act is trickier. (I hope that all made some kind of sense!)

I've gone through stages of getting too much protein and not enough fat. That's why I had my first stall in weight loss. Now that I am getting more fat in my diet, I need to concentrate on calories. I need to make sure I am getting enough. This is tough because, like I mentioned a moment ago, I have a decrease in appetite.

This is the way my usual day goes with food:

Breakfast - coffee with heavy cream, butter & maybe some coconut oil. No food. I am not a morning eater.

Lunch - if I eat anything, it's usually a brat that I slice longways down the center so I can fill it with about a tablespoon of cream cheese. (Lunch is easy for me to skip because I am usually writing or running errands. I'll make do by warming up my morning coffee.)

Dinner - An Atkins frozen entree. IF I EAT A MEAL. Lately, I've been snacking instead. I like to eat baby dill pickles and green olives with a bit of cheddar cheese, or a handful of raw almonds and about eight or nine mini-pepperoni slices.

My biggest water intake is from the Pellegrino mineral water. Love that stuff and, thanks to Costco, I can get a case of the 25.3oz bottle for around $20.

Sometime this week, I am going to make some cream cheese/cacao powder fat bombs. I will add some coconut oil, Kerrygold butter, and some sugar substitute. I can snack on those when I just don't want to eat.

I'm glad that the seasons are changing because I can use the winter "down time" to lose more weight. God willing that we are all still here, next summer... my skinny jeans will be in full effect.

Peace
--Free

P.S.:

I know that I have been skimping on product reviews. Sorry, but I will try to get back to them soon. My Amazon Prime is up for renewal in October and I honestly can't say yet if I plan to re-up. The shipping and other restrictions on Alaska customers is just annoying. Even though businesses usually give me codes for free products, if I don't renew Prime, I will be doing fewer reviews since I won't have the free shipping. Prime shipping has gotten so slow and unreliable that, for the annual fee, it's just a bust.

P.S. to the P.S.:

I made the lemon and cream cheese fat bombs. OMG, SOOOO good. One problem: I didn't add enough coconut oil and they stuck to the pan. I think they were supposed to be done on the cookie sheet and not in muffin tins...

**RECIPE** Fat Bombs for Beginners

Fat bombs are SO good!!! The ones I learned to make tonight might be just what I need to get myself into ketosis. (I've been struggling with the coffee creamer habit a bit...)

First, let me say that this is not my recipe. There are a ton of recipes for fat bombs all over Pinterest and the keto sites, but this one was so easy that I was tossing my first batch into the freezer after about 15 minutes. I checked well before the suggested 30 minutes and they were 'set' enough for me to try one and bag the rest for later.

Some recipes I found sound great but got too complicated for me as a beginner. They wanted to talk about grass-fed this and special something or other that... The one I linked to up there was one I could work with right away. No need for trips to the store for special groceries. That ignorant acting lady said it best:

Two of the ingredients I used really worked my nerves, but my bombs still taste great. First, was a natural peanut butter I bought a few days ago. When I say this stuff is 'natural', I'm serious. The only way it could be any more natural is if they just bottled the peanuts with a mortar and pestle. All the oil was sitting on the top in the jar and the nut butter was stuck to the bottom like a solid concrete turd. I ended up pouring the entire thing out into a bowl so that I could try blending it without slopping oil all over the place. (By the way, a mortar and pestle would have come in handy at that point!)

Once I got the peanut butter into a semi-smooth state, the rest was easy. Of course, the only sweetener I have around (other than honey, which a temporary no-no) is some packets of Truvia, some raw sugar (another no-no for now), and some Skinny Girl stevia which I am kicking myself for buying just because it was on sale. All stevia is not created equal in taste, I can tell you that.

This is what my first fat bombs turned out looking like:

I'm gonna learn to add peanut butter to the middle
for a homemade "Reese's Cup" style

Not too thin or thick. Adding some almonds or cashews on top would be fun.

Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with this newbie effort. The bombs taste great (even a friend of ours agreed they were delish) and, now that I know what I'm doing, I will only make slight changes for the next batch. I'll definitely go heavier on the peanut butter (wish I could try almond or cashew butter), and I will add more cacao powder and cayenne. Also, topping the bombs with single almonds would be classy, don't you think?

I can't really taste that disgusting Stevia as much as I expected to. I only used around 15 drops anyway, but I think I can go lighter on it if I add more peanut butter. I don't mind a dark chocolate flavor, though.

By the way, I did cut down the recipe that was posted. Here is what I have for the full recipe & the halved version:

For those of you who are wondering about the reasoning behind using fat bombs for weight loss well, this is the quick and dirty that I found someone and stored in a file:

When in ketosis, the body burns stored fat for energy, which results in weight loss. Fat bombs provide a quick snack that enable people to keep up their energy.

Well, I start with the fat bombs tomorrow & I also will be giving up my beloved Almond Joy creamer for a minute (so pray for me!), but I'm excited for the results. Of course, I will be back to update you guys.

Peace

--Free

Confession:

When I tried my second fat bomb of the night, I added a dollop of peanut butter to the top. Talk about the yum yums!