Chia Chow Chat

CHIA CHOW CHAT

Below are my thoughts, comments, experiences, etc., blog-style, newest on top.

I have been posting my posts about LowCarb/Keto/Carnivore (and everything in-between!) on my primary website for several years. However I am now breaking out such information to its own site – this one! There is still a LOT of information contained on the original site which will, in time, be transferred here instead and be accessible even though archival. Meanwhile, in an effort to get ChiaChow going I will be picking up where I left off as I continue to construct this site. I appreciate your patience!
(pages still on Chia.Owly.net: What I Eat ~ Keto+ ~ Keto Kwikky Vids ~ see also SUPER-FIND for more specific posts & information)

*** NEW Feb. 1, 2024 ***

*** All World Carnivore Month posts moved to their own page for posterity! ***
*** What I Eat page will now have a [C] or a [K] or an [X] by each entry, mainly for my own use ***
*** I’m all about memes…see my NEW LowCarb/Keto/Carnivore Meme Page! ***

NOTE: AFO = Air Fryer Oven

Oct 2, 2024 – Yesterday I was in a fast food frame of mind. Since a burger and fries from the drive-through is out of the question anymore, I gave it my best shot at home. Home run! When I was done eating my lunch I felt like I’d just enjoyed a guilty meal of junk food! Really hit the spot! (Details on yesterday’s “What I Eat” update.) Today will be more typical, with some beef short ribs this afternoon before going out to eat for supper to a place that has “naked wings” so tasty I dream about them! But that crispy tasty lunch yesterday was one for the books!

Oct 1, 2024 – Sounds radical. Makes sense. Borne out by the experiences of MANY. Could it be…? What do YOU think?

TYPE 2 DIABETES IS A PSYOP.

It’s a massive topic that the world revolves around. Insane profits are made from treating it. In fact, the concept was created to make people believe they’re defective, all for the sake of profits.

Let’s break it down.

When you can’t digest milk,…

— Roman Simon (@re4mat0r) September 29, 2024

Sept 28, 2024 – HERE is something interesting! I’ve been following some “lean mass hyper responders” and find it fascinating. So this really caught my attention: https://x.com/FitFounder/thread/1839695708640960636

Sept 27, 2024 – Well, I have been adding pins to the page (see note below), and planning to add at least one pin every day. At some point I will have to organize them… Anyway, this morning I got some beef out of the freezer and told my husband,”I got my lunch out to thaw…now I have to figure out what I will have for supper…”

Sept 21, 2024 – I’m such an airhead…I totally forgot that I had made a page to share some of my favorite pinterest pins here! So often as I’m looking through them I think, “I need to share this on ChiaChow; I should make a page for that!” D’uh! So I’ll start using that now… In other news my husband had a health scare and spent several days in the hospital this week. As a result I’m working on changing up his diet a bit, and he’s on board. It is more of a plant-based keto, with emphasis on fiber and protein, and food sources. I am doing similar – to a point! I am still meat-based, but am doing more keto days than carnivore days. At least that’s the plan. But still will be maintaining < 50g total carbs on those days, and aiming for hypercarnivore ratio of at least 70% animal-based each day (approx the opposite of what Pete is now eating). In the winter I tend to lean a lot more carnivore but as we’re getting him established I’m enjoying a bountiful fall of my favorite plant-based foods, squashes, as well as a few other things. Anyway, time to start finding more pins, SO MANY good recipes and ideas I’ve found on Pinterest, for both of us!

Sept 8, 2024 – I made a heck of an amazing keto casserole for supper tonight! On the bottom of the casserole dish I put a layer of chopped bacon, then layered chopped spinach and sliced mushrooms. Over that I poured a mixture of cream cheese, butter, and alfredo sauce (from a jar) that I had whipped together, and topped it with shredded mozzarella. After baking at 340°F for 45 minutes it was DELICIOUS and AMAZING and I will be making it again and again and again!

Sept 3, 2024 – I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but do keep a couple of SF flavor syrups on hand. They are really going up in price though, I’ve seen the big bottles as high as $9.99 each! But this place seems to have a good selection and great prices, in case you are looking into them!

August 27, 2024 – Just have a couple of photos to share:

August 24, 2024 – Huh. I guess it’s been a while. Prolly because life is just floating along. Been doing a mix of keto and carnivore days but almost always animal-based. Still, it’s summer, and I have a garden. Animal-based foods are comfort to me, and I crave them in the cold weather. I love them in summer too, but also crave the veggies. But – once again – I eat for inflammation and pain control and stay away from the things that have caused pain flare-ups over the years (ALMOST always). I might have actual healing if I would do a strict carnivore diet…but man, I love my garden…!

The easiest Carnivore meal prep hack pic.twitter.com/BKrXaslryn

— CarnivoreJT (@carnivore_jt) August 22, 2024

July 28, 2024
Today we went to Lucky’s Steakhouse in Bay City, and this is the keto meal that I ordered. (I could only eat about 75% of the steak – it was huge!) I also got a side salad – which a typical steakhouse-type salad, with ranch dressing (not shown.) Very low in carbs, EASILY below my 50g (total) daily limit.

July 23, 2024
I just thought I’d share a picture of the pizza I made on Sunday. Fully carnivore too! I used a chicken-based crust (there are recipes for that everywhere, I used raw ground chicken, an equal part of shredded parmesan, an egg, and a handful of pork rind crumbs because the resulting “dough” seemed too wet) and a basic alfredo sauce, with bacon and mozzarella as toppings. Simple, quick, and delicious! Getting 3 meals out of it too, high in protein so very filling. I’ve always loved “white pizza” and this is my opportunity to enjoy it as often as I want!

June 29, 2024
I haven’t had much to say so today I took photos of my meals. My first meal was eggs fried in butter and carnivore toast (see below). I also had a patty of bacon cheeseburger brat filling but didn’t get a photo; it looks about as you’d expect. For supper Pete made a wonderful meal, this is the first time I’ve had my delightful little potatoes this year! The pork steak is mine and everything else you see was for us both; he can’t have pork so cooked his beef steak separately. But today was definitely some good healthy eatin’!
Re: the carnivore toast – I base this quick version on Courtney Luna’s recipe; however I add about a quarter tsp of xanthan gum for texture, and I cook it in two small piles in my 5-minute Chef before toasting it, which results in 2 delightful little slider-sized buns!

(In other news, though it isn’t my intent ,I continue to lose weight, as I learned at my doctor’s appointment last week. 5 more pounds and I will weigh less than I have in decades. This isn’t something about which I am necessarily happy; it is a side effect of the way I eat, and just the way it will be if I continue to eat this way. I have no intention of changing.)

June 18, 2024
This looks easy enough, and quick for when we’re short on time, using ingredients that most carnivores and many low carbers will have on hand anyway, right? https://www.eatforwellness.org/blog/carnivore-tortillas
And what do you think of this, as a mac’n’cheese carnivore substitute? I WILL be trying this one when I can! https://youtu.be/yvPdh7hSDUA?si=7YZ70U7WXspEftyF

June 9, 2024
Found some lupini pasta (3gN carbs/serving) at one of the local deep discount stores recently and, since I’m incorporating more keto for the summer (mostly so that I can partake in all of the delightful produce that I’m growing, and finding at farm markets) I decided to make a pasta salad today. I used some of the pasta, of course, plus chicken, bacon, HB eggs, onion, chives, Chosen keto/mayo, and avocado. It’s been ages since I had such a salad, and it is a fantastic meal! I have enough left for a couple more meals, too!

May 30, 2024
So now that I’m “allowing” myself more variety/keto days, I’m not as hungry for them as I thought I’d be. Hmph! Play it by ear and seeing how it all shakes out I guess!

May 19, 2024
Been carnivore for a couple of days – if you follow my What I Eat page you see, well, what I eat every day and already knew that; anyway Sunday is usually pizza day around here but I roasted a massive chicken yesterday and have a hunk o’ beef thawed in the fridge for my eating pleasure today. Still, I wanted something a little different. So today will be a keto day; I put some keto baking mix in a bowl with some monk fruit sweetened and cinnamon, added an egg and some oil, then enough plain yogurt to make it a thick cake batter consistency. Baked it in a mini-muffin pan (got 7 muffins) and having some of them for my first meal, with butter. (Meal #2 will be chicken and beef.) I didn’t measure anything so it’s not a recipe per se but something you might want to try if you have a sweet tooth and are keto!

May 13, 2024
My husband had a total knee replacement surgery today and of course it involved rising early, being where I needed to be, when I needed to be there, etc. I didn’t have a whole lot of control over where or what I ate. The hospital did give me a lunch tray and though it’s not what I’m used to eating, it was delicious! Anyway, on the way home from the hospital (he will be there overnight) I stopped at a lovely little meat market in the area for a steak for my supper. They had some beautiful chuck roasts on sale for $5.80/lb so I got a couple of those as well! All in all it was a great stop and I have at least a half-dozen meals from what I bought!
Meanwhile I also have about a dozen (+/-) thick-cut ribeyes on order from my usual butcher, looking forward to picking those up too!
I have plenty of pork belly in the freezer at the moment, having bought some from BillHilly Homestead Solutions (this isn’t something he typically carries but happened to have some), where I also bought chickens and rabbits a few days go as well. So one I get my ribeyes I will be all set for the next couple of months. What a great feeling!

May 6, 2024
I had a great weekend! I didn’t go crazy with food, but I didn’t worry about it either; after all of these (20+) of eating for my health my body just doesn’t want certain “crap” foods anymore. It was good not to look at the clock when I ate, or keep track of my overnight fasts though, that’s probably the part I enjoyed the most! The big thing that I did as far as an actual food splurge goes is that I had frozen some Olive Garden Chicken gnocchi soup until my birthday. And I ate that. I also got the cinnamon/honey butter on my sweet potato for my actual birthday dinner yesterday (along with a 20 oz ribeye and green beans). I was only able to eat half of the meal, I’m having the other half for my supper today. And I got some keto ice cream from the store on the way home – no birthday cake, that was it for dessert foods for the weekend…probably so far all year in fact. Today I have no cravings, no feelings of starvation, my pain levels aren’t elevated, etc. So I didn’t do too badly with the food. It was the freedom from keeping track of my fasts, mainly, that I enjoyed. Along with everything else about the weekend!

May 3, 2024
Sunday is my birthday and this weekend will be an incredibly busy one, we won’t be home much, and lots of stuff going on, out with people most of the time, etc. After today I won’t be posting What I Eat for the next couple of days. Though I do plan to eat differently than is typical, I’m not going to go totally off the rails (yes, I’m thankful to have that kind of self-control, developed over 20 years of practice!), plus my online time will be severely curtailed.
My plan for next week will, of course, be what I always do for post-carb days to bring my body back into line: concerning myself more with getting as close as possible to zero-carb and doing cleaner carnivore, than periods of fasting; I won’t let myself get too hungry, and eat as often as I need to for these first couple of days, then ease back into my usual routine and foods over the next couple. And lots of fluids. Even on “loose” days such as this weekend, I still avoid the foods that cause an inflammatory response in my body (as evidenced by increased angina, asthma, and pain levels throughout).
Only a couple of times a year do I do this, and I have to do it carefully. The stakes are high. And so is my enjoyment of these times.
Happy birthday to me!

May 1, 2024
Just saw a site that has quite a few low carb and keto ideas, a few are carnivore or could easily be made thus, some look pretty interesting and others would be a great jumping off point for our own modifications. https://discover.hubpages.com/food/60-Easy-Keto-Recipes-for-the-Ultimate-Low-Carb-Diet is the site if you want to take a look!

April 30, 2024
Golly it’s been a while! As you may have seen, I’m still posting on the site…just not here on page 1 as much as I’d like. But today I was counting how many days I ate carnivore/keto/other and thought I’d share those because I found it interesting! In April, 17 days were totally animal-based/carnivore. 4-5 days were “other”; one of them could have gone either way (keto or other), but I chose “other” for that day. And 8 days were keto. I didn’t have any inflammatory responses to anything I ate this month, which is the main thing, and I’ve continued to lose weight.
I did go to the doctor this month and I am now down 102# from my highest weight, and 56# from when I started eating by these simple rules. I’m down several clothing sizes as well. So even with so many “other” days my body is responding well and doing great as I eat this way.
EVEN BETTER: In 2022 (when I was hospitalized for my heart disease twice) my blood lipids were pretty bad: total cholesterol was 223, triglycerides were 221, HDL was 41 and LDL was 146 with a VLDL of 44. This month things had changed. Quite a bit. total cholesterol – 131, trigs – 86, HDL – 48, LDL – 66, VLDL – 17. Yeah. Quite a bit. What’s different? My diet – I now eat a high (saturated) fat meat-based ketogenic diet. In 2022 I was put on statins, totally against my wishes but with the usual “you’ll die without them” argument given. (News flash: I will die with OR without them!) Over time as my side effects increased I decreased my own dosage, without discussion with, or advice from, my cardiologist. I am now taking that pill only on Tues/Thurs/Sat…and I stop it completely for one week every month. Starting in May I am considering stopping the Thursday dose as well. Anyway, when my doctor gave me the result from my latest lipid profile, I was told “It looks great! Keep taking those statins!” You can form your own conclusions; I have.
At any rate, that’s my news for April!

April 11, 2024
I haven’t been around, I know. We have had house guests of various types most of the time since Easter; on the days in-between I’ve either been recovering, or catching up the things that I wasn’t keeping up with while people were here! I’m thankful I was at least able to keep track of my What I Eat page every day!
Yesterday we fed ourselves and our guests a bunch of meat and vegetables. On the Blackstone hubby made tuna steaks, burgers, hot dogs, a rabbit (which I had cut into pieces) and some pork belly. AND a couple of pounds of vegetables. We all took what we wanted and feasted! And we were still left with half of it today! By dinnertime I wanted something a little different so I made a cordon bleu casserole of sorts, like a cordon bleu lasagna I suppose. I’ll make a separate post about it, it was delicious.
Anyway, just figured I’d better pop on and say hi :).

March 28, 2024
Yesterday we went to The Cut, which is a local meat processing place that also has a little store. We got a few things there (see yesterday’s vlog for a list) but by far the most exciting was a big pork belly…WITH the skin on! Today I cut it up into about a dozen chunks – with hubby’s help – and got them in my meat freezer. (The only thing that was slightly off-putting was the row of nipples along one side hahahaha!) I ate one of the chunks for supper, and it was fabulous! I did cut the skin off first, then air-roasted it next to the meat; while I ate that amazing tender belly I cooked it the rest of the way through, then put it under the broiler for a few minutes until it got really bubbly and crisp – WOW, what a great “dessert”!!! So happy that I have a bunch more in the freezer! Getting through the skin was, of course, a task in itself. I found that if I scored it through first with one knife, then used our sharpest serrated knife to go through the rest of the skin, it was my best bet. Hard work but worth it :).

March 22, 2024

March 21, 2024 – Nooo, has it really been a week?!? I’d better get on with it then! Just came to talk about tea. Any other tea drinkers? Anyone? Anyone? I’d drink coffee all day long – and used to, too – if I could. But I can’t anymore so I’ve been drinking quite a bit of tea these last few years. In the winter I want full-bodied, nutty or heavier teas. Yesterday in my largest mug (a 20-ouncer) I steeped a bag of pumpkin tea with some coconut/almond tea and WOW! A new favorite! Coconut and ground almonds make a fabulous not-graham-cracker-crust for pumpkin pies so why not? Indeed, why not – fantastic! As the weather gets warmer I will be drinking fruity teas; think koolaid for adults. No cream (I usually do put a splash in my winter teas), very little sweetening, very fruity. So now I’m trying to drink up all of the winter flavors. And enjoying every minute of it!

March 14, 2024 – A couple of things: FIRST, I’m adding to the 31+ Carnivore Links page. No sense creating another page for all of the great stuff I’m finding around the ‘net, right? I’ll just keep adding them to the top. SECOND, anybody else here have a garden? Through the winter my body has predominantly wanted MEAT! Now that we’re getting hints of coming spring weather, my body is telling me it wants vegetables too! I’m a huge believer in listening to my body’s signals…and I will be planting a garden again this year! THIRD, I found this recipe today, and it looks easy enough that even *I* could do it! Not a huge pasta fan, but for soup or an occasional casserole, these carnivore noodles might just do the trick! What do you think?

March 12, 2024 – https://ketoandeat.com/carnivore-cake/
This looks pretty good and I love custard, but there’s no way I’d make it anywhere near that sweet – if sweet at all! I might add some cinnamon and a little maple stevia though…anyway, something I might want to try while I have some whole milk in the house (which I don’t usually)! If I do, I’ll let you know what I think!

March 7, 2024 – It worked! The carnivore pizza actually, because it was all protein and fat, filled me up so that I wasn’t even hungry when it was time to eat. I didn’t end up going in, even, but took the chicken wings home and at them just after 23:00! So that messes up my typically longer fasts but it’s not a big deal, really, how I’m eating now is getting the job done (and, unfortunately, weight is coming off way too fast) so cutting myself a little slack now and again doesn’t seem to be a problem. But for sure, I wasn’t wanting any pizza last night!

March 6, 2024 – Golly I didn’t realize it had been so long since I wrote anything here! Today is the one day every month that is the hardest to resist…we go out to the best pizza place anywhere with some of my husband’s friends. Their pizza is nearly irresistible. (Thankfully, so are their naked wings!) So today I will be making a carnivore pizza for lunch. That will help me resist…plus those crispy, delicious naked wings… I’m preparing myself!
Also I got my “powders” yesterday! So I plan to make some carnivore bread and try it with the butter powder, as suggested by someone in the great Carnivore and Keto group to which I belong. Anxious to see how that tastes! I’ll let you know 🙂

Feb 21, 2024 – Lots to catch up on this week after being sick, but I did find time to make another loaf of carnivore bread. The first loaf I made a couple of weeks ago was close to perfect, but a little eggy…so I replaced the egg with sour cream this time – hey, I won’t know unless I try, right? Well it got rid of that eggy taste, but the loaf collapsed when it cooled, so I’ll do something different the next time. Meanwhile, it is still delicious! I’m going to order a few “powders” soon, buttermilk powder and butter powder for starters…still “shopping”.
In other news, I’ve just received my first order of new warm-weather clothes, since I am swimming in last year’s clothing. I thought some of them would still fit but no…not a huge fan of this weight loss, let alone so quickly…but it’s part of the process I guess! (Could it be that inflammation causes fat gain?)

Feb 15, 2024 – So I’ve spent the last few days in bed, sick. And with not much of an appetite. But hubby Pete made me some delicious soup that was easy and I had that for a couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed it! In his soup maker (he has soup every day for breakfast) he put a can of chicken, some boxed chicken broth, an egg (or 2?), and seasonings. Then he served it to me with a dollop of sour cream on top. SO SO SO DELICIOUS! I may even eat that when I’m NOT sick! He also brought me a ground beef patty with mayo one day. And yesterday my Valentine’s Day gift from him was MEAT: a rotisserie chicken and beef ribs! By then I was feeling more like eating. When even breathing is tough, it is hard to eat and not worth the effort. Now, though, my appetite is coming back and it sure feels good!

Feb 10, 2024 – I have some smoked pork chops I bought from a nearby Amish store, they are delicious but really not much different from ham in texture or taste. Today I took some sliced deli chicken (look for CLEAN ingredients!) and laid it in an overlapping line on a parchment-lined pan. Then I put the “smoked pork” – which I had cubed into small pieces, about ½” – across the layer of chicken. And then I put swiss cheese over it all and put it under the broiler until the cheese was bubbly and starting to brown; it had little crispy bits along the edges (YUM!) too. I rolled it up from one end to the other and put a drizzle of dijon mustard over the top and WOW, such a great animal-based lunch! Next time I think I will put the cheese inside, and coat it with my crispy coating mix (green-can parm, pork panko, beef gelatin) and fry it up – could it BE any more decadent???

Feb 9, 2024 – I ran across a couple of graphics today that make me say “hmmm….” I will share them below with comments – what do you think?

Feb 3, 2024 – I went to sleep last night thinking about meat. I woke up today thinking of meat. But first I had to have a few bites of yogurt with my meds; I don’t always, but if my stomach feels at all wonky, I do – because my meds on an empty stomach always give me a mild nausea. Which I put up with, it passes quickly, for the sake of my fasts. But today, had just enough yogurt to help with that. And then, all day I was thinking about meat. When I finally got hungry again I put it in the AFO and it wasn’t long until I was eating THIS!

Feb 2, 2024b – HERE is my update! Had the walleye, didn’t get the all-you-can-eat, just the few pieces included in the regular meal. Baked potato instead of fries/questionable oil. Cottage cheese instead of salad. The walleye was mostly seasoning, not grilled but not deep-fried, it did have a coating but so thin I could see through it. So that was a pretty good scenario and I ate it. My baked potato turned out to be TWO potatoes, a medium one and a little tiny one about the size of a walnut; I only ate that one. Also good! Potatoes don’t bother me a bit and I already include them once a week or so. And the cottage cheese was fine, about ¼c, it came in the little plastic cups that usually have tarter sauce in them. Made it through the day probably maxing out my max carb allowance but I was imagining a lot worse! And now I am looking forward to BEEF tomorrow, and probably some more chicken since I have it in the fridge…probably some eggs…and the thought of this makes me very happy! (I was going to do OMaD/moderate carb all weekend…no way. Back to my mostly-carnivore-with-the-occasional-keto-meal plan!)

Feb 2, 2024a – What I’m about to share shouldn’t be a surprise. Everything I said yesterday made sense to me…yesterday. Then I started CRAVING meat late in the evening, and ate 2 of my turkey sticks which satisfied that. Today I am CRAVING meat again, so I just heated up half of the rotisserie chicken I bought yesterday. (I have some beef ribs thawing in the fridge right now.) We are going out to dinner at a club tonight for walleye, not sure if – or what – options I will have, but I will eat some of whatever and then come home and have that beef ready to make if I want to. Because in spite of the protein-packed meat I am stuffing in my gob, now my body is telling me, “That’s all well and good, but WHERE’S THE BEEF???” This road to carnivore eating (from keto/ketovore) is packed with surprises, that’s for sure! I will update again later!
P.S. I hope this lethargy – brain fog – mild indigestion that resulted from the meal I had yesterday will dissipate quickly so that I can get back to my “new self” when I eat the right foods!

Feb 1, 2024 – Today and tomorrow I’m eating out. Been doing a lot of carnivore lately – most days, in fact – so going to see how a couple of days off go, how my body handles it mainly. I’m a huge proponent of listening to my body’s signals, and about once a week I get cravings for things like cabbage or mushrooms or squash. And I’m there. So this weekend I’ll be doing OMaD and moderate carb and see how it goes. Frankly, I’ve been losing weight so fast it is almost making me nervous. I never wanted to lose like this…for a few days I’m putting on the brakes and catching my breath but still taking it day by day. I will keep you posted.

Jan 30, 2024 – My meals were so beautiful today, I had to take photos!

Jan 27, 2024b – Didn’t sous vide – just the way the day worked out – but braised the beef cheeks instead. I’ve never tasted them before, so, just in case I didn’t like them, I seasoned them heavily. 2 hours later I realized that I needn’t have worried…this meat was so rich, and so much delightfully soft and flavorful connective tissue, the meat absolutely fell apart…and it was DELICIOUS! So much so, that when I next go to local meat processor/butcher I had planned to ask if I could get a big prime chunk of beef from him…but now, I’m going to ask ’em load me up on beef cheeks! FANTASTIC meat, so much flavor, so easy to chew (I have arthritis in my jaws), and so melt-in-my mouth tender…I wish I’d known about this meat LONG ago!

Jan 27, 2024a – Going to sous vide some beef cheeks today. While I have used that method in the past, today I’m going to try my Copper Chef electric skillet for the purpose rather than just a sauce pan or dutch oven. Will see how that goes. Have never done beef cheeks before though, found them at my local meat processor/butcher and can’t resist trying something new! Also want to try beef tongue but it looks pretty fussy to prepare so I’ll have to be in the mood…will let you know how it goes!

Jan 25, 2024 – Today is the first time in my life, I think, that I’ve eating poultry, beef, pork, and fish – all in the same day.

Jan 23, 2024 – Gave our new Ninja air fry oven a real workout tonight, cooked all this food at once, it is so big! Loved my other Ninja air fry oven but this, this is a Cadillac! The photos below show how everything fit in, then there are photos of the food…and one of my plate. Great meals, from Pete’s rabbit to my pork ribs, and our vegetables, which I cooked on the air roast setting…then, after our food was out, I whipped in some Halloumi sticks on air fry until they crisped up (not shown) which I ate after my ribs and cauliflower/mushrooms/parmesan…WOW, can this thing do it all, or WHAT?!?!?

Jan 22, 2024 – So we ate at a new restaurant yesterday, an Italian place no less! They had a couple of keto options on the menu though, and I chose one that involved chicken breasts cooked in a lemon/white wine “sauce” (it was clear) and topped with melted cheese. I ate the salad but gave away the side of spaghetti. It was delicious and I was plenty full for hours afterward. One other option, because they have huge sandwich menu, is any of the keto (or even carnivore!) sandwiches without bread – or on a bed of lettuce – and cottage cheese instead of chips or fries; that trick has served me very well over the years! Anyway, it was a great restaurant and we’re looking forward to going back sometime!

Jan 13, 2024 – STRESS! The last 24+ hours have been incredibly stressful – traumatic, even – and I handled it by eating. A lot. But not bad stuff. I don’t usually handle stress or trauma by eating, but rather by sleeping. Except this time. Wow. I will share all that I stuffed in my gob on the What I Eat page, as always, but wow… I’d lost too much weight when I was sick recently, and already had concerns that I was losing too quickly and not eating enough. But I think I’ve made up for it now!

Jan 9, 2024 – I’m pretty STOKED! We went to our local butcher (also a meat processor for local farmers) yesterday, and were chatting with the proprietor. I mentioned that I absolutely love pork belly, and wish they carried it. And HE told ME that he is getting 2000# of pork belly in next week, and if I wanted to buy a whole one (about 10#) he’d slice it up for me – WOW! That is the best news I’ve heard in forever, I think! So next week I get to pick up a bunch of pork belly and I can’t WAIT! Actually I think I already ate my last package… I’ll have to move some of my ducks and rabbits from my freezer in the “house” (a 5th wheel called Myrtle) back to Junior (our travel trailer) to make room but to have my own stock of pork belly? YES PLEASE!!!

Jan 8, 2024 – YIKES! So we ate at Texas Roadhouse today – we LOVE that place – and I ordered a steak and shrimp (not fried or breaded) combo with green beans; I got some mushrooms and onions on the steak. Then chose to eat 2 of their rolls as well, figuring the steak and shrimp and green beans would be low enough in carbs, and this being an OMaD day it would do any damage in the long run.* Well, WRONG! I was looking at their nutrition chart once I got home – and I want to know what the heck made my steak have TWENTY grams of carb??? Not even counting the onions (kinda carby) or mushrooms…I didn’t even look up the shrimp or beans after that. Still no damage in the long run I’m sure, but still…YIKES!
Will we still eat at Texas Roadhouse? Heck yeah! But in the future I won’t make such assumptions!
*I have been losing weight way too fast, especially during the 11 or 12 days I was so sick. I’m not comfortable at all with how things are going in that department, even though the main goal, inflammation/pain control, is going great. And I admit that had something to do with my decision to eat a couple of rolls with my meal.

Jan 7, 2024 –

Jan 2, 2024 – Oh how I love toast! And I’ve been craving it a LOT since I made that delicious, light toast a couple of weeks ago…so today I wanted to make a loaf but knew the same recipe wouldn’t work. So I did something different, and it is fantastic! A heavier bread but just as delightful…now I have TWO options for toast!

Dec 31, 2023 – So since I’ve had a couple of carbier days this week I am going to forego our Sunday pizza day. Besides, I have leftover pork roast – YUM! Also, tomorrow starts World Carnivore Month, and I will sharing a link every day about the carnivore lifestyle here, so watch this space!

Dec 29, 2023 – I wanted to note here that yes, I have been allowing a few more carbs than typical once in a while lately…and also mention that I am losing weight WAY too fast. I feel like a runaway train and the brakes are failing. Yes, I have weight to lose, but that isn’t my goal, and isn’t necessarily something I want – especially at this rate! I have no idea how much I weigh but clothes that I bought just 3-4 months ago for winter wear are too big already, let alone last winter’s clothes (which are HUGE and unwearable). I’m hoping to at least slow this down, it doesn’t feel healthy and it doesn’t feel right to keep losing weight at this rate…though I feel good otherwise as the way I eat has done such a good job of controlling my inflammation and pain levels, and returning some of my mobility as a result…but I just wanted to note that here, as I will occasionally (maybe once a week? twice? I don’t know yet) eat more non-inflammatory carbs (ie, not grains or sugars) in an attempt to regain control of the weight loss part of it.

Dec 26, 2023 – Didn’t do too badly yesterday – could have been (actually has been!) a lot worse. And today I’m feeling fine, albeit hungry. Will have the grandkids here the next few days, while I’ll be feeding them the food that they are used to, I will be eating as I typically do. One thing I tried were the Egglife Wraps that my daughter bought at Aldi, had never had them but had wanted to try them anyway, and they were GREAT! A game-changer, even. So I’m pretty happy with that, they sent the rest home with me and I will definitely use them up! Anyway, in the days following a “day off” I don’t concern myself much with trying to do OMaD, doing the minimal (12-hour) fasts, and eating as carnivore-ish and low carb as possible until my system returns to normal. It only takes 2-3 days normally. So that’s the plan. (The GREAT thing is, while I enjoy the different foods, I’m ALWAYS craving my normal diet immediately afterward!) Anyway, it was a great day, great food, and PLENTY of keto foods (and smoked fish for Pete)! And now, after 15-hour fast, I’m going to have some MEAT!

Dec 24, 2023 – Christmas Eve. Also Sunday, pizza day. I have one more GF pizza in the freezer, which I will eat today, and then will start making my own crusts again. I have absolutely NO after-effects from the GF pizzas, and they are easy. I do OMaD (and IF of course) on Sundays, and my pain/inflammation remains under control. Today and tomorrow I will be doing things a little differently, tomorrow being Christmas and there will be plenty of food at our family celebration! But my family is always willing to accommodate my (and Pete’s, he’s mostly heavily plant-based pescatarian) diets, making sure there are things we can also eat. And we bring stuff for ourselves as well. I will be making cookies that Pete & I can both eat, he will be taking his salmon salad for himself. And my plan, since OMaD won’t be possible tomorrow, is to do a good fast after today’s pizza, then tomorrow as small of an eating window as I can manage, avoiding, of course, the foods that cause me problems and the really carby ones. (I’m going to enjoy my family time and the grandkids and not track what I eat.) And then, as usual, I will go very low carb, super-carnivore for the next few days afterward. This is what always works for me when occasions like this arise.

Dec 22, 2023

Dec 21, 2023

Dec 19, 2023 – Golly! In cleaning out the fridge today to make space for the duck I roasted last night, I discovered a steak that I had apparently bought, and forgot! It is only 4 days past sell-by and looks and smells ok so that will be my meal today I guess! Was planning duck but…well, I guess I could have some of that too, eh? Great food day, coming right up!

Dec 18, 2023 – Having been under the weather for the last few days I didn’t do much cooking or anything else…but when I was a kid and didn’t feel well my mom always made me toast. That could be why I have been obsessing about it lately. And today I HAD to have some…hence today’s Cooking post…and while the batter was in the oven becoming bread (to later become toast!) I prepped my 2nd meal for today: sliced a small pork tenderloin into 1″ medallions, and thinly sliced some cabbage and onions; salted and garlic-powdered, and put it all with some bacon fat in my Copper Chef, all ready to turn on later when I start to get hungry. Today’s food is all set, so time for a nap…

Dec 15, 2023 – I am happy to report that I did MUCH better at a restaurant last night! And today I’m just wanting my animal-based food, and feeling fine! That’s the big difference when indulging in something with grains or sugars, or “indulging” in a few vegetables on the side of carnivore foods, as I did last night. Still feel great, and no extra pain or inflammation! Have some beef short ribs out of the freezer, and a leftover roasted chicken thigh with a couple of wings on the side…maybe a can of wild-caught salmon fried in butter…going to be another great food day!

Dec 14, 2023 – HA! That’s what I thought, a few days ago…but having to eat in restaurants (we have appointments all over the state, it would seem!) a few times taught me differently! I didn’t do too badly – unless you want to count a couple of biscuits – but I’m craving my animal-based foods – BIG TIME! Last night I had the best wings ever…today I’m eating bacon and beef fried up in the bacon fat for both meals (plus maybe some eggs for meal #2), it will be a glorious food day!

Dec 11, 2023 – My first thought when I woke up: Most of my leftovers have been eaten, and now I can get back to eating MEAT! 🤤

Dec 10, 2023 – FINALLY! It was delicious…but happy I finished the chicken squash casserole today! Too much of a good thing, ya know?

Dec 9, 2023 – Sometimes I think I am positively brilliant! I’ve been eating this chicken squash casserole for several days (and STILL have some left!) so I was thinking of something different today . I have some sliced deli ham in the fridge so I made a wrap out of my casserole out of it. Added a slice of havarti inside too, just for fun…ran it through my 5-Minute Chef…that was FANTASTIC! I hope I get hungry again soon so I can have some more!

Dec 7, 2023 – Well, I worked it out. I chose a pizza pocket, which is more like a thin pie crust than a thick pizza crust (except at the very ends), and only ate part of it. The majority of it is in Pete’s to-go box with the remainder of his pizza. Still…today I am paying for my choice. Other than salad, my only other real option there is chicken wings – I’d get a pound of ’em, but they’re double the cost of the pizza pocket and in the end, that was my deciding factor. But, as I lay here on my bed this morning inflamed with all the things, I know I can’t compromise again.

Dec 6, 2023 – Today will be a busy day, and I’m going to a meeting with my husband that always ends up in a pizza place that has THE BEST pizza I have ever had! However, I shouldn’t eat it – it causes all kinds of inflammatory issues in my body so I really need to NOT have any. Sitting at tables with dozens of people eating that pizza is REALLY tough, and they don’t have much in the way of things I should eat instead – may be a “lesser of 2 evils” choice, as in the past; I’ll let you know how I do…Oy!