I spoke last week about my desire to better myself by eating healthier. The more that I read about any form of Dementia the more I keep seeing the fact that sugar has an adverse effect on brain function.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating giving up sweets. Lord knows I have just as big of a sweet tooth as anyone else, I assure you.
We've found several sweeteners that allow you to enjoy the simple pleasures, yet they do not affect your blood glucose (sugar) like regular cane sugar does. Back when Diet Coke came out, I was overweight (I still am a bit) and wanted to find a way to cut back on calories so I started drinking them. I loved sodas so I drank quite a lot of them. It didn't take me but a couple of weeks to see that something was going on. Come to find out, I'm allergic to Aspartame and Saccharin. Dang it! Just when I thought I could behave (well, maybe) and do better for myself my best option went out the window.
Fast forward to 2016. I went to work for TechTronic Industries as an analyst in the Finance department. Part of the benefits for working there was a PhD Nutritionist at their beck and call to do classes on healthy eating. Books and all materials were paid for and no class fees, plus they were taught onsite, so no need to go somewhere extra after work. Sarah, our nutritionist, taught us about Keto and the benefits of a different way of eating. It is not a diet. It is truly a change of lifestyle. Our book was by a man called Mark Hyman that he titled Eat Fat, Get Thin and it changed everything that I had heard about eating. Me and Sheri needed to lose some weight so we gave it a try. In 3 months we had both lost a lot of inches and pounds, felt better than we've ever felt and were even back to exercising on a regular basis, as we now had the energy to do it.
But then we moved to be closer to my work, we bought a consignment shop and spent 9 weeks remodeling it. Needless to say at the end of the day we were exhausted and chose convenience over eating right. It didn't take long until we fell back into our habits of microwaved rice, pasta and potato dishes, along with desserts that were DEFINITELY on the NoNo list.
SO, fast forward again to 2019 and here we are going "Oh Crap" we need to get serious and stay serious this time.
But there is a curve ball thrown in this mix just to make it interesting. I love to cook. I always have as long as I can remember. (I have dementia, so no wise cracks about how long that is ...... :-)
Anywho, I cannot operate in the kitchen like I used to. Longer recipes with multiple steps and a list of ingredients that would fill a grocery cart are not in my weaponry now. I've been reduced to the old KISS principle .... Keep it Simple or I feel Stupid .... (thats my version of it).
Thankfully KETO eating is relatively simple. There are fewer ingredients and generally less steps to use to complete the process from start to finish.
Another problem I've had with switching up my eating habits. I LOVE to snack. Lance crackers, Nuts, Brownies and too many other desserts were a staple in the house for me.
HOLD THE PRESS! I HAVE GREAT NEWS!
On KETO I can still snack. YEP, you heard it right here from the horse's mouth. (buck teeth and all).
You just have to snack differently. And I'm finding that it is working with me.
My Second Announcement! I LOVE CHEESE!!!!! Doesn't matter what kind. I haven't met a cheese that I didn't like. Some are a little more pungent than others and have to be taken in smaller steps, but I'll even eat Liver Cheese on occasion. On KETO you can enjoy cheese. And there is a snack that can't be beat! KETO Cheese Crisps. And guess what? For those of you who are like me and are "culinarily (is that even a word) challenged" I have the perfect recipe and here it is:
KETO CHEESE CHIPS
makes 1 serving
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of whatever grated cheese that you like. *You can do more than this, but it will "stove you up" if you overdo the cheese, so go easy on your system.
(yup, that's it)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit.
While it is preheating, take out a sheet pan and line it with parchment paper. Be careful as you tear the paper from the roll. Those little spines will still cut you if you're not careful.
Sprinkle (don't tinkle) the cheese in small heaps around the paper. (hey, I have dementia so I can crack the weird jokes, what's your excuse?!?)
SAFETY TIP! Put on your oven mitts!
Insert the tray into the middle rack of the oven. Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure it is golden and not a Georgia clay mud dobber shade. Most stoves have an oven light that will let you play Hide and go Seek or Peepsy with it.
**If you took your oven mitts off while the food is cooking, put them back on. Carefully remove or get a loved one to remove the tray (make sure you let them use the mitts since you won't need them) from the stove and sit on a cooling rack somewhere safely on the counter.
Let them cool for about 5 minutes until safe to handle. ** Use a spatula to remove the chips from the tray so that you don't accidentally burn any of your much needed (or maybe unwanted if it droops a little bit much) flesh.
Next time we'll look more into Sweeteners and some desserts that you can make that are easy to eat.
Until then, keep fighting the good fight and remember, with your help we can #EndAlz because #AlzSux.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating giving up sweets. Lord knows I have just as big of a sweet tooth as anyone else, I assure you.
We've found several sweeteners that allow you to enjoy the simple pleasures, yet they do not affect your blood glucose (sugar) like regular cane sugar does. Back when Diet Coke came out, I was overweight (I still am a bit) and wanted to find a way to cut back on calories so I started drinking them. I loved sodas so I drank quite a lot of them. It didn't take me but a couple of weeks to see that something was going on. Come to find out, I'm allergic to Aspartame and Saccharin. Dang it! Just when I thought I could behave (well, maybe) and do better for myself my best option went out the window.
Fast forward to 2016. I went to work for TechTronic Industries as an analyst in the Finance department. Part of the benefits for working there was a PhD Nutritionist at their beck and call to do classes on healthy eating. Books and all materials were paid for and no class fees, plus they were taught onsite, so no need to go somewhere extra after work. Sarah, our nutritionist, taught us about Keto and the benefits of a different way of eating. It is not a diet. It is truly a change of lifestyle. Our book was by a man called Mark Hyman that he titled Eat Fat, Get Thin and it changed everything that I had heard about eating. Me and Sheri needed to lose some weight so we gave it a try. In 3 months we had both lost a lot of inches and pounds, felt better than we've ever felt and were even back to exercising on a regular basis, as we now had the energy to do it.
But then we moved to be closer to my work, we bought a consignment shop and spent 9 weeks remodeling it. Needless to say at the end of the day we were exhausted and chose convenience over eating right. It didn't take long until we fell back into our habits of microwaved rice, pasta and potato dishes, along with desserts that were DEFINITELY on the NoNo list.
SO, fast forward again to 2019 and here we are going "Oh Crap" we need to get serious and stay serious this time.
But there is a curve ball thrown in this mix just to make it interesting. I love to cook. I always have as long as I can remember. (I have dementia, so no wise cracks about how long that is ...... :-)
Anywho, I cannot operate in the kitchen like I used to. Longer recipes with multiple steps and a list of ingredients that would fill a grocery cart are not in my weaponry now. I've been reduced to the old KISS principle .... Keep it Simple or I feel Stupid .... (thats my version of it).
Thankfully KETO eating is relatively simple. There are fewer ingredients and generally less steps to use to complete the process from start to finish.
Another problem I've had with switching up my eating habits. I LOVE to snack. Lance crackers, Nuts, Brownies and too many other desserts were a staple in the house for me.
HOLD THE PRESS! I HAVE GREAT NEWS!
On KETO I can still snack. YEP, you heard it right here from the horse's mouth. (buck teeth and all).
You just have to snack differently. And I'm finding that it is working with me.
My Second Announcement! I LOVE CHEESE!!!!! Doesn't matter what kind. I haven't met a cheese that I didn't like. Some are a little more pungent than others and have to be taken in smaller steps, but I'll even eat Liver Cheese on occasion. On KETO you can enjoy cheese. And there is a snack that can't be beat! KETO Cheese Crisps. And guess what? For those of you who are like me and are "culinarily (is that even a word) challenged" I have the perfect recipe and here it is:
KETO CHEESE CHIPS
makes 1 serving
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of whatever grated cheese that you like. *You can do more than this, but it will "stove you up" if you overdo the cheese, so go easy on your system.
(yup, that's it)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit.
While it is preheating, take out a sheet pan and line it with parchment paper. Be careful as you tear the paper from the roll. Those little spines will still cut you if you're not careful.
Sprinkle (don't tinkle) the cheese in small heaps around the paper. (hey, I have dementia so I can crack the weird jokes, what's your excuse?!?)
SAFETY TIP! Put on your oven mitts!
Insert the tray into the middle rack of the oven. Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure it is golden and not a Georgia clay mud dobber shade. Most stoves have an oven light that will let you play Hide and go Seek or Peepsy with it.
**If you took your oven mitts off while the food is cooking, put them back on. Carefully remove or get a loved one to remove the tray (make sure you let them use the mitts since you won't need them) from the stove and sit on a cooling rack somewhere safely on the counter.
Let them cool for about 5 minutes until safe to handle. ** Use a spatula to remove the chips from the tray so that you don't accidentally burn any of your much needed (or maybe unwanted if it droops a little bit much) flesh.
Next time we'll look more into Sweeteners and some desserts that you can make that are easy to eat.
Until then, keep fighting the good fight and remember, with your help we can #EndAlz because #AlzSux.
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