Everyone seems to be talking about doing a Keto Diet recently, but I'd never really looked into it that deeply. Plus, One of my resistances to going back on a diet like this was how people all too often abuse "Atkins" style diets. There's absolutely no debate in my mind that this style of diet works - I lost over 100 pounds following a very strict regimen ... but then gained more back after quitting. The key to being able to succeed though is focusing on balance and creativity. So, with that in mind I walked around my local grocery store a few days ago and dreamed up two easy to make keto recipes. My conditions for success were: 1) it had to taste great 2) it had to have good colors that were visually interesting and 3) it had to be easy to make. Plus, ultimately it had to follow a fairly strict interpretation of the keto nutrition guidelines.
In the past, I'd gotten bored with my Atkins-style diet. At first these low carb diets sound pretty awesome - "just eat meat! Bacon is ok ... just no bread." After a few days or weeks though, there's only so much bacon and other meats that you can consume. Plus, while eating salami and cream cheese wraps might be "low carb", it's just not healthy. The more I looked into keto, the more I liked the philosophy since it focuses on balance and HEALTHY eating ... while still avoiding excess carbs. However, it isn't a license to go stuff yourself with fats.
There are still tons of questions that guys ask about keto, but I'm pretty impressed with the idea so far.
Here are two quick and easy Keto Recipes that I created for you guys ...
Smoked Sausage Bites
Ingredients:
- Smoked Sausage
- 2 jalapenos
- 6 radishes
- 1 pint of grape tomatoes
- 1 English Cucumber
Directions:
Simply take a rope of smoked sausage that is as natural as possible. I like Eckrich since it has no fillers and less than 4g of sugars. Grill the sausage and jalapeno being careful not to burn the skin of the jalapeno to badly. You should be looking for a gentle char so rotate it frequently over low heat.
While the sausage and jalapenos are cooking, slice the cucumber and radishes.
Most sausage comes fully cooked, so your goal here is to have a nice char and heat it thoroughly. Likewise, with the jalapeno, your goal is to have a light char and soften it from the roasting.
Plate the sausage bites by placing the cucumber slice on bottom and placing a toothpick in the fleshy part of the exact center. Then stack the slices of sausage, jalapeno, and radish on top. I included grape tomatoes here in the recipe as well since not everyone likes radishes. While tomatoes can be higher in sugars than other vegetables, this small amount won't hurt unless you are in a very strict phase of your keto lifestyle.
Roasted Radishes
Most people that I know don't like radishes. These vegetables have gotten a bad name somewhere along the line but they really aren't that bad. The main objection I hear is that people don't like the bitterness (though I notice that less with truly fresh ones). However, if you bake them till most of the water is gone, they soften up, the bitterness goes away, and they take on the flavor of whatever you topped them with.
While radishes aren't exactly packed with nutrients like a "super food" might be, there's nothing bad either so, like cucumbers it makes for a good item that adds volume to your meals.
Ingredients:
- 6-12 radishes
- Olive Oil
- Season salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)
Directions:
Chop your radishes into halves or quarters depending on the size and place in a pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper then roast for 30 minutes at 350 degrees in the oven.
At about 15-20 minutes, remove from the oven and stir so that nothing is sticking to the pan.
Once soft and a little bit crispy, remove from the oven and serve.
