Blog – MNKetoMom

Gift Guide

MNKetoMom — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 04:28:18 +0000

Come on…a Keto Gift Guide?!

Well- more of a kitchen lover’s gift guide. I’ve complied a list of my FAVORITE kitchen items. Items I can’t live without, that make my life easier, or get my kiddos to eat!

Use these ideas for those who love working in the kitchen, or pass them along to family as items you could use as a gift! I’m always struggling with ideas of what I’d like for the holidays.

In full disclosure: these listings include links to purchase using my affiliate links. I do make a small commission on items purchased through these links. It doesn’t change the cost of the item for you, but it helps support the time I put into creating content (like this list) for you!

Click on any of the item pictures to be directed to purchase.

Keto/Low Carb ice cream is EXPENSIVE. I have loved experimenting with different flavors (both dairy and non-dairy varieties), and I couldn’t have done it without the help of this Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. It keeps air moving through the ice cream mixture as it freezes keeping it light and scoop-able. I also recommend a second bowl for it if you have the freezer space. It comes in handy during the summer when you’ll want to have a cool treat on hand (or two different flavors!).

The Ellie’s Best Bigger Better Nut Milk Bag: I use this for my low carb yogurt recipe and to help get the liquid out of the steamable cauliflower when making cauliflower tots. It’s also AWESOME in the summer to make large pitchers of cold brew coffee! Two cups of coffee in a gallon pitcher equals a whole week of coffee for me. Use code: MNKetoMom for a 10% discount on your purchase.

On the topic of yogurt: these pouches are the best for portion control, easy freezing (just don’t overfill!), and clean eating for the littles. The side zip makes for easy sealing and cleaning.

Bean Envy makes the best milk frother. I use mine daily to mix in collagen and MCT oil powder into my coffee. Also works great for mixing up the kids chocolate almond milk.

This little tool has made browning ground beef so much easier. I never thought I would need it, but now use it multiple times a week. The x pattern makes it so easy to break up the meat. Would make a great stocking stuffer!

These are a MUST for my kitchen. Mostly because I hate cleaning pans. They are great for under cookies, cauliflower tots, low carb bread sticks, and most importantly better than fathead pizza! Don’t cut on them as I learned that one the hard way.

Perfectly even portions for cookies is a must when calculating macros (or keeping your kids from fighting over who had the biggest one). I also use this for making my cauliflower tots! They make a larger size that word well for muffins or cupcakes.

Speaking of muffins- these are a no brainier must have. Saves the environment and your muffins, cupcakes, or egg bites come out looking perfect!

Cookbooks are a great gift for beginners or keto pros. Its always great to have new ideas. Here are a couple of my favorites.

The Kitchen Aid Mixer is one of my most used items, and partially due to these attachments. First the Vegetable Sheet Cutter: Great for cutting sheets of zucchini for sandwich roll ups, enchilada shells, or lasagna noodles. It’s a quick way to get more veggies into your diet in unexpected ways. Even the kids will be fooled. Second, this slicer/shredder attachment has paid for itself just for the cheese shredding!! Preshredded cheese contains additives that keep it from clumping. Sadly, those additives are carbs. We buy the 2 pound blocks of cheese at Sam’s and use this baby to shred it into a ziplock bag. From there, stick in the fridge if you use it as fast as we do, or split it up and freeze what you won’t use in time.

I HATE overcooked steaks and roasts. I invested in the Anova Sous Vide, and I haven’t had a problem since! Just season your meat, vacuum pack ( I use this: Food Saver), put into pan with water and set the temp. Once it is ready, I sear it off in my cast iron pan. The app is super helpful to keep track of time, and it has a lot of recipes and tips for you.

When it comes to the cast iron pan I use to sear, I only trust Lodge. I’ve had cheaper ones, but they aren’t anywhere close to the quality of these. I use this pan every single day. Even with a full set of All Clad pans, this is my go to. I’ve ready (with probably no science behind it) that cast iron can help to infuse iron into your food which is great if you have low iron like yours truly.

These silicone egg bite molds are a great gift idea for anyone with an instant pot. Just blend up eggs and cream cheese (trust me!) then add in your extras. We like cheddar and bacon, but ham or sausage (or all three) would be great too. Pop them into the instant pot for a 10 min pressure cook and you’ve got breakfast. Two stacked will fit in mine, so I make extras to toss in the fridge. I love a good meal prep item.

I’ll continue to add to this list as ideas pop up, but I wanted to get it up for you before the big holiday shopping weekend. If you have a favorite item, drop it in the comments.

I need ideas for my own Christmas list!

Minnesota Meet Up Swag Bag

MNKetoMom — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 02:58:05 +0000

Last weekend was the meet up for our area’s keto-ers. As a VIP ticket holder, I got an amazing bag of samples and products to try!

Take a look at what came home, and let me know in the comments if there is anything you’d like to see a review on!

Woodman’s Grocery Haul

MNKetoMom — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 02:50:43 +0000

During my weekend trip to La Crosse, I made a quick swing into Woodman’s and found some great keto goodies!

What I learned from #ScaleFreeSeptember

MNKetoMom — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 14:20:40 +0000

For the month of September, I decided it was time to give up one of my strongest addictions: the scale. I had become obsessed with the number so much so that I was weighing in multiple times a day. It had even started to determine how the day would go.

Low Weight= Good Day

High Weight = Bad Day

Recognizing that it had become an issue in my life, I decided that on September 1st I would do my monthly weight and measurements, and the scale would be off limits for the rest of the month.

It started off great! September 1st brought a new low weight, and I felt really good going into this challenge.

And…that’s about where the feeling good ended for a while.

The first week was TOUGH. I was tempted, and I just wanted to know how I was doing. The scale sat in your eye line when using the bathroom, so every visit to my master bath meant staring at my biggest temptation. I’m talking a temptation bigger than carbs! It got to the point that I had to ask Mike to hide the scale. It helped.

Out of sight out of mind made week two much easier.

While I still wanted to know how the food I was eating was effecting me, I had no idea where are scale was, so the temptation faded quickly.

I was shocked that by the end of the week I barely thought about it. I wasn’t stressed about it, and I felt mentally stronger with more control over my day. It became apparent that my scale addiction was impacting more than I had thought originally. The relief of the morning fear and stress made me smile. I now looked forward to my morning coffee which always made me happy versus the scale which was a crapshoot sometimes.

The end of the month however brought some nervousness. What had this month done to my body? Mentally, I was more in control everyday, but I didn’t know how on track I was or wasn’t.

The answer came on October 1st. Up 5.4 pound… the first gain I’d seen this year.

I could have cried; I could have punished myself with the treadmill, or I could have forced myself to fast when my body was hungry. I did none of that.

Instead, I reflected on how I could move forward and get back on track. Did I need to weigh myself everyday and stress over every pound (or. 1 pounds some days)? No, I didn’t want to go back to that sort of lack of control, but the month showed me that the motivation of that number did keep me on track.

Balance-what does it look like? I’m still figuring it out. October it looked like weighing in once or twice a week. The month resulted in a loss.

November it’s looking more like once every 10 days or so. Come December 1st, I had lost a little more. More adjustments will be made as I continue on my journey, but I know now that the scale and I can have a healthy relationship with the right balance.

What does your relationship with the scale look like? Do you feel it’s healthy for you?

Keep on keto-ing on-

#ScaleFreeSeptember

MNKetoMom — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 16:46:27 +0000

I’ll admit it: I’ve developed an obsession.

ob·ses·sion

noun

the state of being obsessed with someone or something.
- an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind.
The scale and I have a complicated relationship. For those that follow me on Instagram, I shared that I hit my lowest weight in 8 years right before leaving on our vacation. YAY, right? Except as it typically happens the number on the scale changes. After a week long vacation, it was up 2.9 pounds. NO BIG DEAL. However, I’ve become obsessed with seeing it come back off, and getting back to that milestone I had reached. (It hasn’t yet…)

Because of this, I’m declaring September #ScaleFreeSeptember

The rules are simple:
1. Log my weight and measurements September 1st as that is my monthly weigh in day.
2. Intuitive eating: eating what feels right. I typically do this anyway, but I don’t want to resort to feeling like I need to calorie count and measure everything to compensate for not being able to see the scale change.
3. No scale until Oct. 1st. Because I know I lack self control with it, I’ll be having my other half HIDE it for me

Keto has gained a lot of popularity as a way to lose weight, but it is so more than that. It benefits your overall health in many other ways, and I want to spend the month of September focusing on that. My days should be focused on how I feel not how the number on the scale made me feel that morning.

I’m more than the number on the scale. You are more than a number on the scale.

Join me on Instagram or Facebook to hold each other accountable!

Instagram Facebook

How I Keto

MNKetoMom — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 14:45:13 +0000

Keto seems to be the latest craze among the “diet” community. Everywhere you turn you’ll have a different answer on what is or isn’t keto. Because of this, I wanted to lay out how I personally understand and use the ketogenic lifestyle.

Keto Foods

I believe there are no keto and non keto foods. Shocking…I know. The “keto police” will come after you in every Facebook group there is about carrots not being keto. Ketosis is a state the body enters when carbs/glucose aren’t available to burn for energy. There are items that will kick you out of a ketogenic state which should be avoided if being in ketosis is your goal. What are those foods? It can be different for every person based on how your body processes them. Typically, any food with a high net carbohydrate count with kick you out. It doesn’t make those foods “non-keto;” it simply makes them a poor choice to keep you in ketosis.

How many carbs?

Many people will stay between 20-30 net carbs while others can eat up to 50 and stay in ketosis. Every body processes carbs differently. Testing on a blood monitor can help you determine if you are or are not in a state of nutritional ketosis. I have never taken this approach. When first starting out I used urine ketone stripes to determine if I was in a state of ketosis. However, they aren’t accurate when determining the level of ketones you are producing like the blood monitor can do. My opinion here is that they are like a pregnancy test. Either you are or you aren’t, and there are no false positives (unless you are using ketone supplements which I’ll get to in a minute). I can tell now by my body if I’m in or out of ketosis for the most part. One of the greatest things about this journey is how much more in tune with my body I’ve become.

Real Food

Now you can eat low net carb processed foods and be in ketosis, but that’s not how I like to play this game. Don’t get me wrong; as a working mom of two, I’m all about convenience when I need it. My goal since starting this hasn’t been to simply lose weight. It has been to get healthy & there is a big difference. I could have lost the 70 pounds I did with a different type of diet, but I didn’t want to malnourish my body, restrict it, or abuse it. I wanted to find a healthy way to do it, and I don’t think filling my body with chemicals, preservatives, and additives is the way to do it. Now, you will find me with a Kirkland protein bar or Premier Protein shake on occasion when I’m running errands on the weekend with the kids. I use these type of things to avoid making a worse move like going through a drive thru. Ideally, I prefer to use REAL food. Raw, Clean, unprocessed foods used together to make a meal. I’m also not a fan of ketone drinks. Your body benefits from making ketones. Naturally made ketones are made in the liver from the breakdown of fats. I’d like all the ketones in my body to be a product of my butt getting smaller.

Macro Counting

Takes a LOT of time. Because of this, I don’t do it daily. When I find myself in a stall or feeling like crap and intuitive eating isn’t working, I will think about what I’m eating to try to find the culprit. If nothing is sticking out to me, I will log for a few days. It really helps me get back on track. I do find that it is VERY helpful when first starting out in order to find the SNEAKY hidden carbs. I recommend it for at least 2-3 months. Personally, I use MyFitnessPal because I’ve used it for years even prior to starting keto. Carb Manager though seems to be a favorite of many keto-ers. Do your research and find what works for you. Things I like about MyFitnessPal: barcode scanner, graphs for progress, can build recipes, friends can follow. Things that could be improved: need to manually calculate net carbs, food database is sometimes incorrect on macros or missing macros.

How do you keto?

Am I ready for this?

MNKetoMom — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 16:32:33 +0000

Probably not…. Oh well, here goes nothing! With so many people interested in the ketogenic diet, I’m starting up this blog with my tips, tricks, recipes, must haves, and any other information you want to know about how we as a family make keto a sustainable lifestyle. As I’m building content, I’d love to hear…