Keto Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is a chocolate chip cookie recipe I altered to make Keto friendly. They came out great. It cut the carbs down from 20 grams per cookie to just 6 grams per cookie! Now that is a win! 

Keto Friendly Chocolate Chip Cookies

~ Ingredients

2 1/4 Cups Blanched Almond Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup (2 Sticks) Butter, Softened

3/4 Cups Splenda

1/4 + 2 Tablespoons Splenda Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 Large Eggs

1 Cup Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1/2 Cup Walnuts

~ Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Step 2
Combine almond flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, Splenda brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. I did the nutrition facts based on 1/2 cup of walnuts but I do think next time I will add a whole cup. Drop in tablespoon sizes balls of batter onto ungreased baking sheets.

Step 3
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Our Keto Cookie Nutrition Info

Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies so you can compare. 

The Best Keto Cheesy Garlic Biscuits!

 These busciuts are one of my favorte Keto recipes! So yuuummmmyyy!

2 Large Eggs

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

2 Cups Blanched Almond Flour

4 Teaspoons Baking Powder

8 ounces cheddar cheese

1/2 Tablespoon Minced Garlic

Makes: 18 Biscuits

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray or use parchment paper. 

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream & salt. Using a rubber staptula, mix in the almond flour, the cheesem garlic & the baking powder. 

3. Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, place 18 mounds of the dough on the prepared baking pan. Do not flatten the mounds. 

4. Bake until golden, 15-18 minutes. Serve warm. 

End Of Summer Update!

 Long time no post! Like I have said before, my summers tend to be crazy busy. So sorry I haven't posted in awhile! I figured it was about time I check in! :)

I've done really well all summer maintaining my weight. Our last getaway to our camp was labor day weekend and our last "vacation" for a little while. 

I weighed in at 176 pounds this morning!! Just 4 pounds over my lowest weight! This is some amazing news considering I always gain 10+ pounds (at minimum) by the end of summer!

This has been the easiest summer when it came to maintaining my weight. I feel truly blessed that I have finally found an healthy lifestyle that I enjoy and can stick to pretty easily! I've enjoyed  Popcorn, Ice Cream, Toast, Chocolate, Apple Crisp, Strawberries & Whipped Topping, Chips, Crackers, Iced Coffee and more. These were all once and awhile and not a daily occurance and also done in moderation while tracking what I was eating. The key was keeping that balance and I think I did that well! 

Now it is time to focus and try to get off the rest of my weight. I want to get down to 145 and see how I feel once there. So my focus this month is to get back to my lowest weight of 172 then I can concentrate on getting the rest of my weight off!

Here's to a great fall & winter!

This Maintaining Thing Is All New To Me!

I thought it was high time that I check in as I know it's been a while. Life has been a little crazy as usual this summer. Between the kids being out of school, trying to fit in as much activity in during the nice weather and working, life gets hectic! We have also enojoyed We also enjoyed staying at our new camp for 11 days in July!

I've been doing an amazing job maintaining my diet.  I have pretty much been staying around 175/176 pounds, going up or down a half pound here and there, seems like my body likes this weight. I have given up trying to lose any weight this summer and I'm OK with that. Like I have expressed before, I have a hard time in the summer maintainig weight let alone losing weight. I usually gain! But this summer has been so different!! 

I have enjoyed many foods over the last couple of weeks that I have avoided for almost an entire year.. Foods such as corn on the cob and ice cream (I get a kid size, it's about a 1/2 a cup serving) I enjoyed some sourdough bread toast with my omelet the other day and I've continued to enjoy popcorn and nuts in moderation .

Most days my goal is to stay under 50 g of carbs. I have allowed myself over that amount a few times. I think the highest carbs I had while at camp was about a 172. But it seems that this has not impacted me negatively. One thing I have tried to do is fast once or twice a week and I think this has been very beneficial to help me maintain my weight while at camp . Especially after those days I have eaten well over a 100 carbs which I would guess was probably 2 or 3 days during camp.

I have been amazed at what I've been able to consume and still maintain my weight. I think the key is tracking what I eat and making sure I keep my carbs in check. The one thing I have been able to enjoy a lot is all kinds of nuts as my snack foods. Including honey roasted almonds and peanuts as a sweet option and sea salt and vinegar almonds as my salty option .Eating these nuts has helped me with cravings I have for sweet and salty foods. It's a great option when I miss chips and sweets. The best part is nuts are very healthy and they heop me get a good amount of fiber in my diet. 

I found I can enjoy nuts to maintain my weight but I can't eat a lot of them if I want to lose weight. I think I've talked about this before,  I try to stay away from popcorn, yogurt and nuts when I'm actually trying to lose weight because it sometimes causes me to plateau. But when it comes to maintaining it has been an excellent tool for me to use to satisfy any types of cravings that I have. I'm able to enjoy some sweet and salty foods without the guilt! This summer it has really helped me from wanting to snack on some of the foods that my kids had at camp including cookies and chips! 

This maintaining thing is all new to me! LOL! I've never in my life stayed at a comfortable weight long enough to try to maintain and now that I'm here, it's been easier then I thought it would be. I have been pleasantly surprised over and over again that I can eat, be satisified and not gain my weight back. For me to fluctuate about a 1/2 pound in either direction is all a new experience for me. In the summer my fluctuations would be rediculous and some weeks when I vacationed I could easily jump up over 10 pounds by the end of the week. So what I see on the scale these days in definately not what I'm used to, but I LOVE IT!! 

Chaffle French Toast

Chaffle French Toast ~ 

I finally decided to try making french toast using chaffles and it was amazing! 

First you will want to make 8 chaffles. Follow the below link to make your Chaffles:

Basic Chaffle Recipe

Next make your french toast batter. 

Chaffle French Toast Batter ~  

Ingredients ~ 

2 Eggs

2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

1 Tablespoon Splenda

Cinnamon

Instructions ~ 

Combine cinnamon & sugar. Put the amount of cinnamon in the sugar for your own taste. Set aside. Whip together, with a fork, the eggs & heavy cream in a bowl.  It doesn't look like a lot of batter but the chaffles do not soak up as much batter as bread would so your batter goes much farther. 

Dip a chaffle in the batter. Make sure to cover both sides well. Place in a hot skillet/frying pan. Sprinkle your cinnamon and sugar mixture over the chaffle. Once the down side is golden brown, flip the chaffle and sprinkle the otherside with cinnamon and sugar. Cook second side to golden brown. 

Plate and add butter and maple syrup or sugar free syrup. What ever you prefer. I prefer to have the real thing and use just a 1/4 tsp of maple syrup per chaffle. Maple syrup spreads well because it is thin and runny so you really don't need much. 

Waffle Iron Tip - One thing I have changed with making my chaffles is I purchased a large waffle iron that has 4 sections. I make a lot more this way. I tried one of those single serve waffle irons and didn't like it and the one I already had is round and makes them a wonky size. Having 4 sections to make 4 individual waffles works so much better! 

Time To Check In!

 I figured it was time to check in as it's been a couple of weeks since my last post. The plan was for my family and I to head to our camp for two weeks tomorrow but we post poned it until Thursday as our contractor is still working on getting stuff done at our camp. 

I've pretty much maintained my weight for the last couple weeks. I've been between 172 to 178. My weight tends to fluctuate a lot, I've always been like that. This morning I was at 175.6. No weight loss but glad that I have been keeping the fluctuations to a maximum of 6 pounds above my lowest weight. I check my weight everyday to keep me in check. 

July 4th I allowed myself a 150 carb day. Enjoyed corn on the cob for the first time since I started Keto! That was a nice treat. I also enjoyed some chocolate! I think these breaks help me maintain better as I am still allowing myself to enjoy some of my favorite high carb foods but within reason. The day after that is when my weight had the biggest hike, but I expected as much. 

The biggest challenge during the summer is eating out, and being out and about grabbing snacks that work for me. I need to stay away from foods that cause me to snack more such as nuts & popcorn. If I want to lose weight, I have found that I need to stay away from those 2 trigger foods. 

I was hoping to get into the 160's by time we go to camp. I could still do it now that we post poned going to Thursday, so I will try to stay focused and get there! But if I do just maintain, I will be happy, because for the first time in my life, I am not gaining weight and keeping it on like I usually do in the summer months. I'm actually dropping back down and sticking to my lowest weight pretty well. 

I'm hoping to fast this week, just trying to figure out which day I will do that. Maybe even try to fast for 2 days before we go to camp to get my body into fat burning mode to reach my next goal! 

Either way, I am happy with how my summer is going. Everyday I remind myself how good it feels to have this healthier slimmer body and how much I don't want to lose what I have worked so hard to get. That's what helps motivate me to not allow my weight to get out of control ever again. It will be a life long battle, but a battle worth fighting! At least I have finally found a diet that is not a diet but a lifestyle change. I have adapted well to Keto and am so glad I found it!

 

Time For New Goals!

Goals For The Year - Just because I hit my 100 pound milestone doesn't mean this is the end of my journey. It's time to set some new goals for the rest of this year! Here are my main goals for the year. 

• End the summer with a loss and not a gain!
• Get my BMI to a normal weight range!
• Lose my last 27 pounds!
• Work on learning to maintain my weight!
• Earn my second degree black belt!
• Keep my weight off for good!
• Enjoy my summer and the benefits of a healthier me! 
• Count my many blessings every single day!

I think those are some great goals! Once I hit my goal weight of 145 pounds I will see how I feel and determine if that is the ideal weight for me. I always thought being too small just wouldn't feel right. But I really need to get there to see how I feel to really determin if that is the ideal weight for me or a few more pounds will feel more comfortable. I don't wan t to make any assumptions so I'll wait until I get there to decide on what feels right! 

Goals For Today - My next goal is to get into the 160's. I am hoping I can do that in the next couple of weeks! I am going to our camp for 2 weeks starting July 10th and I have no major events during that time so I got this! 

Weight Today - I was at 174 this morning. Not bad considering I had a day long trip on Tuesday going to the mall,  that was 3 hours away, with a friend to give her 24 year old special needs daughter a fun filled birthday. Then I went to a Rick Springfield concert Friday night which was 3.5 hours from home. So we left Friday and got home yesterday afternoon. I am really happy with my weigh in this morning considering the week has been so busy and I've done lots of eating out! I am maintaining well!! Woohoo!

Returned To Tae Kwon Do Last Week!

 I was excited to return to Tae Kwon Do after taking a year long break! I earned my black belt June 0f 2019 and with the craziness of Covid and dealing with running a small business during these past couple of difficult years I decided to take a break last year. I wasn't expecting to take a year long break, but life happens. 

I returned on June 13 with a new determination to earn my second degree black belt. I am already seeing the difference during class with being much smaller! What a great year this will be if I lose 100 pounds, and keep it off, and earn my second degree black belt in December! 

The new me at TKD class this week:

Me earning my 1st degree black belt June 2019: 

Happy Father's Day!

 Happy Father's Day! I hope all the dads out there have a great Father's day today! My husband enjoyed a great breakfast in bed that was perfect for his Keto Diet! A veggie scramble with cheese and extra thick bacon! So good! What could be better then that? It's all about celebrating with the right choices! 

A Sure Sign Habits Have Changed!

Let's face it, we all celebrate with food! It brings us together as humans and food is an important part of our survival! But celebrating with food doesn't have to be unhealthy or boring! It's the choices we make that really make the difference and keep us healthy. 

In the past I would have gone out and ate my favorite meal and dessert to celebrate a milestone like I had today.  Maybe BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes and corn. Don't forget the fresh rolls right out of the oven. And I can't leave without a brownie sundae! No way! 

But not today! I allowed myself a few extra calories and I enjoyed a sausage egg mcmuffin (no English muffin) for breakfast,  chicken wings for lunch and had an amazing Keto friendly steak fajita salad for dinner. My snacks as a treat were salt & vinegar almonds and macadamia nuts! I still had less then 30 carbs today, enjoyed some of my favorite foods, ate less calories then I burned and best of all I feel very satisfied! Boy has my habits changed! Life is good! 😎

I've Officially Lost 100 Pounds!!!! Woohoo!!!

 I did it! As of this morning I have officially lost 100 pounds and weighed in at 172 pounds!! I started my journey November 9, 2020, so it has taken me a little over a year & a half to lose the 100 pounds and I could not be happier!!

Pics Of Me This Morning: 

Pics Of Me & My Husband Fall Of 2020 Before I started My Journey:

A shout out to my husband who has lost 80 pounds!

My Official Weigh In This Morning:

I am so proud of the both of us! We have done amazing! We will work on our last few pounds over the rest of this year.  We will not complain if we only maintain during the summer as our summers tend to be hectic. My ultimate goal is to reach 145 pounds. I will then no longer be classified as overweight! I only have 27 pounds to go to meet that goal! I can't believe it, I never thought I would get here. I am so glad I found the Keto Diet. 

So Close!

I am so close I can taste it! Down to 172.8 this morning!! Just .6 pounds to hit my 100 pound milestone!! I will stay focused until I get there! Because I do WANT this!! All I need to do is WAIT FOR IT....

Major Milestone Hit Today - No Longer Classifed As Obese!!

Weighed in this morning to discover I hit a new milestone! I am now considered overweight an no longer obese! This is the first time in my adult life that I have not been classified as obese. Woohoo! 

I'm just 1 pound away from my 100 pound milestone! 

Birthday Celebration, Camp Building & Last Week Of School Oh My!

 This has been a bit of a crazy week! I weighed in on June 7th at 174.4!! So that was great, but I ended up having a ton of carbs later that day as it was my daughter's birthday and I ended up having cake, ice cream and chocolate! I still was under 150 carbs that day. Plus, on the 7th our building for our camp started to get installed and we have been back and forth to our camp Tuesday - Friday of this past week. It's 45 minutes each way so lots of travel time. One day we made the trip twice! This was also my kids last week at school! So lots going on. 

It's been challening and we have eatin' out a lot this week. So my weight has jumped up a bit but is starting to go back down. I think if I stay focused I can hopefully drop those last 2 pounds to meet my goal this week! As of this morning I was at 176.4. I am confident this is just a normal fluctuation and if I keep my calories where they should be I can get those last 2 pounds off to meet my 100 pound milestone!!

Moving Right Along!

Down again this morning to 175.4. I am slowly edging toward that 100 pound mark. I have several miletones I will be hitting in just a short time. One, I am the lowest weight I have ever been as an adult. which I continue to acheive everytime I drop more weight.  Two,  I am approaching the 100 pounds lost milestone. Three, I am about a pound away from being officially classified as overweighht rather then obese. Another first as an adult! Pretty exciting stuff! 

I am determined to meet these milestones in the next week or two. I just need to stay focused and not over eat when I eat out. I am going for a nice day out with one of my employees in my Jeep with the roof and doors off today. It's supposed to be 78 degrees today. So it should be a beautiful ride on a beautiful day! I have a plan to have a nice lunch and then try to fast today at dinner. It should be a fun day with a great employee and friend! Happy Monday! 

Had A Little Drop This Morning

 I was excited to finally be below my lowest weight this morning. I am  down from 176.4 to 176! Just 3.8 pounds away from that 100 pound milestone goal! This week I will stay focused and hopefully drop some weight this week! 

I have a couple of things that are going on this week in regards to eating out,  but I will do my best to stay focused so I can meet this big goal really soon!

Time To Update My Avatar

 I thought it was high time I update my avatar! 

New Avatar

Old Avatar:

Just Checkin In

I know I haven't checked in for awhile. It's been a crazy couple of weeks! I have been sticking around the same weight for the last couple of weeks give or take 2 to 3 pounds back and fourth. Pretty much all normal fluctuations. It seems my weekends have been pretty busy. Fun day with my son, an overnight trip with a friend for her birthday then a 3 day weekend with my daughter and her best friend. Then of course Memorial Day weekend! 

Lot's of eating out but I have managed not to gain a bunch of weight! So that is a win for me. Keto is a lifestyle for me, not a diet, so eating out and making the right choices are just part of my routine. I am now trying to get back to focusing more on meeting my 100 pound milestone goal,  but I have been hungry a lot the past week. I am starting to think it may be PMS contributing at this point. But not 100% sure. 

I am really trying to stay away from popcorn & nuts this week in hopes of getting back on track with actually losing some weight. Now that I am smaller I don't burn as many calories so it can be a bit more challenging to drop weight but I knew this was coming. Eating nuts doesn't help as they are high in calories!

I haven't been able to fast this week as I've been hungry in the evenings. But I will take it day by day and hope that a day will work when I can do so. I keep going back to my favorite salt and vinegar almonds and macadamia nuts so I am making it a point to stay away from both of those for a week or two to see if it makes a difference. Because even though I've been eating more, I'm still under the calories I burn each day. So maybe it's those darn nuts getting in my way again! LOL

Goals for the rest of this week and next week: try to keep my calories so I have at least a 1000 calorie deficit & stay away from nuts & popcorn! 

May 17, 2022 Weigh In

I weighed in at my lowest weight yet on May 17th. I'm at 176.4! I've been busy and haven't had a chance to post my weigh in. 

I left on Friday and am on a 3 day weekend with my daughter and her best friend to celebrate them turning 16!

I will weigh in tomorrow and see how I did. I had under 60 grams of carbs Friday and under 90 yesterday.  Today I'm keeping the carbs low! So hopefully tomorrow's weigh in won't be too bad.