I have happy news on the Brach’s Marshmallow Easter Hunt Eggs story: thanks to you, I am in possession of two bags. Cara, Jaida, Bess, and Rachel all mentioned Walgreens, and I had CHECKED Walgreens, but this morning my friend Morgan and I went to the OTHER Walgreens and THERE THEY WERE! I bought two bags when normally I would only buy one, because my Quest Mode had been activated, which means it was all I could do not to buy every bag on the shelf. Buying two seemed to be the absolute minimum I could do—like, what if I lost a bag on the way home? what if one bag was stale? what if this was all a dream? I also bought a bag of Brach’s Jelly Bean Nougats, which look likely to involve a similar magical combination of revolting and compelling.
(image from Brachs.com)
This Sunday/Monday I am taking two days off of my diet to eat Easter candy (also pizza) (also bread dipped in soup) (also brownies), and I am counting the hours until Sunday. I am going to have a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg with my morning coffee, bet on it. But this reminds me that in the comments section on the Keto grocery list post there were a non-zero number of people asking for keto meal ideas, so let’s do that here, keeping in mind that I don’t enjoy cooking and I don’t mind eating the same things over and over, so this menu might not be very helpful to someone looking for Keto Recipes. My menu is kind of like Taco Bell’s menu: the same handful of ingredients combined in a bunch of different shapes.
Meals:
• Scrambled/fried eggs with a side of fried cubed ham. (Note: all scrambled/fried eggs in this list are cooked in butter.)
• Scrambled eggs with cut-up breakfast sausages and mozzarella cheese.
• Two fried eggs, put inside half of a Joseph’s reduced-carbohydrate pita (lightly toasted and then buttered on the inside), sometimes with bacon in there too.
• Half of a Joseph’s reduced-carbohydrate pita filled with a whole bunch of deli meat (like 4-5 slices crammed in there), plus a slice of cheese, plus mustard and mayonnaise and salt and pepper, plus either dill pickles slices or else a spoonful of Splenda-sweetened sweet relish, plus Romaine lettuce.
• Half of a Joseph’s reduced-carbohydrate pita filled with a whole bunch of tuna salad.
• A taco made with a low-carb wrap/tortilla, ground meat, cheese, salsa, Tostitos Queso Blanco dip, and a little iceberg lettuce or a nice leaf of Romaine.
• Taco eggs: scrambled eggs to which I add a scoop of the seasoned ground meat everyone else is having in their tacos, a big spoonful of Tostitos Queso Blanco dip, several cut-up black olives, a heap of cheddar (shredded or sliced thin), and salsa; stir it around until it’s all melty and bubbly. If the tomatoes are worth eating, I put some (approximately the equivalent of two cut-up cherry tomatoes) on top. I also like to add chopped-up cooked broccoli to the stirring/melting stage, but I didn’t put it in the list because I’m not sure many other people would like that. I like that it gives the whole dish more substance and texture, but when I said that to Paul he shuddered.
• Taco salad: same stuff as taco eggs (though sans broccoli), but over raw spinach leaves instead of mixed into scrambled eggs.
• Cheeseburger salad: bowl of spinach plus cheeseburger chopped up (or hamburger chopped up, plus shredded cheddar), some extra cheddar cheese, some mustard/mayo mixed together like salad dressing, chopped-up dill pickle, a little cut-up tomato, sometimes some bacon, some sunflower seeds too sometimes.
• Salmon, plus broccoli heavily covered with parmesan cheese. It is so lucky to like salmon in a time when it is considered a Food of Righteousness on almost any diet.
• Leftover salmon added to scrambled eggs along with broccoli and parmesan cheese.
• Leftover salmon on a pile of raw spinach; add shredded cheese and/or parmesan and/or sunflower seeds and/or bacon and/or a few olives and/or a little tomato, plus Caesar or blue cheese dressing.
• Scrambled eggs with broccoli, chicken (I like Perdue Short Cuts for easiness and also flavor), and a spoonful of Tostitos Queso Blanco, maybe a couple slices of mozzarella cheese melted on top.
• Snack lunch/dinner: hard-boiled egg(s) or deviled eggs, rolled up deli ham/turkey, jalapeno cheese stick, colby jack cheese stick, olives, almonds, dill pickle spear.
• Tuna salad eaten with celery sticks. Sounds kind of sad/icky, but I love it and would eat it even if not on a diet. The key is not skimping on the mayo or the salt.
• Rotisserie chicken, eaten hunched over like a predator.
• Hot dogs, cut in circles and dipped in mustard, plus colby jack cheese stick(s).
• Pizza omelet: omelet with a spoonful of pizza sauce, layer of pepperoni, layer of cheddar, layer of mozzarella, a few cut-up black olives.
• Pizza made with a Joseph’s reduced-carbohydrate pita as the crust.
• Jalapeno poppers. Like, I have a whole meal of just those, when the rest of the family is eating pizza; and on the nights I CAN have pizza, I kind of miss my jalapeno poppers.
• Spinach salad with cut-up fried kielbasa and banana peppers.
• Omelet with broccoli and cheese, side of cubed fried ham.
• Omelet with deli ham and cheese, side of broccoli.
• Scrambled eggs with broccoli, cheddar cheese, spoonful of Tostitos Queso Blanco dip, Sriracha sauce.
• Scrambled eggs with Hillshire Farms little beef smokies and creamy mustard (mustard, mayonnaise, and a little bit of horseradish sauce).
• Steak. Like, just a piece of steak. Side of broccoli. I like to dip bites of steak in a mix of mustard/mayo/horseradish/Sriracha, and dip the broccoli in Caesar dressing.
• Piece of chicken or a pork chop, with side dishes of broccoli and bacon, plus mustard/mayo/horseradish/Sriracha for dipping the chicken/pork-chop and Caesar dressing for dipping the broccoli.
• Scrambled eggs with leftover steak/chicken/pork-chop cut up really small.
Snacks:
• Smoked almonds
• Salted almonds
• Toasted pecans
• Mixed nuts
• Spoonful of peanut butter
• 1/4 c. whole-milk plain Greek yogurt with half a dozen blackberries and raspberries
• Cheese stick
• Slice of deli ham/turkey
• Cucumber spears dipped in blue cheese dressing
• Hard-boiled egg
• Coffee with cream and unsweetened baking cocoa and artificial sweetener (use whisk to combine cream/cocoa), or that same thing cold, or that same thing put in a blender with ice
• 2/3rds cup of a Premier Protein shake, fill the rest of the glass with ice and leftover coffee
You see what I mean? It’s, like, ten different foods, just combined in different ways. But two days from now, I will be eating NOUGAT combined with JELLY BEANS.
Oh my god, I remember those Brach’s Jellybean Nougat candies! My grandmother used to keep them in a dish. My memory was…visceral. I used to like to eat them separately, pulling them apart. Especially because there would invariably by a spice jellybean of some kind in there and I DID NOT want that in my mouth.
I guess what I’m saying is that your prediction of compelling/revolting is accurate in my memory.
Your choice to get two bags was really the best/only one. Personally, I would have gone for a third, too, just in case. One cannot be too prepared! Well. There is still time for a third bag.
I have a stash of Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs waiting for me to devour this weekend. They are my FAVORITE. I cannot WAIT. And having them with the morning coffee (or tea in my case) sounds PERFECT. I am going to DO THAT. Enthusiastic caps lock!
Please report back on the intriguing-and-likely-terrible nougats!
Heh heh: “Rotisserie chicken, eaten hunched over like a predator.” The image here is hilarious. My husband and I have started referring to rotisserie chickens as pigeons. One checkout clerk told us he buys one EACH for his teenage sons because the birds are so small. Thanks for the menu info.
Yaaaay for salmon, the Food of Righteousness! My dad’s doctor once said, “You can’t eat too much salmon.” Part of me was all, “Woo-hoo, I heart salmon!” and part of me wanted to raise an eyebrow and challenge, “Wanna bet?” Because I get what he was trying to say, but I bet he doesn’t know my capacity for overeating stuff. Hope it’s a joyful weekend off!
Those all sound really good.
I’m on a low-ish carb diet because of being pre-diabetic (formerly one point away from diabetic, now one point away from normal. YAY!) And I’m finding that STRONG and savory flavors are what keep me from going absolutely bonkers about not having enough chocolate.
(Because there is never enough chocolate).
So, I’ve been eating lots of chopped liver (made using my grandmother’s recipe), herring in white wine sauce with onions, olives, corned beef (so easy to cook!), and mozzarella with basil in balsamic vinegar.
Oh! Also ditto on the tuna salad. Have you tried it with chopped carrots and red cabbage?
Also, I make a similar salad with salmon. And finally, I make chicken salad with curry and chopped veggies and lots of mayo.
I’m excited about your menu because I’m the exact same way (same foods, rotate, etc.). This menu is like something I would’ve written myself but I don’t have time, so thanks so much for sharing!!!!
What kind of salmon do you use? If you said so, I missed it. Wondering if we’re talking fresh, frozen…not canned??
Thanks!!!!
I buy fresh, but it’s gotten so expensive it’s discouraging.
Our ALDI has really cheap frozen salmon filets. I don’t know how they compare to fresh, but they’re pretty decent when baked with a teriyaki glaze.
” I bought two bags when normally I would only buy one, because my Quest Mode had been activated, which means it was all I could do not to buy every bag on the shelf” – I can relate to this sentence in practically every aspect of my life.
I would pay good money for a cookbook of this theme—lots of the same foods combined different ways. It is my preferred method of life, and I greatly appreciate you sharing!
I did not know that Jellybean Nougats even existed, and now I must find some. Immediately.
So my husband and I were supposed to start a Whole 30 program yesterday. That is the same day about 10 lbs of Fannie May Candy was delivered to our house. Whole 30 is where you give up sugar, wheat, dairy-you really pare it back. My husband was like WTH? Yet, he knows every year, I revisit my childhood with a Fannie May order for Easter (I grew up just south of Chicago). Suffice to say, W30 has been pushed back another week-I doubt we will get through 10 lbs in a week-but we will be ready for healthy eating after that! It keeps pretty well so I’m not too worried.
So glad you found your candy!
When I’m cutting carbs way back this salad is my life: http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/whopper-salad-low-carb-465921
I absolutely love that you eat rotisserie chicken hunched over like a predator. Hilarious! Coach hates when I buy a rotisserie chicken for dinner. He doesn’t like to work hard for his food. Like the good wife that I am, I manage to get a ton of meat off for him. I too can eat the same thing over and over. This is a blessing because I have celiac disease. I make something for the entire fam that will work for me. Then I continue to eat the leftovers of that meal, while I make other (much ymmier) options for them. On Good Friday, they had pizza and I had a salad. That was the pits. Glad you found your candy. I am a grab-more-than-I-need kind of shopper when I find something I haven’t been able to get in awhile.
I’ve heard Costco has rotisserie chicken that has been pulled off the bone already. I have not personally confirmed this however.
I have not tried it but can confirm I’ve seen it!
Oh man! Where was that keto-diet plan back in October when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes?! Your ideas sound absolutely like stuff that would have kept my blood sugar under control. It was always amusing to me when my mom would be trying to figure out what to serve me when visiting, and she’d always forget that FAT was not the issue. “Sure, PILE ON THE BUTTER, MOM… YES! ADD BACON!” Once this baby is weaned in a year or so, I’ll probably go back on it to lose the last bit of weight.
One of my favorite low carb foods is curry broccoli slaw. Prepackaged/already prepped broccoli slaw, mayo, curry powder, bacon crumbles, sunflower seeds. Mix together. Enjoy.
How bad did you get Keto Flu?? Whenever I take a break from keto I get carb/sugar sick. I hope you skipped that step and enjoyed the hell out of your break!
I felt pretty awful when I first started the diet; if I remember right, I felt bad for a week, and half-bad for a second week. But so far I haven’t had much trouble when returning after a day off. After two days off I expected to have more trouble, but today was fine other than feeling irritable.
I think just cutting processed food could help with salt!
Every time I come off keto I’m like LOOK A BAG OF SUGAR, A DOUGHNUT and THIS PIZZA!! And I get so sick. It stops when I quit eating sugar and carbs again. Me=never learn
Oh I like the premise of your keto ; all things I would love to combine (less the meats, I’ll sign on for all the salmon) but sodium! My doc has put sodium on the No list cause blood pressure. Is that not a problem for you?
It doesn’t seem to be so far.
I think just cutting processed food could help with salt!