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Tag: chili

Keeping it Keto – An Example of a Low Carb Day

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get burned out on eating the SAME things over and over and over. And I can’t figure out WHAT to eat. So I thought I would share an example of what I might eat on a normal day to show you just how EASY it can be to eat Keto.

When starting my day, I LOVE to have a coffee. My favorite is Java Momma . They have coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and even some Keto friendly chocolate and more! You can sign up for subscription boxes, or just order a bag or two. They’ve got some pretty amazing flavors – check out what they have for the November box:
java mommaI pick the flavor I’m in the mood for (and I have about 10 flavors at any given time) – brew a cup or a even a whole pot in my Ninja Coffee Maker, add in my favorite sugar free syrup, and a splash of heaving whipping cream.

Once I get to work, I might have a little breakfast (unless I’m doing a fast). Today I had a super-yummy-I-can’t-even-tell-it’s-Keto cookie for breakfast. This morning I ate a double chocolate Know Better Cookie which had only 3 net carbs!

I really should have eaten it as a dessert, but a dessert can be breakfast too, can’t it? Sure – why not?! It was REALLY Good! But I will say, if you don’t like the taste/texture of coconut, you may wan to pass on this. I personally love coconut, so I was in heaven with this. Plus it was filling – win/win! I also take my first dose of truVISION right now too. This helps me feel full, curb appetite/cravings, and improves my focus.

For lunch, I usually have something that was leftover. Today, it was some leftover chili along with some shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream. Go here for my chili recipe. Here’s where I’ll take my second dose of truVISION as well.
chili

I usually don’t eat much between meals anymore, so I don’t eat anything until I have supper. For this particular day, I had a pork roast in the Crock-Pot and ate some steamed broccoli and cauliflower with a little butter and cheese. Using the pork ‘juice’, I made a little Keto friendly gravy to put on top. My husband, who is eating Carnivore Keto, just eats the meat and some local cheese. He is very anti-veggies!
Pork and veggies dinner

And the best part – DESSERT! How about zero carb, sweet dessert?? Ask and you shall receive! If you head over to Smart Baking Co, they have 5 different flavors of cupcakes and they are ZERO carbs each! They have cinnamon, chocolate, tangerine, lemon, and coconut. They are so good, I can’t pick just one for my favorite! The flavor and texture are so good, you wouldn’t know they are Keto. You can even top it with a little whipping cream (or Keto friendly ice cream!). You can get 10% off your order at Smart Baking Co by using promo code CSBOURQUIN during checkout. I suggest stocking up because these aren’t going to last long!!

So let’s see a break down of the days’s carbs:

Java Momma w/ sugar free syrup & splash of HWC: 0 carbs
Know Better Cookie Double Chocolate: 3 net carbs
Bowl of chili w/ sour cream and shredded cheese: 6 net carbs
Pork roast w/ broccoli & cauliflower, butter, and cheese: 3 net carbs
Smart Baking Co cupcake: 0 carbs

Total for the day – 12 net carbs. According to my Keto diet app, I’m actually allowed 24, so I could have double what I did! But I’m quite happy with my 12 carbs for the day. If I can do it, so can you!

 

Low Carb (Keto) Chili

The weather is turning cold here, and there is nothing more than I love than a good, hot bowl of chili to warm me from the inside out. Chili is one of the best comfort foods I grew up on. So when I decided to do a low carb diet, I thought chili was going to be a no-go for me anymore. Like I do with just about anything, I took to Pinterest for inspiration. It was then I came across a Keto Chili recipe. It sounded pretty good and very simple, plus it was to be made in the Instant Pot and I love an excuse to use that! This is the one that I have Instant Pot Ultra 8 Qt 10-in-1  and I love it – it’s big enough for double batches of soup. (Instant Pot LUX80 8 Qt 6-in-1  is also an 8 qt one, but a little more budget friendly and depending what you use it for, it is more than sufficient). (Scroll to the end for full recipe details)

So for this recipe, you need:

1 lb ground beef 1 lb sausage 1/2 onion, diced 3 Tbsp Chili powder 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder Unsweetened 1 Tbsp smoked paprika 2 Tbsp cumin 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 Tsp salt 1 Tsp pepper 2 Tsp garlic powder (or fresh garlic) 2 cups beef broth 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes 1 can Rotel 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum for thickening

So first, I put the the Instant Pot on saute and put in a little olive oil and the onion. I cooked for a couple minutes, then put in both meats.

I continued cooking all of that until the meat was done and no longer pink. While it was browning, I mixed all the spices together.

That’s a lot of spices!! 

Once the meat was done, I threw the spices and some fresh garlic in and mixed well.

Sorry for all the steam!

Once well mixed, I put the rest of the ingredients in the meat and stirred until it was all mixed in.

I put the lid on and turned the pressure on. This cooks for 10 minutes.

Once the 10 minutes are up, do a quick release. I can’t tell you how AMAZING the house smelled when this was releasing. And it looked so good!

All done

Normally I would like to eat chili with crackers, but they aren’t keto/low carb (not the kind I like anyways). So for low carb, I went with some cheddar cheese and sour cream, and it did not disappoint! Next time, I will be making a double batch and dividing it up and freezing it. **UPDATE 10/19/18 – I made a double batch in the Instant Pot Ultra 8 Qt 10-in-1 but kept the spices the same for 1 batch. It was PERFECT! Still plenty of spice and heat. And this time I only used hamburger, not pork sausage. Honestly, I didn’t notice a difference. Maybe if I had them side by side I would, but not in this case. I divided it up into these Reusable Meal Prep Containers. They are freezer and microwave safe, although mine aren’t staying in the freezer long! This stuff is SO good. You won’t be disappointed with the recipe.

Instant Pot Keto Chili 1 lb ground beef 1 lb sausage 1/2 onion, diced 3 Tbsp Chili powder 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder Unsweetened 1 Tbsp smoked paprika 2 Tbsp cumin 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 Tsp salt 1 Tsp pepper 2 Tsp garlic powder (or fresh garlic) 2 cups beef broth 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes 1 can Rotel 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum for thickening

    • Set instant pot to saute. Add a little olive oil and saute onion until they begin to soften. Then add in meat.
    • Cook until meat is no longer pink, drain grease if desired (a little extra left in just enhances the flavor!)
    • While meat is browning, combine the spices together. Once meat is done, add in spices and fresh garlic if using. Stir to mix.
    • Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir to mix.
    • Put lid on instant pot and set timer for 10 minutes.
    • Once complete, do a quick release.
    • ENJOY!!

PRINTABLE RECIPE Nutritional Content – Yours may vary depending on exact ingredients Nutrition chili **UPDATE – After I made the chili and it sat in the fridge for a couple days, the spices got much stronger! The flavor was still amazing, but I think next time I’m going to cut the spices in half. It slightly changes the nutritional value. Chili Nutrition - seasonings halved

*Disclaimer: I am NOT a certified nutritionist and your nutritional information may vary depending on exact ingredients you use. I highly recommend you calculate your own and just use this as a guideline. The links for products are affiliate links so I may earn a very small commission if you purchase through them – but it doesn’t cost you anything additional!