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Week 10 Check In

Another week has come and gone….and so have a few more pounds and inches!!

So let’s recap…

Starting Dieting Weight: 321.4 lbs
Starting truVISION weight: 308.8 lbs
Last weeks weight: 277 lbs

And this weeks weight: 273.6 lbs

That means I’m down another 3.4 lbs!! 

That brings my truVISION total to 35.2 lbs!

My overall weight loss right now is at …

47.8 lbs!!!

That’s almost the weight of my 4 yr old daughter. How crazy is that?!

The inches are nothing to sneeze at either.

I didn’t take measurements before I started dieting (which I still kick myself for), but I took them when I started truVISION, so at least I know how far I’ve come since then.

Starting measurements: 489.7 inches
Last weeks measurements: 450.2 inches
This weeks measurements: 447.5 inches

My overall inches lost are….

42.2 inches!!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – I would not have been able to do this without truVISION. It’s why I failed the last time I tried dieting. With the help of this supplement, I’m not nearly as hungry as I used to be. I don’t crave things like I used.

I also want to include an update on my husband – he’s been taking truVISION for about 2 weeks now. He just weighed himself last night and is down 7 lbs!! My husband is one of the biggest non-believers I’ve ever met, so for him to be following the Keto diet and taking truVISION is a miracle in itself, but for both of us to be losing weight is AMAZING!!!

My goal is to hit the 50 lbs mark by Christmas. I’ve got this!!!! One thing that was pointed out to me is how confident I’ve become. So I’ve not only lost weight and inches but I’ve GAINED confidence. And I’m no where near done. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m going to do it.

#ivegotthis

 

Keto Jicama Fries

Jicama. Hick-a-ma. What the heck is that? DELICIOUS is what it is! Why have I never had this before? Why has no one ever told me how GOOD it is?

So you might be thinking what does this weird looking, odd sounding vegetable taste like? Imagine if a potato and a sweet potato had a baby – that’s what a jicama tastes like to me.

How can you go about making these delicious fries? Easy! Get a jicama, some oil for frying, and whatever spices you want to season your fries with. It’s so simple.

If you aren’t sure what a jicama looks like, it looks like this..
jicama

Kind of like a potato, but smoother and shiny. You just cut the peel off of it and end up with this thing that slightly resembles a potato.
peeled jicama

Once you’ve gotten it peeled, cut into fry sized pieces.

Cut jicama

Get some water with a tsp of salt on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the ‘fries’ and boil for about 10 minutes to get them soft. Then drain.

Jicama draining

Then put the ‘fries’ in a bowl and top with about 1-2 tbsp of oil of your choice (I used olive oil. You can also use avocado or coconut oil.) Sprinkle your seasonings on and toss to coat. I used two of my favorite, garlic powder and smoked paprika, with a little salt and pepper. Then lay out on a cookie sheet.

Jicama fries on sheet

Bake in an oven preheated to 400 for about 10-12 minutes, then I like to finish cooking by frying them to get a crispier coating. Alternatively, you can flip over the fries and cook another 12-15 minutes.

Jicama frying

When you’re done you can serve as a side or make a meal like I did – Taco Fries!! I just topped with some taco meat, cheese, a little sauce and sour cream! And voila! Diner is served and it was DELICIOUS!

Taco fries

Here’s the nutrition information for my entire dinner. If you are only having the fries, calculate accordingly.
Taco Fries nutrition.jpg

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Jicama Fries

1 medium sized jicama
1 tbsp oil of choice
Seasonings of choice

Peel jicama. Once you’ve gotten it peeled, cut into fry sized pieces.

Get some water with a tsp of salt on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the ‘fries’ and boil for about 10 minutes to get them soft. Then drain.

Then put the ‘fries’ in a bowl and top with about 1-2 tbsp of oil of your choice (I used olive oil. You can also use avocado or coconut oil.) Sprinkle your seasonings on and toss to coat. I used two of my favorite, garlic powder and smoked paprika, with a little salt and pepper. Then lay out on a cookie sheet.

Bake in an oven preheated to 400 for about 10-12 minutes, then I like to finish cooking by frying them to get a crispier coating. Alternatively, you can flip over the fries and cook another 12-15 minutes.


*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!

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!

 

Keto Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and you can’t forget about the star of the food – the PUMPKIN! So why not make some super moist, delicious, can’t-even-tell-they’re-Keto pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting!?

Just because you may be adapting to the Keto lifestyle, doesn’t mean you have to give up all your favorite things. You just have to make some adjustments.

For this recipe, you need a couple Mixing Bowls. In one, mix all the dry ingredients. In the other, mix the oil, eggs, pumpkin, and water.

Once mixed, pour into an 11 x 7 in pan. Bake in a preheated oven (350 degrees) for approx 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let it cool, then make the frosting.

Whip the cream cheese. Add in the vanilla, sweetener, and lemon peel. Spread on cooled bars.

At only 3 net carbs per serving, it’s a dessert that is good ANY time of the year, but just in time for Thanksgiving!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Keto Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

1 c Almond Flour
3/4 c Lakanto Monkfruit, Granulated
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3 beaten eggs
15 oz can pumpkin puree
1/4 c melted Coconut Oil
2 tbsp water

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sweetener
pinch of dried lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sweetener, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and cloves.

In a separate Mixing Bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water. Dump dry ingredients in and mix well.

Pour into prepared 11 x 7 in pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool

In a separate Mixing Bowl, whip the cream cheese. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spread over cooled bars. Cut and enjoy! Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bar Nutrition.jpg


*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!

Keto Hamburger Soup

Soup has become one of my favorite foods, especially with the weather turning cold. There is nothing better than a hot bowl of soup to warm you from the inside. Keto soups are some of the best soups I’ve ever had and probably the only time I’ve felt FULL after eating a bowl. This soup is definitely one of the easiest and is only 6 ingredients (7 if you count the oil to cook the peppers and onions in).

Start by heating a pot over medium high heat on the stove. Add in the oil (I used extra virgin olive oil) – about 1-2 tbsp and add in the onion and green pepper. Saute until soft, about 4-5 minutes.

Cooking onion and pepper

Add in the hamburger.

Cooking burger

Continue frying until hamburger is done and no longer pink. Drain fat if desired. I don’t! Then add in the can of rotel and box of beef broth.

Adding broth and rotel

Stir until it’s all incorporated, then add the cream cheese. Continue to stir until it’s melted.

Once the cream cheese is melted, it’s ready to serve!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Keto Hamburger Soup

1 lb hamburger
1 can Rotel
8 oz package cream cheese
1 box (4 cups) beef broth
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced

Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Saute onion and pepper until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add in hamburger and cook until no longer pink. You can drain the fat, but I leave it in. The fat is good for keto! Put in can of rotel and beef broth and stir. Cut cream cheese into chunks and add into soup. Stir until cream cheese is melted and incorporated into soup. Serve and enjoy! Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition Hamburger Soup


*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!

Week 5 Check In

Well, I survived a girls night out and still made progress this week! I didn’t get my weekly check in up on Sunday like I normally do since I wasn’t home, but here it is now!!

This week flew by as they all seem to do and I was a little nervous about going out to dinner and a movie with a friend and then having a vendor event all day the next day. One thing that really helped is I prepared ahead of time. I knew where we were going to go to eat, so I looked up the menu online to figure out what my Keto friendly options were so it made it easier to pick something to eat that night.

For the vendor event, I again prepared ahead of time and took some keto friendly snacks with me from my Keto Krate. Being prepared saved me from a lot of temptations (like the double chocolate brownies) at the event. Instead, to curb a sweet tooth, I ate some sugar free Hemp Brittle from Curly Girlz Candy. You’d never know it’s sugar free!

So after all that, here was my results:

Starting Weight: 308.8 lbs
Last week check-in: 292.8 lbs
This week check-in: 291.0 lbs
Loss for the week: 1.8 lbs
Overall loss since 9/21: 17.8 lbs

Starting overall inches: 489.7 inches
Last week check-in: 468.7 inches
This week check in: 466.4 inches
Loss for the week: 2.3 inches
Overall loss since 9/21: 23.3 inches

That’s pretty impressive for only 5 weeks!! I wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of truVISION. It’s such a simple program. Just two pills, twice a day! Can’t wait to see what next week brings! The 280’s are so close I can almost taste it!

 

KETO Fudgey Brownies

Fudge. Brownies. Put them together and it’s blissful heaven. One common misconception about the KETO diet is that you can’t have sweets. WRONG! You can have them, you just have to know how to make them. No using regular white/wheat flour, sugar, honey, maple syrup. Once you learn what you can and can’t have, it gets a lot easier.

Well, my KETO diet buddy decided he was hungry for some nice chocolately brownies, so like I normally do, I scoured the internet trying to find some KETO friendly recipes that sounded good (I’m not a HUGE almond flour fan, so I tend to shy away from recipes that call for a lot of it – not that I WON’T make recipes with it). I found one that was semi-KETO, then modified it to make it KETO friendly.

The end results was a super fudgey, not overly sweet decadent dessert. This recipe will make a full 9 x 13-Inch Pan or you can divide it into two 8 x 8 in pans.

For starters, get all your ingredients together:
Ingredients for brownies.jpg

First think you need to do is get the avocado out and put it in a food processor. I HIGHLY recommend the Ninja Kitchen system if you don’t already have a food processor. I’ve had mine for YEARS and it’s never let me down. It comes with the food processor, blender, and single serve blender cup (2). It’s a great multi-use gadget that is worth every penny.

If you’ve never used avocado before, you have to cut it lengthwise, cutting around the pit. Twist the halves apart. If you ‘chop’ into the pit, you can twist the knife and it’ll pull right out – don’t throw it away though, there are lots of uses for the pit which I’ll get in to in a future blog. Use a spoon to scoop the meat of the avocado out of the shell into the food processor.

Now that you’ve got the avocado in, process until it’s as smooth as you can get it.

In a microwave safe bowl, put the chocolate broken into smaller pieces and the coconut oil. Microwave until melted.

Add the chocolate and oil mixture into the avocado and blend again. Then add the water, eggs and vanilla, blending until mixed.

Once that’s done, get another bowl and mix the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the food processor, half at a time and blend. Once all dry ingredients are incorporated, either put mixture into 9 x 13-Inch Pan or divide amongst two 8 x 8 in pans. The batter is VERY thick. Try not to curse at it when you are spreading it in the pan. It has a mind of it’s own and needs to be tamed like a wild child.

Bake at 350 for 30 mins (may take a few minutes longer if using a 9 x 13-Inch Pan or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

They don’t rise much, they stay very thick, fudge, and creamy. I figured out the nutrition for twelve servings from this batch to give you a decent size brownie. If you don’t like it that big, your dessert is even less carbs 🙂

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Ingredients:

6 oz 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate
3 tbsp Coconut Oil
3 avocados, peeled and pitted
3 eggs
1/2 cup Powdered Lakanto sweetener
1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 tbsp Coconut Flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp water

Preheat oven to 350.
Put avocados in food processor and process until smooth.
Put chocolate and coconut oil in microwave safe bowl and microwave on low for approx 1 minute, stirring ever 15 seconds – or until fully melted. Pour on top of avocado and blend.
Add in eggs, vanilla, and water to food processor and blend until mixed.
Put dry ingredients in separate bowl and whisk until mixed.
Add dry ingredients, half at a time, to avocado mixture, mixing well between each addition. Once mixed, put batter into a 9 x 13-Inch Pan or divide between two 8 x 8 in pans. Bake approx 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool, top with whipped cream and enjoy!

I highly recommend dividing up and freezing these so you don’t eat the whole pan in one sitting! These Meal Prep Containers are my absolute favorite. I use these for just about everything. They are microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safe.

storage

nutrition

Comment below if you make them! Feel free to adjust sweetener as desired!


*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!

Week 4 Check In

It’s now been 4 weeks since I returned to Keto and started on truVISION and I’m feeling great! I’ve still got a long ways to go, but I feel I’m off to a good start.

With being on a ‘special diet’ you can get burned out on what you’re eating sometimes, or just want to grab something ‘easy’ to eat – but of course that doesn’t fit in the plan and can actually set you back. This week, my only struggle was that I ate corn for dinner one night. Yep, corn. Normally that doesn’t sound like a bad thing, but when you are on Keto, the carbs in corn are NOT a good thing. I think I would have lost more weight this week if I had just skipped that one, but I thought a little wouldn’t hurt – next time, I’ll pick another vegetable!

So that being said, I did still lose this week, just not as much weight as I hoped – but the inches – WOW. I remeasured some areas 4 times because I didn’t believe it. This is why I tell people they should measure as well! I was disappointed with the scale not going down more, but something was still happening, because the inches are falling off!

Here’s the breakdown:

Starting Weight: 308.8 lbs
Last Weeks Weight: 293.8 lbs
Current Weight: 292.8 lbs
Total lost: 16 lbs!

Starting Inches: 489.7 inches
Last Weeks Inches: 478.5 inches
Current Inches: 468.7 inches
Total lost: 21 inches!

I wanted to do my update pictures in the same shirt, but of course I couldn’t find it today, so I had to use another one. I’ll update this post if I can find the shirt soon 🙂

I know I couldn’t do this on my own. truVISION has helped immensely. It doesn’t give me as much energy as it does to others, but it has helped a ton with my cravings and appetite. I haven’t had pop in weeks. I don’t crave snacks like I used to and I’m full after eating one small portion of food instead of taking a large portion and then having seconds! With truVISION and an amazing support group on my side, I know I can do it this time! I’d love to help others achieve their goals as well, so contact me today if you are interested in joining me.

 

No Bake KETO Cheesecake

Cheese. Cake. Two of my favorite things. So when you put those two words together, it’s just magical. There’s a reason those Golden Girls sat around the table eating cheesecake. Cheesecake solves everything. Ok, not really. But it’s so delicious you might forget all your worries for a bit.

Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts and this recipe can’t get much easier. Plus, you only have to bake the crust. Not bake the cheesecake for 50 minutes and let it cool for 2 hours then have to refrigerate a day before you can even think about eating it. Nope, not this one.
Partially eaten cheesecake
This one you can be eating in just a few short hours after you make it. Or you can just spoon the filling out of the bowl after you whip it together. You decide. But if you like the beaters after you mix it, the filling might not make it on top of the crust. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

First thing to do is prepare the crust. Mix all the ingredients, press in a pie plate, and bake.

While that cools, make your filling. I let the crust cool for probably a good hour. Partially because I was doing other things and partially because I didn’t want the filing to sit on a warm crust and trap the heat in. Would have made for a very soggy crust!

Top the filling on the crust and refrigerate. I suggest leaving it for at least 4 hours or overnight. I would like to think that if the Golden Girls were on Keto, this would be the cheesecake they sit around the table and eat. #goldengirlapproved

**UPDATE TO RECIPE!! While the cheesecake is absolutely delicious with the recipe below, my husband found it a little too ‘tangy’ from the sour cream – so the next time I made it, I only put about 1/4 c sour cream in it and I upped the vanilla to 2 tsp. It was PERFECT. I’ve had so many compliments on this cheesecake, it’s definitely a crowd pleaser.**

PRINTABLE RECIPE

No Bake KETO Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups Almond Flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
16 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup heavy cream

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350. Stir all ingredients together until well mixed. Press into bottom of pie plate. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool

For the filling:
With your hand mixer or standing mixer, blend together the cream cheese, swerve, and vanilla until fluffy. Mix in sour cream. Slowly pour in heavy cream and mix until thickened. Pour on crust and smooth top of filling. Chill for minimum 4 hours and enjoy!

I found this recipe on Pinterest but next time I think I will double the vanilla in the filling and cut back on the sour cream. It was a little too tangy for my taste and I like a little more vanilla flavor. But it was definitely good and I’ll make it again.

If you make it, comment below!

*Nutritional values are based on items I used. You should always check your own.

Keto Cheesecake Nutrition


*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!