2019 – Happy New Year to you all!

Once a year we come to the first day of a new year. We come with great expectations, hopes of new things, new dreams, and new beginnings. Some make New Year’s resolutions and some ask “Why to bother? I will only fail!” I used to make New Year’s resolutions but I don’t any more. Rather, I feel as though I can start anything “new” any day or month of the year. A new resolution or beginning can start at any time. I did that when I started on my Keto journey – the way of living and eating I started August 2017.  That was my new year of a life-changing way of life that has been amazing for me overall.

If you have been considering the Ketogenic Diet and you have done your homework/research on it then you can start at any time. You choose the day for the beginning of your own Keto journey, whether it is January 1st or another day this coming year. Choose it for your overall health – not just for a day, a month or one year – choose it for life!

2019 & My Keto Journey

I plan on Ketoing On in 2019! Why fix it when it is not broken?. I do plan on doing some more 24-hour fasts in 2019. I plan on continuing to educate myself. I am looking forward to my upcoming annual checkup in January – this is one thing that I have dreaded in the past but now I am looking forward to with great expectations. If I had to say I have a goal – my goal would be to lose 35 more pounds (maybe a little more than 35 pounds) – I’ll see where my weight loss takes me. My body might have different ideas – ha, ha!

Keto – This & That

In “This & That” segment – Christmas Dinner edition.

Christmas came and went and I did not share any details about Tim’s and my wonderful Christmas dinner. Our menu included:

• Cream of Cauliflower Cheese Soup (this link is to the basic recipe – please see tweaks I did below)
• Salad with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
• Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
• Low Carb Cheesecake – Keto Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

This meal was a meal fit for a King & Queen and it was all low-carb and keto friendlier (although if you look at the rib recipe nutritional values it looks kind of keto scary but with a little tweaking I believe I got the carbs lower). Here are a few tips for you if you want to recreate this meal for yourselves.

I’ll start with the Cream of Cauliflower Soup – This recipe I tweaked a bit so it is a mixture of my sister’s recipe and the one linked above. My sister recipe calls for garlic and cheddar cheese. So when sautéing the onions add some minced garlic (to your garlic liking) as well. Instead of mashing the cauliflower when it became tender I used my hand blender (or immersion blender, stick blender, wand blender). I left it with some chunkiness but not a whole lot. I added 1 to 1 1/2 cups of mild cheddar cheese at the end and stirred till melted.

For the dressing, I think next time I make it I will omit the buttermilk and just us heavy whipping cream instead.

For the Instant Pot Ribs I used Swerve Brown Sugar in the Dry Rub. After cooking in the Instant Pot I put them on our gas grill and brushed them with G. Hughes Sugar-Free BBQ Sauce – Hickory Flavored  (which only has 2 carbs per 2 tablespoons) till they were slightly charred.

Next up the Low Carb Cheesecake – for this recipe, I skipped the crust – who needs it anyway. For the sweetener I used Swerve Confectionery. I greased the springform pan with coconut oil and used a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. The one problem I had with the cheesecake, both times I have made it (I also made a fresh one to take to a Christmas gathering yesterday) was that the top cracked. I need to work on that issue. Even though it cracked it was delicious!

What the future holds for me – Faith-wise in 2019?

I am looking forward to this coming year and what my Lord God might have for me. I know and I am confident that He is holding my future in His hand. I know He has a plan for my life that is filled with hope. Please read Jeremiah 29:11-14a.

I plan on continuing to draw closer to Jesus – the author and perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2).

If you doubt whether God even cares about you and your future please visit my blog post titled “Will you open up the Treasure Chest? – Part 2″ and be sure to watch the short video at the end.

May God Bless your 2019 & Keto-On