We eat salsa on everything! It adds an extra punch to eggs in the morning, salads at lunch, guacamole, and many other dishes throughout the day. The mason jar was running on empty, and my husband just didn’t know what to do! Tragedy, I tell you!
I whipped some up last night in no time. It literally takes about 15 minutes, 5 of which are active.
Everyone has their favorite way of making salsa. I have tried steaming the tomatoes and peppers, sautéing them, browning them, but by far, the easiest is boiling. I used to use a hot skillet and brown the tomatoes, peppers, and onion, but it would smoke up the house to the point that I would have to open all the doors and windows to air out. So boiling it is! This is my newest way, and I’m sticking to it!
I don’t have a specific amount of anything, but I can tell you what I did. It is a little different each time because the heat of peppers varies so greatly. Always start small and add in small increments.
These are your basics:
Cilantro (To your liking – about 1 cup)
Onion (I used a half of an onion)
Garlic (5-6 cloves)
Celtic Salt (1 TBSP)
Jalapeño or Serrano Peppers (I only used 3)
Tomatoes (10 for this batch)
Directions:
Wash your tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro well!
Place your tomatoes and peppers (I did wayyyy too many peppers!) in a pan and fill with water not quite covering the tomatoes and peppers.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer on medium heat. Simmer until the skins start to peel back on the tomatoes stirring frequently.
Remove the tomatoes with tongs and squeeze gently to release any water. Place in your blender.
Remove the peppers from the water and detach the stems.
I started with 3 peppers and it was plenty! These little things were HOT! I blended the tomatoes and peppers on high for a few seconds, then added the onion, garlic, and salt.
Add your cilantro last. I blended everything together for about 10 seconds on high, and ended up with a large mason jar and medium mason jar of salsa that was some of my best!
This is a great healthy sauce full of vitamins and antioxidants that will spice up your food, literally! It will keep in your fridge for about 2 weeks.
There is a golden sauce so delicious, it is worth the price of gold!
It was just yesterday that I mentioned the amazingly delectable Hollandaise Sauce as a favorite of mine on poached eggs. The best part – it is easier than you can ever imagine!
One of the things we have to be mindful of while living in a state of nutritional ketosis is our intake of protein. We all know that carbs will take us down, but did you know that protein can as well?
When there is a significant intake of protein, the body converts the protein into sugars during a process called Gluconeogenesis. This is a metabolic process that makes glucose, a simple sugar, that provides the body with energy from non-carbohydrate sources when you are a carb burner.
This is why it is super important to make sure you are getting ample healthy fats when you are consuming meats and vegetables in order to stay a fat burning machine. We don’t want those proteins turning into carbs in our body so make sure you have the fat to counteract the carbs and proteins.
And…this is why I love Hollandaise! You can put it on your veggies, your meat, your eggs – pretty much anything your heart desires! My favorites are eggs, spinach and asparagus. It is wonderful tasting, and as long as you are using our favorite grass-fed butter, it is a great source of fat! You can also ask for it at many restaurants that will gladly bring you a side of this delicious sauce.
Blender Hollandaise
Place in your blender:
2 Egg Yolks
1 TBSP Lemon Juice
Salt and Cayenne to taste
Turn your blender on low for 5 seconds.
Melt 1/2 cup butter (Kerrygold) in a pyrex glass measuring dish.
In a very low stream on the lowest speed, gently pour your butter into your egg yolk mixture.
As soon as it is combined – you have hollandaise.
I have never had it curdle, but if it does, add two egg yolks on high speed with whipping cream one TBSP at a time.
A great Bar-B-Que Brisket or Ribs is perfectly Keto, and one of our very favorite weekend or holiday treats. The question becomes, how do you finish those beauties off? That wonderful tangy sauce out of a bottle is gone for more reasons than one, but the main problem is all those added sugars in the bottle. Oh, and don’t forget the hidden sugars.
I am putting it lightly when I say, my hubby is a sauce fanatic! He concocts all types of sauces, and combines things I would never think of placing in the same bowl. Some are good, and some not so much.
He left it to me to find a good recipe for a Bar-B-Que sauce though. The best one, meaning lowest in carbs, out of a bottle, we could find was Stubbs Original with 5 Carbs and 4 grams of sugar. The serving size is 2 Tbsp. Let’s be honest – who just eats 2 tablespoons of Bar-B Que sauce? Here are some of the ingredients:
Sugar, Molasses, Tapioca Dextrin, Brown Sugar, Corn Starch, and Corn Syrup! And this was the best we could find!!!! Let’s see…sugar, sugar, carb/sugar, sugar, carb/sugar, and oh, sugar!
There is a reason we always say to read labels, and we don’t just mean nutrition labels. You HAVE to read those ingredients too. It sends my blood sugar soaring just reading them!
So this is the REAL food ingredient list for my new Bar-B-Que sauce:
3/4 cup White Vinegar
2 Cans (30 oz) of Organic Tomato Sauce
5 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
1 Tbsp Tabasco or other hot sauce (I used 2 Tbsp and it was SPICY so do to taste)
Combine your tomato sauce and vinegar. Bring to a simmer.
Add your Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and Liquid Smoke. Combine. Add all remaining ingredients except the yellow mustard.
You need to temper your mustard like you would an egg. Place your mustard in a heat safe bowl. Add a few spoonfuls of your hot tomato mixture and stir well.
Once mixed, add back to your sauce.
Whisk until you have a smooth sauce. Use immediately or store in a mason jar. This will keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
How do you eat out on Keto? Well, it’s not as hard as you would imagine…
When we first started cutting carbs, it was a bit intimidating to go out. I wanted to know the exact source of my food and exactly how it was being prepared. This is much easier to do at home, but I still wanted to socialize with my friends. I wasn’t about to give up my few evenings of “adult time” away from the kitchen because of Keto! I soon learned I didn’t have to give up restaurants and neither do you!
I had always considered myself an easy, low-maintenance restaurant patron. And, if I must be honest, I was a bit embarrassed when someone at the table was the “difficult one”. I really love all food, and am a bit of a foodie. I love trying new things and new preparations, so eating out was always an adventure. It still is an adventure, but I am a little more cautious when ordering.
I may not be quite as low-maintance, but I have found that restaurants are more than willing to answer questions about preparations, and even more willing to oblige on certain dietary restrictions. While once an insult to a chef to change his/her dish, it is now all the more common as consumers have more and more dietary restrictions, whether allergies or eating preferences. Don’t hesitate to ask!
Here are some of my general questions when asking about a dish:
Is there sugar in the sauce?
Is the dish gluten-free?
What is the side accompaniment?
Is it breaded?
May I substitute the starch for another vegetable?
May I have the protein grilled or sautéed instead of fried or breaded?
You will find that breading, sauces, and sides are the main culprits.
Here are the main things you need to do:
1. Ask for sauce on the side – every time (Unless it is a heavy cream sauce made without flour or a lemon butter sauce – if this is the case, the more the better.)
2. Ask for extra veggies with butter instead of potatoes, pasta, rice, or risotto.
3. First thing when you arrive – ask your waiter to hold the bread, but bring the butter (real butter) – you may get a funny look, but they will do it!
4. Order a bottle of wine, a martini, or vodka soda. Stay away from the sugary cocktails.
5. Order your salad without crouton or crisps and stay away from sweet dressings. Blue Cheese, Ranch, and Caesar are generally safe. It gets dicey with the vinaigrettes.
6. Read the menu carefully – learn the code words: crispy or coated usually means fried, seasoned could mean sugar so ask. Crunchy usually means it has something on top, like fried onions, tortilla chips, panko, etc. Sweet, glazed, or brushed are almost always code for the dreaded SUGAR. In short, always read the description, and if you are still unsure, ask!
7. Good things to look for are: grilled, broiled, steamed, seared, baked, and sautéed. Savory is usually good, and seasoned is often good as long as the seasoning does not contain sugar.
8. At the end of the meal, refrain from looking at the dessert menu. Too much temptation. Ask for a decaf with heavy cream if you need a little something while your friends order dessert. They won’t be used to the heavy cream order, but almost any good kitchen has cream, so ask the waiter to check the kitchen.
I promise it is really easy after you get used to ordering Keto. Restaurants are starting to have more gluten free dishes (I just ate at one that had a gluten-free menu – remember though that gluten-free doesn’t mean carb-free), and many are used to patrons ordering low-carb. Most of all, don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is not about weight at this point, it is about your health!
Good places to start are:
Bar-B-Que Restaurants (Have all the meat you want, but watch the sauce and sides)
Steak Restaurants (Steak is great – order with Béarnaise and side salad and veggies – skip the potatoes)
Seafood Restaurants (Shrimp and Fish are great – Add lemon butter and it’s even better)
Here are a few pictures of meals we have ordered out to give you some ideas:
Both dishes below were from Houston Street Bistro. They were wonderful about substituting the pasta that was supposed to be served with each dish with vegetables instead. The shrimp is in a lemon butter sauce with broccoli and carrots. The chicken and mushroom dish is in a flourless cream sauce served with a side of spinach instead of over pasta.
These next three are all from different restaurants.
The first is a high-end restaurant that had calf liver on the specials menu (a top Keto food) and to top it off, it had sauted onion and BACON!
This is a cup of beanless chili from a local delicatessen.
Beef Cheeks from a local restaurant.
This was a fantastic meal from Silo – Lamb with veggies, and they even brought hollandaise on the side.
Hopefully these give you some ideas of how easy it is to order a delicious meal out on the town! Have a great weekend!
