The problem is, I can lift a lot.  So day 3 is here.  I back slid yesterday – 324 this morning so I gained a pound.  I did great eating during the day but I skipped dinner since we got home late.  Not a great idea.  When Luke (one of my dogs) got me up in the middle of the night I ended up grabbing a snack and it was not Keto.  You really have to wonder how long it will take me to learn.  Dang I can be so stupid sometimes.  But I knew I would not be perfect on this journey so I am going to continue to focus on today and tomorrow.  I walked yesterday evening and again this morning and it feels good, well not really while I am doing it but definitely after I am done.  This weekend will be my first big test on this process.  Chances to over-eat and be lazy but I am praying for strength and help from above.  So here is the plan for tonight – Keto Friendly Curry Collard Green.  I will attach the recipe and let you now tomorrow how it comes out.

OK so here we are on day 2.  Down to 323 this morning so still headed in the right direction.   No walking this morning because of a work call scheduled very early so I will have to walk this evening.  Hopefully it will be below 100.

So more background on me.  I am a foodie.  I love to cook and used to have a catering business.  Not really big on sugary stuff and anything green that was not a jalapeno was probably suspect in my household when I was raising my kids.  But meat….definitely place me on Team Carnivore.  Thankfully my wife has shown me the error of my ways and I am discovering good things about green plants.  My latest discovery is collard greens.  Who knew eating grass could be tasty.  I will share some recipes in the next couple posts but first let me put in a shameless plug for the Instant Pot.  Yes for the first time in my life I fell victim to “Prime Day” and with the dang thing marked down +60%, I could not resist.  It works well so far and we have added some new things to our meal planning because of it.  Like collard greens.  I will never be able to look at cut grass the same way again.  There are so many ways to cook them and each gives you a different taste profile.  I encourage you to grab some and try playing around with them on your own.  You will be surprised.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

If you are reading this let me tell you that I am new to this.  I will be documenting my journey to getting my life back and welcome any feedback, comments, thoughts or prayers.  First of all I would like to thank the blogger ” All Day I Dream About Food” as it was her blog and recipe that got me on this page because it pretty much describes me.  And her recipe for Low Carb Reuben Stromboli using the Magic Mozzarella Dough is a must for anyone on Keto and a pretty good meal even if you are not.  I owned a catering company and love to cook so I am definitely a foodie at heart.  I have no idea how often I will be posting here but as I go forward I will be sharing recipes and cooking tips for anyone that cares to read them.  Good luck with your own journey and have a blessed day.

So……  How did I get here?  I guess it doesn’t really matter.  What is important is that I am here and I hate it.  Where is here you might ask?  Here is an obese man who is a food addict.  I could say I eat my stress, eat my worry, eat my depression, eat my strife.  But the plain fact is I just love to eat.  Now I am 61 and I need to get my act together.  Today (May 13, 2020) starts that plan.  I began to focus on this about two weeks ago and it is starting to work.  I am down to 305.2 this morning and my goal is to be at 295 by the end of this month.  So what is the plan?  Well I am not really sure.  I have tried probably every diet known to man, all work for a while then I fall off/abandon/wander off and I am back where I started.  So initially I plan on focusing on portions and making sure vegetables play a major part of each meal.  Second I am walking/exercising.  This was really difficult for me in the past as both of my knees are bone on bone.  But I replaced the right one in March and am now able to get out and walk on it.  My loving children bought me a Garmin fitness tracker two years and I have have been using it to get ready for my surgery but the band broke.  Guess I need to replace it soon.  The plan is 30 minutes of walking.  15 minutes out and 15 minutes back.  Not much but it is a start.  We celebrated Blake’s birthday last night (social distancing be damned as I hugged them both) and the food was excellent but Risotto Milanese is probably not a great diet food.  Below is a recipe from my past.  The evil me, the one who ate whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted.  But the recipe is good and you really should try it if you have a chance.  Just don’t try to eat it all yourself.

Steve’ s Texas Red Chili

Day 1:

2lbs Elk steak

1lb. antelope steak

2 lbs. Axis steak

2lbs Venison steak

If you aren’t a hunter and don’t have access to these kinds of meat, then you can substitute beef and pork instead.  Place all steaks in smoker.  Using pecan, smoke steaks for 6 hours at 160-170 degrees.  The lower heat will help break down the meats and the smoke will give it the flavor you are looking for.

Day 2:

Cut Elk into 1” cubes.  Cut antelope into ½ cubes.  Ground the Axis and Venison.  Set aside.

Chop 10 slices thick center cut pepper bacon and cook until crisp in large heavy bottom skillet or dutch oven.  Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon and add to other meat.  Reserve the bacon grease.

Place bacon grease on medium low heat.  Finely chop 2 ½ cups onion, 3 hatch green chilis and 7 cloves of garlic.  Place in the bacon grease and cook until onions are translucent, stirring frequently.

Combine following ingredients:

8 tbs. chili powder (best if homemade using dried chili peppers)

1 tbs. Cumin

2tsps. Mexican Oregano

4 tbs. Salt

1 tbs. White Pepper

Increase heat in skillet and add combined ingredients.  Stir frequently until essence is released (about 5-7 minutes but do not let them burn).  Pour mixture over meat in the chili pot.

Open 2 large cans Chipotle Chili’s in Adobo sauce.  Place in food processor and puree or place chili peppers on cutting board and finely mince.  Add peppers and adobo sauce to meat mixture.

Add 2 large cans Rotel tomatoes with chili’s.  (HOT – Habanero)

Add 3 cans Lone Star Beer and 1 cup Bourbon.  Reserve remaining 24 pack of beer and bottle of Bourbon.  Additional amounts must be available in ice chest for later.  Place one 4-7” cinnamon stick in the middle of the pot.

Place pot on heat source (camp fire works best) over high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer covered remainder of the day – stirring frequently.  You can time the stirring by doing so each time you get up to get another drink.  It is strongly suggested you have friends over to play 42/horseshoes/washers with you while the cooking process continues.

Day 3:

Add 1 cup silver tequila to the chili first thing in the morning.  Reserve the remaining tequila to chase away the blues from the previous night.  Wake up everyone else that slept in later than you did and make them do a shot for letting you down (it is vitally important that you are the first one to wake up today).

Finely chop 8 habanero chili peppers and 4 ghost peppers or 2 scorpion peppers.  Place in a large skillet with 1 tbs. of oil and cook over low heat just until they begin to soften.  Add peppers to the chili. (As an alternative you can add in 2 tbs. man sauce.).  Let chili continue to simmer for 30 minutes.

From your assembly of late rising friends select the first of many taste testers.  Stir chili then remove spoonful for tasting.  DO NOT USE BEER/SOFT DRINK TO PUT OUT HEAT.  Repeat this test each half hour for next 2 hours.  At this point you can adjust the heat up or down as needed.

To heat up – add more peppers as required using jalapenos, habaneros, ghost and scorpion peppers to meet desired level of heat.

To cool off – finely shred your man card and place in middle of chili.  The begin adding in small parts – ketchup, brown sugar and/or maple syrup.  Add no more than a quarter cup of each and wait approximately 15 minutes after addition before tasting.  Continue to add until desired heat level is reached.  Make sure to have your skirt cleaned before work the next day.

Chili will be ready after approximately 8 hours on day 3 but is really best if consumed on day 4. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.  Garnish with chopped onions, cilantro, grated cheese and/or sour cream.