by Amanda Barnard | Mar 16, 2020 | Faith, Keto, Motivation
Today I am flying to Denver, Colorado to attend a class. My career requires continuous training and the company that I work for is big on investing in people.
I was up very late a couple of weeks ago. I had decided to watch a couple of videos with my dad (which didn’t happen, he had sleeping on the brain) and then decided to read. Brad had to get up super early, so I was reluctant to go to bed for dread of waking him.
At the beginning of 2019, our family started a quest to encourage dream building and goal achievements. One of mine was to be a Life Coach and another was to be a Conference Speaker. I didn’t know exactly what I might speak about at the time.
We created vision boards (if you don’t have one or don’t even know what one is, you need to know) and this is on it!
As I was flipping through my Kindle app, I caught a glimpse of what today meant. Since I am attending training to be a certified instructor, one of the requirements is a presentation. It had to be something I was passionate about.
THE SEARCH WAS ON
I was at a loss. I searched deep. Brad says there isn’t much that gets me excited, because I am not the talker that he is.
Finally! It hit me! I love it when people ask me about my weight loss journey and how I got there. As many of you already know, keto was my way to progress. I have learned so much, but yet so little!
I have also discovered in the past couple of months, just how vehemently I want others to succeed. This is something I have always known, but has really come to the forefront.
So today, I want to challenge you to dream big! Set goals! Write them down and make them plain. Keep the intentions close.
God will get you there and it will usually happen in an unexpected way!
by Amanda Barnard | Nov 16, 2019 | Family, Financial, Keto, Motivation
Yes you read that right and this is not a joke! I actually won for my healthcare premiums paid, for an entire year!
How would you feel if you won your healthcare premiums paid for an entire year? Great, right? Super stoked about it, right?
HA, well I am sure no exception to that rule, because who doesn’t enjoy free money in any form?
Also, in my debt freedom quest, it makes for more money to throw at the debt to pay it off sooner!
I work for DaVita – in acute care, which the hospital inpatient services division. DaVita is a very large company, actually world wide. One of the company mottos is to be the employer of choice and they sure do a great job at it.
There are many awards throughout the company, but this one particular award, called the “WE ARE WELL” award, demonstrates the value of taking charge of your own health.
THE BEST BOSS EVER
My sweet boss actually told me about the award and knowing my journey, she encouraged me to apply for it. I wrote a little about my keto journey and my reasons. Some would call this your “why”.
I have 3 grandbabies (and counting) and for that reason, among a few others – like just for me (you can call it selfish if you want), for my kids (because I intend to live to at least 120yrs), so be it!
So I submit the story and the application and HOLY COW!! I won!!
I challenge you to take charge of your health today! There is no time like the present to just…..
START HERE, GO ANYWHERE!
DISCLAIMER: This site may contain affiliate links which may be monetized at no cost to you, For instance, if you link through to Amazon, I may get a kick back for it, but it will in no way change the original cost of any item. So if you happen to shop through my links, thanks in advance for your support! ~Amanda
by Amanda Barnard | Nov 13, 2019 | Everything Else, Keto, Motivation
Before I begin, I want to make a disclaimer. There may be links here that could potentially generate a profit, but is of NO COST to you. Also, yes I am a Registered Nurse, but I am NOT giving you medical advice and in some would say that I am not an expert on keto. This is my personal story.
Simple appeals to me greatly. Busy, also describes my world well, so fitting in certain things, at times just take way too much work.
That being said, many of you may know about my keto journey, as I call it and I am equally sure there are many that do not. My total weight loss to date is 51lbs, and I only had 64lbs that I wanted to lose.
I weighed 193lbs at the start of the journey and went from a size 16 pants to a size 8 and dropping from an L/XL shirt to a SMALL.
As an Acute Care Nephrology Nurse, I perform hemodialysis treatments for patients in the hospital. So if a dialysis patient gets sick and needs to go to the hospital, they are still able to receive their lifesaving treatment.
FREE HEALTHCARE FOR 2020
I also recently won an award because of my journey and my company is paying my healthcare premiums for 2020! They only choose 50 teammates throughout the entire company, so to be chosen was truly an honor. It also made me even more proud of how far I have come.
That is HUGE and I am SO EXCITED about it. The flip side is, I don’t plan to use it. But wow!
THE BEGINNING
I started following a simple version of the ketogenic diet. At that time, I partially had read the book by Dr Don Colbert, MD – The Keto Zone (which I highly recommend for anyone interested in the ketogenic way of eating).
I started my keto journey on February 13, 2017. We were leaving on our annual family vacation a few short days later, so my knowledge started very slow. Therefore, I utilized the limited information that I had obtained and just began.
I keep saying – START HERE, GO ANYWHERE. Sometimes we just have to pick somewhere and start.
In the beginning, I determined to stay under 20 carbs, read LOTS and LOTS of labels, and cut out ALL sugar.
For a period of time, I even stopped drinking diet soda. For anyone that knows me, knows this was a big deal, but I was serious!
I counted everything. Ordering burgers without buns, ditching the side of fries – and by the way, do y’all know how extremely, hard that is when you’re on vacation with bunch of boys that love to eat? And this started before FIVE GUYS began making burger bowls!
I didn’t count calories or macros. Although the keto diet is LOW CARB, MODERATE PROTEIN, HIGH FAT – nor put much regard to my protein intake in the early days.
My net carb intake was strictly 20 or less and I was much more mindful of my food choices and like I said before. I cut out the sugar.
SUGAR IS OUT OF HERE!
Now when I mention cutting out the sugar. There are four “keto-approved” sweeteners – STEVIA, ERYTHRITOL, XYLITOL, and MONK FRUIT. I already was diet soda drinker, so the sweeteners do not bother me. My husband, Brad, hates them all, lol.
Holy cow though! Have you ever just taken the time to read labels? There is sugar in EVERYTHING! Why is there sugar in dill pickles? Seriously, some things make ZERO sense as to why companies put sugar (or any for that matter) in items!
By the end of the year, I was down to 142lbs. At this juncture I am in a maintenance mode. So I fluctuate a little, but have actually decided in the last few weeks to continue on and get back to it hard core.
TO SUMMARIZE
First, just START. Everything starts with a decision. Next, stay with 20 CARBS OR LESS. Cut out sugar – NO SUGAR. Use only the 4 approved as mentioned before and follow your body cues.
I WILL get to my goal and you can too! If you want/need help please comment! It would be my pleasure to help you along your own journey!
Let’s do this TOGETHER!
by Amanda Barnard | Mar 22, 2019 | Keto
As you may have seen in one of my previous posts, since I have been living keto style, one of the things I have extremely missed is pizza and breadsticks. The truth is I really like bread ALOT!
I am one of those people that would go to Texas Roadhouse or someplace similar and when the wait staff would come and ask if we were ready for dessert and I would have to say that my definition of delicacy are the rolls slathered in butter!
So I have ventured off to find something that fits that missing piece of my puzzle. I found several versions of what is called Fat Head Pizza Dough and this is my own modified version that I have turned into breadsticks. I also have made it as a pizza crust base.
I recently bought a flat cast iron pizza pan for the intentions of my pizza dough, but has turned into breadsticks most of the time. I haven’t tried it, yet I am sure a cake pan would work very well for breadsticks. Something to make them into a long stick. I just cut mine small so Alyssa can handle them well.
2 TBSP cream cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup pizza sauce
- Preheat your pan of choice in oven at 375 degrees.
- Set aside 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
- Mix the rest of the cheeses and the spices together and microwave for 90 seconds, then stir. If necessary heat for another 15-30 seconds, taking care not to over heat and burn your cheese. (I say this due to each person’s own microwave and area of the world you live in.)
- Knead in the 1/2 cup almond flour. (I don’t really know much about making bread. I LOVED my bread machine. So I sprinkle in a little of the almond flour at a time and fold and fold, until mixed in.)
- Press into (or onto) pan.
- Bake at 375 for 5-7 mins.
- Take the 1 cup mozzarella cheese that was set aside and sprinkle over the top and bake for another 5 mins.
- Let cool for 5 mins and cut in slices.
- Heat pizza sauce in microwave (if desired), use for dipping
If you try this, let me know how it turns out and how you like it! Good luck and happy keto living!
by Amanda Barnard | Mar 20, 2019 | Keto
A few days ago, I talked about passion and what you may be passionate about. Also how your passion is many times tied to your purpose. I am very passionate about keto. It truly has changed my life in good ways and I am extremely proud of myself and my progress.
I do feel like I could do better, because I have not been totally strict with my journey. If I had been more stringent with it, I’m sure I would have had different results. Maybe better ones. But nonetheless, I am very happy with how far I have come.
So a friend of mine (who is a Nurse Practitioner) called me yesterday. She started her keto journey one month before I did. I have so enjoyed her story and share tidbits that I have gathered from her, here and there.
As we talked, we both agreed to be accountable to each other and discussed how much we would enjoy sharing information with everyone and Tonja is SO FULL of information and I am so excited to be sharing the wealth of life changing knowledge and yummy recipes with you!
Stay tuned, its going to be fun!
by Amanda Barnard | Jan 13, 2019 | Keto
Tonight I made what I am calling a “Lazy Keto Pizza Casserole”. There are two reasons I am adding the word “lazy” to the title of my creation. The first reason is because I used one item that wasn’t “keto-approved” and the second reason is because it was extremely easy!
Admittedly, I have not missed much by changing my life to keto, but I REALLY like me some pizza! Did you notice the word “really” being all capitalized? It kind of means that I like it more than I should! Bread was also a BIG DEAL for me – again caps should be noted as important in this statement. I never was much of a sweets eater, well until later in life.
THE CANDY DILEMMA
My grandparents owned several gas stations, when I was growing up and when any of the grandkids had the opportunity to visit one of the stations, one of my grandparents would give us change to spend in their vending machines. Hey it was a newer thing of the times, and with candy! Win, win! Well you would think so, but not for me.
I was the odd child. I wanted peanut butter crackers or some other item that didn’t have to do with candy. Anything but fig bars. I didn’t even go after the chocolate. Sometimes I think it may have been because the crackers always would last longer than the candy would have lasted, but nonetheless, my choices then shaped my life in the now.
BIBBIDI-BOBBIDI-BOO MAGIC
I have been looking for a way to curb that craving for pizza, without all of the damaging carbs. I still haven’t found anything that gives me a huge – WOW. But today this one was a nice start. I have a few other creations to develop and ideas that I intend to implement.
Another noteworthy thing about me – I DESPISE to grocery shop. I really don’t like shopping, but on “blue moon” occasions. So I conned my daughter, Brande (really I just asked and she happily complied, because she likes shopping and hey, lets face it – shopping is always more fun when you’re spending someone else’s money) in to going to the store. I wanted large deli pepperoni for the project. My actual intentions were to make Pepperoni Cups, but they didn’t turn out quite like I had hoped, so I moved on.
My husband always tells people that he can look and look in our cabinets and refrigerator and swear there is nothing to eat in our house. But turn me loose in the kitchen and some sort of bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, magic happens.
#EPICFAIL
Since the Pepperoni Cups were a #epicfail (sometimes I like to use hashtags, so if you hate them, please just don’t judge) I moved on, starting with Fat Head Pizza Dough. There are several versions out there. I have tried the one that Keto Dad puts out and I like it. (Definitely check out their blog for recipe) but I use the recipe a friend of mine gave me. Where she got it? I have no idea.
I got out my 9×13 pan, sprayed the bottom. Not gonna lie, I used a “non-keto” approved spray. This is where the first use of “lazy” comes in to play. I made mixed up my Fat-Head Pizza Dough, spread it into the bottom of the pan and baked it til it’s done point, to make the crust.
PROGRESSIVE CREATIVITY
When I made the Pepperoni Cups, I had already browned 3lbs of ground beef, stirred in pizza sauce, and sprinkled Italian seasoning in. I had also sautéed chopped onions, mushrooms, and part of a green bell pepper. Mixed that into the hamburger meat and used that for my Pepperoni Cups.
i took the rest of the mixture and spread it over the cooked Fat-Head Pizza Crust. Then piled on the mozzarella cheese. I topped the pan with the large, deli-style pepperoni.
Into the oven it went and out came a masterpiece! Ok maybe it wasn’t a masterpiece, but it certainly curbed the pizza craving – at least for today!
If you would like more details of the recipe, leave me comment below and I will make sure you get it!
Have you changed your way of eating? What modifications have you made? What is the one thing that you have been missing?
