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 | 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 | 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?
by Amanda Barnard | Jan 9, 2019 | Motivation
Anyone remember the “Ice Bucket Challenge”? Well if you never heard of it, people were challenging each other to dump a bucket – usually a 5 gallon or larger – over their heads. The reason? I’m not sure anyone even knew why they were doing it, but the origin came from promoting awareness of ALS (aka: Lou Gehrig’s Disease).
Most challenges aren’t as simple as dumping a bucket of ice on your head and I understand the concept of the awareness portion. However, for a challenge to be effective on change, it probably shouldn’t be easy. If a real challenge were easy everyone would do it.
Our family has collaboratively entered into a challenge with each other, to make ourselves better versions of the person we are today. Each person is on a different question, designed just for them. The challenge for us, is intended to push us all toward our dreams and goals.
Some are writers. Some are producers. Some are artists, creators, singers, salespersons, and the list goes on!
What about you? Is there something you need to be challenged toward? If today were December 31st and you were about to ring in the next new year, what would you have to do to say, “this has been the best year of my life?”
Are you a writer? Start writing, something everyday. Do you need to lose weight? Maybe you could start walking 5 mins a day. Need to save money? Curtail some spending? Make a budget or start putting back a set amount of dollars at set intervals of time. Do you need to organize your bedroom? Begin with the closet (if it is the smallest space in your room, lol)
But you get the picture! A challenge is what you make it for you. Don’t let another year pass you by and be the same place at the end that you were at the beginning!
Start here, go anywhere!!
by Amanda Barnard | Jan 5, 2019 | Keto
My decision to dive into keto came on February 13, 2018. This was simply my mind saying, YES! I am going to learn about this and I am going to do it.
Our family goes on an annual vacation together every year toward the end of February – yes EVERY ONE OF US (and there are many) – so my journey began slow. As I started, I had only grasped the concept of watching my carb intake. In the beginning, I also cut out most breads and sugars.
Once our vacation came to an end, I was able to concentrate more on the details of keto. I read a book by Dr. Don Colbert called Keto Zone Diet. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the keto way of eating. The book is broken down into the 3 parts, explaining first what keto actually is, why keto works, and how to make it work for you.
KETO – KeetNO
I have NOT lived keto in a strict way. My daughter in love, Kimberly and I have been working our keto together, calling our way of eating, “Lazy Keto”. My husband, Brad says “Keet-NO”, meaning NO WAY to keto, lol. It is actually funny how we battle back and forth. All in good fun, but I keep working on the persuading him to join in, as well as the rest of my family.
My keto journey has taken a bit longer than it has for others that I have encountered. It took me about 7-8 months to lose 45lbs. At this point, I seem to have a little stall in my progress, but I am completely aware of my downfalls.
All Aboard!
As people have seen my results, they have asked many questions, which I enjoy answering. My daughter, Brande and her husband, Tim even jumped on board recently and have had amazing outcomes.
I still have about 15lbs to my goal weight. Then I will work more on my KCL (keto carb limit, the amount of carbs your body processes to maintain the current state), which is sort of where I am now and is the culprit of my stalling.
I will be writing more details soon, because as the saying goes – inquiring minds want to know! I am extremely happy with my results so far!
Comment and tell me about your results with keto or if you would just like to know more, I would love to help you get started on your own journey!
