If I eat another sausage I'll scream!

[Dufty]

To keep me focussed on my CKD I've been experimenting with Keto-friendly recipes and some of these have been a great sucess (IMHO).

Each time I hit a taste-explosion that's too good to miss, I'll post it here for you all to enjoy. Hopefully you'll find them worth the time & effort to prepare, especially if you're getting bored of sausages!

Whilst I'm at it, I'll tag-on my CKD progress/results and thoughts on this method of dieting.

[Dufty]

For some reason I find off the shelf pates to be stupidly carb-rich. It doesn't have to be this way...

**NOTE** I make these things up up through a combination of trial, error and boredom so can't guarantee the measurements. They're a 'best guess'...

You'll need:
225g Chicken livers
25g Butter
1 small onion
100ml Water
Pinch of herbs (experiment with these to tase but I've found thyme and basil work extremely well)
1 small sachet of gelatine

How:
Finely dice the onion and lightly sweat in a little of the butter.
Add the herbs and water.
Finely chop the the liver and add to pan once the water is boiling.
Simmer for about 10-15 mins until the livers are cooked throughout (they take on a firm, powdery texture once cooked).

Strain off the liquid (keep it, you'll need it later).

Chop the butter into smallish chunks.

Pour the cooked liver into a food processor (whilst still hot) and start to blend. Add the butter piece-by-piece until it has all melted and the liver has turned to a smooth paste. (you can add a little more as you butter if you find it's not smooth enough but remember this will set harder later on).

Pour the blended mix into a suitable dish, smooth off the top and allow to rest. Once it's cooled a little, take it to the fridge.

Once it's chilled, it's time for the finishing touch (and to help keep it fresh).

Take the water you strained off into a pan and bring to the boil. Add a the gelatine and simmer gently until it thickens a little.
Pour this mix over the pate and pop it back into the fridge once it's cooled some.

Serve!
This is up to you but my favorite way is to cut a slice and roll it in a slice of chorizo (or similar). This works well alongside a portion of spicy-beef...

Yum!

[Dufty]

This is a really simple one to accompany a variety of dishes. The bird's-eye chillies are a great kick-in-the-metabolism!

You'll need:
225g Beef mince
Butter
A big-ol' handfull of mushrooms
3x bird's-eye chillies

How:
Finely chop the bird's eyes and add to the hot butter.
Add the beef and mushrooms and fry until the everything has turned a nice crispy-brown.

Serve
With lots of water!

[Dufty]

Another firm favorite, with a side serving of saag...

The initial base is the same for both dishes:this serves 1x person. Double-up for 2x.

Curry base: Ingredients
Small knobb of butter
1 clove garlic - crushed
1 tbsp chopped ginger (freshly chopped is best)
3x bird's-eye chillies - freshly chopped OR 1 tsp chilli powder (NOT tabasco, the vinegar will kill this recipe)
1 tsp ground cumin seed (jeera)
1 small onion - diced
1 tsp turmeric (haldi)
1 tsp garam masala

How:
Melt the butter and lightly fry the ingredients in the following order for a few seconds each: Garlic, Ginger, Chillies, Cumin seeds, Onion, Turmeric.

Once the onions have sweated out nicely, split the mixture into 2x pans for the next step...

1) Chicken Curry - Ingredients:
Curry base
4-6 chicken drumsticks (skin-off) or 2 breast fillets chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 pint water

How:
Heat the curry base and add the tomato puree.
Toss in the chicken and simmer until cooked through.
Add the water slowly, bringing to the boil.
Simmer gently for about an hour.
Add the garam masala about 5 minutes before you're done (if you add it too soon it will overpower the other flavours)

2) Saag - Ingredients:
Curry base
1x can spinach (drained)
A handful of Fenugreek leaves (Methi)

How:
Heat the curry base and add the Fenugreek leaves and spinach.
Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serve
These both taste best if cooked a day in advance.
1) To serve the chicken, simply reheat in the pan and dish out.
2) The saag benefits from being fried in a little butter and garlic first.

Enjoy!

[Dufty]

I've been on this cycle for three weeks now and I'm over the moon with the results... I've dropped almost 2x clothes size and have shed more weight in the three weeks than the preceeding month (currently at a total loss of c17lb since I started training in late March).

Best of all, I'm still gaining muscle and strength at a fast rate.

A lot of this IS down to newbie gains but I can definitely attribute the accelerated fat-loss over the last three weeks to the change in diet.

If anyone is considering this route and isn't certain that the gains are worth the effort, change your mind now!

[Dufty]

Approaching the back end of week 1 and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly one can enter the keto state. My advice to anyone who's on this diet and thinking of buying KetoStix - don't waste your cash... when you get there you'll know about it!

Doing things differently this time around and focussing on 'good' oils, rather than just any old fat. Despite incredible loses on my any old fat diet, I feel cleaner this time and my body has a vaguely nutty smell, rather than eau-de back-of-fast-food-joint!

Found a great new oil product in Sainsbury's of all places - "Good Oil" http://www.goodwebsite.co.uk/products_oil.htm. It's pure, cold pressed hemp seed and tastes amazing. It also compares very well alongside Flax oil for its Omega qualities.

Anyway- week 1 drawing to a close and clothes loosening up already (I love this diet). No real loss of energy yet either so workouts going very well. Nailed my back, arms and chest so far, aching all over since I've stepped up the weights in every excersise. Once the BF starts to shed I'll whack up some pics.

Today's meal plan below, which is pretty typical for the week so far:

Breakfast
- 2x boiled eggs
- 1x tsp hemp oil
- Codliver oil capsule (1000mg) & Multivitamin pill washed down with effervescent vit C drink (carb free).

Snack
- Egg mayo & watercress

Lunch
- 1x tsp hemp oil
- 5x slices roast beef
- Spinach & watercress salad

Snack
- Boiled egg

Dinner
- 1x tsp hemp oil
- 2x tbsp Saag (see above)
- 1x cup fried mushrooms
- Diced/sliced chicken breast (pan-fried)
- Spinach garnish

Yum!