KFC Biscuits and Gravy

Testimony of the Day

“I have never been what I would consider overweight. I’ve always been in very good shape, very active and thought I looked pretty good for an “old guy”  A few years ago, my wife’s friend Maria opened our eyes to alot of our food choices. We took baby steps and it’s still a learning process, but we have turned over to a grain free, low carb, high fat diet and I can’t believe the difference in my body composition. Of course I didn’t change anything except for my diet and lost 16 pounds and look way leaner than ever before without having to even lift hard!!!

My workout routine is very limited and for a limited amount of the year. I only have time in the few winter months of November through March to workout and my workout routine is strictly using the resistance bands and some calisthenics which include pushups, pullups and a few other things. I was amazed at how effective it was and am completely SOLD on the eating plan!

I am definitely enjoying my food choices as well. What guy doesn’t love that diet…I love my food and never feel hungry. I am in the best shape of my life and feel great. It’s made a huge difference in keeping up with my kids and playing sports as I am still very active in sports. I can see for sure that it’s not just all exercise, but a huge part is the diet and food options. Thanks Maria for being my wife’s friend :)- Chad O.”

I have many clients who do little to no exercise and still look amazing on a keto-adapted diet. Take for example Chad; he does about 15 minutes of band resistant training 5 days a week in the winter months. He only does it in the winter because he is very busy with work in the summer.

To get the results like Chad, click HERE for easy to follow keto-adapted meals

Inflammation

One question or complaint is why can’t I eat “normal?” Sure, there are people who can eat potatoes and rice and pasta and not be over weight, BUT this doesn’t mean they are healthy. I have had a handful of clients who were female, 115 pounds and had very high blood sugar levels and had to be put on insulin. Not only should diabetics and people who want to lose weight limit carbohydrate intake, everyone should. We are all, in an evolutionary sense, predisposed to becoming diabetic. So I want to step you through how fat is stored, but more importantly this is how we become at risk for diabetes and heart disease:

1) After you eat excess carbohydrates, blood glucose stays higher longer because the glucose can’t make it into the cells of the muscles. This toxic level of glucose is like tar in the bloodstream clogging arteries, binding with proteins to form damaging AGEs (Advanced Glycated End-products) and causing inflammation. This high level of glucose causes triglycerides to go up, increasing your risk for heart disease.

2) Starch and sugar gets stored as fat (remember starch is just glucose molecules hooked together in a long chain; the digestive track breaks it down into glucose… so a sugary and a starch diet are the same thing!). Since the muscle cells aren’t getting glycogen (because they basically have a crust over the cells and are considered “resistant”), and since insulin stops the production of the fat-burning enzyme lipase, now you can’t even burn STORED fat! So workout all you want, if you continue to eat oatmeal before your workouts, you will never be a fat-burner, you will remain a sugar-burner and you continue to get fatter until eventually those fat cells become resistant too.

3) If that isn’t bad enough, I have more bad news…Insulin levels continue to stay high longer because the pancreas mistakenly believes “if a little is not working, more is better.” NOT GOOD. Insulin is very toxic at high levels, causing cellular damage, cancers, plaque build-up in the arteries (which is why diabetics have so much heart disease) as well as many other inflammation issues such as nerve damage and pain in the extremities. Starch and sugar destroy nerve tissue, causing tingling and retinopathy, which causes you to lose your eyesight.

4) Sorry, but I have more bad news…Our cells become so damaged after a life of cereal and skim milk for breakfast that not only does insulin resistance block glucose from entering muscle cells; the crust we have formed over our cells also blocks amino acids from entering. Amino acids are the building blocks for our muscles that are found in protein. So now you can’t even maintain your muscles. And if that isn’t bad enough, our muscles become cannibals because your body thinks there’s not enough stored sugar in the cells, so they send signals to start to consume valuable muscles to make more glucose (sugar)! You get fatter and you lose muscle.

5) Instead of feeling energetic after you eat, you are tired, and you crave more carbohydrates and since you have less muscle, exercise is getting too darn difficult, and the sad cycle continues.

6) But there is even more bad news… thyroid disorders also happen too. When your liver becomes insulin resistant, it can’t convert thyroid hormone T4 into the T3, so you get those unexplained “thyroid problems”, which continue to lower your energy and metabolism.

If you don’t want this to happen, there is good news! Here are some ways to avoid all of this:

1) Lower your carbohydrates. Not only for you but your kids too! So they don’t end up so insulin sensitive like we are!

2) Exercise! Even walking after meals. Moving has a major impact on improving insulin sensitivity since muscles burn your stored glycogen as fuel during and after your workout.

To read more on this, check out my book Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism. Thank you all for your love and support!

 

My family always has crescent rolls at Thanksgiving. When these came out of the oven, the smell reminded me of a buttery roll on Thanksgiving morning…they tasted great too. The flavor reminds me of my past life of KFC buttermilk biscuits.

KFC BISCUITS 

1 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
4 egg whites
2 TBS butter (cut into pieces)
1 tsp Swerve (optional sweetness)

OPTIONS: add 1 tsp of garlic or your favorite spice.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan with coconut oil spray. Whip egg whites until very fluffy. In a separate medium bowl, mix the baking powder (and Swerve if using) into the almond flour. Then cut in the butter and salt. Gently fold in the dry mixture into the whites. Dollop the dough into the muffin tin and bake for 11-15 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON:
KFC Biscuit = 180 calories, 8g fat, 4g protein, 23g carbs, 1g fiber
“Healthified” Biscuit = 118 calories, 9,6g fat, 4.8g protein, 3.4g carbs, 1.5g fiber (73% fat, 16% protein, 11% carbs)

GRAVY

This gravy would also be great on top of cauliflower mashed “faux”tatoes on Thanksgiving day.

4 egg whites
1/4 cup wheat free Tamari sauce (or soy sauce)
1/8 tsp dried thyme or poultry spice
1/4 cup organic veggie/chicken broth
2 TBS organic sour cream
1/2 packet Swerve (optional)
Celtic sea salt; pepper to taste

On medium heat cook egg whites mixed with tamari sauce, broth & spices until the eggs are cooked and a bit lumpy. Pour into a blender, add sour cream; sweetener and blend for 1 minute until smooth. Makes 16 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON:
Traditional Gravy = 39 calories, 2.5g fat, 1.4g protein, 4 carbs, 0 fiber
“Healthified” Gravy = 8 Calories, 0.3g fat, 1.0g protein, 0.2g carbs, 0g fiber (34% fat, 50% protein, 10% carbs)