Testimony of the Day
30 Day Accelerated TESTIMONY: “Wanted to give you an update. I got the 30 day plan to open. Also, I did a 86 mile bike ride today. I made the healthified sport gel and it made a huge difference. I used the reusable pouch to put it in. Usually I can feel my energy/ blood sugar drop and I get super hungry. The only thing I still craved was a coke at mile 70 ( the only time I ever crave it is when I ride my bike!). Had to stop for some real food and finished the ride. Very impressed and will pass it on to other fellow athletes who are unable to tolerate the commercial Gu/gel. Thanks!” – Wendi
Why We Crave Crunch
The theory why crunchy foods are innately pleasing to our pallet is captivating. Crunchy foods add a level of our senses to eating. If you are lucky and are able to smell and taste, you get those (I say lucky because I had a terrible ear infection that caused me to lose smell and taste for 2 weeks! Yikes). You also get texture in your hands and mouth when eating. One thing you may have not thought about is sensual part of the eating experience of sound. The crunchy sensation we experience is more significant for the sounds it makes inside our heads. The internal noises of chewing always happen as we eat, but eating a soft omelet is quite different than chewing on nuts or chips. This is one reason why “You can’t eat just one.” Our neural sensory systems all experience something called “habituation” in which our sensory neurons become less receptive with constant exposure to a stimulus.
We all experience habituation to the smell and taste of food as we eat. This is why we over-eat when we are eating at a potluck or buffet… so many choices to keep stimulating the senses. But if you have one food on your plate, your brain gets bored and signals to stop eating. One reason that crunchy foods may have more of an appeal to you lies in the extra layer of your senses when you eat; you may like a particular crispy food because you like the way it sounds in your head. Crispy foods have a special sensory place in the brain. They incorporate hearing into the sensory mix of eating, and it is very likely that the stronger and more varied sensory mix provided by crispiness staves off boredom and habituation while we eat these foods. We also often crave crunchy foods because in Paleolithic days, insects and fresh produce was our main source of crunchy. A soggy vegetable was tossed aside in lieu of a crunchy/fresh one. The problem now is that we still crave that crunch but it often isn’t for a crunchy piece of celery… it is most likely chips or cereal (thank goodness for people like Clark W. Grizzwald who invented “non-nutritive cereal varnish” in Christmas Vacation! lol) So if you are in love with crunch, you MUST try this taco shell!
Taco Shells
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb chicken skin I ordered a box from a local butcher for REALLY cheap!
- Coconut oil
- 1 to 3 tsp "Healthified" Taco Seasoning
- 1 tsp Redmond Real salt
Instructions
- Place a metal cooling rack over a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides.
- Place chicken skins over the cooling rack so they hang upside down.
- To make the bottom of the "taco shell" stay open, place the skins over two of the metal rods rather than just over just one. This will make it so the "taco" will keep an open shape at the bottom. Then place the skins on the pans in the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Check to see if the bottom of the "tacos" <g class="gr_ gr_132 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace" id="132" data-gr-id="132">are</g> golden brown. If not, bake for a couple minutes longer. Watch them closely.
- Once the bottoms are golden brown, remove them from the oven. Take the skins off the rack. You will notice that the part of the skin that was hanging down is probably not as golden. If this is the case, there are two options to finish the shells.
- OPTION 1: You can lay them on the baking sheet and put them back in the oven to finish for a <g class="gr_ gr_149 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="149" data-gr-id="149">couple</g> minutes. If using this method, you may want to stick parchment paper in the shells to keep open so their tops don't bake and stick together.
- OPTION 2: would be to dip the "taco" in hot coconut oil and fry them till the tops turn golden brown as well. This should only take a minute or so.
- HINT: To make them look super pretty, you can trim the hot shell with kitchen scissors or take off excess skin that is hanging out of place. You could trim them after removing them from the rack after they have been baked and before placing them back in to finish the tops. You could also do this after they have been fried in coconut oil. You have a short time frame to work before the shell sets and gets crunchy.
- Sprinkle with taco seasoning and salt. Enjoy these crunchy Shells. You won't believe how real they taste.
Notes
Traditional Taco Shells = 120 calories, 6g fat, 2g protein, 16g carbs, 2g fiber
"Healthified" Taco Shells = 86 calories, 7.7g fat, 3.9g protein, 0g carb 82% fat, 18% protein, 0% carbs
ANOTHER CUTE TESTIMONY
I’ve been low-carb for a long time (originally lost 105 pounds and kept it off for 8 years), but have not been able to shift my weight since the 20 pounds I gained after getting married (5th anniversary coming up). When eating Keto fudge regularly, I was able to lose 8 pounds! Not much, but miraculous because nothing I was doing was bringing weight loss.
Currently, I am up in weight again. We were eating out frequently, and some of my food choices where higher in carbs than I though, which led to carb binging. 🙁 It is so hard to get off of the carbs when you are back on the roller coaster. If I have some carbs (wheat) because “I really want it” or “I deserve that treat”, then 24 hours later….and have the same irresistible urge….for wheat carbs. 🙁
So, I have re-focused myself this week. Recognizing the wheat-carb pattern. I have lowered my protein, increased my fats. And what happens?? TONS of energy!! Today, had a full day. Work, errands, shopping, cooking and cleaning. I have made things for the next few days. Washed all my dishes, include pots….which I usually fill with soapy water “to soak”. Cleaned. And I made a double portion of Keto Fudge – one for home and one for work. On top of everything…. I felt like washing my wood floors. Felt like it!!
It might not sound like a big deal but it is one of the things I rarely do because it seems like such an onerous task. Clean! Now I can relax and read Maria and Craig recipes. 🙂 Thanks so much!”
Source of chart, COAST- “The Art and Science of Nutritional Ketosis” Stephen Phinney, MD, PhD, UC Davis
Maria–can you do the same thing with prosciutto, or pancetta, or even deli-sliced lunch meats? I don’t have access to chicken skins, as many of the stores around here sell pre-packaged chicken with skin on, and the farmers around here do the same (leave the skin on). I’d have to go to the factory level, where they remove the skins before packaging stuff like boneless/skinless breasts, and I don’t want the skins of factory-farmed chicken.
Give us some alternatives. I myself don’t eat enough chicken around here to warrant buying whole ones and stripping them, then saving the skins up for Taco Night. For now, I use raw collard leaves with the stems shaved down (using a potato peeler) and make “burritos.”
You can use lettuce wraps, or other lunch meats like you describe (although those won’t get crispy). 🙂
this makes me wary because fat is where chemicals are stored.I love chicken skins but we do not have them often because organic is so expensive. for crunch i like fried cheese, kale chips, celery, peppers….pork rinds…so this recipe would be a treat and not in the normal rotation at my house…
Pork rinds are fried pork skins. I have a hard time finding organic ones. Is that what you’re eating or just ones you buy prepackaged in the chip isle??
Really, all the hormones and chemicals and such are stored in the fat more than the meats? In that case, I should opt for grassfed fatty cuts instead of grassfed lean cuts more if I were to save money, yes, Maria?
Yes, you store toxins in fat. So that makes getting your fat from a good source that much more important. 🙂
How dangerous/hazardous would you say it is to use lard and fat cuts from commercial, normal mass-produced meats?
It really depends on the source. If it is feedlot cattle pumped full of antibiotics, etc, then it would be pretty bad. If it is a local producer who isn’t grass fed but grains, shouldn’t be too many toxins, but omega-6 to 3 balance won’t be as good as grass fed.
Didn’t you have a similar recipe for chicken chips with a slow cooker? I suppose this one is much, much faster 🙂 what do you do with the excess oil, Maria? Do you save it and make hollandaise with it?
I love this super simple to make recipe. Thank you!
If it is a good source chicken (organic, etc) then the oil can be used for sauces, etc. 🙂
Oh my goodness! These may work for something I’ve been missing! The wonton chicken tacos at Applebee’s. haha! Oh … oh!!!! Can I use chicken skins to make crab rangoon???
That is a good idea! 🙂
Nice original option! For those of us who won’t go to all this bother but still want to eat the occasional taco – this brand…La Tiara Authentic Mexican taco shells are only 4 grams of carb per shell.
Thanks! I wouldn’t recommend that brand. It has corn and trans fat (vegetable shortening).
Maria, what are your thoughts about snacking and cooking with pork rinds(if unsalted), that was cooked in its own lard?-christy
They are fine as long as no msg in ingredients;)