Asparagus and Crab Salad

Asparagus and Crab Salad

Asparagus and Crab salad…with real crab meat.

IMITATION CRAB???

What exactly is imitation crab? First of all per serving, it has 15 to 20 grams of carbs! The last I checked crab didn’t have any carbohydrates. So where do they come from? It starts with an overly processes white fish (Cod) and fortified with sugar, sugar, and more sugar.

Cod is used primarily because it has a mild flavor that easily takes on the flavor of real crab meat, but also because it is cheap.To create the “crab meat”, they mince up the flesh of the fish, and suck out the water to make a thick paste known as surimi. Then they add starch (usually wheat or tapioca) to stiffen up the mixture. It wouldn’t be our modern food supply without sugar…so they add that for a preservative so it can last forever in our fridge! Then they add egg whites to stabilize the “crab” which adds gloss and shine.

Vegetable oil are also usually added to enhance the texture. If that wasn’t gross enough… to create the proper color and flavor, manufacturers add a variety of artificial flavorings; such as, carmine, caramel, paprika, and annatto extract – which, also adds the pink color found in real crab meat. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is also found in some brands to help enhance the flavor. Now is that something you really want to eat? AND do I have to go over what cocktail sauce is made out of??? The first ingredient is usually High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Let’s use real crab instead!

“HEALTHIFIED” SALAD
2 pounds fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
4 red peppers, sliced
1/2 pound  bacon strips, diced
1 pint grape tomatoes
Celtic sea salt and pepper to taste
1 pound crabmeat, flaked (I found mine at Sam’s)
2 TBS freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 TBS MCT oil (for ketones) or olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
OPTIONAL: hard boiled eggs

Cut the asparagus and peppers into 2 inch pieces. Cook the bacon in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Add in the asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, crab to the bacon (and grease from the bacon) and cook until veggies are crisp tender. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Whisk the lemon juice, oil, and 1 minced clove garlic together in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Makes 10 servings.

NUTRITONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Using Imitation Crab = 173 calories, 13 carbs, 2.8g fiber
“Healthified” Salad = 163 calories, 6 carbs, 2.8g fiber

Another Testimony of the Day

“Hi Maria!! I need to tell you Thank You!! I wanted to let you know 2013 has been the best year of my life. I am so happy I found your blog, and signed up for a consult. I’m down over 60 pounds, and off all but 1 prescription medication!!! I was taking over 600 pills a month, prescription and non-prescription. I had headaches everyday, had no energy, severe acid reflux and had severe IBS. For the first time in my life I feel amazing!!! My body is changing, and it feels great. I used to be a carb loader, now I have turned my body into a fat burner thanks to you!! You have given me back my health, which I am forever grateful!!!! -Tanya

Click HERE to start your journey to a keto-adapted diet!

Testimony of the Day

“Hi Maria! I sent you a family before (May 2013) and our most recent family photo (December 2013). I have also included a picture of me at my highest weight (210 pounds) and a picture from 2 weeks ago. In July 2013, my husband thought he was having a heart attack and we went to the ER. It turned out to be acid reflux. The doctor said that he would probably have to stay on Prilosec for the rest of his life. I knew that couldn’t be true. There had to be other things we could do.

I had always cooked and baked for our family from scratch and we ate healthy foods but obviously it was not working for us. As I was researching different wheat free and sugar free recipes, I found you. We cut out wheat as that was a trigger food for him and sugar. I dropped 7 pounds the very first week! He started to feel better and was dropping weight as well.

We have changed our entire home to a grain free, sugar free home. Our oldest son came off medication for ADHD in January. He had been on it since 1st grade. He just turned 17 last Sunday. His acne has also improved from full blown break outs to 1 or 2 blemishes. Our middle son lost 8 pounds and we were not restricting his food. Our youngest has improved greatly in his behavior. We discovered that food dyes made him aggressive but now that we have eliminated sugar and grains, he is a different kid.

As of January, I had lost 35 pounds but, I had stalled. I was not exercising. My husband had lost 45 pounds but, he had also stalled. I went to the doctor for a physical and they noted the weight loss. My blood work was amazing except my bad cholesterol was a little high which he told me would go down with exercise. I also talked to him about the supplements I had read about in Maria’s books. He told me the ones he recommended from the list for me and I started taking a probiotic, omega 3, vitamin D . . . The doctor has this awesome scale that tells you fat%, fat mass, muscle mass, water content. He lets me come in every other week to weigh in and see my progress. He also sent me to a trainer to get a baseline fitness assessment and I started working out with her. My husband and I joined a gym and I am working out at least 3 times a week. I never would have considered myself athletic before. I was always active but, not really into fitness. Now I miss it when I don’t exercise. I feel better when I do.

Since January, I have lost 14.2 pounds of fat and gained 3 pounds of muscle. I have gone from 42% body fat to 36% body fat. I am still working and am not where I want or need to be yet. I have lost 2 inches off my neck! Who knew your neck could even lose 2 inches?!?! I have lost 10 inches off my waist, 7 inches off my hips, 4 inches off each thigh and 3 inches off each arm. I am starting to see definition again that I haven’t seen since high school. My wedding ring is loose . . . it has never been loose. I am tempted to pull my wedding dress out of the basement and try it on. The other day, I tried on a pair of pants size small and they fit! I will never go back . . . ever. As of this morning, from my heaviest, I am down 51 pounds and my husband is too! Thank you! Kristi T.

To get results fast, click HERE for easy to follow keto-adapted meals.

HEATH TIP: Wait 6 months after your weight has stabilized to get your cholesterol taken. When eat a keto-adapted diet, you lose weight by burning body fat rather than lean mass, like you do with low-fat diets.  For example, if you are losing 1 pound of body fat every four days, that is 3500 calories worth of animal fat into your blood as triglycerides. If you get your blood drawn in the middle of your well-formulated keto-adapted weight loss journey, there’s a good chance that your numbers will look “bad” to your doctor. Triglycerides may be very high since your blood is now full of them because they are getting released from your fat cells.