oMEGA-Delicious Dishes

It may be fun (and delicious) to imagine, but we cannot live on bacon alone. A nutrient dense diet is essential to staying healthy, and I'm a proponent of EATING my nutrients whenever possible (as opposed to taking them in via supplement form). Since fats are the main nutrients we ingest on a ketogenic diet, it's important to eat enough of each kind of fat to keep our bodies performing well. I try to eat a good balance of saturated (from coconuts, avocado, and animal/dairy sources) and unsaturated (from seeds, nuts, and oils) fats every week.

I'm trying to consume more omega-3 fatty acids than I have in the past - they're great for our bodies and brains and are highly anti-inflammatory. The main sources of omega-3s are from oily fish and from plant sources such as chia seeds, flax, hemp seeds, and walnuts. I'm actually not a huge fan of oily fish, but they're the only natural source of DHA and EPA - essential omega-3 fatty acids we can't get from seeds and nuts - so I eats them anyways. 

I recently found smoked sardines in harissa (a spicy north African seasoning), and they're the best sardines I've ever had (not that I'm some sardine connoisseur). And at less than $2 per can, they're easy on the budget! I like them dressed simply with a little squeeze of lemon. Taking a minute to transfer them from can to plate actually does wonders for the mental aspect (sardines - harf!) for me. We eat with our eyes first, and a few delicate filets on a plate is much more appetizing to my eyes than forking them straight from the can like cat food. Another great option is to mash them up with some tuna into tuna salad. They blend right in.

At least I hope they did... 

BECAUSE I TOTALLY SNUCK THEM INTO MY HUSBAND'S TUNA SALAD LUNCH TODAY.

Love you, honey!

Anyway, I fixed an avocado-baked egg to go with my 'deens. I just plopped a whole egg into half an avocado and baked it in a preheated 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until the egg didn't look like snot.

S'not so bad, right?

I've also been missing steel-cut oats since going keto, so I decided to experiment with a grain free version. I did a little research online, and the consistent ingredients seemed to be flax meal and chia. I had both of those things, so I decided to try my own. The result wasn't oatmeal, but it was YUMMY. Warm and comforting with a steel-cut-oat-esque texture. I'm going to play around with it some more in the coming weeks to see what else I can do with it. 

For now I just enjoy saying Fauxtmeal. 

Because I'm a giant pun-nerd and not ashamed of it.

Fauxtmeal

I used flaked coconut, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and turmeric to flavor this bowl, but you can use whatever combo of flavors you like. If you're not carb restricted, feel free to use coconut sugar/maple syrup/honey/dried or fresh fruit/jam/chocolate chips for sweetness. I'll be sitting over here with my stevia/erythritol/xylitol sweetened fauxts... hating you. (Because jealous.)

Ingredients

1 Tbs chia seeds

1 Tbs flax meal

pinch of salt (optional but recommended)

boiling water (or other hot oatmeal-friendly beverage)

Add the seeds/meal/salt to a small bowl and stir to combine. Add enough boiling water to cover. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the chia to gel and the flax to absorb the liquid. Flavor as you wish.

You could also throw in some hemp seeds (don't actually throw them - they'd get EVERYWHERE). I didn't because they have kind of a, well, hempy flavor that I enjoy more in a salad or smoothie setting. But if that's your fauxtmeal jam, then go on, girl.

Serves 1

Approximate nutrition per serving (without flavorings) ~ 100 calories, 1.5 net carbs, 7g fat, 5g protein

****UPDATE****

Later that day I texted with the hubby...

I laughed, and laughed, and laughed.