I’ve been on a long journey of low-carb foods for nearly a year now. From weighing 98.7 Kgs to my current weight of 84.5 Kgs and to beat my type 2 diabetes, the journey has been nothing short of a miracle. I have always struggled with my weight all my life. Losing weight was never an issue but keeping it off permanently was the biggest challenge I face all through out my adult life!
I managed to reduce my excess weight and also become disease-free by adapting to low-carb, high fat diet based on Keto. Keto has been gaining popularity over this last few years as people have started looking into alternating diets and lifestyle management using various diets. Paleo, Keto are all some popular diets that’s been around for a while. In addition to the Keto diet I have also incorporated the Intermittent fasting as part of my lifestyle change.
In 2018 when I came back from Europe after a month of holidays, I was struggling with my weight as well as the diabetes. My brother, who is a dentist and a keen follower of different cuisines and diets, suggested to me the Keto diet. At that time, I just thought it would be just another fad diet that is not sustainable in the long term. I had an extensive look at the resources available online and the many YouTube channels to explore further on this diet and the results. Finally, after a week of intense research and conclusions I did decided to give it a try. I’m glad I tried and oh boy, what a journey it has been so far!!!
In the past I have tried all different type of other diets where I managed to lose 2 to 3 kilos, with such difficulty, only to find that I pile it all back on plus couple of extra kilos as a bonus 😊. After nearly year of being on Keto diet or a diet that’s based loosely on Keto, I am so happy to report that I’ve managed not only to lose nearly 15 kilos, but also keep it off and as well as beat the killer type 2 diabetes. I’m not on anymore medications and my blood sugar levels are normal, so are the cholesterol levels from my blood test results 2 weeks ago of writing this article (it’s one of the questions I often being asked, being in a high fat, low-carb diet). Incidentally I must also state that there are no one solution that fits all when it comes to diets and the outcomes, as we are all different on our metabolic rates and body functions. Hereditary and hormonal factors are also another major factor that decides the final outcome. In addition to dietary changes I also do engage in weight training and a decent amount of non-aerobic exercise like walking or swimming. It is said that successful weight is a result of 80% diet and 20% of exercise.
During my Keto lifestyle shift I found quite a number of online resources and YouTube channels that specializes on low-carb recipes. From which I have selected a few dishes and adapted it to my tastes. I do like baked goods like cakes, muffins and pastries which was a challenge in the olden days to keep the weight gain under check. When I switched to Keto based diet I missed the cakes and muffins which was a major roadblock in sticking to my guns. But thanks to sugar free alternatives and gluten and grain free flours I did manage to satisfy my love for the baked goods.
But before going any further with your diet changes or routines, consult your doctor. This should only be taken as a guideline, and not as the gospel to cure any lifestyle diseases. Every individual has different body constitution and processing abilities. What works for me may not work for someone else. However, I can recommend the recipe below suitable for everyone
Here’s one of my favorite savory muffin recipes.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
Almond Flour – 1 Cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Xanthan Gum – half tsp
Garlic granules – 1 tsp
Mixed herbs(dried) – 1 tsp
Grated cheese (Tasty cheese or Cheddar cheese) – 1 Cup
Parmesan cheese (for topping up the muffins)
Wet Ingredients
Egg (large size) – 1
Apple cider vinegar – 1 tbsp
Sour Cream – 2 tbsp
Extra Virgin Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Method
Sift together and combine all the dry ingredients. Ensure that there are no lumps. I used extra fine almond flour. You can substitute with coconut flour also but increase the wet ingredient quantities as the coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture and may result in less moist hard to bite in muffins.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and all other wet ingredients together. Combine both the wet and dry ingredients with a spatula ensuring the batter is well combined. Scoop it to either muffin liners or a silicon mold as I use and top the muffins with a pinch of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 mins
PS: Xanthan gum is used as a gluten substitute. If you don’t have Xanthan gum, I would recommend using 1tbsp of Psyllium Husks as it is a good substitute for gluten to bind the batter together for consistency.
Preheat the oven to 180 deg C and bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes depending on the oven. I use a fan forced oven, so in case your oven is a conventional oven it might take a few minutes extra. Bake till the top is golden brown or the toothpick test comes out clean.
The above measurement will give you around 220 gms of Muffins (I get 10 mini muffins of 22 gms each from the above measurement). You can enjoy this as break fast or mid morning snack, along with a generous accompaniment of butter. You can increase the quantity of cheese to 2 cups if you really want a very cheesy treat. I tend to keep the cheese component to 1 cup to keep the Marcos to desired levels.
About the Author
George Samuel is a food entrepreneur, currently working on a low-carb food startup business in Melbourne Australia. He has 30 years of experience as Project Manager in the IT and Telecomm sector. Food is his passion and he has appeared on Victorian Channel 31 delivering cookery shows for Black and White digital media in 2012. He is passionate about clean eating and whole foods and is also a big advocate of sugar free living. His mission is to help people to live a disease-free lifestyle.
