Dairy Free Keto for Brain Health – Week 1

Many people are jumping on the Keto diet for weight loss, but most have no idea that this diet is actually designed as a therapy diet for brain conditions. When my husband was diagnosed with seizures from a prior Traumatic Brain Injury, I knew this would be a helpful step in rehabilitation. I’ve opted into doing a dairy free keto since we have one child with dairy intolerance (no longer an anaphylactic allergy, but it instantly flares up his skin and ezcema to unbearable leavels) + we have seen how inflammatory dairy has been in the rest of us especially when it comes to congestion, allergies and pain.IMG_2110

We are already gluten free because of a wheat allergy, but we are making quite a few modifications to take out the dairy AND nuts, which can be two big elements of the keto diet. On top of that, we have one child that also has to avoid soy, avocado, banana and seeded berries (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry).

These are the recipes I compiled for week one of our Dairy Free Keto Plan. Many of the recipes leftovers make great breakfast by simply adding an egg on top, paired with one of the Keto ‘dessert’ type foods. We do a big breakfast meal here on the farm, generally a light snack for lunch and then an earlier dinner (since I have also been doing intermittent fasting for several months).

{DAY 1}
Breakfast: Nasi Goreng is hands down my new favorite breakfast recipe. I like to make a large batch since it heats up really well as leftovers (saving the eggs on top to cook fresh). I can make one mess to shred it all up and then be done for the week!

Dinner: Sheet Pan Chicken with Sausage and Asparagus I used pork sausage instead of chorizo since we have a good local source for that, but this was a good standard easy dinner to start off a Monday.  3D943CE4-DE4B-4479-B153-58D5035FBE2D 2

{Day 2}
Breakfast: Leftover Nasi Goreng with an egg on top and/or Dairy Free Chocolate Milkshakes (we have some very hungry growing boys around here that quite often eat 2 different breakfast meals by the time it is all said and done. I have had to sub the bananas in our original recipe lately for 1-2 cans of coconut cream since the little can’t do bananas, but this is a great dairy free keto treat.

Dinner: Drunken Chicken Zoodle Casserole. OMG this was SO GOOD! It was a bit more prep than some of the other meals, but totally worth it. I used chicken breast pieces, cut the chili garlic paste in 1/2 (since the kids don’t love super spicy), and used coconut aminos instead of the soy sauce, and it was just right. My husband and I love Thai food and the sauce in this recipe had such good flavor. Everyone raved about this dinner the whole way through. BONUS: This was even more amazing as leftovers!IMG_2108IMG_2111

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{Day 3}
Breakfast: Egg Salad I have no idea why I have not yet posted my Deviled Egg Salad recipe, but it’s super simple so I’ll just post it here. This is not keto in it’s original form, but the kids LOVE it, so I made a batch for them and then made some for us without the secret ingredient {brown sugar}. lol

To make this, I soft boil about a dozen eggs in the instant pot (put on the grate, add some water to the bottom and run for 4 minutes). Peel the eggs and mash them up into a bowl with some mayo, spicy brown mustard and just a pinch of brown sugar to taste. I am going to have to make this with measurements soon because I am the world’s worst at measuring. We love to use homemade mayo and I’d say I do several TBSP of that, 1-2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard and maybe 1-2 tsp brown sugar. Mix it all up and it does not last long here. For the kids who are still eating some carbs, they put this on some toast and devour it. We do the non-sugar version and mix in some chopped celery, onion and chopped pieces of leftover bacon into a bowl and….YUM.

Dinner: Keto Beef and Broccoli Bowls  These were yummy and the kids agreed they would like to have them again, but I think I’d tweak the sauce a bit next time to be a little thicker with a little more flavor. I found the broth watered it down a bit too much by the time it soaked in. We served these over cauliflower rice and overall it was VERY yummy and easy.IMG_2107

{Day 4}
Breakfast: Leftover Beef and Broccoli – this made great breakfast leftovers by heating it up and adding an egg on top! For the kids, I made a batch of Pumpkin Pie Pudding on the side and it was delicious!

Dinner: Superfood Baked Salmon Sheet Pan This was a beautiful dish to prepare and serve. I was honestly a bit underwhelmed at the flavors though when it all came out in the end. The wild blueberry balsamic basil topping did not have the punch I was hoping for, so I think I would add in quite a bit more garlic and lemon next time, as well as add some raw chopped bacon around the sprouts (nothing better than sprouts that can soak up the bacon flavor to crisp up while cooking).IMG_2106

{Day 5}
Breakfast: I used the extra sprouts from the night before as the base of this SUPER Sheet Pan Breakfast Hash. This will absolutely be on my morning rotation from here out. While I have used the brussel sprouts with breakfast several times before, adding in the raw bacon and then baking the eggs onto the sheet pan was just perfection!IMG_2114

IMG_2155Dinner: Egg Roll in a Bowl This was interestingly similar to the Nasi Goreng in the preparation – only instead of the broccoli this had a LOT of cabbage and also included ACV which gave it a notably different taste. While I ADORE the flavor the coconut aminos give to many of these meals, I have to change it up so we don’t feel like we are eating the same thing over and over (though essentially we are). HA. Overall though, another huge win – the kids devoured these bowls and it will definitely be staying in the Keto rotation!

Gluten Free Stirfry

I often make meals that are healthy and meals that taste good, but they do not always align at the same time 😂 I try.

Tonight my 7 year old said as he was eating, ‘this tastes better than cake,’ so I figured this is worth writing down. This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, nut free and soy free and is both Whole 30 and Keto friendly.

I have been transitioning to cauliflower rice for obvious nutritional and health benefits, and am loving these super easy stir fry bowls. I’ve done chicken & broccoli but tonight’s rendition was Ahi Tuna steaks over the stirfry and it was GONE in a flash with rave reviews from all 3 boys. Super super simple.

PREP AHEAD:

Marinade Wild Ahi Tuna steaks a few hours ahead of time with a drizzle of olive oil (I use my fav Rosemary Thyme Infused oil) Coconut Aminos, and crushed garlic. Put in fridge.

Prepare homemade mayo if you do not have any (this is a soy free 4 ingredient super clean condiment that tastes WAY better than anything you get in a store)

  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup LIGHT TASTING olive oil (do NOT use regular or it will be disgusting)
  • 1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard

Season with a dash of salt and blend all in a cup with immersion blender until nice and thick and creamy

Set in fridge and save for later

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When ready to eat:

Use any riced cauliflower of your choice (I have used several brands all with great results, but love the Green Giant with no additives or even seasoning). Pour out desired amount in an oven safe dish and add in a bag of frozen organic mixed vegetables or chop and pre-cook fresh veggies until soft and then add to cauliflower mix.

This is so easy it’s not really a recipe, but the simple seasonings make it go from blah to amazing. Stick the frozen cauliflower rice and veggies in oven or on stove until cooked through and hot.

When almost done, heat skillet over med/high heat and sear/cook the marinated tuna steaks (or can do the same thing with chicken). Depending on thickness I usually do 2.5 min per side for the tuna so they are still med rare.

Before serving, drizzle on coconut aminos over ‘rice’ and veggie mix, salt and pepper.

Top with Ahi Tuna steak and drizzle the ‘mayo sauce’ over the top. Enjoy!