The good thing about curries is that if you make them yourself, the majority are easy to fit into a ketogenic lifestyle. Especially the coconut based curries, with a little tweaking.
Ingredients – Serves 2
For the Madras Curry Paste
1 Chilli Pepper.
1tsp Ground Corriander
1tsp Ground Tumeric
1tsp Ground Ginger or 1cm cubed Fresh Ginger (grated)
Take the ingredients for the paste. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a mini food processor/blender. Chop the remaining paste ingredients and add to the blender. Blitz it into a paste. Add a bit of water if needed.
For the curry, I use a non-stick pan with a lid but use whatever you prefer. Melt the Ghee in the pan, on a medium heat. Chop the Onion and Garlic, and add. Cook for a few minutes, and then add the Paste. Cook for a few more minutes. Add the cubed Beef (you can brown the beef before the onions and Garlic, if you prefer), and stock. Ensure the beef is covered in the stock. Add more water if needed. Bring to the boil and simmer for an hour or so with the lid on.
5 minutes before you are ready to serve, add the coconut milk and allow to warm through. Add Fresh Coriander just before you serve.
I often just eat it like a stew, as it is. However I also sometimes do steamed side veg, or cauliflower rice. Go wild!!!
The full meal per serving; you are looking at around 700 Calories, Total Carbs 12g (7%), Protein 63g (38%) and Fat 44g (55%). These figures are taken from MyFitnessPal, so you could argue the figures up and down a bit but you get my point. You can play around with the recipe to suit your macro’s. For example I use quite a lot of beef, so you can use less beef or use more coconut milk and less stock.
I am an Ambassador for a Ketogenic Sports Drink called KETONE.IO by Limited Labs – use coupon STEVEN for 10% off storewide. Check out their product range here ltdlabs.com/steven
Especially for meals during the week, I like to find recipes I can cook and eat there and then. Yet that I can make far to much of and warm up for the next couple of days.
This is a pretty satisfying meal, and tastes great warmed up again too.
Ingredients – serves 4
8 Chicken Thighs on the bone
285g jar of Sun-dried tomatoes
6 slices of smoked bacon
100g mushrooms
100ml of Dry White Wine
100 ml Double Cream
1 tablespoon of butter
Chicken Stock to cover
1 Onion
4 cloves of Garlic
Fresh Tyme
Cooking instructions
Take a pan with a lid. Then with the butter brown and seal the chicken thighs, on a high heat. Remove the chicken. Turn down to a medium heat, chop up the bacon, onion and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Drain the sun-dried tomatoes, and throw them in the pan. Then add the chicken, mushrooms and thyme. Pour in the white wine. Then pour in enough chicken stock to 3/4 cover the chicken. The juice will rise as fat comes out of the chicken. Turn to a high heat and bring to the boil. Then turn to a low heat, and put the lid on the pan. Simmer for an hour. Add the cream, and warm through for a couple of minutes and serve.
Per portion; you are looking at around 820 Calories, Total Carbs 12g (6%), Protein 48g (26%) and Fat 57g (68%). These figures are taken from MyFitnessPal, so you could argue the figures up and down a bit but you get my point.
The photos show a side portion of cabbage cooked in butter. I haven’t included this in the totals. As you could have a huge range of side dishes that suits your needs. If you need stricter carb grams, you can omit the sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and onion. It would still taste nice with a good side dish.
I am an Ambassador for KETONE.IO by Limited Labs – use coupon STEVEN for 10% off storewide. Check out their product range here ltdlabs.com/steven
Unshoes have kindly supplied me with the Wokova Feather Sandal, to provide an honest opinion. They have had no input in the review.
Why do I believe in the Barefoot Lifestyle? (Taken from my post – “Barefoot Running”)
When I say Barefoot Running I don’t literally mean going out with nothing on my feet.
The standard terms/definitions are below.
Unshod – not wearing any shoes or sandals, dirty foot time.
Barefoot – wearing shoes or sandals, which allow your feet to act naturally. Yet there is some protection against the terrain.
I am a big audiobook consumer, and one of the audiobooks I gobbled up was Christopher McDougall’s – “Born to Run”. Not only does the book tell a cool story about American ultra-runners taking on the best of the Mexican tribes. It goes into scientific details, on why barefoot running may be superior to wearing normal trainers. This was important to me. As running is a part of a long term health goal, I do not want it to be detrimental to my health.
I have read numerous articles outlining how our bodies evolved to be amazing endurance creatures. For example our ability to sweat through our skin, or the length of our Achilles. There are numerous aspects of our bodies that suggest we are built to be able to walk and run long distances. If you accept this hypothesis, then you also have to accept that our feet would have been an important aspect of the evolution. So basically our feet are the best running shoes we can have?
Who are Unshoes?
They are a small company producing minimal sports sandals and footwear.
I love their about page and especially their mission statement. They are right in my eyes. We are always told that we need the next newest running shoe or the next sports drink with added blah blah blah. Companies need to make money and I respect that, but you do need to be careful about letting all that marketing seep into your skin.
I also love how the owner just really liked being in sandals or barefoot, so when the market was not supplying exactly what he wanted. He just went out and designed his own sandals. Awesome.
The Wokova Feather is a variant of the Wokova, with adjustable strapping and elasticated loop. It is described as being perfect for casual or active wear. So basically any situation you would feel comfortable wearing sandals in.
I went for the black version, which has black strapping too. I think they look quite dark and mysterious. I can imagine Batman would choose these, if he was a minimalist sandal aficionado. I cannot comment on how well they fair in vigilante situations though.
I customised the sandal by going with the 6mm suction cup tread and the 4mm footbed. The reason I did this, was that I already had an ultra light sandal I used for roads and light trails. I needed a sandal that could handle slightly rougher terrain and activities.
Quality and Durability
The suction cup tread looks different and cool compared to the usual treads you see, and it works too. I have used them on roads, paths, gravel, grass, light and difficult trails. I have have no problems at all with the grip.
The footbed looks a bit different too, although as you will have your feet on them no one else will know!!! They have an almost sticky quality, but not in a bad way. In fact in a pretty comfortable way. Your foot feels really secure on the footbed. With some sandals you feel you have to really strap your foot in, because you fear it will slip around. I had no such concerns with this sandal.
I always have a good look at any new products, to get a sense on stitching , glueing, material quality etc. Its amazing how you can get a sense of how something will last and preform, and where the potential weak points may be. There was nothing that worried me in this sense. The materials seem high quality, and any areas where different materials meet, everything seems secure.
Fit and Comfort
The online sizing guide is a little daunting at the start, but when you actually read through it fully and get a sense of why they want you to do everything it makes sense. As well as the tread and footbed, you have a few more things to choose. Obviously you have to measure your foot and match it too their sizes, this is pretty standard. However you also can choose the width and shape of the sandals, as well as where you want the toe strap to be positioned. One way or another the sandals arrived and I was happy with the fit.
They are super comfy. The only issues I had was a bit of rubbing from the straps. However this was more to do with me never having worn sandals before and having pretty soft skin for a bloke!!!
Getting the straps on and positioned was a bit fiddly in general the first time. However once I got used to them, it takes no longer than putting on a normal pair of trainers and fastening them.
Conclusion
I think it is great that they don’t have a mens and womens section. You can just tailor the sandals to fit your feet. I think its pretty absurd that sandals are gender specific on some websites, they are just sandals!!! In fact the sandals I picked are the most popular purchase by women, do I care? No. I just chose the one I liked the best.
Considering minimal footwear is meant to be taking you back to your foots natural state, minimalist shoes can be really expensive. A lot of the big brands generally place themselves around the £100 mark. I love the fact the price of these including shipping from the US to the UK were less than £70. That’s good value in my eyes.
The post is just a little summary of how and when I use Bookbeat.
I am very happy with BookBeat, and I solely use it through the app. This means I search for audiobooks, and download them onto my phone direct from the app. You can just stream the audiobooks, however I prefer to download them. Then they are deleted from my phone, when I have finished listening to them. The layout of the app is really clear and easy to use. I also think it is important that they do not tie you into a long term subscription; you just pay month by month and you can cancel anytime.
I listen to Audiobooks in two main ways.
Firstly I have a 40 minute car journey to work, and obviously back again. So I have 80 minutes a day to fill. I do listen to music or podcasts sometimes, but mainly I listen to Audiobooks. I probably average one audiobook, every 3 weeks or so. As much as I like listening to music, I do like audiobooks because I feel I am using my commuting time more constructively. Especially if I am listening to an educational or historical audiobook.
The other main way I listen to audiobooks is when I am out running. I aim to run three times a week. Two short runs of 3-5 miles. Then a weekend long run of over 13 miles. The short runs, I listen to nothing. As I try to use this time to concentrate on my breathing, and use the runs as meditation time. However on the long runs, I like a bit of a distraction. So I have started to listen to audiobooks on these runs, as I will soon be out running for over 3 hours so a bit of distraction is needed. I prefer audiobooks, as they are a bit more therapeutic for me and a steadier tempo. Listening to music can be very beneficial when running; however it can affect your rhythm negatively too. If you are listening to music which energises you, it can actually cause you to run faster than you are capable of maintaining. Meaning you can tire yourself out quicker. Even if an audiobook is a fast paced thriller, it is still just a person reading. So it is steadier than listening to music.
So overall I am very happy with BookBeat and would certainly recommend the service.
Shamma Sandals have kindly supplied me with the Warrior Sandal, to provide an honest opinion. They have had no input in the review.
Why do I believe in the Barefoot Lifestyle? (Taken from my post – “Barefoot Running”)
When I say Barefoot Running I don’t literally mean going out with nothing on my feet.
The standard terms/definitions are below.
Unshod – not wearing any shoes or sandals, dirty foot time.
Barefoot – wearing shoes or sandals, which allow your feet to act naturally. Yet there is some protection against the terrain.
I am a big audiobook consumer, and one of the audiobooks I gobbled up was Christopher McDougall’s – “Born to Run”. Not only does the book tell a cool story about American ultra-runners taking on the best of the Mexican tribes. It goes into scientific details, on why barefoot running may be superior to wearing normal trainers. This was important to me. As running is a part of a long term health goal, I do not want it to be detrimental to my health.
I have read numerous articles outlining how our bodies evolved to be amazing endurance creatures. For example our ability to sweat through our skin, or the length of our Achilles. There are numerous aspects of our bodies that suggest we are built to be able to walk and run long distances. If you accept this hypothesis, then you also have to accept that our feet would have been an important aspect of the evolution. So basically our feet are the best running shoes we can have?
Who are Shamma Sandals?
They are a Minimalist Sandal company based in California, however they were happy to ship to me in the UK. They started out by making running sandals for themselves and friends, and it progressed from there. They only sell sandals, but now have a range of sandals that can fit into any lifestyle need. Whether that is running, walking, hiking, camping, leisure, adventure, anything really.
I went for the Warriors as I wanted a really thin sandal. I have a thicker sandal from another company for more robust trails. So I needed a sandal for road running, light trail running, and general walking about with my dog. They are described as being as close to being barefoot whilst providing adequate protection; this is exactly what I wanted.
I love the look of these. The tan leather is a beautiful colour, and look really smart. The Shamma name stamp looks cool too. The soles are badass, and the tread looks awesome. They look so sharp I almost didn’t want to get them out of the box, and get them dirty. Although that feeling soon passed!!! When I first started thinking about getting into running sandals, I did have a bit of a fear I would look like some old Jesus wannabe. However these definitely have a bit of style about them.
Quality and Durability
The tread is made by Vibram which is a well-respected brand name, so they should perform well over a long period of time. The leather on top looks and feels great, so I have no initial concerns about how they will cope with the running and walking I will put them through. The straps look good too, and they seem to be securely fastened to the shoe. If the straps wear out quicker than the shoe, you can buy replacements on their website.
Fit and Comfort
Their online size guide is really simple to follow, and I ended up ordering a sandal that fit really well. The straps are stupidly easy to put on, and just as quick as putting on some trainers. That’s a big plus, as I have another brand of sandal and their straps are a little more fiddley.
Walking and running in these is a dream, they are so soft but you never feel unsafe. They just seem to merge into your foot. I can’t wait for my feet to indent into the leather a bit more, for maximum comfort.
Conclusion
They may be a little hardcore for people jumping into barefoot/minimalist running off the bat, as they are very thin. However if you handle the transition properly you would not have a problem running in them, and of course you could always just start out walking in them to begin with. I am about 9 months into my transition and these are just what I need now. Not only for running, but for my day to day life. I am trying to build a range of barefoot shoes that will cover all my day to day activities, from work, to walking to running. These sandals will be an important part of that.
There are a lot of options to create really nice burgers, with combinations of herbs and spices. I try to keep my cooking fairly simple, so the burgers themselves are pretty plain. However there is plenty on flavour on the plate, with help from the cheeses, egg, and side vegetables.
Ingredients – Serves 4
For the Burgers –
500g Beef Mince
150g Mozzarella Ball
250g Halloumi Cheese
Butter to fry.
Salt and Pepper to taste
On the side –
Cabbage head
12 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Onion
1 Egg
Butter to fry
Instructions
Portion a 500g pack of mince into 4, and portion the mozzarella into 4. Take a portion of mince, and flatten it on your hand, place the mozzarella in the middle of the mince. Fold the mince around the mozzarella, making sure there are no gaps. Shape into a burger shape by hand. Fry the burgers for 7/8 minutes on each side, on a medium heat. The halloumi packs I buy are in a rectangle box shape. So I slice across the cheese to make 4 large slices. I fry these for a couple of minutes separately. To plate up, I put the halloumi on the plate first, with the burger on top, then a fried egg on top if you wish.
For the side dish I fried some chopped onion in butter. Once soft I halved the cherry tomatoes, and cooked for another couple of minutes. Then I added chopped cabbage for another couple of minutes.
Per portion; you are looking at around 804 Calories, Total Carbs 14g (7%), Protein 54g (28%) and Fat 57g (65%). These figures are taken from MyFitnessPal, so you could argue the figures up and down a bit but you get my point.
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