A ketogenic lifestyle vs. dieting - Keto Chocolate Mouse Pie
Many people have told me that they can't do what I have done...that making so many lifestyle changes would be too hard. Most of them know that I did it because I felt like I was backed into a corner. Clean up my nutrition....or continue to watch my health decline. But, just as I would have done before I got sick, I found myself being placed by others in the unfortunate category of being a "sick person." I want to scream at them, "I was JUST LIKE YOU! Just yesterday, I was a 'healthy person,' too!"
The problem with this view is that sickness is not black and white. It is not that clear cut. You see, now that I am diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, I suppose that I am in the "unhealthy" category. I have to admit that on the stupid questionnaires at a doctors office where they ask you to rate your health, I really struggle. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how healthy do you think you are overall." How in the hell is someone with Multiple Sclerosis who runs marathons and lives a very healthy lifestyle supposed to rate herself on that scale? I usually refuse to, writing in something like, "Others think that, with a diagnosis of MS, I am a '1.' I would rate myself as a 10...and here is why." I simply cannot be reduced to a number. I refuse to be. That is why I started this blog. I will not be a number, a category, a frieking statistic....and I want others to refuse to do so with me. Those of us who find ourselves in the "sick category" need to stand together and support one another. We need to help each other reclaim our health, despite the struggles that we have with our bodies, despite our symptoms, despite our labels. Our health CAN be reclaimed if we treat it the way that God meant for our bodies to be nourished and cared for. That means NOT eating like an American.
My first point is that, health is definitely on a continuum. It isn't as simple as I made it in my head before my diagnosis. Be truthful with yourself. Are you overweight? Are you sick often? Do you feel like your immune system has left you without any defenses against germs? Do you have autoimmune issues that are less severe....or more so....than MS? Do you have poor digestion? Do you struggle with brain fog? Do you always feel tired? It doesn't take a negative health test to show that you are "sick." Often times our bodies are sending us signals that many of us ignore until we have a label for an illness. There are so many ways to measure health....and I, for one, am not going to put myself in a certain category because an MRI says that I am sick.
So, if you are thinking about whether or not keto could be for you, don't think, "Oh I can do it later. I am in good enough health." Because I thought that, too. I was healthy, too.----Until I wasn't. Reclaim your health. Choose to not let the little signals that your body is sending you turn into big signals that something is terribly wrong. Take it from a woman who ignored poor digestion, hair falling out, lethargy, brain fog...the list goes on....it will turn into something worse. I wish I had listened before diagnosis. And I am happy that I have not chosen to give up.
My second point is that a ketogenic lifestyle is not at all about deprivation. Yes, you are restricting carbs. BUT you are replacing them with fat, which makes food delicious and fulfilling. It leaves you feeling satiated and content. When you eat keto, former cravings disappear. It is like you are a different person. I am not a superhero....I am an ordinary person who made a decision to choose my health and not turn back....ever. Anyone can do this if they really choose to do so and are commited to it.---Even when it isn't convenient.
If you don't believe my second point....if you really think I am suffering...I am going to share a recipe for the Keto Chocolate Mousse Pie that I am taking to a family function this evening. It is a recipe from over at Ruled Me that I altered for my tastes and the dairy restrictions that I have. For someone with an autoimmune condition, dairy is very inflammatory. I leave it out of my diet for this reason. I don't need inflammation causing a relapse and stealing more of who I am away from me.
At my family function this evening, everyone else will be making themselves sick on cake....and I will have a treat...and still feel good when I go home tonight. Maybe, just maybe, some of the people who I love will try it and decide that maybe, just maybe, they could choose a different lifestyle if it allowed for food like this Dairy-Free Keto Chocolate Mousse Pie in it.
Maybe it will even make you think that YOU could do it, too.
I hope that you love this recipe as much as I do.
Dairy-Free Keto Chocolate Mousse Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Erythritol
3 Tablespoons Coconut Butter
1 Egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Filling:
16 ounces Kite Hill Almond Cream Cheese (2 packages)
1 Tablespoons Coconut Yogurt
4 Tablespoons Coconut Butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup erythritol/monk fruit sweetener blend (I just mix the two together myself)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup coconut cream (refridgerated....use only the hardened cream...save the coconut water for smoothies)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, baking powder, salt, and erythritol.
3. After the dry ingredients are well-blended, add in the coconut butter. Mix gently with a fork until it is well incorporated into the crust mixture.
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix all ingredients together.
5. Grease the pie pan well with coconut oil.
6. Press the dough into the bottom of the pie pan. Work your way up the sides, as well.
7. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Allow it to become a golden brown color.
8. While the crust is baking, mix all filling ingredients in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer.
9. When the crust is done, allow it to cool completely.
10. Add the filling ingredients to the pie crust. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.
The problem with this view is that sickness is not black and white. It is not that clear cut. You see, now that I am diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, I suppose that I am in the "unhealthy" category. I have to admit that on the stupid questionnaires at a doctors office where they ask you to rate your health, I really struggle. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how healthy do you think you are overall." How in the hell is someone with Multiple Sclerosis who runs marathons and lives a very healthy lifestyle supposed to rate herself on that scale? I usually refuse to, writing in something like, "Others think that, with a diagnosis of MS, I am a '1.' I would rate myself as a 10...and here is why." I simply cannot be reduced to a number. I refuse to be. That is why I started this blog. I will not be a number, a category, a frieking statistic....and I want others to refuse to do so with me. Those of us who find ourselves in the "sick category" need to stand together and support one another. We need to help each other reclaim our health, despite the struggles that we have with our bodies, despite our symptoms, despite our labels. Our health CAN be reclaimed if we treat it the way that God meant for our bodies to be nourished and cared for. That means NOT eating like an American.
My first point is that, health is definitely on a continuum. It isn't as simple as I made it in my head before my diagnosis. Be truthful with yourself. Are you overweight? Are you sick often? Do you feel like your immune system has left you without any defenses against germs? Do you have autoimmune issues that are less severe....or more so....than MS? Do you have poor digestion? Do you struggle with brain fog? Do you always feel tired? It doesn't take a negative health test to show that you are "sick." Often times our bodies are sending us signals that many of us ignore until we have a label for an illness. There are so many ways to measure health....and I, for one, am not going to put myself in a certain category because an MRI says that I am sick.
So, if you are thinking about whether or not keto could be for you, don't think, "Oh I can do it later. I am in good enough health." Because I thought that, too. I was healthy, too.----Until I wasn't. Reclaim your health. Choose to not let the little signals that your body is sending you turn into big signals that something is terribly wrong. Take it from a woman who ignored poor digestion, hair falling out, lethargy, brain fog...the list goes on....it will turn into something worse. I wish I had listened before diagnosis. And I am happy that I have not chosen to give up.
My second point is that a ketogenic lifestyle is not at all about deprivation. Yes, you are restricting carbs. BUT you are replacing them with fat, which makes food delicious and fulfilling. It leaves you feeling satiated and content. When you eat keto, former cravings disappear. It is like you are a different person. I am not a superhero....I am an ordinary person who made a decision to choose my health and not turn back....ever. Anyone can do this if they really choose to do so and are commited to it.---Even when it isn't convenient.
If you don't believe my second point....if you really think I am suffering...I am going to share a recipe for the Keto Chocolate Mousse Pie that I am taking to a family function this evening. It is a recipe from over at Ruled Me that I altered for my tastes and the dairy restrictions that I have. For someone with an autoimmune condition, dairy is very inflammatory. I leave it out of my diet for this reason. I don't need inflammation causing a relapse and stealing more of who I am away from me.
At my family function this evening, everyone else will be making themselves sick on cake....and I will have a treat...and still feel good when I go home tonight. Maybe, just maybe, some of the people who I love will try it and decide that maybe, just maybe, they could choose a different lifestyle if it allowed for food like this Dairy-Free Keto Chocolate Mousse Pie in it.
Maybe it will even make you think that YOU could do it, too.
I hope that you love this recipe as much as I do.
Dairy-Free Keto Chocolate Mousse Pie
Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Erythritol
3 Tablespoons Coconut Butter
1 Egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Filling:
16 ounces Kite Hill Almond Cream Cheese (2 packages)
1 Tablespoons Coconut Yogurt
4 Tablespoons Coconut Butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup erythritol/monk fruit sweetener blend (I just mix the two together myself)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup coconut cream (refridgerated....use only the hardened cream...save the coconut water for smoothies)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, baking powder, salt, and erythritol.
3. After the dry ingredients are well-blended, add in the coconut butter. Mix gently with a fork until it is well incorporated into the crust mixture.
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix all ingredients together.
5. Grease the pie pan well with coconut oil.
6. Press the dough into the bottom of the pie pan. Work your way up the sides, as well.
7. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Allow it to become a golden brown color.
8. While the crust is baking, mix all filling ingredients in a medium-sized bowl with an electric mixer.
9. When the crust is done, allow it to cool completely.
10. Add the filling ingredients to the pie crust. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.
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