Tag: ketogenic diet

Keto Cheese-Shell Tacos/Tostadas

This is super easy and tasty to do, but since I get lots of questions on IG, I figured I’d add this as a quick recipe.

I use thick cheese slices (usually Tillamook or HEB Natural) so these make nice mini tacos. Provolone is the best, followed by muenster, followed by Monterrey Jack, in my opinion. Cheddar is ok, too, but gets toasty and hard fast–which makes it good for tostadas or “chips”!

Preheat your oven to 400°. Place parchment paper or a silicone mat on a cookie sheet then place your slices of cheese about 1.5 to 2 inches apart so they won’t make 1 giant “tortilla” –or DO, if that’s what you want LOL! I can make 6 “tortillas” or “shells” at a time with my large cookie sheet.

Bake for 5-6 minutes, keeping an eye on them, until nicely browned on the edges. I’ve let the timer ring for an additional minute and *BOOM* tostadas 😆 . So, with that being said: if you want tostadas or “chips,” bake for an additional 1-2 minutes for a total of 7-8 minutes.

Provolone shells

Let your slices sit for about a minute (to prevent them from becoming gooey if they’re scooped up too soon), then transfer onto a paper towel to drain them. Then fill (or top) and serve :).

Tostadas

2-Year Post-Op Breast Reduction/Lift Surgery Update

Today marks 2 years since I decided to have breast reduction/lift surgery!! It was one of the best, most awful experiences of my life 😆 .

Since last year, not much has changed, except that I’d started Keto-ing on April 30, 2017 and have lost some firmness (fat?) in my boobies, so they aren’t as full but still look perky and great without a bra.

(Before and after Keto pic)

I haven’t been working out at all, unfortunately, since about July 2017–sometime before we went on our vacation at the beach. But I’m sort of afraid of what will happen if I DO start working out again and being 100% Keto–will I TOTALLY lose my boobs or will they become flabby?? Has anyone had any experience with this? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!

I very happily cruised through summer wearing dresses with no straps, braless!

I have a whole collection now, and I want more LOL. This would have been IMPOSSIBLE pre-surgery and pre-weightloss. There would have been no support and no strapless bra could have held those knockers up!

Speaking of clothes: HOODIES. I love me some hoodies now, which I could never wear before without looking like a little round ball.

I’m still not wearing “normal” bras, and honestly, I haven’t even tried to get sized and look for some in a long time since I’m pretty comfortable with my Jockey Bralettes. But there are some blouses I can’t wear since they’re lower-cut and a bra is required and my current bras just don’t look all that flattering 😕 , so I need to find a comfy alternative.

In my sleep, I have subconsciously turned almost all the way over on my boobs (I used to be a stomach sleeper, pre-surgery) and woke up pretty sore. I do sleep on my sides a lot, though and end up crushing a boob 😕 .

In the last 3 months or so I started feeling little trickles of pain towards the end of the month, and then I realized it’s soreness before menstruation! I hadn’t felt that in a while and am really hoping that that’s the height of the pain I’ll feel. It used to be horrible before 😕 !

My scarring is TONS better, but they are still probably more visible than they should be due to the weird allergic reaction/rash scars I have and the scar I got from the draining with the scalpel that they had to do.

Wish I could find better comparison photos. But that pink-blouse photo (circa December 2015, 1.5 months before my surgery) haunted me, and even then, I still didn’t bother losing weight till 2017, which is the photo on the right.

So all-in-all, I can’t complain! I feel the most comfortable in my skin than I have in…well, ever, I think!!

I’ve considered getting a tummy tuck,–eventually, when I know I can stick to exercising and eating Keto (these holidays have KILLED me because I’ve got no chill) and knowing the weight will stay off. I’d gained 5 pounds of the 18 I’d lost on Keto since I started back in April, and now I’ve still got 3 of those 5 pounds to go and I can tell that it all goes to my lower belly and ARMS. BUT. The possibility of getting another allergic reaction scares the crap out of me, because the 2 surgeries I’ve had (Tubal Ligation and the Breast Reduction/Lift) have both caused me to have weird reactions that hinder my recovery. So, I’d have to be EXTREMELY sure of that decision, and I’ve have to go to a recommended surgeon.

But anyway, yes, this is still the best decision I could have ever made, complications and all!

Uneasiness and Tangents

Did I even spell that title correctly? Hmm…anyway. I’m all alone with my thoughts; for the past few hours. Jorge is working (yes, this late) and the kids aren’t here this weekend 🙁 but they’d probably be asleep by now anyway if they were. Briana, Mia, Joyce and the kids were here earlier, but they’ve since gone home 🙁 . My dinner ended up being an iced coffee from Starbucks, where I picked up a gift card earlier.

Anyway, we caught up and talked and I learned some annoying shit that’s happened recently, but it’s not my place to say anything about it. And I hate it. Because I want to scream and tell people off and just be a total bitch about these things I have no control over. The anger’s been festering in my gut for the past few hours that I feel nauseous and hungry all at the same time. I was going to get up and make an anger-filled chocolate mug cake, but I felt too lazy to. And then I thought I’d get a Carb Smart ice cream pop thing but that also required getting up from this chair and nah. But I also don’t feel hungry, which is progress for me in hindsight, since I would have devoured an entire box of Carb Smart in the past. Yay me.

I tried finishing my Calaca wreath but wasn’t into it. I started laundry, but haven’t put it in the dryer yet. I started browsing though job postings since I received an e-mail and I have A.D.D. but everything sucks. Started looking for that stupid book I need to study because my brain has forgotten everything it learned all these years (HOW was I valedictorian and salutatorian, HOW??), but I got distracted again and said, “Hmm, I haven’t blogged in a while…” 🙄

Can you believe I feel guilty for feeling angry? That’s what’s wrong with me: I can never just be MAD. I feel guilty and ungrateful for being angry. I had a great day of shopping (that’s what happens when Jorge leaves me alone too long) and not even that helped. Well, it did for a little bit, heh.

I used up coupons left and right and managed to find a black dress at Old Navy for our Annual Banquet. It was comfy and I liked it at the store, but in no way, shape, or form is it “cocktail attire”. Then I saw this other dress online just a while ago, but I’m sure it’s about $75 and I’m NOT paying that for a dress I’ll wear one time.

I also finally found my mustard-colored cardigan. I was really hoping to find one at Goodwill, or eBay, but no luck. So I paid $10 for a legit new one 😆 . Now I need to fix that blouse with the foxes on it that I absolutely had to have a mustard-colored cardigan for. I bought it in medium in March and now it’s huge. I literally wore it once. One of the negatives of dropping 2 sizes 😕 .

Which is why I’m scouring Goodwill and clearance racks for pants. All of my jeans, shorts and work pants are cinched at the waist with safety pins since losing weight, and it looks pretty bad because it clumps under my blouses. I got lucky last month when I found 2 red pants (one brand-new from Old Navy and brand-new Calvin Klein ones, both with tags). This month I found a denim jacket (in extra small, WHAT), 2 dresses (one from Gap with tags) and a cute sweater from Aeropostale. I think I spent $10 or less on all that!

Here’s one of the dresses and the jacket:

(Yes, my cats are indeed enormous!)

I realized today as Mom and I walked to the car from visiting Gramma that my thighs 100% don’t rub when I walk in a dress anymore! That’s a darn non-scale victory in itself! Oh! And I tried on pants at Kohl’s (I had Kohl’s cash, woo!), and I fit into a SIZE. 3. THREE. Tres. I haven’t been size 3 since I was 17!!! And I have a post all about my 5-month Keto experience and progress, but obviously I never finished it, but I seriously weigh the lowest as an adult, EVER. I seriously love Keto, no joke.

Ok. I should go check on the darn laundry. Or pay bills online. Or you know, wash my face, brush my teeth and go to bed? Meh.