Keen on Keto?.......Cheesy Sweet Potato Mash & Char-grilled Asparagus

The 'Keto' style of eating, be it for health or weight loss purposes, has been around for quite a while.....since 1972 to be exact when Dr. Atkins brought us his 'Atkins Diet'.
The Keto 'fad' if you could call it that.....and maybe I shouldn't.....has waxed and waned over the years but seems to be enjoying a bit of a revival lately.

The keto style of eating is very high in fat......scarily so!.. because if like me you have been brainwashed into believing that we need to be on low fat diets and that this is the only way to achieve weight loss then facing these high amounts of fat is like asking an agoraphobic to take a run round a crowded shopping centre......just the thought of it fills you with fear!.....but, now it has been discovered and medically approved that....FAT IS GOOD! and fat was good for us all along it seems.....natural fat that is, fat occurring naturally in food...we're talking olive, rape and seed oils, well marbled steaks....delish confit of duck, roast lamb, bacon, pork with crispy crackling....oh my God I'm in heaven thinking about that one.....butter, cream, full fat yogurt, and my favorites.....all those wonderful ripe and mature full fat cheeses....we are NOT talking about the fats that you would find in the pastry of a highly processed meat pastie or the hydrogenated fats in margarine's, imitation creams or cheap cakes and biscuits....these are the highly dangerous fats!

There is some technical stuff concerning carbohydrates and sugars to consider when eating the Keto way which I'm not going to go into detail about here, but if you choose this style of eating, once you know what to avoid or what to eat sparingly, it's plain sailing after that as there are no real limits to the amount you can eat NO STARVATION REQUIRED! instead you will find that you tend to eat less......good fats in food help you stay fuller for longer and when I go 'keto' I usually end up never eating any snacks at all except maybe a couple of nuts or a stick of celery here and there with my yummy blue cheese of course!

There are many medical sites out there outlining why going the keto way might be a good choice for you and your health so do some research for yourself and make your own informed opinion.
It is undeniably a good method of losing weight when followed correctly......and it can help ease the symptoms of those who suffer from epilepsy and Alzheimer's which can't be a bad thing.

You can easily find lots of good advice on how to go about achieving 'ketosis'...where your body learns to burn it's fat to use as energy instead of using mainly carbohydrates,.... there are a myriad of sites and books about how to eat correctly and the sorts of foods you should and should not be eating while following this choice. If you do decide to go down this road it is a good idea to consult your health practitioner before launching yourself into any major lifestyle change.


I have found that eating this way, even for a few weeks at a time, does help with weight loss and losing that bloated feeling so many of us poor women can suffer from.....I certainly feel more energetic after about 3 - 5 days of going low carb! but I do love my bread so I can never hold out too long, I just miss it too much, and even if I have something low carb like spelt bread which I will have baked myself, as soon as I have one piece I want more, so I just do without any bread for as long as I can.

At this time of year i.e. summer, and with the fabulous weather we should be getting, we can fire up the BBQ, and what better way to make the most of your keto eating than by having steak, chicken, chops or a tasty burger straight off the grill.
This little meal combination is high in those good fats we talked about and with a little low carb sweet potato on the side you have a complete meal suitable for all the family.

Cheesy Sweet Potato Mash: you will need....feeds 4

400 g peeled sweet potato
100 g mature or vintage cheddar cheese grated
50 g butter
1 tablespoon cream
1 small clove garlic crushed
sea salt
fresh black pepper

• cut up the sweet potato and gently cook in salted water until soft
• drain the potato well and return to the saucepan
• add the butter, cream, the crushed clove of garlic and season with some salt and pepper
• mash until really cream and soft and place over a low heat
• add the grated cheese and mix until the cheese has melted though the potato
• serve immediately while hot and gooey

Char-grilled Asparagus

1 supermarket bunch of asparagus should feed 4 people
some olive oil
1 clove garlic
one or two sprigs of rosemary
fresh lemon juice
black pepper

you will also need cold water with ice cubes or just really cold water in a bowl or something wide enough to lay the asparagus in.

• trim the root ends of the asparagus stalks if needed, using a potato peeler
• bring to the boil a large saucepan of water...I like to use a frying pan or a saute pan...add enough water to immerse the asparagus...add some salt to the water
• drop in the asparagus spears and cook gently until they attain a vibrant green colour but are still slightly firm...we will finish cooking them on the grill
• remove the spears from the hot water and plunge them into the iced water to halt their cooking.....this procedure is called blanching and refreshing by us chefs
• drain the spears then pat dry with some kitchen paper
• place the spears into a deep platter or another appropriately sized container
• drizzle over quite a lot of olive oil, add a crushed clove of garlic and the rosemary, rub this all over the spears
• cover with a lid or clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour so they can absorb the flavors

cooking.....

• lift the spears out of their olive oil bath, shake a little of the oil off then place them directly onto your hot grill
• cook the spears until they begin to brown on all sides and are soft
• place on a serving platter, drizzle with a little olive oil, scatter some fresh black pepper, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and serve

I serve these two items with a burger which I make myself.....use a good quality minced beef...not too lean mind you, fat is good!...which you can just season lightly with salt and pepper...shape into burgers and pop on the BBQ...cook to your liking and serve....and last but not least...scatter your plate with some crumbled blue cheese...it goes so well with the asparagus, sweet potato and burgers you won't even miss the bun!

Have you tried keto? then I'd love to hear about it....feel free to leave a comment below.