Sarah Anne Jones - The Keto Sheet Pan Cookbook

Copyright 2019 by Sarah Anne Jones Photos by Abigail Gehring All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. Cover design and photo by Abigail Gehring. Recipe for cover photo appears on . Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-4982-5 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-4983-2 Printed in China Contents Introduction Hi, my name is Sarah and I am a sugar addict.

I know there are millions of people who can say the same. But when I say sugar addict, I mean that there was a time a few years ago that I realized I never, ever went a day without some form of chocolate. That wouldnt be so terrible, but it became more of a habit than anything; Its the end of the day, I need a treat kind of thing. And doing that when you know you dont feel good about yourself, and that the behavior is contributing to those negative feelings, is not healthy. Im sure many can also relate to the lifelong struggle I have had with my weight. I have tried many different diets, some healthy and some not.

Most of them worked, for a while; I feel as if Ive lost and gained the same fifty pounds over and over in the past twenty-five years. Then I had three kids. The weight did not come off very easily anymore, not to mention that the stress of being a mother to three, then a single mother to three, made it difficult to focus on myself. I ate merely to survive, and I felt terrible and uncomfortable in my skin. I have been a member of an online community of moms for about ten yearssince I was pregnant with my oldest. It was through this online community that I discovered keto.

For a while I would see the discussions and ignore them, because it seemed like a fad and, truly, I wasnt in a mental place to think about changing anything. One day I wandered into this group online and started reading. At first, it was really overwhelming; there are a lot of terms that experienced keto enthusiasts throw around that dont initially make sense to most people. But it did seem pretty simple overall: just dont eat sugar and grains. There were some handy online lists of foods I could eat, which were amazingly helpful. The first day, I had some bacon with my breakfast, and I realized that focusing on the foods I could eat was probably going to save me, at least until the sugar cravings went away.

I lost thirty-five pounds in the first two and a half months of eating keto, and I had more energy and mental clarity than I had had in a long time. I could go a lot longer without eatingI often skipped breakfast because I just didnt feel like having any. These are all normal side effects of cutting unnecessary carbs out of your life. I will not say that keto is for everyoneif theres one thing I have learned in my nearly four decades on this planet its that there are very few things you can make truthful generalizations about. What I will say is that, for me, with my lifetime of unhealthy eating and bingeing, and a family history full of diabetes, I truly believe this is the best way for me to eat. Probably the most recognizable health change is that, in two years of mostly eating keto, I went from having high cholesterol to having normal cholesterol levels.

THE BASICS So what is keto? I have to assume, if you picked up this book, you have a passing knowledge of what keto is. Plus, it is continuing to gain in popularity. The problem is, a lot of the hype going on around keto has also created a lot of misconceptions. No, people I know who eat keto do not drink bacon fat for breakfast. I, personally, and a lot of the other people I know who are eating this way, eat far more vegetables than we used to eat. There are also two different fields of thought about how to eat keto (okay, probably more than two, but two main ones, anyway).

What seems to be more dominant is the high fat way of doing it. I think this is probably where a lot of the controversy comes from, since weve all been taught that we need to reduce fat in our diets, and that eating too much of it is very, very bad. This high fat version of keto is commonly called medical keto because it was originated as a diet that was utilized to reduce symptoms in such conditions as epilepsy. The other field of thought is referred to as nutritional keto, and that is the version I have been following. This version focuses on high protein, moderate fat, and low carb. The idea is that you stay full and keep your muscles healthy by eating a high level of protein each day, you eat at most 2025 grams of carbohydrates each day, and you eat a moderate amount of fat.

This is the site I would recommend to calculate your macros (protein/fat/carbs): http://lowcarbshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/chart.jpg Because it can be so complicated in the beginning, it is usually best, at least for the first two weeks, to just focus on eating no more than 2025 grams of carbohydrates each day, and eating only the foods considered ketogenic foods. Those are: Meat, most veggies (those that grow aboveground and are green are good rules of thumb), full-fat dairy products (sour cream, real butter, both half-and-half and heavy cream, cheese in all forms, etc.), eggs, nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, and macadamia nuts), nut butters, and good fats (avocado and avocado oil, coconut oil, and olive oil). Artificial sugars will vary from person to person, based on preference and how they affect you, specifically. Some choose to use stevia or Splenda, and some avoid them completely. They do tend to create cravings for more sweet things. A great website to refer to for this information is: https://www.ruled.me/ketogenic-diet-food-list.

Another thing to be aware of early on is supplementing three key elements: salt, magnesium, and potassium. If you do not pay close attention to those, you can start to experience what is commonly referred to as the keto flu. When your body is adjusting to the new diet, your body can freak out a bit. Keto is a natural diuretic, and it begins to flush your kidneys. You need salt, potassium, and magnesium. Dont drink excessive water at the beginning (drink to thirst, dont drown your body).

Keto flu is usually a feeling of headaches, extreme fatigue, and just general crappiness. Most people feel it for a few days, starting around day four. You do not have to suffer, though. I feel like I have noticed this left out of a lot of keto groups when speaking to newcomers, and it really is important. Its an electrolyte imbalance. Drink some broth.