Liz Williams - The One Pot Ketogenic Diet Cookbook : 100+ Easy Weeknight Meals for Your Skillet, Slow Cooker, Sheet Pan, and More

Copyright (c) 2018 by Liz Williams

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Design by Carol Singer
Photography (c)Helene Dujardin, Food styling by Tami Hardeman

ISBN: Print 978-1-93975-450-9 | eBook 978-1-93975-451-6

For Danny and Gracie Rose

I know I am not the only one who has struggled to find balance at the dinner table. Life can get so crazy, and figuring out what to make on busy weeknights can sometimes seem impossible--especially if you're trying to follow a diet.

I have spent years and years looking for a quick-fix diet and lifestyle that works for me and my body. Now that I've found it in the ketogenic diet, I want to share it with everyone.

Keto works for my family because we can all eat the same meals and incorporate simple additions if needed. Eliminating the concept that you need to prepare a different dinner for the family is key to your success and sanity when eating keto.

My two-year-old daughter has been eating this way since we introduced solid foods. Now avocados, bacon, and cheese are some of her favorite foods and she's a healthy, growing girl. My husband loves the meals and versatility that keto brings into our lives. Having children (and husbands) eat happily is one of the most important factors in having a positive family mealtime experience.

Through my journey I have learned how to balance and maintain a busy work schedule and life with a toddler, all while keeping everyone fed. My secret: one-pot cooking. Utilizing a single cooking vessel--like a skillet, sheet pan, or slow cooker-- to prepare an entire meal simplifies the time I spend in the kitchen cooking, and it also makes clean-up easy. Developing a repertoire of one-pot keto meals has helped me make a commitment to keto every night of the week and helped keep my family fed. It hasn't always been pretty, but I hope you can use what I've learned to find success in your own journey.

Making a plan and being prepared are also important pieces of advice. When I sit down and plan out dinner options for the week, grocery shop, and spend a few hours meal prepping, I'm setting myself up for success. In this book, you'll find the tools for following a ketogenic lifestyle and creating a balanced meal in less time than it would take to load the family up and go out to eat, which will also cut down on your weekly food budget.

When I started my keto lifestyle, I was very overwhelmed with all the information, all the do's and don'ts, and I spent a lot of time wading through it all. I am excited to provide a resource for those who would like to try keto, but want to keep it simple. Having clear, easy-to-follow information is so important. It's tough enough revamping habits we've built over a lifetime, let alone making complicated meals after work. I hope this book will help with a smooth transition into low-carb living.

Within this cookbook you will find easy keto recipes that can be prepared in just one pot or pan, and with familiar ingredients. When I open cookbooks, more often than not, I find recipes with ingredients I'm not sure how to pronounce, let alone find in my local grocery store. Keeping things basic and delicious will keep you on track and able to maintain this lifestyle.

I have seen so many people benefit from living a ketogenic lifestyle. Most, like me, after many failed methods and attempts. I'm so excited to provide a tool that will make becoming healthy a more possible, positive effort for those who want more for themselves and their families.

A s a working mom, I know how challenging it can be to get a dinner on the table, let alone one that follows a "diet." But I am here to assure you it can be done, even on those crazy weeknights. This chapter will detail the basics of the ketogenic diet and give you the tools you need to transition to and maintain a ketogenic lifestyle, no matter how busy you are.

When I started researching the ketogenic diet, it seemed intimidating, hard to comprehend, and limited. As I studied it, lived it, and felt the benefits, I realized how wrong I was.

Keto became maintainable once I felt comfortable in the aisles of the grocery store and cooking in the kitchen. I know you'll be able to relate, as you gain confidence limiting carbohydrates and incorporating healthy fats into your diet.

Adapting to a ketogenic lifestyle at the dinner table is much easier than it may seem. I hope you'll find ideas and inspiration within these pages to help you find success in maintaining and living a ketogenic lifestyle in your home.

Keto Basics

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat, moderate-protein diet that optimizes ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic process that causes the body (liver) to break down fatty acids into ketone bodies to be used for fuel. When undergoing a ketogenic diet, your body switches from burning mostly carbohydrates for fuel to using fat as its primary fuel source. You are "in ketosis" or "keto-adapted" once your body is metabolizing or burning fat as fuel.