Chiquis Rivera - Chiquis Keto: The 21-Day Starter Kit for Taco, Tortilla, and Tequila Lovers

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First Atria Paperback edition April 2020

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Select design graphics by Raymond Morales

Food photographs by Natalia Wrobel Katz

Lifestyle and workout photographs by Francis Bertrand

Cover design by Min Choi

Cover photograph by Francis Bertrand

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Rivera, Chiquis, author. | Koudouzian, Sarah, author.

Title: Chiquis keto : the 21-day starter kit for taco, tortilla, and tequila lovers / Chiquis Rivera with Sarah Koudouzian.

Description: First edition. | New York : Atria Paperback, 2020. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019057681 | ISBN 9781982133726 (paperback) | ISBN 9781982133733 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking, Mexican. | Ketogenic diet. | High-protein DietRecipes. | Low-carbohydrate dietRecipes. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX716.M4 R546 2020 | DDC 641.5972dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019057681

ISBN 978-1-9821-3372-6

ISBN 978-1-9821-3373-3 (ebook)

This is not your average keto book.

We will not be counting calories or macros.

We will not be peeing on sticks.

And we will not be beating ourselves up if we arent in a state of ketosis 24/7.

This is keto done my way, for all my fellow chingonas who dont like to follow the rules but want to reap the benefits of a happy and healthy lifestyle.

Lets do this!

boss bee:built on self-success (boss) babe embracing evolution (bee)cabrones:the jackasses in our lives who we have to kick to the curbchula:a beautiful, sexy, amazing womanlonja:love handles, fat roll, muffin topnalgas:your behind, butt cheeks, bootyand

Chingona

a badass woman who lives life on her own terms

I consider myself a chingona, and if youve picked up this book, Im pretty sure you are a chingona too. Why? Because, like me, you bend the rules, you create your own path to follow your dreams, and you are ready to kick some nalgas and get shit done. Im also guessing that if you are flipping through this book, you too have placed your health and body at the bottom of your priority list. Its easy to put ourselves last when we are juggling so many things in our lives, but that stops now. A crucial part of our badass journey in this world must include taking charge of our health, and thats what I hope we can do together with Chi-Keto, which is what I call my brand of keto, for short.

Let me guess: easier said than done, right? Yeah, I get it, and Im with you. I know what its like to grow up surrounded by family members who show their love through food and threaten you with the death of starving children when you dont want to finish the ginormous portions endearingly served on your plate. And what about the guilt trip that punctures our hearts when our abuelitas look at us with sad eyes because we are rejecting a second helping of our favorite dish, the one they spent the entire day making just for us? Ay, Dios mo! What do we do? We eat, thats what we do. We eat every last crumb on our plate. We learn to associate food with love and comfort, and when were little and nicknamed gordita (otherwise known as chubby in Spanish), we learn to accept it as a term of endearment. Until we hit our teens and it all starts messing with our heads. If were too thin, our family sets out to fatten us up to look healthier, and if were packing on the pounds, they warn us that well never find a man while looking like that, but they still feed us big-time, completely contradicting their ominous warnings. And so the dieting and yo-yoing begin.

Since I can remember, I have struggled with my weight. One time, I moved in with my abuelita for two months and gained a ridiculous amount of weight because I couldnt say no to her foodI would never disrespect my abuelita like that. It stopped one day, when my mom grabbed me by my newly minted love handles and said, I think its time for you to come home. But we struggled at home too. I grew up watching my mom and aunt try out different diets while my abuelito continuously told them what to eat and what to avoid. He was old school and super fit, and I know he thought he was giving out helpful advice when hed say to my ta, Si ests gorda, no te va a querer un hombre. (If youre chubby, a man wont love you). Im sure some, if not all, of you have heard a version of that line about not being able to get a man if youre packing on the pounds, either at home or at a family gathering. Its a classic in the Latino community, but its far from helpful, am I right? All it really does is add to our already existing self-doubt.

As I came into my teen years, I not only got my mamas amazing genes (with curves for miles that I would eventually learn to love) but also some of her insecurities. Thats when diets became a part of my life. And when I say Ive done a lot of dieting, I mean, Ive done it all, everything from the cabbage soup diet and juicing to no-carb and low-fat crazes. You name it, Ive tried it. The first time I went on the Zone diet, it was with my moms advice so that I could fit into my prom dress. And I went for it. I stuck to it for a month, lost the weight, felt like a queen in my dress, and when all the fun was over, I went back to my old eating habits and regained all the weight plus a few extra pounds. A moment of silence for the favorite jeans my thighs ripped. And, of course, the question that came from family members immediately after that y la dieta? (and the diet?) And thats the cycle that continued with every diet since. I would do great at sticking to the plan, but after a while Id start eyeing all the goodies my colleagues were having at business lunches or the tortillas, beans, and rice served at family gatherings, while I was stuck with a boring, flavorless piece of chicken, and it just got to me. Those bland, restrictive diets never fit my lifestyle. So Id revert to my old eating habits and, after having sacrificed a month or two and seen the weight suddenly drop, Id helplessly watch the scale go up, up, up, and away all over again.