Fathead Burger Buns

Yep. It’s that kinda day.

Before I talk about the recipe I’m making in this video (which can be found here), let me just mention that I shot three videos on this particular day (Sunday, November 29), and I feel that none of them are particularly amazing simply because I was in so much pain that I couldn’t move very well.

And then when I woke up this morning (Monday, November 30) to put together the blog posts and such for the week, I thought I was going to die. Not to be graphic, but we’re going to talk about gas because there may be another change in the recipes I make. I’ll probably know more after my quarterly RA appointment on Wednesday.

For the past… two years? I’ve been getting very random, intense gas pains in the lower left quadrant of my abdominal cavity. In fact, I can pin point the pain to just above the protruding bit of my pelvis. Naturally, I have trouble with left and right (mostly because I was a tour guide in Hershey for a few years in which my right was Left and my left was Right and that really messes you up, after a while) and freaked myself out because I thought, “Maybe…this is appendicitis!!” I was frantically texting Cameraman Ken (who was just in the next room), panicking. Turns out, the appendix is in the upper right quadrant, so I had absolutely nothing to freak out about. When has that ever stopped me, though.

Anyway, today is day 3 of this pain. Sunday when I was filming was the worst, but I had to get it done. Cameraman Ken asked me the normal questions (like, “When was the last time you evacuated your bowls?”) and was surprised that everything, aside from the intense pain, was absolutely normal. It’s not bi-lateral pain, either. It’s located at that one point at my pelvis. So, whilst squirming in bed, trying not to throw up from the pain, I grabbed my phone and did some searches. I came across this information from Johns Hopkins:

“We see SIBO in patients who have had abdominal surgeries such as roux-en-Y gastric bypass or conditions such as diverticulosis of the small bowel. It’s more common in people with systemic diseases such as long-standing or poorly controlled diabetes, scleroderma, lupus, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, and those with a lowered immune system.”

-Hazel Marie Galon Veloso, M.D., “How to Get Rid of Gas Pain”

Great. I have at least two of those things: Lupus and celiac disease. This is not something that happens incredibly frequently, but it does happen every few months. This is probably the 2nd time since June this has happened (that I recall…what even is time in this Covid-19 Nation!?), and prior to that, I think it had happened 3 or 4 times since January? Anyway, it’s very irritating and can be alarming. But, now you know what’s going on behind those dead eyes in the video. 😉

On to the fathead rolls!

I have made this recipe four times, now. The first time I made it, I made a half batch and really liked it. The second time, I made it into a pizza crust; the third time, I didn’t cut them before I put them in the freezer; and the fourth time, I made them for you! Cameraman Ken slipped some wax paper between the two halves of each bun, as well, before putting it in the freezer. I asked what that was for and he said, “To keep them from freezing together.” Oh. Right. That makes sense.

This recipe would definitely be easier if you have access to a food processor. The way I did it in the video seems to work the best for me, personally, since I do not have current access to a food processor. Plus, as much as I hate stuff under my nails, I do enjoy kneading dough. Plus, if the dough starts getting sticky or cools down too much, just pop it back in the microwave for 15-30 seconds and you’re good to go.

Simple recipe. Delicious recipe. You can also form these into hotdog buns, if you’d prefer or need. If you’re looking for a loaf of bread for sandwiches, I would use a different recipe for that, like this one. It has a very good flavor and is very sturdy. I’ve used it for grilled cheese and it’s wonderful! It does not rise like other breads, so keep that in mind, but it is quite good in its own right. I keep mine in the refrigerator.

Hope you enjoyed the post and the video! I’m still messing around with the plugins on this site, so please let me know if something doesn’t work that you think should!

Veggie Lasagna – Low Carb

A-LEGEND-ly.

There are six guys who live upstairs. They’re a cool group of guys, but I’m really only friend-friends with 3 of them. One of the things they do is run a start-up called “Spira, Inc” in which they grow spirulina to create sustainable and ethical food sources. In a nutshell, that’s what they do.

Anyway, one of them, Elliott, is going to do this–in space! He’s going to be gone for two months for training and getting things set up and all that. So, he’s moving out so they can replace his portion of the rent, quickly. He has a new apartment lined up, already, for when he’s back. Plus, he loves my cooking, so it’s not like I won’t see him.

His birthday was also recently, so I promised that I’d make him veggie lasagna (because he’s a vegetarian). I told him I didn’t use pasta in my lasagna. He was a little dubious, but excited all the same. Instead of pasta, I use zucchini. Plus, I used my homemade sauce. Ricotta and mozzarella added to the flavor and, of course, you have to top it off with mozzarella. And parmesan.

Apparently it was a hit. I had an empty and clean baking dish back the very next day.

Also, my diet is working well. To date (at least of the writing of this post), I have lost 15lbs. I have 10lbs more to lose to reach my goal. And don’t worry, my goal weight is not unrealistic. It’s 145lbs. I thought I had completely blown my progress on Saturday because I ordered a gluten-free pizza from Pizza Hut (veggie!) because I didn’t feel like cooking, I had worked out, and I was just…stressed. It was a low-calorie thing, but the carbs were pretty high. Still, I wasn’t knocked out of ketosis and, in fact, I’m actively burning fat as I type this (in a very insane way, according to my test strips). So, I’m pretty confident that when I transition into a maintenance phase, I’ll be okay and won’t regain everything I worked to take off. Plus, I plan on staying with my exercise routine. I’m on week 12 of the 13, and I’ve only missed one workout.

Thank you all for viewing the videos and reading my posts. I was notified I’ve received 100 likes on this blog. That’s actually overwhelming to me! I never really expected people would be interested in these, but apparently, I was wrong! Thank you for your support!

Keto Philadelphia Cheesesteak Skillet

I am very steampunk in this. Also, this is the first time I’ve been able to wear this since I bought it in 2018.

One of my favorite meals when I was little was Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. I just didn’t like the cooked veggies that went on them (silly child). I did not grow up in Philadelphia; I did, however, grow up in Pennsylvania, so even though you can’t get a proper cheesesteak outside of Philly, you can get pretty close. I’ve since been to Philly and suffered through the stomach distress of having a very glutinous, but very authentic cheesesteak sandwich.

Cheese whiz, by the way, is not authentic. Cheesesteak sandwiches were invented in 1930 by Pat Olivieri, a hot dog vendor. Cheese Whiz was invented in 1953 by Kraft and it is nothing more than over-processed oil that is given a cheese-like flavor. It’s gross and no one should eat it, but especially not on Cheesesteak.

This recipe really didn’t want me using actual onions, but that’s how I’ve always had them, so I used actual onions. To be honest, were I to make this again (which I will), I’ll probably caramelize the onions and use Swiss cheese instead of Provolone. But, I mostly followed the recipe for the first time. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t cheesesteak.

You can make this meal in a cast-iron skillet (or another oven-proof skillet) or you can use a baking dish. Either way is acceptable. I ended up adding three more slices of provolone to cover the whole thing. Yay, more cheese!

Please enjoy and, as always, if you like what you see and want me to keep making these videos, consider supporting me via Patreon.

Look! A NEW VIDEO Post!

I am endeavoring to be better with posting here. Before I go into other things, I want to first say this video comes with a trigger warning. So…

TW: EXPLOSIONS

Click! BOOM! …yes, I watched Hamilton this weekend…

July 4 celebrates the successful rebellion of angry white dudes from England who were tired of King George’s “Love” (please see at *least* “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton). I am finding it difficult to be celebratory this year with the current administration, the rampant and blatant racism, and all the murdering of PoC. “None of us are free until all of us are free.” We still have brown children in cages; brown families separated and held hostage in a land which had the promise of a new life away from governmental oppression. Indigenous peoples are being shunted off as if they don’t belong and their sacred lands are being stolen, violating centuries-long treaties. What is there to celebrate? We’ve come full-circle from a dictatorial monarch to a dictatorial President.

But, my neighbors (who are predominately brown people) really love explosions. Cinco de Mayo, June graduations, July 4, Memorial Day…. I mean, really, just lighting off some bottle rockets really makes them happy. I’ve become numb to it, for the most part. My cats no longer flinch. They were more worried that there weren’t as many explosions as previous years.

Anyway. Enough of that. You want to know about the Keto Big Mac Casserole I made. First of all, the link is here. Second of all, the sauce is what makes this. Third of all, I’m hoping to make a Vegan version of this in the near future. Did I mention the sauce is amazing? I’m planning on making a batch of just the sauce to use on burgers, hot dogs, pretty much everything. This casserole could be made into a salad, too, if you leave out the eggs, and put it over lettuce and tomato. May still want to toss it in the oven to melt the cheese (or just melt the cheese on the stove top) and pour it on the salad then top with Dat Sauce.

This recipe really does taste like a Big Mac. The first time I made it, I only had 1lb of ground beef, so I made a half-batch and it was so good, Cameraman Ken actually asked me to make it again. We were going to make this casserole (or burgers!) and hot dogs for July 4; I ended up playing City of Heroes too long (it was an ITF that took 4.5-5 hours and I was Over It by hour 3). So, we filmed as the fireworks were starting (which, to be fair, they had started around 4pm, anyway…they just got louder by 8pm). Nothing is more American than Big Macs, right? Except blowing up illegal fireworks. But, with all the unrest and injustice going on, I agree with blowing up things that are meant to be blown up…fireworks, Confederate statues, illegal pipelines… you know. Things like that.

So, this July, remember that the U.S. was built on the backs of black and indigenous people and we need to pay more attention to them and their lives and culture. Black lives Matter. Indigenous lives Matter.

“Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” – Emma Lazarus, 1883 “Epistle to the Hebrews.”