Keto and Me, a Diabetic Journey #1 - Check Your Nuts!

Here it is, my first ever Ketogenic blog on Steemit! Pushing 50 and working for a software company has afforded me the opportunity to acquire a wonderful disease, Diabetes. Awesome! I know many of you may not understand what the side effects of this dark passenger may be...blindness, high blood pressure, nerve damage, and joint pains. If you are really special, you get to have limbs removed!

I was diagnosed in 2008 and of coarse I was one of the "I can manage this by myself!". I was doing "alright" on my own until I went to the optometrist in 2013 and discovered I had a diabetic neuropathy in my left eye which was the reason my vision was going south. That should have been an "eye" opener but all it amounted to was "I guess I'm taking more medication". The normal medication has allowed me to keep it in check since then. But, I never really stuck to a "watch what I eat" mentality.

Here I sit at work dodging my responsibilities to write this "tome". I decided last week to go KETO and kick the bad habits for good! The first episode of this journey is about your nuts...seeds and nuts. Yes the kind classified as food, not the other kind ;)

These are the six seeds/nuts that I have researched for the first change in my diet. I like them sprouted when possible:

Macadamia nuts...These were my all time favorites even back in the "fat is sooo bad for you days". Turns out they have some great stuff in them and only 5% net carbs. I eat a fraction of the following but I'll put the Wiki info here:

In a 100 gram amount, macadamia nuts provide 740 Calories and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of numerous essential nutrients, including thiamin (104% DV), vitamin B6 (21% DV), manganese (195% DV), iron (28% DV), magnesium (37% DV) and phosphorus (27% DV) (table). Macadamia nuts are 76% fat, 14% carbohydrates, including 9% dietary fiber, and 8% protein (table). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macadamia

Pumpkin seeds...Who knew that the leftovers from Halloween were sooo tasty when done right...These also are a moderation item but add a great crunch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_seed

Sunflower seeds...Nothing brings back high school baseball like sunflower seeds and again, a great crunchy addition to the Keto lifestyle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_seed

Flax seed...Honestly, if you are not eating these you should be. Toasted Flax is amazing! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flax#Flax_seeds

Now for the new kids on the block...Net Carb Neutral!

Sacha Inchi...What the heck is that? It's a South American peanut like seed pod now cultivated in Thailand. I found them at Trader Joe's and had no idea what they tasted like. Let me tell you...Awesome! Well...If...You like a little fishy aftertaste. I find that they are spectacular mixed with the above flavors and then you don't notice it at all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plukenetia_volubilis

Now for my new favorite "Nut"...

Pili...Wow, Wow, Wow! I took a shot at a $35 Keto/Paleo box on Amazon last week and it had some great stuff in it (Look for more blogs later on that) and the shining star was the Pili nuts by Hunter Gatherer Foods: https://eatpilinuts.com/

I had the coconut oil & sea salt flavor...RIDICULOUS...buttery goodness. I destroyed that tiny bag in seconds...zero net carbs...ZERO! I loved them so much, I looked everywhere for them. Guess what, they are sooo expensive, no one in Arizona sells them. Amazon does...if you give an arm or a leg. I'm not plugging them, but I bought an entire pound from Hunter Gatherer Foods: https://eatpilinuts.com/

Kilroy was here...all image rights belong to the original artist, I have no claim to them.