Mushroom & Peppered Feta Omelette

*even better served with avocado on the side!

Mushroom and Peppered Feta Omelette

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2-3 Tablespoons Cream
• 20gms Smoked Butter
• 3 Portabello Mushrooms
• 25gms Feta Cheese
• Salt & Pepper

Step by Step instructions:

Take out your feta, I love the whitestone because it's lower in sodium and still really tasty.  

Chop up your mushrooms and fry in a non stick pan with the whitestone smoked butter (this butter is amazing!!!!!!!)

Once the mushrooms have are browned then put them aside while you make the omelet



Take two or three free range eggs and crack them in a bowl, add salt and 2-3 tablespoons of cream

Get your non-stick pan nice and hot but not so much that it burns, add some extra butter!

Pour your egg mixture into the hot butter and it should start bubbling straight away.

You need to move quickly with your fish slice and move the egg around the pan, moving it into the centre until it's mostly cooked.

Until it looks like this...

Add your mushrooms and feta and add tons and tons of cracked pepper to one half of the omelet

It should look like this...

Then flip it in half and serve your perfectly cooked Omelette!

Ketosis

EDIT November 2014:

I no longer endorse Ketosis for the long term,  over the long term ketosis threw my body into complete disarray, my hormones and cortisol is really out of whack and I'm working really hard these days to get my natural energy and sleep balance back.  Please do your research and if something doesn't feel right then make sure you question it.

Hey guys, I have dipped in and out of ketosis for close to 5 years, I don't always stay in ketosis 100% of the time, we all know that I love to have indulgences every now and then and I like my treats, however the majority of the time I spend in ketosis is because it helps the myriad of health issues I have struggled with all my life and I feel my very best in ketosis.  

I've posted this video to help those of you that also may struggle with these issues.  Please don't think you have to achieve nutritional ketosis to get the same benefits as I have, we are all very unique and you need to treat your body with the respect it deserves.  Ketosis is a stress on the body much like exercise and calorie restriction (not always a bad thing) but if you are living a stressful life and already exercising and dieting then doing a ketogenic version of a primal or paleo diet may not be what is right for YOU! I cannot figure that out for you so please use a diary like I suggest to find your right version of Primal/Paleo.

If you have only been doing low carb for less than 6 weeks then you might be disappointed in the results if you buy one of these machines as you may not be keto-adapted yet. It can take 1-6 weeks to achieve ketosis.  See more information below.

When it comes to eating real food I believe that most people will experience some significant health and weight loss results without having to go on a ketogenic diet. 

Links for information about ketosis and where to get the ketone monitoring machine.
http://www.medica.co.nz/diabetes-care/blood-ketone-monitoring.html
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lose-weight-by-achieving-optimal-ketosis
http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/is-ketosis-dangerous
http://www.myfitnesspal.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP6DtqmZ3Mw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc96Lk1VVS4

Information below from DietDoctor

Ketosis

Ketosis is a state at which the body has an extremely high fat-burning rate. Even the brain runs on fat, via ketone bodies. These are energy molecules in the blood (like blood sugar) which become fuel for our brains after being converted from fat by the liver.

To encourage ketone production, the amount of insulin in your bloodstream must be low. The lower your insulin, the higher your ketone production. And when you have a well-controlled, sufficiently large amount of ketones in your blood, it’s basically proof that your insulin is very low – and therefore, that you’re enjoying the maximum effect of your low-carbohydrate diet. That’s what’s called optimal ketosis.

Measuring ketones

Today, there are reasonably-priced gadgets available for measuring ketone levels at home. One needle prick of the finger, and in just a few seconds you’ll know your blood ketone level.

Blood ketones are best measured on a fasted stomach in the morning (before breakfast, that is). Here are a few pointers on how to interpret the result:

• Below 0.5 mmol/L is not considered “ketosis”. At this level, you’re far away from maximum fat-burning.
• Between 0.5-1.5 mmol/L is light nutritional ketosis. You’ll be getting a good effect on your weight, but not optimal.
• Around 1.5 – 3 mmol/L is what’s called optimal ketosis and is recommended for maximum weight loss.
• Values of over 3 mmol/L aren’t neccessary. That is, they will achieve neither better nor worse results than being at the 1.5-3 level. Higher values can also sometimes mean that you’re not getting enough food. For type 1 diabetics, it can be caused by a severe lack of insulin, see below.

Many who firmly believe they are eating a strict low-carb diet are surprised when they measure their blood ketones. They may be at around only 0.2 or 0.5 – quite far off from the sweet spot! Why?

The trick here is not only to avoid all obvious sourced of carbohydrate (sweets, bread, spaghetti, rice, potatoes), but also to be careful with your protein intake. If you eat large amounts of meat, eggs and the like, the excess protein will converted into glucose in the body. Large amounts of protein can also raise your insulin levels somewhat. This compromises optimal ketosis.

The secret to getting around this is usually to eat your fill with more fat. For example, if you have a bigger helping of herb butter to your steak, you might not feel like having a second steak, and instead feel satisfied after the first one.

A popular trick people use to ingest more fat is “fat coffee” (sometimes called “Magic Bullet Coffee” or MBC). It involves adding one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of coconut oil to your (morning) coffee, and requires a food blender for the right texture.

More fat in your food will fill you up more. This will ensure you eat less protein, and even less carbohydrate. Your insulin will drop and, hopefully, you’ll be able to reach optimal ketosis. And that’s when many a stubborn weight plateau is overcome.

Meniere’s Disease

Over 7 years ago I didn't work at all because I felt severely bad ALL THE TIME! I've struggled with vertigo/dizziness (panic attacks because of it) since I was 8 years old, I remember my first Vertigo attack after an extremely stressful family holiday (to cut a long story short my father is an alcoholic and manic depressive since I was 3 years old).  Suffice to say a lot of my childhood wasn't always pleasant. Over the years I've certainly had my fair share of health problems.  The past few weeks I've had a flare up of it all over again.  Most of the women in my family have had bouts of vertigo, my nana, mother, aunty, sister and cousin have all experienced it in varying degrees.

I've just been to see my doctor and he has confirmed what I always suspected is that I do have Meniere’s Disease (you can read about it here: http://vestibular.org/menieres-disease) simply put it is excess fluid in the inner ear and causes attacks of vertigo (spinning dizziness), nausea (sometimes vomiting) and leaves me incapacitated for hours and sometimes days on end– hence my issues with flying, boats, heights, lifts, escalators, elliptical machines, treadmills etc etc.. He explained about how the fluid volumes in the inner ear are affected by the hormonal and electrolyte balance of the fluids in the body. To restore function and overall manage my symptoms I need to keep my insulin levels low and as steady as possible. So the more consistent I can keep my insulin levels and my sodium levels the less fluctuation there will be in the fluid volume in my inner ears.

A couple of weeks ago I had a servere vertigo attack that lasted almost a week.  I used to get them all the time before I was primal and I had forgotten how bad I used to be and that recently I have taken my renewed health for granted. During the last 6 months I've not really been what I'd call Primal, more like a 50/50 approach (you can read about my latest post here: http://primaljourney.blogspot.co.nz/2013/07/everything-in-moderation.html) I've had a huge wake up call with regards to keeping myself healthy. 

When I eat Primal I'm about 80% free of these debilitating symptoms, the flare ups I generally have come when I've had a couple of days eating gluten, excess carbs and sugar. Also things like lack of sleep, stress and travel also exacerbate the symptoms. 

I have come to the realisation that for me personally I need to keep my carbs relatively low (50-80gms).  

It affects my neurological health and my ability to live a normal life.  I will always have Meniere's Disease as there is no cure but I can manage my symptoms with eating primal and keeping myself as healthy as possible.

Question/Anwer Post

Hi Michele! Just discovered your blog and it's very inspiring. I'm considering doing Atkins style or Paleo but you like you've done a fusion of both, right? I don't want to totally give up dairy -- mostly a bit of cheese, cream cheese and cream in coffee. So, is that considered Paleo still with some dairy or what would that be? Thanks!

Thanks for your question, definitely a valid point and one which I have a bit of experience in.  I have done all sorts of different mixes of atkins, protein power, paleo and primal, I personally find that Primal is best as it’s not quite as strict and something you can follow for life easily.  Depending on your goals of either weight loss or improved health it’s really just a sliding scale on the ratios you have.  Personally I do really well when I keep my fat high, moderate protein and low carb however I’m doing an experiment of high fat, moderate protein and carb just for a change and to see what results I get from it.  If you tolerate dairy well then there’s really no need to limit dairy.

Here’s a great explanation as to why some people do better with dropping their carbs right off and others need to increase them:

However, not everyone functions well in ketosis. They get brain fuzzed, lethargic and just generally feel awful. Even with weeks of being on a ketogenic diet, they never seem to adapt completely. That’s not a good recipe for long-term adherence to a diet or healthy functioning or training.

Tangentially, I’d note that this seems to be related to inherent levels of insulin sensitivity. Individuals with good insulin sensitivity, who typically run well on carbohydrates, tend to not do well on low-carbohydrate diets. In contrast, individuals with insulin resistance often do far better reducing carbohydrates and that often means going to ketogenic levels. Finally, some people seem to have the metabolic flexibility to do well with either diet. I address this issue in more detail in article Insulin Sensitivity and Fat Loss.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/how-many-carbohydrates-do-you-need.html

Personally I’ve never run very well on a high carbohydrate level, I feel lethargic, groggy and generally unwell not to mention constantly hungry.  I do excellent in a mild state of ketosis, I’m never hungry, I have more mental clarity, brighter skin, lower weight, better sleeps the list goes on. 

I hope that helps and gives you some food for thought and thanks again for your kind comment and interest in my blog.