10 Questions with Karen from Living Low Carb…One Day at a Time
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Have you heard of Living Low Carb…One Day at a Time? If not where have you been? This is an amazing blog that features low carb recipes. Karen is the mastermind behind Living Low Carb…One Day at a Time. I had the pleasure of interviewing her. Without further ado here is 10 questions with Karen from Living Low Carb…One Day at a Time.
1. Why did you start your blog? When did you start Living Low Carb…One Day at a Time?
I started Living Low Carb…One Day at a Time so that I would have a mechanism to hold me accountable to my low carb diet. I had tried low carb numerous times in the past and always went back to my old diet and would gain the weight back and usually even more weight. Also, I was looking for a creative way to spend some free time because I like to keep active and work on creative projects. Blogging has allowed me to have a creative outlet and share my love for cooking and healthy eating with so many people. In December I will be celebrating the one-year anniversary of my blog. I hope to have some exciting events around that time!
2. What made you decide to start eating better?
The big push was in January 2011 when I was experiencing some unexpected chest pains. Most likely the chest pains were caused by inflammation, but that definitely scared me into making some changes. At a fairly young age I already had high blood pressure and high cholesterol so I knew it was time to make some changes. Recently, I’ve started moving in the direction of eating less processed foods and being aware of the ingredients in the foods I eat. I think it will be a diet and lifestyle that I can continue for the rest of my life.
3. What is your most epic recipe fail? Mine was turning what should have been a pecan pie into sweet scrambled eggs.
I haven’t had too many recipes that EPICALLY failed until recently when I tried baking without eggs. Baking is scientific and sensitive to slight changes. Replace the eggs in a recipe and you are left with a soggy or crumbly mess. My fiancé will still eat my failures, but I am determined to be successful with an egg free, nut-free, and hopefully seed-free baked good.
4. Since you finished the Whole30 you decided you preferred eating egg free & nightshade free. For those that love to cook and experiment what is your advice for making recipes low carb, gluten free, egg free & nightshade free?
My advice is to be creative with the ingredients you use. Try ingredients you usually skip over. For example, I had never had Turmeric (knowingly anyways), but when I was creating a nightshade free Pumpkin Chilli during the Whole30 I decided to give it a try. It reminded me a lot of the flavor of chilli powder so it was a great substitute. Also, try different combinations of ingredients as replacements like using beets and other vegetables to create a Faux-mato sauce. You may fail, but you will get to try new things and hopefully have fun trying.
5. What is your favourite recipe on your blog and why? What’s your most viewed recipe?
My favorite recipe…wow that’s a tough one! I’d have to say my favorite recipe is my Low Carb, Dairy Free, and Gluten Free Moose Tracks Ice Cream. I was excited to get an ice cream maker for my birthday this year so I could recreate my all time favorite ice cream flavor. It’s one of the things I have missed the most since going low carb. My most viewed recipe is an adaptation of Potato Skins that I did with celery root and radishes. That one isn’t dairy free, but the next viewed dairy free recipe is my Homemade Dill Pickles.
6. What’s your favourite must have, will take to a deserted island kitchen gadget? Mine is a little paring knife with a white handle. I go crazy if I can’t cut something with that knife.
That’s another tough one because I absolutely LOVE kitchen gadgets! The ones I use the most are my slow cooker and my vegetable peeler (comes with a julienne peeler). Since the slow cooker would be useless on a deserted island I would have to bring my veggie peeler.
7. What’s a day in your life like?
A typical weekday consists of my waking up at 5 AM to get ready for work. I then go to work as an electrical engineer. After work I either go to classes for my MBA or I go home to make dinner for my fiancé and me. I always make him wait to eat so that I can take pictures of my creation. He’s very understanding and I do my best to keep the food warm for him. After dinner I always get bugged by my dachshund Carolina to play fetch. She loves to play, but she’s not good at dropping the ball so I can throw it. After the one sided game of fetch, it’s time for blogging. That time is spent editing pictures, writing recipes/blog posts, catching up on social media/forums, and trying to stay up to date of the low carb and paleo communities. The weekends involve much more cooking, photography, and blogging! I also have more time to enjoy being around family/friends and relaxing before the workweek starts back up.
8. Who inspires you to be the best you, you can be? What is it about them that inspires you?
Honestly, I wanted to get healthy because although I don’t have kids yet, someday I hopefully will. I want to be a good role model of health and fitness for my children. Also, everyday all of the fans and followers of Living Low Carb…One Day at a Time inspire me. I see people every day that go through many struggles to live a healthier life and they make the best decisions that can even through all of the adversity. Every time I think of those people it makes me want to continue to make better choices for myself.
9. What is your number one piece of advice for someone changing their lifestyle?
Plan ahead and get used to people not agreeing with your decisions or trying to persuade you to get off track. Planning ahead allows you to make wise decisions up front so you can stay on track. If you have your snacks for the day or week prepared up front the decision to pick the healthy snack over a bag of chips from the vending machine is much easier. Same thing applies for lunch/dinner. Also, people may think you are crazy and let you know why they thinking you are making the wrong diet decisions, but you have to be strong in your desire to change. Take heed of the advice you are given, but don’t let it deter you from meeting your goals. Also, there is always going to be a birthday, a going away bash, a housing warming party, etc. There will always be something to celebrate that usually involves unhealthy food, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy those events. Bring food to share that you can enjoy and ignore the weird looks and comments you may get. You are making the decision that is best for you and that’s what is most important. If you have to stop and restart for every social event that you encounter you will never reach your goal. Eventually though it will all me worth it when you reach your goal and after that you can make wise decisions for not going back to where you started. It’s not a temporary change you have to get used making it a habit and letting others know that you have no intention of being deterred from your goal. Things won’t always be perfect, but it’s how you overcome those imperfections and make plans to do things better.
10. What’s next for Living Low Carb One Day at a Time?
More recipe development and working on my food photography. I have come to LOVE photography and I have a lot of fun experimenting and trying new shots. Also, I am working on an eBook that should hopefully be released in February 2013. The book will include several low carb, gluten free, and egg-free breakfast ideas. This will be great for those that cannot eat eggs or for those that are just tired of eating eggs every day for breakfast. The idea came to me when I was having such a hard time finding egg free breakfast ideas and I wanted to share those ideas with others that may be having the same difficulties.
Thanks for the interview! It’s been great sharing with all the readers of Ditch the Wheat!
Don’t forget to check out Karen’s blog at Living Low Carb…One Day at a Time.
Enjoy,
DISCLOSURE: Not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations is at the choice and risk of the reader. Ditch the Wheat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. I only endorse products that I believe in.
Carol Lovett is the founder of Ditch the Wheat and a Globe and Mail bestselling author of the cookbook, Ditch the Wheat. She has been eating gluten free since 2010. She loves all things food, natural living, and spiritual. She's also a reiki master and crystal healer.
Gluten Free Resources
Do you need help with gluten free meals?
I recommend this meal-planning app. It makes cooking gluten free dinners extremely easy and family-friendly.
What gluten free snacks can I eat?
Lots! I have a ton of practical gluten free snack recipes in my cookbook.
How can I eat dessert on a gluten free diet?
You can 100% eat dessert while eating gluten free. Try my dessert cookbook for easy gluten free dessert recipes.
How do I know what is gluten free and what isn’t?
I have a whole section is it gluten free?
How do I make substitutions?
If you need substitution advice I created a ton of resources here.
