I have been trying to mix things up a bit lately, since I think it is important to not get stuck in a rut!
Although I usually stick with fatty red meats, such as beef brisket or lamb roasts, sometimes it is good to mix things up by having some fish!
Sablefish (also called "black cod") is in a good ketogenic ratio on its own, and needs no added fat. I was able to special order it at Whole Foods.
Another fairly fatty fish is Atlantic mackerel. Be aware that
Pacific mackerel has the opposite fat to protein ratio to Atlantic, since the Pacific is warmer.
Any other smaller size, wild-caught fish is OK to use, you will just need to have some added fat on the side. Colder water fish such as from the northern Atlantic, will be fattier. I mention smaller size fish since they will have less mercury buildup in them, and wild-caught, since it will have a better omega 3 ratio and higher nutrient value.
Some people use ghee or butter as an added fat, but I do not personally do well with dairy at all. I believe it causes inflammation for me. When I need to add fat on the side, I use roasted grassfed beef marrow. Occasionally, in a fix, I will use some creamed coconut (from a shelf-stable box, with no additives or gums). But only very occasionally, because I think it causes some gut problems for me (probably from the fiber, fructans, or plant anti-nutrients).
I wanted to mention that if you decide to try roasted marrow, you will just want to have 15-20g at a time. Otherwise it will be too much fat for your digestion at one time, since it is so concentrated! Kind of like MCT oil, in that respect!
You will also notice, if you use 100% grassfed marrow, and especially if you eat the leftovers cold (which I like to do!), that it will have a characteristically "flaxseed oil/fishy" taste. That is the omega 3 fatty acids, which are very healthy! I like to add some sea salt to balance out that omega 3 flavor.
Also, sometimes when it is very frigid outside, it is nice to have some kind of hot drink. I do not ever have coffee or tea, since they affect my gut and cause muscle cramping. Bouillon always has spices and onion and garlic, which bother my gut. Even bone broths cause gut issues for me (which could be from glutamine:
http://nourishingbroth.com/articles/confused-about-broth-glutamine-and-msg-heres-the-facts/ ). Sometimes I will just have hot water. I have tried adding some other items to it, such as rosewater or orange flower water, or natural flavorings like vanilla extract, but those seemed to affect my gut too, unfortunately. But just boiled water (if it is good quality water!), can be great on a cold day!
In other news, I was listening to an excellent podcast with Dr Miriam Kalamian about her book "Keto for Cancer", and interestingly she discussed how for some people (like me!), their LDL number goes very high, but that is not a concern. She said to instead focus on the triglyceride to HDL ratio, and that is a much better predictor of heart health! (Ideally it should be less than 2, mine is 0.86).
Here is the link to that podcast:
https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/102934/ketogenic-diet-for-cancer
This article also discusses the triglyceride/HDL ratio as a better predictor than LDL:
https://www.docsopinion.com/2014/07/17/triglyceride-hdl-ratio/
Just to be safe, I am going to do a trivascular scan tomorrow. That is a simple, inexpensive, non-invasive ultrasound which checks your aortic, carotid, and femoral artery health. I had one done last year, and got a perfect score. (In fact, the technician asked me if I was a runner!).
I forgot to take a photo of my wonderful grilled mackerel yesterday, I was so excited to start eating it! So here is a stock photo instead:
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