Sauteed Zucchini

This is a great side dish for your steak or burger. It’s my favorite go-to side. I call zucchini and cucumbers the “freebies” because they are nontoxic nonsweet fruits that have almost no carbs or calories. Although cucumbers are served cold, zucchini can be cooked and flavored for a delicious warm side dish! Yum!

Ingredients:

1 zucchini per person, sliced into half-moons

1 teaspoon grass-fed butter per zucchini

sea salt

Optional: garlic powder, European feta cheese, oregano

Instructions:

Heat a cast iron to medium high. Melt the butter, spreading it around the bottom of the pan. Add the zucchini and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until they are just cooked through but still firm. Add any optional ingredients and serve warm. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash Beef Casserole

I saw someone post something similar on one of my carnivore groups this week and I immediately thought it was such a good idea! I made it right away and all 3 of my kids ate it up, so I knew it was a success!

Ingredients:

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 T melted butter

Sea salt

2 pounds ground beef

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1 C cream, preferably raw

1 C parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

1 C shredded cheese, preferably raw (I like Costco’s raw gruyere)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Rub the melted butter all over the inside and salt liberally. Place inside-down on a cookie sheet and bake for 40 minutes. When they are cool enough, use a fork to scrape out the “spaghetti” from the squash rinds.

In a sauce pan, warm the raw cream to 120 degrees and stir in the parmesan cheese with a little salt and the lemon zest.

Brown the meat with salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Stir the spaghetti squash, beef, and alfredo cream sauce together in a large bowl and spread in a glass baking dish. Top with the shredded cheese and place under the oven broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is just melted. Serve and enjoy!

Salmon Poke Bowls

These are super easy, delicious, and versatile. Set out little bowls of all of the ingredients, and let your guests or family build their own! Top with tamari and pickled ginger and enjoy!

Ingredients:

Sushi-grade raw salmon, chopped

Julienned or sliced English cucumbers

Shredded carrots

Sliced avocado

Chopped mango

Chopped pineapple

Shredded nori

Wheat-free tamari sauce

Pickled ginger

White rice, if desired

Breaking Through a Fat-Loss Stall: Why High Fat Alone Isn’t Enough

Why fat loss stops — and how to restart it without starving.

One of the most common frustrations I see in the carnivore and ketogenic world is the dreaded stall. At first, the weight falls off effortlessly. Butter, ribeye, fasting windows — it works, until suddenly it doesn’t. You’re doing all the same things you did before, but the scale won’t budge and body composition doesn’t shift.

This is where most people either double down (more fasting, more fat, fewer meals) or give up altogether. But here’s the thing: if you’re stuck, it’s not because you’re broken — it’s because your metabolism has adapted.

Why Stalls Happen

In the beginning, a high-fat carnivore approach works because it lowers insulin, balances blood sugar, and cuts out inflammatory foods. But over time, your body is smart. If you’re constantly pouring in butter, tallow, and fatty ribeyes, it has little incentive to tap into stored fat. Add in intermittent fasting and long stretches without food, and the metabolism often responds by downshifting thyroid function and ramping up stress hormones.

That’s why I see so many people who are:

• Cold all the time, with low waking temps (a thyroid red flag).

• Stuck in fat loss, despite “perfect” keto or carnivore compliance.

• Experiencing estrogen dominance (stubborn weight around hips, thighs, or belly, PMS-like symptoms even in menopause).

• Feeling more tired, not more energized, the longer they stay in a high-fat + fasting rut.

The body simply adapts. It’s not a willpower issue — it’s physiology.

The Stall-Breaker Strategy

Instead of cutting calories harder or fasting longer, the solution is often the opposite: feed your metabolism — just in a smarter way.

Here’s how:

• Keep protein high. This preserves muscle, supports thyroid conversion (T4 → T3), and keeps you full.

• Bring fat down strategically. Not “low-fat” in the mainstream sense, but leaner cuts, fewer add-ons, so your body burns its own fat instead of the butter you ate.

• Keep calories adequate. The worst thing you can do is starve — this lowers thyroid output and raises cortisol. With the right macro balance, you can keep eating plenty while still tapping into stored fat.

• Optional metabolic support. For some, especially those with thyroid issues or long stalls, adding in “animal-based carbs” — think a drizzle of honey, ripe fruit, or dairy sugars — can provide a metabolic spark. Even the Lion dieter who never thought about carbs may find curiosity here when nothing else is working.

Other Keys That Break Stalls

Sometimes fat balance isn’t the only piece:

• Thyroid Support – If you’ve been under-eating or fasting for years, thyroid function often drags. Without enough T3, fat loss stalls no matter what you eat.

• Estrogen Detox – Many women (and men) have excess estrogen that keeps fat locked in. Supporting estrogen clearance can make a visible difference.

• No More Fasting Marathons – Skipping meals may feel effective at first, but in the long run, it raises stress hormones and slows metabolism. Eating regularly (with the right foods) works better.

• Gut Health – Bloating, slow digestion, or methane overgrowth can keep the scale stuck, even on carnivore. Healing the gut is often part of the stall-breaker plan.

Why You Haven’t Heard This Before

In carnivore and keto circles, the loudest message is still: “Just eat more fat.” That can work for a while, but it’s not the whole picture. The reality is that fat loss requires metabolic flexibility, and if your strategy isn’t evolving with your body, you’ll get stuck.

The good news? You don’t have to choose between being hungry or being stalled. You can eat big, satisfying meals, stay animal-based, and still unlock fat loss — if you know how to shift the dials correctly.

👉 The details — how much to lower fat, whether to cycle in honey or not, how to support thyroid and estrogen balance, how many meals work best for your body — are unique to you. If you’re stalled, I can help you map out the exact steps that fit your metabolism, history, and goals. This isn’t about another crash diet. It’s about breaking through intelligently and keeping your results.

Easy ways to keep protein high, while still lowering fat:

-Skim milk and collagen powder milkshakes, optional ingredients are a little stevia (or honey or maple syrup), vanilla, a dash of salt, PB2 peanut butter powder (no seed oils), berries, etc.

-Whole eggs everyday, adding whites if you’d like. Even though the yolks have 4.5 grams of fat each, your body needs at least 30 grams/fat each day and egg yolks are an excellent source. My favorite is soft-boiled.

-Fat-free lunch meat. Even organic lean pork and chicken are fine, because there is no unhealthy PUFA fats when there is no fat. It’s just protein. Be sure to check the labels and find organic lunch meat that is 0-1 gram of carbs and 0 grams of fat. Pure protein. Roll it up with pickle slices and mustard for an awesome lunch.

-90/10 or 95/5 Ground beef, super lean steak without much marbling, and beef liver. You can cook it in a dry cast iron pan with lots of sea salt and it is delicious. Maybe a bit of butter or ghee but count your fat grams.

-Nonfat greek yogurt with Nunatural Liquid Vanilla Stevia or a little honey. I love the thickness and creaminess of greek yogurt. Be sure to watch for any additional ingredients besides milk and probiotics, especially “nonfat milk powder” which is pure lactose/milk sugar. Or make your own yogurt and let it ferment longer and it’s basically carb-free. I like to add a few raspberries or blueberries on top, and it feels like a wonderful dessert.

-Lean pork loin or boneless skinless chicken breasts for dinner.

-Lean seafood like white fish, salmon without the skin, shrimp, oysters, scallops, and. mussels.

There’s nothing better than losing weight while full. Please reach out for a nutrition session with me if you have questions!

Beef Larb Salad

These are fun, easy, and absolutely delicious. Even my kids will eat them - in fact, they gobble them up! Double or triple the recipe for more than one hungry person.

Beef Larb Salad:

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 t sea salt

1 t garlic powder

1 t ginger powder

2 scallions (green onions), sliced, both white and green parts

juice and zest of one large lime

2 T fish sauce

2 T low sodium/ wheat-free tamari OR Braggs liquid aminos

2 T rice vinegar

1/2 Cup chopped fresh cilantro, mint, and basil (thai basil or regular)

For serving: julienned English cucumber (skinny cucumber with thin skin, wrapped in plastic).

Directions:

Brown the beef in a cast-iron pan with the ginger, garlic, and sea salt until cooked through. Turn the heat down and stir in the sliced scallions, tamari, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and lime juice and zest, and warm through. Sprinkle some of the herbs on top to serve, and plate the remaining herbs, and cucumber on the side. Serve the beef larb in bowls, topped with cucumbers and herbs, and enjoy!

Barbacoa Beef (Instapot)

My family eats this for dinner about once a week, it’s our main staple. I can’t get my kids to eat plain pot roast because they think it’s too boring, but they inhale my Barbacoa Beef on “taco salad night”. Hope your family loves it too! (This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled and makes great leftovers, too.)

Barbacoa Beef (Instapot)

Ingredients:

2 T butter

2 lb beef chuck roast

1 C beef broth

Juice of one lime

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 T tomato paste, optional

1 T chili powder, optional

1/2 t cumin

2 t oregano

1 T sea salt

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

Instructions:

1.     Cut beef into large chunks. Either place on a cookie sheet, salted, under the broiler, flipping once, until brown; or saute in the Instapot with the butter until all sides are browned and then press cancel.

2.     Combine lime juice, vinegar, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a lidded mason jar and shake.

3.     Add the mixture to the Instapot with the browned beef.

4.     Secure the lid on the Instapot, closing the pressure valve. Press the “manual” button and set the timer to 30 minutes. Afterword, allow the pressure to naturally release for at least 20 minutes, releasing the pressure valve at this time if it hasn’t released on its own yet. Remove the lid, transfer the beef chunks to a bowl, and shred the barbacoa beef with two large forks, stirring in enough of the remaining liquid/fat so that the beef is saturated and moist.

5.     Serve the barbacoa beef in bowls with various toppings of your choice: shredded lettuce, sliced olives, sour cream and cheese, chopped avocado, lime juice, etc.

Buffins! (Bacon Muffins)

These are delicious and have virtually no carbs. The coconut flour can be omitted for those with fiber-intolerance like SIBO and they still turn out well, although more egg-y. You can also omit the baking powder for a strict carnivore muffin. These go like hotcakes at my house, I suggest at least a double batch and freeze the extras, if there are any! The can easily be brought to room temp from frozen, or quickly warmed up in the microwave for 30 seconds. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
12 pastured eggs
4 Tbs butter
1/4 C coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
16 strips nitrate-free bacon, chopped now or crumbed after cooking, fat pressed out with paper towels while warm
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Butter (for greasing your muffin tin)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Fry chopped bacon in a skillet until crispy. Set aside.
3. Mix eggs and butter in a mixing bowl.
4. Add coconut flour and baking powder, mix.
5. Stir bacon and cheese into batter.
6. Either grease your muffin tin with butter or line with silicone baking cups.
7. Pour batter into muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes. Can be frozen for up to 6 months! Pop in the microwave for 30 seconds and go!