Cactus Keto

One of the challenges of learning how to Keto is figuring out the balance of protein and vegetables. I have discovered that protein actually takes you out of ketosis. Thus, having high-protein meals, overdoing the protein, is counterproductive. The other day, a friend of mine learned that around these parts, we eat cactus.

He thought they were pulling his leg. So, I wanted to show him that it is definitely a thing. You can find cactus ready to eat on the shelves at Walmart.

Cactus is a popular food during the Lent season. Shrimp and other seafood are also popular. This got me to thinking that I could have nopales with shrimp. This would be filling, delicious, and have limited protein. I could probably cook them with lard or fat. I'm not sure how olive oil would affect the flavor. That would help with the high fat content.

More importantly, cactus is high in fiber and low in carbs. From the information I could find, 1 cup of cactus has about 1g of net carbs.

This morning, Mrs. TWM surprised me by cooking me some scrambled eggs with cactus. She used bacon fat and some spices. It was a great breakfast. Very satisfying.

I'm tying to think of some sort of salad I could make with cactus. Perhaps I could throw in some olives. Or, I'm thinking with sardines. Hmmm.