I meant to post a link to the original - it is a Chef John recipe and he has some pretty good ones. I use his recipe to make clotted cream.
The elusive Zero and BIG news
gingersmommy
(Marianne)
#22
I had lost sight of that. I must have known it to start because I created a database of my most commonly eaten foods that keto approved. Many days, Iāll have a late breakfast/lunch of three four eggs (one basically is for the dogs), and a piece of processed American cheese. I guess technically I canāt call myself carnivore or āzero carbā because of it, but itās a trade-off Iām willing to make. Dinner consists only of a few good sized pieces of meat, but I have found I need to eat another meal before then and itās rare that we ever have meat āleftoversā from the night before. I find eggs are always accessible, easy to make, easy to clean up afterward, and they hold me well. What I need to explore is making chicken legs and thighs over the weekend and having them on hand to eat as my first āmeal.ā I could do the same with a āroastā so we would have that on hand as a better choice. Iām sure it would also be better if I left the cheese off of the eggs, but I really enjoy it. 
VirginiaEdie
(Edith)
#23
I do, but it is cured with brown sugar and maple syrup. Iāll post it if youāre interested.
Elliot-W
(Carnivore for the win)
#24
I really like pork belly with the skin on. A local grocery store brings it in occasionally. I donāt make bacon with it though, just instant pot then air fryer, as I donāt want to delay gratification. Itās delicious
Fangs
#25
Nah. It is carnivore. In that that isnāt your meal, it is just some herb flavorings in your sausage, and you know the good quality meat in those homemade sausages so you enjoy them. Only when the spices might effect your tummy or something or your tastes change do you worry about a few spices. I didnāt know you were quite the home food processer like thatā¦cool
and @VirginiaEdie, I had no idea you were making your own bacon. Love it.
you are fine. those eggs and that slice of American cheese is carnivoreā¦donāt even say you arenāt doing a carnivore meal on that oneā¦One canāt get super technical on a piece of cheese ya knowā¦when we start carnivore we do eat some things like the processed good olā American cheese to help us get thru our meals, there is nothing wrong with that, you are doing ok!!
and if eggs hold you well, then they are good for you. Thing with me is eggs just never held me. Like I ate nothing ya know, but many carnivores do eat alot of eggs and do well on them. But an egg while fab on carnivore doesnāt have that dense meat/fat ratio that a hunk of meat has, so sometimes while we rely on eggs alot, keep in mind our bodies need that denser meat. But if eggs suit you know you eat them up!!
Janie
(Jane)
#26
Yes, please post. I have brown sugar swerve and homemade maple syrup with allulose if too much
VirginiaEdie
(Edith)
#28
https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/pork-recipes/how-make-smoked-bacon-home/
This is where I got the recipe. I usually cure a whole slab just like in your picture, so I double the recipe. I use the traditional recipe and the maple recipe mixed together.
I cut the belly into two pieces so they can fit in one gallon ziploc bags. (Iāll usually have a little hunk of the belly left over that I cook in the oven.) The one gallon size keeps the liquid nicely surrounding the pork belly as it cures. I also cure it for four days. That really gives the bacon a fuller flavor.
I have not tried it with alternative sweeteners. I donāt like how any of them taste.
Iāve used this website for smoking pork and beef brisket, too. I really appreciate his comprehensive directions, particularly when I was new to smoking meats.
gingersmommy
(Marianne)
#29
Thank you so much. Very helpful to me. I guess I still have a touch of that all or nothing mentality - getting better, but still there to some degree.
Iām happy! 
Fangs
#31
yes donāt do that āoverly so strict carnivoreā in your brain that you feel less than cause ya ate some processed cheese 
I am like you tho. I am all or nothing. I have that thinking also and I am one of those Type A kinda control type personalities and I put SO much pressure on me that it can backfire. I also walked thru this.
I started my ZC journey out in ZIOH ago chatting with Charles Washington and Kelly Hogan and I posted one dayā¦omg I was out with hubby on vacation and I was starving and ate some ribs with sweet BBQ sauce, but I wiped off that sauce as much as I couldā¦blah blah blahā¦I felt āso non-carnivore ya knowā and CW came on and saidā¦and what did you do wrong really? You had to eat cause you were hungry, you wiped off all you could of that sauce? You probably didnāt enjoy those ribs cause you were all crazy over the sauce deal and in the end all ya did was wreck a good carnivore eating mealā¦and I thought, damn he is rightā¦LOLā¦Then Kelly replied something like, if a tad of wiped off sauce on that rib kept you still off ordering anything else, like french fries or hushpuppies or other junk on that menu, didnāt ya think you done great? You didnāt eat junk, you had a tad of sauce on MEAT!----and again I thought, damn yea I did great.
You kinda have to put it all into some perspective. What little we use, like some processed cheese, which is ācarnivore dairy reallyā in a way but not something that is making us sick to eat, not making us crave and darn we enjoy it along with our other carni foodā¦then we are fine.
Even Carnivore Vic who is all in carnivore to the ultimate had to eat some plastic cheese while on his work trips I know I have to eat some rubbed off sauces on food I order out cause I canāt get it plain, even other carnivores will do the same but we do it very sparingly ya knowā¦we keep the full focus on meat/seafood fish and fowl and some dairy if we do well on it, and we also watch the āwhole ballgameā on how much sugar we will allow on any given situation.
Did those ribs with that sugar sauce I wiped off years ago take me out of carnivore. Nope, if anything else I learned how to work more around issues I was going to face when out and about and out of my control of my own kitchen and I had to make some allowances without going batty about it all
90% of my food is home and under my hand.
that 10% out there, yes I have to bob and weave and dodge bullets out there to make it work best for me at all times
So believe me, relaxed carnivore is a real plan. We are relaxed in knowing we are carnivore even if we eat a tad of processed cheese or even some wiped off sugary type BBQ sauce then out and about
if you donāt give yourself a mental break you canāt make it and be happy on this plan. But longer term we gain strength in manuevering thru our meal plans.
Just some thoughts on it all You are doing great!!
gingersmommy
(Marianne)
#32
Again, thank you. So helpful in bringing me back to whatās important.
So true! Why donāt we think this way naturally? Very happy there are people out there who are so supportive and encouraging - like you - when someone (like me) starts to talk nonsense.
Azi
(Linda )
#33
I just finished listening to a podcast cast about being successful in weight loss it was about long term success it was done for bariatric patients but the message applies to all ppl I believe.
If we want to change from sad and be successful we have to start at the core of who we are and what we believe and identify asā¦ if we believe we are carnivores and thats our goal we will shift our focuss to make strategies and plans to achieve those goals and achieve the health benefitsā¦if we believe we donāt fit or are not good enough or canāt do it then we may never get there may never feel we are good enough and put the effort in the change our habbits
Ifs like giving up smoking if somone was to offer me a cigarette Iād just plain tell them Iām not a smoker I wouldnāt smoke it just because itās offeredā¦even though I used to smoke in my past.
So just as Fangs pointed out we have to identify who we are and start believing it . Because we came here to get healthy and believe in the health benefits we are feelingā¦dogs are carnivores but occassionally they will eat ppl food or go out and chew on grass that doesnāt stop them being carnivores.
So I think to change habits and keep moving forward to our goals including weight lossā¦we have to decide who we areā¦who we want to be what we believe and start working towards making those changes in thinking. So we get thereā¦
Fangs
#34
I put it that way? LOL I guess I did but darn you put it into a real sentence that makes sense.
And thanks for doing just that!!!
I so agree and I so back that we must be the carnivore and stop the failure aspect of moving forward and identifying ourselves in such narrow lanes that work against us and not for us.
A new person, omgosh we go thru heck and back starting carnivore, worrying we āare doing it wrongā when if that key focus is just no plants on the plate to eat as a meal and no sugar dumps added to stuffā¦we are so carnivore but we have to give us that slack to work āthru real life out thereā as our lifestyles hit us all.
Another biggie for me was I wasnāt kidding anyone but me ya know.
If we desire change, then change but if āwe cheatā and wonder why no changes are going down, WHO are we hiding that from? No one but ourselves so at some point, the pedal has to go down to the floor and one has to go all in and thru their actions change their life and progression of the same old same old patterns. I found this hard to do til that day I said to me, I am so over lying to me LOL I couldnāt fool me anymore 
Fab post Azi!!
Janie
(Jane)
#35
Thanks for the recipe. I am going to use real brown sugar. Itās less than 1 carb per slice if all the sugar was absorbed, but a majority will be poured off with the liquid after is cures. Not taking a chance on messing up such a beautiful slab of pork belly!
VirginiaEdie
(Edith)
#36
Yes, itās a surprisingly small amount of sugar and salt to cure the bacon.
Dej
(Dennis Jacobs)
#37
Robin, Iāve been almost 5 yrs carni and my goal is 10 or less carbs. Almost impossible to do 0 carb. I eat 6 eggs a day and can still stay under 10 but it does not allow any other carbs such as processed meats. Itās hard but doable. I do love my sausages and will allow 1gr carb at times. Pepperoni zero carbs Yummy.