Keto Chow

Keto Chow 2.0 and 1.5 update

This entry is part 2 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

We got our second round of flavors for Keto Chow 2.0 yesterday. I talked to a different co-packer who had super awesome pricing but their minimum order quantities were astronomical. Going off the last 3 months of sales we would be ordering a year’s worth of Rich Chocolate at the low end and 2 years worth of Strawberry at the high. Given expiration dates I think that’s a bit over-optimistic. So I’m working on nailing down order amounts and costs with my original co-packer still.

As for 1.5: we’re closer and closer to having all the flavors and sizes switched over to 1.5. If you’re getting flavors/sizes that aren’t on this list and want 1.5 you’ll need to drop a note in the order comments and we’ll try to fulfill your request. Here’s what’s switched over so far:

Weeks

  • Vanilla
  • Rich Chocolate
  • Chocolate Mint
  • Strawberry
  • Cookies & Cream

Days

  • Everything but Chocolate Peanut Butter

Samples

  • Rich Chocolate
  • Strawberry
  • Chocolate Fudge
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter

I’ve reduced the price of the other flavor samples, also samples are the only size with Banana and Butter Cream Toffee still in stock.

By |2016-06-09T10:18:33-06:00June 9th, 2016|Site or Store Stuff, Keto Chow|Comments Off on Keto Chow 2.0 and 1.5 update

Keto Chow 1.5… ice cream?

This entry is part 130 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

The overwhelming consensus of Keto Chow 1.5 is

tastes like melted ice cream

I agree and decided to see what would happen if I tried making it back into ice cream. So I mixed up 6 meals worth of Cookies&Cream and put it into (one of) my ice cream makers. One of my daughters did a science experiment on salt/ice ratios for ice cream 2 years ago so I have the technique down solid (30+ rounds of ice cream will do that).

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So, I think that Keto Chow has too much water in it to make ice cream. It would be fine for shaved ice or something but it turned out more like Ice Milk than Ice Cream. I put it into pint mason jars and into the freezer, once frozen you could easily see the clear ice. I later softened it and had my awesome wife try it out. She likes how it’s cold but has been letting it melt and drinking it – there are easier ways to make cold Keto Chow =)

By |2016-06-06T11:18:50-06:00June 6th, 2016|Keto Chow|3 Comments

Keto Chow 1.5 status update

This entry is part 129 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

Since posting about it last week the most frequent question I’ve gotten is “what flavors have switched over to 1.5 already?” Well, that depends on the size you’re talking about =) We have a large supply of samples that were made before the switch in all flavors but two that are still available – those will be 1.0.4 for a while. This includes the banana and butter cream toffee ones we still have. Although I can’t find those flavors anymore we still have samples available, I’ve even discounted them and entered inventory into the site so if you’re really wanting to grab some you can.

Anyhow, here are the size/flavors that are completely switched over to 1.5. You can request the ones that haven’t switched yet and we’ll try to make sure you get 1.5 (though I can’t guarantee we have all available in 1.5 yet).

Samples (1 meal) that are 1.5

  • Strawberry Blast
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter
  • Chocolate Fudge

Days (3 meals) that are 1.5

  • Strawberry Blast
  • Cookies and Cream
  • Chocolate Fudge

Weeks (21 meals) that are 1.5

  • Gourmet Vanilla
  • Rich Chocolate
By |2016-06-02T10:34:46-06:00June 2nd, 2016|Site or Store Stuff, Keto Chow|Comments Off on Keto Chow 1.5 status update

Keto Chow 1.5

This entry is part 128 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

TL;DR: swapped psyllium husk for acacia gum, added more xanthan gum resulting in better texture and improved bowel… stuff.

It’s been some time since there was a major formulation change in Keto Chow, it’s been stable for over a year. As part of the progress towards Keto Chow 2.0 I’ve updated the recipe. On paper it looks like a nominal change: replaced one ingredient and increased another. Functionally it’s a significant revision.

For those unaware: I’m working on getting Keto Chow mixed and packed in a co-packing facility. There are a bunch of reasons for this, primarily it will increase the amount of stuff I can make since it’ll no longer be such a manual process. It will also free up a lot of time =). In order to do this I’m needing to find replacements for the problematic ingredients that can’t be found in 100kg+ sizes (the vitamins, protein, flavoring) in addition to finding a co-packing facility. I’m in the latter stages of getting the vitamin mix replacement, the second revision of the protein+flavoring should be coming sometime in the next week or two and it’s almost time to “for realsies” sign papers with co-packers.

Several weeks ago I went to a trade show with various food ingredient vendors. I knew my Potassium and Xanthan Gum supplier would be there, the people I’m getting the vitamin pre-mix from had a booth and I was surprised that the lady I buy peanut flour from was there too (“hey, I buy your stuff… wait a minute, I buy it from YOU!”). I was looking for an alternative vitamin pre-mix supplier but was also on the lookout for protein sources and especially a solution to my Psyllium Husk problem.

Psyllium Husk provides fiber (and is the primary ingredient in metamucil if you are wondering) as well as acting as a thickener; it grows in India. All psyllium husk is shipped from India and while getting it in small quantities in the United States is easy, buying a palette worth is difficult without going directly to the manufacturers in India and buying an entire shipping container worth. Don’t get me wrong, a shipping container in my back yard would be kinda cool but I didn’t want to go that route. I found a company in Chicago that would sell psyllium by the 25kg/55lb bag but their supplies were sporadic and if they were out of stock I was out of luck and would need to go back to buying 12lb bags from AllStarHealth. No bueno.

At the show I happened upon one booth for a company specializing in dietary fibers. So I asked if they had psyllium husk powder and the guy asked me what I needed it for. Honestly that was the best response: instead of just saying “no”, he figured out what my “pain point” was. Turns out that guy in the booth was doing dietary ketosis, said “oh you don’t want psyllium, THIS is the stuff you want to use for keto” and so I was introduced to Acacia Gum.

Acacia Gum – Features and Benefits. This was sizeable enough I decided to put it into a separate post so it’s easier to refer to, go ahead and read it, I’ll wait.

Now, as I said earlier: Psyllium Husk also acts as a thickener and while Acacia thickens liquid a little, replacing psyllium with acacia left the mixture rather watery. I tried some other thickening ingredients but came back to Xanthan Gum which I was already using. I upped the amount almost 3x and the thickness was just right.

I considered Keto Chow 1.0.4 to be exceptionally smooth with practically no gritty texture (especially compared to the stuff I had in the past that was full of coconut flour and chia seeds). Apparently psyllium husk powder does have some texture/grit to it because the change was notable. Keto Chow 1.5 has no discernible (to me and those I’ve had test it) texture. It’s seriously like somebody melted a milk shake. It also mixes better: there’s no need to do a second mixing 5 minutes after initial mixing to prevent the fiber from accumulating on the bottom in clumps. Acacia Gum is also nicer to your intestines and seems to eliminate some of the bowel issues people were experiencing  when initially starting. For lack of a better way to say it delicately: you should be able to put more trust in a fart being just a fart, especially at the beginning.

We do have some of the old recipe still on the shelves but most of the flavors will be transitioned over to 1.5 in the next week or so. If you don’t notice the texture at all in the older formulation it won’t be a big deal but if you’re anxious to get the new stuff just put a note in your order comments and we’ll do our best to send the new stuff. We have most of the week packs in 1.5 and a few of the day flavors. Samples are all currently the old stuff.

By |2016-10-13T07:27:40-06:00May 27th, 2016|Soylent, Site or Store Stuff, Keto Chow, Ketogenic|3 Comments

Old flavors, new flavors, dead flavors.

This entry is part 127 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

My wife just reminded me that I need to post something about the state of the flavors of Keto Chow. The ones I can get have diminished significantly in the last while:

  • Piña Colada: discontinued
  • Smooth Banana: discontinued
  • Butter Cream Toffee: discontinued
  • Cinnamon Bun: discontinued
  • Mint Chocolate: not certain, most of my suppliers have removed it from their sites, and it’s getting harder and harder to source. Might not be long for this world =(

We still have some stock of a few of the discontinued ones (mostly samples and days) but we’ll be watching the stock levels closely. The ones I can still get easily:

  • Rich Chocolate
  • Vanilla
  • Strawberry
  • Snickerdoodle
  • Chocolate Fudge
  • Cookies and Cream

So I guess it’s good timing that I’m getting closer to having my own flavors for Keto Chow. Speaking of that: today I received the first 5 samples of the protein + flavoring that I’ll be using in Keto Chow 2.0. I’d be mixing it up right now but we made 12 meals worth last night and don’t have any clean blender bottles available (not to mention I need to drink down the supply in my fridge). Closer and closer every day!

By |2016-05-27T12:09:27-06:00May 5th, 2016|Site or Store Stuff, Keto Chow, Ketogenic, Ingredients|2 Comments

Want to participate in the “soylent eaters survey”?

I tried to send this out via email but Gmail got pretty mad at me and rejected it pretty quick. My only recourse would be to create a mailchimp list for a single use and that’s not something I want to do to my customers. I HATE companies shoving me onto a mailing list without me asking or consenting. “Gee, this guy emailed us once, let’s SPAM him to death until he unsubscribes”. No way man.

There is a survey for people who have tried “soylent” products like Keto Chow. If you want to participate you can at http://www.instant.ly/s/d6Eug?source_type=email (and if you don’t, that’s cool too).

At the end of the survey there’s a bunch of coupon codes for Keto Chow along with other powdered foods. If you’re interested, there’s some more info about the survey in the reddit thread about the survey.

 

By |2016-04-19T09:16:48-06:00April 19th, 2016|Keto Chow, Ketogenic, Soylent|Comments Off on Want to participate in the “soylent eaters survey”?

Testing with acacia gum progressing well, thinking about starting lifting

This entry is part 125 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

So my test of Keto Chow with Acacia gum instead of Psyllium Husk powder seems to be going pretty well. Acacia gum doesn’t thicken like psyllium does so I’m having to use a thickening agent too, MOAR fiber I guess. It’s smoother that the psyllium, like really smooth with almost no texture at all except the peanut butter flour I added to this batch.

I’m still rocking 100% Keto Chow since Tuesday (well except the pickles I ate yesterday…. and then I drank all the pickle juice in the jar which was fun since they were hot chili pickles. My wife has planned for us to go out to dinner with friends tonight so I’l going to break my streak. I’m still down 4lbs from Tuesday.

I’ve been thinking about starting lifting at a gym, particularly since this post. It kinda snowballed yesterday when somebody posted a home gym on a yardsale site. I ended up talking to my brother (the one that is supposed to eventually post his experience with Keto and lifting) about it. His advice: “rent” the equipment with a gym membership, if you’re truly serious about it you can buy some later. OK, good plan. The price of the bowflex would be 3.5 years of membership at the gym nearest my house. Now the problem becomes: when will I have time to work out!? I think the solution will be to stash gym clothes in my car and stop on my way home. My awesome wife said she was going to suggest I start going to the gym but didn’t want to offend me =) So good timing I guess.

By |2016-04-16T08:26:29-06:00April 16th, 2016|Site or Store Stuff, Keto Chow, Ketogenic, Weight Loss|Comments Off on Testing with acacia gum progressing well, thinking about starting lifting

Day 100 – 100 days of Keto (Chow) retrospective plus a rant about skinny weight loss coaches

This entry is part 81 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto

Weight change for the 100 days: 209.9 lbs to 205.4 lbs. That’s not really stellar progress but compared to gaining I suppose I’ll take it. I also didn’t “cheat” once; meaning I didn’t ever deliberately eat foods containing sugar, starch or other carbohydrates – but that wasn’t a surprise, aside from “robins eggs” that are still kicking around my house I’m not tempted at all by carby foods. For the most part I did have 3 meals of Keto Chow a day for the 100 days but it’s the “extra” stuff that was detrimental.

This 100 day experiment was a good experience though. I can see a direct correlation between my progress and the amount of malitol I consumed, for one thing. Malitol is a relatively common “sugar free” sweetener. And by “sugar free” I’m using the loose standard the food industry uses since it is a sugar alcohol and is arguably better than sucrose, though not by much. Because malitol is cheaper than most of the sugar alcohols like Erythritol it gets used pretty frequently in sugar free stuff. Like Russell Stover chocolates, sugar free lemon heads and others. My advice to myself and to others: if it has malitol then you can’t subtract the sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrates. In other words: just avoid it entirely. Go get some Swerve sweetener and make your own stuff instead. Seriously, it’s my downfall and I’m finally coming to terms with it. As much as people rail against aspartame and sucralose at least I know they don’t affect my metabolism.

So, I didn’t lose much weight during the experiment, what about blood ketones? First off: measuring your ketones is generally a really bad idea. It’s motivational to get some of the urine test strips when you are very first starting out doing keto since you can see a tangible and almost immediate result. As your body adapts to ketosis the urine test strips become useless though, you stop producing extra that gets excreted and the strips stop working. So you can test with blood tests or breath acetone tests. The blood tests are like $2 each and the breath tester is $150. You also fall into a non-constructive pattern if you are constantly testing and “chasing ketones”. You’re better off just limiting your carbohydrates, tracking food in general and keeping at it. Keep Calm and Keto On (KCKO) as they say. So I did measure my blood ketone levels every day. Near the end of the experiment I discovered that I was doing it wrong! Thanks to the “dawn phenomenon” my glucose was high and ketones were low every morning when I tested. That can partially account for why I only averaged 0.5 mmol/L during the experiment (you want to be in the 1.5-3.0 range). the rest of it is the aforementioned malitol.

So here’s where I get into my rant: I feel your pain because it’s my pain too.

Losing weight can be very, very difficult for people (at times it can also be really easy for others). The irony is that almost all of the people you see that advocate exercise, active lifestyles and other “traditional” forms of weight loss have never experienced Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Resistance or Diabetes. You see the rail thin “never been overweight” paragons of fitness selling exercise plans to get people skinny, or body wraps, or ab crunchers. Even the models they use for weight reduction surgery look like they’ve NEVER been obese. They just don’t understand, and it drives me nuts. Unfortunately society as a whole also subscribes to the notion that all you have to do to be skinny is exercise, fat people are lazy, it’s a moral weakness.

Being fat is a lack of character so far as being allergic to peanuts is a lack of character. Some people can’t handle gluten, others get sunburn almost by looking at a photograph of the sun. Are those problems with their moral fiber, with their will power? Should society look down on them? Maybe they should just try not being diabetic, or celiac , or ginger. Your body’s ability or inability to process glucose/carbohydrates isn’t your fault. If people happen to have won the genetic lottery and their cells haven’t become resistant to insulin yet then that’s also not something they should be applauded for. That’s just how your body may be.

When I was a skinny little kid with asthma I couldn’t gain weight for anything. Then I overcame that and, by the outward indicators, slowly worked up resistance to insulin. I stopped processing glucose like I was supposed to. I don’t know if that was genetics, environment, or (more likely) a result of what I was eating combined with the two.  Regardless, I got fat and stayed fat. To date, the only thing that has had a consistent effect on my weight was coming to terms with how I personally metabolize glucose (or rather don’t). Switching to a ketogenic diet has impacted my health and weight tremendously and I don’t see any reason I would ever stop. Why eat bread when you can eat bacon?

So I consider these 100 days a success for the additional experience I gained. Sure it would have been awesome to be down to 180, but when people report that they’re having issues losing weight I more than understand. I’ve had the same frustrations and maybe even done the same things that are hindering your/their progress.

By |2016-10-13T07:27:40-06:00April 13th, 2016|Keto Chow, Ketogenic, Weight Loss, 100 days of keto|6 Comments

Day 099 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

This entry is part 80 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto
  • Weight: 208.0
  • Blood ketones: 0.1 mmol/L

So I’m stuck in a up and down cycle – it’s entirely what I’ve been eating and has a simple explanation, despite that I’ve decided it serves as good experience; I’ll call it “gives me a better understanding of what others are going through” yeah – that’s it. I’ll harp on that a bit more for tomorrow when I do my retrospective on the “100 days of Keto (chow)”

The acacia gum fiber did not come yesterday, which kinda sucked – I had the day off work and I was all prepped and ready to spend a few hours testing it out. Instead I’m going to have to figure out some time later this week to do that =(. We got a shipment of Choline that was DL instead of L – apparently their product codes got messed up. I’m getting a credit for it but now I have to dispose of 100kg of Choline DL-Bitartrate. That’ll be fun.

By |2016-04-12T09:05:09-06:00April 12th, 2016|100 days of keto, Keto Chow|Comments Off on Day 099 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

Days 096, 097 & 098 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)

This entry is part 79 of 81 in the series 100 days of keto
  • Weight: 206.6
  • Blood ketones: <0.1 mmol/L
  • Weight: 205.5
  • Blood ketones: dunno
  • Weight: 207.5
  • Blood ketones: 0.2 mmol/L

Saturday was a busy day with loads of physical activity in the yard with the kids, followed by everyone but me getting a slurpee (I had some diet rootbeer instead) then we hit the park and played there until the rain came and sent us running for cover. I made some Keto Chow muffins that I ended up having for breakfast this morning. I used my immersion blender and it worked WAY better than a regular blender for making the muffins. I’ll be doing that in the future now.

Yesterday we had a little get together. We brought deviled eggs and little cups of chocolate mousse. About 1/4 of the people there were doing keto and our friends brought some smoked pulled pork and low carb tortillas. I ended up so full I didn’t even bother eating dinner, so only 1 keto chow for me yesterday.

Anyhow, today was keto chow muffins with some creme cheese. I’m planning on shakes for lunch and for dinner too.

By |2016-04-11T08:31:56-06:00April 11th, 2016|100 days of keto, Keto Chow|Comments Off on Days 096, 097 & 098 – 100 days of Keto (Chow)