chris

chris.bair

About Chris

Chris Bair is a technology and computer geek. He became involved in the nutritionally complete "future foods" movement in January 2014, originally with a conventional recipe and later switching to a high fat, low carb "ketogenic" variant on October 2014. In January 2015 he created the recipe for Keto Chow and released it without restriction for anyone to use, at the same time he began mixing the recipe up for people that wanted a finished product and has seen steady growth in the business every month since.

“Flavor” of the Week April 30-May 6: 25% off sale on all flavors of 2.0 samples

For the next week, you can get 25% off the single meal “sample” size of all the 2.0 flavors we have available in the samples. Unlike most of the “Flavor of the week” sales, this one I actually can show a “you got 25% off” message in the cart, it’ll be nice to not have to answer that question for another week =)

You should check out our store reviews on Google, and the reviews of Keto Chow. Here’s a “taste”:

I love the product so much. It’s breakfast for my husband and I every day. I love the extended pickup hours. Much more convenient. The staff are always prompt, friendly and helpful.

Here’s another, should be noted that I publish all of the reviews that come in – bad or good – as they are, typos intact. The only ones I remove are spam posts from people wanting you to buy pills to “enhance performance” and such.

I got the samples to see what flavors i might like. I don’t know if my tastebuds are off or what, but a lot of them tasted like caramel to me, ha. I was afraid of the strawberry, bc other meal shakes strawberry (shakeology) are gross, but this one tasted like caramel that smelled like strawberry. Banana also tasted like caramel that smelled like banana. Chocolate PB I could taste the PB. Vanilla I could taste the vanilla. The salted caramel tasted exactly as that, and was my favorite. Least favorite was mocha. These mix smoother (not grainy) than any other meal powder i’ve used. I’m not sure they keep me as full for as long as a lot of other meal replacements. But they tasted better, and smoother, than the others. I will buy again, and looking forward to the new flavors.

By |2018-04-30T06:13:22-06:00April 30th, 2018|Categories: Keto Chow|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Keto Chow 2.1 Rollout Update: where we stand

So we have half of the original 8 flavors of Keto Chow switched over to version 2.1: Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cookies and Cream, and Salted Caramel. Following the schedule, the next flavor that’s going into packaging is Strawberry (the normal version, the “Natural Strawberry” that uses monk fruit will come later), Vanilla and Mocha are mixed already and will be bagged ASAP too. We also just received the Base Powder back in stock, the bag says 2.0 but it’s really 2.1 due to the change in Magnesium and Selenium. One thing of note: the final flavoring formulation for Chocolate Mint is finally complete – the feedback was that it wasn’t minty or chocolatey enough and both are now solved. In case you’re wondering why Chocolate Mint was last on the schedule, that’s why =)

The samples for 2.1.0 should hopefully start going in about 2 weeks, which is good as the 2.0 samples are starting to get rather low. We have run out of Cookies & Cream, Chocolate, and Strawberry – that’s enough that the “Sample ALL the Things” was temporarily demoted to “Most” and is now going to be taking a break entirely until we can get the 2.1 samples.

Most people are really liking 2.1; though, with any change, there are some that don’t like the changes. I’m really sorry about disappointing anyone – the changes we made with 2.1.0 make it more usable for more people doing a ketogenic diet and going back really isn’t an option. The flavoring that was being used for Keto Chow 2.0 is not usable in the future, we will not be going back – because: reasons. I have already identified some changes that do make the new flavoring stronger and address some of the other issues identified, those will go into place with version 2.1.1 – which I started making the nutrition panels and packaging revisions for 2.1.1 yesterday because it takes about 6 months to make any changes. Fun fact: I just discovered that on the bags for Keto Chow 2.1.0 Chicken Soup, I forgot to remove the “sucralose” from the ingredient list. That means we’ll get to draw a line through that on every bag. Yay!

I posted this list before, but it bears repeating. Let’s talk about the major changes people are finding with 2.1:

  • KC 2.1 mixes up thicker. This has some big implications to not just the viscosity but also to the flavor. To get the same thickness as v2.0, you have to add additional water. That means you have more volume for the same amount of powder.
  • More volume means you’re likely to stay full longer! (yay!)
  • More volume also means that the flavor and sweetener are diluted across more volume – that will make the flavor and sweetness less intense compared to v2.0. Depending on your personal tastes, this is either a great thing or a bad thing. Some people are upset by the change, others are ecstatic.
    • On an aside: we tried to get the intensity of the chocolate flavor to be close to 2.0’s, going so far as to increase the amount of “chocolate milkshake” flavor from 0.4g a serving up to 0.96g a serving.
  • The sweetener was reduced 20% (from 100mg to 80mg). Again, some people love the reduced sweetness, others do not.
  • The place that made the bags and applied the zipper does not seem to have used the zipper we told them to. The new zipper is thinner and tends to get clogged with powder. It’s annoying but it’s usually a quick fix:

 

By |2018-04-26T09:05:43-06:00April 26th, 2018|Categories: Keto Chow|Tags: , , |3 Comments

Keto Chow Base Powder back in stock

Good news for all you people wanting to customize Keto Chow or who want to save on international shipping: Base Powder is back in stock! Please note: this isn’t the full mix and if you’re getting the regular flavored mix of Keto Chow, you don’t need to get this.

The Base Powder was originally designed for international customers who want to save on shipping but also works for people that want to use different proteins/flavors/sweeteners – it’s everything but the protein (which is the #1 ingredient by weight and volume in Keto Chow), sweetener, and flavor. I have some additional details and info about the Base Powder on this page. The Base Powder has slightly changed with 2.1 but the nutrient information will be the same, so much so that we will continue to use the bags for 2.0 and call it 2.0. I don’t want to make onerous changes to the base powder that mess up people who have been using it consistently for years. Like the full 2.1 mix, we are replacing magnesium citrate with magnesium malate. Citrate can cause digestive issues and a laxidative effect in doses higher than you’d consume with Keto Chow, but less chance for problems is a good thing. We are also replacing the form of selenium, specifically, which makes Keto Chow more palatable immediately after mixing. It still tastes better after a night in the fridge, but it’s less “vitaminy” right after mixing.

When we picked up the Base Powder they were mixing the Strawberry 2.1, we maybe might see that before the end of the week or early next week available for sale.

By |2018-04-25T12:57:53-06:00April 25th, 2018|Categories: Keto Chow|Tags: , |0 Comments

Salted Caramel Keto Chow 2.1 now available

The hits just keep coming! We picked up two pallets of Salted Caramel, tested it to make sure everything was groovy, and it’s now up for sale. If this keeps up we’ll start getting the new flavors of 2.1 in just a few more weeks!

In case you’re wondering what the changes are from 2.0 to this new 2.1, or you want more info about when other new flavors will be available, check out the Keto Chow 2.1 Information Nexus.

By |2018-04-23T19:04:41-06:00April 23rd, 2018|Categories: Keto Chow|Tags: , , |0 Comments

“Flavor” of the Week April 23-April 29: 20% off sale on all flavors of 2.0 samples

For the next week, you can get 20% off the single meal “sample” size of all the 2.0 flavors we have available in the samples. Unlike most of the “Flavor of the week” sales, this one I actually can show a “you got 20% off” message in the cart, it’ll be nice to not have to answer that question for another week =)

You should check out our store reviews on Google, and the reviews of Keto Chow. Here’s a “taste”:

Incredible customer service – my issue was resolved in 5 minutes with one email. I will be doing far more business with this company due to my experience.

Here’s another, should be noted that I publish all of the reviews that come in – bad or good – as they are, typos intact. The only ones I remove are spam posts from people wanting you to buy pills to “enhance performance” and such.

The KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is vital when making a major change, and I was super excited to get my KC sample pack because it sounded like KC was gonna help me do just that. No more calculating how much/what kind of supplements, am I getting enough electrolytes, maximizing fat % of intake— Chris did all that work for us! And made it freakin’ delicious! So far I’ve tried the Banana, Mocha, and Choc PB (v2.0.1). I like banana flavoring, real and fake, and just IMHO this is the realest fake banana flavor I’ve ever tried. The Mocha & CPB are great too. I blended them each with a cup of ice cubes (to make ~16oz per the recipe) and got a couple of amazing chocolatey milkshakes… think Wendy’s Frosty. Regarding the salty flavor: to me, it was the same whether I drank it right away or chilled overnight in the fridge; not sure what chemical process the delay is supposed to accomplish. But it was expected & not unpleasant. CPB flavor so far does the best job of masking it, if it bothers you. I’m still eating other foods but I’ve stayed in ketosis and I’m sleeping slightly better, and feeling slightly better in general. Overall I had high expectations for my first foray into a “total nutrition via shake” adventure and KC has managed to exceed them.

By |2018-04-23T06:17:07-06:00April 23rd, 2018|Categories: Keto Chow|Tags: , , |1 Comment

Coming Keto Conferences (and Festivals!)

We’ll be going to a variety of Keto centric conventions, conferences, festivals, and such this coming year. To start it off, today only (April 20) you can get $100 off a conference pass to KetoCon in Austin Texas (June 15-17, 2018). You need to use the coupon code 3DAY100 when buying a 3 day pass:

KetoCon 2018 Twitter Promo

OK, so That’s KetoCon in June, just like last year Keto Chow will be there as a vendor. A month before that (May 20), Miriam will be on the Low Carb Cruise.

In late July we’ll be at KetoFest – we went last year and it was a blast, this year we were invited to be vendors so we will be kicking sampling Keto Chow 2.1. A few weeks later is Low Carb USA San Diego – this one we’ll just be attending for fun.

Next year we will be doing FitCon here in Utah again. It was really nice to do this show since it was local to us, we just drove down the freeway to the other side of town!

People ask us if the shows are successful. That depends on the metric you’re looking at. Do we sell enough product to break even? Haven’t ever once. Do we get to meet a lot of cool people, make new friends, and “network”? Yes – and that’s my criteria for success. We met doctors using keto to treat their patients, professional rugby players that use a ketogenic diet, MMA trainers that have all their students doing keto. We got to hang out (and have dinner with) the Keto Kookie, Keto Mojo, Heads-up-Health, and Ketolent crews. It was pretty awesome and this was just a fitness expo – dedicated keto events are usually even better.

By |2018-04-20T10:04:19-06:00April 20th, 2018|Categories: Ketogenic Diet|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

5 days, 3 podcast appearances

This entry is part 120 of 131 in the series Ketogenic Diet

It’s been a bit of a fun week. On Sunday, Keto Connect posted their Keto For Normies episode interviewing Chris and Miriam. On Tuesday, Jimmy Moore posted a Livin La Vida Low Carb podcast with Chris. On Thursday, Daisy Brackenhall posted a Keto Woman Podcast episode with Miriam. Some of the podcasts were recorded several weeks ago, it was just a big coincidence that they all went live at (almost) the same time. For those wondering: we don’t have any new appearances scheduled but we’re happy to come on your podcast if you’d like =)

All I can say: I’m so glad we already had Keto Chow 2.1 in stock before the episodes went up! =)

By |2018-04-20T09:06:56-06:00April 20th, 2018|Categories: Keto Chow|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Keto Chow 2.1 Cookies and Cream now available

This entry is part 119 of 131 in the series Ketogenic Diet

Just got back with a load of Cookies and Cream, tested it and it’s available for purchase in the week size bags right now. Come and get it!

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-10-7,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

By |2018-04-17T13:48:49-06:00April 17th, 2018|Categories: Keto Chow|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Keto Chow 2.1 update: Cookies and Cream should be available tomorrow evening, Salted Caramel is next

Time for a Keto Chow 2.1 Update!

Cookies and Cream 2.1 went into production this morning, we’re expecting to go grab several hundred tomorrow evening, test, and then put them up on the site for sale. I’m guessing it’ll be about 30 hours from right now. Salted Caramel is supposed to go into production after that with Base Powder either before or after Salted Caramel (they ran out of the tiny scoops for the Base Powder and more were scheduled to arrive today).

Along with updating the How to Prepare Keto Chow page for 2.1, there are a new set of videos that are updated for v2.1 also. The biggest thing to know about version 2.1 is it’s thicker, especially if you’re using heavy cream, and that necessitates more water.

Speaking of which, Let’s talk about the reception of Chocolate and Chocolate Peanut Butter! I have a thread on the Keto Chow subreddit asking for reviews. For the most part, people like both. Let’s talk about the major changes people are finding:

  • Like I said, KC 2.1 mixes up thicker. This has some big implications to not just the viscosity but also to the flavor. To get the same thickness as v2.0, you have to add additional water. That means you have more volume for the same amount of powder.
  • More volume means you’re likely to stay full longer! (yay!)
  • More volume also means that the flavor and sweetener are diluted across more volume – that will make the flavor and sweetness less intense compared to v2.0. Depending on your personal tastes, this is either a great thing or a bad thing. Some people are upset by the change, others are ecstatic.
    • On an aside: we tried to get the intensity of the chocolate flavor to be close to 2.0’s, going so far as to increase the amount of “chocolate milkshake” flavor from 0.4g a serving up to 0.96g a serving.
  • The sweetener was reduced 20% (from 100mg to 80mg). Again, some people love the reduced sweetness, others do not.
  • The place that made the bags and applied the zipper does not seem to have used the zipper we told them to. The new zipper is thinner and tends to get clogged with powder. It’s annoying but it’s usually a quick fix:
By |2018-04-16T12:13:15-06:00April 16th, 2018|Categories: Keto Chow|Tags: , , |0 Comments