On Tour

Keto Chow branded Blender Bottles now available in 10 colors

This entry is part 70 of 131 in the series Ketogenic Diet

I’m happy (my wife is even happier!) to announce that we now have 10 colors of Keto Chow branded 28 oz. Blender Bottles (actual, genuine, Blender Bottles – not cheap knock offs) in stock and available. This comes after about 2 weeks of delays due to holidays and snowstorms. They all look pretty awesome with the Keto Chow logo. We’ve had black ones with the logo for a while but reserved those for the “Sample all the things” flavor sampler, now anyone can get them in a wide variety of colors:

We still have around 20 of the regular Pink Blender Bottles without the Keto Chow logo. We don’t have to observe the “minimum advertised price” rules with the ones that have our logo on them, but the plain ones can’t be advertised for any less than $7.79 – but if you order some and add coupon code PINKBB you might see that price drop $2.

By |2019-05-23T08:21:33-06:00January 5th, 2017|Categories: On Tour, Preparation, Keto Chow|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

Keto at a Conference, round 2

This entry is part 62 of 131 in the series Ketogenic Diet

A year ago I detailed how I used HydroFlask insulated containers to keep my Keto Chow nice and cold while I was attending classes at the DreamForce Conference in San Francisco. I did it again a few months ago when I used a similar tactic on a trip to DisneyLand. Well, last week was DreamForce again – but this time, I had a new trick in my arsenal: Keto Chow muffins. I used the “brownie” recipe since it makes nice, substantial, muffins that stood up quite well to being in a backpack for a few days. I cooked 12 meals worth a day before I left and froze them so they would last longer out of the fridge. When we reached the AirBNB (that was half way to San Jose, it was nuts) I put my bags of muffins in the fridge along with the Trader Joe’s shelf-stable whipping cream.

For liquid Keto Chow, I brought along 4 days worth of Cookies & Cream in day packs – made for easy transport and since I was mixing up 3 blender bottles at a time, I used a carton of cream and a day pack of Keto Chow in their entirety each time. The blender bottles would go in the fridge for overnight chilling and most of the time I just kept it in the blender bottle and had that for breakfast with 2 meals worth of the muffins in ziploc bags in my backpack (along with keto snacks). Here’s my backpack ready for a day of class:

Ready for Class

The muffins were nice and flexible since they should last unrefrigerated for at least 3 days. If I ended up having something keto at a restaurant, the muffins would go back into the fridge when I got home for the next days’ meals. In all, it worked out great: I stayed in ketosis, didn’t gain any weight on the trip, and didn’t have to worry about meals. This last point was really important as our AirBNB sucked for finding a place to eat. One of the guys I was traveling with ended up having several of my muffins on several occasions rather than going out for food after a long day walking around.

I ate Keto Chow in class, in line, walking down the street, I even ate two of the muffins on Alcatraz island (in the area where food is permitted, naturally).

Never fear, I’m packing my own food =)

Attending a class this morning, it lasts 3 days. As expected, the “breakfast” consisted of pastries, juice and other stuff I will not eat. Good thing I have Keto Chow in my backpack (plus a bunch of snacks and stuff)

Ready for Class

I have breakfast and lunch in Hydro Flask insulated containers and dinner is a bag of Keto Chow brownie muffins. I mixed up the liquid Keto Chow last night before going to bed and made the muffins back on Thursday night when I froze them for better travel.

Random Photos and Fun (plus an update on KC2.0)

This entry is part 55 of 131 in the series Ketogenic Diet

We went camping over the weekend. As usual, we ate a lot of bacon, sausage, and eggs (with hash browns for the kids, who aren’t doing keto). We were at Willard Bay, a freshwater reservoir that was built adjacent to the Great Salt Lake by erecting a dike – essentially a dam around the entire area. The water is relatively warm and it’s not very busy. The main thing is: it’s close to us and since we were taking a camp trailer PLUS wave runners (super awesome 1996 Polaris ones I got for cheap on Craig’s list – hey, they work) I didn’t want to go very far. I had Keto Chow for lunch at the water (which was far more tasty than the sandwiches the kids were eating), as did my wife (see photo above).
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Last night my wife pointed out a box one of my kids has drawn on. Apparently, he thinks we need to introduce a new flavor. I especially like the logo and the QR code.

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This morning my “daily movie quote” calendar was full of awesome. Soylent Green is people; Keto Chow is ground-up low-carb hippies.

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Finally an update on Keto Chow 2.0: Yesterday I went to visit the co-packing place to pick up a new batch of flavor tests. Overall they’re excellent. Vanilla, Strawberry, and Chocolate are awesome (strawberry needs some more pink color which is unrelated to taste but whatever). The Cookie and Cream flavor was buttery tasting with not enough “oreo” aspect, maybe needs some chocolate? It’s still good though, more like a butter cookie. The Chocolate Peanut Butter is interesting.

The Chocolate Peanut Butter is interesting. The facility has an employee that’s allergic to peanuts. This means that using actual peanut flour at that location isn’t an option. The first solution is to have a different facility do the packaging of the Chocolate Peanut Butter, we’re looking at that. The second solution is to use a peanut butter flavor that doesn’t contain any of the problematic proteins. We tried some of that and there was a slight hint of peanut taste but nothing like what we currently get with the chocolate peanut butter flavor using real peanut flour. With this being my #1 favorite flavor you can be assured that I will not compromise on anything less than “this is yummy enough to drink for a month straight, I want MOAR!”. He also gave me a mocha (I think coffee anything smells like burnt toast so I got a guy testing it for me). The Snickerdoodle flavor wasn’t ready yet, I’m thinking about adding a Salted Carmel and maybe a Banana flavor – dunno. In all, it’s a definitive step in the right direction!

By |2016-10-14T07:17:51-06:00August 16th, 2016|Categories: Keto Chow, On Tour|Tags: , , , , |1 Comment

Keto Chow Bars/Brownies (REVISED)

Personally I think Keto Chow is pretty awesome and works great for most situations. The major drawback I see is that it requires refrigeration and also a sealed container to transport it if you’re doing something like running around a conference or Disneyland – in which case you need to use an insulated container (which honestly works extremely well). But what do you do if you want to save space, reduce weight and (from what I can tell so far) not have to keep it refrigerated for the day?

Make some Keto Chow Bars/Brownies/Muffins.

The basics are: you’re adding eggs and baking soda to make it more substantial; and for the calories you’re using butter and peanut butter since both store well (and taste yummy). For my test I made 6 meals worth (2 days) so the pictures are double the recipe shown here (1 stick of butter instead of a half stick). I also used Rich Chocolate though you can easily use any of the other flavors – next time I’m doing it with snickerdoodle!

The one caveat with the bars: they are pretty dry – you’re going to want something to drink while you’re eating but water is easy to store, transport and locate on the fly.

This recipe has been updated with suggestions from the comments.

Brownie Muffins Cooked
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Keto Chow Bars/Brownies (REVISED)

Portable, solid Keto Chow
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Desserts, Snacks
Keyword: Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Keto Chow
Keto Chow Flavor: Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter
Servings: 3 meals
Calories: 505.86kcal
Author: Chris

Ingredients

  • 150 grams Keto Chow we recommend using Chocolate or Chocolate Peanut Butter for this recipe
  • 64 grams Adams Natural Peanut Butter 2 "servings" - it's far easier to weigh
  • 56.5 grams salted butter half stick
  • 2 large eggs
  • 10 grams powdered erythritol (Swerve)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

  • Add the liquid ingredients to a mixing bowl.
  • Add dry ingredients and start mixing. I recommend using an electric hand mixer.
  • Spoon into a pan and smooth it out. For best results use a cupcake pan.
  • I baked it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
  • For maximum freshness, put each "meal" worth into a bag and refrigerate the bag. My guess is that it will keep just like the brownies you are familiar with. Out of the fridge they should be good for 1-3 days.
Nutrition Facts
Keto Chow Bars/Brownies (REVISED)
Serving Size
 
148 g
Amount per Serving
Calories
505.86
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
37.62
g
58
%
Saturated Fat
 
17.06
g
107
%
Trans Fat
 
0.87
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
4.36
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
12.47
g
Cholesterol
 
205.8
mg
69
%
Sodium
 
1202.48
mg
52
%
Potassium
 
1947.92
mg
56
%
Carbohydrates
 
16.25
g
5
%
Fiber
 
8.87
g
37
%
Sugar
 
2.07
g
2
%
Sugar Alcohol
 
3.34
g
Net Carbs
 
4.04
g
Protein
 
37.4
g
75
%
Vitamin A
 
1958.86
IU
39
%
Vitamin C
 
139.69
mg
169
%
Calcium
 
799.97
mg
80
%
Iron
 
4.19
mg
23
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Serving: 148g | Calories: 505.86kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.25g | Protein: 37.4g | Fat: 37.62g | Saturated Fat: 17.06g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4.36g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12.47g | Trans Fat: 0.87g | Cholesterol: 205.8mg | Sodium: 1202.48mg | Potassium: 1947.92mg | Fiber: 8.87g | Sugar: 2.07g | Vitamin A: 1958.86IU | Vitamin C: 139.69mg | Calcium: 799.97mg | Iron: 4.19mg | Sugar Alcohol: 3.34g | Net Carbs: 4.04g
By |2019-11-12T12:47:49-07:00August 1st, 2016|Categories: Ketogenic Diet, Keto Chow, Keto Chow Recipes, On Tour|Tags: , , , , |14 Comments

Staying keto at Disneyland

This entry is part 53 of 131 in the series Ketogenic Diet

Phineas and Ferb taught me to be careful about what I post online (they carved it into a meteor or something so it was really important) so I usually don’t post anything about going on vacation until after I get back. I’m back.

UPDATE: here’s a video from our 2020 trip!

We finally took our kids to Disneyland. Some of the stuff was too immature for the older kids and some was too intense for the youngest. That didn’t deter us at all though. I also wasn’t deterred about staying keto while I was in Disneyland, also known as land of carbs.

I didn’t have very high hopes of finding foods I could eat there so I bought a few extra insulated flasks and brought along enough Keto Chow for myself and my wife. I was also prepared to do intermittent fasting (eat at night, drink during the day), ended up never doing it though. Following my previously established pattern from the last time I did Keto Chow in a hotel I brought:

  • Two bags of Chocolate Peanut Butter
  • a carton of heavy whipping cream
  • 4 blender bottles for mixing and chilling
  • MCT oil
  • Fish oil pills
  • Scale
  • Measuring cup
  • Bottle brush
  • Soap
  • Vacuum insulated flasks

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Happily it all fit into an Amazon box for easy packing:

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The Vacuum flasks do an excellent job of keeping Keto Chow cold all day in a backpack- provided it’s cold when you put it in there. Hence the need for the blender bottles. I would mix up enough to replace the ones used that day, stick them in the fridge overnight and in the morning pour the Keto Chow into the HydroFlasks. Wash out the now empty blender bottles (with soap and the brush) and leave them to dry. While we were there I had a GoPro strapped to my chest that took a photo every 30 seconds. I ended up with a bunch of fun photos of me eating keto chow (and other keto friendly foods):

Should be noted that if you’re willing to pay the $37/plate at Ariel’s Grotto for breakfast they will do a surprisingly good job adapting the meal for a low-carb diet. The server was fine removing the hash browns and toast and adding more bacon, then she asked if I wanted more sausage and some avocado slices. I also ate 3 of the smoked turkey legs – Allegedly they’re soaked in a brine solution with no carbs, I can’t find reliable information though.

On a side note, on our way to California we stopped in Mesquite Nevada for a night, we caught the buffet and I was surprised at the crab legs, I kinda ate a lot of them (did 3 plates like this):

2016-07-09 18.22.18

 

By |2020-03-12T05:05:46-06:00July 18th, 2016|Categories: Keto Chow, On Tour|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

A Keto Vacation

Got back yesterday from vacation at Bear lake (because we’re the BAIR’s! get it?! …sorry, “dad” joke) My parents came along which made meals interesting – 4 adults eating (mostly) keto and 6 kids eating regular food. We only cooked 5lbs of the bacon we brought but we did power through an awful lot of rotisserie chicken, mayo and boiled eggs for chicken salad. It was a fun time. My wife said:

You should make a post with the big bacon pictures in Minnetonka Cave. Then you can geekily talk about the minerals and stuff

Well, I’m not going to geek out about minerals and stuff – our guide did that enough for everyone. =) The “Cave Bacon” was pretty cool though, here’s another picture of the surrounding area

Cave Bacon Large

I did set up a time lapse both times we went down to the “beach” (which consisted of tiny shells that got into your shoes and was the equivalent of walking barefoot across a floor of legos) – the kids still had fun.

 

By |2016-10-14T07:17:52-06:00June 24th, 2016|Categories: On Tour, Ketogenic Diet, Keto Chow|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

Vacationing for a week (mostly) using powdered food

This entry is part 31 of 35 in the series DIY Future Foods

This week I’m down in Arches National Park helping my dad do a nighttime photography workshop. (more…)

By |2021-09-17T10:39:18-06:00September 17th, 2014|Categories: Future Foods, On Tour, Preparation|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments