Keto Tips

Since switching to Keto, I have come up with the following list of terminology, necessities and “knowledge nuggets” that I will add to as I learn more:

 

Equipment

Food Processors & Mixers – You really can’t have fun with Keto without a food processor (I tried.  It was not fun.)  So I got a Ninja with the extras including the dough blender, and I think it’s perfect for Keto!  The primary drawback is that it has on, off and pulse.  Slow & steady is not an option, so it’s really not good for everything.  My standard mixer comes in hand along with a couple older small food processors I keep for flax seeds and almonds, since those get processed frequently.

Automatic Bread Maker – I have been experimenting with a couple different dough recipes I have found, and I already made my first Keto pizza dough.  It was really good, but I’m looking for great before I post it!  if you have one of these things hiding in storage somewhere, you might consider pulling it out and dusting it off!

 

Items that never make it off my Shopping List

Almond Milk – Great for recipes in place of milk, but I just can’t drink it straight.

Eggs – seriously, just buy chickens at this point since you’ll never stop using eggs!  Also, I’ve found that even if recipes don’t call for it, separate your eggs, whip up the whites to stiff peaks and add the whites last for fluffier creations.

Heavy Cream (not half-and-half) – I use unsweetened full-fat coconut cream more often than not and it works great

Cream Cheese – many of the recipes you come across have this yummy substance.  May I suggest the 48-ounce size!?

Avocados – Keto has a total love affair going on with these.  Did you know you could substitute mashed up avocado for butter?

Zucchini – You can do a LOT with zucchini.  I was never a huge fan, but it hides well in certain recipes.

Cauliflower – Don’t tell anyone in the Keto community, but I actually haven’t made 1 thing with this veggie yet (although one seems to hit my cart every time I’m at the grocery store).  I put it on the list since there are a lot of recipes out there in the Keto world that look like I might have to try them, and they call for cauliflower.  “Riced cauliflower” has simply been run through a food processor and turned into little bits that look like rice.  I’m pretty sure it still tastes like cauliflower, but I’ll wait until I try a recipe or two.  UPDATE:  I finally chopped down a cauliflower before it went bad and made it into a mashed-potato-looking creation.  Then we fully loaded it with bacon, onion, sour cream and butter.  Yep, it still kind of tasted like cauliflower and gave us a bit of indigestion just like cauliflower.  At least I tried 🙂

Other Produce – Buy organic, non-GMO and/or local produce whenever you can and focus on green veggies, not root vegetables.  Also, blackberries (a favorite) is high in fiber, so make sure you get these for a treat when they come into season.

 

Other Typical Staples

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Real Butter – Your NEW essential oils!!

Almond Flour – or lots of almonds! I haven’t started making my own flour yet because I worry about consistency and I actually don’t want to make everything from scratch, but I do make course almond meal for my cheesecake crusts

Coconut Flour – I don’t like or have too many recipes that call for only coconut flour, this is usually better as a mix with almond flour in almost every recipe

Full Fat Coconut Milk –  Great for recipes, but I can’t drink it straight.  I get the cans instead of the cartons because they are smaller and we really don’t go through them that fast

Vanilla – Why does almost every baking recipe call for this?  Vanilla extract has sugar alcohols, so I get around this by getting alcohol-free, non-GMO, organic vanilla when and where I can.

Baking Powder – Fluffs up recipes like whipping up your egg whites

Pink Himalayan Salt – this salt has some extra minerals in it, but I haven’t noticed any weird flavor or anything.

Stevia – Buy the good organic 100% Stevia.  Taste is pretty important.  There are also Stevia drops; having vanilla and lemon on hand is really convenient and they are also called for in a lot of recipes! Pyure is my favorite Stevia blend, but it is blended with Erythritol (see below).

Coconut Sugar – A little different flavor and brown in color.  I change up my sweeteners for different recipes and find out what works best.

100% Cocoa Powder – chocolate on Keto is a must! 🙂

Golden Flax seeds – These can be put through the processor to make flax meal which is a natural emulsifier (holds stuff together).  Flax meal can be used as a 2:1 replacement for Xanthan Gum in most recipes.

Bacon – One of the best things about Keto!! Don’t forget to save the grease when you cook it for other recipes!

 

Misc.

Concentrated Bone Broth – I discovered that this is pretty useful stuff.  I use it to make a Keto cocktail sauce, spice up strip steaks, and for broth sometimes too!

Apple Cider Vinegar – this pops up in all kinds of recipes and has so many uses (like making you feel full).  It was in my fridge long before Keto was a thing!

Canned spinach – If you aren’t Popeye, puree this stuff up and add it to a stew.  It acts a bit like tomato paste, thickens up the stew, and makes the soup/stew super hearty.  I’m not a fan of spinach, so this is a good way to hide it, and I didn’t taste it at all.   Soups and stews are great places to hide a lot of veggies, and even the pickiest kids (& husbands) won’t know they are there!

Pure Maple Syrup or Honey – If you’re going to make a pizza with me, you will need one or the other.  I have been assured by others that this cooks out of the dough recipes that I use this in.

Spices and sauces – Adding spices and sauces can make food more bold.  I think this helps eliminate some cravings.  I can make some, but again, I don’t want to make everything from scratch.  I do have a great recipe for cocktail sauce that I came up with.

Lemon Juice – Last but not least since this is used in many recipes (including my cheesecake recipe!)

 

Trying to Avoid, but…

Xanthan Gum – I did try some of this out before I read up on this.  From what I understand, this is a processed emulsifier for cooking.  I was rather intrigued by the way it looks when you spoon it out of the bag with a metal measuring spoon, but since this can be replaced with flax meal, I think I’ll be sticking with that as much as possible.

Swerve – Many recipes call for this sweetener which is Erythritol

Erythritol – A sugar alcohol, so DiDi can’t have it even if Jim and I can.  I tried to pass this one by, but have experimented with it on several recipes you’ll find on this website.  I’m falling somewhere between perfection and production on this one.

Allulose – The newest sweetener I’ve tried out, but not convinced of the healthy nature of this substance.  Still doing my research, but I needed it to make marshmallows!

Xylitol – 0% – I do NOT use this at all since DiDi cannot have it and it’s super poisonous to dogs.  That’s good enough reason for me to stay away from it.