Hey y'all! 

If I haven't already said this explicitly, year 2 of vegan keto is going to bring a shift of focus for me! Year 1 was all about figuring out my macros, and my foods and recipes and what works for my body. With all that being set (though I still keep losing weight even though I'm [trying to be] in maintenance mode... scale said 113.5 today...), year 2 is going to be more focused on RESEARCH and learning the science behind the diet (with that said, I don't mean to imply I didn't do research before I started the diet. I read a TON of stuff, but it's pretty overwhelming at first to try to figure everything out at once at the very beginning. So I relied on the sciency people in my life who had already done research to help me with pieces that weren't entirely clear, and I just sort of trusted the process. And now that I know the process WORKS for me, I want to be able to supplement my anecdotal evidence with scientific evidence! And, while I might be an English major I am not a science major... So I am hoping this is not a futile effort for me!!!!
​

(That was supposed to be read like the song SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS.... I guess if you don't know the song I am just shouting random words at you right now...)

Anyway, I am SUPER excited to go to Barnes and Noble after work (either before or after physical therapy... yay...) and pick up some keto books I've reserved!!! I have waiting for me...

1. The Obesity Code (Fung)
2. Good Calories, Bad Calories (Taub) 
3. AND OF COURSE Keto Clarity (Jimmy Moore) 

(They are probably cheaper on Amazon, but I worked at B&N for 5 years, so I feel like I have to do my part to keep them open sometimes LOL)

Anyway, onto the title story... 

I've said before that I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER SINCE QUITTING FAKE SUGAR!

But so many people just don't want to give it up. I get it. We had to give up real sugar, now you want me to give up fake sugar, too!?!? But it's honestly the best thing I've done for myself!!! 

So, with that mindset in mind (ha), this podcast caught my eye: Diet Soda? Maybe so or Hecks No! 

Before I share what was said about diet soda, let me say that I am SO GLAD I FOUND THIS PODCAST! Plugging in my headphones at work... it's like having a keto convo with a good friend! He is just totally laid back and real, sharing the keto way, CHEWING THE FAT with listeners. And I really appreciate that episodes are only like 15 minutes long each. Sometimes an hour is too much to commit to during work when I'm in and out of the office all day. But these are short and easily digestible! I totally dig it! 

Anyway, I hope this is allowed, but I transcribed part of the podcast because I loved it so much and wanted to share it with you all. So TO BE CLEAR, THESE WORDS ARE NOT MINE; THEY BELONG TO THE "LET'S CHEW THE FAT" PODCAST. I DID NOT WRITE, NOR DO I OWN THEM.

Hopefully that does it! So, here we go!

If you are on keto, will diet soda kick you out of keto? No, not necessarily. It’s not that it couldn’t, but in a great number of people diet soda probably would not kick you out of keto. But that’s not the point. The point is, that what’s inside that diet soda may actually destroy your keto later. And what do I mean by that? Remember when we were talking about gut health and inulin and how it’s a prebiototic and it helps your probioitcs and everything. Now the probiotics we are talking about are gut health. If you want to get into keto and fully become fat adapted, your gut’s gotta be right; there’s no way around it. I believe that the ratio is or should be 80% good bacteria vs 20% of the bad stuff down there. But here’s the problem: when you’re drinking down that diet soda, that aspartame and that sucralose and all that different garbage that’s inside of diet soda, it will go down there and it will mess with your bacteria that’s in your gut, changing them, freaking them out, MUTATING THEM! And you won’t be able to absorb your foods and protect your body; your immune system is inside of your gut… So if you’re sitting there and you’re drinking down all these diet sodas, and you’re freaking out your gut and you become to the point where you won’t be able to absorb the nutrients, won't be able to break down the fats, won't be able to get the ketones going so that you can actually get into ketosis… that’s going to be a problem. And diet soda will do this. it’ s a man made frankenstein craziness and that’s what we got to get away from. We got to start going towards those whole foods, those natural foods. There’s just some really crazy nightmarish things that’s happening out there!

That’s what you want to do. Anytime you’re looking at any type of food… if it’s something that you know can cause damage to your gut. Let alone, not even to mention the brain, what that crap does to your brain. If you know it’s something that’s going to jack up your gut, you need to leave it alone!

Sorry so short today, but this is a quick lunchtime blog! (If you're wondering, I had cauliflower, half an avocado, vegenaise and Frank's buffalo sauce with some green olives). 

I am still developing all these sites, but if you want to join me on ALL areas of the internet, please feel free to come to these pages and join me! I greatly appreciate all your support!!!

• Instagram: @vegan_keto_madi
• Twitter: @Veganketomadi
• Facebook: Vegan Keto Madi (Page)
• YOUTUBE TO COME THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!! (I am hoping Vegan Keto Madi is available LOL)

Until next time,

​Vegan Keto Madi

Just stopping in briefly to say....

VEGAN KETO MADI IS NOW ON TWITTER!!!!

And, very appropriately, you can find me there at... VeganKetoMadi!

I am trying to SATURATE the Internet with information on vegan keto, to let EVERYONE know you DO NOT have to choose between veganism and keto! They can (and DO!) go hand in hand!

So, if you're on twitter, feel free to join me there, as well as IG at: vegan_keto_madi (Notice a trend HAHA) 

Until next time, folks!

-Vegan Keto Madi

P.S. After 31 days of no soy... soy will be consumed tonight (in the form of vegan jerky)... DUN DUN DUNNNNN

Hey y'all! I'm really excited to talk about my 30-day soy challenge, but I just wanted to post about the second part of my title first. I am starting to become more interested in the science of really WHY keto works, because despite SEEING that it works, people still are convinced that it must NOT work. For some reason, especially other vegans are super resistant to ketogenic diets, even though I am not drowning myself in bacon fat like "typical" ketoers... So, when I saw a podcast that was titled Keto vs. Raw Vegan, I was super interested! (I was super disappointed when I learned that was like a 3 minute piece out of the hour long podcast, but it answered the question, so I was satisfied, haha.)

Let me preface this by saying I've tried every other diet possible, including high carb, low fat. IT. DIDN'T. WORK. FOR. ME. My stomach was about to explode every day with bloating and pain. I tried to figure out what it was, but it was just everything I ate that set me off. It didn't matter how many individual foods I was eliminating, there was something fundamentally wrong with my diet. Which is a big part of why I went keto. But on a vegan Facebook group the other day, I suggested keto to someone who said, very clearly, that high carb WAS NOT WORKING FOR HER... ANDDD I got attacked. Big time. 99% of people told her that if she simply followed a raw vegan diet that all her problems would be cured and she would lose weight and feel great. 

So, the timing of that post with my natural curiosity about comparing vegan keto to other types of vegan diets, I had to listen to this podcast. I found it extremely interesting, so I wanted to share it with you all. I was very disappointed, however, that they made it seem like you had to choose between keto OR veganism. Um, hello, you can do vegan keto, too! Maybe I will send them a copy of this blog ;) 

Anyway, take a minute, if you please, and read the transcript of this part of the blog (please note that while I could find the question online, I had to type the transcript of the response myself, so please excuse any minor errors that may have occurred while I was typing). If you're not interested and are just here for the meal plan, please scroll down! 

And there you have it, folks! 30 days of soy-free keto. IT IS POSSIBLE. In fact, it was actually quite (dare I say) EASY! Reaching protein was NEVER an issue. Most days, it was hard to stay UNDER my 65g protein limit! PROTEIN IS EVERYWHERE! It's not all about tofu and soy! Actually, I added up my protein for tonight and without even trying I ended up with an 11g protein dinner WITHOUT TRYING AT ALL. My bok choy, tahini, mushrooms, yeast, etc. just had a lot of natural protein. So I didn't even NEED to add any protein today besides my protein powder that I always have. No hemp tofu, no protein bar... Just whole foods. Which makes me think... if I can get all my protein from food sources, do I NEED my morning shake anymore...? But if I get rid of the protein from it, would I be full as long, or would I end up needing more food later because I was hungry sooner... HMMMMMM....

Anyway, that's my biggest takeaway and lesson from this challenge! I do not NEED soy to do vegan keto. And that's HUGE for everyone who HAS to give up soy for medical reasons. I can confidently and definitively say that not only is vegan keto possible, but soy-free, gluten-free, artificial sweetener free, vegan keto IS POSSIBLE! And, as I just mentioned, I am pretty confident you could do it without any sort of "special" products, even... I will have to look into that more to say for certainty, though. But I think with pumpkin seeds and maybe something like sunbutter... it can happen...

We have a video from my brother's birthday... he must have been turning... maybe 3? And he's at the table while everyone bustles around the house. You can hear from the background convo that everybody is all in a tizzy because my OLDER brother is bring *gasp* a GIRL to the party, and they are all waiting for him to arrive. 

So my brother is just chilling at the table by himself, looking all cute, with nobody paying attention to him. He says, to nobody, "What now? What now? Ice cream and" *does a Vanna White movement towards the table* "cake!?" 

Luckily we have a video to remember the moment, because nobody acknowledged how cute it was at the time!

Don't worry, I also wrote a book once in elementary school called "Nobody Listens to Madeline" about finding a snake in the house, but my dad was mowing the lawn so he told me to ask my mom, but she was on the phone, so she told me to ask my brothers, but they were too busy playing video games... Finally I just yelled that there was a snake in the house and all of a sudden they all listened to me.... I think the Snakes on the Plane people owe me some royalty for the original snake idea....

I'm telling you... this title personality has a real attitude problem. Doesn't appreciate my digressions WHATSOEVER.

​So, what now with soy... I vaguely have some plans...

1. Reintroduce soy in the form of vegan jerky. THIS JERKY HAS BEEN TAUNTING ME. I ordered it just before I went soy-free. At the time, I was just going to do 5 days... then it turned to 2 weeks, then to 30. So for 30 days I've been staring at that Jerky. To add insult to injury, my brother (meaning so well!) bought me some and I had to save THAT bag, too (the "what now" brother, if you're keeping track)!!! So NOW I can eat a serving and a half a day for a few days (3 net carbs for that amount) and see what that does...
2. If all goes well, I will have eaten all the jerky by this point, and still feeling good. So I will then try to add in TEMPEH. I vaguely remember something about the fermentation of tempeh being better for stomachs than straight tofu... Whether that's true or not, I'm not sure, but it's at least one step above basing my plan on a complete whim, so we will go with that.
3. If all is STILL going well, I will reintroduce Tofu. I will probably do this in the form of vegan ricotta cheese (tofu and cream cheese) so I can use my skinny noodle 0 carb lasagna noodles to make a delicious lasagna! I'm thinking ricotta... zucchini... that's as far as I've thought... I have like a week and a half to figure it out. (SIDE NOTE OMG IN A WEEK AND A HALF I WILL BE ON SUMMER!!!!!!!! NEXT FRIDAY IS MY LAST DAY OF WORK FOR 6 WEEKS! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!)
4. Maybe I might reintroduce edamame, since I already have some in my cupboard (dried), but that's not really a huge priority. I will NOT reintroduce soymilk just because I feel like it's unnecessary when I have Ripple now. 
5. Maybe I will then reintroduce soy IN products, like the lowest carb vegan cheese that has soy and is really annoying, because the same cheese in shred form DOESN'T have soy but has a ton of carbs. I don't understand why "shredding" the "cheese" adds carbs. WHATEVER VEGAN CHEESE. WHATEVER.

I like things in even numbers, so that's all I am going to debate reintroducing (and in that order). You're welcome for using my own body as your vegan keto guinea pig!!!! (I am mostly kidding, because I know we all have different bodies and different reactions to soy). I am actually quite interested to see how this turns out. I am not sure which I am rooting for... Soy would be nice to reintroduce, but being soy-free wasn't too bad. 

Now this, I will not budge on. (Sorry, mom: On this, I will not budge).

I think giving up fake sweeteners was the main reason my energy SKYROCKETED. The weight loss I am going to do the test to see if it was from the soy or the sweeteners being eliminated, but I am all but CERTAIN that the sweeteners were causing my cycle of sleepiness. So these ARE NOT COMING BACK!!!!!!!

*Stevia MIGHT be allowed in certain conditions in the future, but I haven't yet decided. 

For now, soy is my main focus. Gluten and sweeteners are still off the table. 

I know I didn't have much to say tonight (some will scoff at that, because  I said quite a bit, ha!) but I realized tonight was day 30 and I had to post to close out the challenge! And, I loved that piece on the podcast I listened to today, so I wanted to share that, as well.

I think that podcast really helped to explain why, for me, the high carb low fat raw vegan diet that so many are wild about doesn't work for me. I think I am one of the lucky few that are highly susceptible to inflammation (I mean look at my poor health history!). I want to look more into the science behind insulin resistance now, as well...  (Unfortunately, the one person in my life who is REALLY gung ho about HCLF and thinks me going keto is absolutely RIDICULOUS will probably never read this blog to see that I am not crazy and there IS A REASON why her hclf diet doesn't work for me. Sigh. Oh well).

I will probably come check in in a couple of days, following reintroducing the soy (in the form of jerky) back into my diet...

If you have anything else you'd like me to discuss in the meantime, let me know!

And join the fun on my IG for more meal plans (and you know, my outfits for the day... my dogs... my randomness....) @vegan_keto_madi (Be warned... I do post half a dozen to a dozen times a day.... Mostly...)

Thank you for reading!!!!!

Vegan Keto Madi
​

LOL sorry, I couldn't resist! (I do not own that photo, please nobody come at me for copywrite infringement!!!) I wanted to do something more interactive tonight, rather than me just spewing my thoughts at you (don't worry, you will still get plenty of them LOL). 

First, let me just throw a quick recipe at you. I made this for a work potluck today and it was DELICIOUS!!!!! I doubled the recipe because I wasn't sure how much it would make... IT MADE A LOT!!!!!!!! I'm going to thin out the leftovers (not the ones that were sitting out all day at the pool!!!!) and make a sauce for my bok choy this week! Anyway, here's the recipe...
Cauliflower Hummus: ​http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/smoky-cauliflower-hummus 

Okay, onto the "game" (I don't know if this will be fun for anybody but me, haha)

I hear a lot of people saying they just wing their carbs (and I did for a long time, too, so this isn't an attack against anyone)! But I want to do a little carb quiz and see how many carbs you have memorized! I will be using GOOGLE answers, so it might be SLIGHTLY different if you use a particular brand of something... Anyway, go get a piece of paper and number it 1 through..... 15? I'll wait.

Write down how many NET carbs you think are in each food. Got it? Let's go! 

Let's go!

1. 1/2 an Avocado (let's start easy... who doesn't eat avocados?!)
2. MCT Oil
3. 6 cherry tomatoes
4. 3 tablespoons of chia seeds
5. 1/4 cup of blueberries
6.  3 stalks of celery
7.  1 serving of almonds (and how big is a serving?)
8.  1/2- Green Bell Pepper
9. 1 cup Spinach
10.  1 cup of cauliflower (cooked)
11.  1/4 cup mushrooms
12. 5 Blackberries
13. 1 serving of pistachios  (and how big is a serving?)
14. 1 cup of broccoli (cooked)
15. 1 cup of kale

Got it? Net carbs for each?

1. 1/2 an Avocado (let's start easy... who doesn't eat avocados?!) 2 net carbs
2. MCT Oil  0 net carbs
3. 6 cherry tomatoes 3 net carbs
4. 3 tablespoons of chia seeds  0 net carbs
5. 1/4 cup of blueberries ~4 (4.35) net carbs 
6.  3 stalks of celery ~2 (1.8) net carbs
7.  1 serving of almonds 3.5 net carbs for 1/4 cup (~23 almonds)
8.  1/2- Green Bell Pepper  2 net carbs
9. 3 cups of Spinach (raw) 1.2 net carbs
10.  1 cup of cauliflower (cooked)~2 net carbs
11.  1 cup brown mushrooms ~2.5 net carbs
12. 5 Blackberries 2.5 net carbs
13. 1 serving of pistachios ~5 net carbs for 1 ounce (49 pistachios)
14. 1 cup of broccoli (cooked) ~4 net carbs
15. 1 cup of raw kale ~4 net carbs

Whew! How'd you do? 
​

Hopefully you rocked game #1 out of the water! Let's do something a little different for game #2... This one is going to be a FAT SORT. Sort the following 10 foods, IN ORDER, from the food with the MOST FAT first, and the LEAST fat LAST...

READY?

1. 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
2. 2 tablespoons MCT oil
3. 1/2 an avocado
4. 5 tablespoons chia seeds
5. 1 tablespoon (vegan) butter *we will say earth balance soy free*
6. 2 tablespoons olive oil
7. 1 tablespoon (soy free) vegenaise
8. 1/4 cup walnuts 
9. 2 tablespoons almond butter
10. 2 tablespoons coconut oil

​

Fun story... One time I hugged a baby cow and cried of joy. I love cows.
​

Fat grams FIRST... sort will come next:

1. 1/4 cup macadamia nuts 25g
2. 2 tablespoons MCT oil 28g
3. 1/2 an avocado 15g
4. 5 tablespoons chia seeds 22.5g
5. 1 tablespoon (vegan) butter 9g
6. 2 tablespoons olive oil 28g
7. 1 tablespoon vegenaise 9g
8. 1/4 cup walnuts 24g
9. 2 tablespoons almond butter  20g
10. 2 tablespoons coconut oil 28g

Soooo in order that would be....

1. TIE: MCT, Olive and Coconut oil (all 28g)
2. 1/4 cup macadamia nuts (25g)
3. 1/4 cup walnuts (24g)
4. 5 tablespoons chia seeds (22.5g)
5. 2 tablespoons almond butter (20g)
6. 1/2 avocado (15g)
7. TIE: 1 tablespoon vegenaise, 1 tablespoon vegan butter (9g)

Whew! How'd you do!
​

Okay, final game!

This one is... match the protein! Easy enough rules... Match the following PROTEIN amounts with the vegan protein sources listed below. Got it?

Here are your protein options (in grams)

• ​5g
• 12g
• 17g
• 4g
• 3g
• 8g
• 6g
• 20g
• 13g
• 7g

And your foods:

1. 4 ounces Ripple non-dairy Milk
2. 1 scoop Vega essentials protein powder (vanilla)
3. 4 tablespoons chia seeds
4. 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
5. 1/2 cup Beyond Meat Beefy Crumble
6. 1/4 cup almonds
7. 2 tablespoons Braggs nutiritonal yeast
8. 1 Tablespoon Hemp Seeds
9. SunButter (like peanutbutter, but from sunflower seeds)
10. 2 cups of cooked kale

Okay, here we go!

1. 4 ounces Ripple non-dairy Milk 4g
2. 1 scoop Vega essentials protein powder 20g
3. 4 tablespoons chia seeds 12g
4. 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds 8g
5. 1/2 cup Beyond Meat Beefy Crumble 13g
6. 1/4 cup almonds 17g
7. 2 tablespoons Braggs nutiritonal yeast 6g
8. 1 Tablespoon Hemp Seeds 3g
9. SunButter 7g (16g fat for 3 net carbs!)
10. 2 cups of cooked kale 5g

​
Soooo if you like those in order.... Vega essentials, almonds, beefy crumble, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunbutter, nutritional yeast, kale, and Ripple, hemp seeds. 

I had intended to write some stuff down here, but I was in the sun today (I sunscreened, don't worry), and I am BEAT. So, I will just say this... hopefully you learned SOMETHING from today's blog and maybe, JUST MAYBE, were entertained for a few minutes.

If not, next time I will just go back to my regular, charming self. Actually the next time I will be talking about going back to SOY as a test! DUN DUN DUN!!!! 3 more soy-free days before I can integrate some soy back in! (really, I mostly just want to eat my vegan jerky haha. I have about 10 servings of that jerky, so I will probably do soy for 10 days and see how I feel... I feel really weird thinking about eating tofu again... is that strange? Am I strange?) 

See you next time, friends! Same great blog, same great place!

As always, so happy to have you here, and I'd love to hear from you in the comments (I think they're below?)

Or, catch you in the meantime on IG: vegan_keto_madi

Message me on IG at ANY TIME with questions! 

<3 <3 <3

​Vegan Keto Madi

The soy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free-sweetener-free days of vegan keto continue! I am on day 24 and feeling GREAT! I got down as low as 114, but my body re-aligned itself to 116. I think this is pretty much where I am going to maintain, and I am okay with that! :D

But you're not here to read about me! You're here for the FOOD! (Let's be honest!)

So, without further ado... Days 14-24 (but then stick around, I'm going to be talking about MACROS below! You won't want to miss it (just humor me, k?)

As you can see, I am a woman of habit! I have not deviated from my bullet proof protein coffee this whole time! IT IS AMAZING! I have, however, added moringa powder and turmeric and traded the ancient grains for super greens (doesn't taste as "green" as you'd think haha.) For lunch, I made it through about 2 weeks of chia pudding, but then I needed a change! I kinda miss it now, though, ha! Probably will go back to it for week 4! Then dinner is where I got my veggies in! Salads at first, then STUFFED MUSHROOMS this week.

OH EM GEE! These are good! See day 22 for the recipe. YUM YUM YUM! Too bad the cream cheese is from a store an hour away :( And I'm out of miracle rice :( :( :( I think once I get some cream cheese back, though, I probably will use it to make some sort of low carb veggie lasagna... I traditionally do tofu "cheese" buttttt I kinda can't now! Womp womp.

OH, speaking of Tofu, at the same store (Whole Foods) where I got the Kite Hill cream cheese, I rediscovered Tempt HEMP-TOFU! AKA Soy-free Tofu. Does it taste like tofu? No! Does it cook like tofu? No! Does it work decently as a side dish if you cook it to a crisp in oil? YES! (They really should have me write their commercials!!!!!!!!!!!!!)  Anyway, so I got a few things of that and it was a decent side dish for protein. I'm trying to ration it, though, because I can only get it far far away! I should stock up more next time :(

Sooooo that's about it for my meal plan! Check out daily posts on my IG! vegan_keto_madi! :)

Doing at least one more week of no soy, then we shall see where life takes me! 

I want to do a longer post on Macos, but that's going to be more sciency, and my brain isn't prepared for that tonight. What I DO want to say, though, is....

TRACK YOUR MACROS!

Let me give you a minute to clutch your pearls if you don't believe in tracking. Lucky me, this is my blog, and I do, so that's my advice! Use an app (I REALLY love Lose it! App), FIGURE OUT YOUR MACROS, and TRACK YOUR FOOD. Don't become super obsessive over it (guilty as charged, you'll notice I did log a single grape the other day...), but log!! You might not know that ONE grape was ONE carb! Imagine I grabbed a handful of grapes thinking "meh, they can't be that bad" and all of a sudden I'm 15 carbs over my net limit!

I see A LOT of people on the keto FB groups of which I am a member, who are all complaining about stalling, and gaining weight, and not losing enough weight, etc. etc. etc. but when you ask about Macros, they: 1) don't know what macros even are, 2) don't know what THEIR macros should be, and/or 3) think tracking is a waste of time. 

I AM NOT SAYING THIS TO CALL ANYBODY OUT OR BE RUDE!

But if you aren't finding success with what you're doing, mayyyyyyybeeeee try doing something else?  (And, conversely, if you AREN'T tracking and ARE finding success, more power to you! But if you are not having luck on keto, don't blame the WOE right away... consider what you're eating, maybe, first!)

Alright, now that I've offended half my audience... 

Like I've said before, I am in the moderate protein, high fat camp. You can be in whatever camp you want, but I've stayed camped in the camp that works for me! (I really just wanted to see how many times I could say camp in one sentence...)

SO here are the keto calculators I use and recommend for that CAMP:

1. https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/
2. https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/  (I spell this wrong literally every time I suggest it...)

​So, that's pretty much aligned. ~65g protein and 115g fat, with 20 NET carbs.
​

I MIGHT have mentioned this before, but while I am setting my keto philosophy tonight, let me say it again... EAT. FIBER. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND DIGESTIVE. EAT FIBER.

That means I DO NOT ADVOCATE keto macros that are like 8 TOTAL carbs. HOW DO YOU POOP?

(You thought I was going to get through an entry without poop talk didn't you? You silly!!!) 

Maybe I'm ruined from my decades of IBS, but when I see people complaining they haven't pooped in 5 days, and their stomach hurts, but they have eaten like 20g of fiber TOTAL over those 5 days... I believe in following the 30-40g of fiber rule. Sometimes I go a little overboard and get closer to 50, but I drink a lot of water and my stomach is okay with that. But if you're at like 2 total carbs... that scares me.

THOUGH most of you here are probably interested in vegan keto (to a degree) and vegan means vegetables and vegetables mean fiber and fiber means a happy stomach. So I might be preaching to the choir here... 

Gosh, this title personality is a jerk.

No, not the WHOLE year. I did cheat RARELY here and there, especially around my 30th birthday, but I was long in maintenance mode and having a mid-life crisis over turning 30...
​

BUT, let me say this!!!

I went SIX SOLID MONTHS before I cheated AT ALL. Tracking for 6 months; under 20 net carbs for 6 months, the whole shabang.

Then, I cheated a little.

I MAYBE gained a few pounds back, but nothing drastic.

BUT, I'd like for you to notice where I'm back now... VEGAN KETO!!!!

Back to tracking, back to keto, back to the way of eating that WORKS.

I do NOT recommend regular cheating. I know some people don't like "cheating" because it has such a negative connotation, but to me, that's what it is. It's cheating MYSELF.

I feel a MILLION times better doing vegan keto. My stomach doesn't hurt; I'm not bloating; I have energy; I do not crave carbs or sweets (since quitting sugar free sweeteners).

So, every time I choose food over health, I'm cheating MYSELF. 

I'm not doing this to lose weight (see previous post ha!) I lost weight. I'm doing this because it makes me feel like I'm alive and awake for the first time in a decade. Cake isn't worth losing that.
​

I think I've rambled on enough tonight (this is always what happens, isn't it?!)

I've got a bunch of people to go tag on Facebook now! I hope y'all made it to the bottom! 

Leave comments, suggest topics, follow me on Instagram, send me a message, WHATEVER!

I LOVE talking Keto and I LOVE hearing from you all! 

Thanks for reading!

Vegan Keto Madi

Happy Wednesday, y'all! Has it been as long a week for you as it has been for me? (Case in point: Even though I debated whether to say "Happy Hump Day" or "Happy Wednesday", I still ended up typing "Happy Tuesday" the first time... Sheesh)

Anyway, I just finished my DELICIOUS lunch of olives, pickles, celery with Tajin and a Pegan (vegan keto) protein bar from Julian Bakery, and thought I would check in with all of you since the most AMAZING thing happened to me last night! 

Ready for it?

It's BIG!!!!!!!!!!!

I cleaned my garage after work yesterday.
​

Wait, are you confused? 

Maybe I should explain...

So, as I've mentioned before, I've had auto-immune issues, chronic pain (including the 2 year battle with my back...) and chronic fatigue syndrome for as long as I can remember. 

When I'd get home from work, I would just plop onto the couch and be done for the day. I've been known to be in my pajamas and eating dinner (and working on a puzzle while watching Judge Judy... don't JUDGE ME) all before 4pm. Like literally just waiting for the sun to go down so I could go to bed (not that I need anyone's approval, but still.) 

With *regular* vegan keto, I definitely DID lose weight, though that was about all the benefits I got from it. When I quit soy and fake sweetener, my body WOKE FROM HIBERNATION!

Then, I also decided to eat as many vegan keto foods as there were that are known to be "Anti-Inflammatory" (Green leafy vegetables, bok choy, celery, broccoli, blueberries, walnuts, coconut oil, chia seeds, flax seeds [I need to try to make keto crackers with these], turmeric, and when I remember to buy it, Ginger). I also pulled out my Moringa Powder I had gotten from TJ Maxx and long since forgotten (it's not expired, don't worry, I checked).  

And all put together... I FEEL PHENOMENAL!!!!!! Hence, I CLEANED THE GARAGE AFTER WORK YESTERDAY!!!! That is SUCH a big feat for me to go out there (unprovoked), dive into a project, AND STILL HAVE ENERGY LEFT WHEN I WAS DONE!  

(Side note, it's much easier to throw things away when you discover all your boxes are covered in mouse poop. Yeaa I filled the trash can and the recycling bin.... ewww... I don't mind the mice, to be clear. I've had MANY pet mice... RIP Chinchi!!! But to know they're living in my garage, pooping on my books... There's only one master pooper in this house!!!! Um... yea... Anyway...). 

AND, I was not in excruciating pain afterward! I tried BEGINNERS YOGA a few weeks ago and was in excruciating pain for THREE DAYS!!!!

I wish I could tell you! I wish I knew if it was:

• No soy
• No gluten
• No fake sweetener
• No energy drinks/sodas
• No real sugar
• No carbs
• Anti-inflammatory diet

I really have no idea. BUT, if they, all together, are making me feel this good...?

WHO CARES?

I will keep doing them all, as they all contribute to overall good health, which is what this whole thing is about right? (bringing me back to my title... MORE than just weight loss).

This week I am also trying to focus more on my vitamins again. I am supposed to be taking B12, D3, Multi, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium (and.... I haven't haha). Last time, I switched iron pills and it made me super dizzy. I thought at the time it was the moringa powder, but then I realized it was probably the iron. So I'm back on the old pills. 

IMAGINE HOW MUCH ENERGY I'LL HAVE ON soy free, gluten free, sugar free, anti-inflammatory, vegan keto WITHOUT VITAMIN DEFICIENCIES?!!?? The world might not be able to handle me then!!! (this reminds me of the time I first got diagnosed with chronic fatigue and my doctor tried to give me a sample of an upper to take... I literally got so much energy and was talking too fast that my boss made me go work in the back room because he said I was scaring the customers LOL. I might be approaching that level again soon HAHA).

Via my IG (vegan_keto_madi) I had a request to talk more about macros, so I've got a post on that in the works... that requires more research and time than just let me brag about cleaning my garage (which I can write on my lunch break haha). 

But what else would you guys like to see? I'll post another meal plan update at the end of this next week (which, I've had to switch up a little because I don't think my IBS likes me eating so much lettuce every night. Whoops. No lettuce tonight. Sorry stomach!).  Any other post ideas? This is my space to ramble, but I also want to make it YOUR space to learn! 

When I started this journey, there wasn't much on vegan keto. I was told it was just about impossible. But I am NEVER going to give up veganism, so I had to find a way. (where there's a will, there's a way, right?). And now I've even managed to see that soy-free vegan keto is possible, too! (even I doubted that one for awhile LOL). So I want to be a resource for anybody who wants to change their way of eating, but still wants to do it vegan.

Other FABULOUS vegan keto resources:

• http://ketomotive.com/vegan-ketogenic-diet/ 
• http://meatfreeketo.com/ 
• http://siimland.com/is-there-vegan-ketogenic-diet/ 
  

And where I got most of my information when starting my journey... Reddit!

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Well, folks, now that I've sufficiently bragged about cleaning my garage, shared some other resources, and talked about my poop, it's just about quitting time for me. (Well, more like "get back to work time" but same difference, right?)

Again, join me on IG if you'd like to hear from me at least half a dozen times a day (vegan_keto_madi). 
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I posted this on a Facebook group of which I am a member the other day, but I'd like to reiterate it here. I've been vegan 11 years. Vegan keto for almost 1 (I'll have an anniversary post next week WHAT WHAT)... BUT I am not an "expert" at anything (except maybe teaching ELA...). I will be MORE than happy to talk to you from sun-up to sun-down about what's worked for ME, but please research EVERYWHERE. Use keto calculators, read reddit, view different recipes, follow people on IG, join keto facebook groups... Really know what you're getting yourself into before you start. This is an AMAZING way of eating, but it is not a crash diet by any means. It's a shift of lifestyle and perspective (but one that's INCREDIBLY worth it!). It's not a "one-size fits all" approach. This diet has the potential to have some side-effects if not executed in an informed way... I am not trying to scare you in any way; I just want everybody to be safe, healthy, and happy! Thanks, friends! 

Hello again friends!

As I mentioned before, I have been doing soy-free, gluten-free, artificial sweetener free vegan keto for the last two weeks! I originally was just doing it as a 5-day challenge; that 5-day challenge turned into a 2 week challenge, and now that I'm here on my 14th day... I think I'm going to stick with it! I can't imagine going back! 

So, I rarely say this, so listen up... All you people who told me that soy was inflammatory...

YOU WERE RIGHT.

There, I said it. 

So, with that being said (once and only once), the question I have gotten asked more for the last 2 weeks... what the heck does a soy-free, gluten-free, fake (and real) sugar-free, keto eating vegan actually EAT? 
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Whew, so there you have it! Obviously, day 14 is still in progress, so I provided you with a pretty photo collage of some meals to fill the 14th day ;)

I REALLY hope these turn out big enough to read when I post... We shall see, shant we! 

You didn't think I'd let you get away with just some pretty pictures and NOT talking your ear off, did you? Wrong! :)

I wanted to make some comments about some things above, especially in case you were considering following some of the meal plan.

1. Breakfast: You will notice that every day, I have my bulletproof coffee "milkshake/frappe whatever you want to call it. LOVE THAT. Will never change that. Would drink it all day if I could. I did just switch from the ancient grains/fruits to the SUPERGREEN (same brand, etc.) because Target was out of the other kind. Same carbage, just different nutrients. I also am switching from Stok to Chameleon Concentrate because Safeway was out of Stok, and Chameleon is 0 carb. I am concerned with how the concentrate might have an effect on the ratios of my shake, because I seriously have perfected it, but we shall see. And, as I said in a previous post, I add almond extract (or coconut, newly purchased) instead of fake sugar for sweetness. But I also LOVE almond flavoring, so that works for me.
2. Lunch: I have two different kind of lunches going on for these two weeks. The first, is my chia pudding with blueberries and walnuts. The other is Julian Bakery Pegan bars with some other stuff on the side. The chia pudding works just as good as the Pegan bars. Maybe even better. The Julian Bakery bars are just an added bonus. I will probably go back to the chia pudding once the bars are gone, for what it's worth.
3. Dinner: This is where my variety and cooking fun comes into play. I try to somewhat switch it up for dinner, even if just a little. You'll notice some staples are mushrooms... butterleaf lettuce... spinach... all low carb veggies. And avocado, butter, olive oil, macadamia nuts and soy free veganaise for fat. (I did have a few days where I did Miracle Rice, but again, that's an unnecessary splurge.) 

A few days I did try to add in the Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles, as they were 0 carb, soy and gluten free, BUT I ate them the last few days and gained 2 pounds back. Going to go back to no "fake meat" at all and see if that helps. If not, I'm going to cut out the spinach and lettuce, as it might be acting up my IBS. 

And, as always, lots of unsweetened tea, and water!

OH, A NOTE ON TEA. I couldn't figure out why the "HERBAL PEACH TRANQUILITY TEA" from starbucks left a nasty taste in my mouth. Oh yea, it had CANDIED fruit pieces inside. KEEP YOUR SUGAR OUT OF MY TEA, STARBUCKS/TEAVANA. RUDE.

1. Stay vegan
2. Stay keto
3. Stay hydrated
4. Stay soy/gluten/fake sugar free
5. Eliminated processed foods and monitor impact of leafy greens.

Yep, that's about it!

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to follow me on IG at Vegan_keto_Madi, or drop a comment here. 

I'd love to hear from you (And I LOVE talking about vegan keto, so do not hesitate to drop me a DM on Insta! Not like a "slide into my DMS" DM just a "hey let's talk vegan keto" DM.

Until next time friends!

Vegan_Keto_Madi

Rather than always having these BIG, LOFTY blog goals, I decided if I started out a little smaller, maybe I would be more likely to post regularly, and the more likely it would be that y'all would love me again...

So, today, I just thought I'd tell you what's for lunch (and what was for breakfast! And maybe, just maybe, what's for dinner)

​

Breakfast is seriously my new favorite meal. Not because I can eat all the bacon I want! Or because I can go on an egg fast for 5 days straight (gag!!!). 

No, because I get to drink a milkshake. Yep A MILKSHAKE FOR BREAKFAST!!!!*

*A non-dairy protein milkshake... but still.

I think I went over this last night, but just in case you're just popping in, get ready to have your mind BLOWN!

1. 1 1/2 cups of iced coffee. You can brew your own, but I honestly just go for Stok. It has carbs, I know, but it is sugar free and tastes like heaven, so I work it in. If you don't want to drink your calories, then make your own :) 
2. 1 cup of your favorite NON-DAIRY ZERO CARB milk. I found Ripple recently, which adds 8g protein with 0 carbs, so what's not to love?
3. Supplement powders. I do a scoop of "Essential 10" Ancient Grains and fruits.. LOADED with fiber. And a scoop of Vega Essentials VANILLA. 0 carb, vegan, delicious.
4. MCT OIL! Make it BULLETPROOF! I do 2 tablespoons, but you and your butt will thank me if you start small and work your way up to that... just... trust me... 
5. Almond extract for sweetness (I gave up fake sugar and this was just what I needed! I haven't been able to find anything stating it's bad to drink a drizzle of extract every day, but if you know something I don't, let me know, kthx).

THEN ADD ICE AND BLEND AND DRINK AND ENJOY YOUR LIFE. SO GOOD! I started drinking mine at 6am today and finished at 9 (that recipe + ice makes like... 40oz haha) and I just barely ate lunch now at noon. Boom. There's a step-by-step video on my instagram (@Vegan_keto_madi) if you're the visual type!
​
BTW those are all links above, if you want to click in and read more :)

By this point, the "what's" in "what's for lunch today" has changed from "what IS" for lunch to "what WAS" for lunch, because I enjoyed that bad boy while typing part 1.

1. Vegetable broth. I meant to put some MCT oil in it for fat but forgot. Whoopsie.
2. JULIAN'S BAKERY VEGAN KETO PROTEIN BAR WITH PRE AND PROBIOTICS! MIC DROP LIKE WHATTTTT

*picks mic back up*

Ahem... That, plus a glass of this amazingly interesting delicious guayusa Runa tea (sage and lavender!) and I am one happy camper. I'll drop a photo of the ingredients and nutritional facts of the "PEGAN" bars, so you can pick your jaws back up off the floor like I did.... The best part? THE NEW VANILLA CINNAMON flavor is DELISH! AND they added a note to the box to warm for 10 seconds before enjoying for better flavor. I feel like they got that from me. I totally left that in a review... Julian's bakery, fess up... was that my suggestion.....? ADMIT IT! 

Sorry, kiddos.

Used up my lunch break gathering all those FABULOUS links and pictures I included above. You'll just have to wait EAGERLY for another post about dinner!

Until next time,

Vegan Keto (soy-free, gluten-free, fake sugar-free) MADI

Wow. Hi y'all. 

First, I have to apologize for disappearing on you guys for the last (almost) year! SORRY!!!!! SORRY SORRY SORRY!!!!!! I got a little ambitious and started a Vegan Keto Instagram (@vegan_keto_madi) at the same time I started this blog, so once school started again in the fall, one had to give and it unfortunately ended up being this blog! (Posting photos just seemed a little easier and less daunting than maintaining a blog!)  I couldn't even remember the password to log in for the longest time, but since I just had a MAJOR life change with my vegan keto diet, I HAD to get back in here and share it with you all! It's. Been. AMAZING!!!!!

First, let me give you a recap. 

I'm still vegan. I'm still keto. I don't remember how far I had gotten by my last entry, but I kept off the almost 30 pounds I lost since last year. Go me! (HOWEVER, while my excruciating stomachaches were gone, TMI but I was still... pooping (can't sugar coat that- figuratively)... 3-4 times a day...)

Now, to the BIG KETO CHANGE!!!!!!!!

​I'm all about transparency, and life isn't all sunshine and rainbows here.

#1- I realized that when they say EAT A LOT OF SALT, they actually mean EAT A LOT OF SALT! 

When I switched to this new diet, I ended up eating less salt (I'll tell you my meal plan in a bit) because I wasn't eating processed "meat" products. As a result, my sodium levels dropped from about 3,000mg a day to.... 500-1000mg a day. Big drop.

Unfortunately I didn't NOTICE this at the time... I was feeling so great I didn't consider anything might be wrong. Welllllllll...refer to #1... When they say EAT A LOT OF SALT, they actually mean EAT A LOT OF SALT.

Cut to 2 nights ago when I literally kept blacking out and collapsing every time I tried to walk. I took the following day (yesterday) off work and drank powerade zero (was so desperate I forgot they have artificial sweetener. Whoops) and vegetable broth. Then I made a VERY salty dinner and felt MUCH better after all that. But I really need to work on how to get more salt into my diet (It was suggested I add salt to my water, so I might try that). So, to recap, issue #1 is I wasn't getting enough salt in my new *miracle* diet.

#2- I quickly learned the issue with cutting out 3 things at once is I don't know which of the three was causing my fatigue that now has been reversed... Was it the soda? Energy drinks? Soy? Gluten? (I did get a gluten test once and do not have gluten sensitivity, so I tend to think it's not that). But right now I really have 2 options... 1) keep cutting out ALL three... 2) reintroduce one at a time back and risk feeling icky and getting the poops again....

Speaking of poops, I ate fake meat again last night to get my sodium levels up... NO SOY/GLUTEN fake meat.... Andddd my stomach was not the happiest thing morning. HOWEVER I also did bulletproof coffee again this morning after a day off, so maybe the mct oil was bugging me. Again, no way to know... So I might try the fake meat again tomorrow and see what comes out of it. Or what comes out of me... (haha, poop joke...)... moving on....

​

 
Good question, right? At this moment, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. Until I hit the full 14 days, I am at least going to keep eating no soy/gluten/fake sugar. AND SALT SALT SALT! I'm probably actually going to do it all through May just for funsies (though if I do decide to try soy and see how it goes, THAT JERKY IS SITTING IN MY PANTRY [okay in the Amazon box in my garage] CALLING MY NAME!) I will probably keep going through May but add in some processed soy/gluten free foods along the way to see if it's the soy/gluten that's been holding me back, or the PROCESSED foods, that by eliminating the soy/gluten was also eliminated.... I will keep you in the loop (and not wait a year to update again (did I say I was sorry about that yet?) 
​

I will have a more dedicated thread (with photos! Yay!) on my current no soy/gluten/sugar plan on my next blog, but right now I just wanted to give a quick overview if anybody was curious...

1. Breakfast: Bulletproof Coffee Protein "milk"shake! (Coffee, dairy-free milk, protein and fiber powder, mct oil and almond extract. Blend with Ice. ENJOY AND LOVE YOUR LIFE)
2. Lunch: Chia Pudding (chia seeds, non-dairy milk, blueberries and walnuts. Warm and ENJOY YOUR LIFE.
3. Dinner: This is where I've varied. Usually some combo of... avocado, mushrooms, spinach, radishes, celery, bell pepper, miracle rice... Not much variety (YET). I'm still new, so I'm still feeling around my options. 

See why it's hard to get salt in on this plan, though? I'm not going to salt my milkshake or pudding... 

But I AM going to keep going and find a plan that works because, the moral of this story is: 

I FEEL AMAZING AND I NEVER WANT THIS FEELING TO GO AWAY! EVER!!!