Hello again!

So sorry I had to abandon ya'll last time before I got to lunch recipes! The blog was getting far too long and I was running low on time and I wanted to do lunch justice, since I knew so many of you wanted recipes! I decided to slow down so much, in fact, that I am going to break lunch down a little bit MORE and give you some individual lunch recipes so you can pick what works for you!

I have to warn you about my "recipes", though.... I only measure out the ingredients that count in terms of FAT, PROTEIN and CARB macros (so spices or condiments without fat, protein or carbs I just sprinkle as I please). So if you are someone who likes to follow the recipes EXACTLY I apologize because I don't measure everything so you aren't going to get a nice little list of measurements and a step by step guide. I'll tell you how to cook it, sure, but probably not what you're used to. 

But I think cooking SHOULD be personalized. I'm not the master. I put cilantro in just about EVERYTHING, whether it should belong or not. So if you don't like cilantro, don't put it in! I put relish in my egg salad because I'm weird and I love pickled foods; if you don't like relish then don't put it in! You're really the master of your own destiny here, so please use my "recipes" as more of "inspiration" but don't fret if you want to substitute some things out! I'll let you know the foods that went into the macro count and you can sub the rest as you please (or sub whatever you want, but know your macros are in your hands if you change the important stuff!)

So I tend to meal prep on Sundays so I have enough to last all week. Otherwise lunch may or may not get taken to work and that probably wouldn't end well. I've made a few vegan keto lunches thus far and I have found this one to hold up the best throughout the week (though I think I used an expired product in my chicken salad the second week so I threw the rest away after a bought of food poisoning symptoms... I'll make it again and check the labels this time... fun fact, though: did you know it's not *illegal* to sell expired products in a grocery store? The expiration dates are just a "suggestion" anyway, so stores don't technically HAVE to pull them when they are past their "best by..." date. I learned this after about 2 dozen rounds of buying expired products and having to exchange them at a store which shall remain unnamed. And yet, still, I haven't learned...)

OKAY, man am I birdwalking today, sorry! Coffee clearly hasn't kicked in (or maybe it's kicked in too much....) ALRIGHT BEFORE I KEEP TALKING ABOUT NOTHING, LET'S TALK FOOD.

TODAY'S RECIPE IS: VEGAN EGGLESS TOFU EGG SALAD (Hence the title, duh)
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Okay let's get one thing out here right now... 

TOFU IS NOT FLAVORLESS NOR BLAND (NOR GROSS!!!!) 

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news here, but if you think tofu is not amazing and versatile and one of the most amazing ingredients out there, you're doing it wrong. If you're cutting open a pack of tofu and trying to eat it out of the tray with a spoon, then yes, it probably will be squishy and flavorless and... even I wouldn't try that... 

But if you INCLUDE it in a recipe, it will absorb all the flavors of your spices and marinades and you can make it more or less firm as you see fit.... HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE TOFU?! Even self-proclaimed "tofu-haters" have tried this recipe and declared it "really good" so if you're afraid of tofu this might be a good place to start.

BUT keep in mind that for some reason NOT ALL TOFUS ARE CREATED EQUAL!!!

And I don't even mean firm vs. extra firm vs. silken (that's a whole different conversation); I mean carb count. Next time you're at the grocery store, grab all the tofus they have and find the one with the LOWEST net carbs. At my store, there were three FIRM tofus 0, 1 and 2 net carbs. (Clearly, I chose the 0 net carb option haha). So if you have one of the higher net carb varieties (again, I have no idea WHY they are different... they just are) you are going to need to adjust your macro count accordingly. I lucked out with this current recipe, since the only major carb source ended up being my celery (ha!) 

I'm sure you all are just LOVING listening to me ramble on, but let's get to the recipe, shall we? I mean I don't have all day here, do you...?

Now this picture you see here is actually from the FIRST time I made the eggless egg salad, not from last night when I made the batch from which you will momentarily see pictures, but the basic ingredients are still the same. I think the only major difference are in the batch pictured here I had onion and garlic powder added and in the new batch I excluded those spices but added cilantro.

Again, DO WHATEVER TASTES GOOD TO YOU!  I am here for SUGGESTIONS and ADVICE! I am not the recipe police! 

I am a BIG supporter of "as you go" cooking. It drives the people I cook for CRAZY because *apparently* my food never tastes the same twice, but I tend to wonder why this is an issue.... (???) 

BUT, if you INSIST on knowing what I put into my batch, here you go:
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1. Tofu- Firm or Extra Firm (again, go for the lowest net carb count you can get). I use TWO packs of Tofu for 5-7 servings.
2. Produce: Celery, Cilantro, Flat leaf Parsley and Dill
3. Spices: Turmeric, Curry Powder, Celery Salt, and Onion and Garlic powder, if you please.
4. Condiments: Relish, Parma (if you can find it), Braggs Liquid Aminos, Vegenaise and Dijon Mustard (I would have used real yellow mustard if I had any in the fridge haha).
5. Anything else that suits your fancy. Maybe you put something unique in your real egg salad growing up that you want to add. Maybe you want to put low carb hot sauce in there... Maybe you REALLY like black pepper (or white pepper?!) and want to just load your dish up. You do you! 

This recipe is exceedingly complicated, so I apologize in advance...

It has three main steps: 

1. Chop
2. Mix
3. Eat

(I was kidding about the complicated, by the way...)

For those of you who are visual learners... 

Cut your tofu into squares. You'll be mashing it up later, so don't worry about getting perfectly symmetrical squares.

Some people prefer to press their tofu ahead of time to get all the moisture out, but for this recipe I don't find that necessary. If you want to, however, wrap your tofu in a towel or paper towel and put something heavy on top until the moisture has been extracted. Then proceed.

The only thing I measured here was the Vegenaise. I did 6 tablespoons so each serving would have just about 1 tablespoon of Vegenaise. (Though by now you all should know I would have put the entire jar into the bowl if I could have. Or just skip the rest of the ingredients and eat it with a spoon instead.... mmmmm.....) Gotta get my fat in! But you can do a little more or a little less, depending on your personal needs. 

For calculating how the macros divide, I find the Lose It app INCREDIBLY helpful. You can create custom recipes and add all your ingredients then check the macros per serving. So you can then adjust the ingredients either as you go or ahead of time until you get the recipe that fits best for YOUR macros (I will talk about MY macros for this in a bit, but remember we all have our own dietary needs, so adjust the recipe what works best for YOU! Need more fat? Add more vegenaise. Need more protein? Throw in another tub of tofu (as long as it's the right carb count). YOU DO YOU!  

As for the spices, start with a dash or just a bit more (I know a pinch is less than a dash... what would be the next step up from a dash...?). Then at the end you can taste and add more of whatever it needs.

I am a big fan of crunch and a variety of flavors.

So I added celery, parsley, cilantro AND dill. You could probably cut out the parsley and cilantro if you're not a huge herb fan. I would keep the celery and the dill, though, to keep that authentic egg salad flavor and it's not just a mush pile, but has some different texture to it.

And the celery here is the only thing with carbs, so you can add a lot without worrying about it being too carb heavy (since you're dividing by 5 or 6 or whatever your serving size is).

AND THEN SMASH IT UP! MIX IT UP! MASH IT UP! 

I use this pretty cool spoon mixer/masher tool I bought from some kitchen gadget party (Princess Party?) but you really could use a potato masher, or a fork, or your hands if you don't mind getting in there and getting dirty. Or, if you like your tofu more chunky, feel free to just mix it and leave the tofu chunks... chunky... 

So, if you recall from my last post (I don't fault you if you didn't remember, since I had to look it up myself haha) I have the following macros left for lunch:

• 31 FAT
• 21 PROTEIN
• 10 (OR FEWER) CARBS

And this bad boy (Divided by 5 servings) has 266 calories that break down as follows:

• 21 FAT
• 15g PROTEIN
• 1g net CARB

So, with this for lunch, I am 10g Fat and 6g Protein short for the day....

But I have 9 carbs to spare to stay under my allocation. So, in this case, I would eat some Go Lo Foods Almond Butter as a after-dinner snack (15g Fat, 8g Protein and 1g net carb), AND/OR add some avocado (10g Fat, 1g Protein and 1.5g Net Carb) depending how closely I stuck to my plan for the rest of the day. 

Again, it's not about doing exactly what I do, but doing what works for YOU!!! 

I ate this for dinner last night, so I added tomato and avo both because I didn't eat much the rest of the day. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MACROS DO NOT INCLUDE THE AVOCADO OR TOMATO!!!! 

I wanted to finish this post before my class broke for lunch, but now I'm glad I didn't so I can offer you this advice! You don't have to stay home and avoid all social gatherings because you're vegan keto!!! 

I went to Olive Garden with the rest of my bunch just now and took my tupperware of eggless egg salad and dumped it onto a side salad (a small plate of lettuce, olives and 3 pepperoncini peppers). They didn't charge me any less since I didn't get any of the other stuff on top (which is a bit irritating, but whatever, my choice). Or, the other day I went out to breakfast and of course nothing was vegan keto, so I just ordered a side of avocado and some slices of tomatoes (I was happy she only charged me $3 for that meal haha). My point is, you  can't be afraid to take what you know and get what you can! You have to LET GO the worry about what anyone else thinks or the LONGING for everyone else's food. YOU made the choice to go vegan/keto for a reason! So remember those reasons when you're out!!!

And if you're like me and got a terrible bout of keto flu, just think do you really want to go through that again?! (And yes, I am human so I have had some small mis-steps along the way; don't think I'm claiming to be perfect. I had a spoonful of vegan icecream the other day. I had a small chunk of baguette the day I couldn't stop throwing up after too hard a workout (I think I need to spend some time talking about working out without carbs haha). I had a mini vegan cupcake at my friends house the other day because the rest of the food wasn't ready yet and I hadn't eaten all day. BUT I do NOT make a habit out of cheating, nor do I let myself get hung up on it. Life happens, but eyes on the prize. I have always made sure that I STAY UNDER my carb count (and these are really the ONLY THREE cheats in 2 months). It's when you start making a habit of cheating, or giving yourself cheat days or cheat meals that you're slowly going to start slipping back into your old habits.

BE STRONG!!!! I BELIEVE IN YOU!!!!

Well, folks, that concludes this blog post for today! I hope this information was useful! If you try the recipe (or your own version), let me know how it goes! OR, if you have questions/want me to be more specific in my recipe, don't hesitate to ask! 

The next recipe I will include will probably be my vegan chickenless chicken salad haha :)

If you have something else you want me to discuss in the meantime, PLEASE let me know!

Until then, much love,

-Vegan Keto Madi

Hello again!

Today is a HAPPY day because all of my vitamins are finalllllyyyyy back in "stock" in my cupboard! I touched on it before, but I take 5000 Vitamin D, "Phosphorylated" Vitamin B12, 25-50mg of Iron and a vegan multi-vitamin every day. I started feeling GREAT once I started taking them, but did not plan enough ahead and ran out a few weeks ago :( and I DEFINITELY felt the energy slump because of it. But now they are back, so I hope my energy will be, too! I'm also feeling a little chronic fatigue post-exertional malaise from going back to the gym 2-3 times a week after a year off from my injury... (FYI- These were all medical issues that began PRE-KETO...)

I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT CONDITION I WOULD BE IN WITHOUT KETO! If I had all these symotoms right now PLUS a carb coma/bloating right now......... It makes me nauseated just thinking about it! 

ANYWAY, I should be back to 100% soon with a nice long nap this afternoon and my vitamins back flowing through my bloodstream! Caffeine has sufficed for awhile, but I don't like to rely on it! 

Now, back to YOU, the reader!

​Thanks for visiting my blog, either for the first time or a returning visitor! If you're a first time viewer, you might wish to check out my first three blog posts:

1. Why Vegan Keto?
2. Vegan Keto FATS
3. Vegan Keto Snacks for on-the-go

Otherwise, let's get started for today! 

The ONLY topic request I've gotten so far (come on, folks!) was an average day of food for me, so that's what I'm going to share today with you all: An Average Vegan Keto Day (for ME)

As I said in previous posts, an average day is going to look different for different people, based on their nutritional needs and overall goals. I am currently a touch under 5ft 6 and have one pound to go to reach my 125 pound goal (I was going to go to 122, but that feels a little excessive right now, so I'm going to stick to 125). As a result, I do not have that large of a caloric deficit, though I am not that active either, so I don't necessarily eat that many calories to begin with...

I figured out my keto macro needs using the keto calculator and ended up with...

• 100g FAT
• 75g PROTEIN
• And of course, 20g or less CARBS

Note: I know there is some controversy over whether you should do NET carbs or TOTAL carbs for that 20g number, but because I have had stomach issues in the past, I do NET carbs so I can still have fiber in there. So keep that in mind as you read. You can do your own research on if NET or TOTAL is best for you. My feelings won't be hurt if you do things a little differently than I do ;) HA! 

So, this leaves me at about 1500 calories or so a day. So keep that in mind when reading about MY typical day; just because it's typical for ME doesn't mean it will be typical for YOU!

BUT, like I said this has been my only topic request, so let's roll with it! Shall we....?

I've never been a huge breakfast person, though I do appreciate it's value. But I still can't bring myself to eat a big breakfast (not that I have time to cook a breakfast even if I wanted to eat one...)

So, I use my breakfast shake as my opportunity to get a lot of protein and fiber (and if I'm not having my bulletproof coffee- my FAT!) 

Now, let me start with FAT. If I am not having bulletproof coffee, I use my liquid coconut oil (so it doesn't get CHUNKY) to get my early fat in. I know some people might not agree with this, as a huge reason for putting the fat into the coffee is so it's on an empty stomach so it can burn before you are processing food, etc. etc. etc. but I'm being realistic here. Sometimes I drink my coffee first, sometimes I drink my protein first, sometimes I chug a go-girl 5 minutes before my students come in the room. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

So anyway, the moral is: I have coconut oil either way in the mornings. Sometimes it's in my coffee, but sometimes it's in my shake. So food #1 for my meal plan: Coconut oil.

The rest of the ingredients in my shake are pretty much the same every day:

• Vega ESSENTIALS Shake Vanilla
• Designer Protein ESSENTIAL 10 "Grains and Fruits" Superfoods
• Chia Seeds
• Unsweetened 30 Calorie Vanilla non-dairy Milk (There are many different brands)
• Water

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Photo above borrowed from "A Healthier, Fitter Me!"

That last picture there is just a bonus because OH MY GOODNESS I NEED TO DRESS MY DOGS UP AS CHIA PETS THIS HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coconut Oil: 14g Fat (nothing else)- 120 Calories
​Vega: 3.5g Fat, 20g Protein, 0g Net Carb (4-4 Fiber)- 130 Calories
Essential 10: .5g Fat, 1g Protein, 1g Net Carb (14-13 Fiber) -35 Calories
Chia Seeds: 3g Fat, 3g Protein, 0 Net Carbs (5-5 Fiber)-60 Calories
Almond Milk: 2.5g Fat, 1g Protein, 0 Net Carbs (1-1 Fiber) -30 Calories

Total WITH Coconut Oil: 23.5g Fat, 25g Protein, 1g Net Carb (24-23 Fiber) 
Total WITHOUT Coconut Oil: 9g Fat, 25g Protein, 1g Net Carb (24-23 Fiber)

SO, since I either have my coconut oil in my coffee or in my shake, after breakfast I am down to:

• ~77g Fat 
• 50g Protein
• 19g Carb (MAX)

​I'm going to skip down to DINNER for a moment... I will return to lunch after :)

I skipped to dinner next because I essentially have the same thing for dinner every night and then I figure out my lunch carbs to fill in whatever I have left over for the day. Again, the LOSE IT app is great at making sure I am on target! And if I didn't eat enough for lunch, I can always eat MORE at dinner. But if I am consistent with my dinner, it helps me figure out lunch. And, if something comes up and I end up eating MORE carbs for lunch then I can always cut down at dinner time.

Who am I kidding... Maybe it's just because BLTAT wraps are REALLY easy to make and REALLY delicious but use a lot of carbs I'd rather plan those first to make sure I can eat them every day, rather than planning lunch first and having to skimp on dinner.... EITHER WAY, BLTAT wraps are for dinner. 

Are you wondering what BLTAT wraps are? I'm glad you asked! (OMG if one of my students did this in their paper, I would write "DON'T QUESTION THE READER!" in the margin, yet here I am, questioning the reader... but that's okay, like I also tell them "You need to learn the rules to break the rules!" Some of my other favorite teacherisms are: "Don't ask me; I'm not Google." And "They taught us this in teacher school." I am a good teacher, I swear!!!!! 

But better than a good teacher, I am a good BLTAT maker! 

I already gushed about avocados in the FAT post, so I don't think I need to go there again! If you missed it: Avocado=Yummy fat. The end.

The lettuce obviously takes the place of the bread here, so I like to get nice big, fresh romaine lettuce leaves to wrap all my goodies up! 

Andddd the tomato is my big splurge here! I save carbs all day for my tomato! I feel like going vegan keto has taken away a lot of fruits and vegetables for me, which used to be my favorites, so this dish also helps me feel like I can still maintain some "fresh" foods and not just all processed soy... 

OF COURSE I put vegenaise on these! That makes the whole dish! When the tomato juice mixes with the vegenaise and drips all over your hand and you can lick.... oh... sorry... Um... where was I...? Oh yea, Vegenaise is FAT FAT and MORE FAT (and DELICIOUS), so SLATHER IT ON (the lettuce, of course)

This dinner is actually pretty quick to put together (which is good, because after dealing with 150 teenagers all day, I sometimes don't want to COOK cook, no matter how much I love it....

So here's what you do: Throw some olive oil in the pan and let it warm up. In the meantime, slice ONE square of baked tofu into three THIN slices, then those slices each into THREE rows (so you have 9 rectangles total... or really however many you want; you're the boss here not me....)

Once the oil is hot, throw in your 9 (or whatever) tofu rectangles and 6 pieces of bacon. 

While that is frying up, get the FOUR BEST lettuce leaves you can find and set them aside (or wash them if you don't want to find bugs in them like I did the other night... I'd recommend it, actually). 

FLIP THE BACON BEFORE IT BURNS. This bacon is UNFORGIVING. KEEP AN EYE ON IT!

Slice your tomato up. I do THINNNNN slices, then cut each of those slices in half. 

Begin to prepare your wraps. SLATHER THE VEGENAISE ON! Don't be SHY!

OMG QUICK TURN THE OVEN VENT ON BECAUSE THE BACON IS SMOKING! GRAB A PAPER TOWEL! TURN OFF THE STOVE! PULL THE BACON OFF! FLATTEN IT DOWN ON THE PAPER TOWEL SO IT HOLDS ITS FLAT SHAPE! MAKE SURE YOU TURNED THE OVEN OFF SO YOU DON'T BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN IN THE NIGHT WHILE YOU SLEEP! (A huge fear of mine)

You may need to open some windows at this point, depending on how smokey you let it get. 

I warned you to keep an eye on the bacon...

Apply avocado on top of your vegenaise. FAT ON FAT BABY! I used to cut it all pretty (as pictured) but it kept sliding out of the wrap, so now I just mash it up and squish it on...

Place bacon and tomato on top. Sprinkle garlic salt on top if you know what's good for you.

Wrap lettuce around the goodies and MUNCH AWAY! 

I literally can (and do) eat this for dinner every single night and I still crave it. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT.

​It never gets old for me. Probably because it has all my favorite foods in it so what more could I want? 
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Since I use the LOSE IT app for all my meals, I am going to put all this together (sorry):

And the olive oil and vegenaise are rough estimates. You can measure it out exact if you want. I don't.

Goodness I hope I do this math right.... Remember I teach ENGLISH not MATH, so go easy on me... (Usually I just let the app do all my math for me....)

​To refresh your memory, after breakfast we were left with:

• ~77g Fat 
• 50g Protein
• 19g Carb (MAX)

So after THIS delicious, amazing meal, we are LEFT (for lunch) with:

• 31g Fat
• 21g Protein
• 10g Carb (MAX)

(To be honest with you right now, that 31g fat is usually a hard number for me to hit at lunch, so if I need more fat at the end of the day, I usually have a spoonful of peanutbutter... but I'll talk more about that later....)

BECAUSE (and I'm sorry to do this to ya'll).... Lunch is going to have to be a PART 2 post... 

Sorry!!! Lunch break is almost over and I'm dragging today! And Lunch is much more complex because it's NOT the same food for every meal, so I'd hate to do you a disservice and rush through it!

So, you get breakfast and dinner for now and you'll just have to come back for lunch ideas! (I swear I didn't plan this just so you'd have to come back later... though it did turn out well, I guess....)

Hopefully this was beneficial to you all and I will try to get the lunch post up ASAP!!!!! 
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Thank you so much, as always, for taking the time to visit and read what I have to say! If you have any ideas for a subsequent post (after part 2- lunch post!) please let me know in the comments below! 

You do know that I can see you all lurking, right..? (Well not SEE you, see you...) So don't be shy! Say hi!

Much love,

-Vegan Keto Madi
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I was munching on some of the Louisville Vegan Jerky mentioned in my previous post, and a classmate asked to try some (definitely a carnivore!) and his response was, "That's actually pretty good!"

Dang right it is!!! 

Welcome back! 

Or, if you're here for the first time: Welcome! Feel free to jump in here, or check out the first two posts. Don't worry, I'll wait right here for you to proceed....

Ready?

Without further ado, let's get straight to today's topic: VEGAN KETO SNACKS FOR ON-THE-GO! 

As a teacher, I tend to pack a lot of snacks in my lunch everyday, because nobody wants a hangry teacher (and let's be real here, I am the HANGRIEST of HANGRY when hunger strikes!) So, I bring an abundance of quick and easy snacks just in case I need them. But sometimes, I am not as hungry (especially after starting Keto!) or I am too busy with students and meetings and paperwork to eat more than my main lunch (and sometimes not even that!), so I don't want snacks that require refrigeration/are perishable/will quickly expire. I want snacks that I can throw from my work bag into my desk into my purse or in my car that will stay good until I get around to eating them!  

And, of course, I want snacks that are hunger-satisfying, while still being low in net carbs (and preferably high in flavor!).

So, today, I've compiled a list for you of my Top 5 Favorite Vegan Keto Snacks for On-the-go! 

1. Seaweed
2. Savi Seed Snack Mix 
3. Lupini Beans
4. Almond Butter Pouches
5. Louisville Vegan Beef Jerky

I know there's a WIDE variety of seaweed snacks out there, but my newly discovered FAVORITE is Ocean's Halo Seaweed Snacks! In flavors like Sriracha and Texas BBQ (and apparently, according to their website, Maui Onion, too, which I haven't seen in my stores...), these seaweed snacks take what could be boring seaweed to the next level! A lot of flavoring in snacks usually means higher carbs, but all the Ocean's Halo Seaweed Snacks are 0g net carb! (1g carb-1g fiber). And the flavoring, though a little grainy, is delicious! The BBQ has the right level of sweet and the Sriracha the perfect level of spicy! They also have a sea salt version, but I went straight for the flavored kinds! Be warned, though; like any seaweed, these can get a little flaky and aren't the easiest to eat in public! Just be sure to wipe off your clothes after eating and you should be good to go!

Note: They also apparently sell a seaweed almond snack on their website, but I have to get more information on it because the third ingredient after seaweed and almonds is sugar, but the label is 0g sugar... I will try to get back to you guys about that (if you're curious, as well...)

​So why seaweed?  According to The Guardian article "Seven Reasons to Eat Seaweed" the top 3 reasons are:
​

1. ​Great for digestive health
2. High in nutrients; low in calories
3. May improve heart health

You can check out the article if you want to read the other four, but these first three are pretty good incentives for me! And it's definitely low in calories! 30 calories per little pack, though I'm not claiming that you will necessarily feel FULL afterwards. But it wards off the stomach growls, so... 

And, as the package claims, it's high in B-12, which is a must-have for all vegans! 

I already talked about Savi Seeds in the fat post, but since they are definitely a go-to snack for me, I couldn't leave them out of this post! So I decided to share my savi seed snack mix with you, instead.  It's a pretty basic mix that I made out of necessity when I was at a conference in Vegas, but you could mix and match pretty easily based on your likes/needs/pantry. 

I simply mixed Savi Seeds, dried roasted edamame in spicy wasabi flavor (I love spicy, though if you don't you might want to stick to just the "lightly salted" variety...) and airplane peanuts (sorry, couldn't find these on Amazon...). 

The way I mixed it, the Savi Seeds were 0 carb, the 100 calorie pack of dry roasted wasabi edamame had 2g carbs, and the peanuts were another 2g carbs. So for 4 carbs I had a VERY filling, satisfying and flavorful mix to munch on throughout the day! Like I said, you could switch it up to your preferences, but I would suggest keeping the bulk of the base the savi seeds- high fat and 0g carbs- and then supplementing with some low carb favorites.  Yum! 

If you're Portuguese, like me, you may be better familiar with these delicious little beans being referred to as Tremoços (which is SO not what it looked like in my head before I Googled it...). If you aren't Portuguese, you might not have a single clue what I am talking about, so let me show you... 

Now, when I used to eat these at the Holy Ghost/Festas, we were always told to bite the little nub off and squirt the bean into your mouth (or bounce it off your face, as the case often was with me...), leaving the skin behind to be discarded. When I recently looked more closely into these beans, however, I read that the skin is actually really high in fiber and can be eaten! Who knew?! But, for nostalgia sake, I usually still pop them in sans nub, then eat the skin afterward :) 

BUT since this post is all about on-the-go snacks, I want to talk about a particular brand of lupini bean I just discovered that does NOT require refrigeration (at least until you open the pouch), so unlike the traditional jar of lupini beans, which probably wouldn't hold too well in your desk or purse once you started snacking, these are perfect to toss in a suitcase for a road trip and pulled out if and only if you need them! 

I found this version of lupini beans in the RAW section of Whole Food. I thought they were dried at first, so I was interested in trying them, but when I opened the pouch I realized they were FRESH, just like I so loved as a child! Score! They come in delicious flavors, too, like Chili Lime and Hot Pepper (which is HOT even to me, who LOVES hot!). My favorite is the Garlic and Herb flavor (pictured) which has just the right amount of flavor without being overwhelming. They also have regular, salted, lupini beans, too. 

​

So let's talk nutritional facts. One "pouch" has about 5 servings in it, but for me I usually eat it in a sitting or MAYBE divide it into two if I'm at home and can refrigerate the second portion. Per serving, there are only 35 calories with 4 grams of protein and 0g net carb, after subtracting the 4 fiber carbs! They are a little on the salty side, but that's good with Keto, since you need your sodium!

Still not convinced? Since Brami went through all the trouble to make these cool graphics for you, let me include them here for you (All credit for creation/copyright rights should go to Brami!) 

I feel almost guilty including these on the list since they are currently unavailable on Amazon, but they are SO GOOD and SO EASY to throw in a bag and eat on the go that I couldn't NOT include them. And at 1 net carb for almond buttery goodness....

I won't say too much about these, though, just in case they don't come back from production.... :( 

If anybody finds something comparable, PLEASE let me know!

I DID find these Don't Go Nuts Nut-Free Organic Roasted Soybean Spread Dips, Lightly Sea Salted which MIGHT be comparable, but again, I need to contact the company because there aren't nutritional facts for this flavor (and the other flavors are high in carbs...) 

I saved the best for last as a reward for those of you who are still reading, haha. 

LOUSIVILLE VEGAN JERKY IS AMAZING!!!! I know I've been vegan for over a decade (and vegetarian even longer) so what do I know about jerky, but I even had a meat eater try these and she agreed with me that they had good texture and were extremely flavorful! 

The flavors I bought were only 5g net carbs per bag, but MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE NUTRITIONAL FACTS BEFORE YOU BUY! Some of the flavors are higher in carbs. I know Smoked Chipotle and Black Pepper are only 5g. But if 5g sounds a bit steep, don't worry- you can easily spread these out over 2 or 3 snack sessions and it will stay fresh in between (I can't remember if it had a resealable zipper top, but I probably used a binder clip from my desk if not haha!) 

And if you still need more incentive, according to their website, they make all the jerky in small batches, by hand, with "freshly sourced" ingredients!

So, with just under 20g of protein per bag, it's nutritious, delicious, and you're supporting an awesome company! (Just please make sure to leave some on Amazon for me, too!) 

Whew! You made it to the bottom of another long blog post! Thank you! Hopefully this information has been beneficial to you whether you are vegan, keto or both! 

Now if you've been enjoying what you've read so far (or even if you haven't) PLEASE let me know what else you'd like me to write about! This blog is only a success if I'm writing what YOU want to read!

Until next time,

-Vegan Keto Madi

 Good morning and HAPPY SUNDAY to you all! 

I could talk more about myself and my keto weight loss progress and why I went vegetarian and then subsequently vegan (blah blah blah), but I think you heard enough about me in my first entry, so I am going to shelve the personal talk (for now) and discuss about what you all REALLY came here to read about... VEGAN KETO!

Today's topic is VEGAN FATS. 

My biggest fear in starting keto was dying of a heart attack instantaneously (okay that might be a slight exaggeration of the fear, but it was my fear nonetheless). As somebody who has watched my fat intake for the last decade or so, increasing fat was absolutely TERRIFYING to me. I'd been actively avoiding it, and now I find I have to actually be SEEKING it out? The thought literally gave me shivers.

BUT you can't do keto without FAT, so I knew I had to face my fears head on and find me some FATS.

And, of course, I wanted these fats to be from foods that were also low in carbs! (Once I go above the 20g net carbs per day, I might have more vegan fat suggestions for you, but these are all going to be close to 0g net carb fat sources for today!)

So, the moment you've all been eagerly awaiting (for the last 30 seconds or so that it took you to read today's introduction...) my favorite TOP 5 VEGAN KETO FAT SOURCES

1. Coconut Oil
2. Avocado
3. Savi Seeds
4. Veganaise
5. Olive Oil

Read on for more information about each, including nutritional facts and how I use them! 

Since I'm currently drinking my lazy-woman's variation of bulletproof coffee, I will start with COCONUT OIL! I exclusively drink coconut oil in my coffee, though the package lists several other usages for it (including slathering it on your hair and skin!! But I don't think that will help you lose any weight...) And, if you've never heard of bulletproof coffee... well I might have to make a separate entry just for that! But to shorten it down to the simplest of terms... If you add fat to your coffee before you have any food you will have a quick, easy, source of fat to burn (aka energy) that will not make you crash like other stimulants (though you are adding it to caffeine most of the time, so do with that information as you will). Traditionally, it's with butter and MCT oil, but I just use Coconut Oil myself. You can do vegan butter (see #5 below) and MCT oil, or just coconut oil, or whatever you want, really. I'm not your parent. 

Be VERY CAREFUL if it is your first time with bulletproof coffee or coconut oil, however... my first time (I feel like I'm discussing drugs here...) I added TWO tablespoons of the oil, not really knowing what I was doing, and I legitimately thought I was going to have to call out sick to work because, as I described to a co-worker via text mid "episode": I thought my soul was flying away from my body. Seriously. So I reduced it down and GRADUALLY worked my way up...

Side note... this concoction also typically makes you poop before your cup is even done, so until your body is used to it, I wouldn't recommend making it "on the go" in your commuter cup..... If you know what I mean...

Anyway, I have 2 different coconut oil favorites, depending if I'm making hot or iced coffee.

The first is the Spectrum Organic Virgin Coconut Oil TRAVEL PACKS. To me, the travel packs part is important, because it's already rationed off into a serving size, PLUS I can warm it in my hand a lot faster than if I was trying to get it out of a bigger container (sorry this produces more waste...). BUT I can also throw a few of these in my lunch box for rushed mornings when I don't make coffee at home and add it to Starbucks or office coffee in a pinch. (Then as an ADDED BONUS you get to have fun conversations with your coworkers about why you're dumping straight fat into your coffee in the mornings, haha). 

This coconut oil is pretty much all fat, fat and nothing but FAT! 14g fat; 120 calories (though I've learned calories are slightly less important than macros... Or super less important, depending who you ask). 

I use this in my HOT coffee, because it needs to melt. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT try to use this type of coconut oil in your ICED coffee. Want to know why? It needs to be hot to remain liquid. It will turn chunky and cling to your straw in iced coffee until you get to the bottom of the cup and then you're left with solidified coconut oil you then have to eat like caramel if you want the benefits. Accidentally did it once at a conference and will never make that mistake again! Bleh!

BUT if you are an iced coffee fan, like me, you might want a different way to add coconut oil into your coffee without having to eat it at the end (gag). So, I present to you LIQUID coconut oil! The jury is still out if this is the EXACT SAME as regular coconut oil, but for my purposes both seem to be working fine (though maybe I'll do a little research to compare the two and let you know later...) 

Sorry there is no image for this one; I am still learning how to use this website, but I am coming to the conclusion that there can only be one picture per text section.... wait let me try an experiment here...
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Now if my hypothesis is correct, I SHOULD be able to add an image to THIS text box......

​Anddd voila! Another image! Look I'm learning along with all of you all this morning :) 

Coconut Oil #2: Nature's Way LIQUID Coconut Premium Oil.

I like this coconut oil because it does NOT turn chunky (solidified) when you add it to a COLD drink, so if you aren't a hot drink fan this might be a better route for you. 

Plus, I've found it has less of a coconut flavor as the straight coconut oil, so if you aren't a fan of coconut taste, you might prefer this, instead. 

Just about the same macros as the other: 14g fat; 130 calories.  

Like I said before, though, the jury is still out if this is as good as "original" coconut oil, so you might want to do some of your own research if a slight difference in MCT % makes a huge difference to you. I'll look into it, but I can't promise how fast I'll get results back to you. Google is pretty fast, though ;)

For my purposes, it works pretty well for me! Both of these do. High fat to start my day (ENERGY!) and no carbs. Win-win! And I've found the mornings I DON'T have my coconut oil coffee I get hungry much faster than when I fat load to start the day. So, don't be afraid of bulletproof coffee (minus the whole poop instantly/soul flying out of your body thing... that'll pass, I promise...)!

I love avocados. I've always loved avocados. But poor avocados have gotten a bad reputation because they are so fatty (avocados have feelings, too, you guys!). Wayyyyyyy back before Keto I was doing a meal plan with my personal trainer (FYI if you're keeping track, that was my "old" trainer, who has since moved on to law enforcement; my "new" trainer [who was actually my ORIGINAL trainer, BEFORE my "old" trainer- are you getting all of this?] is a bit more open to Keto.) who RECOILED when I told her I ate 1/2 of an avocado a day. AGHAST, she told me that was WAY TOO MUCH FAT to be eating in a day from one food source and that I needed to cut down to NO MORE THAN 1/4 of an avocado per day if I didn't want to gain weight. 

Well IN YOUR FACE old trainer, I eat A WHOLE avocado EVERY SINGLE DAY now and I'm 15% body fat so PPPPFFFFFFFTTTTTT. Sorry, old grudge coming though...So... ahem... moving on...

With that being said, let's look at Macros: One WHOLE avocado (though we all know how much size of an avocado can vary...) in its 325 calories has a wonderful whopping 29g of fat, with 20 of those being monounsaturated! CHA-CHING! The WHOLE thing only has 4g of carbs when you take the THIRTEEN GRAMS OF FIBER into consideration. And 4 grams of protein to top it off! Even though avocados can get EXPENSIVE at times, I definitely eat a whole one every day. I usually eat half at lunch and half at dinner, just to keep my fats flowing throughout the day. Avocados are so versatile, I usually put it on the top of whatever I'm eating and it's always delicious (BLT wraps, miracle "rice" sushi bowls, "egg" tofu salad...). 

So don't be afraid of avocados either! Especially if you need 100g of fat a day, like me, here's 30 of it for you! Add that to the 15 or so you just got from your morning coffee, and you're halfway there! (remember to customize your macros with the keto calculator, though!) 

I know I said I loved coconut oil and I loved avocados, but I. LOVE. SAVI. SEEDS!

I found these on a blog looking for snacks to take to my Vegas conference (I'm sorry, I WISH I could find the blog for you again... I'm going to keep looking! In the meantime, here's another blog about them)

Some reviews on Amazon for Vega Savi Seeds claim they have an overwhelming fishy/rancid taste, but I never found that to be true... To me, these are like a peanut, a cornnut and some seaweed had a baby. That's the best way I can describe it to you. BUT the most amazing thing about Savi Seeds is.... not only are they full of fat and protein..... They are 0g net carbs! They're like being able to eat all the nuts you want without worrying about going over carbs (but, of course, you can't eat anything all you can eat because of macros, so they are more like all you can eat within reason because you're on a diet still and that means you can have all-you-can-eat NOTHING. Get a hold of yourself!)

These bad boys are 13g fat with 9g protein per serving (and 0g net carbs after 5g fiber is subtracted). 

BE WEARY OF THE FLAVORED VARIETIES!! Flavored anything sends the macros skyrocketing, I've found! But the plain version of these always hit the spot for me so I don't miss flavoring.

Now, if you look on the Vega website, they say these are discontinued, but Amazon must have a huge stockpile somewhere because I haven't seen the "Only ____ left in stock! Order soon!" warning yet. Luckily Vega isn't the only company to sell these (but the only one I've tried!) so even if Amazon runs out, I don't think the plant is extinct ;) But, I am second guessing sharing this with you all now in case they ARE running low at Amazon I don't want you all to go and buy them all...  haha just kidding (not really).

If I was trapped on a deserted island and I could only bring one food with me to eat for the rest of my life, Veganaise would be it. I have a disgusting love affair for veganaise. I used to put it on my toast, in my tacos, straight from the jar with a spoon... 

When I was on other (unsuccessful and miserable) diets, veganaise was a big giant NO-NO because it's pretty much just all fat. BUT LUCKY FOR ME ON VEGAN KETO, FAT IS A YES-YES! 

I eat the soy-free version of veganaise, just because a majority of my protein is soy based, I figured there was no need to add more soy, even if I don't necessarily believe the hype that soy is all bad....

But the SOY-FREE version of veganaise is (in one 80 calorie tablespoon): 9g fat (7g monounsaturated and 1g polyunsaturated), and 0g carbs, yay! I THINK from what I remember the reduced fat version HAS carbs, but if you're using this for a keto fat source I don't particularly think you would be buying the reduced fat version anyway.... 

(side note: in Googling Veganaise, I learned it's actually spelled Vegenaise, but that makes no sense to me because it's VEGAN mayonnaise... vegan+mayonnaise in no way= VegENaise... Whatever. I prefer Veganaise but for the sake of accuracy, I will from here forward use vegenaise.)

Andddd that's actually all I have to say about vegenaise other than PUT IT ON EVERYTHING BECAUSE IT IS DELICIOUS AND 0 CARB AND NICE AND FATTY AND I WOULD BATHE IN IT IF I COULD.

Whew! You're still with me! Thanks for sticking with this post! I will make this last one short and sweet because WHO DOESN'T KNOW AND LOVE OLIVE OIL?!

I have TONS of different flavors of olive oil, but the good old regular olive oil does the trick in a pinch! I just prefer the different offering from The Olive Oil Pantry to add different flavors to different foods (my favorites: Garlic Cilantro and Lemon Pepper! YUM!)

Like coconut oil, olive oil is ALL FAT- 14 beautiful grams of it (with 10 monounsaturated!) and 0 carbs.

Whether I'm frying my bacon or tofu with it, or drizzling it on my salads, Olive Oil is an every-day must have for me (just like coconut oil, veganaise and avocados!). 

Side note: Olives themselves are also a pretty good source of fat, but since I've found the nutritional facts vary per olive type, brand, stuffing, etc. I didn't want to falsely mislead you. But check out the labels of some to find ones that work for you if you're an olive fan!

I was originally going to include vegan butter here, too, but since there are so many different kinds, I decided to save that for a later post. So keep an eye out if you're a butter fiend like me! :) 

Thanks for sticking it out to the very end! For your efforts, I'll sneak in one more trick that has made my vegan keto life infinitely easier... THE LOSE IT APP! I know there's a lot of fans of other apps, but having looked at a number of them, I am a Lose it fan through and through! I think that might be because it's more aesthetically pleasing (prettier), but I find it keeps me on track, especially when I can just scan in my foods!

​I promise I am in NO WAY affiliated with Lose It (in fact, I don't even subscribe to their premium version haha) I just really love the app! 

Don't forget if you're doing net carbs to subtract out the fiber carbs from your total carbs, since Lose It will add them all together!  

Well that's all I have for today, folks! Please leave me comments and let me know if this information is useful and what else you'd like to see in future posts! Thanks for stopping by! :)

-Vegan Keto Madi

"Keto? That's the diet where you can eat unlimited bacon, right?! Awesome! Wait... you're vegan. You can't eat bacon... Why would you go keto?"

Almost every time I told somebody I had gone keto, that was their general reply. 

To be honest, I don't fault them for this response. I never really understood keto before I made the decision to pursue it. I was like most of America, thinking keto was science talk for, "Unlimited Bacon" and couldn't possibly be healthy or sustainable. And, while I know most keto-ers are avid bacon fans, from what I've read, most also understand that they cannot eat "unlimited" bacon if they are truly following keto. Keto involves following a diet of specific macros (veryyyyy specific macros!), and I'm sorry if I'm bursting any bubbles here, but those macros will not be withheld by all-you-can-eat bacon (unless of course your bacon tolerance is very minimal, then maybe...).

All bacon aside, I REALLY never thought I would be able to remain vegan AND do keto. But alas, here I am, eight weeks later, thriving on a vegan keto diet. "Thriving" is definitely the key word here. Because I've tried about every possible diet before, none of which had lasting success past about the two week mark (or, when I went "no sugar" and could only eat radishes and celery. No joke. That lasted about three days before my students commented on my grouchiness and suggested that maybe I eat something else... They were right. That was definitely not a "win").

It may have been because of all these failed diet attempts (and/or my keto misconceptions) that when my brother and  sister-in-law tried to tell me about their success with low-carb, I all but scoffed and rolled my eyes (sorry, Jeff and Kate!). There were too many foods to cut out, too many rules to follow (I see now the irony of this statement, coming from someone who has been vegan for over a decade and exclusively ate radishes and celery for three days...). But I was already vegan. I had already tried raw vegan. I had tried gluten free vegan. All of these required weeks of research and hours of recipe searching and meal-prepping. I didn't know if I could take one more diet that would promise results only to let me down in the end. 

And I needed results. I was desperate for results. Not necessarily just weight loss, either (though I was desperate to lose the 15 pounds I had gained in the last year...). I needed energy. I needed improved health. I needed something that would end my gut-wrenching (no pun intended) digestive pain. I had been battling these symptoms for years (hence my never-ending miracle diet quest...).

Since before I can remember (which isn't saying much if you know my memory span...) I have been a sick child. I was born early with jaundice and the fun never ceased from there. I have had countless ear infections and bouts with strep throat. I have had mono and bronchitis (at the same time, in fact). I was diagnosed with chronic-fatigue at 20 when I couldn't stop sleeping (upwards of 17 hours a day). I even came down with shingles in college! SHINGLES! In my 20's! It was like my immune system had a hit out on me! I had been tested for Celiac Disease, Thyroid Disorders, MS, Lupus... You name it and I probably had had the blood test for it. Doctors started just writing me off because they couldn't find a source of my fatigue and pain. I think they probably though I had Munchausen Syndrome with all the office visits with no definitive diagnosis.  But believe me, I was just as frustrated as they were. All they could tell me was that I had a "non-specific auto-immune disorder" (which I think is medical talk for shrugging their shoulders...).

Over the years, some of my symptoms began to subside after I went vegan in 2006 (I had been vegetarian since 2002 or 2003, so it wasn't a huge leap- I'll discuss that in a later blog, I promise) but I was still constantly tired and still had an everlasting (and excruciating) stomachache. Veganism did help, but it wasn't my miracle cure. There was still something going on that needed to be fixed.

Then, after some blood work last year, I did find that while my iron levels were fine, my ferritin levels were LOW, so once I started taking Iron, B12 and D, my energy levels DEFINITELY went up. I didn't need to drink a cup of coffee just to get the energy to drive to Starbucks to get a bigger cup of coffee (yes, that was my routine...). But, still, there was something missing. 

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As I mentioned, during the same time I was getting my vitamin levels all squared away, I had gained 15 pounds! I never gained the freshmen 15 (going vegan might have helped with that!) but I had gained the "Late 20's 15" and I DID NOT LIKE IT! My clothes no longer fit. I was wearing dresses most days because my pants uncomfortably cut into me. I was constantly bloated and uncomfortable in my own skin. And yes, I was asked a few times if I was in the early stages of pregnancy.... Yep...

So, when a person very near and dear to me decided to go keto and shared his successes with me, I figured what harm could one more diet attempt do? He had lost weight quickly and, while my ultimate goal was improved overall health, I also  wanted to lose weight quickly.

But vegan... and keto...? How could I make those two worlds merge? They are seemingly fundamentally different. One encourages high fat, moderate protein and low-carb, while the other is naturally lower in fat, lower to moderate in protein and HIGH IN CARBS. How would I manage to remain vegan (a non-negotiable) but also do Keto...? I had the motivation, but not the plan of action.  

I tried to Google Vegan+Keto, but there were NOT a whole lot of resources out there (except reddit. THANK YOU REDDITERS for discussing vegan keto. You gave me the final push I needed to make it happen.) Thankfully I had been vegan long enough that I knew a LOT about veganism to be able to make it merge with keto. So I used the suggested keto calculator and set my macros to 20g net carbs or less, 75g protein and 100g fat. And, using reddit and my keto friends and family as my vegan keto parachute I took the leap and started vegan keto May 16, 2016. 

I was over 140 pounds. (I couldn't even bring myself to step on a scale to get the exact weight because I was so disappointed in myself. But the last time I weighed myself I was 138 or 139 and I hadn't exactly slowed down on eating...) This was the highest I had been in well over a decade and a half. Since 8th grade, I think...

I will give more details about my progress in a subsequent blog, but I am happy to report that in the last 8 weeks I have moved from that 140+ range down to 126.0, as of this morning. 

But the weight loss isn't everything. I feel like I can focus better. I have more energy. I am happier. I am not starving every two hours. I am not bloated. My stomach pains are GONE! G-O-N-E!!! I feel like myself again! My clothes fit (and some are too big even!). I am a keto believer.

But, there is no finish line in life when it comes to "dieting" or lifestyle changes. I cannot say "wow, this was a great 8 weeks. I'm cured! Back to vegan mac and cheese!" (Oh how I miss vegan mac and cheese...). This is just the beginning of a journey. A long journey. A forever journey, perhaps. 

So, since I couldn't find anything on vegan keto when I began, but have had a lot of questions from others who want to try vegan keto since, I decided to start this blog and invite you all on my journey with me. 

I do want to make one thing clear to anybody reading this right now (all 3 of you, I'm sure haha):

 I AM NOT A VEGAN KETO EXPERT!

This is my disclaimer! I am a keto rookie (I am a vegan veteran/expert, however, haha!)! What I say here has worked for me, but I cannot guarantee you will get the exact same results. We are all different. What's the warning they always use on those diet products.... "THIS PRODUCT NOT INTENDED TO TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE"? Yea, that! In other words, do not hold me legally responsible for any decisions you make as a result of reading this blog, haha. 

BUT, while I might not be a vegan keto expert, I am a vegan keto CHEERLEADER! I wholeheartedly believe in the vegan keto diet and plan to continue it as long as it is safe and healthy for me. (the keto part, that is. Veganism will ALWAYS be a part of my life. I will NEVER go back to non-veganism.)

So, as I make my way through this journey, I am going to share my favorite vegan keto recipes, my progress (and set-backs) and try to include a lot of research of the pros and cons of keto so you, too, can make your most informed decision possible.

But if after reading this, you're ready to give vegan keto a try (yay you!), I recommend the keto calculator, and heading over to reddit and reading everything they say about keto, vegetarian keto, vegan keto, etc.  It's a BIG lifestyle change, but one that I can honestly say I have not once in the last 8 weeks regretted. 

If you want more regular updates, please feel free to follow me on IG: Vegan_Keto_Madi

Thanks for reading!

-Vegan Keto Madi