The Keto Diet Cookbook
Page 1
First published in 2019 by Victory Belt Publishing Inc.
Copyright 2019 Leanne Vogel
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-628603-42-2
The author is not a licensed practitioner, physician, or medical professional and offers no medical diagnoses, treatments, suggestions, or counseling. The information presented herein has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Full medical clearance from a licensed physician should be obtained before beginning or modifying any diet, exercise, or lifestyle program, and physicians should be informed of all nutritional changes.
The author claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the information presented herein.
Front and back cover photography and photos of author by Leanne Vogel and Nathan Elson
Food photography by Tatiana Briceag
Cover design by Justin-Aaron Velasco
Interior design by Yordan Terziev, Boryana Yordanova, and Justin-Aaron Velasco
Printed in Canada
TC 0119
DEDICATION
TO ALL THE BRAVE WOMEN WHO MAKE THE WORK I DO JUST THAT MUCH SWEETER:
Thank you for showing up, being brave, loving on your bodies, and supporting Healthful Pursuit. I’m so proud of you for discovering yourself, and I’m honored that we get to do this together. We may never meet in real life, but know that I think about you every single day.
CONTENTS
SPECIAL THANK-YOU
INTRODUCTION
1.
THE KETO LOWDOWN
2.
4 STEPS TO KETO SUCCESS
3.
THE KETO DIET MEAL PLANNING SYSTEM
4.
SAUCES & SPREADS
5.
BREAKFAST
6.
LUNCH
7.
DINNER
8.
SAVORY SNACKS
9.
SWEET SNACKS
10.
EXTRA SIPS
RECIPE QUICK REFERENCE
INDEXES
SPECIAL THANK-YOU
There are many of you who make doing this work so, so sweet. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, gifting you various little goodies throughout the year, and relying on your feedback. This book, my podcast, blog posts, videos, recipes, and just about everything I do on Healthful Pursuit would not be possible without your support.
A very special thank-you to the following lovely humans:
Amber
Ann G.
Anne M.
Annie U.
Ashley C.
Barbara I.
Beth G.
Brandy
Caitlin M.
Cara F.
Carol W.
Carolina L.
Carrie H.
Christin H.
Christine C.
Christine K.
Cindy B.
Colleen H.
Connie A.
Corie M.
Deanna F.
Debbie W.
Deborah C.
Denise D.
DiAnn W.
Elizabeth G.
Erica S.
Erin T.
Eva R.
Francine M.
Genevie
Gina R.
Hannah B.
Heather R.
Holly K.
Jamie G.
Jana G.
Janet K.
Janine B.
Jared G.
Jazmin J.
Jennifer E.
Jennifer L.
Jennifer S.
Jerri A.
Jessica D.
Jessica H.
Jocelyne B.
Josephine B.
Judy H.
Kaitlin J.
Kallie T.
Karen L.
Kate S.
Katie W.
Kellie l.
Kelly R.
Kelly S.
Kerry I.
Kim B.
Kristi S.
Kristie P.
Kristina S.
Kristy F.
Lacy L.
Laura L.
Lindsay K.
Lindsey W.
Lisa H.
Lisa L.
M. J.
Maggie B.
Marci B.
Marisa S.
Marnie F.
Maureen W.
Melody R.
Michelle A.
Michelle P.
Michelle R.
Nanette S.
Nicole B.
Nicole S.
Pamela J.
Pamela P.
Pascale H.
Patti W.
Paula F.
Rachael P.
Robbin K.
Roxana C.
Samantha K.
Sandy
Sarah E.
Sarah K.
Sarah S.
Shaye W.
Sheila G.
Sherri S.
Shirley J.
Stacey B.
Stephanie J.
Susan H.
Susan N.
Susan S.
Tamara R.
Tanya S.
Teresa B.
Terri F.
Theresa D.
Todd M.
Toni C.
Victoria O.
Victoria S.
Wendi M.
Yvonne
Yvonne A.
Thank you for cheering me on.
XO,
Leanne
INTRODUCTION
Hi, friend. Before I share a bunch of the recipes that have been helpful to me in my five-plus years of eating keto, laid out in a completely different way than you’ve ever seen before, I want to set the tone for our time together.
You may have picked up this book because you’re feeling fed up with the way your life is going, and you believe that changing the way you look, losing a little (or a lot of) weight, and finally getting in control of your body will change everything for you. You imagine a life filled with yeses, where you have the confidence to do the things you want to do when you want to do them. Perhaps this new life will include having better sex with your partner, completing a marathon, or finally wearing that cute (and currently way too tight) pair of jeans that you’ve kept in your closet as a motivator for the last four diets you’ve tried.
If this is you, I’m here to tell you to stop.
STOP!
Yup, you read that right. I’m suggesting that you stop. Why? Because I know that this chase never, ever works out in the long run. When all that was important to me was how I looked, I was never happy, was always miserable, and constantly felt like I was failing. That’s not a pleasant way to live.
Why chasing after a perfect body doesn’t work: You’re different. And that’s OK.
It’s true that you can use the keto diet to lose a bunch of weight and feel hot in your bod, but that feeling of hotness lasts only so long. Believe me, I’ve done it, and I’ve walked countless clients through it. It’s marvelous—until it isn’t anymore. Of course, this book can give you that temporary satisfaction, but it can give you so much more if you let it. It all starts with the relationship you have with keto and with your body on keto.
Now, I can’t speak for you. Maybe you want a hot
bod no matter the cost. And hey, you can do that with keto! But maybe there’s a small voice inside you that’s seeking a bit more sustenance. Maybe that little voice is saying . . .
I want to live in a balanced body with loads of confidence.
I don’t want to have to deal with horrible headaches anymore.
I want to choose joy.
I want to stop feeling like I need to drown myself in ice cream because “Who cares anyway?”
LEANNE, I WANT A BETTER LIFE; TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!
I feel you, and I invite you to join me in looking at your adjustment to keto or your life on keto a little differently. Making this adjustment will lead you to more success, less perceived failure, and ultimately more happiness.
Since 2007, I’ve been working hand in hand with people just like you, wanting to make a change in their life—workout goals, nutrition goals, education goals, you name it. And I think we often overlook the fact that changes come easiest when we side with our bodies. When we honor, trust, and nourish our bodies, we start to feel good, we make better decisions for ourselves, and we naturally progress toward our goals.
3 ESSENTIALS FOR REALIZING YOUR DREAMS
1
HONOR
your body.
2
TRUST
your body.
3
NOURISH
your body.
It’s the relationship we have with ourselves that dictates the success we achieve . . . or don’t achieve.
So, whether your goal is to be able to touch your toes again, boost your energy enough that you can chase your kids around the yard, finally live without an itchy scalp, or simply appreciate yourself a little, you got this.
What I’m proposing is that you
• Stop thinking you need to change your body before you can achieve happiness.
• Stop believing that you are only a body.
• Stop thinking you’re weak.
• Start believing that your body wants to be healthy.
• Start trusting that your body wants what’s best for you.
• Start appreciating all the wonderful things your body allows you to experience.
With this book and the recipes, meal planning system, and other resources in it, as well as all the free resources available on my blog, Healthful Pursuit (healthfulpursuit.com), we will work together to heal your body with a ketogenic diet. And as your body works its way toward healing, magical things will occur.
MY STORY
I guess I should formally introduce myself. My name’s Leanne Vogel. I’m a Canadian who travels the world full-time, I’m a trained holistic nutritionist with more than eleven years in the field, and I used to be vegan.
I started Healthful Pursuit in 2010 after I realized that I couldn’t reach many people working one-on-one day in and day out. Back then, Healthful Pursuit was a vegan blog where I shared plant-based recipes, meal plans, and my marathon training programs.
Right around 2013, I had gone six years without a menstrual period, and I decided that the path I was on wasn’t working for me. Going six years without a period sounds great, but there comes a point when it’s just not so great anymore. The lack of estrogen begins to affect bone density, the lack of cortisol affects muscle development, the lack of DHEA (another hormone) makes staying focused and happy next to impossible, and it all just gets to be a bit much.
Several doctors told me over the years that I wouldn’t be able to have a natural period—ever. I went on hormone replacement therapy, and I gained weight very, very quickly. After about six months of being on hormone replacement therapy, I’d gained a whopping 40 pounds. I felt crazy every day of the week (the hormones made me so unstable), and I’d more than doubled my dose of ADHD medications to keep up with the demand.
This is when I found keto. July 2014 will forever be the month when my life took a 180-degree turn.
As I transitioned to a ketogenic diet, I made all the classic mistakes right out of the gate: not supplementing properly with electrolytes, working out too strenuously, not eating enough food, fasting too much, eating way too much dairy, and making macro-counting my number-one priority.
While the classic approach to a ketogenic diet—80 percent fat, 15 percent protein, and 5 percent carbohydrates, forever and ever amen—works for a lot of women, it didn’t work for me. But I pushed my body into that paradigm for months because I thought I just needed to try harder until it finally worked.
Fast-forward one year and, although I’d been able to go off my ADHD medications (yay!), lose the hormone-related weight gain, get six-pack abs, and help others achieve similar results, I still wasn’t happy. I had become so obsessed with food, my body, macros, calories, counting, tracking, and manipulating that I had distanced myself from . . . my life.
It wasn’t until I took a step back and realized that I’d gone too far in the other direction (and still hadn’t gotten my period back) that I accepted that the classic ketogenic protocol just wasn’t for me.
Over the course of the next nine months, I researched, tested, and created focus groups on what I now call the Fat Fueled Protocol (find more details at healthfulpursuit.com/fatfueled), where women focus on three fundamental principles:
1
EAT
ENOUGH.
2
EAT CARBS
sometimes.
3
DON’T FORCE
YOURSELF to fast.
After following this protocol for nine months, I got my period back. That was in 2015, and I’ve been ovulating, menstruating, and all the other –atings ever since. Take that, doctors who said I couldn’t!
The moral of the story: You can heal your body, but you need patience, trust, and maybe a little chocolate. Wait, I ate a lot of chocolate, so let’s say, “a healthy dose of chocolate.”
Since getting my period back, I’ve gone on to work with women in regaining their health with a ketogenic diet: with the book The Keto Diet (ketodietbook.com) in 2017; with my twelve-week video training series, Happy Keto Body (happyketobody.com) in 2018; and now with this cookbook you hold in your hands.
My main point is that defining keto on my terms changed everything, and I’m confident that it can work for you, too. Consequently, you’ll notice that a lot is going on with the recipes in this book. I delve deeper into the details in Chapter 3, but for now, you should know that I really wanted to make these recipes as accessible as I could for all sorts of people. If you respond best to incorporating dairy into your keto diet, I have you covered. If you can’t do dairy (like I can’t), every single recipe in this book can be made dairy-free. If you’re sensitive to FODMAPs or nightshades or you aren’t in the mood for a big meal, I have you covered, too.
WHY I MADE THIS
As a consumer, nothing irks me more than purchasing a book and discovering that it has all the same things in it as another book by the same author; the only difference is the cover. In other words, the same information is packaged a little differently, but I have to pay as much or more than I paid for the first book. Seriously, it’s happened to me more times than I’d like to admit. (I really need to start looking inside books before I buy them.)
My first book, The Keto Beginning, delivers thirty days of keto instruction for keto newbies. My second book, Fat Fueled, delivers information on how to heal your body with a ketogenic diet. My third book, The Keto Diet, is . . . well, people call it their “keto bible.” It’s a 448-page, 2-pound beast of a book that emphasizes how to make keto work for you, no matter what your situation.
Honesty time: It’s really hard to top The Keto Diet. I left nothing out. I put so much into that book that it took me nearly two years to find inspiration to write this one.
Instead of re-creating that same book, my vision for The Keto Diet Cookbook is to teach you how to eat keto with foods you have in your kitchen, introduce new ingredients to you, and show you how you can make keto work with the resources you have available right now.
If you’re looking for more instruction on how to do keto—how to overcome hurdles, how to create an eating style that works best for your body, or how to change your relationship with your body—I have those answers for you, too! Head over to healthfulpursuit.com/shop to check out all the resources I’ve created and figure out what your logical next step would be.
1.
THE KETO
LWDOWN
Ask anyone to define what keto is, why it’s helpful, and what it can do for someone’s health, and everyone will say something a little different. When you truly understand what the eating style you’ve chosen can do for your body, you sit in the driver’s seat of your own health, wellness, and overall success. So, in this chapter, we’ll cover:
1. HOW TO KNOW WHETHER YOUR BODY NEEDS HEALING
2. HOW KETO DOES THE JOB
3. SETTING UP YOUR MACROS RIGHT . . . THE FIRST TIME
4. ADJUSTING KETO TO SUIT YOUR BODY
WHAT KETO IS
Okay, time for ye ol’ elevator pitch. You know—someone asks me what I do for work, I tell them that I create books and podcasts focused on the keto diet, and they instantly ask, “What’s a keto?” To which I reply . . .
Keto is a low-carb, high-fat eating style whereby we reduce our carbohydrate intake so that we can burn fat for energy. The fat we use as energy comes from body fat or from the fats we consume. And, when we’re using fat for fuel, we generate ketones, a by-product of fat breakdown that’s used therapeutically by the whole body. When we’re in this state, it is referred to as being “in ketosis.”
Right now, you’re burning glucose as energy. Glucose comes from carbohydrates like bread, potatoes, pasta, and sugary things. The problem with using glucose as energy is that it’s really inefficient. You have to eat often, which leads to cravings, and you’ll generally feel sluggish if the quality of the foods you’ve chosen doesn’t align well with your body.
So, by eating keto, we eliminate the need to run primarily on glucose and instead run on fat! Fat is very efficient because we have so much on our bodies to use. All you have to do to access the fat on your body and burn it as fuel is to eat more fat and fewer carbs.