by Leanne Vogel
Keep an open mind and a forgiving heart. Just write it all down!
You don’t have to carry your food journal everywhere with you. Keep it at the office, at home, in the car—whatever works best for you. Set aside a little time each day to enter your foods in your journal and keep track of how you feel after you eat. How you feel after a meal is the most important part, and that information will tell you far more than you realize.
FOOD JOURNALING TIPS:
Begin with the date. I highly recommend that you keep track of the days of the week instead of listing just numbers. This information will come in handy when you start to link together your eating patterns.
Fill out the chart with details: the time you ate, the quantity (roughly) of food, the type of food (fruit, vegetable, protein, fat, etc.), and the symptoms you experienced after your meal.
At the end of the day, jot down how many hours you slept, how much water you drank, and what physical activity you did that day. Also sum up your total intake of veggies, fruit, and so on.
At the end of the week, answer the Weekly Reflection questions to document what you’ve learned about yourself.
Here are some patterns to look for as you’re journaling:
How many fruits, vegetables, and proteins are you getting on a daily basis? Are there days when you had more of one type of food and felt better than on other days?
Are you skipping meals and subsequently overeating later in the day?
Are your meals balanced? Are you eating all of your starchy foods in the morning and packing in the protein in the afternoon?
Are there long spans of time between meals?
Do you notice any food groups that are completely missing?
Do you notice that you overeat if you wait too long between meals?
Do you notice your eating pattern changes when you fast in the morning versus in the evening?
What is the perfect amount of time between your meals? What is too long, and what is too short?
Do you experience a particular symptom after eating a certain type of food?
What is the ideal day for you? What patterns were you following that day? Why do you think you felt so good?
Is there a specific food that you ate consistently, perhaps too often?
When you consider the day as a whole, is most of what you consume whole, unprocessed food, or is it primarily packaged?
Write answers to these questions in your food journal or, better yet, in a page of your journal or on sticky notes in your kitchen so that you have reminders of what works for you and what doesn’t.
If you observe that you had a negative reaction on a particular day and you aren’t sure how to pinpoint what specific thing caused that reaction, you could repeat the day in its entirety. You mirror your food choices, actions, and sleep patterns as much as possible except you adjust one thing. If you have the same negative reaction that you experienced previously, repeat the day again but adjust a different thing. Continue repeating the day and adjusting one thing at a time until you pinpoint what it is causing the reaction.
You can continue to food journal as long as you wish. When you come to a point where you feel you know what works for you and what doesn’t, feel free to stop journaling for a while. Your journal will be available to you if you need it down the road.
3.
THE KET
DIET MEAL
PLANNING
SYSTEM
Wanna know a secret? The key to keto success isn’t found in a calorie counting app or somewhere on the internet. It’s inside you! In this chapter, I’m going to share the unique meal planning system that’ll help you get in touch with your hunger and eat what’s right for you. All you gotta do is follow this clear template and slide in your choice of the all-inclusive recipes, and you’ll be meal planning in moments! You’re going to develop a meal plan using the following techniques:
1. DEFINE YOUR MEAL PLANS BASED ON HUNGER AND GOALS.
2. CREATE MEALS BASED ON YOUR NEEDS.
3. USE THE INGREDIENTS YOU HAVE ON HAND.
MEAL PLANNING
Whether you’re planning each and every meal on your keto diet or you need some strategies to make dinnertime a little easier, these resources will get you on your way!
The way I see it, there are three ways to meal plan:
1
YOUR CALORIE INTAKE GOALS OR HUNGER LEVEL. There’s nothing worse than following a meal plan designed for someone with a huge appetite or, on the flip side, having to over-prep because the plan outlined in your favorite cookbook gives you 1,400 calories to work with in a day when you actually need 2,000 calories. By basing your meal plan on your personal calorie target or overall hunger level, you can build a plan that’s more unique to you.
2
WHAT YOU NEED WHEN YOU NEED IT. You know how much time you have to devote to prepping your meals, how many people are going to be enjoying those meals, and which kitchen appliances you have and don’t have. For instance, you wouldn’t add blender-based recipes to your meal plan if you don’t own a blender!
Following a cookie-cutter meal plan could have you spending more time than you want to spend preparing meals, leave you with too many leftovers, or call for using kitchen appliances you don’t own.
3
THE INGREDIENTS YOU HAVE ON HAND. If there’s a bunch of chicken in your freezer, you probably want to include a couple of recipes in this week’s meal plan that use chicken. Likewise, if there’s a kale sale (try saying that ten times fast!), you’ll probably be looking for recipes that use up the 5 pounds of kale you just purchased. Meal planning with the ingredients already in your home will save you time, energy, and money.
Let’s go through these strategies individually, and I’ll show you how to make the most of each one.
1
Your calorie intake goals or hunger level
Whether your calorie requirement is 1,500 or 2,500, having calorie variance in your plan is important. With calorie variance, you aim close to your calorie goal but often come in either below or above that goal. Some days you hit it spot on, other days you fall below it, and other days you come in above it. Calorie variance mimics natural eating, allowing for metabolic maintenance. People report easier weight loss, better energy, and an easier time sticking to a diet when calorie variance is in play.
If you’ve ever intermittent fasted for a couple of days, you know all about calorie variance! On days when you fast, you eat less. On days when you don’t fast, you eat a little more.
CALORIE VARIANCE is especially helpful if you:
Like to MEAL PLAN
Have been at the SAME CALORIE LEVEL for a long time
Like to FAST
I practice calorie variance by categorizing my meals into small, medium, large, and huge, mixing and matching meal sizes based on my hunger level and my overall goals.
Since all the recipes have similar keto macro percentages, you shouldn’t see grave differences in your macro intake from day to day.
If you’re already thinking, “But Leanne, so many keto coaches recommend that I not pay attention to calories, and you’ve even said it yourself . . . what gives?” That’s a fair question. Remember, this is one of three meal planning strategies. If calories aren’t the thing for you, pick another strategy.
However, if you’re willing to give it a shot, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. With the recipes being categorized as small, medium, large, and huge, you can use calorie variance to your advantage, choosing the meal size that meets your needs at that particular time. And, when all these meals are keto to start, it really comes down to your hunger levels/how much you want to eat per day to realize your goals.
SMALL
less than 300 calories
per serving
LARGE
500 to 799 calories
per serving
MEDIUM
300 to 499 calories
per serving
HUGE
800 or mor
e calories
per serving
This isn’t an exact science, but it may be just the strategy you need to design your own meal plans using the recipes in this book.
The chart on the next page provides twelve combinations of small, medium, large, and huge meals to make up a day of eating.
Start by locating your daily calorie goal. Then view the meal size combination you’ll use to build your daily meal plan.
For example, if your daily goal is 1,800 calories, you would have:
MEDIUM + LARGE + HUGE
Or, if your daily goal is 2,100 calories, you would have:
LARGE + LARGE + LARGE + SMALL
You could choose to have all your meals at one time, or you could eat two meals a day, three meals a day, or even four meals a day.
Also, note that there’s more than one way to combine meal sizes to hit your daily goal. For example, if your goal is 1,800 calories, you could choose to eat four medium-sized meals rather than one medium, one large, and one huge meal. It’s up to you!
MEAL PLANNING COMBINATIONS
Here’s how calorie variance comes into play with this method: Because each meal size category has a minimum and a maximum number of calories to it, combining your meals means that on one day, you could be at the low end of the combination (represented as min calorie intake), and on another day, you could be at the high end (represented as max calorie intake). If you add up your daily caloric intake for the week and divide that number by 7, you should be close to your daily calorie goal.
Once you have a combination in mind, use the meal size chart on the following pages to prep your plan!
SMALL: fewer than 300 CALORIES PER SERVING
BREAKFAST
AVOCADO BREAKFAST MUFFINS SERVES 6; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE
BUFFALO CHICKEN BREAKFAST MUFFINS SERVES 6; NUT-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
CHOCOHOLIC GRANOLA SERVES 14; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; LOW-FODMAP
HERB CHICKEN SAUSAGES WITH BRAISED BOK CHOY SERVES 5; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
PROSCIUTTO BISCUITS SERVES 6; DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE
LUNCH
CHILI LIME CHICKEN BOWLS SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE
GERMAN NO-TATO SALAD SERVES 5; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP
SNACKS: SAVORY
CAULIFLOWER PATTIES SERVES 5; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; VEGAN
CRUNCHY JICAMA FRIES SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGAN
FRIED CABBAGE WEDGES SERVES 6; AIP; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; VEGAN
HUMMUS CELERY BOATS SERVES 10; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
LIVER BITES SERVES 24; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP
MAC FATTIES SERVES 20; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
SALAMI CHIPS WITH BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP SERVES 6; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
SAUTÉED ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON-TAHINI SAUCE SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN
TAPENADE SERVES 6; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: VEGAN; VEGETARIAN
WEDGE DIPPERS SERVES 4; DAIRY-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE; EGG-FREE; VEGAN
SNACKS: SWEET
BROWNIE CAKE SERVES 8; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE
CHEESECAKE BALLS SERVES 12; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; VEGAN
CINNAMON BOMBS SERVES 8; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN
CINNAMON SUGAR MUFFINS SERVES 12; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP
FUDGE BOMBS SERVES 8; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN
GRANDMA'S MERINGUES SERVES 6; DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE
HAYSTACK COOKIES SERVES 10; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: DAIRY-FREE; VEGAN
JELLY CUPS SERVES 16; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE
KETONE GUMMIES SERVES 8; AIP; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE COCONUT ICE SERVES 4; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE
SUPERPOWER FAT BOMBS SERVES 8; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN
DRINKS
CHILLED CHAI SERVES 1; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN
EGG CREAM SERVES 1; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN
FROZEN MARGARITAS! SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP; LOW-FODMAP
KETO ARNOLD PALMER SERVES 2; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP
KETO FIZZ SERVES 1; AIP; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN
MATCHA MILKSHAKE SERVES 1; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN
STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE SERVES 2; AIP; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE
THE ULTRA GREEN SERVES 2; AIP; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN
TURMERIC KETO LEMONADE SERVES 2; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP
VANILLA SHAKE SERVES 1; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGETARIAN
WATERMELON COOLER SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP
MEDIUM: 300 to 499 CALORIES PER SERVING
BREAKFAST
CROSS-COUNTRY SCRAMBLER SERVES 2; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NUT-FREE
EGGS BENEDICT SERVES 4; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE
FULL MEAL DEAL SERVES 4; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP
HEY GIRL SERVES 1; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN
INDIAN MASALA OMELET SERVES 2; COCONUT-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: DAIRY-FREE
KETO BREAKFAST PUDDING SERVES 3; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: LOW-FODMAP; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN
LIVER SAUSAGES & ONIONS SERVES 6; COCONUT-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; DAIRY-FREE
MUG BISCUIT SERVES 1; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: DAIRY-FREE
PEPPER SAUSAGE FRY SERVES 4; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE OVERNIGHT "OATS" SERVES 2; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; VEGETARIAN; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN
ROCKET FUEL HOT CHOCOLATE SERVES 2; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; DAIRY-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN
SALMON BACON ROLLS WITH DIPPING SAUCE SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; EGG-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
STICKY WRAPPED
EGGS SERVES 6; DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NUT-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
LUNCH
ANTIPASTO SALAD SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE
BROCCOLI GINGER SOUP SERVES 4; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP
CAJUN SHRIMP SALAD SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE
EASY CHOPPED SALAD SERVES 1; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
SALMON SALAD CUPS SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; EGG-FREE
SAUERKRAUT SOUP SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP
SPECKLED SALAD SERVES 1; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; VEGAN; VEGETARIAN; Option: AIP; LOW-FODMAP
STEAK FRY CUPS SERVES 6; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE
DINNER
BBQ BEEF & SLAW SERVES 4; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
CHICKEN LAKSA SERVES 4; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
CREAM OF MUSHROOM–STUFFED CHICKEN SERVES 4; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE
CREAMY SPINACH ZUCCHINI BOATS SERVES 4; DAIRY-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE
CRISPY PORK WITH LEMON-THYME CAULI RICE SERVES 4; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE
CRISPY THIGHS & MASH SERVES 6; EGG-FREE; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE; Option: AIP; COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE
EPIC CAULIFLOWER NACHO PLATE SERVES 4; NUT-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE
MY FAVORITE CREAMY PESTO CHICKEN SERVES 4; DAIRY-FREE; EGG-FREE; Option: COCONUT-FREE; LOW-FODMAP; NIGHTSHADE-FREE; NUT-FREE