TL;DR version
Add 79ml (or 1/3 cup) of heavy cream to a shaker/blender bottle for 433 calories (1300 a day); or use 148ml for 667 calories (2000 a day). Add 50g of the Keto Chow powder, then fill the bottle to 16 ounces with water. Shake it up until all the powder is wet. Stick in your fridge, it needs a few hours (overnight is best). If you think the texture is goopy, add more water or use a blender.
Equipment that will make everything a lot easier
Depending on how many blender bottles you get, it could set you back $14 or $50 to get it all.
- Blender Bottles (around $7 each). I normally use the larger 28 ounce variety but the smaller ones work fine too – you just get a thicker mixture. I have lots of these, enough that if I forget to wash some it’s not the end of the world, for daily consumption you need a minimum of 3 (one for each meal). You can mix up several days at the same time, the most I’ve done is 4 days or 12 meals.
- A scale (around $9). I recommend one that can do 0.1g. Personally, I use the American Weigh Scales 1000/0.1g scale. If you don’t have a scale just yet you can fudge it with a 1/2 cup measuring container but since each flavor has a different density you’ll be getting anywhere from 45 to 60g instead of the 50g you’re supposed to weigh out.
- OPTIONAL (only if you want to use MCT Oil) A way to measure the oil ($5 or less). I grabbed a clear plastic “Lotion Pump” from Wal-mart for $5. If you’re feeling fancy you could grab a glass and stainless steel one. The reason for using a pump is NO CLEANUP. Optionally you can just use measuring spoons. You’re also going to need to measure the heavy cream. I use a small shot glass with ml measurements on the side.
- An Immersion blender or a regular blender (optional – if the texture comes out weird to you, running it through a blender will immensely improve it). I grabbed one from Wal-Mart, the same one is on Amazon for less.
The “Consumables” – stuff that will get used up as time goes on
- Heavy (whipping) Cream. I find it’s hard to find “Heavy Cream” and can usually only find “Heavy Whipping Cream”. Both are quite similar but the “whipping” has some additional emulsifiers that won’t matter. If you have to choose between the two, get the one you want. Be sure to check the label to make sure it has 0g of carbohydrates.
- MCT Oil – this is optional. MCT oil is awesome for jump-starting ketosis, BUT some people have problems initially adapting to MCT oil so to start out you might want to skip the MCT and only use heavy cream. Anyhow MCT oil: A 32-ounce bottle of MCT will give you 23 days worth. You can find many options on Amazon like this or this.
- If you’re doing Keto Chow for all your meals you’ll need Fish Oil. This is to get you 1400 mg of Omega 3 per day. You can go 2 ways for the fish oil:
- I sell a week’s worth of fish oil capsules (14 or 2 per day). If you don’t want to buy a giant bottle, this is a good option
- Buy a 180 capsule bottle from Amazon and take 2 per day
Detailed Preparation Instructions
How many calories do you want per day? (assuming 1/3 per meal of Keto Chow). These instructions are for each meal individually (in the video it also shows how to mix multiple meals at the same time).
1300 calories a day (433 per meal)
2000 calories a day (667 per meal)
Mixing multiple meals
Optional: use MCT Oil
- Add 79ml or 1/3 cup of Heavy (whipping) Cream to a container.
- Fill the container with water to 16 ounces. If you want it thicker, add less water; to make it thinner, add more. Also, add more if you don’t like the texture.
- Using a scale, weigh 50g of the mixed powder (the Peanut Butter flavor is 60g) – this is easier if you weigh it in a different container like a small bowl or cup, make sure you zero/tare the scale before weighing the powder. Dump the powder into the blender bottle.
- Shake up the bottles until all the powder is off the bottom.
- Stick in your fridge, it needs a few hours to completely thicken up (overnight is best).
- As far as spoilage and storage go, treat mixed Keto Chow like milk; bacteria would LOVE to get in there and start multiplying. If you have enough blender bottles, you can mix up several days at a time, the most I’d recommend is 4 days worth.
- If the consistency seems “goopy” or “slimy” to you, it’s the xanthan gum. Try mixing with more water to make it thinner. If that doesn’t work then use a blender, it will change the structure of the xanthan gum and get rid of that.
- If you take a long time to drink, shake it up every once in a while.
- If you’re doing the fish oil capsules I recommend taking them at night before bed so you are sleeping when the capsule walls are breached and you start burping fish. This is to get you 1400 mg of Omega 3 per day.
- Add 148ml or 1/2 cup + 2 TBs of Heavy (whipping) Cream to a container.
- Fill the container with water to 16 ounces. If you want it thicker, add less water; to make it thinner, add more. Also, add more if you don’t like the texture.
- Using a scale, weigh 50g of the mixed powder (the Peanut Butter flavor is 60g) – this is easier if you weigh it in a different container like a small bowl or cup, make sure you zero/tare the scale before weighing the powder. Dump the powder into the blender bottle.
- Shake up the bottles until all the powder is off the bottom.
- Stick in your fridge, it needs a few hours to completely thicken up (overnight is best).
- As far as spoilage and storage go, treat mixed Keto Chow like milk; bacteria would LOVE to get in there and start multiplying. If you have enough blender bottles, you can mix up several days at a time, the most I’d recommend is 4 days worth.
- If the consistency seems “goopy” or “slimy” to you, it’s the xanthan gum. Try mixing with more water to make it thinner. If that doesn’t work then use a blender, it will change the structure of the xanthan gum and get rid of that.
- If you take a long time to drink, shake it up every once in a while.
- If you’re doing the fish oil capsules I recommend taking them at night before bed so you are sleeping when the capsule walls are breached and you start burping fish. This is to get you 1400 mg of Omega 3 per day.
- Decide how many meals you’re going to make and get a blender or water pitcher large enough to hold n*16 oz (minimum). I typically do 6 meals at a time in a 1 gallon water pitcher.
- Measure out the heavy (whipping) cream. If you’re using 100ml a meal and doing 6 meals, you would measure out 600ml. Pro tip: most blender bottles have measurements on the side and work GREAT for doing this! Add the heavy cream to the container.
- Fill the container 3/4 of the way with water. If you’re doing 6 meals (times 16 oz), this would be 3/4 of the way to the 3 quart mark on the pitcher.
- Using a scale, weigh 50g of the mixed powder (the Peanut Butter flavor is 60g) for each meal – again, if you’re doing 6 meals this would be 300g, dump it into the container
- Blend it! I use an immersion blender to mix it all together, larger blenders can hold 2-4 meals at a time and work well too.
- If you’re using an immersion blender, lift it out and then fill the container the rest of the way to your designated spot. For me, doing 6 meals that’s to the 3 quart line. If you’re using an immersion blender you’ll likely have powder stuck to the blender, use the water you’re adding to dislodge that.
- Blend again to mix all the water you just added.
- Pour the finished liquid into individual containers for storage. Personally, I use blender bottles for this but many use pint mason jars.
- Stick in your fridge, it needs a few hours to completely thicken up (overnight is best).
- As far as spoilage and storage go, treat mixed Keto Chow like milk; bacteria would LOVE to get in there and start multiplying.
- If you take a long time to drink, shake it up every once in a while.
- If you’re doing the fish oil capsules I recommend taking them at night before bed so you are sleeping when the capsule walls are breached and you start burping fish. This is to get you 1400 mg of Omega 3 per day.
Most people will just use heavy cream for their fat source. You can optionally use 13ml of MCT oil in each meal to really jump start and maintain ketosis. When first starting keto it’s often advisable to not use MCT oil so you won’t have “bathroom issues”
- Add 13ml of MCT oil to a container.
- Add Heavy (whipping) Cream: 50ml or 1/4 cup for 433 calories a meal, 119ml or 1/2 cup for 667 calories a meal.
- Fill the container with water to 16 ounces. If you want it thicker, add less water; to make it thinner, add more. Also, add more if you don’t like the texture.
- Using a scale, weigh 50g of the mixed powder (the Peanut Butter flavor is 60g) – this is easier if you weigh it in a different container like a small bowl or cup, make sure you zero/tare the scale before weighing the powder. Dump the powder into the blender bottle.
- Shake up the bottles until all the powder is off the bottom.
- Stick in your fridge, it needs a few hours to completely thicken up (overnight is best).
- As far as spoilage and storage go, treat mixed Keto Chow like milk; bacteria would LOVE to get in there and start multiplying. If you have enough blender bottles, you can mix up several days at a time, the most I’d recommend is 4 days worth.
- If the consistency seems “goopy” or “slimy” to you, it’s the xanthan gum. Try mixing with more water to make it thinner. If that doesn’t work then use a blender, it will change the structure of the xanthan gum and get rid of that.
- If you take a long time to drink, shake it up every once in a while.
- If you’re doing the fish oil capsules I recommend taking them at night before bed so you are sleeping when the capsule walls are breached and you start burping fish. This is to get you 1400 mg of Omega 3 per day.
Some things to consider
- If you embark into ketosis you MIGHT feel like you have a flu for 3-4 days. I have yet to get a report from someone getting it using Keto Chow but it’s possible. According to the /r/keto faq you can help mitigate this with more electrolytes (sodium and potassium) which Keto Chow has ample of. One of the more common remedies is to drink some salty broth (make sure it doesn’t have carbs!). You’re also going to have impaired athletic endurance for about 4 weeks as your body adjusts.
- If you haven’t read Basics of Nutritional Ketosis – What is Keto, how to do it, how to succeed, you should check it out. When you are first starting Keto Chow you might want to skip the MCT oil at first and add it slowly as you adapt, particularly if you have GI issues.
- If you want to check your ketone levels (which is NOT necessary but can be motivating), you can get a blood tester… or do what I did and grab some cheap pee sticks that work just fine (again, not necessary).
- Check out /r/keto – this place is awesome with success stories, encouragement and at the top bar is “Keto in a Nutshell” and the FAQ.
- I recommend listening to this episode, in particular, of the “2 Keto Dudes” Podcast. It discusses how to start Ketosis and some awesome information about how to be successful, for that matter you might as well subscribe to new episodes.
