Editors of Rodale Books - The essential keto slow cooker cookbook: 65 low-carb, high-fat, no-fuss ketogenic recipes

KETO BASICS AND SLOW COOKER 101 What Is the Ketogenic Diet? The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, moderate-protein, and high-fat diet. On the keto diet, 60 to 75% of the calories you consume each day should come from fat, 15 to 30% should come from protein, and 5 to 10% should come from carbs. If you adhere to these guidelines, your body will enter a metabolic state called ketosis, usually after about one to two weeks. When you are in ketosis, your body has stopped metabolizing glucose (or sugar) for energy, and has switched over to using fat as its energy source.Ketosis has been the default metabolic state through-out most of human history, and there are many health benefits of being in ketosisincluding weight loss,increased energy, clear skin, joint and muscle pain relief, better sleep, and improved cardiovascular and brain health. To get into ketosis, you have to limit the amount of glucose the body has available, which means reducing the amount of carbohydrates you eat. Once your carbohydrate levels are maintained at a low level and you are burning fat instead of carbohydrates for fuel, your body will begin to produce molecules called ketones.

Ketones provide energy to the brain and nervous system. You will test the ketone levels in your breath, urine, or blood to determine if you are in ketosis, especially when you are just starting out.

How to Test for Ketones Urine: This is the most common method of testing your ketone level, as its quick, affordable, and accurate. Ketone urine-testing strips are readily available at most pharmacies and online. Blood: With a blood ketone meter, you prick your finger and a machine reads the amount of ketones in your blood. The results are quick and accurate, but more expensive and invasive than other methods.

Breath: Using a device similar to a breathalyzer, you can measure the level of acetone (a ketone by-product) in your breath. This method is easy to administer, but the device tends to be expensive. Tracking Macros to Stay in Ketosis The food we eat provides key nutrients our bodies need to perform at an optimal level. These nutrients are divided into three main categoriesfats, proteins, and carbohydratescommonly called macronutrients, or macros. Its important to track your macronutrient intake on the keto diet so you can stay in ketosis. If you go outside your target macro zones, your body may start utilizing glucose as energy again, taking you out of ketosis.

Keeping your carb intake as low as possible is the best way to ensure you stay in ketosis. As a rule of thumb, you should eat less than 20 grams of net carbs per day to stay in ketosis, though each body responds differently to carbohydrates; depending on your height, weight, age, activity level, and other factors, you might find you can eat as many as 50 grams of net carbs per day and stay in ketosis. Testing for ketones often and closely tracking your macros in the beginning of your keto journey will help you fine-tune the breakdown of macros that keep you in ketosis. There are several ways to keep track of your carbs. Some people like to monitor their total carbohydrates per day, while others monitor their net carbs. (Fiber is not absorbed by the body and therefore is not calculated in your net carb figure.) Each recipe in this book includes nutritional information to help you keep track of your macros, with calories, fat, net carbs, and protein grams per serving listed at the bottom of the page. (Fiber is not absorbed by the body and therefore is not calculated in your net carb figure.) Each recipe in this book includes nutritional information to help you keep track of your macros, with calories, fat, net carbs, and protein grams per serving listed at the bottom of the page.

Weve made it easy so you dont need to do your own net carb calculations. Thanks to a variety of excellent apps, its easier than ever to track your daily macros and adjust your diet as needed to reach your goals. Log your food, calculate macros, and keep tabs on your net carb intake on the device of your choice. Here are a few apps we trust:

• Carb Manager (carbmanager.com)
• MyFitnessPal (myfitnesspal.com)
• MyMacros+ (getmymacros.com)
• The Keto Diet App (ketodietapp.com)

Eating Keto

FOODS TO AVOID

FOODS TO EAT

Sugar and sugary foods : White sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, candy, etc. Grains or starches: Wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal, etc. Beans or legumes : Peas, beans (like kidney, black, cannellini), lentils, and chickpeas. Starchy vegetables: Potatoes, corn, butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, etc. Starchy vegetables: Potatoes, corn, butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, etc. Any product made from these starchy vegetables should also be avoided. Low-fat or diet products: These are highly processed and often high in carbs. Some condiments or sauces: These often contain sugar and unhealthy fat. Processed fats and oils: Limit your intake of processed vegetable oils like canola oil, vegetable oil, safflower oil, margarine, butter blends, nonolive oil mayonnaise, and hydrogenated cooking oils. Alcohol: Due to their carb content, many alcoholic beverages can throw you out of ketosis. Sugar-free diet foods: These are often high in sugar alcohols, which can affect ketone levels in some cases. These foods also tend to be highly processed. Certain nuts: Cashews, chestnuts, and pistachios are high in carbohydrates.

Healthy fats: Whole avocados, healthy oils (primarily extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil). Beef: Ground beef, steak, etc., choosing fattier cuts whenever possible. Poultry: Chicken, duck, quail, pheasant, and other wild game. Other meats: Lamb, turkey, veal. Bacon and sausage: Only choose products that do not contain sugar. Fish and shellfish: Salmon, sardines, trout, tuna, mackerel, clams, oyster, lobster, crab, scallops, mussels (wild caught is best). Whole eggs: Look for free-range or omega-3 whole eggs when possible. Full-fat dairy products: Whole milk, butter, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, buttermilk, sour cream, and heavy whipping cream. Cheese: Unprocessed, high-fat is best. Low-carb, non-starchy vegetables (+ higher-carb vegetables in moderation): Most green vegetables, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc. Condiments: Small amounts of vinegars, fish sauce, soy sauce, mayonnaise, sour cream, etc. Nuts and seeds: Almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, etc. Coconut: Coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut flour. Low-carb sweeteners : Stevia, monk fruit sweetener, erythritol.

Stocking the Keto Kitchen FATS Almonds Almond butter Almond milk (unsweetened) Almond oil Avocado Avocado oil Bacon fat Beef tallow Blue cheese Brazil nuts Butter (look for grass-fed when possible, like Kerrygold) Buffalo tallow Buttermilk Cheese (full-fat like cheddar, Colby, feta, mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, and Swiss) Chia seeds Cocoa butter Coconut Coconut cream Coconut milk, unsweetened Coconut oil Cream cheese, full-fat (in block form) Duck fat Dark chocolate (70 percent or higher, such as Enjoy Life) Extra-virgin olive oil Ghee/clarified butter Greek yogurt (full-fat) Hazelnut oil Heavy whipping cream High oleic sunflower oil Lard Macadamia nut oil Macadamia nuts Mayonnaise (olive-oil based) MCT oil (such as SkinnyFat brand) Mutton tallow Olives (organic only) Olive oil Palm kernel oil Pecans Pili nuts Pistachios Red palm oil Schmaltz (chicken fat) Sour cream (full-fat) Suet Sugar-free, stevia-sweetened chocolate (such as Lilys) Sunflower seeds Walnuts PROTEINS Almond butter Anchovies Bacon Beef (rib eye, porterhouse, T-bone, tenderloin, jerky) Boar Buffalo Catfish Chicken (breast, leg, thigh, wing, drumstick) Chicken livers Clams Crab Duck Eggs (chicken, duck, goose, ostrich, and quail) Elk Game hen Goat Goose Greek yogurt (full-fat) Halibut Hemp hearts Herring Lamb Lobster Mackerel Mahi mahi Miso Mussels Natto Nut butters (natural, unsweetened) Nutritional yeast Oysters Pork (chops, loin, hocks, tenderloin, ribs) Pheasant Prawns Quail Rabbit Salami Salmon Sardines Sausage Sea bass Seitan Scallops Shrimp Spirulina Snapper Sunflower butter Swordfish Tofu Tempeh Trout Tuna (ahi, canned) Turkey Walleye Whitefish (cod, bluegill) Venison LOW-CARB VEGETABLES AND FRUITS Artichokes Arugula Asparagus Avocado Bok choy Broccoli Cabbage Capers Cauliflower Celery Chard Coconut Collard greens Cucumber Eggplant Endive Fennel Garlic Kelp Kohlrabi Lettuce (red leaf, Boston, romaine, radicchio) Mushrooms Okra Olives Onions (yellow, white, red;scallions) Peppers (green bell, jalapeos, chiles) Radishes Rhubarb Seaweed Shallots Spinach Swiss chard Tomato Turnips Watercress Zucchini HIGHER-CARB VEGETABLES AND FRUITS (EAT IN MODERATION) Butternut squash Blackberries Blueberries Brussels sprouts Cranberries Green beans Jcama Kale Leeks Lemon Lime Parsley Peppers (red bell) Pumpkin Raspberries Rutabaga Spaghetti squash Watermelon Wax beans HERBS AND SPICES Allspice Anise Annatto Basil Bay leaf Black pepper Caraway Cardamom Cayenne pepper Celery seed Chervil Chili powder Chives Cilantro Cinnamon (ground) Cloves Coriander Cumin Curry powder (and paste) Dill Fenugreek Galangal Garlic powder Ginger Lemongrass Licorice Mace Marjoram Mint Mustard seed Nutmeg Oregano Paprika Parsley Peppermint Rosemary Saffron Spearmint Star anise Tahini Tarragon Thyme (dried) Turmeric MISCELLANEOUS PANTRY STAPLES Almond extract Baking chocolate Baking powder Baking soda Broth (chicken, beef, vegetable) Cocoa powder (unsweetened) Coconut (unsweetened shredded or flakes) Coconut aminos Dijon mustard Fish sauce Hot sauce Lemon extract Pork rinds Protein powder (unflavored) Sea salt Soy sauce Tahini Vanilla extract Vinegar (balsamic, red wine, sherry) Keto-Compatible Sweeteners