If you’re on a keto diet and you’re looking for easy yet complete keto-friendly meals to have, then Keto Chow may have what you’re looking for. This company offers a range of products to make staying on a keto diet and staying healthy an easy thing to do.
Today, we’ll be taking a look at the Keto Chow product lineup, along with a bit of extra info about ketosis in general.
Keto Chow: Overview
Keto Chow started out in 2015 as a very small business founded by Chris Bair and run by himself and his wife. Within about a year or so, however, the company’s success picked up, and today Keto Chow produces a variety of keto-friendly food products in many different flavors.
Chris originally founded Keto Chow as a means of creating more keto food products for himself, but he quickly realized that there was a considerable demand for such products, and he ended up releasing his recipes online for free soon afterward.
Soon enough, however, people began messaging him asking him for samples of his keto food products to try, and it was at this point that Keto Chow became an actual business.
Since then, the company has only grown from there.
Keto Chow Product Reviews
Now, let’s take a look at some of the actual products available from Keto Chow. We’ll be going over what each product is for, the key ingredients in them, and how each of them is used.
Keto Chow Meal Replacement Shake Base Powder
To begin, let’s clarify something about Keto Show shakes. This product isn’t intended to be a total substitute for other keto-friendly foods. Instead, it’s meant to be eaten as an occasional meal or snack that you can make quickly if you’re in a hurry or just don’t feel like doing tons of meal prep.
The manufacturer claims that the founder of the company and another volunteer once went 100 days eating nothing but Keto Chow shakes to test out the effectiveness of their product. While they were supposedly able to maintain ketosis and stay properly nourished during this time, we personally wouldn’t recommend that you eat only Keto Chow shakes for such a long period of time.
Perhaps the best thing about this meal replacement shake is that you can prepare it with different ingredients depending on your needs and diet goals. The shake mixture comes in a powder form, as you might expect, and you have a great deal of choice when deciding what liquid, you want to use as the base of the shake.
To make a Keto Chow meal replacement shake, you’ll need to mix it together with some kind of liquid fat source. The manufacturer has a few recommendations for ingredients you can use for this, including heavy cream, avocado or coconut oil, or even melted butter.
Different fat sources will have different caloric contents, so you may want to pick a fat source to use based on what your maximum calorie count for the day is.
It’s important to note that this shake powder is not totally complete; unlike other shake powders that contain protein, this one contains none. You’re meant to actually mix this powder with a protein powder beforehand.
So essentially, what you’re getting here is a supplementary powder that you’re supposed to add to a protein shake to make it more suitable for a keto diet.
Once you’ve chosen your fat source and a protein source, then simply combine it with the Keto Chow milkshake powder and some water in a blender or a milkshake container, mix it all up as thoroughly as you like, and you’re good to go! You can add as little or as much water as you want, depending on how thick you like your milkshakes to be.
In terms of flavor, the Keto Chow base powder is unsweetened and intended to be almost entirely flavorless. The base powder contains electrolytes, and according to some customers, the base powder has a slightly salty taste but not so salty that it’s off-putting or overpowering. It’s also gluten-free.
Meal Replacement Shake Variety Bundle
The thing about the Keto Chow base powder is that it’s only useful if you have another protein powder to mix it with. But if you’re interested in cutting out the middleman and having a complete protein shake without the need to add an actual source of protein, then the Keto Chow meal replacement shakes are for you.
And unlike the Keto Chow shake base powder, the real Keto Chow shakes come in a variety of sweet, tasty flavors.
With so many flavors to pick from, you might feel overwhelmed by choice. That’s why you have the option to purchase a variety bundle containing seven different flavors to try.
The flavors you get in the variety pack include chocolate, vanilla, mocha, salted caramel, strawberry, banana, and cookies & cream. By no means are these the only flavors available, however.
Keto Chow also sells shake powder in orange cream, pumpkin spice caramel, raspberry cheesecake, snickerdoodle cookie, and root beer float flavors. No matter what your tastes are, you’re bound to find something that appeals to you.
When you order a variety pack, you get a single-serving package of each flavor. Larger package sizes are only available in individual flavors.
As for what you actually get in these protein shakes, it’s a pretty loaded package. In one serving of Keto Chow shake powder, you get 26 grams of protein, 1.53 grams of net carbs, 8.27 grams of total carbs, and 6.73 grams of fiber.
These shakes also contain 34 vitamins and minerals that your body needs for general health, including stuff like magnesium, potassium, zinc, and folate. In total, each serving of Keto Chow shake powder claims to give you a third of your total daily nutritional needs.
Some other good things to note about these shakes are that you can prepare them in advance and store them for up to six days in your fridge and that they don’t have any weird, gritty textures or gross tastes that some other protein shake powders tend to have.
In fact, the manufacturer claims that the longer you let it sit for a while in the fridge, the better it will taste once you finally get around to having it.
These shake powders are pretty flexible, and you can use them for other purposes besides making shakes. For example, you can use the shake powder as flavoring if you want to bake keto-friendly cookies, muffins, or cupcakes.
Keto Chow Meal Replacement Savory Soup
Okay, let’s say that you’re a big fan of the Keto Chow shakes, but you wish that they had something more savory that you could have around dinnertime, for example. Worry not, for Keto Chow also makes a variety of keto-friendly soup powder!
Like the meal replacement shakes, Keto Chow’s savory soups are gluten-free, low in carbs, and contain a large assortment of essential vitamins and minerals. And again, like the meal replacement shakes, Keto Chow claims that each serving of their soups contains one-third of your daily keto nutrition requirements.
Preparing one of these keto soup powders is also exactly the same process as preparing a keto shake. You must mix the soup powder together with a liquid fat source and some hot water, and then blend it until it is smooth.
One thing to note is that when preparing one of these keto soups, you should use water that is warm or hot but not boiling. Boiling water can potentially cause the protein in the soup to curdle and become lumpy, which is fairly unpleasant.
While the range of soup flavors isn’t as extensive as the range of milkshake flavors, you still have a few choices to pick from, which include beef, tomato basil, spicy taco, and chicken.
And although the soup powders aren’t as versatile to use as the shake powders, you still have the option to customize the soups you make and add ingredients of your choice to make your soup as tasty as possible.
Keto Chow Electrolyte Drops
Aside from shake and soup powder, Keto Chow also produces a few types of drops to help support your overall health during a keto diet. All of these drops contain mostly the same ingredients but in different concentrations for different overall effects.
The first type of drops we’ll be taking a look at are the electrolyte drops. If you’re not entirely familiar with what electrolytes are, they are basically just minerals in your body that carry a small electric charge.
Your body uses electrolytes to maintain its fluid levels, help its cells take in nutrients, evacuate waste products, and keep your nerves, muscles, and vital organs functioning correctly.
Because ketosis can sometimes cause you to become dehydrated, and because dehydration can give you a mild electrolyte deficiency, it’s important to drink plenty of fluids and take enough electrolytes to keep everything in the correct balance.
None of Keto Chow’s drops contain any additional flavors or sweeteners, so you know that you’re getting a pure, simple product. You can also take all of these drops in the same way- simply, a serving of these drops into a beverage of your choice.
The lid of the bottle is designed to help you measure out the correct dosage for your needs.
Here’s the concentration of each active mineral in each serving of Keto Chow electrolyte drops:
- Sodium – 125 mg
- Potassium – 130 mg
- Magnesium – 45 mg
- Chloride – 390 mg
Keto Chow Fasting Drops
Next up, we have Keto Chow’s fasting drops. As their name implies, these drops are suitable for you if you intend to fast for extended periods of time.
Fasting can cause you to experience headaches and leg cramps in some cases. These drops, which contain a fairly high concentration of sodium, are intended to help relieve you of any aches and pains caused by the effects of fasting.
The fasting drops are also much lower in potassium and magnesium than the other two types of drops are, which can make them more suitable for you if you need to restrict your intake of either of these two minerals. Other than that, these drops are basically the same as the other drops that Keto Chow sells.
The concentration of active minerals in the fasting drops is as follows:
- Sodium – 220 mg
- Potassium – 22 mg
- Magnesium – 36 mg
- Chloride – 446 mg
Keto Chow Magnesium Drops
The final variety of drops we’ll be checking out are the magnesium drops. These drops contain a high concentration of magnesium, as you’ve probably guessed, and these drops are intended to help you deal with cramps, sleeping problems, and mood issues that can sometimes happen when you’re on a diet.
There’s not really much else to say about the magnesium drops. While each of these drops’ specific purpose might be slightly different, the general purpose of all of them is pretty much the same; to provide you with a good source of electrolytes that will help keep your body in good shape during your keto diet.
This is the concentration of each active mineral in the magnesium drops:
- Sodium – 30 mg
- Potassium – 35 mg
- Magnesium – 200 mg
- Chloride – 610 mg
Keto Chow Daily Minerals
Finally, we have Keto Chow’s daily minerals powder. You can look at this as being a product in the same category as the drops, but a few tiers above; it contains all of the same active minerals as the drops, but in a much higher concentration than any of them. It also has several other vitamins and minerals.
This powder then is essentially just a comprehensive dietary supplement designed to keep you healthy even if you’re cutting out lots of foods from your diet.
Here’s everything you get with Keto Chow daily minerals powder:
- Chloride – 2400 mg
- Magnesium – 400 mg
- Boron – 2.7 mg
- Copper – 2 mg
- Iodine – 300 mcg
- Chromium – 75 mcg
- Potassium – 1000 mg
- Zinc – 15 mg
- Manganese – 2.15 mg
- Selenium – 75 mcg
- Molybdenum – 50 mcg
Benefits of a Keto Diet
Weight Loss
Keto diets help your body burn more fat even when you’re not physically active. Ketosis also causes your insulin levels to decrease, and since insulin helps your body store fat, this will obviously help you lose weight.
Decreased Appetite
Being on a keto diet for a while will eventually cause your appetite to decrease, which is obviously very helpful if you’re on a diet that requires intermittent fasting.
Increased Energy/Endurance
Ketosis makes your body burn fat instead of carbs for energy. Since your body naturally contains more fat than carbs, using fat for energy instead of carbs gives you more energy to work with.
Side-Effects of Keto Diets
Keto Flu
Keto flu is an ailment that many people experience when they start a keto diet. It’s caused by your body adjusting to a diet that is much lower in carbs than normal.
Symptoms of keto flu include headaches, muscle cramps, and fatigue, much like you’d experience if you had a normal flu.
Dehydration
Your body tends to lose a lot of water when you start a keto diet. If you notice that you feel a lot thirstier than usual or that you have to urinate a lot after starting a keto diet, this is fairly normal.
Drinking lots of fluids, particularly ones containing electrolytes, is an excellent way to prevent dehydration symptoms from happening.
Constipation
Keto diets often aren’t a significant source of dietary fiber, which you need to make healthy, regular bowel movements. When starting a keto diet, you may find constipation to be a bit of an issue unless you supplement your diet with low-carb sources of fiber.
Who Should Avoid Ketogenic Diets?
Type-I Diabetics
People with type-I diabetes produce barely any insulin on their own, if any. If you have low insulin levels and high levels of ketones in your blood, it can make your blood fairly acidic, which is about as good for you as it sounds (not very good).
Individuals Without a Gallbladder
Your gallbladder makes bile, which helps you digest dietary fats. If you don’t have a gallbladder and you’re also eating a high-fat diet, it’s likely that you’ll feel pretty ill as a result.
Individuals on High Blood Pressure Meds
If you happen to be taking medication that lowers your blood pressure, and you’re also on a keto diet, your blood pressure can potentially drop to dangerously low levels.
Breastfeeding Women
During pregnancy, the female body begins producing hormones that cause a variety of changes. One of these changes is that women start producing breast milk.
However, when these hormones are combined with high levels of ketones in the bloodstream, it can turn the blood acidic.
Conclusion
We would definitely recommend that you check out the Keto Chow product lineup if you’re interested in finding meals that are easy to make, tasty, and keto-friendly.
If you’re pressed for time or just aren’t in the mood to cook, then take a look at what Keto Chow has to offer and see if any of it appeals to you. Chances are you’ll find something that makes you mouth water in no time.