Digital Diary – Vegan Keto, The Final Countdown

When I said the vegan/keto thing is expensive, I really, really meant it. Since I only need to feed myself and my dog, Nefie, I budget $280 a month for groceries–$80 of which goes to dog food. I spent more than my month’s human grocery budget just on supplies for vegan fat bombs! Which meant I had to postpone the go-live date for the new diet until I could afford produce.

Because produce is also maddeningly expensive.

This gave me extra time to eat through the non-vegan items in my refrigerator and pantry. After a week of eating disastrously (ALL the cookies), I decided to take the last six days before payday—and the final items in my kitchen—and put my body back into ketosis.

This can take anywhere from two to seven days and a pretty close scrutiny of your macros. I inventoried what I had left:

• Eight eggs
• 2 cans of tuna in water
• Various condiments
• A bag of frozen brussels sprouts
• A bag of frozen asparagus
• A half head of lettuce
• Twelve single-serve cups of hummus
• 10 slices of cooked bacon
• Two pork loins, about 200 grams each
• Peanut butter
• Almonds
• A bag of shredded four cheese blend
• And everything needed to make vegan, white chocolate, coconut fudge fat bombs

I studied the nutrients of these items, wrote them all down, and formalized a plan. Admittedly, certain items on this list are not first-grabs for a ketosis goal, like peanut butter and hummus, but I knew I could make it work. All I needed was celery and paper cups (the kind you put cupcake batter in). After a quick run to the grocery store (costing, including gas, less than $10), I had everything I needed.
I broke the next six days into two separate meal plans: Tuna Day & Pork Day. I knew I could break up the pork into four servings of 100 grams and the tuna into two servings (technically, I could have stretched it to four, but I needed to double the servings of each can to get within range of my macros).
It looks like this:
Tuna Day

• Breakfast

1. Two eggs
2. Three slices of bacon
3. ½ cup of shredded cheese

• Lunch

1. Celery
2. Hummus

• Dinner

1. Tuna salad (can of tuna, one hard baked egg, vegan mayo, horseradish mustard, relish)
2. Asparagus

• Snacks/Dessert

1. Celery
2. Peanut Butter
3. Fat Bombs (three a day)

Tuna Day Macros, eaten between 10am and 8pm

• Calories 1,683 grams
• Fat 135 grams
• Net Carbs 24.1 grams
• Protein 82.6 grams

Pork Day

• Breakfast

1. ½ cup almonds
2. One slice bacon

• Lunch

1. Celery
2. Hummus

• Dinner

1. 100 grams of pork
2. Brussels sprouts
3. ¼ head of lettuce (optional)

• Snacks/Dessert

1. Peanut butter
2. Fat Bomb (three a day)

Pork Day Macros, eaten between 10am and 8pm

• Calories 1,512 grams
• Fat 125 grams
• Net Carbs 26.9 grams
• Protein 64.8 grams

Macro goals

• Circa 1,500 calories
• Circa 100 grams fat
• Circa 20 grams net carbs
• Circa 115 grams protein

So, cool, I’m getting within range of my macro goals, although really underperforming in the protein area. Normally, I would just eat more meat—but I’ve been bingeing food documentaries and one thing seems pretty common: As long as I eat food, I should get to Friday. It should be fine. This is fine.
In fact, as I am at the end of the second Tuna Day, I feel really full. Yesterday, I barely got through dinner. I had been afraid that I was overeating when I became lazy about scrutinizing my macros in the months leading up to this diet shift. However, I wonder now if I was undereating. I know for sure I wasn’t eating enough healthy fats. Those bombs sure do their job!

Oooh, speaking of which, this was the very first time I’d ever actual made a fat bomb! I always relied on cheese and avocado for fats, and never really dived into this part of the diet. Scandalous, I know. Perhaps I was afraid of sugar substitutes or how awful something would taste without a “real” sweetener.
Turns out, the vegan, white chocolate, coconut fudge fat bombs (what a mouthful!) were super fluffy and smooth and tasty. My presentation isn’t stellar, but I’m telling you, they were great. The original recipe is on Pinterest here: https://pinterest.com/pin/515873332310749764/?source_app=android I used

unflavored stevia and unflavored PlantFusion Complete Protein Powder, but otherwise followed the recipe.
If you try the fat bombs, I would love to know what you think! Have you ever mapped out your macros? What is your nutritional journey? I have a secret:

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Meal prep is fun.