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Image de Caroline Attwood

tips

GETTING THE RIGHT TOOLS AND FOOD

In order to prepare delicious 3:1 Keto meals, you will need a few things. 

Tools you can't do without

  • A calculator (I use the one in my phone, it’s convenient and always on hand)

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  • Pen and paper to write down your numbers as you cook (I save the sheets of paper used by my children, fold them in half and keep them in a kitchen drawer)

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  • A kitchen scale (as precise as you can find). I like mine to have a precision of 0,1g. This way I know I don’t use more fat than needed

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  • Extra battery for your scale (you never know)

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  • An extra scale in case yours dies on you (you still never know)

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  • A few silicone spatulas to ensure that you scrape all the fat from your bowls and pans. I suggest having 2 or 3 if you don’t want to spend your day washing them. I find the ones with a right angle to be the most useful.

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  • If your child has lunch at school, you will need an insulated lunch bag and lunch box (I like mine to have 3 compartments so that I can separate the main meal, the dessert and something else (appetizer, a treat, etc)

Other things that will help

  • Plastic zip bags or small containers for snacks as everything your child will eat will be fresh or homemade.

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  • 2 or 3 small pans, as you will often need them at the same time. Get some small ones because you will be making small portions and there is no need to clutter up your dish washer with big pans.

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  • A small oven dish

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  • Silicone ice cream moulds to make 3:1 ice creams. They are easy and convenient treats, that will always be ready in the freezer, saving you time and energy more than once!

Noix du Brésil
The beautiful ingredients you will need

  • Olive oil (stock extra bottles, you will be surprised how fast they go)

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  • Frying oil

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  • Butter (I use both regular and salted)

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  • Mayonnaise (I use avocado oil based mayo for its mild taste and healthy fat)

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  • Odorless coconut oil

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  • Fresh vegetables (carrots, zucchinis, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, eggplants, broccoli, cauliflower, celeriac, etc

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  • Fresh fruits (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, apples, oranges, mandarins, kiwis, watermelon, cantaloupe, avocados, etc)

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  • All type of proteins

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  • Cheese. I personally use lots of comté and cheddar. I also use fresh parmesan that I grate myself. It gives extra texture to any meal without affecting the ratio too much because it is very light. You should be able to find shredded cheddar and fresh parmesan pretty much anywhere in the world. If you can’t find comté, look for an equivalent in your country. A hard and mild cheese with a similar ratio : 34g of fat and 26g of protein for 100g of cheese.

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  • Sweetener: I use Stevia, which seems to be the healthiest choice available out there. It is also easy to find in any supermarket. In most recipes, I find the powder one to be more convenient and easier to use than the liquid form.

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  • Olives: all kinds.

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  • Nuts: macadamias, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pinenuts, Brazil nuts

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  • Grounded almonds for baking

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  • Coconut flour for baking

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  • Full fat sour cream/Crème fraîche (ideally 40% fat) and full fat heavy cream (ideally 30% fat). Each country has its own creams. If you can’t find « crème fraîche », any cream with a thick texture that has at least 35% fat for 100g of cream will do. For the full fat heavy cream, look for any type of liquid cream with at least 30% fat.

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  • Garlic powder, frozen basil, cinnamon and mild spices such as a mild curry

Olives sur fond bois
Getting to know your ingredients
 

USE WITH
JOY AND LOVE

use
sparingly

All non starchy vegetables.

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The vegetables that absorb the most fat are: eggplant, mushroom, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli and celeriac (deep fried)

 

The fruit that contains the most fat is avocado.

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The fruits that contain the least amount of carbs are (from the  lowest):

  1. Lemon 

  2. Strawberry and raspberry

  3. Grapefruit and blackberry

  4. Cantaloupe

  5. Watermelon 

  6. Nectarine

  7. Orange and papaya

  8. Pear, peach, kiwi, guava, mandarin, pineapple,  apricot

  9. Apple and blueberry 

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Rhubarb is not a fruit, it is actually a vegetable and it is quite magic because it contains very little carbs and can be prepared as a fruit. Check my recipe.

 

Protein with the highest ratio (ratio in brackets):

  • Cod liver (8.4)

  • Seared foie gras (7)

  • Strasbourg pork sausage (nitrite free Knacki by Herta or equivalent) (1.8)

  • Egg yolk (1.7)

  • 20% fat grounded beef (1.2)

  • Salami (1.2)

  • Lardons (1.2)

  • Mackerel (1.2)

  • Duck confit (1)

  • Coppa (0.9)

  • Sardines in oil (0.9)

  • Egg (0.8)

  • Prosciutto (0.8)

  • Salmon (0.65)

  • Chicken wings with the skin on (0.5)

  • Sea bream (0.6)

  • Red mullet (0.5)

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I don’t personally use bacon because nitrite free bacon is impossible to find in France.

 

Nuts with the highest ratio (ratio in brackets):

  • Macadamias (5.7)

  • Pecans  (4.5)

  • Brazil nuts (3.9)

  • Walnuts (3.6)

  • Hazelnuts  (3.2)

  • Pinenuts (2.9)

  • Almonds (1.8)

  • Peanuts (1.3)

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Any ingredient with a ratio 3 or higher can be eaten on its own (macadamia, pecan, Brazil nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, olives). When the ratio is quite higher than 3 (macadamia, pecan, Brazil nuts, olives), the ingredient can be eaten with some carbs to balance out the ratio and get it down to 3:1

E.g.: 14g pecans + 30g strawberries = RATIO 3

36g almond stuffed olives + 25g cherry tomatoes = RATIO 3

 

Flours with the highest ratio:

  • Almond flour

  • Coconut flour

 

Fats with the highest ratio:

  • All oils (100% fat)

  • Mayonnaise and butter (82% fat). The avocado oil mayonnaise I use is 83.5% fat.

  • Hollandaise sauce

  • 40% full fat sour cream/Crème fraîche

  • 30% full fat heavy cream 

  • Coconut cream 

  • Olives

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Cheese with the highest ratio (ratio in brackets):

  • Mascarpone (4.8)

  • "Boursin" (3.8)

  • "Kiri" (2.7)

  • "Philadelphia" (2.2)

  • Mozzarella di Buffala (1.8)

  • "St Morêt" (1.6)

  • Comté and cheddar (1.3)

  • Mozzarella and parmesan (1)​

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Every country has its own products. Spend some time in your favorite supermarkets and read nutrition facts on labels. You may be able to find some great ratios.

Starchy vegetables (they contain the most carbs):

corn, lentils, chickpeas, peas, potatoes, beans.

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The fruits that contain the most carbs:

1. Dates, raisins, dried figs, etc

2. Bananas

3. Cherries, grapes, figs, pomegranates and lychees

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The following sweeteners are best avoided:

Sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, corn sugar, dextrose, fructose, glucose, invert syrup, maltodextrin, Maltitol, maltose, molasses, polyglycitol syrup, sorbitol, sucrose, xylose.

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Proceed with caution using glycerol, isomalt, lactitol, mannitol and xylitol.

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Sodas (replace with diet sodas making sure they contain 0g net carbs)

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Fruit juices

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Sweet soy sauce and balsamic vinegar

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All 'low fat' products (skim milk, low fat mayonnaise, low fat butter, etc)

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Anything breaded or crumbled

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Anything with a sauce or gravy

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Pasta, rice, couscous, quinoa, bulgur, etc 

 

Breads, cakes, cookies, ice creams and candies, which are not homemade to the right ratio

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Nuts with high carbs and low ratio:

  • cashews

  • pistachios 

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Any ingredient with a ratio lower than 3 CAN'T be eaten on its own. It must be served with an ingredient whose ratio is higher than 3. In any case, nutritional values of anything that is eaten must be calculated to make sure that the final ratio of each meal/snack is 3:1.

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Are there any forbidden ingredients?

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No. Your child can eat anything as long as the ratio of their meal is right. That being said, some ingredients are so high in carbs (e.g. banana and pasta) that they require too much fat to balance out the ratio. They make it very difficult to make a 3:1 ratio meal. But I worked hard on that one and found some ways for our son to occasionally have a banana, his favorite fruit. Check out my recipes.

 

Will my child be able to eat pasta or fries?

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It's tricky but not impossible. Check out my recipes.

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Will my child be able to eat fruit?

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YES. Our son eats more fruit than most children do, including our other son who isn't on any diet.

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                          TIPS TO EATING FRUIT

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  • reach a ratio higher than 3:1 with your main meal in order to leave room for some dessert carbs 

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  • Cut fruit in small pieces and mix it with MCT oil or odorless coconut oil. Add sugar free natural flavors. Orange, cinnamon, orange blossom water and oil make a delicious fruit salad.

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  • Eat fruit along with macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts or pecans

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  • Eat fruit along with olives (I find that watermelon and blueberries work quite well with olives). Try different types of olives (natural, stuffed with almonds or anchovies, etc)

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  • Serve fruits with one of my decadent dipping sauces (i.e. 6g coconut oil + 5g sugar free peanut butter will allow you to eat 1g of carbs). Check out my recipes.

 

Our son eats everything except rice and bread/cookie/candies which are not home made.

He doesn't drink soda or fruit juice.

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He eats French fries, pasta, banana, chocolate, and delicious homemade recipes for ketchup, bread, cookies, candies and ice cream. Occasionally, he'll drink some diet soda or sugar free syrup mixed with water.

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