Monday, June 21, 2021

the problem with going down the keto rabbit hole

So while I'm not doing anything close to a true keto diet, I am trying to stay fairly keto-adjacent because that keeps me in a low-carb zone. The problem, though, with learning more and more about keto is the ever-increasing list of esoteric ingredients. Every new keto video I watch features a new ingredient. Right off the bat, I learned about almond flour, psyllium-husk powder, chickpea flour, coconut flour, whey-protein isolate, xanthan gum, and the sweetener erythritol. I bought all these ingredients. I already knew about soy-sauce alternatives like tamari and various aminos (e.g., coconut aminos) thanks to my attempt at making seitan. Also thanks to seitan, I learned about vital wheat gluten, powdered mushrooms, and nutritional yeast. (I have all these ingredients, too.)

That's already a lot to know about, but the rabbit hole has no end, and that's what I find frustrating. Along with the above, I'm now aware of other sweeteners like monkfruit and allulose. I also know about oat fiber in powder form (for making keto breads), chia seeds, and flaxseed. Where does it stop? A lot of these ingredients are related to bread and pasta because people on keto are often desperate to have some form of the food they used to eat. There's a price to be paid, though, because these foods are not carb-free; they're just minimally carby. But seriously, where does it stop? How many goddamn ingredients do I need to know about? Maybe it's better just to go paleo and stick to unprocessed foods. That seems to be a much easier guideline to follow (although you'll recall Adam Ragusea's pooh-poohing of paleo, among other diets). Anyway, I've ordered a few extra keto ingredients for the pantry, but I've decided that that's it. I don't want or need anything more. And what the fuck is inulin?



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