| Keto Yeast Bread

Maya Krampf is a USA Today Best-Selling author and founder of one of the largest healthy low carb websites, the Wholesome Yum blog. Maya is also the founder of Wholesome Yum Foods which includes clean low carb ingredients.  

Wholesome Yum was launched in 2015, sharing healthy cooking and recipes with people around the globe. Maya’s goal is to make Wholesome Yum a trusted keto resource with all information backed by scientific studies, and all recipes tried and tested.

Her recipes are Keto-friendly, paleo-inspired (but do include dairy), low in carbs (especially sugar), free of gluten and preservatives, and packed with simple, natural ingredients.

I’ve always loved creating content. I started an online magazine in middle school and taught myself some basic coding so that I could create a website. In college, I studied computer science, but was also one class away from a minor in nutrition, because I have always been passionate about health and nutrition. I went low carb in 2010 and quickly became passionate about cooking and the lifestyle in general,” stated Krampf.

Maya Krampf founder of Wholesome Your Easy Retro Carboholics cookbook

In 2015, Maya started Wholesome Yum to have a place to store her low-carb recipes (all with 10 ingredients or less!), and she was blown away by the growth in visitors and to her keto community. Since then, Maya branched out to generally healthy recipes, because there are so many simple recipes, she loves making that she believes anyone trying to eat healthier–low carb or not–would enjoy. 

Today, Wholesome Yum is one of the largest healthy and low carb recipe websites in the world, reaching millions of readers per month. Maya published her first book, The Easy Keto Cookbook in 2019, and it became a USA Today Bestseller. 

Her second book, The Easy Keto Carboholics’ Cookbook is now available for pre-order. Maya also launched the Wholesome Yum app, available on iPhone, Android, and desktop, and Wholesome Yum Foods, a small food brand that produces healthy sugar-free ingredients, including Besti sweeteners, and keto flours, syrups, baking mixes, and more.

Since I started eating unprocessed, low carb food, I have noticed a big improvement in my energy levels, mood, mental clarity, and body composition. This is how my whole family eats, including my young children. What we put into our bodies plays such a huge role in our well-being,” Maya Krampf

Q: You just launched your new cookbook – The Easy Keto Carboholics’ Cookbook – Can you share examples of recipes that our readers can easily prepare?

A: Over 70% of the recipes in the book are brand new, not available anywhere else, but some are reader favorites from my website, and I’d love to share them with you! One of my favorite easy meals from the book is a keto burrito bowl — it takes just 20 minutes to make, with simple ingredients. For dessert, keto apple crisp has a surprise secret ingredient that tastes just like apples with the spices and Besti sweetener added. You can also watch me make a keto banana bread recipe from the book on my YouTube channel.

Maya Krampf cookbook recipes
Keto Yeast Bread

Q: What will make this book stand out from the Keto cookbooks now available?

A: With The Easy Keto Carboholics’ Cookbook, I wanted to give people the ability to enjoy the carbs they miss most–including bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, desserts, and more–without sacrificing their goals, using artificial ingredients, or spending hours in the kitchen.  My new book is dedicated to easy recipes that make traditional “carbs” accessible while following a keto lifestyle! Also, every recipe is “10 ingredients or less” just like my blog, and includes a full-color photo, macro breakdown, tips and variations, storage and freezing instructions, and labels for recipes that have dairy-free, nut-free, and vegetarian options.

Because I really appreciate the support from everyone that preorders my new book, I’m including a bunch of free bonuses: A Keto Pie Guide, Keto Pasta eBook, free month of my Wholesome Yum Plus membership (including ad-free access to all my keto website recipes and Wholesome Yum app, dedicated support, quarterly eBooks/printables monthly giveaways, and more). Plus, a 20% off code for keto ingredients at WholesomeYumFoods.Com. To get these bonuses, simply preorder and register here.

Q: How can someone start eating Keto? What are the health benefits?

A: People sometimes get overwhelmed with eating keto, but it’s really pretty simple. The only piece that is absolutely necessary to reach ketosis is restricting carbohydrates – 25g net carbs per day is a good starting point, though some people who have metabolic resistance may need to do 20g, and others who are more active or have done it for a while can go higher (around 40g tends to work for me personally). 

Net carbs refer to the carbohydrates that our bodies can extract calories from and break down into sugar, so we calculate that by subtracting fiber, sugar alcohols (like erythritol), and allulose from the total carbohydrates on nutrition labels. While restricting carbs is the bare minimum, there’s a lot more that can help ensure success, which is why I wrote a comprehensive guide for starting a keto diet.

Weight loss is the most well-known benefit of the keto lifestyle, but it goes beyond that. For me personally, it has helped my mood, mental clarity, and energy levels a ton. This is why, all of this being said about carbs, I’m a big believer that keto is about more than weight loss. It’s about wellness. That means focusing on unprocessed, whole foods, drinking enough water, keeping electrolytes in check, and more.

Q: Which health issues typically begin to disappear with Keto?

A: Most of the benefits of keto circle around its ability to regulate blood sugar and insulin release. Since insulin is a signal for our bodies to store and hold onto fat, the reduction of its release is one of the reasons that weight loss is so much easier when in ketosis. Also, when insulin is released and the body stores fat, this makes us hungry as blood sugar drops, so ketosis can help reduce cravings and appetite as well. Finally, since insulin is the key puzzle piece in diabetes, a keto lifestyle makes managing diabetes a lot easier, and can even help prevent it for those that have risk factors but are not yet diabetic. Other noteworthy benefits include improved “good” cholesterol, skin improvements, digestive support, and preservation of muscle mass. (More details on these benefits with references can be found in my keto diet article.)

Q: When people travel, how hard is it to stay with a keto regimen?

A: I don’t think it has to be hard at all! I’m a major wanderlust and love to travel, but I find low-carb options almost anywhere. I’m sharing some ideas in the next 2 questions about ways to stay low carb while traveling, whether you eat in or out. I also always bring either my Besti sweetener or if I’m checking a bag, Wholesome Yum Keto Coffee Syrup (it comes in vanilla or hazelnut), so that I can sweeten my drinks on the go.

Q: Can you provide a simple recipe anyone can make if traveling and at an Airbnb?

A: We almost always stay at Airbnb when we travel these days! I love the flexibility of having a kitchen for days when we want to stay in, and other times go out, but for breakfast in particular we almost always stay in. My go-to Airbnb breakfast is fried eggs, bacon in the oven, sliced avocado, and raw veggies, like cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. The kids like them, our non-keto friends enjoy them, and this breakfast is quick to make. For lunch and dinner, we’re often out and about, but when we stay in, taco salad or baked chicken thighs with a simple veggie side are my most common choices, because they are easy and don’t require any special equipment that an Airbnb won’t have.

Q: Can you share examples of what our readers can order in a restaurant?

A: While you typically won’t find the “keto carb replacements” at restaurants, it’s generally easy to find a protein (beef, poultry, or seafood, without breading) and a veggie on the side almost anywhere. Many places serve potatoes or pasta with their proteins, but I just ask to substitute a vegetable instead. If a place serves sandwiches, choose one with a lot of filling (like a burger) and go bunless. Another common low carb option is a big salad with one of those proteins on it, but watch out for sugary dressings–creamy ones (like ranch or blue cheese) or simple oil & vinegar are the safest bets.

Q: What are great Keto snacks to keep with you when traveling?

A: Keep it simple! Fresh berries (all berries are low carb!), nuts and seeds, or packaged grass-fed beef sticks are all great options. If you have time to prepare a snack in advance, almond flour crackers, flaxseed crackers, or keto granola bars are great for munching on. My Easy Keto Carboholics’ Cookbook also has recipes for 3-ingredient cheese crackers and chocolate peanut butter bars.

Q: Can you provide a sample of a low-carb food list for when readers go to the food shop?

A: I have a complete keto food list here! There’s an option to get a printable version on there as well.

Q: What is included in your app?

A: The Wholesome Yum app with a macro tracker, custom meal plans, recipes, and automatic grocery lists. A big unique feature we have that other apps don’t have is the ability to scale recipes, so you can change the serving size or number of servings, and these changes will reflect in the macro tracker, meal plan, and grocery list.

You can purchase Maya’s new cookbook at https://www.wholesomeyum.com/keto-carbs-cookbook/