Keto: Still trendy?

A trend that grew in 2018 and continued to show growth in 2019 was the keto trend and it looks like it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

If you have committed to following the keto diet, then the one thing you must be watching is how you eat. Going low-carb may be trendy but it really is difficult to follow especially when you are busy with work or family life or social life so what can you do?

One of the first things that I did when I started the keto diet was to seek out meal delivery options that were available. I didn’t want a Blue Apron style meal kit where I had to follow a recipe and make it but rather one where I could just heat it up and eat. I was hoping those existed. A simple Google search later and I found two. My favorite one is Keto Fridge (https://www.ketofridge.com/) as their choices are amazing and the fat content is super high. They have even high-fat pizza, raspberry scones, and everything bagels. I especially liked them when I first started the keto diet because it is so hard to give up foods that you like and this made it easier to transition to the lower-carb, high-fat items. I still continue to use them but as I went from 80g carbs to 30-40g carbs, I can only eat one of their products a day to meet my low carb numbers. I guess I could eat two too but I chose to eat one so that I could have some healthy snacks like cheese slices, cheese chips, or cucumbers. The other company that I found that I like is Ketoned Bodies (https://ketonedbodies.com/). The nice thing about their menu items is that I am able to eat two a day without going over in my carbs amount. They tend to have lower fats and lower carbs in their meals compared to Keto Fridge but that’s ok because it gives me more options to find keto worthy snacks. 

Snack options are plenty on the keto diet so don’t let that fool you. If you go Thrive Market (see earlier post), you will be able to search by keto products. My favorite is Asiago Cheese Crisps (https://thrivemarket.com/p/cello-whisps-asiago-pepper-jack-cheese-crisps) as 23 crisps only have 1g carb and 11g fat! Also, of course, you can enjoy cheeses, bacon, and avocado for snacks too but I don’t really snack that much during the day due to the previous meals that I’m eating. I also take a chicken bone broth collagen protein shake with peanut butter in the morning followed by a bulletproof coffee and am pretty full until lunchtime so this plan works for me well. The challenge, however, is what to do when you have to eat out?

Eating out shouldn’t have to be burdensome. My favorite cuisines include Mexican and Thai food so what can I eat while I’m on keto at both of these places? For Mexican food, you definitely want to avoid the chips and salsa no matter how tempting it is (and no matter how much I love them) and load up on fajitas minus the tortillas or have a taco salad without the rice and beans or even have ceviche. You can also load up on lettuce-wrapped tacos or guacamole and cheese so the options are plenty. For Thai food, you can have coconut curries (no rice) and basil chicken stir-fries but avoid the pad thai and pad see ew as noodles can throw you off your low carb diet. If you are still unsure about what to eat when out, you could always eat something at home and then head out (ensuring you save money and don’t break the diet) but while there socialize and enjoy some light keto appetizers for the meal.

What about what should I eat at home while on the keto diet, especially if I can’t afford the meal kits or I like to cook? Tomorrow, I’ll lay out some simple keto recipes to make at home.