You can maintain your low carb keto diet even when dining out! This guide will help you dine out and keep to your low-carb lifestyle. Get ready to enjoy some delicious food just about anywhere. Whether you are having a celebratory meal or grabbing lunch in your lunchtime, here you will find ideas for how to keep it keto!
Some basics:
Plan ahead
As always, it is best to research and plan ahead for your outing. Most restaurant have their menu available online for you to peruse. Scan the menu for keto-friendly options before you arrive, and if there are non, you can always custom order while there!
Cut out the starch
This goes without saying but stay away from the starchy meals including pasta and bread. Stay away from temptation by ordering a meal without any of the usual starchy side dishes. Most restaurants you will be able to swap starchy side for a side salad or extra veggies. When ordering a burger, hold of the buns and get it wrapped in lettuce instead.
Add some healthy fat
Meals at a restaurant can be low in fat, which makes it difficult to feel full and satisfied with your meal. To overcome this you can add some healthy fat in the following ways:
- Ask for olive oil for your salad and hold the other dressings
- Ask for some extra butter for your meat and veggies
- Order cream with your coffee
Watch out for the condiments
Like we mentioned above, try to keep away from dressings and condiments, as they can contain a lot of hidden carbs and sugars. If you are uncertain, ask about the ingredients, and if you are still not sure – rather stay away.
Choose the right drinks
The best drinks you can choose form are water (still and sparkling), tea, or coffee.
If you must have an alcoholic beverage, champagne, light beer, spirits, or dry wine are lower-carb choices.
Get creative
When dining out, you sometimes need to get creative when nothing on the menu works for you.
Maybe you can replace spaghetti or pasta with zucchini noodles, or order a few keto friendly appetizers for your meal.
Don’t be scared to ask!
At a relative or friend’s house
Here are some tips and things to consider when eating at a friend or relative’s house:
Communicate ahead of time
It is your job to share your food preferences with the host. They will appreciate the heads up so they can better accommodate your needs.
If you feel uncomfortable sharing your diet with anyone, you can simply point out you are trying to avoid certain foods for health reasons.
Eat something small before
You can eat some fatty snacks before your party, so you will feel less hungry when you get there, making it easier to avoid all the starchy non keto food. Nuts, olives and cheese are all good snack choices.
Bring your own dish
You can arrange with the host to bring some part of the meal – this way you know you will have at least one keto or low carb friendly meal.
Fast food options
Burger joints
The easiest way to transform a burger from carb fest to low carb is to replace the buns with a lettuce wrap. If no such option is available – just remove the buns!
Some low-carb toppings include:
- Cheese
- Mustard
- Bacon
- Mayo
- Onions
- Avocado / guacamole
- Tomato
Chicken joints
Although fried chicken is delicious, it is filled with unhealthy oils. Rather choose grilled chicken for a lower carb option. Another thing to avoide is barbecue sauce, which is typically full of sugar.
Mexican
Mexican restaurants are actually great keto food options. The menus are often very customisable and keto friendly.
- Order a burrito bowl or salad instead of a burrito or taco.
- Eliminate the rice and beans and load up on the meat, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.
- If there is no bowl option available, just unwrap the burrito and eat the contents.
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