Eating out can be a huge concern for those following a keto lifestyle. But, it doesn’t have to be.
For my first 6 months on keto, I stayed away from restaurants – eating out as little as possible. In hindsight, I didn’t need to do this.
The key is to know the menu of the restaurant in advance. Don’t walk in blind hoping that you can find something on the menu that works for you. On their website, many restaurants post nutritional information of their menu items; including ingredients, macros, and calories. If they don’t, call ahead or ask your server before ordering.
Many keto friendly foods come in the form of appetizers at restaurants (i.e. grilled shrimp, baked chicken wings, chicken skewers).
Restaurant meals typically include a meat (protein), potatoes/rice/french fries (carb), and salad or vegetables. Ask to have the carb omitted from your order and have it replaced with extra veggies or salad.
(Always be cautious about restaurant salad dressings as they are typically sugar-based. Instead, ask for extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar).
Many of the proteins that you would order off a restaurant menu are breaded, marinated, or have sauce added as a topping. You can still order these …. just ask for them to be naked (without the breading, marinade, or sauce). I have yet to come across a restaurant that wasn’t willing to bypass the actual menu product and cook my protein with some olive oil and spices.
Fast food restaurants are also easy to order from. Ask to have the protein (hamburger or chicken) in a lettuce wrap instead of a bun. I’d also recommend asking for extra lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, etc. Be sure to avoid restaurant ketchup; stick with mustard only.
Here is Perfect Keto’s advice on ordering fast food.
Wholesome Yum also offers some great advice for eating out – fast food style.
Let’s talk pizza! In my pre-keto days, pizza nights were common in my house. My children and partner love, love, love pizza. So do I. (Royal Pizza will always have my heart).
When I started keto, pizza nights didn’t stop in my house. I salivated as I watched my family consume glorious slice after slice …. while I ate keto dinners. Feeling ripped off, I began to experiment making my own homemade pizza. I used Carbquik (a keto friendly mix – purchased from Amazon ), fathead dough crust (see my recipes – week 7 post ), and meata (meat crust pizza) (recipe in the preparation week post ). Another favorite pizza crust is Farm Girl’s Low Carb Pizza Mix.
Taking any of those crust choices in the above paragraph, I’d add some Rao’s marinara sauce and top with meats, mushrooms, bell peppers, and cheese. They were all decent, but not even close to what my family was eating.
Then I heard about Red Swan Pizza. Total game changer. They use an ‘unbun’ crust that has 6 grams of net carbs for the entire pizza!!! I strongly encourage you to order the keto pizza from Red Swan (make sure that you ask for the sugar-free pizza sauce). Rumour has it that Blaze Pizza also makes a pretty good keto pizza. I’ve never tried it though. I’m hooked on Red Swan Pizza.
Side-note: Beware of cauliflower crust pizzas. Most are exceptionally high carb; Boston Pizza’s, in particular.
Are you missing pasta yet??? You don’t need to. Have you heard of konjac? It’s a plant that is grown in Asia. It’s relatively tasteless and, quite frankly, a bit rubbery. But, it’s my go-to when my family is having spaghetti.
A number of companies have turned kojnac into a pasta form that is exceptionally low in calories and carbs and very high in fibre. The two that I use are in the photos below.
nuPasta makes spaghetti and angel hair. The entire package (210 grams) is 25 calories, 1 gram of fat, 1 gram of protein, and 0 grams of net carbs. The second company (blue package) makes spaghetti and penne pasta. The calories are only slightly higher, still less than 100 per full (385 gram) package. I prefer the nuPasta, unless I want penne pasta.
The key with these pasta substitutes is to rinse, rinse, rinse! If you don’t rinse well, they taste and smell fishy (literally; they smell like fish and stink). I rinse mine in cold water for about 30 seconds and then let them soak in cold water for another 15-20 minutes. I dry cook the pasta for about 10 minutes and then throw in some ground pork, chicken, or pork. Throw in the pasta and then top it with either Rao’s marinara sauce or G Hughes Sugar-Free Honey Mustard or Sweet Chili sauce. Delicious!!!
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