Fellow Keto Freaks!
By popular demand, we’re going to be looking at a basic Keto Meal Plan. I almost gave up on Keto because it was such a significant change to the way that I fed my family. I had all of my old reliable dishes that I could whip up in a heartbeat whenever I needed an idea for a meal. Unfortunately, most of those were no longer viable due to those evil carbs! I’ve found that there are keto friendly alternatives for most of the foods that we loved (and miss), but those come at the cost of expensive, hard-to-find ingredients. For your first foray into low-carb livin’, K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, silly). I’ll be using CarbManager to count our macros. I HIGHLY encourage you to do the same. Let’s begin!
Every day we start off with a keto coffee. It’s a nice jumpstart to the day and gives you both caffeine and MCT oil for that quick energy followed by longer lasting fuel. I typically have a cup of black coffee to get me moving through the morning routine, and then one of these.
Keto Coffee:
12 oz Black Coffee
1 Tbsp MCT Oil (we get ours on Amazon- https://amzn.to/2ZVXEds)
1-2 Tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Scoop Unflavored Collagen Peptides (available on Amazon – https://amzn.to/2LrMioG )
This adds a little more mouthfeel and is REALLY good for your skin and hair.
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until emulsified. DON’T SKIP THIS STEP!!! It’s totally gross if all the oil is just floating on top.
ALTERNATIVES:
A little Stevia (we use Swerve – https://amzn.to/2ZYi6tf or Monkfruit- https://amzn.to/2ZSVf34 ) for sweetness is a nice addition, as is a splash of Pure Vanilla Extract (again, from Amazon – https://amzn.to/2NaVK1K ). Some people with a serious sweet tooth (me) use the sugar-free syrups like those at coffee shops. If you’re like me and enjoyed a little coffee with your vanilla creamer, then find the sugar-free syrups here: https://amzn.to/34ASCBP
Keto Verdict:
This is a “Keto Grade A” dish. As you can see from the Carb Manager output below:
If you’re starving for “real food” bacon and eggs are another great keto food. We like to enjoy ours with avocado for some additional fat.
Bacon and Eggs:
3 Slices Thick Cut Uncured Bacon
2 Large Eggs
½ Avocado
½ Tbsp Bacon Fat
We invested in a bacon fat container because it’s such a better non-stick oil than vegetable derivatives for Keto. Cook the bacon, fry the eggs in bacon fat, top with Avo and wedge away!
Keto Verdict:
Still killin’ it with a “Keto Grade A” verdict.
By now, you’re stuffed. Some people call Keto the “never hungry diet”. We agree. Compared to our attempt at eating “healthy” before, all of the additional fat takes so much longer to burn that we skip lunch or just snack most of the time. If you’re not starving, grab a couple of slices of cheese and salami. If you need to feed the beast, consider this quick chicken salad.
Chicken Salad:
2 Cups Romaine Lettuce (Chopped)
2 oz Kirkland Canned Chicken Breast
2 Tbsp Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing or homemade ranch dressing
½ Avocado (Cubed)
Black pepper or hot sauce to taste
Mash it all together and shove it in your face. Note “Original” ranch dressing. That’s right people, we’re not doing that “low fat” junk anymore. Hot sauces are typically a safe add. We’re a Tapatio type of family. Just avoid anything that is sweet.
Keto Verdict:
No big surprise, we’re looking at another Grade A dish, here. Woohoo!!
Dinner is still on the horizon, we’re still going to keep it simple. Let’s close out the day with a big bowl of spaghetti.
Keto Spaghetti:
1 jar Rao’s Marinara
1 can black olives, drained
½ yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 roll jimmy dean sausage
½ lb 80/20 ground beef
5-6 zucchini made into “zoodles” with spiralizer
1 tbsp EVOO
salt and pepper
Instructions-
1. Heat a large pot over medium high heat and add in sausage and ground beef and cook until brown. Add in diced onion and garlic and saute until fragrant. Pour in jar of marinara and olives and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for 20 minutes.
2. While the sauce simmer, prepare your zoodles. I use a spiralizer to create mine! If you don’t have one, I highly recommend getting one! I have both of these and they are each under $10!
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp EVOO. Once the pan is hot, add your zoodles! Using tongs, toss the noodles in the pan for about minutes until just heated through and al dente. This takes about 2 minutes!
4. Add about 1 cup of sauce to the pan and toss to combine.
5. To serve, place your zoodles in a bowl and top with ½ cup of the meat sauce and a sprinkle of freshly grated parm!
ENJOY!
Keto Verdict
Grade C! What?!?! Not a bad thing, folks. We’ve severely limited our carb intake for the day. Now we’re making up for it where we want to: with vegetables. Tomatoes and Zucchini have natural sugars. Generally speaking, that’s where we want the bulk of our carbs to come from.
Daily Summary:
Using a daily target of 22 grams of carbs per day, we wind up at 21 of 22 grams. Not too bad for a considerable volume of food. We’re a little over on fat, and still under on protein. You NEVER want to go over on carbs. That’s a no no. Protein is tricky. You want to be as close as you can get without going over your target. Too much protein and your body starts to break it down into glucose through a process called “gluconeogenesis”. Unlike the Atkin’s diet, we are emphasizing a hard limit on protein. Fats, not so much. For today’s meal plan, we might like to add a little more protein to hit that goal, but I’m happy where we landed with fats and carbs.
Positively Posh 