Keto Diet Approved Foods: Simple Keto Recipes You Can Try

Keto Diet Approved Foods: Simple Keto Recipes You Can Try

When you decide to follow the ketogenic diet, you probably know that you have to substantially increase your healthy fat intake and slash off your total carbs intake. But the question is: where do I start?

Knowing what to eat and not in a Keto diet not only helps you prepare mentally but also makes grocery trips more efficient!

This article will help you explore keto-friendly foods and foods that you need to avoid so you can streamline your grocery trips and improve your overall experience following the keto diet.

What is the Ketogenic Diet?

Before starting any diet, it is equally important that you know the reason behind the diet. It is also essential for you to understand what happens to your body when you follow a particular diet, so it’s best to get this subject matter out of our way.

What is the Ketogenic Diet? The Ketogenic diet, or most popularly known as the Keto diet, is a low carb diet that has started in the 1920s primarily as an alternative treatment for Epilepsy. Throughout the years, the keto diet has been known for its multifaceted effects on the body in terms of weight loss, managing diabetes (type I and type II), insulin levels, and blood sugars.

The ketogenic diet works by restricting your total carb intake, increasing your healthy fat intake, and maintaining your protein intake to a moderate level. This way, your body will have lesser glucose stores to be used as fuel for your body. Instead, your body will source energy from the healthy fats stored in your body. These fats are then converted to ketones and help your body reach the metabolic state of Ketosis, which is the goal in every ketogenic diet.

Ketogenic Diet Approved Foods

Knowing what foods to take and foods to avoid also necessitates knowing the right macronutrient ratio you need to consume.

In a standard keto diet, your macronutrient ratio should look like this:

70-75% of fats

20-25 % of protein

5-10% carbohydrates

Now that you know this, you can now prepare yourself mentally on what foods to start to love and hate for your next grocery shopping.

Here are some foods you need to add to your cart the next time you take your grocery trip:

1. Fats

You may wonder why following a Ketogenic diet requires you to take in a high amount of fats. Isn’t this unhealthy instead? If you’ve asked the same question, don’t worry. Almost anyone starting the diet also had the same problem.

There are two types of fat– the good fats (unsaturated fats) and the bad fats (saturated fats), so it’s important to know what kind of fats you should be consuming.

The good fats can be further subdivided into polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fats. When you consume these types of fat in the right amount, they are a perfect way to replace the saturated fats in your body.

The bad fats, on the other hand, are the types of fats that you have to consume at minimal levels. This type of fats can increase your cholesterol levels that can clog your arteries, and ultimately increase your risk of getting a disease.

Here are some of the best good fats you need to add to your cart the next time you go shopping for keto-approved foods:

• Avocados
• Butter and nut butter (almonds, pecan, walnuts)
• Cheese
• Nuts and seeds (almonds, chia, flax, macadamia nuts, pumpkin, sunflower)
• Unsweetened coconut cream and coconut milk
• Coconut oil, olive oil

2. Protein

The Ketogenic diet requires both extreme levels of fat and carbohydrate intake but a moderate level of protein. Why is that so?

Proteins are essential nutrients for your body. Research shows that proteins are one of the building blocks of body tissues. Proteins can also be used as a source of fuel. You can generally survive without carbs in our body but protein and fat? You hardly can.

Another importance of protein is its effectiveness in weight loss. Studies show that if you consume enough protein, you will feel less hungry and eat fewer calories. Studies show that protein is also known to increase energy expenditure, which means that you will burn more calories. The amount you burn may not be that significant, but every bit counts!

Here are some of the best protein sources to look out for on your next grocery trip:

• Fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel)
• Grass-fed and pasture-raised meats (beef, chicken, thighs)
• Whole eggs

When you follow a keto diet, you have to go for higher-fat fish and meats. You can also remember the acronym SMASH for better memory retention, which stands for Salmon, Mackerel, Anchovies, Sardines, and Herring. 

3. Carbohydrates

To remain in the metabolic state of Ketosis, you should limit your carbohydrate consumption to under 25 grams. However, you must know this figure is not set in stone. This requirement can vary from person to person, mainly depending on their BMI and insulin sensitivity.

Like any other type of diet, there is always no “one-size-fits-all” solution. When selecting your daily carb number, the results will undoubtedly vary from person to person. That is why adjusting your diet for maximum efficiency is, and the effect is critical to your success in a ketogenic diet.

Carbohydrates are easily found in many food items, and that’s why if you’re not careful, you’ll be consuming more carbs than you should be taking in.

So here are some of the best low-carb choices for a well-balanced ketogenic diet:

• Keto-friendly fruits (berries, starfruit, raspberry, blueberry, etc.)
• Leafy greens (spinach, arugula, swiss chard)
• Non-starchy vegetables (bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, radish)

 Foods you should avoid:

Bread and pasta

Potato chips

Processed or cured meats

Sugary fruit (pineapple, lychees, passion-fruit, pomegranate, bananas, oranges, kiwi fruit)

Starchy veggies (beets, carrots, corn, green peas, parsnips, pumpkin)

Traditional sugary cookies and cakes

Keto Recipes You Can Do at Home

Your journey to the keto diet starts with understanding what should be IN your keto meal plan or you keto diet plan. In order to maximize the effect of the keto diet, the consumption of some of these foods like vegetables is essential. To move away from the stress of shopping for ready to eat keto meals, you can customize and do your own by following these simple recipes below. These are guaranteed to be enjoyed by the whole family and your keto friends.

Breakfast

To start your day right, breakfast is important. The keto breakfast may include keto pancakes, bread and egg.

Keto pancakes (pumpkin)

What you need:

• pumpkin puree – 1/2 cup
• peanut butter – 1/2 cup
• eggs (large) – 2 pcs.
• vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
• pumpkin pie spice – 1/2 teaspoon
• sweetener – 2 packets
• salt and pepper
• air fryer

What to do:

1. Ready your air fryer by lining the basket with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, peanut butter, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, backing soda, sweetener and salt. Mix until well combined.
3. Place about 3 tablespoons batter for each pancake on the parchment leaving about 1/2 space in between.
4. Cook the pancakes at 300 °F for 4-6 minutes until the bottom is fully cooked.
5. Repeat for the subsequent batches.

Keto Egg – Avocado Egg Bake

What you need:

• avocado – 1 pc., halved and pitted
• eggs (large) – 2 pcs.
• cheddar cheese – 1/4 cup, shredded
• salt and pepper
• parsley – 1 tablespoon

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 °F.
2. Scoop out a portion of the pit of the avocado to make room for an egg.
3. Place the avocado slice on a baking sheet and place an egg on top of each half.
4. Bake the avocado slice until the egg is cooked for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Once done, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

Keto Egg Bites (Sous vide)

What you need:

• eggs (large) – 6 pcs.
• cottage cheese – 1/2 cup
• heavy cream – 2 tablespoons
• salt and pepper
• mason jars
• cooking spray

What to do:

1. Fill a large pot with water and place a sous vide immersion cooker into the water. Temperature is set to 170 °F.
2. In a blender, thoroughly blend for 15-20 seconds the egg, cottage cheese, heavy cream and salt.
3. Spray cooking spray to the mason jars. Pour out the mixture to each jar. Close the lid well. Be careful not to over tighten the jars as the jars might burst while it is submerged in the hot water.
4. Submerge the mason jars to the water bath for 55 minutes. Once the time is up, remove the jars from the pot to cool.
5. You can eat the egg mixture directly from the jar or invert it into a plate.
6. You can store and refrigerate the sous vide keto eggs for up to one week.

Bacon and Cheese Bombs

What you need:

• bacon – 4 slices
• cream cheese – 3 ounce
• butter – 1/4 cup
• cheddar cheese – 2 tablespoons, shredded
• lime – 1/2, zested
• garlic clove – minced
• serrano peppers – 3 eaches

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F or 175 °C. Line baking sheet with aluminum and lay bacon strips.
2. Bake bacon for 15 minutes until browned and crisp. Drain crispy bacon slices on paper towels to get rid of excess full fat.
3. In a bowl, mix cream cheese, butter and cheddar cheese. Add lime zest, lime juice and garlic. Fold serrano pepper into the mixture.
4. Refrigerate mixture for 10 minutes until chilled and stiff.
5. Divide the chilled cream cheese mixture into 6 parts and roll them to make balls or bombs.
6. Chop bacon and cilantro finely and place it in a bowl. Coat the balls with the bacon and parsley mixture by rolling it in the bowl. Serve the fat bombs or balls cold.

Pumpkin Soup

What you need:

• butternut squash puree – 15 ounce
• chicken stock – 2 1/2 cups
• heavy cream – 1 cup
• salt and pepper
• walnuts or sliced almonds
• olive oil
• sugar substitute
• pumpkin pie spice

What to do:

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion for 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add garlic. Add sugar substitute, pumpkin pie spice, salt and pepper.
2. Pour into the mixture the chicken stock. Whisk in the butternut squash puree. Cover and let it simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup carefully until smooth. Add in heavy cream. Adjust taste using salt and pepper. Garnish with crushed walnuts or sliced almonds.

Lunch

To kickstart the rest of the day, you could also try these keto lunch recipes. These friendly recipes will turn your keto diet plan to another level.

Asparagus Frittata

What you need:

• olive oil – 1 tablespoon
• butter – 2 teaspoons
• asparagus – 1/2 pound, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• eggs – 8 pcs.
• parmesan cheese – 1/2 cup, grated
• milk (almond milk) – 7 tablespoons
• salt and pepper
• parsley – 1 tablespoon, chopped

What to do:

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the asparagus and stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes until the asparagus are soft but firm to the bite.
2. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Add in the parmesan cheese and almond milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pour the egg mixture over the asparagus and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the eggs have set.
4. Invert the frittata and garnish with parsley.

Keto Fried Chicken

What you need:

• chicken – you may use chicken breast or chicken thighs, 10 ounce
• almond flour – 1/2 cup
• parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper
• garlic – 1/2 teaspoon
• paprika – 1/2 teaspoon
• egg  (large) – 1 pc.
• milk (almond milk) – 2 tablespoons
• olive oil
• lemon – 1 pc., quartered
• sour cream

What to do:

1. Cut the chicken to the desired size. Place in a plastic wrap and pound it with a meat tenderizer to attain 1/4 inch thickness. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Dust with almond flour.
2. In a bowl, combine the almond flour, cheese (parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese), salt and pepper, garlic and paprika.
3. In another bowl, break egg and whisk it with almond milk.
4. Dip the chicken piece in the egg mixture, press down to insure full coverage and shake off the excess.
5. Pour olive oil in a skillet enough to cover 1/4 inch of the pan. Heat the olive oil over medium hear until it shimmers. Lower the chicken into the hot oil and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. The internal temperature should be around 165°F  or 74 °C.
6. Drain the chicken with a paper towel and serve with lemon wedges and sour cream as dipping sauce or garnish.