Finding a salad when you’re out isn’t usually a problem; almost every restaurant has a salad on the menu. The problem is the dressing. Most commercial dressings available at restaurants are full of sugar and other undesirable ingredients, like canola oil, that don’t fit in with a healthy keto diet.
Sure, you can choose a salad and ask for a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and some salt and pepper instead of the dressing it comes with, but that doesn’t make for the most satisfying dressing out there, especially if you’re a fan of the creamy thickness of ranch or blue cheese. And the best way to stick to the keto diet is to make sure you don’t feel like you’re sacrificing flavor.
When you know you’re going to a restaurant and you need a keto-friendly dressing, bring your own. If your carbs are your only concern, there are many mainstream brands that make keto-friendly dressings. But if you’re looking for something that combines a low carb count with high-quality ingredients, your best bets include Primal Kitchen, The New Primal, and Tessemae’s.
If you’re not sold on the idea of whipping out a full-sized bottle of ranch dressing at a restaurant, Tessemae’s makes discreet and extremely convenient to-go cups in different flavor options, like cilantro lime ranch, buffalo ranch, and classic ranch. These to-go cups are pantry staples, so you can keep them in your car, your purse, or even stashed in your desk drawer at work for when an unexpected lunch with coworkers comes up.