Healthy Fats
Almond butter, unsweetened
Almond flour
Almond milk, unsweetened
Almond oil
Avocado
Avocado oil
Beef tallow
Butter
Cheese (blue cheese, cheddar, cream cheese, Colby, feta, mozzarella, provolone, ricotta, Swiss, etc.)
Coconut, shredded and unsweetened
Coconut aminos
Coconut cream (full-fat)
Coconut milk, unsweetened
Coconut oil
Chocolate, dark (90 percent cacao or higher), sugar-free
Cream, heavy
Cream, sour
Ghee
Lard
Mayonnaise
Milk, unsweetened almond
Milk, unsweetened coconut
Nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pili nuts, pistachios, walnuts)
Oils (coconut, extra-virgin olive, macadamia nut, sesame, walnut)
Olives
Peanut butter, natural no-sugar-added
Seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower)
Proteins
Bacon, uncured, nitrite-free, sugar-free
Beef, fatty cuts
Beef, ground
Beef jerky (no sugar added)
Beef ribs
Beef roast
Bratwurst
Broth (beef, chicken)
Chicken, dark cuts with skin on
Duck
Eggs
Egg white protein powder
Fish (bass, carp, flounder, halibut, mackerel, salmon, sardines, trout, tuna)
Goose
Ham
Hot dogs (uncured)
Kielbasa
Liverwurst
Pepperoni
Pheasant
Pork (chops, ribs, roast)
Pork rinds
Quail
Salami
Sausage
Shellfish (crab meat, mussels, oysters, scallops, shrimp)
Steak (fattier cuts are better, like rib eye)
Turkey
Veal
Healthy Carbohydrates
Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
Berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Chicory greens
Cranberries
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Garlic
Green beans
Jicama
Kale
Leeks
Lemon
Lettuce
Lime
Mushrooms
Okra
Onions
Peppers
Pumpkin
Radishes
Rhubarb
Scallions
Shallots
Snow peas
Spinach
Squash, spaghetti
Tomatoes
Watercress
Zucchini
Flavorings
Coconut aminos
Extracts (such as LorAnn Naturals flavoring oils)
Hot sauce (Frank’s RedHot, Tabasco)
Soy sauce
Stevia
Vanilla
Vinegar (apple cider, balsamic, sherry)
Worcestershire sauce
Spices, Herbs, and Baking Ingredients
Allspice
Baking powder
Baking soda
Basil
Celery seed
Chili powder
Cilantro
Cinnamon
Coriander
Cumin
Curry paste
Curry powder
Dill
Garlic
Ginger
Marjoram
Mustard seed
Nutmeg
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley
Pepper (black, cayenne)
Salt (sea, Himalayan)
Tarragon
Thyme
Turmeric
Keto-Friendly Thickening Agents
Guar gum and xanthan gum are excellent thickening agents.
Flour Replacement Guide
Amount of guar gum to use per 1 cup gluten-free flour:
Amount of xanthan gum to use per 1 cup gluten-free flour:
Amount of glucomannan to use per 1 cup gluten-free flour:
How to Thicken Liquids
Amount of guar gum to use per 1 quart liquid:
Amount of xanthan gum to use per 1 quart liquid:
Amount of glucomannan to use per 1 quart liquid:
Quick Keto Swaps
| INSTEAD OF | USE |
| all-purpose flour | nut flour (almond, coconut) |
| rice | cauliflower rice |
| potatoes | roasted radishes |
| pasta | veggie zoodles |
| taco shells | cheese shells or lettuce wraps |
| hamburger buns | lettuce wraps or Hamburger Buns |
| bagels | Keto Bagels |
| chips | Cheese Crackers, kale chips, zucchini chips, or pork rinds |
| lasagna noodles | thinly sliced zucchini |
| fruit | LorAnn Naturals flavoring oils to add flavor to anything you make! |
Before You Get Started
Pantry Items
There are a few ingredients I recommend keeping in your pantry that will help you more easily adapt to the keto lifestyle.
Sweeteners
There are several good sweeteners available that offer all the sweetness you want without the carbohydrates and calories. When you are at the store, pay attention to the labels. Many sweeteners look keto-friendly but they have extra processed ingredients that I don’t recommend.
Erythritol: A natural sweetener found in pears, watermelon, and grapes. It is less sweet than sugar so it is often found mixed with other sweeteners like monkfruit.
Sukrin is a good brand that offers granulated, brown sugar, and confectioners’ (aka icing sugar) varieties.
Swerve also offers granulated, brown sugar, and confectioners’ varieties. It is a mix of erythritol and oligosaccharides. I love the taste of Swerve and use it all the time.
Monkfruit: This is a sweetener made from the juice of a small, round southeast Asian fruit.
My favorite brand is Lakanto, which can be found at many grocery chains. It comes in granulated (“Classic” on the Lakanto package), brown sugar (“Golden” on the Lakanto package), and powdered (aka confectioners’) form and can be used 1:1 in place of sugar. There is a monkfruit extract in liquid form, but I don’t use it in the recipes here.
Stevia: Derived from the leaves of a plant native to Brazil and Paraguay, stevia also sweetens without calories. Pyure is my preferred brand and it offers both granulated and powdered (Bakeable Blend) varieties as well as liquid stevia.
Alternative Flours
Flour with gluten is a no-no on the keto diet, but there are lots of other varieties to use instead.
Coconut flour: Made from dried coconut meat.
Almond flour and other nut flours: Almost any nut can be made into flour, though almond flour is the most popular and the easiest to find at the store.
Bone Broth
Made from the bones of beef or chicken, bone broth is cooked for at least 10 hours and up to 24 hours. It is high in collagen and has anti-inflammatory properties.
Kettle & Fire is my favorite brand. It really tastes great and it’s a time-saver if you don’t have time to make my Pressure Cooker Bone Broth.
Butter
This fat is used frequently on the keto diet, so it’s good to buy the best you can afford.
Kerrygold has a higher butterfat content than other butters, plus it is free of growth hormones.
Chocolate
It can be hard to find sugar-free chocolate that is naturally sweetened and free of artificial ingredients.
Lily’s stevia-sweetened chocolate comes in a wide variety of bars, baking chocolate, and chocolate chips.
Collagen
This is a protein made up of amino acids and can be purchased in powder form. It’s also found in bone broth.
Fiber
Adding fiber to your diet helps maintain bowel health, lowers cholesterol, and controls blood sugar. It also aids in weight loss. Good sources of fiber include chia seeds, flaxseed, flax meal, and psyllium husk powder. You can also buy unflavored fiber in powder form and add it to beverages or recipes like Creamy Blueberry Ice Pops.
Flavorings
If you want to add flavor without calories, a few drops of an oil flavoring can do the trick, but it’s important that the flavoring you use includes only natural ingredients.
LorAnn Naturals is a wonderful brand with lots of flavors to choose from.
Ketchup
Many bottled ketchups include sugar along with their other ingredients. I suggest making my Homemade Sugar-Free Ketchup.
AlternaSweets low-carb classic tomato ketchup is a good alternative ketchup if you can’t make it yourself.
Maple Syrup
You don’t need to stop pouring syrup over your pancakes. My Homemade Maple Syrup is sweetened with monkfruit.
ChocZero sugar-free maple syrup is sweetened with monkfruit and uses natural maple flavor.
MCT Oil
Short for medium chain triglycerides, MCT is a type of fat found in oils like coconut oil and some dairy products. This kind of fat is good because it goes from the gut to the liver where it is turned into ketones. You can buy the oil and add it to recipes to amp up the good fat in whatever you are eating.
Pork Rinds
These snacks are crunchy and delicious and a nice alternative to potato chips, which are not part of a keto diet. They are gluten-free, high protein, and free of carbs.
Ro*Tel Tomatoes
This blend of tomatoes and chilies is delicious and adds lots of low-carb flavor. It comes in original, mild, and hot versions, which will appeal to pretty much any taste. They come in cans, so you can store them indefinitely in your pantry.
Salt
I use mostly table salt in the recipes but I also like pink Himalayan salt because, in addition to seasoning food, it has more than 84 minerals and trace elements that are good for you.
Whey Protein Isolate
A supplement that adds protein to your diet, whey isolates have a higher protein content than whey concentrate or whey hydrolysate, and they are almost completely dairy free and carbohydrate free.
Xanthan Gum
This is a thickener and stabilizing agent that is often used to compensate for a lack of gluten in baked goods.
Kitchen Tools
The list below details kitchen gadgets, appliances, and equipment I use all the time. You don’t need all of them to make the recipes, but they will make your life that much easier at mealtime.
Air Fryer
An air fryer is a countertop appliance that works by circulating hot air around the food, much like a convection oven. The result is crisp “fried” chicken and other foods while using 70 percent less oil. I like to use it to make Buffalo Chicken Wings and Parmesan-Crusted Pesto Pork Chops. These fryers are also speedy!
Bagel/Donut Pan
This pan helps form equally sized Keto Bagels.
Baking Sheets
You should have at least one and ideally two large baking sheets for making cookies and keto breads.
Blender
I use a blender all the time. My favorite is the Nutri Ninja Pro, which is small enough to fit on the countertop and powerful at 900 watts.
Cast-Iron Skillet
This is my favorite pan because it goes from the stovetop to the oven and back again.
Electric Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot
I use the 6-quart Instant Pot Duo, which serves my family of four perfectly. If you’ve ever forgotten to defrost a meat for dinner, the pressure cooker is a lifesaver! My favorite thing to pressure cook is spaghetti squash.
Food Processor
Making cauliflower rice or nut flour is easy with this appliance.
Mandoline
This handy little tool is great for cutting vegetables very thinly. If you can’t afford a spiralizer, this is the next best thing.
Milk Frother
A powerful handheld blender, the frother is battery operated and fantastic for blending a Fatty Coffee.
Mini Muffin Pan
Just the right size for making Fauxtato Tots.
Silicone Mats
Nonstick mats that work like parchment but can be reused. They are especially good for rolling out dough without slipping around. After using, clean with warm water and a soft cloth.
Slow Cooker
This is a great way to cook on a hot day without turning on the oven. Throw ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a fully cooked dinner after work.
Spiralizer
This is an essential tool for making zoodles, aka zucchini noodles. I highly recommend you buy one. You can use a mandoline or a vegetable peeler, but a spiralizer is the fastest.
Whoopie Pie Pan
Although not essential, this makes it much easier to make keto breads, hamburger buns, or cheese chips uniform in size.
Keto in Real Life
Going to Restaurants While on the Keto Diet
I remember the struggle all too well in the beginning. I was overwhelmed with information and constantly trying to find hidden labels and ingredients in the foods I loved at my local restaurants. Over time, I’ve learned exactly what I can and can’t have without much worry or stress. Let me tell you the easy way to eat at your favorite restaurant: Think meats and veggies. If you think about those two things, you can pretty much pick apart any menu to find something that fits your ketogenic lifestyle.
There is one problem that I still face today. It can be difficult to find restaurants that use real butter or healthy oils. I’ve been half tempted to carry butter around with me if I didn’t have a fear of it melting in my purse. It’s only the more high-end restaurants that tend to have these ingredients on hand when requested.
So I’ve learned to stop worrying about the healthy fats when I’m eating out and just choose foods that are naturally higher in fat. For example, I will order a rib eye steak. There is lots of fat in a rib eye! I will also order dark meat instead of a chicken breast. Most of the time you can request a side order of steamed vegetables.
If you frequent fast food places, there are some healthier choices there too. Almost every fast food chain sells burgers. Most are even offering a low-carb solution by wrapping burgers in lettuce. If your fast food place specializes in chicken, order the grilled chicken. If they don’t offer steamed veggies, just order the chicken on a bed of lettuce. I went to a cheesesteak place in the mall once and ordered a naked Philly cheesesteak on a bed of lettuce. It was delicious! A woman in line behind me saw what I ordered and got the same thing.
I don’t frequent fast food restaurants very much anymore. When you become fat adapted, you can stretch your eating windows for longer periods of time. This will allow you to even skip meals sometimes without the hunger pains you were used to before doing the keto diet.
To this day, I think going to the movies is still a struggle. We’ve all been trained to eat while we watch movies. I’ve become very aware of that and to be honest, that’s not the problem. The thing that gets me is the delicious smell of popcorn as you walk through the lobby. I’ve started eating before I go to the movies so I won’t be as tempted and so far, it’s working.
Traveling While on the Keto Diet
Traveling while doing the keto diet has its challenges too. While running through the airport there’s no shortage of carbs and sugar in every shop and every restaurant. The good news is that more times than not, you can also find a coffee shop that has sugar-free options or a newsstand that has packages of peanuts, pickles, and sometimes even hard-boiled eggs. Most restaurants in the airport serve either BBQ or burgers. Both of these options are great! Order the fatty cuts of meats (hello, moist brisket) with no BBQ sauce (they often contain added sugar), or a burger with cheese, tomatoes, and onions served on a bed of lettuce. If you are in an airport food court, you can get a bunless burger or a breakfast sandwich with sausage, egg, and cheese without the bread part. The options are definitely there! It won’t be long before you are an expert at picking apart menus to find food that fits your busy lifestyle. It’s well worth the effort!
Ditch the Scale
This subject is really important to me. It’s been said over and over again to “trust the process” while doing the keto diet, and removing your scale helps you with that trust.
I have been tracking the ups and downs of my dieting attempts for years, and the stress of the scale is not worth it. Seriously.
I suggest you only weigh yourself once a month. That way you won’t worry when the scale fluctuates in either direction during the process. Start by keeping a log of your weight and measurements, and only track these numbers on a monthly basis.
There are many reasons why your weight fluctuates for both men and women. I have found that no matter how hydrated I think I am or how well I’ve done on the diet plan, my weight will always go up a pound or two when I’ve been outside in the hot Texas sun enjoying a day or two at the lake. The scale always goes back to normal or lower after I return and temperatures are back to normal.
The other reason the scale may not move is that you might be constipated. Or for ladies, it could be that time of the month. If you track these numbers on a monthly basis instead of a daily basis you will see a trend in the right direction without the daily stress of going up or down a pound.
Keto in Social Situations
Social situations can be very difficult to maneuver when you are doing the keto diet. In the beginning, I would make sure I ate ahead of time before attending a party if I didn’t know what was on the menu.
I would offer to bring a tray of food too. That way I could make sure there would be something keto-friendly at the party without putting the burden on the host and often without my non-keto friends even knowing. A meat and cheese tray—an “anti-pasta”—with tomatoes, cheese, artichoke hearts, and sliced meats is a perfect choice.
Intermittent Fasting
Maybe you’ve been eating a strict keto diet and you are either not losing weight or you’ve stopped losing weight? That was my situation for about 6 months, and I stopped counting after that because it was so frustrating to be eating the same foods that helped me lose 50 pounds but then to suddenly stop losing weight. This is where intermittent fasting really helped me.
I first heard about it from Dr. Jason Fung, author of The Obesity Code, and Dr. Annette Bosworth—they inspired me to look further into it. Intermittent fasting is when you confine your eating to certain times of the day. Because your cortisol rises in the early morning hours, it’s important to consume foods early and then avoid eating in the evening. This was really hard for me at first because, until then, I never ate breakfast, and sometimes I didn’t eat lunch either.
To start intermittent fasting, the basic idea is to have a 12-hour period in which you don’t eat. This will bring you into a state of autophagy, in which the body will start to consume its own tissue. In extreme cases like starvation, that would be very bad, but if your body is in that state intermittently, has nothing to digest, and gets no calorie intake, it will become very efficient. It will go through a process that looks at each cell in the body and either gets rid of it or makes it work at its most efficient. It’s a sort-of “cleanup” process that readies the body for when you eat again in the morning. So even though I was still following the diet, I stopped losing weight because even on a low-calorie diet, the body tends to store calories and fat. But when you take in no calories, the body is forced into autophagy, when it uses what it already has instead of storing it, and that’s when the body will start to lose weight again. I am not a doctor, so for a more detailed explanation, go to DietDoctor.com and see what Dr. Fung has to say about it, or go to bozmd.com for Dr. Boz’s take on it.
When I began intermittent fasting, I didn’t change the foods I was eating but, instead, I changed the time of the day those foods were consumed. That turned out to be the key to getting the scale moving again. Today, I stop eating anywhere from 4 to 6 p.m. every day, then I make sure I don’t have my morning cup of coffee until 12 hours later. During the fast, I only drink water with some pink Himalayan salt if I feel hungry, which I was surprised to find really curbs my hunger! The other benefit of fasting for me is that I battle with insulin resistance, and a 12-hour fast every day allows my liver to use up all the glucose stored from the foods I consume. And by fasting in the evening hours, I’m supporting the speed in which my metabolism works, which is much more slowly than during the day. It turns out the biggest lesson I’ve learned by doing this is that success doesn’t always come from what you eat, but when.
If you find yourself stuck in your weight loss journey like I did, try intermittent fasting. Losing additional weight is only a side benefit to all the health benefits this offers. You’ll be able to control your blood sugar, boost your metabolism, fight inflammation, and improve your blood pressure, triglycerides, and cholesterol levels. You’ll have more energy and just feel really good.
Sample Meal Plan
I have put together a sample weekly meal plan that is very similar to how I eat each week so you can get an idea of how to plan what to eat each day. One thing I often do is double a recipe so that I’ll have leftovers for the next day. It’s not always easy to make dinner every night of the week. Sometimes, it really helps to have something in the refrigerator that only needs to be reheated in the microwave when you are too busy to cook. And with leftovers in the fridge, you’re less likely to be tempted by processed convenience foods that are definitely not part of the keto diet.
I recommend that you plan your meals a week in advance and make sure you have the ingredients on hand, which will make following the diet that much easier.
Sunday
Breakfast
Fatty Coffee, tea, or bone broth
Lunch
Dinner
Braised Beef Short Ribs with Cauliflower-Creamed Spinach
SNACK/DESSERT
monday
Breakfast
Fatty Coffee, tea, or bone broth
Bacon, egg, and cheese on a Low-Carb Biscuit
Lunch
Dinner
SNACK/DESSERT
Lazy Keto Chips with Guacamole
tuesday
Breakfast
Fatty Coffee, tea, or bone broth
Lunch
Thai Coconut Pumpkin Soup with Cheese Crackers
Dinner
SNACK/DESSERT
wednesday
Breakfast
Fatty Coffee, tea, or bone broth
Lunch
Leftover Mongolian Beef and Broccoli
Dinner
Cheeseburger Salad
Thursday
Breakfast
Fatty Coffee, tea, or bone broth
Quick Blender Chocolate Protein Shake
Lunch
Dinner
Garlic-Butter Rib Eye Steak Strips with a small side salad and ranch dressing
SNACK/DESSERT
friday
Breakfast
Fatty Coffee, tea, or bone broth
Lunch
Keto Bagel with cream cheese
Dinner
Garlic-Cilantro Grilled Chicken with Prosciutto-Wrapped Cabbage
saturday
Breakfast
Fatty Coffee, tea or bone broth
Lunch
Simple Chicken Salad with Balsamic Dressing
Keto Italian Soup with Cheese Crackers
SNACK/DESSERT