Keto Fast Food

Black Friday shopping is coming up and sales are running all day and night (early morning as well). With that means you might be out shopping at some weird time that typically would be a sleeping time and now you need to eat something, but don’t want to wreck your Keto diet. Following a restrictive diet meal plan like Keto offers can make that a bit tough, especially while on the go.

The ketogenic diet is a high fat, low in carb and moderate protein diet, that typically wouldn’t mesh with most fast food that is high in carbs. However, there are some options for you to switch up those high carb meals for keto-friendly options.

1. Lose the Bun

Burger meals from fast food chains are high in carbs because of the bun. Drop the bun and toppings that are high in carbs (example- honey mustard, ketchup, teriyaki sauce and breaded onions). Do a topping swap for items like mayo, salsa, fried egg, avocado, mustard, onions, tomato, to lower the carbs.

Double Quarter Pounder- minus the carbs

Examples of options:

McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger (no bun)

High fat (20grams) Low Carbs (4grams)-

Wendy’s Double Stack (no bun)

20 grams of fat and only 1-gram carbs

2. Skip the Burrito, Eat the Bowl

Instead of a carb heavy burrito; the typical wrap can have 300 calories and 50 grams of carbs, opt for using greens as your base and make it a bowl. Avoid toppings like tortilla chips, beans and sweet dressings and corn. Better options are avocado, veggies, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cheese and fresh herbs.

Keto Bowl from Chipotle

Examples of options:

Chipotle Steak Bowl- Lettuce, salsa, sour cream and cheese (no rice, beans or shell)

23 grams of fat and 6 grams of carbs and nearly 30 grams of protein!

Taco Bell Cantina Power Steak Bowl with extra guacamole (no rice, no beans)

23 grams of fat and 8 grams of carbs

3. Rise and Shine with Eggs

Mcdonald's Sausage Egg and Cheese- No bun

Eggs are a great keto friendly breakfast option. Most places will serve toast, hash browns, potatoes, but you can skip that nonsense and stay happy with these options below

Examples of options:

McDonald’s Big Breakfast (no biscuit, no hash browns)

29 grams of fat (yay!!) and only 2 grams of carbs (double yay!!)

Burger King Ultimate Breakfast Platter (no pancakes, no hash browns or biscuit)

29 grams of fat and 1 gram of carbs

Panera Power Breakfast Bowl with steak, two eggs avocado and tomato

15 grams of fat and 5 grams of carbs

4. Chicken Sandwich-minus the carb heavy “sandwich” component

Most places can eliminate the bun for any sandwich and would be happy to do it for you. Burger King, for example, has nifty black bowls (reusable too- Bonus!) and they seal, and all your ingredients can go in be eaten with a fork. All you must do is ask and they will set it up for you.

Chick-fil-A Grilled Nuggets

Examples of options:

Burger King Grilled Chicken Sandwich-Extra mayo (no bun)

25 grams of fat and 2 grams of carbs

Chick-fil-A Grilled Chicken Nuggets dipped in 2 servings of ranch avocado dressing

18 grams of fat and 3 grams of carbs

Wendy’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich- Extra mayo (no bun)

16 grams of fat and 5 grams of carbs

5. Keto Friendly Beverages

Fast food is known for high sugar beverages, like milkshakes, sweet tea and soft drinks. Per healthline.com, a Vanilla Bean Coolatta from Dunkin’ Donuts has 88 grams of sugar (yes you read that right!).

Just because you’re out and about doesn’t mean you can’t get something to drink with your meal. Water is the best option but if you’re burned out on no flavor with your meals, these options will make you happy.

Black Iced Coffee and Cream

Examples of options:

Unsweetened iced tea

Coffee with cream

Black iced coffee

Hot tea with lemon juice

Soda Water

So, you see, being on the go and doing the “shop ‘til you drop” holiday shopping doesn’t mean you have to starve. With fast food catching up to sit down style restaurants and realizing people want to be healthy and that their customer base is now, more than ever, health conscience about what they consume. By being aware of what options you have, you won’t have to worry about falling off your diet and you’ll be able to concentrate more on getting those deals this holiday season.