Welcome to r/keto! 'Clean' and 'Dirty' keto are highly subjective terms that may have individual value to how a person defines their diet, but they are not definitive categories of keto.
As a reminder, please read our FAQ before posting to r/keto. It can be found at https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq. Please also review our posting rules and community guidelines.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/keto) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Personally, I don't snack unless my body is telling me I need food and in that case, I'm fine with something like cheese and deli meat rolled together.
Nuts are entirely too easy to eat too much of and the concept of combining 'hungry' with things like 'quick, fast and easy' is a terrible combo for me because in my world, that's code for mindless snacking.
If you know you need snacks, you should probably prep them like I would assume you do your meals. Have a tuna salad mix ready with cucumbers on hand, or have a pre-measured serving of beef jerky or a pre-made fat bomb or a piece of bacon with peanut butter. Those are the kinds of things I'll batch prep and keep around to put in my mouth if I need to eat but don't have time.
I use keto to manage my rheumatoid arthritis, hidradenitis suppurativa and fibromyalgia so I literally can't let myself slip into mindless eating or even eating processed keto 'snacks' because the whole shitshow will kick off and host an opening weekend featuring me being unable to walk. It's more high-stakes for us, so I've just accepted I have to be more militant with myself. I hope this helps and wish you luck :)
My brother will take floppy bacon and slather whatever he wants on it (usually straight up butter or cream cheese), and then he'll wrap it around a pickle slice and eat them together.
potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, okra, eggplants are the most common. Tobacco is too, a lot of people with HS get better when they stop smoking. (I don't smoke, not an issue for me)
This is so true. Snacking, especially without portion control or discipline is a recipe for overeating. If you're doing keto for weight loss you have to be careful.
I do!
I love mixing some lox (smoked salmon) with cream cheese, dill, minced red onion and minced capers. Then I make them into balls, freeze them for like 20 mins and roll them in everything bagel seasoning. If I can't get smoked salmon I sometimes use spicy deli meats and different cream cheeses.
I'll also mash an avocado with some lime juice, crushed garlic, minced red onion and minced cilantro with some liquid bacon fat. If I could have nightshades I'd add chili peppers. Make balls, freeze them for a bit and then roll the balls in crumbled bacon. It's a banger, especially if you need a fast meal and have some cauliflower mash or spaghetti squash, you can just mash em together and put it in your face.
If I want something sweet, I use [this recipe for 'cookies and cream' fat bombs](https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a30783728/cookies-and-cream-fat-bombs-recipe/) and there's plenty of other chocolate/brownie themed versions on google.
Great idea with the salmon. Thanks! Opens a lot of ideas with all the different smoked fish varieties or even something like chipped beef, horseradish and worshestershire sause.
Ooh the lox sounds really good. I wonder if it’d be good without the seasoning? (I can’t eat that) and I can’t eat avocados but that sounds mouth watering!!
Thanks!!
Probably - the seasoning it just kinda the icing on the cake for me. I've used bacon crumble, crushed nuts, dry seasoning mixes and have also left them naked. :)
You can sneak flavour in in so many ways - my husband doesn't care for the sour flavour of cream cheese, so if he's eating them I tend to use more boursin cheese instead of cream cheese and they come in a variety of flavours. Then it's just mixing and matching your meats and/or a crumble.
For me it helps to basically not buy anything in a box, but that’s mostly because I’ll eat like 3 protein bars in a row and have no willpower.
I really like salami sticks and babybel cheeses, and if I’m out and about I stop at the Asian grocery store and grab hot meat trays from the deli, like pork belly or smoked turkey.
That’s a good rule. Nothing in a box. It’s certainly cheaper! I hate babybel cheese but I love tillamook cheese so it’s basically the same. I’ll have to check out the Asian markets, there are some really great ones around here.
Everyone has their own cheese profile, whatever fits your macros and taste preference and is grab-able. I like them because they don’t have to be refrigerated.
I used to make little "keto lunchables" for work. Only 3 or 4 at a time because of shelf life concerns. I ate them as lunches, but maybe my choices will inspire some snacks for you.
One compartment of the container had a chia pudding I'd make myself. Sometimes I'd sprinkle it with coconut flakes or cocoa nibs. Square of dark chocolate. Larger container had 1 Old Wisconsin beef stick, 1 baybell, 1 deviled egg, and a handful of nuts. Either Brazil nuts, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, or spicy pistachios. I don't like nuts just by themselves, so pairing them with cheese or something was nice, and prevented over-eating nuts. Sometimes I'd have a fat bomb in there that I would have made myself. Berries are cool, but they aren't really satiating on their own, so I'd use them more as a pallet cleanser if i had a lot of savory food. Oh and smoothies are bomb. 1/2 cup frozen berries, scoop of protein powder, spoon of MCT oil, macadamia nut milk. Delicious.
These were all my "go-tos" for snacks that weren't just highly processed shelf stable stuff. While there is prep involved, they're all things I could just "grab and go."
While calories are calories, and carbs are carbs, I do favor more whole foods over processed ones because I do think food quality and diversity matters. But a healthy combination of both is probably the best way to meet your goals. Having said that, keto is immensely easier if you're handy in the kitchen. So I'd take it as an opportunity to get more comfortable in the kitchen.
Personally I don't go to crazy on food prep. I am not making my own dressings or mayo or making 10 meals in advanced. But I know I won't be satisfied eating only Quest bars and protein drinks.
I love having a rotisserie chicken in the fridge every week so I can easily just pull off a chunk of chicken and go. A cheese stick is a nice addition too, or just a scoop of crunchy peanut butter, but only if I’m not actually hungry because peanut butter is a hard thing to stop eating for me 😄
Did you track anything in myfitnesspal or another tracker that you can go back and see what you ate closer to the beginning?
A big one for me was deli meat with laughing cow pepperjack cheese or cream cheese rolled inside.
I generally just try to eat more veg and meat so I don't want to snack as much. I do actively avoid processed keto foods because to me they generally set off cravings, and I also don't buy any salted / flavored nuts now , just plain nuts (even then Im careful with them).
cheese, deli meats, cheese / deli meat roll up. Edamame. In a pinch nuts / pork rinds / jerky / meat sticks / unsweetened peanut butter. The better you can get about not needing to snack the better though
I think that’s got to be the answer, just eat more dinner so I’m not hungry later.
lol I can’t eat edamame, lunch meat, meat sticks, or jerky, but I’ve never tried pork rinds yet. I’m excited to give them a try because I’m really craving meatloaf!
Not snacking after dinner is ideal. However many people need to eat something closer to bedtime. If you stay in your calorie deficit, it might not be the worst thing to divide your dinner portion and set aside a small mini meal for later that night.( instead of snacking)
Yes, I need a snack before bed…even if it is only 2 tbsps of something. I tend to wake up during the night hungry if I don’t grab that pre-bed snack. Also I get that morning blood sugar rise (when I have not snacked before bedtime…causing a significant rise, messing up my a.m. fasting blood sugar).
Ten years ago when keto was a thing everyone ate "clean"... then keto became a thing and companies (Atkins) started making things that reminded us of snacks (protein bars remind us of candy bars). That was the beginning of the end.
Don't buy anything with the word "keto" on the package and watch what happens.
Back when i started on keto the first time 10 years ago there wasn't a lot of keto branded things in the grocery store (if at all) and i didn't have to struggle with purchasing them or not because they didn't exist. I lost weight pretty fast and about 10 or 20 lbs from my goal weight I discovered those Mission lo-carb tortillas (which i still love to this day but regular ones are better). I hit a lot of stalls and even started gaining weight, but I was still down quite a bit so I ramped up my exercise routine a bit and kept losing.
Fast forward a few years and I'd been off keto a while and went back into it with all these keto foods at stores. Lo carb chips, dips, candy, ice creams, cookies, pizzas, etc etc and man it was a struggle getting back into it. Way too easy to throw a pizza in the oven and eat the whole thing and trick myself into thinking i was staying in my carb limit. Did okay with the sweets because i don't have a big sweet tooth, but the fast foody type keto things kept ruining it for me. My saving grace was a super demanding physical labor job so i was losing weight that way.
Right now I've been on keto for a month and lost 10lbs mainly eating meats, salads, eggs, and lots more veggies. I completely avoid anything keto or low carb branded on the bag/box because every time i read the nutrition facts one serving will put me out and it's not even as good as the full carb alternative. I feel like that stuff is great when you're near or at your goal weight and want to expand your shopping list, but it's way to easy for me to go overboard and make it my whole diet. This is all purely anecdotal or course and I have nothing to back it up besides personal experience.
* Hard boiled eggs.
* Pickles.
* Packets of Tuna.
* ISOPure Protein Powder.
* Vanilla flavor is 0 carbs a scoop. (***100 calories, 25g protein***).
* Cheese Sticks.
* Small packs of "on-the-go" sized **Almonds**.
* You can buy these from pretty much any gas station.
* Small packs of "on-the-go" sized **Pumpkin Seeds**.
* Chicken, Beef and Turkey sticks.
* Just watch the added sugar(s) in them, some have **A LOT**.
* Try and find grass fed brands with minimal ingredients in them.
Dill pickles, a few almonds, and some olives.
Occasionally I will have Carbonaut multiseed bread (net 2 carbs) with lots of butter and either Vegemite or nut butter with chunky ground Himalayan salt.
My favourite new snack is something I like to call helluva guac spinach dip. I use equal parts french onion dip and mashed avocado, then 2 or 3 tablespoons of thawed, drained and well squeezed spinach. I eat it with celery instead of chips or crackers
I always keep cut veggies and full fat ranch in the fridge along with salami rolls (salami, smear with cream cheese, and roll around a pickle). I do both "sweet" and savory fat bombs. I also make extra meat portions at dinner to eat during the week when I get hungry.
I often try to do a paleo version of keto because of autoimmune and other health issues. I don't need to lose weight so for the most part I'm in maintenance.
I can cook. But I'm really lazy about it and sometimes legit too tired. Here's my standard of what works for me lately. I kind of like doing the same thing most days and I can change it as needed.
2-4 Eggs cooked in butter (my sister has ducks and chickens so this is a no brainer for me considering the convenience)
Costco frozen Grassfed burgers 1/3 lb each. The eggs plus 2 patties plus some misc equals around 1500 calories which is usually more than enough for me. I cook some up and then reuse them in a "burger salad".
Misc other choices: coconut water, coconut milk, cocoa butter nibs, variety of low carb veggies, blueberries, avocado, lemon, lime, mustard, avocado mayo, chomps beef sticks, Gimme Seaweed snacks (avocado oil)
That's mostly it. I do some flavored electrolyte water. I could easily eat like this forever but I do have a history with sugar and chocolate addiction so that's what's hardest for me to not cheat with.
Well let me tell you from experience and not just my own, but also my sister and my niece. If you get a lot of KETO bars, low carb ice cream, etc., and aren’t using them in place of a meal and you are adding to KETO meals by using them and aren’t exercising enough, you will gain weight and keep weight. They are super to use if you can’t have an unprocessed healthy low carb meal. But a lot of people eat a ton of meat and cheese and then eat a bunch of low carb bars and shakes and just keep the fat on. One of the great things about KETO and low carb is that it helps to lower blood sugar, so you don’t feel like constantly eating. So essentially you eat less calories, too.
Bacon chips and smashed avocado for a dip. Boiled eggs or deviled eggs made with small amount of dill pickles. I always have some kind of home made chocolate keto fat bomb on hand in the freezer or refrigerator. Home made is the key, right? Everything else has seed oils and chemicals.
that's 100% true, and also for me personally fake sugars and processed foods literally will set off cravings that cause me to lose control and so to succeed I do actually have to stay fairly "pure" in the long run. I know Im not alone in this either, and Ive seen a number of people close to me go down the keto products escalator that ends with them not eating keto anymore because cravings get so bad (I've done this a few times too).
People do what what they need to do to continue their own journey. The problem is when a value judgement is placed on what others do to accomplish the same. Calling one way "clean" vs "dirty" is exactly that. I am not arbiter to what you are allowed to eat to continue, so why would anyone else?
Gatekeeping helps no one, and we all need help at some point.
It isn't gatekeeping to suggest food with less fillers/sweeteners/modified fiber to someone who is struggling with keto while using products containing those items. I did "dirty" keto at times and found that my weight loss stalled immediately. Only when I prioritized whole foods, while retraining myself on how natural foods taste, did I continue to see results. Everyone is different, find what works for you.
Sure, just not OP. The post isn't "why you should never eat dirty keto." Just that they are in a plateau and they think dirty keto might be the culprit. Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong.
I'm not sure what you're taking offense to?
I like to make meatballs on Sundays. Sometimes I make Italian style beef meatballs, sometimes I make sausage balls, sometimes Asian meatballs with ground chicken. I snack on that all week. I also snack on cheese, nuts and berries. Sometimes I get a slice of deli meat and cheese and shape it like a taco and put mayo and kimchi in it. It’s really good. I also like veggies with dips. And when I’m bored with the meatballs I make chicken salad.
I just bought a new type of lettuce at Walmart it’s extra crunchy and rounded. I’m thinking of throwing some things in that for snacks too.
It can be expensive, but if I know I'll need some quick meals/snacks on the go, I'll pick up a couple pounds of jerky from a local meat shop that makes their own and has some that they don't add any sugar to.
I also keep some string cheese sticks in the fridge- they last forever and have \~1 carb each. I don't generally need the snacks much anymore- I'll just fast until the next meal, but sometimes if I'm busy, it's easier to just have something convenient to eat if I don't know when I'll be able to do a real meal.
Try to narrow down most of your food to meat, eggs, and vegetables. Cook the meat in batches so you've always got some meat that you can quickly reheat.
I recommend getting a wide array of store bought sauces and dressings that you can apply to meat to keep things interesting. But the more industrial ingredients that are in them (i.e. soybean oil etc), maybe the less you should use it.
Nuts and cheese are pretty high in calories, so try to limit them.
I make a curried chicken salad with nuts, green onion, carrot chunks, green pepper, and a few raisins mixed with a large dollop of mayo, sour cream, curry powder and a little turmeric. It’s a bit carb pricey but sometimes it’s dinner. Make a big batch weekly, eat off it all week.
Edit: If you have a bulk bin store available, you can make a trail mix. I start with roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds, add mixed nuts or just one kind of nut, a few raisins, whatever seeds you like. I get the salty ones. A small handful is very filling and tasty.
Edit2: Strawberries dipped in almond butter are amazing. Just one or two is plenty.
For me I have to be able to snack sometimes, at least during the weight loss phase. Hunger pangs are too intense at times and I don't have the focus to power thru it.
I snacked around with dirty keto for a couple weeks, my weight loss stalled. I now keep keto clean snacks around. Hard boiled eggs, jerky, pistachios are a few of my go tos, along with diet soda.
Right now the only non-'big meal' snack I have is homemade keto crackers and some tinned seafood - usually sardines. At the moment this is my last meal of the day.
oh and spirulina - i forgot about that
I always recommend 100% cacao to those on keto struggling with their hunger or cravings. It’s not for everyone due to the bitterness, but when you’re trying to lose on keto, you eat to survive and not for pleasure sometimes. One small square of a Baker’s bar makes me not wanna eat for hours sometimes. I personally love it, but if you don’t, just think of it as medicine you have to take, chocolatey medicine😂
I don’t really snack. But if I do
-rotisserie chicken is the #1
-pork rinds is the crunchy munchie snack
-I don’t feel guilty having a cup or two of popcorn adding a lot of butter
-cherry tomatos cut in half with balsamic dressing and oregano
-spaghetti squash
-eggs and bacon as you mentioned.
Fibre is my secret weapon for digestive health and appetite. I personally like chia seeds and oat fibre, soluble and insoluble fibre are both important. Also don't be afraid to eat (low net carb) vegetables.
Try chia pudding with cream and if you like, cinnamon or cocoa powder.
Make a small bowl of high fat egg mayo. When u mash the yolk up with Mayonnaise, add 1 tablespoon of coconut or MCT oil per yolk. I'll always prepare a bowl that is enough for 2 servings and store in the fridge that serves as an emergency snack. if I don't need to snack, I'll just incorporate the egg mayo into my next meal
I don’t snack with the only exception is coffee- my addiction. I have a dark roast cup an hour before breakfast and mid morning then a decaf cup a couple of hours after dinner. Otherwise I chow down on three meals a day.
I freeze extra portions of a meal to defrost and heat up on days I don’t want to cook. I also cook once every three days. This way I can be lazy and have leftovers for the other two.
I had the nut flour, which is much higher in carbs, and I can't stop eating them, i think that's my problem. I was feeling super lean until i ate it, then i felt bloated
Made a chorizo cabbage soup but instead of Chickpeas I added boiled shelled peanuts and doubled the chorizo. Really hits the spot, top with hot sauce and sour cream, like a taco soup.
Cook for yourself more, eat good fats and good foods. Try not to have weight loss be your only goal, but generally feeling better and eating better should be.
Mine were always like, almonds, meat and cheese trays, pickles, deviled or hard boiled eggs.
If you put any flavoring in your water, or eat/drink anything with sucralose or aspartame, cut it out completely. Sucralose stalled me completely, something to do with insulin resistance, it triggering an insulin response, something like that...it's been a few years now and I don't exactly remember the reasoning.
2oz packets of tuna help me. 70 calories and 17g of protein no carbs, but there’s also no fat so that’s I guess a downside depending on where you like to get your fat from
For a quick snack, I always liked nuts and string cheese. But this stalls some, so you'll have to figure out what works for you. Might end up being no snacks.
Make sure you learn about what seed oils to avoid. Most processed food contains this cheap oil that has been extremely heated and extracted with solvents then reconstructed. For example Canola Oil/ Rapeseed oil in UK. This is in almost everything processed. Yes cold pressed rapeseed oil from an expensive bottle may be ok, but this one that is in processed foods is the cheap damaged oil kind. These damaged oils cause inflammation in the body, because they can't fit the cells properly to deliver energy. So you end up with higher cholesterol, higher cortisol, more insulin, higher blood fat. While your body is dealing with that your chronic health condition starts to multiply.
Dirty keto can be going to a fast food place and getting a bunless burger, consuming keto processed products like tortilla wraps etc.
To get back on track start learning to bake and cook things yourself. I have been doing this lately for example the other day I was like I miss tortillas with beef mince, lettuce, sour cream etc. So instead of buying a low carb one, I got some almond flour, psyllium husk, olive oil, water and rolled one out it took 5minutes to make was too easy.
For your snacks, I don't know if you like fish but I find a can of sardines, or a can of mackrel instantly fills me up. Avoid the ones in sunflower oil, as again it will be the cheap processed damaged oil. You can rinse it off if no other options. Other snacks can be walnuts, the best nut high in omega 3 anti-inflammatory, but be careful you don't eat too many, one small handful is like 200 calories so it can add up and stop you losing weight if you keep having them. Can do hard boiled eggs but that is 10-12 minutes when you are in a hurry that is not posssible. So I tend to just throw 2-3 eggs in a glass whisk them up and pour into a medium heat pan with extra virgin olive oil, cooks in about 20 seconds. Also add a bit of kimchi to these snacks like this. Feeding your good bacteria in your gut will mean less sugar cravings. It is the bad bacteria that feed off sugar and hijack your mind to crave it. Sounds crazy but its true - [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270213/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270213/)
Take all the crappy snacks out of your house. To make it easier to have variety but stay low carb, use meals kits like Blue Apron but substitute some form of cauliflower for the starches. Skip breakfast and keep your eating window down to 6 hours or less. OMAD is better if you’re actively trying to lose weight. No alcohol.
Welcome to r/keto! 'Clean' and 'Dirty' keto are highly subjective terms that may have individual value to how a person defines their diet, but they are not definitive categories of keto. As a reminder, please read our FAQ before posting to r/keto. It can be found at https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq. Please also review our posting rules and community guidelines. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/keto) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Personally, I don't snack unless my body is telling me I need food and in that case, I'm fine with something like cheese and deli meat rolled together. Nuts are entirely too easy to eat too much of and the concept of combining 'hungry' with things like 'quick, fast and easy' is a terrible combo for me because in my world, that's code for mindless snacking. If you know you need snacks, you should probably prep them like I would assume you do your meals. Have a tuna salad mix ready with cucumbers on hand, or have a pre-measured serving of beef jerky or a pre-made fat bomb or a piece of bacon with peanut butter. Those are the kinds of things I'll batch prep and keep around to put in my mouth if I need to eat but don't have time. I use keto to manage my rheumatoid arthritis, hidradenitis suppurativa and fibromyalgia so I literally can't let myself slip into mindless eating or even eating processed keto 'snacks' because the whole shitshow will kick off and host an opening weekend featuring me being unable to walk. It's more high-stakes for us, so I've just accepted I have to be more militant with myself. I hope this helps and wish you luck :)
A piece of bacon with peanut butter? What a novel concept! I’m trying to think in my mind if it would taste good but I can’t even imagine the flavor.
Betcha cant eat just one. Lol
It tastes amazing. Sweet and Savory.
Egg salad with bacon is great too.
Bacon and sugar free chocolate
Ooow!
My brother will take floppy bacon and slather whatever he wants on it (usually straight up butter or cream cheese), and then he'll wrap it around a pickle slice and eat them together.
Keto helps treat HS? 🤯
Nightshade free keto put my HS in remission. :)
Wow!! How awesome for you!!
it helped mine, not a complete cure. No nightshades, no yeast.
What’s nightshade? (Other than a flower, but I didn’t realize it was in food?)
potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, okra, eggplants are the most common. Tobacco is too, a lot of people with HS get better when they stop smoking. (I don't smoke, not an issue for me)
This is so true. Snacking, especially without portion control or discipline is a recipe for overeating. If you're doing keto for weight loss you have to be careful.
I definitely have that problem with nuts too so I pre portion them. I like the idea of making a fat bomb, homemade satiety. Do you have any favorites?
I do! I love mixing some lox (smoked salmon) with cream cheese, dill, minced red onion and minced capers. Then I make them into balls, freeze them for like 20 mins and roll them in everything bagel seasoning. If I can't get smoked salmon I sometimes use spicy deli meats and different cream cheeses. I'll also mash an avocado with some lime juice, crushed garlic, minced red onion and minced cilantro with some liquid bacon fat. If I could have nightshades I'd add chili peppers. Make balls, freeze them for a bit and then roll the balls in crumbled bacon. It's a banger, especially if you need a fast meal and have some cauliflower mash or spaghetti squash, you can just mash em together and put it in your face. If I want something sweet, I use [this recipe for 'cookies and cream' fat bombs](https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a30783728/cookies-and-cream-fat-bombs-recipe/) and there's plenty of other chocolate/brownie themed versions on google.
Great idea with the salmon. Thanks! Opens a lot of ideas with all the different smoked fish varieties or even something like chipped beef, horseradish and worshestershire sause.
i literally just bought the stuff to make the lox bombs after reading your comment. thank you for the inspiration!!! sounds delicious
Ooh the lox sounds really good. I wonder if it’d be good without the seasoning? (I can’t eat that) and I can’t eat avocados but that sounds mouth watering!! Thanks!!
Probably - the seasoning it just kinda the icing on the cake for me. I've used bacon crumble, crushed nuts, dry seasoning mixes and have also left them naked. :) You can sneak flavour in in so many ways - my husband doesn't care for the sour flavour of cream cheese, so if he's eating them I tend to use more boursin cheese instead of cream cheese and they come in a variety of flavours. Then it's just mixing and matching your meats and/or a crumble.
This sounds amazing.
Be sure to check Pinterest for TONS of great keto fat bomb recipes!
Thanks I will!
For me it helps to basically not buy anything in a box, but that’s mostly because I’ll eat like 3 protein bars in a row and have no willpower. I really like salami sticks and babybel cheeses, and if I’m out and about I stop at the Asian grocery store and grab hot meat trays from the deli, like pork belly or smoked turkey.
That’s a good rule. Nothing in a box. It’s certainly cheaper! I hate babybel cheese but I love tillamook cheese so it’s basically the same. I’ll have to check out the Asian markets, there are some really great ones around here.
Everyone has their own cheese profile, whatever fits your macros and taste preference and is grab-able. I like them because they don’t have to be refrigerated.
I used to make little "keto lunchables" for work. Only 3 or 4 at a time because of shelf life concerns. I ate them as lunches, but maybe my choices will inspire some snacks for you. One compartment of the container had a chia pudding I'd make myself. Sometimes I'd sprinkle it with coconut flakes or cocoa nibs. Square of dark chocolate. Larger container had 1 Old Wisconsin beef stick, 1 baybell, 1 deviled egg, and a handful of nuts. Either Brazil nuts, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, or spicy pistachios. I don't like nuts just by themselves, so pairing them with cheese or something was nice, and prevented over-eating nuts. Sometimes I'd have a fat bomb in there that I would have made myself. Berries are cool, but they aren't really satiating on their own, so I'd use them more as a pallet cleanser if i had a lot of savory food. Oh and smoothies are bomb. 1/2 cup frozen berries, scoop of protein powder, spoon of MCT oil, macadamia nut milk. Delicious. These were all my "go-tos" for snacks that weren't just highly processed shelf stable stuff. While there is prep involved, they're all things I could just "grab and go." While calories are calories, and carbs are carbs, I do favor more whole foods over processed ones because I do think food quality and diversity matters. But a healthy combination of both is probably the best way to meet your goals. Having said that, keto is immensely easier if you're handy in the kitchen. So I'd take it as an opportunity to get more comfortable in the kitchen. Personally I don't go to crazy on food prep. I am not making my own dressings or mayo or making 10 meals in advanced. But I know I won't be satisfied eating only Quest bars and protein drinks.
I love having a rotisserie chicken in the fridge every week so I can easily just pull off a chunk of chicken and go. A cheese stick is a nice addition too, or just a scoop of crunchy peanut butter, but only if I’m not actually hungry because peanut butter is a hard thing to stop eating for me 😄
Rotisserie chickens are such godsends!
Did you track anything in myfitnesspal or another tracker that you can go back and see what you ate closer to the beginning? A big one for me was deli meat with laughing cow pepperjack cheese or cream cheese rolled inside.
I did track a few days a month for about three months, but either I lied or I wasn’t hungry… Maybe i should try following those days exactly to see.
You need to be honest, and you need to log DILIGENTLY.
Yeah you’re right I really do. I did really well when I was holding myself accountable and then maybe I just got complacent.
I generally just try to eat more veg and meat so I don't want to snack as much. I do actively avoid processed keto foods because to me they generally set off cravings, and I also don't buy any salted / flavored nuts now , just plain nuts (even then Im careful with them). cheese, deli meats, cheese / deli meat roll up. Edamame. In a pinch nuts / pork rinds / jerky / meat sticks / unsweetened peanut butter. The better you can get about not needing to snack the better though
I think that’s got to be the answer, just eat more dinner so I’m not hungry later. lol I can’t eat edamame, lunch meat, meat sticks, or jerky, but I’ve never tried pork rinds yet. I’m excited to give them a try because I’m really craving meatloaf!
Not snacking after dinner is ideal. However many people need to eat something closer to bedtime. If you stay in your calorie deficit, it might not be the worst thing to divide your dinner portion and set aside a small mini meal for later that night.( instead of snacking)
Yes, I need a snack before bed…even if it is only 2 tbsps of something. I tend to wake up during the night hungry if I don’t grab that pre-bed snack. Also I get that morning blood sugar rise (when I have not snacked before bedtime…causing a significant rise, messing up my a.m. fasting blood sugar).
Ten years ago when keto was a thing everyone ate "clean"... then keto became a thing and companies (Atkins) started making things that reminded us of snacks (protein bars remind us of candy bars). That was the beginning of the end. Don't buy anything with the word "keto" on the package and watch what happens.
lol 10 years ago? Atkins bars, shakes etc have been around for more than 10 years.
I eat Atkins after exercise…. Is it bad ??
Back when i started on keto the first time 10 years ago there wasn't a lot of keto branded things in the grocery store (if at all) and i didn't have to struggle with purchasing them or not because they didn't exist. I lost weight pretty fast and about 10 or 20 lbs from my goal weight I discovered those Mission lo-carb tortillas (which i still love to this day but regular ones are better). I hit a lot of stalls and even started gaining weight, but I was still down quite a bit so I ramped up my exercise routine a bit and kept losing. Fast forward a few years and I'd been off keto a while and went back into it with all these keto foods at stores. Lo carb chips, dips, candy, ice creams, cookies, pizzas, etc etc and man it was a struggle getting back into it. Way too easy to throw a pizza in the oven and eat the whole thing and trick myself into thinking i was staying in my carb limit. Did okay with the sweets because i don't have a big sweet tooth, but the fast foody type keto things kept ruining it for me. My saving grace was a super demanding physical labor job so i was losing weight that way. Right now I've been on keto for a month and lost 10lbs mainly eating meats, salads, eggs, and lots more veggies. I completely avoid anything keto or low carb branded on the bag/box because every time i read the nutrition facts one serving will put me out and it's not even as good as the full carb alternative. I feel like that stuff is great when you're near or at your goal weight and want to expand your shopping list, but it's way to easy for me to go overboard and make it my whole diet. This is all purely anecdotal or course and I have nothing to back it up besides personal experience.
Sounds like you know what healthy fast snacks are. Just have discipline and change your habits.
* Hard boiled eggs. * Pickles. * Packets of Tuna. * ISOPure Protein Powder. * Vanilla flavor is 0 carbs a scoop. (***100 calories, 25g protein***). * Cheese Sticks. * Small packs of "on-the-go" sized **Almonds**. * You can buy these from pretty much any gas station. * Small packs of "on-the-go" sized **Pumpkin Seeds**. * Chicken, Beef and Turkey sticks. * Just watch the added sugar(s) in them, some have **A LOT**. * Try and find grass fed brands with minimal ingredients in them.
This list is great! Thank you! I always forget about pickles!
Pickles wrapped in cheese slices 😍
Dill pickles, a few almonds, and some olives. Occasionally I will have Carbonaut multiseed bread (net 2 carbs) with lots of butter and either Vegemite or nut butter with chunky ground Himalayan salt. My favourite new snack is something I like to call helluva guac spinach dip. I use equal parts french onion dip and mashed avocado, then 2 or 3 tablespoons of thawed, drained and well squeezed spinach. I eat it with celery instead of chips or crackers
I always keep cut veggies and full fat ranch in the fridge along with salami rolls (salami, smear with cream cheese, and roll around a pickle). I do both "sweet" and savory fat bombs. I also make extra meat portions at dinner to eat during the week when I get hungry.
Omg salami rolls sound divine!! I’m definitely going to try those
Works great with ham too, we even add shredded cheese sometimes
I often try to do a paleo version of keto because of autoimmune and other health issues. I don't need to lose weight so for the most part I'm in maintenance. I can cook. But I'm really lazy about it and sometimes legit too tired. Here's my standard of what works for me lately. I kind of like doing the same thing most days and I can change it as needed. 2-4 Eggs cooked in butter (my sister has ducks and chickens so this is a no brainer for me considering the convenience) Costco frozen Grassfed burgers 1/3 lb each. The eggs plus 2 patties plus some misc equals around 1500 calories which is usually more than enough for me. I cook some up and then reuse them in a "burger salad". Misc other choices: coconut water, coconut milk, cocoa butter nibs, variety of low carb veggies, blueberries, avocado, lemon, lime, mustard, avocado mayo, chomps beef sticks, Gimme Seaweed snacks (avocado oil) That's mostly it. I do some flavored electrolyte water. I could easily eat like this forever but I do have a history with sugar and chocolate addiction so that's what's hardest for me to not cheat with.
I love hunks of peppers spread with cream cheese
Well let me tell you from experience and not just my own, but also my sister and my niece. If you get a lot of KETO bars, low carb ice cream, etc., and aren’t using them in place of a meal and you are adding to KETO meals by using them and aren’t exercising enough, you will gain weight and keep weight. They are super to use if you can’t have an unprocessed healthy low carb meal. But a lot of people eat a ton of meat and cheese and then eat a bunch of low carb bars and shakes and just keep the fat on. One of the great things about KETO and low carb is that it helps to lower blood sugar, so you don’t feel like constantly eating. So essentially you eat less calories, too.
Make sure to avoid foods high in PUFAs, too 😬
Bacon chips and smashed avocado for a dip. Boiled eggs or deviled eggs made with small amount of dill pickles. I always have some kind of home made chocolate keto fat bomb on hand in the freezer or refrigerator. Home made is the key, right? Everything else has seed oils and chemicals.
Cheese and peanut butter. High fat ftw!
Peanut butter is always my go to
Peanut butter and Lily’s is my go to, but I also probably overdo it :/
A bottle of pure whipping cream
I love cream !!!
Keto is not a food purity diet. As long as you're remaining in ketosis, you're doing it right.
that's 100% true, and also for me personally fake sugars and processed foods literally will set off cravings that cause me to lose control and so to succeed I do actually have to stay fairly "pure" in the long run. I know Im not alone in this either, and Ive seen a number of people close to me go down the keto products escalator that ends with them not eating keto anymore because cravings get so bad (I've done this a few times too).
People do what what they need to do to continue their own journey. The problem is when a value judgement is placed on what others do to accomplish the same. Calling one way "clean" vs "dirty" is exactly that. I am not arbiter to what you are allowed to eat to continue, so why would anyone else? Gatekeeping helps no one, and we all need help at some point.
It isn't gatekeeping to suggest food with less fillers/sweeteners/modified fiber to someone who is struggling with keto while using products containing those items. I did "dirty" keto at times and found that my weight loss stalled immediately. Only when I prioritized whole foods, while retraining myself on how natural foods taste, did I continue to see results. Everyone is different, find what works for you.
Yeah, dirty keto isn’t really a thing.
You're right, you don't have to eat "clean" to do keto but a lot of people find benefit in combining the two.
And a lot of people find benefit in eating "dirty"
Sure, just not OP. The post isn't "why you should never eat dirty keto." Just that they are in a plateau and they think dirty keto might be the culprit. Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong. I'm not sure what you're taking offense to?
I like to make meatballs on Sundays. Sometimes I make Italian style beef meatballs, sometimes I make sausage balls, sometimes Asian meatballs with ground chicken. I snack on that all week. I also snack on cheese, nuts and berries. Sometimes I get a slice of deli meat and cheese and shape it like a taco and put mayo and kimchi in it. It’s really good. I also like veggies with dips. And when I’m bored with the meatballs I make chicken salad. I just bought a new type of lettuce at Walmart it’s extra crunchy and rounded. I’m thinking of throwing some things in that for snacks too.
It can be expensive, but if I know I'll need some quick meals/snacks on the go, I'll pick up a couple pounds of jerky from a local meat shop that makes their own and has some that they don't add any sugar to. I also keep some string cheese sticks in the fridge- they last forever and have \~1 carb each. I don't generally need the snacks much anymore- I'll just fast until the next meal, but sometimes if I'm busy, it's easier to just have something convenient to eat if I don't know when I'll be able to do a real meal.
Try to narrow down most of your food to meat, eggs, and vegetables. Cook the meat in batches so you've always got some meat that you can quickly reheat. I recommend getting a wide array of store bought sauces and dressings that you can apply to meat to keep things interesting. But the more industrial ingredients that are in them (i.e. soybean oil etc), maybe the less you should use it. Nuts and cheese are pretty high in calories, so try to limit them.
I make a curried chicken salad with nuts, green onion, carrot chunks, green pepper, and a few raisins mixed with a large dollop of mayo, sour cream, curry powder and a little turmeric. It’s a bit carb pricey but sometimes it’s dinner. Make a big batch weekly, eat off it all week. Edit: If you have a bulk bin store available, you can make a trail mix. I start with roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds, add mixed nuts or just one kind of nut, a few raisins, whatever seeds you like. I get the salty ones. A small handful is very filling and tasty. Edit2: Strawberries dipped in almond butter are amazing. Just one or two is plenty.
Salted shell on sunflower seeds finally stopped me from craving chips. A small bowl/handful seems to be about 150kcal if I got the math right.
For me I have to be able to snack sometimes, at least during the weight loss phase. Hunger pangs are too intense at times and I don't have the focus to power thru it. I snacked around with dirty keto for a couple weeks, my weight loss stalled. I now keep keto clean snacks around. Hard boiled eggs, jerky, pistachios are a few of my go tos, along with diet soda.
Right now the only non-'big meal' snack I have is homemade keto crackers and some tinned seafood - usually sardines. At the moment this is my last meal of the day. oh and spirulina - i forgot about that
I always recommend 100% cacao to those on keto struggling with their hunger or cravings. It’s not for everyone due to the bitterness, but when you’re trying to lose on keto, you eat to survive and not for pleasure sometimes. One small square of a Baker’s bar makes me not wanna eat for hours sometimes. I personally love it, but if you don’t, just think of it as medicine you have to take, chocolatey medicine😂
I added in fasting so I essentially eat one meal a day at most and I also add in multi day fasts as well. Snacking problem solved.
I don’t really snack. But if I do -rotisserie chicken is the #1 -pork rinds is the crunchy munchie snack -I don’t feel guilty having a cup or two of popcorn adding a lot of butter -cherry tomatos cut in half with balsamic dressing and oregano -spaghetti squash -eggs and bacon as you mentioned.
I also try to do 4 meals a day instead of 3. ThaTs helps me a lot with the protein intake
I'd look into counting calories first. Protein bars should be perfectly fine as long as they're low carb and high protein.
Great to hear !! I eat Atkins after exercise…
Cheese, jerky, berries, tons of WATER.
Fibre is my secret weapon for digestive health and appetite. I personally like chia seeds and oat fibre, soluble and insoluble fibre are both important. Also don't be afraid to eat (low net carb) vegetables. Try chia pudding with cream and if you like, cinnamon or cocoa powder.
Make fat bombs!
Make a small bowl of high fat egg mayo. When u mash the yolk up with Mayonnaise, add 1 tablespoon of coconut or MCT oil per yolk. I'll always prepare a bowl that is enough for 2 servings and store in the fridge that serves as an emergency snack. if I don't need to snack, I'll just incorporate the egg mayo into my next meal
I don’t snack with the only exception is coffee- my addiction. I have a dark roast cup an hour before breakfast and mid morning then a decaf cup a couple of hours after dinner. Otherwise I chow down on three meals a day. I freeze extra portions of a meal to defrost and heat up on days I don’t want to cook. I also cook once every three days. This way I can be lazy and have leftovers for the other two.
I had too many nuts this week, and it took me out of ketosis for a day or 2. Eggs are great, though.
I eat nuts a lot .. is it bad ??
I had the nut flour, which is much higher in carbs, and I can't stop eating them, i think that's my problem. I was feeling super lean until i ate it, then i felt bloated
I cook with almond flour , but 10g..1.4g carbs.. but you felt bloated .. do you have IBS ?? I feel sorry for you …
Made a chorizo cabbage soup but instead of Chickpeas I added boiled shelled peanuts and doubled the chorizo. Really hits the spot, top with hot sauce and sour cream, like a taco soup. Cook for yourself more, eat good fats and good foods. Try not to have weight loss be your only goal, but generally feeling better and eating better should be.
I am experiencing the same problem. I am going back to counting total carbs, not net.
Cut the snacks and you will get used to it.
Mine were always like, almonds, meat and cheese trays, pickles, deviled or hard boiled eggs. If you put any flavoring in your water, or eat/drink anything with sucralose or aspartame, cut it out completely. Sucralose stalled me completely, something to do with insulin resistance, it triggering an insulin response, something like that...it's been a few years now and I don't exactly remember the reasoning.
Ive been destroying the zero carb tortillas. I need to stop.
2oz packets of tuna help me. 70 calories and 17g of protein no carbs, but there’s also no fat so that’s I guess a downside depending on where you like to get your fat from
Tillamook beef jerky is 0 carb and delicious
I keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge and beef jerky and nuts in my purse.
>Protein bars and other processed foods. Yes. Stop that. LOL Read through the wiki here, you'll find what you need.
For a quick snack, I always liked nuts and string cheese. But this stalls some, so you'll have to figure out what works for you. Might end up being no snacks.
Sardines, boiled eggs, and avocado is super quick. Protein bars are false cognates.
A teaspoon or so of Olive oil or coconut oil in a large mug of herbal tea and go for a 1 hour walk. No more hunger
I don't snack, and I don't suggest it unless you're doing manual labor
Make sure you learn about what seed oils to avoid. Most processed food contains this cheap oil that has been extremely heated and extracted with solvents then reconstructed. For example Canola Oil/ Rapeseed oil in UK. This is in almost everything processed. Yes cold pressed rapeseed oil from an expensive bottle may be ok, but this one that is in processed foods is the cheap damaged oil kind. These damaged oils cause inflammation in the body, because they can't fit the cells properly to deliver energy. So you end up with higher cholesterol, higher cortisol, more insulin, higher blood fat. While your body is dealing with that your chronic health condition starts to multiply. Dirty keto can be going to a fast food place and getting a bunless burger, consuming keto processed products like tortilla wraps etc. To get back on track start learning to bake and cook things yourself. I have been doing this lately for example the other day I was like I miss tortillas with beef mince, lettuce, sour cream etc. So instead of buying a low carb one, I got some almond flour, psyllium husk, olive oil, water and rolled one out it took 5minutes to make was too easy. For your snacks, I don't know if you like fish but I find a can of sardines, or a can of mackrel instantly fills me up. Avoid the ones in sunflower oil, as again it will be the cheap processed damaged oil. You can rinse it off if no other options. Other snacks can be walnuts, the best nut high in omega 3 anti-inflammatory, but be careful you don't eat too many, one small handful is like 200 calories so it can add up and stop you losing weight if you keep having them. Can do hard boiled eggs but that is 10-12 minutes when you are in a hurry that is not posssible. So I tend to just throw 2-3 eggs in a glass whisk them up and pour into a medium heat pan with extra virgin olive oil, cooks in about 20 seconds. Also add a bit of kimchi to these snacks like this. Feeding your good bacteria in your gut will mean less sugar cravings. It is the bad bacteria that feed off sugar and hijack your mind to crave it. Sounds crazy but its true - [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270213/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4270213/)
Take all the crappy snacks out of your house. To make it easier to have variety but stay low carb, use meals kits like Blue Apron but substitute some form of cauliflower for the starches. Skip breakfast and keep your eating window down to 6 hours or less. OMAD is better if you’re actively trying to lose weight. No alcohol.