KETO DIET – DINING OUT

Worried that being on a Keto diet will restrict your social life? No need. You can go out to eat almost everywhere! Check out below tips on how to maintain your ketogenic lifestyle when dining out.

If you like eating out, ordering take out, or visiting with friends for dinner or brunch, your low-carb diet living can get in the way. From entrees to dessert, most meals feature a high variety of carbohydrate foods, be it at a restaurant or friend’s house. Eat such foods two or three times a week, and you will be in and out of ketosis. That can be very confusing for your body, not to mention the symptoms you have to endure every time your body has to flush out the carbs.

KETO DIET AT SOMEONE’S HOME

If dining at a relative’s or friend’s place, communicate with your host beforehand. Doing otherwise will inconvenience your host and make everyone uncomfortable. It’s ok to ask what’s on the menu – It’s okay to bring your own dish, although if you do so, let your hostess know. It should also be something that most of the people at the dinner can partake. An example of one thing I would do, is making sure I take cauliflower mash or keto bread with me, which everyone can enjoy as a side with any protein the host had prepared. Or take a keto dessert with you, so you and your friends can enjoy, guilt free!

And I have to mention, don’t launch into how carbs are poison and “big food” have been lying to us all along. I know it’s exciting and tempting to share such information, but your host has served carbs, so if you say such things you are just telling her that she is poisoning her guests. So…not the time or place.

KETO DIET AT A RESTAURANT

Check out the menu and plan what you will eat ahead
To maintain your healthy keto diet, you have to make adjustments to your food. So, it’s better to arrive at a restaurant with a made-up mind and earn points for being “decisive”. Before you leave your house, a quick look at an online menu will help you think “low-carb” way before a waiter tempts you with their wide selection of high-carb foods.

Cut out starchy foods; Bread, potatoes, pasta, rice are an absolute no-no.
Go for entrée options that don’t have these starchy foods. For your main meals, replace potatoes, rice and pasta with low-carb alternatives such as cauliflower, zoodles, shirataki, if available. Otherwise, it is absolutely perfect to have a protein with a green salad on the side.

Add fats, but only healthy ones
Add butter to your meats and vegetables
Drizzle more olive oil on your salads

Only take low-carb condiments and sauces
Most sauces contain a high amount of carbs. Therefore, while you may be cutting carbs by eliminating the main food items, you could be gaining it all back through your sauces. It’s always best to steer off sauces, but if you do order any sauce or condiment:
Go for sauces that contain a higher fat content.
Avoid store-bought sauces like ketchup. They contain sugar and other shocking ingredients.
Inquire about the ingredients contained in the sauce.

Watch the carbs in your drinks
Water is the perfect drink to have with any meal. But, if you feel that your dining experience is incomplete without something more sophisticated, go for dry wine. If you must do a cocktail, make sure it contains no sugar additives. You can do a dry martini, whiskey, gin, tequila and vodka. You can only add soda water to these drinks, nothing else.

Dessert?
Most dessert portions tend to be small so you might find yourself letting your guard down a little bit here. But due to the high amount of sugar contained in most restaurant-made desserts, that small portion can be your “keto undoing”.
Have a cheese board.
Have Berries with unsweetened whipped cream.
Ask for a cup of tea or coffee.

Additional tips:
Here are some additional tips to wind up this post:
• When eating out, set a “no carb” rule. Even the smallest cheats tend to add up.
• Hunger increases temptation, so don’t go out when starving. Before you leave your house, eat something light but fatty, like nuts.
• Don’t over eat. One way to avoid this is to eat small portions. You can always get second helpings later.
• You can take your keto bun with you anywhere, It’s so worth it, especially if you are craving a burger.
• Focus on fat, protein, and veggies.

Lastly, enjoy your meal, it is about the people you are with, and not about the food you eat!