What Can I Eat On The Ketogenic Diet?
Maybe you have or have not heard about the ketogenic diet. Right off the bat most people ask first, what can I eat on the ketogenic diet?
The ketogenic diet focuses on lots of good healthy fats, protein, and very few carbs. The easiest way to think about it is to focus on protein from any type of meat and veggies and healthy fats. If you stick with those things you’ll be set.
The main reason people go on a ketogenic diet is because they want to put their body into a state of nutritional ketosis, where their body is producing ketones which help you burn fat cells for energy rather than glucose.
If you can stay on the diet long enough to get into ketosis you’re able to loose weight and the extra ketones in your body are anti-inflammatory and oxygenating and can help with so many health issues from migraines to arthritis to diabetes and more!
I originally started eating this type of diet when I was struggling with chronic fatigue and anxiety and these healing foods really nourished my body back to health! I’m a big believer in viewing food as medicine and I hope you’ll realize just how powerful it can be as well.
Foods To Eat On The Ketogenic Diet
HEALTHY Fats: Not all fats are created equal. Fat is necessary for your health, but it’s important to know which ones to eat and which to avoid. You’ll want to tank up on good fats like coconut oil, ghee (clarified butter), grass fed butter (more omega 3’s), avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, egg yolks, coconut butter, coconut cream, nuts and seeds (omit peanuts).
Our modern diet is out of balance with omega 3 and omega 6 oils. We’re getting way to many omega 6’s so we want to focus on the fats and healthy meats that are going to help increase omega 3’s in your body.
Meat: Beef, poultry, pork, fish, shellfish, eggs, organ meats, lamb, goat and wild game like elk, antelope, moose and deer…yum!
Just beware of processed meats, many contain msg, sugar and other yucky ingredients!
Vegetables: You want to focus on low carb, non starchy, grown above the ground. Leafy greens are fantastic!
Fruit: Fruit is very limited on a strict ketogenic diet due to the carbohydrate and fructose content so berries are best. You can use fresh or frozen and try and opt for organic when possible or make sure to wash all produce first!
If you’re practicing a more loose ketogenic diet, maybe you can yourself “low carb” or what I refer to as a “ketogenic inspired lifestyle” then you can certainly eat whatever other fruits you’d like. Just remember all things in moderation and balance it with healthy fats, veggies and protein!
Nuts & Seeds: All nuts, seeds and butters except for peanut are allowed. Watch for added bad oils like canola oil and rapeseed oil. Raw nuts are best, sprouted are even better! You can make your own simply by soaking and dehydrating them with a little real salt.
Dairy: A major difference between the paleo and ketogenic diets is that paleo does not include dairy and keto does! Which is wonderful because I love dairy:) You need to eat FULL FAT dairy, non of this low fat, fat free garbage.
So full fat yogurt, heavy cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, hard cheese like parmesan cheese, swiss, feta and cheddar and soft cheese like, brie, monterey jack, mozzarella and bleu cheese, delicious! Now with dairy it’s best to purchase organic when possible to avoid extra hormones, antibiotics and pesticides and grass fed/pastured products are even better because the cow has been able to graze on grasses and therefore has more omega 3 fatty acids in their fat!
Sweetener: This is one area where the keto diet definitely skimps! I generally use pure maple syrup and coconut sugar as my sweeteners of choice and in smoothies I like to use bananas, other sweet fruits and dates, but on this diet you need to stay away from extra carbs and sugar if you want to get into ketosis.
Suggested sweeteners for the keto diet are Stevia, Erythritol and Monk Fruit. Stay far away from fake sugar like sucralose and aspartame. They are known neurotoxins and damage your nervous system!!
Other: There are many other things like spices and herbs, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, and salad dressings that are allowed but you just have to make sure that you read labels. Most all of these have added sugar so just be aware and look at different varieties until you find one without sugar, or one that’s sweetened with stevia.
Probiotic Foods: You won’t see probiotic foods talked about on any other blogs that promote the ketogenic lifestyle but I can’t talk about any healthy eating plan without talking about probiotic foods! They are so nourishing to your WHOLE body I believe it’s important for everyone to include them in their diet. Purchase full fat organic kefir (plain) and make a smoothie with berries and some stevia. Purchase lacto-fermented saurkraut and pickles and you can also look for brands of cottage cheese and sour cream, like “Nancy’s Brand” that have billions of live active cultures!
There you have it! You have a lot to choose from!
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xo,
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