Going along with Danielle’s post about what we’ve been eating on the Keto diet, we wanted to add a few items for dining out on Keto. For most people, going on a diet doesn’t mean you want to give up going out to eat, or grabbing something quick to eat when you need it. Personally, I’m all over the place for work and the downside to the Keto diet is it doesn’t lend itself to eating cold food on the go as much as say, packing a couple of sandwiches. Typically, you’ll want to be able to reheat your keto leftovers and I’m not always near an office to hit up a microwave. I could (and sometimes do) pack some lunch meat and cheese, and eat bread-less sandwiches, or maybe a salad, but typically grabbing food on the go is what I rely on.
Here are some of our go-to meals when eating out:
Chic-fil-A
My go-to at Chic-fil-A is their chicken nuggets (Regular or Grilled). The Grilled nuggets are around 1g carb per every 6 nuggets and the Regular nuggets are just around 1.25g carbs per nugget. Obviously the grilled nuggets are better carb-wise, but the regular nuggets are okay too, as long as it’s in moderation (don’t scarf down a 30 count nugget tray by yourself).
Zaxby’s
For Zaxby’s, their Zalads are a good low carb option. My go-to is the House Zalad, which you can get fried or grilled. Obviously skip the Text Toast, and your fried Zalad will be around 17g net carbs while the grilled House Zalad will be about 11g net carbs. Skip the fried onions and you’ll save another 5g carbs on each salad. Add 2g carbs for Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing. So for the Fried House Salad with ranch, blue cheese or Caesar dressing would be 19g net carbs or if you skip the fried onions, 14g net carbs. For the Grilled House Salad, it would be 13g net carbs, or 8g net carbs if you skip the fried onions.
Zaxby’s traditional wings are also a good low carb choice. The wings themselves are 0g net carbs with 2g net carbs for the Tongue Torch sauce (3g for Wimpy sauce) per 5 wings and 2g net carbs for each Ranch dipping sauce. A serving of celery is approximately 1g net carbs.
Another not-as-low-carb option, is Zaxby’s chicken fingers. My go-to is the 5 chicken fingers dipped in Tongue Torch. This combo is 19g net carbs with 2g added for the Ranch dipping sauce, for a total of 22g net carbs.
Surchero’s
If you are not familiar with Surchero’s, it is a local to Georgia TexMex-style restaurant similar to Barberito’s or Moe’s. You may not be near a Surchero’s but you should be able to get a similar meal at a Barberito’s or Moe’s. Surchero’s also has a handy online nutrition calculator.
My go-to here is a grilled salad consisting of chicken and steak over spinach, with sour cream, guac, grilled mushrooms, cheese and Pico de Gallo, topped with Surchero’s sauce (i.e. chipotle ranch). This meal is around 12g net carbs. You can do many variants of this, given all the ingredients available, the main thing to remember is no tortilla shell, no beans, no rice and easy on the onions.
Hardee’s
Who doesn’t love a Hardee’s Thickburger?
We found out the first time we went to order a bun-less burger at Hardee’s that they actually have a “low-carb” version of their burgers. Just order whichever burger you want, ask for it “low-carb” and they will wrap the burger in lettuce for you. My go-to is the low-carb version of the Monster Thickburger, which is around 1g net carbs.
Taco Bell
I’m not a frequenter of Taco Bell, but you can still grab a keto-friendly meal here. My go-to is the Power Bowl. You can do steak or chicken, and go with no rice, and no beans. You can also add extra guac, sour cream, meat, etc. If you went with a typical chicken or steak bowl, no rice or beans, and adding guac and sour cream, you are looking at roughly 6g to 8g net carbs.
McDonald’s
If you must (cause sometimes it’s all that’s there), you can still grab keto-friendly at McDonald’s. My only experience with this is to order the triple cheeseburger, bun-less. The bun-less triple cheeseburger is around 4g net carbs, and due to the diminutive size, I’d order two. It’s really not that much and it’ll only be around 8g net carbs for two.
General Go-Tos
The above options are my day-to-day go-to’s for specific places, but compiling a list of what to eat everywhere would be a pretty daunting endeavor. So instead, here are some general go-to’s for eating out. Sticking close to these will usually keep you on track for a low-carb life.
Chicken
In general, stick to grilled chicken and pair with veggies for a side. Good options are usually green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, or coleslaw (in moderation).
Mexican
For Mexican restaurants, my go-to is fajitas. You can do steak, shrimp, chicken and/or beef. Just remember no rice, no beans, and no tortillas. We are partial to fajitas, but most Mexican dishes are keto friendly if you leave out the tortillas, rice and beans (and fight the urge to demolish the chips and salsa).
Burgers
Most any burger made bun-less will work, just avoid a lot of tomato, onion, or high carb sauces.
Steak
Steak is keto! Just stay away from getting those potatoes as a side. Most places typically offer a salad, vegetable, or veggie medley for side options. At Longhorn for instance, we usually get a steak with a side of steamed broccoli and a salad. Stick to ranch for your salad dressing.
Salads
Salads are usually seen as a healthy option, but you have to be aware of what’s in the there. Be wary of any added sauces, go easy on the onions and tomatoes, and no croutons. Eggs, cheese, broccoli, ham and turkey are all acceptable low-carb options. Again, stick to Ranch dressing.
Disclaimer: The amounts of carbs listed are approximate and compiled from available online nutritional facts. The actual amount can vary given discrepancies in actual meal portions and ingredients. This is meant as guide for a low-carb/Keto based diet, not for exact measurements.
