August 22, 2019

08/22/2019 | Comment

What are the 5 foods I can order?

When ordering food at Chipotle, you may think your options are limited on a Keto diet. However, this could not be further from the truth. There are many great options that Chipotle has for its customers. We can’t cover them all, but check out these 5 options to keep you happy and health.

1. Keto Salad Bowl:

Having a salad bowl from Chipotle really can keep you going strong with Keto. The breakdown looks like this: 590 calories, 42g fat, 7g carbs, and 32g protein. (4) Add a meat like chicken (180 calories, 7g fat, 0g carbs) or carnitas (210 calories, 12g fat, 0g carbs) to your romaine lettuce (10 calories, 0g fat, 2g carbs). (4) Then, try out some fajita toppings (20 calories, 0g fat, 5g carbs) and guacamole (230 calories, 3.5g fat, 8g carbs for a tasty combination. (4) For best Keto results, you can eat the meal over two sittings because of the portion size

2. Chipotle Keto Vegetarian Order:

If you are a vegetarian on the Keto diet, this next option is for you. The meal consists of romaine lettuce, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream. The nutritional facts add up to 39g fat, 5g carbs, and 10g protein. (5) Some may try to go for the marinated tofu, but do not think this is a great Keto option. 6g carbs later, and you will have hindered your Keto diet completely. (5)

3. Matt’s Keto Chipotle Meal:

This next meal is one for people who are extra hungry when they head over to Chipotle. The breakdown for this meal is as follows: 550 calories, 36.5g fat, 15g carbs, and 41g protein. (3) This includes some tasty treats like chicken, lettuce, tomatillo red salsa (30 calories, 0g fat, 4g carbs), cheese (100 calories, 7.5g fat, 1g carb), and guacamole. (3)

4. Double Steak Salad:

Steak and salad are a wonderful pairing that will only cost you around $10. (1) At 500 calories, 35g fat, 50g protein, and 4g carbs, this is a tasty treat at Chipotle. (1) This meal also includes a bunch of vitamins and minerals that are great for your body. With vitamin B, choline, zinc, and iron, your body will be sure to stay strong. (1) Add a little dressing and some garnish, and you will get double the meal from this purchase.

5. Turf and Turf Keto Burrito Bowl:

Looking for the most meat to fit your Keto diet? Then, you should go with this last option. The Turf and Turf includes carnitas, steak, Tabasco hot sauce, fajita vegetables, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and romaine lettuce. The nutritional value is as follows: 835 calories, 57g fat, 18g carb, and 55g protein. (2) This may be a heavier option, when it comes to eating, but for a famished Keto individual, this portion will do anyone’s hunger justice.

Things to Watch For

Make sure to stay away from taco shells when at Chipotle. They add up to 13 net carb grams. (1) It gets even worse if you go for the burrito wrap. Each wrap adds up to 50 grams of carbohydrates. (1) Also, stay clear from tortilla chips, which have 65g carbs. (5) Beans and rice should also not be involved in your Keto diet. Because of the carb overload, you will not be able to maintain. White rice is 39g carbs, while brown rice is 34g carbs. (2) Beans are not as bad, but black beans are 15g carbs, and 13g carbs is in a portion of Chipotle’s pinto beans. (2) Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa is not a product of a Keto diet either. It has 13g carbs in every Chipotle meal. (5)

Lastly, you should make sure to limit your sugary drinks. Sodas are out-of-bounds, but you could try some water, seltzer water, and ice tea that is unsweetened. If you stay away from these foods, you can keep your carb limit under 50g per day by going to Chipotle for a meal. So, go online to order or walk into your nearest Chipotle, and enjoy your Keto experience. You can even get your food delivered to the comfort of your home.

Food

08/22/2019 | Comment

3 Keto-Friendly Orders from Pizza Hut(Plus What to Avoid)

Lots of people think that the keto diet is best suited for those who are willing to cook every meal at home. Not so! With some creativity and careful planning, you can stay on keto at any restaurant, including those carb-packed pizza joints like Pizza Hut. In the article we’ll scour the Pizza Hut menu for three keto-friendly gems hiding behind the pies! (Please note the following abbreviations: NC = net carbs, F = fat, P = protein)

1. Chicken Wings with Sauce and/or Rub

If you’re a chicken lover, then the keto diet may just be your very best friend. Just a quick search for “keto recipes” on Google and you’ll be pummeled with recipe after recipe featuring chicken as the main ingredient. It’s no wonder that chicken wings, a staple at Pizza Hut’s Wing Zone locations, made the top spot on our list of keto-friendly order options. But diner beware…not all wings (or sauces) are made equal, so it’s important to know before you go.

Start with the traditional BONE-IN wings (0g NC, 4.5g F, and 9g P) for 0 net carbs per wing! That’s right…zero, zilch, no carbs…so go ahead and order that 12- piece guilt-free.

Keep it at 0 net carbs per wing by adding a cajun style (0g NC, 0g F, 0g P), lemon pepper (0g NC, 0g F, 0g P), or ranch rub (<1g NC, 0g F, 0g P) or tossing in the Garlic Parmesan Sauce (0g NC, 7g F, <1g P).

For just 2 total net carbs you can add a side of Bleu Cheese (2g NC, 23g F, 1g P) , Buffalo Ranch (3g NC, 30g F, 1g P), Garlic (2g NC, 10g F, 0g P), or Ranch Dipping Sauce (2g NC, 22g F, 0g P).

What to avoid: The boneless wings add 4-6 net carbs per wing to your order, so definitely stick with the bone-in wings only. Also, almost all of the wing sauces PIzza Hut offers add 2+ net carbs per wing, so going with the Dipping Sauces instead is a much better carb investment.

2. Just the Pizza Toppings, Please!

Perhaps the easiest way to stay on Keto at Pizza Hut is to just order the same pizza you normally would, and then just eat the toppings and sauce. Obviously the total net carb, fat, and protein count for this method would vary greatly from pizza to pizza, and also requires some caution, because some toppings are much more keto-friendly than others. As a rule of thumb, stick with veggies that grow above ground. For the sauce, go for a cheese, cream, or tomato based sauce. Try out the following pizzas from Pizza Hut, but remember, toppings only! (this method works great if you have a crust-loving loved one in the house):

- - Buffalo Chicken
  - Bacon Cheeseburger
  - Meat Lovers
  - Garden Veggie
  - Italian Meatball
  - Chicken Bacon Parmesan Supreme
  - Bacon Spinach Alfredo
  - Supreme
  - Good ol’ pepperoni

What to avoid: The crust! All traditional pizza crusts, including thin crusts, are loaded with carbs, so completely skip the crust from any Pizza Hut pizza. BBQ sauce is also featured on many of their pizzas, but most BBQ sauces are loaded with sugar, so opt for a cheese or tomato based sauce instead. Also avoid most root veggies, although a few onions should be okay.

3. Salads

Oh, what would the Keto diet be without a trusty old salad? Just like some many other restaurants out there, salads at Pizza Hut offer the keto dieter an easy way to eat out and stay on track. Visit a Pizza Hut dine-in location and dig in to their salad bar. If you’re lucky enough to live near a location that offers the Hawaii Garden Salad (Entree portion: 6g NC, 0.5g F, 4g P; Side portion: 1g NC, 0g F, 1g P), Hawaii Caesar Salad (Entree portion: 3g NC, 2.5g F, 4g P), or the protein-packed Hawaii Chicken Caesar Salad (Entree portion: 5g NC, 4.5g F, 19g P), they’re all awesome keto-friendly choices.

What type of dressing will keep your carb count low? Pizza Hut offers several salad dressings in 1 serving packets and cups. Just dip your salad into the dressing instead of drowning it in it, and you’ll be able to stay on target and satisfied. Opt for these lower carb salad dressings (all nutrition info is per serving):

- - Bleu Cheese Marzetti packet (2g NC, 21g F, 1g P)
  - Buttermilk Ranch Marzetti packet (2g NC, 22g F, 0g P)
  - Light Italian Marzetti packet (2g NC, 1g F, 0g P)
  - Royal Caesar Marzetti packet (2g NC, 18g F, 1g P)
  - Thousand Island Marzetti packet (6g NC, 21g F, 0g P)
  - Balsamic Vinaigrette cup (Entree portion: 7g NC, 21g F, 0g P; Side portion: 4g NC, 10g F, 0g P)
  - Creamy Italian cup (Entree portion: 3g NC, 37g F, 0g P; Side portion: 2g NC, 18g F, 0g P)
  - Ranch cup (Entree portion: 4g NC, 23g F, 2g P; Side portion: 2g NC, 11g F, <1g P)
  - Romano cup (Entree portion: 6g NC, 33g F, 2g P)

What to avoid: There are a lot of salad toppings that are very poor choices for keto dieters. Steer clear of any bread items, such as croutons or crackers. Root veggies like carrots can add unwanted carbs. Also skip the dressing on your salad and always order it on the side – it’s easier to keep track of how many servings you’ve had that way.

Food

08/22/2019 | Comment

Keto-friendly Hardee’s menu:

Breakfast:

Let’s start with breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and Hardee’s is known for its breakfast options. Its bacon, eggs, and cheese biscuit is quite popular. However, this mouth-watering combo does have a total carb count of 46 g. To bring that down, people on the ketogenic diet can minus the biscuit, and this will bring down the carb content mere 10 g! You can further customize the order by increasing the number of bacon strips, or to a maybe another egg. The meal will be satisfying but low on carbs. The total calories for this meal are 310 kcal, and the protein content is 16 g. This hearty breakfast will keep you filled up and satisfied for a long time without adding too many carbs to your diet.

The burgers:

Beef burgers are what Hardee’s is known for. Its Bacon Cheese Thickburger is a favorite menu item. You can munch on the delicious beef without feeling any guilt by replacing the buns with lettuce wraps. The burger provides 850 calories, and the original carb content is 54 g. Without the buns and the tomatoes, the carbs will fall to just 15 g, which is great for a burger that is extremely filling. The total calories for this meal are 690 kcal with total proteins of 42 g.

Next up, the classic Cheeseburger. You will get an exquisite combo of a thick beef patty, smoked bacon, diced onions, pickles, and even mustard and ketchup. With the buns, the carbs will be 37 g and without it only 9 g. You can enjoy your cheeseburger guilt free every time. With total calories of 600 kcal and proteins of 33 g this burger is an excellent choice.

Any of the Hardee’s classic burgers can be converted into a delicious steak by merely removing the buns. Getting rid of the buns will bring down the carb content drastically, but it will still look like a complete meal, so you do not feel deprived.

Chicken:

Chicken tenders and fried breaded chicken pieces are already low in carbs. Fifteen chicken tenders, for instance, contain just 21 g of carbs. But keto dieters can easily remove the outer coating, which contains the carbs, and reduce the amount of carbs even more. You can always get the taste by dipping the chicken in any number of sauces available at Hardee’s most of which are low in carb content.

The chicken sandwich is again no issue, as long as you have the buns replaced by lettuce wraps. The modified sandwich will have nearly 20 g fewer carbs, so from 39 g to 9 g. Pretty good deal that is. The total proteins will be 18 g, and the calorie count will be 290 kcal.

Things to avoid:

Avoid the buns at all costs and replace all of them with lettuce wraps. Next up, the desserts. Try not to give in to the temptation. When it comes to sweet things, not much modification can be done so you are better off just avoiding them altogether.

Also, try to skim on the side orders. Onion rings and fries are better left out. Try to fill yourself up with the main menu items which you have customized according to the ketogenic diet so you can skip the side orders.

Finally, the beverages. Sodas of all kinds are a definite no. They contain tons of sugar and have no nutritional value. Try to get into the habit of drinking plain water because even juices contain a lot of sugar and, surprisingly, sodium.

With these things in mind you, as a keto dieter, are good to go. Visit your nearest Hardee’s and have a great time enjoying your meal.

Food