How do you Restaurant-Keto?

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(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #1

Like Russian Roulette–we play the menu game at restaurants, doubling down on bacon and leaving off the french fries.

How do you keto at a restaurant?

#restaurantketo

Traveling through!
(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #2

1 Pork Belly Nachos without the chips
2 Pork Rinds “Cracklin” used to dip into Pork Belly Nachos
3 Antispasti platter with ham, prosciutto, cheddar cheese, deviled egg and asparagus

Yum!

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(Renee Slaughter) #3

I check the online menu to make sure there’s something I can eat. The hardest ones are Mexican restaurants. Salsa and chips. I decided when I go to Mexican restaurant go for the steak and shrimp fajitas no tortillas and a side green salad. That should be ok. I dont do Chinese unless they have a buffet with a wide variety of food. I have a weakness for sushi. So I haven’t been in a while.:sob:

(TJ Borden) #4

Amen!!! Mexican and Tex-mex used to be my favorite, but it’s just so tough, I skip it altogether now.

(KCKO, KCFO) #5

I frequent a Mexican restaurant often. They have things like sides of guac of course. They make their own pork rinds. They have a wide assortment of entrees that I just order ala carte, so no beans or rice on my plate. Just carnitas, or Pollo Mexicana, or bacon wrapped shrimp with chipotle creamy dipping sauce (they make this with real cream, so smooth and yumpshish. Also the fajitas,carne adobado and the chilies poblano all can be eaten without the side carbs or tortillas. Heck upon request they make skinny tacos, served in long romaine leaves instead of taco shells. So eating out is not a problem for me, this place has the nicest mountain views in the area as well, so DH and I frequent the patio there often.

We also have an Italian grill place that is a chain, that has plenty of items we can eat. Just pass on the fresh hot bread they offer as you order.

Check on line for Chinese places, they will let you know if no MSG etc. There are several good options at Asian places near us as well.

But mostly we do the Mexican thing, because I am such a pepperbelly.

(Brian) #6

Mostly, I plan on the probability that there will be hidden carbs and pretty much higher carbs overall. But I will still enjoy a meal out. (I eat out maybe once a week on average so we’re not talking about every day.)

At the Cracker Barrel, which is about the best around these parts, they have decent offerings that are not loaded too heavily with carbs. Found out they have button mushrooms in butter just this evening. (Not on their regular menu.) Pretty good eats. Plus, they do broccoli with extra butter pretty well. Their trout ain’t bad.

At the Mexican places in town, they offer a pretty decent quesadilla with pretty keto friendly stuff in it… chicken or beef, onions, peppers, broccoli, squash, cheese, and often a side salad with sour cream and guacamole. I know, I could do the righteous thing and eat around the shell. I don’t. I enjoy it. I could also ignore the chips and salsa on the table. I don’t. I enjoy a few. (But I don’t eat the whole basket and ask for more like I did before keto, I just eat a few.) I just expect that it’s gonna be 40g or so of carbs when I go there. We probably go there once a month.

Buffets are usually not hard. They usually have salad and the usually have lots of kinds of meat and mostly enough veggies that there are some low carb ones.

Italian is one of the hardest for me but I could still do it if I had to. Eggplant parm might be one option. There might be some salad options. But the hardest part is all of the stuff I used to love so much, like the ravioli… Pizza places are even harder as there really just isn’t much that’s not bread/crust based. Occasionally, someone will have a decent deep dish pizza but that’s kinda rare.

Overall, we do the best we can. It’s seldom ideal. And I think we usually eat quite a few more carbs out than we’d eat at home, nothing ridiculous, and sometimes, not enough to really even call attention to. But we do try to pay attention to the things we order and choose as best we can.

We don’t have any Chinese or Asian places close by that we’ve ever gone to since going keto. They weren’t that good, period. Maybe if they were, we’d try for the beef n broccoli or other things that were at least lower in carbs. It would probably depend a lot upon what’s on the menu.

It helps to know where you’re going ahead of time.

(TJ Borden) #7

:+1:I would too. Keto is a way of life, we still have to live.

#8

If eating at a restaurant is an occasional thing, enjoy the indulgence and don’t worry about it. If it’s done on a regular basis, keep it simple- meat & veggies, or a salad entree.

Meals at restaurants may not adhere to the ideal macros we’d prefer, but it’s fairly easy find a relatively low carb entree at most restaurants.

(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #9

Oh so glad you mentioned Cracker Barrel! We are in Scottsdale for Spring Training and the parental-units are counting down the days to when we can go to Cracker Barrel on our way home!

Thanks for the great suggestions!

(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #10

Right?! But we don’t skip it, I so enjoy ordering just plates of meats or poultry. And lots of guacamole, sour cream and cheese!

(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #11

Ditto! Used to eat sushi I twice a week. Now I order Poke bowls when we go to the sushi restaurants.

(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #12

One of my favorite dishes, I also skips the tortillas and add scrambled egg to mine.

(Adriana Quintana) #13

I have found some easy keto meals if you go to an authentic Mexican restaurant, you do end up skipping some sides or asking for substitutes, but that happens to me at just about any restaurant: Chile Verde omelette with a side salad, 7 mares (7 seas) fish soup, shrimp cocktail with extra avocado and pico de Gallo, menudo (con pata) skip the hominy. And see if they can serve chicharrones instead of chips for your guac. And there’s always the go to grilled chicken salad and fajitas plate. If you all know what a molcajete is…go for it! I have found that most “Authentic ethnic” restaurants have great food choices… They have less processed food.

(Jan) #14

My current favorite is pho minus the noodles. I get extra meat, extra basil, extra sprouts. Or the Vietnamese rice noodle bowls without the noodles. Sometimes I splurge on the sauce (nam pla?) But mostly just add hot sauce and soy sauce.

(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #15

What is this? Never heard of it.

We live in Northern California and have lots of traditional Mexican restaurants, many with a Riveria menu.

(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #16

Ah, I had not thought of that.

I love the beef rolls in Pho, though they are filled with onion so I have typically avoided them. I do miss the fresh shrimp rolls with noodles–haven’t figured out how to replace those!

I’ve benn ordering at our local Chinese restaurant, and they think I’m crazy, a plate of stir-fried beef with soy sauce only.

This skips the cornstarch process and is tasty!

(Sophie) #17

The Chinese buffet place here has a large selection of fresh ingredients that you can load on your plate and they will grill it for you. Just ask for oil only.

Cracker Barrel has a hamburger steak and you can get steamed broccoli and a side salad. They are also about the only place I’ve found that has oil and vinegar for a salad although I question the oil.

I forgot about Golden Corral ( We call it The Hog Trough here). We don’t go there often but I went with my group last week. I had a salad with ranch and 2 fried chicken thighs. I kicked the skin off because of the flour but the chicken was really good.

(Brian) #18

Hmmm… I’m wondering about this Cracker Barrel thing. Today is the second time this has happened. Ate at Cracker Barrel last night. Ate plenty, almost more than I wanted. Today, a new weight low. FWIW, I had the trout, two fillets, a double order of broccoli wit extra butter, a double order of button mushrooms and 3 large cups of coffee with extra half n half. Dunno, can’t explain. But I can’t argue with the scale. ??

(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #19

Whoa! Ok so I know what to order Monday!
Congrats on the drop on the scale :smiley:

(Cailyn Mc Cauley) #20

I iwhnthere was a place near us like that. Any of our buffets are pre-made dishes that look half-congealed. I never understand how these places can survive!