Meal Prepping

(anais) #1

Hi all!! This is my first time posting on here, Ive been eyeing the keto diet for a couple months now and have finally decided to go all in. Im having a couple issues with meal planning, I do have a full time job as well as a part time on the weekends and a 2 year old son that keeps me on my toes, I want to prep my meals so that I don’t fall of the wagon so to speak. I’ve tried Pinterest and googling in general to find some sort of guide as to how to meal prep while on keto but I haven’t been able to find anything solid. Any suggestions, Any recipes?? Thanks all :smile:

(LeeAnn Brooks) #2

You could try Diet Doctor. They have a 2 week meal plan where the dinner meal is made as a double batch and you have the second portion for lunch the next day. Breakfast is simple eggs usually unless you opt to change it. It comes with a shopping list so you know exactly what to get for the week.

I’ve made a few in one day as to have meals done for 3-4 days at a time.

DietDoctor is a subscription, but you can sign up and get the first two weeks free. Then decide if you want to continue.

(Steve) #3

There’s also the Recipes section here on the site. :slight_smile: I got a bunch of the ones I like from ketoconnect.net.
The casserole’s are the best - as you can freeze the extra portions and put them in the freezer for those days that you’re crunched for time! :slight_smile:
(and everyone will like that bacon cheeseburger casserole that’s in there). :slight_smile:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

Buy a pork picnic and roast it. Even with the bone in, you will get several meals out of it, and the fatty skin makes it self-basting, so the meat is very tender.

Pre-heat the oven to 450° F/232° C and when you put the meat in, immediately reduce the temperature to 350/176. Roast for about 20 minutes per pound, or to an internal temperature of 160/71. You can make different keto gravies/sauces if you want some variety each day.

#5

This YouTube Playlist has a number of meal preps.

I don’t do much real meal prep, but I do from time to time do casseroles and “sheet pan” dinners, which can be portioned out as meal prep. A number of sheet pan ideas. Just be sure to swap out for good Keto choices.

My typical slow bake “sheet pan” recipe:

  1. Start with a 9x13 glass cake pan
  2. Add a layer of low carb veggies and sauce or broth
  3. Add a layer of meat (meatball, sausages, chicken thighs, …)
  4. Sprinkle all kinds of spices on top – smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, ground ginger, umami powder, …
  5. Bake for several hours at 200 degrees F.
  6. Turn over meat, add more spices, maybe some grated Parmesan cheese
  7. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees

The veggie layer can be any combination of canned, fresh or frozen low carb veggies – mushrooms, cauliflower (florets or riced), cabbage “steaks”, broccoli, green beans, bell peppers, sugar snap peas, asparagus, radishes, celery, artichokes, onions, …

I often do this whenever chicken thighs are on sale for under $1 a pound. I can fit 5 or 6 pound of thighs into that pan. Last week, pre-made meatballs were on sale, so I did 3 pounds of them. My veggie layer was two cans of artichoke hearts, a jar of whole mushrooms, a sliced onion, and a can of Ro-tel tomatoes and peppers. My sauce was Rao’s marinara sauce. I even considered topping with some eggs in the final bake, like a kind of shakshuka recipe.

I do the slow cook because I can’t spend an extended time in the kitchen. This takes about 10 minutes before it goes into the oven, and then I can come back to it later. Usually during that last 20 minute bake, I make a number of cheese crisps in the microwave. During that last session, I converted two 12-slice packages of cheese into crisps.

(Chris W) #6

Welcome,
One of my favorite preps is hamburger with some of a favorite seasoning(do watch the premade stuff some has carbs in it), cook a couple pounds at once and through in the fridge. Its easy to measure out too, and then you can mix in things like cheese or bacon, zuc noodles. Get the highest fat possible and don’t drain the fat that will be your energy source in few days. I used ruled.me for my recipes at first some are a little more elaborate.

https://www.ruled.me/keto-recipes/

I look for easy more than planning, but I don’t have a 2 year old anymore. I tend do things that can cook in a couple minutes in a microwave or don’t need to be cooked at all. Guac, cheese sticks, sausages, spinach(lots of that), eggs, most deli meats and frozen salmon patties. Many nuts are good snacks you do have to watch them though you can get out of hand with them.
Fat head pizza is one of the easiest things to make for few days worth of meals and its tastes awesome.
As suggested some longer items to cook are pork butt/shoulder or ribs, steaks can be a several day meal, pot roasts, brisket, most any cheap cut of meat can be cooked and is keto.

Watch the ingredients on foods, and the serving size, sometimes a serving can be very small.
Also hide all the carbs or lock them away, just as a precaution. I would encourage you to stay away from most prepackaged items like low carb breads or flat breads, protein bars, . They are fine for a transition item for a week or two but that is it.
I would also encourage you to stay away from the deserts and sweet items esp if you have a sweet tooth, for a number of reasons they can be a problem. If you have more questions ask.