Your Master Keto Menu Plan Template

December 16, 2019
Posted by Shopify API
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Following a ketogenic diet doesn't have to be more difficult than a “regular” diet. Eating keto can easily become second nature with the right preparation and planning.

It’s imperative that you stick to any diet for long enough to reap the benefits. That timeframe is usually 30-45 days. This is why we made it the KETO 30 Challenge, rather than the KETO 15!

That means you should make the diet sustainable. Arming yourself with a delicious and easy-to-follow keto menu plan is part of that.

Read Also: Tim Tebow’s 7-Day Keto Meal Plan

Enter this keto menu diet template. It’s fully customizable, adapts to your lifestyle and, most importantly, is the only keto meal plan that really works.

What is Keto?

A ketogenic, or keto, diet involves restricting your carbohydrate intake to put the body into a state of ketosis (not to be to confused with ketoacidosis[1], a condition that affects diabetics when the body is unable to produce enough insulin).

When the body is deprived of carbohydrates for long enough, the body’s glycogen stores — its preferred source of energy — are depleted, the body begins to produce ketones and switches to burning fat for energy.

While being in ketosis technically requires nothing more than restricting carbohydrates, a keto diet usually involves eating higher amounts of fat. This not only supports your newly fat-fuelled body, but helps you feel satiated now that carbs are off the (dinner) table.

A keto diet follows a macronutrient ratio of:

75% fat
20% protein
5% carbs.

Most people can maintain ketosis by consuming 20g net carbs or less each day.

Sound extreme? It’s easier than you think.

Creating Your Perfect Beginner Keto Menu Plan

If you really want to succeed with your keto diet, the secret isn’t finding the perfect meal plan. It’s creating one that’s perfect for you.

A personalized meal plan will help you feel more satisfied and in control while building long-term success with your diet.

Everyone has different dietary needs and preferences, which means there’s no one keto meal plan to suit anyone and everyone. A busy stay-at-home mom needs different nutrition than a seasoned bodybuilder.

Thankfully, keto can be tailored to suit just about anyone. And it’s as simple as making a few keto tweaks to your current diet.

Step 1: Use Your Current Diet to Create a Menu Template

To make the transition to keto as smooth as possible, look at what a typical day of eating looks like for you. Whether you at six small meals a day or eat your first meal at noon, write everything down, including beverages.

Now note examples of food you’d normally eat during those meals.

You should now have something that resembles a standard day of eating for you, like this:

Morning coffee: Skim milk latte
Breakfast: Egg and bean breakfast burrito or fruit smoothie
Second coffee: Skim milk latte
Lunch: Turkey sandwich and a banana
Snack: Blueberry muffin
Dinner: Spaghetti bolognese
Dessert: Chocolate ice cream

Don’t worry if it’s far from a ketogenic diet. We’ll address that in the next step.

Step 2: Make Keto-Friendly Swaps

Now for the most exciting part: creating your perfect keto diet menu.

The key here is to keep it as close to your current diet as possible. Except that we’re going to replace the carb-heavy options with delicious keto alternatives.

Let’s look at how the above example can be changed to be keto-friendly with a few simple swaps:

Morning coffee: Bulletproof keto coffee
Breakfast: Breakfast casserole or keto smoothie
Second coffee: Almond milk latte
Lunch: Keto cobb salad with turkey
Snack: Macadamia nut butter or a keto snack bar
Dinner: Bolognese with zucchini noodles and parmesan
Dessert: Keto chocolate ice cream

It’s easy to give your current diet a keto makeover with a few tweaks.

It doesn’t matter if you like making exciting, complex dishes or prefer to eat meat and vegetables for each meal. It’s about doing keto your way.

To make things even easier, write out a list of your favorite meals and then see how you can modify them to make them keto.

Browse our recipe database and bookmark your favorites for your own meal plan. Keeping a list of recipes on hand that you know you’ll love to cook and eat will make meal planning a breeze.

Your Keto Meal Template

When creating your own meals, swap the high-carb items from your usual shopping list with low-carb alternatives from our keto shopping list.

Include a low-carb base, protein and quality sources of fats from the keto food list. This will make it even simpler to create complete keto meals without confusion. And don’t forget to increase the fat to stay satiated.

If you’re feeling lost, just follow this template for making any keto meal:

Choose your base

Fresh greens
Zucchini noodles
Sauteed or roasted low carb vegetables
Cauliflower rice

Add your protein

Meat
Fish
Eggs
Tofu
Tempeh

Increase the fat

Avocado
Mayonnaise
Almond or macadamia nut butter
Keto-friendly nuts
Olive, avocado and coconut oil
Lard
Grass-fed butter or ghee
Olives
Cheese
Heavy cream
Chia and hemp seeds

Feel free to add in your favorite keto-friendly ingredients to create whatever you like, including sweet treats, baked goods and even smoothies.

What about keto snacks? Are they allowed on keto?

Yes, though you might find you’re not terribly hungry after your main meals. If you are hungry, feel free to snack on keto foods, or grab pre-made keto-friendly snacks. Options include:

Cheese crackers or chips
Olives or pickles
Pork rinds
Keto snack bars
Nut butters
Jerky and keto meat sticks
Trail mix and nuts
Keto chocolates

And yes, you can still drink alcohol on keto!

Sample Keto Menu Plans

Still not sure how you can make a keto diet work for your lifestyle or dietary preferences? Here are a few example menus to inspire you and show just how flexible a keto diet can be:

Sample Keto Diet Menu: Paleo

You can eat both a paleo and keto diet (in fact, they compliment each other quite well!). Here’s a sample menu.

Breakfast: Avocado breakfast scramble
Lunch: Tuna salad with mayonnaise
Snack: Pork rinds
Dinner: Meatloaf with green beans
Dessert: Maple Pecan Paleo Pumpkin Bars

Sample Keto Diet Menu: Vegetarian

Yes, you can be a vegetarian on keto!

Breakfast: Green egg omelet
Lunch: Egg salad lettuce wraps
Snack: Chocolate coconut energy balls
Dinner: Cauliflower fried rice
Dessert: No-Bake Keto Cheesecake

Sample Keto Diet Menu: Vegan

Adhering to the ketogenic diet is a bit more difficult as a vegan. It’s not impossible though.

Breakfast: Coconut cream chia pudding
Lunch: Grilled tempeh and walnut salad with cashew “cheese”
Snack: Carrots and guacamole
Dinner: Tofu and green veggie stir fry
Dessert: FBOMB Macadamia Nut Butter

Sample Keto Diet Menu: Busy People

You don’t have to have a ton of time on your hands to stick to a ketogenic diet menu. The following sample menu is quick and easy.

Breakfast: Bulletproof coffee
Lunch: KetoMeal
Snack: Keto Crisps
Dinner: Keto-friendly fast food option
Dessert: KetoLogic Keto Indulge

Top Tips for Sticking to Your Ketogenic Diet Menu Plan

1. Simplify for success

Simplicity creates sustainability. Just stick to your meal plan and don’t be afraid to rely on things like meal replacements to make your diet as easy as possible. Remember, you can always improve and optimize your diet as you get the hang of things.

2. Fine-tune your diet based on what your body is telling you

Many people experience side effects when they first start a keto diet, such as the dreaded “keto flu”. If you’re feeling flu-like symptoms then you may need to drink more water or even increase your electrolytes through either food or supplements.

If you’ve been kicked out of ketosis, take another look at your diet and dial in your carb count. It could be something as simple as added sugar in your almond milk, a high carb protein powder or too many blueberries. When in doubt, consult the carb counter!

Measuring your ketones is also an accurate way to see how your body is responding to what you’re eating. This is a good option to keep your body in ketosis and your diet on track.

3. Think of it as a lifestyle, not a diet

The key to sticking to your keto diet is enjoying it. Forget time limits. Forget dreaming about the day when you’ll be reunited with sweet potato. Forget the diet mentality altogether. Just focus on how you feel and enjoy the journey while you’re on it.

“Diet” can mean a quick fix to your weight or health, but it can also mean your way of eating for the rest of your life. No matter how many structured meal plans and diets you follow, the one that’s going to stick is the one that works for you and can be sustained long term.

The keto menu diet template does exactly that. It’s a formula you can use over and over to make planning your meals effortless and enjoyable, no matter how much your way of eating changes. Because the best diet isn’t the one that works for most people. It’s the one that works for you.

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