Eating Out on Keto

One question people have asked me is if I can eat out on Keto.  The answer is... carefully.  Restaurants put a lot of sugars and fillers into food so it always important to be very careful when eating out.  Over time, I have developed a list of safe bets and special orders at various restaurants and fast food chains.

Chipotle and other burrito places - Burrito bowl sans rice/beans or Salad.  Veggies, cheese, sour cream, guac are all fine.  Salsa/pico does have some carbs.  Best to stay away from the corn salsa.

Burger joints - Bunless burgers hold the ketchup.  Ketchup has a lot of sugar.   You can find low sugar ketchup at most grocery stores and it is a staple in my house now.  Many places like 5 Guys will make burgers Protein Style by wrapping the burger in lettuce. If you find places that do a beanless chili for burgers or hotdogs, this is usually fairly safe as well. Some places will add a fried egg to the burger too.

Wendys - Salads with creamy dressing, no croutons.  Ranch, Blue Cheese, and Caesar are good options.  Also bunless grilled chicken sandwiches. 

McDonalds - bunless burgers hold the ketchup.  Muffinless McMuffins - egg, cheese, and breakfast meat.

Jimmie Johns - Unwich.  They will make any sub hold the bread and wrap it in lettuce for you.

KFC - Grilled chicken or original chicken (only 3 carbs per piece). Green beans.

Breakfast joints (IHOP, Village Inn, etc.) - Omelets, scrambled eggs, scrambles hold the potatoes, etc.  Don't order omelets at IHOP though, they add pancake batter to the eggs!  Also these places will usually allow you to sub cottage cheese for potatoes as a side. I also like hollandaise sauce so I will have it added to different egg dishes.

Chickfila - Grilled nuggets.  Side salad.  Avocado ranch.

On the Border, Chilis, Applebees - Salads with creamy dressing hold the croutons.

Buffalo Wild Wings - Wings that aren't fried.  Naked boneless wings.  Salads.  Garlic Parmesan Sauce.  Ranch.  Celery and blue cheese.  Buffalo sauce.  Stay away from sweet sauces.

Red Lobster (this is a favorite of mine on keto) -- any non-fried fish or shell-fish.  Crab. Lobster. Shrimp.  Seafood stuffed flounder.  Green Beans.  Asparagus.  Grilled Brussel Sprouts (these are awesome!)

Outback - Steak.  Crabcakes.  Grilled chicken or pork.  Broccoli & Cheese. Grilled Mushrooms.

BBQ joints - All the meat.  Coleslaw if it isn't sweet.  Salads.  No BBQ sauce but you can order sugar free BBQ sauces online like this one.  Bacon and cheese grilled jalapenos.

Mexican places - Taco salads hold the shell or chips.  Fajitas sans tortilla.  A few places I've been to have dishes that are just meat and veggies in a sauce (Mi Ranchito, Abuelos, etc.) 

Starbucks - Coffee or Iced Coffee with any sugar free syrup.  For milk, you can sub almond or cashew if they have it.  Or my favorite a splash of heavy whip cream.

Philly Cheesesteak places - either salads with the toppings or just the philly minus the bun with all the cheese and veggies I want.

Italian places - Meatballs (light sauce) or alfredo sauce.  Sausage and peppers.

Japanese steak houses - hibachi meats hold the rice or noodles, acceptable veggies.  Chicken broth and salad are usually safe.

Chinese restaurants - dishes that aren't fried and aren't covered in sweet sauces.  Pepper beef.  Green bean chicken are examples. Bacon wrapped crab bites.

Convenience Stores - pork rinds, string cheese, beef jerky, slim jims, pickles, boiled eggs, salads to go, veggie sticks and ranch dip.

What you will likely find is that you have more options when you cook at home.  Eating out has lost a lot of my interest due to the fact that I feel like I eat the same things over and over.  Cooking at home, I can usually curb any craving I have with substitutes.