5 best ketogenic diet recipes

Anyone who's been on a diet knows you need to plan ahead. If you're taking care to avoid certain foods, macronutrients, or additives, you can't just wing it. Part of following a diet is knowing that you can't just count on finding something that suits your diet wherever you go, but largely making meals yourself. That way you can ensure that you're staying on target with your goals. That goes double when you've got a tough, rigid diet plan to follow, and there are few diet plans that are more strict than the Ketogenic Diet.

You may have heard about the Ketogenic Diet (also called the "keto diet," or just "keto"), and if you haven't, all you have to do is read a little bit about the latest diet trends. Do so, and you'll learn that keto is one of the most popular (and controversial) diets of the past decade, and despite how tough it is to actually follow, lots of people have been trying it out for its promises of fast weight loss.

Before we get to the recipes, let's take a little look at what keto is all about, and what the claims made about it are. We'll start with a little introduction to how the body uses energy. See, for the average person, the body gets its energy by breaking down carbohydrates into glucose - sugar molecules - and turning those into energy. The keto diet is meant to change that. On the keto diet, your body is deprived of carbohydrates, forcing it to get its energy from another source: fat cells. The liver metabolizes fat cells into small energy units called ketone bodies, and these are what they use to power the body and keep the body's many processes working. This state is called "ketosis," hence "keto."

In order to get the body into this state, practitioners of the keto diet have to really deprive themselves of carbs. This isn't another "low-carb" diet: this is the real deal. In order to achieve ketosis, a person needs to limit themselves to between 20g and 50g of carbs per day - around the number of carbs in a single banana - over a number of days. Once in ketosis, people are supposed to run off stored body fat, leading to weight loss.

Giving up bread and pasta might be too much for some, but keto goes further: you can't even eat certain fruits, rice, or vegetables because technically they still contain too many carbs. So how do you know what to eat? Sticking to low-carb, high-protein and high-fat foods is where it's at: meat, dairy, low-carb vegetables, nuts, oils, and some types of fruits. That's about all. With fewer options to work with, you'll want to keep your meals interesting by being creative. Take a look at the following recipes for a start!

1. Soft keto seed bread (https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/soft-keto-seed-bread)

Ingredients: 1 cup almond flour

? cup coconut flour

5 1/3 tbsp sesame seeds

? cup flaxseed

? cup ground psyllium husk flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground fennel or caraway seeds

1 tsp salt

6 eggs

7 oz cream cheese

? cup melted butter or coconut oil

? cup heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp poppy seeds or sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Remove cream cheese from fridge and bring to room temp.

2. Preheat oven to 350¡ã F

3. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl, except the sesame seeds.

4. In separate bowl, mix and whisk all other ingredients together until they are smooth.

5. Add dry mixture to batter, mix. Place dough in greased pan measuring 4" x 7".

6. Bake 45 min. Test to see if fully-baked. If done, remove from oven and take bread out of pan.

7. Let cool.

2. Keto Iced Coffee (https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/keto-iced-coffee)

Ingredients: 1 cup coffee

Ice cubes

? cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Brew coffee about twice as strong as normal. Allow to cool.

2. Fill large glass with the ice cubes, pour in coffee and cream. Stir and drink.

3. Skillet Chicken In White Wine Sauce (https://diethood.com/skillet-chicken-white-wine-sauce/)

Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil

4 boneless chicken breasts

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion diced

3 garlic cloves minced

1 cup dry white wine

1 tsp dry thyme

? cup half and half

Fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat.

2. Season chicken with salt/pepper/garlic powder.

3. Add chicken to skillet, cook til golden brown.

4. Flip chicken over until brown and cooked through.

5. Remove chicken and set aside.

6. Add butter to skillet and melt.

7. Add onions and cook until soft.

8. Stir in garlic powder, salt, pepper.

9. Add wine and bring to simmer until reduced.

10. Stir in thyme.

11. Bring to boil, add chicken and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.

12. Remove from heat. Garnish with fresh parsley.

4. Keto Chicken Enchilada Bowl (https://www.heyketomama.com/keto-chicken-enchilada-bowl/)

Ingredients: 2 tbsp coconut oil

1 lb boneless chicken thighs

? cup enchilada sauce

? cup water

? cup chopped onion

1 4 oz. can diced green chiles.

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pot, sear chicken thighs til golden brown.

2. Pour enchilada sauce, water, onion, and green chiles. Reduce to simmer and cook 17-25 min or until chicken is cooked.

3. Remove chicken and shred, then put back in pot. Simmer 10 more min.

4. Serve topped with avocado, cheese, jalapeno, or other Mexican toppings.

5. Keto Chocolate Muffins (https://peaceloveandlowcarb.com/keto-chocolate-muffins/)

Ingredients: 1 cup almond butter

2/3 cup erythritol (sweetener)

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp peanut butter powder

2 large eggs

1 tbsp melted salted butter

2 tbsp water

1 ? tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

? cup sugar free dark chocolate baking chips

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Put mini muffin pan on top of regular baking pan.

2. In mixing bowl, combine almond butter, erythritol, cocoa powder, peanut butter powder, eggs, butter, water, vanilla extract, baking soda. Mix until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

3. Divide into the 18 mini muffin wells.

4. Bake 11 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.