I have always meal prepped and packed my own lunches for work. Doing this has allowed me to stay on track with my diet lifestyle no matter where I was in my journey or which diet I was adhering to at the time (not to mention being a HUGE money saver!).
Transitioning to the keto diet hasn’t changed that. I have never purchased food from my work place. This practice does mean that I have to put in some effort planning my food. Below I have listed some staple foods that I have available for my lunches. I work twelve hour shifts so I have to make sure to pack a decent amount of food. When I eat enough fat and protein, it really helps me be able to say no to the treats that so frequently find their way to our breakroom (cookies, donuts, cupcakes, etc.).
High fat low carb (HFLC) food/lunch ideas for when you are on the go:
- Hard boiled eggs
- Cheese
- Avocado
- Teton beef sausage dogs (You really have to read ingredient labels on all processed meats. These are the only ones I’ve found to have a small list of clean ingredients.)
- Nuts (Be careful with nuts. They all have carbs, some more than others)
- Macadamia Nuts
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Brazil Nuts
- Almond butter or peanut butter (again, portion size matters)
- Steak
- Chuck roast (I cook a roast in a crockpot and eat the leftovers for lunches)
- Tuna
- Chicken (not the best source for a HFLC meal, but works in a pinch)
- I use canned chicken for chicken salad lettuce wraps. Use plenty of clean ingredient mayo for extra fat. I use mayo from Primal Kitchen.
- Taco bowl with ground beef. Topped with full fat sour cream, cheese, and avocado with a small amount of salsa.
- Salmon
- Olives
- Beef jerky sticks (again, you HAVE to read the ingredients. CHOMPS has some sugar free options.)
- LMNT packets (if I’m fasting or having a hard time getting a meal break at work, I make sure to drink an electrolyte pack to help my body stay functionally efficient.)
As you get more used to transitioning to a HFLC diet, you can branch out and add in more variety to your lunches. I have found that rotating just a few items works better for me. It’s easier to keep a few staple ingredients on hand that I know works for keeping me in ketosis.
What foods would you add to the list?
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