Organizing your meals is essential to maintaining a ketogenic diet. Learn how to tackle the keto diet with keto meal prep, from ingredient prep to batch cooking. Starting a ketogenic diet might be difficult. It’s not an easy chore, from coming up with meal ideas to continuously doubting if they are keto-friendly. But do not worry—meal prep and planning are here to help!
These helpful tips can support you during your keto adventure. You’ll find that leading a ketogenic lifestyle is far more tolerable and pleasurable once you have meal planning and preparation under your belt.
We’ll look at useful advice in this post to help you plan ahead, cut costs, and maintain your keto diet. We’ll also provide you some ideas for keto meal prep.
Why Should You Meal Prepare While on a Keto Diet? What Is Meal Prep?
The major goal of the high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet is to drive your body into and keep it in a state of ketosis, which enables it to use fat for energy. It has been demonstrated to help people lose weight and raise blood sugar levels.
Even though the ketogenic diet has many well-established and desired benefits, many people find it to be ineffective. Although there are numerous causes for this, a major one is a lack of planning.
You need to have a plan if you want to succeed with the keto diet because it is really limiting and you won’t be able to just wing it.
This is the role of meal preparation. The act of organizing and preparing your meals in advance is known as meal prep.
You’ll save a ton of time by setting aside some Sunday night to plan your meals for the next week instead of wasting it deciding what to eat, preparing, and cleaning the kitchen.
Above all, you’ll have a strategy that will help you stick to it—no mindless late-night carb counting, no rash Chinese takeout purchases, and most importantly, no stress.
Meal prep can be done in a variety of ways. Here are a few of the most popular techniques:
Batch cooking is the process of preparing a big amount of food at once, usually on a weekend or special day. You may use this keto meal prep technique to portion up your meals for the coming week and store them in containers for convenience and simple access.
Meal prep in little portions: This method involves preparing one or two separate meals, usually for the next day, as opposed to cooking in large quantities. Getting ingredients ready: sanitizing and cutting produce, marinating meat, and packing it into containers. Just remove the ingredients and cook when it’s time for supper. This technique of meal prep takes less time, making it ideal for people who are pressed for time and cannot prepare large meals.
Recall that none of these approaches is the “right” one. Try various things to see what suits you best.
7 Tricks and Tips for Meal Prep
Here are some useful hints and clever techniques to make meal prep for the ketogenic diet fun and simple.
Make a menu
Set aside some time to browse through recipes and make a detailed plan or a broad overview of your weekly menu before you start meal prep. When you go grocery shopping, you’ll be able to make a list and cut costs.
Make a variety plan
Eating the same batch of fried chicken every day of the week is a common practice in meal prep. It can be challenging to maintain a ketogenic diet when there isn’t enough variation. To guarantee a tasty and diverse diet, try new dishes and experiment when making your meal plan.
Decide on a day to shop for food
You can buy everything you’ll need for the week now that you have a meal plan and a list of the ingredients you’ll need for meal prep. Don’t forget to stick to your shopping list and refrain from making rash purchases.
Assign a day to prepare meals
Setting aside time for preparation can help you form a routine and include meal planning and preparation in your weekly schedule.
Assemble a supply of staples
Having a range of keto-friendly ingredients on hand makes it easy to rapidly prepare meals that are low in carbohydrates. Among many other items, some examples of keto pantry staples are almond flour, olive oil, nuts, seeds, and nut butter.
Make some snacks
Preparing meals involves more than simply your breakfast, lunch, and supper. We need snacks in our diets, so if you don’t include them in your meal plan, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Low-carb vegetables like celery sticks and baby carrots make excellent keto snacks that need little to no preparation.
Purchase high-quality containers
Invest in premium dishwasher- and microwave-safe plastic or glass containers. To maintain the freshness and separation of your components until supper, look for segmented choices.
How to Budget for Meal Preparation
You can both eat healthier and save more money by organizing your meals.
You may shop around for the greatest prices when you schedule your meals in advance. Not only can you save money by scheduling your meals around promotions, but it will also encourage you to be more inventive—especially if you haven’t cooked with the goods in question before.
Another excellent strategy to stock up on pantry essentials that will last you a long time and fit nicely in your pantry until you need them for your keto meals is to keep an eye out for deals.
Meal planning also gives you the freedom to experiment and can lead you to new favorite keto meal prep recipes.
Putting leftovers to new uses is another low-cost meal prep method. Use cooked ground beef in lettuce wraps, add roasted vegetables to low-carb tortillas, or turn leftover chicken into salads. Repurposing increases meal diversity while cutting down on waste.
10 Recipes for Meal Prep
Making a keto meal plan may seem difficult at first, but there are lots of recipes that are keto-friendly that you can use to prepare meals in advance.
These are our top keto meal prep dishes, which we are sure you will enjoy.
1. Smoothie with Mascarpone, Raspberry, and Peanut Butter
A smoothie is a delicious and healthy way to start the day. Just make a big batch and freeze it to save yourself the trouble of blending the ideal smoothie and scrubbing up your kitchen.
As an alternative, you can keep your smoothie in the refrigerator, but you’ll need to consume it within three days.
Smoothies are also among the simplest keto meals, and they can help you resist the urge for sweets. You don’t think we’re real? Try the mascarpone, raspberry, and peanut butter smoothie, which is one of our favorite keto smoothies.
Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Transfer each serving into a plastic container, close it, and keep it in the fridge.
2. Overnight Oats with Coconut
For many people, overnight oats are quickly replacing oatmeal for breakfast. It’s a simple, low-cost keto meal prep dish.
Just combine all the ingredients in a bowl, transfer to a container, seal it, and let it in the fridge for a minimum of two hours. In order to maximize the amount of nutrients absorbed, it is recommended to leave it overnight.
You can cook as many pieces as you wish, just be sure to store them in different containers so you can quickly take them out of the refrigerator and enjoy your meal.
For those who want to enjoy a breakfast but don’t have time in the morning, this is a perfect choice.
Pour the mixture into a bowl or consume it right out of the jar when breakfasttime comes. Add a couple pieces of your preferred fruit and sprinkle with coconut flakes; enjoy!
3. Blueberry, Mascarpone, and Greek Yogurt Parfait
The mornings are busy. Preparing your breakfast in advance will help you avoid reaching for non-keto food. In contrast, this keto-friendly breakfast parfait meal prep dish is a great little treat for hectic mornings.
TIP: Make sure to prepare the topping and base separately and then combine them just before serving if you want a crunchy parfait. Store in the refrigerator to preserve its crunchiness, even if you prepare your meals the night before.
Take both containers with you and combine everything when you’re ready to eat if you can’t make breakfast at home.
4. Keto Egg Salad: An excellent keto lunch option
For those seeking a filling but healthful lunch, this twist on the classic egg salad is a great choice. It can be cooked in large quantities or divided up into several meals.
Remember that our recipe only makes one serving of this delectable egg salad, so if you’re cooking a big quantity, be sure to divide it into four or five servings, which should last you for approximately a week.
Grate the boiled eggs gently and add them to the salad along with other ingredients. Transfer the salad to a bowl and cover. Or, divide the salad into smaller servings for convenient on-the-go eating.
5. Bowl of Keto Salmon Poke
With this poke bowl recipe, preparing lunch on a ketogenic diet is simple.
Batch cooking works really well with poke bowls. All you need to do is cook the base, put the ingredients together, and get the protein ready. When it’s time for supper, you can simply prepare the ingredients and cook them or put them together into individual servings.
Put your foundation (rice or pasta, for example) in a container, top with veggies, and then add your protein (salmon, in this case). Add a little dressing on top, then shut. Make multiple batches and store them in the fridge for about a week.
6. Low-Carb Lettuce Wraps with Chicken
Another excellent low-carb dish that works well with keto is a wrap. All you need to do to prepare a keto dinner is cook the filling, seal it in a container, and keep it chilled.
HELP: Rinse the lettuce leaves and place them in a different container. To keep the leaves crisp and fresh for longer, cover them with a paper towel.
When you’re ready to eat, just stuff a few lettuce leaves with ground chicken to make a quick and easy low-carb tortilla. Before wrapping the chicken for a warm lunch, reheat it if you have the time.
Remember that lettuce loses its crispness and freshness in the refrigerator, so make the most of this low-carb meal prep recipe by making it the night before and eating it the next day.
7. Keto Ground Beef Stroganoff with Low Carbs
Because stroganoff is made in a single pot, it requires very little work to prepare. Because of this, our recipe for ground beef stroganoff is excellent for keto meal prep.
It’s as easy as cooking the ground beef, transferring the mixture to a container, adding fresh herbs on top, and sealing it.
To ensure that supper is ready when you need it, you can prepare a large quantity, transfer it into single-serving sized containers, and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Stroganoff keeps well in the freezer for up to three months.
Stroganoff tastes great on its own, but it may become much more flavorful and substantial if you take the time to make some side dishes, like green beans, cauliflower rice, or roasted vegetables.
8. Shrimp and Keto Cauliflower Fried Rice
Actually, you can save most meals in a container, eat them over the next three days, and then refrigerate them. You can virtually never go wrong with meals, but some may take longer than others.
There are several of options for keto meals. In this instance, we suggest giving our dish for cauliflower fried rice with shrimp a try because it’s a great complement to any ketogenic diet.
Proceed with the recipe as directed, but instead of serving and eating it immediately, put the food into separate containers, seal them, and place them in the refrigerator.
Make sure to double or triple the recipe for your favorite food while doing this so you can portion it into 5–7 single portions for the entire week.
9. Walnut and tuna salad
This tuna salad with walnuts is incredibly simple to prepare and tastes great straight out of the refrigerator for a light supper that is appropriate for a ketogenic diet. The ingredient meal prep approach is the best way to prepare it.
All you need to do is chop and wash your veggies, place them in a sealed container, and place it in the refrigerator next to a can of tuna. The remaining components should be put in a location that is simple to reach.
All you need to do to make dinner when you come home from work is grab your ingredients and whisk them together in a bowl. Have fun!
10. Recipe for Shakshuka with Cheddar Cheese
Shakshuka is a spicy dish made with various veggies and herbs along with poached eggs in a thick tomato sauce. Shakshuka is a delicious and vegetarian-friendly dish that is easy to make with little ingredients, making it a great option for meal prep.
Follow the recipe, and once the dish has cooled, put it into a container and seal it. Shakshuka can last from 3 days for up to a week in the fridge. But since poached eggs lose flavor in the refrigerator, it’s preferable to prepare it for the following day.
In summary
There are countless keto meal prep ideas you can use to save time and money and simplify your keto journey, ranging from salads to fried chicken to smoothies.
A wonderful method to eat healthily on a busy schedule is to prepare your meals. It helps us avoid the traps of food cravings so that we can maintain a ketogenic diet while leading busy lives.
Meal prep ensures that your next meal is ready in the refrigerator, just waiting for you to reheat and enjoy in a matter of minutes.
More ideas for keto meal prep? Check out Keto Cycle, a smartphone app that will assist you in organizing your keto journey. Start your keto adventure right now by taking a survey to receive your customized plan!