Starting a ketogenic diet can feel challenging at first. If you’re like the average American, everything that you once ate is a high carb item. Bread, rice, pasta, chips, crackers – the staples of the American diet are a “no-no” on the keto diet.
I’m here to tell you that switching to a keto diet isn’t as tough as it first seems. Although you will have to find alternatives to some of the staples that you used to eat, there are plenty of delicious things to be eaten!
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For some great keto-friendly food swaps, check out this post!
If you’re looking for more information about the ketogenic (keto) diet, check out this post!
So let’s go ahead and dive right in. Here’s a list of foods that you CAN eat!
Dairy
Cow’s milk is not suitable on the ketogenic diet because it contains too many carbs from the natural sugar (lactose) in it. Don’t fret though – there are milk alternatives that fit perfectly with their high fat, low carb content!
- “Milk” options: almond milk or coconut milk (unsweetened is best)
- Heavy cream – great for making keto desserts or adding to coffee
- Sour cream (full fat version)
- Butter (grass-fed is best; avoid margarine!)
- Eggs
- Cheese (high fat types are best): bleu cheese, cheddar, brie, mozzarella, feta, parmesan, gouda, provolone, swiss
Meat / Seafood
It’s important to note that too much protein can kick you out of ketosis. If you hit a weight-loss plateau or notice that your ketone levels are dropping (via ketone urine strips or ketone blood monitor, or ketone breath meter), you may need to reduce the amount of protein you consume daily.
For more info on macro recommendations, check out my keto diet beginner’s guide. This guide has more info on the ketogenic diet that you might find helpful!
Beef:
- Ground beef (highest fat percentage you can find)
- Brisket
- Ribs
- Roast beef
- Pastrami
- Steak (fatty cuts are best)
Pork:
- Bacon
- Sausage
- Ham
- Pork Chops
- Proscuitto
- Pork belly
Chicken:
- Thighs
- Legs
- Any part is fine, but higher fat cuts are best.
- Always opt to keep the skin on when possible!
Other:
- Pepperoni
- Salami
- All-beef hotdogs
- Veal
- Lamb
- Other poultry – turkey, quail, pheasant, duck
- Cold-cuts (sliced meats from the deli)
- Organ meats
Seafood:
Seafood is very keto-friendly, and there pretty much aren’t any restrictions in this category. I’m not really a seafood fan. but here’s a few examples of popular options:
- Shrimp
- Lobster
- Crab
- Oysters / mussels / scallops
- Anchovy
- Tilapia
- Halibut
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Cod
- Bass
- Mackerel
Fat / Oils
- Ghee (clarified butter) – great for cooking
- Tallow (fat from beef) – great for cooking
- Lard (fat from pigs) – great for cooking
- Coconut oil – very versatile: cooking, “fat bombs” coffee additive
- Olive oil – great on salads
- Flaxseed oil – easy omega 3 source
- Sesame oil – great for cooking (adds flavor) and on salads
- Avocado oil – great on salads
- MCT oil – great supplement to increase fat intake (get C8 or C10 type)
- Mayonnaise (full fat or home-made is best – read the label to check for hidden carbs)
Nuts & Seeds
There’s a pretty long list of nuts and seeds that are keto-friendly, but be careful with these. It’s very easy to eat a bunch of them in one sitting and accidentally go over your macro and calorie requirements. I’ve done this more times than I’d like to admit!
Now when I buy nuts and seeds, I count out a serving size and make mini snack bags than can be grabbed quickly. This offers a great convenience while also making sure that I don’t eat too many!
Nuts
Seeds
Vegetables
On the ketogenic diet, not all veggies are created equal. The keto-friendliest veggies tend to be leafy greens and cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage).
Root vegetables tend to be higher in carbs and should be used sparingly or avoided.
Keto-friendly veggies include:
- Cabbage
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Kale
- Romaine lettuce
- Cauliflower
- Cucumbers
- Green beans
- Brussels sprouts
- Peppers – bell pepper, jalapeno, habanero, green peppers
- Eggplant
- Asparaguz
- Zucchini
A quick note on cauliflower – this little gem is super versatile and can be used to make “mock” versions of some food favorites like rice and mashed potatoes!
Fruits
Fruits should be used very sparingly while on the ketogenic diet. The sugar content in fruit, even though it’s natural, can kick you out of ketosis. Fruit is also another one of those items that you can easily over-eat without meaning to!
If you feel the need to eat fruits, make a small serving size (1/2 cup or less) – don’t sit down with the whole container! In general, berries tend to be low in sugar. Here’s a list of the lowest carb fruits:
- Avocado
- Tomato
- Star fruit
- Watermelon
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Boysenberries
- Lemon
- Lime
Foods to Avoid
Avoid processed foods as much as possible. Basically, if it comes in a box or a bag, you probably shouldn’t eat it! Food labels are your friend – check the macro content to be sure that there are no hidden carbs.
I also like the rule that if it has a ton of ingredients that are mostly chemical names, avoid it!
Here are some examples of foods to avoid:
- Cereal
- Chips
- Crackers
- Pre-packaged desserts – cookies, cakes, boxed cake mix
- Grains – boxed rice and pasta, pre-packaged bread
- Corn – corn on the cob, sweet corn, and products that contain corn
- Peanuts and other legumes
- Fruits high in carbs – banana, grapes, tangerines, etc
- Beer, sugary mixed drinks, and sweet wines
I know – most of this list of things to avoid are a part of nearly every American meal. Check out this keto food swap list for ideas on simple swaps that you can make to still eat the things you love!
Final Thoughts
The ketogenic diet can take a little bit of time to adapt to because it goes against so many of the “traditional” ideas with the standard American diet. Eating a large amount of carbs and tons of sugar is considered to be very normal here in America. Add to that the “low-fat” craze that hit a few decades back, and it’s easy to see why the ketogenic diet seems so strange.
Once you get past the idea that you must eat carbs to put together a good meal, you will find that there are plenty of delicious high-fat options available.
Give this diet a few weeks, and you will get past the carb cravings and finally have a great sense of satiety when eating all of the delicious fats allowed on this diet!
I hope that you find this list of foods to be helpful in beginning your keto diet journey. I would love to hear about your keto adventures. Please leave a comment below and tell us your story! Share this with your friends on social media!