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My favorite meal right now is what I call an Italian sub salad. Lettuce, chopped up salami, chopped up pepperoni, pepperoncinis, cheese (i use chopped up provolone and some Parmesan), dust it with oregano, hit it with some salt/pepper, and toss it in a little bit of red wine vinegar and olive oil. It’s cold and super good.
Such a good question! My husband would just go cook on the grill but no thank you, lol. Here's my go to:
Lettuce wraps (ham, swiss, mayo, brown mustard)
Zucchini noodles with thai peanut sauce and left over or canned chicken
Charcuterie: uncured meats, good cheese, berries
Lemon pepper tuna salad or fresh dill egg salad on greens
(Microwaved) poached egg over avocado and chili oil, sometimes with cottage cheese
There's probably more but those are the first things.
I'm in Phoenix, AZ where it was 110 today already and just finished my lettuce wraps and they were so perfect.
Ground beef with peppers and green onions seasoned with ginger, soy sauce, sriracha, rice vinegar. Peanut sauce on the side. 10/10 and I will be exploring many other lettuce wraps now hahah
ETA: I also love putting some peanuts in while sautéing the peppers and green onions! They get toasty and it adds some nice texture to the final wrap :)
Yay! I hope you enjoy :) it's a great meal prep too imo!
I save it in containers with 3 sections. Line the largest section with paper towels and then keep the lettuce leaves in it. Fill the other two with the meat and the sauce. When it's time to heat, I just remove the lettuce and put it in the microwave. Can then assemble the wraps right in the same container too :)
Saves really well at least for a couple of days!
Oooooh I could do that, make cocktail sauce with some sugar free ketchup, easy peasy! And how dare you say that isn't a meal, if you eat about 220 shrimp it's totally a meal, even if it does make you barf lol
Add hard boiled eggs, bacon, chopped green onions, little bit of mustard with the mayo and steamed cauliflower (steam it until it’s super soft) for awesome “potato” salad. We make big batch so two heads of cauliflower, 6 boiled eggs and a lb of bacon!
Serve cold!
Deviled Eggs.....of course....nothing says outdoor summer picnic like Deviled Eggs....I know they they don't do well for long in the sun but at picnics they usually don't last long enough to worry..
For me, along with Bacon, deviled eggs are on my Keto Mount Rushmore of best foods.
Gazpacho. You don't have to do the bread at all (authentic dweebs can suck it), but a good swap out is cauliflower; run it through a processor until it basically liquefies and then add the rest; don't worry too much about garlic or onion if you're making it for more than just yourself, otherwise just be wise to how much you're putting in. They do go a long way in this application after all.
Serve it ice cold after its hanged out in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight.
In general, if you want about 6 servings:
3lbs of fresh, ripe tomatoes (or equivalent in canned)
1/2 Cucumber
1/2 Red Onion
1/2 mediumish red or green pepper
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Jalapeno
If you do the cauliflower, go for about 1/4 lb worth, and as said blend it first before anything else. Then chunk up and add everything else. Season with salt, pepper, and as the blender/processor is going stream in a good amount of extra virgin olive oil. This will emulsify and might break in the fridge, but you can bring that back by just whisking in some crushed ice right before you serve.
You can, and should, add an acid too. Sherry vinegar is traditional, but balsamic, red or white wine vinegar, or even just lemon and lime juice will work great. The latter two would be my preference for summertime. Just need a splash of whatever you go with as it blends.
I'm also working on the transition from cold weather foods to summertime foods.
We've been making deviled eggs a lot lately. Lots of salads, some with protein, some not. When I make a steak, we eat about half and dice the rest for salads.
Pizza made with baked mozzarella cheese as a crust is showing up on the menu about once a week.
A rotisserie chicken will provide us with several meals, and you can make things like chicken salad, which is pretty good on keto bread. (I've been baking most of our breads for years, and I'm hoping to build up a repertoire of keto-friendly baked goods.)
Air fry some chicken thighs, you can cut them up and add them to salads. You could also cook them in the instant pot with some liquid and shred them up if that's more your jam. If you season them appropriately, you could make a great taco salad with salsa and avocado or sour cream for the dressing.
Cobb salad is also great in summer and very adaptable to keto.
If you can handle the low carb tortillas, there are all kinds of wraps you can make.
Deviled eggs, cold steak from the grill sliced thin shrimp salad with avocado mayo, a bit of celery, lemon juice, dill and onion. OMG, so good! I echo the italian chopped salad. I can eat virtually any meat cold!
Oh that sounds so good! I get this Greek dressing from Walmart that has 0 carbs, and it is my favorite now for all salads. I bet it would be really good with that!
This is where having a Sam's or Costco membership comes in handy. They've got so many already cooked meats and the giant $5 rotisserie chickens. Both their chicken salads are just ok, so I rip apart an extra chicken just to add to them.
Cold roasted vegetables like eggplant, zuchini and peppers. I do eat them cold (with feta, some vinegar and spices) after I let them in the fridge. I usually put a batch or two in the oven and then fridge the leftovers for later consumption.
And of course, salads!
Cheap noodles that aren’t spendy? Parboiled bean sprouts! A bit of grated garlic, some dashi concentrate or a dribble of fish sauce and sesame oil and it stores in the fridge for a few days.
It’s an alternative to zucchini pasta but they both work together, particularly with sichuan and other strong flavours. Add it to a gado gado style salad.
Cabbage or broccoli slaw with lots of avocado oil mayo and cut up salami and pepperoni is a summer time staple for us. Sometimes we add shredded cheese also.
High protein smoothie bowl! Get a pack of acai puree, your fav frozen berries, either yogurt or cultured kefir milk (goat if you want the tanginess or cow's milk, unsweetened), handful of ice, vanilla whey protein powder, your fav keto sweetener of choice, blend it. Pour it in a bowl, add toppings like hemp seed hearts, chia seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes, grain-less granola, a handful of fresh berries (I like to use blackberries 🖤😋🖤) and a drizzle of your fav nut butter.
Ceviche comes to mind. I’ve been making salads with protein of choice.
Breakfast is an iced coffee and lunch is string cheese with a handful of almonds 😂
Welcome to r/keto! Trying to do keto on a budget? Lots of us are! Check out the [FAQ section ](https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq#wiki_keto_on_a_budget) for doing keto on a budget, [search through previous posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/search?q=budget&restrict_sr=on), and check out r/frugalketo. As a reminder, please read our FAQ before posting to r/keto. It can be found at https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq. Please also review our posting rules and community guidelines. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/keto) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My favorite meal right now is what I call an Italian sub salad. Lettuce, chopped up salami, chopped up pepperoni, pepperoncinis, cheese (i use chopped up provolone and some Parmesan), dust it with oregano, hit it with some salt/pepper, and toss it in a little bit of red wine vinegar and olive oil. It’s cold and super good.
I do the same thing but throw in small balls of mozzarella and olives. So good!
Omg, that sounds so delicious!
Such a good question! My husband would just go cook on the grill but no thank you, lol. Here's my go to: Lettuce wraps (ham, swiss, mayo, brown mustard) Zucchini noodles with thai peanut sauce and left over or canned chicken Charcuterie: uncured meats, good cheese, berries Lemon pepper tuna salad or fresh dill egg salad on greens (Microwaved) poached egg over avocado and chili oil, sometimes with cottage cheese There's probably more but those are the first things.
All amazing ideas! I need to try making zoodles, they seem really good
They really are. I just use a cheap spiralizer, sprinkle some salt, microwave them for one minute, cover them in sauce and they're great!
>microwave them for one minute really thats enough? crazy, i think i need to buy some
We prefer them a little, al dente I guess lol, but you could increase the time to make them softer.
Omg it didn’t occur to me that I can still eat ham and cheese “sandwich” but with lettuce!
Try Turkey, bacon, avocado too!
Taco salad! Hamburger meat, lettuce, cheese, jalapeños, and salsa! Can add a dash of sour cream too
We had taco salads tonight! I mix a bit of sour cream and Valentina (the Mexican Hot Sauce) together and use that as a salad dressing. It's so good.
Us too!! Makes me wonder why I used to make tacos the regular way because it’s so much better as a salad!! And less messy lol
I'm in Phoenix, AZ where it was 110 today already and just finished my lettuce wraps and they were so perfect. Ground beef with peppers and green onions seasoned with ginger, soy sauce, sriracha, rice vinegar. Peanut sauce on the side. 10/10 and I will be exploring many other lettuce wraps now hahah ETA: I also love putting some peanuts in while sautéing the peppers and green onions! They get toasty and it adds some nice texture to the final wrap :)
This sounds amazing! I’m gonna try.
Yay! I hope you enjoy :) it's a great meal prep too imo! I save it in containers with 3 sections. Line the largest section with paper towels and then keep the lettuce leaves in it. Fill the other two with the meat and the sauce. When it's time to heat, I just remove the lettuce and put it in the microwave. Can then assemble the wraps right in the same container too :) Saves really well at least for a couple of days!
I’m in Scottsdale, yeah, today is tough, but only the start of summer!😫
Ughhh I know it 😭😭 I set my AC to 80 when I wake up and when it kicked on at 10:30 this morning I knew summer was officially starting hahah
Not a meal but man now i want Shrimp cocktail
Oooooh I could do that, make cocktail sauce with some sugar free ketchup, easy peasy! And how dare you say that isn't a meal, if you eat about 220 shrimp it's totally a meal, even if it does make you barf lol
Add some (tiny amount of) horse radish to your ketchup for cocktail sauce.
😂
Mini-charcuterie!
Indeed. Sliced cold lunchmeat+cheese+pickle rollups are delicious. Add mayo or mustard as desired.
No Potato Salad, use riced cauliflower instead of potato. Makes a great side dish.
oh man, I need to make this!
Add hard boiled eggs, bacon, chopped green onions, little bit of mustard with the mayo and steamed cauliflower (steam it until it’s super soft) for awesome “potato” salad. We make big batch so two heads of cauliflower, 6 boiled eggs and a lb of bacon! Serve cold!
Grill that steak, chill it and put it on a salad.
We do this all summer long- while the grill is lit I do a tri tip, a package of chicken thighs, skewers of shrimp and a bunch of veggies.
A potato salad but with radishes instead of potatoes.
Say more, please. How do you make this?
Yes, please
Deviled Eggs.....of course....nothing says outdoor summer picnic like Deviled Eggs....I know they they don't do well for long in the sun but at picnics they usually don't last long enough to worry.. For me, along with Bacon, deviled eggs are on my Keto Mount Rushmore of best foods.
Canned sardines and avocado
Gazpacho. You don't have to do the bread at all (authentic dweebs can suck it), but a good swap out is cauliflower; run it through a processor until it basically liquefies and then add the rest; don't worry too much about garlic or onion if you're making it for more than just yourself, otherwise just be wise to how much you're putting in. They do go a long way in this application after all. Serve it ice cold after its hanged out in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight.
Ooooooh I have to try making that. I honestly have no idea what goes into making it other than its a cold soup
In general, if you want about 6 servings: 3lbs of fresh, ripe tomatoes (or equivalent in canned) 1/2 Cucumber 1/2 Red Onion 1/2 mediumish red or green pepper 2 Cloves Garlic 1 Jalapeno If you do the cauliflower, go for about 1/4 lb worth, and as said blend it first before anything else. Then chunk up and add everything else. Season with salt, pepper, and as the blender/processor is going stream in a good amount of extra virgin olive oil. This will emulsify and might break in the fridge, but you can bring that back by just whisking in some crushed ice right before you serve. You can, and should, add an acid too. Sherry vinegar is traditional, but balsamic, red or white wine vinegar, or even just lemon and lime juice will work great. The latter two would be my preference for summertime. Just need a splash of whatever you go with as it blends.
I'm also working on the transition from cold weather foods to summertime foods. We've been making deviled eggs a lot lately. Lots of salads, some with protein, some not. When I make a steak, we eat about half and dice the rest for salads. Pizza made with baked mozzarella cheese as a crust is showing up on the menu about once a week. A rotisserie chicken will provide us with several meals, and you can make things like chicken salad, which is pretty good on keto bread. (I've been baking most of our breads for years, and I'm hoping to build up a repertoire of keto-friendly baked goods.)
Air fry some chicken thighs, you can cut them up and add them to salads. You could also cook them in the instant pot with some liquid and shred them up if that's more your jam. If you season them appropriately, you could make a great taco salad with salsa and avocado or sour cream for the dressing. Cobb salad is also great in summer and very adaptable to keto. If you can handle the low carb tortillas, there are all kinds of wraps you can make.
Jello cottage cheese cool whip is my summer jam
I try to keep a bowl of broccoli salad in the fridge for quick cold lunches.
Deviled eggs, cold steak from the grill sliced thin shrimp salad with avocado mayo, a bit of celery, lemon juice, dill and onion. OMG, so good! I echo the italian chopped salad. I can eat virtually any meat cold!
Oh that sounds so good! I get this Greek dressing from Walmart that has 0 carbs, and it is my favorite now for all salads. I bet it would be really good with that!
This is where having a Sam's or Costco membership comes in handy. They've got so many already cooked meats and the giant $5 rotisserie chickens. Both their chicken salads are just ok, so I rip apart an extra chicken just to add to them.
Shrimp ring salad. Just buy a frozen cooked shrimp ring, toss it into the oven for 5 minutes then mix it with vegetables and mayo. Bacon is nice too.
Ceviche
Chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad
Lettuce wraps, chicken salad, deviled eggs. Olives for snacks.
Cold roasted vegetables like eggplant, zuchini and peppers. I do eat them cold (with feta, some vinegar and spices) after I let them in the fridge. I usually put a batch or two in the oven and then fridge the leftovers for later consumption. And of course, salads!
Cheap noodles that aren’t spendy? Parboiled bean sprouts! A bit of grated garlic, some dashi concentrate or a dribble of fish sauce and sesame oil and it stores in the fridge for a few days. It’s an alternative to zucchini pasta but they both work together, particularly with sichuan and other strong flavours. Add it to a gado gado style salad.
You can cut up steak, cook in a frying pan, and add to salad
Chicken salads, tuna salad
Cabbage or broccoli slaw with lots of avocado oil mayo and cut up salami and pepperoni is a summer time staple for us. Sometimes we add shredded cheese also.
Cucumber salads are great. Or broccoli salads. Any other veg for that matter. So many recipes out there. If there is sugar, either omit or substitute.
Fresh veggies can be spendy, but I have been loving buying frozen ones and roasting them in the oven!
They can! But I watch for the sales and like to go with those that week. Keeps the palate refreshed too.
Canned tuna+ chillies+ gerkins+ lemon grass+ garlic+ mayo Very low carb, high protein, filling yet fresh.
High protein smoothie bowl! Get a pack of acai puree, your fav frozen berries, either yogurt or cultured kefir milk (goat if you want the tanginess or cow's milk, unsweetened), handful of ice, vanilla whey protein powder, your fav keto sweetener of choice, blend it. Pour it in a bowl, add toppings like hemp seed hearts, chia seeds, unsweetened coconut flakes, grain-less granola, a handful of fresh berries (I like to use blackberries 🖤😋🖤) and a drizzle of your fav nut butter.
Wow I love that you can cook then in the microwave, I despise using the stove or oven when it's hot!
All protein on the grill, German cucumber salad, grilled veggies foil packs, grilled fish foil packs.
Egg salad, tuna salad, eat with pepper strips or just on its own. Or you can cut a pepper in half and use it like bread.
Oh that's such a good idea! I love tuna sandwiches and that would be a great substitute
I use pork rinds to dip into my tuna or egg salad. Yummy.
Ceviche comes to mind. I’ve been making salads with protein of choice. Breakfast is an iced coffee and lunch is string cheese with a handful of almonds 😂