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You are eating fat in the low carb diet enough? If you are on a ketogenic diet, such as Keto or Atkins Induction, you must eat fat in your diet to stay lean.
Fat is wonderful. Fat adds flavor to food. You can indulge in fantastically rich and delicious meals while losing weight. Easy, right?
But we've been brainwashed by decades of misguided anti-fat propaganda. Habits are hard to break.
So you may unconsciously eat less fat in the low carb diet what you need.
How much fat is enough? In ketogenic diets, about 70-80% of all calories should come from fat. That's huge compared to how much fat people get on "standard" diets, let alone low-fat diets.
Here’s a list of ways to get more fat on a low-carb diet so your ketosis is firing on all cylinders.
Fat in a low carb diet 1 | Choose fatty cuts of red meat
The general public avoids fatty cuts of meat because of the low-fat BS. Good news for us – lower demand means cheaper prices.
Supermarkets often trim fat from meat. Find a butcher—locally or online—and ask them for untrimmed cuts. Choose pasteurized, grain-fed, grass-fed red meat for best flavor and nutrient quality.
Examples of fatty cuts of meat are pork belly, pork ribs, lamb neck, uncut lamb chops, beef short ribs, rib eye steak, and sirloin steak.
Fat in a low carb diet 2 | Choose poultry legs and wings, as well as duck breast.
Chicken drumsticks and wings have more fat than breast meat. Bake, slow cook, or fry them for a perfect high-fat meal.
Duck breasts have a good layer of fat under the skin. Many recipes call for scoring the skin to drain some of the fat. Skip this step to retain all the good fat. The thighs are fantastic when cooked properly.
Obviously, forget the standard diet advice to discard poultry skin. On Keto, the skin is the best part!
Low-Carb Diet Fat 3 | Eat Oily Fish for a Hit of Healthy Omega Oils
Oily fish are rich in healthy fatty oils that are essential for your heart health. The best options are salmon, sardines, mackerel, and herring.
Fresh fish can be expensive, but canned or frozen fish is just as nutritious. Mackerel is much cheaper than salmon. For canned fish, go for versions with oil instead of water or brine.
Fat in a low carb diet 4 | Add fatty sauces and gravies to lean meat
So what about leaner cuts of meat? Let's say you roasted a whole chicken and have lots of leftover breast meat?
Enhance lean meat with a high-fat sauce or gravy. For example: sliced chicken breast with mayonnaise, lean steak with Béarnaise sauce, lean ham with a blue cheese dip.
Fat in a low carb diet 5 | Choose fatty meats
Choose meats with a higher percentage of fat, such as salami, Parma ham, prosciutto, jamon and porcetta. Avoid processed meats as they can be lumped with carbohydrates.
Here’s a tip from Italy – drizzle olive oil on a plate or cold cuts, cheese and olives. Perfect Keto antipasti appetizer! Italians know a lot about good meat – it’s not all pizza and pasta.
Fat in a low-carb diet 6 | Drown salads in oil-based dressings
A generous helping of oil-based dressing can transform any boring salad into a delicious keto meal. Add the oil on its own, or mix it with lemon juice or wine vinegar for a simple low-carb salad dressing.
Virgin olive oil is good for salads. Avocado oil, walnut oil, flaxseed oil, and cold-pressed sunflower oil are all good options, adding flavor as well as fat.
Low Carb Diet Fat 7 | Smother Boiled or Steamed Vegetables in Butter
Cooked vegetables are a prime example of bland, unexciting foods. Butter to the rescue!
30-60 grams of butter will turn any boring cooked vegetable into a wonderful side dish.
Always add plenty of butter to your mashed cauliflower.
Fat in a low carb diet 8 | Frying meat and vegetables to save time and increase fat
Stir-frying is a great way to prepare quick keto meals. It works well for almost everything – meat, poultry, fish, seafood, and vegetables.
As with salad oils, go for high-quality, cold-pressed oils over cheaper refined versions. Avocado oil, peanut oil, and sunflower oil are good choices for high-heat cooking. Coconut oil and olive oil work well for medium temperatures.
Fat in a low carb diet 9 | Snack with nuts is high in fat and nut butter
Nuts are naturally high in fat and reasonably low in carbs. The best options are macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, walnuts, and pecans. Avoid pistachios and cashews, because they are much higher in carbs.
Nut butters are good for making low carb desserts, but always check the label to make sure there is no added sugar.
Buying nuts in bulk is a little cheaper than from supermarkets.
Low-Carb Diet Fat 10 | Embrace Cheese in All Its Forms
Hard cheeses (e.g. cheddar, parmesan, gouda, Emmental) are high in fat and almost zero carbs. Softer cheeses have slightly more carbs, but are still within the acceptable keto range.
There are so many ways to eat cheese! Have it as a snack or in place of dessert, grate it and sprinkle it on meals, bake it into cheese chips and add it to low-carb recipes.
You can also fry cheese, bake Camambert and Brie, and make low-carb desserts with cream cheese.
Fat in a low-carb diet 11. Eat fresh avocado and add it to recipes
Avocado is technically a nut, packed with healthy omega-3 fats. It's also rich in fiber.
Have it on its own as a snack, add it to salads, guacamole or even make a sweet mousse.
Fat in a low carb diet 12 | Don't be afraid of cocoa and sugar-free chocolate
Pure unsweetened cocoa 100% is high in fat, but not as high in carbs. It just gets loaded with lots of sugar for mass market products.
If you can avoid sugar, you can eat chocolate without any problems. Get sugar-free chocolate sweetened with Stevia, erythritol, or another low-carb sweetener.
Alternatively, buy cocoa or cocoa solids from 100% that ferment chocolate, and make your own low carb chocolate risk free. There are also plenty of low carb chocolate dessert recipes.
QUICK GUIDE: Chocolate on a low-carb diet
Fat in a low carb diet 13 | Make desserts with mascarpone or cream cheese
Mascarpone is a type of cream cheese. But it's higher in fat (around 45g per 100g/100g) and lower in carbs (around 1-3g net carbs per 100g/100g, depending on the brand).
Both mascarpone and cream cheese work wonderfully in low carb desserts. You can simply add a little sweetener, plus cocoa powder or another flavoring for an instant dessert.
Fat in a low carb diet 14 | Garnish with crème fraîche or heavy cream
Crème fraîche is basically a slightly posher version of sour cream. It has more fat than sour cream – about 30-40% of fat versus 20-25% of fat in heavy cream.
Add to soups and stews, make dips, use as a salad dressing, mix with mustard for a nice meat sauce, desserts and fresh berries.
Add chopped nuts and a little sweetener to sour cream for a low-carb “granola” yogurt.
Fat in a low carb diet 15 | Load soups with dairy fat
Boost your soups and stews with extra fat – dairy products like cream or sour cream, grated cheese, and even butter. Fry soup ingredients in oil before adding them – that also improves the flavor.
Fat in the low carb diet 16 | Make your own spread with lots of butter
Make your own pate and load it with butter. Liver is a traditional ingredient, but you can use any fatty meat instead. Mackerel and salmon also make nice pates.
Fat in a low carb diet 17 | Indulge in fat bombs – sweet or savory
Fat bombs are Keto recipes deliberately designed to deliver a massive amount of fat in one bite. Fat bombs can be sweet (with sugar substitutes) or savory.
Fat in a low carb diet 18 | Add chopped chorizo to fried dishes
Chorizo is a spicy Spanish sausage with a strong flavor. Slice or dice it thinly and add it to your stir-fried vegetables or ground meat for an instant boost of fatty, spicy flavor. You can basically think of it as a fatty condiment!
Fat in the low carb diet 19 | Enjoy bacon, bacon and more bacon…
Bacon is a carnivore’s sweet tooth. You can fry it, grill it, or cook it in the oven. Lean meats like chicken breasts can benefit from a layer of bacon—just wrap it in bacon and bake it. Add chopped bacon to salads and cooked vegetables for extra oomph. Finally, another cool way to cook bacon is to make bacon ragout.
Fat in the low carb diet 20 | Choose really fatty minced meat
The fat content of ground beef ranges from very lean to fairly fatty. Check the label for your minced meat's fat content and go for 20% fat or higher. It will be cheaper than leaner versions and will taste much better. Use it to make burgers, steaks or simply stir-fry on its own with chopped vegetables.
Fat in the low carb diet 21 | Try Bulletproof Coffee
Bulletproof coffee is a coffee recipe enhanced with specific MCT oils and coffee beans. Inspired by traditional Tibetan butter coffee, it has become extremely popular with Keto and Paleo dieters.
If you don't buy into the Bulletproof concept, you can still make your coffee extra greasy and satisfying – just add butter, cream or coconut oil to taste.
Low Carb Diet Fat 22 | Add Flax Seeds to Salads, Smoothies, and Baked Goods
Flaxseeds (also known as linseeds) have a great nutritional profile. Add them to recipes and baked treats for extra fat, protein, and healthy omega oils. Because of its high fiber content, ground flax absorbs moisture, helping to make your dough more pliable. Crumbliness is often a problem with low-carb (due to the lack of gluten), so every little bit helps.
Fat in a low carb diet 23 | Make high-fat smoothies with cream or coconut milk
Cream or coconut milk makes a great high-fat base for keto smoothies and shakes. Add avocados, flaxseeds, and unsweetened cocoa powder for even more fat. Sweeten with a sugar substitute.
Fat in the Low Carb Diet 24 | Jazz up eggs with high-fat toppings
Eggs are super nutritious and fantastic in every way, except you might get bored eventually.
Think of eggs as a base for other ingredients. Top your scrambled eggs and omelets with toppings like cheese, deli meats, and vegetables to add some variety.
Low Carb Diet Fat 25 | Satisfy in the Bone Marrow – Pure-Fat Delicious Treat
Bone marrow is basically pure fat. It's absolutely delicious.
You can get marrow bones from specialty butchers and farm shops. Roast them with a little salt and pepper for a delicious meal.
Fat in a low carb diet 26 | Make olive tapenade
Olives are naturally high in fat, so they make a great snack on their own. You can also take it up a notch by making a tapenade – a spread made from olives and olive oil.
Fat in the low carb diet 27 | Learn how to make hollandaise and béarnaise sauces
Hollandaise is the only classic French sauce that doesn’t include flour. It’s based on egg yolks and melted butter, making it a perfect companion to low-carb meals. Béarnaise is very similar, but uses slightly different flavorings. Making these sauces isn’t super easy, but mastering them is well worth the effort.
See 15 ways to avoid cravings for sweets
Fat in the low carb diet 28 | Cook fatty vegetables
Some vegetables are fantastic at guzzling fat. You can drown them in fat, but they'll just happily soak it all up and keep going. Eggplants (aubergines), mushrooms, and artichokes are especially good.
Fat in the low carb diet 29 | Snack on pork scratchings (aka pork rinds)
Missing potato chips? Try pork scratchings instead. The perfect high-fat, portable snack! Unflavored versions usually contain just pork, salt, and pepper, with zero carbs. If you buy the flavored variety, check the label for added sugar.
Fat in the low carb diet 30 | Don't be afraid of offal meats
This final option is not for the faint of heart! If you can get over the yuck factor, organ meat actually tastes delicious. It’s a great source of high-quality animal fat and richer in nutrients and vitamins than standard red meat. Consider trying tongue, hearts, and maybe even brains.
