When taking on the keto diet, it's vital to have an understanding for how important each meal is to getting your body into ketosis, and keeping it there comfortably. Your main goal within the keto diet is to push your body into this process called ketosis. But what is ketosis? Ketosis occurs within your body when you push your body into prominently burning fat for energy instead of the traditional carbohydrates your body uses. This is achievable by cutting down carb intake exponentially while also increasing your fat intake responsibly. Keeping your body fueled with the correct macros and foods is vital to get your body into this state of ketosis, helping you get through your day energized, and helping you hit your health and weight goals! 

Importance of a Proper Keto Dinner

Dinner is an extremely important meal for everyone, regardless if you are taking on the keto diet or not. It provides energy and nutrients to keep the body and brain working efficiently through the night and ready for your morning. A proper dinner can ensure you sleep well and awake refreshed and rested, where as a poor dinner can lead to snacking throughout your day, which can be detrimental with keeping you inbounds with your ketosis. With keto it’s very important to end your days right with your dinner, that way you’re ready to tackle the next day rested with a clear mind!

When adapting to the keto lifestyle, many people find difficulty in mixing up their dinner and meal routines.  A lot of people are just used to buying something really quick and convenient around the corner of their house for dinner and not thinking much of it (I’m also guilty… hate doing the dishes), let alone how many carbs are in it. Getting accustomed to the macro-counting ways of a keto diet will take some time and practice, but it’s important to plan out your meals ahead of time. This will help you avoid eating anything sporadically that can possibly knock you out of ketosis, and potentially hindering your weight loss and health goals. It’s equally important to research and learn plenty of different recipes to keep things interesting and new for your nightly dinner. Many people bow out of the keto diet early on due to being bored of eating the same heavy meals over and over again. Make sure to switch things up with some of my favorite keto dinner recipes! Below are some of my favorite keto-friendly dinner ideas: 

Keto Friendly Dinner Ideas

Keto Beef Stew 

My favorite keto dinner idea of all time! Although I do miss the mashed potatoes on the side, this is one of the more comforting and easy meals to make and prep for you or the whole family. With only a few swaps from the non keto-friendly edition, get ready for a deeply comforting dish that will keep you in ketosis.

1. Pat your 2 lbs. of beef dry with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Working in batches, add your 1 inch beef cubes and sear on all sides until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from pot and repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil as necessary.

2. In the same pot, add 8 oz. of mushrooms and cook until golden and crispy, 5 minutes. Add 1 small onion, 1 medium peeled carrot, and 2 stocks of celery and cook until soft, 5 minutes. Add 3 cloves of  garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Add 1 tbsp. of tomato paste and stir to coat vegetables.

3. Add 6 cups of low sodium beef broth, 1 tsp. of thyme, 1 tsp. of rosemary, and beef to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until beef is tender, 50 minutes to an hour. Enjoy! 

Keto Mac & Cheese

Maybe a more proper name for this recipe would be “Keto Cauli & Cheese”, but that’s a lot less exciting for us on keto. I know you have probably missed the cheesy comfort of Mac & Cheese as much as I have. As an all time favorite dish of mine, I am thankful every day there's a way for us to enjoy it, without feeling guilty! 

1. Preheat oven to 375° and butter a 9”-x-13” baking dish. In a large bowl, toss 2 heads of medium cauliflower with 2 tablespoons of oil and season with salt. Spread cauliflower onto two large baking sheets and roast until tender and lightly golden, about 40 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium heat, heat 1 cup of your heavy cream. Bring up to a simmer, then decrease heat to low and stir your 2 cups of mozzarella, 4 cups of shredded cheddar, and 6 ounces of cream cheese until all melted. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. Toss in your roasted cauliflower. Taste and season more if needed.

3. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. In a medium bowl stir to combine your 4 ounces of pork rinds, ¼ cup of parmesan, and 1 tbsp. Of olive oil. Sprinkle mixture in an even layer over cauliflower and cheese.

4. Bake until golden, 15 minutes. If desired, turn the oven to broil to toast topping further, about 2 minutes.

5. Garnish with parsley before serving.

Keto Taco Casserole 

Mexican food is my favorite food genre ever, not even close. It got a little harder to enjoy Taco Tuesday while on the keto diet, but not impossible! A lot of the essentials within Mexican food are very keto-friendly you just have to be cautious of the tortillas and other sneaky carbs. Here’s my favorite keto taco casserole recipe!    

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add ½ of a yellow onion chopped and cook until slightly softened, roughly 2 minutes.

2. Add 2 lbs. of ground beef and season per preference with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, roughly 6 minutes. Sprinkle in 2 tbsp. of  taco seasoning and 1 jalapeño both seeded and diced and cook, stirring, until spices are lightly toasted. Drain and let cool slightly.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk your 6 large eggs, then add in ground meat mixture. Spread mixture into an even layer in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Finally, sprinkle on your 2 cups of Mexican cheese.

4. Bake until set, about 25 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with parsley and top each slice with a dollop of sour cream and jalapeño. Enjoy!

These are some of my favorite keto dinner recipes I've found through my countless hours of research for new ideas all over the internet. It’s important to reiterate how important it is to diversify your meals when you take on the keto diet. You don't want to get bored of eating cheese, meat and butter all the time with all your meals. Make sure you’re doing your own research as well, as you will be able to find keto-friendly meal recipes and ideas you never would have thought of!  As keto becomes more and more popular, there are hundreds of new recipes coming out daily for you to use to spice up your dinner ideas, while also keeping you well within ketosis. 

Delicious Keto Dessert Ideas

What better way to diversify your macro-friendly meals than with freshly baked keto goodies delivered right to your doorstep? Here at PBH Foods we’ve made it possible for you to enjoy all your favorite best-tasting desserts that you thought you’d have to give up! Stop missing freshly baked goods today! You don’t have to search endlessly for a dessert substitute when PBH can deliver keto-friendly cookies, donuts, and brownies right to your door!