The 40 Best Keto-Friendly Restaurants For Dining Out, According To Nutritionists
You can have your Chipotle and eat it too.
It's no secret that eating out at restaurants while on the keto diet can be super tricky. Making sure meals fall into specific macro counts is crucial. But thankfully, there are tons of keto-friendly restaurants out there, and you may already know many of them.
"It is easier now more than ever to dine out and find keto-friendly options on the menu," says Amber Pankonin, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and certified executive chef. "Knowing that diners are asking for low-carb or keto-friendly options, corporate chefs have had to consider the trends and the needs of their customers."
And it doesn’t have to be an art or a science to pick the right foods—you just have to be a little more creative, says Leslie Bonci, RDN, the owner of Active Eating Advice. For example, skip a dish if it says “breaded” or “coated” and ditch bowls with noodles or rice as the base. And you’re always better off avoiding “glazed” foods, as that probably equates to a lot of sugar. Oh, and leave the buns off those burgers and say buh-bye to fries. Salad, dear keto dieter, will be your new go-to side.
More pro tips for ordering like a boss: Ask for easy subs like cauliflower rice, avoid condiments with added sugar (such as ketchup, barbecue sauce, honey mustard, and sriracha), and never be afraid to build your own, like an omelette with veggies or a salad without croutons, says Vanessa Rissetto, RD, the co-founder of Culina Health in New York City.
Meet the experts: Leslie Bonci, RDN, is a nutritionist and the author of Sport Nutrition for Coaches and the American Dietetic Association Guide to Better Digestion.
Vanessa Rissetto, RD, is a nutritionist certified in Adult Weight Management (Levels I & II) by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Amy Gorin, RDN, is a nutritionist and the owner of Plant Based with Amy.
Amber Pankonin MS, RD, is a registered dietitian & Certified Executive Chef .
Here's the catch: You might have to go "off-menu" to find exactly what you're looking for. "My rule of thumb is that if you see an ingredient on a menu, you can ask for it to be added or swapped into your meal," says Amy Gorin, RDN, the owner of Plant Based with Amy. "So if avocado is an ingredient on a burger but you’re ordering the chicken breast, you can definitely ask for your meal to come with some avocado slices."
But your best line of defense is, quite simply, being prepared by researching restaurants and their nutritional information in advance. Here, nutritionists spell out *exactly* what to order at each spot.
The 40 Best Keto-Friendly Restaurants, According To Nutritionists
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