Do you want to follow a low-carb diet at work but you’re on a budget? With these keto lunch ideas, you can start eating healthier without breaking the bank and spending too much time in the kitchen!
It usually takes tons of time and money to eat healthily and easily. When you have other responsibilities and tasks to deal with, creating and staying on a healthy diet can get really complicated. With the right keto lunch ideas, you won’t be having these problems anymore!
Looking for other keto diet ideas but won’t have that much time? Check out this list of 15 Easy Keto Meal Prep Ideas That Even Lazy Dieters Can Make.
17 Cheap Keto Lunch Ideas For Work
Keto Egg Salad
Salads are usually served before a meal but with the right ingredients, it can be a filling lunch. You can easily whip up this egg salad recipe with some mayonnaise, dijon mustard, lemon juice, and of course– eggs. For more flavor, you can also add some celery, white onion, and some seasonings. The best part? You can store this in the fridge for 2-3 days, making it perfect for meal prep!
Chicken Cobb Salad Jar
You won’t even have to count your carbs while eating this meal! Chicken Cobb Salads are one of those dishes that are naturally keto-friendly. To prep this jar, you can layer some French vinaigrette at the bottom, layer some diced tomatoes, chicken breast and eggs, romaine and parsley, and blue cheese. Top them all off with chives and bacon and you’d be good to go!
While not all are keto-friendly, you can also check out our 17 Vegan Mason Jar Salads We Can’t Resist recipes for more mason jar salad ideas!
Spicy Shrimp Taco Lettuce Wraps
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You can have a quick-and-easy but satisfying meal with these Keto Spicy Shrimp Tacos! You can use some shrimp, olive oil, and some seasonings. Cilantro lime slaw, Greek yogurt dressing, and some keto-friendly Sriracha will also add more flavor to your wraps. Since tortilla wraps aren’t really keto-friendly, you can substitute them with some lettuce instead.
Philly Cheesesteak Lettuce Wraps
Another one of our keto lunch ideas that use lettuce wraps is this Philly Cheesesteak Wrap. You can get your protein needs with this meal through its ground beef and skirt steak. Other ingredients include onions and bell peppers. Wrap these with butterhead lettuce leaves and you’ll be sure to enjoy this lunch!
Egg-Bun Sandwiches
Instead of those high-carb buns, these sandwiches use egg buns made in whoopie pans. This exact meal idea is also featured in our 17 Easy Egg Sandwiches to Meal Prep We Can’t Resist article. You can create lots of variations with this idea but with this, you’ll need some bacon and cheese. You really won’t be able to resist these low-carb sandwiches!
Egg Roll Bowls
Cauliflower Rice is the best carb-free substitute for rice! For these meals, you’ll need some ground pork and veggies like cabbages and carrots. Adding some seasonings and soy sauce can get you more flavor. While this recipe only uses egg roll ingredients, you can also add some real eggs for more protein.
Chipotle Lime Shrimp Bowls
These Chipotle Lime Shrimp bowls are another one of our keto lunch ideas that use Cauliflower Rice. You can marinate shrimp with some seasonings and spices for these bowls. For the bowls, you can also add black beans, tomatoes, and avocados (or any chipotle toppings of your choice, really). This meal will definitely be a flavorful explosion in your mouth
Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Who says you can’t eat mac and cheese on a keto diet? The answer? Cauliflower. You can make the “macaroni” with some cauliflower heads and seasonings. With different kinds of cheeses, butter, flour, and seasonings, you can make the classic sauce. Top them all with mozzarella cheese and you’d enjoy this meal, guilt-free!
Cauliflower Pizza
If it isn’t obvious by now, cauliflower really is the perfect carb substitute for keto lunch ideas. To make this oh-so-yummy Cauliflower Pizza, you’ll need heads of cauliflower, pizza sauce, some veggies like onion and pepper, and pepperoni for the protein.
Pumpkin-Seed-Crusted Tofu
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To make these keto-friendly lunches, you’ll need some radishes, extra-firm tofu, and panko bread. You can also add some seasonings and top them all off with pumpkin seeds. These are usually served with some rice noodles but to make it keto-friendly, you can substitute them with zucchini noodles.
Chicken Caprese Zoodles
The best carb-free alternative to pasta is zoodles (zucchini noodles)! You can make these with some spiralized zucchini, chicken breasts, cherry tomatoes, and different spices. Simply toss them in a bowl and eat! Oh, and for more flavor, you can add fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheese!
Garlic Butter Shrimp Zoodles
Want to enjoy classic pasta without carbs? Well, this Garlic Butter Shrimp Zoodle Recipe is another one of our keto lunch ideas that use zoodles! You can use the same ingredients you’ll usually use like shrimp, unsalted butter, garlic, and shallots. The only difference is that you’ll use spiralized zucchini instead of pasta.
Taco Stuffed Avocados
Are you craving some tacos? Since this recipe uses avocados as its shell, you won’t have to feel guilty for eating them! With some small avocados, lean ground turkey, tomatoes and tomato sauce, and all kinds of seasonings, you can easily whip these up! You can also serve this with some Mexican cheese, and sour cream or Greek yogurt.
Cheeseburger Tomatoes
You can enjoy cheeseburgers without eating too many carbs! First, you can cook some onions and garlic in a pan. Then, you can add some ground beef and stir in some ketchup and mustard. Lastly, sprinkle on your preferred seasonings. You can then cut some tomatoes into wedges (but make sure not to cut them all the way through!) and stuff your ground beef.
Smoked Salmon Roll-Ups
Being on a keto diet doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice your comfort sushi meals! You can prep keto-friendly roll-ups first by sprinkling some sesame seeds on a plastic wrap and then placing smoked salmon over these. You can then spread some whipped cream cheese, and lay down some chives, avocados, and cucumbers. Roll these up and you’d be good to go!
Keto Bacon Sushi
Here’s another keto-friendly idea you can enjoy! You can lay down some bacon halves in an even layer, bake them until slightly crispy, spread a layer of cream cheese on each bacon slice, add vegetables, and roll ‘em up tightly. Not only is this meal easy to make, but it’s healthy too.
Pan-Fried Salmon
For the last item on our list of keto lunch ideas, we have a classic! Pan-Fried Salmons is one of those dishes that are naturally keto. You won’t even have to find substitutes for the ingredients of this meal. You’ll just need some salmon fillets, a lemon butter sauce, and your preferred seasonings and garnishes. Do as its name (pan-fried) says, then you can enjoy this meal!
The Basics of Keto
Why Should I Be On A Keto Diet?
If you’re looking for a low-carb diet that has many potential benefits, then keto’s the perfect thing for you! A ketogenic diet helps the body burn more fat, reduce hunger, and reduce blood sugar levels. Even though there are lots of controversies against the keto diet, it’s very safe for most people.
What To Eat
Having trouble creating keto meals? With the right strategy, it can be easy! You can even reach ketosis, lose weight, or improve type 2 diabetes by doing this.
You can plan keto meals by choosing the right protein source. This includes meat, seafood, and tofu. A healthy source of fat is needed for a well-balanced diet too. Lastly, to make up for the low carbs, you can also choose one or two low-carb veggies like broccoli, mushrooms, and tomatoes.
You can also drink water, tea, and coffee. The occasional glass of wine would be perfectly fine too!
What Not To Eat
You can follow a keto diet by avoiding eating too many carbs and sweets. You should stay away from food like bread, pasta and rice, and sugar. You should also avoid most fruits, fruit juices, and sweet alcoholic drinks.
How Can Keto Benefit Me?
As we mentioned a few paragraphs back, being on a keto diet can have so many benefits. You can lose weight without constantly feeling hungry, control type 1 diabetes and even reverse type 2 diabetes, improve metabolic health and blood pressure, and improve fatty liver disease.
Keto can also help with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), acne, and mental health.
With a high-carb and low-fat diet, it’s not easy to come up with keto lunch ideas. But with this article, you’ll be whipping up keto meals in no time!