Keto Meal Planning for busy people – Keto Frozen Meals Product Reviews
There are many ways to approach a Ketogenic Diet and there is no one size fits all approach. However you choose to approach your keto meal planning, it takes a thought out process to make sure the food we are eating is meeting the minimal carb load youāre aiming for. The difficulty is that we don't always have the time to make a plan. Take a look at the following quiz to see if you could benefit from frozen keto meals.
How can I stay eating keto when I donāt have time? Where can I find Keto frozen meals?
Want to learn more about if eating Keto may be right for you?
āIāve got 99 problems, and carbs are all of themā
Thatās funny and might feel true, but each person requires a different diet. As an experienced nutrition coach, I take a nutritional agnostic approach, recognizing what works for one person doesnāt work for another. There is no one size fits all.
I recommend if you are following a strict keto diet long-term, that you work with a doctor and qualified health coach to help monitor your labs and ensure your lipid profile is not trending in the wrong direction and manage any nutrient deficiencies to prevent any diseases.
In general whatever eating style or foods you choose, your nutrition goals should seek to limit inflammation, limit glycemic variability, and ensure adequate macro and micronutrient intake.
What is Keto? And why it might work for you?
Keto is a low carb, high fat diet. A keto diet typically consists of about 70-90% of the calories coming from fat with the remaining 10-30% from of a mix of carbohydrates and protein combined.
Why does ketosis work
The exact amount of carbs varies from as low as 10-15g of carbs a day up to 30-50g. By keeping carbohydrates very low, keto diets trigger your body to use ketones, instead of glucose, as its primary fuel source.
Keto Meal Planning
Part of executing a healthy lifestyle is having a practical meal planning and/or shopping strategy. The best way to have a healthy diet is to eat unprocessed whole foods that you cook at home, most of the time.
This makes it easier to eat healthier because you have control of what goes in your meal. In an ideal world, this is a great goal to aim for but letās talk about navigating day-to-day chaos which is my specialty. And, that includes making plan Cs.
Ready-made, pre-prepped and frozen keto meals - who are they for?
Take this quiz to see if eating frozen keto meals is best for you.
- Do you have children to take care of?
- Do you work odd hours or many hours?
- Does the thought of meal prepping make you want to scream?
- Are you tired of trying to calculate how much carbs, fat and protein are in each meal?
- Do the restrictions of keto seem too complicated to execute consistently?
- Need some diversity in your life? Have you run out of ideas of what to eat besides a bunless burger with bacon?
- Do you like the idea of keeping it simple to heat and eat?
Surpriseā¦ thereās no scoring, but if this sounds like you, then keto frozen meals might be something youād find useful to keep your life simple.
Do I want you to eat frozen premade foods all the time ā¦no? But if we donāt face our reality as to what is around us and available, and what skills and time we have then we are setting ourselves up to fail.
Now if keto is your style or youād like to try it outā¦ read on.
Taste Test and Product Reviews for keto frozen meals
Want the lowdown on how these frozen keto meals taste?
My boyfriend and I put these meals to the test. Introducing the "Bacon and Peatnut Butter Meter" I love peanut butter and he loves bacon, so this is how we will rate this taste test. The more bacon slices or spoonfuls of peanut butter by each item indicates the taste factor.
Keto meal planning with Meal Delivery Service
Meal delivery services send the prepped ingredients and measured seasonings for a meal and a recipe card for the instructions how to put it together.
Bacon-meter: 4 slices
PB-meter: 5 scoops
15g carbs
Cost: Green Chef 2 person plan (4 recipes/week) | Weekly total:$102 (so $12.75/serving)
This was yummy and filling.
15g of carbs is a bit high for keto who are supposed to have only 15-35 (or less than 50g) per day, but if you want to save up most of your carbs for one meal this is a delicious option.
Pros are that
- Green Chef is certified organic
- The selections rotate and can be filtered by meal type preference, including keto
- You get to avoid the grocery store
- It saves time as the ingredients are pre-portioned for your meal
Conās are that
- You need to sign up a week in advance to order meals for the following week
- This is a subscription service so you will need to pause, or cancel your subscription 7 days before your next order
Frozen Keto Meals You Can Find at the Grocery Store
Are there keto friendly frozen meals? Yes! I picked them up from places like Target, Walmart, Costco, Trader Joes, even Amazon, and Iāve done product reviews on a few of them for you. Please note: Prices and availability may vary.
Bacon-meter: 3 slices
PB-meter: 3 scoops
2g net carbs
Cost: $7
Add a side salad, frozen cauliflower rice, or veggies and you will have a filling meal. The green sauce is what pulls this dish together and gives it flavor.
Bacon-meter: 2 slices
PB-meter: 2 scoops
2g net carbs
Cost: 9$ for 4
Real Good is not the word that comes to mind. But real simple does so this can do the trick in a pinch. This breakfast sandwich boasts a bun made from Cauliflower, almonds, and cheese. The reality is that the bun has a weird taste.
To its credit, this breakfast sandwich is filling enough to put a pause in your mind to delay the cravings for carbs. After eating this breakfast sandwich you are not hungry and feel more satisfied.
This was definitely better than going to a restaurant or drive through and trying to pass on the bread or a tortilla and eating the insides only.
Bacon-meter: 3.5 slices
PB-meter: 4 scoops
3g carbs
Cost: $5.99 for 4
The main draw for me is that this burger is easy to go from freezer to grill.
The downside is that these are small enough to be snack almost slider size you may want two!
Top with avocado and or cheese on a salad and with walnuts or on top of Thin Slim low carb bagel and you are good to go
Keto and Fabulous.
Bacon-meter: 4.5 slices
PB-meter: 3 scoops
2g carbs
Cost: $3.79
This breakfast cup is portable with no prep involved and quite tasty and hits all the american breakfast taste areas. By itself or paired with a low carb tortilla or wrap this is quick and tasty all with only 2g of carbs.
The key may be that this is not frozen. They actually have real eggs inside that you just pour into the cup then cook. If you have struggled to make time to eat breakfast this may be the solution for you.
Keto on the go
Bacon-meter: 3 doesnāt quite taste like real cheese for some reason.
PB-meter: 4 reminds me of a childhood fav I havenāt had in years!
2g carbs
Cost: $5.99
This dish boasts that itās Keto certified. Their keto products strictly limit carbohydrates to less than 2g per 0.5oz.
This cauliflower mac is made sous vide, which means the food is vacuum-sealed in a pouch and cooked in a hot water bath set to a precise temperature. Then on your end you throw it in the microwave and heat and serve in less than 5 minutes. This can be good as a quick and tasty side dish.
Keto that isnāt meat without a bun.
Bacon-meter: 5 yumm taste like a regular frozen pizza that I have been missing
PB-meter: 4 has that crunchy, saucy pizza satisfy your cravings taste
6g carbs
Cost: $7.89
Flourless crust and 6g net carbs servings per slice. The only downside that is if you eat more than one slice or the whole pizza for that matter you will be using up most of your keto allotted carbs for the day in one meal.
Pair this with a spinach salad for that veggie balance.
Homemade/Meal Prep for the Freezer
Bacon-meter: 5 loving the meatball with the small bit of melted cheese that drips out of your second bite. I also love I have a few to pop in the freezer to use next week for a quick dinner.
PB-meter: 4 These meatballs taste great reheated. This makes for a day-after lunch idea.
4g net carbs
Cost: estimated $12-14 of ingredients, or about $3.50/serving
Now I know what you are thinking. I said fast and frozen meals. They key is you make these fresh once but batch prep these for two servings so then next week you just pull these bad boys out of the freezer and then throw them in the airfryer for 10-12 minutes!
Serving suggestions for this might include, low carb marinara sauce with spaghetti squash or zucchini spirals, or even simply fresh or sauteed spinach.
Simple 5 day keto meal plan
Here is an idea of how you could throw the above meals into a 5 day Keto meal plan
Day 1
Eggs and Avocado
Real Good Chicken Enchiladas, Cauliflower Rice
Salmon and Broccoli
Day 2
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Cups
Tuna Salad Stuffed Avocados
Airfryer Meatballs, Zucchini Spirals, Cheese, Low Carb Marinara sauce
Day 3
Real Good Breakfast Sandwich
Naked Salmon Burger over salad
Chicken Thighs and Mushroom Sauce with Asparagus
Day 4
Eggs and cheese scramble
Grass Fed Burger with Bacon, use Portabello mushroom as bun
Green Chef Beef Tenderloin with Truffle Cream Sauce
Day 5
Bacon And Eggs with Spinach
Rotisserie Chicken with Roasted Vegetables
Bison Steak and Kevinās Natural Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
Example 5 Day Meal Plan, including a few of the frozen keto meal options reviewed.
Why Keto?
As mentioned above, I recommend that if you are following a strict keto diet long-term, you work with a doctor and/or a qualified health coach to
- help monitor your labs and ensure your lipid profile is not trending in the wrong direction,
- prevent any diseases, and
- manage any nutrient deficiencies
Other reasons to consult with a qualified medical professional before starting a keto diet include: if there are any existing gallbladder, liver or GI dysfunctions or conditions.
Reasons NOT to go keto:
- Very restrictive and hard to stick to
- Low fiber can cause constipation
- You can be at risk for nutrient deficiencies because of low intake of fruits and veggies.
- Could increase the risk of certain diseases because:
- Eating fruits, veggies, and fiber intake can be protective against many diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and overall mortality. Because the keto diet does not focus on including many of these in the diet you could be increasing your risk.
- Excess saturated fat consumption is associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease and fatty liver disease. Keto diets are high in saturated fat.
Reasons TO go Keto:
- may help correct metabolic disease for some people
- easy to follow since you have fewer options so less decision-making
- may lose weight faster in the beginning (mostly water weight)
- higher blood levels of ketones may help to suppress appetite
- may feel more energy and less brain fog
- may enjoy the taste of high-fat foods so an easier diet to stick to
If you want to get even more specific about whether a keto diet will work for you, you can work with a doctor who practices genomic-based personalized medicine.
"Polygenic" refers to the total number of genetic variants that an individual has to assess their heritable risk of developing a particular disease.
A qualified practitioner can look at and consider your polygenic risk scores as a predictor of whether you will have a negative response to a diet high in saturated fats like keto.
If you want to learn more about which diet may be right for you or how genomics can affect your nutrition recommendations, you can connect with me through my author profile below.
Chaos Tamer Brandy Monge guides busy professionals to find balance between the chaotic life of a successful career and the desire to be healthy, fit, and energetic. She shows professionals that they donāt have to choose between being successful or being healthy. Brandy is a nutrition coach, gym owner, and fitness trainer who has a start with what we love approach to nutrition and fitness. Find other articles written by Brandy on her coach profile and start creating systems and habits to get your body in tip-top shape just like your career.
I haven’t tried many Keto specific things. Love how you rated so many frozen Keto meal options. It helps me decide what I may be interested in trying.