Keeping any form of a diet during the 4th of July BBQ’s is difficult. Keto becomes a challenge when you start seeing all of those delicious carbs paired with proteins all over the buffet table – burgers in big fluffy white buns covered with sesame seeds, dripping with yellow cheese and ketchup comes to mind. But, all is not lost. There are tons of low carb and higher fat recipes that can be just as delicious and filling as the traditional BBQ dishes.
Typically, the items I look for on the buffet are a summer salad, some sort of potato or egg salad and a juicy burger. There are some great recipes available to replace those traditional dishes to make them keto and palate friendly. If you’re heading out to a friend or family members house, these dishes are a great idea to bring along or amazing additions to your own feast that you’re cooking.
Broccoli Salad with Bacon
This is a fresh and crunchy low carb alternative to the traditional potato or pasta salad that sits in your plate during BBQ’s. It’s the summer salad that you crave, but without any lettuce! The best part about this recipe is that it’s dairy-free, easily customizable to your liking, has fresh veggies and pretty quick to make. Instead of using raisins, cranberries can be a suitable substitute. Sugar substitutes, like stevia and Splenda, are great diet friendly alternatives to using sugar in the recipe.
Ingredients:
• 1-pound fresh broccoli florets (I chop up two big heads of broccoli)
• ¼ pound of bacon
• ½ bunch of scallions chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of stevia or Splenda (however much you desire the sweetness)
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil or macadamia nut oil
• 1/3 cup of cranberries or raisins (or none if you do not want the added sugar)
Cooking Instructions:
- Cook the bacon until it is crisp enough to crumble.
- Cut the two heads of broccoli into desired floret size and wash with cool water.
- In a bowl combine the mayonnaise, sugar substitute, oil and cranberries (if you’re including them). Mix together to make the dressing for the salad.
- Add the washed broccoli, scallions and bacon to the dressing and mix till all of the dressing is equally spread over the broccoli florets
Bacon Deviled Eggs
What says keto diet more than an egg? Well, a few things, but this is a great dish to replace the traditional potato or pasta salad in your plate with a more keto diet friendly option that doesn’t disappoint.
Ingredients:
• 6 hardboiled eggs
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon & 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 3 slices of bacon
• 2 tablespoons of chopped chives
• ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions:
- Hardboiled eggs are easiest to peel when you’ve boiled them in a pot of water with about ½ a teaspoon of salt. Once the water is boiling in the pot with the eggs, turn the stove off, place a cover over the pot and leave on the burner for about fifteen minutes.
- Prepare the hardboiled eggs by removing the shell and carefully separating the yolk from the egg white by cutting the egg whit in half. Place the egg white halves off to the side for late use.
- Cook bacon until crispy enough to crumble. Crumble the bacon and set to the side.
- Mix the hardboiled egg yolks, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and salt together. The consistency should be thick and creamy without any clumps, which will fill the halved egg whites that were put to the side earlier.
- You can use either a piping bag or a spoon but fill each of the halved egg whites with the yolk mixture that you just created.
- Top each halved egg white filled with yolk mixture with bacon crumbles, chopped chives and a pinch of paprika – enjoy!
The Keto Burger
When cutting carbs, saturated fats help keep your body fueled and energized. This burger definitely does the trick and keeps you satiated as well – not to mention its tasty! To keep this as keto diet friendly as possibly, forgo the bun and fill the other portions of your plate with the broccoli salad and deviled eggs.
Ingredients:
• 10-12 ounces of bacon chopped
• 2 tablespoons of thyme off the stem and minced
• 1 shallot or sweet onion chopped
• 1 pound of ground pork
• 1 pound of 85% lean ground beef
• ½ -1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1-2 teaspoons of sea salt
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cook the chopped bacon in a pan until it is starting to brown, but not crisp. Add the chopped shallots or sweet onion to the pan and cook until the bacon is crisp. Scoop the shallots/onions and bacon into a bowl to set to the side letting the bacon fat drain and stay in the pan.
- Once the bacon and onion mixture is cool, add the ground pork, ground beef, thyme, salt and pepper to the bowl. Be sure to mix all of the ingredients thoroughly.
- Make about 10 patties from the beef, pork and bacon mixture.
- The pan used to make the bacon with the fat still in it, place back on the stove and put on high heat burner. Sear each side of each patty for about two minutes on the stove and place on a baking sheet. After all the patties have been seared on both sides, cook in the oven for about ten minutes.
Avoiding the buns for the burger and filling up on the broccoli salad with another side of deviled eggs – keeping keto during one of the biggest BBQ-ing holidays of the year should be a snap. Happy eating and enjoy the fireworks!
Written by: Samantha Meinrod
IG: @sammiegirl_fitness
Email: sammiemeinrod@gmail.com