Going low carb or keto doesn't have to be tough. You can find ways to make your favorite carb heavy dishes so you don't feel like you are missing out.
For example: the picture above looks just like any "regular" lo mein and yakitori. Tastes delicious too. But it's completely keto friendly. I often meal prep for several people and this has come back as top pick for A LOT of my clients. Taste and texture are pretty darned close to the real deal too so even if you are not counting carbs you should enjoy it!!
Nutritional counts: Lo Mein: 145 calories, 5.7 fat, 10 carbs, 3.2 fiber, 13.6 protein. That's 6.8 Net Carbs.
Chicken Yakitori: 210 calories, 4 fat, 0.7 carbs, 0.1 fiber, 38.3 protein. That's 0.6 Net Carbs.
Total Meal: 355 calories, 9.7 fat, 10.7 carbs, 3.3 fiber, 51.9 protein. Total of 7.4 Net Carbs.
First up: Keto Yakitori Chicken
Keto Yakitori Chicken
Ingredients
4 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup Chinese cooking wine
2 Tbsp Swerve brown sugar
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Optional
Sesame seeds
Directions
Mix together soy sauce, cooking wine, and brown sugar. Place chicken thighs in oven safe dish with marinade. Place in fridge while you preheat oven to 350.
When oven is preheated, place pan in oven and cook chicken until done, spooning sauce over the exposed chicken every 10 minutes or so. This should take 30 - 40 minutes but use a thermometer for best results. (Alternative cooking method: marinate chicken overnight, place chicken on skewers and BBQ until cooked through, brushing with excess marinade while cooking). Serve hot, sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
While chicken is cooking, prepare lo mein.
Keto Lo Mein
Ingredients
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 cups pork (or other meat)
1 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp ginger, grated
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup snow peas
1 1/2 cup bean sprouts
scant 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1 1/2 cup cabbage, shredded
1 1/2 cup spaghetti squash, cooked
3 cups of NuPasta konjac angel hair noodles (or similar)
Sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp Swerve brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
Directions
Prep your ingredients so everything is ready to go.
Whisk together your sauce ingredients and set aside.
Heat oils in a large wok or skillet. Cook pork (or preferred meat) until done, then remove from pan.
Add in garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add in red pepper, snow peas, bean sprouts, scallion, and cabbage. Cook and stir for about 5 - 8 minutes, until veggies soften.
Add in spaghetti squash, rinsed and drained NuPasta noodles, and the cooked meat.
Pour the sauce over the top and stir to combine. Cook until heated through, about 3 - 5 minutes.
Serve hot.
So good! You can use chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, even tofu in this if you prefer. Keep in mind though that will change the nutritional counts a bit!
Serving size for the recipes above is 6. You get about 2 thighs and 2 cups chow mein per serving.
I do make this often for meal prepping and it is super easy to double.... just make sure you have a big enough pan!
I know some of you are going to say, " BUT some of those ingredients aren't keto."
In moderation they can be. Adding things like snow peas to this dish ups the carb count a bit but it is still keto friendly in the end AND with the addition of the peas it seems closer to the "real thing". You can, of course, change the veggies to suit your needs.
