I Went On A Picnic & Here’s How I Kept It Keto
Enjoy lunch with friends while having all these low-carb foods
[bigletter]Tis the summer to eat at the park while gathered – yet socially distanced (go 2020!) – with friends and loved ones. But if you’re like me, you get to watch them eating a delicious freshly sliced loaf of bread stuffed with European meats and cheeses and sauces…while accompanying them with crisps (that’s what Brits call potato chips), while you’re trying to keep your carb intake at a minimum, and by ‘minimum,’ I mean, below 15 grams.[/bigletter]
My friends and I spent Sunday at Regent’s Park. Located in north-west London, it’s one of the city’s royal parks and houses Regent’s University and the London Zoo. Standing between Camden and Westminster, the area is massive and the perfect place to sit out with friends for a picnic.
If you’re familiar with my keto journey, you know I get super creative with my recipes and how I eat in order to remain in ketosis. So, how do I plan for a picnic in the park with friends and enjoy myself, eating all the low-carb foods? Pack the peanut butter and mayonnaise, and I’ll tell you what else you can pick up at the shop for different snacks that will make up the best picnic spread (ignore the donuts, please. Those weren’t mine!)
Keeping it one hundred, a piece of deliciously fresh bread is and will always be yummy and tempting to me, and dieting kind of sucks, but nobody said it was easy and if it were a breeze, everyone would be doing it, right? So, in order to not miss the bread, besides looking away, it’s important to get creative. That’s actually why I love this diet; it gives you the space and the options to still eat fairly “normal” foods.
But I know not many people consider the variety of options available at a picnic for someone trying to keep the carb intake at a minimum, so here are a few options I feel you can take on your picnic:
- Replace chips (the Brits call them crisps) with pork rinds
- Celery for scooping peanut butter, ranch, or bleu cheese
- Egg and mayonnaise salad
- Deviled eggs
- Meats: hams, prosciutto, salami, chorizo, little sausages (also great for dipping)
- Cheeses: brie, provolone, mozzarella, cheddar
- Strawberries and whipping cream (sweeten it yourself)
- Chopped coconut
- Brazil nuts
- Avocado and lime salad
- Lastly, trade the prosecco (I know, sad!) for the Coke Zero or Sprite zero.
Cheers!
I adore capturing every highlight of my foodie posts and sharing them in hopes of sparking ideas in a
curious reader. If you want to see more of my favorite foods, follow my hashtags #CBtalksFOOD &
for my London adventures, check out #CBgoestoLondon.
From London…
By Cata Balzano
