Top 6 Popular Foods For The Keto Diet !!

1-Salmon

This fatty fish has always ranked high for me when it comes to keto friendly foods. You may know it to be packed with beneficial omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, which boost brain health and help with reducing inflammation, but it also has loads of other nutrients which the body needs.

Potassium and selenium are found in bountiful amounts when it comes to salmon. Potassium is integral to proper regulation of blood pressure as well as the body’s water retention. Selenium helps out with maintaining good bone health as well as ensuring an optimal immune system. On top of this, salmon also contains healthy levels of B vitamins. These vitamins are crucial for efficient food to energy processing, as well as maintaining the proper function of both the body’s DNA and nervous system. To top it off, salmon has astaxanthin, an antioxidant which gives salmon flesh its reddish pink hue. This powerful antioxidant helps with heart and brainhealth, and may also be beneficial for the skin.

To get a good quality deal, the first thing you should take note of is the smell. Fresh salmon, or any fish for that matter, will not really have an odor. You can probably smell a tinge of the ocean, but fresh fish will definitely not smell fishy. When it is fishy, you know that fish is not for you.

Next up, pay attention to the eyes. Look for those with clear and shiny eyes. Think of a movie star who has teared up - those are the kind of eyes that best demonstrate what you are looking for. Never go for sunken or dry-looking eyes. Cloudy-looking ones are also a no-go when it comes to fresh fish selection.

Fins and gills are also areas which we want to pay attention to. Fresh fish have fins which look wet and whole, not torn and ragged. Their gills are bright red and clean, not brownish-red and slimy. Lastly, if you are allowed to, try pressing the flesh and seeing if it bounces back like how your own does. Flesh which is depressed and stays depressed should not end up in your kitchen.

For fillet cuts, the best you can do is pay attention to the color as well as how the piece looks. The color should be vibrant and bright. Varied hues ranging from red to coral to pink are acceptable, but always remember that the main thing is the brightness of the flesh. Next would be to spot any breaks or cracks in the flesh itself. These are indications that the fillet has been kept for some time and is no longer as fresh. Also, any pooling of water should also trigger alarm bells, because it means that the flesh structure has started to
break down, and it is time to move on to another piece.

2-Pork belly

This is another probable staple in the keto diet. I’ve talked about
it in my other book but here I want to concentrate on helping you choose a good cut for prepping your meals. Every 100 grams of pork belly contains about 50 grams of fat. Packing another 9 grams of protein and absolutely no carbs, you can be sure that this is a good food item to boost your daily fat count. On top of that, it can be absolutely easy to prepare delicious meals with it.

When choosing pork belly, you should look at the color of the cut. Go for the cuts that are reddish pink to darkish red. Meat which is lighter in color generally means the freshness may have faded. Greying or discoloration will definitely mean that decay has already set in and the meat should not be picked up.

The other thing you want to look for is the streaky white strips of fat present in the pork belly. Generally the more streaks it has, the better the marbling will be and that is good news for you. Always ensure that the marbling is white, because any yellow or greyish coloring would represent meat that has probably passed its sell-by date.

3-Avocado oil

I must be honest here and say that this oil, for me, has been a
later stage addition when compared to olive and coconut oil. Extra virgin olive oil, as well as the versatile coconut oil have their rightful places in the pantheon of staple keto foods, but avocado oil might be giving them a run for their money.

Avocado oil for one, consists of mostly monounsaturated fat. This particular quirk ties in to a very important point. The oil is considered far more stable than any of its polyunsaturated fat cousins, like vegetable oil and even extra virgin olive oil. Besides that, avocado oil is known to have a higher smoke point, somewhere around 500 degrees Fahrenheit, than most vegetable oils. This makes it a valuable addition to the kitchen because the oil has a higher resistance to degeneration by heat. Add on the fact that it packs a healthy punch in terms of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants, you will realize that this is one oil you can potentially use for many different applications.

Some folks use it for hair and skin care, where the vitamin E rich oil is known to be easily absorbed without additional chemicals or other potentially harmful additives. Adding the oil into salads, vegetables, or fruits is also a great way to boost monounsaturated fat intake with very little inconvenience. You might even want to try drinking it raw, though it doesn’t work for me as I found it to be a little too raw. Mixing it up with some lime or garlic has always been what I prefer.

Now let’s talk a little on how to go about choosing the avocado oil. First up, we want to look at the source or origin of the oil, which typically means we need to know where and how the avocados were grown. In this respect, you need to look for a certified organic label to know that the avocados were grown without any synthetic additives. This ensures that the oil derived from the avocados do not contain any substances that could be detrimental to your health.

Next, we need to look at how the oil is extracted. Mechanical and chemical extraction methods used usually involves increased heat as well as potent chemicals to force out the oil from the mashed avocado pulp. The downside of this is that the heat and chemicals may reduce the beneficial nutrients and vitamins present in the oil. To address this, cold pressing, which is known as the least destructive method out there, ensures that the color, smell, and taste
are as close to the original fruit as possible. You get better quality oil, and in addition to that, enjoy more nutrients.

The last item we need to look at is how the oil is refined, or not. Seriously, for best results, cold pressed oil that is unrefined and gotten from certified organic avocados, would rank amongst the top tiers, if not the top. The downside is that the shelf life is short, and the oil smells very… avocado-ish. That shouldn’t be a problem if you use it often, and you should, considering the health benefits and convenience that it brings. The next best thing would be to have the oil naturally refined, where the manufacturers typically do
straining and filtering in order to extend the shelf life. Always remember, the more the oil is refined, the less nutrition it will provide.

Before I forget, always opt for oils in dark-colored glass bottles or tins. This is a little similar to extra virgin olive oil where the oil can go rancid in the presence of heat and light. For avocado oil, though the majority of fats present consist of the monounsaturated variety, there still is a minor percentage of polyunsaturated fats. Hence, better to err on the side of caution and go for dark-colored glass bottles.

4-Ghee

This substance has been around since the Ayurvedic times, and it has always been listed as the cooking medium of choice. Ghee is clarified butter, which means butter that has been heated and is free of lactose as well as other milk solids. This also results in a higher smoke point compared to butter. It can go as high as 480 degrees Fahrenheit, that means you can really deep fry or roast without the risk of oxidation which releases harmful free radicals.

Removal of the lactose is great news for those who are lactose intolerant, yet still wish to partake in the nutty and rich flavor that comes with butter. Ghee can be a great alternative, and the taste might even be more flavorful. Packed with multiple fat soluble vitamins, it also contains short chain fatty acids which boost cardiovascular health as well as help fight inflammation. Ghee
also has the distinct advantage of being able to last about three to four weeks at room temperature while it can keep for up to six months when refrigerated.

Ghee can definitely be found in most grocery stores. Check for it in the oil section, although some places may have it in the dairy portion. As with butter, you can always try to go for grass-fed varieties first to improve the nutrient intake and reduce the chance of having potential additives or chemicals mixed in. For me, I usually go for ghee packed either in tins or glass jars.

5-Lard

Lard is fat from pigs. Once vilified together with all the other
saturated fat food sources, lard is enjoying a well-justified comeback! Every 100 grams of lard gives you about 30 grams of saturated fat, with polyunsaturated fat making up 10 grams and the monounsaturated variety yielding about 40 grams. No, there is no mistake. You are reading it correctly. Lard actually has more monounsaturated fat than saturated fat content. Little wonder why folks from the earlier generations really swore by lard and practically used it for most stuff involving cooking and baking.

Now that we modern folk are coming round to lard once again, it has been found to be one of the richer sources of vitamin D foods. You don’t need to get all your vitamin D from the sun or fish, lard is also a tasty alternative! On top of that, lard is also good for high heat cooking because of its higher smoke point which stands around 375 degrees Fahrenheit. There is also less chance of rancidity or free radical production due to the presence of saturated
fat content which gives lard that extra layer of fat stability. Did I already mention that lard tastes great as well? That is a point worth repeating, because there is just something about animal fat that gives food a really rich and flavorful texture.

Unfortunately, lard being sold in supermarkets and most stores aren’t really good because they have probably undergone some form of hydrogenation in order to prolong shelf life. Prolonging supermarket lard’s shelf life comes at the expense of our own if we choose to add it into our meals. You really should be looking to get high quality lard from your butcher or meat grocer. Good lard, also known as leaf lard, is derived from visceral fat around the kidneys and loin area of the pig. If that has run out, you can go for the next
best alternative, which is lard that is slightly more solid and is derived from between the back skin and muscle. Untreated or unrefined lard must always be refrigerated to maintain its freshness.

6-Bell peppers

These colorful vegetables not only add in color and a crunchy
bite to our daily meals but they also pack quite a healthy punch in the nutrients department. Rich in vitamins A and C, as well as providing us with folate and vitamin K for added good measure, bell peppers help with boosting our immune system and maintaining tissue health. The antioxidant lycopene, a kind of carotenoid that gives the peppers its color, is also responsible in
helping to reduce inflammation, as well as being an active scavenger for the body’s free radicals. It is also extremely versatile, being perfectly suitable to serve raw or lightly grilled. More good news? The carb count for 100 grams of bell peppers stand at a measly 5 grams, of which 2 grams consist of dietary fiber. We’ll touch more on this subject of dietary fiber and how it impacts the carb count, but for now, just know that bell peppers have an intensely low carb count for all the nutritious goodness it packs.

The trick to choosing a bell pepper that you would want to have on your dinner table is easy - really. Go for the ones with bright, vivid colors. The ones with lighter colors may indicate they aren’t that ripe yet. Any with bruises and discoloration should be set aside and replaced with those which have a glossy sheen. Gently squeeze the vegetable to feel for tightness of the skin. One more thing to note is that a ripe bell pepper will actually feel heavier than it looks. This is because it has not suffered from moisture loss associated with over ripeness. Bell peppers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, so be sure to pop them into the chill box once you bring
them back from your grocery run.

The list above is meant to give some help when it comes to the physical selection of these foods mentioned. I am pretty sure you would like to keep quality and fresh foods around in your kitchen and I hope this section would have gone some distance in helping you do that on a consistent basis.