Keto Easter Dinner and the Keto Holiday Cheat Meal
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Keto Easter Dinner can be just as delicious as a traditional dinner, and you will be happy on Monday.
Can we remain true to ourselves on our keto diet and enjoy a keto Easter dinner? Here’s two things I have to say about that.
- Yes, you can, even if you’re super strict and not eating above 20 net carbs.
- Yes, you can, even if you decide to have a cheat meal.
I’m going to list all my favorite keto friendly meals for a delicious keto recipes which work for easter brunch and Easter dinner, and I’ll tell you how to have a keto cheat meal that doesn’t take you down or set you back.
Thomas Delaurer says that women should eat carbs every two weeks on the keto diet. He also says “have a cheat meal, don’t have a cheat day, and be careful about the food you choose to eat.” I watch a lot of his Keto videos, because he explains the science behind what he says.
A holiday keto Easter dinner could be a planned cheat meal, and may be the time to go all out on more vegetables, including some of the veggies you never eat, such as carrots, and beets. The holiday cheat meal is now the time to enjoy more keto friendly treats like the biscuits and cakes listed below.
Make sure you make some of these keto peanut butter cups or keto coconut cream eggs in advance.
Do’s and Don’ts of the Holiday Cheat Meal
- Make sure to include healthy proteins and fats. Protein with fat brings satiation. (See the lamb dishes below, which are high in fat and protein).
- Keep your cheat to one meal. This is really important and a great way to practice disciplined eating.
- Eat a salad first, which acts to slow down the digestion of the rest of meal.
- Eat more vegetables or enjoy the ones you usually avoid such as beets (with olive oil) carrots with butter, sweet potatoes with grass fed butter, or butternut squash.
- Put fat on your veggies to slow down the process.
- Avoid ALL sugar. I recommend erythritol, such as Swerve, which does not spike blood sugar.
- Drink red wine instead of champagne or beer.
- Skep the breads unless they are truly keto friendly. You might be able to handle sourdough bread, but bread is one of those foods that too often stimulates appetite. If you must, make sure to eat it with butter or fat.
- Drink 8-10 glasses of water that day. Drink 16 ounces 30 minutes before the meal.
- Be careful with dairy. It can pack on calories and inflammation.
- Do your best to avoid gluten. It’s inflammatory and if you haven’t been eating it for a while, you may have a reaction.
- Have your next day’s keto food planned and purchased so you go right back to your lifestyle. If you are keto adapted, you should be able to dive back in easily and not have any sustained weight gain.
- Learn about resistant starch in foods like potatoes and rice. For example, if I want potatoes, I cook them first and cool them, which increases their resistant starch. I usually choose purple potatoes, a healthy low-glycemic choice.
- Have keto friendly desserts ready so you are not tempted to graze any sugary desserts.
- Decide exactly what you’re going to eat in advance.
- Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT let anyone coax you or seduce you into eating food you know will make you feel bad or sick.
Starters for Keto Easter Dinner
I love charcuterie boards. You might include cantaloupe with prosciutto. Each 1/8 slice is 5 net carbs.
Make Colored Eggs with Whipped Cream
The Low Carb Veggies for Keto Easter Dinner
Go to this post and see over 30 low-carb veggies with over 75 recipes, and fill up on these. Examples of these include:
The Keto Friendly Salads
Include a salad whether you’re having brunch or dinner.
Cauliflower Salad with Champagne Mustard Vinaigrette
Purple Cauliflower Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette
Red Cabbage Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Orange Beet Salad (cheat meal) Add in some Burrata for fat to slow down the sugar.
Potato Pesto Salad with Green Beans (cheat meal, but incorporates resistant starch)
Proteins
Roast Leg of Lamb with Pistachio Mint Pesto
Reverse Sear Lamb Chops, Mint Pistou
Baked Italian Chicken with Rosemary
Keto Brunch/Breads/Biscuits
Brussels Sprouts with Purple Potatoes Sprouts Frittata
Keto Desserts (all gluten free)
Naked Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
One More Thing about the Holiday Cheat Meal
There are ways to enjoy some carbs that you normally avoid by eating foods with resistant starch. If you geek out on science, this article on resistant starch and its benefits is a must read.
Enjoy Carbs with Resistant Starch
If you want to eat potatoes, increase their resistant starch. Refrigerate them after cooking to increase resistant starch and enjoy the benefits.. This process is called starch retrogradation, and if you reheat the potatoes, they will still have an increased amount of resistant starch and less of spike in blood sugar. Be sure Add healthy fats like olive oil pesto.
Go here for 50 plus keto desserts.
