Eating keto can be a great way to tap into the benefits of autophagy, and fuel your body right. Fuelling your body with real, whole foods that are easily digestible and nutrient-dense can be simple, but sometimes a lack of preparation or inspiration can result in making poor choices. This guide can serve as inspiration for a complete seven-day keto-friendly meal plan, and we’ve included seven great recipes to cook at home.

Cooking large dinners is a great way to stay on track diet wise: so you can keep leftovers for the next day's lunch! Try cooking a double batch of stews, soups, or roast veggies— and pop the leftovers in a container that you can simply grab the next day for lunch. 

Monday

Breakfast 

Super Greens Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups coconut milk
• ½ cup yogurt (greek, whole fat, or coconut)
• ½ cup frozen blueberries
• ¼ cup frozen raspberries 
• 1 handful of fresh spinach
• 1 stalk of celery (chopped)
• 1 scoop of protein powder, or collagen powder
• 1 serving of a green powder, chlorella, or spirulina 

Instructions

1. Place all in a blender, blend on high speed until smooth.

Lunch

Tuna Sandwich on Keto Bread

Hot tips: avoid conventional mayonnaise when making tuna/ chicken/ egg salads. Homemade mayo is essentially just oil, eggs, and vinegar. But conventional mayo sold in the stores is often made with highly inflammatory vegetable oils (like canola or soybean). And loaded with artificial preservatives and colors. 

There are fantastic new brands available in health shops that opt for better ingredients like avocado oil, and no added artificial stuff. Making your own mayo is also easy!

Homemade Mayo

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic avocado oil
• 1 organic egg
• 1.5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon dijon mustard (optional)
• Pinch of salt

Recipe

1. Place all the ingredients in a mason jar
2. Using an immersion blender, put the blender to the very bottom of the mason jar and hold firm to blend for 30 seconds.
3. Once the mixture has begun to emulsify, you continue to blend, but slightly lift up the blender to bring more air into the mix.
4. Blend for a total of up to 2 minutes, until the mayonnaise is completely emulsified, and thick.

Dinner

Roast Chicken and Veggies

Roasts are a great opportunity for leftovers. Cooking your chicken in a large tray and surrounding it with vegetables is not only delicious, it’s also an easy way to get more healthy fats into your diet. The juices and fat from the chicken will infuse your vegetables, and you can keep leftovers for lunch or dinner tomorrow! 

Tuesday 

Breakfast 

Chia Pudding

Chia puddings are a perfect nutrient-dense breakfast that you can prepare the night before, to give you a few extra minutes to sleep in. Sleep is so fundamental for health, so if you’re someone who doesn’t get to bed early, consider pre-made, grab & go type healthy breakfasts so that you can sleep as long as possible, and still have a healthy option waiting for you when you wake up.

Lunch

Chicken Salad (use leftovers from yesterday's roast chicken!)

Hot tip: opt for various types of greens (especially bitter greens!) in your salads. Salads don’t have to be boring, consider adding some fermented ingredients (like kim-chi or sauerkraut) for a probiotic crunch. You can mix roasted veggies with fresh veggies, and also consider using various tools (like a spiralizer) to switch up the texture and keep things interesting.

Dinner

Stir-Fry

Such a simple dinner, simply add a load of freshly chopped veggies, freshly grated ginger, 3 tablespoons of sesame oil into a wok (or large pan), cover and let cook, stirring regularly. Once the vegetables soften, add in ¼ - ⅓ cup coconut aminos, continue to stir, top with black sesame seeds, salt, and pepper. You can add any protein of choice (cook it beforehand, and add it in when you add in the coconut aminos!).

Wednesday

Breakfast 

Scrambled green eggs and bacon

Eggs are a nutritious way to get selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12, and minerals such as zinc, iron, and copper! The key with eggs, when it comes to getting the most nutritional benefit, is not overcooking them. The fat in the yolks is rather heat sensitive, so opt for a soft scramble (or even a runny hard boil cook). Get some greens in your breakfast too! Simply add a handful of fresh spinach to your eggs from the start and they will wilt through the eggs as they cook.

Lunch

Leftover stir-fry vegetables in coconut wrap with spicy mayo 

Modern health stores have so many options to substitute conventional wheat wraps and breads, with keto-friendly versions. Coconut wraps are one of our favorites! They are high-fat, low-carb, and keto-friendly.

For the spicy mayo, opt for a paleo-type store-bought mayonnaise that uses avocado oil instead of canola, or use the recipe above! And simply add a tablespoon of hot sauce to the mix to blitz for the last 10 seconds.

Dinner

Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 500 grams pasture-raised, grass-finished ground beef
• 4 large carrots
• 1 small onion
• 1 small head of cauliflower
• 1 inch of freshly grated ginger 
• 4 large silverbeet leaves
• A handful of fresh parsley
• 4 tablespoons of your preferred fat (butter, olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, ghee, or tallow)
• 4 cups bone broth
• 400ml tomato paste
• Pinch of salt
• ½ tbsp dried oregano 

Instructions

1. In a large pot, add the fat, your meat, and chopped onion, oregano, and salt: stir until browned
2. Add in diced carrot, finely chopped cauliflower, and ginger, bone broth, and tomato paste.
3. Let that simmer with a closed lid for 20 minutes.
4. Add in the greens (silverbeet and parsley) finely chopped, and stir through until submerged
5. Simmer with the top off for another 20 minutes.
6. Serve!

Thursday

Breakfast 

Yogurt Bowl

Take the opportunity to load your yogurt bowl with superfoods that will fill your body with micronutrients. Before topping it, stir in a scoop of protein powder or collagen! And then get creative, some ideas include nuts, seeds, cacao nibs, spirulina, chlorella, maca powder, pine pollen, reishi powder, chaga powder, cordyceps, blueberries, raspberries, grain-free granola, shredded coconut, and cinnamon. 

Lunch

Leftover stew

Try adding a big scoop of coconut yogurt or Greek yogurt to your leftover stew, to add some creamy probiotic goodness! And top with whole nuts and seeds, and fresh parsley or coriander.

Dinner

Bone Broth Green Soup

Follow the recipe for the beef stew in this article, but switch it up! Opt for all green veggies (think green pepper, zucchini, collard greens, spinach, and kale). Simmer the greens in bone broth until soft, and then blend until smooth using an immersion blender.

Friday

PB & J Smoothie

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond milk or coconut milk
• 1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 cups mixed frozen berries (raspberry, blueberry, cherry, strawberry)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 scoop protein powder or collagen powder

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth

Lunch

Sushi Rolls

Plain sushi papers can be bought at any major grocery store (find ones that aren’t roasted in nasty vegetable oils!). Simply roll up your favorite veggies, and fish. We love the cooked salmon, avocado, and cucumber rolls! Sprinkle some sesame seeds, and dip into coconut aminos or spicy mayo.

Dinner

Vegetable Frittata

Frittatas are simple, nutritious dinners. Simply fill your pie tin with eggs whisked in milk, with grated veggies (like carrot, zucchini, tomatoes, red peppers) and optionally an added cheese or protein (like shredded chicken), and any herbs of your liking. Baking time will depend on how big your pan is, but a general guideline is that a 9-inch springform pan will take about 25 minutes.

Saturday

Brunch

Eggs and Steak and Sauerkraut

Weekends are a great opportunity to sleep in, and intermittent fast! Have a late brunch instead of breakfast and lunch and boost your body’s autophagy. 

Dinner

Baked Salmon and Asparagus

Ingredients

• 2 salmon steaks
• 1 large bunch of asparagus
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of dill
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Marinate the salmon overnight in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of dill, and ¼ cup lemon juice.
2. Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C
3. Toss asparagus in olive oil, salt, pepper, and minced garlic.
4. Line on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
5. After 20 minutes, pull the tray from the oven and place the salmon on top.
6. Cook the salmon for 8-10 minutes
7. Turn the grill on setting for 2 minutes (keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn)
8. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve!

Sunday

Brunch

Keto Pancakes and Bacon

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of almond flour
• 3 oz of cream cheese
• 2 tsp vanilla powder or extract
• 2 tbsp monk fruit sweetener
• Coconut oil (to oil the pan)
• Butter, salt, cinnamon, and fresh strawberries (to top)

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth
2. On a well-oiled pan, cook pancakes as usual.
3. Serve hot with some butter, salt, cinnamon, and a few chopped strawberries.

Dinner

Slow-Cooked Ribs (serve with steamed broccoli) 

Ingredients

• 1 packet of ribs (beef, pork, or lamb)
• About 3-4 cups of bone broth
• Pinch of sea salt

Instructions

1. Place the ribs bone down in a slow cooker.
2. Full the cooker up with broth until the ribs are ½ covered
3. Simmer on high for 6 hours or on low for 10 hours. 
4. Serve with a pinch of sea salt and freshly steamed broccoli.