Random Thoughts: Keto in your Cafe

Visions of lunchroom ladies and other classic cafeteria cliches are something that I've worked a majority of my career to overcome. Part of this is the reason why I have such a disdain for meatloaf, sloppy joes, shepherds pie, or many of the quintessential cafeteria dishes.  With the world growing more health conscious the past ten years, healthy variety and quality in lunchrooms in business/industries and healthcare have seen a recent uptick.  In the past ten years,  I've watched burgers and pizza go from being the number one stations, to Salad and Deli bar.

Even with more healthy options available,  It's still hard for us Ketoians to find things that meet our needs.  Thankfully, customization is at your fingertips in our workplace cafeterias.  Let's talk some options.

Breakfast.

Breakfast is probably the easiest meal to stay keto.  Bacon, sausage, and eggs are staples on every breakfast line.  My go to:  2 eggs over medium, cooked in butter - not spray - with shredded cheese, and two slices of bacon.

The key to upping your keto-breakfast game, is to befriend your cafeteria workers.  A real treat is where you can find one that offers a Made-to-order omelet or grill station.  In our cafe, Taco Thursdays are huge.  Where there's taco's, there's guacamole.  Ideally we would make our guac from scratch -  it's easy enough to do -  however we also offer it daily on our made-to-order deli station -  So we use Holy Guacamole.  It's a quality product, that I even use at home.  I sometimes get an omelette made with this as the filling, with a bit of salsa and pepper jack cheese.  You're only limited by your creativity at this point.  Talk to your cafeteria workers.  Between the cooks and the cashiers - They will get you what you want.  A surprising tidbit about Eggs in most corporate cafeterias that are managed by the large companies - most of us have implemented a cage free egg program - so the whole eggs are definitely the way to go.

Lunch

Once we move past breakfast,  Lunch can be a bit trickier.  Salads get boring -  and not to mention a satiating salad can easily break the bank when it comes to counting carbs.  No matter which station you choose,  there will be an option for you. 

Deli Stations: I do one of two things at the Deli.  I either go the way of Jimmy John's and create my own Unwich, with a couple of slices of leaf lettuce.  I personally prefer Italian toppings such as Salami and Pepperoni.  I try to stay away from Ham due to the extra sugar.  I'm not very picky about my dressing -  Italian, sometimes a bit of Caesar -  either way,  not a lot of it.  a couple of slices of provolone cheese, some red onion, banana peppers, black olives, and I'm good to go.  If that doesn't sound appealing to me,  I will go the route of a meat and cheese tray -  An order of salami, a couple of slices of provolone, a handful of pickles, olives, and maybe some whole grain mustard - and I have my own meat and cheese tray.  

Grill Stations:  At grills these days,  Chicken Breast is king.  There's not enough fat in chicken breast for my liking -  plus boneless skinless chicken breast is crammed down our throats these days; so I go with a burger.  I'm fortunate enough to work at a place where the burger is a blended patty of Brisket, Chuck and Short Rib.  It's a great product.  I get a couple of slices of bacon, a few jalapenos, a slice of cheddar, and a slice of pepper jack.  Some variation of burger is really all I recommend.  If you're looking to up your protein -  maybe go for a chicken breast -  but a burger would be your best bet. 

Most grills offer a grilled vegetable as an alternative to french fries as well.  We use Squash, Zucchini, Red Peppers, and Broccoli in our blend.  Just watch out for people trying to sneak carrots in on you if you go this route. 

Exhibition Station:  Be suspicious of your vegetable choices here -  stick with the zucchini, broccoli, spinach, and a small amount of peppers and onions.  This goes for your Indian, Asian, and Italian sautes.  Don't trust the sauces -  Any of them.  If I'm having a saute, I just hit the top of my meal when it's finished with a bit of Sriracha - and that's my sauce.  If it's a taco day -  meat, cheese, a bit of lettuce, some pico de gallo, a bit of sour cream, and guacamole.  Hard to go wrong there. Don't make the mistake of  thinking tortillas, rice, or beans are low carb -  It's a trap.  Sometimes we offer a barbecue station on Fridays.  We offer pulled chicken, smoked brisket, pulled pork.  When we have this -  I only choose the brisket - and have only the brisket..  Everything else is loaded with sugar.  We smoke the pork in house, and it's rubbed with brown sugar and cajun seasoning..  It's delicious.  I just say no.

Grab-and-Go

Snacks:  With overnight cashiering becoming more prevalent in cafeterias,  snack item sales have grown exponentially.  Some good options we have.  Quest Bars.  I'm a fan of quest bars.  I don't have them every day - but when my sweet tooth is calling -  a blueberry or raspberry quest bar, and a glass of almond milk hits the spot.  Some other good choices include flavored almonds (we have wasabi and smokehouse), beef jerky, salami and cheddar cups, and hard boiled eggs.  

These are just a few options that I tend to rely on during the week.  Remember that you can customize anything - and don't be afraid to ask questions.  Positive feedback is worth the world to your kitchen staff -  Let them know any requests you have, and they will go above and beyond to make it happen.

What are some of your favorite Keto options from your cafe?  Let's talk about it in the comment section.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you Sunday!