Ketogenic Lunch
Ketogenic Lunch Inspiration
Zucchini melts
Slice 1 – 2 fairly small zucchinis in half. Place sliced cheddar cheese across the zucchini, then add tomato, some ham or pastrami followed by mozzarella or cheddar cheese slices. Place under a grill and melt cheeses. Remove once browned slightly.
Keto Leftovers
Any food left over from the night before’s meal? As long as they are ketogenic, they make a great lunch meal.
Curried egg on a bed of lettuce
This is a simple egg mixture. Just add 2 eggs, a tablespoon of cream and a splash of almond meal. Mix together, then microwave for 2 minutes. Once cooked, add a tablespoon of mayonnaise, a teaspoon of curry powder, stir then serve on a bed of lettuce or baby spinach leaves. and voila! 
High fat vegetarian option
Fried mushrooms, avocado slices, fried or poached egg and some tomatoes or low carb veg of your choice. Be sure to fry the mushrooms in either olive oil, coconut oil or grass-fed butter. For more information on which fats to incorporate in a ketogenic diet, pop over to my post on healthy fats.
Zucchini Lasagna
Zucchini lasagna in a mug. You can either use some leftover mince pasta sauce in between your layers or simply use a tomato and garlic blend as the sauce. Be sure to have some high-fat ricotta on hand as your white sauce. Thinly slice the zucchini in between your layers. You can do this in either a large dish or make a single-serve in a mug. I use this recipe.
Egg frittata
Mix 2-3 eggs with cream, almond meal and season. Cook in the microwave (convenience and speed) for a few minutes. Add choice of toppings, eg diced bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, shallot, chives, grated mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. Microwave again for a further 20 seconds or so until cheese is melted. 
Simple Salad
Salad with tomatoes, avocado, cheese (of your choice), baby spinach, lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, diced fried (or microwaved) bacon. Mix balsamic vinegar with olive oil and lemon then add to the salad. Add the bacon when you’re ready to eat while it’s warm. When I take this to work I keep the bacon separate until lunchtime and microwave when I’m ready to eat.
Chicken and salad
Grab a roast chicken and throw in some avocado, olives, cheese, and salad of your choice ie tomatoes, cucumber, green beans, baby spinach, lettuce.
Lamb and veggies
Lamb loin chops cooked in the oven with steamed veggies of your choice. This can be done the night before or before going to work so it’s just heat and eat once it’s break time. The lamb takes around 20-30 mins to cook. You can use frozen veggies to make it faster and easier if you have any. Make sure you only use keto-friendly veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans. Add butter to veggies for extra fat. 
Keto bread options
For those who don’t have access to kitchen facilities at work, have prepared in the freezer some fat head cheese bread rolls or bagels. These can be great alternatives to wheat bread. For recipes check out the link here. 
Almond meal bread or keto bread is also a great bread alternative to high carb wheat bread. It only has 1 gram of net carbs per serve. Here’s a link to the recipe.
You can also go through the Low Carb Bread Company for some ready-made low carb bread for convenience and time saving, not to mention healthier options.
Soup
Soup is also a great lunch option to take to work. As long as it’s low carb and sugar-free you’ll stay in ketosis. Cauliflower or mushroom soup are both fabulous keto-friendly options. For those working outside or offsite without kitchen facilities, you will need a reliable thermos to keep your soup warm. Here’s one I have faith in.
Cauliflower Rice with bacon
Cauliflower rice, bacon bits, and avocado mix in some sour cream and top with mozzarella cheese. Melt in the microwave for 30 secs and you have a simple ketogenic lunch. Did you know that cauliflower has almost as much vitamin C as oranges!
Very helpful article.
Anyone starting a keto diet struggles to know what to eat, with time we get creative and make up our own recipes, but this post can serve as reference to anyone that wants to start a keto diet and doesn't know what to eat (happens most of the times).
I will surely try a few of these, starting with the bread. Great idea to have it frozen. I usually use cabbage leaves for sandwiches.
Thanks for writing this Kat!
I have heard of Keto but had no idea what it was until I read your posts. Very interesting stuff. I don't like to diet, I mean who does really, but this doesn't seem like the average diet which I love that. I find the worst part is giving up bread because I love it so. I am currently pregnant and don't want to gain more weight than recommended my doctors and have a normal pregnancy. Do you think this would be healthy to do while being pregnant?
Hi Amber, and thanks for leaving a comment. Congratulations on your pregnancy. There are numerous opinions about whether this is safe during pregnancy, but I followed a ketogenic diet while I was pregnant with my youngest child, and found myself feeling better than all my previous pregnancies. It's personal choice as to whether you feel comfortable following a ketogenic diet during pregnancy and something I would suggest you discuss with your health care practitioner. I am aware that others have followed it during pregnancy with positive results. If anything, simply cut out all sweet sugary treats, pasta and bread products, as they contain no nutritional value at all. Be sure to include veggies and proteins, and only use healthy fats rather than canola or vegetable oils as these are known to cause inflammation. All the best with the birth and meeting your little addition.
These make a great list to choose from. Having to think through the kind of food to eat for lunch when there's actually nothing coming to mind makes lunch time a boring one for me at times. You've done a good work for this collection and I'm bookmarking it to use as my menu anytime I'm out of options.
I think this will be good for my colleagues who find themselves in similar situations as me sometimes.
Hello there Kat,
Thank You for such informative article, I've really enjoyed reading it and learning something new today. As far as ketogenic diets goes, I've only recently discovered it for myself but so far I have to say- it does look very appealing and beneficial in my eyes for numerous reasons. First of all, I am very pleased to discover that ketogenic diets has the ability to lower cholesterol. Even though I do not suffer from it at all, I see how many other people would greatly benefit from lower levels of cholesterol. I am also very impressed that ketogenic diet is very effective at reducing blood pressure, great stuff! Oh, and another superb benefit of such diet is the fact that it can reduce and lower the level of blood sugar, which further adds to the overall positive presentation of this diet. As a vegan myself, the ''Lamb and Veggies'' lunch looks to be very delicious and healthy, looking forward to trying it out in the near future!
Keep up the great work Kat!