Keto For Beginners – 5 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan

Keto For Beginners – 5 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan

Sunday, October 20, 2024

 

Easy 5 Ingredient Keto Recipes

Another week and another Keto meal plan. This is a 5 ingredient Keto meal plan. It’s part of my larger Keto for beginners series of videos. I started this series because of the 2020 pandemic but quickly realized that for a lot of people these plans took the difficulty out of cooking and meal prep. Meal prep helps you stay on track with your diet and that’s why I recommend it.

I must also mention this 5 ingredient special doesn’t include basic pantry items of salt, pepper, sweetener and oil for frying. But it’s about keeping it simple and clean. If you are just starting out also check out my Keto for beginners playlist with episodes 1-5 which will help you get started.

1 second of 7 minutes, 40 secondsVolume 0%

It’s important to remember that I’m NOT a doctor, nutritionist or dietitian. I’m just a musician/Youtuber who has done Keto so please do not take any of this as medical advise. If you have pre-existing conditions please consult your doctor or a qualified professional before doing anything. This is simply a resource for people who need it. So please treat this as a disclaimer before proceeding.  Enjoy the video below and then carry on reading.

Get back to the basics

Eat only when hungry

Tracking macros is essential when it comes to any diet for weight loss. However there is plenty of flexibility to manage weight loss on Keto without doing this in the start. There are many reasons for this which I won’t get into but. However it’s important to still exercise restraint and portion control. So make sure you don’t just eat for the sake of eating. Eat only when you feel hungry. You don’t even need to finish an entire portion of food if you can’t. In the event you’ve eating say a serving of something and still feel a wee bit hungry that’s fine, give it 10 minutes or so. The reason being it takes you stomach about that much time to let the brain know it’s full and being a tad hungry is never a bad thing. Of course don’t starve yourself but you have to learn intuitive eating.

Track your progress

Hopefully you haven’t just weighed yourself at the start of your journey but you also took measurements. I did forget to mention to also take photographs. The scale is just one way of measuring progress and often can be deceptive. On Keto you might not lose weight but you might lose inches. This is why measure yourself, take pictures and compare them week after week. Don’t get into a habit of checking daily. Just do it every Monday morning, same time, in your birthday suit and be done with it. Also watch my video called ‘The Goal Weight Delusion‘

Start exercising

It doesn’t matter what exercise you do but just do something. As the song goes, 1-2-3-4 get your body on the floor. This is important for many reasons. Even though you can lose weight without exercising and I did that myself in the start it’s not the best practice. Exercise has many health benefits and it’s also vital to help keep your BMR up. You can choose from a variety of options for physical activity based on how fit you are currently. Whether it’s going to the gym, running, cycling, dancing, drumming or even just walking, it’s all good. Do something!

The Menu & Food substitutions

Here is the full meal plan. I’ve given some information about each meal along with the substitutes for certain food items. If you can’t find one to your liking then leave me a comment below.

Breakfast – A simple Keto shakshuka. I guess there aren’t too many substitutions here. And if you can’t get Feta cheese you can use any kind of cheese you like. I would recommend a soft cheese like goat’s cheese perhaps. Also I used a store bought marinara sauce for this recipe but you can totally make a big batch of my Keto marinara sauce to keep for recipes like this.

I guess if you are vegan then you can swap out this breakfast from the meal plan with my Keto upma or my Keto poha.

Lunch – Saagwala Chicken or Chicken in Spinach Sauce! If there was ever a way to get in your greens into a meal in a delicious way, this is it. It’s a lot of spinach which is great! Chicken can be swapped out for fish and if you’re vegetarian get some paneer. Vegan? Tofu and coconut cream will do. Of course if you have access to more spices like tumeric, cumin, coriander powder and red chilli powder, I would and those while frying the chicken. You can serve this meal with a Keto naan or some cauliflower rice.

Dinner – Keto potstickers or Keto dumplings. Whatever you call them, these are little packets of deliciousness. I love a good pork filling in mine but you can use any meat you like. If you are vegetarian or vegan, paneer, tofu, mushrooms etc all work as well. You can also steam these first and then pan fry it like I did in my original Keto Potstickers recipe. And honestly if you feeling a bit more adventurous in the kitchen then attempt my recipe for Hungarian Cabbage rolls, they are to die for!!!

Shopping List

Just edit the quantities based on your appetite. If you have left over food you can always freeze it for up to a full month. So this is more just a list, quantities will vary based on how much you eat. Also double check if you have any of these things left over from last weeks meal prep before buying fresh stuff.

1.  Eggs
2. Marinara Sauce
3. Chili Flakes
4. Parsley
5. Feta Cheese
6. Ground Pork
7. Spring Onion
8. Spring Onion
9. Garlic Paste
10. Cabbage
11. Full Chicken Legs (Skinless)
12. Spinach
13. Heavy Cream
14. Ginger Garlic Paste
15. Garam Masala
16. Butter
17. Olive Oil/Avocado Oil (any Keto cooking fat)
18. Ghee
19. Salt & Pepper

That should cover everything. Adjust the quantities based on how much you are going to eat. For example if you eat 2 eggs a day then that’s 14 eggs you need in total. If you eat say 1 chicken breast a day then get 7 chicken breasts. You get the idea. And just a reminder for my Indian viewers to check my Shopping guide for Indians for suggested brands.

Eat for the week

Try and eat the same food everyday and it will help you stay on course or at least 3-4 days in a row. After which you can rotate with another one of my meal plans.

Keto For Beginners – 5 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan

Three delicious 5 ingredient Keto recipes. Serving sizes are different for each recipe and they are mentioned below.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Main Dish

Cuisine Asian, General, Indian, Middle Eastern

Breakfast - Shakshuka

• 1 Egg
• 30 grams Headbanger's Kitchen Marinara Sauce
• 30 grams Feta Cheese
• 1/2 Tsp Chili Flakes
• 1/2 Tsp Chopped Parsley
• 1 Tbsp Butter Order online
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Lunch - Saag Chicken

• 450 grams Full Chicken Legs (Skinless)
• 250 grams Spinach
• 1 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1 Tsp Garam Masala
• 60 ml Heavy Cream
• 2 Tbsp Ghee
• Salt to Taste

Dinner - Potstickers

• 200 grams Ground Pork
• 6 Cabbage Leaves
• 10 Grams Garlic Paste
• 1 Tsp Soya Sauce
• 1 Spring Onion
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Breakfast

• Melt the butter in a frying pan and add in the chili flakes. Once the butter starts to sizzle add in the marinara sauce and give it all a good mix. Once that's bubbling turn the heat down to low and crack the egg in the pan. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes depending on how you like your eggs cooked. Leave uncovered for a runny yolk. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and then crumble in the feta cheese on top of the sauce and eggs. Turn the heat off and finish with the freshly chopped parsley. This recipe is 1 serving.

Lunch

• In a large saucepan add the spinach with about 30ml of water and some salt. Cover and cook till the spinach has wilted down. Transfer the spinach with any liquid from the pan into a food processor and blend to a smooth puree. Add more water if needed to blend. Then in the same saucepan heat up some ghee and once hot add in the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and also add in the ginger garlic paste. Sautee the chicken till it starts to get some colour and caramelize. Then pour in the spinach puree into the pan. Don't forget to rinse out the blender, waste none of the puree. Then lower the heat and cook for 8-12minutes or till the chicken is FULLY COOKED. Then add in the garam masala and cream and mix well. Cook for a minute before turning off the heat. Serve with cauliflower rice or Keto naan. This recipe makes 2 servings.

Dinner

• In a bowl mix together the pork, garlic paste, soya sauce, chopped spring onion and salt and pepper. Boil the cabbage leaves till tender and if they are very large then cut them into half once they have cooled. Fill each leaf with some filling and then wrap to make the pot sticker. In a frying pan heat up the olive oil and then fry the pot stickers. Turn the heat down to medium and cover and let it cook for 4 minutes. Then flip the over and cover and let them cook for another 4 minutes. Once the meat is fully cooked through remove from the pan. Pour any juices left in the pan over the pot stickers. Finish with the spring onion greens. This recipe makes 10-12 potstickers.

Keto For Beginners – 3 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan #4

Keto For Beginners – 3 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan #4

Get back to the basics

Eat only when hungry

Tracking macros is essential when it comes to any diet for weight loss. However there is plenty of flexibility to manage weight loss on Keto without doing this in the start. There are many reasons for this which I won’t get into but. However it’s important to still exercise restraint and portion control. So make sure you don’t just eat for the sake of eating. Eat only when you feel hungry. You don’t even need to finish an entire portion of food if you can’t. In the event you’ve eating say a serving of something and still feel a wee bit hungry that’s fine, give it 10 minutes or so. The reason being it takes you stomach about that much time to let the brain know it’s full and being a tad hungry is never a bad thing. Of course don’t starve yourself but you have to learn intuitive eating.

Track your progress

Hopefully you haven’t just weighed yourself at the start of your journey but you also took measurements. I did forget to mention to also take photographs. The scale is just one way of measuring progress and often can be deceptive. On Keto you might not lose weight but you might lose inches. This is why measure yourself, take pictures and compare them week after week. Don’t get into a habit of checking daily. Just do it every Monday morning, same time, in your birthday suit and be done with it. Also watch my video called ‘The Goal Weight Delusion‘

Start exercising

It doesn’t matter what exercise you do but just do something. As the song goes, 1-2-3-4 get your body on the floor. This is important for many reasons. Even though you can lose weight without exercising and I did that myself in the start it’s not the best practice. Exercise has many health benefits and it’s also vital to help keep your BMR up. You can choose from a variety of options for physical activity based on how fit you are currently. Whether it’s going to the gym, running, cycling, dancing, drumming or even just walking, it’s all good. Do something!

The Menu & Food substitutions

Here is the full meal plan. I’ve given some information about each meal along with the substitutes for certain food items. If you can’t find one to your liking then leave me a comment below.

Breakfast – A simple Keto pancake. This is a fun breakfast and particularly for those with a sweet tooth. The most common question I guess is can I swap out almond flour for coconut and the answer is yes. However compared to the 50g of almond flour you need only 20g of coconut flour since that’s more absorbent.  Also you can swap out the cinnamon for vanilla extract. And when it comes to the sweetener you can either skip it or use any Keto friendly sweetener that you like. You can also make a big batch of this batter and keep it in the fridge for the entire week.

I guess if you are vegan then you can swap out this breakfast from the meal plan with my Keto upma or my Keto poha.

Lunch – The creamiest Thai curry ever! This meal is just so simple and delicious. You can eat it just as it is with a spoon but if you are one of those people who needs something on the side of their curry you can make some cauliflower rice. You can also make my Keto naan but who eats naan with Thai curry? Anyway the usual substitutions can be made, any meat of choice or paneer/eggs for vegetarians. Vegans, it’s tofu for you. Coconut cream and coconut milk are interchangeable. And when it comes to the curry paste just buy ANY curry paste you like. Ideally try and find one that has 2-3g net carbs per 1tbsp. It’s fine if it has sugar, don’t break your head over it.

Snack – Tomato soup. I can already hear people losing their minds saying tomatoes are not Keto. Well 100g of tomato has 2.7g net carbs according to the USDA. Drink a smaller portion of this soup if you are being super strict. Anyway if you don’t like tomato or just want to avoid it just visit my Keto soups section on the website and pick any soup you like and drink a nice mug of it. About 200ml. You can alternatively skip the soup completely and have a Keto coffee instead. Also you can swap out the garlic for garlic powder or just skip it if you don’t like garlic. Heavy cream can be subbed for coconut cream.

Dinner – It’s steak and creamed spinach. Substitutions are simple. Chicken for fish, paneer, tofu, pork, beef etc for the protein. Coconut cream for the dairy. And I mean if you don’t like spinach just throw in any vegetable you do like and you are sorted!!!

Shopping List

Just edit the quantities based on your appetite. If you have left over food you can always freeze it for up to a full month. So this is more just a list, quantities will vary based on how much you eat. Also double check if you have any of these things left over from last weeks meal prep before buying fresh stuff.

1.  Eggs
2. Almond Flour
3. Cinnamon Powder
4. Thai Curry Paste
5. Chicken for the curry
6. Coconut Cream
7. Heavy Cream
8. Tomato
9. Garlic
10. Steak
11. Spinach
12. Butter
13. Olive Oil/Avocado Oil (any Keto cooking fat)
14. Salt & Pepper

That should cover everything. Adjust the quantities based on how much you are going to eat. For example if you eat 2 eggs a day then that’s 14 eggs you need in total. If you eat say 1 chicken breast a day then get 7 chicken breasts. You get the idea. And just a reminder for my Indian viewers to check my Shopping guide for Indians for suggested brands.

Eat for the week

Try and eat the same food everyday and it will help you stay on course or at least 3-4 days in a row. After which you can rotate with another one of my meal plans.

Keto For Beginners – 3 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan #4

A simple and easy plan to follow. Now each recipe makes a different number of servings hence the 2 servings listed, Check the instructions for actual number of servings.

Course Breakfast, Main Dish, Soup

Cuisine American, General, Thai

Breakfast - Almond Flour Pancakes

• 2 Eggs
• 50 grams Almond Flour Order online
• 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon Powder
• Sweetener of choice to taste
• Butter for cooking

Lunch - Chicken Thai Curry

• 500 grams Skinless Chicken Legs
• 2 Tbsp Thai Curry Paste Order online
• 400 ml Coconut Cream Order online
• Salt to Taste

Snack - Roasted Tomato Soup

• 1 Kg Tomatoes
• 60 ml Heavy Cream
• 5 Cloves garlic
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Dinner - Steak & Creamed Spinch

• 500 grams Steak
• 200 grams Spinach
• 50 ml Heavy Cream
• 2 Tbsp Butter Order online
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Avocado Oil (for frying) Order online

Breakfast

• In a blender add the eggs, almond flour, cinnamon and sweetener. Blend to make the batter. Heat some butter on a skillet or non stick pan and then pour in the batter. You can make 1 large pancake or 3 small ones. I like to cover the pancake and cook for 2 min of a low heat so that when I flip it the batter doesn't fly since the steam cooks the pancake. You can otherwise cook for 2 min on a medium heat before flipping. Serve the pancakes with some butter and Keto friendly syrup.

Lunch

• Heat a tablespoon of the coconut cream in a wok till it's frothy and bubbling. Then add in the curry paste and cook till fragrant. Add in the chicken, season with salt and cook for 3-4 minutes. If the paste is sticking to the wok use a bit of water to deglaze the wok. Then add in the coconut cream and cover and cook with a lid till the chicken is fully cooked through.

Snack

• Pre-heat your oven to 200C/400F. Chop your tomatoes in half and then add to a roasting tray along with the garlic and then season with salt and pepper and also the olive oil. Mix well and then roast for 50 minutes. If you don't have an oven you can cook them in a saucepan. Then transfer the tomatoes, garlic, oil, juices etc from the roasting tray into your blender and blend to a smooth consistency. Strain the soup into a saucepan and discard any grizzly bits which is mostly skin and seeds. Heat the soup on a low heat and add water to thin it if it's too thick. Also add in the heavy cream, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as required. Serve in a bowl with a drizzle of good olive oil and fresh pepper

Dinner

• Season the steaks on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat some avocado oil in a cast iron pan and once smoking add in the steaks. Now you can cook the steak to your liking. I like to go by touch and feel but use a cooking thermometer for a more accurate cook. After flipping the steaks over I add in the butter and baste the steaks in the butter. Once done I remove them from the pan and then add the spinach to the same pan. Cook the spinach till it wilts down and then add your cream and season with salt and pepper. Cook longer to dry out the liquid if you prefer it that way or leave it a bit more fluid. Serve the steaks along with the spinach.

Keto For Beginners – 3 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan #3

Keto For Beginners – 3 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan #3

 Simplify your Keto meal plan

Horns up and Happy new year! This is 3 ingredient Keto meal plan. It’s part of my larger Keto for beginners series of videos. I started this series because of the 2020 pandemic but quickly realized that for a lot of people these plans took the difficulty out of cooking and meal prep. Meal prep helps you stay on track with your diet and that’s why I recommend it.

I must also mention this 3 ingredient special doesn’t include basic pantry items of salt, pepper and oil for frying. But it’s about keeping it simple and clean. If you are just starting out also check out my Keto for beginners playlist with episodes 1-5 which will help you get started.

It’s important to remember that I’m NOT a doctor, nutritionist or dietitian. I’m just a musician/Youtuber who has done Keto so please do not take any of this as medical advise. If you have pre-existing conditions please consult your doctor or a qualified professional before doing anything. This is simply a resource for people who need it. So please treat this as a disclaimer before proceeding.  Enjoy the video below and then carry on reading.

Get back to the basics

Eat only when hungry

Tracking macros is essential when it comes to any diet for weight loss. However there is plenty of flexibility to manage weight loss on Keto without doing this in the start. There are many reasons for this which I won’t get into but. However it’s important to still exercise restraint and portion control. So make sure you don’t just eat for the sake of eating. Eat only when you feel hungry. You don’t even need to finish an entire portion of food if you can’t. In the event you’ve eating say a serving of something and still feel a wee bit hungry that’s fine, give it 10 minutes or so. The reason being it takes you stomach about that much time to let the brain know it’s full and being a tad hungry is never a bad thing. Of course don’t starve yourself but you have to learn intuitive eating.

Track your progress

Hopefully you haven’t just weighed yourself at the start of your journey but you also took measurements. I did forget to mention to also take photographs. The scale is just one way of measuring progress and often can be deceptive. On Keto you might not lose weight but you might lose inches. This is why measure yourself, take pictures and compare them week after week. Don’t get into a habit of checking daily. Just do it every Monday morning, same time, in your birthday suit and be done with it. Also watch my video called ‘The Goal Weight Delusion‘

Start exercising

It doesn’t matter what exercise you do but just do something. As the song goes, 1-2-3-4 get your body on the floor. This is important for many reasons. Even though you can lose weight without exercising and I did that myself in the start it’s not the best practice. Exercise has many health benefits and it’s also vital to help keep your BMR up. You can choose from a variety of options for physical activity based on how fit you are currently. Whether it’s going to the gym, running, cycling, dancing, drumming or even just walking, it’s all good. Do something!

The Menu & Food substitutions

Here is the full meal plan. I’ve given some information about each meal along with the substitutes for certain food items. If you can’t find one to your liking then leave me a comment below.

Breakfast – A ham and cheese egg muffin or egg cup. This is a pretty simple, standard breakfast that takes less than 10 minutes to make in the microwave. If you use the oven it takes a bit longer. However you can always use your muffin tray and bake a large batch of this for a couple of days in a row. This is pretty basic, ham, cheese and egg. I guess you can’t substitute the egg but the ham and cheese are replaceable. Basically any meat of choice will do and the cheese is optional. You can also add veggies, herbs and spices of your choice.

I guess if you are vegan or vegetarian then you can swap out this breakfast from the meal plan with my Keto stuffed mushrooms or my Keto poha.

Lunch – Bacon and mushroom fried rice. Once again it’s a pretty flexible dish. No bacon? Cool swap it out for some ham. Don’t eat pork? Chicken sausage, ground chicken, sliced beef, fish, prawns I mean just any kind of protein will do. Vegan? Use tofu and mushrooms instead. Don’t like mushrooms, pick another vegetable. This is super easy and you can make big batch of this and keep in containers for meal prep. Also feel free to use some soya sauce or coconut aminos and add spices and herbs as you like.

Snack – Broccoli soup.  You can use any vegetable to make this soup. In fact if you don’t like broccoli just visit my Keto soups section on the website and pick any soup you like and drink a nice mug of it. About 200ml. You can alternatively skip the soup completely and have a Keto coffee instead.

Dinner – It’s an easy chicken parm. Substitutions are simple. Chicken for fish, paneer, tofu, pork, beef etc. Tomato sauce for pesto. Cheese for vegan cheese or perhaps nothing at all.

Shopping List

Just edit the quantities based on your appetite. If you have left over food you can always freeze it for up to a full month. So this is more just a list, quantities will vary based on how much you eat. Also double check if you have any of these things left over from last weeks meal prep before buying fresh stuff.

1.  Eggs
2. Butter
3. Mozzarella Cheese
4. Ham
5. Cauliflower
6. Bacon
7. Mushroom
8. Broccoli
9. Cheddar Cheese
10. Heavy Cream
11. Chicken Breasts
12. Marinara Sauce
13. Olive Oil/Avocado Oil (any Keto cooking fat)
14. Salt & Pepper

That should cover everything. Adjust the quantities based on how much you are going to eat. For example if you eat 2 eggs a day then that’s 14 eggs you need in total. If you eat say 1 chicken breast a day then get 7 chicken breasts. You get the idea. And just a reminder for my Indian viewers to check my Shopping guide for Indians for suggested brands.

Eat for the week

Try and eat the same food everyday and it will help you stay on course or at least 3-4 days in a row. After which you can rotate with another one of my meal plans.

Keto For Beginners – 3 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan #3

A 3 ingredient Keto meal plan. Serving sizes vary per course so don't take the serving since for the total as given for all dishes.

Course Breakfast, Main Dish, Soup

Cuisine American, Asian, General, Italian

Breakfast - Ham & Cheese Egg Cup

• 2 Eggs
• 30 grams Ham
• 30 grams Cheese

Lunch - Bacon & Mushroom Fried Rice

• 300 grams Cauliflower (Riced)
• 200 grams Smoked Bacon Cubes
• 200 grams White Mushrooms

Snack - Broccoli Cheddar Soup

• 250 grams broccoli
• 50 grams Cheddar
• 50 grams Heavy Cream

Dinner - Chicken Parmesan

• 2 Chicken breasts
• 100 grams Marinara Sauce Get my recipe
• 50 grams Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Breakfast

• Grease a ramekin with butter. Preheat your oven to 200C if not using a microwave. Beat 2 eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper and then add the chopped ham and grated cheese and mix well. Pour into ramekin and microwave for 90 seconds or cook in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes till the cheese has browned and the eggs cooked. Recipe makes 1 serving.

Lunch

• Rice the cauliflower and microwave for 5minutes to cook it. Make sure to season with salt. Heat a wok on the stove and add in the bacon while the pan is cold. Allow fat to render and the bacon to crisp up. If there is too much oil in the wok then remove it and save for later use. Add in the mushrooms (you can slice or quater them) and season them. Now cook till they release their water and that water dries up. If needed add some of the bacon fat back in before adding the riced cauliflower and sauteeing for 2-3 minutes till it's all cooked well. This recipe makes 2-3 servings depending on your appetite.

Snack

• Get a pot of salted water on the stove and boil the broccoli till tender. Add the broccoli to your food processor and save about 2 cups of the water you boiled the broccoli in. Blend the broccoli and slowly add the water till it's blended and to a consistency you desire. Add it back to your pot on a low heat and add in the cheese and cream. Mix till all the cheese is melted and the cream and cheese have combined well with the soup. Serve in a mug with a little cheese on top and fresh pepper. This recipe makes 3-4 servings.

Dinner

• Season your chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Get a pan on a medium heat and add about 1 tbsp olive oil. Once the oil has heated up add the chicken and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side till done. Remove and let them rest. In an oven proof fish add half the marinara sauce and then place the chicken breasts on top of that. Pour in any resting juices from the chicken. Top the chicken with the remainder of the sauce and then the cheese. Put in the oven with the broiler setting to melt and brown the cheese. Once done remove and serve. This recipe makes 2 servings.