Keto For Beginners - 3 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan

Welcome to Keto for Beginners

Welcome to Keto for beginners. This is a special 3 ingredient Keto meal plan. The reason I’m doing this is because currently due to the coronavirus pandemic a lot of us are at home. To add to that not all the ingredients we normally use are available as well. It’s a time where I hope a meal plan like this can help you stay on track with your Keto diet.

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.

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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 – Scrambled eggs with parsley. Eggs, butter and parsley. It’s pretty straightforward but you don’t have to scramble the eggs. You can also make an omelet, fry the egg in butter sunny side up and sprinkle parsley over. You can also boil and egg and mash it with the butter and parsley. If you don’t eat eggs you can use cottage cheese or paneer. If butter is not available any cooking fat will do, avocado oil, bacon fat, lard etc etc. Keto approved fats ideally. Parsley can be replaced with any fresh herb like basil, coriander etc. If you can’t get fresh herbs at a time like this then any dried herbs or seasoning of choice will work.

Lunch – Tuna, Mayo and Cabbage. Since Tuna is a canned item it generally lasts a long time so you can buy it and store for a while. No worries about it going bad. Alternatively canned salmon, chicken, etc are all acceptable. You can also get ANY and I mean ANY meat as a replacement. If it’s raw just cook it first with salt and pepper. The mayo you buy should ideally be a Keto mayo made with something like avocado oil but in times like these you can use what is available. However you can always make your own mayo at home if you have eggs and oil. I have 2 Keto mayo recipes. The cabbage can be replaced by lettuce or kale. Once again it’s more about elements. Meat – Fat – Vegetable.

Snack – Since breakfast was eggs and lunch was tuna it’s not a bad idea to have a vegetarian snack which will help balance your protein to fat ratio. So it’s broccoli, cheese and heavy cream. Broccoli can be replaced by any vegetable of choice. I’d say cauliflower or zucchini is what I’d recommend. For the cream if you want to make it dairy free coconut cream will do the job. If you don’t have cream then sour cream, cream cheese are also acceptable options. For the cheese itself I don’t have a replacement honestly. You can try some vegan cheese or you can replace it with some crushed nuts. Like walnuts or pine nuts. Will do the job.

Dinner – Naked chicken burgers. Just ground chicken, olives and lettuce. Let’s talk substitutions. Any ground meat works. Vegetarians, a paneer steak will do or eggs again. You could also use eggplant and just make eggplant steaks. Grilled cauliflower. All good. Olives can be replaced with capers or just skipped and use something like some chopped onions or seasoning of choice. Maybe replace it with bacon on the side. Lettuce can be replaced with kale, baby spinach or cabbage. That’s it. Easy peasy!

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. Parsley
4. Canned Tuna
5. Mayo (or eggs and avocado oil to make your own)
6. Cabbage
7. Broccoli
8. Heavy Cream
9. Cheddar Cheese
10. Ground Chicken
11. Lettuce
12. Olives

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 can of tuna a day then get 7 cans. 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 till I come up with another 3 ingredient meal plan. But you can always refer t the numerous meal plans I’ve already made and adjust accordingly.

Keto For Beginners - 3 Ingredient Keto Meal Plan

A 3 ingredient Keto meal plan

Course Breakfast, Main Dish, Salad, Snack

Cuisine General

Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs

• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 1 Tsp Parlsey

Lunch - Tuna Salad

• 1 Can Tuna
• 2 Tbsp Keto Mayo
• 150 grams Cabbage

Snack - Broccoli Bake

• 300 grams Broccoli florets
• 50 ml Heavy Cream
• 50 grams Cheddar Cheese

Dinner - Chicken Burgers

• 250 grams Ground Chicken
• 30 grams Olives
• Lettuce Leaves

Staples

• salt and pepper to taste
• Avocado Oil (for frying)

Breakfast

• Start by chopping the parsley really finely. Then beat the eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper. Heat a pan on the stove and melt the butter in it. Turn the heat to low and add the eggs into the pan. Using a spatula scramble the eggs and keep stirring till they are done and cooked to your liking. Remove from the pan into a plate and finish with the fresh parsley.

Lunch

• Shred the cabbage using a food processor or slice thinly with a knife. Open the tuna and drain out any liquid. In a large bowl mix the tuna, mayo, cabbage and season with salt and pepper. Give it all a good mix and it's ready.

Snack

• If using frozen broccoli just microwave the florets for 2 minutes. With fresh broccoli first separate the florets from the stalk and wash them first and then microwave. In a large bowl mix the broccoli with the cream and salt and pepper. Then fill ramekins with the broccoli and cream mixture and cover with cheese. Bake in a preheated oven at 210C for about 10-15minutes or the cheese on top is golden and melted. Remove and serve.

Dinner

• Finely chop the olives and mix in a bowl with the ground chicken, salt and pepper. Heat some oil in a pan and after shaping 2 chicken patties using either your hands or a burger mold place them in the hot oil. A handy tip is to wet your hands or the mold to prevent sticking. Ground chicken is generally a lot stickier than beef or pork. Anyway fry the patty for 3-4 min of each side on a medium heat. Then place the patty between two lettuce leaves and enjoy!