Once you decided to go on a keto diet, you must already understand the amount of fat, protein, and carbs you should consume every day.
A standard ketogenic diet suggests eating 75% fat, 20% protein, and only 5% carbs, but have you ever asked yourself what happens if you don’t eat enough fat on the keto diet during your keto journey?
Well, I know it’s not easy to change from a low-fat diet to a high-fat diet since almost everyone has a fear of this macronutrient, but if you just follow a low-carb diet without increasing the fat intake, you are likely getting most of your calories from protein.
As a result of gluconeogenesis, your body will tend to use protein as a source of glucose, and this may prevent you from entering, or maintaining, the metabolic state of ketosis.
Fat is extremely important on keto, and you might wonder how to add more fat on keto to your daily meals. Don’t worry because we have a lot of tips!
Check out the 20 ways to add more fat to your keto diet below!
#1. Make any hot beverage a delicious, creamy drink
If you feel your main dishes don’t contain enough fat as expected, you can prepare some foamy drinks to supplement fat and enjoy them upon waking, throughout the day, or even at night.
You can choose drinks like coffee, matcha green tea, turmeric tea, chai tea, or sugar-free hot chocolate and mix with a tablespoon of MCT oil or powder, coconut oil, ghee, grass-fed butter, coconut cream, or cacao butter. You will have a super delicious and high-fat beverage!
#2. Use fatty snacks
When you are craving a snack, try to choose something as fatty as possible. Below are several good choices:
- Macadamia nuts
- Pecans
- Avocado
- Pili nuts
- Olives
- Boiled eggs
- Canned sardines packed in olive oil
- Full-fat dairy or dairy-free yogurt (no added sugar)
#3. Fat bombs
Fat Bombs are small snacks made almost entirely from fat, with other low-carb ingredients added for flavor and sometimes protein.
There are a lot of fat bomb recipes, but they are generally very easy to make with similar ingredients. Once you can find out the best flavor for yourself, you won’t need to spend much time thinking about how to eat more fat on keto.
Below are some popular bases:
- Coconut oil
- Grass-fed butter
- Ghee
- Cacao butter
- Nuts/nut butter
- Coconut butter
- Hemp seeds
- Coconut cream
You can choose the following flavors and add-ins:
- Ginger
- Cinnamon
- Cacao powder
- Vanilla extract
- Mint
- Orange
- Cayenne (for a little kick)
- Raw cacao nibs
- Shredded coconut
- Lemon juice
- Lime juice
Or you can also add some sweeteners:
- Stevia
- Erythritol
- Monk fruit extract
- Protein powder (sweetened with stevia)
#4. Using cheese sauce
The cheese sauce is a perfect addition to any meal where you have protein and a veggie, but not enough fat.
You can try searching some recipes on the internet for a homemade cheese sauce and the fat problem will be solved!
#5. Choose High-Fat Proteins
Choosing protein with a higher fat content is also one of the ways to add fat to keto.
You can try eating more pork, 80/20 ground beef, fish, chicken legs and thighs, duck, chicken with the skin on, turkey legs and thighs, and sausage.
#6. Using Mayonnaise
Mayo is a good option for adding more fat to your diet.
However, I would recommend Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Mayo instead of conventional mayonnaise because conventional mayonnaise is usually made with industrially processed seed oils and are highly inflammatory.
#7. Eat more boiled eggs
Egg yolks are a great source of fat and hard-boiled eggs are fast, easy to make, and also portable so you can bring them to your workplace and eat them whenever you feel hungry. They are the easiest answer to the question of how to add more fat to your keto diet.
#8. Whip up Heavy Cream Sweet Treats
If sweet is your favorite but you don’t have any fat bombs ingredients in hand, you can take some heavy whipping cream, mascarpone cheese, and a few drops of liquid stevia and whip it up.
Add some fresh berries to a bowl and dollop the whipped cream over the top then you will have a delicious sweet to enjoy!
#9. Use Grass-Fed Butter/Ghee
Add grass-fed butter or ghee anywhere you can, whether it is eggs, veggies, or even a freshly grilled steak or fish. You can also use fresh herbs to create a wonderful flavor.
#10. Eat your avocados
I know some people are allergic to avocados, but for those who aren’t, this would be a good source of fat. They are healthy and can be a regular part of your diet.
It’s quite easy to eat plain avocados or add a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper. If you don’t really like avocado flavor, it’s still good to use them in desserts.
The tip for you is to use avocado that has just ripened, you won’t even realize you’re eating them!
#11. Olive oil
Using olive oil is also a good way to add fat to keto. Just get a good quality olive oil and add them to cooked veggies, meats, avocado, and more.
It not only helps to boost the flavor but also increases your fat intake.
#12. Use vegetables
Don’t only focus on the number of carbs in your meal, pay more attention to vegetables.
Vegetables are quite important to a healthy diet, and there are a lot of low-carb, high-fiber vegetables to enjoy on a ketogenic diet such as broccoli, cucumber, spinach, mushrooms, cabbage, etc.
You can pick one of them and add the oil you like, or use it with any other fat like avocado, cashew, nut butter, or mayonnaise to enjoy.
#13. Save Your Bacon Grease
The remaining grease from bacon can also be saved in an airtight container or jar in the fridge and reused in later cooking. You can cook your eggs, and veggies, or try using them in salad dressing!
#14. Use grease from high-fat meats
Similar to bacon, grease from some other types of meats can also be used to cook. Grease from chorizo, Italian sausage, and duck are good recommendations to add more flavor to your veggies.
#15. Coconut butter:
You can try making your own toasted coconut butter and enjoy together with other foods or even eat it directly if you don’t have time.
It’s gonna bring about a fantastic flavor to your meal while adding more fat to your body.
#16. Always buy full-fat ingredients
You should look at the content of fat on every product’s label to find out the highest fat ingredients.
Whether you are buying cream, cream cheese, butter, cheese, coconut milk, etc. make sure you are buying the full-fat version, not “light” or “low fat”.
Although sometimes “full fat” means just a little more than “light” or “low fat”, if you find it difficult to eat enough fat, that “a bit” still helps.
#17. Eat High Fat Nuts and Seeds
If you are still asking yourself every day “how to add more fat to my keto diet”, nuts can be a key answer.
There are a number of high-fat nuts that you can enjoy in your daily meal or have as snacks, such as pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, and Brazil nuts. Chia, sunflower, and sesame seeds may also be an alternative option.
Just remember that some nuts are also high in protein and carbs, so eat them in moderation!
#18. Chicken Thighs
Chicken thighs, if possible, with skin, are the best for adding more fat to your meal.
There are also a lot of other nutrients contained in this food. You can search for the way to process it easily on the internet and see how it works.
#19. Salmon
You have two options: Salmon Fillets or Canned Salmon. They have the same nutritional value and similar prices, so you don’t need to consider too much between these two.
They are all high in omega-3, an essential fatty acid that most of us don’t get enough.
#20. Eat Liver Pate
Some people don’t like the liver, but your body would love liver pate for its nutrition. It is mostly butter, so give it a try!
Okay, I think the 20 above tips are enough for you to know how to eat more fat on keto. Just try all of them and good luck on your keto journey!