For those embracing the ketogenic lifestyle, navigating the world of deli meats can be a bit of a puzzle. The good news is that meat and cheese can absolutely be part of your keto meal plan. This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to selecting the best keto-friendly deli meats, offering insights, tips, and delicious ideas to keep your diet both satisfying and effective.
Understanding the Keto Diet and Macronutrients
The keto diet revolves around drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing fat consumption, prompting the body to enter a state of ketosis, where it burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. When following the keto diet, it's important to cut down on carbs and increase fat intake. Protein is another essential macronutrient, and the type of protein you choose can significantly impact your keto results.
Typically, a keto diet aims for a macronutrient breakdown of roughly 70-75% fat, 20-25% protein, and 5-10% carbohydrates. However, these ratios can be adjusted based on individual goals, such as building muscle or simply maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Key Considerations for Keto-Friendly Deli Meats
Minimizing Carbs
The primary goal on a keto diet is to keep carbohydrate intake low. Many processed meats, including deli meats, contain fillers and additives that can increase their carb content. Processed meats might contain around 5-6g of carbs per serving, which might represent 20% of the total carbs for those following a keto diet. It's crucial to opt for lunch meats with minimal carbs, ideally around 1-2g per serving. Be cautious of options like glazed ham, which often contain added sugars.
Prioritizing Fat Content
For those aiming for a standard keto diet, where the goal is to heavily prioritize fat intake, selecting deli meats with higher fat content is essential. However, it can be surprisingly challenging to meet the 75+% fat intake goal, even with traditionally fatty foods.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Balancing Protein Intake
While fat is the star of the keto diet, protein remains crucial, particularly for muscle building and maintenance. Some experts recommend consuming around one gram of protein per pound of body weight, especially for those who are actively engaged in strength training. If building or maintaining muscle is your goal, you may want to keep your protein macros a little higher than the standard 25% of your daily calorie intake. In such cases, choosing higher protein deli meat options becomes important.
Sodium Content
Many deli meats are high in sodium, which can be a concern for individuals monitoring their sodium intake for health reasons. Up to 300mg of sodium per serving is considered a safe amount. Look for reduced sodium or no-salt-added options when available.
Additives and Processing
For some, a healthy diet extends beyond just macronutrient ratios. Many individuals prefer to avoid added hormones, nitrates, nitrites, artificial ingredients, and fillers. Choosing organic and natural deli meat lines can help minimize exposure to these additives. Many of our Organic options also happen to be certified USDA organic and meet, if not exceed most organic standards. Also, many of Dietz & Watson products, our Organic and Natural lines offer foods that are free from added hormones, nitrates or nitrites, artificial ingredients, and fillers. Another great thing about our Organics and Naturals line? No antibiotics ever!
Top Keto-Friendly Deli Meat Choices
Here’s a detailed look at some of the best deli meat options for a keto diet, considering fat content, protein, and potential additives:
Beef
Beef is an excellent choice for keto due to its high protein and fat content.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Corned Beef and Pastrami
Kay H. loves to take home our corned beef and pastrami-and Swiss cheese, Brinery sauerkraut, and Russian dressing-to make her own take on them at home!Zingerman’s house-made pastrami, Swiss Emmental cheese, coleslaw, & a gorgeous Russian dressing (also made in-house, clocking in at 3 total carbs for 2 Tbsp-I wish now I’d purchased a bottle for home!), sitting on top of huge, crisp, fresh, & green lettuce leaves. The third pic demonstrates my preferred way to eat this darling-a little lettuce with a good pinch of meats, toppings, and cheese.
Roast Beef
A classic deli staple, roast beef is lean yet satisfying.
Pork
Pork offers a range of options, from lean to high-fat.
Ham
Choose ham carefully, avoiding glazed varieties that are high in sugar.
Bacon
A keto favorite, bacon is high in fat and flavor.
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Cheddarwurst
Consider our Classic Cheddarwurst for upping your fat macros at 20 grams per serving.
Chicken and Turkey
These are generally leaner options, making them suitable for those focusing on protein intake.
Chicken Breast
For those trying to build or maintain muscle, look to higher protein options like our Organic Chicken Breast with 10 grams of protein per serving.
Turkey Breast
Turkey is much less than that in chicken, pork, and beef.
Other Meats
Sriracha Landjaegers or Uncured Sopressata
If you’re living that fully-on-the-go, no-time-for-refrigeration life, throw some of our Sriracha Landjaegers or Uncured Sopressata into your gym bag and you’re ready to go!
Dietz Nuts
Don’t forget about Dietz Nuts with 16g of protein per pack!
Delicious Keto-Friendly Options from Zingerman’s
Zingerman’s Deli offers an array of keto-friendly choices:
Sandalads
Turn any of our substantial sandwich fillings into a salad. Make a note on your online order to “make it a sandalad”. Zingerman’s Reuben sandalad, Jenny’s Fix sandalad, Tarb’s Tenacious Tenure sandalad-the world is your sandalad oyster! (Or, at least our sandwich menu is!) And you can give any sandalad a flavor (and fat) boost by adding on avocado spread or bacon (or both!).
Cheeses
Look to higher-fat content cheeses like our Bacon & Horseradish Cheddar Cheese Wedge with 9 grams of fat per serving. Kay also loves Zingerman’s Creamery Pimento Cheese as a flavorful low-carb option.
Tinned Fish
Did you know that we carry over four dozen varieties of tinned fish?! Patagonia Provisions mackerel with lemons and capers and so many more. Fish and shellfish can pack a punch of protein-perfect for keto converts.
Nuts and Nut Butters
We have nearly every nut you can think of, like Marcona almonds, red walnuts, peanuts, pecans, baby pistachio kernels, and hazelnuts. For nut butters, Georgia Grinders’ almond butter, pecan butter, and hazelnut butter are all made with roasted nuts and a bit of sea salt. Grand Rapids-based Koeze makes peanut butters-smooth and crunchy-that also only include nuts and sea salt.
Quick Keto-Friendly Snack Ideas
For those with busy schedules, having convenient keto snacks on hand is essential.
Pepperoni Panino Snack Sticks
Our Pepperoni Panino Snack Sticks with no antibiotics ever and rBGH-free cheese are perfect for a quick fix.
Tips for Incorporating Deli Meats into Your Keto Diet
Read Labels Carefully
Always check the nutrition labels for carbohydrate content, added sugars, and sodium levels.
Pair with Healthy Fats
Combine deli meats with healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, or nuts to meet your macronutrient goals.
Make Sandalads
Skip the bread and create lettuce-wrapped sandwiches or salads using your favorite deli meats, cheeses, and toppings.
Explore Keto Recipes
Experiment with keto recipes that incorporate deli meats, such as meatloaf, meatballs, or casseroles.
Delicious Keto Recipes Featuring Deli Meats
Here are some recipe ideas to incorporate keto diet meats that will keep you full and focused!
Oven-Baked Meatballs
One of the benefits of meatballs is that you can modify the dish according to each need.
Roasted Beef Tenderloin
Roasted beef tenderloin is a delicious treat to have and an excellent dish to include on a keto diet.
Keto Meatloaf
Try this delicious meatloaf that your entire family will love, and the best part is that it is suitable to have on a keto diet.
Chuck Eye Steak
Our final recipe is this mouth-watering Chuck eye steak that you can have when you follow a keto diet. Since you are using the grill, you can take advantage of the situation and add some vegetables like onions, red bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes.
Keto Hamburger Meat Recipes
One of the best keto hamburger meat recipes! This one cooks up moist and tender without the usual breadcrumbs.
Keto Salmon
Many versions are savory, but my keto salmon recipe uses a sweet glaze made with a secret keto pantry staple.
Keto Ground Meat Recipe
My easy keto ground meat recipe is rich and juicy, just like your favorite taverna or food truck.
Keto Hot Dogs
Two very keto friendly meats combined! Just skip the buns, or make my keto hot dog buns for serving.
Keto Ranch, Bacon, and Cheese Recipe
If you love ranch, bacon, and melty cheese, this one’s for you! It’s one of my favorite keto meat recipes when I’m craving comfort food.