Keto diets offer several health advantages, including lowering blood sugar and improving cholesterol. But not all fats are created equal: saturated fats such as those found in red meat and processed food products may increase LDL or “bad” cholesterol and double your risk for cardiovascular events like heart disease, stroke and blocked arteries.
1. Pesto Chicken
Pesto Chicken’s delicious blend of basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon juice and lean chicken breast make it the ideal dish to serve over pasta, steamed rice or quinoa, a big green salad or even grill vegetables.
This recipe is also heart-healthy because it uses a lower-fat version of traditional pesto. While most recipes include plenty of olive oil in their ingredients list, this homemade version significantly cuts back on fat without compromising taste or texture.
No matter your dietary plan – Keto or otherwise – this tasty chicken skillet will delight the whole family. A delicious weeknight option and easily doubled for lunches the next day!
Make it ahead and store in an airtight container until ready to reheat for your guests! This dish also makes an easy meal that can be enjoyed any time!
This dinner is an ideal heart-healthy keto recipe, featuring heart-healthy fats and lean proteins instead of carbohydrates. Consumption of healthy fats provides fuel to fuel the body while restricting carb intake promotes an optimal metabolic state known as ketosis. While keto diet contains plenty of fatty substances such as those found in eggs and fish instead of saturated or trans fats typically found in fast food and red meat products.
2. Garlic Spinach with Avocado
This heart healthy recipe features baby spinach and California avocado combined with tomatoes, sundried basil, mozzarella cheese and toasted pine nuts for an easy yet delectable dish that makes an impressive statement at dinner parties or can serve as a nutritious light lunch option.
This keto-friendly dish is loaded with essential vitamins and minerals. Avocados provide heart-friendly monounsaturated fats while tomatoes offer essential lycopene – helping prevent LDL cholesterol oxidation – for protection in your bloodstream.
The Keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat eating pattern designed to induce ketosis – the metabolic state where your liver breaks down fat into energy for fuel production – producing compounds called ketones. Studies conducted using this diet have linked it with improved insulin sensitivity and lower triglycerides – both markers for heart disease risk – in short term studies.
Chokshi notes, however, that following a ketogenic diet may be difficult and could hamper long-term compliance. Furthermore, this diet could result in temporary increases in triglycerides and LDL cholesterol (the “bad”) levels.
Chokshi advises consuming a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean protein sources such as eggs or milk products, low glycemic dairy products, unsaturated fat sources like olive oil or nuts; while restricting trans fats, sugar, salt alcohol red meat to help lower risk and prevent chronic diseases like diabetes heart disease and high blood pressure. This will significantly decrease heart disease risk and can prevent chronic illnesses like diabetes heart disease or high blood pressure from occurring.
3. Grass-Fed Butter Cinnamon Bombs
Butter has an unfortunate reputation of being unhealthy, but grass-fed butter actually provides heart healthy keto staple. Produced from grass-fed cows, grass-fed butter contains more heart-healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as well as more fat-soluble vitamins and fewer toxins than conventional butter varieties; additionally it often boasts greater flavor when enhanced with cinnamon or ginger additions compared to its conventional counterpart. You can easily find grass-fed butter at specialty stores or online.
Low Carb With Jennifer offers this delicious fat bomb recipe, packed with the flavors of cinnamon rolls without the carbs. Made using almond flour and erythritol as dry ingredients combined with melted butter before rolling them into balls for an afternoon snack offering satisfying fats and proteins with only 1.9 net carbs each!
Strawberry cheesecake bites are the ideal treat to satisfy cravings for creamy dessert. Packed full of heart-healthy fats from butter, plus antifungal and antioxidant compounds like ellagic acid, procyanidins and cinnamate that support hormone balance and neurotransmitter production, they’re sure to satisfy any sweet tooth!
These Keto Chai Bombs from Low Carb Yum use pantry staples to craft delectable and satisfying snacks. Made with natural sweeteners such as liquid Stevia or Erythritol to reduce sugar content. Lemon zest and ground cinnamon give these bites their signature spicy flair, with coconut flakes adding crunch for texture. Each bomb boasts less than one net carb!
4. Roasted Artichokes with Red Onions
While keto diet has often been criticized for its high fat intake, not all fats are created equally. A significant portion of its calories come from healthy unsaturated fats which have been shown to lower cholesterol and blood pressure while decreasing heart disease risk. This easy, flavorful dish includes such heart-healthy fats like olive oil and feta cheese for maximum heart-health benefits!
Preheat the oven to 400deg. Rinse artichokes under cool running water and trim away their stems before placing in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to moisten them. Finally, stir in Kalamata olives, capers, red peppers, onion and parsley until well mixed and refrigerate until ready for service.
Sprinkle 1/3 cup of olive oil all over the artichokes and season them with salt and pepper; garnish with thyme sprigs, the garlic head, and lemon zest (if desired). Spread them out onto a sheet pan in an even layer so they won’t touch; roast until tender (about 25 minutes).
Transfer the roasted artichokes to a serving platter and spoon some of the leftover vinaigrette over them, drizzle with additional olive oil (if desired) and enjoy! This hearty yet flavorful side will quickly become one of your family’s favorites; pair it with any number of proteins like chicken or fish for a fantastic dish that you can also prepare ahead and store in the fridge as an easy healthy dinner solution!
5. Turkey Sausage with Cauliflower and Capers
This recipe is heart healthy as it features lean ground turkey with plenty of vegetables, tomato sauce rich in Vitamin C for strong immune support, zinc magnesium potassium phosphorus a set of minerals known to aid metabolism and many other bodily processes, and plenty of tasty tomato chips!
This dish is an ideal way to stick to the keto diet when restricting carbohydrates intake. Cauliflower makes for an excellent vegetable option on this plan due to its low calorie and fiber-rich composition – plus, its mild flavor goes perfectly with the spicy sausage in this recipe!
This recipe for an easy, delicious breakfast that’s ideal for any day of the week is both quick and delicious! Made in minutes with only three ingredients needed, this dish makes an easy weekday morning option! Eggs provide healthy proteins while turkey sausage provides heart-healthy fats – both essential components to maintaining proper blood pressure regulation. Plus it provides both potassium and calcium essential for regulation as well as unsaturated fatty acids which have been proven to enhance cardiovascular health!
6. Steak with Cauliflower and Capers
Cauliflower “steaks” marinated in an irresistibly delicious marinade are oven-roasted until caramelized before being served over creamy horseradish sauce with capers – an ideal meal for anyone following a keto diet, which restricts carbohydrates while increasing healthy fats and proteins; known to lower blood sugar and triglyceride levels that put individuals at risk of heart disease.
While most American diets provide 45-66% of their calorie needs from carbohydrates, keto diets typically reduce this to 5-6% and increase fats to 75% as fuel source – forcing the body into ketosis which may have various health advantages including weight loss, improved cholesterol levels and less inflammation but may cause controversy as well.
To start this recipe off right, carefully trim off the stems and leaves from a head of cauliflower, before cutting it vertically in half vertically. Sitting one half upright on a cutting board, slice 1″-thick steaks using its core as a guide; reserve ends and any extra florets for another use. Afterward, drizzle your steaks with three to four tablespoons of olive oil seasoned with salt and pepper before roasting them for 20-25 minutes before flipping and roasting another 10-15 minutes more – until golden and tender on both sides with soft centers!