Keto Food Hacks with Commercial
Low-Carb Products

We've posted before about some of our favorite low-carb/keto friendly products that replace carb-laden foods we used to eat. But now we want to share some of our favorite (fairly simple) ways to use those products, and others like them. As we often mention, we have no partnerships or sponsorships, and no incentive to mention or recommend these products. We simply enjoy them and want to share some tips that have made our ketogenic life a little easier.

Low-Carb Tortillas/Wraps

There are plenty of obvious ways to use a tortilla. But once in a while we get an idea that's just slightly less obvious, and actually works great. Here are a few of those!

The main photo above is one of our favorites: a rigid, crispy tostada salad shell. The important things

you'll need for this are a medium-sized pot that's oven safe (I used stainless steel), some good cooking spray (avocado oil spray is a great choice), a baking tray (I used a vented pizza pan) and some Mission Carb Balance burrito size tortillas.


We sprayed the pot and both sides of the tortilla with the avocado oil spray, then formed the tortilla in the pot to the desired shape and popped it into a 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes. After that, it was able to hold its shape but not quite as crispy as we wanted. So we transferred it to the pizza pan where the outside and inside could be exposed to air, and cooked it for a few more minutes. How long depends on the level of crispiness you're after. Note that these have 6 grams of carbs each, so you'll want to fill them with as low-carb or carb-neutral of toppings as possible!

We've also used Mission's Carb Balance tortillas, in the smallest size, to make flautas. You can use virtually any kind of meat you'd put in a taco, but shredded meats (barbacoa, shredded chicken, and carnitas) are easiest to deal with. Put a little in each tortilla, roll them up and "sew" them closed with a toothpick, then fry in peanut oil until crispy. Remove the toothpick before eating. They go perfectly with some fresh, homemade quacamole.

And finally, stepping outside the genre of Mexican or Tex-Mex foods, a simple fast food (or deli) hack. Go to your favorite sandwich place that offers sandwiches as lettuce wraps for a low-carb option. You'll want to check the carb count of the meats, cheese and condiments here, since you're about to add a wrap, and with it about 4 grams of net carbs. Take it out of the paper, and wrap it up in an Extreme Wellness tortilla wrap, made by Ole Foods. The spinach and herb and tomato basil flavors are delicious for this. We've also used their wheat tortilla variety, as you can see in the photo to the right, and it was great as well!

Bonus: this one borrows a little bit from Mexican cuisine, but with a completely different flavor profile. We're not even sure what to call it; it's cooked like a quesadilla, but stuffed with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Is it an Italian-inspired quesadilla? A Mexican-inspired calzone? Some odd cross between the two? You be the judge. In any event, it was pretty tasty. And simple to make with the same varieties of Ole Foods Extreme Wellness tortilla wraps we mentioned above.

Foods You Thought You Had to Give Up!

The last few "hacks" are really about using some commercial products to let you enjoy foods you may have thought were gone for good on keto. We'll start with another fast-food/restaurant hack -- but also something you can use for a fully homemade meal.

If you're anything like me, there have been plenty of times you've ordered your favorite burger without a bun, and been tempted to cheat "just this once" so you could indulge in the full experience you've been missing. On a couple of occasions, this has been the beginning of me having a "cheato" weekend, rather than sticking to keto. Now, however, you have some options -- no cheating required! The first burger picture you see here includes the contents of a Double Whopper with cheese, on a sandwich roll from Chompie's Bakery. Compared to the patties, these are a little on the small side in terms of diameter, but they do the job nicely. And if you're making your patties at home, they're usually about the right size. 

I highly recommend you pan-toast these with some butter before using them this way. Since they have to be stored in the refrigerator, warming them helps. Not only is the temperature more pleasant, but it also lessens the feeling of density that Chompie's breads and other products tend to have when pulled straight from the fridge. I should also mention the price; you get 8 rolls for $14, which isn't cheap, but for a low-carb bread product (2 grams net carbs each) it's not too bad.

I've just ordered another product, which hasn't arrived yet, but I'll let you know what I think of it once I

have a chance to try it out. It's an actual sesame seed hamburger bun called Smartbuns, made by Smart Baking Company, with zero net carbs. I'm hoping they'll be good, as the reviews mostly seem to suggest. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they had a bit of the sponge-like texture found in the Great Low Carb Bread Company's products. My assumption is they arrive at zero grams net carbs in the same way.

Another Chompie's product hack, which we've posted about before, is pizza with an actual bread-based crust! Check out that post for our full thoughts. Suffice to say, it's a product we'll buy again, just not on a regular basis due to the cost.

Last but not least, let's talk about the "most important meal of the day" -- breakfast. Since I've started

keto, this is the meal that's been kind of monotonous for me. There are only so many ways to change up your scrambled eggs, and not much else that's nearly as quick to make. That was the case until I made this delicious breakfast bagel sandwich, which took all of a few short minutes to prepare!

I used a sesame seed bagel from The Great Low Carb Bread Company, pan-toasted with some butter. That and frying up a few strips of bacon were the most time consuming steps, both done at the same time. You can microwave your bacon or buy ready-to-use bacon if you really want to save a couple minutes.

Once it was toasted, I put a slice of cheese on each side. Then I took a nice wide-based coffee mug, and warmed it up in the microwave for about 35 seconds. Please don't skip that step! It helps prevent the next part from becoming a mess inside your microwave. Next I sprayed some avocado oil spray into the mug, cracked an egg into it, topped with a little salt and pepper, and popped it in the microwave for 45 seconds. Once it was done, I simply dumped the egg onto the lower half of the bagel, then topped it with some bacon and the top half of the bagel. It was a fully satisfying breakfast!

What other "food hacks" have allowed you to enjoy things you thought you'd have to give up entirely on keto? We'd love to hear about them in the comments!