I’ve been on the keto diet for 6 years now, and I travel a lot worldwide. Not in the past 2 years, of course.
My travels included countries like China, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and more. In all mentioned countries, the primary food is rice, rice with something. Despite my extensive travel in Asia, it’s been zero effort to stay keto.
I’m currently living in Bali, Indonesia. I talk with many folks about their health, food, and how the keto diet can help them. They listen attentively but then say, but I’m Indonesian, how can I live without rice?
I hear that comment from all kinds, be that Asian, Western, whatever.
How can I live without my rice, bread, pasta, pizza, baguette, croissant? That is no life!
My reply is always the same – you can, and it’s way easier than you think! If you care about your health, want to lose weight, or improve your skin, you should give it a shot.
Rice is consumed here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with plenty of instant noodles, and an abundance of sugary snacks, and fast or processed foods.
In other words, most folks’ diet here is pretty bad – and it shows. It’s worrying to see so many young adults (even kids) and older folks overweight and sporting a good amount of spots on their faces.
And the reason for this is a massive overload of carbohydrates, starches, and sugar.
Let’s look at how simple it is to substitute or drop these foods from all daily meals.
Today I had lunch in a wonderful Korean Restaurant – Bimbibap – a rice, vegetable, and meat dish.
As I ordered, I said no rice for me, please. That never fails to get a puzzled look by the server. Then I ask to substitute the rice with extra vegetables and more eggs.
My perfectly prepared keto-friendly and healthy Bimbibap arrives – Delicious!
A reader of mine said he loved oatmeal and needs a substitute; otherwise, he can’t stop eating it. I replied: Buy creamy coconut yogurt, mix it with chia pudding and berries. That’s even more delicious!
If you love pasta and pizza, well, that’s a minor problem that can be solved – it requires some work at home.
You can make every pasta (and pizza) using almond flour. It’s not rocket science and tastes better too.
Here’s a pasta and pizza base recipe:
Do you love breaded meats? Such as Chicken Parmigiana or Schnitzel?
Good, me too. Instead of using white flour, I coat the meat in Almond Flour, dip it in the egg batter, and cover it with ground flaxseeds. It tastes almost the same, and you’ve lost the bread!
Burgers, anyone?
The easiest option when eating out is to ask for your patty to be wrapped in lettuce without the bread.
At home, you can make Almond Flour or Cauliflower rice buns. Both are delicious, healthy, and not tricky to make.
Here are the recipes:
Love desserts? Ok, that’s a slightly larger problem, as you won’t find any healthy, gluten and sugar-free desserts in most restaurants.
However, pretty much anything can be made using Almond, and Coconut Flour, with Stevia or Monkfruit as the sweetener. I’ve been making treats, snacks, and desserts for 2 years using these base ingredients.
You can find tons of recipes online for anything you fancy. Let me know if you want recipes, and I’ll share!
In Summary.
Going keto and staying keto isn’t hard. It’s only a question of what your health is worth to you and how much effort you’re willing to make!
When traveling, driving, or flying, it is more challenging. However, that obstacle can be overcome with a bit of planning and pre-cooking for the road!
You can substitute rice, noodles, potatoes, and fries with veggies any restaurant. Just think, you’re eating more vegetables, which are packed with good nutrients, instead of sugary carbs, that are only short-term fillers and bad for your health!
More to come on the traveling on the keto lifestyle in my next article.
Please check out my What Can I Eat Keto Food Guide.
Thanks for reading,
Rob
