5 Keto Meal Services That Will Help Crush Your Goals

From Men's Health

Diets, in general, are difficult to maintain. Strict rules and off-limit foods make adherence a challenge. (Because who likes rules?)

And among all diets, the ketogenic diet is especially difficult to stick with. That's because "keto" centers on a high-fat, very-low-carbohydrate approach to eating.

For comparisons' sake, here's the rough breakdown of the macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) within three different diets.

Paleo: 40 percent protein // 40 percent carbs // 40 percent fat

Low-Carb: 40 percent protein // 50 percent fat // 10 percent carbs

Keto: 20 percent protein // 75 percent fat / 5 percent carbs

So although keto Instagram accounts love to go heavy on the bacon and cheese, there's still a relatively low ceiling for your total protein intake for the day if you want to stay in ketosis, or the state of your body burning fat instead of carbs for fuel.

All this is to say that following a ketogenic diet is very hard. To enter and maintain ketosis, you must track your macros (fun if you're type-A?), stave off cravings for glucose (fun if you hate carbs?), and do lots and lots of cooking because like hell you're going to eat keto at Applebee's.

This is why keto-friendly meal delivery services are a smart thing if you've decided to venture boldly into the diet. Instead of you managing all the tracking, temptation-fighting, and cooking, companies with keto know-how do it for you.

Yes, you pay extra. But think of what you'll save in sanity.

Here are five companies to go with if you want need keto meal services in your life.

Territory Foods

How it works: Through a network of chefs and food suppliers, Territory Foods distributes keto-centric meal options (among other diet-friendly selections) for pickup or delivery twice a week in select cities—mainly California, Texas, and the East Coast, for now. The keto meals advertise themselves as having 60 t0 70 percent of their calories from fat, 20 to 25 percent from protein, and 5 to 10 percent from carbs. Menu switch-ups are frequent.

What the meals look like: Thai Grilled Chicken Salad with Almond Sauce, Spicy Baked Tofu with Cabbage and Brown Rice, Catalonian Chicken with Spinach and Romesco Sauce

What it costs: Smaller meals cost $10 and up. Larger meals cost about $13. (You're going to want the larger meals. Delivery is about $8 extra.

Factor Meals

How it works: You select the meals you want to eat from Factor's menu (keto options are marked with a small "k"), which rotates weekly. They ship the meals to your home. Everything is fresh, not frozen, and ready for you to heat and eat. Factor doesn't distribute everywhere, so check their website for availability.

What the meals look like: Spicy Turkey Poblano, Chicken Tikka Masala, Italian Roast Pork

What it costs: It's a subscription service, so you pay according to the number of meals you want for that week. It's $15 a meal for four meals a week, a little more than $12 a meal for eight meals a week, and $11.50 a meal for 12 meals a week.

Ketoned

How it works: Corny name aside, this company actually has a heart to its mission. Ketoned reports that it makes its meals using ingredients that are raised using regenerative agricultural practices, meaning that the food is good for you—and the planet. That means grass-fed beef, pastured-raised pork, and organic produce, delivered to your door. You can choose to order meals individually or, to save on cash, as a meal plan.

What the meals look like: Cashew Beef and Broccoli, Keto Scramble with Andouille, Spanish Meatloaf

What it costs: Most individual meals are $16. Meal plans start at 10 meals a week for $150 and go upwards to 84 meals a week (!) for $1,135.

Keto Frozen

How it works: The name sort of says it all. Keto Frozen ships frozen keto meals to your home. The company says its meals contain roughly 75 percent fat, 20 protein, and 5 percent carbs. There's no subscription service. Just order however many of whatever you want.

What the meals look like: Bacon Cheeseburger Meatballs with Boardwalk Mashed Cauliflower, Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti Squash

What it costs: $10 a meal

Green Chef

How it works: This one is more like a Blue Apron, where Green Chef sends you the ingredients and you cook them up. Each meal supposedly takes 30 minutes to cook. All the ingredients are organic. It's a subscription service. The company also offers Paleo and "balanced living" plans, among others.

What the meals look like: Roasted Chicken with Lemon Crema, Salmon with Piccata Sauce, Pork Tenderloin with Chive Butter

What it costs: Subscription costs vary but cost about $13 a meal.

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