Keeping Keto Simple and Affordable When You’re Away From Home
Gas station keto snacks in Canada may not be the most budget-friendly but it’s good to know what options are available to you away from home.
Having ketogenic snacks on hand will help keep you from eating foods that are not keto-friendly.
Typically foods such as homemade fat bombs, raw cauliflower or broccoli, pork rinds or pepperoni chips are great on the go keto snacks until your next meal.
We travel throughout Ontario year-round and having to find keto gas station snacks has happened more than once even though we stocked up.
I remember an 8-hour road-trip that we took up North past Sudbury and Mrs. CBB ran out of her keto snacks.
Imagine being in the middle of nowhere and all you have for a pit-stop is a tiny gas station or family diner for options?
That’s kind of where we ended up but she made the best of what was available.
Thankfully, these days there are larger gas stations, OnRoute centres, convenience stores, and restaurants on most travel routes.
Last-Minute Road Trips Or Forgotten Lunch
Packing food is a guessing game as you don’t really know how much to pack when you are away from your kitchen.
In some cases you might forget to pack your snacks or simply unable to due to emergency situations.
In January Mrs. CBB’s had to rush out of town for a medical emergency and she was lucky to pack any clothes let alone keto snacks.
When she stopped for a bathroom break and gas the other passengers were buying coffee, muffins and fast-food.
She had no idea what she could get to eat since she has been following the keto diet.
Another scenario might be that you forgot your lunch for work or you didn’t have time to make it.
Not all employers have kitchens, cafeteria options or grocery stores within walking radius.
Some of you may opt to order in, not eat anything or jump in their car to visit the nearest store or gas station.
Cheating On A Keto Diet
This is something that needs to be addressed because even cheating can knock you out of ketosis.
What is ketosis?
a metabolic state characterized by raised levels of ketone bodies in the body tissues, which is typically pathological in conditions such as diabetes, or may be the consequence of a diet that is very low in carbohydrates. – Oxford Dictionary
For some of you that aren’t worried about dropping out of ketosis, a cheat might not matter to you.
Cheating on the keto diet may not even affect your macros however the fat-burning stage of ketosis may drop.
It takes upwards of 3-5 days for your body to reach a state of ketosis and getting the keto flu over and over, “really sucks”, Mrs. CBB says.
Intermittent Fasting On Keto
Most often when we are hungry it’s just our body telling us that we are thirsty.
She’s done intermittent fasting and extended fasting on keto where she consumes only water and black coffee with electrolytes.
It’s amazing how our body and brain work to tell us we need something when we can go without for longer than we think.
Obviously, if you have a medical condition it’s up to you to speak with your doctor if you consider fasting.
She suggests opting for a bottle of water or a bullet-proof coffee if available to see how that makes you feel.
You might find a drink will hold you over until your next keto meal.
Snacking is one of Mrs. CBB’s downfalls so she tries to avoid them but being away from home it’s not easy for anyone.
Typically, we pack a cooler full of easy to eat road trip food such as sandwiches, fruits, crackers, and beverages.
No matter what diet or healthy lifestyle you follow it’s important to consider snack time when you are away from home.
You may be heading to the airport, work trip, on your way to a party or like us on a road trip and packing keto snacks for the ride is essential.
Note:
If you are flying make sure to consult with your airline so you know what food products you are allowed to bring with you on the plane before buying them.
If you are looking for keto snacks at the airport there are plenty of ideas listed throughout this post.
On The Road Keto Gas Station Snacks
Keep in mind the products below are just examples and are in larger size containers.
You may find them this way and have to portion the product on your own.
Ideally buying products in larger sizes will cost you less than snack-size portions.
However, you may only find snack-size portions of these products while stopped at a gas station that may or may not have a service center with food courts.
In all of my travels through Ontario over the past 13 years of living in Canada, I’ve stopped at plenty of gas stations.
What I’ve noticed is they are all different in what they have to offer consumers for snacks or foods to go.
When you are in the city a typical gas station may only have a kiosk where you pay and a few snacks.
However, you may find that the gas station you go to has a massive grocery store right next to it such as Costco.
Then you may also have gas stations with full convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, Esso Canada and Petro Canada.
Pit stops on the 400 series highway in Ontario, for example, has gas stations, fast-food and convenience rolled into one.
The biggest thing you need to ask yourself is, how far am I willing to go to get my keto gas station snacks?
By this I mean;
- Do you have time to go into the convenience store?
- Are you willing to go into the grocery store next to the gas station?
- Would fast-food be considered a snack item for you?
- Will a beverage help settle my stomach until my next meal?
- How much are you willing to pay for your keto snacks?
The cost-effective way to eat keto snacks on the go is to bring them from home.
Related: How much does the keto diet cost?
Let’s have a look at what keto gas station snacks you can purchase that will keep you in ketosis.
Fast-Food Keto Gas Station Snacks
Any time we stop off at rest stops on the 400 series highway to get gas or use the restroom they have these pimped up gas stations.
You can pump your gas and then walk over to the shops to find convenience stores, fast-food outlets, Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Wendy’s just to name a few.
In these instances, you can determine whether buying a bunless burger or hotdog with a lettuce wrap will be the perfect keto snack.
Some fast-food chains sell crispy keto chicken wings without any coating which is perfect for keto snacks on the go.
Also, consider whether any restaurants offer;
- Veggie trays
- Whole or half portion size cooked rotisserie chicken
- Scrambled eggs and sausage without the muffin
- Tuna salad without the bread
- Bunless burger, meat, hotdogs
- Lettuce wrap sandwiches
- Greek Yogurt plain unsweetened
- Cottage cheese cups
- Cheese slices or portions
- Sushi without rice
Costco Keto Gas Station Snacks
If you’ve ever been to a Costco gas station you know there is nowhere to buy keto gas station snacks.
However, all Costco gas stations have a store where you can run in and load up on your favourite Keto Costco products.
Since we go to Costco often this is what we do and why we created a Costco Canada Keto Grocery Shopping List.
We continue to add to it each time we go just to let you all know what your keto options are when you shop at Costco.
So, if time is on your side after you fill up at the pump go in and stock up on keto snacks for your road trip or lunch hour.
A whole rotisserie chicken, chopped veggie platter, pre-made chicken salad, whisps, pork rinds, nuts, almond milk, coconut water, water, pickles, olives.
The list is endless.
Now Costco Canada sells these mini keto cauliflower wraps which you can stuff with deli meats and cheeses such as sliced genoa salami, provolone, mozzarella cheese.
Even mini-Babybel or Laughing Cow or other portion size cheese at Costco is great for quick on the road keto snacks.
P.S- The Costco Canada restaurant has amazing hot dogs (no bun) that you can order with sauerkraut and mustard for $1.50 and a diet pop (if you drink it on Keto) along with chicken wings.
You don’t have to wait in line long either as they have the foods ready to eat.
That’s just another option if you are in a rush but the Costco store is all you have after getting your gas.
Convenience Store Keto Gas Station Snacks
Having a full convenience store attached to a gas station is a bonus when you are looking for keto gas station snacks.
If you go into a 7-eleven gas station convenience store your options may be;
- Jumbo hot dog (no bun)
- Cheese slices or Cheese Strings
- Cottage Cheese (get a spoon)
- Cream Cheese (get a spoon)
- Just Peanuts Peanut Butter (get a spoon)
- Peanuts, Almonds, Cashews, Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Hazelnuts (mixed nuts or nut packages) Be careful of any sugar coatings or added candy.
- Pork Rinds
- Beef Jerky but read the ingredients for added sugars.
- Pepperoni Sticks or packaged dry sausages
- Water, Coffee, Tea
- Unsweetened Almond Milk
- Coconut Water
- Jar of Pickles
- Can of tuna or sardines with an easy-open top
- Pre-cooked bacon
- Jar of olives
- Pre-packaged hard-boiled eggs
- Powerade Zero or Gatorade Zero drinks (no added sugar)
Regular Keto Gas Station Snacks
If you stop at a gas station that only has a kiosk where you pay with a few snacks your best options would be;
- Peanuts, Almonds, Cashews, Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Hazelnuts (mixed nuts or nut packages) Be careful of any sugar coatings or added candy.
- Pork Rinds
- Beef Jerky (read the ingredients for added sugars).
- Pepperoni Sticks or packaged dry sausages
- Water, Coffee, Tea
- Unsweetened Almond Milk
- Coconut Water
- Powerade Zero or Gatorade Zero drinks (no added sugar)
Simple Keto Snack Practices
For the rest of her last-minute trip, Mrs. CBB went the frugal route and opted for grocery store keto snacks for her hotel room and travels.
The refrigerator in her room was packed but she didn’t spend money eating out nor did she pay for outrageous keto snack prices at the hotel.
Related: The Best 25 Grocery Food Items To Bring To Your Hotel Room
In the morning at the hotel, they had complimentary breakfast so she loaded up on coffee, bottled water, scrambled eggs, Philadelphia cream cheese, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and sausages.
If you’ve already paid for it you might as well eat it, right?
Just remember no matter where you are on your keto journey there are high-fat low-carb options for you.
A simple pit-stop looking for gas station keto snacks is fairly easy so don’t over-complicate it.
Discussion: What types of keto gas station snacks have you had in the past? Leave your comments below.
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