Occasions / Aisle by aisle

Keto at the gas station

A gas station looks like a wall of chips and candy, but almost every one has a cooler of cheese, eggs and meat sticks, and a nut rack. You can put together a real keto meal in about two minutes if you know which shelves to check.

The game plan

Go to the refrigerated case first: cheese, eggs, meat and pickles live there.
Grab one protein, one fat and something crunchy.
Read the back of jerky and meat sticks; teriyaki and sweet styles carry sugar.
Choose plain, salted or smoked nuts over honey-roasted or trail mix.
Drink water, black coffee, unsweetened tea or diet soda.

Go for

String cheese and cheese snack packs
Protein and fat, almost no carbs.
Hard-boiled eggs
Usually in the cooler, often two to a pack.
Meat sticks and original jerky
Check for sugar in the ingredient list.
Pork rinds
Zero carbs and very crunchy.
Almonds, macadamias, pecans
Plain, salted or smoked.
Salami and cheese packs
Skip the crackers inside.
Dill pickles
Single pickles in a pouch are a near-zero snack.
Tuna or salmon pouches
Shelf-stable protein.

Pass on

Protein bars
Many are sweetened with sugar, IMO or maltitol. Read the label.
Trail mix
Raisins, candy and sweetened nuts.
Coffee drinks in bottles
Most are milk and sugar.
Energy drinks
Unless the can says zero sugar.
“Keto” snacks with maltitol
They count more than the front of the pack suggests.