[13 Great Ideas] What To Eat On Keto If You Wear Braces

Enjoying your keto way of life, and now you have to deal with braces. Even worse is if you have buttons and can’t bite your teeth together!

Look on the bright side, you’ll have beautiful straight teeth after it’s all said and done, but what should you eat in the meantime? 

What should you eat on keto with braces? There are plenty of options you can eat on a ketogenic diet while wearing braces; some ideas include:

• Ground beef
• Eggs
• Avocado (guacamole)
• Unsweetened yogurt
• Cheeses
• Pulled Pork
• Seafood

In this article, I’ll cover 17 foods and methods, sprinkled with a few recipes you can use to make keto a little more enjoyable while wearing your braces.

Soft Keto And Low Carb Foods To Eat With Braces

Here are just a few foods and ideas that are soft, easy to chew, and keto-friendly.

#1 Cauliflower mash

Cauliflower mash may be one of my most eaten foods when I first started a ketogenic diet. 

The best thing about cauliflower mash is that you can flavor it any which way you like. Caulimash also comes out similar to regular mashed potatoes, but with fewer carbs and more fiber. 

Some ways you can flavor cauliflower mash include:

• Grass-fed butter
• Heavy Whipping Cream (HWC Keto)
• Cheese
• Spices

Here is a photo and recipe courtesy of Wholesome Yum to get you started.

#2 Ground beef

You may not be able to enjoy a beautiful rib-eye as you used to, while unfortunate, it is what it is.

Your next best option when it comes to soft food to eat on keto with braces that’s similar to steak is ground beef. 

Prepared the right way, ground beef can be melt in your mouth tender and may even convert you to ground beef even when your braces come off. 

 If you think about it, ground beef is more versatile than steak and can be enjoyed in many different ways. 

Some ideas to spruce up your ground beef include:

• Made into hamburger patties
• Sautéed with some marinara sauce (Read: Is Marinara Keto Friendly?)
• Cooked in butter or bacon grease
• Made into keto shepherds pie using your caulimash from above

#3 Eggs

Eggs are amongst the most nutritious foods on this planet; they’re also quite delicious and versatile.

If you’ve ever heard of the term eating nose to tail, eggs are the easiest way to get the complete nutrition of an animal in a small package. 

After all, you are eating an entire chicken, which is full of high-quality protein, good fats, vitamins, and minerals.

Great ways to spruce up your eggs include:

• Scrambled with a splash of half and half (Read: Is Half And Half Keto Friendly?)
• An omelet with your favorite cheese
• Poached
• Deviled
• Fried
• Made into scotch eggs using said ground beef from above

Scotch eggs are one of my favorite foods to enjoy and super easy to make. If you’re unfamiliar with Scotch eggs, they are eggs that have been wrapped in ground beef and then either fried or baked.

I prefer baked, but you can do it however you like.

Here’s a simple Scotch egg recipe you can do on your own.

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Season 1 pound of ground beef with salt and pepper and form into six equal-size meatballs
3. Flatten meatballs and place your hard-boiled eggs in the middle, then wrap the meat around the egg, making sure to leave no gaps or holes!
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes before turning over and baking an additional 10 minutes.
5. *Optional you can place under the broiler for 5 minutes for a crispier shell

#4 Avocado

It’s almost a crime to be on a ketogenic diet and not eat avocados unless you don’t enjoy them that is…

But who doesn’t like avocados?

 Many people don’t realize, but avocados are incredibly nutritious. Avocados contain more potassium than plantains and bananas, loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, and chock full of fiber.  

In one study, overweight adults who consumed half a fresh avocado each day were less likely to feel hungry after eating, which is a blessing if you’re on a weight loss diet. 1https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-12-155 

Ways to enjoy avocados include:

• Guacamole
• Stuffed avocados (eggs, tuna, ground beef, your choice)d
• Avocado smoothie

For a simple avocado smoothie recipe, combine the following ingredients and blend:

• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 cup of leafy vegetables (I use spinach)
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1/2 cup milk (almond, HWC or half and half, coconut)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Sweeten to taste with your favorite zero-calorie sweetener (I use this stevia)
• *optional MCT or C8 Oil for an added energy and brain boost

#5 Chicken salad

Chicken or chicken salad may be a better option than a steak and is a lot easier to chew.

Assuming you don’t overcook it into rubber.

Here is a great recipe using chicken and the above ingredient, avocado! 

Keto avocado chicken salad

Photo and recipe courtesy of Stylish Cravings

#6 Soft veggies

While eating crunchy raw vegetables is a no-go, a better and more comfortable option for you may be to cook them a little extra, so they’re not only softer to chew, but digests a lot better as well.

Good thing for me, I don’t like raw vegetables. I’d eat mushy vegetables over raw any day of the week, lol.

Good vegetables for this include:

• Carrots (Read: Are Carrots Keto Friendly?}
• Cucumbers
• Asparagus
• Green Beans

#7 Unsweetened Yogurt

Want a nutrient-dense food rich in protein, minerals, vitamins, and beneficial bacterial cultures (probiotics)? 2https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5227968/

Many people don’t associate yogurt and keto together, but unsweetened yogurt can be and is keto-friendly.

For a creamy and sweet dessert, I like to take unsweetened Greek yogurt and toss it with a few frozen berries (usually blueberries) and then drizzle it with Walden Farms Keto Pancake Syrup and dust it with cinnamon.

#8 Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is another excellent protein you can make that’s super simple, delicious, and melt in your mouth. 

By using the slow cooker, you can throw this in before work and have a hot and delicious meal ready waiting for you when you get home. 

 Even better is that you can cook large amounts at a time and save some for later or use in other recipes.  

I’ve used pulled pork in omelets, with cauliflower mash, topped with avocado; basically, all of the foods listed above so far can be eaten with pulled pork.

Here is a photo and recipe from Real Simple Good to get you started.

#9 Coleslaw

Coleslaw is another excellent way to get in some veggies that may be a bit easier to chew. 

This recipe from Jennifer Banz uses pickle juice, which gives it a nice tangy flavor and breaks down the shredded cabbage a bit more for a softer chew. 

Both pickles and pickle juice are keto-friendly, so you’re good to go!

I enjoy my coleslaw with the keto-friendly pulled pork above.

#10 Cheese

I love love love cheese, yes, three loves! Cheese is keto-friendly, but also a great source of calcium on keto. 

Whether you enjoy cheddar, parmesan, or a soft cheese like brie, most cheeses are very low in carbohydrates and can be eaten all by itself or paired with another keto-friendly food of your choice.

My favorite cheeses at the moment are Dubliner’s Irish Cheddar or Old Croc’s Sharp Cheddar, both of which I found at my local Costco.

#11 Protein Powder

Protein powders like Muscle Milk and Premier Protein shakes or full keto meal replacements like Sated (Ketolent) or Soylent are an easy way to get sufficient protein without having to chew at all.

Short of blending your food, protein shakes are a tastier way of getting in protein and nutrients. 

• Purchase Sated (Ketolent) a full meal replacement here. 

Some of my other favorite just protein powder include:

• Musclefeast Whey Isolate
• PEScience Select 

#12 Tuna and other fish

Canned tuna, sardines, and almost all fish, in general, are nutritious and low carb foods you can eat with braces. 

Fish are filled with omega-3 fatty acids (essential fatty acids), which are fats that the body cannot make and we must get from the foods we eat. 3https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22435414

Fish and other seafood are also excellent sources of calcium, phosphorous, and minerals like iodine.

Make a tuna salad or grill up a salmon on the BBQ for a delicious and healthy meal that’s easy to chew.

#13 Deli slices of meat

Deli meats, cheeses, and charcuterie are already sliced in bite-size ready to eat portions. 

 Even better is that it requires no prep, it’s easy to travel with, and you can find them at almost any grocery store, gas station, and even Starbucks. 

Besides, having deli meat once in a while is just a great change of flavor and texture, at least for me.

The Takeaway

There you have it, folks, there are tons of foods and ways to make food softer and more comfortable to chew on keto while wearing braces.

Of course, if you want, you could always blend your food… I’ve seen it done.

What are some of your favorite foods to stick to while wearing braces? Let me know down in the comments below.