Short Answer: Chow mein is not keto friendly and has about 400 calories and 25.9 grams of total carbs per cup. Because chow mein contains noodles, which are high in carbs, and vegetables, which are high in fiber, it is not a good choice for this dietary approach.
Chow mein is a Chinese-style dish of stir-fried noodles with shredded meat or seafood and vegetables.
It is a popular dish in many regions of China and in other countries by Chinese immigrants.
The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat, and moderate-protein diet that aims to put your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.
In ketosis, your body burns fat for fuel instead of glucose.
To follow the keto diet, you need to limit your net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) to about 20 to 50 grams per day, depending on your individual needs.
You also need to get about 70 to 80% of your calories from fat, and 10 to 20% from protein.
Chow mein has about 400 calories and 25.9 grams of total carbs per cup.
Based on these numbers, chow mein is not keto friendly and can easily exceed your daily carb limit.
Therefore, you should avoid or limit chow mein if you are following the keto diet.
Because chow mein contains noodles, which are high in carbs, and vegetables, which are high in fiber, it is not a good choice for this dietary approach.
However, you can make chow mein more keto friendly by using low-carb noodles such as celery root noodles or zucchini noodles, or by adding more fat-rich ingredients such as sardines or salmon.
These substitutions can help you reduce the net carbs and increase the fat and protein content of your chow mein without compromising the flavor.
Whether you eat it or not, you should always choose whole foods over processed foods.
Because whole foods are more nutritious and less likely to cause blood sugar spikes and crashes.
You can store chow mein in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Do not store it in the microwave or on the stove, as this can cause moisture loss and nutrient degradation.
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Finally, remember, chow mein is a delicious Chinese dish that can be enjoyed occasionally as part of a balanced keto diet.
You can use it as a base for other keto-friendly dishes such as chicken chow mein with broccoli or shrimp chow mein with kale.
