Panda Express has become a favorite among those who follow a Ketogenic Diet. They offer a wide variety of dishes that are low in carbs and high in protein.
The Ketogenic Diet is a very effective way to lose weight.
This type of diet is characterized by consuming a moderate amount of carbohydrates (50-75 grams per day) combined with a higher intake of fat (70-80% of total calories).
If you want to try out the Ketogenic Diet, you should start with a lower carbohydrate intake and gradually increase it over time. In addition, you should also pay attention to the quality of fats you consume.
The best sources of healthy fats include olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, eggs, butter, and coconut milk.
If you’re looking to get started on your journey toward a healthier lifestyle, then this article will help you understand what the Ketogenic Diet is all about.
It will also provide you with some helpful tips as well as information regarding how to find delicious meals from Panda Express.
Who Are Panda Express?
Panda Express is a fast-food chain offering American Chinese cuisine. Their restaurants are located in over 2000 locations around the United States and Canada.
Additionally, they also have some restaurants in other countries like China, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong.
They offer a wide range of dishes including traditional Chinese foods, Westernized Chinese foods, and vegetarian dishes.
Some of their popular menu items include Kung Pao Chicken, General Tso’s Chicken, Egg Roll, Beef Chow Mein, Sweet & Sour Pork, Sweet & Sour Shrimp, Hot & Spicy Szechuan Noodles, Roasted Duck, Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, Orange Chicken, and more.
In addition to these delicious dishes, they also offer some low-carb options such as Keto Fried Rice, Low Carb Lo Mein, and Low Carb Spring Rolls.
Low-carb dishes include fried rice, egg rolls, chicken chow mein, sweet and sour pork, beef with broccoli, and steamed vegetables.
String Bean Chicken
A String Bean Chicken Breast is a healthy dish made up of string beans, grilled chicken breast, and onions cooked in mild ginger soy.
It has 190 calories and 9 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein, 13 grams of carbs, 4 grams of dietary fiber, and 9 grams of net carbs.
Black Pepper Steak
Black Pepper Angus Steaks are delicious! This keto meal plan includes a recipe for this tasty dish. You can ask for a Black Pepper Angus steak when you eat out or make your own.
Kung Pao Style Chicken
A delicious low-carb dish! You should ask for a Kung Pao chicken. It’s a great alternative to your favorite chicken dishes when it comes to the keto diet!
Kung Pao Chicken is a classic Chinese dish, often served as an appetizer or main course. It consists of stir-fried chicken, peanuts, and veggies.
Traditionally made with specialty ingredients, this Americanized version replaces them with staples from your neighborhood grocery store.
It has all the spiciness, sweetness, and sourness of traditional kung paos, but it’s much easier to make than you might think!
Mushroom Chicken
Their Mushroom Chicken dish consists of delicately flavored mushrooms with chicken and wok-tossing zucchinis with a light ginger soy.
It includes 220 calories, 14 grams fat, 13 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, and 9 grams net carbs. A great choice for keto and low-carb diets.
Black pepper Style Chicken
Black Pepper Chicken is a high-calorie dish that contains a lot of fat and carbohydrates. It is also very spicy. You may want to ask for something else if you’re trying to lose weight.
Grilled Chicken – Teriyaki Style
A grilled chicken thigh that has had the skin removed and has been sliced into thin strips.
This dish contains 300 Calories, 13 grams of fat (of which 3 grams are saturated), 36 grams of protein, 8 grams of Total Carbs, and 0 grams of Fiber.
Meaning that this dish has the highest amount of Net Carbs, and it is not recommended for keto diets.
Broccoli Beef
Broccoli Beef is a great keto meal. It consists of tender beef with broccoli in ginger soy.
This dish contains 150 calories, 7 g fat, 9 g protein, 13 g carb, 2 g fiber, and 11 g net carbs, making it a great low-carb option. Order Broccoli Beef and hold off on the ginger sauce if you’re able.
Honey Infused Sesame Chicken
A classic recipe that is high in carbohydrates. It contains a lot of fat and sugar. You can modify this recipe to be keto-friendly by replacing the honey sauce with almond butter or coconut oil.
The Honey Sesame Chicken comes with rice and vegetables. You may also want to get some extra veggies or salad if you’re hungry after your meal.
Honey Style Walnut Shrimps
Their Honey Walnut Shrimp dish contains 360 calories, 20 grams of fat, 8 grams of protein, 40 grams of total carbs, 3 grams of fiber, and 37 grams of net carbs, making it a high carb dish from this list.
You should ask for a Honey Walnut shrimp without the honey sauce.
Super Greens
Their Super Greens are the only Ketogenic Side Dish they offer. Panda Express has mostly chicken or beef-based meals, but they do offer some low-carb choices.
To be sure, you can ask for plain chicken or chicken with low-carb sauce, plus broccoli, green beans, and cabbage as sides. Adding chili sauce is also a great option for increasing flavor without adding too many carbs.
What Is The Ketogenic Diet?
The Ketogenic Diet was first developed in 1921 by Dr. Hans Krebs. He discovered that when he restricted his patients’ food intake, their bodies would begin producing more energy than they needed.
As a result, these individuals were able to burn stored body fat instead of using glucose or sugar.
This discovery led him to develop a special diet that involved eating lots of fats along with small amounts of carbohydrates.
His findings were published in the Journal of Physiology in 1922. Since then, many doctors have used this diet to treat various diseases such as epilepsy, obesity, diabetes, and cancer.
How Does The Ketogenic Diet Work?
When you eat foods rich in carbohydrates, your body uses them to produce glucose. Glucose is an important source of fuel for cells throughout your body.
However, if there isn’t enough glucose available in your blood, insulin levels rise. Insulin helps transport glucose to muscle tissues and liver cells, where it can be used immediately.
If there isn’t sufficient insulin present, however, the excess glucose accumulates in the bloodstream.
In response to this increased level of glucose, the pancreas releases additional insulin.
When insulin levels drop too low, the pancreas begins releasing glucagon, a hormone that causes the liver to release glycogen (stored glucose) into the bloodstream.
As a result of this process, the body becomes dependent upon glucose for energy. This dependence leads to weight gain because your body needs extra calories just to maintain its current size.
The Ketogenic diet works differently. Instead of relying on glucose for energy, your body utilizes ketones produced by the breakdown of fat.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a healthy way to lose weight, try the Keto diet. The Keto diet is one of the best ways to achieve rapid weight loss while keeping your metabolism active.
You will need to adjust your diet slightly to accommodate the higher fat content, so make sure to read our tips above on how to start a ketogenic diet.
You may find yourself craving certain foods during the transition period, but don’t worry – after the initial adjustment period, you should feel much better about your new lifestyle.
Hi, my name is Anna Kadance and I have been following a keto diet, on and off, for just over two years now. When I first started, I was in a deep depression due to my weight and the fact that I just couldn’t seem to get rid of it.
My body had given me two beautiful children, but now that our family was complete, I wanted to take it back as my own and get my pre-baby body back. I tried diet after diet, exercise program after program - nothing worked!
