"How do I add all the fats without eating it by the spoonful?" is a common question we Ketogenic Lifestyle Coaches field. It's usually a lot easier to do than you might otherwise think. The hardest part is overcoming the fear of eating "too much" fat (or fear of "bad" saturated fats). Once you do that, you can start to enjoy the deliciousness of adding fats without guilt.

Here is a quick rundown:

1. Add Some Butter 

Butter is like life to me. I melt it down and dip everything from meats to veggies in the butter. It doesn't have to be plain or boring, either! I will often crush fresh garlic for garlic butter, or make a simple brown butter cream sauce. I also use pre-packaged (and keto-friendly) gourmet garlic butter (like that from Chef Shamy) which is shelf stable and delicious enough to eat off the spoon. Of course, you don't have to do that if you use it for dipping.

  
2: Top with Garlic Chili Mayo

This is a simple concoction I came up with! Start with any brand of keto-friendly avocado oil-based mayonnaise and mix, to taste, with garlic chili sauce (a variation on sambal, a.k.a. the sauce you often see in the Asian food aisles with the rooster on the jar). Regular chili paste (sambal oelek) works, too, if garlic is not your thing.

The beauty of this is you can add as much or as little of the chili sauce, depending on your taste. It keeps the creaminess of the mayonnaise while covering the taste, which makes for another excellent dipping sauce. The mayo is high in the kind of fats you're looking for, so don't skimp when you dip!

  
3. Buy Fatty Meats

That means buy the fattiest cuts you can find! Pork belly, untrimmed ribeye steak, beef brisket, sausages (Pederson Natural Farms, for example), and chicken skin are all very high in both fat and flavor. They also happen to be relatively inexpensive, so buying fattier cuts can help keep the ketonian budget from soaring too high.

While we're on the subject of fatty meats, here's a little counterintuitive tip about chicken: The dark meat (wings and thighs) is a bit higher in fat than the lean breast meat, but it doesn't always pair well with added fats.. In my experience, the lean breast meat, when shredded, will "soak up" fats like a sponge, and tends to work better with dips and/or sauces. And because it's so lean, it will be less of a guessing game as to how much additional fat you're eating. If you need tighter control on your protein or fat intake, this might be the way to go.

4. Drizzle It Good 

Keto-friendly or homemade ranch or blue cheese dressing, vinaigrettes, and alfredo or other cream sauces (to name a few) are all excellent sources of dietary fat. There are many keto-compliant recipes for sauces and dressings that are surprisingly easy to make, so don't be afraid to try something new. My personal favorite is the Ranch Dip recipe from My Ketogenic Kitchen! I will literally use this on everything.

  
5. Avocado All Day

I love my avocados! These won't give you as much fat as many of the examples above, but they're a good source of potassium and are incredibly healthy. As a Coach, I tend to encourage people to count total carbs, but avocado is so good for you that it's literally the one and only thing for which I personally count net carbs (and encourage others to do so, if they can). I don't suggest eating multiple avocados in a day (those carbs do add up eventually), but one is not going to cause you harm. 

All five of these strategies help me to keep my intake of fat in my ideal range without resorting to eating fat bombs or drowning my morning coffee in a slick of butter and MCT oil. I hope this helps you to get creative in finding ways to add fats to your meals! 

Elaina Wang is a Ketogenic Lifestyle Coach, and specializes in aiding diabetics regulate blood sugar and hunger with a ketogenic protocol.