But let us emphasize complex carbs here: This does not mean you should dig into a bowl of potato chips before bed. You still want to choose foods with a low glycemic index in order to keep your blood sugar balanced. (Because, friendly reminder, your blood sugar also affects your shut-eye.) Some of the best nutrient-dense sources of complex carbs include sweet potatoes, beets, squash, and carrots—but check out our full guide to keto carb cycling, if you’re curious. 

Bonus points if you choose foods rich in magnesium, too, as the mineral is important for a bunch of functions in the body, including sleep.* Some favorites include: Chickpeas, bananas, pumpkin seeds, and we could go on (so we’ll just send you here for a quick recap). 

And if you’d like even more of a nudge before bed, you can lean on sleep supplements clinically shown to have a calming effect on the brain. Our very own sleep support+ was designed with leading researchers and physicians to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up feeling more refreshed, featuring 120 mg of highly absorbable and gentle magnesium bisglycinate with jujube seed extract and PharmaGABA®.* It’s a well-rounded supplement free of GMOs, gluten, dairy, soy, and food allergens, and it can seamlessly fit into any lifestyle.

If there’s one cooking technique that’s synonymous with fall, it’s braising—and if there’s a protein that’s well suited to braising, it’s chicken thighs. The best thing about cooking this way is you don’t need a ton of ingredients for tons of flavor—just a bit of patience.

This simple recipe uses only five ingredients (if you don’t count the few pantry staples like salt, pepper, olive oil, and flour) but has plenty of zing thanks to horseradish. The pungent, spicy flavor fits right in with the slightly sour tomatoes and salty broth.

“This is a unique dish that utilizes a few ingredients and cooking techniques to create a comforting meal,” writes Rebecca White in The Ultimate 5-Ingredient Cookbook. “The horseradish and tomatoes, when cooked together, create a sauce perfect for braising chicken thighs. The lemon juice and zest complement the braising sauce and help to tie the dish together.”

If I’m looking to make brunch for a crowd, odds are I’m reaching for an oven-safe skillet and a dozen eggs: it’s frittata time! This is a great dish to make when you have some leftover cooked veggies, but I’ve also found it’s just a tried-and-true crowd pleaser.

“Budget-friendly and an excellent use for leftover protein and those last few veggies that need to be eaten, frittatas will be a mainstay in your Paleo kitchen,” writes Ciarra Colacino in The Frugal Paleo Cookbook.

And she’s not wrong—this recipe from her books keeps it strictly to basics, but the cooking technique fosters plenty of flavor. “This particular recipe calls for eggs, onion, and butter or ghee and feeds at least four people,” she writes, “It doesn’t get much more affordable than that!”

The biggest mistake people make when eating and thinking of carbs is automatically gravitating toward refined sugars and carbs. (Not sure what actually even classifies as a carb? Might be time to brush up on your carb literacy, here.) Instead, try to limit the processed and refined carbs, as well as sugars, sugar alcohol, artificial sugars, and more, and learn to adapt your natural sweet tooth.

I recommend focusing on a Mediterranean diet which is rich in complex carbs like brown rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, quinoa, vegetables, and fruit. Complex carbs take a longer time to digest, so they help keep blood sugar stable. They are also richer in fiber, which will keep you full for a longer period of time. Plus, they’re ripe with B vitamins, folate, and free-radical fighting antioxidants.

“[Keto] does restrict plants and fruits to a certain degree that it could be impacting the diversity of the gut microbiome,” D’Agostino explains, especially if you’re only beginning to dip your toes into the keto waters. “Under some conditions, you might want to use probiotics,” he adds, if you really want to elevate your gut microbiome.* mindbodygreen’s probiotic+, for example, contains a unique combination of four bacterial strains to ease bloating, aid digestion, and help reset your gut.*

Some, however, may find that embarking on a keto diet actually enhances the microbial diversity in their gut: “I actually eat more plants on a ketogenic diet than I did growing up eating a high carb diet,” says D’Agostino. “Now, I have a lot of gut-healthy salads, vegetables, nuts, artichokes, and greens.” So even though the diet does exclude some foods, you might find that you’re eating a larger variety of plants than you had before—and, thus, you may have a more diverse microbiome. It all depends on the person, and it’s important to listen to what your own body is trying to tell you. 

There you have it: If D’Agostino is going to reach for a snack during the day, he’ll likely elect for one of these four options. While everyone’s body reacts differently to certain foods (just because it doesn’t spike D’Agostino’s glucose doesn’t mean it will keep a flat trace for everyone!), you, like the king of keto, have some options to test. 

“The acidity of the pickled mushrooms and red onion will cut through any richness,” writes Monya Kilian Palmer in Lazy Keto Kitchen, “The flavor is quite strong, so I add feta and avocado to offer a milder flavor element and a creamy texture to the salad.”

Avocado and feta are great examples of healthy fats—ones that pair well with the herbs, spices, and other flavors in this salad. Feta is one of our favorite cheeses to keep on hand (and not just because it’s a staple in the Mediterranean diet): it has 4 grams of protein per ounce and because it’s particularly flavorful, a little bit goes a long way.

Before you go keto, there’s a lot of information to unpack (trust us: We have a whole beginner’s guide for you to sift through before embarking). While you can customize the eating plan to fit your lifestyle and personal needs, it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting into, no? 

Luckily, the king of keto, Dom D’Agostino, Ph.D., is here to answer all your questions. Here’s one we had for the associate professor at the University of South Florida (who focuses on neuropharmacology, medical biochemistry, physiology, and neuroscience): What are the best supplements for someone following keto? 

His answer? Everyone’s body reacts differently (and he’s generally a whole foods type of guy), but there is one that deserves honorable mention: “The literature suggests that if you’re on a ketogenic diet, many people [lack] carnitine,” he says on the mindbodygreen podcast.

Think about the energy spike and subsequent crash that can happen after a large intake of sugar. Luckily, D’Agostino shares a basic—and quite relaxing—practice for balancing the blood sugar response after meals: going for a walk.

He explains it like so: “If you go for a walk right after your meal, it takes the cap off of that postprandial glycemic excursion.” (Aka, the change in glucose from before to after a meal.) “I can knock it down by more than 50%, just with a casual walk with my dogs after breakfast or after dinner,” he says.

And to be clear, the walk need not be strenuous. In fact, a leisurely stroll is ideal: “Simply incorporating even a 10 minute walk after you eat, especially a big meal at nighttime, is going to be really beneficial,” says D’Agostino. “Nothing strenuous, of course, because you don’t want to do a super intense exercise after a big meal, but a casual walk will pay big dividends in the long-run.”

The research backs it up: In one study, 78 adults were randomly assigned to either become active or remain sedentary five minutes or 35 minutes after eating. The conclusions were fascinating: “Activity, even for 10 min. at very low intensity, may assist in the management of postprandial blood glucose if undertaken when blood glucose is high.” Translation? Acute, casual exercise not before but after eating (like, say, a post-dinner stroll) can help steady the blood sugar response.

Just five ingredients: blueberries, sour cream, cacao powder, cinnamon, and sweetener (like monkfruit or stevia). The sour cream is what gives it that tangy, cheesecake-like flavor and smooth consistency: Just make sure your sour cream is full-fat—low or nonfat options typically use corn starch or other carb-loaded thickeners to achieve the same texture, which makes it not as keto-friendly. (And if you don’t adore the taste of sour cream, you can easily swap it with another option below.)

You may have to play around with specific measurements, but here’s exactly what you’ll need: