Corner Bakery Cafe is a small bakery in downtown Chicago that started with just Artisan Bread and freshly prepared sweets. Today, they serve a wide variety of soups, salads, sandwiches, and more available on their menu.
But, can you order something keto at Corner Bakery Cafe?
Well, you can order a Turkey Avocado Cobb Salad, from their vast range of fresh salads. This is one of the meals that are completely keto on their own.
Ingredients like turkey breast, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, and many more delectable items make it an ideal low-carb meal.
Their website also provides a nutrition calculator which lets you check all the nutrition facts, allergen info., etc along with the ingredients list of each dish they offer.
Honestly, going through that long list and checking whether it fits the keto bill is a daunting task. But breathe easy because, through this article, you’ll find some amazing keto-friendly options to order at your next visit to Corner Bakery Cafe.
Let’s dive in!
How to Survive Keto at Corner Bakery Cafe?
When you are on a strict diet like keto, you always shy away from dining out because it could be a disaster! Who knows what really goes inside that delicious soupy dish sitting in front of your eyes?
You start dissecting each ingredient in your head, like a robot – “Okay, this has some celery, some chicken, some beans. I don’t think there are many carbs in there. Let’s have some!”.
But the truth is that it also had a lot of thickeners (starch) that inflated the carb count.
That’s why you should always study the ingredients or nutritional information before ordering your meal.
When it comes to the Corner bakery cafe, they do have a lot of variety. But there are few options that fit the keto bill! However, that doesn’t mean that you are stuck with the regular keto affair – meat ‘n cheese.
With some smart customizing and portion control, this American chain restaurant opens a lot of doors for you!
When going out on a diet, we often try to hide the fact from our friends and families. But you should never dread going out with people or feeling weird about your food choices.
If you have a pre-decided plan of what you are going to order, it builds up your confidence and you can place your order boldly.
This being said, here are some practical tips to stay low-carb at Corner Bakery Cafe.
Keto Tips for Corner Bakery Cafe
Corner Bakery cafe didn’t start on a keto-friendly note. Even today, it is a bit tricky to find a complete keto dish on its own. There will be something or the other added to a “seemingly” keto dish that just ends up ruining it for you!
So you will have to be really smart about your choices and not fall into temptations.
Here are a few tips you can use to make keto-ordering a breeze at Corner Bakery Cafe:
- Check out the menu ahead of your visit. They have a huge range of pastries, breads, breakfast dishes, gourmet sandwiches, homemade soups, salads, and pasta. So there is also a major risk of falling into the last-minute temptations when you see your friends enjoying their carb-heavy meals.
- Use their nutrition menu instead of the normal menu. The nutrition menu provides more details like a complete list of ingredients and potentially allergenic ingredients inside a dish. If you are allergic to a certain ingredient, you can also use their allergen menu to sort out the dishes with those ingredients.
- Use their online nutrition calculator. This helps you check the exact nutritional value of a dish after removing or swapping a certain ingredient. You can also customize different toppings, dressings, cheeses, and more through this calculator.
- I would suggest you abstain from their bakery, beverages, pasta, and kids menu section altogether. It is hard to find anything there that could be classified keto-friendly. What’s more, no amount of customizations can turn them low-carb (damaged beyond repair!)
- If you choose green wraps like lettuce over bread or tortilla, it opens a lot of options for you including sandwiches, wraps, and the panini.
- Don’t hesitate to ask about the ingredients inside their dips, sauces, and dressings. As a rule of thumb, avoid any sweet-tasting sauce or dressing because it’s probably SUGAR!
Thankfully, many of their dishes can be turned keto-friendly with some modifications.
Their D.C. Chicken Salad Sandwich is a great example! Simply swap out the harvest bread with a lettuce wrap, and you are golden! It has chicken salad, sliced tomatoes, leaf lettuce, cafe seasoning, and harvested bread (that can be removed).
Another option would be their Classic Caesar Salad. It has Romaine lettuce, Caesar dressing, Parmesan cheese, and spicy croutons (eliminate those!).
Or, you can try their Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, but the spicy croutons present inside need to be tossed out.
These were just some of the low-hanging fruits that you could go for. But now let’s talk some real business! If you are really hungry and your cravings are getting to your head, a Caesar salad won’t really cut it!
So here you go!
Corner Bakery Cafe Low-Carb Options
Note: All the nutritional facts mentioned here are as shown on the Corner Bakery Cafe’s website. The carb count and other nutritional counts will vary when you remove or swap certain ingredients from a dish.
In no particular order, here are filling and wholesome keto-friendly dishes you can order at Corner Bakery Cafe.
#1 Bacon Avocado Egg Bowl/ Cup (no bread)
Nutritional facts:
- Net Carbs: 5g
- Fat: 45g
- Protein: 41g
- Calories: 5900
- Cholesterol: 670mg
- Sodium: 1280mg
This bowl comes with Scrambled eggs, Bacon, Avocado, Spinach, Tomato, Green Onion, Country Bread, cafe seasoning, and shredded Cheddar cheese on its top. This dish can be turned keto-friendly by excluding the country bread without compromising on taste.
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#2 Carved Ham and Swiss Egg Bowl
Nutritional facts:
- Net Carbs: 4.5 g
- Fat: 9g
- Protein: 52g
- Calories: 520 kcal
- Cholesterol: 695mg
- Sodium: 1210mg
This bowl contains Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Country Bread, Swiss Cheese, Shredded, Green Onion, Cafe Seasoning, Ham, Roasted Peppers & Cream Sauce. Its carb count can be reduced if you remove the Breakfast Country Bread.
#3 Anaheim Scrambler
Nutritional facts:
- Net Carbs: 4.5g
- Fat: 45g
- Protein: 35g
- Calories: 590kcal
- Cholesterol: 670mg
- Sodium: 1270mg
This dish comes with Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Potatoes, Harvest Bread, Avocado, Diced Tomatoes, Julienne Smoked Bacon, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Green Onion, Cafe Seasoning. You can part ways with Breakfast Potatoes and Harvest bread without missing out.
#3 Bacon Avocado Egg Bowl
Nutritional facts:
- Net carbs: 5g
- Total Fat: 45g
- Protein: 38g
- Calories: 590kcal
- Cholesterol: 670mg
- Sodium: 1280mg
This dish contains Scrambled Eggs, Avocado, Breakfast Country Bread, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Green Onion, Cafe Seasoning, Bacon, Spinach, Tomato. Ditch the Country Bread to make this dish keto-friendly.
#4 Prime Rib And Provolone Panini
Nutritional facts:
- Net carbs: 5.5g
- Total Fat: 26g
- Protein: 31g
- Calories: 420 kcal
- Cholesterol: 50mg
- Sodium: 1440mg
This dish comes with Country Panini Bread, Prime Rib, Sauteed Mushrooms, Provolone Cheese, Caramelized Onions, Roasted Red Peppers, Arugula, Black Pepper Balsamic Aioli. You can substitute Panini bread with green wraps to reduce carb count without compromising on taste.
#5 Albacore Tuna Salad Sandwich
Nutritional facts:
- Net carbs: 2g
- Total Fat: 32g
- Protein: 31g
- Calories: 610kcal
- Cholesterol: 45mg
- Sodium: 1200mg
This sandwich has Harvest Bread, Albacore Tuna Salad, Sliced Tomatoes, Leaf Lettuce, Cafe Seasoning. Substitute the bread with lettuce and you can have your keto dish.
#6 Mixed Greens Salad
Nutritional facts:
- Net carbs: 4g
- Total Fat: 12g
- Protein: 2g
- Calories: 150kcal
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 490mg
This salad contains Spring Mix, Sliced Tomatoes, House Dressing, Spicy Croutons. Ask about the ingredients inside their house dressing and exclude the croutons.
#7 All-American Scrambler with Bacon
Nutritional facts:
- Net carbs: 2.5g
- Total Fat: 29g
- Protein: 29g
- Calories: 400kcal
- Cholesterol: 640mg
- Sodium: 1100mg
This dish comes with Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Potatoes, Harvest Bread, Sliced Smoked Bacon, Cafe Seasoning. Opt-out of breakfast potato and Harvest Bread to make it low carb.
#8 Anaheim Panini
Nutritional facts:
- Net carbs: 2.5g
- Total Fat: 28g
- Protein: 23g
- Calories: 360kcal
- Cholesterol: 360mg
- Sodium: 750mg
This dish is made of Scrambled Eggs, Breakfast Country Panini Bread, Sliced Cheddar Cheese, Diced Tomatoes, Avocado, Green Onion, Julienne Smoked Bacon, Cafe Seasoning. Ask them to wrap it in some green leaf instead of Panini bread. This won’t be a Panini anymore but you can have the other goodies.
#9 Power Breakfast Egg Bowl
Nutritional facts:
- Net carbs: 7.5g
- Total fat: 28g
- Protein: 26g
- Calories: 410kcal
- Cholesterol: 635mg
- Sodium: 660mg
The bowl contains Scrambled Eggs, Honey Balsamic Ancient Grains, Power Greens, Mozzarella Cheese, Roasted Tomatoes, Pesto, Cafe Seasoning. It can easily be made Keto-friendly by removing Honey Balsamic Ancient Grains.
Conclusion
These are some of the most satisfying keto-friendly dishes you can order at Corner Bakery Cafe.
This isn’t an exhaustive list because you can mix and match the ingredients and create your own variations. (How about some Tuna in a chicken salad?)
Follow the strategies shared in this article and enjoy delicious meals even on a low-carb diet. And no matter what you eat, always stay below your daily carb limit!
Happy Ketoing 🙂
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