Yes, you can enjoy smoothies while following a keto diet. Before getting into the reasons why, let’s go over what type of diet Keto is and what the Keto diet entails.
Keto Is a “Low Carb” Diet
The Smoothie Diet is not strictly low carb as it often contains quite a bit of dietary fiber. However, the ingredients for a smoothie can be adapted to a Keto diet.
Macronutrients and Micronutrients
First, let’s go over macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients are fats, carbohydrates, and protein. Micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes. Your body needs macronutrients in large amounts and micronutrients in small amounts.
Each macronutrient corresponds to a specific calorie amount per gram:
- Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram.
- Proteins have 4 calories per gram.
- Fats have 9 calories per gram.
The percentage or ratio of macronutrients to consume depends on your goal. If your goal is to lose weight, the ratio will be different than if the goal is to build muscle.
As a starting point, the federal dietary recommends a macronutrient ratio baseline as:
- 45% to 60% carbohydrates
- 20% to 35% fats
- Remainder from protein
The macronutrient baseline for losing weight is recommended as:
- 45% to 65% carbohydrates
- 20% to 35% fats
- 35% protein
This ratio is the generally accepted range for a healthy diet. You don’t want to cut anyone of the three out completely as your body needs a balance of all three to function properly. This brings up the question is it better to track calories or macronutrients, aka macros for short?
The answer: If you want to lose weight or reach certain nutrition goals, tracking calories is not your best bet. It’s better to track your macronutrients. There are benefits to tracking macros instead.
- You will have a more balanced diet by focusing your eating on a variety of nutrients that give your body energy and help your digestive system work.
- You can reach your health goals faster than just focusing on calories.
- It helps you know which types of food make you feel good or bad.
- You will know which foods improve your exercise performance.
- You will be able to determine which foods help you focus or make you drag.
- It will also help shift your current eating habits to a long-term pattern for a healthier lifestyle change.
This all circles back to the fact everyone has a different body. One person might do very well on a certain diet program while another may not.
Some people do well on a high-protein diet. Others may not and instead experience digestive discomfort from consuming so much protein.
On the Keto diet, it’s best to count net carbs instead of total carbs. You get net carbs by subtracting the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbs. There’s a reason to count net carbs on the Keto diet. The body does not digest fiber. Consequently, fiber is not absorbed by the small intestine and it does not provide the body with any energy. Thus, the calories from fiber do not count.
For a low-carb diet, some people will thrive, and others will not. Some people need more carbs to perform well and feel good.
To summarize, by counting macros, you will know whether you need to increase or decrease the amount of carbs, fats, or protein.
How Keto Works
Keto is a ketogenic diet. It was originally created to treat people with epilepsy, especially children. It was a good option for managing epilepsy until other medicines became available. Today the ketogenic diet is usually prescribed when other options and treatments do not work for the patient.
The ketogenic diet does not cure epilepsy, it just lowers the number of seizures. Children with refractory epilepsy are more likely to benefit from the diet than trying another anticonvulsant drug. Even though the diet is hard to follow, adolescents and adults with epilepsy may also benefit from the diet. Questions remain as to why this diet works for epilepsy.
Keto is a ketogenic diet and it is a different low-carb diet from Atkins and Paleo. Atkins and Paleo focus on protein for the body to burn fat. Keto is centered around and focuses on fat for the body to burn fat.
With the Keto diet, as much as 90% of daily calories come from fat. Keto uses macronutrient balances with 90% from fat, 6% from protein, and 4% carbs. The numbers can be adjusted; however, fat is always the highest and carbs are always the lowest.
How does the diet work?
How the diet works is instead of the body burning carbs for energy, it forces the body to burn fats for energy. The fat stored by your body is broken into two parts, fatty acids, and ketone bodies. The liver makes the ketone bodies which go into the blood. When the body has a lot of ketone bodies in the blood, it goes into a state called Ketosis. When your body is forced to burn fat for fuel, it is also forced into a metabolic state known as ketosis.
“Getting the liver to make ketone bodies is tricky:
- It requires that you deprive yourself of carbohydrates, fewer than 20 to 50 grams of carbs per day (keep in mind that a medium-sized banana has about 27 grams of carbs).
- It typically takes a few days to reach a state of ketosis.
- Eating too much protein can interfere with ketosis.”
The keto diet is very strict and nuanced. Your body can drop out of ketosis if you eat even a hint of too many carbs. It can take up to 8 hours or more for your body to return to ketosis.
There are a few variations on keto.
- Standard. This is a typical keto diet, where you keep your carbs under 10% of your diet.
- Cyclical. This is an on-and-off keto diet where you adhere to keto for five days a week and use carbs to refuel the other two days.
- Targeted. This keto version allows higher carbs when you work out and burn them immediately.
- High Protein. This is a keto diet with lower fat but higher protein than standard keto.
Most people are going to be sticking with a standard keto diet.
Now that you know basically how the Keto diet works, let’s explore how you can make Keto friendly smoothies.
Keto Friendly Smoothies
Even though you can drink smoothies on a Keto diet, you will need to be mindful of the ingredients you use to keep them low in carbohydrates and high in healthy fats. Here are some tips for making keto-friendly smoothies.
- Select Low-Carb Fruits: Berries such as (strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries) are excellent choices due to their lower sugar content. They can also add flavor and nutrients to your smoothies without significantly increasing the carb content. Also, explore other options like lemon or lime juice for flavor without adding too many carbs. Just be cautious with higher-carb fruits like bananas or mangos.
- Incorporate Healthy Fats: Adding sources of healthy fats to your smoothie not only enhances its creaminess but also helps keep you feeling full and satisfied longer. Good options include avocado, coconut milk or coconut oil, nut butter (e.g., almond butter, peanut butter), and MCT oil. Avocado is a particularly popular choice due to its creamy texture and high content of monounsaturated fats. Coconut milk or coconut oil provides medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are quickly converted into ketones by the liver and can serve as a readily available energy source for those on a keto diet.
- Use Unsweetened Dairy or Alternative Kinds of Milk: Unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, or hemp milk are great options for keto smoothies, as they are lower in carbs compared to dairy milk. Other options include macadamia milk, flax milk, soy milk, cashew milk, pea milk, or other plant-based milks. Just be sure that the milk is unsweetened as sweeteners usually add carbs. Also, avoid milk with a ton of lactose as lactose is a sugar carb. Surprisingly, heavy whipping cream works well.
- Use Veggie Juice: Options include celery, cucumber, and mixed greens. Even though they have a lot of fiber, which is a carb, it’s the carb that you don’t digest much of. Therefore, it’s still a low-carb option.
- Consider Superfood Add-Ons: Consider chia, flax and hemp seeds, coconut, spirulina, chlorella, matcha, and wheatgrass among others. These seeds and mix-ins are good low-carb options.
- Use Spices: Options include cinnamon, nutmeg, mint, and cocoa power (just the powder) are all low-carb flavorings that taste great in smoothies.
- Include Protein: Adding protein to your smoothie can help balance your macronutrient intake and keep you feeling satisfied. It also helps support muscle maintenance and repair, especially if you’re following a keto diet for weight loss or fitness goals. Look for low-carb protein powders that are specifically formulated for ketogenic diets, with minimal added sugars and carbohydrates. Greek yogurt and unsweetened silken tofu are also excellent sources of protein to add creaminess to your smoothie.
Do You Really Need to Add Protein Powder to a Smoothie?
No, you don’t. The right smoothie recipes are high enough in protein and fat on their own. Since keto burns fat, the fats you add should be enough. I’m not a fan of protein powders. They are expensive. Also, they are often packed with artificial sugars and flavors, plus other additives that you might not want to be drinking. Some of them also have caffeine in them which can leave you hungrier. Unless you are an individual who has calculated what your macronutrients are to determine whether or not you need more protein, I would not worry about adding protein.
- Limit Added Sweeteners: While it’s tempting to sweeten you smoothie, especially if you have a sweet tooth, keep in mind that many sweeteners can add hidden carbs. Select natural, low-carb sweeteners like stevia, erythritol, or monk fruit extract in moderation. These sweeteners provide sweetness without spiking blood sugar levels or kicking you out of ketosis.
- Watch Portion Sizes: While smoothies can be a convenient and nutritious option, it’s essential to be mindful of portion sizes, especially if you’re tracking your macronutrient intake on a keto diet. Measure your ingredients carefully, especially higher-calorie items like nuts, seeds, and nut butters, to ensure you’re staying within your desired calorie and carb limits. Even though smoothies can be nutritious, they can also be calorie dense. Thus, you need to be mindful of portion sizes, especially if you’re trying to lose weight on a keto diet.
What Smoothie Ingredients Are Not Keto Friendly?
Since the keto diet is low-carb, there are certain ingredients that you want to avoid.
These ingredients include:
- High-sugar fruits. Most fruits must be avoided on a keto diet as they are high in natural sugars. You want to avoid fruits such as apples, grapes, bananas, dates, peaches, mango, pineapple, and pear.
- Grains. Avoid grains and oats.
- Some veggies. Veggies that aren’t smoothie-friendly include potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots.
- Beans. If you are on a keto diet, you want to avoid beans.
- Low-fat dairy. The anti-keto milk is low-fat dairy, like skim milk, which lacks the fat you want and tends to be higher in sugar to compensate.
Here’s an example of a keto-friendly smoothie recipe:
- ½ cup frozen berries (e.g., strawberries, raspberries)
- ¼ avocado
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- Optional: 1 scoop of low-carb protein powder (vanilla or unflavored)
- Optional: 1 tablespoon chia seeds or flaxseeds for added fiber and omega-3 fatty acids
- Optional: A few drops of liquid stevia or a sprinkle of erythritol for sweetness (if desired)
Blend all ingredients until smooth and enjoy! Adjust the ingredients to fit your taste preferences and macronutrient goals.
Conclusion
By incorporating these tips into your keto smoothie recipes, you can enjoy delicious and satisfying beverages while staying on track with your ketogenic lifestyle. Feel free to experiment with different ingredients and flavor combinations to find the perfect keto-friendly smoothie for your taste buds!
If you’re on a keto diet and want to include smoothies in your routine, go here.