How to snack on keto without blowing it and a bonus sugar-free peanut butter fudge recipe
As you probably know, sugar is the enemy of the keto diet. To some on the keto diet, it can be difficult to even find out how to snack throughout the day when you get hungry. Unfortunately, being hungry more often is a part of dieting, so what is the easiest and best way to take the edge off of your hunger when you need it, but still maintain your dietary progress and goals? We’ll look at best ways to snack on keto, and we’ve included a sugar-free keto peanut butter fudge recipe that is keto-friendly and is a great alternative to other sugary snacks that would ruin your diet.
Finding keto-friendly snacks can be the key to buying yourself some time before your next meal or large portion consumption. It’s great for those who are hungry while at work or during strange times of the day when you just need something to take the edge off and don’t want to eat an entire meal.
However, you should really only use these snacking tips when you absolutely need them. Think of them as a lifeline for when your hunger is negatively affecting your ability to think or produce or is damaging your mood. You can also try to avoid hunger by adding more fat to your meals instead of simply snacking more. This is where counting your macros can help you to positively adjust your keto plan to fit your schedule and your eating habits.
Here are some keto-friendly snack options:
Whole foods are a great way to take the edge off and enjoy a tasty treat. Whole foods are great time-saving options as well because they require little to no prep and are usually ready to eat. Some examples of great whole food snacks are cheese, avocados, olives, cold cuts and macadamia nuts which aid in increasing healthy fat and reducing carb intake. Keep in mind to avoid purchasing processed foods when buying items such as cold cuts, since non-processed fresh cut options will always be healthier for yourself as well as for the environment and maybe local businesses as well.
Vegetables and dip can be a great snack that is satisfying, not plain if combined with dip, and can give you sustenance to carry on throughout your day. Consider trying celery, cucumber, peppers, or carrots (although carrots are on the higher end in terms of carbs). Combine these great vegetable options with a low carb dip or cream cheese.
A little less keto-friendly than vegetables, but not completely off the table, are berries and cream. Berries must be consumed modestly, since eating too much could certainly knock you out of ketosis. The best berries for keto dieters are blackberries, raspberries, or strawberries. Dip these into heavy whipping cream. This option is a great way to satiate your sweet tooth and avoid those sugary desserts that will certainly knock you out of ketosis. Also, keep in mind not to add any sweetener or sugar to your fruit, since that nearly defeats the entire purpose of eating the fruit in the first place. Also, check out our recipe at the end of this article for another great dessert alternative to keep you on track and moving towards your goals.
Dark chocolate is surprisingly somewhat keto-friendly. The darker the chocolate the better, and make sure to keep it only to one or two squares. Even normal dark chocolate is too much for your keto guidelines, so go with something above 70% cocoa to ensure you’re staying within your boundaries. This shouldn’t be a regular thing, but it can work when the time calls for it and you simply need to get your hands on something sweet.
Other great treats that are quick and fall in line with your keto plan are pork rinds. Pork rinds amazingly have zero carbs and can provide you with a salty crunch that really hits the spot. With the keto boom, there are more pork rind varieties out there than ever before, so chances are you’ll find multiple different options to try, which helps you to not get sick of eating the same flavor for a long time. Beef jerky also works usually but beware of any jerky that is prepared with excess sugar. Always make sure you’re checking the nutritional information of what you’re eating, especially if it’s a flavored or prepared food like jerky. If you’re a hunter, consider making your own jerky for a great homemade snack.
Snacks to avoid on a ketogenic diet
Some common snacks that are deceivingly bad for keto participants are grapes, bananas, coffee with a lot of added milk and sugar, cashews, and juice. Drink your coffee black, avoid sugary sports drinks, and keep in mind that fruit can be dangerously high in carbs.
As stated before, just always double-check the nutritional info of what you’re eating if you have time. It’ll go a long way in preventing honest mistakes that you could’ve avoided. And at all costs avoid the things that you would expect to be bad and are in fact terrible, like donuts, chips, and candy (other than that high cocoa dark chocolate mentioned earlier).
Keto peanut butter fudge recipe
As promised, we have a great keto-friendly sugar free peanut butter fudge recipe that you’ll love and that will help to appease some of your cravings and get on with your day without being hangry or tempted by some real sugary foods. This recipe allows you to enjoy the richness of peanut butter fudge without the sugar that will derail your keto goals.
We are in strong agreement here that peanut butter and chocolate are the not only the best food combination ever, but they are definitely the two best flavors of fudge, so we’ve found a recipe from buttertogetherkitchen.com that perfectly combines these two amazing tastes into one perfect peanut butter fudge recipe. It’s also great because although you leave out the sugar, you don’t sacrifice the amazing texture that makes fudge to popular and irresistible in the first place. This recipe utilizes Lakanto’s Powdered monk fruit to achieve that famous fudge texture and make for a delicious sugar alternative that you’ll be satisfied and snacking on this fudge happily all week long.
For the chocolate part, the perfect complement to peanut butter out there, you’ll need to use sugar-free chocolate chips. The most keto-friendly options for chocolate chips, however, are Lily’s chocolate chips or Fat Fit Go’s Chocolate Chips. They offer the best option for anyone following the keto diet because they’re made with simple and clean ingredients, but they also taste incredible despite a healthier and more keto-friendly makeup.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup Lakanto powdered sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup Lily’s baking chips
Baking instructions:
- First, heat the heavy whipping cream and butter in a pot on the stove on medium-high heat.
- Next, whisk in Lakanto’s powdered monk fruit until consistently mixed in and bring the pot to a low boil.
- Stir continuously and add the vanilla extract. Keep cooking over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken and starts to turn light brown.
- Once the mixture has thickened, remove the pot from the heat source, and whisk in the peanut butter until the mixture is consistently smooth throughout.
- Transfer the mixture from the pot into a loaf pan or similar pan lined with parchment paper.
- Allow the mixture to cool a few minutes, then top with chocolate chips over the top of the fudge.
- Put the fudge into the freezer for one hour, then move it to the refrigerator for another 2 hours.
- Slice the fudge and serve. If you have leftovers, store any remaining leftovers in a sealed container in the freezer.
Final thoughts: Keto peanut butter fudge recipe
Hopefully, this article provided you with some great tips on snacking while maintaining ketosis and dropping that weight. It can be difficult to maintain ketosis, but learning more great tips like this can keep you on top of your game and the more you learn and the more you practice eating keto-friendly, the more you’ll find yourself in a groove and planning your meals and snacks better.
Don’t get discouraged by a slip-up, just learn from it and plan better next time. And take advantage of these great tips by filling your grocery cart with the items mentioned above, and don’t forget the ingredients to the fantastic peanut butter fudge recipe!