Easy Keto Substitutes for Your Favorite Foods

For those curious about following a low-carb diet, they may be surprised to learn that there are plenty of easy keto substitutes. From simple swaps for carbs to our favorite everyday products, here’s a list to make the low-carb transition as simple as possible. 

Disclaimer: the keto diet and substitutions are not for everyone, and if you are on a low-carb diet for medical reasons, you should consult your physician before making any drastic changes to your diet. 

Why Choose a Keto Diet?  

You’ve probably heard of keto, a low-carb, high-fat diet that helps to put the body in a state of ketosis.  When in ketosis, the body burns fat instead of carbohydrates. This helps to stabilize blood sugar spikes and also has benefits like improving insulin sensitivity for people with borderline type 2 diabetes as well as offering overall weight control for people living an active healthy lifestyle. 

People try a keto diet for a variety of reasons. For personal health changes to overall feelings of better hunger control, satiety, and energy. 

Easy Keto Substitutes

Building a pantry with quick and easy substitutions for a low-carb diet is as simple as some grocery shopping and having quick options readily on hand when cooking. Here are some popular substitute options.

Carbs

Instead of bread, pasta, and rice — the starchy fillers that often make up a portion of our plate at most meals — try cauliflower, egg wraps, almond flour low-carb products or zucchini noodles, sometimes called zoodles. 

Sweeteners

Skip the sugar and look for Stevia, erythritol, monk fruit sweetener and xylitol. You can use a blend of erythritol and monk fruit sweeteners for your baking needs, teas and coffees as a sweetener substitute. 

“There are many keto-friendly options to use in place of sugar. The best ones are monk fruit extract, stevia extract, erythritol and kabocha extract,” advises Lisa MarcAurele, blogger at LittleBitRecipes.com

Fruits 

Fruits, although delicious, can be high in natural sugars, and eating fruit could be the reason you’re not kicking your body into ketosis. Limit your intake to berries like strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. They are lower in carbs, for sure, but watch the portion control, so you don’t eat too many natural sugars.

Snacks

This one is hard for most people. Rather than snacking on potato chips, crackers and candies, pick substitutes like nuts and seeds. Another option? Meat sticks. Keep some in the car on long drives to help you avoid temptation at gas stations.

Must have low-carb pantry items

These are the items you can keep on hand for the keto substitutes and recipes:

• Pork Panko – A quick and easy swap for anything that uses traditional Panko. The best part is there’s no notable flavor of pork at all. 
• Avocados – Avocados are one of the easiests ways to sneak healthy fats into a variety of meals. Eat them sliced, mixed them into a homemade wedge salad or mashed into guacamole.
• Eggs – You’ll go through an abundance of eggs because they are the perfect way to start the day with dishes like easy keto scrambled eggs. 
• Fresh condiments – Like homemade chimichurri or spicy Zhoug sauce to enliven dishes
• Lean proteins – Like pork, beef, and poultry.
• Primal Kitchen Cashew Buffalo Sauce – For the best air fryer chicken wings. 
• Avocado Mayo – This is the base to many quick herb sauces and homemade dressings. 
• Xanthan Gum – “Traditional thickeners are loaded with carbs, but a little bit of xanthan gum goes a long way!“ suggests Jenn Allen, owner of  KetoCookingWins.com.
• Dark chocolate – But watch the carbs! Look for 70% cocoa chocolate, and just like with berries, limit your intake. A small piece of dark chocolate is the perfect dessert. 

Final thoughts

Not all products labeled keto will fit your keto diet. Take the time to read the labels when shopping and familiarize yourself with what you want to keep in stock. Whether you’re just looking at net carbs or reading the ingredients list, over time, you’ll start to collect a list of brands you know and trust. Then, once you’ve started to stock your pantry with easy keto substitute recipes, meals will be faster without sacrificing flavor. 

Portions of this article originally appeared on Food Drink Life.