Following a specific eating plan always comes with a learning curve, and that’s especially true when it comes to the ketogenic diet. The high-fat, low-carb eating plan includes food lists that can be used as a guide (just like other types of diets), but there’s also some math involved.
“With keto, 70% of [your] calories [should come] from fat, 20% [should come] from protein, and 10% [should come] from carbohydrates,” says registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN. That means it’s not just about sticking to lists of approved foods but balancing the right ratios of fat, protein and carbs. Peanut butter, for example, contains all three, but some brands also are quite high in sugar, which keto devotees should only consume in moderation.
If you’re wondering how to eat peanut butter while on keto, the type of peanut butter you choose matters and so do the other foods you pair it with. Want to enjoy a PB smoothie without getting knocked out of ketosis? Here’s what to keep in mind, according to registered dietitians.
Peanut Butter Nutrition Facts
2 tbsp of natural peanut butter:
Protein: 8 gTotal fat: 16 g Carbohydrates: 7 g Fiber: 3 g Total sugar: 1 g Calcium: 20 g Iron: 1 g
Is Peanut Butter Keto-Friendly?
In general, registered dietitian Abigail Rapaport Fay, RDN, says that natural peanut butter is absolutely keto-friendly. This is because it follows the ratio of high fat, moderate protein and low carb (and low sugar). Molly Devine, RDN, a registered dietitian and the author of Essential Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet Cookbook, agrees, saying, “The majority of calories in natural peanut butter come from fat, it has no added sugar and all of the carbohydrates are from fiber and a small amount of naturally occurring sugar in the peanut itself.”
Blatner emphasizes that it’s a total myth that people following the ketogenic diet can’t have any carbohydrates, so even though peanut butter has 7 grams of carbs per serving, it’s still a keto-friendly food. “Keto doesn’t mean you can’t eat carbs, you just have to be mindful of your total carbs,” she says. So even though peanut butter is keto-friendly, it does matter what you pair it with.
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