Since these ingredients come from carbohydrates, they can slightly increase the carbohydrate content of low-fat sour cream and significantly increase the content of low-fat sour cream.
Full-fat sour cream is keto-friendly and can be used in recipes when you're looking for a refreshing taste and creamy texture. Since it does contain some carbs, be sure to count them and limit your serving size if necessary.
Sour Cream Carbs and Keto Diet
When it comes to keto food options, fat is what you need. Keto is short for the keto diet, which is a high-fat, low-carb diet that forces your body to use fat for energy instead of glucose.The most important rule of the keto diet is to keep carbs very low and choose high-fat foods instead.
You may be wondering if sour cream is ketogenic or contains as many carbohydrates as other dairy products.
This article discusses the composition of sour cream and whether or not it should be included in a ketogenic diet.
As the name suggests, sour cream is made from cream that has been sieved through an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar, or more commonly, lactic acid bacteria. When bacteria grow in the cream, it thickens its texture and gives it a tangy, yoghurt-like flavor.
Regular sour cream is made from cream that contains at least 18% of milk fat.
However, you can also buy low-fat sour cream. Contains at least 25% less fat than the original, full-fat version. Fat-free sour cream with no more than 0.5 grams of fat per 1/4 cup (50 grams) is also an option.
If you are considering using sour cream on a ketogenic diet, it is important to read the labels, as the carbohydrate content increases as the fat content decreases.
Here is the nutritional information for a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of each type of sour cream:
Regular full fat sour cream
- Calories: 198
- Fat: 19 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Carbs: 5 g
Low fat sour cream
- Calories: 181
- Fat: 14 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Carbs: 7 g
Non fat sour cream
- Calories: 74
- Fat: 0 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Carbs: 16 g
Ordinary sour cream is made from heavy cream. As such, it is high in fat and low in carbohydrates. However, fat-free sour cream is fat-free and contains ingredients that slightly increase the carbohydrate content.
Carbs to Get You Into Ketosis
The keto diet can offer health benefits like weight loss and better metabolic health. In order to follow this, you need to keep your carbohydrate intake very low. While full-fat sour cream can work on a ketogenic diet, fat-free sour cream is likely high in carbohydrates.In order to get into and stay in ketosis, it is important to meet your carb and fat goals, which depend on your personal calorie needs. For example, if you're eating a 2,000-calorie diet, your goal would be 25 grams of carbohydrates, 178 grams of fat, and 75 grams of protein per day.
The keto diet has been around for at least a century to reduce seizure activity in children with epilepsy. However, it has become popular because it can aid in weight loss and improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels in people with metabolic disorders.
A study of 307 people found that another side effect of the diet is that it may help reduce carbohydrate cravings compared to low-fat diets.
It works by putting your body in ketosis, which means it burns ketones, a byproduct of fat, instead of glucose for energy.
To make this switch, only about 5% of total calories should come from carbohydrates, while up to 80% of calories should come from fat. Protein makes up the remaining calories in your diet.
When planning meals, this means avoiding fruits, grains, starchy vegetables and dairy products such as yogurt because they are high in carbohydrates.
For example, a medium-sized piece of fruit, 1/2 cup (117 grams) of cooked oatmeal, or 6 ounces (170 grams) of yogurt provide about 15 grams of carbohydrates.
On the other hand, fats like butter and oil are promoted. They have no or very little carbs and are mostly fatty.
Regular full-fat sour cream is nutritionally closer to a serving of fat than a carbohydrate-based diet, and therefore ketogenic.
However, choosing fat-free sour cream will give you the same amount of carbs you get from eating a serving of fruit, which is likely too high for a ketogenic diet.
How Do I Use Sour Cream in Keto Diet?
Full-fat sour cream is made with heavy cream and contains much more fat than carbohydrates. Therefore, it is considered keto-friendly. However, low-fat or fat-free sour cream is not.Full-fat sour cream can add some variety to a ketogenic diet when used as a base for sauces or incorporated into recipes to increase the fat content.
Since it does contain some carbs, you should factor this into your daily carb budget.
Full-fat sour cream can be incorporated into keto recipes in a number of ways.
It's a creamy and delicious base for dipping. As a vegetable dip, combine it with herbs or spices like curry powder.
To make low-carb pancakes with sour cream, mix the following ingredients together in a mixture:
- 2/3 cup (70 grams) of almond flour
- 4 tablespoons (60 grams) of full fat sour cream
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of maple extract
- 2 eggs
Put the pancakes of the desired size in a hot and oiled frying pan until golden brown on both sides.
Sour cream also makes a delicious creamy sauce for fried chicken and helps increase the fat content of a low-fat protein dish.
For the sauce, fry a few tablespoons of chopped onion and a clove of garlic in a skillet with a little olive oil. Add about 4 tablespoons (60 grams) of full-fat sour cream and enough chicken broth to reduce the sauce.
If you are making a sour cream sauce, do not let it come to a full boil or the sour cream will separate.
Since sour cream does contain some carbohydrates, be sure to include it in your daily carb budget.
You might need to limit your intake of sour cream depending on how you want to use your allotted amount of carbohydrates.
