Are Raisins Keto Friendly? Grams of carbs and whether you can include raisins or sultanas in a low carb ketogenic diet and a list of other healthy options to choose from.
Are Raisins Keto Friendly?
In this post I’ll cover are raisins keto friendly, their carb content and options for alternatives to high carb foods such as raisins or sultanas.
If you’re following a low-carbohydrate diet like the ketogenic diet, then you’ll probably want to be keeping your daily net carb intake to 15g to 30g in total, depending on your own personal goals. (Such as weight loss or to address a health concern.)
So, it’s important to keep that in mind when assessing whether a food is or isn’t keto friendly.
How Many Carbs In Raisins?
A 100g portion of raisins have a whopping 79 grams of carbohydrates while a small portion or one of those tiny boxes of about 1/2 an ounce or 14g serving size of raisins has the following nutritional value:
- Calories – 42
- Fat – 0g
- Total Carbohydrates – 11g
- Grams of fiber – 0.6g
- Grams of net carbohydrates – 10.4
- Sugars – 9.1g
- Protein – 0.5g
So, the 14 grams of raisins or 0.5 ounce handful of raisins has 10.4 grams of net carbs. (Net carbs is calculated by subtracting dietary fiber from total carbs)
Can You Have Raisins On Keto?
So, now that you know the carb content and how much sugar in raisins, the question of whether you can actually have raisins on keto diet plans leans more towards no than yes due to the high sugar and high carb counts.
While the sugars in raisins are natural sugars, they are still significantly high in its number of carbohydrates for such a small, bite sized food making your blood sugar levels harder to manage, regardless of portion size.
The only way I could see you including raisins or sultanas in your daily strict keto diet would be in very small amounts, probably a half to a quarter of the portion outlined above.
When I’m following keto strictly I tend to avoid raisins due to the high grams of total carbs, as I find it’s not the best choice for how to allocate my regular carbohydrate allowance.
You may also discover that raisins often contain a number of food additives and not so keto friendly artificial vegetable oils that are not a great choice to be included in a healthy diet.
Better Options
Here are some ideas for keto-friendly alternatives that provide better options that you can enjoy in greater quantities.
If you’re wanting to snack on a hand full of raisins of sultanas, here are some ideas for keto-friendly foods that require no prep that you can grab for instead:
Nuts – almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecan nuts, peanut butter or any other nut is low in carbs and high in fiber and healthy fats.
Seeds – pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or chia seeds provide a good source of high fat content perfect for a low carb diet.
Chocolate – satisfy your sweet tooth with a row of 90% Lindt or hand full of sugar free chocolate chips that include artificial sweeteners, as a chocolate alternative to an otherwise high carb content treat.
Celery – for a quick crunchy snack, opt for a stick of celery.
Cucumber – a refreshing, virtually no carb snack idea.
Avocado – for a creamy, low carb, high fat and high fiber snack.
Keto Friendly Fruit Options
While raisins have a high carb count, you’ll find that fresh, frozen or even dried fruit such as strawberries, raspberries or blueberries, that happen to be rich in vitamin C and provide various health benefits, are permitted on a low-carb diet.
Plus without eating too much low-carb fruit, berries will help keep your carbohydrate intake to an acceptable daily limit to keep you in a state of ketosis. Perfect for the ketogenic approach to eating. (Just avoid processed fruit juice which are much too high in grams of sugar and will likely blow out your daily carb limit.)
You can enjoy a small portion to snack on or incorporate berries into a smoothie or keto dessert. (Like the above pictured low carb strawberry mousse.)
More Keto Diet Inspiration
Lazy Keto Recipes for Breakfast
Disclaimer – this post is meant for informational post only and should not be construed as medical advice. Please consult with your health professional before making any dietary changes.
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