How to Choose Healthy Keto Snacks — 5 Key Tips (and More)
Keto Snacking
Snacking is a key part of every diet, including keto. How else could you sate that mid-afternoon hunger? So enjoy your delicious snacks—just make sure you're actually choosing healthy keto snacks. After all, since keto has become such a popular label, not every ketogenic snack you find in your favorite grocery store is actually good for you. In fact, some could even flush your metabolic efforts down the drain.
So how do you take charge of your shopping and get ketosis-boosting foods into your grocery cart? Easy, with these must-read tips on how to pick healthy keto snacks (and more).
5 Tips for Choosing Healthy Keto Snacks
Grocery stores now stock dozens of keto-friendly snack options. The good news is that people doing keto no longer have to source all their snacks at home. But the bad news is that you must now pay even more attention to what you're buying. It's all too easy to be fooled by a seemingly harmless "keto" snack that turns out to pack way more added sugars than you should be having. Let these 5 tips guide you as you shop.
1. Read the Nutrition Labels
2. Check Ingredient Lists
3. Limit Ultra-Processed Keto Snacks
4. Consider Snacking on Organic
5. Choose Free-Range and Grass-Fed
Popular Healthy Keto Snacks
Now that you've learned key tips on how to choose healthy keto snacks, you can shop by yourself with confidence. Head to the snack aisle to pick and choose what looks good. But if you're feeling stuck, these are just some of the store-bought snacks that will keep you in a fat-burning metabolic state:
- Beef jerky strips: Opt for low-sodium grass-fed options, if they're available.
- Egg white "chips": This snack has egg whites as its main ingredient and keeps added sugars to a minimum. Bonus points if the eggs are free-range.
- Seasoned seaweed "chips": The best options are the ones made with just seaweed sheets, sesame oil, and sea salt.
- Whole-fat string cheese: A classic childhood snack that belongs in healthy keto diets, especially if it's organic.
- Individually packaged pickles: Choose pickles that have no added sugars.
- Nut butter pouches: Sold in to-go pouches, nut butter is an awesome keto snack, but check that it doesn't have any added sugars.
- No-sugar protein bars: Not all bars are sugar-free, so make sure to read the ingredient and nutrition labels before purchasing.
- Keto chocolate bars: While not made from just chocolate, these bars can satisfy a sweet craving without packing significant amounts of sugar.
- Washed berry cups: Sold in individual to-go trays, berries (such as blackberries and raspberries) make for a sweet keto-friendly snack.
- Coated almonds: You'll find almonds coated in yogurt, nut butter, chocolate, and more. Opt for products with no added sugars and a clear and short ingredient list.
9 Ready-in-Minutes Homemade Keto Snacks
If you'd prefer to make your snacks at home, these are some wholesome options to consider:
- Hard-boiled eggs: Batch-boil free-range eggs at home and pack them in small to-go containers whole.
- Avocado mash: Eat it on its own (seasoned with lemon juice), with keto-friendly veggies like cauliflower and zucchini, or with keto crackers.
- Nut mix tray: Roast macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, pecans, and walnuts in the oven and portion the mixture into to-go bags or containers.
- Celery and tahini: Cut-up celery sticks go surprisingly well with tahini, a paste made with one simple keto-friendly ingredient: sesame seeds.
- Cream cheese bell pepper wedges: Spread whole-fat cream cheese on cut-up bell pepper wedges and keep this snack in the fridge throughout the week.
- Keto energy balls: Blend almonds, shredded coconut, flaxseed, and peanut butter. Then shape the dough into balls and refrigerate this high-fat, low-carb snack.
- Dark chocolate nut butter cups: For a treat, melt the dark chocolate and pour it into a small cupcake mold. Once it solidifies, fill it with your favorite nut butter and cover it with more melted chocolate.
- Seasoned zucchini chips: Sprinkle herbs, salt, and pepper over zucchini slices and dehydrate them at a low temperature in the oven. Alternatively, you could bake them in an air-fryer.
- Keto crackers: Blend almond flour and shredded cheddar, roll out the dough, and cut it into squares. Bake until crispy and enjoy with keto dips and sauces.
