Hominy, a staple in many traditional dishes, especially in Mexican cuisine, has a unique taste and texture that many enjoy. But for those following a ketogenic diet, the question arises: Is hominy keto-friendly? This article delves into the carbohydrate content of hominy, its nutritional profile, and potential low-carb alternatives, providing a comprehensive guide for anyone seeking to incorporate this ingredient into a keto lifestyle.
What is Hominy?
Hominy, with its golden-yellow glow, imparts a distinctive taste and texture to various dishes. Traditional Mexican soup and stew recipes often feature it as the main ingredient. For the uninitiated, hominy is made from dried corn kernels that have undergone the nixtamalization process. The process involves soaking and cooking the corn in an alkaline solution, traditionally lime or lye. This process not only changes the texture and flavor of the corn but also increases its nutritional value by making certain nutrients more bioavailable.
Hominy's Nutritional Profile
Hominy is a good source of dietary fiber and provides a moderate amount of potassium, with a 1-cup serving usually containing about 125 milligrams of potassium. The daily recommended intake of potassium for adults is 4,700 milligrams. It's also gluten-free, making it suitable for individuals with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that carbohydrates make up 45% to 65% of your daily calories.
The Keto Diet and Carbohydrates
The ketogenic diet primarily restricts carbohydrates, encouraging the body to enter a state of ketosis where it burns fat for fuel instead of glucose. To achieve and maintain ketosis, it is important to limit your net carb consumption to 20g - 30g per day. You can calculate your ideal daily net carb allowance by using this keto macros calculator. The ideal macronutrient ratio for keto is 70% fat, 20-25% protein, and 5-10% carbs. This means the majority of your foods should be both low in carbs and high in fats. Avocado, salmon, and ghee are great examples of foods that are both low in carbs and high in fat.
Why Hominy Isn't Keto-Friendly
Generally, white hominy is not considered keto-friendly. White hominy is relatively high in carbohydrates. One cup of hominy contains approximately 24 grams of carbohydrates. Hominy is not keto-friendly because it is high in carbs. It may kick you out of ketosis even with a small serving size. Hominy should be avoided on keto because it is very high in net carbs (11.8g of net carbs per 100g serving). Hominy is both high in carbs and low in fats, which are the exact opposite of the macros required on a keto diet.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Hominy Varieties and Processing
Hominy comes in different varieties - yellow hominy, white hominy, and less commonly, blue hominy. Each variety brings a slightly different flavor and nutritional profile to the table. White hominy and yellow hominy are the most common varieties available in grocery stores. These can typically be found canned and are ready to use right out of the can. However, you can also find dried hominy, which requires a longer cooking time. Hominy is minimally processed but not a good fit for keto because it is high in carbs. It is important to check both macros and ingredients of your foods to achieve a healthy weight loss on keto. Here are the common ingredients to be checked for keto - sweeteners, oils, and food additives.
Low-Carb Alternatives to Hominy
When thinking of low carb alternatives to hominy, we want ingredients that can mimic the unique texture and taste of hominy while still aligning with low-carb or ketogenic diets. You can easily modify a traditional Mexican stew, such as menudo or pozole, to be more keto-friendly by substituting hominy with low-carb alternatives. Ingredients such as cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles can provide a similar texture to hominy without the high carb count.
Here are some alternatives:
- Cauliflower Rice: With only 3 grams of net carbs per 100g serving, cauliflower rice is a great low-carb substitute for hominy. Cauliflower basically substitutes for any higher carb item in so many recipes these days. It's so easy to make into rice it at home too, even if you don't have a food processor. The very easiest way is to buy it frozen and it's great to have in the freezer so you have a keto-friendly substitute any time you need it. To make the texture of this keto pozole more like the real thing, you could cut your cauliflower into larger pieces.
- Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas): While not as low-carb as cauliflower, chickpeas contain 28g net carbs per 100g serving.
- Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles): Another wonderful hominy substitute, especially in soups and stews, is zucchini noodles.
- Spaghetti Squash: This is a more substantial option, with 7g net carbs per 100g serving.
Keto Pozole Recipe
This recipe is an entry for the Kevin’s Natural Foods recipe challenge. The contest requested clean keto, paleo, dairy-free and gluten-free recipes. For this recipe, I decided to use taco sauce in a less traditional way. Keto pozole is what came out of my kitchen! I paired this recipe with a Dry Farm Wines light, Austrian red. Be sure to check out my review of Dry Farm Wines. My other entries for this contest are Pistachio Encrusted Cod with Thai Coconut Sauce and Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice with Carne Asada. Both turned out amazing as well! Traditional pozole calls for pork but I wanted to use chicken thighs for a slightly lighter flavor. If you can't find Kevin’s Classic Taco sauce, just substitute the same amount of your favorite salsa. However, finding the sauce for this keto pozole really isn’t difficult. It's also fairly traditional for pozole to be spicy. I love hot foods, so this was a no brainer for me. If you prefer to walk on the mild side, leave out the chipotle in adobo and make sure you taste the sauce first. The contest called for dairy-free recipes.
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Onions
- Garlic
- Chicken thighs
- Chicken broth
- Kevin's sauce or your favorite salsa
- Cloves
- Cumin
- Bay leaf
- Chiles
- Chipotle
- Cauliflower
- Cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a soup pan.
- Add onions and garlic, stir to combine.
- Add chicken thighs and cook until starting to brown on both sides.
- Remove the chicken and chop into large, bite sized pieces and return to pan.
- Add chicken broth, Kevin's sauce, cloves, cumin, bay leaf, chiles and chipotle to pan and stir.
- Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes for flavors to combine.
- Add cauliflower and three tablespoons of cilantro and cook for 10 more minutes.
- Taste the soup and add salt and pepper if needed.
Other Considerations
White hominy is not considered low in FODMAPs. FODMAPs are a group of carbohydrates that can cause digestive discomfort in some people, and corn in general is moderate to high in FODMAPs. No, hominy is not considered paleo-friendly. The paleo diet excludes grains and all forms of processed corn, including hominy. Yes, hominy is vegan. It is made from corn, which is a plant-based food.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Storing Hominy
If you've cooked more hominy than needed, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge and it should stay good for the next day or two. Storing your leftovers is super easy! Simply store them in an air-tight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can decide what is best for you, but the avocado will be a bit tricky. You won’t be able to leave it as part of your leftovers because it will turn brown and mushy very quickly.
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