Low-carb diets, such as the ketogenic diet, can initially feel restrictive. However, with versatile, keto-friendly foods like heavy cream, you can expand your culinary horizons and create a variety of satisfying meals. Heavy cream is packed with energizing fats and can be incorporated into breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.
What is Heavy Cream?
Heavy cream, also known as heavy whipping cream, contains between 36% and 40% milkfat. Its higher fat content compared to whole milk makes it a valuable ingredient in the kitchen. The extra fat allows it to be heated to higher temperatures without curdling and whipped easily into toppings. Its high-fat, low-carb composition makes it ideal for those following a keto diet.
On average, one tablespoon of heavy cream contains 51 calories. Since it is primarily made up of fat, it provides the health benefits associated with dietary fat. Fat aids in the digestion of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K.
The Keto Diet and Ketosis
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that shifts the body's metabolism away from carbs and toward fat. The goal is to induce a state of ketosis, where the body burns fat for fuel instead of glucose, which we get from carbs and sugar. This can potentially lead to weight loss and improved metabolic efficiency. The idea behind keto is that after adapting to eating a low-carb diet, your body turns into a 24/7 fat-burning machine. Without glucose, your body gets used to burning fat, and weight loss comes easier and faster.
In ketosis, the body produces ketones, natural chemicals made in the liver, which convert fat into energy. This process replaces glucose as the primary fuel source. Low-carb/high-fat diets like the ketogenic diet have been shown to support weight loss, minimize/prevent sugar crashes, and reverse or reduce the effects of diseases like diabetes.
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Keto diets tend to consist of 70 to 80 percent fat, 10 to 20 percent protein, and 5 to 10 percent carbohydrates, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Ways to Use Heavy Cream on Keto
Heavy cream's versatility makes it a staple for keto dieters. Here are some options for incorporating it into your diet:
Coffee and Tea: Adding heavy cream to your morning coffee or tea is a popular way to increase energy intake while maintaining a fat-burning state. Coffee contains caffeine, which has a natural metabolism-boosting effect, causing the body to burn more calories. Coffee and tea are low-calorie beverages with only trace amounts of macronutrients, making them keto-friendly.
Keto Desserts and Baked Goods: Heavy cream can be used to create delicious, low-carb, high-fat desserts and baked goods.
Dinner Entrees and Side Dishes: Heavy cream works well in keto-friendly dinner entrees and side dishes, adding a creamy, decadent texture.
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Keto Smoothies and Meal Replacement Shakes: Heavy whipping cream provides a creamy texture to keto smoothies and keto meal replacement shakes, making them more satisfying and filling.
Heavy Cream in "Fat Coffee"
Combining fat sources like heavy cream, butter, or MCT oil with caffeine can expedite weight loss and help you reach your health goals faster. People who drink boosted coffee in the morning boast sustained energy, increased alertness, and fewer hunger cravings. Some replace breakfast with "fat coffee" to lose weight, reap the performance benefits, or both.
Dairy on Keto: What to Consider
When following a keto diet, it's important to be cautious about dairy. Many dairy products are high in fat, which is desirable, but can also contain too many carbs from naturally occurring sugars, known as lactose. Some products also have too much added sugar. However, dairy can be incorporated into a keto diet, as long as foods are low enough in carbs to promote ketosis. For your body to enter ketosis, your carb intake should not exceed 10% of your daily calories.
Dairy products you can enjoy as part of the keto diet:
Butter: With about 11 grams of fat per tablespoon and zero carbs, butter is an ideal source of fat on the keto diet. Butter is also a rich source of several fat-soluble vitamins - great news for followers of a high-fat, low carb diet like keto. The most abundant vitamin found in butter is vitamin A. One tablespoon provides about 11% of your daily needs. Followed closely by vitamins D, E, B12 and K2
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Ghee: Also known as clarified butter, ghee is free of the milk protein casein and the milk sugar lactose, making it ideal for those who are extra cautious about their lactose intake or who are sensitive to it.
Plain Greek Yogurt: If you love yogurt, plain Greek yogurt is your best option for enjoying this breakfast staple while following a keto diet. It’s lower in carbs compared to other yogurts because more of the liquid whey is strained out, which contains lactose. Greek yogurt is a great source of protein and fat with minimal carbs. Even better, Greek yogurt is a fermented dairy product and can also keep your gut happy with loads of probiotics
Heavy Cream or Heavy Whipping Cream: Made from pure milkfat, heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are high in fat and low in carbs - the keto dessert-lover’s dream! An important note: This product is very high in calories, so indulge mindfully!
Sour Cream: Perfect for use in dips, dressings or as a thickener, full-fat sour cream fits into the keto diet as it contains about 19 grams of fat and 4.6 grams of carbs per 100-gram serving
Most Cheeses: Dairy lovers ask the same questions when considering a ketogenic approach: Is cheese keto or are there carbs in cheese? Never fear, many cheese varieties are ideal keto foods due to high fat, moderate protein and low carb content. Mozzarella, Gouda, brie, Muenster cheese, Monterey Jack, mascarpone cheese, provolone, cheddar, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and ricotta are all considered keto-friendly.
Sour Cream on Keto: A Closer Look
Sour cream is made by fermenting cream with lactic acid bacteria, which coagulates the protein in the cream. The process thickens the cream and gives it its sour flavor. Some sour cream products might contain nonfat milk solids and stabilizers.
Full-fat sour cream is the best option for a keto diet because the less fat it has, the more carbohydrates it tends to contain, and low-fat sour cream is not as keto-friendly as fuller-fat versions. Light sour cream also often contains emulsifiers to make it creamy without the fat, and there’s evidence showing that some emulsifiers can have a negative impact on the gut microbiome.
If you’re skipping dairy, some plant-based sour cream items work on a keto diet. Look for ones made from coconut oil, which is higher in fat and especially keto-friendly. Coconut and palm oil (and full-fat dairy) naturally contain medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oils. MCTs are absorbed differently than other fats, in that they go directly to the liver, where they’re converted into ketones. (Other fats are absorbed through the intestines.)
There are lots of ways to incorporate sour cream into a keto diet, Dr. Cederquist says. “It can be used as a thickener in soups, a healthy dip for veggies, a marinade or sauce for chicken, or as a base for dressings like avocado crema or keto ranch,” she notes. “You could also blend it into steamed cauliflower for a low-carb alternative to mashed potatoes, as well as bake it into low-carb doughs like sour cream biscuits.” Using sour cream in baking can make keto bread and other baked goods moister and fluffier, and adds a tangy flavor.
Other Keto-Friendly Foods
Here are 20 healthy foods to eat on the keto diet:
- Seafood
- Meat and poultry
- Eggs
- Cheese
- Plain Greek yogurt and cottage cheese
- Cream and half-and-half
- Unsweetened plant-based milk
- Green leafy vegetables
- Peppers
- Summer squash
- High fat veggies
- Other nonstarchy vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Berries
- Shirataki noodles
- Dark chocolate and cocoa powder
- Olive oil
- Butter and ghee
- Unsweetened coffee and tea
- Unsweetened sparkling water
Potential Drawbacks of the Keto Diet
While the keto diet offers potential benefits, it's essential to be aware of potential drawbacks.
- Nutrient Deficiencies: The keto diet is very low in carbs which means you can't eat many fruits and vegetables.
- Possible Negative Effects on Heart Health: There are mixed results in studies that examine the specific effects of the keto diet on heart health. This is likely because much of it depends on individual food choices.
- Constipation and Other Gastrointestinal (GI) Troubles: Constipation is likely the greatest long-term complication of the keto diet because of a low fiber intake.
- Bone Health Issues: There can be issues with bone health when people switch to low-carb keto diets. Researchers see that markers for bone breakdown are higher and markers for bone building are lower.
- Keto Flu: When people start the keto diet, they go through the keto flu. Keto flu symptoms appear a few days after starting the diet. This eventually goes away once your body adjusts to your eating changes.