What to Drink on Keto with New Zealand's leading online provider of low carb and keto friendly products, Lowcarb Online.

When choosing a new diet to try out, most people focus on food and forget about its dearest companion: drinks! While you may need to make many changes to your daily eating habits, when it comes to drinking, the best advice is to simply stay away from unhealthy choices. Naturally, sweet soft drinks and milkshakes aren’t a good option when you’re trying to stay away from carbs and sugar, while tea, coffee and certain wines can offer you a much better trade, in terms of both carb count and health. Here at Lowcarb Online we have put together this guide to go over some of the most popular keto-friendly drink choices! Don’t worry, soda lovers, there’s a solution for you as well.

Water in all shapes and forms

The drink you should always turn to first, on keto and off, is the drink of life: water. With its many variations, it can come in handy when you’re fasting, or even if you’re not. You should drink water whenever you’re thirsty, as you’ll be losing more water & electrolytes while following this lifestyle. At least two litres is recommended in order to feel hydrated, but feel free to drink as much pure water as you like. Carbonated, sparkling water, seltzer water, club soda and soda water are also keto-friendly, so you can enjoy these drinks as well.

Water + flavor = OK on Keto!

Additionally, you may want to add certain flavors to your water, in case you want to try something new or just for the sake of variety. The best natural addition is lemon, filled with vitamin C. Water with lemon contains n0 carbs and is a perfect choice for everybody on a low-carb diet. If you would like to try some more exotic flavors, you can turn to electrolyte water such as Nuun or Propel, or water enhancers such as MiO, Dasani, Crystal Light, and Stur. Even though artificial flavor enhancers all contain some sweeteners, you can still use them in moderation on your keto diet.

Are you a coffee-lover or a tea enthusiast?

Our mornings just wouldn’t be the same without our favorite drinks. Even on keto, you can enjoy your usual routine, with some small adjustments. Whether you’re going for tea or coffee, you should avoid adding any sugar in its base form: some artificial sweeteners may still be okay, but you might find that our new ideas may work better for you than artificial sweeteners would!

Make your own Keto-friendly drink

If you are opting for coffee, there are a few ways to go: if you like the original black coffee, you’re in luck, as black coffee contains no carbs! However, adding some heavy cream or unsweetened nut milks, such as almond milk, is also okay on keto. There’s also a special kind of coffee that’s extremely popular within the low-carb community – it’s called “bulletproof” coffee, and the equation is simple: black coffee + unsalted butter and/or MCT oil = perfect bulletproof keto coffee. Instead of coffee, you can also go with cocoa powder and create your own bulletproof drink with chocolate flavor.

Green, black, rooibos, white, oolong, matcha, and most herbal teas are a great choice if you prefer tea to coffee. Tea works as an antioxidant and will be greatly beneficial. Just make sure you don’t add any sugar out of habit!

Looking for something more colorful? Try Keto Veggie Smoothies

Smoothies rose in popularity with food processors becoming more affordable, so if you have one at home, you can put it to good use and make some keto-friendly smoothies. If you’re a veggie fan, and you should be, as vegetables are very nutritional and full of fiber, you can start your smoothie off with some spinach and add other products to your liking. Experiment with avocado, all kinds of nuts (while keeping track of their carb value), chia and flax seeds, protein and cocoa powder, MCT oil, and stay away from sugar and high-carb ingredients.

Would you prefer a Keto Fruit Smoothie? Coming right up!

You can also try making a fruit smoothie, but make sure that the fruit portions that go into the smoothie aren’t taking you out of ketosis. Raspberries and strawberries, both reaching to 5-6 net carbs per 100g is a good option, while blueberries, that can reach 12 per 100g, are better avoided in most of your smoothies. Nut flavors go great with berry smoothies, and they’ll also increase its nutritional value, as nuts are packed with healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

You don’t have to give up alcohol, but pick your liquor wisely

Drinking a little on keto should not be a problem, as there are many low-carb options that are keto-friendly. If you enjoy alcohol, such as whisky, tequila, rum, gin and vodka they are naturally carb-free, and you can drink them as they are or mixed with some sparkling or sugar-free tonic water. Some wines are also available to you: choose dry to very dry red and white wines, such as Bordeaux, Chianti, Montepulciano, Burgundy, Cabernet, and Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. Pay attention to the amount of alcohol you consume, as too much liquor can create nutritional deficiencies and stop your weight loss. Be aware that all alcohol has calories, example a shot of Vodka has approximately 65 calories.

Can’t enjoy movies without soda? Cheat the system with diet soda, sometimes

The most common questions, when it comes to drinks on keto, all have something to do with the most popular drink of the last century: sodas. Unfortunately, we have to admit that sodas aren’t great for keto, as they contain huge amounts of sugar and, therefore, carbohydrates that are avoided on any keto diet. However, it is okay to drink certain sugar-free sodas from time to time, but that should be done with utmost care. The reason is that all the sodas marketed as diet-friendly, are actually filled with bad artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame K, that will keep you craving sugar, and could perhaps impact your resolution to stay on a sugar-free diet.

Look on the bright side: Benefits of Keto Drink Extras

Just because you can’t add sugar to your drinks doesn’t mean they’ll lose their flavor. On the contrary, this will help you experience the true taste of certain ingredients you’ve never focused on before, such as pure cacao or yogurt. In addition, they also have a plethora of health benefits that you can enjoy if you decide to include them in your drinks. The aforementioned cocoa powder helps reduce high blood pressure and is very beneficial for the heart, while also positively impacting brain function and insulin sensitivity.

Avocado and yoghurt bring healthy fats, as well as flavor

Avocado also carries high amounts of potassium, magnesium and dietary fiber, while yogurt adds calcium to bones and essential live bacteria to the gut. It also increases the good cholesterol levels, HDL. The MCT oil that you add to your morning drink will boost your energy levels, improve your performance and mental clarity and help you to get fat-adapted (keto-adapted) faster. Chia seeds in your smoothies are a great source of micro-nutrients, antioxidants and dietary fiber… There are many great ingredients that you can add to your drinks and to your low-carb diet overall. Search around and find out if your favorite ingredients are also keto-friendly.

And just in case you haven’t seen your favorite drink on the list…

Don’t be sad, because there are always ways to overcome obstacles on keto. You like chocolate drinks? Get some cocoa powder and enjoy your favorite treat. Can’t continue without sugar? There are many artificial sweeteners you can use instead. Eating low carb isn’t so hard when there are so many carb replacements available. Here at lowcarbonline.co.nz, you can get all kinds of ideas on how to make your keto diet fun and enjoyable. Try out these keto drink ideas and enjoy your time exploring our website!