Cream cheese is a food that many include in their daily diet. It’s equally delicious, whether spread on bagels or made into a cheesecake. But is cream cheese Keto? Here you can read about it.
What is a keto or ketogenic diet?
A ketogenic diet, also known as a keto or low-carb diet, is a dietary plan that focuses on eating large amounts of healthy fats, moderate amounts of protein, and low amounts of carbohydrates.
How the keto diet works
Keto diets aim to put your body in a state of ketosis.
With this, the fat stores convert into ketones, which muscles and other tissues use.
In this way, you burn and lose weight.
What to eat on the keto diet will vary depending on which version of the plan is chosen. There are more restrictive variants of ketogenic diets.
With the standard plan, 70 percent of your daily calories will come from healthy fats, 20 percent from protein, and 10% from carbohydrates.
What is cream cheese?
Cream cheese is a soft cheese, widely used for its spreadable texture, obtained by curdling milk and cream.
One ounce of cream cheese (about 28 grams) has 2 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of protein, and 10 grams of fat.
As you can see, cream cheese is low in carbohydrates and protein and high in fat.
Regarding vitamins, cream cheese has vitamin A and Riboflavin.
Cream cheese also contains antioxidants, which defend the body from free radicals responsible for aging and certain diseases.
Is cream cheese keto? The real answer
Cream cheese is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, so you can consume it on a keto diet.
It is also very versatile and can be added to various preparations.
It would be best to remember that it is better to use the original cream cheese and not the variants that come with flavors.
In general, these other presentations have added sugar, and this is something to avoid.
Therefore you should check the label with the nutritional information of cream cheese to ensure the ingredients.
You also have to be careful with preserving cream cheese since its shelf life is very short.
Once you open the package, try to consume it within no more than two weeks.
It is also essential that you always keep the packaging very well closed.
What can you prepare with cream cheese?
As we’ve already said, cream cheese is incredibly versatile and delicious, so you can use it in many recipes.
You can include it both in sweet or savory preparations, to prepare dips, or in sauces.
Cream cheese is widely used to make keto desserts, such as cheesecake.
And of course, we cannot forget that it is perfect for spreading on bagels or cookies.
Other dairy products allowed on the keto diet
Let’s say you don’t want to use cream cheese, either because you don’t like its taste or simply because you want to try another dairy product.
There are other alternatives to cream cheese that you can use if you are on a keto diet.
We can name, for example, butter, aged cheeses, yogurt, and cottage cheese.
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