What good is a pizza without oregano seasoning or French fries without ketchup?
Every cuisine needs a dip or a dressing to enhance its flavor. The addition of a side dish to a table of food is like adding color to a dull picture. It enhances the taste of the main cuisine and gives your palate a unique blend.
Talking about dips, who isn’t familiar with Hummus! This quick blend of mashed chickpeas with a bit of lemon and garlic is quite easy to make and is also healthy. But can you have hummus if you’re on a strict diet like Keto? If not, how much of it is allowed?
The answer lies in this post. So if you love hummus but are planning to go on a diet, you shouldn’t miss this.
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How effective is hummus for people following the Keto diet
People who follow a ketogenic diet know that it’s dependent on using stored body fats for energy rather than carbohydrates derived from sugar-based food. An average keto dieter receives only 5-10 percent calories from carbohydrates and depends on ketone fuel produced by the liver for daily energy requirements.
Now when it comes to snacking during a keto diet, even though you may think that a dip like hummus combined with vegetables as go-to snacks would be ideal, the reality isn’t as rosy.
As per Robin Foroutan, a fellow Research and Development spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, hummus can’t be a part of a ketogenic diet. He says the reason is that the main ingredient used for preparing hummus is chickpeas or garbanzo beans that are full of carbohydrates.
A study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture found that a cup of chickpeas contains 45gms of carbs. When these beans are transformed into hummus, the level of carbs increases to 49.5gms per cup.
Foroutan went on to say that if a person consumes so many carbs in a single sitting, there’s no way his/her keto diet will work. And reducing the quantity of the dip in hopes of making it work also won’t make sense since it won’t satisfy your palate. Therefore, someone on keto diet should get carbs from other vegetable-based products.
Reads – Vegetables that are Good for a Keto Diet
He further said that if hummus is a must-have for you, you can remove chickpeas and use tahini in its place because tahini is keto-friendly. And since it’s made from sesame, it provides you with calcium and fat as well. He even suggests adding spices that are rich in antioxidants so that your body isn’t deprived of the essentials.
Summing it up
Following a ketogenic diet isn’t difficult if you don’t forget that the body needs basic minerals and vitamins. So, choose food that provides nourishment and energy while cutting down on excess fat intake. Remember that your health comes first, the rest can be overlooked.