Oatmeal is like the popular kids in school, loved by everyone. But what do you do when you’re following the ketogenic diet? And as a more popular brand, is quaker oats keto-friendly?
As far as its versatility goes, oatmeal is popular for a reason. Many different recipes and ways of preparing oatmeal have made breakfast much easier.
Not only that!
Oats are also a great source of multiple nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. With all this in mind, is it ok to have oats on a keto diet? Is Quaker oatmeal good for keto?
Sadly oats are not considered keto friendly.
Let’s dive in and see why!
Is Quaker Oats Keto-Friendly?
To better understand this question, we must first look at the keto diet.
What’s The Keto Diet Exactly?
The ketogenic diet specifically demands that a daily carb intake does not exceed 50 grams.Â
In some situations, this limit is even lower, which is why a margin of 20 to 50 grams of carbs a day is permissible, to some degree, on the keto.
There is also an emphasis on consuming more fats in the keto diet to replace fuels like carbs and sugars.
Oats On The Keto Diet
Oats alone are not keto-approved, and there is a good reason for that.
You probably have guessed it!
It all depends on the number of carbs that oats generally contain. Quaker oats simply denote the name of a specific brand that sells oats.
This implicitly means they won’t have an altered carb count to make them closer to the keto requirements.
Nutritional Facts about Quaker Oats
We must look at Quaker oats’ macros to better understand their place on the keto diet.
For only 40 grams of Quaker oats, we have:
- 23 net grams of carbs
- 3 grams of fat
- 150 calories
- 5 grams of protein
This content looks to be the exact opposite of what the keto diet deems ok. Fewer fats than carbs and almost half of the carbs required for one day.
Vitamins, Minerals, and Protein In Oats
Oats are on the list of healthy foods for good reason. They have a number of healthy elements that help the body in its various functions.
- Protein – what oats aren’t lacking in is protein, which contributes to muscles and bone growth, as well as the production of enzymes and hormones (*)
- Iron – in the body, iron helps produce red blood cells
- Zinc – helps produce DNA and blood cells
- Magnesium – regulates blood sugar levels and blood pressure and helps with nerve functions (*)
- Manganese – produces connective tissue (*)
- Selenium – protects the body from cell damage and infections (*)
So What Is To Be Done With Oats On The Keto Diet?
To be perfectly frank!
There isn’t a lot that can be done with oats on the keto diet. You may have been looking at different brands and hoping to find keto-approved oats like Quaker.
What varieties of oats are there, and how do they affect keto?
Some can have a higher or lower glycemic index depending on how oats are processed into the final product on the shelf.
Let me explain!
- Groats – the least processed oats out there; groats contain the whole kernel and only had the other shell or husk removed in processing.
- Steel-cut oats – also known as Irish oats, are toasted groats and cut into small pieces using steel cutting instruments. They are renowned for their chewy texture.
- Rolled oats – the most popular oats, or old-fashioned oats, are groats further processed with steam to soften and rolled with metal rollers.
- Quick cooking oats – rolled oats that have been flattened even more with industrial presses.
- Instant oatmeal – the last stage of processing oats that adds sugars and other flavors in the mix while also partially cooking the oats so that they cook faster.
Going down this list, we see how oats get more and more processed.
What does this mean for keto?
Keto favors minimally processed foods, so we can assume that groats would be the best option for oatmeal on the keto.
But even so!
Keep macros in mind; use groats sparingly and only as a cheat treat once in a while.
How To Make Oatmeal Low-carb and Keto-friendly?
If you still want to have oatmeal on your keto diet and are looking at brands such as Quaker, you may be out of luck.
But all is not lost!
You can still make perfectly keto oatmeal with other ingredients that imitate oats but lack the same amount of carbs.
Alternatives for keto oatmeal:
- Almond meal – as a base of which half a cup only has a total of 12 grams or carbs which can be worked in the keto diet (*)
- Coconut flour – great for offering a little flavor (*)
- Flax-seed – ground flax-seed provide texture and chewiness
- Chia seeds – what we may consider oatmeal, chia seeds work perfectly as a replacement for oats
- Sweeteners – not honey but something like liquid stevia will provide a low-carb sweet flavor
- Sea salt – a pinch to complement all the other flavors
- Cinnamon – for added spice and flavor
- Water – instead of milk to bring everything together
Get recipe: wholesomeyum.com
To Conclude: Is Quaker Oats Keto-Friendly?
In the end, oats are still oats no matter the branding, and they will all contain high quantities of carbs that are detrimental to the keto diet.
In short! You would be better off foregoing oatmeal entirely or replacing it with some other keto-friendly alternatives like seeds-based oatmeals.
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