Are Artichokes Keto Friendly? (All You Need to Know)


Are Artichokes Keto Friendly

If you are sticking to a keto diet to stay healthy and lower your carbohydrate intake, you may struggle to find some flavorful foods to satisfy your cravings. Try branching out from the same old vegetables and grabbing a delicious artichoke to fulfill that need.

Artichokes are a keto friendly vegetable because they are low in carbohydrates. They also provide other great health benefits and different snack options for those following a keto diet.

In this article, you will learn about the carbohydrate content of artichokes and what other health benefits artichokes provide.

Additionally, we will cover some of the best keto friendly ways to prepare artichokes as well as some equally keto friendly artichoke alternatives.

Do Artichokes Have Carbs?

Even though artichokes are considered keto friendly, they do still contain carbohydrates. At first, the amount of carbs may seem high with about 14 grams in a medium artichoke or 10 grams in an artichoke heart.

However, artichokes have a lot of fiber which reduces the net carb count dramatically by essentially cutting the grams of carbohydrates in half.

Compared to other high carb vegetables such as peas, corn, carrots, and potatoes, artichokes are a wonderful keto friendly option that not only provides low carbs but high fiber to promote a healthy digestive system.

Both the leaves and the hearts can be consumed and comply with the keto diet’s requirements for being low in carbohydrates.

However, artichokes are not as low in carbs as other vegetables such as zucchini, cucumbers, asparagus, and spinach.

If you want to eat your artichokes and make sure you keep your carbs low, stick to the hearts which are lower in carbohydrates than the leaves.

What Are the Health Benefits of Artichokes?

Aside from being low in carbohydrates, artichokes offer a range of impressive health benefits that make it hard not to include them in your diet.

The fiber in artichokes not only helps promote a healthy digestive system but also contributes prebiotics to nourish your gut bacteria.

Artichokes have also been shown to be great for your heart, lowering cholesterol, reducing blood pressure and reducing inflammation to improve blood flow to and from your cardiac muscles.

The same compound found in the fiber of artichokes to improve gut health has also been proven to regulate blood sugar levels which is essential maintaining a healthy diet.

Best of all, artichokes are rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants which combat the free radicals in your body that come from exposure to the sun and other environmental factors.

Antioxidants help our bodies fight off diseases especially seriously life threatening ones such as cancer.

To top off all of these health benefits, artichokes are a delicious way to stay healthy and there are so many appealing ways to prepare this vegetable without compromising the amazing advantages.

Read also >> Is Garlic Keto Friendly? (Net Carbs + More)

Read also >> Are Mushrooms Keto Friendly? (Low Carbs Veggies + More)

What Is the Best Keto Friendly Way to Prepare Artichokes?

Artichokes can be eaten raw or cooked. For those who enjoy the simple taste of the vegetable itself, you can use your teeth to scrape off the meat of the leaves where most of the nutrients are found.

The heart of the artichoke is the other part of the vegetable that is most commonly eaten.

Artichokes can be roasted, steamed, braised, sauteed, or pickled depending on your individual tastes for flavor. When it comes to adhering to a keto friendly diet, there are many great preparation options to create a tasty snack or even a full meal from your artichoke.

Spinach and artichoke dip is a classic cheesy concoction that combines two powerhouse vegetables along with a keto friendly cheese option.

What’s more, you can use other vegetables as a vessel for this treat to really get your nutrients all in one bite.

Marinated artichoke hearts are a unique and zesty addition to any salad and may give a strong enough flavor to eliminate the need for additional dressing.

Full artichokes that are roasted in the oven and stuffed with cheese, garlic, and spinach is great meal idea that will leave you surprisingly satisfied once you’ve consumed the vegetable – heart, leaves, and all.

What Are Some Keto Friendly Artichoke Alternatives?

If you love artichoke but need to change it up a bit while still sticking to your keto diet, here are a few alternatives to consider that provide a similar flavor, texture, or benefits as artichokes without sacrificing the keto friendly nature.

Brussel sprouts, hearts of palm, asparagus, zucchini, and Cardone are all viable replacements for artichokes.

Hearts of palm have the same dense, meaty nature that artichoke hearts have and taste delicious when marinated and added to salad greens.

Brussel sprouts and asparagus have a similar unique flavor that leaves you satisfied as artichokes do.

However, it is hard to replace artichokes for stuffing and roasting and while zucchini and spinach dip may taste good, it is not quite as delectable as the spinach and artichoke combination.

While there are plenty of keto friendly artichoke alternatives, it’s hard to compete with the unique flavor and texture that artichokes provide.

Unless you are allergic or have completely overdosed on artichokes, you’ll find that there is no perfect substitute for the real thing although these alternatives give it their best shot.

Conclusion

Artichokes are a great keto friendly vegetable since they are low in carbohydrates and provide numerous other health benefits.

Although not as low in carbs as spinach or zucchini, a medium artichoke contains around 7 grams of net carbs, and the heart only about 5 grams.

Artichokes are packed with fiber that helps promote a healthy digestive system and can help control blood sugar levels.

Additionally, artichokes are high in cancer fighting antioxidants and have been shown to improve heart health by decreasing blood pressure, cholesterol, and increasing blood flow.

Artichokes can be prepared in a number of ways including as a dip mixed with spinach and cheese or stuffed and roasted to be served as a meal. Any way you enjoy it, artichokes are a great way to stay keto friendly!

References

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/21-best-low-carb-vegetables

Lindsey

Lindsey graduated with an MBA in 2009. Since then, Lindsey has worked in the retail and consumer service industry as a manager, advisor, and marketer. Lindsey is also the head writer and Co-founder of Rvandplaya.com. Lindsey is based in Morgantown, West Virginia.

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