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Low Carb/Keto-Friendly Lemonade

A cold glass of lemonade is the perfect addition to a warm spring or summer day. This low-carb/keto-friendly lemonade is super easy to make and very tasty!

Simple Low-Carb/Keto-Friendly Lemonade

WHAT IS LOW-CARB LEMONADE?

Low carb lemonade is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a delicious and refreshing lemonade you can drink on a low carb or keto diet, but without all of the sugar and added ingredients.

Instead of using sugar or a sugar laden substitute, we use a keto-approved sweetener to make it nice and sweet, but without all of the extra carbs!

KETO-FRIENDLY LEMONADE INGREDIENTS

Before you try to make this delicious, sweet, and refreshing low carb lemonade, make sure you have the following ingredients on hand first.

After you have these, you’re set and ready to go!

HOW TO MAKE LOW-CARB LEMONADE

  1. Mix all ingredients together well using a whisk or blender
  2. Taste to ensure the desired level of sweetness; add a few drops of sweetener at a time if you want it sweeter
  3. Pour over ice and enjoy!
Low-Carb/Keto-Friendly Lemonade

WHAT ALTERNATIVE SWEETENERS CAN BE USED?

Truth be told, any sweetener can be used in this recipe. As always, we recommend the use of monk fruit (Lakanto is by far our favorite brand) as they are the best for maintaining low blood glucose levels.

Having said that, using your favorite sweetener in this recipe is totally ok. Per normal, keep in mind that different sweeteners have different sweetness levels and don’t necessarily measure equally to what is below.

The best thing to do is to always taste as you go to ensure the sweetener is delivering your desired level of sweetness.

Also, make sure the sweetener you choose is easily dissolvable and doesn’t create any kind of an after taste when dissolved in something you’re going to be drinking.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN KETO AND KETO-FRIENDLY?

There is often some confusion as to the difference in the term “keto” versus “keto-friendly.” While the two terms are often used interchangeably by those on keto, they actually mean two different things.

KETO DEFINITION

Used alone, keto (or ketogenic) references a food, recipe, or way of eating that is high in fat, has a moderate amount of protein, and a low (usually five or less) amount of carbs.

Common keto foods/ingredients are heavy cream, butter, avocado, and almond flour. These follow the high fat, low-carb equation mentioned above.

Generally, those eating a keto diet aim for 20g (sometimes 30g) of carbohydrates or less daily. However, they try to make 70% of their calories come from fat.

KETO-FRIENDLY DEFINITION

Keto-friendly, on the other hand, is a food or ingredient that is able to be consumed while on the keto diet. These foods/ingredients are very low in carbohydrates (3g or less) and generally have little to no fat or protein.

Some common keto-friendly products include Zevia, monk fruit sweetener, and unsweetened almond milk.

Just because an ingredient is keto-friendly, that doesn’t make it “truly keto.” It just means it is safe to eat because the carb count is low enough.

Low-Carb/Keto-Friendly Lemonade

A FEW WORDS ABOUT MONK FRUIT SWEETENER…

If you peruse our site a lot, you will notice that we recommend monk fruit sweetener for almost all of our sweets recipes.

In fact, it is our sweetener of choice for everything sweet except our ice creams (powdered erythritol just works so much better).

WHAT IS MONK FRUIT?

Monk fruit, otherwise known in China as “luo han guo,” is a member of the gourd family. The fruits are naturally sweet but are such without fructose or sucrose.

Instead, the fruits contain something called mogrosides, which are naturally sweet but are chemically different than sugar.

WHY IS IT BETTER?

The reason monk fruit is one of the best sweeteners for anyone looking to reduce their sugar and carbohydrate intake is that it has no glycemic index.

Simply put, this means ingesting monk fruit has no effect on your blood sugar whatsoever. No rise in blood sugar is exactly what you are aiming for on a ketogenic or low-carb diet.

Without a rise in blood sugar, your body isn’t signaled to store the food you are eating as fat. This is one of the major factors in carbohydrate-based diets and weight gain.

BUT WHY LAKANTO?

Most sweetener brands use dextrose or another binding agent to attach the sweetener to. These binders can cause a spike in blood sugar, much like regular sugar can.

Because of this, these brands, though using approved sweeteners like monk fruit, are not fit for a keto/low-carb diet.

Unlike a lot of monkfruit-based sweeteners you find in the store, Lakanto combines monk fruit with erythritol to form their sweetener. Like monk fruit, erythritol is also a non-glycemic sweetener.

Because of this, Lakanto is the best solution to get a wonderful sweetness, all while ensuring blood sugar levels don’t spike or rise.

STORING LOW-CARB LEMONADE

Storing this lemonade is very simple. Should you decide to scale up the recipe and make a larger amount (an entire pitcher full, let’s say) you can easily store leftovers in the fridge like normal.

We’d recommend keeping them no more than a few days, as often artificial sweeteners can change taste after sitting.

WHAT TO DRINK NO SUGAR LEMONADE WITH

This lemonade goes fantastically well with almost any dish, any time. Of course, lemonade is most generally thought of as a summertime drink, but you can whip up a glass (or pitcher) quickly and easily.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

For more ideas, you can check out our recipe index.

Low Carb Lemonade


Be sure to leave us a comment and a ★★★★★ review!
Low-Carb/Keto-Friendly Lemonade

Low-Carb/Keto-Friendly Lemonade

Yield: 5 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

A cold glass of lemonade is the perfect addition to a warm spring or summer day. This low-carb/keto-friendly lemonade is super easy to make and very tasty!

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients together well using a whisk or blender
  2. Taste to ensure the desired level of sweetness; add a few drops of sweetener at a time if you want it sweeter
  3. Pour over ice and enjoy!

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Nutrition Information
Yield 5 Serving Size 1 cup
Amount Per Serving Calories 10Total Fat 0gCarbohydrates 2gProtein 0g

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NorthDFW

Saturday 4th of August 2018

I've been a fan of Keto Lemonade for a while now. I do a lot of work that gets me sweating, so I make this into Keto Electrolyte Lemonade by adding 1/2 tsp powdered grey sea salt per quart.

Logan Childress

Saturday 4th of August 2018

That sounds like a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion!

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