Dragon fruit is a tropical fruit that’s starting to become increasingly popular. While initially known for its visual appeal, evidence suggests it may also have health benefits. In this article we will explore everything you need to know and answer is dragon fruit keto?
What Is Dragon Fruit?
The Honolulu queen cactus, also known as Hylocereus, which bears dragon fruit, only blooms at night.
The plant is indigenous to Southern Mexico and Central America. It is now grown all over the globe.
It goes by many names, such as strawberry pear, pitaya, and pitahaya.
The name comes from the two most prevalent types, which have bright red skin and green scales that resemble dragons. The most common variety features a white flesh along with black seeds. Additionally, there’s a rarer type that features red flesh and black seeds.
You can also try the yellow dragon fruit, which is easily recognizable thanks to the yellow skin.
Despite having an exotic appearance, dragon fruit tastes like other fruits. Its flavor has been compared to a slightly sweet kiwi and pear combination.
What Nutrients Does a Dragon Fruit Contain?
Dragon fruit features a high level of diverse nutrients. Additionally, it's a commendable source of fiber, magnesium, and iron.
A serving size of 3.5 ounces, or 100 grams, has the following nutritional values:
- Calories: 60
- Protein: 1.2 grams
- Fat: 0 grams
- 13 grams of carbohydrates.
- Fiber: 3 grams
- 3% of the RDI for Vitamin C
- 4% of the RDI is Iron.
- 10% of the RDI for Magnesium
Dragon fruit is a very nutrient-dense fruit because of its high fibre and magnesium content as well as its extremely low calorie count.
Is Dragon Fruit Keto?
Let's get into it right away. Dragon fruit is sadly not keto-friendly. Because it lies in the middle of the carbohydrate spectrum, it is frequently referred to as a moderately keto fruit.
As mentioned above, a whole dragon fruit has roughly 12 grams of carbohydrates, with almost 8 grams of sugar. Furthermore, everyone is aware that the keto diet restricts eating too much sugar.
Of course, this news initially sounds heart breaking. You'll be fine, though, as long as you keep your consumption in check and treat yourself occasionally to a quarter or half of a dragon fruit.
Is Dragon Fruit Good For Weight Loss?
Dragon fruit does indeed help you lose weight! It contains a lot of fiber in addition to having few calories.
Fiber makes you feel satisfied and full after eating, which can help you avoid overeating in the future.
Some of the main advantages of dragon fruit are as follows:
- Includes vital vitamins and minerals, as well as beneficial plant substances like polyphenols, carotenoids, and betacyanins.
- Contains a wealth of antioxidants, including betalains and vitamin C, which can actually protect your cells from damage.
- A good source of prebiotics, which supports the maintenance of a balanced gut microbiome.
- Magnesium and Iron content is higher in these fruits than in other fruits, supporting a healthy immune system.
So yes, including dragon fruit in your diet is definitely a good idea if you're trying to lose weight and looking for a healthy snack option.
What Fruits Are Beneficial for a Keto Diet?
Now there is no need to be low because even if we are unable to eat dragon fruit, there are many other delectable fruits that can gratify our cravings while still allowing us to stay in keto.
Fruits are typically thought of as sweet foods, and sweet foods are frequently associated with being incredibly high in those bothersome carbs. But after a good run or workout, we all get the urge for a juicy piece of fruit.
We will share some delicious fruit options that you can eat while following a ketogenic diet.
- Watermelon
- Berries
- Peaches
- Cantaloupe
- Starfruit
- Kiwi
- Cherries
- Clementines
While it saddens us to learn that dragon fruit isn't the best option for staying keto-friendly, we're glad we could provide you with some alternatives that won't harm your actively achieved ketosis. Provided that you should take precautions.
Similar to most treats, it's simple to overindulge, even if it's just one more clementine orange or half a cup of blueberries. Take care when eating fruit, but also be delighted that you don't have to cut it in half.
Dragon Fruit Incorporated Recipes For Keto:
Keto Dragon Fruit Smoothie With Yogurt
We can still enjoy dragon fruit even though it is not keto friendly, just in moderate amounts. For instance, even though only a small amount of pink dragon fruit is used in this keto dragon fruit smoothie, it still has a lovely pink hue and a faint dragon fruit flavor. This delicious smoothie recipe is brought to us by Keto Millennial.
Due to the fact that we are only using a small amount of dragon fruit, each glass only has 2 grams of net carbohydrates and 80 calories. Below is a recipe for a delicious low-carb dragon fruit smoothie.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup (25g) of fresh or frozen dragon fruit (we used pink dragon fruit)
- 1 cup of almond milk (unsweetened)
- 1/4 cup (50g) plain greek yogurt (this is the lowest carb option found)
- 2 tbsp sweetener or keto honey
- A squeeze of lime (optional)
Optional: add some ice cubes for a thicker consistency or if you’re using fresh dragon fruit, to make the smoothie colder.
Directions:
- Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender until well-combined and smooth.
- Serve right away.
Keto Dragon Fruit Cheesecake Cupcakes
We took this delicious recipe into consideration given by Eating Cheating. It's incredibly simple to make these cupcakes with dragon fruit cheesecake and they look adorable. They support the keto diet and are free of refined sugar. Make an attempt at making them with additional superfoods!
Ingredients:
Bottom crust
- 1 cup sunflower seeds (ground)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 2 tsp SteviaSweet sweetener
Cheesecake cream
- 250 g cream cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp dragon fruit powder from Living Wild Force
- 2 tsp SteviaSweet sweetener
Dragon fruit frosting
- Sour cream
- 1 tbsp dragon fruit powder
Directions:
- The oven should be preheated to 175°C. Prepare a silicone cupcake mold or whatever cupcake-making mold you intend to use.
- Melt coconut oil in a small saucepan. Combine the sweetener, coconut oil, and ground sunflower seeds.
- Distribute the sunflower seeds crust evenly among the cupcake holes, and firmly press it into the bottom. Set apart.
- Add the cream cheese, eggs, sweetener, and dragon fruit powder to another mixing bowl and stir or beat until smooth.
- Fill each cupcake hole with an equal amount of cheesecake cream.
- Bake the cheesecake cupcakes at 175°C for 30-45 minutes, or until the centers are almost set.
- Before adding the frosting, let the cheesecake cupcakes completely cool.
- Combine sour cream and a powdered dragon fruit to make the frosting. Add some sweetener to your frosting as desired if you'd like it to be sweeter.
Conclusion
We hope this article has clarified all of your concerns about dragon fruit and whether it fits into a ketogenic diet.
Many people believe that because it is a sweet fruit, it must be entirely avoided on the keto diet plan. You now understand that is not at all the case.
Dragon fruit is actually quite healthy for you, so feel free to indulge occasionally. Thank you for reading!
Click on one of the links below to learn more about keto-friendly foods: