Is hominy keto friendly? If you're reading this, most likely you love hominy like us and happened to have started Keto recently.
Choosing the perfect diet plan on keto could be a great deal. But when it comes to grains, can you eat hominy on keto? People on Keto have to be very cautious about their diet plans. As per the basic rules of Keto, your diet must have high fats and low carbs, including eggs, meat, and other low-carb veggies.
Now, let's find out if hominy has made it to the keto friendly clan or not! Stay tuned.
What is Hominy?
Ever had corn tortillas and grits? It's a product of hominy! You can find several varieties of hominy that include canned, dried, and white and yellow hominy.
Are you looking for already cooked Hominy? Go for canned hominy while drying. Hominy needs proper soaking before use.
A compelling combination of dried maize seeds feasted with alkaline creates hominy. The process is called nixtamalization. In this process, you must dry the maize seeds, soak and cook them in a dilute solution of calcium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide.
Depending on the dilute solution, there are two types of hominy, i.e., Lime hominy and Lye hominy.
The hominy made in the dilute solution of calcium hydroxide is known as “Lime Hominy.” While the hominy made in the dilute solution of potassium hydroxide is known as “Lye Hominy.”
Do you know that yellow hominy is the sweetest of all? Soups, stews, and casseroles have a common ingredient making them more delicious than ever- HOMINY! You can also freeze it for future recipes as well.
The necessity to soak it:
Interestingly, it kills the germs of the maize seeds, which enhances the storage capacity of the maize seeds. As a result, they prevent budding. Now you have to wash them to remove the bitter taste of calcium hydroxide (lime) or potassium hydroxide (lye). Alkalinity helps to soften maize seeds. It further dissolves hemicellulose.
Microscopic examination of nixtamalization:
Hemicellulose is a component of the cell walls of maize seeds that provides adhesion. Alkalinity helps to loosen the inner part of the grain from the hull. Moreover, you have to supply the dietary calcium source, to take niacin nutrient in the digestive tract, lime or lye reacts with the corns.
Humans cannot absorb niacin nutrients in infectious corns, so a problem arose: how do we absorb niacin?
Don't worry, you guys; the nixtamalization process is the solution. Yes, it frees niacin in such a state that humans can absorb it.
Is Hominy Keto Friendly?
If you love to eat hominy, here's some bad news. Hominy is not Keto-friendly.
Maize grains are dried to obtain Hominy, making it high in carbs and low in fats. And that negates the first and foremost rule of a keto diet.
It’s totally against the macronutrients required on a keto diet, i.e., your food should be low in carbohydrates and high in fats. It’s because, in ketosis, your body requires energy from fats, so your diet must have healthy fat sources.
In Keto, your diet should have 5 to 10 percent carbohydrates and 70 percent fats. On the contrary, hominy has 11.76 grams of net carbohydrates per 100 grams serving and 0.88 grams of fats.
How many calories are in Hominy?
Moving on to the nutritional facts of hominy, you'll get to know that hominy is one of the most nutritious corn products. It has 119-kilo calories per cup. The major nutrients are 29.40 percent of Sodium, 18.10 percent of Carbohydrates, 15.73 percent of Zinc, 12.75 percent of Iron, and 10.79 percent of total dietary fiber.
| Calories | 119 kcal |
| Sodium | 29.4% |
| Zinc | 15.73% |
| Carbohydrates | 18.10% |
| Iron | 12.75% |
| Dietary fiber | 10.79% |
Hominy Alternatives:
Being a hominy lover and not eating it could be hard. Here's what you can do:
As an alternative to hominy, you can try psyllium husk, zucchini noodles, kelp noodles, konjac noodles, konjac rice, cauliflower rice, etc. Following are the brief details of these keto-friendly grains that you must try.
- Psyllium Husk:
Psyllium Husk is Keto friendly because it’s low in net carbohydrates. As per Keto rules, your net carbohydrate consumption must lie between 20 grams to 30 grams per day. Psyllium Husk has net carbohydrates of 1 gram per 10 grams of serving. On the other hand, Psyllium Husk is low in fats, i.e., it has zero grams of fats, so you have to supplement it with high healthy fats foods such as grass-fed butter, virgin olive oil, MCT oil, etc.
Health concerns regarding Psyllium Husk:
You might have a query regarding Psyllium Husk. What if it’s harmful to health? Let's also remove this ambiguity: It does not contain harmful ingredients such as food additives, highly refined oils, non-keto sweeteners, etc.
Psyllium Husk is made up of keto ingredients and has not even a single non-keto ingredient like artificial sweeteners, sugar, and highly refined oils.
- Zucchini Noodles:
Zucchini Noodles are keto friendly because they are low in net carbohydrates. Your keto diet demands a net carbohydrate consumption of between 20 and 30 grams daily.
Zucchini Noodles have net carbohydrates of 2.12 grams per 100 grams of serving. On the other hand, Zucchini Noodles are low in fats, i.e., they have 0.4 grams of fats, so you have to supplement them with high healthy fats foods such as grass-fed butter, virgin olive oil, MCT oil, etc.
Health concerns regarding Zucchini Noodles :
Zucchini Noodles contain food additives, highly refined oils, non-keto sweeteners, etc.
- Kelp Noodles:
Kelp Noodles are Keto friendly because they are low in net carbohydrates. Kelp Noodles have net carbohydrates of 0.97 grams per 100 grams of serving.
On the other hand, Kelp Noodles are low in fats, i.e., they have 0.1 grams of fats, so you have to supplement it with high healthy fats foods such as grass-fed butter, virgin olive oil, MCT oil, etc.
Health concerns regarding Kelp Noodles:
Kelp noodles contain food additives, highly refined oils, non-keto sweeteners, etc. Moreover, Kelp Noodles are made up of keto ingredients and have not even a single non-keto ingredient like artificial sweeteners, sugar, and highly refined oils.
- Konjac Noodles:
Konjac Noodles are Keto friendly because they are carbohydrates-free.
Konjac Noodles have net carbohydrates of zero grams. Moreover, they are low in fats, i.e., they have zero grams of fats, so you have to supplement them with high healthy fats foods such as grass-fed butter, virgin olive oil, MCT oil, etc.
Health concerns regarding Konjac Noodles :
It contains food additives, highly refined oils, non-keto sweeteners, etc. Also, Konjac Noodles contain keto ingredients and have not even a single non-keto ingredient like artificial sweeteners, sugar, or highly refined oils.
- Konjac Rice:
Konjac Rice is Keto friendly because it is carbohydrates-free.
Konjac Rice has net carbohydrates of zero grams. And also low in fats, i.e., it has zero grams of fats, so you have to supplement it with high healthy fats foods such as grass-fed butter, virgin olive oil, MCT oil, etc.
Health concerns regarding Konjac Rice :
It contains food additives, highly refined oils, non-keto sweeteners, etc. It reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, etc.
- Cauliflower Rice:
Cauliflower Rice is Keto friendly because it is low in net carbohydrates.
Cauliflower Rice has net carbohydrates of 3 grams per 100 grams of serving.
On the other hand, Cauliflower Rice is low in fats, i.e., it has 0.3 grams of fats, so you have to supplement it with high healthy fats foods such as grass-fed butter, virgin olive oil, MCT oil, etc.
Heath's concerns regarding Cauliflower Rice:
It contains food additives, highly refined oils, non-keto sweeteners, etc. Cauliflower Rice includes keto ingredients; it has not even a single non-keto ingredient like artificial sweeteners, sugar, and highly refined oils.
What are the benefits of Hominy?
Despite being a grain, hominy does not contain high levels of protein. But if you are looking forward to eating fewer fats, it's an ideal choice. Corn and hominy are more like a family in terms of nutritional facts. However, the nixtamalization process helps in smooth digestion. Moreover, hominy is ideal for people looking forward to a gluten-free diet
Wrapping Up:
Hopefully, hominy lovers won't feel dejected after reading this article. Everything comes at a price, and weight loss comes at the price of giving up your favorite foods like hominy. Nonetheless, you don't have to continue Keto all your time. If you decide to go to Keto, it is crucial to work with a dietitian to help you create a plan. It will ensure that you are getting essential nutrients while maintaining ketosis.
If you cannot give up hominy during Keto, you can always eat one or two twice a week to fulfill your cravings. If you had a party at home and ended up eating a large quantity of hominy or any hominy dish, make sure you don't eat any other high-carb food. Always keep your carb intake in check. Good luck with your Keto!
Check out the links below to find some other great keto food options: