Maybe you are buying for someone else who is doing keto… Maybe you're looking for ideas for yourself. Either case, here is my list of keto gift ideas to help jumpstart your holiday shopping. 14 of these products are available at Amazon.
All of these things I have either tried myself, read the book, or have heard a lot about. I stand behind these products. If you are looking for gift ideas for someone on the ketogenic diet, I think you should find this list useful.
It can be difficult to tell where you are at on the ketogenic diet. Certain foods such as carbohydrates and protein have an impact on your level of ketosis. Blood ketone meters are really the only reliable way to check where you are at and would make a great gift for someone who doesn't have one. Anything above .5 mM reading is considered to be ketogenic. These meters measure the amount of beta-hydroxybutyrate in the blood.
Ketone test strips can help someone just starting out on keto to see if they are actually in ketosis. The strips are cheap and are easy to use. They measure the ketone called acetoacetate. Basically, you pee in a cup and insert the test strip. The strip will turn a darker color based on the level of ketosis you have reached. This ketone is not excreted in the urine after a person has been on keto for a while, so I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that has been on keto for longer than 2 months.
Ever tried mashed cauliflower? It's amazing! And, there are many recipes that use cauliflower as a substitute for carby things. The only problem is that you need a food processor to make mashed cauliflower.
Keto Coffee, Protein Shakes, and other awesome tasting smoothies can be keto friendly. Most would agree that a small number of berries in a smoothie are just fine. It helps to have a blender around that is made for these things like the Ninja.
Leanne Vogel has 125 different recipes in her book and includes several meal plans as well. This is a great gift idea for anyone looking to expand their keto recipe collection.
This book is the holy grail of following a low carb lifestyle. But, it gets pretty nerdy. If you're buying for a person who is a big-time learner and doesn't mind getting technical, this would make a great gift. It was written by two people who have done a heck of a lot of research on the ketogenic diet – Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek. It covers the history of the ketogenic diet, health benefits, athletic performance, handling side effects, etc.
If you buy this for someone, you might get smacked in the face but here me out… If it's for YOU then it's a great read. Gary Taubes also wrote "Good Calories, Bad Calories" – frequently cited by Dr. Phinney and Dr. Volek. He's an investigative science and health journalist and REALLY respected in the health community. Both of these books present the history of our strange dietary guidelines and the evidence for following a low carb lifestyle.
MCT oil is a staple ingredient for anyone on the ketogenic diet. The oil is derived from coconut oil and is quickly digested providing a nice boost of immediate energy. You may have heard of "bulletproof coffee"? MCT is one of the main ingredients. Simply blend MCT oil with coffee and BOOM! …Bulletproof coffee! It's also great with smoothies and to drizzle over food for some extra fat.
Exogenous ketones are helpful for getting you into ketosis quickly. If you're new to keto or you're trying to get back into ketosis after falling out, exogenous ketones may help accelerate the adaption process. They may also give you an energy boost during exercise.
Everybody loves a good steak, right? Just about any meat is keto friendly although leaning towards the fattier cuts is preferred. This is something that you might not normally buy for yourself but it makes a great gift.
If you are familiar with keto, you may have heard about water loss that occurs in the first month of keto. We lose water weight as a result of entering ketosis. Combined with insulin levels dropping, our blood pressure may also drop. So, salt is important to help replenish electrolytes and stabilize blood pressure. Gourmet sea salts would be an excellent keto gift no matter how experienced the person is with keto.
Electrolytes are really important on keto. We flush them through our system more quickly. Replenishing electrolytes may help alleviate keto flu symptoms and boost energy levels. I've recommended this combined electrolyte supplement other articles based on the quality of the brand and the individual ingredients. It has all of the required electrolytes.
You can always make a gift basket filled with keto essentials and snacks. Here is a list to give you an idea of what you can include in the gift basket.
Still Not Sure What to Get? Gift Cards!
You can't go wrong here with a Whole Foods gift card. Whole foods has a wide selection of different foods that makes it a perfect shopping place for anyone who is more health-minded.
Coffee is a staple for most of us on the ketogenic diet. Starbucks makes it great because you ask to have things like heavy whipping cream added in for that extra dose of fat.