Keto Friendly Drinks"?

[mommy5]

Anyone following the Ketogenic way of eating? I have lost 35 pounds in 9 months and will be on the Sky in March. Need some suggestions for low carb, low sugar mixed drinks that are still tasty! Any good suggestions? 

Debdoll

[Outerdog]

Water.

 

If you're going to want Keto-friendly sweetener, (Stevia, for example), bring your own.

[riffatsea]

Low carb alcoholic drinks means straight shots with soda or water.

I am not Keto but I do try to be low carb.

We have stopped using all diet sweeter products.

Drinking any of the artificial sweeteners or diet soda mixed is not really a healthy thing to do.

It is not just about losing weight. Those chemicals in the diet drinks are just not good for you.

 

[pris993]

I follow keto, I do scotch, gin, or vodak with club soda and sometimes a twist of lemon.

 

[crystalspin]

"Captain on a Diet" (rum and diet coke) -- add lime to make it a diet Cuba Libre. Just make sure the bartender does not add a lime "mixer" that is sweetened -- I don't know if they do that, but just to be sure I tell the bar server "Rum and diet coke with two limes" and squeeze my own.

 

8oz of pineapple juice has ~30g of carbohydrate. Simple syrup has 14g per OUNCE (2TBSP). 

 

OTOH, cream of coconut/coconut cream has less than 1g/TBSP. As does lime juice. And of course, none in seltzer/soda water, diet coke, diet sprite, etc. OR in distilled spirits. Experiment at home and find what concoction (of things in the barman's repertoire) are appealing to you.

 

Dr.Atkins himself said that alcohol itself will not put you out of ketosis -- it's the mixers, residual or added sugars, and the grains & malts in beers/ales that do it.

[satxdiver]

To the OP great for losing the weight.  Watch ordering mixed drinks (what I call foo-foo drinks with little umbrellas) as they are full of sugar.    Stick to club soda (or being your own) and distilled spirits.  I like bourbon on the rocks with a glass of water as a chaser or certain martinis with all liquor.  

[wrongwaywatson]

I've been keto for almost 2 years (not for weight loss, but because my Oncologist suggested it, but I did drop 10 pounds!).   I went off keto during my cruise, but I don't have trouble getting back into ketosis quickly and I don't struggle with carb cravings too bad after doing so.  I have a friend that literally can't do a cheat or she is off the wagon for months.   If she goes on vacation, she stays keto.   

That being said, I'm not really a drinker, but she enjoys a Titos with a splash of cranberry and it is supposed to be a keto friendly drink!  I agree, avoid all of the "mixers" in the drinks.  That is what gets you!  Good luck!

[CruiseVA]

Crystal Light packets and vodka. It's like lemonade & vodka, if you don't like lemonade, look at the other flavors. Get the packets that mix with a water bottle. Ask for a shot of vodka on ice & add your own mixer. We've also brought diet sprite on board.  Sometimes we'll do flavored vodka & soda too.

[martincath]

Not Keto, but as a diabetic I also avoid all 'empty carbs' as much as possible. If you do enjoy things which are theoretically-low-carb-enough at home - like coconut cream, cranberry/lime/grapefruit and other tart juices in small amounts - be sure to ask the bartenders exactly what they're made from, and avoid unless it's the genuine article. I've yet to find a single coconut cocktail on any cruise line that doesn't use premade mixers that have a lot of added sugar, and even some really simple things like cranberry or lime juice are usually sweetened significantly too (at best the 'cranberry' juice is a blend of that and other sweeter juices; most often the 'coconut cream' is from a bottle of completely-fake sugary crap flavoured with coconut; even lime juice is often a sweet flavoured concentrate rather than fresh-squeezed).

 

If you drink spirits that actually have an inherent flavour, you don't need anything else when you find some you like - we are going through a worldwide gin renaissance with a metric buttload of different flavours, and even cruise bars tend to have at least one other gin as well as a bog-standard London Dry on the cheapest list of booze; combine with soda water if you like a fizzy drink, a squeeze of fresh lime/lemon, or bringing your own flavoured diet tonic waters onboard (virtually all onboard tonics have a fair whack of sugar) gives you a vast array of flavour combos. Or try getting yourself into the brown spirits drunk neat - there are always a few different bourbons/scotches onboard, and if you are willing to go up a shelf or two you'll probably have a dozen or more whiskies to try on any ship.

 

[ninjacat123]

The problem with diet tonic is that it isn't packaged in cans anymore, so you can't bring it on board.  At least not on Carnival. I usually go club soda, vodka and a squeeze of lemon and lime.

[martincath]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

The problem with diet tonic is that it isn't packaged in cans anymore, so you can't bring it on board.  At least not on Carnival. I usually go club soda, vodka and a squeeze of lemon and lime.

Really? Maybe this is regional thing, but I certainly have no difficulty finding cans of diet Schweppes, Canada Dry and similar big name tonics in Oregon or BC - literally every supermarket I ever go looking in carries them, usually also their own store brand if it's a big chain market. I don't buy tonic in big bottles, never have as it loses its fizz before I get close to finishing even a 1L bottle, so it's always cans I buy.

 

If Carnival are so picky about folks bringing on board sodas etc. that they won't even allow the small bottles the likes of Fever Tree seem to prefer, despite them having one-use pop-tops which would make it pretty darn obvious if they were emptied and refilled with vodka, I could see finding much in the way of different flavours to be more challenging in cans...

[lindsay0526]

Check out Target for canned tonic water. At least the one near us has it! 🙂

[CrankiestOne]

I was on the Breakaway for new year's and they had just gotten the Bon & Viv spiked seltzer, as well as another brand, both low carb and included in the beverage package.  The flavored regular (non-spiked) seltzer was not included in the beverage package, so could not use those for mixer.  They did not have plain seltzer available, but if it were, I would have added a squirt of Mio to that.  I like gin/soda/lemon & lime, too.

[pacruise804]

I was at Aldi today and saw they have flavored carbonated water in 12 packs of 12oz cans.  It appeared to just be carbonated water and flavoring (grapefruit, lemon/lime, berry?) so no artificial flavor.  Not sure how it would taste - I don't mind flavored seltzers by my family wants more "sweetness."

[Seamus6]

I don't do keto but like  martincath, I am diabetic and watch my carbs.

 

My go to drink is a Bloody Mary and I try to find bartenders that make them from scratch rather than use a pre-made mix.  You can ask to see if they have an original container for the mix which will tell you the carbs and often the net carbs.  Some mixes are really bad, others are acceptable to me but may still knock you out of keto.

 

I also have them leave out lemon juice which I don't particularly like in it anyway.  I also don't generally have more than one a time (also because I'm a light-weight drinker) and unless I am really celebrating or can counteract with a lot of activity like using the stairs (not the elevator) the entire time I'm on a cruise!

 

I like most rum and vodka drinks but always want them with something sweet like fruit juice which obviously is not good....sigh

[Seamus6]

I have been reading TravelinGert's review on the American  Countess and they posted the included spirits and they included several vodka drinks but did not list Bloody Marys.  It was a short list so hoping it is not complete so I can get some Marys on my American Queen cruise and don't get into trouble drinking too many sweet fruity rum drinks.  I saw earlier that they might have 2 moscatos which I like when drinking wine but they aren't going to be much better than the sugared rum drinks.

[ninjacat123]

27 minutes ago, seamus69 said:

I have been reading TravelinGert's review on the American  Countess and they posted the included spirits and they included several vodka drinks but did not list Bloody Marys.  It was a short list so hoping it is not complete so I can get some Marys on my American Queen cruise and don't get into trouble drinking too many sweet fruity rum drinks.  I saw earlier that they might have 2 moscatos which I like when drinking wine but they aren't going to be much better than the sugared rum drinks.

Savignon Blanc is 3g of carb per 5 oz glass.  If you like margaritas, try Wyler's Lemonade Light singles mixed into 16 oz of water (water bottle) then mix diet lemonade with tequilla.  Better than most restaurant margaritas in my opinion.  I've asked for a shot of tequilla, a glass of water and made my own at a bar.  Hope your time on the American Queen is great!

[Seamus6]

 

 

34 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Savignon Blanc is 3g of carb per 5 oz glass.  If you like margaritas, try Wyler's Lemonade Light singles mixed into 16 oz of water (water bottle) then mix diet lemonade with tequilla.  Better than most restaurant margaritas in my opinion.  I've asked for a shot of tequilla, a glass of water and made my own at a bar.  Hope your time on the American Queen is great!

I love the creativity of the people on these forums!  I like tequila (not as much as rum so I might try that too) and will try that at home and see how it goes and then take supplies onboard.  I haven't found Savignon Blanc sweet enough for me since I don't have a sophisticated wine palette and usually only go for for the finest screw-top sweet wines, hence moscatos and I hate to admit, Manischewitz (please don't laugh too hard).  I will occasionally spring for a bottle of Ice wine for special events even though it is terribly expensive.

Thank You, NinjaCat!

[crystalspin]

On 5/8/2021 at 8:40 AM, seamus69 said:

...they included several vodka drinks but did not list Bloody Marys.  It was a short list so hoping it is not complete so I can get some Marys on my American Queen cruise and don't get into trouble drinking too many sweet fruity rum drinks.  I saw earlier that they might have 2 moscatos which I like when drinking wine but they aren't going to be much better than the sugared rum drinks.

There are no sweet wines that are keto or even lower carb. (Sorry!) Look on line for a list and then try the ones that are within your carb-target and find the one(s) you dislike the least.

 

Tomato juice has 10g carb (less almost 2g fiber if you are looking at Net Carbs) so you can make a Cheato-Keto bloody mary at home (one of the low-carb blogs just ran a recipe with horseradish & hot sauce). But all or most bar-tenders are going to use bloody mary mix that includes sugar (as much as 86 grams in 8 oz!!!). You might ask for a vodka and tomato juice with a shake of Tabasco?

 

The lowest/zero carb alcoholic beverages are diet soda (or soda water) and distilled liquor. Try "Captain on a diet (coke)" with a slice of lime to make it a Cuba Libre. There are several 0 calorie drink mixes, to use as NinjaCat outlined; a margarita mix made with rum can ba a daiquiri. I don't know if Crystal Light still makes theirs; another brand was Margaritaville.

[Lois R]

On 4/30/2021 at 6:45 PM, seamus69 said:

I don't do keto but like  martincath, I am diabetic and watch my carbs.

 

My go to drink is a Bloody Mary and I try to find bartenders that make them from scratch rather than use a pre-made mix.  You can ask to see if they have an original container for the mix which will tell you the carbs and often the net carbs.  Some mixes are really bad, others are acceptable to me but may still knock you out of keto.

 

I also have them leave out lemon juice which I don't particularly like in it anyway.  I also don't generally have more than one a time (also because I'm a light-weight drinker) and unless I am really celebrating or can counteract with a lot of activity like using the stairs (not the elevator) the entire time I'm on a cruise!

 

I like most rum and vodka drinks but always want them with something sweet like fruit juice which obviously is not good....sigh

I am a diabetic too and try****to watch my carbs as well. I prefer wine to a cocktail although I do enjoy an after dinner drink.......I have a cruise coming up next month. Will see how I do.........and I really don't like a sweet wine....my favorite is Pinot Noir........love that wine.